“Pleeeeeeease," Jonathan asks while on his knees, hands clasped together. 

“I-I don't know, Jon. It'll be awkward." Paula says hesitantly about what he's proposing.

“Just one time! I've been bragging about you for months, and I want to show you off to my stream."

“Does it matter?"

“I want to throw it in their faces!" 

This strange part of Jonathan took time to accept, but his attitude towards his stream is unique. In many ways, it comes off as an abusive relationship. She'll constantly hear him insult his viewers when they do something or laugh in agreement that he's not great. She hasn't watched him, but he seems to be having fun at the end of the day, and that's all that matters to her. 

Now though, as he gives her his best puppy eyes, she knows she can't turn him down.

“J-Just once..."

“Awesome!" He grabs her hand, drags her to his streaming room, and sits at his desk. “Before I go live, I'll give you some advice. For the first thirty minutes, I tend to talk to chat about random stuff before playing a game." He points to the camera. “ I know it's super weird, but that's the viewer. So if you're talking to them, always face the camera." He then points to a blank bar on the screen's right side. “That's the chat. When I go live, a lot of text will scroll by of people talking to me or each other."

He turns to face Paula. “This is the internet, so there's going to be a lot of assholes, but the real skill of being a streamer is how to play off that toxicity to deny them a reaction. So I'm sure someone will comment about your arm but don't give them a reaction. I'll deal with it as it comes." He points to the side of his desk. “Stand there, and you can introduce yourself when I call you over. After that, you can leave or stay if you're interested; I won't mind."

“O-Ok...You do this every day?" Paula asks.

He nods. “Yeah, but it's pretty fun. Honestly, I think people would love to see you stream."

“I haven't played games in years," Paula says.

“It's not just games; there are plenty of streams of all kinds of things. There are even streams of people talking." Jonathan looks at the corner of his screen. “Alright, stream is about to start in a minute. You good?" Paula takes a breath before nodding. “Alright, remember, come out when I introduce you."

Paula watches as Jonathan presses a few buttons and adjusts a few things as a small box on a program he has in the corner has a title that says “Stream about to start." Paula's head quirks some at all of this complicated stuff. Sure she does tech support, but this is another level. Her eyes then move to a lot of movement in the area he called “chat." All those messages are people talking? Her eyes widened.

“Hey, all you furries and smooth skins, it's your favorite Beastborn raised humie, Jonathan!" Paula almost laughs as he claps for himself. This is such an odd thing for her to see. “So! As you know, your boy got himself a fine lady, and I've certainly bragged a lot about her these past few months, keeping a lot of stuff secret as well."

Paula's ears twitch as she hears a ping, and she notices a message pop up on the screen. 

Donation $5: “We know she's not real!"

“Ha! You wish she weren't real!" Jonathan states. “Though, why take my word for it? Would you guys and gals like to meet her?"

When Paula thought the chat was fast before, vast chunks of it start to pass by as another ping is heard.

Donation $5: “Taking bets she's a smoothie."

Jonathan chuckles. “Well! Paula, please say hi to chat."

Paula walks beside Jonathan and bends over some to be a similar height as him before waving. “Hi."

Now that she's closer, she can see the chat a bit more clearly, even though it's scrolling by so fast. What she notices is a lot of pictures of a beastborn looking slightly to his left with a surprised face and a lot of people saying “pog."

“Alright, calm down!" Jonathan says. “Paula is a wolf Beastborn and the love of my life."

Donation $5: “Jonathan dating a beastborn? No one is surprised."

“Shut up." Jonathan shakes his head. “You're just mad I'm no longer a kissless virgin. Yeah, that's right, I've kissed her; ever heard of it?"

Next, Paula notices a lot of images of a human man leaned back with a hand on his chin laughing. This is so strange but kinda nice.

Donation $5: “She got no arm."

Paula sees the donation as clear as day, and while deep down she wants to react, she does as Jonathan says and continues to smile.

“Bro, all of you follow me, and I play games like I only have one arm!" Once again, Paula sees the image of the human laughing pop up in response. “Getting real for a second. She's great, and I wanted you guys to meet her. So let me see some love in the chat!"

A bunch of hearts fill the screen, and Paula isn't sure how to feel about all this.

Donation $10: “0w0 She's cute! Are you two going to play together?"

“Maybe some other day. She's new to all this streaming stuff, but I'm sure she'd kick ass in rocket league." Jonathan turns to Paula. “Everyone say goodbye to Paula; she's got some stuff to do."

Paula sees that Jonathan is giving her an out, and she readily takes it as she waves to the camera one more time.

“It was nice meeting you all. Bye."

Once again, she notices the screen fill with hearts before she leaves the room. Her heart is racing, but overall that was oddly fun.

“Alright! Calm down you horny bastards! I'm surprised you even managed as long as you did!" She hears Jonathan shout. “Let's play some Doge of Duty."

Jonathan walks out of his streaming room and finds Paula cooking. Making his way over, he wraps his arms around her waist.

“So, what'd you think about your first introduction to streaming?" He asks.

Paula sets her fork down, turns around, and hugs Jonathan. 

“It was strange but nice."

He lets go of her so she can get back to cooking. “Yeah, sorry about the arm thing. There's always one asshole."

Paula chuckles some. “It wasn't that bad. I guess I didn't mind because it didn't seem real. Does that make sense?"

“I get it, though it took some time for me to get thicker skin. I used to become super toxic and just forget there were real people on the other side of the screen. Maybe they have lost a leg or someone they love. It's hard to know, and that's why I try to be nice now, even though they can sometimes get under my skin."

“It's nice that you enjoy it. Even when you're yelling, it sounds like you're having a lot of fun."

“I think you could be pretty big," Jonathan states. “I know you love to cook. Cooking streams are all the rage right now."

“I-I don't know. I'm not sure if I could maintain the same energy level you have for so many hours."

Jonathan walks over and gets some plates and utensils to set up the dining table.

“You can be you, Paula. I think people would like that. Not that I'm forcing you, just something to keep in mind if you're ever interested. There are plenty of beastborn and humans who are having a tough time and like to talk to someone." He takes his seat after finishing the table. “I act the way I do because my audience needs that type of stress relief, but I can't help in any meaningful way. I know plenty of people would be comforted to see how you deal with your day-to-day."

Paula turns off the stove and moves the pot of spaghetti she made to the center of the table.

“It's an idea, but I wouldn't know how to set up all the programs and stuff." She serves Jonathan his meal before setting her own. “It all looks so complicated. Plus, isn't streaming a young pups thing?"

Jonathan takes a bite of his meal as Paula takes her seat. It's always great for her to see how much he enjoys her cooking.

“Paula, there's literally a one-hundred-year-old turtle who steams himself whittling figurines. I've watched it a few times myself. It's relaxing, and he has a dedicated following."

“Really?"

“Really."

Paula takes a sip of her wine. “I'll think about it, but I know I wouldn't hear the end of it from my friends."

“It's just an option. I'll also help you set up everything, so don't worry about that. Even if it's just a thought experiment, think about what you would like to stream if you decided to give it a try." Jonathan goes back to eating his meal. “I swear every time you make something; it's better than before."

Paula blushes. “Thank you."

“So..." Jonathan turns his full attention to Paula as nervousness sets in. “You've been spending a lot of time at my place." Paula can feel her fur stand on end. Maybe she's been invading his space? “A-And I was wondering... What if you didn't leave?"

“What?" Paula knows what he's asking, but as her heart races, she waits for him to continue.

“You know..." Jonathan rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed. “Why don't we live together?"

“I would love that," Paula answers with a large smile.

“Alright. Uh, so how about we get you moved over this weekend?"

“That should be fine."

“We might need a larger bed." Jonathan muses. “It's a bit too cozy for a proper night's sleep. Also, a dresser for your things."

Paula reaches across the table and rests her hand on his. “Let's focus on what comes next after our meal."

Jonathan nods. “Alright."

Paula and Jonathan return to their meals as they eat in peaceful silence. What could lie ahead of them in the future? Neither of them knows, but they love each other, and that's all that matters.