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Rui had never been very big on video games. It was rather surprising to some—he apparently seemed like a gamer type of guy? He had merely chuckled at the thought. He was no gamer. That was his girlfriend.
Nene loved video games, especially ones that involved fighting. And she was incredible at them. Rui was more than content to sit back and watch her screen-share while she played. The way she made everything look so easy as she plowed through enemies and climbed up the ranks in every game she got her hands on was simply astonishing. The way her eyes sparkled as she explained how certain things worked in whatever she was playing at the time was so beautiful. It was nice to see her be so passionate about something.
Unless it was 4 in the morning and they had school the next day.
After seeing her almost collapse from exhaustion one too many times, he’d taken on the role of ‘bedtime police’. Essentially, he’d downloaded a few of the games he knew she played the most. He never played them himself. He would simply just go on each one at around 1 in the morning to check if she was online. If so, he immediately picked up the phone and called her.
The conversation usually went something like:
“Hello, dearest~! Would you like to tell me what you’re doing awake at this hour?”
“Why are you awake?”
“Simply needed to make sure you were getting your beauty sleep~!”
“We both know that’s a lie. Stop working on your stupid inventions and go to bed.”
“You wound me—they are not stupid.”
“They are when they’re preventing you from getting your required 8 to 10 hours of sleep.”
“Fufu~ that’s quite hypocritical coming from your lips, Little Miss Stays-Up-Until-5-AM-Playing-Video-Games.”
“I regret ever giving you my username.”
“Yet you still haven’t blocked me~”
“Shut up and go to bed.”
Call end.
They both knew the other probably wouldn’t go to bed anytime soon. It was worth a try though.
Today, his beloved girlfriend had decided that there was apparently no point in him having the games downloaded if he wasn’t going to play them. So, now, here they were.
He was on a call with Nene—he didn’t understand the purpose of it, she was right across the street. But, he was always willing to humor her. So there they were. His avatar followed Nene’s around like a lost puppy. And honestly, that was what he felt like. He had no clue what he was doing. But, somehow, that made things even more fun.
“What’s this game called again? Road Block?” he questioned, with a curious tilt of his head (not that Nene could see him).
Silence for a moment.
“…it’s Roblox, idiot.”
Okay, call it Road Block more often! Good to know.
“And also, that’s just the platform we’re playing on,” she continued. “we’re playing Natural Disaster Survival.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Very creative name. I’m sure it took the developers years to come up with it.”
He could hear Nene snort, but she attempted to cover it up. “Honestly, I don’t think this game has been updated since like…” She paused for a moment, and he could hear clicking in the background. “…oh. This year. That’s surprising.”
“How so?” he pondered.
“This game is considered a classic of sorts. It’s been around a long time. I’m surprised it hasn’t been abandoned.”
He nodded, before realizing she couldn’t see him and responding verbally. “Ah, I suppose that makes sense. The developers seem very dedicated.”
The next round began before Nene could respond.
“Rainbow Ride…” he noted, when the name of the map appeared on-screen.
“I think this might be a newer map, I don’t remember this one. But, I haven’t played this in a couple years to be fair.”
Rui hummed in acknowledgement, looking around after his character spawned in. The most obvious thing on the map was the gigantic ferris wheel, and he couldn’t help the way his grin widened when he saw it.
“Would you like to go on the ferris wheel together, my love?”
“…what.”
“We could even call it… a date?” he continued, holding back a snicker.
“We are playing a survival game. The point is to survive. What are we gonna do if the disaster for this round is a tornado or something?”
He pouted, before remembering once again that she couldn’t see him giving her the puppy-dog eyes right now. He was starting to wish he’d been more insistent about wanting to come over and be in the same room as her while they played.
“Aw, but darling, it would be such a lovely moment~”
Silence.
“And it would make my day to share such a special moment with you~!”
Still silence.
“Please…?”
“…fine.” she gave in.
He chuckled at his victory, but dare not say anything else. She would probably leave the game if he said anything too stupid.
And so, this began a chaotic yet hilarious cycle. See, the ferris wheel was constantly moving, so if you missed your chance to jump into the car, then you were out of luck. And somehow, the duo could not get the timing right.
Sometimes Nene would make it and Rui would miss entirely, sometimes they’d end up in two separate cars, sometimes one of them would jump in too early and abandon the other on the ground. Nene had tried to seem exasperated, but ultimately ended up cackling.
“Is my lack of experience funny to you? Oh, how cruel you are!” Rui sighed dramatically.
“Absolutely.” she snickered.
Eventually, they did end up getting it right... right before the disaster began.
“A blizzard. Are you being serious.”
Rui chuckled. “It seems that we have one of the only somewhat safe spots on the map. Aren’t you glad you agreed to go on this little date with me~?”
“Shut up. Just—be quiet.”
As the round went on, more and more things got destroyed by the harsh winds and several other players ended up dying. And yet, somehow, even after their cart detached from the rest of the ferris wheel and went flying (which had, admittedly, been hilarious to watch), it was still remaining intact.
“How in the…” Nene, after recovering from a fit of laughter, mumbled.
Mischief danced in Rui’s golden eyes. “It’s the power of love~!”
“Oh my god. I’m done. I’m actually done.” Nene grumbled, embarrassment made obvious in her voice.
“Aw, but don’t you love me~?” he pouted.
“I’m gonna kill you. I’m being serious this time. After this round, I’m marching over to your house and killing you.”
“Alrighty, sounds like a plan~!” he enthusiastically replied. “I’ll go unlock the door for you!”
“Whatever.”
There was a pause for a moment.
“Why are you being so quiet? You’re not actually unlocking the door right now, are you?”
“Fufu, and what if I was?” He wasn’t.
Silence, again. He took a quick glance at the clock; it was 6:32. He would most likely have to go soon.
“...Rui?”
“Yes, Nene?”
“I love you. Thanks for playing with me.”
Apparently, Nene had realized the time as well. It was now Rui’s turn to be a bit flustered.
“...of course, darling. I love you too.”
He could hear his mom calling him for dinner. He had no doubt that Nene could hear it as well. But, he hesitated for a moment.
“Say, Nene?”
She hummed in response.
“How about I take you on an actual ferris wheel?” he smiled. “With no blizzard of course.” he added as a side note, letting out a small laugh.
“…that sounds nice. I’d like that.”
“Tomorrow at 1?” he asked.
“Tomorrow at 1.” she confirmed.