Finally finished this piece. I started writing this way back in February and was planning on having it done in time for Subaru's birthday (TB/X Subaru, anyway), but I got about halfway through it and got stuck. I have mixed feelings about how it came out. I wanted it to be a bit cuter and something feels a little off about the characters. Also I think I could've ended it a little better, but I'm glad it have it done. I hope you all enjoy it.

Place: a train caboose

Character: an unfriendly vampire

Object: red and blue pens

Mood: energetic

Kamui shifted a bit in his seat, tightening his fingers around Subaru's hand as he stared out his window. He was starting to get tired of sitting and the constantly changing scenery that flew past was of no interest to him. Leaning back, he released a slow breath through his nose, trying to relax himself. If he gave in to his restlessness, he would probably end up pacing the main aisle of the train car, which the other occupants would take notice of, and their pretence of blending in and remaining anonymous would be foiled.

He toyed with the idea of just standing for a while. He and Subaru had secured a compartment for themselves, and with the curtains drawn closed and the door locked to keep the pesky humans out, there was no one to bother them.

It was Subaru's grip on his hand that kept him glued to his seat. As soon as they had sat down and the train had begun to move, Subaru had laced their fingers together and neither of them felt inclined to break the connection. Kamui was especially reluctant, as he sensed a tenseness in his brother's body, as though Subaru was worried about something. But as he turned to look at his twin, he found himself at the receiving end of a contented smile.

The sight of that smile was not what he was expecting. He sat stunned as his question died on his lips, and Kamui didn't realize he was staring until Subaru's smile widened slightly and his face was suddenly closer as Subaru leaned over to him, his head tilted questioningly.

"Are you getting bored, Kamui?"

Kamui shook his head quickly. "N-No, just tired of sitting," he stammered.

His answer resulted in his brother suddenly releasing his hand to reach under his seat and pull out a thin leather-bound book. As Subaru flipped it open, Kamui noticed that the pages were completely blank, like a sketchbook. Before he could ask what his twin was doing, Subaru had linked their arms together and placed the book between them in their laps.

"Want to play a game? It'll help pass the time," Subaru persuaded eagerly.

Kamui looked at his twin curiously. "What game?" he asked.

A frown creased Subaru's delicate features as he thought for a moment. He shook his head. "I can't remember the name of it. When we were in that café, I watched a couple play for a while, and it looked like it might be fun."

It was Kamui's turn to appear thoughtful. "It might," he consented. "How do we play?"

Subaru smiled brilliantly and whipped out two pens, one red and one blue, seemingly from nowhere. "Pick one."

Raising an eyebrow at his brother and taking the red one, Kamui tried to hold back a smile. Subaru was obviously enjoying this, and Kamui didn't blame him. It had been quite a while since they had last played a game together.

"Now we make lines like this," explained Subaru, drawing four lines, two horizontal and two vertical, forming a box with lines extending from the corners. "Easy, right?" he continued. "Now we need to pick who's going to be x and o."

"What's the difference between them?"

"Oh, they're just the marks we make in the squares. Whichever one of us makes three in a row first wins, but the fun part is when you have to prevent your opponent from making their row before you do. For example, if I have my marks in two squares next to each other," Subaru indicated the boxes with his pen, "On your turn, you could put your mark here," he pointed the pen to the last box on the row, "And block me from making a row." Subaru looked up at him and the corner of his lips curled up into a slightly mischievous smile. "I'm allowed to do the same to you, of course."

Kamui felt a similar smile form on his own lips and murmured, "Sounds fair to me. Which shape do you want to be?"

"Hmm…" Subaru tapped his chin in thought, staring at the page as though weighing his options. "I think you should pick first."

"I guess I'll be x, then. Do I put it anywhere?" Kamui asked uncertainly, and Subaru nodded.

Placing the x in the center, Kamui watched as Subaru placed an o in the top left corner. The game went on until all the squares were filled.

"Looks like we're evenly matched, huh?" Subaru remarked quietly. "Want to play again?"

"Sure. You can be x this time."

The next game commenced, the twins taking turns placing x's and o's in various squares, ending in another tie. Subsequent games followed suit, even when they switched letters. Soon, both pages were covered with blue and red marks, and they were forced to turn the page.

"You're not holding back, are you?" Kamui asked, looking askance at his brother.

"What?" Subaru's normally innocent features were becoming an interesting blend of confused and slightly indignant with a few traces of amusement. "I wouldn't let you win, Kamui. Or hold back so we could tie on purpose. That wouldn't be fair."

Kamui felt his face flush sheepishly. "Sorry, I know that. You're just really clever at this sort of thing. I figured you would always win these kinds of games."

Subaru looked at him for a long moment, and then smiled. "I promise I'm doing my best, Kamui. You must be really clever at these games, too, to keep tying with me consistently."

Kamui smiled back, and returned his attention to Subaru's sketchbook. "Want to keep going?"

"Of course. There's a lot of empty pages left for us to fill."

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