Evan starts playing the opening guitar rift to a fan favorite, Meddle About, and the crowd immediately erupts into screaming and cheering. Barty barely notices the elevated excitement going on right in front of him; he’s too busy staring at Evan’s fingers as they deftly strum across the cords playing a familiar rhythm. It takes Regulus turning from his mic and hissing his name for Barty to realize he’s supposed to be doing the same as Evan.
Dorcas starts in on the drums as Evan’s voice comes through the speakers, singing the first verse. Regulus sings along with him as well, though he’s singing the whole song seeing as he’s the main vocalist. No singing from Dorcas or Barty, he sings the chorus and Dorcas was much more content being the drummer and the drummer only (her words). Barty admittedly gets a little distracted watching Evan sing, though his fingers never miss one cord. It’s genuinely shocking Barty’s focus isn’t pinned on the crowd, busy putting on a show to feed the fans, but pinned on his bandmate and best friend.
Evan’s eyes turn and meet his, a smirk playing on his lips, and oh. Barty needs him to look back to the crowd, while also needing him to never look away. There’s something intense about how Evan is staring Barty down, it makes him unable to move. Except for his fingers, still strumming perfectly on his guitar. As he sings, he never looks away from Barty and he sings his verse without a stutter. The song continues on and instead of singing to the crowd as normal, Evan sings directly to Barty while slowly, purposefully making his way over to Barty.
Well, come and get it now
Come and get it now
Baby, show me what you're doing
Come and turn around
Evan sings with his entire body, more passionately than ever before. It’s a noticeable difference. Barty’s mouth has become a fucking desert it’s so dry and Evan just keeps making his way across the stage. The crowd has become muted and the presence of their other band mates is nothing but mere ghosts. Evan’s voice has a breathless quality to it while still sounding raspy, and that voice is stranding Barty and making him go mad.
'Cause it's not just a figure of speech
Evan is standing directly in front of Barty by now. Barty has completely forgotten they’re surrounded by thousands of fans who are undoubtedly filming this and who are undoubtedly going to flood the internet with him and Evan flirting on stage for everyone to see. It’ll be an even bigger deal than Regulus serenading James, who was front row, a few concerts ago, seeing as there’s never been any speculation on Evan and his relationship. Evan seems to have forgotten about the crowd as well or simply doesn’t give a damn.
You got me down on my knees
As Evan sings this line, with a noticeable emphasis on the line, he slowly sinks to his knees right in front of Barty. Barty smirks down at him while feeling as though he’s five seconds away from hitting his own knees. There’s a slight stutter in the drums and Barty remembers where they are. Not that it stops anything.
It's getting harder to breathe out
Evan finishes his verse and Regulus starts in on the chorus, singing solo since he is the lead vocalist. Evan gets off the stage floor, still never taking his eyes off Barty. Regulus sings while Barty and Evan mouth the lyrics to each other. There’s a daring, challenging glint in Evan’s eyes that Barty knows is reflected in his own. He feels hot and prickly all over.
They continue with their guitars and dance around the stage and it seems as though they’re chasing after one another, just out of reach. Barty is entirely enraptured with Evan; his fingers strumming the cords, the way he moves on stage, the sweat making his skin glow and his hair stick to his forehead. Barty’s itching for the show to end.
Regulus has finished the chorus, meaning it’s time for Barty to sing his verse. Eyes pinned on Evan still he sings,
Boy, just scream it out
Tell me what you're thinking
There’s no doubt everyone notices the slight lyric change from Girl to Boy. Regulus stutters slightly, not prepared for the change. Evan smirks again.
Oh, I wanna see you undress now
Barty sings, growing more and more passionate, putting more and more of his body and heart into the words. Evan’s eyebrows raise at this line and his smirk grows.
Oh, I wanna see you undress now
Oh, oh
Barty is right in front of Evan, leaning forward slightly with intent. Evan covers the mic clipped on his shirt with his hand and moves closer an inch to whisper in Barty’s ear, “Oh, do you now?”
Barty feels his knees buckle and he very nearly hits the floor. Evan pulls back with a calm face, an eyebrow arched. Barty’s face must be incredibly telling since Evan’s smirk flickers back on his face. That smirk is driving Barty mad.
It’s back to the chorus and Regulus takes the solo again.
Now, if I could figure it out
I'd take you back to my house
So we could meddle about
Barty and Evan once again mouth the words to each other as Regulus sings to the crowd, forgotten to the other two. The chorus continues and whatever show Evan and Barty are putting in for each other continues to flow.
The song goes back to the opening verse and this time Barty and Evan sing it as a duet.
Well, come and get it now
Come and get it now
Eyes pinned on each other without wavering.
Baby, show me what you're doing
Come and turn around
Evan walks a circle around Barty who follows Evan with his eyes as he orbits around him and his eyes snap right back to Evan’s as he comes around on his other side.
'Cause it's not just a figure of speech
You got me down on my knees
They hit their knees in front of each other, perfectly in sync. Distantly, Barty hears the crowd cheering louder than they have the whole performance and he thinks Regulus has stopped singing for the first time the whole show.
It's getting harder to breathe out
Their foreheads are pressed together and Barty’s breathing gets heavy, Evan’s does the same. Whether it’s just from the exhilaration of performing or from the man in front of him, he can’t tell; he decides it’s both.
The chorus plays once more, signaling the close end of the song and the show. Barty stands first, slowly and surprisingly steadily. Evan’s eyes trail his movements and rake over his body. Barty feels the path of his eyes like hands roaming every inch of him.
The flashing lights cut off and smoke fills the stage; The Pantheon’s signature ending move. Clapping fills the stadium and the band files off the stage, Evan and Barty moving faster than Dorcas and Regulus.
Marlene, Dorcas’ girlfriend, and James, Regulus’ boyfriend, are waiting for their respective partners just behind stage.
“Some show that was,” James says to Barty and Evan after kissing Regulus. They walk past him, clearly in a hurry to be alone. Regulus says something to them, but they’re too focused on getting alone to even hear what it is that falls from his mouth.
“Looked like you were ready to meddle about on stage,” Marlene notes with a wicked smirk and playful glint in her eyes.
Dorcas sways her head for the bad joke before kissing her, and Barty throws over his shoulder,
“That’s what dressing rooms are for, McKinnon,” before he gets dragged into Evan’s dressing room.
“Nice performance, Crouch.” Evan remarks as he wraps his arms around his neck.
“Not too bad yourself, Rosier.” Barty replies, snaking his arms around Evan’s back.
Their lips meet and at the first brush of tongue, a moan fills the silence of the room. If it comes from himself or Evan, Barty couldn’t tell you, but he’s so very thankful for it as it causes the kiss to deepen.
Evan’s hands slide up under his shirt and Barty feels a line of heat slide down his spine. He finds his own hands tangled in Evan’s hair.
Anything and everything else is lost to them both now. Even the feel of the wall on his back as he hits it when Evan pushes him to it barely registers in his head.
Things escalate and unravel from there and this night will forever be burned into their very brain matter for the rest of their lives.