Metal

32%

It feels hard against his fingertip, the cool metal against soft skin. The trigger would be so easy to press with just a light movement of his finger. Tao stares down at the weapon he'd been handed earlier that day. He plays with it in his hands, rolling it around pointlessly. He stands up from the bed and paces around the wide room. It was precaution, he tells himself. If anyone had tried to attack Sehun, he'd have a weapon handy. That's all there is to it.

The shopping trip had been fine. In fact, he's still content from the events of the last few hours. Sehun had been ecstatic at the feeling of being outside. Of the fresh air, the sights and smells, the people, and the busy crowds. Sehun had an interesting way of expressing his inner joy. He'd closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, turning to Tao and saying, "It smells like winter."

Tao nodded. But he had no idea what winter smelled like. Sehun seemed to sense that, and started saying, "Like a stinging cold and a certain sharp freshness you don't get with summer or autumn."

Tao had asked him, "What about spring?"

And Sehun said, "Spring has no scent."

He wanted to tell Sehun that flowers were spring, that trees and nature were all scents of spring. That picnics, and chirping birds, that was all spring. But Sehun had this look on his face, like he was about to burst at the seams with his freedom, so Tao followed him into a hat shop. He'd never seen a hat shop before, hadn't known that kind of thing existed until this day. He walked in to see shelves and stands covered in all different kinds of hats -- baseball caps, snapbacks, beanies, the furry kind with animal ears -- and he wondered if this was something Sehun liked. 

He had to keep to Sehun the whole time, helplessly lost within the mazes of the shopping streets. It was a puzzle to him, how Sehun could manage to keep walking around and around without losing his way. The massive amount of people did not at all help with the lack of visual clarity. 

Sehun did end up buying a new pair of sneakers. They were, in Tao's opinion, rather plain looking though. Red with white soles and white laces, and a high top. Tao asked him why he chose these.

"They remind me of the first pair of sneakers I ever had as a kid," Sehun smiled.

Tao had no idea what to say right then because Sehun's smile was the smile of a little boy who just got the perfect present for his birthday, a kid who came home to a huge cake, a kid who just got a bouncy house and all the ice cream he wanted. It was adorable, and adorable didn't even cut it. It was the eye smile and tiniest tipping of the corner of his mouth and the way he lit up in that moment. It was the way Tao couldn't help but stare.

And now he twiddles. With his gun. 

Basically, he'd lost all resolve for his life's purpose. To make matters worse, the phone starts to ring. "Hello?"

"Hello dear." That voice always sounds grossly smug.

"Please don't call me that," Tao lets out an exasperated sigh.

"My my, someone sounds stressed today. I thought the trip went well?"

"It did go well."

"Really?" Tao bites his lip. He knows what's coming. "Because, if it'd gone well, you see, things would look a little...different around here."

"I don't know if this can continue anymore. There are other ways to get that, you know."

"Are you questioning me?" 

Tao has to be cautious with the man. "No. Not at all. I just think there must be some other way than what you've decided upon."

"No, dear, there's no other way. This is the precise, guaranteed route to our success, don't you know? It's not just for me. It's for us, isn't it?"