𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚝𝚞𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚜

do you like the freckles on my face? [n.c]

reposting this from my priv ao3!
this was a dreamnap req for my friend ollie smile i love them <3

it also features queerplatonic dreamnotfound and georgenap smile

fic title from ;; california friends - the regrettes

cws ;; i don't think there are any!

pairing ;; dreamnap [dream/clay + sapnap/nick]

prompt ;; nick and clay meet up for the first time.

final word count ;; 3.3k

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nick thinks he's always been in love with clay.

he tries to remember a time he wasn't, but all that pops up is childhood memories of him pretending to be angry at dream and staying up on call late at night, talking idly into his mic so dream can fall asleep to his voice. and who knows, maybe he was deep in the pit of denial, forcing his feelings down and telling himself he won't fall for his best friend.

during streams, he acts - or feels, rather - more of like a third wheel. clay and george are friends, good friends, and he loves them (the younger in a different way), but it's hard to distinguish jokes from reality, especially when you're a streamer with a persona specifically created for online use. george and clay flirt a lot, that's their gag, but sometimes it feels a little too real. of course, they'd tell him if they were dating, but it isn't like that.

they're strictly platonic, clay tells him over the phone once, george likes someone else and clay simply isn't interested. the flirting is a ploy - it's what the viewers like, but if nick is uncomfortable with it, they'll tone it down. he tells them no, tells them they can do whatever the fuck they want, and it's then that clay comes out, says what's on his mind, tells nick what's been going on between them.

"me and george are in a queerplatonic relationship."

after the call ends, nick does his research.

'queerplatonic relationships can include friendships and ambiguously-romantic relationships that go beyond friendship norms in emotional intensity, physical affection, or other areas. some queerplatonic partners also live together or get married. queerplatonic relationships can look different for everyone, depending on what the people involved are comfortable with.'

huh.

it seems a little weird at first, but it's fitting. clay and george are obviously more than friends, but they're not romantically together. it.. it fits. he doesn't question it, though dream silently sends him links to websites explaining in further detail what it means.

a few days after his and dream's talk, george messages him over discord (whilst he's asleep - it was around nine in the uk when george sent him the message, and was three am in houston, and he had class in the morning).

georgenotfound
sapnap
i kno youre asleep
but i have a question
would you perhaps like to become my queerplatonic partner

he does, the thoughts about it since dream brought it up haven't left his brain, but it confuses him - doesn't he already have dream? he waits until he's fully awake and can comprehend the messages to reply, however, voicing his concerns, since he doesn't want to be getting something wrong.

sapnap
i mean
i guess??
arent u in a qpr with dream tho??

georgenotfound
yeah i am!
but you can have multiple qpps at the same time.
and i love you the same way i love dream
it's more than friendship
of course, you don't have to!
it's only if you want to.
georgenotfound
i'm not going to force you or anything.