Work Text:
— •
there’s something about getting ready to perform. the atmosphere backstage boosts seungkwan, brightens and energizes and excites him. often, he’s one of the loudest back there, hyping everyone up for their performance and infecting the other members with his cheer.
today though, it’s too much. the lights are too bright, and the energy is too chaotic, and the music from someone else is too loud, and he’s too sick and tired to cope with it, and it’s all just very too much. seungkwan’s head pounds with every pulse of the stage lights bleeding through the curtains, a rhythmic thudding that makes him want to down a bottle of painkillers and go to sleep.
and to add to his discomfort, his outfit won’t cooperate with him; his tie isn’t done right and his collar is scratching his neck and the wires for his in-ears managed to get tangled with his mic and everything just feels wrong. there’s no stylist nearby and he feels like asking another member would go terribly with the way he feels right now, so seungkwan struggles alone near the back of the large group of boys.
he’s tired and frustrated and about three seconds from crying when someone steps in front of him and gently reaches for his fumbling hands.
“ come here, let me fix it .”
seungkwan looks up to meet mingyu’s warm brown eyes, and instantly feels so much weight off his shoulders. mingyu had a way of doing that for him, easing any pain or discomfort with the simplest gestures: warm fingers through his hair, a comforting arm around his shoulders, even just a smile in seungkwan’s direction was enough to lift his mood.
mingyu takes his hand and guides him away from the chaos of the other boys, far enough that the overwhelming energy is just a little less overwhelming, and starts to quietly adjust all the problems seungkwan’s having with his wardrobe as the latter watches him with stars in his eyes. mingyu’s known as the overgrown puppy of the group—loud and big and excitable—but he’s a lot more than that, seungkwan thinks.
mingyu is caring, and loving, and so, so warm. brown eyes and tanned skin and a smile that reminds seungkwan of the sun; it’s bright, but almost too bright, and seungkwan thinks it will blind him if he stares too long.
his fingers burn where they brush seungkwan’s skin as he untangles wires and smooths down itchy fabric, and seungkwan can feel every place mingyu touches like his fingers have left small fires in their wake. mingyu has already fixed every outfit problem seungkwan did and did not have, but his hands linger around the younger’s frame as if he doesn’t want to be done yet.
he hovers for another moment before dropping his hands, and seungkwan feels disappointment rise in his chest. but he pushes it down, it’s not the time or place for that.
“feel better?” seungkwan nods, and mingyu’s expression pulls into a content smile. “good.”
seungkwan nods again, not wanting to step away or speak or do anything to break the moment, but a staff member does so anyways, calling for the boys to gather and prepare to go out. the other members were all gathered already, so the two boys quickly join them, both feeling a lot more ready to perform.
seungkwan finds mingyu’s hand with his own, lacing their fingers and lightly squeezing twice—‘thank you’—before letting go as they get ushered onstage.