TUSOKI
13; Staring Contest.
A/N. Welcome to another, short, instalment in this series. In which Krillin thinks up a clever plan to beat Eighteen at her own game.
Onwards!
Krillin sighed, hanging his head in defeat.
"How? How do you always win these?" He whined half halfheartedly referring to yet another staring contest that had been won by Eighteen. No matter what he tried, what ever tactic he applied, he could not beat the cyborg, who was currently smirking smugly at him from across the table.
"You're too easily distracted." She merely said. She gently tousled his short shaggy hair before taking her leave from the kitchen.
"Feel free to try again tomorrow!" She said with a grin over her shoulder before disappearing into the living room of Kame house. Krillin followed her movements with his eyes, feeling a slight blush settle on his face, unknowingly touching his hair. Then he realised what he was doing.
He groaned, slumping forward.
"It's not my fault you're so..." But he didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he just closed his eyes as he hid his red face from view.
Eighteen had been living with him and Master Roshi for almost half a year and it had been the best 6 months of his life as far as the small monk was concerned. Not that he would ever tell anyone that of course.
She had changed a lot over that period of time and they had formed quite a close friendship, something Krillin was very grateful for. He loved spending time with her, even if that meant he would find himself in strange situations at times.
It turned out that Eighteen had a sense of adventure and wanted to explore the world around her now that she got a second chance at living her life to the fullest. And no matter how much he loved going out and about with her, he preferred the quiet hours they would spend together at the island.
Those small hours where they'd just sit together on the roof and talk. Or play some of the board games Master Roshi possessed.
And sometimes Eighteen liked to challenge him to do something silly or even dangerous.
Like a game of truth or dare where he had almost spilt the beans of his ever growing crush on her. Or when she had dared him to jump from the roof without using KI to land. He had almost eaten a face full of sand but had managed to keep his balance, huffing annoyed when Eighteen slowly but gracefully landed on her two feet next to him.
"You weren't supposed to use KI!"
"I didn't, I don't have KI remember? We didn't say anything about my artificial energy!"
"Cheater!"
Krillin chuckled at the memory, she hadn't lied, but he still felt cheated.
Lately, though, Eighteen had presented him with a whole different challenge, one he had scoffed mockingly at when she suggested it to him.
"A staring contest? Really? That's so easy, prepare to lose!" He had bragged loudly, only to be eating his words not even a minute later while Eighteen laughed her head off at him. He had demanded a rematch.
And till this day he hadn't managed to beat her even once! Sure he did get better at holding her gaze longer at times but he always ended up losing.
It wasn't as if he could really help himself. He would bet the world no one would be able to beat her, not when she was staring at you so intensely with those bright blue eyes that made him feel like drowning in her gaze. It wasn't his fault that she was so damn beautiful that he just couldn't keep looking at her without his cheeks starting to burn up. That was the main reason he had to look away, he didn't want to embarrass himself.
Yes, it was all her fault, and Krillin was determined to find a way to win at least once.
The next evening, Krillin walked into the living-room and plopped down next to Eighteen on the couch.
"What are we watching?"
Eighteen shrugged, tossing him the remote.
"I wasn't really watching anything, the old perv just finished his quiz." She said holding up a fashion magazine and pointing her thumb towards the ceiling, indicating that Master Roshi had retired for the night.
Krillin nodded, he turned his attention to the TV, flipping through channels until he found a cooking show. He loved those since cooking was one of his hobbies. He relaxed against the plump cushions of the couch, completely immersed in the program.
He was startled when he felt a weight on his thighs. He raised a brow when he saw Eighteen's legs cover his.
"Don't like it? Sit somewhere else, I was here first." She said with shrug. Krillin could see the hint of a smirk on her face.
"It's fine." He said, looking back to the TV. He hadn't realised how tense he was until Eighteen made a remark on it.
"You can relax you know, I'm not gonna kick you or anything." She said sitting up.
"I wasn't thinking you were going too," Krillin said hastily, holding his hands up in defence.
Eighteen raised a brow.
"Liar."
"I swear!" Krillin sputtered. Eighteen narrowed her eyes at him. He gulped slightly as he looked back at her.
They both grew serious all of a sudden, having unconsciously launched into another of their staring matches. Krillin clenched his hands, determined not to look away or blink. His eyes were starting to water slightly and yet he refused to look away.
"I can do this all evening, you know." Eighteen said leaning forward a little.
"Forget it! You're not winning this time." Krillin hissed.
"You think? I mean I don't mind staring into your eyes, they're quite...lovely." She said softly.
"Wha...?!" Krillin blinked, breaking his gaze momentarily.
"Gotcha!" Eighteen cackled, scooting back to her corner of the couch, holding up her hands when Krillin hurled one of the pillows towards her face.
"That was mean, you're such a cheater!" He gritted his teeth, desperately trying to push back the blush that threatened to come out. Her previous statement had completely caught him off guard.
"How? I wasn't lying. You do have nice eyes." Eighteen said.
Krillin just shot her a look.
"I'm serious."
"Oh...Thanks, I guess. But you still cheated, catching me off guard like that." Krillin stammered.
"Plus your eyes never get dry, how exactly is that fair to begin with anyway." He murmured as an after thought.
Eighteen had picked up her magazine again.
"I can't help that, but I'll give you a one blink pass for next time if that makes you feel better."
She draped her legs back over Krillin's thighs as she made herself comfortable once more.
"N..no that's not needed. I'll win on my own, you'll see!"
"Whatever you say."
Krillin stared at the TV. Outwards he may seem calm, collected and totally into the program on the screen, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because his mind was a jumbled mess. Eighteen's words kept repeating over and over in his head. He knew he shouldn't read too much into them, but it made him a little giddy no less to know that she liked his eyes. He almost scoffed out loud, thinking to himself how much he sounded like a lovesick school girl.
He glanced at the blonde next to him. He almost wanted to tell her he thought the same of her eyes but decided against it. He folded his arms, the TV program completely forgotten as he started hatching ideas as to how to beat Eighteen at her little game, once and for all.
A few weeks later, Krillin was seated cross legged on the beach. His eyes were closed as he concentrated on his KI in meditation. Eighteen was seated next to him, just gazing out over the Ocean, sipping on some lemonade while she waited for Krillin to be done. It was almost time for sunset, the sky was already starting to turn with different hues of red and orange.
Krillin opened his eyes, inhaling and exhaling deeply one more time before taking a hold of his own glass of lemonade and sipping it gingerly.
"I thought you were going to miss the sunset, you almost looked like you were sleeping." Eighteen teased, earning a frown from the small monk.
"I was meditating, there is a difference." He said.
"I know that. I'm not stupid."
Eighteen gave him a light nudge with her shoulder.
"I didn't say you were," Krillin said nudging her back. They settled into a comfortable silence. Krillin loved these quiet moments when it was just the two of them without a care in the world. Eighteen scooted a little closer so she could lean her shoulder against him. Krillin raised a brow at that but didn't say anything.
It seemed that lately, little gestures like these were becoming more frequent, Eighteen certainly didn't mind the close proximity between them nowadays. It almost made Krillin think something might be changing between the two of them. But he didn't dare to get his hopes up too much.
"The sun's down." He said softly. The sky above them had turned to a deep dark blue and yet it was still very light out because of the large full moon. Usually, they would retreat into the house when it got dark but for some reason neither felt like getting up.
Krillin turned his body.
"Alright, let's do this!" He proclaimed suddenly, earning a confused stare from Eighteen.
"Do what?"
Krillin grinned as he rubbed his hands together.
"Be prepared, tonight's going to be my night! I am finally going to defeat you!"
Eighteen turned her body as well so she was facing him.
"Staring contest?" She asked with a smirk. "Fine, bring it. It's always fun to see your pouty face after yet another loss anyway!"
"Not tonight!"
Krillin blinked his eyes rapidly for a few seconds while going over his plan in his mind. Yamcha had told him a sure fire way to win any staring contest and while the method was a little...risky for lack of better word, he still wanted to try it.
"Ready when you are." Eighteen said. She had folded her arms in front of her chest, there was a smug look on her face. Krillin chuckled softly to himself, knowing she was anticipating an easy victory again.
"Oh, I am more than ready, ready to win!" He exclaimed.
The beach grew silent once more when they settled into their contest. Krillin wrung his hands together, he didn't have a lot of time to put his plan into action. He had to act fast or else he would lose his courage altogether. He gulped slightly.
Eighteen raised a brow when Krillin leant forward a little. She almost had to laugh at his attempt to distract her. She wouldn't lose. She could see he was struggling to hold her gaze.
Krillin licked his lips. He smiled slightly to himself before turning serious again. He leant forward on his hands, never breaking eye contact with the cyborg in front of him. He inched closer and closer.
Eighteen's eyes widened slightly when she saw a flash of determination in Krillin's eyes before he leant in even more. Their faces were just mere inched away from each other, she could actually feel his breath on her skin.
She could not stop the blush rising in her cheeks, as her heart skipped a beat. From her view, it almost looked as if Krillin was going to...she shook her head rapidly, preventing that thought from forming any further.
"YES!"
She was startled by his loud exclamation.
"I can't believe it, it actually worked! I actually won!" Krillin was flashed her a victory sign.
"You tricked me!" She hissed when realisation dawned upon her.
Krillin shrugged.
"Hey, I just took a page out of your book, I mean two can play that game!" He said with a smug grin.
Eighteen frowned at him, regulating the temperature in her face quickly so he wouldn't notice the crimson on her cheeks.
She huffed when Krillin got up and did a little victory dance, waving his arms wildly while chanting the sentence 'I won' over and over again.
Krillin let out a yelp when suddenly he lost his balance and fell on the still warm sand.
"Oof, what the?" He said bewildered when he saw Eighteen's face above him. He felt his cheeks grow suspiciously warm when he realised she had tackled him to the ground and was now sitting on top of him, frowning down at him.
"H..hey don't be a sour loser." He said meekly, throwing the words she told him so many times back to her.
"Cheater."
"How, exactly? I didn't blink once."
Eighteen was silent for a moment, there was a truth in his statement. Maybe she had read too much into his movements? It was a possibility and yet she had been sure he was about to kiss her right in that moment. And she had been startled to realise that she wouldn't have minded.
Krillin gulped softly when she bent down until her face was mere inches from his.
"E..eighteen?"
She averted her gaze for a moment, murmuring something inaudible.
"What did you say?" Krillin asked.
Eighteen raised her voice a little but wasn't look at him when she spoke again.
"I said...maybe you should man up and finish what you started a little bit ago."
Krillin's eyes widened considerably at her statement. He averted his gaze when Eighteen looked back at him.
"I...uh.." He stammered. Eighteen almost chuckled at his completely red face, the colour had spread all the way into his hair.
She let out a sigh.
"Don't you think it's kind of cruel to toy with someone's feelings like that? Pretending you're going to kiss them just to win a stupid game?"
Krillin's gaze snapped back to her so fast that she was afraid he'd hurt his neck for a moment.
"F..feelings?"
The cyborg let out an almost frustrated sigh.
"Idiot."
Krillin could practically feel his heart skip more than several beats when she leant in and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. She lingered, waiting patiently for him to come to his senses. It didn't take him too long, thankfully.
Eighteen smiled when she felt him wrap his arms around her to pull her close and kiss her back almost feverishly.
In a way, she had still won the game as far as she was concerned.
End.
Thanks for reading! For those who follow my other story Nursery Rhymes, I AM working on an update, sorry for the delay!
Hope you enjoyed! Please tell me what you think!
