Chapter Text
Matt wouldn’t say he tries to intentionally bother Nick in most cases. Sure, his over-the-top reactions can always make him burst out in laughter, and his drama is something that Matt’s always been fascinated by, but he’d usually never do anything on purpose.
Emphasis on usually.
He can’t be blamed when Nick left his camera right out in the open like that! Knowing that he has the ability to look through years upon years of Nick’s love for him and Chris is so, so tempting that it’s basically Nick’s fault for leaving it right there. At least, that’s what he keeps telling himself.
He stood there now, waiting for Nick to get ready so they could go out to dinner. Chris was right next to him, but barely paying attention.
“I took Nick’s camera.”
Chris turned to him from where he was leaning against their counter, scrolling aimlessly on his phone. His brows were furrowed as he looked at him. “Huh?”
“I said, I took-”
“No, no I got that, just,” Chris said, moving to walk closer to Matt, “why?”
Matt shrugged. “I don’t know. I wanted to see the appeal, I guess.”
Chris looked at him incredulously upon sensing Matt’s nonchalance. “I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded giving you a photography lesson, dude.”
He shook his head. “No, no, with taking pictures of us, I mean. There might be thousands of pictures on it or something, just of me and you. Isn’t that a little wild?”
Chris nodded. “I mean, yeah, but he’s gonna kill you.”
Matt smirked mischievously in response. “Are you saying you don’t want to go through all the photos tonight with me? Look at all the embarrassing things that he’d never want us to look at?”
Chris’ eyes lit up, and he smiled a split second later. “Oh, definitely.”
Just as Matt was about to respond, Nick came walking down the stairs. “Ugh, I have no f*cking idea where my camera went.” He looked exasperated, and it took all of Matt’s willpower to not crack a smile.
“C’mon, you’ll find it when we get back, it couldn’t have gone far.” His bedroom was only a floor away, so he really wasn’t lying.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever, let’s go.” He started walking downstairs to their garage, unknowingly missing the look that Chris and Matt exchanged. Silently, Matt held his hand out for a fist bump, and Chris placed his fist against his.
God, were they lucky.
———
Dinner was nice, since every moment they spent together was, but Matt was anxious as ever to get back home. Thankfully, Nick’s mood seemed to lighten over the course of the evening, slowly forgetting about his missing camera.
Surprisingly, when they returned, Nick didn’t immediately begin to complain again. They opened their front door, and he quickly yelled out something before climbing up the stairs, retiring to his own room. “You two are helping me look for the camera tomorrow!”
Chris went to make a remark in return, but stopped when he felt Matt touch his arm, stopping him. Matt shook his head before yelling back. “Yeah, we will! Good night!”
They stayed still until they heard Nick’s bedroom door close, looking at each other mischievously before scrambling to get into Matt’s room. Matt shut the door as Chris collapsed onto his bead, practically jittering in excitement.
He watched as Matt walked towards his closet, opening the door and feeling around the top shelf. A moment later, he pulled out a very familiar camera, looking at Chris with a certain glint in his eye. They were gonna get in so much trouble.
He settled in next to Chris, putting it in-between the both of them. He fumbled around with a few buttons before he found a photo from their time at the beach the day before. Chris was dragging him into the water, and they were a mess of flailing limbs, but Nick took a picture of them anyway.
“Aww,” Chris said, laughing. “Ooh, look at that one!” He snatched the camera from Matt’s hands, settling on a photo from a few days ago. They had gone on a trip to Target to pick up a few things, and they were in the toy aisle. Apparently, Nick thought that seeing Matt & Chris very seriously compare Lego sets was something to remember. They each held one in their hand, holding them side-by-side and pointing at how many pieces there were, how much they cost, how hard they would struggle. After the photo, they had asked Nick for his opinion, since they both valued his opinion above anybody else’s, and he settled on a completely different one that the two of them loved. He always managed to know what was best for Matt & Chris, even better than they did. That was a scary thought.
Matt clicked again, landing on a photo of Chris. They had taken a group trip to the zoo, and Chris could be seen in the gift shop holding a monkey stuffed animal close to his chest. It had a smile on its face that Nick called stupid, but apparently he liked it more than they thought he did.
Chris blushed, embarrassed. “Oh, damn it, why’d he have to get a photo of that?” He groaned.
“I look so dumb…”
Matt laughed at him, though not unkindly. “It’s like it’s that kid’s goal to get bad photos of us. Look,” he pressed another button and a photo of him laying with his pug stuffed animal showed up. All three of them had been sitting on Matt’s bed, but Chris & Matt had been distracted by the movie they were watching, not even noticing Nick. Damn, they were really bad at paying attention.
He clicked one final time before catching a photo of himself and Chris practically suffocating one another while they slept. It was one of the nights where Chris sought refuge in Matt’s room, and Nick was presented with that scene when he went downstairs to wake them up. He supposed it was their own fault; they kept on putting themselves in compromising positions.
Still, they were just as flattered with every photo they saw. Nick, whose every other word was either a swear, an insult, or a threat, loved his two triplet brothers more than he allowed himself to let on. It would’ve been poetic, if Matt knew anything about how poetry worked.
Chris sighed. “Well, what do we do with these? He’s gonna be really pissed once he realizes.”
Matt looked at him, a similar look on his face from when he originally told Chris he took Nick’s camera. “We’re doing it back to him, duh.”
“Huh?! Matt, we can’t mess around with his camera any more, he’ll kill us.”
“The thing is: he won’t. We know his embarrassing secret, he can’t get mad at us. The whole day tomorrow, everything he does, I’ll get a photo.”
Chris looked at him suspiciously. “Matt..”
“Dude, trust me. We can be all secretive like he is, and then we can pretend like we found his camera at the end of the day.”
“But he’ll see all the photos we took.”
“And he won’t get mad, Chris. C’mon, is it not tempting at all to piss Nick off a little bit when he can’t get mad?”
Chris sighed and smiled, shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah, you’re right.”
“Duh, I always am.”
Chris knocked into his shoulder before standing up. “Hey, I say we ask to sleep with him tonight. Revenge for the photos of us sleeping.”
Matt stood up to face him, a similar smile on his face. “I like the way you’re thinking.”
———
Nobody ever really fell asleep when they said they were going to, and Nick was certainly the victim of scrolling through nothingness on his phone for an hour before actually sleeping. It was a habit he shared with his brothers and one that definitely annoyed his mother. But right now they were in L.A., and he was free to shut his brain off.
Nick was in that weird state of half-consciousness, where he was certainly awake enough to know that he should be sleeping, but delirious enough to not make any effort to. His face was buried in his pillow, and his stuffed sloth laid in his arms as he used a thumb to lazily scroll through posts online. He yawned as he readjusted, snuggling into himself.
His heart skipped a beat as he heard a knock on his door. “Nick?” It was Chris’ voice.
“Hmm?”
“Can Matt & I sleep with you tonight? His room’s really hot. I feel like I’m gonna melt.” Nick rolled his eyes, detecting the whine in Chris’ voice even with a door in-between them. Matt’s air conditioning had been fixed the week prior, but Chris naturally ran hot, so it was only semi-suspicious.
“Mhm… yeah, come in,” Nick mumbled, not making any real effort to look any more presentable than he already was. He looked up as he saw the two of them walk in, uncharacteristically seeming like they were trying to be quiet even though they knew Nick was already awake. A little more suspicious.
Nick sent over a sleepy smile as he put his phone down on his nightstand, making room for his brothers on his silk sheets. The room was dark, and Matt was quiet enough that he didn’t take notice of him placing something down next to his phone. He let out a quick “oomph” when he felt Chris collapse on top of his chest, listening to him laugh and let out a not-at-all-guilty “sorry.” He silently wrapped his arm around his middle, moving it up and down his back before turning to look at Matt, who was standing silently on the other side of the bed.
He made a weak grabbing sort of gesture at Matt, trying to convey that, yes, he could come in, too. Chris was more upfront with his desires, shameless in a sense, while Matt was slightly more reserved. It still managed to surprise Nick that after twenty years of being in each other’s hair, there could still be a sense of shyness.
“Matt, c’mere.” Matt smiled down at him, in a way that Nick could almost call gentle, before lifting the covers and climbing to lay next to Nick. He felt Chris snuggle into his chest at the same time he felt Matt wrap an arm around him, and all he could really think was just how much he felt right where he belonged.
He always felt like that when he was with the two of them, of course. They were each other’s everything, their world, and they meant everything to each other. Just having the two of them by his side through everything made Nick that much more warm inside. He couldn’t really tolerate being that open and embarrassingly cheesy with them, but now that his habits of taking photos of them just to look back on fondly and cherish had been revealed, maybe his tolerance had improved.
He was completely embarrassed to have been caught in the act twice, especially after having been so careful for years, but his brothers didn’t seem to mind. Matt was adamant on teasing him, and Chris was always ready to have sentimental conversations about how much he valued having them in his life. For him, it was one of the very few things that could make him shy and vulnerable. It was too late to do any more introspective thinking.
He gently moved Chris to his side, turning so Chris could still bury his face into his chest while Matt now kept his hand around Nick’s middle. The sounds of their gentle breathing lolled him to sleep, and he didn’t even stir when he felt Matt’s touch briefly disappear, heard some movement from his nightstand, and detected Chris suppressing a giggle as he heard a loud sound from behind him, as if something fell.
Whatever that was, he was too tired for it to be his problem.
That morning, Nick woke up to an empty bed, but he wasn’t really surprised. It was a little bit later than usual, and Chris always got antsy to eat breakfast once he woke up. He lifted his covers, hopping out of bed and heading downstairs before actually getting ready.
He was greeted, strangely enough, by seeing Chris & Matt’s eyes immediately on him the moment he descended the stairs, seeing them smiling at him. Well, Chris at least was, since Matt seemed a little busy scrambling and shoving something in his backpack. Weirdo.
“Hi, Nick,” Chris said, walking over from his spot at their kitchen table and almost collapsing on top of Nick. He felt a head being rested on his shoulder, but all he could really do was just let it happen.
“Chris, what’re you up to?”
“Oh, what, now I can’t just be kind to my amazing brother and show him how much I care?” Chris teased, squeezing Nick tighter into himself. Nick looked at him incredulously as he moved a hand up to run through Chris’ hair, eying Matt as he did so.
“Did you hit your head or something? Get Matt to drive you to the E.R., kid.” Nick tried to push Chris off, to maintain the slight reputation he had of not being the most affectionate, the most sentimental, the most tender, but Chris only hugged him even closer, ultimately stultifying any efforts Nick made. He was secretly grateful.
“Nick, c’mon, I just love you.” Chris gave him one final, tight squeeze before letting go, grabbing Nick’s hand to lead him to their kitchen table. Nick was suspicious as Chris pulled out his chair for him, but sat down nonetheless. Matt looked strangely warmhearted, and Nick felt Chris sit next to him and wrap an arm around his shoulder.
“So,” Matt started, pulling out his phone, “I made plans for today. Not really for content, just for fun.” Nick raised an eyebrow as he looked at him.
“Wow, Matt’s taking the initiative to make plans. Can’t believe it,” he joked, expecting an annoyed scowl from Matt, or at least some insult. To his surprise, Matt just rolled his eyes in a way that could almost be interpreted as fond, completely lacking any aggression. Huh.
“Yeah, crazy. Anyway, I went out and picked up waffle mix for us the other day, so if we get started on that now we’ll have time for the rest of our plans,” Matt said as he sent Nick a soft smile, and Nick felt inclined to let out a quiet laugh as he went to stand up. Chris followed behind him happily, making brief eye contact with Matt and sharing a smile.
Matt followed Nick, grabbing the waffle mix from the cabinet alongside a carton of milk. Nick went to grab their waffle maker, but Chris stopped him, plugging it in himself and leaving Nick to stand there and watch. This day was about him, and they were making all the stops to make sure he didn’t have to lift a finger. Except for when Nick wanted to, of course. They’d just do everything he wanted.
Nick took out a bowl and took the box from Matt, missing the way he fondly looked at him as he poured in the milk and began to mix. Nick was in his element, and it was so impressive to see somebody that could be so outspoken and exuberant convey their passion in a manner so passive and tranquil. His work was methodical, and Matt was simply an observer.
He watched as Chris held open the pan for Nick, looking at the elder carefully pour in the batter. A drop got on his hand, and before he knew it, Nick was looking at him with a certain look in his eye. Nick looked up and wiped his hand against Matt’s cheek, laughing as his brother slowly blinked to bring himself back into the moment.
“Hey- Wait!” While Nick was holding his stomach and laughing, Matt dipped a finger into the bowl, reaching over to smear some on Nick’s forehead. Nick playfully gasped in feigned offense, following Matt’s actions and getting some batter on his nose. The two laughed harder than they had in ages, and Chris suddenly understood Nick’s habit of photographing his two brothers. How could he miss out on moments like these?
With Nick’s back turned to him, he silently walked over to Matt’s backpack and took out their camera, slowly slinking back over. He lifted it to his face and captured a photo of the two of them laughing, practically leaning on the counter and one another for support, with waffle batter on their faces. Chris didn’t mind if they used up all the batter; Waffles were certainly less important than making memories together.
After what seemed like ages of laughing and making a mess, enough waffles had successfully been made. Nick grabbed the bowl, ready to bring it to the sink to clean it out, but Chris smacked it out of his hands before he could say otherwise.
“Chris, hey! Cleaning the dishes is my job, remember?” Nick watched as Chris stuck his tongue out at him, taking the dish to their sink nonetheless.
Matt took out three plates and placed one on each of theirs, purposefully giving Nick the one that looked the best, and set out the plates at their kitchen table in the same order they had been sitting in before.
If Chris and Matt noticed some leftover batter remaining on Nick’s forehead while they ate, they certainly didn’t say anything.
———
The day was nice enough to do some outdoor walking, and Matt planned for them to visit a clothing spot they frequented. The atmosphere was relaxing, with few customers and music playing in the background that helped Nick be completely stress-free and, perhaps, vulnerable.
They had all picked out a few items of clothing and were taking turns going into dressing rooms and showing the items they picked out to their brothers. Matt & Chris had already picked out a few things, so now they were just waiting for Nick to come out.
Chris scooted closer to Matt on their shared couch, leaning into his side. Their day had gone miraculously well so far, and Nick’s mood seemed as good as ever. They’d managed to sneakily snap photos, and were finding the act of taking secret pictures understandably appealing.
“I feel like a spy.”
Matt laughed, pushing at Chris’ shoulder. “Yeah, all right.”
“No, I’m serious! Like, we have the gadgets, we’re all stealthy, we’re secretive-”
“Stealthy?”
Chris looked at him incredulously. “Uh, yeah. We’re definitely spies.”
Matt was about to argue, but quickly quieted himself as he heard movement from behind the door. They had been so good about their secret, and had no desire to spoil anything now.
Nick pulled the curtain back. He was now adorning a pair of cowboy boots and a hat, entirely as a joke after spending a few hours in the store and running out of ideas of what to change into. He’d also do anything to make his brothers laugh. “So?”
Chris burst out laughing, making Nick do so as well as he looked at himself in the mirror. Sure, he looked a little ridiculous, but it was completely worth it. Besides, they were all a little exhausted in the lighthearted, loopy, wholesome sort of way. Laughing came easy.
Nick turned to face himself fully, losing all view of his brothers. Matt used the opportunity to place his backpack into his lap and quickly take a photo, using it as a shield. This was certainly a moment he wanted to remember, especially with how hard they were all laughing. The picture was a little blurry from how hard Matt shook when Chris leaned against him for support, but that only added to its charm.
“Oh, totally buy those. I think they really suit you,” Matt said, smile wide on his face.
“Y’know what? I honestly might. I mean, if you two think I look that good in them,” Nick responded, his smile playful. Chris stood up, now standing besides Nick in the mirror. He looked analytically, as if he was really considering the outfit. He playfully held up his hands in the shape of two angles, closing one eye and watching as Nick laughed in his view.
“Yeah, you have to get them; they’re perfect,” Chris said, laughing even harder as Nick earnestly nodded.
Matt took in the scene from the couch, and was more than happy to watch his brothers.
———
The day had been long and fun, and they decided to end it by hosting a sleepover of sorts. Sure, they all slept in the same house each night, and more often than not two of them were sharing beds, but giving it a title just added an extra element of magic.
They dragged out their pillows and their various blankets to build the fort, using their couch cushions to lay on. They had a view of their TV and were debating what to watch together, but Matt was hyperfocused on his backpack beside him.
Chris seemed to pick up on his body language, and looked over towards Matt. After meeting his eyes and watching him nod, he dropped the remote, garnering Nick’s attention.
Nick’s eyes moved from their TV to his two brothers beside him. A tangible energy seemed to be lingering in the air, and he adjusted himself, preparing for a long conversation. “Hey, what’s up?”
Matt began to speak, before cutting himself off and shaking his head and chuckling. Nick looked at him in confusion before Matt looked over at him. “I know where your camera is.”
“What? Matt, why wouldn’t you just tell me that?” Nick seemed a little more tense, a little more angry, but Chris’ hand on his shoulder made him realize that maybe this wasn’t a situation to feel angry in.
“...Don’t get mad, but I took it,” Matt said, seeming a little more sheepish. Chris exhaled a laugh as he could feel Nick’s shoulders tensing, rubbing them to encourage him not to get angry.
“Matt, you don’t know how to use it.”
Before Matt could speak, Chris took his turn. “We just learned! It wasn’t that hard, really, we just pressed a few buttons. I mean, the pictures aren’t as good as yours, but-”
“You too? And you guys took photos?” Nick looked between the two, eyebrows furrowed. “Why didn’t you just ask me to teach you?”
Chris met Matt’s eyes again, and was encouraged to continue. “Well, we can’t take pictures with you if we’re taking pictures of you.”
Nick turned his head fully, giving the entirety of his attention to Chris, who simply smiled innocently. “What?”
He looked down at his lap as Matt handed him his familiar camera, and he felt both relief and anxiety build. Relief that nothing had happened to something he valued so much, but anxiety at imagining what his brothers may have possibly done.
He pressed a few buttons, and on the screen was a photo of him setting up their pillow fort. He seemed focused, trying to get it stable, and had completely missed the photo. He clicked again, seeing a picture of him with an arm around Matt as they sat at dinner that night, and another, seeing himself and Chris pointing out a butterfly they saw when they walked out of the store.
He felt the blush grow on his cheeks, slowly placing the camera down on the ground and staring at it intensely, feeling no desire to look up at the shameless expressions on his brothers’ faces. He felt Chris lean in even closer as he turned to the other side, avoiding them.
“You do it with us, so it was only fair. So you also can’t be annoyed with us,” Chris said, and Nick remained silent.
After a moment, he looked up to meet Matt’s eyes, who had been silent for a while. “How’d you two do that?”
Matt chuckled. “Just like how you do it. We just thought today was a really fun day to spend with you, and wanted to remember it in a special way. Just like you, Nick.” The elder looked even more embarrassed.
Chris squeezed him. “We love you, Nick. We had to do it.”
Nick sighed before facing him, pulling him in as Chris playfully cheered. “Yeah, whatever, love you guys too.”
Matt smiled. “We really do.” Before Nick could complain about embarrassment, he seemed to remember something. “Oh, one second.”
He reached into his backpack, pulling out an unfamiliar book. He handed it to Nick, who opened the pages and discovered it to be a photo album. God, this was embarrassing.
On the first page, there was a picture of them as toddlers, taken by their mom. He skimmed through the pages, seeing photos of them from elementary school, in the playground, in old sports tournaments, in every location from their childhood that Nick instantly remembered. He turned to the last filled page, seeing photos from that very afternoon.
Chris looked just as intently, a fond smile on his face as he looked at the photos. Matt had a matching expression, but looked at Nick as opposed to the album. “Figured you’d want a way to keep all of these. There’s a bunch of blank pages too. Y’know, for more.”
Nick looked up at him, embarrassed, red-cheeked, and almost teary-eyed. “Guys…”
Matt stood up before kneeling in front of Nick, pulling him in close and making Chris whine. The youngest scooted closer so he could keep himself conjoined in their group hug, hugging as tightly as he possibly could.
Nick pulled away, sniffling and wiping his nose. “God, this is… thank you guys, a lot. I really love you two so much.”
Matt smiled. “We know. We looked through your pictures, dummy.” Nick half-heartedly smacked him, but it was clear that there was no malice behind it. He was practically melting, there was no room for anger.
Chris snuggled into Nick’s shoulder, looking up at him. “Keep on doing it. It’s cute. Maybe Matt & I can do the same too, and we could all share it.” Nick looked down at him, smiling.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
They eventually settled in together, shutting the lights off. Nick was in a Matt-Chris sandwich, but couldn’t find the energy to complain as he felt arms all around him. A movie played in the background, but he was only paying attention a little, choosing to reflect on his day and the lifetime's worth of love he had for his brothers.
The two of them fell asleep before him and woke up earlier than him, leaving them to see Nick’s content smile on his face as he slept with the album lying on his chest, seemingly having fallen asleep looking at it.
Matt and Chris looked at each other before Matt grabbed the camera, snapping a picture. That was the first photo that went in the blank pages of their album, and they couldn’t wait to make more memories together.
