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“Thank you, everyone who came out to celebrate with us tonight. It really means a lot to us, and you’re the reason why we get to be here today. In fact, today’s the day we posted our first cover video to YouTube back in – wow, can you believe it’s been four years already?” Markus paused his speech, the screams of the audience likely to drown him out. “Anyways, since this is the last performance of our first tour—“ This time he cut himself off with a couple of loud coughs.
“Are you okay, Markus?” Someone called from the audience.
He flashed a thumbs up towards the audience as the band’s stage manager, Jerry, jogged up to him from stage right with a water bottle. He unscrewed the cap and took a drink. “Thanks, Jerry. Let’s give a big round of applause for Jerry and the rest of our stage crew, who’ve made this tour possible!”
North added a drumroll to the thunderous applause. Markus turned and smiled at her. He loved all the little bits of flair she’d added to their tour performances, making them extra-special. She caught him looking and smiled back – a true happy smile, not the kind of smile she put on in front of the press when they were asking too many questions.
As the applause died down, Jerry cupped his hand around Markus’ ear. “Ready?” He whispered. Markus nodded, and Jerry jogged back into the wings.
“As I was saying, before my lungs so rudely interrupted me—“ The audience laughed. “—Since this is our last performance for the tour, we’ve got a few special treats for you all. After the show, Jerry’s going to be running a trivia competition right here, so don’t go anywhere. And, yes, there will be prizes, which include a new t-shirt design! Josh, let’s show them!”
Josh unzipped his usual short-sleeved black jacket and took it off, revealing a paint-splattered t-shirt with the band’s logo: a square with a triangle on each corner. Markus walked over to him to take his jacket, his hand lingering in Josh’s for just a few moments longer than necessary. This man was brilliant in every way, from managing their budget and schedule when they’d first started out to conceptualizing the lighting, apparel, and so much more that went into their shows.
Markus ran over to the side of the stage to meet Jerry. He swapped Josh’s jacket for an instrument, brushing his thumb over the strings. Since it was already mic’d up, the resounding chord quieted the audience once again. “We have a new track we’ve been working on that we wanted to share with you for the first time tonight. It’s one that, I hope, reflects us and our relationship better than anything we’ve produced before. Usually what you hear is me… and then everyone else, if you’re paying attention enough. Or you just hear me talking while everyone else is just standing here, like tonight.” A few laughs rang out in the audience. “Hey, I can’t help it that Simon’s shy!” He turned and winked at the keyboardist. It had been a running joke in their following since someone had pointed out how little Simon usually talked in interviews, one that the whole band appreciated just as much as everyone else.
“I don’t think this track needs anymore introduction,” Markus continued, “Except for its title. Here’s the last song for tonight, ‘Wings of Freedom’.” He clicked off the mic he was wearing before putting the violin up to his shoulder. His fans knew him for his voice, but his first instrument was actually violin, which in some ways acted as a second voice. In past interviews, when asked how they’d started making music together, they talked about jam sessions Markus’ dad’s studio. He’d never sang in their earliest sessions, always playing instead. It wasn’t until later that he’d had the courage to.
@markus.is.my.angel wrote:
OMG MARKUS SHOULD COLLAB W @karacellorando !!!
@avg-cas-guy replied:
@markus.is.my.angel isnt she havin a baby rn??
@amiracle wrote:
Anyone else notice how @justamarkus acutally ;) @justasimon
@wings-of-an-angel replied:
@amiracle ilu but seriously i can’t tell what ur saying
@ucantpetmyd replied:
@amiracle Nah I think that was just bros bein bros. @justamarkus and @justajosh tho…
@south wrote:
Seriously simarkus stans need to STOP. North SMILED at Markus.
@simarkus-is-life replied:
@south Lol u can’t stop the shipping but I’ll admit she wasn’t a stone cold b*tch tonite
@ididntstartthefire wrote:
Why is everyone all over the shipping??? Can u rly not accept that they’re all just good friends???
@ucantpetmyd replied:
@ididntstartthefire “Good friends” my ass ur just a homophobe
@wings-of-an-angel replied:
@ididntstartthefire sis you need to get to bed b4 mom yells @ u
@ididntstartthefire replied:
@ucantpetmyd what even does your user mean
@ididntstartthefire replied:
@wings-of-an-angel fk her and fk u
@only-me wrote:
I’m still the only person in the world who ships simosh (simon x josh)
“North, you actually have the most notifications after Markus this time,” Simon said, scrolling through everyone’s profiles on his laptop.
“Great. They’d better not be saying anything bad, or I might actually delete everything this time,” North replied, plopping down in the seat next to him on the tour bus.
“Are we really going to analyze every tweet, or can I go to bed already?” Josh asked, pulling a pillow and blanket out of his bag.
“Well, we’re not leaving until Markus is here, so we may as well do this while the WiFi is still decent. Besides, it’s our last night on tour – we should celebrate!”
“I’m with Josh on this one – I’m exhausted,” Simon said, slamming his laptop shut.
“How are you two so tired? I’m still wide awake!”
“It’s called being tall, North,” Simon said as Josh kept messing with his seat, trying to get comfortable. “You should try it some time.”
North dug through her bag. “I was going to pull out a pair of heels and tell you that I have tried it, but they must be in my suitcase.” She flopped back against the seat cushion. “C’mon, Markus, where are you?” At that moment, Markus climbed onto the bus. “Finally! What took you so long?”
Markus shrugged. “Jerry looked like he needed the extra help cleaning up after trivia.”
North looked at him suspiciously, but said nothing.
Josh opened one eye. He’d just gotten to close them, having finally found a semi-comfortable position. “Well? Are you going to sit down? And where’s the driver at?”
“Well, um… We kind of aren’t driving back tonight like we planned.”
“What did you do this time, Markus?” Simon crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow expectantly.
“Nothing different than I’ve been doing the past month while we’ve been on tour!” Markus yelled, breaking out of his usually-composed shell.
“What the fuck?” North asked at the same time Josh asked “Are you okay, Markus?”
Markus shuffled his feet, his tennis shoes squeaking against the bus floor. “I kinda thought you guys would’ve gotten the hint by now…”
“Whatever it is, just say it,” Simon said, uncrossing his arms and getting into a more relaxed posture. It would probably take a few minutes for Markus to say whatever was on his mind.
Markus sighed. “I’m… I’m in love… with all of you. That song we played tonight? It was supposed to be a love song. In my mind, you would’ve figured out I was flirting with you by now, and we would’ve announced our relationship before the song if you were all okay with us being public. Then—“ He pulled out a key card. “—We were going to spend the night celebrating. I got us a hotel room and everything.”
“And you didn’t give us any hints when you realized we weren’t getting it because…?” Josh asked, wide-awake now. Markus stared at the floor.
“He’s too stubborn to admit he’s stubborn,” North said, shaking her head.
“Can we all just stop and talk about the fact that he said he’s in love with us?” Simon stared at Markus in disbelief.
“You three really do mean everything to me,” Markus said. “And even though I probably fucked it all up with my elaborate plans… I’d be fine with adjusting them. I just need to know.”
“Actually, we’ve been waiting for you to say something to us.”
Markus just stood there and blinked. “Wait, what?”
“You always seemed really curious after we told you the three of us were dating. We guessed that you might be interested, but didn’t really know, and assumed you would tell us when you were ready. I don’t think any of us guessed you would try to flirt with us onstage.”
Josh shook his head.
“Seriously, Markus,” North said, “Don’t try to use your stage persona to deliver a message to us. We know you too well for that to work.”
“And yes, we would love to have you in our relationship, since no one’s said that yet,” Josh said. “We’ve been talking about what we’d say if you asked for a while now, but apparently that all went out the window.”
“Does this mean I can talk about ‘us’ in interviews now? I hate being ‘Shy-Boy Simon’.”
“I think it’s fine,” Josh said. “North?”
“Yeah. I don’t think we’ll be breaking up any time soon.”
“So… should we go to the hotel now?” Markus asked.
“Yes, please,” Josh said. “I’d like to have an actual bed for the night. With the rest of you, of course.”