D/C: Nothing owned. Just having gay fun.

"Kobayashi-san!"

Kobayashi paused from preparing to drink her first can of beer for the night to look at Tohru. "Hm?"

Tohru was grinning and held out a large box of strawberry pocky. "Let's play the pocky game!"

Kobayashi quirked an eyebrow. "And why would I want to do that?" she inquired, sipping her beer.

"It's what lovers do, isn't it?! I saw it on TV!" Tohru responded gleefully, her eyes sparkling.

"...Uh, Tohru, it's mostly a high-schooler thing... And we aren't lovers," Kobayashi averted her gaze to the infinite void of the ceiling as she downed the beer. "It's just a game. There's nothing romantic about it."

Tohru's smile turned quixotic. "Just a game, then?"

"Tohru?" Kobayashi uttered suspiciously before Tohru grabbed her from the sofa and onto the floor. There was an awkward silence as Kobayashi acknowledged that both she and Tohru were sitting on the floor, and she groaned. "Fine, just one round of the pocky game."

"Yay!" Tohru squealed.

"But just one round, got it?" Kobayashi raised her index finger to punctuate the point.

"Mm-hmm!" Tohru nodded as she opened up the pocky box and tore open the bag to pull out one stick.

Kobayashi shifted herself into a more comfortable position. "Okay, so we just need to make sure one of us finishes the pocky before our mouths meet."

Tohru passed the pocky stick to Kobayashi, eyes still sparkling. "But what if we don't finish?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter, Tohru," Kobayashi quipped before placing the very end of the pocky stick into her mouth, and Tohru leaned in to bite the opposite very end.

"On the count of three," Kobayashi said through her teeth. "One, two... three."

Kobayashi was being deliberate and slow with her bites, figuring Tohru was following suit because that's how the game went. Okay, so about now-

Suddenly her lips collided with softness.

Oh. Oops.

Normally in these pocky games, the players at this moment would break away from each other and giggle from embarrassment.

This wasn't a normal pocky game, was it?

Suddenly aware that it had been more than a few seconds since the round ended with the kiss, Kobayashi cautiously pulled herself away from Tohru, having the decency to blush. "Uh... Tohru." she coughed to clear her throat.

Tohru was uncharacteristically still and silent as she stared back at Kobayashi.

Meh.

Kobayashi mentally shrugged as she leaned in to properly kiss Tohru.

Contrary to what all the romance novels and films declared, kissing did not incite butterflies fluttering in Kobayashi's stomach. Instead, there was a gentle, subtle warmth pulsating in that general area.

They parted again. Tohru's eyes were shining. "K-Kobayashi-san..."

Kobayashi chuckled and pet Tohru's head. "Simple."

"NOW IS THE TIME FOR US TO MAKE LOVE!" Tohru shrieked happily and grabbed Kobayashi to carry her bridal-style.

"Put me down, Tohru! That's not how this goes!" Kobayashi shouted, flailing as Tohru twirled around. "Tohru, that's an order!" Tohru was not listening, continuing this one-sided dance. "TOHRU! There are—There's a process to this whole thing—Tohru, are you even listening?! TOHRU!"