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When it came to being dependable, Jaime would say he was more reliable than most.
Sure, there was the occasional missing of alarms and ghosting texts for days or weeks at a time, but that was practically outside of the man’s control.
After all, he’s only human despite what his online alias, Droid, may suggest.
Due to this dependability, it seemed obvious why he was the first person Max, or Pezzy, turned to when he needed a favor. Sure, he may claim that it was because he was the only other person in the house or that he was the only other degenerate capable of staying awake as long as the shorter man, but those were just excuses.
Droid knew deep down that the man knew exactly his capabilities and that he would be the best choice regardless of personal proximity.
He was the only man for the job.
What was this prestigious job, you may ask, well Droid wasn’t really sure himself. Pezzy had seemed kind of nervous while explaining what he needed, spending more time playing with the hems of his sweater than actually discussing what was required. From the curt conversation, Jaime believed all he had to do was just watch his sleep stream in case anything weird happened.
He’d tried to ask what exactly “weird things” entailed and was met with a quickly reddened face and a mumble that sounded a lot like…
“possible sleep stripping.”
Maybe it was his boisterous laughter at the thought that ended the conversation early but he couldn’t help it; he was a giggly guy. The image of his friend ripping off his pants on stream was objectively funny.
Pezzy stumbled through a couple phrases of justification before giving up and stomping out of Droid’s room before the man could catch his breath.
Since that night, Droid had convinced Pezzy that he did not think his fears were stupid and that he’d be perfectly fine watching his stream while he slept just in case. It was not the biggest inconvenience in his life and Pez was just being anxious. He would be totally fine watching him sleep silently for hours. That’s what friends do.
That’s what Jaime would do because he’s dependable and a great friend; Pezzy’s best friend.
It was going to be easy and it was easy. So easy in fact that Droid was actively falling asleep himself.
The chance that he would fall asleep was something Droid had barely considered as the two made plans on how the stream would go. It started like any other stream with Pezzy interacting with chat before he broke down the new sound notifications he had made for the stream. There were the classic scares like screams or sirens and some more niche funny mic clips he’d included just to spice things up. After that, he also broached the subject of Droid’s possible presence on stream past this point. Stating that if anything were to go wrong he may step in to help. He also tacked on a comment about if he decided to step in and harm instead of help.
“Make sure to clip his ass so I can get him back later.”
Droid chuckled at the insinuation before dropping a very offended comment in chat about the accusation that he’d ever try and harm his best friend. A comment that made the other man laugh as well before doubling down on his claim. Making it extra clear doodling or tampering with the stream would not be tolerated.
With the normal content wrapped and rules explained all that was left was the sleeping part of the long-awaited sleep stream.
It took Pezzy a bit to drift off, but once he finally fell asleep, he was out like a light. The man slept like a brick; silent and still. The scene was peaceful as long as you discount the occasional ear-piercing donation which hadn’t popped in a while. It left Droid leaning deeper into his chair as he unwound to the visual in front of him.
Fingers dragging against his leg in a pitiful attempt to keep himself awake.
Nails biting the skin.
The sting had kept him conscious so far but he knew he was losing the battle. Unless something happened soon Droid wouldn’t be watching anything but his eyelids.
Thankfully for Droid, it was at this moment that Pezzy started to shift turning from one side to the other then back once more. It was clear that he was getting uncomfortable and, from Droid's experiences sleeping with the man from multiple hotel stays, that mean one of two things. The first, he was just having a nightmare and would wake up in a moment to hopefully escape or he was getting too hot in his sweatshirt and was moments away from taking it off altogether.
Droid watched in horror as the man slowly sat up, stretched, and sleepily reached down for the hem.
This was no nightmare.
Pezzy was getting ready to strip and Droid had mere minutes before his friend was very naked and very possibly banned.
He bolted up from his chair and stumbled on sleeping legs to Pezzy’s room. Opening the door, He realized that his friend was stuck halfway out of the fabric his stomach only slightly exposed. Jaime rushed towards the computer, quickly switching to a premade “technical difficulties” frame before moving to help his friend escape his own sweatshirt.
Droid leaned over the man and wrapped a hand around each of his wrists pulling his arms up above his head. This elicited some squeak from Pezzy but Droid chalked it up to surprise. After all, it’s not like Pezzy could see what with the sweatshirt wrapped around his head. He then wrapped his own fingers around the hem and tugged the sweatshirt fully off. Knuckles grazed smooth skin. With his chest exposed, his friend let out a contented sigh and moved to settle back under the covers.
“Not yet dude, we gotta get you a T first.”
This sentiment was met with a whine and some mumbled complaints about being fine without a shirt which Droid ignored. Pez wasn’t fully conscious, he wasn’t thinking about the thousands who could catch him shirtless. Droid was all too aware of that reality, however. The thought of people, strangers, getting a chance to see his friend half-naked was not pleasant in the slightest.
It was his job to keep Max safe. He was chosen to help him keep his modesty. Only he was allowed to see the man naked. Only Jaime could get to draw his fingers down his pale chest, tracing patterns against his wrists, while slipping him into a simple tank top.
It was what friends do.
Wait.
He looked down at his friend, now clad in one of Jaime’s tank tops, and back up at his own hands.
Did he just…
No. No, Droid was just tired. He would never dream of dragging his nails across the other's skin, leaving red lines stark against the other’s paper-like skin. Wrapping his fingers once more around those impressively small wrists and hearing that same squeak again and again.
He took a step back,
A breath in,
And turned back towards the monitor. Removing the “Technical Difficulties” screen from the stream so chat could once again see their streamer.
His friend.
“Alright guys, we’re all good. No free Pitties today.”
The whisper to the mic was followed by a nervous laugh he hoped chat would take as sincere. It seemed like he had gotten away with his shaking voice as all they seemed to care about was the fact that he was now not tucked in. From what Droid could remember, Pezzy wasn’t tucked in before either but the chat was insistent he be a good “homie” and tuck Pez in. So, he exaggeratedly rolled his eyes and walked back towards the bed. With his back to the camera, he let himself take in Pezzy one more time before bending down and tucking his covers tight around him.
Pulling away he returned to Pezzy’s setup once more.
“Are you happy now?”
Emote’s filled the chat along with affirmative comments about his superior tucking job. He glanced over them quietly responding to a couple before one, in particular, made his breath catch.
‘What no forehead kiss??? Smh man fake friend.’
He scoffed, “Dude, I’m not gonna kiss him goodnight chat. You heard how serious he was about messing with him. I don’t want to get shocked again...”
The chat was once again consumed by a shared goal; get Droid to kiss his friend. It was ridiculous. He knew the bit, kiss your homies goodnight and all that shit, but he wasn’t going to kiss his friend on the forehead just for a clip. That was stupid.
He looked over his shoulder at Pezzy, tucked in tight, cozy, and soft. Hair sticking up everywhere. Soft breaths drifted smoothly out of his lightly parted lips.
He looked back at chat, egging him on, pushing for just one kiss.
Fuck it.
“Fine chat you win… but you better not clip this shit.”
He returned once more to Pezzy’s side and swooped down quickly, placing a light peck on his forehead before straightening back up and flipping the camera the bird. Jaime then casually walked away and closed the door firmly behind himself.
A deep breath in, a shaky exhale. He gasped for air as if the room had wrapped its walls around his throat. Tracing the walls to ground himself, Droid walked back into his room and settled into his setup once more. One hand carding through his own hair as Jaime’s gaze fell upon Pezzy’s stream.
Peaceful and still and beyond his grasp.
He was a good friend, dependable, his best friend.
That’s why he resolved to put some distance between himself and Pezzy going forward. He should be capable of it, he wasn’t always a short walk away. Droid knows how to live beyond Pezzy’s sight.
It would be easy, so easy.
But then again, he was human despite what his online alias suggested.
Who could blame him for slipping up?
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The clip was everywhere in chat and Max didn’t know how to feel about it.
Sure, he and Droid had played up the more physical side of their relationship in the past, but it had been for the bit. It was that subtle glance or light shove before leaning that told him not to push too far. To let him know that it was all just an act. That there was nothing real between them.
What Droid did last night shouldn’t be an exception to this.
Just because none of the usual signs were there doesn’t mean that this time was any different. The half-hearted laughter, the hesitation, and the strained tone was most likely because the man was just tired. He’d spent the whole night staring at Pez sleep after all; not the most exciting of tasks. Of course, he would be a little shaky on camera after that.
That makes perfect sense.
Despite this, with each rewatch Pezzy was almost certain there was something else. The way he had hesitated to play along at the start. The panic that filled the final moments he’d spent at his bedside. Even the moments obscured by his own “technical difficulties” screen were starting to seem odd. Why had it taken so long to switch him into a simple tank? Why did he seem so out of breath when the camera was rolling once more?
Is that when he left the ring of bruises setting light on Pezzy’s wrists?
The ones he’d spent the morning tracing with his own thumbs? The ones he was grasping at straws to rationalize through the lens of their current relationship? The ones that for some reason sent shivers up his spine every time Droid spoke?
An echo of an act that went beyond any prior bit, on so many fucking levels.
The ones Pezzy hoped would never fade away.
Why?
Well, because if they never went away he would finally have something to clutch at. A shred of hope that maybe Droid actually felt the same way he did. That he spent just as many nights lying awake tormented by his own mind. Replaying every single joke, over and over and over again just to feel some sense of what it would be like to be loved by the other man. To be cared for by his best friend in the way that he desperately fucking wanted him to.
That he liked him for him.
Beyond the bit.
Beyond the benefits that came from their little act.
That he could be loved.
God, he felt insane. Pezzy was romanticizing a bruise he couldn’t even remember getting from his very straight best friend. A bruise.
It couldn’t be healthy.
It’s certainly not normal.
Staring at the clip looping on his monitor, the soft touch of lips to his temple, it was like he could feel it. The touch he’d dreamt up on countless occasions. Warm.
His nails pressed into the bruise.
Max needed to know what it was like. Even if it was just once, he needed to know what it was like to be loved by Jaime. Then this would all go away. The endless daydreams would stop. The obsessing over every little act. The anxiety over what was too far or too much. If he could just understand what was comedy and what was reality then he could finally figure out what they were.
What he wanted them to be.
All he had to do was avoid slipping up and scaring him away. Just one more kiss and he’d be free from this insane in-between. Human again.
It would be easy
Pezzy laughed between breaths, shaking in his seat, wrist clasped tight in his own fingers.
So easy, he could do it in his sleep.