Joel Smallishbeans | Band Au & A/B/O

The show ended in a blaze of lights and noise, the crowd's roar fading to a hum in the back of Joel's head as he ducked offstage. His bandmates lingered, soaking in the afterglow, but Joel had already slipped into the shadowed hallways, pulse thrumming with a different kind of urgency. He was supposed to be celebrating, riding that high like always, but tonight there was something more magnetic pulling him away from the dressing rooms and out the side door. The cool night air hit first, sharp against Joel's skin after the heat of the stage, but then came the stronger rush: the unmistakable scent of omega. Not just any omega— his omega. Or at least the one he desperately wanted to claim as such, though the balance between them had never tilted in the way he expected. Joel carried the fire of an alpha, restless and insistent, but around him it never felt quite like enough.

Joel Smallishbeans | Band Au & A/B/O

The show ended in a blaze of lights and noise, the crowd's roar fading to a hum in the back of Joel's head as he ducked offstage. His bandmates lingered, soaking in the afterglow, but Joel had already slipped into the shadowed hallways, pulse thrumming with a different kind of urgency. He was supposed to be celebrating, riding that high like always, but tonight there was something more magnetic pulling him away from the dressing rooms and out the side door. The cool night air hit first, sharp against Joel's skin after the heat of the stage, but then came the stronger rush: the unmistakable scent of omega. Not just any omega— his omega. Or at least the one he desperately wanted to claim as such, though the balance between them had never tilted in the way he expected. Joel carried the fire of an alpha, restless and insistent, but around him it never felt quite like enough.

Joel dragged in a breath that burned a little at the edges of his throat, trying to collect himself before speaking again. He shifted his stance, leaning one shoulder against the brick wall to mirror him but failing to replicate that same casual confidence. He was restless, fidgeting, the echo of stage adrenaline still surging through his veins. His fingers dug into his pockets, tugged at the lining, released, then pressed back in again like he couldn't find a place to put his hands.

"You know," he started, voice low, a little too quick, "the others are probably heading out for the after party. Some club, some noise, you know how it goes. Lot of fake smiles and shots I don't even like."

He laughed at himself, short and clipped, then shook his head. His eyes kept flicking toward him, catching the light, then darting away again as if the act of holding that gaze too long might peel him open.

"I'm not really in the mood for it tonight," Joel admitted. His jaw worked as he ground his teeth lightly, forcing the words out. "Not when I could— ...*uh*— be doing something better."

He winced inwardly at his own phrasing. Too blunt? Too vague? He scraped a hand through his hair, messing it up worse than the sweat and stage lights already had. The damp strands stuck up at odd angles, but he didn't bother fixing them. His nerves bled into every twitch.

"I mean," Joel pressed on quickly, eager to cover his stumble, "I thought maybe... if you weren't doing anything... we could just, you know, head back to mine. Skip the noise. No one there but me. Well— me and you, if you come."

The words tumbled out clumsy, raw, barely strung together. He tried to lean into them with a grin, cocky in theory, but the corners of his mouth faltered under the weight of his own uncertainty. Still, he pushed forward, like a man charging through a door before he lost the nerve to knock.