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Levi’s stream setup is unsurprisingly spotless. There’s not a single crumb near his keyboard, not a single cable out of place, not a single fingerprint on his glossy microphone. Even the little cup of tea beside his monitor sits on a coaster. His camera is angled perfectly. He looks so deeply unimpressed by the game he’s playing at the moment that anyone watching would think he’s being held at gunpoint. Which, according to Levi, is exactly what streaming feels like.
You sit just out of the frame on the couch behind him, wearing one of his hoodies as you pretend not to watch him more than the show playing muted on your phone. He’s wearing his headset, his brows drawn together in concentration. He leans a little closer to the screen, his fingers moving over the keyboard.
“If this idiot runs into the open one more time, I’m letting him die,” he says.
A laugh escapes you before you can stop it. “You say that every round,” you tease from the couch. “And then you save him anyway.”
Levi looks toward you, a softness hidden so well under the annoyance he displays that most would miss it, but you don’t; you catch it every time. And every time, it makes you smile.
“Keep talking. You’re next,” he says.
You thought you spoke low enough that the microphone wouldn’t pick up your voice. Unfortunately for you, the chat heard you. Messages begin moving faster along the side of the screen, a blur of usernames and custom emojis. Levi looks at them briefly, knowing trouble is coming.
Then the donation alert chimes, and an automated voice reads aloud, “Donation from CleanFreakSupremacy: Levi, tell your girlfriend her voice is cute.”
Levi freezes for a brief moment. You press a hand over your mouth, stifling a laugh. He says nothing for one second, but the silence is funnier than any audible reaction could have been. His jaw ticks, his eyes narrow at the monitor, and when he speaks, his voice is so flat he almost sounds bored.
“No.”
You can see enough of the chat from your spot to catch small pieces of the messages pouring through.
Tell her hi!
WAIT SHE’S REAL?
LEVI HAS A GIRLFRIEND?
her laugh was so cute
COMMON LEVI W
MOVE THE CAMERA
that was so adorable
Levi silently wishes he could intimidate the thousands of strangers watching him into silence through a deadly stare. “She’s not part of the stream,” he says. Then another donation chimes immediately.
“Donation from midnightrose55: Respectfully, girlfriend, you sound adorable.”
Levi grips his mouse harder. You bite the inside of your cheek, trying so hard not to laugh that your shoulders begin to shake. It shouldn’t be this funny. It really shouldn’t. But Levi, who can face the most terrifying horror games with a bored expression, is more affected by a few flirty donations.
“Stop donating to flirt with her,” he warns.
The chat moves faster. Another chime.
“Donation from ShortKingEnjoyer: is she single?”
Levi slowly looks at the camera. “No, my girlfriend is not fucking single.”
You lose the fight and burst into laughter on the couch, nearly curling into a ball as warmth rushes to your face. You tap the couch cushions in a fit. You know he’s not actually angry. Levi is far too secure for that… at least, you think he is. But you know he hates sharing attention, least of all with someone named ShortKingEnjoyer. It makes your heart squeeze.
“Levi,” you manage, still laughing, “be nice.”
“I am being nice,” he grits. “Nobody’s been banned yet.”
Chat picks up on the looming threat immediately.
BAN ME LEVI. IT’S WORTH IT
ask her to say hi!
girlfriend cam when?
SHE SHOULD STREAM INSTEAD
You watch his mouth twist into a frown, and because you both love him and love tormenting him, you stand from the couch and move closer to his chair. Levi senses you approaching before you even reach him. His posture changes slightly, his shoulders rising and his head turning slightly. His hand pauses on the mouse.
“Don’t,” he whispers.
You lean into the webcam frame anyway, resting one hand on the back of his chair and giving the camera a little wave. “Hi, chat!”
The messages fly by too quickly to read. The alert chimes again, again, again, the beginning of the stupidest war to exist. Levi looks at the camera, then at you, then back at the screen, and the redness creeping up his cheekbones is so cute it should, frankly, be illegal.
“Donation from bashfulwolf6599: Oh, she’s gorgeous. Levi, blink twice if you want a third person in your relationship.”
Levi’s face goes blank. You make a strangled noise that’s half laugh and half gasp. He clicks something on the screen, and it takes you a moment to realize what he did.
“You timed them out?” you ask.
“Five minutes,” Levi mutters.
“You banned someone for complimenting me?”
“I’m giving them time to reflect.”
Another donation chimes.
“Donation from reiner0010: sounds jealous to me.”
Levi squints. You see the moment his patience snaps, but it honestly doesn’t take much to tell, because soon, that user is banned too. “You’re gone too,” he mutters, clicking again. “You people are getting too comfortable.”
“Levi, you cannot keep banning people because they’re teasing you,” you scold, although you’re barely containing your giggling.
“I can. Watch me,” he says.
HE’S SO MAD
she should start a channel! i’d sub
girlfriend stream WHEN?
JEALOUS LEVI HAHAHAHA
You look at the screen before looking at him, and your smile grows wickedly. “Maybe I should start my own channel.”
Levi whips his head toward you. “No.”
“You don’t think I’d be good at it?"
“I didn’t say that. I just—”
“They already like me.”
“That’s the problem.”
You should probably be annoyed that Levi is getting jealous over a bunch of pixels and harmless teasing, but seeing him sitting there with reddened cheeks and a clenched jaw because strangers on the internet have complimented the woman he loves makes you want to crawl into his lap and kiss every bit of irritation off his face.
So you bend down and kiss his cheek. Levi freezes. The camera hides nothing. The chat messages dissolve into hearts, screaming, keyboard smashing, at least three people demanding a public wedding stream. Levi looks at the chaos unfolding for a long second, then he shifts the mouse and clicks. The stream ends. Silence drops over the room so suddenly that your laughter fills all of it. Levi removes his headset, sighing quietly.
“You’re so ridiculous,” you say.
“And you’re banned from my stream.”
“You can’t ban me. I live here.”
“You’re banned from the house too,” he says, though his hands find your waist before he finishes speaking, pulling you a little closer. You stand between his knees as he swivels to face you. You lift your hand and lightly brush your thumb against his ears, which now match the redness of his cheeks.
“They can donate all they want. I’m still going to bed with you at the end of the night,” you smile.
Levi’s skin flushes an even deeper shade of red. He stares at you for a moment, caught somewhere between embarrassment, victory, and a tenderness he always tries and fails to hide from you. Then he clears his throat, looks away, and tightens his arms around your waist.
“End of discussion,” he says.