Chapter Text
“Scoot over, hyung. I can’t hear you.” Jongho raised his own voice just enough to be heard over the sudden roar of the crowd at the Golden Disc Awards as a junior group took their places on the stage, preparing to perform.
Mingi stubbornly shook his head, even as Jongho slapped a hand on the open seat between them. “I’m leaving it open for Sangie.”
When the other man kept slapping the chair obnoxiously (because he was cute and he could get away with anything he wanted) Mingi started slapping the chair too, the both of them breaking out into giggles right as Yeosang walked up the stairs and over to where they were sitting.
Yeosang quickly took his place in between them, confusion on his face as he turned first towards their maknae who just shrugged and went back to watching the stage, and then over at Mingi. “What did I miss?”
“Jongho tried to give away your seat.” Mingi leaned in close to whisper to the other man, and smirked at the light blush that spread across Yeosang’s skin at the closeness. “But don’t worry, I didn’t let him, pretty.”
Yeosang’s ears and neck turned a far brighter red at the pet name, but he made a show of giving Mingi his best attempt at a frown. He covered his mouth with one hand as he tilted his head up to get closer to Mingi so he could hear him easier. “I told you not to call me that.”
“You say that, but the way you’re blushing tells me you might like it.” Mingi teased, letting the hand that was on the armrest between them drop until it was resting lightly against Yeosang’s knee instead. They both looked down, Mingi waiting for a reaction and Yeosang desperately trying not to give him one, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.
“You look cute when you’re flustered.” Mingi whispered again, his lips brushing the outer shell of Yeosang’s ear and making the other man shiver.
“I’m not cute. And pay attention to the stage. There are cameras everywhere.” Yeosang whispered back with an anxious look around and then leaned more into Jongho’s side, causing the younger man to glance over suspiciously. It’s not like Mingi was subtle, or even trying to be subtle when he flirted with Yeosang, so the entirety of Ateez had been forced to get used to it (not that they didn’t flirt too). But that didn’t mean they didn’t complain every time it happened in front of them.
“Can you two chill out for just one night? You’re flirting right in front of my salad.” Jongho pulled a face, and while Mingi found it hilarious Yeosang just groaned and hid behind his hands.
“I hate both of you.” He muttered, voice coming out muffled.
“No you don’t.” Jongho giggled, a shit-eating grin on his face as he peeked around Yeosang to meet Mingi’s eyes. “You know you love us. Especially Mingi.”
Yeosang made a strangled noise in his throat and looked around for some kind of respite from the two younger members. Unfortunately for him, there was no such luck. The other guys were too far away to intervene.
Mingi knew he was pushing his luck by teasing this much at an award show, but it was always like this with Yeosang. He was so easy to rile up and fluster, Mingi couldn’t help himself. “See, pretty? Even Jongho can see our chemistry, so that should tell you something.”
“No, Jongho just has ears, and he hears all the ridiculous stuff you say.” Yeosang rolled his eyes, but a smile crossed his lips, too. It was faint, like a trick of the light, but definitely there. “It’s not hard to figure out that you’re flirting with me.”
“And how do you feel about that?” Mingi asked before he could think it through. “Me flirting with you, I mean.”
Yeosang turned to him, brows raised in surprise at the sincere and questioning tone. “Am I supposed to feel a certain kind of way about it?”
“Well, I hope so. It’s been years, Sangie.” Mingi let out an exasperated breath and leaned back in his seat. “I’d expect you to have some thoughts on it.”
“We’re at a public event, Mingi-yah. It’s not appropriate talking about this here.” Yeosang murmured as quietly as he could, stammering a little to get the words out.
Mingi opened his mouth to reply, but he was cut off by one of the event staff tapping his arm gently and telling him Ateez needed to head backstage to prepare for their performance. He sighed, pulling his hand away from Yeosang’s knee and standing slowly as his joints protested the movement. Yeosang, as poised as ever, got to his feet quickly and brushed by Mingi to follow the shorter woman down the steps with Jongho on his heels.
Mingi forced himself to follow a few steps behind, but his mind was not in performance mode at all. He realized that he needed to actually talk to Yeosang about things if he ever hoped to move past flirting and into something real, because the other man was clearly never going to make a move himself. He just wished he had even a clue how to go about it.