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"How about we put Heartbreak Girl back in the setlist?"
"I will fucking smother you."
"But the fans love that song. And it's not THAT bad."
"Yeah, sure. And then we play Try Hard and Don't Stop as the encore, huh?"
"Talking about Don't Stop, we could put that into the acoustic set for the VIP..."
"Ashton, no."
"Ashton, yes."
Calum and Ashton had been bickering back and forth for the past 10 minutes and as much as Michael loved his bandmates, he was about to throw his Nintendo Switch in their faces. The setlist was long finished and they were supposed to rehearse the songs, but somewhere along the way Ash and Cal had decided that joking around and fighting over the songs was more productive than playing them.
Therefore, Michael did the only thing reasonable. He sat on the ground and resumed playing Animal Crossing. He figured Luke was on a similar page, he could sense that his boyfriend had completely given up. One look and Michael was proven right - Luke seemed completely zoned out, staring at the piano he was sitting in front of.
Michael wanted to ask if his lover was okay, but before he could even open his mouth, Luke started playing some beautiful chords Michael knew all too well.
In and out of focus, moments that I keep
Something for the pain and something so I sleep
Won't you comfort me?
Warm the air that I breathe?
Michael smiled as he watched his boyfriend, his lover, his world - completely lost in his own music. It was mesmerizing, really. Luke looked gorgeous when he sang. To be fair, he looked gorgeous no matter what he did, but that was besides the point. Michael couldn't help but hum the melody his boyfriend had written some years ago, still listening attentively as the younger's fingers danced over the keys.
Luke's eyes were closed, face twitching as so many emotions filled his head, his body, his soul. God, Michael would do anything to listen to Luke sing his solo stuff more often.
When the last note rang through the room, an odd silence hung in the air. Luke became awfully aware that he didn't just sing the song quietly as he had intended. All eyes were on him, not judging, just admiring. Still, embarrassment rose in his cheeks, staining them with the beautiful crimson Michael adored so much.
"Sorry, I got carried away there," he stated hesitantly, shaking his head.
"We should really change the setlist." All the eyes in the room snapped towards Michael, who was still sitting on the floor. His Nintendo Switch rested long forgotten in his lap, instead, his eyes were glued to the piano.
"See, even Michael agrees that we should play The Rocks," Calum argued triumphantly.
"No, you idiot. Remember how we decided to call the tour Everyone's A Star? Well, we are all stars. And I feel like we should give each of us a moment to shine on tour."
The boys were staring at him as if Michael had grown three heads.
"Like, everyone should sing a solo song, you know?," he explained carefully.
"Michael Clifford, you fucking genius," Ashton grinned brightly. Luke nodded, contemplating the idea. He grabbed the setlist and a pencil walking over towards Michael.
"Nah, I wouldn't go that far. I'm mostly just a simp for my boyfriend and wanna hear him sing his songs to an arena," the red haired man giggled, looking up at his lover with eyes that held so much adoration. Luke's heartrate picked up and he leaned down to press his lips against Michael's forehead.
"Well, I can't wait to hear you perform enough, so I guess we're even," he whispered against Michael's temple before pressing a second kiss to his cheek.
"So, how are we gonna do it with the setlist?," Luke asked as the four of them stared down at the piece of paper that would soon make thousands of people scream their hearts out.