Behind Enemy Lines

"Oh my god, it's NOT that hard!" Lu Han wails as Jongin attempts to maneuver his leading lady (man?) into a warm and gentle embrace. He pulls at his hair, leaving them standing in a mess of tangles, because he really didn't sign up for this. The last thing he wanted was to be a part of the play, much less direct it. And he hated it even more because Kim Jongin, seemingly the most uncoordinated person on the planet, is playing the lead role.

"How about if I show him how it's done--" Jongdae starts to offer.

"Step away from the stage, Jongdae!" Baekhyun dryly dictates, not even looking up at the script he's been going over for the past couple of minutes.

"But I--" And Jongdae ruefully watches as his Tao, his boyfriend who is fantastically playing the leading lady role, cozies up to Jongin.

"Step. Away." Baekhyun looks at him this time, shooting him his deathly glare. Jongdae scampers away behind Chanyeol, who merely pats him on the head.

"No. No. NO. NO!" Lu Han screams because Jongin has just managed to trip Tao, making him faceplant on the floor. "Don't injure the cast please!" he adds as Jongin swerves down to help him, knocking down Kyungsoo, who had also bent down to offer some help. "At the rate we're going, none of us is going to survive this." Lu Han pulls at his hair again.

Kris snickers behind his hand and Lu Han growls. "I have an idea," Kris then offers, speaking for the first time. It's been much too amusing for him to watch Lu Han strain his neck veins over Kim Jongin.

"What is it?" Jongin desperately asks the assistant director. "I'll do anything to get this right!" He balefully shoots Lu Han a look then smiles hopefully at Kris.

"Why don't we call it a night?" Kris suggests and Lu Han opens his mouth to violently protest because the show is in two weeks and they can't even get their leads to get their chemistry right. "Jongin will stay behind to work on his...uh, coordination. I think it would be better if he practices by himself first."

Lu Han quiets and mulls this over. "Okay guys," he announces. "Let's all convene here after school tomorrow." Everyone cheers. "No more scripts by tomorrow!" he adds, annoyed at how everyone's being dismissed from working on the play for now, while it seems he's always going to be stuck with it. And with Jongin, too. He fights the urge to throw himself off the stage with the hopes of breaking his neck.

Kris flashes him an encouraging (and creepy) smile. Lu Han flips him off.



-



Jongin quietly and cautiously approaches Lu Han. He takes a seat beside him on the edge of the stage and gingerly offers him the Gatorade that he'd nicked from the vending machine.

Lu Han grabs it from him and drinks. After a while he sighs, eyeing Jongin. "I don't get you," he resignedly admits. "You always do fine when you're practicing by yourself. But when you're with Tao, with the others, you screw up and I really just want to strangle you, maybe pull your hair out or snap your neck in two--"

"I get it," Jongin interrupts him, eyes wide.

They're quiet for a while, their legs slightly swinging underneath them, eyes out towards the empty auditorium seats.

"Do you really hate me that much?" Jongin asks, interrupting the short silence and Lu Han snaps his gaze at him, surprised at the question. "Just..." He shrugs. "You're always yelling and planning my murder..."

Jongin is surprised and embarrassed when Lu Han starts laughing. He reaches for the back of his neck and rubs it like he does when he's feeling shy and scrutinized.

"You're so silly and stupid, Jongin," Lu Han says when he finally catches his breath. "I don't hate you. If I did, I wouldn't even so much as look at you."

"Is that why you don't look at Tao?" Jongin curiously asks.

"Have you seen that kid! I hear that you can die just by looking into his eyes!" Lu Han shudders.

Jongin looks at him incredulously. "We've all been in the same classes since kindergarten. Have you seen anyone die yet?"

"But Oh Sehun," Lu Han whispers conspiratorially. "He kissed Tao once and he hasn't smiled since. And then there's Jongdae. That kid is loopy, I swear. All those wide smiles and annoying bouncy movements..." He shakes his head. "I fear for his next victim."

"Maybe I should be the one snapping your neck," Jongin is looking at him like he'd grown five more heads. "Sehun doesn't actually smile, has never smiled since he was born. It's like some genetic thing. And Jongdae is smiley and bouncy because he's happy, stupid."

"Did you just call me stupid?" Lu Han raises an eyebrow at him.

"I think this conversation has strangely gotten out of hand," Jongin soberly states, fiddling with his empty Gatorade bottle.

Lu Han sighs and reaches for his hand. "You know I don't hate you, right?" Jongin looks up and smiles hopefully. "You're so silly."

Jongin flips their hands over so that their hands are intertwined. "I just never know for sure anymore sometimes," he admits. "You really always do look like you want to throw me off the stage."

"I'm doing the best I can to save you from 'death by Tao' okay?" Lu Han sniffs. "I didn't know my intentions were going to be so misconstrued."

"Can you be less harsh next time?" Jongin scoots closer to him. "At this rate, it's going to get harder and harder to tell people about us."

"Mmmkay," Lu Han murmurs as Jongin presses his lips against his.