Work Text:
Albert found himself finishing up another roblox video with Jake, everything was pretty normal as always, them joking around with immature jokes about practically anything they could twist around to make the other one laugh about even if it wasn't really made out to make the people watching entertained it practically felt as they were talking to themselves and everyone else listening in.
Albert really hadn't thought about it before, as he realised that, he started slowly thinking about the type of jokes he makes more and more, that being just normal immature dumb jokes, jokes about hating Jake and then the stupid...Gay? jokes…like about them being together, Albert being his boyfriend and them being together and what not.
Albert knew it was something stupid that would never happen so he found himself joking about that pretty often,as well as another reason being he found Jake's different reactions funny; him laughing at it, telling him to stop or playing along, he found each one of them amusing enough to seek for those reactions and even more if Jake started any of those jokes even though he rarely did.
“dude I'm talking to you!” Said Jake, from the discord call that he and Albert were on beforehand.
Albert quickly soon came to the realization that he had been thinking about it long enough for Jake to realize he had zoned out.
“huh?...oh yeah!,uhh im here” he said practically jumping from his seat adjusting his chair closer to his desk, he regained his self consciousness looking at his screen seeing that Jake had already left the game, a clear indicator that the video that finished.
“ I asked if you wanted to play Fortnite,but you completely zoned out “
Said Jake as soon as he heard Albert,the way he said it giving clear hints he was amused
“ yeah i’ll join”Said the other man,avoiding the fact that Jake realized that he had zoned out “ hop on already “ he said tapping at his keyboard and clicking his mouse to join a round with Jake (i dont know how Fortnite works ok so dont mind that…#chugjug)
Jake just chuckled in response not really wanting to ask much about it at the moment so he just hopped on Fortnite and played with him,he’d eventually ask him either way,plus he knew Albert would just get somewhat mad at him if he kept poking at it.
Albert now found himself playing Fortnite with Jake, something they would do in their free time or when they finished recording a video.
They were playing like any other time, sometimes talking,teasing and being competitive…but Albert couldn’t quite shake the thoughts he’d had earlier about the jokes..and Jake
" Why'd you zone out earlier? ” Said Jake as if he could read Albert’s thoughts and know he was JUST now thinking about that again
“ uhh, not much just videos and stuff for later that we could do..the usual “ Albert tried to play it somewhat cool, not exactly to evade Jake mostly because he wasn't sure how to tell him since he got caught of guard
“ I've known you long enough to know something is up with you. “ replied Jake to Albert’s unbelievable response, even though his words seemed as if he was scolding him for not telling him, Albert knew it was just because Jake was somewhat worried about him
“ Do you ever get annoyed by my jokes? “ Albert blurted out, he only knew the reason he had asked was because of the not so little times Jake seemed annoyed by his jokes, mostly the ones about them being together.
Albert awaited Jake's response, being attentive so he could listen till he realized that he needed to at least elaborate just a bit, and so he did.
“ I mean-..sometimes you sound a bit annoyed, you know?..a-and I don't want to make you uncomfortable “ Albert was wishing that he told Jake he would dm this to him so he wouldn't have stupidly stuttered, and at least he would know what to say
Jake couldn't help but let out a soft scoff. When Albert heard that he felt slightly relieved even if Jake still remained tight-lipped
“ Albert-” Jake hesitated “..you don’t need to worry about that man, most of it is just for the bit anyways” he finally let out. Albert let out a sigh of relief when he heard Jake’s full sentence
“ Tell me if you do “ Albert kept being a bit worried even after the clarification, he felt he needed to say something else but he really just couldn't find the words to describe what he wanted to tell him.
“ Of course man “ The two hesitated to say anything else and just continued to play the game with sometimes giving indications for the round
“..nothing else in that brain of yours? “ Jake spoke once more continuing the small conversation they were having trying to light up the mood from them just being weirdly worried for one another
“ Huh? oh uh…no, just that” Albert responded a bit confused at what Jake meant at the start but just decided to respond with a simple no, even if it wasn't like that.
⸻ ✦ ✧ ✦ ⸻
Time had passed by since…whatever type of conversation they had, they obviously ended up just talking and joking around the rest of the call till its end, and now Albert found himself alone in his bed with a busy mind.
His room felt empty even if it had stuff in it, a slight buzz from the ceiling fan ringed in his ear, becoming louder every time he thought about it so he tried his best not to.
He knew something was wrong with him, why did those jokes worry him so much if it was all harmless fun?.
He tossed and turned in his bed until he found a somewhat comfortable position to lie in the thoughts still running in his head, a million different answers of what was happening and situations playing nonstop, which only led him to be even more confused about it,he tried and tried to find the right answer, which one was the most reasonable or just felt right...
…He didn't quite get it for now, all he knew is that it was about something with…Jake
⸻ ✦ ✧ ✦ ⸻
Albert woke up from the slight gap in his window curtains making a bit of sunlight be able to shine in his eyes. He sat up in his beds moving away the sheets from his body realising his palms were somewhat sweaty, god all that thinking was going to be the end of him.
Albert simply stood up and went on with his day,as if nothing happened, he followed his somewhat daily routine; brushing his teeth, a cold shower, getting dressed, eating breakfast…think about Jake- no not that. make some future video ideas…with Jake. wait- no! uhm… film..some videos…with Jake,and then laugh and have fun because you're playing some stupid game..but it doesn't matter because you’re…
…
‘“ god damm…why am i even thinking about this “ Albert mumbled angrily to himself.
The cold water from the shower head running down his back and dripping to the shower floor, the coldness of the water making him slightly shiver.
At least he found the answer to his problem..right? Even though Albert would prefer to just forget it and leave whatever this feeling is in the back of his mind,he really…couldn’t. Because every single thought in his mind was practically filled with wanting Jake involved, wanting him near. Every single thing, every single daily task.
he wanted him near…and it was basically enough to drive him insane
Albert was still a bit confused on what to do, was he sure it was because of Jake that he was acting like this? did he really want him like…that?
they are best friends after all, close friends..but did Albert really want him as more than that
he wouldn’t mind kissing him…being close to him..hugging him, touching…him.
he didn’t mind all that.
So it truly was all about Jake, i mean if it wasn't about him he wouldn't get like this over him.
but still he didn’t know what to do about it, how to deal with his feelings or even how to tell Jake..
He felt weird… Well, it felt weird. maybe because it was about his best friend, not some girl he was dating. His thoughts shouldn’t have wandered like that. to the way Jake’s voice sounded, or how close he wanted to be, close enough to feel the warmth of his skin.
close enough to feel his breath on his skin, to hold him and see all his perfect features. make him feel loved, make Jake feel like he felt,
…but he didn’t know if Jake would ever see him that way. Maybe he didn’t want him to. Or maybe he did, more than anything. The thought made his breath hitch, his mind spinning between guilt and desire.
⸻ ✦ ✧ ✦ ⸻
Later into the night Albert was on his computer finishing up some stupid ideas for future videos.
A quiet buzz came from the computer, a discord message, Albert clicked on discord, his eyes darted to see who messaged him.
Surprise surprise, it was Jake.
his heart skipped a beat, and his brain immediately went on to think imaginary situations about why Jake messaged him, even though there was no way those situations could be true.
“ Wanna film something with me? :P “ read the message.
It was obvious from the start that was what Jake was going to ask, but oh well, it doesn't hurt to wish for a bit more.
Albert somewhat struggled on what to message Jake back. He eventually settled for a simple “ hey, yeah of course :) “
he didn’t really like how it sounded but convinced himself to send it and click off discord.
A few seconds later the same buzz sound came out of his computer again.
“ k join the call :) “ Albert read the second message, although it quite literally meant ‘join the discord call, and a smiley face’ it meant the world to Albert.
He quickly joined the call to be greeted by Jake’s voice
“ hey dude! “ a somewhat energetic and happy tone showed in Jake’s voice
“ Hey! “ Albert responded as usual, even though he overthought his words later on.
They started recording as usual — another random Roblox game Jake had found that looked like it was made in a few hours. Albert tried to laugh at the absurdity, to fall back into their rhythm, but his reactions felt off. Too forced, too careful. Every time Jake laughed, Albert felt it in his chest — a weird warmth that made him forget the game entirely.
Although Jake was the one that originally was meant to record, Albert recorded for a video on his page as well, making the two of them record somewhat different parts for each of their ‘pov’s’
At one point in the game both of them were inside a train in the game, the train going in and out the tunnels in game making it appear dark and then going back to looking bright. The two of them were separated from the other players in an empty wagon only displaying a few lounges with tables in between them, and some windows above the tables. Albert and Jake were just as per usual talking and joking around
“ You look cute dude! “ pointed out at Jake, his voice coming out in a squeaky tone
Jakes ‘avatar’ turned around at Albert “ I look cute? “ responded Jake in a tone that made him seem as if he didn't believe it.
“ Do I look cute? “ joked around Albert back at Jake, even if Jake responded for the bit it would still make Albert feel butterflies in his stomach. As if that compliment was real
“ Maybe “said Jake followed by an awkward chuckle, or at least that's how Albert saw it.
A small pause in between their conversation occurred as if they were thinking about what to say. “ do you wanna..” Albert took in the in-game scenery for a second trying to form his words.
seeing the wagon turned dark once more he formed his words “ you know its dark- its not gay if its dark ” his words came out quick on a heavy breath.
Although Albert tried to speak somewhat fast enough his timing turned out horrid, with the train passing through the tunnel and making it bright once more.
although he though he fucked the joke up and went on to say “ okay “ repetitively, followed by sometimes saying ‘wait’ before. Jake followed along with the joke saying it in a different form.
“okay, hold on- yeah-yeah-yeah, hold still- hold still. “ Something in Jake's voice didn't seem as if he felt like that was a joke, especially with his tone slightly dropping down at the last word. Jake’s sentence completely cutting of the repetitive okay’s Albert was going to say as to cover his joke
Albert just laughed it off even though his heart was beating as if it was real and he was right.
When the wagon turned dark again Jake’s ‘avatar’ moved in closer to Albert’s. Simulating a kiss in-game. Neither of them said anything leaving the call quiet filled with…something
They continued the rest of the video for about some minutes before they eventually got bored and ended the call.
Albert logged off the game and left the call as said and quickly saw a message from jake
“ Hey, I'm actually in your area this week. Wanna hang? :D “
Albert felt a mix of nervousness and happiness with a bunch of other emotions. Should he lie and say he’s not here at the moment? although it's unlikely Jake would believe him. so…he just had to man up,or whatever, and accept.
His fingers hovered over the keyboard keys.
“ Awesome! yeah of course :) “ He typed out.” Was the smile too much? did he seem too…excited?.
Oh well, it didn’t matter much, he thought as he sent the message.
“Cool, I’ll be going tomorrow,” Jake responded a few seconds later. “I’ll probably arrive at night though… that good?” he followed.
If it’s night, he’ll leave sooner, Albert thought, not sure if that was a good or bad thing.
“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Albert replied.
“Well, I’m going to sleep now,” Jake said, quickly sending another message afterward. “I’ll tell you when I’m going. Night :)”
“Night,” Albert replied.
“Surprised you didn’t say anything weird,” Jake texted back.
“Did you want me to say something?” Albert typed, hesitating before hitting send.
“Depends,” Jake replied. “What would you have said?”
Albert smiled at his screen. Something you’d probably overthink.
But he deleted the message fearing he was going too far. even though originally it wouldn’t seem like it.
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” being the message he actually sent
Albert finished some things at his computer before turning it off and going to his bed.
He closed his curtains and slid inside the cold sheets, tossing and turning until he got into a comfortable position
He couldn’t shake off the feeling he felt when talking to Jake.
Every time Jake talked into his mic, he couldn’t help but think about all the other things he wished he would say.
God he really had to stop thinking about such things and just go fucking sleep.
⸻ ✦ ✧ ✦ ⸻
Albert sat impatiently at his desk, the soft tap of rain hitting his window, with him clicking on and off discord to see if Jake said anything about his arrival.
That somewhat dreadful night seemed to have arrived faster than it actually was which eventually led Albert to being unable to patiently wait for Jake.
He tried to distract himself with something, but everything at that moment felt boring and dull to him.
Eventually he started scrolling through his phone which only gave him a moderate amount of entertainment.
A message suddenly appeared on his phone, making Albert slightly jump before a big grin started to mark his face.
Excited, Albert opened the message.
“ Hey dude! im heading over there right now sorry for not saying anything before lol”
Albert sighed, not knowing if that made the wait become even more unbearable or a bit better.
he typed away a response “ Finally dude i was going to be dead or something before you arrived -_- ”
He wasn't sure if what he wrote even sounded like what he was aiming to say but then again, he didn’t really bother to change it since Jake would understand it anyways.
“ yeah sorry abt that just got a bit busy :/ “ Jake replied after a bit, probably due to the fact he was most likely driving to Albert’s.
“ No worries dude I'm just joking” he responded just to make sure Jake didn’t think he was scolding him or something.
“ yeah ik ” the following message reading “ just wanted to say sorry “ both of the messages taking some time to get to Albert.
“ Alright but no worries dude :) just hurry because it's starting to rain really hard “ Albert said as his final message to Jake for now.
He looked at his window, the rain truly was getting harder, the taps on his window sounding louder every minute.
Albert could only hope it didn't get worse, but it did, Of course it did.
Soft thunder became louder, somewhat seeming as it got closer, with everything it flashed the sound appeared sooner.
Albert closed the blinds,hoping once more the weather would brighten up.
After closing it he sat down at his desk once more, clicking on and off discord once more, left to wait for Jake to arrive.
Some seconds passed, although it felt like hours, and Albert heard a knock on the door. He lightly shook his head as if he was waking up from a daydream, although he most probably was daydreaming the whole wait.
An eager smile appeared on his face, taking over his bored expression.
He walked up to the door, taking a somewhat small breath for no apparent reason, and opened it.
And of course the person standing behind the door was no other than Jake
“ Hey dude! “ He said a smile marked on his face as well
Albert quickly took in how Jake was soaked by the rain,he couldn’t help but feel somewhat amused by how Jake looked like an homeless puppy soaked by the rain, with his somewhat cute smile making it seem as if he didn't care at all.
“ Hey dude! “ He tried holding his laughter but couldn't help looking j¹at Jake funny.
“ It's just a bit of rain ” Jake joked when he realised why Albert was looking at him that way.
“ Just come inside “ Said Albert opening the door more so they both could pass, him passing through the door first with Jake following soon after.
The only sound when they walked in was the tapping on the rain by the window, a warm feeling in the cold air caused by the somewhat noisy ceiling fan.
“ Sort of quiet “ muttered Jake somewhat uneasy by how quiet it was there, making it somewhat awkward.
“ I'm not really sure where my family went, they probably told me I just forgot or something “ Albert replied walking towards his room, trying to remember if they did say anything.
Jake walked past him already heading to Albert's room, his eyes looking around, taking in every detail the house held.
Albert entered the room soon after Jake did before him.
“ You couldn’t have cleaned before I showed up? “ he said, obviously joking, standing in the middle of Albert’s room looking around the obviously cleaned room, later on sitting on his neatly tucked bed.
“ fuck you dude “ responded Albert, joking aswell, going towards Jake to sit beside him on the bed.
They both laughed at themselves.
⸻ ✦ ✧ ✦ ⸻
The two chatted for minutes which soon became hours of them laughing together as they talked.
Albert’s nervousness slowly began to fade as he felt more at ease, with Jakes' laughs filling up the room, echoing in his ears, burning into his brain, the kind of sound that made him happy to hear, made him feel joyful and warm inside,made him feel more comfortable near him.
They mostly talked but occasionally played video games such as roblox,shooter games in genefortnight,etc making their bond grow stronger than it already was.
Everything was going as planned,as smooth as it could be, with Albert paying less attention to his emotions and focusing on what Jake did or what he talked about, that is until he noticed the lights slightly flickering.
“ Did your dad not pay the electricity bill or something? “ Said Jake joking, soon after the both noticed that about the lights
“ I hope he did “ Responded Albert, a tad bit more concerned about what was actually happening with the lights
Not much after they heard some faint mumbles across the road from the other houses.
Albert decided to get up and check to see what happened but before he did the lights turned off definitively, he let out a soft sigh a bit pissed off by it but at least he found out what happened without having to check.
“ well i guess we found out “ Spoke Jake joking once again
The only source of light was the one that came from sudden thunders, and from the star light sky. It was still hard for Albert to really see anything other than assume where things were at that moment.
“ y’know “ Albert paused “ it’s not gay if it’s dark.. “ he teased trying to lighten up the mood, although if it was just a cover up to sink in his intentions even more.
Jake let out a soft breathy scoff, the type he’d do when Albert said something and he didn’t know how to respond,either to tease back or call him out.
The only thing Albert could sense was his breath feeling closer than usual, and a light brush from their shoulders.
“ yeah? “ Jake said. His voice sounding a bit off “ you sure about that? “
Albert's heart started beating faster, he knew it was a stupid tease, still he was unsure if it was.
he felt as if Jake was awaiting his answer, he most probably was.
“ like what..i said before you know..? “ He said as if he was trying to reassure Jake knew why he said it,he said it trying to seem confident but slowly his voice softened down.
god why did he even say something like that. it just made it seem weird.
“ Albert,” Jake said, his voice toned down.
“ yeah? “
a small silence
“...if it's dark “ Jake said, voice almost right against his ear “ then what exactly are you trying to get away with..? “
Albert Froze. he wasen’t scared just overwhelmed, with his pulse racing so hard he began to feel dizzy
He attempted to form an excuse even if it sounded dumb, but it almost felt as if he couldn't speak. “ I- “
Jake's hand brushed Albert’s knee,but it didn't seem like an accident.
Albert felt Jake's breath closer, near his cheek, as his head wasn't fully turned towards Jake, the feeling of him being closer as well as the light shadow of Jake seemed closer.
He felt him near even though he couldn't see him.
No words left to be said, everything they needed to say was already floating in the cold air
The thunder slowly going in the back of their minds as if it disappeared
He felt Jake's hand near his legs like before but it felt as if his movements were less hesitant and with more intention to mean something else.
Albert moved closer
The only thing he could think about was how he'd wish it was always dark.
If it meant they could be together.