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They had been practicing for their new comeback for so long none of them had noticed it was getting dark outside. It was actually 9 pm now, and they had been at it since 8 in the morning, barely had time to eat or just breathe. Thankfully, practice wasn’t always this intense but the comeback was just two days away and everything had to be perfect.
After just wrapping up a successful tour that had enabled them to discover new parts of the continent they hadn’t been to before, and an encore concert that had gone viral all over social medias for its visuals and creative concept, the pressure and expectations for their first full album were through the roof.
Carrying the NCT name was not something any of the six boys took lightly, they had worked hard to debut and were all so grateful towards their fans, that disappointing them wasn’t an option. It never was. Hence why they were dancing and singing from night till dawn.
However, as Sion always said, rest was also a part of practice. Without proper sleep and food, they wouldn’t be able to perform to the best of their abilities, they had been preparing for months now, they all knew the choreo by heart and could probably do it with their eyes closed and hands tied, pushing themselves over the edge now would only do more harm than good.
Therefore, when the song ended and they were all lying on the floor panting, clearly exhausted, the leader stood up and declared “That’s enough for today guys, let’s go back to the dorm, order some takeout and get some good night’s sleep, alright ?”
“God, I was internally begging you would say that hyung, I’m so hungry”, exclaimed Sakuya, already gathering his stuff and heading out, dragging Ryo with him. “Ryo, dude, hurry up, we need to get to the leftovers from yesterday’s strawberry cake, before those big backs do”. They ran out of the room.
“Daeyoung, stand up right now, they’re gonna eat our fucking cake if we don’t sprint RIGHT NOW.”, Riku yelled at Daeyoung who immediately got up.
The younger boy grabbed Riku’s bag and his, walked back to Riku, grabbed his waist, lifted him off the floor and into his arms. Riku, startled, still wrapped his legs around Daeyoung’s hips. “Let’s go baby, that cake is OURS.”, Daeyoung said looking up at Riku, he made sure he was properly carrying the tan skinned boy, before running out the room.
You could hear Riku scream and laugh in the hallway as Daeyoung ran : “You’re gonna drop me oh my god, Daeyoung put me down I’m gonna fall, idiot”.
“What the hell was that ? That’s it, these two have officially lost it”, Sion laughed, back in the practice room.
No one answered, though there was still someone with him in the room. Yushi. Who had been awfully quiet all day, not that he was usually the most talkative but still.
Most people wouldn’t have necessarily noticed, but Sion wasn’t most people. He had been Yushi’s best friend for years, they had been with each other through all the ups and downs that came with training under one of the most famous entertainment companies in the country.
One thing for sure, it hadn’t always been easy, they had their fair amount of self-doubt and mental breakdowns, but had held each other through it all. Sion was convinced no one on this planet knew him as well as Yushi did and vice-versa.
Through all these years of being together, other types of feelings had eventually made their way in, romantic feelings that is. It had taken them quite a while realising that that had been the case, and even longer to confess, both so scared of ruining their friendship though anyone with eyes could see the very obvious love they had towards one another. That’s why, officially, they had only been dating for about 8 months but the line between friends and lovers had been crossed long before that, whether it was a stolen kiss here and there, Yushi massaging Sion sore shoulders after practice with jasmine oil, or pretending to be a couple to get into a free cake giveaway.
Therefore, when Sion saw Yushi still lying on the floor, silent, not moving, he knew something was up. He just needed to figure out what. Maybe, he was tired, after all it had been a long day and even longer week, but for some unknown reason, some kind of boyfriend intuition perhaps, Sion felt like it was more than that. He laid back next to Yushi, not too close so the younger boy could still have his space and not feel overwhelmed, but close enough for him to feel his presence.
“Yushi sweetie, is something the matter ? Are you okay ?”, he asked with a slightly worried tone, turning on his side so he could see the pink-haired boy better.
“I’m fine, I’m fine, thank...you”, Yushi replied, looking at the ceiling.
Sion wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure ? It’s totally fine if you don’t want to talk about it now, but let’s head to the dorm you need to sleep babe.”
“You can go ahead without me hyung, I’ll meet you guys later.”, Yushi said, so low you could barely hear him.
“Don’t tell me you intend to keep on practicing.” Sion sighed. Yushi turned his head, so Sion only saw his back. “Yushi, you’re exhausted, you need a full meal, a good shower and at least 8 hours of sleep if you wanna live to see tomorrow. If you dance any more, you’re going to faint like you did yesterday, and you know it.” He continued with a firm tone.
“You don’t get it, I have to practice. The first music show is in 2 days, and it’s still not perfect, I can’t disappoint our fans, they’re always supporting and defending us, they deserve top-tier performances from us. And I still haven’t gotten the full choreo, it’s not perfect, it’s mediocre at best. It has to be perfect. It needs to be perfect. I keep messing up that one part in the pre-chorus, it’s unacceptable. I’m a terrible idol, I can’t get anything right, I bring the group down. I’m going to practice again and again until it’s flawless."
This was it. Yushi was yet again spiralling out of control, he was hyperventilating, slurring his words as he spoke too fast. He was now walking in circles, repeating terrible things about himself, fidgeting his fingers, out of breath. Yushi was having a panic attack.
Luckily, it wasn’t the first time Sion had witnessed it, he knew how to calm his boyfriend better than anyone.
He got up from the floor, grabbed Yushi’s wrist who was too out of it to notice and brought them to sit on the couch. He took Yushi’s hands in his, “Yushi, look at me”, the younger boy turned his head to face him, still panicked.
“Listen to the sound of my voice, okay ?” He nodded. “Now, exhale. I’m gonna count to 8, then you’re going to inhale, and I’ll count to 4, alright baby ?” Sion slowly started counting as Yushi exhaled then inhaled. “Okay, now hold it while I count to 7, you can do it Yushi."
They repeated the process a few times but Yushi had yet to calm down.
So, after counting to seven one last time, Sion gently put his hands on each side of his boyfriend’s face and kissed him lightly on the lips. The sudden and unexpected action shook the panic out of Yushi who was so startled he didn’t kiss back. Sion pulled away, and Yushi’s cheeks were now flushed with a light pink which made him look even more adorable than he already was.
“Feel better ?”, Sion asked, slowly caressing his knee to soothe him.
“What...What was that ?”, the younger boy was still processing what just happened.
Sion smiled and pulled Yushi into a tight warm hug.
“It’s my new secret technique for when you’re spewing nonsense about yourself and you want to carry everything on your own. Yushi, you know the choreo, you know it better than any of us, maybe even more than the choreographer himself and with how many times you’ve monitored the dance practices you could probably do the whole choreo for each member by yourself. You’re not going to disappoint anyone, understood ?
And don’t ever say you’re bringing the group down again because you’re the one who elevates us higher. And I...I love you, Tokuno Yushi, with your anxious perfectionist side and all, and I’m proud of you, of us, of everything we’ve accomplished together as a team or as a couple. And nothing will ever change that, got it ?”, his voice cracked a little at the last sentence, he felt emotional, had he said any more he most likely would have cried.
Sion’s love for Yushi was sometimes so overwhelming and big that he had a hard time putting it into words, so seeing his most precious angel panic that way was too unbearable to see, he had to make him feel better one way or another.
“Okay hyung, I love you too. I’ll be kinder to myself.”, Yushi buried his face in Sion’s chest, his ear to his heartbeat, relaxing him and making him forget his stress.
Sion kissed the top of his hair, and hugged him even tighter. They stayed like that for a moment, silent, comfortable in each other’s embrace. Until Sion lifted his head and his eyes landed on the clock.
9 : 30 pm.
They had to go before the others started worrying.
“Baby, let’s go to the dorm and rest. You’re sleeping in my room tonight, I don’t want to have you out of my sight for even a second.”, he kissed Yushi’s forehead before standing up and grabbing their stuff.
“Okay, I also want to be with you.”
Sion smiled, seeing Yushi re-becoming himself again.
He offered his hand and Yushi took it, they walked out of the room with their fingers intertwined, walking so close they were almost morphing into one. Ready to face and handle anything as long as they were together.