Codie – POV
I was mid-sip of iced coffee when he joined the dev call.
His voice dropped into my headset like an unwanted bug report.
Blaze_King:
So… this is the romance expert, huh?
I choked on my coffee. Not even a hello.
Codie:
Wow. You came in loud and judgy. Very on-brand.
Blaze_King:
Only because you came in loud and lovey.
Yup. I already hated him.
Codie:
This is a romance game. Emotions exist here. You okay with that, Mr. Binary?
Blaze_King:
Only if sarcasm counts as an emotion.
💬 Chat Section (from her live stream):
UwUChan: is this THE coder guy?? 😭
ByteMe: he's rude and I love him
GlitchQueen: enemies to lovers speedrun
Pixel_Heart: Codie's gonna murder him lmao
---
I ignored the chat.
I was professional. Mature.
Not at all ready to strangle the man-child I hired.
Codie:
We're testing the couple combat system in Zone 2 today. You got the dev server up?
Blaze_King:
Yup. Although… your AI scripting could use compassion.
Codie:
You call that a review or a whiny coder tantrum?
Blaze_King:
I call it honesty. You should try it sometime.
He was going to be that guy. Awesome.
Blaze_King – POV
Her lighting setup screamed gamer princess. Her attitude screamed bossy queen.
And unfortunately, she wasn't half bad at this.
Actually… her emotion-based battle system was kind of genius.
---
Blaze_King:
Wait—bond levels increase when couples solve puzzles together?
Codie:
Yup. And drop if they fight too much.
Blaze_King:
So you coded... emotional maturity?
Codie:
Exactly. You should take notes.
I laughed. She was quick. Annoyingly so.
Scene: In-Game – Couple Dungeon Test
Our avatars spawned beside each other.
I was full black rogue class. She was a mage hybrid with a dagger twirl idle animation. Of course.
Codie (in-game):
Alright, Blaze. Don't die.
Blaze_King:
I never do. But if you want to sacrifice yourself, I won't stop you.
We entered the first wave. She moved fast. I was faster.
But we were both stubborn—and that showed in every step.
Game Pop-Up:
Emotion Sync: 62% – Bond Level: Neutral
> "Still barely compatible. Oof." — AI Voice
Codie:
See? Even the game thinks you're impossible.
Blaze_King:
Yeah, well… I didn't know falling in love with daggers was a mechanic here.
Codie:
Only way I stay sharp.
For two people who couldn't stand each other, we made a solid team.
Even I had to admit it.
She was annoying... but she knew what she was doing.
Codie:
You're not bad.
Blaze_King:
You sound surprised.
Codie:
I am.
Blaze_King:
Maybe 'cause you were too busy roasting me to check my credentials.
Codie:
Touché.
The last door needed a sync trigger. Two glowing pads. Classic couple checkpoint.
Codie:
We step on it together. Ready?
Blaze_King:
Try not to blush.
Codie:
Try not to glitch.
We stepped forward.
Suddenly, the screen shimmered.
System Alert:
⚠️ Reality Distortion Detected.
Initiating Merge Protocol...
Blaze_King (IRL):
Wait, what the hell?
🌫️ Codie – POV
I blinked.
Gone was my room. Gone was the headset.
In its place—grass. Sky. Dungeon gates.
I looked down. Same hands. Same in-game gear.
I wasn't in my chair anymore.
I was inside the game.
---
Codie (whispering):
This… can't be real.
Then I saw him—Blaze_King—standing there, just as stunned.
He turned to me.
Blaze_King:
Codie?
Codie:
Blaze?
We stared.
Game world all around us.
Only one question hung in the air...
What. Did. We. Just. Do?
[TO BE CONTINUED…]
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