We first met in San Diego in 2015. We can't say it was love at first sight, but it was like a lightning strike—an instant, undeniable connection. Whenever our friend groups got together, we always found a way to drift off, just the two of us. But life had different plans, and eventually, we went our separate ways, ending up on opposite sides of the world. We never thought we’d see each other again. Over the years, we both stayed in touch with a mutual friend. Every now and then, he’d mention one of us to the other—“Hey, remember Pasaye?” or “Hey, remember Smith?”—keeping that small thread of connection alive. We both wondered about each other from time to time, but life kept moving forward. Then, on December 21, 2023, that same friend invited us to a Zoom call. Joseph had planned to go out, but something told him to stay in. When the call connected, we were both surprised. For a moment, we pretended like we didn’t remember each other, but lightning struck twice. We couldn’t take our eyes off each other. The three of us talked, but we were just waiting for our friend to get off the call. Eventually, he went to bed, and we kept talking—almost ending the call, but never quite hitting “end.” For three days straight, we stayed up, catching up on everything we had missed in each other’s lives. Then, we had to be honest—there was something more between us. Joseph finally said, “I like you. I can’t just be your friend. I don’t do the friend zones, so I’ll keep talking to you, but I want this to turn into something real.” One of us calls it an ultimatum; the other says it was just honesty. Either way, by the end of the year, we were together, and we haven’t stopped since. We knew it was kismet!