Archive of Our Own ^beta

1.

It wasn’t unusual for Colby to be so affectionate towards Sam, they had always been close to each other since they first met in high school nearly ten years ago. They hugged and sometimes cuddled, and it wasn’t uncommon for them to hold hands either. Recently though, Sam’s noticed Colby’s been softer and somehow clingier.

There would be times when Sam woke up and Colby had taken the time to make him coffee or breakfast. What wasn’t normal was what Colby had done this morning after handing Sam his cup of coffee.

“Hey, how’d you sleep last night?” Colby asked, holding out the mug.

Sam took the coffee cup with little confusion- he had gotten used to Colby’s gestures over the past few weeks- and sipped at the coffee before answering his best friend’s question.

“Um, good, for the most part anyway,” Sam shrugged, “I had a really strange dream though, I’ll have to tell you about it then!” He added, remembering that the dream he had last night involved Colby and himself being characters in the movie “Ghostbusters.”

Colby smiled at him, a look of genuine enjoyment on his face, and Sam could practically feel the happiness radiate off of him. He wondered if something had happened to put Colby in such a bubbly mood today.

“Can’t wait,” Colby replied. The elated tone never left his voice, even though it was such an average conversation.

Colby picked up his coffee mug and was about to pass by Sam, presumably going into his room, when Colby stopped and pressed a gentle kiss onto Sam’s forehead. The gesture was quick and it couldn’t have lasted for more than a second, but God was it long enough for Sam to get butterflies in his stomach while his cheeks blushed ruby red.

It didn’t seem to strike Colby the same way, who had walked mindlessly into his room without any explanation.

Why on Earth would Colby kiss him?

2.

The car was filled with conversation and laughter as Sam drove him and his friends to their next haunted filming location. He and Colby were taking their friends, and fellow content creators, Kris and Celina to a haunted hotel in Florida. They had been planning this trip for months now and were so excited to finally be going after landing in Miami last night.

The music from their car was playing loudly, but not too loud so they could all still hear each other over it but sing along obnoxiously if they wanted to. It was moments like these that helped Sam feel like he could truly live in the moment and not worry about anything else.

Yet there was one person Sam noticed was being particularly quiet. Why was Colby so quiet? Sam wondered if there had been something bothering him, which was an instinct that Sam had gained over the few years of being so close to him.

Sam had stopped at a red light, which allowed him to take the chance to glance over at Colby, to see if he could check the expression on his face for any sign of discomfort. When he looked over, he was a little surprised to see Colby had been sneaking glances toward him as well, smiling softly nearly the whole time.

His smile only grew when they caught each other’s eyes.

The car suddenly felt very tense but not in a bad way, just the kind of tension that you feel when you and your best friend make eye contact for a little too long. The kind of tension that drowns out all of the surrounding noise and events.

Sam found it hard to pull away from Colby’s eyes. Have they always been so pretty?

It was only a few more minutes until they got to the hotel. Kris and Celina talked amongst themselves in the back seat, and he heard Colby join their conversation at some point too. Sam didn’t pay close attention to what they were talking about though. He couldn’t help but replay the moment he had locked eyes with Colby in his mind. It felt safe. Colby felt safe.

When he finally pulled into a parking space at the hotel, Kris and Celina were the first to rush out of the car, telling him and Colby they desperately needed to find a bathroom, which Sam couldn’t help but softly laugh at.

With just Colby and him alone in the car, Sam felt the tense air return.

“You have a cute laugh,” Colby complimented. The tone in his voice was gentle and soft. It made Sam feel safe, the way Colby spoke to him.

“A cute laugh?” Sam questioned, a smile growing on his face in curiosity as he turned to face Colby.

Colby nodded in confirmation, the smile never leaving his face.

“C’mon, we need to get the cameras ready,” He said before taking Sam’s hand and pressing a soft kiss to it.

Just like that, Colby was getting out of the passenger seat and going to the trunk to grab the backpacks and cameras with no explanation.

Again?

3.

“Colby!” Sam hollered from his bedroom, trying to figure out where his best friend was. He was bored and wanted to watch a movie or do something to resolve his boredom. Colby had been hidden away in his room for most of it.

That wasn’t unusual, but sometimes it caused Sam to miss him, even if they were in the same house.

Instead of yelling back, Colby showed up in the doorway of Sam’s room. He’d been wearing one of his signature merch hoodies as well as some sweatpants and he had clearly not moved from bed all day. Sam raised an eyebrow in confusion. It was nearly six o’clock.

“You feel okay, Colbs?” Sam asked, moving closer to the other. The nickname slid off his tongue easily.

Colby nodded, “Yeah, no, I’m okay, just tired. I had a headache earlier and getting rid of it just sorta drained me I guess,” He offered a tiny laugh at the end of his sentence.

Sam sort of frowned instead of joining Colby in laughing. Sam took note of how miserable Colby looked, the tired state overtaking his best friend’s body. It hurt him a little to see Colby so exhausted.

“You wanna watch a movie or something?” Sam asked him, motioning toward his bed as he sat down on it.

Colby smiled and made his way to lie down next to where Sam sat. Sam found a horror movie to watch, one they’d seen a billion times before. He laid down next to Colby and threw his blanket over both of them.

This wasn’t unusual for their friendship. They've cuddled before. Sam liked when they cuddled and he enjoyed their closeness. They were comfortable around each other and honestly that’s all Sam could ask for. This time he was the one to sneak glances in Colby’s direction. He watched as Colby’s eyes were practically glued to the TV screen in front of them.

Colby must have picked up on Sam looking at him because that's when he turned to face him, causing Sam to blush when he realized he’d been caught.

“Sorry,” Sam apologized, obviously flustered.

To his surprise, Colby snuggled closer to Sam, sort of resting his head on Sam’s chest in a way. Sam put his arm around Colby, taking the opportunity to cuddle. Cute.

He felt Colby shift a bit, but his confusion ended after a delicate kiss was pressed to his cheek.

Colby kissed him again, and Sam realized that he didn’t mind it that much.

4.

Throughout the past month, Sam had grown used to the random kisses he had received from Colby. They were always unexpected but very welcomed.

Sam had spent most of the morning editing their upcoming video, alone in his room. He had a notion to text Colby to come join him and keep him company, but he didn't want to bother him. He sighed lightly to himself out of boredom, and his eyes were beginning to hurt from looking at the computer for so long.

Almost as if summoned, Colby knocked twice on Sam’s door before opening it and stepping inside.

“Hey, I just wanted to check in on you,” He said in a hushed tone.

Sam turned to look at him with a soft smile.

“Yeah, I’m okay. My eyes kinda hurt though,” Sam replied, removing his headphones and rubbing his eyes.

Colby was now behind Sam’s desk chair, leaning against it slightly as he looked over the computer screen, checking to see how much progress was made on the video.

“Don’t be scared to take a break or ask me to take over,” Colby said softly, resting his head on top of Sam’s and hugging him best he could from behind the chair.

Sam brought his hand up to rest on Colby’s arm, appreciating the gesture.

“Thanks, Colby. I’m almost done though, I should be okay,” He smiled, leaning his head against Colby’s arm slightly.

“Alright. If you need anything, let me know, okay?” Colby said softly. He used that hushed and gentle tone of voice that made Sam feel safe, calm and collected.

Sam nodded lightly, “I will,” he assured.

Just as Colby was about to pull away and leave, he kissed the top of Sam’s head.

The kiss was short again, but it was there, and Sam had felt it. It felt nice. Colby provided a feeling of safety that words couldn’t explain. He wanted to be near him all the time.

Why did Colby keep kissing him like it was nothing? It was starting to screw with his head.

5.

It was a late evening when Sam found himself on the living room couch. The room was dimly lit by the TV screen and the moonlight shining through the windows.

He was scrolling through Twitter, retweeting and liking fanart of him and Colby. He smiled seeing art where they were shown hugging or leaning onto each other.

It was sort of funny how fans could depict how close they truly were through their videos.

Sam almost jumped a bit hearing Colby behind him suddenly.

“Hey, what’s up?” He asked, moving to sit beside him.

When Sam realized it was just Colby, he turned his phone off and gave him his full undivided attention.

“Nothing, just looking at fanart,” Sam answered.

Colby had a soft expression on his face. He seemed interested in what Sam had said.

“Fanart of us?” He asked, even though Sam thought the answer was clear.

Sam nodded, still offering a smile.

Sam’s eyes flicked from Colby’s eyes to his lips. It wasn’t on purpose, more of a reflex.

Sam didn’t know if he wanted Colby to notice or not. Would he have done anything if he noticed?

Colby leaned against the couch, resting his arm over the back of it. Sam wanted to lean against him.

Apparently, Colby had expected him to.

“Well?” He looked over at Sam and motioned for him to come closer. It caused Sam’s face to heat up. How did Colby manage to fluster him so much?

He moved against Colby and rested his head against his shoulder. Colby’s arm kept him close. Sam couldn’t explain how warm he felt inside. He didn’t know how to express the love he felt towards all of the moments they shared, his love towards Colby.

“I like that we can be close,” Sam confessed.

Colby smiled, “Yeah?” He asked, “Me too,” he assured.

Sam didn’t know what the other was thinking, but he liked to think Colby felt as warm and safe as he did.

“It’s getting kinda late, maybe we should go get ready for bed?” Colby suggested, looking down at Sam.

Sam nodded, figuring that was probably a good idea, as it was getting quite late.

Before Colby got up, he gave Sam another kiss, this time it was pressed softly to the tip of his nose. That was fucking adorable.

Sam would’ve asked about it this time, but by the time he collected his thoughts, Colby was already up and pretending like it didn’t happen.

“Colby Brock, you’re going to be the death of me,” Sam thought.

+1

Sam laughed as a pillow was thrown at him from across the room. They were spending another night at a haunted hotel to film. Well, less time filming and more time throwing pillows at each other.

The playful argument started with Colby poking fun at Sam. It resulted in Sam gasping in offense and hitting Colby with a pillow.

The pillow was then of course thrown back at him.

Play fighting was something that Sam and Colby did a lot too. When they weren’t cuddling- or kissing, apparently- they were playfully arguing and fighting.

“Sam,” Colby whined, drawing his name out.

“Colby,” Sam mocked him, laughing.

“I’m tired,” Colby responded in the same whiny tone.

Sam rolled his eyes playfully. They had just finished their investigations and filming for the night, so of course, he was tired.

The room they booked only had one bed, which wasn’t necessarily a problem, they’d shared beds plenty of times in the past. The two had changed into their sleepwear before they had started throwing pillows at each other, all that was left to do was to lay down and go to sleep.

Sam was first to fall back on the bed, looking at Colby, motioning him towards the bed as well.

“Are you gonna sleep standing up, Colby?” Sam grinned.

Colby had seemed to be zoned out, but when Sam spoke he snapped back to reality.

“Oh right, sorry,” he sort of babbled, realizing he should probably lie down now.

Sam smiled as Colby finally laid down, getting under the covers with him. Colby pulled Sam closer to him, his hand brushing through his blond hair.

It was almost enough to put Sam to sleep. Almost.

Cuddling into his side, Colby’s lips brushed against Sam’s neck. He didn’t kiss him, but his lips grazed against his skin lightly.

“Colby,” Sam whispered, trying to get his attention.

“Hm?” Colby mumbled, obviously trying to sleep.

“Look at me,” He said, his voice was quiet and he sat up a little bit to be able to see Colby’s face.

Colby looked up, confused. Sam scanned over Colby’s face, his eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips. He looked at his lips for what felt like an eternity. He subconsciously inched closer to his best friend.

“Sam?” Colby questioned, making Sam’s eyes flick back up to Colby’s.

Instead of answering with his words, he smiled and pressed a soft kiss to Colby’s lips, and for the first time in forever, there was no question about why one of them kissed the other.

“I’m so happy you did that first,” Colby mumbled, pressing his lips against Sam’s again.

Sam smiled, pulling back and pressing their foreheads together lightly.

“I figured there was a reason you kept kissing me,” Sam suggested.

Colby moved his hand to hold Sam’s waist as he laughed in defeat.

“Yeah, I guess you would have,” He sighed.

“Goodnight, Colby.”

“Goodnight, Sam.”

They soon drifted off to sleep, holding each other close, happy that they weren’t tip-toeing around the subject anymore.