Moon idly walks back to her Champion's chair, her hand vaguely gesturing a goodbye wave as Gladion stands absolutely still across in the challenger's corner. Dumbfounded was the best way to describe his facial expression, but it drops when his hand rubs across his face in aggravation. His mouth scowls, his eyebrows furrow. Yet anotherdefeat under his belt.
"Does it really bother you that much?"
Her voice echoes across the chamber as she props her chin up with her arm on the armrest. Moon seemed genuinely interested in his response, and although her curious nature wasn't out of the ordinary, he never got used to being her object of interest. Given the nature of their relationship, he didn't understand why she was always trying to dig deeper. Sure, they weren't enemies, but they still weren't friends; and after months and months of Moon trying to befriend him - much to her dismay as the boy would refuse to cross paths with her- she ultimately rolled her eyes and declared her his rival instead.
Just her rival, to appease him.
One second, two seconds, three seconds- the time passes in silence. Her eyes continue to bore into him as a small smirk appears on her face, and soon they wordlessly just continue to stare. "Why does everything have to be a competition with you?," Gladion scoffs as his own eyes lock on to hers. He may have lost one battle but he refused to lose another. But Moon then slumps into her seat, obviously blinking, as she murmurs:
" This isn't a competition Gladion."
His internal celebration ends abruptly at her declaration. Was he the one imagining their competitiveness? "But-," Moon interrupts his train of thought as he looks over at her with a quirked eyebrow. "I do have a game we can play if you want to make today's score 1 to 1."
"What game?" Gladion asks, interested, as he walks towards Moon's side of the room.
His easy acceptance seems to throw something off in Moon as a pink hue makes its way to her cheeks. Her eyes dart down as she reaches behind her and pulls out a single box of chocolate Pocky. He blinks slowly - his mind trying to reel around what game Moon possibly could have invented - as he replies hesitantly, "a pocky game?"
Her response? A simple nod, her eyes intensely focused on the box as her fingers slowly undid the wrapper to reveal the abundance of chocolate covered pretzels.
"What's the objective?"
Gladion visibly sees Moon stiffen as she pulls out one singular pocky and puts aside the rest of the contents. She stands up and steps a little closer to the blonde. Almost, too close , as he notes the scent of her perfume wafting in the air.
A scent of vanilla? Strawberry?
She waves the pocky stick around, her head tilting upwards every so slightly so her clear eyes can catch Gladion's. Slowly, but deliberately she announces the singular rule: "person who pulls away first loses." Moon sticks the Pocky in her mouth almost defiantly as she watches realization crash down on Gladion. Immediately his own face flushes red, but whether it was at the blasphemous game or at the thought of beingthat close her, no one would know.
His knee-jerk reaction, however, was to take a step back, his hand covering his face and his panic evident in his spewed words. "WhAt-wh-Moon what the h-"
"I wouldn't take you as someone who would back down from a challenge," Moon murmurs as the Pocky stick shifts with her mouth movements. Tantalizing - belittling - he takes a step forward, gulps rather loudly, and Moon growing impatient with his speed rolls her eyes and eats the entire thing as he watches with shock.
Moon, however, doesn't waste a second as she grabs another Pocky and sticks it in his mouth. "Let's make this easier-you hold it," before she takes a bite of the pocky being held between his lips. His eyes widen as he feels Moon's face come closer and closer. Her eyebrows furrowed in determination and her arm snaking around his neck to-pull at his hoodie?
His competitive drive quickly steps in. Refusing to lose again as he takes another bite, way past the center, throwing Moon off guard as her hand lightens on the pulling. With a smirk and another bite forward their noses brush and he could physically feel Moon grow increasingly timid. Her bites getting smaller and smaller, her hand no longer tugging, as they both realize they were now less than a centimeter apart.
His heart clamours in his chest as emotions start riling up in him.
This was anyone's game.
He just didn't want it to be hers.
Because Moon was his rival. His competitive, playful, albeit stubbornly cute, totally platonic rival. But at their standstill he unconsciously places a gentle hand on Moon's chin. Her lips still refusing to let go of what little pocky they had left, as he tilts her head and comes closer letting his lips touch hers ever so softly.
And what should've been a peck very well wasn't, as he feels Moon's hand wrap around his neck as her lips gently slide across his, reciprocating his actions in full - until he slowly pulls away with a knowing smirk.
"1 to 1."