Night Changes
Title: Night Changes Author: rhettlinkk Rating: M Word count: 5266 Summary: Toby Turner visits Rhett and Link's studio. Author’s Note: this is a birthday present for one of my favorite people, serpentjester !! This is Rhettbuscus?? Rhink?? Rhinkbuscus?? something. just. enjoy (and yes the title is from a 1d song ok i am uncreative) Warnings: nah
“I'mso excited that we're working with Toby again,” Link babbled late one afternoon. It had been a long day of filming some very involved episodes of Good Mythical Morning, including a few trips out of the studio for various skits for upcoming Thursday episodes. Link and his best friend were relaxing in their office together. Rhett sat on the oversize beanbag in the corner of the room and Link sat leaned back in his desk chair. The sun had already set outside; both men had already called their wives and warned them that it was going to be another late night at the office. The resigned sighs at the end of the phone made both of them feel guilty and they questioned whether or not their recent growth in fame was worth the effect it had on their families.
Rhett smiled in response to Link, not wanting to open his mouth and carelessly let something slip out that he might regret. Secretly, he was buzzing with anticipation. He had been entranced by Toby ever since they first met and had developed a massive crush on the younger man over time. Every collaboration they did with Toby brought the two closer, and Rhett thought it seemed like Toby became more and more flirty as they spent more time together. He wrote it off as wishful thinking, but that didn't stop his heart from speeding up every time he looked at the clock and saw how soon it was until Toby would be showing up at the studio.
He tried to keep a neutral expression and chatted with Link for a while about all of the work they got done that day. They were particularly excited about one of the episodes they had filmed and discussed how they thought the fans were going to react to it. Rhett let his mind wander away from the guest that was currently on his way and focused instead on his best friend. Lately Link had been on his mind a lot as well. It was no secret that the dynamic of their friendship had changed since the beginning of season seven; the fans, the crew, and even their wives had picked up on it. There was no specific reason that Rhett could think of for the change, but he felt more comfortable with Link and closer to him every day.
Familiar feelings that he thought he had buried years ago began to resurface over the last few years. He had fallen for Link as kids, but growing up in North Carolina meant keeping that fact to himself, for both of their safety. The feelings faded as they grew up, started dating girls, got married, started families. But once they started working together after their short attempts at being engineers, and especially when it was just the two of them for a while before they hired crew members, the feelings had gotten stronger. He knew Link was his other half, there was no question in his mind about it. He didn't have any memory of a time when he didn't know Link, and he spent an unfathomable amount of time with the other man over the last three decades. He was certain that they were closer than two friends had ever been.
The urges to reach out and caress Link's face, grasp Link's hand in his, press their lips together, sometimes overwhelmed Rhett. But he controlled himself, for the sake of the cameras, or the crew members that surrounded them at all times, or just for the sake of their friendship and their marriages. Sometimes Rhett didn't even know why he was holding back, but he always managed to.
He watched, distracted, as Link chewed on a pen. His brain seemed to short circuit as he focused on the pink, full lips and the tongue that stuck out a little between Link's adorable teeth. His inappropriate train of thought was interrupted, maybe for the best, when Stevie knocked and let herself in to the office. “Toby's here, guys.”
Rhett's eyes darted to the door and he couldn't help but smile when he saw Toby walk in. He wore his signature green t-shirt with his stage name “Tobuscus” displayed in large letters on the front, and a tight fitting pair of jeans. His dark curls were even messier than Rhett usually saw them, giving him the incredible urge to run his fingers through the younger man's hair. He and Link both stood up and walked up to greet their guest. Toby's camera was already recording for a vlog, so Rhett tried to act normal. He couldn't help but blush when Toby threw an arm around his waist and made a comment about how much he missed the two men, but “especially Rhett.”
The three men made their way to the recording area of the studio, and Toby introduced his viewers via the vlog to the round table of dim lighting and teased about the topics of the podcast they were about to record. He finally turned off the camera and flashed Rhett and Link a warm, genuine smile. “I really have missed you guys,” he said sincerely.
Rhett beamed back at him. He was still mentally recovering from when Toby had wrapped his arm around his waist; it made him think of the halftime show, when Toby had sat pressed against him with an arm around his shoulders. Rhett was embarrassed when he stumbled on clips from the show afterwards at how obviously bashful he looked. It was like he could see the butterflies flying around in his stomach; he acted like a kid in elementary school with a crush. He was a grown man. And married. He needed to get a grip.
Before they could get too deep into conversation, the three men took their seats at the table and put on their headphones. Rhett was glad that they were going to be having an hour long conversation focused on Toby; it gave him an excuse to stare at him unashamedly, and he got to listen to Toby's deep, sultry voice, the first thing that attracted Rhett to him in the beginning, through headphones. Rhett knew he was going to have a hard time maintaining composure. It was going to be a long night.
About twenty minutes into the podcast, Rhett had begun telling a story about something embarrassing that Link had done while they were in college. Rhett froze in the middle of his sentence when he felt something rubbing against his calf. It couldn't be Link, who was sitting to the side of him, so it had to be their guest. Rhett's eyes widened and made contact with the other pair of green eyes across the table. Toby stared back with an innocent expression on his face, eyebrows raised in confusion as to why Rhett stopped talking.
Instead of glaring at Toby like he was tempted to do, or even call him out and tell him to stop distracting him even more than he already was, Rhett cleared his throat and continued telling his story. Toby continued to play footsies with him under the table for the rest of the time they recorded. At one point when he made eye contact with Rhett again, he sent the older man a sly smirk. The expression that created on Rhett's face made Toby let out an involuntary chuckle. Link looked back and forth at the two other men at the table in confusion but laughed along awkwardly and tried to keep the conversation going.
Finally, when Ear Biscuits was recorded and finished, the men took a break. They made their way to the kitchen area of the new studio. Link excused himself to the restroom and left Rhett and Toby standing in the kitchen alone, sipping quietly on their cups of coffee. As soon as Link was out of the room, Toby placed his mug down on the counter and bounced on the balls of his feet excitedly. “Can I have a tour of the new studio?” he asked in one of his ridiculous voices that Rhett loved. The older man chuckled and nodded before leading the way to the next room.
“This is where we shoot the Facebook videos,” he said, gesturing around the large room. “There's a storage room with a bunch of props through that door.”
Toby began making his way to the door that Rhett indicated. When Rhett didn't follow him, he turned around, confused. “Come on, dude. I want the full tour.”
Rhett thought about Link, who was inevitably out of the bathroom by now and probably wondering why they had disappeared from the kitchen. He shrugged, not too worried about being gone for another minute to satisfy Toby's weird request. If he wanted to look at their dusty room of props, then why not? They were already going to be stuck here for another few hours to record Song Biscuits. He followed Toby into the room and reached out for the light switch.
Before Rhett could turn the light on, something had shut the door behind him and pressed him up against it. He let out a yelp, which he would never admit outside of that room, in surprise. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness of the room and met another pair of green eyes in front of his. Toby was standing partially pressed against him, arms around him, caging him in against the door. Rhett's heart raced and threatened to beat out of his chest as he processed the situation he was in.
“Wh-what are you doing, Toby?” he whispered breathlessly.
All Rhett could make out in the dark room was the top of Toby's head moving to the side a little, until... he felt wetness against his neck. Toby was pressing soft kisses against his skin, and he had to suppress a shocked groan that threatened to escape his lips. “I've been dying to do this.” Toby's voice was low and gruff, muffled against Rhett's neck. “And I know you've been too.”
A shudder ran down Rhett's spine. Disbelief consumed him for a moment, rendering him speechless and immobile. He wanted to reach out and grab Toby's hips, grind against him, lean down and bring their lips crashing together, but he was frozen in place. Toby noticed and pulled away. Even in the dim moonlight that shone through the one lone window by the ceiling, Rhett could see the panicked expression on the other man's face. “Oh shit. I guess I was wrong. Fuck. Wow I'm-”
Before he could begin having a full-fledged panic attack due to what he was beginning to fear was the stupidest decision he had ever made, Toby was interrupted. Rhett's hand moved to wrap around the back of the shorter man's neck and he leaned down to bring their lips together tenderly. Toby nearly sighed into the kiss with relief. He did smile into the kiss as he clumsily tried to move his lips against Rhett's. The unfamiliar feeling of Rhett's rough beard against his face and the tall, firm body pressed against his was new but felt so natural to Toby.
He had fantasized about doing this since the day he had met Rhett. He'd thought about Link a little bit, too, but Rhett was the epitome of perfect in his mind. He was tall and absolutely fucking gorgeous, with his deep voice and laugh that made Toby feel like he might be in love. He never thought that he'd actually do anything about his annoying little crush, though. Especially when he saw they way that Rhett interacted with Link, he didn't want to step on any toes. He genuinely enjoyed spending time with both men and didn't want to ruin their little trio.
Yet, as soon as Link had left the kitchen, Toby knew he had to try. The studio tour was just an excuse to spend a little bit of alone time with Rhett, of course, and gave him time to come up with some sort of plan. When Rhett had mentioned the storage room, he knew that was his opportunity. And now there they stood, pressed against the door, kisses quickly becoming rougher and more passionate. Rhett's large hands moved up and down Toby's muscular back . Toby's arms wrapped around the taller man's neck to make standing on his toes to reach the freakishly tall man's lips easier.
Rhett nibbled at Toby's bottom lip, eliciting a groan from the younger man that went straight to his cock. After that, all he could think about was earning more of those delicious noises. Toby must have had a similar idea, because at that moment he broke the kiss, breathing heavily, and met Rhett's eyes. Rhett couldn't help but smile when he saw how blown out Toby's pupils were, his eyes almost completely black. The younger man's posture changed; he stood up straight and somehow seemed to make himself look bigger and more dominating. It turned Rhett on immensely.
“Lock the door.” Toby's voice was deeper and more gruff than Rhett had ever heard it, and he had to bite his lip so he didn't moan out loud just by being told what to do in that voice. He quickly moved to oblige, but his hands shook so badly with excitement that it made the simple task of turning the key extremely difficult. When it was finally done after what felt like an eternity, Toby grabbed the front of Rhett's tight t-shirt and brought their lips crashing together once again. The kiss was sloppy, a clash of teeth and tongue. Rhett pushed Toby further into the large room. Toby stepped backwards blindly, lost in the kiss and trusting Rhett to not let him trip over anything.
There were mattresses leaning against the wall that Rhett and Link used in the sleep experiment episode of GMM. Toby noticed this out of the corner of his eye and pulled on one of them so it fell and laid itself on the floor, all while not breaking the kiss. He made a noise against Rhett's mouth, not wanting to stop kissing him yet and unsure if he'd even be able to speak coherently if he did pull away. Rhett seemed to understand, though, because he bent down and slowly sat himself onto the mattress. Toby quickly clambered onto the taller man's lap and deepened the kiss, exploring Rhett's mouth with his tongue. His fingers wove through the tall blonde hair and he tugged gently, smiling against Rhett's lips when Rhett let out a soft moan.
“You like that, huh,” Toby chuckled. He leaned back and admired the sight underneath him. Rhett's hair was a mess, his eyes blown out like he'd never seen before, his shirt riding up and exposing the tan skin of his hips and the navy boxers that stuck out above his tight jeans. Toby was suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to explore every inch of Rhett's skin. He grabbed the bottom of Rhett's t-shirt. A warm feeling washed over him when Rhett immediately put his arms up so that Toby could pull the shirt over his head. He was more than okay with Rhett being so submissive to him. “Good.”
A blush crept across Rhett's cheeks but neither his smile nor the intense smolder he was giving Toby faltered at the younger man's words. Toby's cock ached at the realization that Rhett was completely in his control. His fingertips traced over the muscles of Rhett's chest, down both of his arms, and across his abdomen. The blonde haired man let out a breathy laugh at the ticklish touch but stayed still and let Toby continue to explore. Toby stared down in awe at Rhett, making Rhett feel a way he had never felt before. His heart ached for a moment when he thought about his wife, and even more so when he thought about Link, who was by now becoming annoyed with them, or maybe had already figured out what they were doing.
Rhett didn't let himself worry about anything now, though. He shuddered underneath the other man's gentle touch. His breath caught as Toby's hands moved to his lower stomach and his fingers played at the button of his jeans. Toby shifted off of Rhett momentarily so that he could hastily unbutton Rhett's pants and tug them down over his hips. Toby continued to explore Rhett's body as he traced the outline of Rhett's hard cock through the boxers lightly with his fingers. The moans that Toby elicited from the other man spurred him on. He pressed a flat palm against Rhett's erection, and he was rewarded with even more low groans from the man.
“Stop t-teasing, man,” Rhett begged, his voice sounding wrecked and like the best thing Toby had ever heard. Toby wanted to continue, wanted to memorize every inch of Rhett McLaughlin, since this was undoubtedly the only time he'd be able to be this close to the man (he was married with children, for God's sake), but his own needs needed to be met, and met quickly. He pulled his own shirt over his head, crumpling it into a ball and tossing it to the side, and rolled into a seated position on the floor next to the mattress so he could pull off his own jeans and boxers. He then moved to straddle Rhett's hips once again and leaned down to press sloppy kisses against the expanse of Rhett's chest.
Rhett obediently opened his mouth when Toby's long fingers begged entrance at his lips. He sucked happily on them for a moment, allowing his tongue to swirl around them. With his other hand, Toby clumsily removed Rhett's boxers, all while still kissing and sucking bruises onto Rhett's skin.
“Wait,” Rhett gasped. “There's lube, somewhere.” Toby huffed out a laugh but stood and scrambled to search for the lube that Why In The World Did Rhett and Link Have Lube In Their Storage Room. “Needed it for a video,” Rhett explained before Toby could even ask.
The younger man let out another chuckle and shook his head when he finally found the small bottle. He quickly walked back over to where Rhett laid, naked and glowing in the moonlight. His heart skipped a beat at the sight.
He poured a generous about of lube onto his hand and brought his now wet fingers to Rhett's entrance. Toby was beginning to realize how nervous he actually was. He had never done this with another man before, although it had always been a desire of his. He assumed that Rhett hadn't either, unless their fans were more correct about Rhett and Link's relationship than he thought, but regardless he could imagine that Rhett was nervous as well. “You okay?”
The genuine smile that his question brought to Rhett's face made most of his nerves disappear instantly. “I'm okay, Toby.” Rhett took a deep breath and met Toby's gaze. “Are you okay?”
Toby flashed a dazzling smile. “Perfect.” Without hesitation, Toby pressed one finger inside of Rhett, making him squeeze his eyes tightly closed and let out a soft whine. Toby leaned up to press chaste kisses against Rhett's lips and quickly inserted another finger. He fucked Rhett with his fingers, opening him up as quickly as he could. All he could think about was getting inside of Rhett and coming. He moved his lips to Rhett's neck and bit down hard as he added a third finger. Rhett let out a loud shout; anyone still in the studio definitely heard that.
Toby's left hand rubbed soothing circles on Rhett's chest and brushed his fingers teasingly against his nipples. “Keep it down,” he muttered.
What Toby and Rhett didn't know was that Link was standing on the other side of the door, already very aware of what was going on. His leaned his head against the wall and braced himself as waves of confusion and hurt washed over him. Tears fell freely from his eyes and he flinched in pain as he clenched his fists tightly.
Link had learned to cope with being jealous of Rhett's wife over time. It had bothered him even less as he and Rhett became closer and Rhett spent almost all of his time with Link at work. He had been working up the courage over the last few months to talk to Rhett about the feelings that he had but had been trying to figure out the best way to phrase it and was waiting for the perfect moment. He felt secure enough in their friendship that he knew it would survive. If anything, there would have been an argument and a few awkward days if Rhett didn't feel the same, but they had overcome worse things.
But now there seemed to be no point. He had noticed that Toby was always extremely flirty with Rhett but never thought that Rhett would go after such a young, dorky guy. Yet here Link stood, listening to Rhett's uncontrollable moans coming through the door of their studio. The very place that Rhett was building this life with Link and where Link would have to come every day and relive this moment. He didn't know if he felt more upset for Rhett's betrayal of Jessie or if he felt more betrayed himself.
After a long minute, he couldn't just stand there and listen anymore, and honestly he had started to feel a little creepy for listening to his best friend have sex, so he stalked off. He sent a text to Rhett's phone which still sat on the kitchen counter saying 'family stuff. Went home', knowing that would be the first thing his friend would check once he noticed Link's disappearance. He grabbed the car keys off the rack by the front door; when he got into the car, his tears consumed him. His head fell against the steering wheel as his body was wracked with sobs.
Meanwhile, Rhett was falling apart under Toby's touch. The younger man's eyes swept across Rhett's body in amazement. He felt drunk and giddy, unable to believe what was happening. The room was still and silent besides the two men's labored breathing and moans. Toby's hand searched blindly next to the mattress for the bottle of lube and he rejoiced with a smile when he successfully grabbed it.
“Someone's eager,” Rhett teased with a smirk. Toby wiped the smug look off of the man's face by moving his fingers to brush against Rhett's prostate, eliciting another loud groan and making Rhett's eyes close at the intense pleasure. He chuckled as he poured more lube onto his hand and stroked his cock lightly a few times. He was lining up his cock with Rhett's entrance when both men heard tires squeal outside. He froze and met Rhett's panicked eyes.
Rhett's panic turned to hurt when he realized what was happening. “Link,” he whispered. He moved to get up and grabbed his pants from beside the mattress.
When Toby realized that Rhett was bailing right before he was about to fuck the everliving shit out of the this man that he had dreamed about for so long, he felt like his world was collapsing. “Wait, are you serious?” He groaned when he realized that there was no way he was going to be able to stop Rhett, who was already opening the storage room door, jeans pulled up to his thighs and boxers and t-shirt in hand.
Rhett buttoned up his jeans and tugged his shirt on halfway as he rushed to the kitchen and picked up his phone. He made his way out to the driveway as he pressed the speed-dial to reach his best friend. He let out a relieved laugh when Link actually picked up after only two rings. His voice was rough when he answered, which meant that he had either been sleeping or crying before he picked up the phone. Rhett knew it wasn't the former.
Rhett tried to keep his voice calm. “Hey buddy.” His fingers ran absentmindedly through his messed up hair. “Where'd you rush off to?”
There was a long pause on the other end. Rhett heard muttered curses and assumed Link was probably close to getting into a fender bender or hitting a pedestrian as he almost did every time he got behind the wheel of a vehicle. “I had to go home,” Link said shortly.
“Dude, you have to come back.” Rhett would deny the begging tone of his voice to the grave, but it was obvious to both him and Link. “We still have to film Song Biscuits.”
Link wanted to throw the phone through the front windshield. He sighed and contemplated his options. He could go home, completely ruin their professional relationship with Toby, fail to record a Song Biscuit which they had no backup for, and probably fuck up his friendship with Rhett for at least a while. But if he went back to the studio, he'd have to deal with Rhett and Toby right after he'd heard them having sex. He knew which choice he had to make, but the choice made him sick to his stomach.
“Fine. Be right there.” Link hung up the phone and tossed it onto the passenger seat before making a sudden U-turn, cutting off a very angry old man in the process. He made it back to the studio in a matter of minutes and groaned when he saw Rhett standing in the driveway. His hair was a mess; even at this distance he could see the redness of his cheeks and oh my god, were those his boxers in his hand? Link couldn't believe this was happening.
He was sent into further disbelief when the moment he got out of the car, Rhett closed the distance between them in a few long strides and brought him into a tight embrace. Link melted against the familiar feeling of his friend's muscular chest and arms, but his brain quickly reminded him why he had left in the first place by replaying the symphony of Rhett and Toby's moans in his mind. He pulled away, disgusted. “You smell gross, dude.”
Rhett watched, hurt, as his best friend began walking away without another word. He wanted to stop him and... what did he want to do? Apologize for almost having sex with someone? He wasn't married to Link, it wasn't him he'd have to apologize to. Confess his feelings for Link? Sure, that would make sense, confess that he loves Link right after he was making out with some guy they'd hung out with a few times for business collaborations. He was miserable, confused, and most of all pissed off at himself. He didn't want to regret what he did with Toby, because he wanted it at the time and still did, but he knew it was bad timing.
He followed Link back into the studio. They silently took their normal seats on one of the couches off of the kitchen, and Rhett turned to his best friend to speak. He was interrupted when Toby stumbled out of the bathroom. “Oh, fuck, sorry-”
“No, you should sit, too,” Rhett said. Link gave him a confused look. “I need to talk to both of you.”
Toby hesitantly took a seat on the chair across from Rhett and Link. His shirt was inside out and his curls were matted with sweat to his forehead. Like Rhett, his cheeks were extremely red. Link burned with jealousy as he took in the sight in front of him.
Rhett noticed this, too, and his blush deepened as he recalled what he did to Toby to get him to that state. He took a deep before he began speaking again. “First of all, I'm sorry for running out on you, Toby.” The younger man averted his gaze and shrugged. He was obviously upset but couldn't blame Rhett for what he did. He knew from the beginning that he was intruding on something between Rhett and Link and should have just kept his stupid hands to himself, so whatever pain he'd have to feel for Rhett leaving in the middle of it was rightly deserved. His fingers drummed anxiously on his knee as he watched the tall, gorgeous man meet Link's eyes and begin to address him.
“I'm sorry to you too, Link,” Rhett said in barely above a whisper. Link could see that there were tears forming in the green eyes that were such a familiar, comforting sight to him. Ignoring every instinct that told him not to, Link reached out and wiped away one of the tears that had fallen onto Rhett's cheek. Rhett smiled and caught Link's hand with his own, gripping tightly.
A tight knot formed in Toby's stomach as he watched the two interact. At the same time, though, fantasies involving the three of them began to form in his mind. Although he had only come a few moments ago in the bathroom (fuck you of course he had to get off after all of that), his cock was already stirring with interest again.
Link looked down at the hand that was now intertwined with Rhett's. They had held hands before, countless times, usually for comedic purposes, but sometimes just because they needed to comfort each other. He smiled back at Rhett and tried to focus on what he was saying instead of getting lost in his eyes. “I love you, Link. I want that with Toby, but honestly, I've wanted that with you as long as I can remember. Not just that, but,” he laughed awkwardly. “I really do love you, Link.”
Without hesitation, Link leaned forward and pressed his lips to his best friend's. Rhett was so shocked that he didn't have time to respond and kiss back before Link pulled away. Toby flinched but nonetheless felt happy for the two men for finally growing a pair and confessing their dumb gay love for each other. He just wished it didn't have to interrupt his dumb gay sex with Rhett. “I love you too, Rhett,” Link whispered with a smile.
Toby cleared his throat, catching the attention of the two other men. “I guess I should apologize too. So, I'm sorry I stole your man, Link.” He kept his tone lighthearted but meant his apology sincerely. “You still have the chance to deflower him, though. He ran off after you before I could.”
Rhett blushed and looked like he wanted to sink into the couch and hide while Link laughed hysterically until tears formed in his eyes. “Thanks, man. But hey, I'm sure you'll have a chance with him. I guess I have to be willing to share,” Link smirked. He felt proud when he saw the surprised, aroused expression on both Rhett and Toby's faces at his statement. “Come on, now. We have to go film a Song Biscuit, then we can discuss who's fucking who.”
“But people are going to be fucking, right?” Toby's hopeful tone made all of them fall apart with laughter.
Rhett felt bubbly with happiness. One second it seemed like his life was falling apart in front of his eyes, but the next it seemed like he could be getting everything he'd ever wanted. He held tighter onto Link's hand that he hadn't yet let go of. “Yes, definitely.”
Link looked the younger man up and down, biting his lip. “Before we film, you should probably fix your shirt.”
