Page 29 of Falling in Love with A Tiny Bat

Is he all right?

What if Alexiosdroppedhim?

DaniBird153: Everything okay?

My eye catches on my lovely’s message before a string of more concerned messages flow in.

Forcing a smile onto my face, I ease my headphone back onto my ear, smile, and pretend my stomach doesn’t hurt. “Sorry about that. I thought I heard something. If a robber gets me in the next minute, just know I died doing what I loved.” Stressing excessively while trying to relax.

DaniBird153: I hope it’s not a robber. I hope it’s a crazed fan.

“Dani, if that’s code forI’m in your living room, please tell me you aren’t going to wait until after the stream to say hi.”

DaniBird153: Sorry. I’m busy going through your fridge. What was that? You want me to eat all your snacks? Well, if you insist…

A notification appears in the chat, letting me know that Dracon48 has sent a raid, which is a neat Twitch feature where when one creator ends their stream, they can send everyone watching them to someone else. Since Drac is a Minecraft YouTuber with several million followers, the influx of messages floods the entire conversation away. “Whoa there! Dragon raid! Thanks so much, buddy. Welcome to the stream, everyone. From one block game to the next. What was The Dragon doing on the WonderCraft SMP? I’ve not been able to catch up since the war started.”

TheWonderCraft SMPis a Minecraft survival multiplayerserver full of YouTubers who share videos of the shenanigans that occur with their shared world projects. The whole thing is crazy popular. Crazy hard to join. And, of course, crazy hilarious.

I’ve been obsessed for generations, and it still boggles the mind that I’m now friends with half the server in acan message in the middle of the nightcontext.

Heck.

I’m in their Discord chat. Because Endeavor—the server maintenance man—never bothered to kick me out after a collab a year or so ago.

Messages about the amazing world of WonderCraft come in, and I catch a small percentage of them as I begin digging down in another futile search for the elusive Shimmer biome.

By some miracle, I don’t panic quit in the middle of my stream, take my headphones off again, or even opt for a bathroom break to check on Ash. I survive the entire stream, right up until I’m sending a raid to StoneRogue, who is another member of the WonderCraft server and the guy I’m connecting with Ollie about his game’s soundtrack.

The second my camera is off, I’m out of my chair and power-walking to my room. It’s silent. Unhelpfully, my brain adds a forebodingtoo silentto my thoughts as I inch toward my ajar door, careful to mimic the quiet.

Breath held, I peer in at Alexios holding Ash in the stillness. Of all things, a deep, vibrating hum reaches me, catching the notes to “So This Is Love” as Alexios paints his gloved fingertip across Ash’s sleeping brow.

Gently, near the crib made of rough branches, he sways, dark lashes long and lowered.

My panicked heart stumbles and…settles.

The only light on is the touch-activated lamp on my bedside table at its dimmestwarmsetting. The yellow, firelight hues cast the shadows in a dreamlike state, filling them with more peacethan I knew to ask for several hours ago. The comforting light traces Alexios’s features. Every pale, cut edge of his ears poking through his dark hair and that sharp jawline illuminate in the dwindling rays.

As he bends to press a kiss to Ash’s forehead, I let my tight shoulders ease.

When he puts Ash back in what seems to be a fresh mound of dirt, I inch away and pretend I haven’t been watching for the entirety of his hummed song.

Unfortunately, Alexios murmurs, “That’s no use, snowflake. I know exactly where any creature with emotions is within a disturbingly large radius.” His attention lifts, fixing on me. The warm light of my bedside lamp glints in his stormy eyes as he smiles. “You seem…stressed. Here I thought video games were supposed to be recreational.”

Out of reflex, my arms fold as my guard fits back into place. “Tell that to the three-eyed muscle monster I just decimated in the Underworld, which is full of lava, fire bats, and these imp things that can throw magic balls of flames through walls.”

He approaches, slow, graceful,sultry. Stopping inches from me, he dips his head. “I would think you the type to find recreation in violence.”

“How insulting. I’m clearly a delicate little flower.” My eyes roll.

Alexios’s lips tip up. Lifting his hand, he uses a single finger to fix a lock of dark hair that has fallen over the moss green cropped half of my head. “Isthat clear?”

The strange heat that sweeps down my spine is uncalled for. Yes, he’sverypretty. Yes, he was justhumming Disney musicto my baby. No, I simply cannot be this weak.

“Poor snowflake,” he whispers while I’m ever so busy reining in what I’m choosing to call afeminine urge, which is likely instigated byhormones. “It seems playing with the musclemonster near the lava has caused you to melt.” The most wicked of smiles stretches his mouth as he getstoo close. “Or…perhaps…there’s another reason your limbs appear somewhat unstable at the moment?”

My eyes narrow as I put some space between us. “Listen up, buster. The only thingunstableabout me is my mental health.”

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