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Before meeting the man, Hi_Five had been a loyal fan of Mitch Williams. How could he not be? In his early days, MitchFTW had been a kid just like him. He was a kid sitting in front of a camera teaching skills and strategies to all the hopeful newbs online. It was nice to look up to someone who wasn’t his Papi or Abuela. And so what if he had a crush on him? Everyone did, right? He was Mitch Williams! Anyone regardless of sexuality had a thing for Mitch—he told himself often. Five had no issues with men liking men: he simply was not a guy who liked guys! Every guy had at least one man crush among their dozens of girl crushes.
After all the hassle of joining Glitch Tech and meeting the real Mitch, any sane person would rightfully stop having a crush on him. While Five’s feelings certainly were more complicated, that small stupid crush was ingrained in his brain like malware. Of course, knowing “the real Mitch” made it hard to like him. Knowing more about a person had that effect on everyone. He loved Miko and the rest of his team despite—and sometimes because of—all of their flaws, and he knew they loved him the same. But his love for Mitch would always be... different.
They all had grown over five years of working together: every branch on their skill tree unlocked and buffed to the extreme. Relationships became more complex as the technicians explored their budding feelings for each other. Zahra had asked Five out on a few dates which were crashed by glitches and Miko. When they finally had a glitch-free date, both came to the realization that Zahra had enjoyed Miko’s company on their dates more than Five’s. They agreed to stay friends, and Five only ate two pints of ice cream to soothe his broken heart when he got home. Miko and Zahra were a strong power couple, along with Bergy and Nix after months of stammering around each other. As much as Nix liked to think of himself as the “Scorekeeper”, he rarely counted his romance points—which left him surprised when he realized they were a month into dating. In an attempt to rid himself of any lingering feelings, Five had attempted a rebound with Nameless which had been interesting for the week it lasted. The only single men left in the labs were—
“Us!” Haneesh and Five said as they clinked their soda cans together. Mitch did not join in, sipping on his brown paper bag covered beverage quietly.
It was Valentine’s Day, and their third year of meeting together for their own celebration. Mitch had joined begrudgingly last year when Bergy and Nix left to celebrate it as a couple. Before, they had played D&D with Bergy as the DM but now it was just the three of them (along with an AI creating a one-shot campaign for them to play). Haneesh got into roleplaying his Elven artificer and somehow was even quippier than Miko during combat rounds. Five, to take a different route, was a human fighter/paladin dual class who was gruff, masculine, and had a tragic backstory. Then there was Mitch, the tiefling bard whose thinly veiled innuendos were enough to make the AI blush. Haneesh and Five had such a hoot and a holler playing with Mitch that he begged them to be quiet about the next day.
“To us,” Mitch put his drink down, standing to his full height. “The only sane lads left in this damn team!” He cried out as he lifted his drink in the air. The other boys joined in, throwing their drinks up in the air as well. They all took a large gulp of their respective drinks, burping afterwards at various loudness and making each other snicker. Only Mitch was unamused by this display.
“So, when’s the pizza coming?” Five asked eagerly as he wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. Haneesh checked his phone, grimacing as he swiped through numerous meaningless alerts from various apps. He scoffed as soon as he got into his delivery app.
“What? I could’ve sworn I ordered it for delivery!” Haneesh’s brows bunched together in frustration. “Now it's supposed to be pick-up?” He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off his frustration. Five whined, putting his face in his hands.
“What a shame.” Mitch shook his head, tutting softly in his closest approximation to remorse he would show in front of more than one person. Five managed to wipe the disappointment off his face, looking up at Haneesh with a hopeful smile.
“I guess we’re gonna go on a quest to pick up the pizza, huh?” He proposed, moving to hop out of his seat. Haneesh shook his head, already out of his seat and heading to the door.
“Nah, I can take care of it on my own. It’ll be ten minutes max. If I bring you along, a glitch is bound to pop up.” He gave a helpless grin. “Mind if I take your car, Mitch? My gauntlet’s still getting fixed.”
“Go ahead.” Mitch pointed his gauntlet at the window, summoning his car. Haneesh gave him a wave and a grin before walking out of the apartment. Five peeked out of the window, checking that Haneesh got outside and to the car safely. “Five, can you sit still for a single second?” Mitch’s question was rhetorical but not as snide as it once would have been. Five rolled his eyes with a laugh, slipping back into his chair across from Mitch.
“We have to be ready for any emergency, Mitch.” He reminded, crossing his arms as he started propping his legs up on the table. He took any chance he could to stretch his long legs: he tried not to complain but his knees frequently hit the underside of Haneesh’s table. “Besides, we’re teammates! We should have each other’s backs.”
“That’s my cue.” Mitch snickered, taking another swig from his bottle. Five frowned at the statement.
“What do you mean?” He asked, trying to lean forward while his chair precariously tipped backwards. Mitch wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he arched his eyebrow.
“It’s my own personal drinking game. Every time you talk about being a team, I take a swig.” The pro gave him a smirk as he set the bagged drink down. “You haven’t noticed how much water I down during our missions?” He asked in sarcastic incredulity. Five felt a burning in his cheeks. He had let himself think that Mitch was no longer groaning at his affirmations of teamwork because he was finally agreeing with him.
“You’re not drinking water now, are you?” Five asked, running his fingers through his somewhat managed fro. He had taken a few of Mitch’s styling tips after years of negging and prodding. Mitch smiled, waggling his brows.
"Nice deduction, Five-lock." He grimaced after the forced pun. Five let out a chuckle: he had certainly taught him a few things. "I need a drink if I'm going to be spending all night with you."
"Oh, come on." Five shook his head, trying to remain playful, but he could not help the concerns in the back of his mind. As much as his relationship had grown with Mitch—and Mitch had grown—Five still worried that the snide Glitch Tech hated him. “It’s not really that bad to be around me, right?” His nervous laugh was deeper than it had been since puberty finally gave his voice more bass.
Mitch furrowed his brows at the question, running his hand over his white locs. He opened his mouth a few times as he clearly thought through what he wanted to say. It was rare that he did not immediately have a quip ready for Five. It reminded Five of one of Mitch’s first few videos where he was finally beating the world high score for a dungeon crawler. A strange surge of pride rushed through Five. He was used to irritation or begrudging respect from Mitch, but this was very different.
“Remember that copycat glitch a few years back?” Mitch’s eyes finally met Five’s. Five nodded, a more genuine smile lighting his face as he remembered the video Zahra had of him yelling at Mitch. It was not his proudest moment but certainly not a shameful one. “As obnoxious as my copy was, he had some advantages I still do not possess.” His tone was surprisingly professional. Five was starting to have doubts about the alcohol Mitch was supposedly drinking. Either that or all of the media he had watched about drinking was incredibly inaccurate; obviously media concerning commercial products was always accurate especially when a real-world stigma is attached to it.
“L- like what?” Five asked, shaking himself out of his train of thought. Mitch grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose. His irritation seemed different than usual: more directed inwards than it was outwards.
“I don’t know how to say this without sounding hopelessly dramatic,” Mitch began with a sigh as he stood up. He walked around the table, fiddling with the lapels on his jacket. “But up until the end there, he didn’t really hurt you much.” He stood in front of Five, his right hand hovering over his shoulder before it instead gripped the back of his chair. "Whenever I get close to you, I hurt you."
Five was shocked by the statement. Mitch was right about it being dramatic: if that was how he really felt about being close to anyone, then of course he would be reluctant to open up. "Um, if that's why you feel like whenever people get-”
“You fuckin’-” Mitch huffed and Five swore he heard the back of the chair creak. “You’re still such a blueberry.” He tutted before giving Five one last shock: sitting right in his lap. They stared at each other in silence for what felt like hours. Five wondered if someone had slipped something in his drink—even though he knew Haneesh and Mitch would never do that. He never necessarily fantasized about this exact scenario, but there was something so very appealing about a lap full of Mitch Williams. Mitch continued to examine him with that analytical gaze but there was something smug about it.
“I- I’m sorry I can’t read your mind.” Five stammered, his fingers combing through his hair to distract himself from his nervousness. “But, um, if this is—uh—relevant, I get nervous about getting close to you too.” He raised his eyes to meet his coworker’s. His cheeks were red hot and soon the rest of his confession began tumbling out.
“I looked up to you so much when I was a kid and then you turned into such a griefer when you grew up, and it honestly fucked me up. I thought I knew you through your vids, and I was so wrong. But then I got to know you and you’re so much better than I ever thought. You’re so human, ¡mierda!” He took a sharp breath before pushing forward. “You care about the people around you even though you try not to. You put up so many walls to protect yourself from hurt, and you end up only hurting yourself. That’s why I want to be your teammate, your friend, and—” Five’s hands shook as he cupped Mitch’s face in his hands. “Ay joder, I want to kiss you so badly.” His voice almost broke as he looked into his eyes.
Mitch severed eye contact as he closed his eyes, leaning into Five’s hands. He looked content and peaceful cradled in Five’s shaking hands despite the heat radiating off of his cheeks. Five watched as his glossy brown lips took a slow breath. Five felt the tug of war between his heart and mind intensify until there was a lump in his throat.
“Why don’t you just do it, then?” Mitch murmured as he put a hand over Five’s. Five did not realize until his lips were pressed against Mitch’s until he felt a kiss in return. Five’s hands slid back to his locks, gripping the extensions tightly but not painfully. Their arms tangled together as their lips pressed and slid against each other. The kiss was intense as their face radiated heat. Mitch’s hands seemed desperate to touch any part of Five they could reach. His hands splayed against his chest, stomach, hips, back up to his face. Five pulled away when he felt the sensory experience was all too much. He pressed his forehead against Mitch’s still, wanting to stay close. Mitch gave a quiet chuckle as he stroked two fingers along Five’s jawline.
“I’ve wanted to do that for awhile.” Mitch mumbled, his eyes only halfway open. “It’s just… you’re you.” He sounded awestruck instead of mocking. Five laughed as well as he put his hands on Mitch’s shoulders.
“What about me’s so scary?” Five asked teasingly, giving his shoulders a brief squeeze. “Watch out for the twenty-year-old gamer with no real social skills and a stutter.” He was relieved to hear his joke landed when Mitch poorly stifled a giggle. Mitch finally met his eyes with a sheepish expression.
“I’ve known you for five years now, and you’ve never… slipped. You give me so many chances, you don’t yell without having a good reason, you… believe in people.” Mitch pressed his lips together, looking away as his blush deepened. “I didn’t want to ruin you by being close to you. I didn’t want to be your teammate or friend because—'' he took another deep breath. “I thought I’d ruin that naïveness. But you just had to worm your way into my heart.” His fingers fussed with the collar of Five’s shirt. “And then it turned out you weren’t naïve. You’ve been through so much but just didn’t make you as much of an arsehole as I became.” Five reached up to touch his cheek, brushing away the tear that Mitch did not seem to realize had fallen. “Everyone I touch, I corrupt. I could never let that happen to you.” Mitch’s choked plea was received with a tight hug from Five.
“You’re not a glitch, Mitch.” Five assured before pressing a kiss to his neck. “You’re not a bad person. You never have been.” He looked over at the window as he rubbed slow circles on his back. “You are the Mitch I remember: a great gamer who just wants to help people. You just ended up hurting yourself along the way.”
They stayed in that position until Mitch managed to pull back, wiping his face with his jacket sleeve. Just as he pressed a tender kiss to Five’s lips, there was a thudding sound on the door. Five jumped, finally brought back to reality. They were in Haneesh’s apartment— Haneesh, his friend and coworker, who had left to get pizza. Not only that, but Haneesh said he would be back in less than ten minutes. Mitch gave a harrumph as Five stood up, his arms wrapped around him in an octopus-like grip.
"Mitch, you gotta let me go.” Five could not help but laugh as Mitch hung onto him like a petulant child. Mitch pouted up at him, his dark brown eyes betraying his neediness. Five granted him a quick kiss, thanking Mitch when he dropped back to the floor. Five walked to the door, opening it with what he hoped was an unsuspicious smile. Haneesh smiled back and began to walk into his home before stopping suddenly.
“Hey, uh, your mouth-” Five froze as he realized what Haneesh was probably seeing. He forgot that all those kisses certainly left a lot of gloss on his own lips. Mitch’s snicker as he sat down certainly did not help Five get any sort of composure. Haneesh sighed heavily, walking over to the table and placing the pizza box down. “I’m the only single guy left? Really?”
“The only sane man left.” Mitch patted him on the shoulder before opening the pizza box. Five felt a giddiness rise in his chest as he returned to his seat. If being in a relationship with Mitch was insanity, he did not mind being a madman.