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Punz was staring, that much he knew. What, exactly, he was staring at his mind still hadn’t caught up on. He blinked a few times to center himself and remember where he was. He was leaning against the kitchen counter of the Dream Team house and supposed to be chatting with Dream about the most recent change in Twitch terms of service while Dream cooked himself dinner. They had been talking about that at least until Sapnap finally joined them.
The youngest had been getting ready when Punz arrived, that’s what Dream told him. At the time, Punz hadn’t really understood what that meant. Sure, the two of them were headed to some underground show that Sapnap had been talking about for weeks, but how long did it take to throw on some jeans and a t-shirt, really ? Now, however, Punz understood the use of the phrase ‘get ready’.
Sapnap was standing just a few feet into the kitchen, the whole of his focus on his phone as he aggressively typed with both hands. It gave Punz the chance to take in his outfit. Because that’s what it was, an outfit . Given they were going to some grungy club to see some indie punk band, the blonde shouldn’t be all that surprised. But he definitely was.
Sapnap was wearing all black. An oversized DeathNote t-shirt that was maybe just too short to have not been cropped but long enough that there was no midriff outright showing joined skinny jeans that looked painted on. Normally that would be enough to make Punz’s mouth dry, the Texan’s thighs were barely contained in regular fit jeans. Skinny jeans just made the thick thighs more pronounced. But peeking through the rips and tears were what had caused Punz’s brain to short circuit.
Fucking fishnets. Sapnap had fucking fishnets under his goddamn skinny jeans.
Punz tore his eyes away from the biggest rip, which showcased almost as much thigh as Sapnap’s normal short shorts did. He had to know, right? The younger man had to know what he was doing with how he dressed. He forced himself to take in the rest of the outfit. A silver studded belt and chains did nothing to steal the show. Neither did the old school chunky Vans.
Somewhere to his left, Dream clears his throat. Punz managed to contain the blush that threatened to warm his face as he met the Floridian’s eyes. The other blonde just quirks an eyebrow and smirks before turning back towards Sapnap.
“Sap, are you taking your fake tonight?” The other blonde asks, disapproval evident in his voice.
Punz scoffs, “I didn’t realize you had a fake.Why are you always begging me to buy for you if you’ve got one?” He crosses his arms, trying his best to sound frustrated. It was hard when at least two of the three men in the room knew without a doubt that he could never be genuinely upset at the youngest.
Sapnap finally looks up from his phone, flashing a grin as he looks directly at Punz. “Why would I risk getting mine taken when I can just flutter my eyelashes at you and you’ll do it?” His voice is sweet as he demonstrates said fluttering, bringing attention to perfectly messy eyeliner. Punz swallows hard and has to look anywhere but at the Texan. Again to his left he hears quiet snickering. He sends a glare at Dream.
“I never take my fake to shows. If I want a drink I can normally find someone to supply one.” Sapnap shrugs, reaching into his back pocket to pull out the tickets. He jingles as he crosses the room, stopping in front of Punz more in his space than normal. He presses both his phone and the tickets into Punz’s chest. “No room in these pants. You can hold them.” He explains before turning back to Dream, still holding the items against the New Englander’s chest.
“We’re ubering, the headliner goes on at 10 so I don’t think we’ll be back until at least 1. Later if I can get us to the after party like I expect we will. He’ll be next to me the whole night so you don’t have to worry about me, dad .” Sapnap detailed out as if he’d gone over this a million times before with Dream.
Punz’s hand slowly came up to collect the treasures he was being put in charge of, tucking them into the front pocket of his completely average khakis. That did have enough room for both of their phones as well as anything else that Sapnap could assign him. He briefly wondered if he’d be the only person in the venue not wearing black.
He looked up in time to see Dream shake his head. “One of you better text me your location if you go to a party. I’ll be up editing, so I’ll know if I don’t hear from you.” He gives Sapnap a stern look and then meets Punz’s eyes, leveling a look that Punz could only read as ‘keep an eye on him’. A nod was the only reply that he could get out before there was a honk outside.
“Uber’s here!” Sapnap announces, grabbing Punz’s wrist and bouncing out of the house. The younger of the two confirmed with the driver his name and their destination before sliding into the backseat.
Sapnap settled in the middle seat, playing with Punz’s fingers after he buckled in. “If you would have come earlier I could have fixed your nails, or if my fucking eyeliner hadn’t decided to be a complete bitch.” He pouted, flipping the large hand over in his own smaller ones.
“Your eyeliner looks fine... You look great, uh. Really good actually.” Punz could hear the awkwardness in his own voice and internally cringed. He sounded like a teenager on their first date. And if he was honest with himself, he kinda felt like it too.
Sapnap was beautiful. When he was in his signature short shorts and a hoodie, or a random band shirt and sweats. When he was raging at Valo or when quiet and inspecting newly opened Pokémon cards. If Karl could hear his thoughts right now, the curly haired man would tell him he was down bad . And shit, he’d be right.
A tap on his wrist brought him out of his thoughts. “You think?” Sapnap asked, his voice soft as he looked up at the blonde. “I was kinda nervous. You haven’t seen me dressed like this yet... Haven’t really had a reason to dress up.” By the end of the words, Punz had to strain his ears to even hear him. A soft flush warmed his face, which only made him prettier.
Punz scoffs. “Of course I think so. You look great, man. I’m glad you bullied me into coming tonight.” He teases, needing to put space between them. Even if it was metaphorical space, since they were pressed together shoulder to knee. But a well placed man and a dig about the plans should be enough to protect his thought process from seconds ago.
Sapnap’s face lit up and rolled his eyes. “Sure. Because saying ‘Hey Punzo I’m going to a show, do you want to go with me’ is bullying.” His giggle filled the backseat and it was music to Punz’s ears. So maybe he wasn’t bullied into coming. Maybe he’d jumped at the opportunity to hang out in the real world. But the damn outfit was torturous enough.
“I guess not... Thank you for buying my ticket, by the way. I don’t think I’ve said that yet.” The elder man says, focusing on the way their hands interacted. It wasn’t safe to look anywhere else. Not with fishnet clad thighs down or eyeliner lined eyes up.
“No problem! You can buy me a drink in return.” Sapnap giggles, tracing the lines of his palm.
“Oh? So you won’t be preying on unsuspecting strangers tonight?” Punz jokes, even as his brain screamed that the younger wouldn’t be speaking to anyone else. Let alone long enough to flirt for a drink. He could feel Sap’s eyes on him so blue met brown.
“Nope.” Sapnap pops the p, his eyes sliding down Punz’s face and linger where the blonde could only hope was his lips. Then they snap back. “If I’m going to take anyone’s money, it’ll be yours.”
Again, Punz is saved by the bell. The uber pulled to a stop in front of the venue and with a quick thank you to the driver, they’re out of the car and headed for the line. His hand was dropped in the shuffle and he had mixed feelings about it. Part of him missed the warmth of the soft hand. He enjoyed how much bigger his hand was than the Texan’s. But they were in public and being recognized was always a possibility. Not that there would be a huge scandal if they were seen holding hands, they’d done it before on camera and in photos before.
Even with the physical contact having ended, Sapnap stayed true to his promise to Dream and stuck close to Punz’s side, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he looked up and down the line. The band could be heard soundchecking inside. At least they didn’t sound awful, something Punz was thankful for. He really hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Punz took the time to check out the line as well. A solid majority of the crowd was dressed identical to Sapnap, some with more spikes and chains, others more toned down. But the commonality was black clothes and dark eye makeup. The other bit of the line seemed to be people in Punz’s position. Friends or partners of completely separate aesthetics, never too far from someone dressed ‘correctly’.
Sapnap must have noticed his confusion. “It’s normal... Emo girlfriend, golden retriever boyfriend stereotype and all.” He explains with a shrug, using his chin to nod towards a couple a few rows ahead of them as an example.
“Am I your golden retriever boyfriend?” Punz aimed for joking, teasing. But it sounded just a bit too genuine to his own ears. He flinched and focused on taking a step forward with the line.
“That’s kind of the idea.” Sapnap hums, seemingly unfazed by the question. “Are you okay going in the crowd? Or do you normally stick to the back of the room?”
“I don’t like barricade but I don’t mind being in the crowd.” Punz replies on autopilot, his brain getting stuck on the previous response. That was the idea??? What the fuck did that mean?
“Cool! I love the feel of the crowd. It’s what I’ve missed most about live music. I’m sooooo glad to be back in the scene. And Orlando has a really cool scene. The headliners are...” Sapnap started rambling about the band they were here to see, sharing all the little bits of information that he’d learned since he found them on TikTok. Punz listened intently, he loved when Sapnap got caught up on something he loved like this.
Sapnap was still on his tangent when they got to the door and Punz pulled out the tickets to hand to the man at the door. The ripped stubs go back in his pocket, figuring they would be a cute keepsake for them. Simp.
Sapnap grabbed his wrist again, pulling him eagerly into the venue. “So, I was thinking you could go get us a drink. Like a vodka redbull. While I look at merch! The merch table should be super duper close to the bar so that way I’ll stay in your sight and I won’t have lied to Dream!” He explains the plan once they’re far enough past security.
“Yeah? That’s what you were thinking, huh?” Punz hums, his wrist burning where he was being pulled through the crowd. His eyes followed the line of Sapnap’s body, watching as the younger relaxed in the loud and high energy environment. It was endearing. Until the younger spun around, catching Punz off guard and he ended up bumping into him.
Sapnap didn’t back up, instead he pressed closer so they were chest to chest. His chin resting on Punz’s chest as he looked up at him. He flutters his eyelashes at the elder man. “Please? Just one drink.”
Punz read the words more than he heard them, his focus stuck on the plump lips as they formed the words. It wouldn’t take much at all to tilt his head down and connect their lips. His head actually started to dip before he caught himself and straightened up.
“One Drink? A vodka Redbull?” Punz repeats, his mind swirling as if he was 6 deep despite being stone cold sober. Were Sapnap’s eyes on his lips again? Or was he just seeing things.
“ One . And then I’ll be so good for you.” Sapnap purrs, dropping the blonde’s wrist and sliding both arms up and around Punz’s neck. He uses his body weight to bring his head down until their lips almost touch. “Be a good boyfriend and go fetch . Please?” He breathes into the New Englander’s mouth before connecting their lips for a moment. Then he dropped his arms and skipped away to the merch table.
Punz stood there in shock, his hand coming up to touch his lips. His body still burned all the spots where they’d touched. From his wrist to his chest to his lips . Jesus they kissed. That snapped him out of his shock and he headed for the bar, ordering a vodka redbull and a bottle of water on autopilot. He was dazed. From a single peck. He’d be fucked if they kissed for real.
Tucking the bottle of water in his back pocket, he heads for the merch table. As promised, he spotted Sapnap almost immediately. He was adamantly chatting with the guy behind the table, so excited he was talking with his hands. The blonde made his way towards them, ending up almost directly behind Sapnap. Who abandons one hand from the discussion to seek out Punz’s free hand, pulling it around his waist.
Punz took a sip of their drink to cover his confusion, the merch dude didn’t need to see his crisis. His hand ends up under Sapnap’s not-a-crop top, flattening against the younger’s toned stomach. He steps closer so his chest is pressed against the brunet’s back, figuring this was an act. Or something. He could play this part, even if he’d regret it in the morning when they had to look each other in the face.
“See anything you like, babe?” Punz asks, dipping his head to speak directly in the younger’s ear.
Sapnap tilts his head back, resting it against the taller’s shoulder. “Other than you?” He grins, “Actually yeah, the hoodie is super cool but my card is in my phone. Which you have.” He pouts.
Punz finds the hoodie on the wall and nods, pointedly ignoring the first part. “Get it in my size, it’d look good with your fishnets.” He says without thinking. He swallows hard and takes another sip of their drink before pressing it into Sapnap’s hand so he could dig his own wallet out. He pulls out his card and hands it over to the merch guy, “Extra large hoodie. And then one of the beanies.”
“Awe, are we gunna match, Punzo?” Sapnap coos, sipping the drink. He cranes his neck to the side so he can kiss the corner of Punz’s chin. “Thanks for buying it. You didn’t need to.”
Punz blushes, bumping his cheek against the Texan’s temple. “I can always steal it back if you’re being an idiot.” He jokes, taking his card back from the man. He lets Sapnap grab the merch since he had a hand free. Logically he knew he could use the hand that was on Sap’s hip. But he liked it. It was warm and almost tingling. That was probably just his imagination.
All too soon, Sapnap stepped away after thanking the merch guy. He turns towards the stage where the first band was walking onto stage. He nods towards an open spot on the other side of the crowd. “Let's head over there.” He says, waiting for Punz to put his wallet away to push the drink back into one hand. Then he grabbed the other and intertwined their fingers.
Punz let the shorter of the two lead them through the crowd, his knuckles brushing against Sapnap’s back as they walked. It was narrow enough that they had to move single file, their connected hands tucked behind Sapnap’s back but held firmly nonetheless.
Once they got to the spot Sapnap had pointed out, Punz was nudged back into the position they’d had at the merch table and the drink grabbed out of his hand again.
“This first band isn’t really my vibe, but they have a few decent songs.” Sapnap explains before getting lost in the music. Punz let it happen, letting himself get lost in his own thoughts. Tonight was turning out nothing like he expected. He figured they’d go to the show, he’d watch Sapnap hit on some pretty emo girl, and then they’d go to some dumb after party where Sap would hook up with said emo girl. But instead here he was, apparently playing the role of golden retriever boyfriend. Arm wrapped around the waist, holding Sap’s phone and everything.
The first band faded into the second band and then halfway through the second band, Sapnap pulled away to trash their empty solo cup. Punz kept his eye on the younger man as he walked the 20 feet to a trash can. He’d promised Dream he’d keep an eye on him, is what he told himself. Especially when Sapnap turned around to make his way back and caught him staring at his thighs. His gorgeous, fishnet wrapped thighs. Those fucking fishnets were going to be the death of him.
Instead of returning to their previous position once he was back, Sapnap wraps his arms around Punz’s neck. Their chests pressed together just as tightly as they had been earlier.
“You know this is a date, right?” Sapnap yells over the music, a lazy grin on his face. His fingers play in the blonde curls.
“Oh.” Is all that Punz can say as he processes the words.
“So are you going to kiss me? Or do I have to do all the work?” Sapnap pouts, tugging on said curls.
“A date?” Punz repeats.
“Yes, dipshit. A date. So kiss me.” Sapnap demands.
Punz opened his mouth to say something, anything. But instead he snapped his jaw shut and dipped his head to kiss him, his hands dropping to the younger man’s hips. It was longer than their peck earlier, but just as chaste. He keeps it sweet, focusing on the feel of their lips. The way Sapnap’s cologne and deodorant and natural smell filled his senses. It felt like coming home.
Slowly pulling away, Punz looks over Sapnap’s face. “You know, normally people ask when they want to go on a date... Or when they want someone to be their boyfriend.” He teases, brushing their lips together again.
“Exactly. And you weren’t asking. So I asked myself and decided we were going on a date.” Sapnap snarks back, clearly proud of how clever his quip was.
“You decided, huh?” Punz laughs.
“I did. You’ve been staring at my ass and thighs and lips since you moved down here. And you’re as much of a simp for me as Dream is for George. So, clearly I had to make the decision myself.” Sapnap grins, leaning up to kiss him again.
Punz chuckles against his lips, pulling him closer. “You’re amazing. And an idiot. But mostly amazing.” In the position they were in, Sapnap’s top was riding up and Punz’s hand followed it up. He groans softly when he feels the fishnets above the waistband of the black skinny jeans. He snaps the webbing softly.
“You like them as much as I figured you would... Wait until you see them without the skinny jeans. They make my thighs sooooo pretty.” Sapnap grins knowingly, kissing along Punz’s jaw.
“Fuck, Nick.” Punz squeezes his eyes shut, overwhelmed. “You’re actually going to be the death of me.”
“Nah, I promised I’d be good for you after my drink.” Sapnap grins. He glances over his shoulder, his eyes lighting up. “Alright. One last kiss before the headliner goes on.” He pouts. Punz happily does as he’s asked, kissing him deeply until the band starts their set. At that point, Sapnap returned to their previous position, swaying along to the music.
If the grip was just a bit tighter, that was no one’s business. Or if during the slow song, Punz’s lips spent the extent of it pressed against various parts of Sapnap’s neck and jaw, well that was just part of the new job title.
They did not end up finding an afterparty. Instead they went straight back to Punz’s apartment for an afterparty of their own, the elder shooting a text to let Dream know not to expect Sapnap back until the morning. Or maybe even the afternoon.