A/N: BACK WITH MORE FLUFF WHAT A SURPRISE. This basically happened because if Alex likes Anime music Alex must also like Anime and therefore know of the pocky game and thus logically must play with Magnus. Obviously.

Magnus groaned. He was laying on the grassy floor, under the tree in his room, trying to relax and fall asleep. Unfortunately the sound of loud music, he didn't particularly like, was making that nearly impossible.

His door was shut, he was nowhere near any of the walls and it still sounded like the music was basting right in his ears.

He sat up, he'd been stalling. Not wanting to confront the person he knew was playing the music. But enough was enough.

"What is it," Alex called from inside her room where Magnus had just knocked.

He opened the door, the music even louder in here, giving him a headache. Alex sat in the middle of her room, carefully working on pottery.

"Could you turn the music down?" He asked staying near the doorway in case she lashed out, some of those engraving tools on her table looked pretty sharp.

"C'mon Maggie." she took her eyes off her work to look at him "The next song is the best."

"Can't it be the best at a lower volume?" He sighed.

She ignored him and sung along. "Sie sind das Essen und Wir sind die Jaeger!"

"Alex please," Magnus begged, trying to be heard over the loud music now paired with her equally loud singing.

She ignored him "HAH. HAH. HAH. " she sang along, smirking as he watched her, exasperated.

"Where is it even coming from?" He yelled frustrated, it was as if the whole room had become one giant speaker.

He really wished his other friends weren't off playing Overwatch to the death. Halfborn or Mallory would have had an easier time dealing with her. Not that he expected she would listen to any of them. They were just scarier.

The song finished and Magnus sighed in relief, hoping she would stop the playlist now. There was a single moment of silence and then the next song began. "Mitomete ita okabuyou" Alex easily sang along in the foreign language.

Magnus trudged over to where she sat in the middle of her room, a smug smile playing on her lips as she sang.

"It's so loud I have to yell to talk to you and I'm right next to you!"

She continued to sing along.

Magnus sat next to her, glaring. She usually got weirded out when he started staring at her, he hoped it would be enough to make her lower the music.

Another song began "Kono nooo wo keshitesmau niva..."

"Do you have all of these memorized?" Magnus asked throwing his hands up in the air as she continued to smoothly sing along, she didn't respond. "And you call me the nerd," he teased, still no response. "I'm going to search your room for the source of the sound and shut it off!" He threatened, standing up.

Alex glared at him then looked back at her work continuing to sing, as another song played. "Yo! Ya-yo ya-yo dreamin..." at least this one was English Magnus thought as he began looking around the room.

Alex was watching him carefully as he searched. Normally he would not have had the guts to go through with his threat for fear of losing them, but at this point, if she didn't kill him a headache from the music would.

"Habataitara modaranai to itte..."

He kept looking. She kept singing.

He wasn't getting anywhere searching surfaces for the speaker so he began to look through her drawers. She stiffened as he pulled out a specific one, but he didn't pick up on it.

"...aoi aoi ano sora" she finished loudly as a song faded out.

"Oh my gods, okay I'll lower it!" Alex stood and reached under her table to pull out the poorly concealed speaker and lower the music. Magnus felt like an idiot for not noticing it, that feeling was far too common to him.

"Thank you." He sighed in relief and made to leave.

"On one condition."

He should have expected that. The idea to claim gust rights crossed his mind. "What's the condition?" He asked nervously.

Alex grinned, easily picking up on Magnus's discomfort "beat me in a game."

Magnus sighed, "Is it going to be to the death? Because I really just want to sleep and not have to worry about coming back for breakfast."

Alex shrugged, "We'll have to see how it goes." she stood and began looking through her room for something. Music still played in the background, but quieter now. Magnus stood awkwardly watching Alex, unsure of what to do.

"Have you heard of the pocky game?" Alex asked as she searched.

Magnus shook his head. "I don't think so."

This seemed to please Alex as her grin grew and he could see a sneaky glint in her eyes that made him swallow nervously.

"It's related to this music you hate so much," she began to explain. Magnus made to argue that it wasn't the music he disliked but the volume she insisted on playing the music at, but she continued before he could say anything. "It's pretty simple -aha!" She exclaimed pulling out a box that said pocky on the front in big white letters, behind the letters where sticks that he assumed were cookies covered in chocolate.

"You use one of these." She pulled a stick from the box, it was definitely a cookie covered in chocolate. Suddenly Magnus was much more interested.

"To do what?"

"I'm explaining Beantown." She gave him a look that clearly said 'be quiet' and he obliged. "Each person puts one end in their mouth whoever gets to the middle first, or gets more of the stick wins."

A beat of silence, punctuated by the music in the background pausing to switch to the next one.

"What happens if we reach the middle at the same time?" Magnus flushed bright red.

"It's a tie," Alex responded, nonchalant, "if I win I can play my music as loud as I want and beat you up for coming into my room and going through my stuff. If you win I still get to beat you up but I'll keep my music lower."

Magnus nodded, "And if it's a tie?" His voice cracked on 'tie'

Alex clicked her tongue. "You seem pretty interested in that blondie." she shrugged. "Try again I guess."

The only way Magnus could explain the fact that he hadn't spontaneously combusted was through the reviving magic of Valhalla.

"If you don't play I win by default," Alex Added after a few moments of no response from him.

Magnus's brain seemed to finally catch up. "Okay," he took a deep breath trying to calm his anxiety. "I get the chocolate side."

The look Alex gave him definitely did not make him nervous at all. She walked over, as sure of herself as always. "Sure I don't care, I'll get to it anyways."

"One more condition." He was maybe stalling a bit.

Alex raised an eyebrow.

"If I win you have to lower your music whenever I ask."

"Sure," she agreed, obviously confident that he wouldn't win.

She held a stick between them. "As soon as it's in both our mouths we start."

Magnus nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

She put the cookie part in her mouth leaving the chocolate covered side for him. He gingerly took it there was a second of pause and then they both rushed forward.

Because it was his first time Magnus had been pretty sure that he'd break the pocky immediately. It seemed, however, there was always one thing he was good at, eating. He quickly realized that this was soon going to lead to something else. Alex was reaching the middle just as easily as he was.

He was fine with kissing Alex, more than fine actually. They'd shared quite a few since their first kiss in Niflheim, but it still made him nervous. Especially considering he hadn't had the nerve to initiate any of the kisses yet. Alex was cute but also very scary.

That was his last thought before his brain turned to mush. Their lips met in the middle and he froze, not quite sure what to do. He could still feel the intact pocky stick connecting his mouth to Alex's. She, as usual, didn't hesitate, plunging her tongue into his mouth in an effort to get more of the cookie from his mouth. He finally had the brain power to realize he should fight back. They continued like that until the pocky dissolved in their mouths and they could no longer tell who had more or less of it. Alex pulled away first.

Magnus opened his eyes slowly, he hadn't even realized he'd closed them. He vaguely processed another song playing "cheonnune neol araboge dwaesseo..."

"Tie," Alex stated and Magnus heard just a hint of breathlessness in her voice.

"That means we go again right?" His voice came out husky and he knew his face was bright red but he didn't mind because he had just kissed Alex Fierro and he always had that reaction to her.

"Guess we have to." She pulled another pocky from the box, this time she took the chocolate side and he was given the plain cookie side to start. He couldn't help the pout, Alex rolled her eyes and gestured for him to put the other end in his mouth. He didn't make her wait long.

They reached the same 'issue' as before. Then a third time. And a fourth time.

"This isn't' solving much," Alex commented they pulled apart from another pocky induced kiss.

Magnus shrugged, not minding in the least. In his mind this was a double win, the music was lower and he was kissing Alex (with chocolate involved!)

Alex punched him in the shoulder, somewhat shaking him from his stupor.

"Ow." he rubbed the offended area.

"I'm gonna just blast my music and kick you out," Alex warned.

"Or we can keep doing that," Magnus suggested

Alex rolled his eyes (Magnus couldn't pinpoint when but he had definitely shifted genders) "In your dreams Beantown."

True. Magnus thought but stopped himself from blurting it out, choosing instead to stick his tongue out at the nickname.

Alex smirked "That's not going to get you anywhere." Magnus flushed.

Alex checked his box of pocky. "I'm running low on my stash, you have two more chances then I'm kicking you out and I win by default." He stated leaving no room for argument.

Magnus swallowed. "Okay but I want to change the wages." He paused Alex raised an eyebrow but nodded for him to continue. "You lower your music and you go out to dinner and a movie with me sometime."

"Fine but I still get to beat you up." Alex shrugged trying to seem nonchalant but Magnus could see the faintest traces of a blush across his cheeks. "Also pronoun change, he and him now," he said pulling out another pocky.

Magnus nodded, he had known that but there was no point in saying so.

A new song played in the background "Dan Dan KOKORO Dan Dan ATSUKU"

Alex took the cookie part, Magnus took the chocolate part.

Magnus tried to focus more on actually winning then just meeting in the middle. He really wanted to go out with Alex. While they had been hanging out more - especially because of the Chase Space - they hadn't gone on anything that could really be considered an official 'date'. A few morning coffee or quick to-go lunches but that just wasn't the same as dinner and a movie. At least in his mind, it would be some step closer to something.

Their lips met. Magnus tried to get more of the pocky in his mouth but Alex parried every attempt from his tongue and again the cookie turned to mush in their mouths before either had won. This was his last chance.

Alex took the chocolate covered part this time. That meant he would be fighting for more chocolate too. Magnus hoped that thought would help give him more of an edge.

As soon as the cookie was in their mouths it was go time.

He tried, he really did, but once more their lips met in the middle. He tried to use his tongue to push the pocky more into his mouth, and he tried to angle his head to make it more difficult for Alex to fight him but he wasn't making it easy. Pushing and fighting him back just as desperately. The cookie dissolving in their mouths once again, much like his brain, turned to complete mush.

"You lose," Alex announced once he pulled away.

Magnus had to take a second to refocus.

He frowned, hand falling from where it had found itself gripping Alex's arm. "It was kind of a tie."

Alex smirked, "I already said that a tie would mean I win and you have to get out now."

Magnus thought about the fact that Alex had also said he would beat him up, but decided against bringing that up. "Yeah, yeah. I'm going." He stood, he couldn't help the disappointment from leaking into his voice.

Alex raised his music volume -probably to gloat- then followed him to to the door. "Don't let it hit you on your way out," he said shooing Magnus away. "Oh and one more thing." Magnus had been halfway through the door and was slightly embarrassed at how fast he turned around.

Alex pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "I'll still take you up on that offer for dinner and a movie." Then slammed the door in his face.

A goofy smile broke out across Magnus's face as he turned to go back to his room. He could hear a song start blasting barely muffled through the door. "Kiss kiss fall in love…"

A/N: perhaps the only chance to write "their tongues battled for dominance" with it making complete sense and I didn't use it.

I worked really hard to make it end with that line I am proud it kinda fit. Though this whole story is just a mess of useless fluff and I hope no one was too ooc but ehh

Anywho leave a comment or (/and?) come talk to me on Tumblr justanotherurl-not