^{_{Yixing’s eyes linger on Yifan during EXO M’s dance practice. The tension in the room escalates as Yixing constantly stops the practices to nitpick the little mistakes Yifan makes in the dance.}}

              ^{_{Their bodies are heavy from long hours of work, heads hot and thrumming to the heavy beat of the music. They lounge on the couches and douse themselves with water. Yixing stays standing in front of the mirror, slowly moving through parts of the dance and accentuating his limbs and paying attention to his form.}}

              ^{_{Still watching his own exaggerated movement in the mirror, Yixing addresses Yifan. “You’re still not hitting that beat before the bridge.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan groans into his water bottle. “Why don’t you pay attention to someone else this time?”}}

              ^{_{Yixing drops his arms from his dancing position and looks at Yifan reclining on the couch through the mirror. “Why should I move on if you’re not getting it right?”  Jongdae murmurs an accented touché and receives a sharp jab from Zitao’s elbow.}}

              ^{_{Yixing motions for everyone to get up and starts the music again. They repeat the same tedious and tiring choreography. Yixing doesn’t miss a beat even as he intently watches Yifan. The chorus finishes and the formation changes. Yifan is right next to Yixing, trying his hardest not to falter under Yixing’s criticizing eyes, but he does falter. He forgets the choreography but starts back up almost immediately.}}

              ^{_{Yixing stops and turns to Yifan and in turn halts the practice. Music is still blaring and the heavy pounding bass roots deep into their skulls. Yixing’s voice is tired and out of breath, “Yifan, do you even know the dance?”}}

              ^{_{Yifan rubs his eyes in frustration, “I’m distracted okay? I’m distracted.”}}

              ^{_{Yixing crosses his arms. “I was watching you this entire time and I didn’t miss a single beat.”}}

              ^{_{Zitao looks up from the ground in frustration and groans. “Will you guys-”}}

              ^{_{“Well you’re the main dancer, of course you’re great at dancing.” Yifan laments.}}

              ^{_{“-please stop.” Zitao finishes.}}

              ^{_{“Well you’re the main rapper yet you still manage to be terrible at rapping.”}}

              ^{_{A sharp intake of breath shudders through the room as Yifan grabs Yixing’s shoulders and pushes him backwards. EXO M watches in shock as Yixing stumbles backwards. Luhan jumps up in between the two and faces Yixing, “What are you ing-”}}

              ^{_{Yixing regaining his balance puts a hand on Luhan’s shoulder. “Luhan, practice is over. Take the members back and tell manager hyung that Yixing has to teach Yifan the dance.”}}

^{_{(It is a brutal lesson. Yixing stops Yifan from jerking his legs and guides the taller one’s elbows to where they should be, frame by frame. With the amount of attention Yixing gives his dancing Yifan feels like they are trainees all over again: a dissatisfied Yixing, a frustrated Yifan, and Yixing’s hands lingering on Yifan longer than needed.)}}

^{_{-○-○-○-○-○-○-}}

              ^{_{“Luhan, I need you to-” Yifan stutters as he stumbles into the pair’s room “-Yixing?!”}}

              ^{_{They’re both lounging on Yixing’s bed, Yixing sitting against the headboard and Luhan lying across his bed. Luhan clambers up into a sitting position holding both his hands up, one palm pushed outward and another curled around a can.}}

              ^{_{“It’s beer, Kris. Yixing will be alright.” Luhan affirms as Yixing places the can in his hand down next to him with a sigh.}}

              ^{_{Yifan turns his attention from Yixing to Luhan. “You know he has bad tolerance to alcohol! Why did you let him drink it?”}}

              ^{_{“It’s beer, not soju!” Luhan pouts. “He’ll be fine, I’m watching!” Yifan groans and runs his fingers through his hair.}}

              ^{_{“We have a big show tomorrow in the morning and Yixing can’t be hungover.” Yixing quietly leans over and grabs a cardigan from the desk and slowly pushes his arms into the sleeves. Yifan continues to scold Luhan. “You know he has a low tolerance for alcohol, he doesn’t even drink! Alcohol poisoning actually-”}}

              ^{_{“Yifan, I’m not completely drunk. You can scold me.”  Yixing gets up from the bed and looks at Yifan, who huffs and slowly turns his gaze to Yixing. “I took the drink, not Luhan.” Yifan turns to Luhan and opens his mouth but Yixing shushes him.}}

              ^{_{“Talk to me, not Luhan.”}}

              ^{_{“You never drink, Yixing.”}}

              ^{_{“There’s a first for everything.” He smiles at Yifan while ruffling Luhan’s honey hair. “At least I have a supervisor.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan looks up and sees Yixing’s smile. His smile is completely empty.}}

              ^{_{“Let’s go to the balcony, Yifan.”}}

^{_{-○-○-○-○-○-○-}}

              ^{_{Yifan and Yixing lean on their crossed arms against the railing on the balcony. The night air tastes crisp and cold and Yifan shivers in his simple tee. Yixing presses his arm and shoulder against the other’s hoping the warmth of the cotton on Yixing’s skin would heat Yifan. The balcony overlooks the back of the dorm buildings, complete with ugly hedges, concrete sidewalk, and dumpsters. The distant rushing of cars drafts through Yixing’s ears but all Yifan can hear are crickets.}}

               ^{_{“I thought you would be a loud drunk.” Yifan breaks the silence with a cough.}}

               ^{_{Yixing looks up at Yifan as he cranes his neck sideways. Yixing’s silent eyes bore through Yifan’s and he gulps. His eyes soften as he sees Yifan’s Adam’s apple bob. Yixing smiles to himself and looks back up at Yifan. The silver moonlight painted the man next to Yixing. It accentuates his sharp jawline with liquid ivory and casts dark down his neck. Yixing’s eyes slowly trail over his face and reach his eyes.}}

^{_{(Yixing has done this before, looked at Yifan. He has devoured his face with his own heavy eyes. Back when FanXing was a big ship among the fans, Yixing would look at him like this.  On stage and off stage Yifan assumed Yixing was too tired to switch personas and go back to normal Zhang Yixing, the perfectly straight more-interested-in-music-than-girls kinda guy. Yixing hasn’t looked at Yifan like this in a while.)}}

              ^{_{Yixing lips part to speak but Yifan pushes a finger onto his lips. “Don’t say anything you’ll regret. Chew everything twice over before saying it, you’re drunk Yixing, you-” Yixing brings a finger up to Yifan’s lips and shushes him.}}

              ^{_{“You look like a Renaissance painting in the moonlight.” Yixing whispers, “You look beautiful.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan chuckles and drops his head down in embarrassment. “We abandoned FanXing a long time ago, Yixing.”}}

^{_{(Yifan doesn’t notice Yixing’s lips part to let out a sigh.)}}

              ^{_{“I meant that.” Yifan raises his head and hums in confusion. Yixing’s now expressionless eyes haze over Yifan. “I meant that as Zhang Yixing, not EXO’s Lay.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan laughs nervously and scratches the back of his neck. “How long did you think that over before saying it?”}}

              ^{_{Yixing presses his crossed arms onto the cold bar and his eyes flutter up to look at the hazy sky, ashen from the lights and lack of stars. His eyes focus on the moon and a smile tugs at the corners of his lips.}}

              ^{_“Years.”}

              ^_Silence.

              ^{_{“Yixing?” Yifan tries. Yixing hums to show recognition. “Why were you so angry with me during practice today? You haven’t been that frustrated in a while.”}}

              ^{_{Yixing’s turns his back to the railing and leans on his forearms.}}

              ^{_{“I overheard our managers. I think we’re going to have Korea promotions again.” Yifan watches as Yixing’s face draws serious. “I was excited to return to China, but I guess that’s no longer the case.” Yixing’s eyes burn into the glass doors in front of him, settling on a sleeping Minseok on the couch.}}

              ^{_{“That’s why you were angry?”}}

              ^{_{“That among other things,” Yixing smiles “But I needed to vent it out, and you’re an easy target.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan raises his eyebrow, “Says no one but you.”}}

              ^{_{Yixing turns to Yifan. “Nothing you do fools me, Yifan. You’re incredibly predictable.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan exhales and Yixing turns his attention back to the sleeping Minseok. The constant gust of cars and the deafening roar of the crickets harmonize to create a melody for Yixing. He hums along and taps his fingers against the side of the railing.}}

              ^{_{“Sing for me, Yifan.”}}

              ^{_{“Not now, my singing voice isn’t great.”}}

              ^{_{“Only Zhang Yixing is here to listen. I don’t think he would mind.”}}

              ^{_{“I really don’t want to.” Yixing clicks his tongue disapprovingly.}}

              ^{_{“When’s the last time we made music together?”}}

              ^{_{Yifan squinted and thought the question over. “I’m not even sure.”}}

              ^{_{Yixing turns his head to the side once more to look at Yifan, but this time his eyes don’t linger and instead he bids Yifan goodnight.}}

^{_{-○-○-○-○-○-○-}}

              ^{_{“Did he drink lots of water? He should stay hydrated because his tolerance is low and alcohol poisoning is-”}}

              ^{_{“What’s up with you and alcohol poisoning? Yixing drank his usual glass of water and went to sleep.” Yifan pouts from the doorway. “I’m about completely sure he wasn’t drunk though, he barely drank any.”}}

              ^{_{“Are you sure about that? He seemed pretty weird on the balcony.”}}

              ^{_{Luhan looks up from his phone and puts it on his side table. “Yifan, when was the last time you talked to Yixing about anything other than EXO.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan’s grip on the doorknob grew tight. “Yixing and I talk about our life and discuss inspirational quotes every day.” He forces a smile and tries to keep his voice from sounding bitter but the raise of Luhan’s eyebrows says otherwise. Yifan looks at the blanketed bump in Yixing’s bed and shakes his head. He slowly shuts the door and makes sure the click isn’t loud enough to wake Yixing up.}}

^{_{-○-○-○-○-○-○-}}

              
              ^{_{The crowd holds up their numerous FanXing and Kray banners the next day.  Yifan notices but Yixing doesn’t bat an eye for Yixing is too busy attaching himself to Luhan to even care. The few LayHan banners in the audience ripple in excitement.}}

^{_{-○-○-○-○-○-○-}}

              ^{_{Yifan catches Yixing leaning against the side of his bed, reading.  “The audience was filled with FanXing posters and you weren’t even paying attention.”}}

              ^{_{Yixing places his finger on a word in his book and looks up at Yifan. “The OT12 lineup makes it a bit difficult to interact, don’t you think?”}}

              ^{_{“A little goes a long way, Yixing. And we weren’t bound to our lineup this time. We were all over the place.” Yifan counters with crossed arms.}}

              ^{_{Yixing responds with a small hum at the back of his throat and shrugs. He turns back to his book and intently stares at the small words.}}

^{_{(The top of Yixing’s hair is sticking up from where he pressed his head against the bed. Yifan wants to lean down and flatten down the tufts but stops himself. Yifan isn’t sure if the boundaries between them have changed.)}} 

^{_{-○-○-○-○-○-○-}}

              ^{_{The show’s writers run in to the dressing room to inform them that they want to market KrisYeol and HunHan during the show. Yifan drops his hands from helping Yixing pull the microphone up his back and runs over to Chanyeol.}}

              ^{_{“Oy! Zitao help Yixing!” Yifan calls as he grabs Chanyeol’s jacket from the coordinator and helps him put it on.}}

              ^{_{“Hyung is a bastard sometimes, I’m sorry.” Sehun mumbles as he pulls the cord up Yixing’s back.}}

^{_{(The games end up splitting Chanyeol and Yifan, EXO-M on one team and K on the other. Yifan takes the opportunity to market FanXing but Yixing is either oblivious or ignores his hints.)}}

^{_{-○-○-○-○-○-○-}}

              ^{_{“Yixing, come here and switch seats with Joonmyun.”}}

              ^{_{“I’ll stay, let him sleep.”}}

              ^{_{Night had settled into the van, and the member’s eyes had drooped with the falling sunset. Soft whistles and an occasional snore can be heard through the van. Only Yifan and Yixing are left awake, the adrenaline of their last performance is still pumping throughout their bodies.}}

              ^{_{“Unbuckle Sehun, I’m coming.” Yifan says as he slowly unbuckles himself and makes his way through the mess of tangled legs.}}

              ^{_{“Kris, just stay and let them sleep.” Yixing sighs from his seat at the end of the van.}}

              ^{_{“I get to be selfish sometimes.” He reaches for Sehun and lightly shakes him awake. Yifan nods his head towards his seat in the middle of the van and slowly lifts Sehun up from his sleepy state. Sehun stumbles to Yifan’s seat as Yifan buckles himself in and slumps into his seat. “Look at all these losers, completely knocked out.”}}

              ^{_{“They’re tired, they all worked hard today.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan rolls his head back and closes his eyes. “We did well today, but stop being such a mother.”}}

              ^{_{“Stop trying to make an effort to talk to me. It’s frightening.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan turns to Yixing and pouts, poking his expressionless face with his finger. “Why don’t you want to talk to me?”}}

              ^{_{Yixing brushes Yifan’s finger off his cheek and laments, “What do you want to talk about?”}}

              ^{_{“I just don’t want to sleep. Keep me awake.”}}

              ^{_{Yixing huffs and massages his closed eyelids with the base of his palm. “I sorta want to sleep, Yifan.”}}  

              ^{_{Yifan hums and brings his arm around Yixing’s shoulder. With his other hand, he pushes Yixing’s cheek into the side of his chest. “Sleep then.”}}

              ^{_{“Move your arm,” Yixing says with his voice muffled by Yifan’s large hand. Yifan wriggles his arm back out but. “No, actually put it back. This is uncomfortable.”  Yixing adjusts into Yifan, leaning part of his back against Yifan’s chest and resting his head against his shoulder. “You make a comfortable pillow, Dhuizang.”}}

              ^{_{Yifan suppresses his laughter so his shaking body won’t disturb Yixing. “Glad to know that I’ve been reduced down to a pillow.”}}

              ^{_{Yixing presses his head against Yifan’s shoulders and closes his eyes. “Pillow, Yifan’s has been very frustrating lately, what do I do?” Yifan scoffs but Yixing shushes him. “Pillows don’t make noise.”}}

              ^{_{“They do make some noise. They flatten and hiss when you sleep on them. See.” Yixing looks up from Yifan’s chest.}}

              ^{_{To prove his point, Yifan puffs out his cheeks and pats them softly. Yixing raises his eyebrows, lips curling into a smile. Then, Yifan brings up one of Yixing’s hands and presses it to one of his puffed cheeks. Yifan’s cheek deflates and he blows out air. Yixing gives out a short laugh and then settles his face back into seriousness.}}

              ^{_{“I thought you knew that being cute doesn’t suit you.”}}

              ^{_{“Talk to me, Yixing. What’s wrong?” Yixing nuzzles the back of his head deeper into Yifan’s chest and sighs.}}

              ^{_{“You’re trying to push conversation when I obviously don’t want to talk.” Yixing wriggles his hand out of Yifan’s grasp and settles it onto his lap.}}

              ^{_{“And I’m asking you, why it seems like you don’t want to talk with me anymore.”}}  

              ^{_{Yixing doesn’t answer and after a while Yifan isn’t sure if Yixing is asleep or awake. He tries to crane his neck, but all he sees is Yixing’s hair covering his eyes. Yifan sighs discontent and leans his head back against the rattling walls of the van, closing his eyes. He racks his memory trying to remember the last time he and Yixing had a light conversation that wasn’t sensitive in the least. Probably, something about EXO he finalizes, thinking about what Luhan said a few days ago.}}

              ^{_{Yifan feels a cold and coarse hand slip into his and press against his for warmth. He flutters his eyes open to look down at Yixing, who slightly turned his head in his sleep and leans more into Yifan. Yifan draws his lips into a tight line and adjusts himself to mold into Yixing.  He brings his other hand onto Yixing’s and slowly rubs to transfer some warmth.}}

^{_{(Yixing wants to open his eyes and tell Yifan everything, like how he misses this, how he misses his hands being enveloped by Yifan’s larger hands, or how he misses having Yifan’s arm around his shoulder while Yixing slept against his soft chest. Yixing slowly peeks at Yifan through strands of his hair and sees that Yifan is asleep and he realizes he would never have the courage to say so.)}}