The Discord server rynzen was never quiet.
There was always someone arguing in general chat, someone posting cursed memes, someone threatening to leave and never actually leaving.
And then there was Kai and Kaiden.
Everyone in rynzen knew about them.
They just didn’t know what they were.
Kai was the definition of a tsundere.
Kai immediately muted himself in voice chat.
Kaiden laughed — that stupid soft laugh that always got under Kai’s skin.
“You don’t have to stay, you know,” Kaiden said casually in VC. “No one’s forcing you.”
Kai unmuted instantly. “Like I’d leave just because you said that.”
There it was. Hook set. Line pulled.
Kaiden always did that. Calm. Unbothered. Too smooth.
And Kai hated how much he reacted every time.
It started as small things.
Kaiden replying to everyone except Kai.
Kai pretending not to notice.
Kaiden jokingly flirting with random people in chat.
Kai going suspiciously quiet afterward.
North noticed first.
One night, things tipped.
Kaiden changed his nickname to “taken.”
The server erupted.
Kai didn’t say anything.
Not in general.
Not in VC.
Not anywhere.
But his status changed to:
“Don’t care.”
Kaiden saw it.
Of course he did.
He slid into Kai’s DMs.
Three dots.
Kai stared at them.
Hated them.
A pause.
Then—
Silence.
Kai’s hands hovered over his keyboard.
Anger burned first.
Then something worse.
“Why do you care?” Kai typed.
It wasn’t sharp this time.
It wasn’t defensive.
It was honest.
Kaiden took longer to respond.
Kai felt cornered.
That was the toxic part.
Kaiden liked pushing.
Kai liked pretending he couldn’t be pushed.
They were both wrong.
Meanwhile in general chat:
Back in DMs:
That hit harder than any joke.
Kai always deflected with insults.
Kaiden always tested boundaries instead of asking directly.
They were both scared of saying it first.
And instead of communicating like normal people, they turned everything into a power struggle.
Kai typed:
There it was.
No sarcasm.
No bite.
Just truth.
Kaiden responded almost instantly.
Kai’s pride flared.
“I’m not jealous,” he said aloud into the empty room.
But he was.
And Kaiden knew it.
That was the imbalance.
Kaiden liked knowing he affected Kai.
Kai hated being affected at all.
The next day in VC, nothing was resolved.
They were still sniping at each other.
Still bickering.
Still too close.
But something shifted.
When sdo1n joked about Kaiden’s “mystery partner,” Kai didn’t go silent.
He just said flatly, “There isn’t one.”
Kaiden didn’t correct him.
He didn’t need to.
North sighed dramatically. “You two are exhausting.”
mineogo: “get therapy.”
Kai scoffed.
Kaiden laughed again.
And for once, Kai didn’t tell him to shut up.
It wasn’t healthy.
They still pushed each other’s buttons.
Still tested reactions.
Still confused control with affection.
But at least now they knew.
The tension wasn’t hatred.
It was fear.
And if they didn’t learn how to talk instead of compete…
rynzen would eventually watch them implode for real.
rynzen was dead silent in VC for once.
Which meant something bad had happened.
Or something worse.
Kai and Kaiden were in a private call.
Again.
It started because of something stupid.
It always did.
Kaiden had posted a selfie in general.
Nothing crazy. Just him. Casual. Smirking.
Kai didn’t reply.
He just left the server.
Left.
No message. No rage. Just gone.
That was worse.
Five minutes later, Kaiden was in Kai’s DMs.
Kai’s typing bubble appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again.
Kaiden called him.
Kai declined.
Kaiden called again.
Kai answered.
“Why did you leave?” Kaiden asked immediately.
“Why did you post that?” Kai shot back.
“It’s a selfie.”
“You knew what you were doing.”
Kaiden sighed. “You act like I’m trying to make you jealous.”
“You are.”
Silence.
Because he was.
But not in the way Kai thought.
“You know what the worst part is?” Kaiden said quietly.
“You always assume I’m playing games. Like everything I do is some manipulation tactic.”
Kai froze.
“You literally changed your nickname to ‘taken’ last week.”
“Because you never say what you feel.”
“So that’s my fault?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“But you meant it.”
Their voices weren’t loud.
That made it worse.
“I’m tired, Kai,” Kaiden admitted. “I don’t want to keep guessing if you like me or if you just like having someone to argue with.”
Kai swallowed.
“I don’t just argue with anyone.”
“That’s not a confession.”
“You think that’s easy for me?” Kai snapped. “You think I enjoy feeling like I’m the only one who cares more?”
Kaiden blinked.
“Cares more?”
The words hung there.
Kai realized what he’d just admitted.
His pride screamed at him to backtrack.
But he didn’t.
“You flirt with people to get a reaction,” Kai said, voice tight. “And I react. Every time. And I hate that you can do that.”
Kaiden stepped closer to his mic.
“I don’t flirt because I don’t care,” he said. “I do it because you won’t give me anything real.”
Kai’s chest felt tight.
“I’m right here.”
“Yeah,” Kaiden said softly. “But you hide behind ‘shut up’ and ‘I don’t care.’”
Kai didn’t have a comeback.
For once.
“Then what do you want?” Kai asked.
“Something honest,” Kaiden replied. “No sarcasm. No pride.”
Kai hesitated.
“…I don’t like when you give other people attention.”
There it was again. Bare. Unpolished.
Kaiden exhaled slowly.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay. I won’t.”
Kai blinked. “That’s it?”
“I don’t want them,” Kaiden said simply. “I want you.”
The air shifted.
Kai’s heartbeat got louder in his ears.
“You’re so dramatic,” Kai muttered weakly.
“And you’re terrified,” Kaiden countered.
Silence.
Not hostile.
Not sharp.
Just heavy.
“Are you still mad?” Kaiden asked.
Kai scoffed. “I wasn’t mad.”
“You left the server.”
“I needed air.”
“You were jealous.”
“…Shut up.”
Kaiden laughed softly.
And something in Kai snapped.
“Stop laughing like that,” Kai said.
“Like what?”
“Like you know you’ve won.”
Kaiden’s voice dropped.
“I’m not trying to win.”
Another pause.
“I just want you.”
There was a beat of pure, reckless quiet.
Then Kai said, “Turn your camera on.”
Kaiden did.
Kai followed.
For a second, they just stared at each other through pixels and bad lighting.
All that tension. All those fights. Weeks of pushing and testing and pretending.
Kai leaned closer to his screen unconsciously.
Kaiden noticed.
“You’re still scared,” Kaiden said softly.
“Of what?”
“Of actually choosing me.”
Kai hated how accurate that was.
Impulsively — stupidly — he grabbed his hoodie, pulled it up over his head like armor, then leaned toward his camera again.
“Stop talking,” he muttered.
And then he did something he’d been threatening to do for weeks without ever admitting it.
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to his own screen.
It was awkward.
A little ridiculous.
Very Kai.
For a split second, Kaiden just stared.
Then he smiled — not smug, not teasing.
Soft.
He leaned in too, pressing his lips to the screen from his side.
Not perfect.
Not cinematic.
But real.
When they pulled back, Kai’s face was red.
“That was stupid,” he muttered.
“Yeah,” Kaiden agreed gently.
Silence.
Then—
“You’re not changing your nickname like that again,” Kai said.
“Only if you stop pretending you don’t care.”
Kai hesitated.
“…Fine.”
Kaiden grinned.
North suddenly joined the call uninvited.
“ARE YOU TWO DONE—”
And froze.
mineogo joined right after.
sdo1n seconds later.
Kai slammed his laptop shut.
Kaiden burst out laughing.
And rynzen exploded.
The moment Kai slammed his laptop shut, rynzen went feral.
general chat:
Kaiden rejoined first.
Big mistake.
“Say nothing,” he warned.
Kaiden tried to keep his voice steady. Failed.
“It wasn’t— shut up.”
north: “WASN’T WHAT.”
And right on cue—
Kai rejoined.
Muted.
Camera off.
Status: “Don’t.”
The entire server lost it.
“Nothing happened,” Kai said flatly after unmuting.
“Something happened,” sdo1n replied instantly.
Kai: “You’re all delusional.”
Kaiden, traitor that he is, let out the smallest laugh.
Kai shot him a look through the screen.
“You think this is funny?” Kai muttered.
“A little,” Kaiden admitted.
There it was again.
That soft control.
That calm confidence.
It used to make Kai defensive.
Now it made his pulse spike.
North cleared their throat dramatically. “So are we witnessing a soft launch or a public disaster?”
“Neither,” Kai snapped.
Kaiden tilted his head. “Why neither?”
“Because you don’t get to make this a spectacle.”
The temperature dropped.
Everyone else went quiet.
That wasn’t jealousy.
That was something sharper.
Kaiden noticed.
Later that night, rynzen was asleep.
Except them.
Again.
Private call.
Again.
“You got territorial,” Kaiden said carefully.
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“I just don’t want them in our business.”
“Our?”
Kai went still.
Kaiden didn’t smile this time. Didn’t tease.
“Our,” he repeated softly.
Kai looked away from the camera.
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“It means you’re not pretending anymore.”
Kai’s jaw tightened.
“I don’t want to be your joke,” he said quietly.
The honesty hit different now.
“I don’t want to be your ‘reaction.’”
Kaiden’s expression changed instantly.
“I don’t joke about you.”
“You push me.”
“Because you push back.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Not playful.
“You think I like seeing you jealous?” Kaiden asked.
“You enjoy knowing I care more.”
“I don’t want you to care more,” Kaiden said. “I want you to meet me halfway.”
Kai didn’t know how to do halfway.
He only knew all-in or locked out.
That was the problem.
“Do you even like me,” Kai asked suddenly, voice low, “or do you just like that I’m hard to get?”
Kaiden blinked.
That question wasn’t defensive.
It was vulnerable.
And that scared him.
“I like you,” Kaiden said. No hesitation this time. “Not the fights. Not the reactions. You.”
Kai searched his face for a lie.
Found none.
“Then stop trying to win,” Kai said.
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are. Every time you stay calm while I lose my temper. Every time you smirk when I react.”
Kaiden paused.
“…You think I’m trying to control you.”
Kai didn’t answer.
Which was answer enough.
For once, Kaiden dropped the composure.
“I stay calm because if I react like you do, we’ll explode,” he admitted. “I smirk because if I don’t, I’ll admit I’m nervous.”
That caught Kai off guard.
“You’re nervous?”
“You terrify me.”
“…What.”
“You care loudly. You feel loudly. And if you ever decide you’re done with me, you won’t hesitate.”
Kai’s chest tightened.
He’d never thought about it that way.
The tension shifted.
Less sharp.
More fragile.
Kai leaned closer to his camera again.
“Say it again,” he said quietly.
“Say what?”
“That you like me.”
Kaiden swallowed.
“I like you.”
Kai held his gaze.
“Good.”
Then — this time — Kai didn’t hide behind a hoodie.
Didn’t pretend it was a joke.
He leaned in slowly.
Not rushed.
Not impulsive.
Kaiden followed.
Their screens touched first.
Then their lips, soft against glass again — but this time it wasn’t reckless.
It was intentional.
They stayed there longer.
Not dramatic.
Just steady.
When they pulled back, Kai didn’t look embarrassed.
He looked serious.
“If you make me feel stupid for this,” he said softly, “I’m gone.”
“I won’t,” Kaiden replied just as quietly.
And for once, it didn’t sound like a game.
The next day in rynzen:
Kai simply changed his status to:
“occupied.”
Kaiden changed his to:
“found.”
No explanation.
No spectacle.
Just that.
They were still messy.
Still competitive.
Still prone to stupid fights.
But now when Kai snapped “shut up,” there was no doubt underneath it.
And when Kaiden smirked, it wasn’t to win.
It was because he finally knew he didn’t have to.