Their voices are hushed. Kris feels Tao’s breath on his face, hot and intimate. For this purpose Kris was made but it’s really anyone’s guess who initiated the first kiss. Tao’s mouth is Kris’ first taste of anything. The realization he can taste makes Kris never want to break his kiss. He knows how this works and how his mouth is supposed to move, where to put his hands on Tao and how to make him shudder intimately.
But Kris doesn’t want to do anything else he’s programmed to do.
Already overwhelmed by the heat on his mouth, Kris kisses Tao in the kitchen until Tao’s heart is beating so wildly it’s all either of them hear.
That night, Tao allows him to rest in bed with him. They face each other in bed and though Kris knows Tao can’t see too well in the dark, he sees Tao perfectly and shudders when Tao caresses his cheek.
“Really, too perfect,” Tao mumbles.
Kris is quiet, choosing instead to bask in Tao’s attention for as long as he has it.
“I should’ve known you’d be a great boyfriend,” is Tao’s last sleepy statement. He passes into the world of temporary unconsciousness in Kris’ arms, ear to Kris’ chest.
Here is the first time Kris is aware of Tao’s heavy sleeping tendencies: he will not wake up, no matter how noisy it is or how much he is moved. Here, for the first time and until the day he’s not allowed to anymore, Kris brushes a kiss over Tao’s forehead. He doesn’t even stir. The kiss and the many to come are secrets, known only to Kris.
Whatever his feelings for Tao are, he does not know how to express them outside of kissing. He does not know what to say to make Tao stop talking about Byun Baekhyun and see only the man who exists solely for his happiness. With every kiss, Kris lets himself share the feelings burning away in his core.
Even if Tao never realizes what he’s been doing, night after night, good day or bad day, in sickness or in health, Kris kisses him and waits for the day Tao will open his heart for good.
Kris waits for Tao even after the end.
Part 2
Their relationship changes ever so slightly over time.
Tao no longer mentions Kris’ lack of humanity and Kris eagerly deludes himself into believing he is growing closer and closer to becoming fully human. Tao makes it easy for him now, bringing him places and introducing him as his “boyfriend.”
Kris interacts with other humans based on the information stored in his motherboard. He smiles and laughs at their attempts at humor; he asks inquiring questions and makes observations about their external environment to keep the conversation going. Humans love to talk about the weather so weather is always the first thing Kris mentions. His smile and manner of speaking charm them, especially his Korean fluency despite Tao telling them he is of Chinese origin.
Tao also doesn’t tell them Kris is technically a “toy” bought and shipped from an artificial intelligence store so all the humans Kris meets treat him as if he’s one of them. The interactions are intoxicating.
It’s only with those humans that Kris acts as his internal systems dictate him to; with Tao, he
