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Tara knew she was a little obsessed, not a lot just a little. She'd been following Red_Riding_Hale since before he hit his first million subscribers. She'd practically seen him grow up from a chubby cheeked, buzz-haired, cutie to sharp cheeks, sex haired spaz he was now.
Occasionally, the viewers could see a shadow passing by behind Red but Tara knew they were his roommates.
Red has been attempting challenges and life hacks on the demands of his viewers, even going on live stream so as to prove his dedication. Tara really appreciated the efforts he put in, which is why she'd stayed loyal even when Red had stopped updating for a while.
He'd lost half of his 300,000 followers in that period of time, but Tara had remained faithful he'd be back.
And Red didn't disappoint. He was back, new and improved. Well, to a certain extent at least. As a student of psychology, Tara knew the signs of someone so deeply traumatized that they needed a distraction to ground them. From the way, he'd looked; hollow cheeks, a scary lifeless shade of pale whiteness and red-rimmed eyes lined with heavy eyebags, it was a sad sight. Oddly enough,the first time she'd seen him after the break was when her mind flashed back to when Clint Barton was coming out of Loki's mind control. Like Red had also been unmade. (Yeah, she was a nerd shut it)
Suffice it to say that Tara wasn't really surprised when Red became fervent with his channel, posting three videos each week, each time facing a new challenge.
After a while though, he had settled. Tara was happy but the smallest part of her noted that it happened at the same time that shadow had began appearing in the background.
It was still there, lurking in the background like a protective guardian, as Red attempted to do pancake art while streaming live.
He was trying to make a wolf. Tara assumed it was an inside joke, from the way she'd heard an annoyed scoff from behind the camera, to which Red responded with a wink and a sparkling smile. He looked up once he was about to flip it over.
"Alright Redsters, wish me luck!" He rubbed his palms together nervously and then did what he usually did. Red flailed.
It was like watching a modern version of silent comedy, Tara liked to say sometimes when asked what she liked about him.
Red flailed so hard that he banged his hand against the now-steaming pan.
"Son of a b– that hurt! Wha–are you laughing at me, Sourwolf??" He shrieked while shaking his hand like the burn would slide off like a fly if he did so.
Tara actually facepalmed as she tried to control her laughter. He should really put that in water, she thought in exasperation.
Apparently Sourwolf agreed with her because the camera was hurriedly set down, making Red's torso visible instead of his face.
Someone, a muscular guy, Tara absently noticed rushed to Red's side. They were clearly comfortable with being in each other's personal spaces, as the other guy wrapped a hand around Red's much smaller and paler wrist, tugging him towards the water faucet nearby.
It was honestly weird to watch because as soon as the guy touched Red he seemed to calm down, as if the pain had vanished, Tara mused. She felt like she was intruding on a personal exchange, when the unmistakable sound of a small kiss fell upon her ears.
She hastily scrolled down to the live stream's comments, steadfastly ignoring her red cheeks she watched as comments flooded the chat section.
@Izcana: Was that a kiss? Oh my god, I'm screaming.
@Callmemira: They're so cute together, I wish Red had told us earlier.
@AvidBiscuit: They even have nicknames for each other, dorks <3
@hot_damn_louis: Uwu, lmao Red's like the cat's out of the bag anyway… Look he's coming back.
Tara abandoned the increasingly frantic comments as she quickly looked at the couple.
Oh Lord, they were holding hands. This was crossing ultimate levels of cute, Tara was going to get an aneurysm at this point. They reminded her of that old video in which kittens and puppies meet for the first time.
Red grinned as he sat back against his partner's broad chest.
"Hey Redsters, meet my boyfriend Sourwolf. The Bucky to my Steve, the Draco to my Harry" He laughed when his boyfriend ducked his head in Red's neck, apparently feeling shy.
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Their next video hit 5 million likes just because Sourwolf made Red wear his shirt and post a story on Instagram with the caption: Sirius to his Remus, on a dare.