"No freakin' way," Sho huffed, narrowing his eyes. "No way in hell I'm playin' this."
"Why not?" Labrys asked with a pout, brandishing the red box towards Sho. She shook it slightly, goading him to take it. "It'll be fun!"
Sho averted his gaze with a grimace. "I dunno how that classifies as fun," he scoffed, crossing his arms against his chest and leaning back in his seat. "You must be broken again."
"I just underwent maintenance," Labrys pouted, as if she genuinely believed she needed fixing. She shook the box again. "That don't matter. C'mon. You like Pocky, right?"
You have never tried it before, Minazuki interjected. Certainly a breadstick coated in chocolate cannot be terrible.
Sho frowned, pointedly ignoring Minazuki's comment. "Doesn't mean I'm down to fight over a stick," he rebutted. Turning his gaze back to Labrys, he gestured towards the box. "There's a whole bunch in there, yeah? Why the hell do you wanna fight over a single one?"
"That's the point of the game," Labrys reiterated for the nth time. "I thought you liked fightin' and all that."
"Of course, I do," Sho grumbled, "but that doesn't change the fact that you have a box full of 'em."
After a moment, Labrys retracted her arm and snatched one of the sticks from the box. She put the box down onto the table they were sitting at and pushed it away, sliding it across the length of the surface. Holding the plain breadstick portion, she waggled it tantalizingly in front of Sho. "I betcha can't get the last bite."
Sho glanced between the girl and the discarded box, fighting against the immediate urge to swipe the stick from Labrys' fingers. That would be childish, so he definitely was not going to that.
A competition, Minazuki remarked in his typical measured tone. There was the slightest hint of amusement in his low voice, if Sho were to really pay attention. She is, no doubt, aware of your weak spot.
"You really that eager to lose?" he asked, smirk tugging at his lips. At the mention of a competition, the last dregs of his inhibitions seemed to drain away. His fingers itched to grab the stick and, in his mind's eye, he could perfectly picture the flash of surprise that would appear on Labrys' face. Maybe she would pout afterwards with a huff, face dusting a light pink -
"I won't lose," she cut in, features hardened in determination. It was the same way she had stared him down on the top of that nightmarish tower of his own creation. Despite the year that had passed since that foggy, red night, he could still remember the image clearly.
"I think you have some screws loose," he cracked a grin, "if you think I'll lose."
"Oh yeah?" Labrys taunted, a small smile on her lips. "You better tighten up your game then."
Do you truly intend on-
Before Minazuki could finish, Sho leaned forward, grabbing the chocolate-coated end with his teeth. Labrys gasped in surprise, loosening her grip on the stick. "S-Sho-kun!" she squeaked out, blushing at his advance.
"Grab the other end," he commanded, moving the stick with his teeth. "Unless you wanna forfeit like the loser you are."
The blush vanished from her face and she steeled herself, leaning forward to take the other end of the stick in her mouth. From this close up, Sho could make out every detail of her very human face. The determined slope of her eyebrows, the fire in her crimson eyes, the will to fight - all that was missing was her gigantic axe.
"Well," she said, mouth working around the stick of Pocky, "let's see who gets the last bite."
"You're on, toaster."
Labrys took a bite, spurring Sho to do the same. She took another, face coming closer to his, and for a fleeting moment, he realized that he might have made a mistake. He took another bite, causing Labrys to copy him. He bit again, Labrys leaned forward, and -
His lips met hers. Sho froze, jaw falling slack, and blinked in his stupor. His face felt unbearably hot, and for the first time in recent memory, even Minazuki was speechless. Labrys pulled away, absolutely glowing with pride.
"I win," she smiled with a small tilt of her head, her long ponytail swaying behind her.
Recovering from his daze, Sho feverishly shook his head. "Round two," he growled, narrowing his eyes at her. "No way I'm losin' like that. No freakin' way."
"I didn't realize you were such a sore loser, Sho-kun," Labrys hummed, smugness entering her tone. Was she really that proud she got the last bite? "But the box is all the way over there… I guess we betta call it quits for now-"
"Oh, hell no!" Sho interjected, reaching towards the end of the table. Stretching his arm, he snatched the box. "I want a rematch. Best two out of three."
Labrys laughed at that, a bubbly sound that caused Sho's stomach to do a flip or two. "Guess I'm gonna have ta beat ya twice in a row," she giggled, and he nearly dropped the box in his fluster.
Don't keep the lady waiting, Minazuki crooned insufferably, and Sho could feel a rising warmth up his neck.
Sho cleared his throat as he leaned back into his seat, box in hand. He forced whatever these… feelings were down and focused on the anger growing in the pit of his stomach. It didn't matter that this was a childish game - he refused to lose to Labrys.
He slid another stick out of the box, placing the chocolate-coated side between his teeth. "Ready for round two, Scrap?"
Her lips quirked up into a smile as she leaned forward, taking the other end. "Wheneva you are."
This round went much faster than the first; Sho and Labrys raced to the center and, within a second, their lips met. Immediately, Sho pulled back with a splutter.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" he whined, torn between humiliation and anger. "Again?"
Labrys took the final bite of the stick in her mouth as she leaned back. "Game, set, and match, Sho-kun," she beamed.
"Best of five," he growled, grabbing another stick. "Unless you're afraid of a reverse sweep, you roomba."
This seems unnecessary, Minazuki postulated in his usual clinical way. She has bested you twice in a row. Certainly she rules in a trivial game such as… His voice faltered. What is the name of this game?
"Doesn't matter," Sho grumbled under his breath, causing Labrys to giggle.
"Minazuki-kun wanna try?" she asked without a trace of judgement.
Minazuki's presence seemed to shift, his voice lacking its usual certainty. I will have to decline that invitation, he murmured after a moment.
"He doesn't want your cooties," Sho said with a roll of his eyes, earning a small indignant noise from the voice in his head. He brandished the Pocky stick between them. "Anyway. Round three."
Labrys braced her arms on the table and leaned forward, snatching the stick from his fingers with her teeth. "This one's for all the marbles."
"We'll see," he countered, ducking his head to take the other end of the stick between his lips. Narrowing his eyes in determination, he said, "Three, two, one, go!"
Once again, they raced to the middle. Labrys got the last bite - damn her - and their lips met for the third time. Despite winning, she failed to pull back and celebrate her victory. Instead, she closed her eyes and kept her lips on his and-
Wait. Was she kissing him?
Sho blinked in his stupor. The feeling wasn't unpleasant. If anything, it felt… nice. Yeah - it felt nice.
He let his eyes flutter closed and allowed his body to move on auto-pilot, tilting his head slightly and pressing his lips against hers.
Maybe he won after all.