Andres had never been ashamed of his hobbies. He’d never shied away from sports or theater, and much less video games or anime. Especially not the show that started it all when he was a child. Oh no, in this house we respected Card Captor Sakura. While his absolutely favorite shoujo anime was still Tokyo Mew Mew and his Queen For All Time Was Mew Ichigo, CCS had been the one that had brought him into the world of weeb shit. And he was never leaving. It’s by chance that he’s browsing around, eyeing new collectibles that may have dropped with some anniversary or debating trying his luck with some sort of gachapon run. [break][break]

And then he saw it. A beautifully packaged, collector’s edition box set. It was big enough to house the entire anime, the movies, maybe even something special inside? No, he knew there was something special inside. He made a beeline for it, his face contorting into a possessive glare. He would have it. He’d been avoiding buying a collector’s set, waiting for the perfect one or watching it sell out before he could. But this? This is fate! This is destiny. “This is mine.” He said, voice low and hazel eyes narrowed dangerously. His lips curled into a smile, though its insincere. He intertwined his fingers with Nagi’s.

“Dibs and all that.” He added trying to relax himself, but his hand squeezed down on the other nerd’s hard. This was clearly a threat.


[break][break]

+ nagi miwa [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

fingers laced between his; a warm hand to hold.

nagi thinks, with all the vehemence of a thousand burning suns, fucker.

as andres bears down on nagi’s hand, nagi adjusts his grip — just so he can return the favour, clenching his fist tight and digging his fingers into the dips between each of andres’ knuckles. nagi schools his expression into one of placid friendliness; a mirror of andres’ own insincere smile spreads across his face. they could look like two old friends, having a heartfelt handshake in the middle of the anime shop — if not for the palpable tension thrumming between them.

“yours? huh. bit strange for it to be still on the shelf, don’t you think?” nagi says, sotto voce, in a low monotone. he tightens his grip, squeezing andres' hand once to punctuate his question.

andres buenaventura

☉

He’s only slightly surprised that the little four eyes pressed back into his hand. His skin turned red before settling into a stressed white. He didn’t budge though, especially when Nagi followed up Andres’ act with his own. Fine. Let’s play then. His smile only twitched at the added pressure. “It’s a pickup in store, ah…” the come back pushed steadily through a clenched grin as he held at bay Nagi’s hand, pushing back against it like a sumo wrestler trying to shove an opponent out of the ring.
[break][break]

“This place is great for finding stuff like this though! I’m sure if you ask the cashier they can help you order another one..” he said, glowering at the novelist behind his fake smile. He was taller, he could snag it first, but he’d rather not resort to that just yet and simply…intimidate the guy to back off.


[break][break]

+ nagi miwa [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

nagi holds fast, even as his arm begins to shake with the strain of holding andres back. he digs his heels into the ground, braces his elbow against his other hand, and pushes hard — battling andres into a stalemate with strength born out of sheer spite.

“is — that — so?” nagi huffs out through the strain. “i didn’t realise — shops left — pickups on their sale shelves.”

“and why don't you ask the cashier instead? since you think they're so helpful,” he hisses through gritted teeth. he had tried, at the other stores he visited before, only to be answered with apologetic bows and we’re out of stock, perhaps you can try elsewheres. there’s no way he’s letting this copy escape from right under his nose, even if he has to kneecap a jock to get it.

andres buenaventura

☉

"EASY. MISTAKE." Andres said through gritted teeth, his grin menacing despite the friendly act he was still painting. "Because. The. Shelf. One. Is. Mine." He reiterated. Despite his height, he hunched over so he could glare Nagi in the eyes, hands tightening as he added pressure to the little nerd in front of him. His love for Sakura Kinomoto would get him through this, and not geeky glasses kid ( pot calling the kettle black ) was going to get in the way of that.
[break][break]

As he squares up with the shorter trainer, inches away from headbutting a guy with glasses, he heard the very loud squealing of a young child as they burst into the little shop, and sprinted through it, dragging their poor parent all the way. Andres' wouldn't have cared if it weren't for the burst of speed that went past him. "No-" he murmured, barely audible as he broke eye contact with Nagi and turned to look, horrified, as another young boy reached up for the vied Card Captor Sakura Collector's Box and pulled it off the shelf. Soon enough, he's joining by a small, little girl, dress in all pink who almost smacked into him. Lastly was their haggard parent, who let out a quick apology to Andres and Nagi as he went by them to collect his kids. All the while, the blonde gawked in abject horror.


[break][break]

+ nagi miwa [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

it's like a parody of london bridge: two grown men clasping hands in an arch, the whites of their knuckles showing, as a child darts in and out from under their joined fingers, escaping to safety before the bridge collapses.

nagi watches, frozen. unable to extricate his grip from andres’, too slow to react, even as he watches his spoils slip out from right under his nose. he can’t even be mad about it — he’s not the kind of loser adult who would wrestle a small child.

however, he is, as insofar demonstrated, the kind of loser adult who would fight another adult in the anime shop.

“looks like your pickup got picked up,” he says, peevish and vindictive.

he wriggles his fingers, trying to tug them out from andres’ clutches.  

andres buenaventura

☉

Andres' recovery is slow. His expression swapped from jaw dropped shock, to a more neutral but disappointed look. He was NOT about to argue with a tired parent and their two weeby preteens about a shoujo anime. Even if that shoujo anime was the second most life changing show he'd ever seen, second only to Tokyo Mew Mew. [break][break]

"Shut up! Do you know how rare it is to find anything from that show nowadays?" Unless he looked for the Crystal arc....but nothing beat the original to him. All he had were the pirated DVD's he'd gotten from his mom at a flea market. He loved those, cherished them really. But he'd wanted to get something that looked pretty on his shelf too. Just for him. He shoved Nagi's hand's away, though it's not strong. He's defeated, and he's irritated. [break][break]

"Were you planning on sniping anything else? You fuckin'-" His voice is low, clearly attempting to keep the disagreement between himself and his nemesis. No need to upset the employees or the little kids that'd just taken off with their treasure. He crossed his arms glaring at the novelist. As was typical when one weeb met another in verbal combat, he threw down a classic. "baaaaaaka." [break][break]


He could've left. He could've absolutly left by now. But not without getting a word in on hjow much this and HE sucked.


[break][break]

+ nagi miwa [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

nagi’s first reaction is indignation.

“sure, i’m planning on sniping your head off your shoulders — ”

his second reaction is disbelief.

did he actually say that? no way. oh my god. holy shit.

nagi’s mouth snaps shut. hands still hovering in the air where andres had left them, he blinks at andres, eyes narrowed, once. twice. and then, all at once, he crumples forward, hands flying to his face to muffle the ugliest, loudest snort he’s ever made in his two decades alive.

he’s faintly aware of the hassled parent trying to corral his children away from the aisle to safety, as he trembles with the effort of keeping his laughter as quiet as he can.

“seriously? oh my god. baa — hah — aka.” he attempts to draw out the aaa, in a pitch-perfect copy of andres, even as he’s wheezing breathless laughter into his cupped hands.

andres buenaventura

☉

The thread is, thankfully, cut short but what followed only served to irritate him even more. Again, public space so they couldn't have it out very loudly. Even so, despite the soft voice the condescension was loud and clear. So was the super loud snort that only had Andres covering his face in exasperation. OH my god, this man was going to blow their cover in front of 2 cute kids and their haggard parent. [break][break]

"Serious as a corpse, bro." Andres said, narrowing his eyes as he slouched down to get closer to eye level with Nagi. As he glared at the other nerd, his phone pinged, and he straightened back up to read the notification...only for his eyes to widen. "They found one in anime R Us?!" he blurted out, eyes going for the parent checking out with their children's before back at Nagi. He showed off his cellphone to the other grinning as if he'd already one. "Well, despite this little set back I'll still pocket what I want. Later." he didn't realize that doing so was stupid and he should've just kept his mouth shut. After all, who knew how fast the kid with glasses could go when his blu ray set was on the line.


[break][break]

+ nagi miwa [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

nagi almost says I HOPE YOU EAT SHIT AND DIE, biting his tongue at the last second with a panicked glance back at the children.[break][break]

"well, f— firetruck you," he whispers furiously. the parent shoots a scandalised glare his way anyway, despite his efforts at self-censorship.[break][break]

the unfortunate fact of the matter is this: nagi is not very fast. not even with the exalted and honourable kinomoto sakura herself on the line. [break][break]

adrenaline can only take his chronically-desk-bound nerd body so far. he shakes out his hands, feeling the slow, sure ache of exertion and bad decisions build along his forearms. it’s forewarning enough: a sprint down the mall, with his physique, can end only in despair, humiliation and sore thighs that won't recover for days. [break][break]

nagi knows how to cut his losses. loathe as he is to admit it — the jock wins this round.[break][break]

(stupid, smug athletes should just stay in their own lane and watch… espn. or something.)[break][break]

because nagi is a mature, responsible and respectable adult, he sticks his tongue out at andres. a there-and-gone "nyeh" that sends the average mental age of the aisle plummeting to around five-years-old. [break][break]

it's not like he can do more damage to his dignity than baka. he wins that, at least.


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[attr="class","ooc"] andres buenaventura [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-litwick"]