LEVELS; Ben Barnes

••7••

–requested by goodnightmoon-

~Billy Russo~

•••••

"Art, gimme the remote."

The smirk on his face long vanished the moment she jumped off the couch. Billy calmly stared at his grinning best friend, who was standing at the other side of the couch with the device in hand. Here they go again. It was the same routine every time they Netflixed and Chilled. Not that he didn't enjoy it, oh he really did. It brought out the inner child that was once lost all those years ago.

"Nope." She stuck her tongue out at him while waving the remote round like a toy, taunting and silently daring him to take it from her. Oh, she was really asking for it this time.

Billy glared at her, "Artemis."

"Billy." she playfully mocked him, waiting for his response. No, actually, waiting for him to begin the war.The two stared at each other, neither willing to look away.

"OK..." he nodded curtly, licking his lips before adding with the slightest nod of his head, "You asked for it."

And the chase began. Much to Art's surprise, the ex-soldier jumped over the furniture and nearly caught the sleeve of her sweater, had she not bolted towards the kitchen. Fits of giggles escaped her as she stood on the other side of the counter. Her black painted toes lightly tapped the cool white tiles before her entire body was lifted off the floor moments later.

"No!" she yelled while failing to contain her laughter. Her hair hung upside down when Billy threw her over his shoulder and she began to thrash around when his fingers attacked her sides, causing more laughter to erupt from her lips. "Billy, stop it! Staawp!"

"Say you're sorry." He held on to her now limp body, as she was tired from trying to escape his grip.

"I'm sorry!" squealed an exhausted Artemis, panting from all the childish activities.

"Say you'll never do it again." said Billy, which she raised her eyebrow at. No way in hell would she ever stop these games. They were way too much fun.

Artemis smirked,  "I'll do it again if I have to."

His head turned just a bit, showing a scowl,"You little–"

"OK! OK, I'll try not to do it again! Now put me down, Russo, we have a movie to watch." Slowly, Billy obeyed her wish and sets her down. She straightened out her black t-shirt, muttering something under her breath  as she walked back towards the living room, which he barely caught, "Bitch."

"What was that?" he challenged her, following closely behind, threatening to continue his previous torture.

"Popcorn!" she bolted and jumped onto the couch, grabbing the snack-filled bowl and took a few to throw in her mouth. "I said popcorn, I swear!"

•••

Two bowls of popcorn and several cans of soda later, Artemis laid on Billy's chest, her legging covered calves tangled with his. Billy's arm wrapped protectively over her back to keep her from falling off him.

The comfortable silence brought peace to the ex soldier. A luxury he doesn't get to enjoy much these days, so he  every bit of it.

They watched the ending of a teen series called Jane The Virgin. And throughout the entire marathon, both of them argued over who was a better match for sweet Jane. At one point, they started throwing popcorn at each other to see who was right.