Chapter Text
Sebastian couldn't remember a time without Sam being his best friend but somewhere around middle school he began to fall in love. Sam seemed to do everything so effortlessly even when he was bad at said thing. He was always such a ray of sunshine where Sebastian was not. Sam seemed to know who he was, what he wanted to be and do. Curled up on the bed in the cool dark of his basement bedroom, a tear ran down his cheek. Sam was straight. Probably. It had never really come up. Sebastian was…something, bisexual maybe? He wasn’t sure, but recently even the thought of Sam both warmed his insides and formed a lump in his throat. It was getting too much to bear. He sat up and reached to his nightstand grabbing a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, lighting one. Smoking indoors wasn’t one of his more attractive activities, but getting out of bed and venturing into the heat was a battle he wasn’t willing to fight.
Robin’s head suddenly popped through the door. “Hey Sebby, Sam called to say he’s on his way!” With that, she closed the door and went back up the stairs.
Putting out the cigarette in an ashtray and standing up, he scanned the room for a clean pair of sweats. Normally hanging out with Sam didn’t require putting pants over his loose boxers, but as of recently he felt…indecent without some sort of cover on. Like he was creeping on Sam. He shook the thought out of his head.
A few minutes later, Sam bounced down the stairs in full beach attire, in nothing but his knee-length trunks, goggles and Adidas slides.
“The farmer helped Willy fix his boat! He’s taking some people to Ginger Island for the day and…” He trailed off. Something was off about Sebastian, but Sam couldn’t put his finger on it.
His eye bags were darker and more pronounced than normal, he looked almost defeated.
“Hey man, are you like, alright? Like is there something bothering you?” He came over to sit on the bed, pulling his goggles and tossing them to the floor.
“Just tired. Probably not up for Ginger Island today. Have fun though.” He glanced at Sam’s neon pink trunks. They contrasted nicely with the milky white of his torso.
“It’s not a one-time thing, if you don’t wanna go today we don’t have to. Should I boot up a game?” Sam was trying to tread carefully. He wasn’t sure what was bothering his friend, but he wasn’t going to leave him in the basement to rot.
Sebastian sighed. “Sure.”
After a few rounds of Smash Bros, Sam was getting suspicious. Sebastian basically always won when they played normally, but today Sam was undefeated. He watched Sebastian watch the victory screen for Sam’s character. He looked as though he was looking through the screen rather than at it. Suddenly, Sebastian turned to him.
“Dude, are you gonna hit continue so we can skip to the next round or-” his face flushed. “Why are you staring at me?”
“Why aren’t you actually playing the game? I never win like this, especially not so many times in a row. What’s wrong?”
Sebastian bristled and shot back harder than he meant. He wasn’t prepared to be questioned like this and he felt cornered. “Maybe I’m just having an off day, alright? Just skip to the next round already.”
Sebastian had never spoken to Sam like that. No matter what, Sebastian had always been sort of…gentle with Sam. Even when he was angry, he never took it out on Sam, never got annoyed at him for his lower IQ moments, or even when he accidentally unplugged Sebastian’s computer while he was working, he had never even come close to snapping at Sam like this. “I’m not fucking falling for this. You’re trying to push me away or get me to leave and I’m not doing that. You’re pissing me off. Just tell me what your deal is, man.”
Sebastian stood up and Sam followed. Sebastian was a little taller but Sam had almost 20 pounds on him just on the virtue that he ate regular meals and worked out occasionally. Sebastian knew this wasn’t a fight he would win, but it was more on principle. “You wanna know what my fucking deal is? I’ve been in love with you for years and you’ve never noticed. Shows how much you care.” He instantly felt bad for the jab he tacked on at the end, but Sam didn’t give him any time to fix his mistake.
“Are we so deadass right now? That’s what this is about?” He began to laugh.
Sebastian didn’t know how to respond. He was frozen in place. All of the anger drained out of him and a mixture of shock and shame.
Through tears of laughter Sam walked closer to Sebastian, still just in his trunks. The absurdity of the situation was keeping Sebastian from being able to respond properly.
“This whole time you thought I didn’t know? I’ve been waiting for you to confess since like, 8th grade. You hold my hand when we walk together at night. Every time the word “gay” gets mentioned you glance at me. You were literally staring at my nuts earlier. You are not slick.”
“I wasn’t staring at- there are literally monsters in the valley that come out at night. Holding hands makes sense. Wait, also, you knew and didn’t say anything? Waitwaitwait, you’ve been waiting?” His eyes met Sam’s.
“Literally yes bruh. I figured you were just building up your confidence but I didn’t think it would take like seven years for you to get there. I can’t believe you’d rather fight me in your basement than just admit your feelings.”
Suddenly, Sam leaned forward and kissed him. Butterflies be damned, it felt like fireworks in his stomach. Sebastian was gentle and tentative as though Sam might be scared off. His tongue gently nudged at the entrance of Sebastian’s mouth and he complied. Almost immediately, Sam pulled away, wiping the corner of his mouth with his arm.
“You have GOT to stop smoking man. I love you but you taste like shit.”
Sebastian gave a small smile. “I’ll try.”