Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Rodney
“Give me like ten minutes. I have to pee,” I tell Rin before I toss up a ‘be right back’ screen on my stream. I triple check that my mic is muted before groaning long and loud.
Oh my gods. What the hell was that? I cannot believe I made such a fool of myself during that game!
I am one of the top players in the country.
Maybe not when it comes to this game exactly but another that’s very similar.
I know how to play! I know how to stream!
Yet, every time I heard Snow speak, I felt like my insides were turning into mush.
It’s like he had a direct link from his voice to my dick.
I cover my face with my hands. Fuck it. I get out of my chair and toss myself onto my bed which sits right behind my streaming set up. I use it as a cozy background.
Pushing my face into my pillow, I scream. I scream until my throat starts to hurt before standing up, fixing my sheets, and heading out of my room. I quickly piss before stopping in Blue’s room.
Maki looks up at me from the corner of Rin’s room, giving me a little wave.
“Hi, Maki.”
“Hi,” he says, raising his brow. “You okay?”
Rin notices my presence. He says something to chat before looking over at me.
“I know,” I say right away, groaning into my hands again. “That was a disaster. I was a disaster. What the hell?”
“Hey, it’s okay,” Rin finally says. “Nothing you can’t handle, Rodney. Just take a breath.”
I suck in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “At least the guy was a streamer and you guys got some hilarious content out of it. This isn’t even as bad as when Maki showed up in my stream. At least Azaad didn’t cut your feed.”
“He didn’t cut it yet. For all I know I’ll go back to my room and see my stream’s been taken over.”
Rin looks at his second monitor. “Nope. It’s all good! It’s not like Azaad is Joker. He wouldn’t mess with your stream the same way my mods do.”
“True,” I say with a pout. “We’ll do a few more games but I don’t think I have more than that in me.”
“No worries. Just give me the signal and I’ll take over. I promise, you’re all good.”
“Thanks, Rin. Sorry for being such a disaster.”
“If it helps, chat thought it was hilarious,” Maki says from his place on the bed. “Did you do it on purpose? Forgetting to mute your mic?”
I pout over at my best friend’s boyfriend. “No. That was real.”
Maki nods his head. “It was an honest mistake and this Snow person seems very kind. Except for when he shot you in the face. That was a bit surprising.”
For the first time since all this happened, I find myself chuckling. “You’re right. That was pretty funny.” I run my fingers through my hair. “Okay, thanks for the pep talk, you guys!”
“Any time,” Rin says before turning back to his stream and unmuting himself. At least one of us knows how to freaking mute.
When I get back to my room, I sit down and pop my headphones back on my head. Before anything else, I quickly open a new window, pulling up Snow’s stream. He’s just talking to chat, thanking them for their donations and subscriptions today.
My breath is stolen from my lungs.
Okay. I am so thoroughly fucked. Not only is the guy good at video games, funny, and has a panty-melting voice, but he’s also hot.
I stare at him for a long moment, just taking him in. His skin is pale and his features are soft, giving him a very androgynous look to him. His dark hair is chopped short, just barely longer than a buzz cut. He’s got a nose piercing and gauges in his ears. His eyes are a deep brown color.
He’s beautiful.
He’s beautiful and I can feel my heart pounding inside my chest. I’ve always had a weakness for pretty men and it appears that Snow is no exception.
Fuck.
I switch back over to my normal feed, hoping like hell this weird crush isn’t written all over my face. “Hi, chat!”
WizeWizard(vip): Welcome back Rodney! I missed you!
Azaad(mod): ..wow
WizeWizard(vip): Oh don’t be jealous! You know my heart belongs to you!
WhoCares(vip): …please stop
JumpingNinja(vip): That was so FUN! You should play with Snow again in the future!
“Did you miss me, chat? Aww, looks like Wizard missed me! I love you, Wizard! Don’t worry, Azaad, I ain’t trying to steal your man. Yes, I’m saying that before you can harass me!”
I thank the few donos I’ve gotten during the last match before unmuting the discord call with Rin.
“You ready to go again?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” he says with a chuckle. We jump into a new match, waiting for the game to find a lobby to drop Rin and I into. I do my best to focus. There’s no way I’m letting myself choke for a second round.
Chat starts speeding up and all of a sudden, I’m overwhelmed. I look over at my second monitor, my eyes widening as I see the view count skyrocket. What the hell? What’s going on?
“Holy crackers and cheese! What the hellie skelly? Chat? Are you good?”
I’m trying to figure out where all these people are coming from when a notification pops up on my screen, playing a cute little jingle. Oh, holy shit. Someone raided me! Someone sent their chat over to my stream.
I just barely keep my composure when I see that twelve thousand people are suddenly in chat, sent over by SnowbodysSorry.
Snow is a popular first person shooter streamer. He plays in worldwide tournaments. He’s one of the very best at what he does. And I just played with him.
Not only did I play with him, but I made a complete and utter fool of myself in front of him.
Awesome.
“No freaking way,” I say softly. “Snow, you gotta stop, man! You’ve gotta stop. My heart can only take so much! Do you want me to absolutely lose it on stream? Is this type of thing funny to you?”
Another ping goes off and I see he’s subscribed to the channel. “Snow! Stop it! Stop it right now before I find you and tickle you!”
I see him type in chat, his little name next to an icon that shows he’s a channel subscriber. That makes my stomach shimmer with warmth. Gods, I can’t think about this too hard or I’m going to end up blushing all over again.
“Sorry, sorry. Tickling is how I threaten chat. I’ll think of something better for you. Thanks for the raid and thanks for the sub. Welcome to the Rodney club. I hope you enjoy your stay.”
PeriwinklePally(mod): If you were smart you’d run while you still can, Snow!
WhoCares(vip): I’ve never seen Rodney so flustered. I think you should stay.
PrettySetterSquad: Is he blushing again??
SnowbodysSorry: Thanks for the welcome! Enjoy your stream, Rodney :) I’m done for the night!
SnowsOffspring: 0.o
Azaad(mod): Gonna make you vip for the future…. You know… just in case…
Damn Azaad and his meddling. Normally, I love the guy but right this second, I wish I could fist fight him in a shitty diner parking lot. Or something, I don’t know.
“Uh oh,” I say with a grin. “Normally, I’m pretty parasocial with chat, Snow.
If you make yourself known in chat, it’s a known fact that you simply cannot leave.
Since it’s your first time, I’m happy to make an exception though,” I tell him with a chuckle, hoping my cheeks aren’t too red.
“Thanks for stopping by, Snow. And thanks again for the raid!”
I do my best to focus on the game and bantering with Rin like usual. Thankfully, nothing else out of the ordinary happens and before I know it, three hours have gone by. I even manage to win one round despite Rin getting out early in the match.
Every time he dies, he ends up playing a round of chess while he waits for me.
I make sure to spend some time thanking everyone for the new subs and for the donations.
Snow’s raid has really boosted my numbers.
I know a lot of them won’t stay longer than the one month before they cancel and move onto a different streamer or jumping back to solely supporting Snow but that’s okay.
A boost is a boost, even if it only lasts this month.
Once Rin and I are done with our final match of the day, we both end stream. I close everything down, including turning my computer off. I am done for the day. Sometimes, I’ll unwind by playing a solo game for a bit after streaming but today, I need to be away from my computer.
Instead of lying in my bed and wallowing, I move to the kitchen. I have to do something and what better way to make myself feel better than to take care of my little pack?
I get to work making one of my favorite comfort meals. I start by peeling and cutting up potatoes for mashed potatoes. Then I start a tray of chicken nuggets in the oven. Then I make gravy and heat up some corn.
“You good?” Rin asks, stepping into the kitchen and leaning against the counter.
“I’m great,” I say, nodding my head. “Just great. Awesome, really. Did you see that Snow raided me? I got a bunch of new followers and subs.”
“Right,” Rin says slowly, putting his hands on my shoulders. “Do you want me to finish this up and you can make us a nest?”
I think about it for a moment before nodding my head. “Yes, please. Can I have your hoodies?”
“Of course,” Rin says, taking off his hoodie and handing it over. I look at Maki and he removes his jacket as well.
I move into the living room, rearranging the couch and sliding our coffee table out of the way. Then I get to work. I’m not sure how long it takes but by the time I have a nest made, Rin is coming into the living room and letting me know the food is done.
I quickly put mashed potatoes and corn into a bowl, covering it with gravy and then placing a few chicken nuggets on top. After grabbing a glass of water, I step over to Kei’s room.
“Hey,” I say softly, letting him know I’m behind him. He’s still neck deep in SkyDive but I can see he’s starting to lag. His eyes are drooping and he’s not even yelling at his chat like he usually does.
“Hey, Rodney,” he says, looking up at me and yawning. “Oh shit. That smells amazing. One second,” he says, muting his stream. Then he turns his back to them so they can’t try to read his lips.
“Are you ready to stop for the night? I made dinner and I also made a new nest.”
“Everything okay?”
I really want to pretend like everything is fine but I feel really scattered after everything that happened tonight. I have all these instincts to retreat into my pack and allow them to comfort me. Feeding them all has helped a lot, but I need a little more.
“I’m okay,” I say, handing him the glass of water. He starts drinking it and I’m soothed, just a little bit. “I could use a pack snuggle though.”
Kei is an alpha shifter, so he’s got a lot of instincts of his own. He sees himself as our pack alpha, always needing to scent mark us before we leave the house, and make sure we’re taken care of. If anyone understands the need to lean into our instincts, it’s him.
“Okay,” he says and I know he’s tired from the way he doesn’t tease me. I hand him his bowl of food and he gives me the smallest smile “Let me end stream and I’ll meet you out there.”
“Thank you.”
“I get it,” he says with a shrug. “Sometimes you need what you need. I’ll be there in a second.”
I give him a nod before making my way back into the kitchen. I grab myself a bowl of food, my mouth watering. When I get into the living room, Maki and Rin are already in the nest. I slide into place beside Rin, tucking myself against him until we’re hip to hip.
“This is really good,” Rin says, taking a big bite of food.
“Why are the nuggets shaped like dinosaurs?”
I chuckle softly. “Aren’t dinosaurs basically chickens?”
Rin shakes his head before turning towards his mate. “It’s because they were all out of the regular kind so we bought dino nuggies. I swear, they taste better than the regular shaped ones. Maybe these will be my go to from now on.”
I lean my head against Rin’s shoulder as I eat.
It doesn’t take long before Kei is stepping out of his room and into the living room, joining us in the nest. Before he gets all snuggled in, he rubs his wrist about my throat, scent marking me.
I might not have the strongest nose, but having him do this makes my body relax even further.
“So,” Kei says after taking a giant bite of food. “What happened tonight? Did your guys’ stream go okay? I noticed Azaad was pretty busy with you guys. I barely saw him tonight.”
“It was okay,” Rin says with a smile. “Something interesting happened though.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I kept forgetting to mute my mic and completely embarrassed myself in front of someone really hot.”
Kei nods his head. “Got it. Business as usual then.”
“Hey!”
“What? You never remember to mute. I keep telling you to rebind your keys so that you’re always muted and have to press to talk but no, you’re stubborn.”
I pout at my best friend. “If I do that, no one will ever hear me because I’ll forget.”
“You’re in a bit of a catch-22 there, aren’t ya?”
I pretend to grumble but I already feel a thousand times better.
I know that if I truly fucked things up, they would tell me.
Kei and Rin both seem really chill about the entire thing and only find it funny.
I think I was freaking out more than when Maki called Rin on stream and that had been quite the scandal in the online world.
I allow myself to relax as I finish my food. I sink into the nest, surrounded by my little pack. I rest my head on Rin’s shoulder and Kei rests against mine.
The next time Snow streams, I’ll go sit in his chat and see if I can make things better between us. I want to see him in action. I want to listen to his voice again.
Good gravy, am I developing a crush on someone I just met? In my defense, it’s been a long time since I’ve actually dated anyone. Apparently, all it takes is a sexy voice and to be competent at a video game to get my heart stirring, who would have thought?
“How’s the all accomplishment run going?” Rin asks Kei which sets him off on a rant. He’s really getting into this game and it’s kind of adorable to watch.
I close my eyes, listening to my best friends talk, soothed by their voices. I have no idea how long I last but quicker than I thought possible, I fall asleep.