Archive of Our Own

Mush grins, a little confused, as he saw the notification pop up on his phone. He opens the group chat- several people have already started typing.

SPECtacles: i'd be glad to give you a loan if you pay me back for last week

cowboy!?!: what are you planning

blink 💖: jeez y'all no need for hostility. heres a better question. which of us has netflix

SPECtacles: no can do kid, dance tonight. i may have dodged a bullet, but i hope yall have fun

me!: don't be mean, specs :pp i got it just after last time, i knew you'd want to have another movie night 

blink 💖: hell yes mush coming in clutch. i was gonna pay you back by paying for pizza tonight, but i guess since you're not gonna be there...

SPECtacles: you wiley bastard. it ends at 9, i'll be there.

cowboy!?!: make the movie somethin good and i'll show

blink 💖: nothing you like is "good"

cowboy!?!: you're infuriating

blink 💖: i try my best. 9:30 at mush's, be late if you want i guess but we'll start without you.

me!: are you coming early like usu|

Mush placed down his phone in the middle of his text to answer a knock at the door. As soon as it swung open, Blink's bag was on the floor and Mush wrapped tight in a steely hug.

"Heya, Lou. Should've known you were already close."

"I was plannin' on comin' over here first no matter who was hosting, but I'm glad you was the one so I got an excuse!"

Blink walks in, but Mush's eyes follow him before his body does. He shakes off whatever feeling ran down his spine and tails his friend onto the couch. 

"Got anything to kill time?"

A wiimote lands in his lap, and he sees Mush grin as he flips on the tv.  Blink vs. Mush. King Boo vs. Princess Peach. The Mario Kart battle of the century. Kind of, at least. Most of the matches end up with Kid far in the lead, but he frequently would hit bananas to give Mush a fighting chance (though he'd never admit it was on purpose.) Blink considered himself a pro at shells, nailing Mush whenever he pulled in the lead... Except for once.

"Damn you, Donkey Kong! No respect for the players, huh?"

Mush cackled as he pulled ahead faster.

"Ya missed, dork! Thanks, DK, I'll never forget your sacrifice. What place is he in now, 8th?"

"All that matters is MY place- first," Blink teases, throwing his body in front of Mush to block the screen.

Jack clapped from the side of the room- "JACK?! When the hell did you get here?" Mush yelped.

"Just now," he said with a snicker. Specs closed the door behind them as he walked to sit down in front of the couch.

"We ain't realize how late it was, fellas. Ain't even ordered the pizza yet. Turn on whatever, would ya, Mush?"

Blink turns back to see the scoreboard for the round. Mush in 5th, Blink in 12th, and the evil Donkey Kong AI in first.

"That round ain't count coz they distracted me," he whines.

"That round ain't count coz you cheated!" Mush teased back at him, flipping to the home page and opening Netflix.

"Alright. Let's watch... Uh... Star... Wars," Specs says slowly, watching Jack's expression to judge if he'll whine the whole time or not. He shrugs and Specs grins, grabbing the blanket off the side of the bed and wrapping himself in it. Cowboy's already made himself at home, feet propped up on the short coffee table and back resting against the foot of the couch. 

"Y'all sure you ain't want the couch? Me 'n' Blink'd be happy to get off," Mush offers before his friend can protest. 

"...Yeah, naw. You two stick together," Specs smiles. "Just put it on, I wanna thirst after Han."

The first half hour was mostly uneventful. Mush hadn't seen it in forever, so he was actually trying to watch, elbowing Blink as he bent down to crack a dumb joke to Kelly. By the halfway point, they caught their fearless leader slumping over onto the ground, snoring gently. Specs soon after relented to Mush's pleas to give up his blanket to the sleeper. 

Specs fell quiet after a while too, leaving the other two boys to point and joke to each other in hushed voices. Blink's arm was wrapped tight around his neck, and Mush's heart fluttered a little as his bare hand brushed against his neck accidentally. PDA was never a big thing for them- Blink had always been very handsy with his friends- but this time felt different, and he knew Lou felt it as well. They turned to face each other at nearly the same time, and Mush pushed golden hair out of Blink's face gently.

The film's action roared in the background, but neither paid it any mind. Their noses hovered centimeters apart, neither making a move for just a little while. Mush blinked sheepishly.

"Can I kiss you?" he murmured.

Kid smiles back.

"Yeah."

Leaning in, Mush brushes past his lips and gently places a kiss on Blink's cheek, hand resting on his other cheek. Kid leans his head back and chuckles, causing Mush's eyebrows to furrow in worry. He saw the anxiety blushing across the other man's face and leaned back in, stopping just before their noses touched.

"Ya missed, dork," Blink playfully mocks.

He finally bridges the gap, kissing each other for the first time. It wasn't very good, both were too busy smiling to do much other than press their lips together. 

Blink places his hand over Mush's, reveling in the moment before they were quickly snapped out of it by a childish "Ooooooooo...." from in front of them.

"Y- I thought you were asleep!" Blink yowls, whipping around to see Specs turn from watching the TV. His eyebrow shoots up, lips pursed in a smile, and he snorts a laugh. 

"I just didn't wanna ruin the moment. You two can continue after I collect from the group."

"Collect?" Blink manages to choke out.

"If you two thought you were at all secretive about your crushes, you're dead wrong. Me and the fellas had, uh, a bit of a bet goin' on," Specs admits.

Blink looks like he's going to faint, but Mush is wrapping him in a hug, trying to hold back his own laughter.

"Wh'ssa matter with you? What's goin' on?" grumbles a voice from the floor.

"Glad you could join us, Cowboy. You owe me five."

He looks confused for a moment- "From what? You forreal?"- before his eyes flit over to the two laced together on the couch. He winces a little bit but shoots them a thumbs up from where he lies on his back.

"Damn. 'Least I don't bet like Race."

"Don't I know it. Remember when he put 50 on himself and Albert as a joke, and then immidiately asked him out once a few suckers took the bait?"

Jack rubs his eyes and groans.

"Don't rub it in."

The buzz settles down eventually, and the end credits crawl up the screen. Specs drags Jack up from where he lay, motioning for Blink to get up as well, but pauses as he sees how Mush's head is resting in the crook of his neck. Mush is half asleep himself. Jack and Specs wave their goodbyes quietly-

"Night, lovebirds. I'd tell you to get a room, but it seems y'already got that covered." and "Make sure to tell the other fellas soon so I can wring them dry."

Blink waves them away by flipping them off, but once the door is shut and the boys alone, he suddenly feels dreadfully awkward.

"I'll sleep over 'n' we can talk about... Uhm, 'us' I guess in the mornin'. Alright with you?"

"More than alright, Lou. That's perfect."

That morning...

kathy!: sounds like you lot had an eventful night

SPECtacles: he didn't even buy the pizza

kathy!: he didn't even buy the pizza.