Author’s note: after latest ILB chapter, I needed something light and fun, so here we are! I imagine Tom and Julia as the most competitive couple ever and these two goofs are constantly competing over the most stupid things lol
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Pixelberry Studios.
Song: Play My Game – The Donnas
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Tom x F!MC (Julia Vance)
Word count: 2242
I almost broke my highest score
When you walked through that door
I lost my game and you’re to blame
I could have been in the hall of fame
“Nooooo!”
“YES!”
Tom laughs maniacally as his Toad passes through a dizzy Yoshi, Julia’s avatar, after throwing a banana at her.
As soon as the green dinosaur stops spinning, the girl presses hard on the button, speeding up towards the finish line.
“Ugh I hate this fucking stupid rainbow road!”
Tom just keeps laughing beside her, his avatar easily gaining on the other competitors. Soon, Julia’s character shows up close to his.
It’s the final turn. The others are long behind. It’s only the two of them now.
She has to do something.
Suddenly, the girl throws the Wii control aside.
“What are you do—” – but Tom is interrupted when his girlfriend almost literally jumps on him, her hands in claws, ready to tickle him. – “STOP. I know what you’re trying to do!” – he says falling on his back, Julia landing on top of him, as he grabs her wrists with both of his hands, avoiding the tickling attack. – “I don’t fall for this anymore!”
“Are you sure?” – she smirks devilishly at him before showering his neck with kisses. Tom burst out in giggles, squirming beneath her. The girl’s fully aware how sensitive her boyfriend is, especially on his neck area.
Taking advantage of the situation, Julia pulls out and finishes the running while Tom still recovers from her attack.
“HA! First place!” – she makes a little dance of victory and Tom lets out a low curse.
“Hey, this wasn’t fair!” – his face still is all flushed.
“You’re such a sore loser, Sato.”
“How can I be a sore loser when you cheated?!”
“This is exactly what a sore loser would say!”
“Oh my God, you’re impossi—”
“I’m going out, kids.” – they are interrupted by Elliot as the boy crosses the living room and opens the front door of the old cabin, used to those two bantering.
“Where are you going?” – his sister promptly asks, forgetting the bickering.
“I’m going to meet Robbie. We’re going to the movies.”
“Okay, call me if you need anything! I can pick you up later—”
“Julia, it’s fine. Don’t worry about me. There are no more crazy cultists after my blood and mad grandma is gone. I’ll text you, don’t worry. You two have fun!” – and he leaves the house.
“When did he grow up so suddenly?” – she murmurs with tears in her eyes, but she soon recomposes herself. – “Anyway, where were we? Oh, right, I just defeated the unbeatable Tomoichi Sato on his favorite video game.”
“You won unfairly.” – he corrects her, but she just rolls her eyes and steps closer, throwing her arms around his neck.
“Well, what’s done is done.” – she states, her face now just inches from his. – “You know, we have the house all for ourselves—”
But before she can kiss him, Tom frees himself from her embrace and stays an arm long from her.
“I’m sorry, but cheaters aren’t allowed to get any of this.” – he points to himself and Julia groans in discontent. – “I claim for a rematch.” – and a devilishly smile spreads on his face.
Let’s play ball we don’t need a court
Just you and me baby full contact sport
And there’s no ref to tell us to stop
So we can play until we drop
“Okay, this is unfair.”
“Why? You agreed on a rematch.” – Tom says, adjusting his glasses, that sly smirk still on his face.
“Yeah, because I thought we were going to play one of your video games again, like Street Fighter or whatever. Not that we were going to do this.” – his girlfriend explains, pointing to where they are and to the orange ball he holds. They’re standing in the middle of an empty basketball court in Swan Park. It’s a pretty sunny day and some people jog around and kids’ laughter can be heard from the playground area. – “You were part of a basketball team during your high school. This isn’t fair.”
“I just played it regularly for like, three years. And I spent one of it on the bleachers.”
“I spend my whole life on the bleachers, Tom.” – he chuckles.
“This will teach you to think twice before tickling or distracting me from my game.” – Julia grunts and they both start stretching out, their eyes locked on each other’s, defiant looks on their faces.
“So, who wins?”
“The one who gets more points, obviously. And just because you’re not used to playing it, don’t think I’m going to make it easy for you. Not after that betrayal.”
“Just shut up and let’s get this started already.”
“Guess you can defeat me?”
She smirks back at him.
“Oh, you’re on!”
After 15 minutes, they’re both panting, their eyes locked, carefully watching each other’s next movement. Tom’s winning, but Julia’s proven to be a great adversary, and she’s not too much far behind him.
“You’re not so bad like you said you are, Vance.” – he says, with the ball spinning on his point finger.
She gives him a sly smirk.
“Maybe beginner’s luck is by my side today.”
“Not for long!”
The game starts again. Tom races toward the basket, skilfully kicking the ball on the floor. She sprints closer, trying to grab the ball, but he’s dodges right on time. He flawlessly shoots the ball through the hoop.
“Damn your stupid… long arms!” – Julia curses, still a bit out of breath because of all that exercise, making her boyfriend giggle. They’ve never felt those 8 inches/20 centimetres height difference between them as much as now. – “What are you doing?!” – she asks as her boyfriend takes off his t-shirt.
“I am hot!”
“I hate you. I hate you so much.” – and mostly she hates how much she enjoys that view.
“Why? Am I too distracting to you, Vance?” – Tom smirks slyly, fully aware of what his bare chest does to her.
“You’re so dead, Sato.”
And without warning, she takes the ball and cross the court running. But soon Tom’s already hovering over her, trying to block her shoot. She can feel his chest bumping on her back as he tries to get the ball from hers.
“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it? Picking a full contact sport and taking off your shirt. Who’s playing dirty now, uh?”
“Well, now you know how I feel when you tickle me! Or when you start with all those damn kisses!”
“You love those kisses!”
“Oh, crap!” – Tom curses as Julia takes advantage of her short height, easily ducking underneath his arms and shooting the ball through the hoop. Another point. – “This was a good one.”
Tom’s about to go retrieve the ball, but Julia suddenly pulls him in. It’s all so fast and intense, and she’s far stronger than she looks, and the boy ends up losing his balance.
“Ouch.” – Tom complains when his back hits the floor, with Julia clinging onto him, showering his neck with those kisses that make his head spin.
The game is already forgotten and he kisses his demanding petite girlfriend back, his arms around her waist, flushing her closer to his chest.
“I’m not gonna apologise for this.” – she stops for a quick second, cupping his face between her hands.
“I know. ” – he grins back at her. And that’s true. He already was half expecting it. That she would in some way turn his game against him, again. And he would end up falling for it, again. He always did. And to be honest, he just pretended to be mad at her. He actually enjoyed it more than he should. – “Although this is the second time you attack me just today. And I hit my back.” – she lets out a mischievous giggle.
“Tom… No… more… games…” – Julia says between pecks on his lips, hovering over him.
“Okay, I guess that’s… enough for today.”
She grins mischievously and leans down, kissing him fully. The kiss gets heated in no time, his hands on her hips, hers on his hair, their hearts beating fast and their breaths quickening…
“Hey, this is a public area! Go find a room!” – they’re suddenly interrupted by a known voice nearby.
They immediately stop kissing and look over to where the sound of whistles and cheers come from, to find their friends there, on the other side of the court’s fence.
“Woo you go, you two!” – Imogen jumps up and down, while Parker chuckles and Danni shakes her head disapprovingly at them. Tom and Julia immediately pull apart, faces flushed.
“Parker, can’t you arrest them for, like, excess of PDA?” – Danni turns to the police officer standing beside her. – “I’m pretty sure this is indecent behavior.”
“Well, they haven’t done anything too explicit yet… and they’re just making out and are in love. Let them live, Danni.”
“I am a hundred percent sure I saw a boob grab.”
Imogen and Parker laugh loudly as the couple stands up and walks toward them.
“Uh, hey, guys! What are you doing here?” – Tom asks, his face burning with embarrassment. He’s already put his t-shirt back on.
“I was taking pictures as usual when these two showed up.”
“Today’s my day off and I like helping the Boy Scouts whenever I can.” – Parker smiles proudly.
“Well… I’ve met with a lawyer earlier today and my head was so full of everything that I needed a bit of fresh air.” – they all smile to Imogen. She surely was the one who suffered the most with all that hell that happened a few weeks ago, losing her best friend, her horse and her parents. Naturally, she inherited all her parents possessions and properties and was having to deal with the legal part of it. – “And today’s such a beautiful day, so I came in here and bumped into Parker and Danni. I was just telling them about this new restaurant that opened nearby when we heard your shouting.”
“That was a pretty intense game, guys. Well played. I didn’t know you played, Julia.”
“I don’t, but someone…” – Julia answers Parker, playfully bumping her shoulder with Tom’s. – “…is a sore loser so we were having a rematch.”
“I’m not a sore loser when you cheated to begin with!”
“So, will you come have lunch with us or what?” – Danni interrupts before they start bickering at each other again. – “I’m starving.”
They both immediately decide to go with them.
“Yay! Follow me!” – Imogen squeals and the group walks together in a relaxed pace, enjoying the shadow of the trees. – “The restaurant is right in front of the park entrance! You’ll love it! They have these killer fries and this pink lemonade—”
“Wait, wait, will we be able to pay it?”
“Of course you will! I don’t eat only on fancy restaurants, you know!” – Imogen chuckles. – “And I can pay your part if you don’t have enough money, Danni.”
“I wouldn’t accept it, but thanks, Genny.”
“Nonsense, we’re friends!”
“Anyway, my wallet thanks knowing that I can pay it.”
“Seconded.” – Parker agrees.
“Thirded.”
“Fourthed.” – Tom and Julia say. He looks down at his girlfriend with a grin, her hand interlacing with his, while he carries the ball on his other arm. They walk a bit behind. – “Guess we’ll have to put our rematch on hold.”
“‘On hold’? I clearly won. Again.” – she smirks. – “Just accept this, Sato: I won, you lost.”
“I guess you hit your head when we fell because I was winning. But what do you say we solve this next? This still isn’t over, Vance.”
“You’re insufferable. Lucky you that you’re so darn cute and I love you.” – and she kisses his cheek, whose grin widens. – “Hey… do you want any help packing up your things tomorrow?”
The boy feels his heart shattering a little. The summer is almost over and he’s moving out of Pine Springs the next day now that all that supernatural weird stuff is gone. And he wants to spend every moment he has with Julia. And this is why they’ve been hanging out daily with each other for the past weeks, because they already miss each other. And this is why he likes teasing her to keep with that stupid playful competition between them. Because they know they’ll be months apart until they can see each other again.
“Yeah, that’d be nice. Thanks.”
“No problem.” – she smiles warmly at him, squeezing his hand tighter as they enter the restaurant. – “…But I’ll pick what we’re going to play next.”
“Okay, and what will it be?”
“Strip poker.” – she whispers on his ear and watches with satisfaction her boyfriend’s face turning a shade pinker. She bit back a laugh. – “I’m joking. I don’t even know how to play poker.”
“Oh. Okay. Good.” – he immediately seems more relaxed. – “Can you imagine? What if Elliot came back home right in the middle of the game and found ourselves in our underwear there? I guess I would die of embarrassment.”
“Haha, Elliot would probably just ignore us but lock me out of our room.” – Julia laughs as Danni yells at them:
“Hey couple! If you don’t hurry up there’ll be no seats left for your pretty asses!”
“Jeez, so bossy! We’re coming!” – she yells back before turning to her boyfriend again: – “We’ll continue this later, Sato. And you’ll play my game.”
“I can’t wait.” – he kisses her temple and they join their friends.
Well you can play my game
But I’ll put you to shame