Work Text:
Life's been way off line, falling to pieces every time - carry on
Josh likes to think that he was the first one to notice Stell's sombre mood, when really Justin was the one to point out the mess strewn across the room table. Even that was only after Ken had muttered something about it really being very, very cluttered in here, and he had rubbed disinfecting hand-gel into his palms three times and frowned across the table at Stell's now-empty shelf. Josh just hunched further down in his chair and let them all get on with it. Keeping his mouth shut and saying nothing about the way he hadn't seen Stell's smile properly for the past week.
Justin is, however, the first one to come up with a plan. Josh scoffs and rolls his eyes at the idea, but claims Friday night for his own and surreptitiously listens in on the plans the rest of them are making whilst pretending to read the latest article of some gaming website.
"Stell!" Ken exclaims the moment Stell walks through the door, and the group quickly hushes and looks away from each other.
"He....y..." Stell nervously glances between them all very carefully looking anywhere but at him. Josh laments - again - at the terrible luck he must have had to be put into situation.
He sighs. As always, it's up to him to fix things.
"Morning," Ken says, lifting his chin in Stell's direction as he shoves his phone into his bag, "You're late?"
Stell lifts a hand to scratch at the back of his head, clearly assuming his tardiness was the reason for his groupmates' awkwardness. Josh congratulates Ken internally on a job well done.
"Sorry, I... had to take a phone call." Their main vocalist flashes them a guilty look. Thankfully, by this time, the others have composed themselves.
"That's okay!" Josh assures him, "It must have been important right?" The rest of them nod eagerly, and Justin goes on, "We were just worried, that's all! But now you're here, well, that's, um, good. We're not worried any more."
Josh sighs. Idiots.
One.
work a smile, go for a ride. But the camera don't lie- come back down, and don't mind
Stell's curled up on the couch tapping away on his cellphone when Justin corners him. Flopping down next to him and holding out a strawberry between his thumb and forefinger. He shifts a little closer when Stell doesn't appear to see him. He eventually presses the plump fruit to the older man's lips with a "Say 'ahh'~".
Stell blinks, and his eyes drift up from his phone as he shakes his head, "I'm not hungry, thanks."
Justin turns on the charm, looking up at Stell from underneath his eyelashes sadly. "They were a gift from Kuya Yani," he says quietly, holding the punnet in his lap as tenderly as he can manage, "And nobody else wants them. It would be such a shame for such a kind gesture to go to waste, don't you think?"
Stell lasts all of seven seconds before he locked his phone shut and opens his mouth for Justin to pop the berry inside, and bites it off at the stalk, chewing slowly and swallowing.
Justin waits a moment.
"Good?" He prompts.
Stell's mouth twitches gently and he screws up his eyes as he exclaims, "Hmm.. it is!"
Justin grins happily and produces another from the small punnet in his lap, scooting closer as he feeds Stell another one. Once, between them, they've worked their way through half the punnet. Stell had voiced his unease about eating the entire thing alone even though he really likes strawberries. Stell's phone beeps quietly from the arm of the couch, and Justin catches him looking at it longingly, barely noticing the next strawberry that gets pushed into his mouth.
Justin sighs and leaves the fruit on the table, wondering if Stell would even notice he'd gone.
Two.
stand in the line just to hit a new low, faking a smile with the coffee to go ‐ you could be well and strong
The restaurant isn't one Stell's been to before, he says. It already looks like somewhere he'd like to visit again. It's relatively small and quiet, the kind of place that looks like it has more regular customers than passing trade. Just perfect for them to keep their heads down and be allowed to enjoy their food in peace. Josh comes here often, and the owners are always grateful for the extra customer he brings when his dinner guests more often than not turn into regular visitors.
Stell slides into the seat opposite and Josh passes him a menu with a smile. "Choose whatever you like," he says, "My treat."
Stell inclines his head gratefully, as Josh had known he would. Neither of them are the type to argue over free food. As the younger started scanning the list of dishes, all too soon it became apparent that he wasn't as eager as Josh had hoped he'd be.
"Is everything okay Stell?" he asks when Stell has done nothing but stare at the menu for a good few minutes.
"Hmm?" Stell looks up with raised eyebrows, then turns back to his menu, "Oh, sure. I just... I guess I'm not as hungry as I thought. What are you having?"
Josh tries not to let his smile wilt around the edges. He ordered two portions of curry with a side of porkchop in the hope of appealing to Stell's appetite.
The food goes down well. And now that they're not stuck on any crazy diets, Stell finishes every bite, making appropriate noises of enjoyment every now and then between spoonfuls of food and gulps of water. Although he's quiet, Stell was clearly impressed with the food. A good meal has always cheered Josh up in the past so he's confident Stell will feel the same way. But then Stell puts his spoon down, drains the last of his water and murmurs his thanks. When Josh catches his eye, his heart sinks.
Maybe Ken will have more luck than him.
Three.
magic is lost, blue skies faded to gray, passions gone away
One might think that for people who have devoted their lives to singing for money, a karaoke bar is the last place they'd want to unwind. But Ken knows better. While this might be the case for some, he knows the enjoyment that comes with being able to belt out your favourite song without worrying about being in tune, hitting the right notes, or putting on a show. It's exciting, freeing, and sometimes he thinks it's this that keeps them in their job. No matter how tough things can get, coming out to karaoke can remind them of just how much they love doing what they do.
It's also Ken's last hope.
For two whole weeks now, they've been rearranging schedules and meetings and shootings so that each of them has some time off that meant spending with Stell. And for two weeks they've been taking him out and keeping him in, they are trying everything they can to find out a) why their sunshine boy is so quiet and restrained lately, and b) what they can do to fix it. So far all they've managed to do is make him suspicious.
It's not hard to convince Stell to join them at karaoke, though. After a few beers they're all belting out whatever they can find in the songbook. After a while, Josh is just punching in random numbers and seeing just how badly they can mess up songs they don't know.
Everything is looking great, better than great. Stell is relaxed and enjoying himself. Even when Justin's drunken, ear-splitting rendition of I Will Survive fails to make Stell cringe, Ken is just about to declare the evening a success.
Then a heavy, hip-hop beat starts thudding out of the speakers.
Stell's face falls, and Ken wonders how they'd all been so blind.
Four.
...sometimes the system goes on the blink, things turns out wrong but you'll make it back
Ken's all geared up to share his newfound knowledge with the rest of the group the next time they're all gathered together before work. But Stell is already there when he arrived, he finds his plan and maybe to even form another plan is utterly foiled.
Before he can even start working out a new plan to get the them alone without Stell, the older's phone chirps and he has it out of his pocket and open with all the speed of a sixteen-year-old girl.
A broad, unrestrained grin breaks out across Stell's face, and Ken doesn't need to ask to know who the mail is from. He feels like a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders already, barely bats an eyelid when Stell jumps to his feet and heads for the door.
"Be back for a bit guys," Stell says, clearly only half paying attention to them as his thumbs fly across his phone keypad, "I have somewhere to be. Tell Ate Rappl that I..." He pauses, typed on his phone, then adds almost as an afterthought, "I'm...later guys!"
"Feeling all better now. On my way to practice. Let's have a good day! Miss you~"
He smiled at the message, and replied 'I'll meet you halfway! 💜'.