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Gilbert had a problem.

No, not a problem. An addiction. And just when he thought he was getting over it, he'd find himself sucked right back in, his eyes glued to the screen, volume turned up just enough that he could hear everything perfectly, but not blow out his eardrums when a loud sound burst free.

For some reason, his friends had come to the conclusion that he was in love and that was the reason he would stare at his phone like a dope for long periods of time. They kept trying to catch him off guard and press him for details about his mystery crush.

Gilbert was starting to run out of excuses.

Okay, so he could just tell them. It would be the easiest way to get them to stop, but he was a little too embarrassed to do so. His friends would only make fun of him if he knew he was obsessed with gaming videos.

It was one of those rare days when his friends weren't badgering him about his nonexistent love life, though he knew it wouldn't take much of a leap for Francis to sway the subject from the upcoming fall semester to one of the romantic variety. Antonio would roll right along with the change and then help dig them deeper into it.

"You're taking a foreign language this year, yes?" Francis questioned, giving Gilbert a sidelong glance.

"Yeah. German," Gilbert replied, staring straight ahead. The sooner they got to the bookstore, the sooner he could escape from his friends. He loved them, really, but there were times when they were just too much for even his awesome self to handle.

On his other side, Antonio made a concerned sound. "That won't be too boring for you, would it? Since you already know a little German?"

Gilbert shrugged noncommittally. "I haven't spoken or written any since I was a kid. Pops and Ludwig kept telling me I should, but I've forgotten most of it by now."

"You could always take French. Then I'd be able to help you if you needed it," Francis offered. "And it is the language of love. What better way to woo your sweetheart?"

Gilbert scowled. "I'm not trying to woo anyone. Give it a rest, Bonnefoy."

At the use of his last name, Francis backed off and instead switched to teasing Antonio about his crush on the angry Italian man who worked at the bookstore they were on their way to. All that resulted in was Antonio pretending to swoon at the mere mention of his crush.

Gilbert threatened to leave him in the street if he fainted, but Antonio just laughed and skipped ahead as Vargas Books and Cafe came into sight.

Francis and Gilbert grinned at their friend's behavior. Neither of them truly understood why he liked the cranky Italian so much, but they both knew his feelings were genuine. They also knew that, no matter how much Lovino Vargas complained about Antonio's affections, he liked him back just as much.

As always, the three went their separate ways once they were inside. Francis headed straight for the romance section to browse for anything new and interesting to read. Antonio set off in search of his crush. Meanwhile, Gilbert made his way to the tiny cafe tucked in the front left corner, where his younger brother's boyfriend worked.

"Good morning, Gil!" Feliciano Vargas cheerfully greeted, his amber eyes lighting up. "You want the usual, right?"

Gilbert nodded and sat down in his usual chair. While waiting for his drink and pastry, he pulled out his phone to check for any messages. (Just one, from Ludwig, reminding him to pick up a few essential food items on his way home.) After that it was a simple task of connecting to the wifi and making sure no one else was around to see him log onto his HetaTube account.

He bit his lip to keep himself from smiling too widely when he saw that his favorite gamer had posted two new videos since he last checked the night before. Gilbert glanced up to see if Feliciano noticed his sudden burst of happiness, but the man was busy measuring out the exact amount of milk needed in his frappuccino.

Pleased that he hadn't been caught, Gilbert casually tugged his earbuds out of his pocket and plugged them in. As he began loading the first video, he couldn't help but think of the very first time he'd watched a gaming video. He'd been sitting in the cafe, in that same exact spot, chatting with one of his internet pals about video games, when his pal recommended a series of videos about two brothers playing horror games.

Gilbert had been doubtful at first. After all, wasn't it much more fun to play the games than to watch someone else do it?

One video became five and then twenty as Gilbert became a bit infatuated with the older of the brothers, a young man going by the name MapleMatthew. Thanks to the face-cams they used to record their hilarious reactions to jump scares, Gilbert knew he had gently wavy blond hair and big purplish-blue eyes, which were always partially hidden behind oval-framed glasses.

Okay, maybe his friends were right. He did have a crush. But it just a stupid, tiny little thing on a person he knew he'd never meet, so why bother entertaining the idea?

"Gil, your coffee and muffin!" Feliciano chirped, setting both on the counter.

Gilbert thanked him and got up, spending a few extra seconds chatting with his future brother-in-law (it wasn't official, but Gil knew Ludwig would pop the question before too long), and then returned to his seat. He took a moment to listen for any angry yelling, which would mean that Lovino was about to kick them all out. He heard nothing but the sound of Feliciano bustling about and knew he'd have time to get through at least one video.

The first upload was a continuation of an RPG MapleMatthew had recently gotten into. It was a game Gilbert normally wouldn't have looked twice at, but the blond's enthusiasm and clear passion for the series had him actually considering going out and picking up the game for himself. Gilbert had to remind himself several times to finish eating and take sips of his coffee.

The video ended too soon for Gilbert's tastes, even though it was nearly a half hour long. He took a moment to guzzle down half of his drink and listen again for any yelling. It was unusual that Antonio hadn't been kicked out yet. It never took Lovino very long to get fed up with the man distracting him from his work.

Gilbert relaxed in his chair and opened the next link. It was labeled: "ANNOUNCEMENT feat pure-originality and King_Mathias".

He only knew vaguely of pure-originality, who'd done a few videos with MapleMatthew and his brother. He was a rather hyperactive Korean teen with an arsenal of inappropriate jokes. King_Mathias was a name which sounded familiar, but Gilbert couldn't place where he'd heard it before.

The video opened with the three HetaTubers sitting on a very familiar brown couch. MapleMatthew sat in the middle and smiled brightly at the camera once he knew it was rolling. "Hello, everyone! MapleMatthew here! And with me today I have two very special guests to help deliver an important announcement."

The dark-haired teen to his left waved wildly. "Hey, guys! I'm pure-originality. Some of you may know me from the games I've played with Matthew and his bro or from my own channel."

"And I'm King_Mathias or DGMathias, whichever you prefer," said the blond to MapleMatthew's right. His accent was distinctly northern European in origin; either Danish or Swedish, if Gilbert had to guess.

"So for a few weeks now, all of us have been hinting about a big project we've all been working on," MapleMatthew said. "You've probably noticed that we've also been doing more joint videos and trying out different games and setups."

King_Mathias cleared his throat. "It's all so we could make sure that working together on a more permanent basis is something we're all willing to do. And surprise! It is!"

"Starting tomorrow, we'll be launching a brand new channel!" Pure-originality announced. "It's called 'Nighttime Gaming'. All of us will post links once we have it up and running. Of course, the three of us aren't the only ones involved in this." He looked to MapleMatthew, who took that as his cue.

"We'll also be joined by CaptainKirkland, LandofRisingSun, and, of course, my brother, SuperHeroUSA," MapleMatthew said. "We've got a lot of interesting and fun things planned, so we hope all of you will like it."

"But not to worry," King_Mathias said. "We're all keeping our personal channels up and running, so if this group thing isn't something you're interested in, that's totally cool."

"So make sure to check out our brand new channel and subscribe if you like it!" Pure-originality said. "We'll see all of you later! Peace!"

The video ended with pure-originality throwing up his signature peace sign, while MapleMatthew and King_Mathias waved at the camera. And then the screen went black.

Gilbert stared at his phone, wondering what exactly they had planned. They'd specifically mentioned that they would still be posting to their personal channels, but that didn't mean it'd be with the same frequency. He'd grown used to at least one video per day, even if it was only a minute or two long. So while the new channel seemed like a cool idea, there was the possibility that it meant he'd be seeing less of his favorite HetaTube gamer.

"Hi, Al!" Feliciano's voice rang out as he greeted a new customer.

"Yo, Feli! Hey, can I get one of your hot chocolates for me and one of those, um, frap-whatevers for Mattie? Oh, and Yong Soo wants one of those chocolate cupcakes. Actually, that sounds really good. I'll take one too!"

Feliciano laughed. "No problem! Just give me a few minutes and I'll have it all ready for you!"

"Cool!"

Gilbert frowned. There was something familiar about that voice...

"Hey, so me and the guys are doing this drunk gaming thing on Friday and we need a few more people, so I figured I'd ask you and then you could ask Ludwig. He likes beer, right?"

Ah, so it was one of Feliciano's and Ludwig's friends. That explained why he sounded so familiar.

"He does, but neither of us really play games," Feliciano said apologetically. "But Gil does! He's right there!"

"Gil? As in Ludwig's bro? That Gilbert?"

"Yeah!"

The blender cut on as Feliciano prepared a second frappuccino.

Gilbert glanced up to get a look at the stranger who knew his brother and immediately froze. His breath caught in his throat and he stared with wide red eyes. Standing at the counter, eyeing him with a strange, contemplative expression, was none other than SuperHeroUSA, the younger brother of MapleMatthew.