it was a nightly thing for albert and race to kiss each other's cheeks goodnight. they had been doing it since....well, since they met really. albert hated every night he didn't get a peck on the cheek from his best friend. without it, he felt tense all night and tossed and turned. those nights were sleepless.
but when race did kiss him goodnight, everything fell into a peace. his brain would shut off and he felt content. those nights he easily fell asleep. those nights he dreamt of clouds, rainbows, and all things good.
for a while albert was okay with the simple exchange. it didn't mean much to either of them. then it changed. albert could barely handle it anymore. he couldn't stand the idea that they would only be kissing each other's cheeks or foreheads platonically. he wanted nothing more but to feel race's lips against his at least once.
it was getting harder and harder to resist the urge each time their faces were mere centimeters apart. he had no idea what would happen if he acted on the thought. he and race had exchanged a few awkward words about it in the past but nothing more.
"albert!" race crashed on to his friends bed, landing right on top of him. it wasn't an unusual occurrence for race to bounce on to the bed and make himself comfortable on the redheads chest. it was almost every night now.
"hey race," albert chuckled, immediately going to comb his fingers through the tangled curls that seemed to perfectly compliment race's shinning blue eyes.
race nuzzled his head into alberts chest and held onto him tightly. "i'm exhausted," he mumbled quietly.
"then go to bed," albert responded quietly.
"why are you still awake?" he asked.
"i was reading," he glanced over at the book on his nightstand. "and i couldn't go to sleep without seeing you."
race hummed a response and let the room fall silent around them. albert hadn't stopped playing with the mess on race's head since he got there. it was calming.
race lifted up his head. albert cocked his brows, looking at him expectantly. race just gently kissed alberts forehead. "goodnight."
albert was tired of it. he was tired of the way race looked at him like he owned the entire world. he was tired of the countless nights of staring into each other's eyes and reading one another's thoughts. he was tired of thinking race was going for his lips then changing it to his nose at the last second.
without another moment to lose, he gently grabbed onto races collar and pulls him close enough so their lips would connect. it only lasted a second but it was worth it.
they pulled away slowly, their lips lingering longer than they needed to. race blinked a few times, recollecting his thoughts. then he quickly kissed alberts lips again before climbing off of him.
"goodnight race," albert smiled. race beamed a smile back before exiting.
but it didn't end there.
every night after that it continued. no more simple pecks on the cheeks, nose, or forehead. every time it was only their lips (excluding the additional ones on the cheek before race left the room, but that didn't count). albert loved it. he loved the feeling. the butterflies in his stomach grew wilder each time. he felt on top of the world with every exchange.
nothing changed between them, they still acted the way they did before the one night albert made the move.
but that also meant they never really talked about the kiss. or the kissing for that matter. albert should have settled for it. but he just couldn't. it drove him crazy that even when they kissed, race was clueless to what albert really felt.
"albie!" race jumped on to the bed, laying right next to him.
"hi racer," albert smiled cheekily. he loved the way race smiled after each day. even if it was a long, draining day he still was able to light up the whole room. maybe albert would call it love.
race didn't waste any more time and connect their lips, dragging albert into a slow, passionate kiss that he'd been waiting for all day. albert melted into the kiss, but it didn't take him long before he realized what he was doing and pulled away. he was met with an upset frown on his friends face.
"you okay?" race asked sympathetically, placing a hand on alberts arm.
albert didn't break eye contact. he could see the confusion and worry in race's eyes. "yeah just...i can't do this anymore."
"what do you mean?" race furrowed his brows.
"the kissing...like this." he specified.
"oh....okay," race's eyes drifted to stare at anything else.
"because i don't know if...if you mean it like i do," albert continued quietly. "if you see me the way i see you..."
"what?" race's expression quickly shifted back to confusion.
"race i...race i want this to be more that just kissing each other goodnight. but i don't know if that's what you want..."
"why would i be kissing you like this every night if that's not what i wanted?" race responded softly. "if you hadn't kissed me first, i would have done it sooner or later."
"oh." was all albert could say.
"yeah." race smiled shyly.
"so you...we...?" albert pointed between them.
race didn't say anything back. he just reconnected their lips. this kiss being delicate like a butterflies fluttering wings. it was nice. and it gave them the closure they wanted with their feelings. and albert couldn't ask for anything more.
