A/M" Challenge Prompt 3! Today's prompt was a bit of a weird one. It was watching a movie OR playing a videogame, so I was like, "why not both?" So I wrote about both! Yaaay!

Audience: "You suck."

Also, Blazblue references. Yay! DISCLAIMER: I don't own Blazblue.

Two warriors locked in a deadly combat.

Only one would survive. This fight would truly determine history. The loser would face a shame too great to withstand.

Labrys refused to lose.

Labrys mashed the buttons on her controller angrily, unable to escape the demonic grasp of Makoto's deadly corner combos. The youth on the screen sliced with the blade of ice in a flurry that Labrys couldn't even begin to comprehend with her limited knowledge of the game. Her character's massive size didn't make it any easier to avoid combos, either. It had been this way in every round so far. As soon as Makoto got his hands on her, she might as well have put the controller down and walked away. She truly had underestimated her boyfriend's prowess when it came to video-games.

"I'm sure I could beat you if we played somethin' together," she had said on Friday afternoon.

Makoto's eye twitched as this playful wound to his pride was inflicted. "I highly doubt that. I respect your talents, Labrys, but -"

"Why don't we find out?" She asked, issuing a challenge to Makoto.

"Tomorrow morning," he said, before changing the conversation topic. Both he and his girlfriend were relatively competitive, so it would surely be an interesting event.

Labrys had made the wrong decision in assuming she could beat Makoto.

Just as Makoto finished his Over Limit Combo, Labrys's character's health dropped to zero and she released a frustrated sigh. Makoto smiled a gentle smile of victory as he looked towards Labrys, tilting his head. "We can stop now if you want." He did his best to sound unoffensive.

"One more," she demanded, as she went about selecting her character and color. Her willpower was admirable. We've played 20 games and she hasn't quit yet. You have to respect that. This time, instead of Iron Tager, Labrys went with Azrael. He looked strong and would surely be able to defeat this "Jin". She'd never played as him before, but again, he looked strong. Wasn't that all that mattered in these kinds of game? Looking strong meant you could beat people who didn't look as strong as you! It was a simple science.

Makoto sighed and switched his character as well. He selected a young British girl named "Rachel". Labrys stifled a laugh. This should be easy. There's no way a little girl like that can defeat someone as strong as my Azrael, even if Makoto is controlling her. She clenched her fist in anticipation, waiting for the round to start. I've got this in the bag! Prepare to kiss your victory goodbye!

Yet again, unsurprisingly, Makoto was able to defeat her with absolutely no difficulty in the first round. He hadn't taken a speck of damage from Labrys, managing to keep her in the corner for the entire game. He brushed his hair out of his face, the feeling of victory somewhat hollow. Mainly because his girlfriend seemed pretty angry, staring at the screen as if she wanted to take her ax and slice it in half. To avoid her doing so, he decided to go slightly easier on her for this round.

This time he at least allowed himself to lose half his health before he completely eviscerated her Azrael.

"Wh- What the heck?" Labrys threw the controller onto the ground angrily. "C'mon, there's no way that'd happen! No one can control the wind! And what was with those little bat things?" She let out a frustrated growl. "Azrael was clearly stronger! This game is bogus!"

Makoto laughed a little at her outbursts as she continued. "Grr, let's do just one more! I know I can handle it if I just . . . pick a stronger character. . ." She was mashing the buttons on the controller furiously.

The next round was just as fruitless as the prior. Labrys was incapable of even remotely harming Makoto while they played, his play-style rather clearly defeating hers. It was clear as to why. After all, when off hours, this was pretty much all Makoto did: video-games. And he liked to be good at them. Nobody liked to lose all the time. Despite that, he still felt kind of bad for beating his girlfriend so consistently. He decided to throw his pride away for the sake of her happiness, and resolved to lose the next round.

Labrys was somewhat shocked when she saw that she won Round 2. She internally celebrated, before realizing she had one more round to play before she won the set. Alright, I can do this! Don't fail me, Ragna the Bloodedge! She had done rather well in the last round, managing to land up to a 4 hit combo. This time she'd shoot for 5, and bring Makoto to the ground!

Makoto, on the other hand, was barely containing his laughter. Even when he wasn't trying in the slightest, it still came right down to the wire as to whether or not Labrys would beat him, and at that point he just stopped pressing buttons entirely. He thought it was cute how she hunched over the controller, licking her lips as she pressed buttons in a furious and nonsensical fashion. Maybe one day he'd get her to actually practice this game and get kind of good, so he'd have a training partner to work with. It would be another thing they had in common, after all, so it might be nice, especially if she likes it. "So how do you like the game?"

"Shh!" Labrys was clearly concentrating as hard as she possibly could, and didn't want any distractions. He could understand it. Makoto wasn't too fond of talking during rounds either. Well, when he was actually trying. If anything, it was difficult to do this poorly when his muscle memory was screaming otherwise.

The last hit was scored as Rachel fell to the ground, Ragna the Bloodedge emerging victorious. "Yes!" Labrys shouted at the top of her lungs, before hurling the controller ridiculously hard towards the wall.

As one would expect, when a ludicrously powerful robot hurls a small plastic object at a wall, only one thing could happen.

Time seemed to slow as the controller shattered into pieces, Makoto's hard earned money falling in the form of that black plastic. He felt as if a part of him had been wounded when it broke, when in reality it was just his wallet that was wounded. Still, he felt the need for a moment of silence for his fallen comrade.

Where it connected, a dent was left in the wall. Labrys was panting furiously, as if she'd just finished an Olympic Triathlon, the look on her face worth even more than the price of the controller that she'd just broken.

Or, at least, that's what he told himself.

Well, Makoto was kind of upset that he'd have to purchase another controller now, but the satisfaction his girlfriend was experiencing was enough to distract him from it. He needed another date night idea now, though.

"Uhm. Let's do something else today, alright?"

"That's a good idea," replied Labrys.

Labrys waited by the entrance to the theater as Makoto went to purchase their concessions - or, his concessions, anyways. She awkwardly poked the ground with the tip of her boot, sighing. She still felt like an idiot for her odd display of violence back in Makoto's apartment. She wanted to offer him money for a new controller, but he insisted to do it himself. She felt like she'd taken things too far and acted irresponsibly. Makoto must be so mad at me. . . She could barely bring herself to talk to him on the way there, despite his many attempts at conversation. She felt like an imbecile for acting the way she did.

"Hey, I've got the snacks." She looked up towards Makoto, a blush forming on her face as she did so. "Let's go inside and find seats."

"R-Right." She still could barely maintain eye contact. He locked arms with her, carrying his popcorn and drink hand as they walked into the theater. Labrys tried to calm down, her eyes glued to the ground.

The theater was pretty empty, so seats were plentiful. They got pretty nice ones, right in the middle of the theater. Makoto and Labrys eased into their seats next to each other, Makoto placing his drink in the drink holder. Labrys still felt like he would be upset with her, but he didn't seem too angry. Maybe she was worried for nothing. She leaned on his arm, watching the movie previews as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, occasionally tossing some popcorn into his mouth.

"Hey, Makoto?" She asked, poking his shoulder. He turned towards her with a quizzical expression. "A-Are . . . are you mad at me?" she asked, looking as if tears were about to form in her eyes.

Makoto's heartstrings were plucked by this expression. "No, I'm not mad. Why would I be?" He pulled his girlfriend closer. "I get to spend today with you, after all. There's nothing to be upset about." He smiled reassuringly, poking her forehead with his free hand.

Labrys let out a sigh of relief. "Good. . . I was worried that you might be mad, and that would just be the worst. . ." She sniffled an adorable sniffle, Makoto pulling her even closer.

"Don't worry, that's never gonna' happen. Anyways, the movie's starting." He pointed towards the screen as the opening credits flashed, the movie finally kicking off.

The movie in question was a pretty generic love story. Something about a girl having to choose between two men that loved her, when she couldn't decide which one she liked. Makoto wasn't a fan of romance movies, but this was the only thing showing at this time of day and tickets were half off. He was beginning to regret his decision, however, as the sappy dialogue and awkward, clearly-scripted romance scenes inched past in slow motion. Labrys seemed to be enjoying herself, though, so in the end he had no complaints.

Labrys, on the other hand, was completely enticed with the movie. It was her first time seeing one, of course, so it's only natural that she wouldn't have had any higher standards. She watched the movie with suspense, her own emotions melding with those of the characters, truly understanding their superficial plight. It reminded Makoto of a little girl watching her favorite anime, pretending to be supporting the protagonist as they cried out encouragements. Occasionally, Labrys couldn't stop herself and gave out romantic advice like "Don't give up!" or "He's the one!" She gripped Makoto tighter during all of the suspenseful scenes, which of course, he didn't complain about.

One particular scene grabbed her and didn't let go, though. The main heroine had finally decided which man she wanted to be with, and the two shared an emotional moment on a park bench. After a long, romantic monologue of suffering and love, the two shared a sweet, passionate kiss.

Labrys wasn't sure how to comprehend that. She'd never seen one before. She knew what it was, but she'd never seen it. The action on screen looked so bizarre, but for some reason, she felt some insatiable desire upon seeing it. She poked her lips with her fingers, and looked around the theater. Anyone and everyone in the theater was with some kind of significant other, performing the same action as the one seen on screen. She stared at the rest of the crowd for a few moments before diverting her attention back to the screen, the kiss still continuing. She felt her cheeks flush as nervousness flooded her body. This time, she looked to Makoto, examining his lips.

They looked soft, like the man in the movie's. She was sure. . .

"Labrys? Is something the matter?" Makoto whispered, breaking her out of her trance.

"N-Nope! Nothin's wrong!" She laughed an awkward, breathy laugh before turning away and back to the screen, her heart jumping into her throat. This was a nervousness she'd never felt before, as if her entire life and existence depended on these feelings. If she didn't satisfy this urge, she felt as if she would disappear.

Long after the scene had ended, Labrys was still thinking about the action on screen. She couldn't focus on the rest of the movie, her mind always returning to the kiss. She would replace the characters in the movie with her and Makoto, replaying the scene again and again. It filled her with a warmth she didn't possess the knowledge to describe.

"Labrys, movie's over." She'd been so focused on her own thoughts that she didn't notice the rest of the theater was empty. Makoto sat next to her, and as she turned to look at him she noticed his face was extremely close to hers.

She rapidly stood up, turning away. "Right, right," she said, laughing awkwardly. "Let's, uh, let's go home, yeah?" She started walking towards the exit without a second's hesitation, Makoto barely managing to keep up.

Once again, she brought a finger to her lips, not sure what to feel. Makoto walked out after her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "What'd you think?"

She turned her face to the ground, blushing bright red. "I-It was nice. But only because . . . I-I got to watch it with you, Makoto." The shame she felt from saying that sentence overwhelmed her in a second, her face brightening even further.

Makoto chuckled. "Well, it's kind of late. Do you want me to walk you home?"

Labrys simply nodded.

Makoto sat in his apartment, clicking about his computer as usual. He was surprised to find that Mitsuru hadn't assigned him fifty job reports to type up, so if anything, he was bored. He could play something, but he wasn't quite in the mood. So he awkwardly clicked about sub-forums, looking for something to do. Nothing managed to interest him, even after checking the same set of forums three or four times.

He decided to check his phone, out of simple boredom, and to his surprise, it went off as he grabbed it.

The message was from Labrys. "Hi Makoto （＾_＾）I wanted to know what the movie we watched today was called? Txt back!" He chuckled slightly at the unnecessary emoji. Junpei must be teaching her how to text. Or maybe she just thought it made her seem more human. Eh. It was cute.

He texted back the reply, receiving an answer immediately. "Thanks!" was all it said. He shut his phone's power off and set it aside, looking at the time on his monitor.

"Yikes. Ten," he said aloud, standing from his chair. "Might as well turn in early tonight." He pulled his slippers off, before laying in the bed. Staying up late wasn't always the best idea, anyway.

Meanwhile, Labrys had just purchased a copy of the movie they had watched that day. For study purposes.

A/N: Challenge 3, complete! Yay. I hope you liked this one! It sort of jumped between segments but I think it worked out nicely in the end. Favorite if it's your favorite! Leave a review if you want to. And follow if you're playing an intense game of following-the-leader and it's imperative to your survival and victory that you follow every minute move that my story makes.

Or if you just wanna' read more.