From the moment Teller woke up, he was busier than a bee. Tay-Yun was already up and dressed, making himself breakfast in the kitchen, or likely heating something up, when Teller sleepily padded into the room. He hadn't bothered with a shower yet, or really anything besides just tugging on some clothing to appear decent. 

Seeing the guy standing there made something tickle his stomach. "Morning." Teller whispered as he awkwardly walked into the room and got himself a glass of water. 

He nursed it while watching his feet, unsure what he should say. Is there even something to say?  "Wan-Nu went to check on Sahn-Re in the hospital and bring En-Ti home. 

Wait... so we're here alone? 

Pursing his lips, Teller swallowed his small mouthful of water and smiled sheepishly. "Okay. I'm going to go get a shower real quick then." He said, his voice scratching a bit at the end of his sentence.

He was just turning and walking away when Tay-Yun's arms loosely draped over his shoulders. Teller froze until he felt fingers press beneath his chin, slowly tilting it to the side and nudging his head back until he met Tay-Yun's beautiful eyes. 

"You smell like Sahn-Re." 

Yeah, he said that...

"Use the mint soap. Don't mix in any other scents." Tay-Yun said before giving Teller a light push toward the bathroom. 

Fighting himself not to glance back over his shoulder, Teller hurried down the hall after grabbing himself some clothing to change into and a toothbrush. He got the shower going and quickly got in once it had warmed up. 

The water felt amazing. He could have just stayed under the spray all day, but he knew that it would be impossible. He had work to do for Ello, and the hot water heater would force him to get out once all of the water was used up, anyway. 

Staring at all of the different soaps, Teller felt his lips tug up into a grin as he reached for the one he knew was Sahn-Re's. I'll teach him to tell me what to do... and kiss me randomly in the dark. His heart sped up suddenly as the memory flashed in his mind, drawing a blush to his cheeks. 

Not the time to think about that kind of stuff! 

Snapping open the bottle, Teller poured a bit of shampoo into his hand, then set the bottle back down before scrubbing his hair. He didn't mind the scent, but it was a bit strong now that he really thought about it. He probably would prefer the mint if it wasn't as powerful. 

He was just tugging on his shirt, finishing getting dressed, when he heard the door open a few minutes later. Tay-Yun walked in with a toothbrush between his lips, but when he paused and his eyebrows creased, Teller knew that he'd been caught. It was always easy to tell what scent someone used right after showering, especially if you walked into the bathroom. 

Instead of saying anything, Tay-Yun just set his toothbrush down on the counter and walked over. Teller fidgeted, but managed to not retreat. Mainly, because that would mean that he had to step back into the shower, and he knew that Tay-Yun would likely turn on the water again if he did so, ruining his faded blue jeans and red and blue long-sleeved shirt. 

"I think you got the soaps mixed up because they are not written in English." Tay-Yun said, his words not even a question, but sarcasm. 

Teller pursed his lips, looking sideways at the toilet before turning his attention back to Tay-Yun. 

"I liked this smell better." He mumbled, not even sounding honest to himself. 

Reaching over, Tay-Yun grasped a small part of Teller's wet hair and leaned down, sniffing it with a look of distaste on his face. 

"Now, don't lie to me, Teller. What do you think of that shampoo compared to mine?" Tay-Yun asked.

Licking his lips nervously, Teller shrugged. "I didn't try it..." 

Huffing, Tay-Yun grabbed his shoulders and turned him around, then added pressure until he was forced to kneel on the dry bathmat. 

Tay-Yun followed him down, then leaned over him, making him press his belly against the cold porcelain, the chill from it easily sinking through his shirt. The water was turned on, then Tay-Yun's partial weight disappeared just long enough for him to grab his bottle of shampoo and conditioner. 

"Take off your shirt, then lean over more." 

That doesn't sound creepy at all. 

He found himself doing as told, however, even leaning closer to the water to make Tay-Yun's job easier. Teller knew that he'd insist on scrubbing his hair with the mint products as soon as he pushed him down to his knees. If he fought him, he'd probably just pin him, so Teller just lifted his arms over the edge and let himself relax with his head down right next to the warm water. 

It actually felt pretty nice with it misting up against his face as Tay-Yun began scrubbing the mint shampoo into his scalp. 

His mind slipped away as the steam built back up in the room. I forgot how nice it feels to get your hair washed by someone else. He'd only ever had it done for himself once, when he'd gone with his grandmother to a hair salon the first week after he'd moved in with her. 

When he felt a towel drop over his head and begin to muss his hair, Teller grumbled, but only received a chuckle from Tay-Yun as he dried his hair well, then stood back up. "Much better." 

Teller got himself up and took a pinch of his hair between his fingers, then brought it to his nose. The smell was indeed a lot lighter than the eucalyptus products, but still smelled good. 

"I guess it's okay." He said, earning an eye roll from Tay-Yun before the guy turned his attention to brushing his teeth. 

Teller did the same, but took a bit longer, leaving him alone in the bathroom. When he finally stepped out and returned to the kitchen, it was empty. He must have gotten what he wanted. Maybe he's waiting downstairs so that we can continue practicing. With that thought in his head, Teller heated up a container he found that had half a serving of spicy beef, greens, and rice in it. After grabbing it from the microwave and getting a pair of chopsticks, he headed downstairs through Tay-Yun's room, since he never really found the other way down... or looked for it, for that matter. 

By the time he was steeping off the stairs, Tay-Yun had the speakers all hooked up and was sitting on one side of the piano bench. "Shall we?" He said with a smirk that made Teller grin. 

"Yeah. Let's get to work." 

He'd never seen so many people waiting for him before. 

Them. They're all waiting for Ello. You're just helping for tonight. 

It honestly felt unreal. Sitting back, Teller forced himself to take a deep breath, but he couldn't manage to calm his shaking hands that were balled into fists at his sides. They were driving around to the back of the building at a decent distance, but the fans still seemed to know they were there, because they began to flow toward them like a wave, their screams getting louder the closer they got. 

"He doesn't look so good." Wan-Nu said after glancing back at him for a second as he drove. 

Teller felt someone shake his shoulder, but he couldn't bring his wide eyes away from the huge crowd. There are so many people. What am I doing here? 

"Teller, you need to calm down. Just think of this as another Mimic performance." Tay-Yun said from beside him. 

His words drew Teller's attention, but they didn't help the nervous twist in his belly, making him struggle to keep down what he'd eaten for lunch. They were just getting out of the van, being let into the back area, when he felt his stomach give up. Without so much as a warning, he bolted toward the bathroom as fast as his feet could take him with his dizzying vision. 

He was shocked that he managed to make it to the trashcan just inside the door before he began throwing up, his shaking having increase tenfold as his hands gripped the edge of the can hard. A strong hand began rubbing up and down his back in soothing circles as a second hand brushed his hair back from his face. 

His heaving continued for about a minute before his body felt too drained to keep itself standing. Thankfully, Tay-Yun easily caught him, then helped him walk into the large handicap stall and  kneel down near the toilet in case he needed to keep throwing up. Which he definitely did. 

"How is he doing?" 

Wan-Nu...

"He's not playing. He's just too stressed." Tay-Yun replied. For once, Teller couldn't argue. He really wanted to help, but his stomach was incredibly upset, making him dizzy and weak. 

"Don't worry. We'll figure something out. I know a few songs on the piano, kind of, so we'll see what we can do." Wan-Nu said hesitantly, as if he wasn't too sure of his own skill... or hadn't practiced in forever, most likely. 

Teller spit several times into the toilet after he felt that his stomach had no more left to get rid of, then was helped up to rinse his mouth out in the small sink in the stall. He also splashed some water on his face, immediately feeling a little bit better as it took away a bit of his dizziness. 

A paper towel was waiting for him from Tay-Yun, but instead of letting Teller have it, Tay-Yun leaned over and gently wiped his face, then nose, before tossing the towel. "Come, rest in our waiting room." Tay-Yun said as he helped Teller get an arm around his shoulder, then began slowly walking toward the exit of the bathroom. 

With Tay-Yun's help, Teller only tripped over his own feet twice, but thankfully didn't fall a single time. The room was already unlocked when they got there, and they found En-Ti inside on the phone. The young man nodded to them, then continued speaking. Teller could tell immediately that he was talking to Sahn-Re, considering how excitable the other voice sounded... even though the phone wasn't even on speaker.  

Glad he's feeling better. 

The moment he was helped onto the sofa and laid down, he felt a little better. The cool fabric felt great and being able to just close his eyes and relax stopped most of the rocking he had felt while trying to stay standing. 

Feeling a gentle stroke against his cheek, Teller shielded his eyes with an arm just above them, then looked up as Wan-Nu stepped inside and dimmed the lights a bit, making the hand against his cheek disappear. "Sahn-Re is going to make a short video from the hospital for his fans that we can play on the projector." En-Ti said, suddenly appearing next to Wan-Nu and Tay-Yun. 

"He wants them to see him in that awful hospital gown? Our fashion sensitive Sahn-Re?" Wan-Nu asked, surprised.

En-Ti shrugged. "He's not feeling that great yet, so his judgement is probably a bit off. I'm sure our fans will just feel sorry for him and think he's adorable either way, though." 

Wan-Nu shook his head, but he was smiling. Teller gave a small one of his own when the group turned their attention down to him. "How are you feeling, Teller?" Wan-Nu asked as he knelt down beside the sofa. 

Tay-Yun copied him, but didn't lift his hand to touch Teller's face again. He looked worried, but Teller understood. They definitely weren't a couple, or anything close, so no need to confuse everyone else. Especially not tonight. 

 "Better. Sorry I let my nerves get to me." He said, making Wan-Nu reach up and rustle his hair a bit. 

"It is okay. We have to go to sound checking. Stay and rest, okay?" 

Teller gave a small nod, closing his eyes once the group disappeared out the door. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep until his phone began to ring. He answered it without looking at the caller I.D.. 

"Hello my sweet Teller, does your backside hurt today?" 

Oh my god. Grandma, please. 

"Sorry to disappoint, but he just kissed me." He replied with as bland a voice as he could manage. 

A lot. 

 "Oh, don't you worry. I'm not disappointed. I can tell that you're trying to not sound affected, but I'm going to guess that you two at least had a nice make-out session last night before going back to sleep." 

I... no comment. 

"Well, anyways, how are things going today? Anything interesting happening with you and your new friends?" His grandmother asked, making Teller smile. 

"I was supposed to help them perform." He said, earning a surprisingly loud excited yell from his grandmother. 

She paused for a moment as if realizing something, then replied. "Wait. Was? What's wrong, sweetheart?" 

Teller felt his eyes begin to well with tears, but quickly blinked them away. "I got too stressed. I threw up and am just now starting to feel better." 

"Oh, boy. Are they already playing?" His grandmother asked, making him move his phone from his ear to look at the clock on it. 

When he returned it to his ear, he sighed. "Yeah. They probably already did at least one or two sings by now." 

Which means that Wan-Nu is probably running out of songs that he had memorized well enough to play. 

"Why not go have some fun, Tell? I know you're good enough to hang out with that group. They wouldn't have asked for your help if they didn't think that you could do well." 

His grandmother's words had him slowly sitting up, testing his balance. Thankfully, his previous sickness had passed and the room was stable in his vision. 

"I don't know. I practiced a lot last night, and today, but..." 

His grandmother chuckled. "Yes yes, I'm sure that boy definitely doesn't mind staring at your butt, but now isn't the time for buts. Now then, get yours out there and give your friends a hand, sweetheart." 

Teller stood up and walked a few steps, testing to make sure that his legs were caught up with the rest of his body's healing. All good. 

"Oh, by the way, hun." His grandmother said, making him pause as he reached for the doorknob. 

"Yes, grandma?" 

There was quiet on the other end of the phone, followed by a light sipping sound, as if she were taking a drink of tea. Then she calmly replied before hanging up. "Use protection later." 

Staring at the Call Ended notice on his phone, Teller couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Okay, freak out about your grandmother's secret perverted side later. He told himself as he opened the door and headed toward the backstage area. 

He arrived right as Wan-Nu stepped away from the piano and bowed sheepishly to the cheering crowd. Tay-Yun was panting quietly, a huge smile on his face as he turned to wave as Wan-Nu headed off stage, only for his hand to pause mid-action as he saw Teller approach. 

Of course, he didn't let his feet go past the edge of the curtain, but he did offer a hesitant smile before looking over at the piano, then back to Tay-Yun. Slowly, Tay-Yun's hand lowered until it was at his side, then he hurried over to him, stopping right before he could go out of view of the audience. 

Reaching up, Tay-Yun switched the mic fixed around his ear off, then leaned over and pressed a kiss to Teller's forehead. "Are you feeling okay? You don't have to do this, Teller." He said as the crowd began to cheer. Clearly, they knew he was talking to someone, and judging from his body language, it wasn't just anyone. 

"I'll give it a try..." Teller said as he looked down at his feet, his words so quiet that he wasn't sure Tay-Yun had even heard him. 

Tay-Yun reached over and mussed up his hair, then hurried toward the piano as he turned his mic back on. "We have a new friend we met recently who would like to see if he can help us out on the other songs for our set. He's new to this, so he'd like to play off stage, but I'm sure you guys are still going to love him. So, how about it? Wanna give our friend a shot?" He said in a voice so enthusiastic that it even made Teller feel better about his skills, even though he was still very nervous. 

The crowd roared to life as Tay-Yun carefully set down his guitar, then wheeled the piano they had set up right out of the audience's view. It was in a spot that would allow Teller to watch Tay-Yun and En-Ti, though, which was a relief. 

As soon as the bench was brought over, Teller sat down and began trying to calm himself down as much as possible. His hands were getting sweaty and shaking, but he forced himself to focus on Tay-Yun as he made his way back to the middle of the stage and retrieved his instrument. 

The song they started with, which was the fourth one of the set, took him a few seconds to remember, but soon he was able to sync his piano playing with En-Ti's drums and Tay-Yun's guitar and vocals. It was a lot harder playing the instrument with all of the cheering and extra stimulation, but somehow, Teller found himself able to keep himself together. 

By the time the final song drew to an end, Teller was back to shaking. He'd managed the songs well enough, and Tay-Yun even got him a standing ovation, though he wasn't too sure he deserved it. He'd slipped up quite a few times. 

Stop being so negative. You did well for only working on the songs for a day plus a few hours. 

It was hard to be positive, though. He just couldn't keep his body from shaking. The venue almost felt too cold, when while he was playing, it felt far too hot. 

"Hey, it'll be okay, Teller. You did really well." Wan-Nu said as he set a hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently, grounding Teller enough for him to force a small smile up at him. 

"I do hope that you all will excuse us early this evening to pay our sweet Sahn-Re a visit in the hospital." Tay-Yun asked the crowd. 

A resounding round of cheers and agreements were yelled back at him, making him beam and bow his head before turning his smile to Teller. 

That smile... it's almost as dangerous as his accent. 

To keep himself from shaking so much, Teller stood up and crossed his arms tightly over his chest. Him and Wan-Nu waited there until the group was all ready to head back to the van. Teller literally sagged into his seat, barely managing to get his seatbelt on before he leaned back and clenched his teeth silently to keep them from clicking together. He was still cold and shaking a little, but he knew that it was just the last of his nervousness. 

"Here." 

Opening his eyes, Teller turned his attention to Tay-Yun right as the guy nudged a giant brown stuffed dog into his arms. 

What? 

It looked old, but very well taken care of. The fabric was soft, the fur somewhat long. Beans, or some type of movable stuffing filled it, making it somewhat pose-able. Leaning forward after a hesitant glance to Tay-Yun, Teller buried his face into the soft stuffed animal and inhaled shakily. 

It smells faintly like mint. 

 "That belongs to an old friend who used it to calm his nerves when he was stressed, but I'm sure that he wouldn't mind if you borrowed it for a little while." 

He almost sounds... sad. 

Teller wasn't sure what to say, so he just nodded into the stuffed animal he was hugging tightly, already feeling much better as they headed off to the hospital, none of them speaking in the dark.