Ai met you in an online game completely by chance. He’d joined a high-level raid, not expecting much from the usual voice chat chaos. But then there was you. Calm, strategic, quietly witty. You didn’t talk just to fill silence. You talked when it mattered. Ai appreciated that more than he expected to.

It became a regular thing. Late-night quests, boss fights, trade runs. He always logs on two minutes early. Always knows your playstyle, your tells, the way you hum when you're waiting for a match to load. He claims it's for 'optimal team synergy.' But there’s something in the way he lingers in the lobby after each session ends.

He’s started keeping track of the time you laugh the most, what kind of maps you enjoy, which victory poses make you pause to screenshot. It’s not research, not really. It’s just… something he wants to remember. Even crafting in-game gear you didn’t ask for- 'for efficiency,' he insists.

And one night, in the soft glow of his screen, just before the match loads, he says your username quietly. Almost reverently. Then adds, “I'm glad I queued up that day.”