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Luke and Kieran snicker across the table from you. As soon as you’d arrived this evening, they started talking smack about the Hunters Association and how ‘Deepspace Hunters never face anything truly dangerous’—insisting that the work they do is much more important than ‘dispatching a few Wanderers’ every day.
Having just woken up, Sylus made sure you weren’t genuinely mad at their teasing. Discovering that you are just arguing with them for arguing's sake, he settles at the head of the table, paying little attention to the three of you as he taps his tablet screen with his glasses at the edge of his nose.
“Whatever. If we were fighting one-on-one, I bet I could take you both down one after the other, right now,” you challenge, making Kieran snort.
“Did you hear that, Boss?” Kieran asks.
“Let’s have a rumble, then,” Luke suggests.
Before you can respond, Sylus shuts the idea down with a still-tired glance at the three of you over his glasses, then returns to his tablet.
“Fine, no rumble,” you grunt, “You two got lucky, this time. But any other time, any other place…”
“Bet not,” Kieran says, smugly crossing his arms over his chest.
“Oooooh,” Luke leans forward excitedly, “A bet?”
Squinting at them, you know they’re setting a trap. However, the way they’ve been talking smack all evening, you do have the desire to put them in their place. After a minute of scrutinizing them, you accept, “Okay, deal. But if we aren’t allowed to fight… what about arm-wrestling?”
“Psht—” Luke groans, “Arm wrestling is boring. We need a bigger feat of strength than that.”
Sighing, you shrug, “Fine. If you can think of something better, go ahead.”
“Hmm… no battle, no guns…” Luke muses, resting his head on his palm as he brainstorms, “Oooooh, I saw this challenge online the other day. A bunch of gym bros showing off for clicks.”
Kieran straightens up in his seat, “That is an interesting bet. No offense, Boss Lady, but you’re not gonna win this one.”
“Just tell me what you want and I’ll let you know what I can and can’t do.”
You watch the video they show you with intense concentration. And, after a moment’s consideration, you nod, “Alright, I’m in. I bet I could do that to any one of you, no problem.”
Luke grins, “We’ll take you up on that bet. I say that if you fail, you owe us—”
“—one big favor. Each.”
Squinting, you take another look at your opponents. They’re both strong, though not nearly as muscular as Sylus. And they’re tall, though not as tall as Sylus. You’re pretty sure that, with the right technique, this will be easy.
“Fine, you’re on!”
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Allowing you some time to stretch in prep for what they believe to be an impossible feat, the twins discuss among themselves who will be the participant. You had insisted it was no big deal to you, you could make quick work of either of them.
Now, they return to you with barely restrained smiles on their faces.
“We thought long and hard about it.”
“And we finally decided.”
“You said you’d be able to lift ‘any one of us’, right?”
“That’s why we nominate—”
“—the boss man!”
Sylus strolls in as they make their announcement. He sees the surprise on your face and looks to the twins for an explanation. Before they say anything, however, you take a defiant step forward, “Deal!”
The twins cheer and Sylus continues to stand by the door with a slightly irritated expression, “And what exactly is this deal?”
Not even a minute later, he’s sitting on the edge of the highest table surface in the house, which happens to be the kitchen counter.
“No Evols. No cheating!” Luke chirps, Sylus sending him a dirty look and shutting him right up.
“I told you I can put an end to this silly bet,” Sylus says in a quiet voice, “No need to be stubborn and go through with it.”
“That sounds an awful lot like you doubting me, Sy,” you huff, getting into position with your back between his legs. In the mirrored splashback along the kitchen wall, you make eye contact with him. After a moment’s hesitation, he nods at you in this reflection. A silent ‘go ahead’ as he scoots closer to the edge of the counter.
Mephisto flies into the room when Luke and Kieran hoot and holler, watching as you secure the enormity of the Leader of Onychinus on your back and take step forward. You struggle with his weight for half a step, terrified of tipping backward and ending up with you both on your backs. But you steady yourself with a stubborn determination that makes the twins cheer even louder. You take another step and you’re suddenly holding all of his weight without any help from the countertop.
Luke and Kieran walk a circle around you, examining for any traces of Sylus’s Evol being used and finding none. As soon as they admit defeat, you walk back as steadily as you can and drop your enormous boyfriend back on the counter.
“Alright, the show is over,” Sylus announces, and the look in his eye makes him not have to repeat himself as the twins continue to hoot and cheer as they disappear down the hall. As soon as they’re gone, you slump to the tiled floor. Long legs stand at your side before Sylus squats down beside you, his expression amused and adoring, “You were right. I may have underestimated you this time. I won’t make that mistake again, kitten.”
“You are not light, Sy,” you pout.
He grins, “I apologize. I might’ve slimmed down a little if I knew your pride was on the line.”
“Shuddup,” you murmur, causing him to chuckle, dotingly low.
“You won the bet. I’m proud of you,” he says, reaching out and surprising you when he begins to knead his fingers into your back. “The twins are gone now, so let me take care of you. We don’t want you getting sore from your feat of strength, do we?”