The boys sit backstage, barely able to stay awake amidst all the usual makeup and hair prep for the pre-recording. It’s been less than a week since they finally made their comeback, and this’ll be the first time they get to meet with Monbebe. None had slept a wink the night before due to their nerves.
“You’ve gotta do it like you mean it,” Hoseok explains to their maknae, running through the moves with him once more. Kihyun watches, amused. Changkyun had periodically had issues while they learned the choreography to portray just the right amount of iness during the performance, only ever looking like an outright star or a meek child playing at being an adult. Changkyun does the body roll once more, waving his torso about as he runs his hands down to his waist.
“Yah!” Hyungwon comments, slapping the back of the youngest’s head playfully. “Don’t mean it that much!” He then turns to Hoseok, pointing at the growing bulge in Changkyun’s pants. “You’re making him get too into the choreo again!”
“I can’t help it if he has a thing for silk!” Hoseok argues. He absentmindedly begins to play with his own shirt, rubbing the fabric between his fingers. “Not that I can really blame him, though.”
“Hyung,” Kihyun intervenes, giving him a warning look. Hoseok shoots him a tired smile, attempting to ease the younger’s mind.
“It’s fine,” Hoseok says, “it’ll go down by the time we go on stage.” Changkyun glances down at his own crotch, hoping it does. He his lips embarrassedly, and goes to sit down on the couch to clear his mind. 
Kihyun sighs in exasperation, glancing back over to Hyunwoo. He squeezes the older’s broad shoulders thoughtfully, staring into the reflection of his hyung’s eyes as the staff member puts the finishing touches on his makeup.
“It’ll be alright,” Hyunwoo tells him. “We’re going to do great. We’ve got the routine down, everyone knows their parts… Even if Changkyun’s problem doesn’t go down before we go on, Monbebe won’t notice. They’ll be too caught up in the stage.” Kihyun in an appreciative breath through his teeth at the older’s encouragement, earning a soft smile from him.
“Hopefully,” Kihyun murmurs. He returns the expression, unable to pull his gaze away from his hyung’s adoring eyes.
“Hyung,” Jooheon says, suddenly breaking through the blissful bubble forming around the couple. The two glance over in the direction of the rapper questioningly. “The staff say we’re on in five minutes.” They nod in acknowledgment, returning their gazes to each other once more. Kihyun sighs, leaning down to kiss Hyunwoo’s shoulder before managing to pull himself away. He looks over at the maknae, noting the obvious difficulty he’s having with directing his thoughts elsewhere. He shakes his head, sending up a silent prayer that their precious Monbebe won’t notice.
“Poor Changkyunnie!” Minhuk coos, dropping onto the couch and taking the youngest into his arms. Changkyun begins to blush, his eyes darting around the room as if looking for an escape.
“Hyung!” he complains. “You aren’t helping!” Hyunwoo and Kihyun chuckle, shaking their heads. 
“If you want,” Hyunwoo mumbles, “you can sleep in my room tonight. In case, you know, things get a bit too… um… heated in your room. Again.” Kihyun laughs at the phrasing, arching back as his hyena-like giggles escape his lips. He bends down, brushing his lips against the older’s ear. 
“I was going to, anyway,” Kihyun murmurs lowly. Hyunwoo blushes crazily, his eyes darting away from the reflection of the younger. Kihyun laughs once more, this time turning away to begin his vocal warmup. 

The performance goes off without a hitch, for the most part. Despite Changkyun’s problem, everything happens just how it should. The stage setup perfect, and Monbebe seems to really like it. The boys now deeply to their fans once they finish, unable to fully express their gratitude through their panting breaths. 

It's all the boys can do once they get home to stay awake long enough to bathe before calling it a night. They have another busy day tomorrow, but it's to be expected. It is comeback week, after all. They'll be lucky if they get more than an hour’s sleep each night. 

Kihyun crawls into bed next to Hyunwoo, his skin slightly warmed by the shower. Despite their collective exhaustion, he isn't surprised in the least by the muffled moans coming from the other room. He only sends up a silent prayer that they clean up after themselves, absolutely loathing the idea of cleaning up yet another one of those messes. 
It isn't long before Hyunwoo’s snore sounds behind Kihyun. He flips over, facing the older’s sleeping face. Hyunwoo has always slept with his eyes open, and to be honest it would freak Kihyun out during their No.Mercy days. However, now he just finds it incredibly cute. He chuckles, shaking his head at himself as he snuggles closer to his love. 
He shifts around a bit,  the heat under the covers becoming a bit too much. However, he doesn't want to disturb the older by removing the sheets, so he decides to just bear it. 
He falls asleep easily that night, a smile remaining on his face until he awakens.