** ALLAN **

‘THAT WAS VERY NICE, MY LOVE,’ BRIAN SAID    when I stopped recording my first gameplay. ‘Now, to make things better you can edit the video so you can cut out the little mistakes and give the video a better flow. The PC in the office has some old editing software. You won’t have access to the latest filters there, but I’m sure you can create something interesting.’

‘You really think so?’ I was nervous and it showed.

‘Of course I do, baby. You should’ve seen how at ease you felt during shooting. Well, you will see it for yourself during editing anyway.’

Brian showed me to the old desktop he had in the office. Much with phones and tablets, we never got round to sit at the desk anymore. I was somewhat familiar with the basics of video editing, considering all the high school and college video projects I had, so I believed I was good to go. Brian left to the piano while I loaded the video.

‘AAAAAAAAAARGH!’ The cry of awful surprise left me uncontrolled. Brian came running.

‘What? What is it? Are you hurt? Did you fall? Did you cut yourself? Do you want me to take you to the hospital?’

‘No. I’m fine, I’m fine. It’s just that ... that was the first time I’ve ever heard my recorded voice,’ I said while I clutched my neck. ‘What the hell was that?’

I was expecting a certain range of reactions from Brian. After all, I did startle him with something rather minor. Part of me was even expecting him to tell me off for disturbing his practice. I didn’t think, though, that he would burst into laughter the way he did. I looked at him in total confusion, but he went on laughing.

‘I’m sorry, my love. I don’t mean to laugh at you. And there’s nothing wrong with your voice, either. It’s just that I forgot how everyone always gets a shock when they listen to themselves, be it on audio or video, for the very first time. That was a completely normal situation. It’ll take you time to get used to it. But don’t worry. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with it. I’ll go back to the front, okay? Scream again if you need me.’

I stuck my tongue out at him. He came in a single step and sucked it, shortly after switching to a kiss.

‘I love you, too. Now, get to work. Oh! And remember: when in doubt of what to cut out or leave, ask yourself what you would like to watch.’

He finally left and I started watching the video. I paused too many times because I had no idea my voice was so awful. It always sounded so good to me. Was that how people actually heard me? Was that really the way I sounded? Brian had said there was nothing wrong with my voice, but it all still sounded strange.

He was right, though, about my seeming at ease. I could indeed feel it as I kept on watching the video and removing some loading screens or moments when I spent too long thinking about what to do. In the end, I had a video that ran for a little bit longer than ten minutes, covering my first explorations through the options of the game, as well as the first chapter of the story mode. I invited Brian to watch the final project before I rendered it.

‘You totally nailed what I said about keeping it interesting so people will want to watch it. Is it finished?’

‘Well, not really. But I’ll close it as it is.’

‘Allan, this is your first video. It doesn’t have to be your last. Didn’t you enjoy yourself while working on it?’

‘I did! It’s not that.’

‘What is it, then?’

‘I’m afraid you’ll find me clingy if I say it.’

He came towards me without uttering a single word. Somehow, he managed to fit on the chair with me, hugging me from the side, resting his face on my shoulder, locking his legs with mine.

‘There,’ he finally said. ‘I got clingy first. Now tell me what’s bothering you.’

‘It’s missing you.’

‘Allan, my love. Can you be a little more specific?’

I sighed.

‘You see, although the piano isn’t really my thing, a huge part of what kept me going was how much of you there was in it. And I know this video thing was your idea, so it would’ve never happened without you. And I’m actually super proud of it as it is. It just … feels like there’s a missing piece. Like the most gorgeous jigsaw that you can’t fully admire the picture because of that little empty space.’

Brian sunk his face on my neck, totally disappearing behind his hair. He chuckled. He then raised his head and whispered softly in my ear.

‘This was so freaking adorable, do you know that? It’s the little things like these that make me know you’re the one. We’ve been together for almost two years now and you still want to make sure I’m an active part of your life as opposed to just being there. That made me feel special. Thank you.’

‘Brian,’ I said as I caressed his arm that was in front of me. Suddenly, I realised that I didn’t remember what I was going to say anymore, because all of my attention was now focused on his skin against mine.

Brian was extremely kinky, but every now and then he would read my mood and just make love to me. This time we started right there on the chair and finished a while later cuddling in bed, with him lying on top of me, still inside, my legs holding him as well as my arms.

‘I think I know the answer to your problem,’ he said while I played with his hair and he took the chance to plant some kisses on my hands.

‘Yeah?’

‘Uh-uh. How do you feel about soundtrack? I can write and record a score to your finished videos, that way we can highlight the best bits and give them even more flow.’

‘I think that’s brilliant’ I pulled him down and kissed him deeply. I could feel him getting firm again and started moving my hips. He smiled through our kiss and we stayed in bed until the next morning.

I woke up to the soft notes coming from the office and I lay in bed for a while listening to his music. He stopped for a bit and I decided to get up.

‘Good morning, my love,’ he said, reaching the bedroom door before me. ‘Good thing you’re up. I was coming to wake you anyway. Come. I want you to give me your opinion.’

He sounded super excited and led me to sit at the PC chair. The screen still showed my video editing work from the previous night, but several audio tracks were inserted beneath the one I recognised as my voice. He pressed play and we watched the preview together. He had indeed made an excellent work. The music had this movie quality to it that truly enhanced all the right parts and made the video feel like it couldn’t be long enough. When it ended, I gave him a passionate kiss and pressed the render button.

‘I love it when you kiss me as ways of saying thanks.’

‘I learned it from you. Have you had breakfast?’

‘Nope. I woke up and came straight here.’

‘Good. Let’s go down to that bakery you like and eat there. What do you say?’

‘Sweet. Oh! I was thinking. I want to get some ads for the first video. See if we can get a nice kick-start.’

He did have a point. My very first gameplay video reached thirty thousand views in about a day and the comments were mostly positive. There were a lot of people praising my player skills and also some commenting on the great and original soundtrack. All that response made me eager to produce the second one as fast as possible.