I want to play, too.

SWR #4 – I want to play, too.
Rin playing video games with Hisao

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I rested my chin on Hisao's shoulder, blowing air into his ear while he smacked the joystick on the arcade remote he was balancing on his lap. I was sitting behind him, my legs wrapped around his torso as we sat together on the couch.

This was my idea of cuddling with him. Although the blowing in his ears always made it harder for him to play. I smirked as a resounding DOWN sounded over the television and he wrapped his hands around to my stomach and started tickling me.

“You keep making me lose to Shizune, Rin!” He exclaimed angrily and I felt my eyes leap open as a shock ran through my body. Immediately, I released him from my legs and stiffened them, pressing them against his stomach and pushing him away.

“No.” I stated firmly and his arms couldn't reach me. I glared at him and denied him, even though he pouted at me in a way that made my heart feel funny. “But!” He whined.

My eyes narrowed again.

“No.” His arms dropped as he turned away from me and looked at the game of Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. He had been reading guides and talking about it non-stop so he could beat Shizune, who he played often online. She was incredibly good, but Hisao always attributed it to 'tier-whoring'. Whatever that meant.

The game looked fun though, and I kind of wanted to try. But looking at the other regular controllers, I wasn't sure how well I'd play.

Still, it looked fun.

I wanted to try.

I tentatively wrapped my legs back around Hisao's torso, breathing on his neck while my eyes became heavy. I was tired from doing nothing and watching. “Yeah?” He didn't look at me when he played this game, which bothered me in a way I didn't understand. I think it was jealousy or something, but I don't think I was jealous of a video game. I just wanted him to look at me.

“Can I try this game? It looks fun.” He paused for a second as he typed out a message on a small wireless keyboard he had plugged into the console to message back and forth with Shizune. He was telling her he was going to go and teach me how to play in training mode.

“You think so?” I shrug. Fun depends on how I'm feeling and right now anything could be fun. Except just falling asleep on Hisao's shoulder while he isn't paying attention to me.

“I think it might be. Which is why I want to try it.”

So he took one of the regular controllers, realizing the arcade stick would be much easier for me to use.  It was, in comparison to a normal remote, which is why I usually never played video games. The joysticks were too small and so were the buttons.

I wrapped two toes around the stick as  I tested out movement. Left and right, duck and jump. Double jumps and dashes. Seemed simple.

“Well, here's how to do a 'dial-a-combo', he explained, pressing one button, then another and another on his remote, doing a quick and simple looking combo on my character. He picked a team for me, the first guy being a man with a 'bionic' arm named Spencer. I joked, asking where I might be able to get one or two of those. The others were a giant guy named Nemesis and a metallic guy named Dr. Doom.

His team was a futuristic ninja named Strider Hiryu, Magneto and some guy in a trenchcoat named Dante.

He started going over how combos worked and how to switch characters, the basics. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to remember this, which I asked him.

“It becomes muscle memory after a while, so don't worry about the remembering combos part. After you practice them enough, you basically do them without thinking.”

“Oh. That sounds good then, I do that a lot.” He smirked at me, kissing me on the cheek. I smiled, headbutting him gently on the shoulder. “You should kiss me more often, Hisao.” I look at him in the same way I always do; with all the emotions I feel for him and can't explain or express in any other way than with a look.

“Because then we would never get anything done, Rin.” He says as he leans in and plants a kiss on my lips. I'm tempted to wrap my legs around him and keep him from retreating, but that would lead to... things. On the couch.

And I didn't want our guests dealing with unusual stains on the couch. People sit on this.

So I turned back to the game and listened intently as he taught me how to play, showing me which buttons on the arcade stick. Once I was comfortable with the basics, he started teaching me some advanced tricks with Spencer and how his hand could shoot out and pull him towards his opponents to continue combos.

My mouth opened a little, surprised at this. “Maybe I should get a bionic arm.” I said as I started shooting my hand everywhere, testing out the directionals I had to put in before pressing the correct button.

After I had learned how to use the 'hypers' and 'double hyper combos', 'X-factor' and all that stuff. It was all pretty weird. And people tell me my paintings are weird. Games like these are the weirdest. People who control magnetism, bionic arms and stuff.

We began playing regular matches and I struggled at first remembering the things he had just taught me. I forgot to switch out a lot, when to switch out, when to use my hypers. It was really frustrating. “You're puffing out your cheeks.” Hisao said, glancing at me after I had lost a third match.

“What?” I glared at him. “You puff out your cheeks when you get upset. It's adorable. And I'm sorry I'm going so hard on you in the game, it's the best way to learn. Lose a lot first.” He said, going to kiss me. Instead, I turned my cheek. “Wow, cold. I guess I won't kiss you for the rest of the week. Or do anything else, if you're going to be like that.” He laughed.

“You couldn't even if you wanted to.”

Hisao paused for a moment, considering the possibility. “I might. I'd just have to get a prosti-” I kicked him in the side. “Ow, ow, it was a joke!” I smirked at him.

“It wasn't a good one, and I'm bad at jokes, Hisao.”

“Sorry.” He said with an apologetic smirk. “It's okay. Now let me win a match.” I told him as we started another one. I started improving slowly, being able to take down some of his characters and eventually taking him down in a match.

I closed my eyes and smiled. “I win.” I taunted in a barely triumphant voice. “You did. I'm surprised. After only like ten matches.” He jabbed, but it didn't matter to me. This game was interesting. Once the tricks became muscle memory, it let the rest of your mind focus on the game.

And the rest of the game was pretty simple. Focusing on it emptied my mind, too.

I looked to his arcade stick, I poised a question. “Do you think you could buy me one of these?” He smiled. “Definitely. We could probably play more games together if you get one actually.” I nodded.

“Get a white one. I want to paint mine.” Hisao wrapped me into a huge and I nestled my head into his chest.

“Anything for you, Rin.”