Work Text:
Mizi’s leg dangled lazily off the edge of the couch, the other curled up beneath her. The room was dim except for the pale blue light of the television and the occasional flicker from her monitor screen. It was past midnight, which meant the server was finally quiet enough for uninterrupted farming.
Until he showed up.
[Whisper] Ivan: mizi~~~
She didn’t look up from her game. Just smirked a little and typed back with one hand.
[Whisper] Mizi: What are you doing here? Don’t bother me, I’m farming ^_________^
[Whisper] Ivan: I made a group chat with some online friends! I’m trying to expand our circle. Wanna join? >_^
Of course he did. He was always doing stuff like that—making group chats, collecting weird online acquaintances like Pokémon cards, throwing them all together in one chaotic server and expecting them to become a family.
[Whisper] Mizi: Why would I want to?
[Whisper] Ivan: I was being considerate since you don’t have any friends. (LOL)
Her eye twitched.
[Whisper] Mizi: #### off Ivan. Get a ####### life you son of a #####
She didn’t bother to censor herself, though the chat filter did that for her. He deserved it.
[Whisper] Ivan: lol just join the group chat, mizi. It’s about time you made some friends!
[Whisper] Mizi: Whatever. I’m getting off.
And she did.
She didn’t expect to get added to the group chat anyway.
But the next day, when she booted up her PC, there it was. A fresh invite on Discord:
"The Cave of Aliens"
Courtesy of Ivan.
She hovered over the “decline” button for a full thirty seconds.
Then clicked “accept.”
--
The server was smaller than she expected. Just six people total, including Ivan. The #general chat was alive with GIFs and chaotic back-and-forth typing that made her eyes hurt. Usernames like PixeLust, Hyundai, sUAnami and KeyboardDad littered the sidebar.
And then, of course, there was MiziNotMizzy.
She muted notifications immediately, only keeping the voice channel alerts on just in case. She wasn’t planning to talk. Just lurk.
[sUAnami]: wait who's mizinotmizzy?
[CuddleMeIvan]: my bestie irl be nice
[sUAnami]: omg bestie?? you brought her into our cave??
[Ivan]: yeah she farms like a demon and swears like a sailor
[sUAnami]: iconic
[sUAnami]: hi mizi!
Mizi blinked at the screen. She hadn’t even typed anything yet. She didn’t want to. But for some reason…
[sUAnami]: love the username btw
[sUAnami]: i almost read it as “mizzy not mizzy” and had an existential crisis
[MiziNotMizzy]: That’s the point
[sUAnami]: oh my gosh you're one of those
[sUAnami]: self-aware usernames
[CuddleMeIvan]: do NOT start with her
[sUAnami]: too late she’s my bestie now
Mizi stared at the screen for a few seconds and scratched her head.
She didn’t hate it.
--
They jumped into a dungeon run that night. Mizi didn’t say much, but she joined the voice channel. Her mic was off, but she could hear everything.
--
Later that night, after the dungeon run ended and the others left one by one, Mizi stayed in the voice channel.
So did Sua.
“Hey,” Sua said softly, her voice no longer crackling with chaotic energy. “Didn’t think you’d stick around.”
Mizi swallowed. “Didn’t plan to.”
A pause. A faint laugh.
“You’re really good,” Sua said. “At the game, I mean.”
Mizi bit her lip. She wasn’t used to compliments that weren’t laced with sarcasm or teasing.
“…Thanks.”
“Ivan talks about you a lot,” Sua added. “I figured you were some mythical hermit with insane reflexes and a tragic backstory.”
“Not tragic,” Mizi muttered. “Just… anti-social.”
“That’s valid,” Sua said, no judgment in her voice. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. I just—like having you around. You’re funny. In the chat, I mean. Even when you’re swearing at Ivan.”
That tugged a half-smile from her.
“I only swear at him because he deserves it.”
“Oh, absolutely.”
Another pause. But not an awkward one. Just… quiet.
Comfortable.
Mizi realized she was smiling. Not just because someone was being nice, but because it felt easy. Sua didn’t push. She didn’t try to crack Mizi open. She just sat with her in the silence, letting it be what it was.
---
After six months, nothing has changed from when Mizi first joined the server.
They were in a two-person dungeon, farming seasonal currency for limited-time skins. The others had gone to bed. Ivan had dropped off hours ago after saying something about early meetings.
Sua was humming off-key into her mic.
“Do you ever sleep?” Mizi asked, half-smiling as she auto-farm.
“Absolutely not,” Sua replied brightly. “Sleep is for people who aren’t chasing legendary dye packs.”
“You have a problem.”
“I have taste.”
Mizi rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”
There was a pause.
Not long.
Just a heartbeat.
Then:
“You think I’m cute?” Sua asked, teasing, sing-songy—but there was something else there too.
Mizi laughed it off like always.
“I meant in the 'alien' kind of way.”
“Oof,” Sua said, mock-offended. “Backhanded and bold. I respect that.”
But the silence that followed buzzed.
Not awkward, exactly. Just charged.
Like Sua was waiting for her to say something else. Something real.
And Mizi almost did.
Almost.
But instead, she pivoted.
“Let’s finish this run. I need those dye packs too.”
---
Later, when they were back in the main hub, Sua messaged her privately.
[sUAnami]: i know this is random
[sUAnami]: but i’m really glad we met
Mizi stared at the message for longer than she should have.
She typed, deleted, retyped.
Settled on:
[MiziNotMizzy]: me too.
Because that was true.
Even if she couldn’t say the rest of it.
Even if she’d already typed I think about you way too much and you make my chest hurt in the best way and I think I might love you—then erased them all.
Sua didn’t need to know.
Mizi would protect what they had. Even if it meant keeping her heart zipped up tight in the same hoodie she wore every night.
Even if it meant being the best friend in the world to the girl she was slowly, helplessly falling for.
---
Six months and two weeks.
That’s how long it had been since Mizi first joined the Cave of Aliens. Since Ivan dragged her kicking and swearing into a group chat she’d wanted nothing to do with—and since she met Sua.
And now here she was, lying in bed with her headset still on, staring at the ceiling like it could solve all her problems.
She wanted to scream, I like you. She wanted to tell Sua her feelings.
But something always stopped her.
It wasn’t just fear of rejection—it was what came after.
What if Sua didn’t feel the same?
What if the calls stopped being daily?
What if their dumb, chaotic raids turned awkward?
What if Sua slowly, politely, drifted away?
Mizi had survived a lot in her life.
But she didn’t think she could survive losing this.
---
Three days passed.
They played co-op games, raided a new event boss, and argued over whether Sua’s new neon armor set was hideous or iconic. Mizi pretended everything was normal.
But something was different.
Sua’s DMs came a little slower. She still messaged, still checked in—but Mizi could feel the space widening, even if it was only by inches. It was like Sua knew something, or suspected something, and was giving Mizi room to breathe.
And that somehow made it worse.
Because it meant Mizi wasn’t hiding it as well as she thought.
---
That Friday, the group called it an early night. Ivan dipped to hang out with his boyfriend. Luka went to sleep after five failed raid attempts. Hyuna left because the others were leaving. The server went quiet, except for two usernames still lit green.
Sua and Mizi.
They weren’t talking. Not yet. But Mizi’s heart was already pounding.
She was in the middle of typing a message—
[MiziNotMizzy]: hey i’ve been meaning to tell you something
—when she saw the typing dots appear beneath Sua’s name.
Then disappear.
Then reappear.
Then finally:
[sUAnami]: can i ask you something kind of weird
Mizi’s fingers froze above the keyboard.
There was a pause. Then, in the quiet of their private call, Sua spoke.
Not teasing. Not singing. Not soft.
Just straight up.
“Do you like me?”
Mizi’s breath caught.
No one had ever said it that plainly before. No lead-up. No room to dodge.
Just: Do you like me?
Like she already knew.
Mizi sat frozen. Staring at her monitor. At the tiny green circle next to Sua’s name. At the blinking cursor on the screen. Her hands started to shake.
“Mizi?”
Sua’s voice was gentler now. Cautious.
“I—I’m sorry if that was out of nowhere. You’ve just been… different lately. I don’t want to assume anything. But if I’m wrong, just tell me. And we’ll forget it.”
Mizi opened her mouth. Closed it.
The silence was different now.
It wasn't the comforting kind they'd gotten used to—the shared quiet of two people immersed in the same digital space, side by side across the void. No music. No mouse clicks. No loading screens. Just the low hum of headsets and two people holding their breath.
Mizi had said it.
“I like you.”
And Sua hadn’t spoken in over thirty seconds.
Mizi stared at her monitor, her cursor frozen in the empty chat box. She could feel her heart thrumming in her chest, sharp and irregular, like a boss battle with no health potions left.
Then finally, Sua said it:
“Oh.”
A quiet little sound. Not shocked. Not judgmental. Just… surprised.
Mizi exhaled, shaky.
“I’m sorry,” she blurted. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I just—”
“No,” Sua cut in, voice gentle. “Don’t be sorry.”
Mizi swallowed hard.
“I really don’t want things to change,” she murmured. “I thought I could keep it to myself. But it got to this point where I couldn’t lie anymore. And I—I didn’t expect anything, I swear.”
Sua was quiet for a beat longer.
Then,
“Mizi… I didn’t know.”
Her voice wasn’t cold. It wasn’t confused or awkward, either. If anything, it was heavy. Careful. Like she was trying to find a way to step through the wreckage without making things worse.
“I thought we were just… close. Like, best-friend close. I never picked up on anything more than that.”
Mizi felt her heart drop through her stomach. She tried to laugh, but it came out too thin.
“Yeah. That’s what I figured.”
“It’s not that I’m mad,” Sua rushed to say. “I’m not. I just—I don’t think I feel the same way. I’m not wired that way, maybe? I don’t know. But I care about you so much, Miz. I don’t want this to mess up what we have.”
Mizi stared at her screen until her vision blurred.
She didn’t cry.
But she felt that ache settle in her chest, dull and familiar. The kind that comes when something soft inside you folds in on itself.
“Okay,” she said quietly.
“Mizi…”
“I’m okay. I just need—some time.”
She clicked out of the voice call before Sua could respond.
---
The days that followed were strange.
Not cold. Not hostile.
Just… different.
Sua still messaged her, softly, like someone knocking on a door they used to have a key to.
[sUAnami]: hey. just wanted to say goodnight
[sUAnami]: no pressure to answer
[sUAnami]: i miss you though
Mizi didn’t respond right away. Sometimes not at all.
She wanted to. But everything hurt in a weird, sideways way now. Like looking at the sun too long and still seeing it in your vision hours later.
How were you supposed to go back to “best friends” after baring your whole heart?
How did you un-say I like you?
---
A week later, Ivan messaged her.
[CuddleMeIvan]: You okay?
[CuddleMeIvan]: Sua’s worried about you. So am I.
[CuddleMeIvan]: Also I’m 90% sure she’s been playing solo dungeons in full support spec, which is so cursed I had to check if you broke up or something.
Mizi stared at the message, half-laughing, half aching.
She hadn’t told Ivan anything.
But maybe she didn’t need to.
---
Eventually, Mizi logged back in.
Not because she was fine.
But because hiding felt worse.
She found Sua waiting at her usual hangout spot. Same outfit. Same stupid glowing mount.
“Hey,” Sua said, voice small over voice chat.
“Hey.”
“I’m really glad to see you.”
Mizi hesitated, then nodded, even though Sua couldn’t see it.
“Me too.”
They stood like that for a while. Not moving. Just being in the same space again.
“I know it’s weird,” Sua said after a moment. “I know I probably handled it wrong. I’m still figuring out how to be… honest. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t,” Mizi said, even though it wasn’t entirely true.
But it wasn’t a lie either. Not really.
Hurt and love weren’t opposites. Sometimes they just… overlapped.
“I still want to be here,” Sua added. “If you’ll let me.”
Mizi blinked away the sting in her eyes.
“Yeah,” she said, voice cracking just a little. “I want that too.”
They didn’t fix everything in that moment.
But it was something.
A start.
Maybe not the start Mizi had wanted. But maybe—eventually—it could still be good.
---
Ever since Mizi met Sua, things shifted in ways she didn’t expect.
Mizi used to be… well, not the easiest person to be around. Cranky, blunt, quick to shut people down. It was easier that way. Keep everyone at arm’s length and no one could disappoint you. No one could get too close. Her circle was basically just Ivan, and even he only stuck around because he was too annoying to scare off.
But then she met Sua.
Through some dumb group chat Ivan forced her into, of all things.
Sua wasn’t loud or overbearing. She didn’t try to win Mizi over with forced cheer or fake sweetness. She was just… herself. Soft-voiced, quick to laugh, always asking questions like she genuinely wanted to know more. She never pushed, but she always showed up. A quiet presence that felt safe. Warm.
And slowly, Mizi started changing.
She’d log on early hoping Sua would be there. Stay up too late laughing at things that weren’t even that funny. She found herself actually listening when people talked. Not just waiting for a moment to leave.
It was weird. She didn’t even realize how different she’d become until Ivan made some off-hand comment like, “God, you’re not even scary anymore. Who are you?” And Mizi had laughed instead of snapping.
Because deep down, she knew it was true.
Sua made her better. Not because she tried to fix Mizi—she didn’t. She just made it feel okay to let the softer parts of herself show. The ones she usually kept buried.
Mizi still didn’t have all the answers. Some days she still felt a little lost, a little sharp around the edges. But now there was this steady presence in her life. Someone who saw her, not just the armor.
Even after everything—even after the confession and the quiet heartbreak that followed—Mizi was still grateful.
Because Sua didn’t leave. She didn’t get weird or distant. She stayed.
And that meant everything.
---
Hey Sua,
I’ve been thinking about saying this for a while, but I never really knew how to word it without sounding weird. So here it is, I guess.
Thank you.
For being my friend. For sticking around even when I was being difficult, or distant, or just… a mess. You didn’t try to fix me or make me talk when I didn’t want to, but you were always there. And that helped more than I think you know.
I used to think being alone made me stronger. Like, if I didn’t let people in, I couldn’t get hurt. But then you came in—kind of quietly, honestly—and I didn’t even notice how much I was opening up until it was already happening. I started to feel like… maybe I wasn’t too much. Or too closed off. Maybe someone like me could be worth knowing.
Even with everything that’s happened, I don’t regret anything. Not one bit. You made my life better just by being in it.
So yeah. Just… thanks. For being you. Thank you for being the victim of my shallow emotions.