#streamer!reader

I MISSED YOUR LAST STREAM OMG

don’t you hate valorant??

Can you say happy birthday to my sister???

“Happy birthday cora_glitterz’s sister,” you smile, loading up the game while glancing at the comments piling in. “And no, guys, I don’t hate Valorant, okay? Valorant hates me. I swear, my teams are always bad.”

you’re literally the worst one on your team??

No your teams actually have sucked though

I’m so gay for your voice uuughhhh

You roll your eyes at your viewers’ antics. “Okay, we’re locking in. Who should I play for my first round? I think I’ll be Tracer.”

You play through rounds of the game for a while, enjoying yourself despite your low skill set. In your defense, you’re new to the game. But with your bedroom lights dimmed, an ice cold bottle of water next to you, and the amusing comments of your viewers to keep you entertained, it’s a nice way to spend a Thursday evening.

You huff out a sigh after your third round, leaning back against your chair before moving forward again to look at the chat. “I need a break,” you prop your chin up on your palm as you read through messages. “Does anyone have any questions?”

yes omg like a thousand

Do you have a gf???

Do you watch any other streamers?

You smile at the question about streamers, much preferring to talk about your chronically online habits than why your dating life. “Yeah, of course. I usually find out about new games from other streamers. I like watching getjinxed a lot, and queenofheartz. Those are probably my fav— oh! And, if you guys know Caitycat, I like her streams a lot too.”

You shrug, not thinking too much of it as you continue to search the messages for any more questions that your viewers may have. The chat, on the other hand, has different ideas.

CAITYCAT?? AS IN CAITLYN KIRAMMAN??

i love getjinxed 

Caitlyn literally watches you too omg 

ULTIMATE GAYMER DUO AHHHHH

“Oh, Caitlyn watches me too?” Your eyebrows shoot up in surprise, eyes widening the tiniest bit. “I didn’t know. Makes sense, though, we play a lot of the same games.”

In all honesty, you are surprised. Caitlyn Kiramman is well known in the gaming-streaming space. She’s a talented, rich, totally-hot woman that just so happens to be very gay. Of course she goes viral on the regular, bringing in more people to her streams just to win them over with the posh accent that falls from her lips. You’re one of them, admittedly. 

What? She’s funny and attractive. Who can blame you?

You’ll never confess to it on stream, though.

“Collab?” You laugh, reading aloud the spam of pleas for a collab that your chat has decided to bombard you with. “Maybe. I’m open to it. Caitlyn’s chill, I like her content a lot.”

You lean back in your chair, re-adjusting your headphones and loading up another match. “Now, let’s see if we can finally pull a win.”

|------» ~~~ «------|

Caitycat Is Live: Valorant Stream

“Hey everyone,” Caitlyn clears her throat, running a hand through long, navy hair. Her game is already loaded up, the light of the screen reflecting in her blue eyes. “I hope everyone’s well today.”

OHMYGODS CAITLYN

You look so good omfg

isn’t this the third time you’ve streamed valorant this week?

you’re so hot i hope u don’t go bald

“You hope I don’t go bald?” Caitlyn wrinkles her nose as she reads the last comment out loud. Given her prestigious Piltover upbringing paired with her more introverted nature, she’s not used to the chronically online jokes her fans throw at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She just sighs, shaking her head and navigating the screen to character selection. “And yes, this may be my third time playing this week. But you guys don’t have to watch if you’re bored, you know. I’ll play something new next stream.”

dude ofc we’re watching hello

oooo what r u going to play???

Caitlyn marry me!!!

“I’ll probably play Minecraft or something. I don’t know, something relaxing,” Caitlyn stretches her arms out, fingers interlocked above her head. She’s like a cat stretching: lean and tall body graceful in every movement. 

You’re so pretty ugh 

you should play with cloudy.skiess!!

WAIT YESS SHE WATCHES YOU!

“cloudy.skiess?” Caitlyn questions. She’s already in the middle of a match, fingers moving quickly to throw her character into combat. She’s quick, agile: one of the many reasons why people love watching her content. “Ah, yes, I’ve seen her videos. She watches me?”

YES SHE SAID ON HER LAST LIVE!!!

Day 3 of asking for a collab!

Watch her last stream girl

“Guys,” Caitlyn complains, still laser-focused on the screen in front of her. She only breaks occasionally to glance at the chat, but otherwise, she’s completely in the zone. “I’m focusing on winning.”

Yet, when she finishes the match and glances back at the chat, her viewers still persist.

we need a caitycat and cloudy.skiess collab

CAITLYN GO WATCH HER STREAM OMG

Caitlyn sighs, already resigning herself to do as her chat is asking. “Aish, you guys don’t give up.”

With a few clicks, she opens your last stream on a separate tab on her PC. She skims through a little, scanning the comments for the timestamp that you mention her. When she arrives at it, she watches the footage of you.

“Collab?” Your laugh replays. “Maybe. I’m open to it. Caitlyn’s chill, I like her content a lot.”

Caitlyn grins, showing the gap between her front teeth. “Wow, I’m flattered. She seems cool, too. Maybe a collab isn’t too far-fetched.”

The chat promptly goes insane.

COLLAB OF THE CENTURY

My two faves collabing omg omg

Play Minecraft together!!

“Play Minecraft together,” Caitlyn huffs out an exhale as she repeats the comment, but her smile reveals her consideration of the idea. “That’s not the worst idea, actually.”

That is, until she turns back to her game. “Alright, we’re getting back to winning. Let’s get on it.”

|------» ~~~ «------|

cloudy.skiess Is Live: Bake with me!

“I don’t know if I have baking powder, guys.” Your eyebrows furrow, hands on your hips as you look at the ingredients in front of you. “I have to check the cabinets.”

How did you accidentally grab baking soda instead of baking powder???

Babe they’re two different things

you’re a bad baker so just let me bake for you!

“I found it!” You call from off-camera, rummaging through the cabinets to grab the baking powder instead of the baking soda. 

By the time, you walk back to where your camera is set up, you’ve already measured it out into a teaspoon. “See? I’m a good baker.”

It’s not long before you’ve measured the cake batter out into the cupcake pan and stuck them in the oven. You prop your head up in your hands, reading the chat while you wait for the cupcakes to bake.

how long until they’re done?

I just got here, what flavor are you making???

ugh ur so pretty

You smile, turning back to the oven to check how much time is left. “I’m making strawberry cupcakes, and I have buttercream frosting for when they’re done. And, let’s see— ah! Nine minutes until they’re done.”

You cross back to the camera to continue reading the chat, but in the moments you’ve been looking away, your chat’s been going crazy.

OMG CAITLYN’S HERE

HI CAITLYN!!!! 

omg my favs are interacting

“Caitlyn’s here?” Your eyes widen in surprise. You read the following chat replies confirming it, but you don’t quite believe it yourself. Why would Caitlyn Kiramman be watching you?

That is: until a donation pops up from a specific chatter.

Caitycat: Donating so you can get more baking powder next time!

“Ah—“ You trail off, cheeks flushing just slightly in embarrassment. “I guess you really are here. Thank you for the donation; I love your streams.”

she’s blushing???

Gods you’re sooo cute

LMAO Caitlyn is so real for that

Another donation pops up.

Caitycat: I’ll see you around then ;)

A WINK????

Oh my gods

Guys I lowkey ship it

|------» ~~~ «------|

cloudy.skiess and Caitycat are live: Minecraft

“Why aren’t you helping me mine?” Caitlyn complains into her mic. She’s in the middle of fighting off enemies, dodging them as she tries to mine for stones. 

A noise of protest leaves your throat. “I’m building our base!” You roll your eyes. “Without me, we’d be homeless!”

“Well, without me, you wouldn’t have any materials to build a base!”

“Not true,” you scoff, placing more torches along the walls to light up your base. “I can always cut down trees for more wood.”

“Whatever,” Caitlyn sighs in exasperation, but her stern tone is ruined by the smile playing at her lips. “You’re exhausting.”

“That’s the goal,” you smile sweetly into your camera. It’s meant to be a tease, but the chat coos over you.

Omg my dream collab is actually happening

Caitlyn’s right tho

you guys are SO cute

You gasp as night falls, jumping in your seat as you notice a zombie outside your house. “Caitlyn! You’re supposed to be defending our base!”

“I’m still mining!” Caitlyn immediately defends herself. “Gods, you expect me to do everything around here. I don’t know how you stream by yourself.”

You laugh out loud, cheerful and lighthearted. Admittedly, you’ve been laughing a lot in the hour you’ve been on this livestream. It feels nice to stream with someone else — especially someone you’ve been watching for a long time.

Unbeknownst to you, Caitlyn is having similar thoughts on her end. It had been a long day: between her mother scolding her and not getting a lot of sleep last night, she’s more than happy to be on a fun stream with someone she actually likes.

Actually likes. Only a short time of knowing you, and she’s already drawn to you. That had snuck up on her fast.

“Alright, we need a break,” you sigh, leaning back in your chair. The stream has been close to two hours now, but a little part of you doesn’t want to end it. After all, who knows if you’ll get the chance to play with Caitlyn again. “Do you guys have any questions for us.”

“A Q&A,” Caitlyn grins, glancing at the chat herself. “I’m scared to see what you all will come up with.”

ARE YOU GUYS DATING???

gay lmao

Favorite colors?

You skim through the comments, purposefully ignoring the chatters that have started to ship you and Caitlyn. The last thing you want to do is make things awkward between you, especially when you’re actually starting to feel a bond with her. “Favorite colors?” You tilt your head, answering quickly before glancing back at Caitlyn’s face cam on your computer screen. “What about you, Cait?”

“Navy,” Caitlyn lifts one shoulder. “You probably could have guessed. Although, I’ve realized we don’t know that much about each other at all.”

We’re really stating the obvious here

Favorite foods!!

what music do y’all like?

“Favorite food is definitely cupcakes.” Caitlyn mulls over her answers as she reads the comments. “And I love Seraphine.”

A huff of laughter escapes you. Cupcakes and Seraphine? Is Caitlyn going soft on you now? “I didn’t expect that.” 

“Hey,” she casts a pointed glare across the screen. “I like what I like. Just because I’m a Kiramman doesn’t mean I don’t like pop princess music.”

You lean back in your chair, thoughtful of this. It’s strange to see how much you don’t know about Caitlyn. If someone had asked you  a few days prior, it wouldn’t have been anything strange. You had, after all, been only a fan until then. But now? There’s a tiny part of you that’s bothered by any distance between this woman who’s now your peer. Sue you if you want to get to know her more.

“Have you been to her concerts?”

“Well,” Caitlyn clears her throat, bowing her head sheepishly as if she’s been caught in the act. “Yes. I might fangirl just a little.”

“Awwww,” you can’t help the smile that spreads across your face. “That’s cute.”

Caitlyn’s cheeks flush with pink hue. “Shut up. You’re the cute one, okay? Not me. I’m— I’m tough.”

You hope your own pink cheeks aren’t noticeable in the light of your computer screen.

|------» ~~~ «------|

Caitycat Community Post: Livestream CANCELLED today! At a con! :)

“Excuse me,” Caitlyn politely addresses as she moves through the crowds of people gathered in the halls of the con. People are lined up to meet various streamers, play games, take photos, and celebrate together. Some recognize Caitlyn: requesting photos and autographs. She smiles graciously, posing awkwardly with a peace sign held up to fans’ cameras.

She’s not cut out to be an influencer.

Finally — finally — she reaches her destination. It’s a banner hanging on one of the columns of the hall, out of the way of most of the crowds. It’s private, but not secluded: the perfect meeting spot.

The perfect spot for meeting you.

You’ve been at the con for an hour or so, meeting mutuals and other streamers you’ve been watching for a while. It’s the first con you’ve been at as a notable streamer, and it’s been oddly endearing to meet people who consider themselves fans. You? Having fans? The thought is mind-boggling, yet flattering in its own right.

You had agreed to meet Caitlyn at the banner, and when the time comes, your stomach flips with every step you take towards the meeting spot. You’re not quite sure why. You consider Caitlyn a friend now, and you’ve interacted with her far more than some of the other people you’ve met at the con so far. And yet… 

“Hey,” Caitlyn introduces her presence with a tap on your shoulder.

Smile.

That’s the first thing you notice upon laying eyes on her. An awkward, almost shy smile with a slight gap between her front teeth. It betrays her aloof and cool facade, revealing her more introverted side within the con’s halls. Gaze drifting up, you’re met with equally piercing blue eyes, almost icy in tint, but warm nonetheless. At least, as they look at you.

Oh.

“Hi,” you return her smile, forcing your voice to disguise the feeling of your heart in your throat. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”

“You too,” Caitlyn tilts her head, shifting her gaze towards around the con. “We should probably get out of the crowds. Do you want to get some lunch?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” you manage a nod, trying not to be too obvious with how you’re eyeing her up and down. She’s hot, okay? Who can blame you? 

By the time you’re seated across from each other at some Ionian restaurant within the con, you meet her gaze again, desperately searching your brain for any topic that isn’t about how attractive you find her. Or the tension in your recent livestreams. Whatever. “So, did you just get here?”

“Yeah,” Caitlyn scratches the back of her neck, moving her messy ponytail of dark hair. “I met some people on the way. It was a bit of a hectic morning.”

“How so?” You ask, falling into step beside her as you begin to walk through the halls of the con. It isn’t hard to fall into smooth, lighthearted conversation. It’s as if there’s no switch between livestreams and real life, like you’ve always been this close.

Caitlyn brings a hand up to rub at her temples. Her sharp facial features contort into an expression of annoyance, as if she’s just remembered something sour-tasting. “My mother was just lecturing me. She thinks I’m above streaming, even as a hobby.”

“Why?”

“Something about my position,” Caitlyn rolls her eyes as she takes a bite of her pasta. “Whatever that means. She just wants an excuse to have me follow in her footsteps.”

“Even if that’s not what you want?” You sip from your water glass, intrigued by this new side of Caitlyn. You know her relationship with her mother is strained, she’s mentioned it offhandedly a few times in the short while you’ve known her. Yet, you can sense that it’s a more serious topic for her — something closer to her heart than her usual composed, focused demeanor. 

Caitlyn’s eyes drop. Her muscles tense, shoulders stiff at the mention of her mother. “It’s nothing to worry about. I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“Well,” you lift one shoulder in a half shrug, flashing her a small smile across the table. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. But it matters to you, so it matters to me.”

Caitlyn blinks one, straightening up in her chair. Icy blue seems to bear into your soul as she stares back at you. The music and crowd noise around you seems to dim: nothing but white noise in your ears. She stares at you wordlessly, and for a second, you think you might have gone too far. 

“Thank you,” Caitlyn murmurs, voice tinged with accent. She extends her hand just a little from where it rests on the table, enough to nudge your fingertips with her own. 

It’s your turn to fall wordless, unable to hear anything but the pounding of your own heart in your ears.

“Of course.”

|------» ~~~ «------|

cloudy.skiess Community Post: Lives will continue tmr as usual! Last day of the con, really loved meeting you guys <3

You’ve spent every single day of the con with Caitlyn.

It’s been fun, really. You’ve never had a friend who’s also a streamer, and it’s nice to finally be able to relate to someone. For Caitlyn, someone who’s always so composed and proper, it’s been nice to see her nerdy side emerge. You’ve learned the little things about her: the little twitch in her eyebrows when she’s focusing, or fidgeting with a loose stand of hair from her ponytail when she meets another streamer she likes.

It’s endearing.

What? Who said that?

You start hanging out with her more and more throughout the three days of the convention. From spending three hours together the first day, to spending the entire second day together, then laughing in her (ginormous) hotel room at 1 AM that night. It’s not like you hadn’t known Caitlyn was cool before — you’ve always liked her vibe — but now… now, you kind of don’t want to leave her.

The third day of the convention is also the afternoon you leave. You have a train back to Piltover to catch in a few hours, and as you end your lunch with Caitlyn, you know it’s time to say goodbye.

In reality, you don’t live that far from each other. It’s only a half-hour drive, maybe, between your places. It’s just: the convention is the time when you got to know her, got to bond with her. Sue you if you want to make it last. It feels like this tiny, perfect bubble outside of your normal lives and responsibilities — a bubble where only you two exist.

Now, you wonder if you’ll ever get to be in that same bubble with her again.

“Hey, so,” Caitlyn brings a hand up to scratch the back of her neck as she stands in front of your hotel room door. You have to go back in and get your suitcase, then head to the train station. Caitlyn had opted to drop you off at your hotel room. “Get home safe, okay? Text me?”

“I will,” you swallow back a pang of disappointment. “Are you sure you have a ride home?”

“Yes, my mother sent a car for me,” Caitlyn nods, and you don’t miss the bitter edge to her voice. Oh, how she wishes she could take the train with you, but she has private cars at her whim. It’s a perk of being part of Piltover’s wealthiest families, you suppose.

You exhale, looking up at her. Damn her 6’1” height. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you later, then?”

“About that,” Caitlyn blinks suddenly, tone turning sheepish. “Um, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me on Thursday?”

“Thursday?” Your eyes widen in surprise. You hadn’t expected to see her so soon after the convention’s end, but you can’t diminish the flare of happiness inside your chest. “Yeah. Yeah, that would be nice.”

“But, I mean,” Caitlyn hesitates for a millisecond, a barely audible pause, before she gently takes one of your hands in her own. Your breath halts, heart stuttering in your chest. “I mean, as more than friends?” The ice blue of her eyes seems to soften, if only slightly.

As more than friends.

The words echo through your now-empty head.

“Yeah,” you repeat, eyes automatically falling to the floor from nerves. Only this time, your cheeks feel a hot, pink-tinted flush creeping up on them. “I’d like that.”

“Me too,” Caitlyn’s voice drops to a murmur. She runs her thumb over the back of your hand once, before she pulls her hand away only to bring it up to your face. She taps your chin lightly, and when you glance up at her— is that a smirk? “Don’t be shy. I like seeing your eyes.”

Well, fuck.

|------» ~~~ «------|

Caitycat Is Live: Stardew Valley with @ cloudy.skiess

Errr hello??

why is it a black screen?

CAITLYN KIRAMMAN START UR STREAM

“Cait, we should—“ you gasp, finally managing to find your words. It’s the first time Caitlyn’s let you speak, really. She’s been far too preoccupied leaving hickeys where no one can see them.

Caitlyn runs a hand through now-messy navy locks, adjusting her hair that was perfectly neat earlier. You are the cause of her mess. “They can wait.”

“Then why’d you start—?”

“Because,” Caitlyn cuts you off with another kiss, immediately pressing you back down into silken sheets laced with the scent of her perfume. It seems like ages before she finally lets up with a final bite to your lower lip. “I can kiss my girlfriend whenever I want. That’s your reason.”

“Unfair.”

“You know you love it,” Caitlyn grins, tilting her head in a way that exposes just a little of the smugness you know she hides. Who can blame her? You’re laid out on her bed like some pretty, desperate thing, all flushed and beautiful and perfect. She lifts her knee slightly, just to drive her point home, to press against the spot that makes you keen. 

“Cait, please—“

“Nuh-uh,” Caitlyn immediately rolls off the bed and plops down in her desk chair with a huff. “If you’re going to be a brat about it, you can wait until after the stream.

“What?!” You immediately shoot up, eyes widened. “That’s not fair! You can’t just start something now and expect me to wait hours until you finish it!”

Caitlyn just spins around in her chair, cocking one eyebrow at you.

Shit. You already know you’ve lost. “Fine,” you return to your chair beside her, grumpily yanking up the hem of your sweatshirt to cover the marks Caitlyn had left. “Whatever.”

“Good,” Caitlyn hums, completely unfazed by your protests before she unmutes the chat and turns on her camera. Immediately, her demeanor changes. “Hi everyone,” she smiles at the camera, all poise and grace. You’d never know she was teasing her girlfriend to madness a minute ago. “Sorry about that. Technical difficulties.”

“Yeah, my game wasn’t starting,” you fake-excuse, smiling at Caitlyn’s camera as well. “Anyways! Long time, no see.”

It really has been a while.

You and Caitlyn had both taken the past few weeks off from streaming. It’s not that you needed a break, though it was nice, admittedly, to have your days free. It’s just: you and Caitlyn had created your own little bubble, and you haven’t felt like leaving it until now.

Dating Caitlyn has been an experience that you never want to end, never want to let go of. You spend your mornings wrapped up in her hoodies, her arms, and her warmth, and your nights end with your fingers interlaced with hers. It’s some kind of daydream come to life, and for the first time, you can picture this kind of life consuming all your days in Runeterra.

You feel Caitlyn squeeze your fingers under her desk, out of sight of the camera.

AHHH WE MISSED YOU BOTH!!!

hope u guys r doing well <3

Wait why are you guys kinda giving…

“Anyways,” Caitlyn clears her throat, opening up her computer to the game home screen. “We’re playing Stardew Valley, and someone takes forever to design her character, so we have to get started.”

“Hey!” You protest, shooting her a glare from beside her. “It’s important! Do you want me to look bad?”

“You couldn’t look bad if you tried,” Caitlyn replies smoothly, barely sparing you a glance. She’s too busy setting the game.

“Yeah, yeah,” you mumble under your breath because, oh, you can’t let your viewers see how flustered your girlfriend gets you. Mostly because they don’t know about your relationship. 

OOOOOO SMOOTH CAITYCAT

we know you’re a nerd Caitlyn it’s ok

No no character design IS important

“See!” You read the last message aloud triumphantly, as if proving a point to everyone watching the stream. “I have to look good, guys. You get me.”

Satisfied, you return to your character design, pausing every so often to read the chat. Mission accomplished. The live has been going a few minutes, and no one’s put too much thought into your messy appearances or why you were late to start. That is until, well— 

Are you going to put that hickey in your character design too?

You freeze, glancing at the camera reflection to see that your sweatshirt had slipped down your shoulder. Shit.

Caitlyn senses your discomfort, eyebrows furrowing as she glances at you, then the chat. “What’s wrong?” She questions, scanning the chat for ideas. You just bury your face in your palms, already knowing you’ve been exposed.

OH MY GODS

WAITTT SHE ACTUALLY HAS A HICKEY

Y’all ts is actually so gay I love it 

“Oh—“ Caitlyn blinks in surprise, then sighs and leans back in her chair, defeated. She reaches over, prying your hands from your face. “Well. We were going to have to reveal it sooner or later.”

“Yes, we’re dating,” you glare at the chat as if it’s their fault, then immediately break into a sheepish smile. It takes some weight off your shoulders: knowing you can be free with your girlfriend on camera. “And we wanted to keep it private for a little while. That’s why we both took a break.”

Caitlyn nods, letting her hand run down your back soothingly. “We know we’re streamers but we do ask for privacy on personal matters. Obviously, you all can talk about it and show support, but we will keep personal information to ourselves.”

AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

Omgomgomg I can’t believe this is real

MY SHIP IS SAILING

omw to make an edit brb

“So,” you hold up your hand, fingers interlocked with Caitlyn’s. “Our first stream as girlfriends. Officially.”

|------» ~~~ «------|

Caitycat Community Post: Thank you for all the support. Scrolling through fan edits, and we’re so grateful for the community we have. Sending love <3

Later that night, when your thumb hovers above the POST button on your social media, you glance at Caitlyn. “Ready?”

“I’ve always been ready,” Caitlyn smiles back at you. Her bare legs tangle with yours underneath the blankets, skin-to-skin, and you know she means it.

POST.

A single black-and-white photo of the two of you, faces hidden by sweatshirts with hoods pulled up, but obviously kissing. It’s posted on your account. Caitlyn’s tagged in the photo.

Caption: My Caity Cat 🐈‍⬛💙

Happy 1 year of Arcane!

I'm back after midterm season, my lovelies. I hope everyone is doing well and the Caitlyn nation is still alive <3

It all started with Zoey having a bad day.

That was a lie—that was an understatement. It was more than a bad day. A bad week. A bad month. A bad life.

School was filled with classmates who made fun of her for the ‘weird lunches’ her mom sent her to school with, teasing her because of her interests, teachers disappointed because she wasn’t doing as good as they expected of an Asian kid.

Home was filled with the cold wars between her parents, passive aggressive remarks back and forth until it boiled over into arguments and screaming matches, each demanding that Zoey take their side against the other.

Today was supposed to be different.

She was supposed to go to the aquarium today. Her parents had promised that if she got an A on the next three tests, they’d take her. She’d studied so hard, worked so hard, got her A’s—

And then her parents started fighting in the car.

She didn’t even know what they had been fighting about, never understood what they fought about. Only that it had gotten so bad this time that her dad had turned the car around and took them back home.

Zoey had tried to ask him, tried to beg him to stop, that he had promised—and got yelled at in return.

And so she’d sulked back to her room while her parents continued to argue, trying to push down the hurt she felt. She had been looking forward to this trip; it was supposed to be the highlight of her week.

Had she done something wrong? Was that why they were fighting?

Crawling into bed, Zoey had dragged her laptop onto her lap and put on her headphones, seeking a distraction that could silence the arguing below, could make her stop thinking about the hollow ache in her chest.

It was by chance that she found your video. Zoey had meant to click on a different one, but with her vision blurry from the tears she was fighting back, she’d misclicked. She had been prepared to back out and go to the stream she had wanted, a tried and tested classic for when she was sad, when—

“Sorry, mommy, I’ll go faster, mommy.”

Zoey stopped, blinked back her tears, and stared at the screen in confusion.

On the screen was another teenager, probably no older than herself, playing a first-person…shooter? That looked like a gun on the screen. A really weird looking gun. Going down the stairs in a really trashed chamber with an elevator of junk.

You were grinning, laughing at your own joke as you moved down to the next level. The quality of your stream was—well, Zoey didn’t want to be mean and say it was bad, but…it was obviously beginner tier. Your camera and lighting wasn’t that great, your microphone had some bad quality to it, and it was pretty obvious you were in your bedroom from the clutter behind you.

The fact that Twitch showed you had less than a dozen viewers and your chat was empty more or less confirmed to her that you were new to streaming, your viewer base practically nonexistent. She’d been tempted to back out and go back to the original stream she’d planned to watch.

But there was something about the light in your eyes and that carefree grin that had Zoey stay.

[This next test involves the Aperture Science Aerial Faith Plate. It was part of an initiative to investigate how well test subjects could solve problems when they were catapulted into space. Results were highly informative: They could not. Good luck!]

“Thank you, ma’am, I’ll do my best!” you said, offering a salute before taking a look at your surroundings. Zoey realized then that this was some kind of puzzle game.

You shot a portal into the wall, and another onto a different wall, sending the camera into the water. “Don’t mind me, GLaDOS, I just thought you might like a closer look at this gnarly water you’ve got going on,” you said cheerfully. “You should really look into getting some filtration going.”

As you went onto the aforementioned ‘faith plate’ and were sent flying, the bubbling laughter you let out was infectious, even Zoey found herself chuckling a little. You took to ignoring the simple puzzle entirely for a few minutes in favor of just catapulting yourself back and forth.

Eventually you did get back to the puzzle, rewarded with the door opening and GLaDOS telling you about how the air you were breathing was not ‘real air’ but recycled carbon dioxide she freshened up. [So you’ll be breathing the same room full of air for the rest of your life. I thought that was interesting.]

You took it in stride, grinning, “That is interesting. I mean, I’m more interested to know how I’m still alive if I’m just breathing in scented carbon dioxide. But hey; its Aperture. We don’t need the science to make sense.”

Zoey continued to watch your stream, unaware of how much time was slipping by as you went through different levels of puzzles. Some of them you breezed through, some you struggled for quite a while with. Each one you clearly had fun with.

You were surprisingly funny, and you were chill. Even with the more difficult puzzles, you didn’t get frustrated, and you knew how to have fun with what was going on, poking fun at the game and at yourself in equal measures.

It was only when her mom called her down for dinner time that Zoey realized how long she’d been glued to the stream.

Zoey hesitated a moment, watching you step into the elevator for the next level, and then to her bedroom door. She didn’t want to just abandon the stream, especially with how much she had been enjoying it. But if she took too long, her mom would come banging on it, demanding she come down that instant.

She was being stupid, overthinking things, she knew that she was overthinking it. This was probably pointless anyway. But…mind made up; Zoey typed a quick message into the chat.

TurtlemonMaster: I’ve got to go eat dinner, but I’ve been having a lot of fun watching this stream <3

Before she closed out of the stream, Zoey hit subscribe.

.

.

.

“Nazeem, I swear to the Nine that I will send you to the ‘Cloud District’,” you threatened between gritted teeth as your avatar kept bodychecking the NPC. Your voice was dripping with raw hatred.

Zoey couldn’t fight the grin on her face as you continued to threaten Nazeem, much to the delight of your chat.

She hadn’t been able to make it to the stream, and so she was instead catching up with the VOD instead—and how could she not enjoy you playing Skyrim of all games? It was a classic!

RavensBallad0712: Fus Ro Dah that mfer into the sun! Kirbyoshi: Nazeem is the worst!!! JameyTown: What quest you doing? SanicsDawgs: The Cloud District aint shit! Plains District for life!

Zoey chuckled as the chat erupted with a mixture of complaints towards Nazeem, and idle chatter, questions, and random comments. The usual for your ever growing fanbase.

Eventually you left Nazeem alone, apparently remembering the whole reason you were in Whiterun as you ran to Belethor’s, intent to sell all the excess items you’d collected on your last few quests.

“We really are channeling our inner dragon,” you laughed as you scrolled through your inventory. “Literally snatching anything that’s not nailed down to hoard until we can carry nothing more.”

Zoey let out a soft snort as she laughed.

Her mom glanced over to her from the driver’s seat. “What are you laughing about?” she asked, and without waiting for Zoey’s answer, looked over to her phone. “Are you watching those stupid videos again?”

Your videos aren’t stupid, Zoey wanted to argue. Instead she shrunk back into her seat, feeling small. “…Yes.”

Scoffing, her mom returned her attention to the road. “Someone like that has no future ahead of them,” she stated. “That’s why you need to study hard in school and get into a good college, I don’t want you to waste your life on something pointless like video games like they do.”

Zoey didn’t answer, looking down at her phone’s screen again as you ran out of the city. She wouldn’t say you’ve wasted your life.

If anything, Zoey wanted to say you were doing pretty good for yourself.

You were around her age, and you’d already gone from the small handful of followers you had when she first found your channel to several thousand. Between the donations and the monetization, you were probably making a decent amount of money, too. It was clear just looking at the improvement in your streams just how well this was working put for you. Your setup was cleaner, your equipment better. Gone was the grainy camera and crackling microphone.

Not that her mother was ever going to understand that. She didn’t seem to care about anything if it didn’t involve ‘furthering Zoey’s academic future’. Because nothing else mattered beyond Zoey getting into a good college and getting into a good, well-paying career.

She wouldn’t understand—or care—about how much your videos helped Zoey. You brought a distraction when everything at school became too much. You provided comfort whenever she got dragged into the middle of the fights her mom and dad would have.

You were a light in her otherwise miserable life.

How sad must that be? One of the few comforting figures she had in her life was a person who didn’t even know her.

Her attention flickered back to the screen in her hands. You were running through the wilderness, laughing loudly at a joke someone in chat must have made, full of life and without a care in the world. Zoey wondered what that felt like.

Were your parents supportive of your streams? They must be if they let you continue for so long. Or did they just not care so long as you didn’t bother them? Were you happy with your life, or did you only pretend to be for the camera?

There were so many things Zoey wanted to ask you, things she wanted to know.

.

.

.

Zoey stormed into her room, slamming her door shut the moment she was inside. Her eyes were burning with tears she was fighting desperately to keep from falling.

Stupid school. Stupid classmates. Stupid parents.

All she wanted was to go to a dance. A school dance. A classmate had asked her to go as his date and she’d been so eager, so excited. A night with a new friend, having fun dancing, feeling pretty in the dress she’d begged her mom to buy her.

Of course it was too good to be true.

Someone wanting to take her to a dance? She should have known it was a prank from the very start.

And now here she was, stripping out of a punch-soaked dress while her parents argued downstairs over how she shouldn’t have even gone to the dance to begin with. As if this had somehow been her fault. Because of course it was. It was always her fault. If the other kids did something to her it was because she didn't do something right.

They weren't even married anymore, why did they have to keep yelling. Why couldn't her mom just turn around and go back to her home so they could stop screaming at each other. Zoey was tired of hearing them yell, she wanted it to stop, everything to stop.

“Don’t cry, don’t you dare cry,” Zoey hissed at herself as she pulled on her pajamas and collapsed into her bed, burying her face into the pillow.

She should have known there was no way any of the other kids was going to actually want to take her to the homecoming dance. Should have been suspicious from the start, but she’d been so excited, so hopeful that maybe someone did care about her.

The shouting below got louder, and Zoey patted around her nightstand until she found her headset, putting it on and taking out her phone.

Distraction. That’s what she needed, a distraction from everything.

As if sensing what she needed, the very first thing YouTube recommended was an ongoing livestream. Your livestream.

She didn’t think twice before tapping the stream.

Immediately, your laughter rumbled through her headset. Soft, warm as a summer day, warm enough to seep into her chest.

“Thirty new skeletons—and that is why Isra is the MVP,” you laughed. It seemed she’d joined the stream right as you had finished a battle in a turn-based strategy game, and you were eagerly going over your spoils of war. “Necropolis heroes are dangerously OP: who needs elementals when you can have legions of skeletons?”

Though her eyes still burned with the need to cry, a soft, genuine smile formed on her face as Zoey sank deeper into her blankets, watching on her phone as you clicked on the map, moving your hero to lay claim on a gold mine.

As the game progressed, you continued to talk about the game and your strategy for how you were going to conquer the other cities with nothing but thousands of skeletons to the chat, the games heroically upbeat background music matching your tone perfectly.

The sound of her parents fighting, yelling, the front door slamming shut as one stormed out was drowned out by your laughter and chatter.

A ding echoed through her headset, followed by a robotic voice reading off a donation message. You laughed, raising your bottle of water in toast. A 5-dollar donation meant you had to hydrate. Those were the sacred rules of the donations.

“Thanks for the donation, Mothbrain-15. And congrats on the A!” you cheered. Your smile, the joy in your tone was sincere, nothing like the glint of mischief and malice that your classmates carried with theirs tonight. “See, I told you that you’d pass. You’re way smarter than you give yourself credit for.”

Chat blew up, a rapid fire of messages congratulating and praising Mothbrain for acing their history essay. There were so many messages that it was hard to keep up with.

Smile growing larger, Zoey adjusted her phone to rest against her pillows as she then pulled her large turtle plush into her arms, giving it a tight squeeze. You continued to talk with your chat, laughing and joking with them like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Already, she could feel the suffocating pressure in her chest ease, the vice-grip on her heart relaxing as she settled into the familiar comfort that was you.

You were nice.

You were so unfairly nice. She was sure that if she spoke up in chat, made her presence known rather than hide in silence, you’d welcome her with open arms like you did for everyone.

She was sure you’d listen to what she had to say. Really listen.

You wouldn’t make her feel like an unwanted burden. You’d tell her that she was enough just the way she was, that what she had to say mattered. You wouldn’t brush her off because you thought what she had to say was irrelevant.

You wouldn’t pretend to want to be her friend just so you could hurt and mock her.

It was a stupid, delirious thought of a heartbroken teenager, desperate for connection, desperate to feel wanted.

But Zoey clung to that thought like a lifeline as she watched you play, the sound of your voice more soothing for her aching heart than words could describe.

She fell asleep to the sound of your laughter.

.

.

.

It was one in the morning and Zoey couldn’t sleep.

She’d been tossing and turning in bed for the past few hours, and still she couldn’t sleep. How could she sleep?

She had impulsively signed up for a rap battle this weekend, and now Zoey’s mind was filled with doubt and anxiety.

It was a mistake. Where did she get off to think her stupid ramblings would be good enough? She was going to get laughed off the stage. People were going to have new reasons to bully her.

But deep down she was looking forward to it. A chance to show off her writing, her lyrics. Maybe they weren’t really as bad as her classmates said. Maybe they were actually good.

This could be fun. This could go terrible. She was excited. She was terrified.

Zoey hugged her turtle plush tight, burying her face in his soft shell, and tried for five more minutes to fall asleep before giving up and snatching her phone from her bedside table. Maybe she could find one of those quiet white noise videos to help her fall asleep—

She stopped and squinted at the screen, unsure if she was seeing things right.

Blinking against the bright light, her vision adapted and, no, she’d read the title. There right at the top of the app was your stream. Not usually weird, except you had a very clear schedule for streaming, and this was not it.

Surprise Sleepless Stream!!

Sleepless stream…? Were you having trouble sleeping, too? It was a strange thing to feel a connection towards, but Zoey felt her heart flutter a little at the thought that you’d both happen to have trouble sleeping at the same time.

She tapped on the video and popped her earbuds in, immediately being met with quiet Stardew music and your avatar on the docks fishing.

It was surprising to see the chat so slow for the first time in what felt like ages—but maybe she shouldn’t be surprised. Most of your viewers were probably in bed around now, too.

“The bar is just so tiny, it’s the size of the fish,” you pouted as you struggled with the mini game, “all this effort for a singular sardine? At least get me a sea cucumber.”

You cast the line and moments later, you got another bite. The fish no bigger than the last one. “This has to be another sardine. Or a herring,” you amended after a quick pause, noting that the fish was a bit more erratic than the sardine. “This is definitely herring behavior—”

It was an anchovy.

“I know nothing about fish, guys.”

Your tone of accepted defeat had Zoey snickering into her turtle plush.

She continued to watch you fish for a while longer. You caught a few more fish, ran around the town to talk to the different villagers, handing out gifts or completing quests, talking about this and that.

This stream was vastly more chill than your usual ones, your voice quieter—probably to avoid waking anyone up—and even the chat was calmer than usual.

Maybe it was because of how relaxed everything about this was, maybe it was because Zoey was so tired already that she couldn’t stop herself. Maybe it didn’t matter what the reason for her actions were.

She tapped at the text box and typed in the chat.

TurtlemonMaster: What’s with the late-night stream?

You paused in whatever you were saying to Clint to read over the chat, and Zoey could have swore your smile grew wider. “Oh? Oh! Turtlemon, I haven’t seen you in the chat in ages.”

What?

Zoey had only ever talked in chat the one time, did…had you remembered her all this time? It’s been almost two years. Her face was burning. You remembered her from that one message, what did that mean???

“And to answer your question; insomnia is a royal bitch,” you said with a sing-song tone. Several others in your chat piped up in agreement.

Zoey hesitated a moment, but—you were talking to her. It was an invitation to continue. You might think she didn’t like you if she went silent.

TurtlemonMaster: I know that feeling.  That’s why I’m still up, too.

“Hooray, another for the insomnia club,” you let out a long yawn before flashing a grin to the camera—to Zoey, she wanted to think. “I’d say we have t-shirts, but that’d be a lie.”

She was talking to you, this felt surreal. Had she fallen asleep, was she just dreaming she was talking to you? That had to be, right? There was no way this could be real.

And still, Zoey wanted to pretend that it was.

TurtlemonMaster: What are you doing? In the game?

“A bit of this and a bit of that," you said, mimicking the tone of a Skyrim shopkeeper. "I’ve no real goal at the moment, just chilling,” you shrugged, your sprite dashing across the screen. “Felt like the best way to pass the wee hours of the night was with something as relaxing like Stardew Valley.”

SharkeyMarkey: Stardew Valley is NOT relaxing!! PikaPika: “Relaxing” as if you’re not on a constant time crunch keeping this village alive. Nimzo: Excuse me? You were fighting for your life against that snapper earlier.

Chat continued to flip out, calling you out for the audacity to call the farming game ‘relaxing’, and Zoey couldn’t help but muffle a laugh at the messages as they roasted you to hell and back.

Chat continued to flip out, calling you out for the audacity to call the farming game ‘relaxing’, and Zoey couldn’t help but muffle a laugh at the messages as they roasted you to hell and back.

You continued to talk, to your chat, to Zoey—and she continued to talk back. Messaging you in chat, talking to other watchers, feeling more and more relaxed by the minute.

When you returned to your farm, Zoey wanted to say, for the record, that she did not flip out seeing you had a pet turtle in a cute lil panda hat shuffling around. The chat replays in the following VOD are lies.

As the stream went on, it became harder and harder for her to keep her eyes open and Zoey found herself falling asleep to your stream, feeling lighter in her chest and smiling.

.

.

.

The rap battle ended up a huge success.

Not only did Zoey win the contest—which that alone would have had her riding a high for the entire night—but Celine was there. The Celine of the Sunlight Sisters. Her idol, her favorite singer ever, her celebrity crush, that Celine.

And she had impressed Celine. More than just impressed, had blown her socks right off with how good Zoey was. So much so that she wanted Zoey to be part of a new idol group she was making.

Next thing she knew, she was in Korea, meeting Rumi and Mira, beginning training to debut under the name Huntr/x. It was like a fever dream and Zoey didn’t want to wake up.

And all the while, time zones be damned, Zoey still managed to find the time to watch your streams or VODs. Breaks between practices, late nights before she went to bed, on the long rides between locations.

She even managed to get Rumi and Mira to watch a few videos, under the guise of helping them improve their English, of course.

They clocked her crush right away, unfortunately, and that meant a lot of playful teasing whenever the opportunity arose. But Zoey shouldered it with pride. Sure, she might have a small crush on you, but that didn't mean anything.

Besides, she had more important things to focus on than her growing feelings for you. Her schedule packed with practice and training.

Soon enough training turned into debuting; their first album dropped after one year. Performing in front of Celine and Bobby turned into performances in front of crowds of hundreds, then thousands.

One year passed, then two years, then three. Huntr/x was steadily climbing up as the top idol group in Korea, their popularity expanding internationally, too.

And still Zoey always came back to the comfort that was you. Your streams, your voice, your laughter and smiles. You were still her source of comfort.

She'd been so proud, too, when she was able to make her first donation without fear of her parents seeing the charges on her account and start demanding answers. Zoey had her own money, now. she had a lot of money now, and she wanted to spend it on the things she liked.

That just so happened to include you.

Things had been going great, and though her life was a constant ride between idolhood and hunting, you remained a consistent rock for her to anchor to at the end of a long day.

Then you went and threw a curveball.

It was late at night, Zoey curled up in bed tired and sore after a long day of practicing choreography for their newest album, and an even longer night fighting demons. But she was smiling, earbuds in, phone in hand, as she watched your stream.

You were playing Animal Crossing and chatting with the chat, it was more a chill stream than anything, the kind of streams Zoey had grown to like the most.

Somehow, the topic of conversation had flickered to music—Zoey had been no help at all as she immediately began to push the Sunlight Sisters agenda, recommending several songs for you to listen to, insisting that you’d love them.

SharkeyMarkey: Speaking of Kpop, anyone else listen to Huntr/x??? Baron1220: Who hasn’t at this point? Jutiper: eh they kinda overrated SharkeyMarkey: TAKE THAT BACK!! ilyuri: #polytrix my beloved SanicsDawgs: Rumi kinda fine tho Kirbyoshi: Mira's more than fine. I'd let her step on me in a heartbeat.

Zoey let out a nervous laugh as the chat flooded with remarks about Huntr/x, most of them overwhelmingly positive and if not a bit thirsty, though a few were rather hurtful. It was still nice, if not embarrassing, to see so many people talking about her.

Was this one of those moments she should speak up? She didn’t want to accidentally out herself to the chat.

Your eyes roved over the scrolling chat box and grinned. “Oh, fuck guys, I love Huntrix! Wait, hold on!” you said, and practically threw yourself out of your chair. She could hear shuffling, the sound of you tripping in the background.

Moments later, you were in front of the camera again, holding up a Huntr/x hoodie proudly.

“Their music is absolutely phenomenal!” you gushed, with a laugh. “You need a fainting couch after listening to L.U.V. U, absolute bars.”

Zoey felt like her face was burning. You were a fan of Huntr/x? That was—oh, she felt so giddy inside, and so, so flustered. You’ve seen her, then, you’ve listened to her sing and rap, and—and you liked it?

You did like her parts, right?

Or maybe… or maybe you preferred Mira and Rumi over her? She would understand if you did, they were way better than her both in dancing and in song. They were more mature than her, prettier than her.

But maybe.

Her fingers were moving before she could stop herself.

TurtlemonMaster: Who’s your bias?

Throwing her phone down, Zoey buried her face into a pillow as she was immediately kicked with regret. Why did she ask that? Oh, why oh why. She’d delete that message immediately if she could, but there was no way.

Her only hope now was that maybe you’d miss her message. But she should have known better than that.

“Zoey,” you answered with pride in your voice, chest puffed out. The way you said her name sent shivers down her spine. “I mean, come on guys—how can you look at her and not have her as your favorite?”

She pulled her head from the pillow to look at her phone again, to see you grinning like an idiot as you talked, scratching at your cheek a little sheepishly.

“She’s incredibly pretty, of course, but more than that—she’s the main lyricist for Huntrix," you said, eyes practically sparkling from your excitement, "and that’s insanely cool. Her songs are bangers!”

It was like the floodgates had been opened. Game forgotten, you continued to talk, gushing about how cool you thought Huntr/x was, how cool you thought Zoey was.

If she hadn’t been blushing before, Zoey was now. Her face was burning as you sang her praises, unable to stop herself from giggling, feeling like she was on cloud nine as you talked.

You talked about how beautiful you thought Zoey looked in her costume from the Busan concert three months ago, and brought her parts of different songs that were your favorite. You thought she was talented. You thought she was amazing.

Her heart was doing flips in her chest.

A few days later, Zoey had been unable to help herself as she threw it all right back at you during Huntr/x’s newest interview.

The host had been asking questions about their personal lives. The things they liked to do to unwind, any hobbies they had outside of music, personal interests they had. The sort of questions fans would eat up.

“I like watching gaming livestreams,” Zoey had said when it came her time to answer, without thinking about what she was saying, she had continued. “There’s actually this one channel I’ve been a super fan of for years—”

She told the host—the world—about you.

Talked about how when things got rough at home, when everything felt like it was too much, she would find your streams, and she’d be able to breathe again. How no matter how bad a day she had, you would always be able to make her smile and laugh, make her forget about why she was upset.

Zoey should have expected that interview would blow up.

But it was worth it to see you become a flustered, panicking mess during the next stream when chat went crazy about the interview.

.

.

.

It had been six months since you derailed a stream to talk about Huntr/x. Six months since Zoey derailed an interview to talk about you.

And now she was in a post-concert fan signing event. Riding the high of adrenaline after a successful show, laughing with her girls, talking to her fans, feeling like she was on top of the world.

She’d adjusted her posters, popping open the cap to a new pen, buzzing with energy as her line kept moving. One fan after the other. “And who can I make this out to?”

“Your biggest fan,” came an excited, nervous response. A voice she was very, very familiar with.

Zoey’s head snapped up and—oh. Wow.

You were far prettier in person.

For a moment, all she can do is stare at you as you stand across the table from her. Wearing Huntr/x fan merch, shifting from one foot to the other looking shy and eager in equal measures.

“It’s—it’s you,” Zoey said without realizing, having to keep herself from surging to her feet. Her mouth started running before she knew what she was saying. “Oh, oh, I—you’re here? I’m a huge fan!”

You laughed, cheeks darkening, “I, uh, gathered from that one interview,” you admitted, still smiling, even if it was more sheepish now. Oh you were just so cute, it was unfair. “I’m a huge fan of yours, too. Though you might have already known that.”

She absolutely knew that.

You ranting about how much you loved Huntr/x was clipped, and Zoey had watched you talking about how much you liked her an embarrassing amount.

“I—uh, I love your videos. That last stream you did, with that new horror game?” Zoey asked, her hands moving in the air as she talked. “It was so fun, I would never have the guts to play something that scary on my own. You’re just so amazing!”

“Oh, I was scared out of my mind that game!” you shot back, laughing. “If the chat hadn’t been there to help make it less scary, I would have called it quits in the first twenty minutes.”

Zoey felt like she was buzzing with energy. Talking with you in person, even if she was a mix of nervous excitement that left her feeling dizzy, was just as easy as it was talking with you over chat.

It really wasn’t fair to her heart; you were just as friendly, just as nice, just as charming off camera.

“Enough about me, I’m boring compared to you,” you dismissed easily, and Zoey was about to argue that you weren’t, that you were the furthest thing from boring, but you kept talking. “You’re the amazing one!”

Wow it was hot in here! Was she blushing? Her face felt like it was burning.

“O-oh, I don’t know about that,” Zoey giggled, tucking some hair behind her ear, flustered by your praise.

“But you are! Your songs are phenomenal, you’re phenomenal!” you argued back, sending Zoey’s heart into another fit at the praise. “Your lyrics are pure genius, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone who can switch so seamlessly between rapping and singing!”

Yep, she was blushing for sure now. Did you even hear the things you were saying? “I—thank you, that actually means a lot to hear you say,” and it did.

Sure, she’s listened to you ramble on various streams about how much you loved Huntr/x plenty of times. But having you tell her, to her face how you felt?

She really stood no chance against this crush of hers.

“Zoey,” Mira whispered from beside her, nudging at her calf with her boot.

A sharp, sudden reminder that it wasn’t just her and you in this room. Zoey was still in the middle of a fan signing, and there was a line behind you that was bound to be getting impatient having to wait while you and her chatted.

Oh, but she didn’t want to stop talking with you, either! She was having fun, she always had fun when she got to talk to you, and saying goodbye was the last thing she wanted. Once this event was over, she might never get to have this opportunity again for who knew how long!

An idea popped into her head.

A risky one. This could backfire on her big time. But Zoey’s impulse control had taken the backseat once she’d seen your face.

She quickly signed her posted, and then gently rolled one corner back to scribble something extra on the other side.

“Right! Well, it was really awesome getting to meet you, properly, in person,” she said as she held the poster out to you, her face still burning. “I’m glad you were able to come see the concert!”

You smiled as you took the poster, all warmth and sunshine that sent butterflies loose in her stomach, “Thank you,” you said in return, holding her poster like it was something fragile, something precious, just because she gave it to you. “Keep being awesome!”

It wasn’t the best goodbye, and you even let out a nervous laugh in acknowledgement of that before offering her a better one and stepping away.

Zoey tried to watch you go, but she quickly lost sight of your in the crowd and quickly returned her attention to the rest of her fans as the next one in line stepped forward.

 She was still riding that buzz even after the event ended, foot tapping, hands fidgeting, unable to sit still, unable to keep the smile off her face as she kept refreshing your social media page in hopes you might post something new.

It was an hour and a half after she had seen you, on the dot, that her phone began ringing with an unknown caller notification.

Zoey almost dropped her phone when it did that, and was quick to press answer, bringing it to her ear, her heart thundering in her chest with nervous hope. “Hello? Zoey speaking.”

“Zoey? Awesome!” your voice carried over the line. “I was a little worried you might have given me a fake number.”

Relief settled across her bones like a warm blanket, and Zoey sank deeper into her bed as she let out a slight scoff. “Why would I give you a fake number?”

“I dunno. I just got worried. Not like I have any experience getting popstars phone numbers given to me on the back of posters.”

She snorted a little as she laughed. “Well I promise you this is my real number,” Zoey said, rolling over onto her stomach as she pulled her turtle plush over to her with her free arm. “I’m so glad you called! I really liked talking with you.”

“I loved talking with you, too—” loved. That shouldn’t make her heart feel as gooey as it did.

“I was actually wondering," you continued in a tone she knew well, it was the nervous, awkward tone you got in gaming when you were trying to parse out what to say because you wanted to get it right, "and if this is out of line just tell me, but—would you maybe like to get coffee later? This can be as casual a thing as you want it to be!”

Were you—

Were you asking her on a date?

No, no, you said casual. This was just two friends getting together to talk. Nothing more. But—Oh, oh wow. This was—Zoey didn’t expect this. This came out of nowhere.

“I’d love to!” she blurted out, and immediately buried her face into her plush to try and muffle anything else she might say.

Your laughter could be heard over the phone. “Great! I, uh, you’re the one with the busier schedule, I imagine, so just let me know when you’re free, and we can plan from there?”

She murmured an agreement, face still burning, mind still reeling.

Zoey needed to check in with Bobby ASAP, needed to find out the earliest she had free time so she could go on this date—hangout—with you as soon as possible. Wow, this is happening, this is actually happening.

.

.

.

Unsurprisingly, the coffee ‘hangout’ took no time at all to become a coffee ‘date’, less than an hour if Zoey were to count.

She liked to think that telling you that she was TurtlemonMaster helped, because the way you got excited that ‘your favorite viewer’ and Zoey were one in the same was adorable.

She got to spend that hour between ‘coffee hangout’ and ‘coffee date’ listening to you ramble about how much you enjoyed seeing Zoey in chat, how much you loved it when she started rambling about whatever topic had caught her interest.

Apparently you were always looking forward to seeing her show up when you started a new stream.

Zoey hadn’t realized she’d meant so much to you already, not even the 'Idol' Zoey, but the faceless girl in your streaming chat, and she would stubbornly deny that she got misty eyed at all over it.

A few days later, Huntr/x was on their jet, heading back to Korea, and—time zones be damned—her night back in the penthouse was spent on her computer for a long distance ‘movie night date.’

A couple of months later you were in Seoul and Zoey got several days of non-stop dates with you before you went back home after a week.

Mira and Rumi might tease her a little for speed blitzing the relationship, but she was quite proud of herself when she talked you into moving to Seoul.

Not that it took a lot of convincing in the first place.

.

.

.

“Yes, yes, I’m all done moving and am back to our regularly scheduled streaming,” you said out after a few minutes, popping your back as your chat continued to freak out in front of you. “Now, if you’re all done gawking at my new apartment—You ready for a Pokémon beatdown? Cause I’m ready to decimate some noobs!”

SharkeyMarkey: Yooo gonna be a sweep!

RumisWifey: Share the team!!

Dex-T-er: LETS FUCKING GOOOO

You laughed, clicking the tab to show off your crew. “Wanna see the squad? Then let’s go. My lovely girlfriend helped me build this team, so I better not hear ya’ll complaining when I kick your faves asses.”

On screen, your party of six appeared: Blastoise, Carracosta, Torkoal, Drednaw, Turtonator, and Torterra. The Turtle Squad, as Zoey affectionately called.

“First up, the classic, the king, Leonardo,” you said, bringing up Blastoise’s stats. “My boy is the goat. Hydro Pump, Earthquake, Dark Pulse. He don’t miss, gonna hit you harder than your dad did.”

“Then we got Raphael, the hothead himself,” it was Turtonator’s turn. “This bad boy is gonna cook you like a Christmas ham with his Fire Blast, then roast you more with Taunt.” You flipped over next to Carracosta. “Donatello, we love you. Don’t even try it, Flying types, or you gonna get caught in a Rock Slide.”

Chat was updating so quickly it was hard to keep up.

Bibbidi_Bobbidi_FU: NOT THE DAD COMMENT 😭 Lucy_D: The Turtle Brigade!! PikaPika: Are any of us even shocked that Turtlemon would help make a turtle-exclusive team? JuPangi: I’d be more shocked if sheDIDN’T make a turtle team. Mothbrain-15: Pure tanking power, gonna be wild!

You laughed along as you clicked into the matchmaking queue, and before long your opponent popped up. Wannabe ‘badass’ username? Check. Edgy anime profile picture? Check. Avatar design that screamed ‘Can’t Handle Losing’? Check.

“Oh, no, chat,” you drawled, leaning back with a hand over your chest in mock horror. “We’ve got an edgelord. However will we survive? I’m betting his team is gonna be dark and dragon types.”

The first Pokémon thrown in was Garchomp, proving you right immediately. Dragon-Ground type. Fast, a menace. An edgelords wet dream. You grinned, feeling your confidence rise. “Okay, Donny, you got this,” you said to the Carracosta on the screen.

One Ice Beam was all it took for a one-hit-KO. And moments later your opponent disconnected from the game. Like a coward.

Chat erupted.

Aenna: LMAAAOOO Vid30Star: WOW he really just up and leave??? SharkeyMarkey: Can’t handle the cold! DarthAnne: Oh that smirk!!! Staahp your too fine! JameyTown: Loool careful there, thirst comments be fighting words! DarthAnne: Not my fault she’s hot 🤷‍♀️ Lemon97: She do be killing it with that outfit Jupider: I give it ten minutes before Turtlemon shows up JameyTown: Fifteen NunyaBismuth: Okay but she called it on the dragon type! Hazmax: It was too easy a bet. Dude reeked of wannabe edgy

You laughed as chat shifted from tearing your previous opponent apart to placing bets on how long it’d take for the hammer to come down as the thirst comments started to seep in. “Settle down, children,” you said, rolling your eyes as hopped into another match, quickly showing off the Turtle Supremacy as you made quick work of your next opponent.

The next thirty minutes were spent switching between matches with other players and chatting with your viewers. As predicted, you were well on your way for a nonstop sweep, your turtles unstoppable.

It was as you were on your fourth proper match that the sound of the door echoed through the apartment, and you perked up, smile stretching wider. “Hey!” you leaned away from the mic to yell out. “I thought you weren’t gonna be here until later!”

From the hallway came another voice, “We got done early,” followed by a laugh, “I was sprinting to get here. I missed you, especially since I didn’t get my morning cuddle quota today.”

“Aw, I missed you too!”

Kirbyoshi: Wait hold up, is that Turtlemon in person?? I thought she’d just pop up in chat to lay her claim Daothar: Girl sensed a disturbance in the force and fucking spawned in TodoRodo: wait y she sound so familiar?? SharkeyMarkey: NOOOO WAAAAY I KNO THAT VOICE!!!! SharkeyMarkey: WHY DOES TURTLEMON SOUND LIKE ZOEY FROM HUNTR/X?!?!

Ilyuri: There ain’t no way. Gotta be a coincidence RumisWifey: As a certified Huntr/x expert who has listened to their interviews more times than I dare admit RumisWifey: THAT SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE ZOEY FROM HUNTR/X ArsonParty: Even if its not you can TELL she’s hot from that voice

If your chat was going feral before, they were absolutely rabid now that Zoey’s voice was cutting through the air far more clearly as she entered the room.

You’d managed to push your chair just far enough to keep her face out of the camera’s view, just in time for her to plop herself down on your lap and drawing you in to a kiss.

“Whatcha doing?” Zoey asked after pulling back.

You gestured to the computer. “Well, I was in the middle of streaming. Kicking people’s asses with the Turtle Squad,” you said, barely able to get that out before Zoey was pressing her mouth to yours in another hard kiss. “I take it you saw the chat?”

“Yep, and it’s pretty clear I have to remind everyone that you’re taken.”

More laughter. “You are the most jealous woman I know.”

Zoey let out a gasp, leaning away from you as she stared at you in betrayal. “You know other women?”

ArsonParty: Holy shit she sounds adorable in person. SharkeyMarkey: I STILL CANT GET OVER HOW MUCH SHE SOUNDS LIKE ZOEY TodoRodo: Goddamn girlfriend goals…

Pressing another kiss to your cheek, Zoey laughed as she looked to the chat, watching them flip out over her voice and over the cuteness that was her and you. An idea popped into her head at that moment.

“Can I?”

“Completely up to you,” you answered, stroking her cheek, “I wouldn’t want to force you to if you might get in trouble for it.”

“Trouble schmuble. I’m not afraid of what Celine’s got to say,” Zoey said before crawling off your lap so she could get in front of your webcam, waving her hands in greeting to the viewers. “Heeey everyone! It’s so cool to get to talk to you all from this side of the stream!”

Safe to say, chat lost it.

"I wanna read chat," you smile, moving away from the island to grab your phone sitting on the dining table across from you.

"You just don't wanna cut the onions," Alex replies with a sarcastic scoff.

"Yeah, I don't," you reply, grabbing your phone off the table from under his.

You just barely nudge the camera and take a moment to turn it back to place before returning to the island, standing beside Alex as he begins peeling an onion. You pull up the stream on your phone, leaning on the island, putting a few feet between you both since you knew in a minute the onion gas would have you rolling on the floor in pain.

You snort, throwing a hand over your mouth to contain your laughter while Alex raises an eyebrow in confusion.

"Someone said you're my malewife making me a meal before I get home from my blue collar job," you explain, setting your phone down to giggle with your hands over your face.

Alex tries to fight a laugh before looking up at the camera, "Guys, how am I a malewife?! Just because I'm cutting up an onion? Also, Y/n would never work blue collar."

"Yes I would!" you exclaim, jaw slacked, "I'm a hard worker!"

His eyes narrow, "You wouldn't last a day in construction."

You take a moment of silence to think. You silently agree, moving on to find more comments to read. Chat seemed more focused on other things, so you move to Instagram comments on his page. Usually, they comment the most unhinged shit, so you should be able to find some funny comments.

"I found one," you cackle, showing Alex the photo where you found this comment, "Bro looks like if Minecraft Steve and a villager had a baby."

"What the fuck?!"

You fall to the floor in humorous tears, holding your stomach. That's when the onion gas reaches you, blinding you, leaving you trapped in pain and laughter while Alex playfully yells at chat. You rub your eyes, trying to stop the burning, but it feels like it's only getting worse.

Alex takes notice of your behavior and your little 'ow''s, his brows turning down in worry. He watches as you scramble to your feet and stumble to the sink, patting around for a towel and the faucet with your eyes shut tight. Tears roll down your cheeks as you groan, calling out to him.

"Alex, holy shit, just put the onion on the stove!"

He quickly follows your demands, sliding the chopped onion into the pan on the stove. It crackles and sizzles as he uses the knife to slide it all off the cutting board. He sets the board and knife down, then turns to you.

"You okay?-"

"No-" you groan, grabbing at your eyes, "Cold water on a towel, it helps."

Alex bites back a laugh, smile evident, especially to the stream, as he turns on the cold water and reaches under the sink to grab a towel. He moderately soaks the towel before grabbing one of your hands, silently alerting you that your aid was here.

You slam the cold towel against your eyes, freeing yourself of misery with a sigh.

"Are you gonna make a full recovery?" he asks.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. I might be permanently blind."

You watch as Alex looks to you for measurements with the sauces. You have much more knowledge in this dish than he does. He is not eyeballing and potentially wasting thirty dollars worth of food for twelve people.

For context, you're just streaming cooking a meal while some friends are traveling from an airport about two hours away to your home. They're visiting, and yes, you're cooking for twelve. There'll be six of you total and enough for seconds or leftovers if need be. You set up a vote, and the winning dish was stir fry, so here you are, making it, trying to get it done before they arrive.

You jokingly snatch the bottle of soy sauce from him, then show him how to apply. You lightly drizzle in a swirling pattern before setting the glass bottle down. "Now stir it up how I showed you."

He follows your orders, watching as you add some sesame seeds and pour in the fried eggs after, all while he's still mixing. He watches intently, trying to remember everything you're doing to try and make this again, alone, potentially as a surprise. He's making mental notes that he'll hopefully actually be able to remember.

"Looks good, babe," you smile cheekily, leaning against the counter beside him, "You're a professional chef now."

He quickly looks away with a smile, feeling his cheeks warm up. Even after years of being together, he still gets flustered with your pet names. He isn't sure why, but he feels he never really left the honeymoon stage.

"But," you continue, "Eyeball, taste, eyeball, taste. That's the go-to. No measurements. Just... see how it tastes, honestly." you tell him, grabbing a small spatula from the kitchenware jar on the counter next to the stove. You use it to pick up a small scoop of the rice before fountaining it into your mouth. You nod as you chew, "Lowkey, that's awesome."

"Can I try?"

You hand the spatula to him and move to the island, grabbing your phone after you hear it buzz. Your friends are pulling up. You set your phone back down and turn, seeing him practically eating straight from the pan. You contain a laugh while you stand on your tippy-toes, reaching up to grab a large bowl from the cabinet over the fridge.

"They're here, put everything in this bowl and fold it again how I showed you."

He nods, taking the bowl once you manage to grab it. You rush to the door, nearly falling on your way, to unlock it and allow your guests in as you see headlights illuminate the windows next to the door. You hear Alex squeak, and looking back, you notice he dropped a little bit of the food on the floor. A small chicken cube and a couple grains of rice, basically. Nothing to fret over.

You hug your guests as they enter, informing them that dinner is almost ready. Your return to the stream, allowing them to say hello to chat and to help Alex with the heavy ass pan and pot of veggies.

"Holy shit, how long have you guys been cooking?" your one friend questions, "Your stream is like, four hours now."

You and Alex both laugh.

"We've only been actually cooking for two," you explain, "We did a lot of fooling around."

"So that explains the raw cookie dough platter?"

"And why Tiger is hiding under the couch. Alex dropped a pan and scared her."

The first time (Y/n) mentions her girlfriend on stream, it’s casual.

She’s halfway through an early-evening gaming stream, her legs tucked under her in her deck chair, hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands. The glow of her monitor paints her face in soft blues as the chat scrolls endlessly on the side. 

“Yeah, I can’t stay on super late tonight, chat,” she says clicking through a menu on the game absentmindedly. “I promised my girlfriend I’d watch a movie with her.”

The chat explodes.

“WAIT GIRLFRIEND???”

“YOU NEVER SAID YOU WERE TAKEN???”

“PROOF???”

“SINCE WHEN?!”

(Y/n) laughs softly, ducking her head a little, a shy smile tugging at her lips. 

“I mean . . . yeah?” (Y/n) says. “I didn’t think it was like . . . in need of a big announcement. And I’ve definitely mentioned her before. You guys just don’t listen to me.”

. . . 

When the stream ends, (Y/n) stretches, groaning softly as she leans back—and immediately feels arms wrapping around her waist from behind. 

“Hi,” Zoey murmurs, her voice warm. 

(Y/n) smiles instantly. “Hi, baby.” (Y/n) tilts her head back just enough to look at her. “Movie night?”

Zoey pretends to think about it. “. . . Depends. Do I get to pick?”

“You always pick,” (Y/n) replies, pulling Zoey along.

“Exactly,” Zoey grins happily.

. . . 

(Y/n)’s couch is small—barely big enough for two people to stretch out comfortably—but they make it work. (Y/n) had sat first, leaning back into the cushions, Zoey’s smaller form practically melting into her side. 

The movie starts. 

Five minutes in, Zoey is talking.“This is the part where something bad happens,” she says. 

(Y/n) hums fondly, “You say that about every movie.”

“Because it’s always true.”

(Y/n) smiles, resting her cheek lightly against the top of Zoey’s head. “Or maybe you just like ruining suspense.”

Zoey gasps softly. “I would never.” She snuggles closer.

Halfway through, (Y/n)’s not even watching anymore. She’s tracing absent-minded patterns on Zoey’s arm, her voice soft as she rambles about her stream, about chat, about something stupid someone said that made her laugh earlier.

Zoey listens.

Every time. 

Even when she’s exhausted from rehearsals or performances, even when her schedule’s been insane—Zoey listens like it’s the most important thing in the world.

Because to her, it was.

. . . 

It becomes a running joke. 

Every stream.

“Girlfriend reveal when?”

“She’s imaginary.”

“We don’t believe you.”

(Y/n) would lean into it every time. 

“Oh yeah, totally,” she says one day. “I made her up. Full hallucination. Very committed to the bit.”

From just off-screen, a voice calls, “Hey!”

The chat explodes. 

(Y/n) immediately grins, looking to her right where Zoey was sitting, writing lyrics in one of her many notebooks. “Shhhh! You’re not real, remember?”

. . .

On the next strem there is a very clear: “Babyyyy, you stole my hoodie!”

(Y/n) freezes mid-sentence. 

The chat goes feral. 

(Y/n) slowly turns back towards the camera, whispering, “Chat, I didn’t! I would never.”

“You’re literally wearing it!” Zoey calls back. 

“IS SHE WATCHING THE STREAM?!”

“thats so precious”

. . . 

One night, after a stream, (Y/n) flops dramatically onto the couch. “I think they’re forming conspiracy theories now,” she says.

Zoey sits beside her, immediately curling into her side. “About what?”

“That you’re not real, that you’re AI, that I hired a voice actor—”

Zoey laughs. “Wait, I like that one.”

(Y/n) grins down at her. “Right? Like, wow, I wish I had that kind of budget.”

Zoey pokes her side. “Rude. I’m expensive.”

“You are expensive,” (Y/n) agrees immediately.

“Hey!” It was actually quite the opposite—it didn’t matter how  much (Y/n) complained about Zoey spending money on her, Zoey always did (and probably would never stop). 

. . . 

The reveal happens on accident.

Kind of.

(Y/n) is streaming, just chatting, completely relaxed. “They’re still saying you don’t exist, by the way,” she mutters, reading chat.

Zoey, somewhere off-screen, goes, “That’s crazy.”

Chat SPIRALS.

“WE HEARD HER AGAIN”

“PROOF???”

(Y/n) laughs, shaking her head. “Hey, Zoey, baby, come here!” 

Zoey immediately comes into the room. 

She leans down, resting her chin on (Y/n)’s shoulder. 

(Y/n) cradles Zoey’s face with a hand. (Y/n) is already laughing, a little giddy now. “Guys, this is my very fake girlfriend.”

Zoey nods seriously. “Completely imaginary.”

“Paid actor,” (Y/n) grins.

“Very expensive,” Zoey agrees.

“IS THAT ZOEY FROM HUNTR/X?!?!”

“DOES (Y/N) KNOW RUMIRA TOO?!?!”

. . . 

The next stream starts like normal—(Y/n) sitting in her chair, adjusting her headset, sipping from her water bottle like nothing life-altering happened the night before.

“Hi,” she says casually. “How are we—”

“WHERE IS SHE.”

“BRING HER BACK.”

“WE MISS ZOEY?!?”

(Y/n) pauses mid-sip, slowly lowering the bottle. “ . . . You guys met her once.”

“NOT ENOUGH”

“WE NEED MORE CONTENTTTTTT"

“COUPLE STREAM WHEN???”

(Y/n) squints at the chat like it personally offended her.

“This is my stream,” she says. “You’re supposed to be here for me.”

“we are”

“WE WANT BOTH!”

“PACKAGE DEAL”

(Y/n) tries not to smile.

“Wow,” she mutters. “Fake fans.”

From somewhere beside her, there’s a soft laugh.

(Y/n)’s eyes flick off-screen for half a second.

Chat notices immediately.

. . . 

Zoey doesn’t come on stream that day. 

But she does linger.

She’s in the chair by the wall just out of frame, watching the stream on her phone. 

. . . 

“Babyyyyyyy,” (Y/n) collapses onto the couch.  “I think they like you more than me now,” she says into a pillow.

Zoey walks over, amused, and gently pries the pillow away from her face.

“That’s not true.”

“They literally asked for you the entire stream.”

Zoey shrugs, sitting beside her. “Can you blame them?”

(Y/n) narrows her eyes. “Wow.”

“I’m kidding,” Zoey laughs, nudging her shoulder. “Mostly.”

(Y/n) huffs, though there’s no heat in it. She shifts closer, and Zoey tucks herself into her side.

Then Zoey says, a little more thoughtful this time—“. . . Do you want me to be on your streams more?”

(Y/n) blinks, caught off guard. “What?”

Zoey looks up at her, expression soft but a little unsure now. “Like—not all the time. I know it’s your space. But . . . I don’t know. It looked fun.”

(Y/n) pushes herself up slightly, turning to face her fully, “You want to stream with me?”

Zoey shrugs, just a little. “Yeah. If that’s okay?”

There’s a beat.

Then (Y/n)’s entire face lights up. “Are you kidding?” she says. “That would be so fun.”

Zoey’s smile grows, relieved. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” (Y/n) laughs. “You’re gonna get roasted by chat, though.”

“I can handle it.”

(Y/n) leans in, bumping their foreheads together. “We’ll see.”

. . .

The first official “couple stream” is chaos.

Pure chaos.

(Y/n) spends ten minutes just trying to set everything up while Zoey sits beside her, watching curiously.

“Okay, don’t touch anything,” (Y/n) says, adjusting something on her screen.

“I’m not touching anything.”

“You’re hovering.”

“I’m observing.”

“You’re distracting.”

Zoey grins. “You said that yesterday too.”

“Because it’s still true!”

Finally, everything is ready.

(Y/n) hits “Go Live.”

Instant regret.

Chat erupts.

“SHE’S BACK”

“HI ZOEY???”

“COUPLE STREAM LET’S GO”

“THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE”

Zoey leans slightly toward the mic, raising a hand in a small wave. “Hi.”

(Y/n) snorts. “That’s all you have to say?”

“I’m pacing myself.”

(Y/n) rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling, adjusting her headset as she glances at chat, which is now moving so fast it’s barely readable.

“Okay, calm down,” she laughs. “She’s not going anywhere—probably.”

Zoey hums beside her, tilting her head. “Probably?”

(Y/n) grins. “No promises. Chat might scare you off.”

“I doubt it,” Zoey says easily, leaning a little closer to the desk, eyes scanning the messages. “They seem nice.”

“WE ARE NICE”

“WE LOVE YOU <3”

“we must protect zoey at all costs”

(Y/n) snorts. “Yeah, give it ten minutes.”

. . . 

They start the game. 

“Okay, so you just—no, other way,” (Y/n) says, trying not to laugh as Zoey confidently walks her character straight into a wall.

“I’m exploring,” Zoey insists.

“You’re stuck.”

“I’m strategizing.”

“You’re in a corner.”

Zoey glances over at her, trying—and failing—to look serious before she cracks a smile. “Okay, maybe a little stuck.”

Chat is absolutely loving it.

“SHE’S TRYING HER BEST SOB”

“LET HER COOKKKKK”

“Don’t bully the queen!”

“I’m not bullying her!” (Y/n) protests, laughing. “I’m helping.”

“You’re judging,” Zoey counters lightly.

“I’m judging lovingly.”

Zoey bumps her shoulder. “Sure.”

. . . 

A few minutes later, Zoey leans closer again—this time to actually see better—but it still completely throws (Y/n) off.

“. . . Zo.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re in my space again.”

Zoey glances at her, then at the screen. “. . . I need to see.”

“You have your own screen.”

“I like yours better.”

(Y/n) turns her head slightly.

They’re close.

Very close.

Just for a second.

The chat loses it.

“OH MY GOD???”

“HELLO???”

“THEY’RE SO CLOSE”

“kisssssss!!!”

(Y/n) immediately turns back to her monitor, cheeks just a little pink. “Okay, nope. Personal space.”

Zoey just smiles, completely unbothered, but she leans back . . . slightly.

. . .

Halfway through the stream, Zoey disappears for a few minutes.

(Y/n) doesn’t even comment on it at first—she’s too focused on the game, talking to chat, laughing at something dumb—

Until a hand appears in frame, holding out a drink.

(Y/n) pauses mid-sentence.

Looks at it.

Then up.

Zoey is standing just behind her, smiling softly. “You forgot to hydrate,” Zoey says.

Chat immediately explodes again.

“SHE CAME BACK!!!!!!”

“THAT’S SO CUTE???”

“HYDRATION CHECK”

(Y/n) takes the drink, smiling without even realizing it. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Zoey lingers for a second, her fingers brushing lightly against (Y/n)’s as she lets go.

It’s small.

Barely noticeable.

But (Y/n) notices.

She always does.

“Are you coming back?” (Y/n) asks quietly, glancing up at her.

Zoey shrugs a little. “Do you want me to?”

The chat is flooded instantly.

“YES”

“pleaseeeeeeeee”

“WE LOVE YOU”

(Y/n) laughs. “Okay, ignore them. I’m asking.”

Zoey’s expression softens just a bit. “Then yeah. I’ll come back.”

. . . 

By the end of the stream, they’ve somehow accomplished . . . almost nothing in the game.

But no one cares.

“Alright,” (Y/n) says, leaning back in her chair, stretching a little. “I think that’s enough chaos for today.”

“Speak for yourself,” Zoey murmurs.

(Y/n) glances at her. “You had fun?”

“I did,” Zoey admits easily.

Chat is already begging.

“AGAIN TOMORROW???”

“MORE COUPLE STREAMS PLEASE”

“my comfort lesbians <3”

(Y/n) smiles softly at that, shaking her head. “You guys are so dramatic.”

She reaches over without thinking, her hand finding Zoey’s and squeezing lightly.

“Say bye, Zo.”

Zoey leans a little toward the mic again. “Bye, Zo.”

“i love her”

“BYE ZOEY”

“WE LOVE YOU”

(Y/n) laughs quietly. “Okay, okay, we’re going. Goodnight, guys.”

She ends the stream.

. . .  

Later that night, long after the movie had been paused—and restarted—and paused again—Zoey’s phone won’t stop buzzing

At first, she ignores it.

She’s curled up on the couch, half under (Y/n), who is very comfortably using her as a pillow, one arm wrapped loosely around Zoey’s waist.

The TV is playing.

Neither of them are really watching.

Zoey’s fingers are absentmindedly tracing slow circles against (Y/n)’s side when—

buzz buzz buzz buzz

She exhales softly through her nose.

(Y/n) hums sleepily against her. “You gonna get that?”

Zoey glances down at her, brushing a piece of hair out of her face. “It’s probably nothing.”

buzz buzz

(Y/n) smiles, eyes still closed. “It’s not nothing.”

Zoey sighs, but there’s no real annoyance in it. Carefully, she shifts just enough to grab her phone from the coffee table without disturbing (Y/n) too much.

Big mistake.

The second she unlocks it—

Rumiiiiii 💜: OH MY GOD????

Mirrrrrr 🩷: HELLO???

Rumiiiiii 💜: WE JUST WATCHED THE STREAM

Mirrrrrr 🩷: YOU DID NOT TELL US IT WAS LIKE THAT

Zoey blinks. 

Then she snorts quietly.

(Y/n) peeks one eye open. “What?”

Zoey tilts the phone slightly so she can see. “I think I’m in trouble.”

(Y/n) shifts up just enough to read, her smile growing immediately. “Oh no.”

buzz buzz buzz

Rumiiiiii 💜: YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO HER FACE???

Mirrrrrr 🩷: THE WAY YOU LOOKED AT HER???

Rumiiiiii 💜: I’M SICKKKKKKKK

Zoey rolls her eyes, but there’s a faint blush creeping up her neck now. “They’re being sooooo dramatic,” she mutters.

(Y/n) laughs softly, propping her chin on Zoey’s shoulder so she can read better. “No, no, they’re right. You were kind of obvious.”

Zoey turns her head slightly. “Obvious? About what?”

(Y/n) grins. “That you love me.”

Zoey narrows her eyes—then nudges her gently. “I do. But you were worse.”

“I was not!”

“You literally stared at me like—” Zoey cuts herself off, gesturing vaguely.

“Like what?” (Y/n) challenges, amused.

Zoey just huffs, looking back at her phone.

buzz

Mirrrrrr 🩷: ALSO???

Rumiiiiii 💜: THE HYDRATION THING???

Mirrrrrr 🩷: I’M NEVER RECOVERING

(Y/n) makes a small noise. “Okay, that wasssssss cute.”

“You forgot to drink water,” Zoey defends immediately.

“I always forget to drink water.”

“Exactly.”

(Y/n) smiles, softer this time.

Zoey types back. 

Zoey 🐢: you guys are insane

The response is instant. 

Rumiiiiii 💜: nooooooooooo

Mirrrrrr 🩷: girl, you’re sooooooooo in loveeeeeeee

Zoey grins. 

Zoey 🐢: yeah

buzz

Mirrrrrr 🩷: WHEN ARE WE MEETING HER

Rumiiiiii 💜: DOUBLE DATE?!?!?

(Y/n) immediately perks up. “Ooooh?”

Zoey groans. “Don’t encourage them.”

“You’re not curious?” (Y/n) teases.

Zoey side-eyes her. “I know exactly what they’re like.”

“Yeah?”

“They’re worse than chat.”

(Y/n) laughs. “I don’t believe you.”

Zoey smiles, tucking her phone away and pulling (Y/n) closer again.

“You will.”

A quiet settles back in.

The TV is still playing.

The room is dim, warm, comfortable.

(Y/n) relaxes against her again, her hand slipping into Zoey’s hoodie pocket.

“Your friends are cute,” (Y/n) murmurs.

Zoey hums. “They like you.”

“I hope so.”

“They will,” Zoey says easily.

A pause.

Then, softer—

“They already do.”

(Y/n)’s smile lingers, slow and content. She tilts her head up just enough to press a gentle kiss to Zoey’s jaw. “Good.”

Zoey smiles into her hair.