The room is dark except for my laptop screen.
Upload progress: 87%.
My stomach is in knots.
Zane is stretched out behind me on my bed, one arm wrapped loosely around my shoulders, his chin resting near my temple. I'm leaning back against his chest, laptop balanced on my thighs.
"Relax," he murmurs.
"I am relaxed."
"You've been staring at the progress bar for 10 minutes."
"It's important."
He laughs softly against my hair.
The final export finished hours ago.
We checked everything twice.
Transitions.
Color grading.
Timing.
Audio balance.
End screens.
Descriptions.
He watched the entire process.
Every cut.
Every adjustment.
Every frame I obsessed over.
"You did all of this?" he asked earlier, watching me tweak lighting for the tenth time.
"Yes."
"For every release?"
"Yes."
He was quiet for a long moment after that.
"I just upload songs," he admitted.
"That's because you're the song."
He hummed thoughtfully.
"No," he said softly. "You build worlds."
The upload hits 100%.
My heart skips.
"It's live."
For a second, nothing happens.
Then—
1 view.
5 views.
I exhale slowly.
The numbers start climbing steadily.
Comments appear.
Likes tick upward.
Zane watches the screen with me.
"You're shaking," he notes.
"I'm not."
"You are."
He tightens his arm around me slightly.
The duet video is already gaining traction.
His audience.
Our audience.
Colliding.
My phone buzzes.
Group chat.
Axel:Good work today, Sunny.
My chest warms immediately.
Laura:It's polished. I'm proud of you.
Theo:Engagement rate is already strong. Excellent timing.
I stare at the messages.
Zane sees them too.
"They're not wrong," he says quietly.
The views keep rising.
Faster now.
The fear I usually feel during launches?
It's different tonight.
Less panic.
More… exhilaration.
I lean back fully into him.
"They like it," I whisper.
"They love it," he corrects.
I turn slightly to look at him.
There's no performance face.
No stage confidence.
Just genuine admiration.
"You're incredible at this," he says.
It hits differently than when Laura says it.
Or Axel.
Because he's not protecting me.
He's not steadying me.
He's impressed.
"I was thinking," he adds lightly, brushing his thumb along my shoulder. "I've never really done visuals like this."
I blink. "You haven't?"
"I just release tracks. Maybe a lyric video if I'm feeling ambitious."
"That's criminal."
He grins.
"What if I commissioned you?" he says casually. "For my next single."
I stare at him.
"You're serious?"
"Completely."
My brain short circuits in a different way this time.
"That's—"
"Professional," he says smoothly. "And deserved."
The views jump again.
A comment section flood.
Notifications pinging.
I laugh, half overwhelmed.
"I think this is our highest first-hour engagement ever," I breathe.
He leans closer.
"Celebrate."
"We are."
"No," he says softly.
He tilts my chin gently toward him.
"Celebrate."
The kiss is slow.
Unrushed.
Happy.
Not desperate.
Not proving.
Just… proud.
I lose count somewhere after the third one.
My laptop screen dims from inactivity.
The numbers still climbing in the background.
But I'm not refreshing anymore.
For once—
I'm not watching to see if it's enough.
I know it is.
He pulls back just slightly.
"Successful video release tradition?" he murmurs.
I laugh softly.
"Is that a thing?"
"It is now."
I close the laptop.
Let the world spin without me for a while.
The city hums outside.
The duet plays faintly from somewhere in the building.
And wrapped in his arms—
For the first time since this started—
I don't feel like I'm helping.
I feel like I built something.
And it mattered.