Friends With Benefits | Chishiya x Reader

Chapter Fourteen

☆ In which you are given various looks by various people. ☆

You reach for Chishiya's hand as he takes his seat beside you on the rooftop. He looks thoughtful, and you can hear something papery rustle in his pocket. 

The acute sense of déja vu settles in as you prompt him. 

"How was your game?" you ask, folding your fingers into his. 

"Five of Spades," he replies with a shrug. "I survived." 

You fix your gaze on Chishiya, who (like normal) is searching the city solely with his eyes. You've come to catalogue the differences in his expression, since he only seems to have one: The Smirk. The secret, you tell yourself like a detective, is in the eyes - today they are half-lidded and calculating, and The Smirk is of the knowing kind. 

It seems he has found something he's been looking for. 

"Did something happen today?" You nudge him slightly. He tilts his head in your direction, shooting you a questioning look. "You look smugger than normal," you offer, and he snorts. 

"I met some interesting people today," he says, and The Smirk turns into the lazy one of a cat after it has killed a particularly elusive mouse. 

"More interesting than me?" you joke, and he chuckles. 

"You could say that," he says, voice lilted with amusement. You open your mouth to protest but he raises your hand and kisses it, holding your gaze all the while with a victorious glitter in his eyes. 

"I really hate you," you mumble. But you've been mollified and the both of you know it, judging by the return of The Smirk playing over his lips. The stars tingle in your hand.

"You don't," he says with finality, and you cannot argue with that. 

When you and Kuina draw your pieces of paper to determine what game group you'll be in, you are surprised to see a white-hooded man pick up a square of paper as well. 

"Didn't you play a game yesterday?" Kuina looks at Chishiya with raised brows. You watch as he flips the piece of paper between his middle and index finger. 

"I did," he grins, and tilts your hand to see your number. You hold a messy scribble of the number 8. "Would you look at that," he comments, and flashes you his own number 8. Kuina glances down at her number 9. 

"What! That's not fair," she grumbles. "Chishiya, go swap with someone. Don't smirk at me."

You laugh. "Maybe you should swap with someone, Chishiya. It's kind of dangerous to play games with friends."

"I can take the risk." He shrugs, and saunters away to the designated car with a wave of his hand. Kuina sighs and squeezes your hand. 

"Stay safe out there, sweetie," she says. You don't miss how she has ceased calling you 'honey' since that rainy day, and has begun to implement a variety of amusingly different nicknames. You did, however, draw the line when she'd tried out 'babes,' wondering what sort of appeal it must have had for Yuta to plague her endlessly with it.

"That may work for Yuta," you'd said dryly, "but unfortunately not for me."

"The same goes for you, Kuina." You give her a reassuring smile and she responds with a remarkable expression that clearly conveys the message, if you die I will be left only with Chishiya and I cannot live like that again so do me a favour and win your game. You cover up a laugh with a cough and wave as she retreats to her group's car.  

Chishiya looks expectantly at you as you walk over to him.

"Aww, were you waiting for me?" You tease. He looks like he has a smartass response packaged and ready to go, but you cut him off. "That's sweet," you reach for his hand. "Friends are meant to wait for each other. Now give me your face so I can kiss you."

"Are friends meant to kiss each other, now?" he asks, but you can hear the chuckle in his voice as he obligingly dips his head toward you. 

"Shouldn't you have asked that before you kissed me first?" you retort, and land a soft kiss on his cheek. "It's like...a benefit. We can be friends with benefits."

The man actually laughs, and you notice how he pushes his hair back behind his ear to disguise how he touches the spot where you pecked. "Alright, I guess that was my fault," he admits with a grin, and you let out a laugh of your own.  

"It is indeed. Now get in the car."

This time, the game venue is a strange one. It's not an open space, so a Spades game is immediately ruled out. The square building is smaller, compact, which means it will call for a game of more psychological sorts. 

Clubs, Diamonds, or Hearts. 

The building stands out, estranged from the rest of the buildings along the street. It is completely white - so white it almost glows against the blackening sky. You wonder what the building must have been used for before the Borderlands. A quick glance to the side shows that Chishiya is pleased, probably at the fact it could be another Diamonds game. 

For your own sake, you duly hope it is not.

The inside of the building is no different to the outside - four pristine white walls. There are no windows, but a long white table that stretches across the middle of the room. You mumble a thanks as one of the Beach members hands you a phone, and then another to Chishiya. A quick appraisal of the man who handed the phone to you tells you he is a Spades player, with a jagged scar running diagonally across his face and a strong physical build. When his gaze lingers on you, you understand what he's trying to do. Remember my kindness, his eyes seem to say. Combative skills will not be required in this game; he has the lower hand and therefore a lower survival rate. The most he can do is curry favour with those who do have the upper hand. 

You almost snort. This phone is not made of gold, you wanted to say back. And yet, it's not a bad idea, and it most definitely would've been an option to consider if you were in his place. So you offer him a smile, and the relief in his eyes does not slip past you. Chishiya watches the exchange silently, amused. 

You look away from the despairing Spades player to check the remaining registration time just as the timer runs down to zero. 

"Game: Masquerade. Seven of Hearts."

Your smile forms slowly, unconsciously. Not Diamonds. 

So this will be your game.