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Tang Yun couldn’t resist staring at Hall from the audience booth, admiring the way his lithe fingers handled the bass with ease. His hair was pulled back into a long french braid at Jeanne’s discretion, some loose strands elegantly falling to frame his face. Even with the full performance of the band and the stage lighting, Hall was the only thing he could focus on.
“And that’s a wrap. Remember the real performance is at eight so if you’re not here by seven I will shove a drumstick up your ass,” Jeanne barked at everyone once they finished practicing. Leon and Hall said nothing as Bai Liuli smiled.
“We won’t be late, there’s nothing to worry about,” she assured Jeanne, beaming at Jacob who was also in the audience with Tang Yun.
The unconventional band was formed at Jeanne’s request and after kidnapping-ahem, persuading-the guys to join, the four of them were beginning to sound better together. Tang Yun found himself watching every one of their practices, not out of curiosity for the music but out of admiration for Hall. As he turned to the shorter man sitting next to him, he knew Jacob was the same with Bai Liuli, though he wouldn’t admit it.
“See you both at eight?” Bai Liuli asked them both, her focus mainly on Jacob. The man blushed at her attention, hiding behind his sleeping mask.
“...I’ll be there,” Jacob quietly mumbled, much to Bai Liuli’s joy. She turned towards Jeanne and walked away, chatting with the pink haired woman about something.
Tang Yun internally facepalmed at Jacob’s shyness around the woman, especially since his affection was so obviously reciprocated.
“Just ask her out already,” Yun whispered to Jacob, only to be met with a slap to the bicep.
“Not so loud! What if someone hears?” Jacob hissed as if he were the snake. Joru-the serpent-was sleeping peacefully, unbothered by her master’s emotional constipation.
“Relax, nobody heard me. Besides, everyone in the Decree knows you like her except Bai Liuli herself,” Yun reminded him.
“S-Shut up!” Jacob attempted to throw his sleeping mask at Tang Yun, only for him to dodge with ease.
“Besides, you’re one to talk. You still haven’t asked Hall out either,” Jacob reminded. Tang Yun felt all six of his ears burn at the remark, knowing he didn’t have a counterargument.
“That’s different,”
“Is it?”
“Very much so!”
Their bickering was cut off by heavy footsteps approaching them, Tang Yun unwittingly letting out a quiet squeak when Hall approached.
“H-Hall! Uh…hi,” Yun stammered out as Jacob stepped to the side behind Hall to give them space.
“Tang Yun, you’re going on the Union raid mission at four, right?” Hall asked him while setting his bass back in the case. Tang Yun still had half an hour until the mission so he decided to admire-watch-Hall and his band perform.
“Yeah, w-why do you ask?” Yun blushed, grateful Hall couldn’t see his reddened cheeks. Jacob made a kissing gesture from behind Hall in order to spite him before lying down on the floor to sleep. Tang Yun flicked him off and sent a clone to smack him before returning his attention to Hall.
“I…have an odd request that I think only you can help me with,” Hall started, scratching the back of his neck.
“Of course, what is it?” he asked. Hall placed a hand on Yun’s back and guided him to walk out of the room, the gesture making his heart stop. He gave a giddy smile to Jacob who smirked.
When they left the room, Hall seemed to shyly clam up, hugging his arms.
“Will you…have access to the rooms of the Ops Chiefs?” he carefully asked. Tang Yun raised an eyebrow.
“If I’m efficient enough then yeah,” he said. During his last Union raid he snuck into Tang Xuan’s room and stole his pudding cups. Surely he could do that with anyone else.
“...Do you know Bardon by any chance?” Hall asked him. Yun immediately understood his awkwardness about his older brother in the Union.
“Yes, I’m familiar. Do you want me to steal something from him?” Tang Yun carefully asked, more than willing to do anything.
“Yes…this is so embarrassing but he has a sweater that I really need out of his hands,” Hall started, cheeks becoming darker with each word.
“A sweater? I can get it for you. What does it look like?” Tang Yun asked him.
“It’s a brown cotton sweater…w-with my face on it…” Hall stammered out, fully aware of how ridiculous it sounded.
“What?”
“You heard me. H-He custom made a sweater with my face on it a-and I need to make sure it’s out of his hands. This is so embarrassing…” Hall whined out, hiding his face behind his hand. Tang Yun mindlessly reached out to console Hall by squeezing his hands in comfort, a habit he picked up from Xuan.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to get the sweater for you,” Yun promised, gently holding Hall’s hands. Hall blushed before giving Yun a sweet smile.
“Thank you, I appreciate it,” he beamed, squeezing Yun’s hands in return. Tang Yun wasn’t sure how long they stayed there, but they were interrupted by Jacob clearing his throat. Yun somehow didn’t hear him approaching, but he did see the smug grin on his face.
“Sander wants us to report for the mission. Let’s get going Tang Yun,” he relayed before walking away. Yun blinked before following him, turning back to wave at Hall. Hall didn’t wave, but a loving smile lingered on his face.
“He can’t see you waving genius,” Jacob reminded once they were in the corridor. Yun lowered his hand.
“Did you see that? He held my hand!” Yun gushed.
“I know, Yun. I know,”
The mission was simple enough; sneak into the Miramon research lab and steal some vials. Jacob and Tang Yun got the vials in no time; now the issue was finding Bardon’s apartment and sneaking in.
“Do we really need to do this?” Jacob whined as they crawled through the vent of the apartment building.
“Yes! Besides we’re low on time,” Yun huffed at him.
“Then maybe we should just go back and ignore the stupid sweater?” Jacob grumbled.
“Shut up. The only reason we’re late is because you insisted on taking a nap and stealing a book on how to talk to girls!”
“I-It’s for educational purposes!”
Their argument was cut short by approaching the end of the vent. Tang Yun peered from the cracks. The good news was that it led to Bardon’s apartment and his closet was in full sight.
The bad news?
Bardon was in the room.
“Shit…” Yun cursed.
“I got this,” Jacob assured before snapping his fingers. A loud crash sounded from the distance, catching Bardon’s attention. He quickly ran out of the apartment with his weapon in his hand.
“What did you do?!” Yun shrieked.
“Don’t worry about it,”
Yun cussed before crawling out of the vent and entering the apartment, beelining for Bardon’s closet. He frantically rummaged through until his hands landed on a brown sweater. He pulled it out, revealing an anime style illustration of Hall’s face on the chest.
It was…cute. Tang Yun silently hoped Hall would let him keep the sweater.
“We need to get out-wait, does he have fried chicken in the fridge?” Jacob blinked, opening the fridge and grabbing the bucket of chicken wings.
“Jacob, focus! We got the sweater, leave the chicken,”
“If you get the sweater then I’m getting the chicken,”
“You already got the book!”
“Fuck you!”
“Fuck y-”
They were cut off by the sound of Joru breaking through the wall, wearing a tophat and monocle. Bardon chased after her and returned to the now damaged apartment, gawking at both Jacob and Tang Yun.
“You…the dancing snake was because of you two?!” Bardon shrieked while drawing his weapon.
“You made Joru dance to distract him!?” Yun scolded Jacob who just shrugged.
“Are you trying to steal my chicken?!” Bardon yelled at Jacob. Before a fight could break out, Joru picked up the two Shadow Guards and slithered off, an angry Bardon futilely running behind them. Yun decided to wear the sweater over his bodysuit so as not to drop it, instead helping Jacob juggle the book, chicken and vials (only for him to fall asleep and leave Tang Yun to hold everything and steer Joru). The last thing he saw was the sight of the white haired man falling to his knees while wailing about his chicken, and the macaque had no choice but to question his life choices.
By the time they returned to the Shadow Decree, the show barely started. Tang Yun and Jacob beelined for the seats, sweating like pigs once they made it. Yun ignored the way Catherine side-eyed them both from a nearby seat and refocused his attention on Hall. The sweater was warm and cozy, a perfect compliment to the high air conditioning of the venue.
Hall was carefully playing the bass to complement Bai Liuli’s vocals and Leon’s saxophone. The purple lighting highlighted his high cheekbones and handsome features as he played the bass, the sight fully entrancing Tang Yun. Jacob donned a similar lovestruck expression as he admired Bai Liuli’s singing. Catherine rolled her eyes at both of them, muttering something about being lovestruck children.
When the show was over, Hall ran towards Tang Yun eagerly, the latter perking up at his presence.
“You made it!” Hall cheered, grateful for his presence. He pulled Tang Yun into a hug, oblivious to how Yun looked like he was about to explode.
“I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. You did amazing by the way,” Yun praised, mind still reeling from the close proximity. Jacob raised an eyebrow at the fact that neither of them let go of each other before returning to his book.
“Wait…are you wearing the sweater?” Hall suddenly asked him, feeling the soft fabric on Yun’s body. He stiffened under Hall, having forgotten about that detail in its entirety.
“I-I’m so sorry! I was just escaping and there was chicken and vials and-” Hall cut him off by raising his hand, smiling at him.
“I’m not mad. Honestly, you can keep it,” he clarified.
“Really? A-Are you sure?” Yun nervously asked.
“Of course! I just wanted to make sure it wasn’t with Bardon anymore. I trust you won’t use it as an excuse to start sharing mushy stories about me,” Hall grumbled. Yun felt a pang of sympathy; while Xuan was nowhere near as overbearing as Bardon, he was still familiar with the feeling of being stifled by an older brother.
“I would never,” Yun promised him.
“I know. That’s why I like you,” Hall absentmindedly spoke, his eyes widening when he realized what he just said.
“Wait, I mean-”
“I-I like you too!” Yun blurted, brain fully running on autopilot.
“You do?” Hall meekly asked.
“Y-Yes?! You’re so kind and charming and pretty and fuck-” Yun blabbered on, his brain having fully turned to mush at that point. Hall beamed wider with each word, pulling him into a second hug. At that point Yun was certain he’d faint from shock.
“Would you wanna go out sometime?” Hall asked. “Like Saturday?”
“Y-Yeah, I’m down for Saturday! How’s dinner sound?” Yun flushed.
“That sounds perfect,”
With that Hall kissed him on the cheek and turned away, leaving Tang Yun to flop back into his chair and hide in the sweater.
“You’re such a simp,” Jacob yawned before returning to his book. That snapped Tang Yun out of his trance.
“I’m not the one who’s reading at a concert. Why are you even reading a book at a concert?” Yun asked him. Jacob flushed and turned away.
“Don’t singers notice people in the crowd reading books?”
“It’s Bai Liuli, not Two Direction,”