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“You kissed me. Do you remember kissing me on the lips?” Danny asked innocently.
“I kissed everybody.” Nick replied bluntly.
“Oh.” Danny tried to hide the slight twinge of jealousy inside him. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him so much. Him and Nick were friends. Two dudes, best boys…
Danny’s hands softly petted Amos’s head as they continued the podcast. The lingering thought of Nick’s kiss hung in his mind as they talked, like a ghost he’d never be able to out run. These strange feelings he had for Nick were eating at his conscience. He was lucky that Nick didn’t seem to be picking up on it, though he was a little oblivious at times.
There were moments where Danny thought Nick might have noticed. He was good at keeping his emotions hidden, but Nick was his best friend.. he saw through him more than he’d like to admit. For example, Nick was a very touchy person, constantly leaning over Danny’s shoulders, holding onto him during Anime IRL videos. And while Danny wasn’t sure what his feelings for Nick were, he knew that every touch sent a spark through his body. No matter how he felt, they were co-workers, friends, best friends! Nothing could ruin that.
The set of Anime IRL was buzzing with energy as Danny Phantom arrived. Everyone greeted him politely, shook his hand as per usual. But Motta’s gaze couldn’t help but slide over to Nick whenever he was near. God, what was happening to him!? He saw Nick constantly, he didn’t need to stare…
“Hey Motta!” Phantom called. “How aggressive am I allowed to be?” He asked jokingly, throwing an arm over Danny’s shoulder.
Danny laughed in response. “I don’t know. I say go nuts!”
Danny Phantom matched his energy with a similar chuckle. “Okay. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” And with that, he left.
Again he stood alone when something caught his eye. Nick. He wasn’t doing anything special, just chatting to Richard about the video. Just standing still. Danny’s heart skipped a beat.
Oh fuck.
Nick looked over at Danny and noticed him looking. He excused himself from his conversation and headed over to Danny. Without a thought he threw his arm over Danny’s shoulder.
“Hey Dan, you ready to start filming?” Nick asked.
Danny suddenly became extremely aware of how close they were. Nick’s arm hung over him, like it so often did. This was normal.. Why did it not feel normal? Phantom had done the exact same thing moments ago and he didn’t care. He barely even noticed it. Why was Nick different? Danny caught him staring, his lovely green (I actually can’t tell I’m so blind forgive me) eyes looking straight at him. Open, honest.. cute..
Oh fuck. He was in love with Nicholas Conner.
“Dan?”
“Huh- I’m fine.” Danny said quickly. “We have to get ready for the intro so I’m just gonna go.. shit really quick before we start.”
What a terrible excuse. It didn’t matter. He didn’t care. His mind was racing with a realisation that had taken him far too long to realise. He liked his best friend.. as more than a friend. All the jokes, all the playful flirting and banter.. was it all real to him? Had he gotten so swept up in the bit that it literally became a reality!?
He was unsure where he was going, anywhere away from Nick. For how long? He couldn’t avoid him forever. All he had to do was get through one.. stupid simple video. Then he wouldn’t have to see him for a while. He could mull over his feelings then.
Fine. He could do that. One video.
In an attempt to seem normal and totally not in the middle of a crisis, Danny decided he just needed to act like he always did. Silly.
So he was silly. He joked with Phantom, played the mini games, jumped into Nick's arms and hung onto him like a sloth… y’know.. normal silly best friend shenanigans.
Danny was acting on impulse, trying to act like his usual charming goofy self. He was lucky Nick caught him and was able to hold him like he was nothing.
“This is not helping the fanfic writers at all.” Nick chuckled.
Fanfics? There were no fanfics of them, right? :)
Nick held him longer than he expected, longer than he wanted. It was a bit. Danny tried to seem calm, but suddenly being straddled onto Nick made him very uncomfortable.
“You’re sweating.” Nick whispered to him jokingly, seemingly noticing how anxious Danny was getting. He slowly lowered him down.
“Shut up asshole.” Danny laughed, trying to ignore his heartbeat ringing in his ears. “You’re one to talk.”
The challenges came and went, time performing its ever vicious dance. Danny was out of it. He was there enough to understand the rules, to be able to play, but his performance was lacklustre and Nick was starting to notice.
“Come to papa.” Nick called when Danny rolled a 4. Danny obliged, again jumping onto him for a very intimate hug.
This wasn’t weird, right? Danny had literally hugged him when he was shirtless. But he was also hammered…
“No please, I just stopped sweating.” Nick complained lovingly, still holding Danny up.
Motta pushed back, ready to get down when he caught Nick’s inquisitive eyes, like he wanted to ask him something. Danny kept a hand near Nick’s neck, and suddenly felt his heartbeat: his heart was also racing.
He tried to shake the feeling as he landed on the ground. It was probably nothing. These challenges were physical so maybe Nick was just recovering from one of those. Or maybe it was the struggle of holding Danny up. But he made it look so effortless…
During a break between shots, Nick approached Danny with a worried expression. “Hey, everything alright? You seem a bit out of it.” Nick commented.
Danny took a swig of his water. “I’m fine.” He replied. “What about you?”
“Me? I’m winning, Dan.”
He smiled softly in response, but didn’t say anything. What could he say?
The day came and went quick enough that Danny didn’t explode around Nick. He just needed a minute to process what he was feeling. At the end of the shoot, he was excited to be done with it so he could go home and relax.
“Hey Motta!” The other Danny called. “We’re headed out for some karaoke and drinks. You in?”
“Is Nick going?” He blurted out.
Phantom paused for a moment. “Would that make you.. more or less inclined to join?”
“Neither.” He tried to play it off. “But yeah I guess I’m in.. not too long though, I need to get home.”
“Okay Mr. Teetotaler.” He joked. “Nick’s driving us to his place, I called shotgun though!”
——————————————————————
Danny knew Nick’s house all too well, the familiar scent of.. dogs. Amos greeted him at the door. Nick took Phantom on a quick house tour, leaving Chris and Danny alone in his living room.
“So Motta, what’s up with you?”
Danny shot Chris a look. “You never ask what’s up with me… why are you asking now?”
“Well sorry for trying to be nice.” He huffed. “I just.. noticed that you’ve been staring at Nick.. more than usual.”
He froze, unsure what to say. He couldn’t believe he’d been so obvious. “He’s my best friend. Am I not allowed to peak?” He joked.
“I’m just saying… sometimes when you do things as a joke, they start to become real.”
“What the fuck are you implying Chris?” Danny stood up suddenly, facing Chris with a hint of hostility in his eyes.
“Chill! I was just saying! Jeez..” He mumbled.
A wave of guilt and sadness hit him in an instant. “Sorry.” He hated this.. his feelings.. himself. Everything would be so messy from this point on. Liking Nick wasn’t a dream come true, it was a nightmare that would consume his every waking moment.
“I’m just saying Dan.” Chris’s tone turned serious. “It’s all.. okay.”
“So.. what if I said you were right.” Danny whispered, not wanting it to be heard but desperately wanting to say it. The words had just slipped out.
“I’d say I know and you’re screwed. Or if I was trying to be less of an asshole, I’d say.. well you’re screwed.” But Chris smiled softly and tapped his shoulder gently. “Seriously Dan. It’s fine to have feelings. Nick’s a nice guy, I’m sure he’d understand-“
“I’m not telling him.” Danny cut him off. “No way in hell.”
“Okay. Okay. But.. you’re just going to keep it bottled up inside you forever?”
“Chris, chill the fuck out. It’s been only a few hours since I fully accepted this. At least give me time to process.”
“Wait..” Chris said. “You just realised you liked Nick? I thought this was like, a several month thing.”
“No!” Danny cried. “Why would you think that!?”
He paused. “You just seemed.. happier around him. For a while now.” He muttered.
Danny knew he was right. It wasn’t just Nick kissing him in Vegas that made him like him, or hugging Nick shirtless, or wearing matching Scooby doo outfits. He didn’t know how far back it went but.. Chris was right. For once. His feelings weren’t just fleeting. They were real, and they had been for longer than he realised.
“Oh fuck.” Danny managed to say, before Phantom and Nick entered the room.
“Alright, we’ve got the karaoke set up in the living room.” Nick noticed Danny’s frazzled face and Chris’s attempt at nonchalance. “Did we miss something?”
“Nope.” Chris said quickly. “Everything’s fine. Right Dan?” Danny nodded. “See? All good.”
Phantom noticed something was going on, and Chris signalled at him to leave the room. The two of the scurried out of the room, and Nick didn’t even notice.
“Hey Danny, you okay?”
His face was still frozen in place, his eyes wide. He collapsed into Nick’s arms and pulled him into a hug. “I’m having a fucking crisis..” he admitted.
“A-.. About what?”
“Stupid shit.” He sighed. “Feelings.”
“Those are the worst.” Nick replied lighthearted. “What kind of feelings man?”
Danny didn’t answer at first, simply hugging Nick and not looking up.
“Dan?”
“Nothing.” He said at last. “I just wanted a hug..”
Nick pushed him away slightly, forcing Danny to look up. “Tell me what’s wrong Dan.”
“It’d mess everything up.” He mumbled.
Nick paused for a moment and raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”
That caught Motta’s attention. He looked up at Nick properly this time, hands still around his waist. “No..?”
“Tell me. I want to help you but I can’t if you won’t tell me.” He insisted.
“I love you.” Danny said quickly, almost unintelligibly.
“I love you too bud.” Nick replied earnestly.
A beat.
“Forget it.” Danny pushed himself off Nick, upset and not wanting to take it out on Nick. But before he could, Nick grabbed his wrist and pulled him back. This time they were face to face.
“You mean it?” Nick asked softly.
“Yes asshole. I don’t exactly think this is funny-“ Suddenly Nick’s hand was on Danny’s chin and he realised what was happening.
“I love you too.”
Danny had never kissed a boy before Nick. Last time they kissed, it was a joke. A goof. Nick had kissed everyone. But this time, it was just for Danny. It was soft, almost hesitant. Danny had no fucking clue what he was doing. This was a hell of a day for him. Admitting his feelings to himself, to Chris.. to Nick. Suddenly kissing the boy he was in love with. Nick had a hand on Danny's chin and the other on his waist, and after a moment, Danny finally let himself relax and grabbed Nick’s waist in return, while placing his other hand on the back of Nick’s neck.
His heart was racing again.
They pulled apart after a moment, Danny in a sort of surprised daze, and Nick, with the sweetest grin Danny had ever seen. They both laughed a little.
“So… this changes things huh?” Danny joked, trying to lighten the mood. Nick chuckled.
“Yeah.. I guess it does.“ He paused. “Well, not really actually. We already act pretty fucking gay. I’m just allowed to kiss you now.”
“Shut up you cheesy ass bitch.” Danny snapped back playfully, before kissing Nick once again.
He hoped the first boy he kissed would also be his last.