Work Text:
Lights Out
Shoka darted along the busy streets of Shibuya, eager to get out of the pelting rain. It hadn’t been so bad when she’d left home early this morning—just a light drizzle not even worth bringing an umbrella for. Stupid, she reprimanded herself. She should’ve brought one anyway. Too bad she’d decided to leave her hoodie home as well, as it could’ve helped shelter her from all this. But now she was left with nothing but the casual clothes she wore, and they were getting soaked.
She had just left a meeting with a local cat shelter about some strays she’d found dumped in a park last week. They’d discussed finding them foster homes, as well as hosting an adoption fair they’d been planning with a café. Organizing a time and date for everything had taken way longer than she’d anticipated. Rindo even had a day off today, and she’d hoped to spend more of it with him instead, especially since their plan had been to catch up on games. Now all she wanted to do was escape this miserable slog.
Feet pounding on the slick cement, she ducked under some shop awnings, using them as a brief reprieve from the deluge as she neared their apartment building. After one final mad dash across the street with little regard to traffic, she made it. Huffing out a breath, she clutched her bag and darted into the building. Instant relief flooded through her. If she’d spent any more time outside with the sky literally raining on her parade and cars splashing her, she would’ve kicked a puddle right back at one.
Gathering herself, she made her way to the elevator and waited for it to open, one hand running through her hair as she fussed over the wet locks clinging to her face. As soon as the doors opened, one of her neighbors exited. She gave Shoka a cold once over, disdain plain in her eyes. Ever since the old woman had found out Rindo and her were living together unmarried, she had never been fond of the pair.
Shoka shrugged off the woman’s snort of disapproval, not really bothered by what her neighbors thought of them. They could deal. She brushed past the woman and entered the elevator, pressing the button for her floor. Drops of water tumbled from her hair and onto her shoulders as the elevator ascended, eventually dinging when it hit the sixth floor. She rushed out, pulling a key from her bag as she reached the door to her apartment. Just as she began to stick the key in the door, it opened, tugging her hand with it.
“Shoka?” Rindo’s startled voice greeted her ears.
“Who else would it be, dummy?” she responded, looking up at her boyfriend through dripping bangs.
He seemed startled, gaze dipping to look her up and down. “Guessing you already know you forgot your umbrella?” He lifted a hand, wagging one at her.
“Gee, I hadn’t realized.” She swiped at her hair, purposely flicking a few drops at him.
“H-hey!” He flinched as they hit him. “I don’t need a secondhand shower.”
“Well, you asked a dumb question.” She scooted past him into the non-judgy safety of their entry hall. “What were you doing?” she asked, slipping off her shoes.
“I was about to come find you.” He tucked the umbrella back in its stand. “I figured you’d be stuck waiting in the rain, but… I guess you decided to chance it anyhow.” He took her bag, hanging it on a peg by the door alongside her usual hoodie and his jacket. “Didn’t you get any of my texts?”
“Texts?” Shoka pulled her phone from her pocket, checking it. She had two unread texts. The first was from Fret asking which of his scarves looked better with his outfit, followed by him saying not to worry since he’d already figured it out. The second was from Rindo. Apparently he had wished her good luck with the meeting early this morning. Then there was a more recent one asking if she needed him to bring her an umbrella, since now it was pouring outside.
Shoka bit her lip. “Sorry, looks like I missed it. I was in a hurry to get home, so I didn’t bother to check anything after the meeting was over.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it. At least you can get dried off now.”
“Yeah, that’s kinda at the top of my priority list right now.” Shoka was starting to understand how some of the continually dripping water-based monsters from their games felt.
“Let me just grab you a towel,” Rindo said, quickly heading down the hall.
“Thanks.” She followed him to their room. “I’m going to change into something warmer real quick, too.” She rummaged through her drawers and pulled free a slightly worn light purple sweater. Tugging off the damp shirt she’d been wearing, she swapped it for the comfy, and most importantly, dry sweater.
“Here you go.” Rindo offered a fluffy towel once she’d finished changing. “Hopefully that helps you warm up a little.”
She took it and began scrunching her hair between its folds, trying to get it as dry as she could manage.
“Want me to make some tea or coffee?” he asked, already heading for the door. She could tell he was concerned by the tone of his voice.
“Coffee please. I could probably use some extra energy after all that.” A hot drink would certainly help stave off the chill she was starting to feel.
“Sure, I’ll make us some. And maybe get snacks too,” he added. “You can just sit and relax while I get stuff set up.”
Shoka’s lips tweaked up at the corners. “If I knew you were going to spoil me this much just from going out in the rain, I’d do it more often,” she teased.
Rindo might have rolled his eyes at her, but they were filled with obvious care. “I just don’t want you getting sick is all.” He made for their kitchen, grabbing Shoka’s favorite brand of coffee before scooping the grounds into the coffee maker’s filter.
Meanwhile, Shoka seated herself at the kitchen table. It wasn’t very big, but it was comfy, set in a little nook by a large window draped in curtains she had proudly made herself. Peering out, all she could see was rain pouring off the roof above and water trickling along the glass panes.
“It’s really coming down hard out there,” she mumbled, still working with her hair.
“The weather app says there’s supposed to be a storm system moving in. But it wasn’t supposed to happen until tomorrow night.” Rindo snagged their mugs from the cabinet, each colorful and specially designed by Neku.
“Apparently it decided to rear its ugly head early,” she grumbled, flinching as a strong gust of wind rattled against the window.
“Looks like it. I hope it doesn’t stay this bad all day, though.” He poured steaming brown liquid into each mug. The rich aroma was enough to make Shoka feel warmer inside already.
“At least we were just planning to play games today and not go out anywhere.” She watched him expertly spoon sugar into her drink, then splash the milk in. He knew exactly how Shoka liked her coffee, extra sweet and a bit milky. “Unless you don’t want to now,” she continued.
Rindo shook his head. “Trust me, having a rainy day gaming marathon sounds perfect.” He turned and slid the mug over to her, grabbing a bag of sweet snacks to go with their coffee.
Shoka inhaled the steam, then gently blew into her mug, sending tiny ripples across the liquid before she took her first heavenly sip.
“Your hair’s still pretty wet,” Rindo observed between slow slurps of his own coffee. “I could blow-dry it for you.” He hesitated. “I mean, if you want me to.”
Shoka snorted, finding his awkward expression adorable. Even after having lived together for a couple of years with countless wonderful moments shared between them, there were still simple things that could get him flustered. Her too really, but she’d never own up to that. “Sure. Have at it.”
Rindo abandoned his coffee to get what he needed and returned with both the blow dryer and her brush. After plugging the dryer into a nearby outlet, he began separating out the long layers of her hair. Starting from the top of her head, he slowly blew them all the way down to the end of each strand. He’d alternate this with a bit of brushing, pulling the brush through her hair gently. It all felt so amazingly blissful, that she let herself sink into its comforts, forgetting all about her drink and snacks. The process itself took a while, given how much hair she had, and somewhere along the way she started to doze off.
“Shoka?” Rindo tapped her shoulder with the brush handle, drawing her back to reality. “I think your hair’s good now.”
Groaning, she blinked several times to wake herself, running her fingers over her silky hair. Usually she would’ve dried her own hair and fixed it however she wanted, but it was kinda nice having someone else do it for her on occasion. Namely Rindo. He was one of the few lucky enough to be allowed that honor. Though, there’d also been the time when she’d let Eri style her hair. That had been interesting. “Mmm… it’s not bad, but I could use a little more.” She stalled.
“More? But it got so hot it was starting to burn my fingers.” He trailed his hand down the hair he was still holding.
Wrapping her hands around the warm mug, she tried to maintain her awakeness. They still had games to play after this, and she wanted to be alert enough for it. “That’s the price of playing with my hair, isn’t it?” she teased, tilting her head back slightly so she could see his face. He seemed perfectly content running his fingers along her hair.
“Right. Sure.” He casually tapped a finger on the dryer. “I could switch it to cool, you know.”
Shoka crinkled her nose. “No thanks, that’d just mess it up. Besides, I've had enough cool breezes for today.”
“I was only joking.” He smiled. “But really, I could keep messing with it still.”
“No, it’s alright.” She forced herself to sit up fully. “If you do that, I’ll probably fall asleep for the rest of the day. We should just play our game now.”
“Alright. If you’re sure,” he said, letting her hair fall over her shoulders with a touch of mild disappointment. So was she, honestly, but they had plenty of other chances for hair blow drying fun.
Stretching, she got up from the table and wandered into the living room. The couch looked extra appealing for a nap, especially with its cushy throw pillows, the blanket Rindo had left there the other night, and Shoka’s cat, Kage, curled up asleep on it. He had his kitty priorities right for a rainy afternoon. Shaking her head, Shoka forced her thoughts on games again. No napping was allowed right now.
“You good to keep going with Tides of the Ancient Crypt?”
“Sure, works for me.” Shoka plopped down beside Kage, leaving room for Rindo on her other side. She drew her legs up, getting nice and cozy.
Settling beside her, Rindo pulled his blanket across their laps, effectively startling poor Kage in the process. The fuzzy furball scrambled off the moving fabric as quickly as possible, meowing loudly as he did so.
“Oops. Sorry little guy. You can have my lap if you want.”
Kage ignored his human dad and instead curled right back up, tucking his nose under his paw.
“That was a brush-off if I ever saw one.” Shoka snickered.
“Y-yeah well… He’ll come back to me later,” Rindo tried to reassure himself.
“I dunno. Cats are said to hold grudges sometimes.”
“Oh come on, he wouldn’t let something as small as that get in the way of our relationship… Would he?” It was so cute the way he actually looked worried.
“I’m sure all will be forgiven if you just give him a treat later.”
“Right. Yeah. I’ll give him one of his favorites after we’re done.” Rindo started up the console and offered her a controller. “You want to go first, or should I?”
They’d been playing a single-player RPG and were taking turns on who got to play. “You can go first. I want to finish my coffee.” She took another sip. It was much cooler now, but still warm enough to enjoy.
Just as Rindo got to the game’s menu and hit ‘continue,' the lights on the end table beside Shoka flickered. An inkling of dread triggered deep inside her. The power wasn’t seriously about to…
The light flickered again, once, twice, and then… it went out. Along with literally everything else—the console, the TV, and even the weird humming sound their fridge made suddenly ceased to exist. Crap.
The pair sat there in total silence for a few moments, absorbing the fact they’d just been left in the dark. Literally. A particularly shrill gust of wind echoed off the mood.
“Seriously?” Rindo finally blurted out. “Come on. Not today!” He tossed the controller onto the empty couch beside him.
Yep. That was that. No gaming. Shoka groaned. “Why can’t nature just chill the heck out or something?” She fumbled with the blanket, swiping it off of her lap and got up. “Do we even have regular flashlights?”
“I don’t know. Did you buy any when we moved into this place?” Rindo had his phone up, using the flashlight app as he searched around their dark apartment. He couldn’t do that for long, though, if he wanted to keep his phone’s battery life.
“I never really thought about it. I kind of assumed you had.”
“Why would you assume that?”
“I don’t know, maybe because you’re the one who usually overthinks things?”
“Thanks,” he said dryly, rifling through the drawers of the large black cabinet their TV sat on. Their sad, lifeless TV.
“We’ve got candles at least,” Shoka muttered, opening an antique chest she used to store some things she didn’t regularly use. After shifting aside old linens, items she’d gotten as gifts but didn’t quite love, and a few other odds and ends, she eventually found the candles. “Here we go.” She pulled out a couple of pillar candles and a few smaller scented ones. “We have matches, right?”
Rindo hesitated, thinking for a moment. “I think so? Maybe?” he finally answered.
“Really?” She glared, not that he'd be able to tell in the dim room.
“I’m not the only one who’s capable of preparing for bad weather, you know,” he griped.
“Oh, whatever. Just see if you can find some, okay?”
“Fine.” He tried checking the kitchen for matches while Shoka busied herself setting the candles around the living room, hoping her efforts weren’t totally pointless. Kage was still sound asleep on the couch, blissfully unaware of the misery his owners were suffering right now.
“Found some!” Rindo shouted from the kitchen before hurrying into the living room again. “I think my mom must’ve gotten them for us at one point.”
“Nice. We’ll have to thank her for that later.” Shoka set her last candle down on the end table. “Mind lighting these?”
“Yeah, I’ll get them.” He struck a match on the side of the box and went about lighting each of the candles. The room grew relatively bright again once they were all lit, shadows bouncing on the walls as the flames wavered. “That’s better.” He set the box aside, then flopped back on the couch. “So much for playing stuff, though.”
Shoka sank down beside him. “Yeah. Guess we’ll have to find something else to do for the rest of the afternoon.” This atmosphere wasn’t the worst. They didn’t often sit in candlelight, but Shoka had to admit it was cozier compared to the pale light of their screens. The only reason they even had so many candles was from one time when she’d felt spontaneous and set the mood for a romantic evening. But even then, they’d ended up playing games afterwards.
“There’s only so much charge left in our phones, or I’d say we could stream something to watch.”
Shoka bonked her head into his shoulder with a sigh. “First my meeting ran way too long, then nature decided to dump buckets of water on me, now our power’s out. I swear it’s like today just wants to keep getting worse.”
Rindo angled his head to rest against hers. “To be fair, you didn’t bring an umbrella with you.”
“Not helping, Rindykins.”
He chuckled. “Well, it’s not the worst, right? At least we’re stuck in it together.”
As she snuggled against him, her eyes caught a glimmer from the shelf under their coffee table. That’s right, Shiki had given her a board game she thought Shoka might like. Something about popular fairy tale villains being pitted against each other. She suddenly found herself saying, "We could try doing something incredibly old-school, like a pre-technology era game.”
“Huh? You mean like a board game?”
“Yeah, why not? It’s not like we have anything better to do, so… It’s just under the table, if you want to try it out.” She nudged the box with her foot.
“Sure. We own it, so why not bust it out? All it’s doing is collecting dust,” Rindo said, easing away from her to reach for the game. “Should we set it up here and sit on the floor? Or go play at the kitchen table?”
“Here’s fine by me. It’s where all the light is.” She took some of the pillows from the couch and tossed them to the floor so they’d have something cushy to sit on. She squeezed herself between the couch and the table, while Rindo took the other side. The wind pushed against the building again, making faint popping and creaking sounds. It was eerie, but at least there wasn’t any thunder.
“Okay, so it looks like there are separate cards for each player.” Rindo carefully read the instruction pamphlet.
Shoka, not fully paying attention as he read them, picked through the game pieces, instantly recognizing some villains she knew from old fairy tales. A witch who’d cursed a princess to sleep forever, an impish looking man standing beside a spinning wheel, a greedy royal who schmoozed people into paying unfair prices for services he didn’t always grant, among others. Shoka sympathized with the witch. Her tale was a sad one—basically someone who was tired of people pushing her around, so she crashed a party she wasn’t invited to. Shoka couldn’t say she wouldn’t do the same in her shoes.
“I guess we’re supposed to basically one-up each other through our acts of villainy? And… try to complete objectives as we move across the board?” He unfolded more of the pamphlet. “It says we can also set traps for each other.”
Shoka smirked. “Better buckle down, because I’ve already got this in the bag.”
“We’ll see about that. I’m not too bad at board games.”
That was true, Rindo had played them off and on with his family, but her skillset matched this game way too perfectly. No way she’d lose. “My Reaper days aren’t that far behind me.”
Rindo rolled his eyes, setting out stacks of cards. “As I recall, you were helping us almost the entire time. And I’m not sure I would even count all Reapers as villains.”
A smile tugged at Shoka’s lips. Not many would say that about Reapers. “Fine. Maybe you’re right, but this is still right up my alley.” Her fingers closed around the witch, claiming it as her player.
“Want to make a bet out of it?”
“What are you suggesting?” she asked, interest piqued.
Rindo thought for a second. “How about the winner gets a free favor of their choosing from the loser?” His brown eyes glimmered more orange in the candlelight.
“You’re on,” she replied. “May the best player win.” She raised her witch and tapped it against the greedy aristocrat Rindo had chosen to play. She was mildly surprised he’d gone with that for his pick, but it’d definitely make for an interesting match.
“The rulebook says youngest goes first, so guess that’d be me.” Rindo set his player down then glanced at his cards, selecting one to place on one of his spots on the board.
Shoka eyed the obvious trap, hoping her luck wouldn’t spring it on her first move. “Alright, let’s go,” she said, taking the dice and rolling them. Six. Thankfully that was just past Rindo’s trap. “Looks like you missed me.”
“I wouldn’t relax just yet. There’s apparently a chance of getting sent back,” he countered.
“I’ll take my chances.” She took a card from the stack, earning a power-up for her witch. “What do I do with this again?”
“Were you even listening when I read the instructions?”
Shoka shrugged. “I like learning on the fly, remember?”
“I think board games take a little more nuance than video games,” Rindo said, referring to how she rarely bothered with tutorials. “Anyway, you need that to help your witch earn minions. Once you have those, you can use them against… well, me.”
“Ooh, that sounds like it could be fun,” she said coyly.
“Just remember, it takes a while to build power-ups.” He rolled the dice and moved his player, landing on a space that allowed him to play a card. Unfortunately for Shoka, his choice of card allowed him to trick innocent townspeople into owing him money. That was one of the objectives he needed to complete the game.
Shoka’s lips bunched to the side. Now he was ahead of her. She needed to strategize better…
Several turns later, she managed to earn enough power-ups to give her witch an ally, allowing it to move independently on the board and give her an added boost.
Rindo grumbled as he fell into a trap she had just laid, unwittingly helping to complete one of her witch’s objectives. “How is it fair you can have an ally to help you win faster?”
“Aw, is someone upset?”
“No. Just annoyed.”
“May I remind you that your player can schmooze people into giving you stuff?”
“That’s kind of my only real attribute, though.” He scooched one of the candles closer to the board as the setting sun stole the last bit of outside light from the room.
Shoka took her turn again, skipping to a space that allowed her to pick up a specialty card. “‘Your curses have been turned on you, move to the nearest trap location.’” Her lips puckered. “Are you kidding me? I was about to complete another objective!”
Rindo snorted, covering his mouth with a hand in a bad attempt to hide his amusement. “Yeah, that’s rough. I’m sorry.” He didn’t sound very sorry.
Eyes narrowing, Shoka moved her witch back to one of the traps Rindo had set earlier and selected her own trap card. “So, now I’m stuck here for three turns and can only move my ally. Great.”
“Meanwhile, it looks like I can…” Taking his turn, Rindo pulled a card from his stack and read it. “‘Double my coin pot and complete my second objective.’” He grinned.
“I hope you know that smile won’t last. Once I’m out of here, I’m going to wipe it off your dumb face.”
“I dunno, that might take some work. I’m already far ahead of you.” He casually plopped the card in his discarded stack.
Shoka chewed her lip in annoyance, glaring at him as she rolled for her ally. Moving it ahead, she collected some coins… just enough coins to buy her freedom instead of waiting. Her glare shifted into a sly smile. “Well well. Would you look at that, Rindykins? Guess I don’t have to wait to trounce you after all.” She moved her player out of the trap and took a card.
Rindo’s grin fizzled into a grimace. He didn’t say anything as he snatched the dice and shook them bitterly. “Come on… Get me to something good.” He tossed them, rolling snake eyes. Moving two spaces ahead, he landed himself in a bog. “That’s not what I asked for,” he groaned.
Checking the rulebook, Shoka read aloud, “‘Welcome the Babbling Bog. Each player that lands here will be dealt a different fate. Select a card from your specialty pile and find out what’s in store.’”
Rindo’s expression soured even more. “Great, that’s just what I wanted.”
“Best of luck,” Shoka teased. “Who knows. Maybe you’ll be the one to get trapp—” Her words cut off as Rindo yelled excitedly.
“Hah! I just met a mysterious old man who’s giving me an object that can warp me anywhere on the board. How’s that for luck?!”
“Ugh. More like grossly unfair.”
“As fair as you buying your way out of my trap?” He smugly cast the card aside, then gave the board a once-over as he considered what options were open to him.
“I earned that, thanks.” Shoka slumped back against the couch, sulking.
“Think I'll just go here.” Rindo moved to a location closer to an objective he needed to finish—his last one in fact. Grinning, he discarded the card.
Shoka rolled her eyes at his overexcitement. If he’d been up against anyone else, she’d probably be rooting for him, but right now she was totally and utterly losing. “Are you done gloating now?” she asked, pensively eyeing him.
“I think so,” he replied, smiling back like he’d won the entire game already.
“I could still win, you know.”
“You’re just salty because I’m winning. Besides, you won the last board game we played.”
“Yeah, but do you know how long ago that was?”
“At Fret’s New Years party. Are you going to take your turn now?” He offered the dice out to her.
“That was still a while ago,” Shoka muttered, grabbing the annoying little cubes designed to doom her. She shook them a few times in her hands then tossed them down, getting a total of seven.
Seven… that would put her at… Oh. Exactly where she wanted to be—at the witch’s castle. One of her objectives was to return magic to her witch’s staff, and to do that she needed to be at the castle with enough coins to empower it.
“But maybe my luck’s about to get better.” Moving to the castle, she discarded the witch’s staff and flipped her second objective over to mark it complete.
Rindo’s amusement waned slightly. “So basically, you were just complaining for no reason.”
“Oh, whatever. You’re still ahead of me… barely.” She finished her turn and nudged the dice Rindo’s way. “Better watch your step though,” she added playfully.
Shaking his head, Rindo took his turn again, only this time time he wasn’t so fortunate. He ended up imprisoned for swindling the wrong person and had to use up all his coins just to buy his way out.
“Ouch, who has it rough now?” Shoka propped herself up on one elbow, chin resting in her palm as she watched him.
“I can still make it,” Rindo said, less certain than before.
“Maybe. We’ll see soon enough.” Managing to earn herself another good dice roll, Shoka claimed several coins from a loot pile on the board. Rindo winced at this, knowing she was catching up.
“Alright, my turn… This better be a good one,” he mumbled to himself. He shook the dice over and over again.
“Going to throw them someday soon? Like today maybe?”
“I just want a good roll.”
“And shaking them repeatedly is going to help how? ”
“I don’t know. It just might, okay?” And he finally let them fall. “Eight? Where does eight land me?” He surveyed the board, then blinked. “That’s…”
Shoka could tell by his expression that she wasn’t going to like what was coming. “Let me guess: you have the card to defeat your hero,” she stated tartly.
“Gee, what tipped you off?” He eagerly moved his player to the spot before whisking the coveted card from his hand and slapping it down. “I win.”
Shoka huffed. “Yes, you win. Congrats.” She mock clapped. “Do you want a cookie?”
“No. But I might consider cashing in my prize.”
“You don’t want to, I dunno, save it for a less crappy day?” She gestured flippantly to the rain-soaked window.
“Nah, I think I’ll take it now instead of waiting.” The stupid smirk had returned to his face again.
Folding her arms across her chest, she shot him a look. “And what exactly are you going to ask for, O Master of Board Games?” Rindo looked way too proud right now, and she wasn’t sure she liked it.
“I dunno. How about admitting I did a good job beating you?”
Shoka plucked up the nearest pillow and chucked it at him, mindful to avoid any of the candle's flames.
Rindo lifted his arms in time to shield his face. “Okay, okay! How about a kiss then?”
“Just a kiss? Hm…” Shoka pretended to consider a while before exaggerating a haughty sigh. “Fine. I suppose I can grant that favor.” She squeezed out from behind the coffee table and crawled over to his side of it. “Does anywhere work for you?”
“Oh, uh… Sure?” A mild blush spread across his cheeks.
“Alright... I have just the place in mind.” She scooched behind him and slipped her arms around his neck, then trailed her hands down his chest as she casually mussed the fabric of his shirt. She could hear his breath suck in, clearly surprised by how extra she was being about a simple kiss. A smile played on her lips as she brushed them against the skin just under his ear. She paused, taking a moment to let him sink against her before whispering, “Actually, you know what? I’m kinda hungry now...”
This caused him to tense slightly, and he was growing warmer by the second. Exactly the reaction she was hoping for as he waited on bated breath for her kiss, and whatever else might come.
“And by hungry, I mean for dinner. How about we put a post-it note on this little moment?” She pulled away abruptly.
Rindo tipped backwards, almost slipping to the floor behind him. “H-hey! Shoka!” He managed to catch himself. “Come on! What about my reward?”
“Maybe later, after I eat something.” She grabbed her phone and turned on its flashlight. “You know it’s too bad you beat me, because if I’d won, I might be a little more in the ‘mood,’ if you catch my drift.” She fluttered her fingers at him and headed into the kitchen, leaving Rindo to brood.
In all seriousness, though, she really was hungry. She’d been way too focused on the game and hadn’t realized her stomach had been rumbling the whole time. Holding her phone’s flashlight aloft, she peered around the kitchen. It was now even darker than it had been when the power first went out. A quick peek back at her phone alerted her that it was well into the evening. That explained a lot. What could they even eat with the power out though? They couldn’t cook anything, right? No microwave, no toaster oven, no grill. Zilch. Even their fridge was out, so was the food still safe? Deciding to check, she opened the door. It still felt nice and cold inside, so maybe things were fine.
“You know, you still owe me a kiss later.” Rindo approached from behind, disrupting her thought process.
“Giving up already, Rindykins?” She glanced back at him.
“Sorta hard not to when your girlfriend starts something then ditches you.” He poked her arm playfully.
“Whatever. There’ll be time for that sort of stuff later.” She lightly swatted his hand.
A screechy meow startled them both as Kage’s eyes glimmered in the darkness. He had apparently woken from his long slumber and was now weaving between Rindo’s legs, also ready for dinner.
Shoka nudged the fridge shut with her hip, deciding to feed Kage first since his food was a much easier task to handle than feeding Rindo and herself. “Come on, fuzzball. Let’s get you fed.” She set aside her phone and retrieved a can of Fancy Delights from the cupboard.
After spooning the fishy smelling mush into his speckled bowl, she laid it in his designated feeding spot. Kage scampered to it, promptly stuffing his head in the bowl to scarf down his food.
Shoka fisted a hand against her hip. “If only it were that easy for the rest of us to get dinner.”
“I’m not sure how much I really want to try cat food,” Rindo responded dryly.
“He’s still got something, which is more than we do.”
“True…” Stuffing his hands in his pockets he added, “Guess you could always just share dinner with hi—ow!” Rindo cringed as Shoka elbowed him in the ribs. “Okay, never mind!”
“Help me figure something out for us.”
Rindo rubbed his neck. “One of us could go pick something up…”
Shoka’s gaze flitted to the window rattling from the heavy wind pressing against it, then silently looked back to Rindo.
“Yeah, okay. Maybe not. What about ordering in?”
“Aren’t we supposed to be saving that money for groceries?”
“Good point.”
Shoka drummed her fingers on her hip. “We can’t use the stove with the power out, right?”
“Uh… I don’t think so?” Rindo considered. “Or… I mean, I think it’s gas? So maybe it still works?”
Both of them were totally clueless as to this question.
“Let me look it up real quick.” Using his limited supply of power, Rindo pulled the internet up on his phone and searched.
“What does it say?” Shoka asked, peering over his arm at the device.
“I guess you can still light the burners with a match? So we could still use the stove if we wanted.”
“Huh. That’s pretty handy.” Shoka felt a hint of hope. Maybe they’d be okay after all. “Alright, you’re in charge of lighting one of the burners.”
“Why me? You’re perfectly capable.” It was obvious he wasn’t the keenest on figuring that out.
“Because I’m going to pick out something to heat up.” She fished through the fridge again. “And besides, you’ve lit a fire before. During that camping trip we all went on.”
“That was forever ago,” Rindo said. “And also all I had to do was stick a lighted match in a pile of wood. I’m not sure how similar that is.”
“Details,” she casually replied. “You’ll figure it out. I believe in you.”
“Gee thanks.” The dryness had returned to his voice.
She heard him rustle around as he got out another match, struck it against the side of the box, and turned one of the knobs on the stove. Meanwhile, she was realizing how badly they needed to do some shopping. There were eggs, vegetables, and some other odds and ends, but nothing very enticing for a meal.
“Ah! It worked. Shoka, look!” Rindo exclaimed excitedly.
Turning, she saw the burner was indeed lit and ready to cook. “Nice!” she said, enthusiasm matching his. She knew it was silly to be so excited over something as basic as this, but right now, she didn’t care. “How about we boil some water and just have instant ramen with eggs and veggies? We kinda need to shop next time we’re out.”
“Yeah, that works for me.” Rindo was still admiring his handiwork.
Once finished, he helped Shoka get out everything they needed for dinner prep. They chopped up their vegetables, boiled water, and fried an egg for each of them, working together until their meals were done. Shoka added a packet of chili pepper flakes to her noodles after topping them with some green onions.
“There, this actually looks good enough for a picture.” She turned on the flash of her phone, then snapped a quick pic.
“Going to post that on your blog later?” Rindo asked, adding some peppers to his own bowl as the final touch.
“Yep. Along with our whole power-outage adventure,” she added. “I should probably get a picture of the game while it's still set up, and the candles.”
“I thought you were mad at the game.”
“Oh, I still am, but I might not be after a rematch.”
“And if you lose again?”
“That won’t happen. There’s no way I’d lose a second time.”
“Be careful what you say,” Rindo cautioned, casting what seemed like a casual glance, but it betrayed some mischief. “You might wind up owing me another favor on top of the kiss.”
“Then that’s just extra incentive,” she teased. “Because I’m not about to owe you two favors.” Shoka grabbed her bowl and retreated to the living room, claiming her spot behind the coffee table again.
Rindo settled across from her. “Ready?”
“Like you even have to ask,” she responded, getting a picture of their last game and Rindo. “Are you sticking with the same player, or going with a new one?”
“Uhh…” Rindo thought. “I might try someone different. Maybe the pirate. That could be fun,” he said, clearing the board in preparation for their new game.
Shoka snorted. “A pirate is the last thing I could see you as.”
“I wouldn’t say that. I could pull it off.”
“Are you going to start saying ‘arrg’ now?”
“No. But you just did.” Rindo smirked, taking a picture of her this time.
Feeling her cheeks warm, Shoka rolled her eyes and dug through the game’s box. “Whatever. Here’s your pirate and cards.” She shoved everything his way, embarrassed.
“Thanks.” He set his player piece on the board. “What about you? Going with someone new this time?”
“I kinda like my witch, so I’ll just stick with her. None of the others hit the same level of interest.” Shoka set her back on the board.
“You mean full of ‘over it’ energy?”
“Exactly. You get it.”
Rindo took the dice, shook them, and with a toss, the game began yet again.
This match took a little longer than the last. Both struggled to get their objectives met, and despite getting trapped three times, almost getting eaten by a shark, and having one of his crewmates retaliate against him, Rindo still managed to win.
“I am so done now.” Shoka tossed her cards in a scattered heap on the board. “How are you so good at this game?”
Rindo straightened his shirt, grinning from ear to ear. “Maybe I have some hidden talent with villain characters.”
“That’s supposed to be me , not you ,” Shoka grumbled at him. She folded her arms across her chest as she slid back against the couch, slumping all the way down to the floor so that her legs were sprawled under the table.
Standing and stretching, Rindo peered over at her. “So… I guess you owe me tw—”
“Two favors, yeah I know. You don’t need to remind me.” She glared up.
“The first one’s not so bad, right?” Rindo actually looked a bit uncertain with how frustrated she was coming off.
A twinge of guilt tugged at her. She pushed herself back onto the couch. Patting the cushion next to her, she beckoned him over. “Come on.”
Rindo came and sat beside her. “You don’t really have to owe me anything. It was fun just playing the game together.”
“Rindo.” She reached up and planted her hands on his cheeks, holding his face steady. “When don’t I want to kiss you?”
He blinked, momentarily stunned by the gesture, but his surprise faded quickly. “Actually a lot when I think about it? Like that time last week whe—”
Grunting in annoyance, she pinched his cheeks and shushed him. “Okay stop. You’re just going to kill the mood if you start listing things off.”
“Ehkay, message resheived.” Rindo did his best to respond while his cheeks were still being pulled.
“Oh… sorry.” She quit tugging them, but still kept her hands on his face, thumbs pressing tenderly into his skin. It was hard to stay grumpy about losing when she was so close to his dumb, dopey self. It also didn’t help that the way he was looking at her right now squeezed her heart and made her insides feel so stupidly melty.
After a brief sigh, she finally decided to fulfill his first request and leaned in. Tilting her head, she firmly pressed her lips into his, falling into their soft warmth. Kissing him felt the same as always, but the spark she’d felt since their very first one never faded. It was always there, and she always wanted more of it.
Rindo pressed back barely a millisecond later, deepening their kiss. A hot tingle rushed down her side as his hand suddenly slid across it, coming to rest on the small of her back. He held her close, chest pressing against hers. Something inside her stirred, and she decided to let go of his cheeks to hook her arms around his neck instead. Leaning back, she pulled him with her. He made a surprised muffled sound as he tipped down, but didn’t break the kiss. He shifted slightly in order to get more comfortable and lifted a hand, threading his fingers through the hair by her ear.
Softly exhaling into the kiss, she savored every moment of what he was doing. The sensation of his thumb now running along the rim of her ear down to her neck, his other hand still touching her lower back, causing her to feel extra warm. It was all perfect, until… the lights blinked back into existence, totally disrupting the ambiance.
Shoka let out an indignant whine and broke away from Rindo’s lips. “Really?” She gulped down a much needed breath of air. “ Now is when the power decides to magically work again?”
“Looks like it,” Rindo muttered, sounding every bit as out of air as she was. “At least that means everything should work again? I guess...”
Lips still tender, Shoka huffed. “True, but…”
“But?” Rindo looked down at her, a hopeful glint in his eyes.
“But… I think I’d rather have the lights out a little longer.” She toyed with the collar of his shirt and pressed her forehead into his. “Wouldn’t you?” she whispered.
His face flushed with heat against hers and his breath tickled her nose as he responded, “Yeah… How about I just…” He reached over and shut out the light of the nearest lamp, returning them to the cozy, candlelit darkness.
“Better?” he mumbled right into her ear, sending a small shiver up her spine.
“Much better,” she murmured, listening to the rain patter against the glass and the sound of Rindo’s heavy breathing. Fingers teasing into the hair at the back of his neck, she resumed their kiss. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if he’d forget all about the fact she still owed him a second favor, but shoved the thought aside. Who cared right now? She was too busy enjoying his first one. Who knows, maybe if it went on long enough, he’d forget all about it.
With that in mind, she let herself sink into his warmth, fully embracing the dim atmosphere.
It was just the right way to end a rainy day.