Work Text:
Pocky Game
It's one of those days. The shelves have been stocked with new products, the store's floor has been wiped clean, and the garbage has been thrown out. There's nothing left to do. And Shin and Lu are dying of boredom. Not even customers are coming to the store today.
Sakamoto, Aoi, and Hana have a day off, spending quality time as a family, while Heisuke and Piisuke are off doing who knows what. In their absence, Shin and Lu are tasked with watching over the store. Yet, all the tasks they usually perform during their shifts have been taken care of. There really isn't anything left to do.
"I'm bored, Shin," says Lu.
"I don't care. We're at work here, and the store has been placed in our care while the Sakamotos are gone. Have you wiped the counter and the shelves clean?" Shin replies.
"Yup."
"Have you counted the money in the cash register?"
"Yup. Twice."
"Umm… what about th-"
Before Shin can finish his sentence, he's interrupted by Lu, who seems a bit annoyed by being ordered around: "Look, we've already done everything we have to do today. I know you probably think you're the boss in Sakamoto's absence, but you should relax."
Shin is surprised. Lu is spot on. Shin does indeed think he is in charge here. It's almost as if Lu read his mind which isn't something he is accustomed to. Usually, he is the one who reads the minds of other people. Lu simply knows him too well.
"Fine," says Shin while breathing a sigh of relaxation. "What do you have in mind? How should we pass the time?"
"Umm… how about playing Shiritori?"
"Wow, what a creative idea," replies Shin with a thick sarcastic undertone.
"Shuddup."
"Fine. Let's play Shiritori."
Lu begins.
"Suika." (watermelon)
"Katsuobushi." (bonito flakes)
"Shio." (salt)
"Omuraisu." (omurice)
"Umm…," Lu tries to think of another word as she looks around the store. "Sushi."
"You know, if you continue naming things that you can see in the store, you're gonna run out of words sooner or later," says Shin smugly.
"It's called having a strategy. Haven't you been doing the same?" counters Lu.
Shin doesn't deny it.
The game of Shiritori continues for just a few minutes until both of them run out of things in the store that they could name. And now, they're back to where they started. They're dying of boredom.
After a while, Lu has had enough and uses her last resort: her smartphone.
"Hey, what are you doing!?" asks Shin a bit angrily. "You're at work here!"
"C’mon, it's not like we have anything better to do. And if customers come in, I'll just put my phone away."
Shin can't argue with her. He himself is quite bored as well and understands her feeling all too well. But he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to scroll through his smartphone while on a shift, especially while watching over the store in Sakamoto’s absence.
There is a moment of dead silence in the store. Lu is too focused on scrolling through her smartphone, and Shin is waiting, no… hoping that a customer would finally visit the store.
After a while, Lu screams: "Ah!"
It's so loud and sudden that Shin is visibly startled by Lu's exclamation.
"W-What's wrong!?"
"Look, what I've just found out while browsing the web! Today is November 11th!"
"So…!?"
"Today is Pocky & Pretz Day!"
"And…!?"
"I just thought of what we could do to pass the time. Let's play the Pocky Game!"
"The Pocky Game…?" asks Shin. He's somewhat familiar with the game, but he has never actually played it himself. He never went to an actual school, and he isn't very experienced when it comes to women and romance so the chance to play this game never really presented itself. He only knows about the Pocky Game and its rules from anime and manga.
"Do you know the rules?" asks Lu curiously.
"Yes, I do. Do you know the rules?" replies Shin.
"Well, I do know the rules, but I never played it myself since I started living in Japan not too long ago. It's not really a thing in China."
Shin is a bit hesitant to give in to Lu's demand given the nature of the game. He reads her mind, and it's obvious that she is really keen on playing this game without her having any ulterior motive. She just wants to combat this boredom. Still, Shin makes one last-ditch effort to talk her out of playing this game as Lu takes a pack of Pocky off the shelf and puts some money from her wallet into the cash register.
"A-Are you really sure that you want to play this game?" asks Shin with a slightly high-pitched voice. "What if a customer suddenly comes in and sees us?"
"Shin, we haven't had a customer all day today," says Lu in a calm yet assertive demeanor.
"Still…"
And then it dawns upon Lu. She knows why Shin seems so reluctant to play along. Or at least she thinks she knows why.
"Oh, now I get it. You're scared of losing!" says Lu with a mischievous smile on her face that spans from one ear to the other.
Lu takes a stick of Pocky out of the pack and places the tip of one end in her mouth. "C’mon on, what are you waiting for? Or do you fear that you would embarrass yourself?" mumbles Lu with the stick in her mouth. And yet, the smug tone in her voice is hard to miss.
Shin is triggered. Lu touched his competitive nerve and he won't let her trash talk go unpunished. He places the other end of the stick in a somewhat angry manner and seems like he is determined to make Lu eat her own words. Lu, on the other hand, is taken aback by Shin's newfound determination. "Just to make sure, whoever gets embarrassed first loses," says Lu in an attempt to regain her confidence.
And thus, the Pocky Game begins.
Up until now, they have never been this close to each other. The complexion of their skins, the colors of their eyes, and the shape of their noses – they are noticing things about the other person for the very first time that they haven't otherwise noticed up until now. They can even faintly feel the breath of the other person.
Hesitantly, Shin takes the first bite. It isn't a big one, but he feels like the longer both of them wait to make the first move, the more awkward it will get. Lu immediately follows his lead. After all, she doesn't want to appear anxious after taunting Shin.
The atmosphere in the store has completely changed by now. The boredom that plagued them today seems like a distant memory. Instead, it's a mix of focus, competitiveness but also uneasiness.
Shin takes another bite and Lu follows suit. With each bite, their lips inch closer and it's clear that neither of them wants to back down. And yet, both are visibly affected as they are starting to blush and take heavier breaths.
Shin needs a moment to calm himself down which Lu immediately tries to exploit.
"Aren't you gonna take another bite?" mumbles Lu.
Shin isn't affected by Lu's provocation. He takes another bite. And now it's his turn to taunt Lu.
"Aren't you gonna take another bite?" says Shin in a mocking manner.
Obviously, Lu can't just let Shin's remark stand and takes another bite.
Right now, they have reached a critical point. The stick grew so short, they can clearly feel the other person's warmth. Shin and Lu are so absorbed in the game that everything else ceases to exist. Backing down after coming this far isn't an option for either of them. However, they are only millimeters apart, and another bite could mean that their lips would touch.
Shin decides to take another bite. It isn't a big one. And somehow the distance between them grows even shorter. And now it's Lu's turn. Surely, another bite would result in their lips touching. But Lu doesn't want to end the game and admit that she's too embarrassed to continue. Not after all the taunting that she had done before and during the game.
At this point, this game isn't just about passing time and combating their boredom. Or their senses of competitiveness. By now, they have realized that there's a slightly romantic and maybe even sexual tension between them that didn't exist before the game started. While they are hesitant to act on those feelings, both Shin and Lu are fully aware of the atmosphere that this game has created. Deep down, they want to be consumed by this atmosphere.
And then, it finally happens. As Lu takes another bite, her lips touch Shin's for a brief moment. The stick of Pocky has disappeared.
But this brief moment in which their lips merely touch is immediately followed by a lengthy, passionate kiss shared between them.
It's an odd sensation, to say the least. Not because a kiss between feels unnatural, but because the taste of chocolate has a strong presence. It tastes sweet.
Shin places his hand on Lu's hips and presses her body against his. He can clearly feel her soft boobs. Lu reciprocates this gesture by grabbing the collar of Shin's shirt. She feels like she has to hold on to something or otherwise she would lose herself entirely.
The initial Pocky Game is long over and forgotten. This is a full-on makeout session now.
It feels like an eternity to them, but in reality, their making out lasts only for a few seconds.
Now that their passionate kiss has come to an end, they both start to gasp for air as if they haven't taken a breath for a while.
Both Shin and Lu start coming back to their senses as they look at each other. For a moment, they don't say anything. "What just happened? Did we really do this just now?" is what both of them are thinking. The awkward silence between them feels suffocating.
"S-So…," says Shin, trying to break the silence. "What now!?"
A valid question. Neither of them anticipated for this to happen. But they both got lost in mood and it just felt like the right thing to do in that moment.
Lu takes a deep breath and says: "We could just pretend that this never happened and continue as usual, or…"
"Or…?" asks Shin, eagerly waiting for Lu to continue her sentence.
"Or…" Lu is visibly unable to finish her sentence. She can't even look at Shin directly. She's just too embarrassed about what just happened between them. Lu takes another deep breath.
While Lu is still unable to speak, she's at the very least now able to look at Shin directly. And she's not giving him just any look. Lu gazes at Shin with hopeful eyes that leave very little room for interpretation about what she wants them to do.
Instead of speaking, Lu decides to think, fully aware that Shin would read her mind.
"Or… we could just continue with what is left over in the pack of Pocky."