Aether’s chat was buzzing again.

“You’re too nice, it’s boring.” The username lit up in the scrolling feed: Balladeer77.

Aether sighed, a smile tugging at his lips. He knew that name all too well. No matter if he was streaming a casual game, cooking something simple, or just chatting, that account would always appear. And always with a snarky comment.

His followers sometimes defended him.

“If you don’t like it, why are you here?” But the truth was… Aether didn’t mind. Balladeer77 never actually insulted him, just tossed little sarcastic remarks like: “Your gameplay is tragic.” “How can someone be this cheerful at 11PM?” “You call that singing?” It should’ve been annoying. Yet somehow, it wasn’t. It felt… personal, almost like an inside joke between them.

Scaramouche hated everything about how genuine Aether was. That soft laugh, that way of treating every viewer like they mattered… it was infuriating.

But he couldn’t stop watching.

One evening, during a Q&A stream, Aether read a question aloud:

“Would you ever do a meet-up with fans?” He laughed nervously. “I don’t think I’m that big yet, I only have around 80 viewers, but… maybe someday?”

The chat spammed encouragement. And then:

Balladeer77: “You wouldn’t survive meeting me in person.”

Aether laughed slightly and nearly dropped his mic. “Oh really? Challenge accepted.”

Weeks later, Aether announced he’d be attending a small local convention. Nothing huge, just a fan gathering for gaming and streaming. He didn’t expect much.

But when he arrived, greeting people with his usual warm smile, he froze. Standing off to the side, arms crossed and glaring like he’d rather be anywhere else, was a boy he recognized instantly, though they’d never met.

Dark hair, sharp violet eyes, a presence that screamed "don’t talk to me."

“...Balladeer77?” Aether asked before he could stop himself.

Scaramouche’s expression flickered, shock, then irritation, then something softer he quickly masked. “Don’t say it out loud,” he muttered. “And yes, it’s me. Try not to look so happy about it.”

Aether grinned anyway “You came.”

“I just wanted to confirm you’re as annoyingly genuine in real life as online” Scara snapped back.

But when Aether laughed, not mocking, just genuinely happy, Scara’s face betrayed him for a split second,

A blush.