#tao thread.

[inkshadow]

continued for @honeyhour from the source

"just don't... breathe it in?" likely a terrible excuse but the way he smiles and attempts to laugh after the fact suggests that he is joking. her suggestion goes right over his head on purpose though he proceeds as though he doesn't take the hint. feet lead him further into the home, passing the first threshold into a narrow hallway. "trespassing? how so? nobody lives here, it doesn't belong to anyone."

[inkshadow]

closed starter for @sunliights featuring tao and noah.

"it's been awhile since i've heard from you," tao muses as they're sat on the roof's edge one of his family-owned buildings, lanky legs dangling with a lollipop in his mouth. he doesn't bother keeping close tabs on her anymore, ever since her ex was 'taken care of', but does often beg the question if she's found a new way to spend her time. rumor has it, she's just been hanging out with a few friends and a couple new ones. good — means she's got enough freedom to spend with other people. "have you done anything fun recently?"

[inkshadow]

random closed starter for @sunliights featuring tao and noah.

"so are you two, like, dating now or something?" god, that must have been the worst way to bring up the subject imaginable but he hasn't been able to find any sort of segway into it throughout the entire course of the night. now that they've stopped along the river bank for some ice cream and rest, the lull in conversation presented him the opportunity to at least ask about it.

[inkshadow]

continued for @inheritrixzx from the source

"find out about...?" the reassurances she continues to give — to nobody's surprise — don't help, even though his knees buckle a bit at the feel of her touch to his cheek. he's always been helplessly pliable to those that he cares for but when it comes to the people he loves? there's nothing on the planet he wouldn't do for them. which is why whatever predisposed notion or assumption she's got in her head that things won't work out hurts him more than anything, like he really has to do more to fit primly in the spotlight. "they don't have to know about my family or my namesake. i could just be some normal person to them. b-besides, it's not like my family is... terrible. we're just organized a bit differently. i'm more than happy to lie if that makes it easier for us." it is what tao is best at.

[inkshadow]

continued from the source for @starlingisms

"you realize scheduling can't be the answer you give forever, right? eventually..." eventually it's going to happen and eventually they're going to have to stamp that date on many, many invitations since the liu 'family' is quite large. "if anything, i blame yi for waiting this long. does he not realize that someone else could just sweep you off your feet unexpectedly?" the lopsided smile on his face is telling that he's joking but it's not like there's a non-zero chance either. "he should know better than to keep a girl like you waiting."

[inkshadow]

continued for @lonelysgorg from the source

i covered up my trail too well. it's regret that courses his veins now that he's stuck in this predicament, his skill a double-edged sword. but it baffles him that her reason for keeping him isn't anything more than for entertainment and what ends up escaping sounds more like a whine than anything else. "that makes no sense. there's nothing entertaining about me or this or anything." if she was doing the equivalent of dangling some sort of carrot for him to chase on a treadmill, that's a different story but this? "if money is what you want, we have plenty of it. you won't get the revenge you seek just keeping me here."