Notes: This will be told in Rean's P.O.V.
Just experimenting with a different writing style, I might not do it again since I uh... was struggling lol. But trial and error as they say!
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy it! My late contribution to pocky day :')
I never thought I would be put into a situation where my own lips would be at stake. Ugh, just remembering what led to this was giving me a terrible headache. You might be asking yourself, 'What are you even talking about, Rean? You might get to kiss your crush!'. If anyone were in my situation, they would understand why I'm not exactly fine with this. Sitting around a table, my class, plus Instructor Sara, were all seated to play spin the stupid bottle. Damn you, Crow.
Normally, I wouldn't mind playing such a game. I mean, it's just spin the bottle, right? Wrong. Crow prepared a punishment for those who refused to do what was written in the paper. The penalty requires the person who refuses to do the order given to them to take a shot of whiskey. For someone like the Instructor, it was more of a treat than a punishment. But for those who were lightweights, they were already drunk after their third shot.
I was seated around the middle with Fie sitting on my right and Crow on my left. We were going counter-clockwise when we started, and most of us were already drunk. Laura and Emma were on their fourth shot. Alisa was on her seventh. Gaius was on his third. Elliot and Machias were on their fifth. Millium was on her eighth shot (of cola). Jusis, Fie, and I were only on our second. The ones who had the most shots and the ones who were the drunkest were Crow and the Instructor, who had a total of twelve shots.
You're probably wondering how the others drank that much alcohol, right? Well, Crow made everyone write some orders on a piece of paper before putting them all in a box, and the one picked by bottle takes one from the container. Some of the others were, for the lack of a better word, ridiculous. The slacker probably rigged the box with his own papers or something. If I'm being honest, I should have backed out a few hours ago...
My eyes fell to Millium, who was passed out from drinking too much cola. Aidios, I hope she doesn't get sick tomorrow. Jusis was already contacting someone to pick them up, likely taking the agent to his home to let her rest properly. Hiccups filled the bar we were in, courtesy of the orbal staff duo and the archer. The Radiant Blademaster's daughter didn't release any hiccups since she was trying to contain them, her cheeks completely flushed. The inspector was rubbing his temple, clearly getting a headache but wasn't drunk. My eyes moved to Gaius, who was returning to our table after his bathroom break. Out of all of us, he was probably the one who didn't change much when in a drunken state, not like I have ever seen him drunk before.
Sighing, my orbs moved to my friends who were seated beside me. Crow flashed a grin that made every cell in my body scream to punch his face. His cheeks matched his ruby eyes after drinking so much alcohol. Fie had the same bored expression she always has when something annoyed her or when she wasn't interested. That same look was sent to my 'partner-in-crime. Looking from across the table, the Instructor was practically drowning herself with more alcohol other than our whiskey shots. I want to say I'm worried that she might end up sick like last time she drank this much alcohol, but considering how she is... yeah.
My thoughts were broken when I felt a sting on my forehead.
"Ow! H-Hey! What was that for?!"
"You've been spacing out and haven't taken an order from the box!" Crow gave me an annoyed look, hiccupping occasionally before his annoyance turned into amusement. "Or are you just delaying the inevitable of having your first kiss stolen~?"
"You made a box full of kissing penalties after your turn was over! How is that fair?!"
"Yeah. Not to mention that if we didn't do what was written in the paper, we'd have to drink three shots in one sitting." Fie retorted, her annoyance quite clear on her countenance. I don't know if I was imagining things, but I thought I heard a hint of worry in her tone.
"Whatever! Just take one or drink three shots!" Crow barked as he crossed his arms. This man really is unreasonable when drunk.
Sighs escaped from Fie and me as I reluctantly put my hand in the box, rummaging through all the slips of paper before taking one out. I closed my eyes as I silently prayed to Aidios for only a cheek kiss. Considering how all of the girls (besides Fie) are drunk, the thought of kissing them on their lips while they were in that state didn't sit well with me. Even more so with the guys...
Opening my lilac orbs, I read what was written out loud.
"Do the pocky game with the person on your right. The first to pull away or break the pocky has to drink five shots."
"Pocky *hic* game? I have never heard of that before." inquired Laura as she gave a suspicious look to Crow.
I have heard of what Pocky is from my fellow practitioners. From what I recall, it is a snack popular in the East. Though, I have never heard of the pocky game before as well. Whatever it was, I had a feeling I wouldn't like it. His punchable grin returned as Crow downed his glass of water before giving an exaggerated exhale.
"I'm glad you *hic* ask! It's basically a game where two people eat one pocky stick, their mouths on each end as they eat it until it's gone!"
Wait, wouldn't that mean...
"H-Hey. That would mean they would kiss since their lips would meet at the middle?!" Looks like Elliot and I had the same thought. The toxins of the alcohol were slowly dying down when the musician realized it, returning him to a sober state. From the corner of my eye, Alisa managed to resist slurring her words when she heard Elliot's query.
"W-Wait! Who's the person on Rean's right?!"
All of their eyes darted to my right. Even though I should have known who it was, the ridiculous situation I had gotten myself into made me forget the identity of the person. My lilac hues slightly widened when I met her beautiful lime-green ones. I could feel some heat rising on my cheeks upon discovering who it was. Any words of surprise that I was about to say were cut off by my class' resident witch.
"It's Fie!"
At that, Crow and Sara laughed and pounded the table with a fist. They started getting teary-eyed from their amusement as they wrapped an arm around their stomachs, feeling some discomfort due to their laughter. I shot both a slight glare as their laughter increased. I really hate myself sometimes... those two drunkards know about my... uh, attraction to Fie. It was safe to assume that their laughter was because she was the one I'll be doing the pocky game with.
Sighing, I decided to resign my fate. The slacker would not let me hear the end of it if I just said I'll take the five shots. Looking at the corner of my eye, I saw the smirk plastered on the pink-haired bracer's visage that gave me a bad feeling. A really bad feeling.
"How about we change the penalty a bit? Instead of five shots, let's make the one who pulls away or breaks the pocky apart first drink ten!"
I knew it was something bad!
"That's too much! Fie and I aren't like you and Crow!"
"I can already imagine the hangovers they will receive if they drink that much..." Jusis sighed and rubbed his temple. I would be struggling to stay conscious after the seventh one at best or pass out at worst. The blonde noble noticed the Intelligence Division agent rubbed her eyes as she woke up. "How are you feeling, Millium? If you're feeling sick from all of the colas you drank, I have already called a car to pick us up."
"...mmm... thanks, Jusis. I think I need to lie down on a bed." Millium grumbled as she held her stomach, the rest of us sweatdropping. Her topaz orbs roamed around as she raised a question. "Whatcha guys doin' right now?"
"Well, Fie and Rean are about to do the pocky game." Gaius provided an answer as the bundle of energy grew a huge smirk.
"Have they started?!"
"Nope, but they're about to!" Crow took out a box of pocky snacks as he tossed it to me. "You better not lose on purpose, or we're making you drink ten shots of Spirytus!" That's going to kill me!
"That's going to kill me!" I voiced my exact thoughts. "I can barely drink two shots of that!"
"Then you better not lose on purpose, Rean~!" Sara interjected, causing me to groan. "I already have the bottle ready~."
That just caused me to groan louder...
I look towards Fie for some help in convincing the drunks, only to see a glint of mischief and amusement in her optics.
"Uh, Fie? Are you fine with this?"
"Yup. I don't mind. Besides, doing the pocky game with you is a million times better than having to drink Spirytus." Heat started to rise again around my face, but I managed to keep my cool. "Or would you prefer doing the pocky game with someone else?"
"N-No! I'm totally fine with you!" My mouth moved on its own as I immediately responded. When I saw the slight blush on her face and the smirk that came with it, I realized what I just said. But before I could even correct myself, Crow and the Instructor whistled and cheered.
"Just kiss already!"
"Ditch the pocky and smooch Rean, Fie!"
My blush was in plain sight now as I groaned loudly. To my slight surprise, pink hues painted my petite friend's face as she groaned with me. Fie opened the box of pocky before opening the packet, taking out one piece of biscuit snack before putting one end into her mouth. Facing towards me, she held the pocky with those soft, pink—
Wait, wait, wait! Don't think that! Fie would not like it one bit if I start thinking like that! She and two drunkards would never, never let me hear the end of it!
"What are you waiting for? Take the other end, Rean."
"A-All right..."
Reluctantly, I bit the other end as I locked my gaze on her. I found myself blushing harder as Fie narrowed her eyes, her own pink appearing around her cheeks. With a go from Crow, we started to munch away.
First bite.
We bit the pocky at the same time as the taste of a generic chocolate flavor danced around my tongue. While we ate our shared snack, the rest of our friends reacted... in a variety of ways.
Alisa gulped as she tried to contain whatever she was feeling inside, grabbing a glass and filling it up to brim with whiskey as she downed it all before filling her glass again.
Emma tried convincing the archer to slow down on the drinking but ultimately failed as Alisa continued to drink like the Instructor.
Speaking of the Instructor, the older (drunk) bracer encouraged the blonde, patting her back and telling her that she can do it. If my mouth wasn't occupied, I would have scolded the Instructor by now...
Second bite.
As we took another bite, our faces leaned closer to each other. The smirk Fie had earlier grew in size; I could tell that she was enjoying this. I don't know if she was enjoying the thought of me losing and drinking those shots or what, but I could see her enjoyment through her eyes. I couldn't help but blush at the sight of our close proximity to each other.
Elliot and Machias ordered some cold water to help sober themselves up while I could feel Laura's gaze directed at Fie and me. Did she really find two friends eating one chocolate-covered snack on each end that interesting? I thought Crow was the only person who would find interest in this stuff, maybe Millium as well.
Said girl was giggling and watching our little pocky game with great interest, even making poor Jusis watch us.
Gaius had to excuse himself since he had to answer a call while Crow stared at us with a goofy grin on her face and ARCUS on hand. I grimaced at the thought of the slacker taking pictures but brushed it off as I returned my attention to Fie.
Third bite.
At this point, my face was the shade of a tomato, our lips barely having any distance apart. Drinking those five shots doesn't seem so bad right about now...
I was too preoccupied with my own embarrassment that I didn't notice Fie's face becoming redder as well. Crow, however, noticed it and snickered. The bracer shot him an annoyed look as we took another bite.
...
And then we got stuck.
Both of us didn't take any more bites. Instead, we just stared at each other's eyes. My heartbeat sped up, our faces only a few reges from each other. Alisa was drowning herself in alcohol for whatever reason while Sara was making a scene, yelling at Fie to finish the job. I don't know what she meant by that.
All of a sudden, time seemed to slow down when I felt a force push my back. Eyes widening, I took the last bite as my lips sealed themselves against Fie's. She was caught off guard by the contact to her lips, but what she did next surprised me...
Before either of us could pull away, Fie pressed her lips even more against my own, eyes closing as she wrapped her arms around the back of my neck. I felt steam coming out of my face as I blushed. Bad. Something inside me reciprocated the kiss out of instinct, eliciting a moan from the bracer. My friends' gazes were all on us before they looked at my back, more specifically the one behind me.
"Oops." Was all Crow said as he stared at his right hand.
"H-He just slapped Rean's back... hard," Elliot muttered; his next words made Alisa faint. "And it caused Rean to kiss Fie..."
"I knew Rean had a thing for Fie! Look at him kiss her!" I think it's quite obvious at this point Millium...
Some of the others were bewildered and shocked from what had transpired, while Fie and I blocked out their voices as we continued our shared kiss. Sara was saying something along the lines of, "That's my girl!" or "Use tongue!"; but I didn't bother to listen. My friend's uh, is she still just my friend at this point? She's clearly kissing me back, even going so far as to kiss me deeper... Fie's lips tasted sweet like candy, a hint of something fruity coating those lips of hers. Lemon, I think? To say I enjoyed the kiss was an understatement. The idiot slacker took advantage of me being busy to take pictures of us as Gaius returned to our table; the surprise on his face was there before a chuckle escaped him.
Moans escaped both of us. It wasn't the best kiss since it was my first time, but it felt good. Our kiss soon became a battle for dominance as our tongues clashed and danced with each other, trading our saliva with each other. I wasn't sure what we were anymore, but I couldn't find it in me to pull away. Our sloppy kiss made us blush harder as I silently wished for our lips hugging to continue for a while longer. But all good things must come to an end.
We eventually had to pull away for some air, the pocky completely gone from our mouths as we just stared at each other with a red face. Her eyes narrowed once more as her lips stretched into a smirk that caused my heart to skip a bit. Leaning closer to my ear, Fie whispered with a sweet and seductive tone. My face turned redder, crimson even.
When Fie pulled away, she just stared at me with a huge blush and smirk on her lips.
"What do you say~?"
What do I say? Well...
My gloved hand went to my pocket, fishing out my share of the payment for all the drinks and food we ordered. Fie's smirk widened as she held my hand before helping me get up. Both of us bid our farewells while Crow was whistling and howling with laughter as we left the bar. The last things I saw and heard were some of my friends' surprised faces, Gaius wishing Fie and me a wonderful evening, Crow, Sara and, Millium insinuating innuendos, and Alisa waking up before beating up Crow.
And as for what Fie and I did after we left the bar, let's just say what happened next was something I will never forget. How could I? I was dating my crush the next day.