band au;

[slicings]

[ yingxing exhales hard.

his ears still ring with the music, his blood thrumming with excitement. for all the years that highcloud has been together now, he never really tires of this work. he loves what he does, loves his bandmates no matter how often they butt heads, loves everything about their music. it's hard work, exhausting even at the best of times, and there are certainly many downsides to fame and celebrity status, but this.. playing together, making music, performing, he's passionate about it. the riches and fame are secondary to doing what he loves.

they're halfway through their rehearsal now, splitting up to take a break and rehydrate, and it's as he's guzzling down some water from a bottle that yingxing spots dan heng, dan feng's quiet, elusive little brother.

they've met before, but only briefly, only in passing. while dan heng is supportive of his brother and the band, he's a bit of a recluse, and he's never really gone out of his way to interact with any of them beyond dan feng - so what's he doing here right now? yingxing can't resist the urge to pester him, not when he knows he might not get the chance to again for some time now.

so, wiping sweat from his brow, yingxing wanders toward the table where dan heng has set up shop, surrounded by books and papers, lit by the glow of his laptop and tablet. ]

Long time no see.

[ entirely uninvited, yingxing pulls up a seat across from dan heng, straddling it backwards, leaning his forearms on the back of the steel chair. his hair is wild and his skin is flushed and dewy with sweat, adrenaline still pumping, his grin broad and easy. ]

Surprised you can concentrate with all this noise.

Comments

[nonperson]

[ Fuck.

This is not where he wanted this conversation to go, and yet here they are, with Yingxing leaning in close, smile playful and teasing, something flirty in its corners despite the fact that every single person he could name in answer to the question he's asked is a woman.

And, with the exception of one (the manic pixie thief girl), all effortlessly graceful and elegant. There was that manager for one, gentle and kind. The beautiful soloist from Penacony who took the universe by storm but always spoke with such sweet words. The superfan streamer with fans of her own who smiled like the sun.

All women, and all so far removed from an awkward, gangly young man who feels the need to hide himself in the midst of an illusion, just so people will leave him alone.

He sighs, and he hopes that the laugh on his lips sounds genuine. ]

Let's see... In the time that I've known you, there has been a decent number of beautiful women.

[ He's no longer sure where the conversation is going. All he can do is answer the question and hope he sounds detached enough that it doesn't matter. ]

[slicings]

So there have been. You're not wrong. I do love beautiful women.

[ and problematic ones - looking at you, cipher - but not only women. yingxing couldn't lie, he's certainly slept with more women than men, but that's by pure happenstance alone. he's seen men as well, he's seen all sorts, but the notable ones have been women, surely, easy to remember for their own elegance or fame.

dan heng can never find out about what the quintet got up to with each other in their earlier days.. ]

But I still -

[ "Yingxing."

dan feng's voice rings coolly from a distance, and yingxing sits up in his chair, glancing over his shoulder. ah, and there he stands, yinyue, as commanding a presence as ever, one dark eyebrow arched at the two of them, suspicion in his sharp teal eyes. yingxing grins. ]

All right, all right, I was just saying hi to our guest. I'm coming.

[nonperson]

[ "But I still—"

Dan Heng hates what the beginning of that sentence does to him, the sort of questions it raises. On one hand, it was probably something as simple as elaborating on the fact that he likes all types, not just beautiful women.

What if, though, it wasn't just beautiful women?

Ugh. He tries to shake the thought off, and thankfully, his older brother interrupts at the perfect moment, his own protectiveness cutting through the air as cold suspicion. He reaches for his phone, offers Yingxing a brief, cool (he hopes) smile as the other grins, and when he starts to head back to the back, Dan Heng reaches for his phone and opens the group chat he shares with his two best friends.

"We need to talk later."

At least for now he's safe—

or so he thinks, anyway. The band starts their rehearsal up all over again, but Dan Heng can no longer focus on his study. His eyes keep lifting, peering under his lashes to snatch glimpses of the handsome, teasing guitarist...

Damnit. He was doing so well before... ]