So I had this idea from OTP Prompts the moment I saw it. The prompt was: Imagine your OTP playing the Pocky game. I guess it would be modern AU because I don't know when exactly it was brought to America. Without further ado, let's get to the story! Reviews are greatly appreciated!
Janet was at home, sitting on the couch and absently reading a book. She was wishing something would happen today, and she knew reading her book wasn't it. What she did read was a couple that went out to dinner and shared a few pieces of candy. That's sweet, she thought. Her mind went straight to that scene every time she tried to read another passage of the book and she couldn't figure out why. She figured it was because all the romance got to her, or maybe she wanted to share treats with someone, or maybe she was just hungry. If it were the case that she would want to do eat treats with someone, who would it be? There was no one in particular. She concluded that she thought the gesture was sweet… or she was just hungry.
At that point, Jack walked into the apartment. "Hey, Janet," he exclaimed, "Guess what I have!"
Janet tried to answer. "Um, a pack of gum?"
"No, it's Pocky." He looked at the box a bit confused. "I thought it would be fun to share with you, Chrissy, and me."
"Oh, that's nice, but let's wait until Chrissy gets home."
"But these look so good! Why don't we just save a few for Chrissy? Please?" Jack suggested with a pout.
Janet was at first hesitant at the idea, but she couldn't resist Jack's pout or the fact that the Pocky looked delicious.
Jack opened the box, they both took a few pieces and ate them.
"Mmm, this is good!" Janet remarked.
"It really is.", Jack said. He then had an idea. "You know what we can do? Why don't we play a game?"
"What?"
Taking a piece of Pocky, he started to explain. "Okay, I'll take a piece and I hold it in my mouth. Then you take the other end with your mouth and we just eat till we get to the center. Whoever lets go or breaks off the piece loses. Wanna try?"
Janet rolled her eyes, then smiled. "No, Jack, I don't."
"Look, I'm not gonna try to kiss you, alright? I just heard it from someone."
Janet thought for a minute. "Oh, alright."
"Okay." Jack said as he put the piece of Pocky in his mouth and Janet took the other side of the Pocky with her mouth. As Jack began to try to eat, Janet did too. The piece of Pocky landed on the sofa.
"Aw, great." Janet sighed.
"It's okay. We'll just get another piece." Jack said as he went to throw the piece of Pocky away.
As he sat down and got another piece of Pocky, they set themselves up and both made a mental note to wait until the other was done taking a bite. As Jack took a bite, he signaled Janet to do the same. They took turns, but when there were two inches of Pocky left, Janet got flustered and broke off the piece.
Jack ate the rest of the piece. "Looks like I win!" he exclaimed.
"Oh- uh- looks like you did!" Janet stammered.
"Janet, are you okay?" Jack questioned.
Janet averted her eyes. "Yes, I'm okay."
"Janet, I said I wasn't gonna try to kiss you, if that's what you're afraid of. Besides, I don't need Pocky to do that." Jack said as he tried to lean forward to kiss her.
Janet put her hand to his mouth and laughed. "Okay, let's just eat some more." she suggested.
Jack put another piece in her mouth. Janet sighed. She figured that of course he would want to eat them this way. At this point, Janet just decided to go along with it. They both took turns and when it looked like the piece of Pocky was too short to bite anymore, they both broke off.
"Hey, you're getting good at this." Jack said. Janet just blushed.
"After one good try?" Janet asked.
"Yeah. Think you can do it again?"
Janet just rolled her eyes. "Excuse you, but I could if I wanted!" This time, Janet put a piece of Pocky in her mouth.
"Hey, wait! I want the cream side!" Jack said.
"Jack, what difference does it make?" Janet asked.
"Well, some people happen to like the cream side, that's all."
Janet turned the piece of Pocky around and put it in her mouth. "There.", Janet said, careful not to drop it on the sofa. "Are you happy now?"
"Much better." Jack said as he took the other side.
"You baby." Janet said. Jack just laughed. As he did, Janet stopped to notice all his features. His blue eyes, his sweet smile, everything. She stopped herself right away. Was she falling for him? It really seemed like it did, but she forced the thought out her head. They started to take turns to bite off the Pocky until they were really close.
It was Jack's turn to bite off the piece but for him, it was too close to call. Being that close, he noticed her deep brown eyes, her shiny black hair, everything. What drew his attention the most was her lips and how he wanted to kiss them. He had to make a judgment call. He could either take a bite or he would end up nearly kissing Janet. He promised not to kiss her.
Janet was stuck waiting. She was really nervous as the Pocky was too close to call. Additionally, she could feel Jack's breathing. He seemed to be breathing hard. She had to say something, anything, just to get him to move. "Jack, I'm-", she started, but she couldn't say anything else. She may have been mistaken, but she thought that Jack's lips brushed against hers. It wasn't technically a kiss, but enough so that Janet couldn't speak for a few seconds.
"Janet, are you okay?" Jack asked.
"I-I-Jack, you said you wouldn't try to kiss me!" Janet yelled.
"I didn't! I just tried to eat whatever was left!" Jack said surprised.
"Yeah, right." Janet huffed.
"Fine, I'll just eat them all myself!" Jack huffed back. He started to eat a few pieces. Janet looked over at him, sad and guilty. She didn't mean to yell at him; maybe she just overreacted.
"Hey, Jack?" Janet said.
"Yeah?" Jack said.
"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I just-I don't know." Janet averted her eyes to the ground.
"I know how you get. Don't worry."
Janet got really suspicious. "How I get?"
"Well, I mean, a little paranoid, but that's okay." Jack just shrugged it off.
"Hey! I don't get paranoid!" Janet argued. To her, that was a challenge. She went to put a piece of Pocky in her mouth. As soon as she did, Jack put his mouth on the other end of the Pocky. That startled her enough to the point that she let go.
"Well, you're probably not paranoid, but you do get scared." Jack said slyly. She put her mouth back on her side. They took turns eating the Pocky slowly and when they were both close enough, Janet tried to eat her piece. Janet's lips brushed against Jack's as a result.
"Whoa, whoa," Jack said. "You're saying I can't kiss you but you can kiss me? What kind of rules are those?"
"I did not kiss you! You know, I think it was the same thing that happened from last time."
"Oh, okay," Jack said. "Now that we're even, you wanna try and be careful? I didn't know you wanted a kiss, too."
"Jack! Let's just play!"
"Okay, okay!"
Jack took a piece of Pocky. They both took their ends and started to play. They took bites more slowly than the previous games; they were too distracted by each other's features. As they got closer, they started to stare into each other's eyes and they could sense the other's breathing. They were only a small distance apart now, and as they finished off the piece of Pocky, Jack and Janet both tilted their heads and kissed each other. It lasted for a few seconds and they broke off the kiss at the same time. When they broke off, they mentally tried to make sense of what happened first. Every time they tried to, nothing added up.
"Jack? "Janet asked.
"Yeah?"
"What was that?"
"That was a kiss. You should know."
"I mean, we both promised that we wouldn't do that, but-"
"-we did."
"Why?"
"I mean, I don't know. You're beautiful, smart, sweet, so why wouldn't I?"
"Jack…" Janet sighed.
"What about me, though?"
"Well, you're charming, very sweet and very handsome, so, I just, I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"I mean, I just don't know what else to say."
Jack thought for a little bit and he decided to say what was on his mind. "I do. Maybe this will help. I really like you Janet." Jack said as he took her hand and kissed it. "Does that make you feel any better?"
"It really does. And you know what? I really like you too Jack." Janet said. They both hugged each other and gave each other a peck on the lips. "Wait a minute."
"What?"
"What would Chrissy think?" Just then, Chrissy came in the door.
"Hey guys!" Chrissy greeted.
"Hi, Chrissy!" Jack and Janet greeted back.
"What's going on?" Chrissy asked.
"Oh, nothing much. Just talking." Janet replied.
"Hey, what's that?" Chrissy said as she looked wide-eyed at the box.
"That's, um, Pocky." Jack answered.
Chrissy picked up the box but was disappointed when she looked inside. "There's nothing in there." she pouted.
"I'm sorry, Chrissy," Janet said sadly. "We can get another box for you."
"That would be nice. Can we go now?" Chrissy suggested.
"Hey, that's a great idea." Jack said.
As they went up to the door, Chrissy had one more question. "What were you doing eating all of those by yourselves?"
"Nothing much." Jack answered to Chrissy, "But it was worth it," Jack whispered to Janet. Janet quietly laughed. Then, she took a deep breath.
"Chrissy, I have to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"How would you feel if… Jack and I…," Janet couldn't find the words.
Chrissy thought of what she could've said. "Oh no, you're both not going to move out are you? That's the worst thing that could possibly happen!"
"Well, at least our question is not that bad." Jack whispered to Janet.
Janet started again. "No, no, it's not that. It's just- What would you say if Jack and I decided to date?" she tried to explain.
Chrissy widened her eyes and it was silent amongst the three.
"Chrissy?" Jack asked.
"Well, why didn't you start before? I mean, I know why you couldn't start before, because of all that 'behind-my-back' stuff, but you look so cute together so why wouldn't I say yes?"
"Aww, thank you!" Janet exclaimed as all three roommates hugged each other.
"Now," Chrissy started, "Aren't you supposed to kiss or something?"
"Oh, yeah!" Jack said as he kissed Janet. Thinking back on that book she was reading earlier, she was glad that it lead her to Jack.
