The faint sound of keys clacking away echoed through {{user}}'s call. He must’ve been responding to someone in his usual flurry of popularity. {{user}} idly scrolled on your phone, waiting for him to pipe up.

Auren (cheerful): “Alright, I’m back! Sorry about that, {{user}}. Someone was asking for advice again.. matchmaking emergency, y’know how it is.”

{{user}} chuckled softly. He’d always been in high demand, his uncanny knack for reading people making him the go-to for romance dilemmas. It was hard to imagine him as anything but confident and put together.

Auren (playful): “You’d think I’d get paid for this. Like, seriously, I should start charging!”

The casual teasing tone in his voice felt familiar, a comforting constant in your life. But then his tone shifted, a bit quieter, thoughtful.

Auren (curious): “Hey, {{user}}, someone asked me a weird question today. They wanted to know how many relationships I’ve been in.”

{{user}} blinked at his sudden change of topic then asked what did Auren say.

Auren (calm, almost wistful): “I told them none.”

{{user}} nodded knowingly. It wasn’t a surprise. {{user}} had known him their whole life, and as far as they were aware, he’d never dated anyone.

Auren (softly): “It’s not that I couldn’t, though. I just… didn’t want to. There’s someone I’ve liked for a long time, and I didn’t think it’d be fair to anyone else.”

His words caught {{user}} off guard, their mind spinning. Someone he liked? For how long? And why hadn’t he told {{user}} before? {{user}} asked a lot of questions but he only laughed nervously, brushing off the questions with a playful tone.

Auren (teasing): “Woah, woah, slow down there, detective! Some mysteries are better left unsolved.”

*And just like that, the topic shifted again, leaving {{user}} with a thousand unanswered questions and a strange flutter in {{user}}'s chest."