Nights Like This
By Misha
Disclaimer- Not mine. I’m just borrowing them for a little while and will return them when I am finished.
Author’s Notes- This is my entry for Day 23 of my January Challenge: Game Night. This is a short fluffy piece set sometime in the future after Liam and Eleanor are married. Oh, and the game they are playing is 7 Wonders.
Pairing- Liam/MC
Rating- PG
Summary- Liam and Eleanor host a game night.
Words- 570
“I want to move seats.” Drake declared with a glare directed at Olivia.
“Drake, the game’s already started,” I said patiently, holding back a laugh. “We’d have to start over and we’re already halfway through the second round.”
Liam and I had a rare night off and had decided to host a game night, which was going well except for some personality conflicts.
“Yes, Drake, sit down and play the game,” Olivia commented, looking at her hand of cards. “I don’t even know what you are complaining about.”
“That army you are building,” he said with a glare, looking at the cards Olivia had in front of her.
“I’m a Nevrakis, we like to conquer.” She said with a shrug.
“Next round you’ll be passing to her again,” Hana reminded him, “you can make sure she doesn’t get any army cards.”
Drake didn’t look convinced, but he stayed silent and the round resumed.
“Penelope, you can’t play that card,” I spoke up, looking at Penelope’s cards, “you’ve already played it. No cards with the same name.”
“Oops,” she said, “can I have my deck back?”
Liam handed it over and Penelope frowned before carefully taking a new card. “How about that one?”
“That one is great,” I assured her.
She beamed. “Thank you. You’re so patient, I’ve never played this kind of board game before. It’s fun.”
“It is marginally entertaining,” Olivia agreed, “especially the army aspect.”
“Of course that’s the part you like,” Drake muttered.
Olivia just smirked. “What can I say? It’s in the blood.”
We continued playing with only a few mishaps and some bickering between Drake and Olivia.
“Are you having fun?” Liam asked me, leaning in to whisper in my ear. I smiled. “I am. What about you?”
“More than I can say,” he told me, “this… This is the kind of evening I didn’t even know I needed, just relaxing with my friends, playing games and just enjoying each other’s company. One of the many things you’ve brought into my life.”
I laughed. “Sometimes, I really think you guys give me too much credit.”
“And you don’t give yourself enough,” Liam told me. He motioned around the table, “you’ve brought us so much to all of our lives.” His eyes were warm as he leaned in to kiss me.
“Ugh, we’re playing a game here,” Olivia commented, but there was no malice in her voice, “and I’m ready for the next round, but Drake won’t hand over the cards.”
Drake groaned and passed the deck. Olivia’s look of delight was enough for me to guess that the deck was full of red cards. I laughed and picked up my own deck, frowning at Liam once I studied them.
“Couldn’t you have passed me anything better?”
He shrugged. “It’s the luck of the draw.”
“Uh huh,” I said, but there was no malice and I picked a card, putting the remaining ones down and then looked around the table, feeling incredibly content as I watched my friends and taking in the scene in front of me: Drake and Olivia bickering, Hana mastering the game the way she did everything, Penelope frowning hard with concentration and Maxwell leaning over to help her, and Liam watching me with adoration. As I watched them, I realized there was nowhere I’d rather be. Getting to this point had been a journey, but nights like this made it all worth it.
- End
