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AJ Shabeel was live.
Camera on, lights hitting just right, chat flying faster than he could read, controller resting uselessly in his hands because he’d been talking for the last ten minutes straight.
“Bro, I’m telling you,” AJ said, leaning closer to the mic, eyebrows knitting together in that way chat loved. “That clip is taken fully out of context. I literally—”
CHAT:
L
AJ YOU’RE LYING
READ DONOS
WHERE’S NIKO
NIKO IN CHAT???
AJ paused.
His eyes flicked to the side monitor. His jaw tightened for half a second—so fast no one would’ve caught it unless they knew him stupidly well.
A familiar username had popped up.
nikoomilana: that’s not what you said last night though 🤔
AJ froze.
Like, FROZE froze.
Then he scoffed, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Oh my days. This guy. Ignore him, chat, he’s just bored.”
Inside? His heart was doing parkour.
CHAT:
NAHHHH
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN
LAST NIGHT???
AJ BLUSHING!??!?!?
GET NIKO ON STREAM
AJ’s ears were hot. He shifted in his chair, pretending to check something on his desk.
“Why are you even here?” AJ muttered, eyes still glued to the chat.
Another message popped up almost instantly.
nikoomilana: I’m literally downstairs. Door’s open.
AJ’s head snapped up.
“…You’re lying.”
nikoomilana: am I?
A knock echoed faintly from somewhere behind him.
Chat went insane.
CHAT:
GO GET HIM
LET HIM IN
AJ STAND UP
THIS IS CONTENT
AJ groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “You lot are actually the worst, you know that?”
The knocking came again. Louder this time. Purposeful.
“Fine,” AJ sighed, standing up. “But if he chats rubbish, I’m blaming all of you.”
He left the frame for a moment. The door creaked open.
Niko Omilana walked in like he owned the place.
Hoodie slightly too big, that stupidly smug grin already on his face, eyes immediately flicking to the camera before landing on AJ with something softer underneath the mischief.
“Hello, stream,” Niko said cheerfully, waving. “Miss me?”
Chat exploded.
AJ shut the door behind him a little harder than necessary. “Why are you here?”
Niko tilted his head, faux-innocent. “I was invited. By the masses.”
He strolled over, leaned down into frame, resting his hands on the desk like he was co-hosting.
“You look tense,” Niko added quietly, just for AJ.
AJ clenched his jaw. “Get out of my space.”
“Or what?” Niko murmured.
AJ shot him a warning look. Niko only smiled wider.
For the next ten minutes, it was torture.
Niko reading donos out loud in that dramatic voice.
Niko correcting AJ on stories he should not have known details about.
Niko leaning just a bit too close.
Niko brushing AJ’s shoulder like it was accidental.
Niko calling him “bro” in a tone that absolutely was not bro-coded.
AJ’s patience thinned with every second.
“Alright,” AJ said suddenly, straightening up. “That’s enough. Streams done."
Chat protested. Loudly.
“Don’t care,” AJ snapped, reaching for the mouse. “Go outside. Touch grass.”
He clicked.
The stream disappeared from his main monitor.
Silence.
AJ exhaled sharply, spinning in his chair to face Niko.
“Are you trying to kill me?” AJ demanded.
Niko blinked. “What? I was being entertaining.”
“You were being annoying.”
“Same thing,” Niko shrugged.
AJ stood up abruptly, shoving Niko lightly in the chest. “You don’t just come in and start saying stuff like that.”
Niko stumbled back a step, hands raised. “Okay, okay—angry AJ, I see you—”
AJ didn’t let him finish.
He grabbed Niko by the front of his hoodie, yanking him forward.
Niko’s breath hitched—just once.
And then AJ kissed him.
Hard.
No hesitation. No warning.
Their mouths crashed together, AJ pouring every ounce of frustration into it, lips moving insistently, tongue slipping in like he’d been thinking about this the entire stream.
For half a second, Niko was stunned.
His brain short-circuited.
Then he melted.
Niko kissed back just as fiercely, one hand sliding to AJ’s waist, grounding him, the other threading into AJ’s curls, tugging gently but possessively.
AJ let out a quiet sound he absolutely would’ve denied later.
They moved together instinctively, years of tension and secrecy and stolen moments flooding the space between them.
Until—
“THANK YOU FOR THE FIVE POUND DONATION--”
They froze.
A robotic voice echoed through the room.
“AYOOO IS THIS WHAT HAPPENS BEHIND CAMERAS--”
AJ’s blood turned to ice.
Slowly. Painfully. He pulled back.
Niko’s eyes widened.
“…AJ,” he whispered. “You turned the stream off, right?”
AJ swallowed.
“…I think so...”
The robotic voice continued.
“YALL ARE CRAZY—”
They both turned.
The stream window was still live.
Chat.
Had.
Seen.
Everything.
For a full three seconds, neither of them moved.
Then Niko started laughing.
Like, full laughter. Head thrown back, hand still fisted in AJ’s hair.
“You’re actually finished,” Niko said between laughs.
AJ stared at the screen, horrified. “My mum watches these.”
Chat was unreadable. Too fast. Too loud.
Finally, AJ lunged for the mouse and ended the stream properly.
The room fell quiet again.
AJ dropped into his chair, hands over his face. “My life is over.”
Niko leaned down, pressing a quick kiss to AJ’s temple. “Relax. You’ve been trending before.”
“This is different,” AJ groaned. “They saw—”
“They saw us,” Niko corrected gently. “Kinda iconic, not gonna lie.”
AJ peeked at him through his fingers. “…You’re not mad?”
Niko smiled, softer now. “Nah. You kissed me on your own stream. That’s crazy romantic.”
AJ huffed. “You enjoyed that way too much.”
Niko leaned in again, brushing their noses together. “So did you.”
AJ sighed, defeated—but smiling.
“Next time,” AJ muttered, “I’m checking twice.”
Niko grinned. “Next time–,” he said, “next time is crazyyyy.”
***
AJ was still sitting there, elbows on his knees, staring at the floor like it might give him answers.
Niko, on the other hand, was pacing. Excited pacing. The kind where he couldn’t stop smiling even though the world was technically on fire.
“You know,” Niko said, glancing at his phone, “for someone who just accidentally hard-launched a relationship to thousands of people, you’re being very quiet.”
AJ groaned. “Please don’t say ‘hard-launched’ ever again.”
Niko laughed. “I mean, though—”
AJ shot him a look. “Niko.”
“Okay, okay.” He raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll behave.”
His phone buzzed.
Then buzzed again.
Then again.
Niko looked down at the screen and his grin slowly widened.
“Oh,” he said. “Ohhh no.”
AJ frowned. “What?”
Niko turned the phone so AJ could see the caller ID.
**Chunkz 🟢**
AJ’s soul left his body.
“…Don’t answer it,” AJ said weakly.
Niko was already tapping accept. “Hello, my brother.”
“HELLO???” Chunkz’s voice came through loud and clear. “HELLOOOO???”
AJ dragged a hand down his face.
“Why,” Chunkz continued, “am I scrolling on my phone and suddenly I see YOU,”—he laughed—“with YOUR TONGUE in AJ SHABEEL’S MOUTH?”
Niko bit his lip to stop laughing. “First of all, hello to you too.”
AJ leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling. “I’m never going outside again.”
Chunkz didn’t let up. “Nah nah nah, don’t do that. I need answers. Both of you. Immediately.”
Niko put the phone on speaker and flopped down next to AJ, shoulder bumping his. “What do you want to know?”
“What do I want to know??” Chunkz echoed. “Brother, how long has this been going on?”
AJ muttered, “Too long.”
Niko grinned. “Long enough.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. You could practically hear Chunkz putting pieces together.
“…So this,” Chunkz said slowly, “is what you lot have been doing when you go home.”
AJ buried his face in his hands. “I hate you.”
Chunkz burst out laughing. “I KNEW IT. I knew something was off. Man said ‘yeah we live together, it’s calm’—CALM WHERE???”
Niko leaned back, clearly enjoying himself. “We are very calm, actually.”
“Don’t kill me,” Chunkz said. “All this time you’re telling me ‘nah bro, AJ’s just my guy’—your guy where?? In the lips??”
AJ peeked through his fingers. “Can you please stop narrating?”
“No,” Chunkz replied instantly. “Absolutely not. I’ve been lied to for YEARS.”
Niko tilted his head, pretending to think. “We never lied.”
“You omitted the truth!” Chunkz shot back. “There’s a difference.”
AJ finally sat up, defeated. “We just… didn’t want it to be a thing.”
Chunkz softened slightly. “I get that. But still—mad.”
Then, immediately back to teasing. “So who kissed who first?”
AJ and Niko spoke at the same time.
“Him.”
“Me.”
They looked at each other.
Niko smirked. “See? Chemistry.”
AJ rolled his eyes but smiled despite himself.
Chunkz made an exaggerated gagging noise. “I’m sick. Actually sick. I’ve known both of you too long for this.”
“But you’re happy for us though,” Niko said lightly.
Another pause.
“…Yeah,” Chunkz admitted. “I am. Even if I’m traumatised.”
AJ laughed quietly, finally relaxing a bit. “You’re not telling anyone, yeah?”
Chunkz scoffed. “Brother, it’s already everywhere.”
Niko shrugged. “Cat’s out the bag.”
Chunkz sighed. “Fine. But just know—next time I come round, I’m knocking EXTRA loud.”
AJ groaned again. “Please.”
Chunkz chuckled. “Love you lot. But I’m never unseeing that clip.”
The call ended.
Silence settled over the room.
AJ leaned his head back onto the couch. “That went… better than expected.”
Niko turned toward him, softer now. “Told you. We’d be alright.”
AJ looked at him for a second, really looked at him. Then he reached out, tugging gently at Niko’s hoodie again.
“No stream this time,” AJ said quietly.
Niko smiled, leaning in. “You sure?”
AJ smirked. “I checked.”
That was all the confirmation Niko needed.
***
Sharky’s stream was calm. Too calm.
He was leaned back in his chair, controller abandoned somewhere on the desk, scrolling through TikToks while Kenny hovered slightly behind him, arms crossed, vibing.
“Alright chat,” Sharky said, squinting at the screen. “You already know the rules. Send us TikToks you want us to react to.”
Kenny nodded. “If it’s cringe, that’s on you.”
Chat immediately flooded with links.
Mostly predictable stuff.
Beta Squad edits.
Old challenges.
Slow-mo shots with dramatic music.
Way too many clips of AJ laughing at his own jokes.
“Oh look,” Kenny smirked as another edit played. “AJ doing nothing again.”
Sharky laughed. “Nah don’t violate him, that’s my guy.”
The next TikTok loaded.
It was a screen recording of AJ’s stream.
Sharky barely reacted at first. “Oh this is recent.”
On screen, AJ was mid-rant, animated hands, eyebrows doing their thing. Niko was in chat, then walking into the room.
Kenny leaned in a bit. “Rah, Niko just pulled up like that?”
Sharky grinned. “Classic Niko. Man has no boundaries.”
The clip continued.
Niko joining the stream.
Teasing.
Chat screaming.
Kenny laughed. “Nah he’s actually annoying him on purpose.”
Sharky nodded. “He loves that.”
The clip was still… normal.
Familiar.
Comfortable.
Sharky glanced at chat. “Why you lot spamming question marks?”
Kenny shrugged. “Probably reaching.”
Then—
AJ ended the stream.
The clip didn’t stop.
Sharky frowned. “Why’s it still playing?”
The shove.
The hoodie grab.
The kiss.
Not a peck.
Not a joke.
A full-on, grab-you-like-I-mean-it kiss.
Tongue. Hands. Heat.
The room went silent.
The TikTok kept playing.
But Sharky and Kenny didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
Didn’t blink.
“…Yo,” Kenny whispered.
Sharky’s mouth was open. “Nah.”
The donation sound echoed in the clip.
AJ panicking.
Niko laughing.
Stream ending for real.
The TikTok looped back to the start.
Sharky stared at the screen.
Then at chat.
Then back at the screen.
“…Nah,” he said again, louder this time. “Pause. Pause pause pause.”
Kenny finally spoke. “Is that—”
“Yes,” Sharky cut in. “That is.”
Chat was in absolute meltdown.
IS THIS REAL
SHARKY???
THEY LIVE TOGETHER OMG
CALL THEM
CALL THEM RIGHT NOW
Kenny rubbed his face. “Brother… that was not an edit.”
Sharky shook his head slowly. “Nah because… AJ and Niko??”
Kenny let out a laugh that sounded slightly hysterical. “That explains WAY too much.”
Sharky straightened up, suddenly locked in. “Nah, we’re calling them.”
Kenny hesitated. “On stream?”
Sharky glanced at chat, then back at the camera.
“They kissed on stream,” he said. “Fair’s fair.”
He hit call.
It rang.
Once.
Twice.
On AJ’s end, the phone buzzed.
AJ was sprawled on the couch, head on Niko’s lap, scrolling aimlessly.
He froze when he saw the caller ID.
“…It’s Sharky.”
Niko’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh.”
AJ sat up immediately. “I'm not answering it.”
The phone kept ringing.
Niko smirked. “Too late to hide now.”
AJ groaned. “We could pretend we’re asleep.”
“On a Friday?” Niko teased. “Answer it.”
AJ hit accept.
“Hello?” AJ said cautiously.
Sharky’s voice blasted through the speaker.
“EXPLAIN.”
Niko burst out laughing.
AJ winced. “I feel like you’ve already seen it.”
Kenny leaned into Sharky’s mic. “Brother. We just watched you lipsing Niko Omilana.”
AJ covered his face. “I hate my life.”
Niko waved at the phone like they could see him. “Hi lads.”
“Don’t ‘hi lads’ us,” Sharky said. “How long?”
AJ sighed. “…A while.”
“A WHILE??” Kenny repeated. “You lot LIVE TOGETHER.”
Niko nodded proudly. “Efficiency.”
Sharky leaned back, stunned. “So this is what’s been happening behind closed doors.”
AJ groaned again. “Why does everyone keep saying that.”
Kenny laughed. “Because it’s MAD.”
Chat was eating it up.
THEY CONFIRMED IT
I KNEW IT
ROOMMATES
Sharky shook his head, smiling now. “Nah, jokes aside… you good?”
AJ looked at Niko.
Niko squeezed his knee gently.
“Yeah,” AJ said. “We’re good.”
Sharky nodded. “Good. Still insane though.”
Kenny added, “I need therapy.”
Niko laughed. “You’ll live.”
Sharky smirked. “Alright. We’ll let you man go. But just know—this is not the end of the jokes.”
AJ sighed. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
They hung up.
AJ dropped the phone onto the couch.
“…We’re really out now,” he said quietly.
Niko leaned over, pressing a soft kiss to AJ’s cheek this time. “Yeah.”
AJ smiled, small but real. “Worth it.”
Niko grinned. “Always.”