Author's Note: More Dead Space fiction, and it's goodiness and fluff too! I don't know if apologies are due, but I seriously can't get Isaac/Ellie out of my head. Regardless of age (a subject touched upon in this story xD), I think they outrank most pairings in my Top Ten list. Anyway, enjoy this little two-shot about the consequences of a REALLY LONG Scrabble game with someone whose bite is larger than them, a.k.a, Ellie Langford.

Disclaimer: Apply the usual here; copyright goes to Visceral/EA Games.

The sand was falling, and his time to think was running out.

Ellie lifted her gaze from her row of letters tiles and fixed it upon Isaac, who had not spoken a word since the start of his turn and whose eyes were on his tiles, on the board, on his tiles and so forth. It was hilarious to watch him think, specially because of his right hand: some other turns earlier, he'd been rubbing his index finger and thumb together, and what did that remind Ellie of? A mechanic handling a screwdriver. Stifling a smile, Ellie tapped her fingers on the table.

"Time's up!" she said, that smile finally coming out. Isaac shrugged and laid out his letters with decision. Station. Ellie, eyes widening, perked up his head at him. "You're cheating."

"No, it's called having a stroke of luck," Isaac replied, leaning back with a cheeky smirk. "And that's… nine points for me. I'm catching up!" Ellie, despite seeing how close his score was to her thirty-six points, chuckled and rubbed her neck.

"Alright. Let me use that 'N'…"

Seconds later, it was Isaac who had widened his eyes.

Nerd.

"What the-? That's not fair, and you know it," he complained, frowning.

"It's called scoring the same goal twice," Ellie shot back, kicking his foot under the table. "Five points, that makes forty-one. Hmph, I sure am getting old."

Isaac sighed. "I'd like to be forty-one again, dammit."

Ellie, having seen her chance, immediately pointed a finger at him. "I dare you: how old are you, Isaac?"

He crossed his arms, cocking an eyebrow. "Forty-six and proud of it. Now the dare goes right back at'cha. Besides, don't forget you skipped the 'ladies first' rule."

"Rule, my ass!" she retorted as he replenished his rack of tiles. "And I'm… ahem, twelve years younger than you." Ellie felt weird after revealing her age, since she'd always received the same commentary: that she seemed a bit older than she was. But judging by Isaac's expression, she felt it safe to smile. "That's life."

"What's your secret?" he asked, coyly, before laughing out. Ellie laughed along with him, and then focused on her rack. "Your face told me you didn't get much compliments?"

"More than you, for sure." Ellie cursed herself for not being able to retort without chuckling. Still, Isaac seemed more pissed off than usual. She looked up at him, held his glare, and then he was the one to kick her.

"You're going down, Ellie Langford," he said, grinning like a shark. Then his features mellowed. "Honestly, who am I kidding? Yeah, compliment-wise, you win. Anyway, my turn…" It didn't take him long to find his word. "Got it."

Truth.

When Ellie focused on Isaac again, she found him looking at her with too tender eyes and... yes, a beaming smile. She dismissed it, leaned back on her chair and prompted him to replenish his rack again whilst she thought out her word. But that simple word Isaac had laid out on the board was bugging her, not to mention his earlier expression. From time to time she looked up from her tiles and inevitably met Isaac's gaze; then she realized he wasn't just simply staring at her anymore.

Dare.

That was her word. Isaac chuckled again. "That's another one for me?" He shrugged. "Okay, name your dare."

"You've got a lot of explaining to do."

If it wasn't because there was no ambience noise, Ellie could've sworn she'd heard him say "Crap". Her suspicions were confirmed when he smacked his own forehead.

"Fiiiiine, you win."

And she returned that too tender gaze and that beaming smile.

A/N: The second chapter to this thing-a-majig will be posted pretty soon; like I said, when I can't get something out of my head, I'm prone to writing about it too much xD This is where a game of Scrabble can get you, Clarke xD

Reviews are appreciated!^^