y Kitty
Where I Belong
“I can’t do this. I really can’t do this,” Hyunseung muttered to himself as he stood off to the side of the stage and watched the MC working up the crowd to introduce the group for their showcase. His eyes drifted off to the crowd and he snapped them closed, shaking his head quickly. “Nope. Uh-uh.. Too many. Way too many people. I can’t do-”
“Oh yes you can.”
Hyunseung yelped as someone shoved him forward, stumbling a couple of steps before he regained his footing without tripping. When he turned his head to look behind him, Junhyung’s expression was determined. “What are you doing?” He hissed at the rapper.
“Saving your little , now get moving!” Junhyung hissed in reply, and gestured quickly with his hands to let Hyunseung know he’d shove him again if need be.
“C’mon guys! Let’s go!” Bouncing on the balls of his feet in sheer excitement and what was probably a very well-disguised case of nerves, Yoseob grinned at both of them and grabbed Hyunseung’s wrist on his way past, dragging the protesting dancer along behind him.
Junhyung snickered and went out behind the two as Doojoon ushered Kikwang and an extremely nervous Dongwoon out on stage behind everyone else. Dongwoon tripped, and Kikwang grabbed his arm to keep him upright while he steadied his feet.
The screams were almost deafening as the six boys took their places, and Hyunseung probably would have turned and bolted had it not been for Junhyung reaching over to squeeze his hand. Kikwang touched his shoulder from his own position to the left, and Hyunseung glanced at both of them. Their own expressions were calm, and Kikwang nodded at his group member encouragingly.
Hyunseung looked out at the crowd, ducked his head and took a breath.
He didn’t even feel when Junhyung slipped his hand away as the music started.
----
“Did you see him?!”
“Yes, Seobie, we saw him.”
“No, I mean, did you really, really see him?”
“Yah, Yang Yoseob!”
“Sorry,” the singer mumbled with an apologetic smile at Kikwang. He scratched at his head a bit and shrugged one shoulder.
Doojoon smiled from his position on the floor of their living room, his head pillowed by a balled up jacket. “We know you’re excited Yoseob. Just tone it down a little. It’s been a big night for all of us.”
“But Hyunseung-”
“I know, hyung,” Dongwoon said quietly as he came to sit down with a bowl of ramen. He stirred the noodles a little and looked up at Yoseob before patting the floor beside him. “Sit down at least. Then you can start raving again.”
“Dongwoon!” Kikwang groaned, then grunted as Yoseob’s jacket hit him in the face. Glaring good-naturedly at him, he balled it up and shoved it under his head, mirroring Doojoon’s position on the floor. Once he was comfortable, he continued. “He was pretty charismatic, wasn’t he?”
“Yeah,” Yoseob said dreamily, finally settling down on the floor. Rather than sit like Dongwoon had told him to, though, he laid down with his head on Dojoon’s stomach and stared at the ceiling. He sighed softly and grinned. “He was perfect.”
Doojoon snorted, laughing quietly. His stomach jolted a little beneath Yoseob’s head, and the smaller boy started giggling as well for a few moments. Doojoon ruffled his hair. “Don’t go crushing on Seungie, now. We just got him comfortable with your random backhugs. If you start crushing on him, he might have a .”
Yoseob smacked his thigh and scowled. “I do not have a crush on Seungie! I just…” He paused and sighed, shifting his legs a little restlessly. “I like how he dances. I just knew he’d be great on stage! I’m so glad I got him to join as a trainee!”
“You did do well on that one, Seobie,” Kikwang agreed.
“He almost ran off stage,” Junhyung stated as he came into the living room with a towel around his neck and his hair dried halfway. Like the others, he’d changed into his pajamas after showering. When Dongwoon leaned back to try and see the bathroom door, Junhyung shook his head. “He’s still in there. The water’s still on.”
“True,” Doojoon frowned, his fingers running absently through Yoseob’s hair. The smaller boy had his eyes closed and was nearly crooning from the free massage to his scalp. “But once the music started, it was like his entire personality shifted. I almost forgot my cue.”
Yoseob giggled sleepily. “He dances like water… So fluid.”
“He glanced at me when we were shifting positions between songs,” Dongwoon mumbled through a mouthful of ramen. He chewed and swallowed before continuing, “…and I swear I felt a shiver down my spine. His eyes were so fierce.”
“Mm..” Yoseob nodded in agreement, then giggled again. “Like an angry kitty…”
“Yoseob!” Laughing, Kikwang reached over a hand and slapped at his shoulder lazily. “Well… I guess he does look a little like a cat.”
“It’s the eyes,” Doojoon offered quietly. “Definitely the eyes.”
---
Hyunseung paused in pulling on his tank top, listening to what the others were saying. He looked like a cat? He frowned at that and glanced toward the mirror, nose wrinkling a bit. His eyes did not look catty, did they?
“Water stopped…”
At Junhyung’s voice, he frowned and shoved his other arm into the free hole of his tank top, settling the fabric down over his stomach. So they were talking about him behind his back?
And Junhyung was in on it.. He’d warned them. That hurt, surprisingly.
Had he messed up in their performances tonight? No… He cleaned up after himself in the bathroom as he thought about it. Why would they be calling him a cat? Were they making fun of him?
He was still trying to figure it out when he came out of the bathroom, frowning slightly to himself with his dirty clothes and towel clutched to his chest. Had it not been for Junhyung reaching up and grabbing his wrist on his way back from depositing said items in the laundry, he probably would have gone into the bedroom like usual and left everyone to it. With Junhyung’s insistent tug on his wrist, though, Hyunseung was left with little choice but to sit down beside him on the floor.
“Good job tonight, Seungie,” Kikwang said, offering a gleaming smile when Hyunseung’s eyes reluctantly met his. He gave the lithe dancer a thumbs up from where he lay on the floor. “You were the best.”
Hyunseung didn’t say anything in response other than a mumbled “You were great, too.”
Junhyung smirked and hooked an arm around him, leaning over to murmur against his ear. “Am I forgiven?”
Hyunseung swallowed and shifted a little, angling his head so his ear was a little further from the whisper of breath against it. “I-I don’t know yet.”
“Junhyung, stop teasing him,” Doojoon said firmly, pinching Yoseob’s cheek playfully at the same time. When Yoseob squirmed and whined in protest, he chuckled and let go, patting his chest. “If you want to sleep, go get in bed.”
“But you’re comfy,” Yoseob complained, settling in even more.
“We should all go to bed soon, actually…” Kikwang said. “We have to be up really early tomorrow.”
Hyunseung took the excuse and ran with it, getting off the floor and mumbling a goodnight before heading into the bedroom.
Junhyung scowled at Kikwang. “He was willingly sitting out here.”
“Was not. You made him.”
"He needs to get used-"
"You shouldn't push him so much about it!"
“Don’t fight, guys. Bed.” Doojoon sighed.
Slowly, they all drifted toward bed one by one. Junhyung waited until Dongwoon had gone so he knew the maknae wasn’t going to be exhausted in the morning, then went to bed himself.
There was a momentary dilemma when he got to his bed, and for a minute he just stood there, staring. Hyunseung had probably gone to sleep on his own bed, but for whatever reason had wound up sprawled with half his body on some of Junhyung’s bed. Even his head was on Junhyung’s pillow.
It seemed a pity to have to move him, especially when he’d been so nervous at the showcase and so tired when they got home. Junhyung sighed. He’d just leave him there and let him freak about it in the morning. He’d have to get used to closeness among the members anyway. Crawling carefully around the sleeping boy, he settled down next to him on his own bed.
Hyunseung shifted in his sleep as soon as Junhyung got comfortable, and the rapper froze as a thin arm s around his chest. He looked over his shoulder in the dark, surprised, but when no further movements or contact were made, he settled down again and went to sleep with Hyunseung at his back.
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