Chapter Text
“Ohhh, I regret this..." Lofi muttered into her drink as she watched the two Urban Legend hunters argue, leaning on the slightly greasy table. The sleepy cashier/chef/food scientist, Gaita, was seemingly unfazed - or asleep - as she stood at the counter, not even looking over her shoulder to the two men as they snapped and yelled at each other.
Lofi was incredibly glad that they were the only customers in the restaurant.
“You’re just a damn weirdo.” Vailo snarked, scowling at the Psychic.
“It was merely me researching. You can’t investigate a group without joining them!” James defended himself. Lofi knew that was bullshit, considering the poorly-hidden Retaliator merch in James’ apartment , but she wasn’t about to willingly get involved in this argument.
“No it wasn't. That's obvious. You’ve been making a damn fool of yourself since the day it was leaked , doing your best to save face with awful lies.” Vailo hissed, agitated, crossing his arms and leaning back. James took one of Vailos’ fries from his tr ay, maintaining eye contact as he did.
“No I haven't. I’ve merely been clarifying the incorrect assumptions that people have been having since it was leaked!” James lied, his calm and collected Psychic facade breaking slightly as he shoved the greasy fry into his mouth.
“You went radio silent for a month, and have been either denying or straight-up ignoring the questions since.” Vailo pointed out, jabbing James in the collarbone with his index finger.
"Uh...”
James silently scowled at Vailo, the gangly Urban Legend hunter glowering back down at the Psychic Guru as James seemed to think about what to say.
“That was just to wait for it all to die down, first. It would have been nothing but questions, questions, and questions about it if I hadn’t .” James eventually defended himself, cleaning his hands off on one of the napkins on the table before adjusting his glasses, the oval-shaped lenses glinting in the late afternoon light that filtered through a nearby window.
Lofi looked between them as the two men scowled silently at each other, faces inches apart.
‘ The romantic tension in this room could be cut with a butter knife...’ Lofi thought, with a tiny bit of humour, as she looked between James’ slightly flushed face, and Vailos’ tired, dark eyes.
“...I could disprove all of those denials you’ve been spouting the past two months really easily right now.” Vailo commented, dark eyes momentarily flicking down to James’ strangely moisturized lips.
“You wouldn’t kiss your rival in a fast food restaurant.” Lofi interjected, trying to begin diffusing the situation, smirking.
“Bet.”
“Waitwaitwai -!”
---
As it turned out, Vailo would kiss his worst enemy in a fast food restaurant. If only to prove a point.
Lofi blinked, wide-eyed, pink eyes flicking between James, who'd simply dropped himself onto the threadbare booth couch behind him, his face bright red and lips slightly parted, hair tousled and glasses skewed thanks to Vailo grabbing his face, and the still-closing front door of the restaurant, which Vailo had stormed out of just a moment ago. A lanky, pale girl stood there, pink and black pigtails nearly brushing the floor as she watched the door that Vailo had just fled through with a strangely dismayed look, clearly having just seen that interaction. Lofi thought she looked familiar…
James sat there for a moment, dazed and blinking, eyes wide, face pink.
"...So how was it?"
"Shut. Up."