Zarc shifted uneasily, refraining from hiding his face in his hands out of sheer, terrified willpower. Unfortunately, said willpower didn’t last for long as the villain cheerfully murdered one of the side characters, that same, fake smile still painted on their lips. He squeaked, jumping at the horrific cracking sound of a snapped neck, and Ray turned to him with a raised brow. “Zarc?” she asked, bemused. He groaned, a hint of humiliation shining through the terror, and sank down low in his spot on the couch. Ray scooted closer too peer at his disgruntled, scared expression. “Are you actually scared?” “No,” he tried to deny vehemently. Unfortunately, his voice cracked, an octave too high, and he finally gave in and hid his face in his hands. “Ugh. Maybe.” “Aw,” Ray cooed at him. Since he was trying to smother himself with his own hands, he didn’t see the glint of amusement in her eyes. Smothering the laughter in her voice, she tugged his hands away by the wrists so that she could lean in and nuzzle against his cheek. “My poor baby. Do you want to watch something else?” “…No.” He wasn’t about to chicken out. He will finish the movie, if only to see the villain get what’s coming to them. “No, let’s just… Let’s just finish the damn movie first.” Her brave man, she thought fondly. “Okay,” she hummed, giving him a kiss. “Then why don’t we cuddle? It’s getting a little chilly.” It wasn’t. “And after the movie’s over, I’ll give you a reward.” Zarc brightened at that, instantly interested. “Yeah?” “Yeah,” Ray chuckled. Her boyfriend was predictable as always. Cheered up by the promise of a reward, Zarc turned his attention back to the movie with a determined, letting Ray drape his arm around her shoulders as she snuggled against his side. He was going to finish this movie, dammit. Unbeknownst to him, Ray smirked victoriously as she rested her head on his shoulder. It looked like her plan was a success after all.

Ray shivered violently as the cold winds passed over her, huddling deeper into her jacket. Why was it so cold?! Yeah, it was winter and all, and the weather was abysmal to be out in the shopping district, but this was just plain ridiculous. “I did warn you,” Reiji mumbled, face hidden behind his scarf. She would have scoffed, considering how ridiculous he looked bundled up in what looked like fifty layers of clothes. But he looked so goddamn toasty that all she could do was glower at him balefully. “Since you’re so concerned, lend me one of your twelve jackets, then,” she growled. The look she got in return, the bland, are-you-seriously-this-stupid-how-are-we-related look, made her want to smack him upside the head. So she did. “Child abuse,” her brother grumbled, straightening his glasses which had been knocked crooked. “Discipline,” Ray corrected. “Discipline of my insolent baby brother who will lend me his jacket.” Despite the fact that Reiji was three years younger than her, he was about two inches taller. Meaning that his clothes were big enough for her. She was completely serious, too, so she started wrestling Reiji out of his outermost jacket. It was the biggest one, and she really hadn’t been kidding about the number of layers he was wearing. Much. Okay, so he was only wearing three, but her point still stands. “Don’t strip me,” he protested, jerking out of her grasp. Unfortunately, this pulled Ray just so, her foot landing on a patch of ice she could have sworn wasn’t there a second ago. Ray yelped in surprise as the limb practically flew out from underneath her, letting go of Reiji. She did, however, manage to snag someone on her way down, dragging that person down with her. A swift moment later, Ray groaned painfully where she laid. Luckily for her, she had landed on something that cushioned her from the hard ground. That something being, of course, the other person. “Ugh…” Ray blinked, gathering her bearings before lifting her head to look for the source of the sound. What she found made her freeze even more than the cold weather did. Of all the people she had managed to grab, Zarc, the champion duelist, was groaning underneath her! And what was even worse, she realized with increasingly mortified horror, was how she was actually straddling him, thighs on either side of his hips with their groins perfectly aligned as she was completely plastered against his chest. I want to die! she screamed internally. Of all the scandalous positions and of all the people she could have ended up in said position with— This was not happening! “…Miss Akaba…?” Zarc blinked, realizing who was on top of him. Her heart skipped a beat at hearing her name from his lips. But of course he knew her. Not only was she the daughter of the man who perfected solid vision with mass, she was also a top-tier duelist in her own right. “Hey, are you okay?” Ray stuttered incoherently, unable to string her thoughts together. This close, she could actually count each individual eyelash. Said lashes fluttered with every blink, leading to the thought that woah, that’s a really pretty yellow right there. Zarc frowned, lifting a hand up to gently cradle her cheek. While it was totally possible that she might have gotten a concussion, she also looked like she might have a fever with how red she was. “Are you hurt? Do you feel okay?” The squeak that escaped her lips only had him looking more concerned. And while it was nice that he was worried for her, it only made him look more attractive and therefore made the situation more awkward for her because she was straddling an attractive man in a pose that wouldn’t have been out of place in the bedroom. Click They both paused before turning as one to look at the source. Reiji took another picture with his phone, looking for all the world like this was an everyday occurrence. “Don’t mind me,” he said, tapping away on his phone. “I just thought I’d post this online to commemorate your meeting your possible paramour.” Ray quickly sat up, causing Zarc to grunt in surprise at the sudden shift in weight, burning determination on her face. “I’m going to make you eat that phone,” she hissed, “and then I’m going to kill you.” “Child abuse.” “Discipline!”