It was another night at the Soprano house, and history was about to repeat itself. Again.
Tony and Carmella were gone, leaving A.J. and Meadow alone for the third night in a row. The previous fights over the remote had ended with each sibling securing one victory, and neither was willing to let the other take the lead. This time? This time, A.J. had a plan.
A.J. sat casually on the couch, remote in hand, the TV already set to Oz. He acted relaxed, flipping through the channels, as if he had already won.
But in reality?
The remote was a decoy. An old, busted remote that didn't even work anymore. The real remote was tucked inside his sock. No way was he letting Meadow steal it this time around. Meadow, of course, wasn't fooled. She stood in the entrance of the living room with her hands on her hips, smirking like a cat about to toy with a mouse.
"I don't see what you're so happy about," she said, walking towards him. "You're losing tonight."
A.J. just grinned.
"Yeah, we'll see about that."
Meadow made her move first, lunging for the remote in A.J.'s hand. The moment she reached for it, A.J. dodged and tripped her, sending her tumbling onto the couch.
"Ha! Too slow, sis!" A.J. teased, hopping over the back of the couch before she could retaliate, but Meadow was quick. She rolled off the couch, darted around the side, and tackled A.J. before he could run. The two of them went crashing onto the floor, locked in a fierce struggle, arms tangled as they wrestled for control. "Give it up, Meadow!"
A.J tried to hold her down, but it was easier said than done.
"No chance!" Meadow shot back, twisting to the side and grabbing A.J.'s wrist. With one swift motion, she pinned A.J. to the floor, straddling his stomach just like she had the night before. "I believe this is called déjà vu."
Meadow then grabbed A.J.'s wrists and forced them over his head. A.J. knew right away what was coming.
"Oh, no. No, no, no, you wouldn't—"
"Wouldn't I?" Meadow grinned. Then just like that, her fingers dug into A.J.'s ribs. A.J. exploded with laughter, bucking wildly as Meadow mercilessly tickled his sides.
"AHAHAHAHA MEADOOWWW STOPP! STAHAHAHAAAP!" A.J. shrieked, thrashing like a fish out of water.
"You should've just handed over the remote," she taunted, running her fingers along his ribs and under his arms. A.J. twisted and kicked, trying to break free, but Meadow had the advantage, or at least, she thought she did.
Until A.J. pulled his ace card.
"Fine! You win!" he blurted out between laughter.
Meadow paused, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"That's it? You're just giving up?"
"Yeah, yeah," A.J. gasped, playing along as he pretended to surrender. "You win. Now just…let me breathe, okay?"
Meadow, overconfident in her victory, released his arms.
Big mistake.
The second her grip loosened, A.J. struck back.
He grabbed Meadow's wrists, flipped her over, and in one swift motion, trapped her legs under his own. Meadow's smirk disappeared in an instant and a smirk appeared on A.J.'s face. He yanked off one of her socks and dug his fingers into her bare foot.
"AHAHAHAHAHA NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Meadow let out an ear-splitting shriek, immediately bursting into helpless laughter.
Her legs kicked violently, but A.J. had her foot locked down tight as his fingers glided over her arch. Meadow screamed and thrashed, her laughter breaking into high-pitched giggles. "AHAHAHAHA A.J. STAHAHAHAP ITTTT!"
"Nope," A.J. grinned evilly, dancing his fingers up to her toes, scratching at the base of them with wicked precision.
"AHAHAH NOHOHOHO! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOUUUUUUU!"
Meadow was losing it. Her arms flailed, trying to grab anything to use as leverage, but she was too weak from laughing. Then, just when she thought it couldn't get worse, A.J. leaned down and blew a massive raspberry on her stomach.
"WHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOOOOO!"
Her head snapped back, her laughter skyrocketing to a whole new level.
"That's right! How do you like it?" A.J. sat back up, grinning triumphantly. Meadow was breathless, her face bright red, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Despite all that, she wasn't tapping out. Summoning the last bit of strength she had, Meadow twisted violently, finally yanking her foot free from A.J.'s grasp. Before he could react, she threw herself forward, tackling A.J. backward onto the floor.
Both of them were panting, sweating, and completely exhausted, but neither wanted to give up. With one last burst of energy, they both lunged for each other, only to crash into the coffee table.
BANG!
A.J and Meadow froze as the table wobbled and the lamp on top teetered. Then, in slow motion, the lamp tumbled off the edge and shattered on the floor.
The house fell dead silent.
A.J. and Meadow stared at the broken lamp, then at each other and back at the lamp.
"…Oh, shit," A.J. muttered.
Meadow swallowed hard.
"Mom's gonna kill us."
After a long pause went by, A.J then offered, "Truce?"
"…Truce," Meadow agreed.
The two scrambled to their feet, suddenly allies in their new mission to cover up the evidence. After they finished sweeping up the broken lamp and doing their best to cover the evidence, Meadow leaned back against the couch, arms crossed, smug grin firmly in place.
"So," she said, turning to A.J., "just to be clear, you said 'I give up.'"
A.J. snapped his head toward her.
"No, I didn't!"
"Yeah, you did. Right before you flipped me over and tickled me into oblivion you said it."
"That was just a fake-out." A.J. scoffed, rolling his eyes. "A strategy! I had to make you drop your guard."
"Doesn't matter. You still said the words." Meadow grinned wider, sensing victory. "And you know what that means?"
A.J. froze. He could already see where this was going. "Don't say it."
"It means I won," Meadow said sweetly, leaning toward him just to rub it in.
"No, no, no! That doesn't count! I tricked you! You lost fair and square!"
Meadow shook her head, enjoying this way too much.
"You admitted defeat, A.J. That's all that matters."
A.J. groaned, grabbing a pillow and dramatically throwing it across the room.
"This is B.S.!"
"Face it, I'm up 2-1." Meadow laughed, patting his shoulder. A.J. narrowed his eyes, his competitive fire reigniting.
"We'll see about that. Round four is coming. And next time?" He cracked his knuckles. "I won't hold back."
"I'll be waiting."
A.J. grumbled under his breath, arms crossed, still fuming over Meadow's claim to victory. She was twisting the rules, and she knew it. He had faked her out, used a legit tactic, and somehow she was making it count against him. "That's so cheap," he muttered.
Meadow, still lounging comfortably on the couch, grinned.
"Rules are rules, A.J. You said the words. That's a loss."
A.J. turned to glare at her.
"Oh, yeah? So if I fake say 'I love Friends,' does that mean I'm actually a fan of that shitty show?"
"No, but if you say 'I give up' in the middle of a fight, it means you gave up." Meadow's grin didn't falter and A.J. groaned loudly, flopping back onto the couch beside her. He could feel the smugness radiating off her.
He stared at the TV, Friends still playing. "This night sucks."
"Oh, this night sucks?" Meadow snorted. "You weren't saying that when you had me on the floor screaming my lungs out."
A.J. grumbled more, shifting in his seat. Meadow's smug look flickered for a moment, and she stretched, rolling her shoulders like she was shaking off the tickling aftermath. Her ribs were still sore from laughing.
"…But," she admitted, glancing at A.J., "you were close this time."
"Damn right, I was close."
"Too bad you said the magic words." She shrugged.
"I hate you." A.J. immediately turned away again, glaring at the screen.
Meadow just laughed, reaching over to ruffle his hair.
"You love me, and you know it."
A.J. swatted her hand away.
"Not tonight, I don't."
They sat in comfortable silence, the argument seemingly settled...at least for now. A.J. wasn't done. His mind was already working on a strategy for the next round. Meadow was too confident now, too sure of herself. That was going to be her downfall. Because if she thought he was going to fall for the same tricks next time…
Meadow had another thing coming.