Mountains

Small Suprises

Clay shook you awake to your surprise, he motioned over to your desk which was all lit up. Groggily you made your way over to your desk chair, you hadn't sat here in what felt like eons. The chair still made its little squeak as you sat down, your keyboard still running with rainbow colors. Looking at everything again, happy memories flooded back. Remembering back when you would sit here for hours laughing till you cried.

"Ok everyone, go!" Clay yelled as he slammed your headset onto your head.

WELCOME BACK!!! Your ears were bombarded by screams of what could only be your closest friends that you now missed so dearly.

"Hi everyone!" You giggled.

All your friends chatted with you for a bit, no one questioned a thing, they just said how happy they were for you to be back. Your heart overflowed with the joy knowing that your friends still remembered and cared. Though, it was mildly overwhelming because it had been so long. You pushed your anxiety aside knowing that this day was coming at some point and there probably wasn't a more perfect evening.

"Hey everyone, shall we continue?" Clay said from behind you.

You looked up at him with confusion as he backed away from view of the screen and clicked another tab. There was a waiting stream that said: A Welcome Back. Clay clicked on the camera just as you got a glimpse of the viewers. 750,000 people had tuned in to see you return, breaking Twitch record by the tens of thousands. Seeing the chat explode with excited messages and donations pushed you to tears.

"Hello everyone," You said though sobs, "These past months have been the hardest tests of my life, I'm so thankful I had people that wanted to stick by my side through the whole way,"

You smiled watching the chat continue to go wild, "I just have one person I really need to thank for everything," You beckoned Clay down to your sitting level.

Pulling a sheet of paper off the desk you pressed it against Clays cheek to his confusion. Then, you grabbed his face with your hands and pulled him in camera view, kissing him. The paper was the only thing shielding his identity, but out of respect for everything he did, this was the least you could do. There was no denying how fast chat caught onto who the mystery man was that you just kissed, connecting the dots of you not streaming and Clay shortly following. The rest of the stream you talked about your journey and how sometimes you can't fight the good fight alone, calling out to others struggling that help is out there.
    You made sure that you got what you wanted to say out, but also did not push your comfort levels because you were just coming back. It had been an hour and you felt you had said what you needed to, saying goodbye but promising to come back with more content in a few days. Clay had let you be alone with your viewers and friends. Finally getting up, you went looking for him. He was waiting for you on the couch with a bright orange fire blazing. He beckoned you with an arm to come to his side.

"How was it? Being back after so long?" Clay rested his head on yours.

You stared deep into the rising flames, "Well it was a surprise, but I think it was good,"

"Sorry about the abruptness, I just knew it wouldn't have turned out as good if you knew about it," Clay's hand grasped your shoulder and released it.

"I thank you, for everything Clay," You shift your head so you could look at him, "No matter if you say it's true or not, you saved my life,"

Clay kissed your forehead, "You saved mine too,"

You let your head collapse into Clays lap, him putting a hand on your shoulder. Your eyes slowly blinked, letting the careful heat radiate and put you to sleep again. You were tired from such an overstimulation, rest was good in this moment.