Chapter Text
Tanner was… Distracting.
It seemed like an innocent question. A question of physical activity, and the subtle plead that there’d be none. It seemed obvious that there would be none, considering they were the stereotypical gamers who loathed physical exercise and to do so in costumes seemed too cruel. So when Fir woke up this morning, he didn’t believe that the other streamer would go through with the idea he had in mind. It seemed too obscure, too risky with Youtube guidelines, and too bold.
Fir thought it was too slim a possibility, let alone the final outcome. A sensual desire that comes with having a crush on someone close to him. Yet here they were, in a Discord call with all their close friends, dressed entirely different than what was normal for them, but in two extremely different ways.
The blond streamer gulped, the purple tie he had on suddenly felt too tight against his throat. He was grateful everyone had similar reactions of shock and focus on Tanner to observe the light pink blush on his cheeks. The raven haired streamer smiled widely, seemingly proud of his “creative” outfit. CJ commented how he thought about doing the same thing but didn’t want to commit. Fir was just trying to compose himself as best as he could.
Tanner was naked. Well… not quite. The camera could only show the streamer from the shoulders up. He could be wearing pants, and God did Fir hope that was the case. He chimed into the conversation, noting how he did wonder if Tanner would be naked during the recording, and prayed his voice wouldn’t crack. His grey eyes flitted across his room, trying his hardest not to look at the dips of Tanner’s collarbones. Or to imagine running a finger across them, or to trail kisses across the expanse of his chest, or… Fir knew that he was going to have to keep the clips of him limited in the final edits.
On the other hand, Tanner was trying very hard not to be embarrassed. He did spend a good hour before the recording trying to convince himself that this was a good idea. It would get a rise out of everybody, a few laughs, and his friends were good people with humour similar to his. However when he hopped into the call, seeing Fir dressed in a full suit and tie, he felt his demeanour crumble.
The blond looked very handsome in the grey blazer. The light tone complimenting his pale skin and light hair. Everything about Fir screamed light and angelic, and Tanner was sitting as his desk almost as nude as the day he was born. He felt like a devil of shame and desire in his chair, and the urge to throw on a last minute shirt before turning on his camera. Alas, he was stuck with the consequences of his decisions. With a thick swallow of anxiety, he plastered on his most confident smile saved for his streaming person and revealed himself.
His dark brown eyes watched Fir as Failboat ranked himself, CJ, Moarf, and Philly in terms of their outfits. The blond’s eyes kept flitting from the camera, to different places in his room, to where Tanner assumed his monitor was that displayed everyone. The streamer felt grateful that due to his camera’s position, no one could tell exactly where his eyes were focused. It seemed very odd to Tanner that Fir would be this flustered, but he was enjoying the reaction. It was fun to see the man he liked being flustered for once. He was always so confident or silly in streams and recordings.
The first 30 minutes of this recording felt like a test to Fir. Tanner’s video felt like the sun to Fir’s earthen eyes. It would pull his gaze towards his smooth skin like a gravitational field. It was so easy, so natural, so tempting to pull him into a separate call and declare all the thoughts he had swirling in his mind to the open air.
Thankfully the rest recording went well. Failboat was an excellent host, and Fir stopped registering the fact that Tanner was naked. In fact, he convinced himself that the other wasn’t, and was stupid to even be thinking that in first place. He knew Tanner like the back of his hand. The spots he’d love to hide in during hide and seek, the insane trick jumps he could do, and especially the things he would do to get reactions from people. This was just another of his tricks, and Fir refused to fall for it.
The blond soon announced the points and winners of the first MarioMaster challenge. After ending the recording, everyone breathed out a small sigh of exhaustion. One by one, they excused themselves. Date night, dinner, family time, washing off potentially poisonous paint, all reasonable reasons to leave. It wasn’t until Fir realized it was just him and Tanner left that he got nervous.
“Nice outfit.” Tanner spoke first. He grinned widely at him, and Fir gulped. He pulled gently at the tie to loosen it, and tried to find his voice.
“I would say the same thing back, but I don’t think you have an outfit on to compliment,” He replied. The buttons on his shirt felt suffocating. Fir decided to take the tie off completely and unbuttoned the first two buttons on the shirt. He took in a deep breath, feeling hot from anxiety. Tanner gently took in the sight of Fir looking more disheveled.
“I have a hat on!” He exclaimed. Fir laughed and removed his blazer.
“Just a hat?” Fir questioned. He paused for a moment, his brain catching up to what his mouth said. “Actually, I don’t want to know the answer to that.” He spoke quickly.
“Why not?” Tanner asked. He waggled his eyebrows, enjoying the sight of Fir’s composure unravelling.
“It’s not something I care to know about. Especially since I have to edit all this footage and ship Failboat’s decapitated head to you.” Fir tried to appear busy. He clicked onto Google and started typing gibberish in the search bar. He’d click around in the menu, jumping through bookmarks awaiting Tanner’s response.
“That’s a shame. Y’know I’d stand up if you asked me too.” The raven haired streamer pushed.
“And why would I ask you to that?”
“To stop your wondering?”
“I already know you’re wearing pants, Smant. Otherwise it’d be pretty dumb of you to be completely naked.” Fir got bored of playing with the browser, and decided to hang up his blazer in his closet before it could get wrinkled. He took off his headphones and disconnected them so he could still hear Tanner. As the blond stood up, Tanner noticed the dress pants he wore, and how nicely it curved around Fir’s bottom. The raven-haired streamer bit his lip before responding.
“I see you full committed to your outfit. Why do you think I wouldn’t?” Tanner decided to stand and back up from the camera. He saw himself on the side, suddenly feeling insecure. His scrawny figure was on full display, save for the loose pair of boxers he wore. He felt thinner than he should be, all gangling limbs and jutting joints. Tanner began to question his actions as Fir hung up his blazer and tie. As the former’s confidence began to wane and he began to move back to his chair, the blond streamer turned to face him.
“Oh my god, SMANT!” Fir yelled. He turned around quickly, but it was too late. The image of Tanner’s lean body was burned into his mind. He wanted to hold it, or be held in it, or anything to be close to it really. Tanner looked beautiful to him, but Fir would be way too embarrassed to admit it. “I’m hanging up.” He spoke, needing time alone, preferably with a box of tissues.
“Wait no I’m sorry!” Tanner exclaimed. He swiftly sat back on his chair and spoke again. “I thought it was funny seeing you get all flustered over seeing me like this.” Fir sighed in exasperation.
“The outfit, or lack thereof, was funny. You sure know how to get a reaction out of your friends.” He said, also sitting back down. He leaned back into his chair, tilting his head up. Tanner took in the sight of his exposed neck and chest, trying to stop excessive blood rush to his face.
“I only cared about your reaction.” He confessed. Fir snapped his head to look at him.
“What?” In the deafening silence that followed, both their hearts started to race. Both streamers could sense that any misstep and their friendship could shatter. The careful walls they’ve built to hide their feeling for each other started to crumble. Seconds felt like minutes between them, and the stillness in the air made their hearts sound louder.
“Maybe…” Tanner spoke softly. “Maybe instead of just shipping the head, you can come to Canada and deliver him yourself.” It felt like he dropped a pebble into a still pond. The small ripples of chaos forming a small pattern.
“And where would I stay?” Fir asked, taking the bait.
“With me. I could show you around here, y’know, before the winter comes in.”
“I’d like that.”
“Then book your tickets. I’ll be sure to pick you up.”
“Sounds good.” Despite being mostly naked, Tanner felt very warm. He was excited to see his best friend, and explain this mess he created. Fir felt anxious, unsure of the direction their relationship was going, but it had to be an opening, right? As he opened up airline sites, Tanner coughed.
“Okay well, I should leave and make dinner. Let me know what the plan is.” He spoke quickly.
“Be sure to get dressed too.” Fir commented. “Wouldn’t want you to catch a cold.” Tanner laughed.
“Or I could undress even more for you.” And with that, Tanner hung up. Fir froze, barely registering the fact that Discord hung up the call for him due to inactivity. When he finally regained his composure, he couldn’t help but smile.
Oh Tanner, what a great distraction you’ve caused.