Having been to the venue several times already, Joonmyun is barely even fazed anymore. The miffed and skeptical looks he receives from the people waiting in the line he skips still make him slightly uneasy, but he's nowhere near as terrified as he had been the first time he was here. He just avoids eye contact and walks with his head held high.

“Hey, hyung,” Zitao greets him happily. Today he even goes as far as pulling Joonmyun into a hug after removing the red rope to let him in, and Joonmyun, though he's overwhelmed by the rather unexpected affection from someone he has barely ever as much as talked to, timidly hugs him back once his mind has actually registered what's going on.

“Hello,” he says. “Wow, do you never have time off?”

“Of course I do,” Zitao says, huffing like the question offends him (but Joonmyun was genuinely wondering). “You just always happen to come around on days when I'm at work. Is it because you like me? I know I'm really hot and all, but I kind of have a thing for lanky s with crazy hair. Sorry to let you down, hyung.” Joonmyun blinks at the large amount of accented words being flung at him. From their numerous, albeit brief, encounters, he didn't think of Zitao as a talkative person. It seems like he was wrong about that.

Zitao is looking expectantly at him, waiting for him to answer. “Uh, keep up the good work,” is all Joonmyun can think to say in response, flashing a tentative smile at Zitao and patting him on the shoulder as he walks past him to enter the place.

Today appears to be less busy than what Joonmyun has experienced on other days. Baekhyun and Amber are behind the bar having a conversation, but they stop talking to greet Joonmyun as he sits down on one of the tall chairs. “So,” Baekhyun immediately says. He's leaning his elbows on the top of the bar and resting his chin in his palms, and the smile on his face is smarmy. “Hyung. How've you been?”

“Uh, pretty good,” Joonmyun replies, gaze flickering. Even though Joonmyun doesn't understand what that smile means, it still makes him hesitant and self-conscious. It's like Baekhyun knows something Joonmyun doesn't. What Joonmyun does know, however, is that he doesn't like this feeling of discomfort very much.

“Great.” Baekhyun keeps his eyes pinned to Joonmyun's face, and that only contributes to how ill at ease Joonmyun feels. “And how are things between you and Yixing?” Almost against his will, Joonmyun's mind goes back to the memory of what had happened that same morning in his bedroom. He flushes at the recollection. Baekhyun's smile widens knowingly. “Thanks, that's all I needed to know. You don't have to say anything.” Once more Joonmyun wishes for the ground to swallow him. He has lost count of how many times he's been hoping for that by now.

Amber rolls her eyes. “You're an ,” she says to Baekhyun while throwing him a pointed look. Baekhyun makes kissy faces at her back as she walks away to serve the giggling girls, who have occupied the chairs at the other end of the bar while they were talking.

“I don't know, personally I kind of feel like '' is too mild of a word to describe you.” Joonmyun's heart skips at beat at the sound of that familiar voice, and when arms wrap around his waist from behind, a smile spreads on his face without any prompting. Yixing gives Joonmyun a kiss on the cheek, then looks at Baekhyun, his chin resting on Joonmyun's shoulder. “I think dickbag fits much better. Or maybe douchenozzle.”

Baekhyun looks very unimpressed as he glowers at Yixing. The smile he directs at Joonmyun right after is teeth-achingly saccharine in comparison, and Joonmyun can feel Yixing tense up. “By the way, did Yixing show you his unicorn tattoo yet?”

“Unicorn tattoo?” Joonmyun repeats curiously, twisting around and trying to look Yixing over as he wonders where this tattoo could possibly be for him to not have seen it. He's seen (and touched) almost all the tattoos on Yixing's upper body, which would mean...

Yixing chuckles stiffly. “Haha, hah, don't worry about that, uhm... it's nothing.”

“Oh, I wouldn't exactly say it's nothing,” Baekhyun drawls, haughtily studying his nails. “I think it's quite special.” Yixing looks like he wants to strangle him with his bare hands.

Before he can do or say anything, though, Minseok's voice sounds over the speakers: “Yixing, if you're not on stage within the next thirty seconds I'm going to let Kris become our manager for real, and I'm sure none of us want that to happen so please get your cute little up here right now.”

“,” Yixing hisses with a look of absolute mortification. “I'm sorry, I really have to go.” He kisses Joonmyun on the cheek again and shoots Baekhyun another fierce glare. “Byun Baekhyun, I swear to God...” He leaves the sentence unfinished and rushes off to climb onto stage.

Minseok flashes a grin. “Sorry, Kris,” he says with his eyes fastened on someone in the crowd. Now that Joonmyun actually pays attention, he notices Kris standing there close to the stage. “I know you've dreamt about this since you were a little girl, but I guess your dream won't come true today after all.” Even from this far away, Joonmyun can see Kris rolling his eyes.

“Kris really wants to manage the group, but they all think they're better off managing themselves,” Baekhyun explains. After a second of contemplation he adds: “Well, except for probably Chanyeol, but he's kind of biased so he doesn't count. All that Yifanaconda has gone to his brain, if you know what I mean.” He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

Joonmyun clears his throat. “Right. Yeah.”

Baekhyun's grin fades and for some time he looks at Joonmyun in contemplation. Joonmyun fears the worst when Baekhyun suddenly leans closer, but all he does is mutter: “Can I be the first to say that you guys look really cute together?” For once, his tone is sincere. So is the look in his eyes.

“No,” Joonmyun says nonetheless. Momentarily, Baekhyun's face falls, and he looks confused and also a little hurt. “Someone already said that before. So, no, you can't be the first.”

This time Joonmyun forces his gaze not to flicker when Baekhyun looks him right in the eye and grins. “Damn.” Baekhyun stands up straight. “Then I guess you already know, huh?” To be honest, Joonmyun can't say whether he and Yixing look cute together or not, but he definitely knows that he likes the sound of it, the thought of it. Together.

The band begins to play. They seem to have changed up their set list this time. Tonight they're focusing on tracks that are more bass-driven, accompanied by guitar notes strummed on the lower end of the fretboard and slow, pounding beats from the drums. The songs are sung with breathy, almost haunting vocals and have lyrics about love and lust. It's different from the songs Joonmyun has grown accustomed to hearing from them. Usually their music is more upbeat than this.

That doesn't necessarily mean that it's an unwelcome change, though. In fact, Joonmyun likes this. A lot. He doesn't know the reason behind the band's sudden decision to perform songs that are more sensual than the ones they normally play, but as he watches Yixing on stage – biting his lip, rolling his body, swaying his hips, muscles moving under tattooed skin and rivulets of perspiration trickling down his neck – Joonmyun realizes, much to his horror, that he may like this too much. It has an effect on his body that is very unfortunate considering the fact that he's currently in public.

Heat is swiftly forming in Joonmyun's belly, accumulating below the waist. He recognizes the sensation right away and is even faster to decide that it's not something he wants to have happen to him right at this moment, but he doesn't seem to have much of a choice. No matter how fervently he tries to make the feeling go away, it doesn't work. It's there to stay, and he only keeps growing hotter and hotter despite the help of unappealing thoughts and the numerous orders of ice water he's rapidly gulping down. He's getting hard. In public. From nothing but watching Yixing. And it's quite possibly the single most horrifying experience he has had in his entire life.

Ashamed, Joonmyun casts a subtle glance around to see if anyone else has noticed the struggles he's having. Fortunately, the people closest to him all seem too busy enjoying the show or their drinks to pay attention to much else, which leaves Joonmyun to shift in his chair, uncomfortable all by himself. As long as he pretends nothing is wrong, he's sure he'll be able to play it off. That thought doesn't stop him from feeling constantly on edge, though.

When the show is over, the band disappears to the backstage area. Joonmyun watches them go with conflicting emotions. He's hard to the point where it's painful and he knows what he wants to do – or rather have done – about that. He just doesn't know how to achieve it. He doesn't know how to make it happen. Especially not right here.

“You can go back there, you know,” Baekhyun says. “I'm sure you and I both know the band won't mind. Just go.” Joonmyun looks towards the curtain that leads backstage, mouth twitching in thought. Making a quick decision, he drains the remainder of his water, melted ice cubes sloshing and clinking against the sides he slams the glass back down on the bar, and he slides off his chair. He hopes the stiff stagger in his walk isn't too noticeable as he crosses the floor.

To Joonmyun's luck, he finds that his arrival doesn't cause much uproar. Kris and Chanyeol are busy making out on the couch, Minseok is nowhere to be seen, and Sehun is distracted by his phone, but appears to be well on his way to leaving. The only one who looks up at all is Yixing, who smiles when he sees Joonmyun standing there. “Oh hi,” he says brightly. “I was about to come join you. I just had to pack my things.”

“G-great,” Joonmyun mutters with a smile that's no doubt feverish. Actually having Yixing within reach makes everything so much harder. The flex of Yixing's arms as he stuffs stray items into his purple backpack is enough to make Joonmyun's mouth go dry, and he feels like a creep for staring at Yixing's hands, but all he can think about is what those hands can do to him.

Yixing zips up his bag and swings it over one shoulder. “I'm going,” he calls out to the room as he walks towards the door. Sehun does a quick wave without even looking away from the screen of his phone, but Chanyeol, remarkably, tears himself away from Kris long enough to yell an overzealous goodbye. Yixing shakes his head with a smile, which promptly fades when he looks at Joonmyun's face. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Fine,” Joonmyun mumbles. He figures sticking to short replies will be best.

Still wearing a concerned expression, Yixing places a hand on Joonmyun's forehead to feel his temperature. “Hmm, you're kind of warm,” he says, putting his other hand on his own forehead for comparison. “Are you sure you alright? You don't feel bad or anything?”

Joonmyun swallows. “I'm... there's this, uhm...” He swallows again. God, he really wants Yixing's hands on him right now. “Can we... get out of here?”

The question only seems to make Yixing more concerned, but it doesn't take long for him to nod and mutter: “Yeah, of course. Let's go.”

~*~

A/N: so, now that joonmyun has learned that Yixing Giving s is a thing, and that it's an awesome thing, he wants that thing all the damn time. cue Perpetually Joonmyun!! 8D but yeah... uhh, what else can I really say about this chapter? there were more band interactions (because I love the band!!!!!) and baekhyun was being a little (what else is new?) and then joonmyun's mini me went sproing and he nearly died of shame. that's it. that's the chapter. the end.

by now, most of the members of exo have already been introduced into the universe, but there are still three left: luhan, kyungsoo and jongin. any guesses what their roles in the story are going to be? 8D if you guess correctly, I'll give you a cybercookie! (if you already know, it doesn't count... I'm looking at you in particular, sarah. ಠ_ಠ)

today is hobi's birthday (happy birthday, hobi!! ♥) so here's a gif befitting of the occasion:

also, I wrote a bangtan story (because birthday), it is here.

also also, happy lunar new year, everyone!! from now on, it's year of the sheep... my year!!! \o/

bye!!!!! ♥

(so many exclamation points in this author's note, hahhh...)