knightsoflegend | OPEN }{ the truth are you avoiding me

Entry tags:

OPEN }{ the truth are you avoiding me

♬ In Another Castle-Kirby Krackle

WHO || Spike and OPEN
WHAT || Spike plays video games. It's awesome.
WHERE || One of the castle rec rooms.
WHEN || Tuesday afternoon
HOW || Prose OR action spam acceptable!

One of the worst parts of being a vampire, Spike had found, was how bloody boring days could get. Sure, he was generally asleep for most of the morning, but even when he stayed up past dawn, he usually woke up before sunset. He couldn't venture outside without getting singed, so he had to find things to do inside.

Today, he'd found a room with a large, flat screen TV and some sort of video game player. It had taken a bit of running and dodging to make it to the window without burning up, but he'd made it. He drew the blinds closed and switched on the electric lights, then went to look at the available games.

After a bit of browsing, he selected Mario Kart and popped it into the machine. He wasn't entirely sure how to play, but he imagined he could figure it out quickly enough. It doesn't take him long to figure out the controls. (computer use check: 18) and pretty soon he's absorbed in the game. Oh yeah, the hours until sunset could pass quickly like this.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"So, basically what you're saying is you have trouble performing under pressure." The remark was attached to a particularly snarky look that's cast down at him. "You should really do something about that. Maybe see a doctor."

The juxtaposition of his arrogance warranted a roll of her eyes that was tempered by a barely perceivable chuckle, and she pushed away from the couch, straightening up and walking around it to drop down in the seat beside him.

"Only one way to find out," she reasoned.

She shouldn't have. In fact, she shouldn't be there, if her gut feeling was any indicator. And she certainly shouldn't be making with the friendly banter. But, despite all the warning labels, she was.

He rolled his eyes at her snarky comment. "I'll have you know that I perform just fine--" Bloody hell, he didn't know how he'd perform. He couldn't remember performing, though he felt like he'd be good at it. He wasn't sure if that was just general confidence or reality.

It was a disturbing enough thought that he stood up abruptly to grab the other controller, hoping she wouldn't notice the somewhat dismayed look on his face. For all intents and purposes, he was a bloody virgin.

He'd managed to recover by the time he got back and handed it to her. "Ever played before?"

Oh, did she notice, courtesy of a 24 sense motive check. And, she figured it out, too, from the way he cut himself off. He was veil-y amnesia guy, too, so any performance wasn't exactly ranking in the greatest hits reel of his head. Which made this whole conversation a whole lot more awkward real fast. Remind her to never, ever open her mouth again. Nothing good came of it.

"Not in recent memory," she returned as she took the controller from him, unable to dispel the feeling that ever played before could easily mean something much less family friendly than Mario Kart. It was a good way to be honest without letting on that she didn't have anything but a recent memory. But, like Wynn had suggested, she'd still kept her brain-wipeyness on the down-low. Well, for the most part. There was Val'drin … but, he was Val'drin. That was … different. But Val'drin didn't know whether or not she happened to remember … playing Mario Kart either.

And why was she even thinking about this?

The distracted look on her face was finally dialed down, but as she looked down at the controller, it roared back to life. Lots of buttons. Very steep learning curve. Learning curve of something she definitely should have been able to do and oh god was she going to blank like this on everything she did because that could get really embarrassing really fast and -- Right. Not thinking about it.

"I -- Sorry. I didn't mean to … I was just kidding." She cleared her throat, glancing back at him, then shifting her gaze away, uncertain, then back to the TV.

He grimaced a little, looking down at his controller. He'd hoped she wouldn't mention his sudden burst of awkward. That just... made it more awkward. He shrugged a bit and looked up at her, bit of a forced smirk on his face.

"I know, pet. It's no big deal. I can take a bit of teasing." It wasn't her fault it had led him down bad paths. There was no way for her to know. He hadn't known. Even if he'd protested, he'd appreciated the humour before he'd realised that she might well be right at how he performed under pressure.

He cleared his throat, turning his attention back to the TV. "So, want to mess around a bit to get a feel for things before we start? It's only fair."

She wanted to push her apology and insist that it wasn't really fair when she knew he didn't remember much of anything, but … well, that would mean she was apologizing for herself instead of him. So, instead of worrying about trying to make herself feel better, she just let him drop it and set about trying to sort out the controls.

The words mess around initially made her eyes bug some for misinterpretation, but she swallowed it back quick enough and caught up. Right. Game. That thing she had a controller in her hand for. It felt weird.

"Sure, why not. Can't hurt. I'm not really a big video game person. More of a … go outside, scope things out kinda gal." She hesitated, glancing over at him. "How come you're all holed up in here, anyway? It's pretty nice out."

He shrugged. He was all for going outside, but it would have to be at night for him. Damn this vampire thing. It was more trouble than it was worth. He'd better turn out to have loads of superpowers to make up for all the secrecy and paleness.

"Guess I didn't feel like going out today. Maybe later." When it was dark out.

Buffy seemed to accept the answer, dismissing it and moving back to the subject of the game. So, he wasn't the most active of the knights. Not judgment-worthy. She fidgeted with the controller-wheel for a moment.

"How do you--?" She jammed her thumb against the arrows on the left side of the controller-wheel and managed to figure out navigating the menu. "Ooh! Got it."

Spike dropped his controller in his lap, content to let her try it out for now. He'd already had his turn. Buffy didn't need him butting in with advice every few minutes. Especially when he'd win if she turned out to not be good at the game.

"Luigi circuit's easiest." Well, all right, a bit of advice wouldn't hurt. He'd spent enough time playing by now to have some insight.

"Who says I want easy?" She shot him a look out of the corner of her eye, lips pursed in a miffed look of vague annoyance. Just because she couldn't recall a single time she'd played video games, and just because a steering wheel of any kind happened to make her anxious and spastic didn't mean she wouldn't be able to play just fine.

… Probably.

She selected Luigi's Circuit.

And if he said anything, she'd just punch him.

Spike noticed exactly what she did there, and he looks entirely too amused at her choice. Not that he really judged. He'd started easy too. He'd just had the advantage of not having someone staring over his shoulder and laughing at him when he did. But Buffy had gotten so snippy about it. He had to poke fun.

"Apparently you. Worried about how you'll perform?"

There's a flustered, frustrated look there and she drops a hand off the wheel-controller to sock him in the arm. She doesn't put much force into it, because it's more to express her butthurt than it is to actually hurt him, but since she's the Slayer and hasn't figured out her own strength ~~and because I rolled a 31 check~~ it hurts a lot more than it's meant to. She doesn't notice.

"No," she challenged stubbornly. "I just think this track looks prettier. And, if it happens to help in the taking it slow while I figure out the controls department, well, that's just a bonus."

His reflex save of 21 was enough to keep him from falling off the couch, at least, but he still ended up falling a little to the side before catching his balance and rubbing his arm. That hurt a lot more than he'd expect a punch from someone her size would.

"Bloody Hell, Summers. How much time do you spend working out?" He rolled up his sleeve and frowned at the reddened mark where her fist had struck. "I think that's going to bruise."

Weren't creatures of the night supposed to be smaller than mere mortals like her? Had he overestimated himself or underestimated her?

The look she gives his bruised arm is disbelieving, but when she sees the red mark, she flexes and clenches her fist. Huh.

"Sorry," she says quickly, tone offhand and deflated. She's distracted by her own thoughts. "I didn't think I hit that hard." She's not bothering to answer how much time she spends working out. Because, she doesn't. At least, not that she can remember.

After one last awkward look, she gripped the controller again and averted her gaze, paying attention to the TV again. It was her best hope for dispelling the weirdness that was her.

He rubbed his arm, a little, then let his sleeve drop back down. The bruise was already fading. Apparently vampires healed fast. "It's all right. Just surprising is all." Very surprising. ~~And a little hot.~~ Spike shakes his head and turns back to the telly. He really wasn't particularly upset. He'd been acting like an ass. A good natured punch was entirely understandable. He just didn't expect a good natured punch to be so... hard.

"Uh. Luigi's Circuit, then? For the prettiness."

There's an edge of a chastising look out of the corner of her eye at the way he says prettiness, but she chooses not to react more fully than that, instead getting it all set up to start and letting the checkered flag count-down begin.

"Just so I can figure out the controls." Which … worked better in theory than in practice. Maybe she should have found a tutorial, because her attempt at running the circuit is, well, embarrassing to say the least. She struggles to event complete the race, initially watching at first as all the other CPU racers burst away from the starting line without her because she can't find the ignition.

When she does finally catch up, she has to swerve to an absurd degree to dodge their shells and other power-ups and clearly thought there was only one lap with the way she slowed down after her first cross of the finish line. Even once she gets the hang of things (which is using the term loosely), she still comes in very nearly last place, crawling over the finish line at the end of her third lap.

As she finished, Spike clapped slowly, clearly less than impressed with her video game skills. Look, at least he had the excuse of being on a pretty tricky level. He turned toward her, looking amused.

"That was utterly abysmal, love. And on the easiest course, too." She couldn't mock him now. Of course, she could punch him, and the fact that the idea worried him was still strange. She wasn't even trying.

He should stop fixating. So the girl was strong. Maybe that wasn't unusual here. He'd do better to focus on the game. He had to show her up, of course.

"Need another practise run? I'll understand if you do." He crossed his arms under his head, looking smug. "For the record? It helps when you go in a more or less straight direction."

This time, her huffy indignation is combined with a kind of smile that indicates she's taking his mockery in better humor, and she learns her lesson -- she shoves, instead of punches, this time. Still much harder than she means to, but it's still an improvement on last time, and he's not about to go flying off the couch from it. And she does manage to get him in the ribs while his arms are up and he's defenseless, so that probably doesn't help things.

"Oh, shut up. I'm all practiced out. You wanted to race, let's race." The shove had turned into leaning, which is now amended as she straightens up, determined. "I wasn't trying to win that time, I was trying to learn. But now? No, you've awakened the geek within."

The geek within that … didn't exist. Because she was more certain than ever that video games were just not a thing she did. But, her competitive nature had awoken, that much was certain.

More of that surprising strength. This time it didn't really hurt, but... strange girl. So many mysteries surrounding her. At least this time she seemed more amused than annoyed this time.

But Spike was more than happy to compete. He picked up his controller and started scrolling through menu options. He had been doing well before Buffy showed up. He was pretty confident in his abilities.

"Promise you won't beat me up when you lose?"

"Promise you won't cry when I beat you?" She returned with a confident smirk planted firmly on her lips. Despite the epic failure of her last go, she talked a big game. It seemed like the thing to do. After he selected the route and got it set up, she shifted her gaze from him onto the screen as the countdown began.

Three. Two. One. Button-mash.

She does better this time. Much better. Uncannily so. Reflexes allow her to get the boost from pushing down the accelerator button right as the "go" flashed up on the screen, and she pushed ahead of the pack some, keeping in a steady fourth place as they wound about the curves of the track.

Turned out, now that she actually knew what the buttons did, she was better at using them. Funny, that.

(Computer use check 16.)

(Computer use check 19!)

Unfortunately for her, Spike had been practising longer, and despite his earlier major fail, this time, he did very well. He managed to keep ahead of the pack for most of the game despite taking a few shells to the head and such. Every time someone else pulled ahead of him, he managed to pass them after a bit.

It was a bit of a struggle towards the end, but he pulled over the finish line first with a shout of victory. Then he turned to watch Buffy finish, a smug grin across his face. "I think I'll manage the not crying bit. Sweet as this victory is."

On the whole, Buffy got pretty into the game. She shifted her body with the controller beyond the necessary movement to make it turn (whose brilliant idea was it to make a video game console where you actually had to move in the gesture of what you were doing?) and yelled out whenever Spike managed to pull ahead of her after getting knocked back.

"Well, sure, what with the major cheating and all, I'm sure your victory tastes very sweet." It's said with a casual look that almost manages to hide her scowl. Okay, noted, not big on the losing. It was weird that she continued to discover new things about Buffy when she was Buffy. Or, supposed to be, anyway. "You totally rigged it."

"Rigged?" He quirked an eyebrow. "Cheating? I won fair and square, love. Wouldn't know how to rig even if I wanted to." He crossed his arms. He wasn't exactly offended, though he did feel like she'd insulted his honour a bit with that. Mostly, he was amused at how sore a loser she seemed to be. Not that he had any room to talk with how he'd thrown the controller across the room when he lost.

He was glad she'd improved, though. It was far more of a rush beating someone who was decent at the game than someone who could hardly stay on the tracks. And it had been cute the way she threw her whole body into making the turns.

"We can have a rematch, if you like, but don't expect the results to change. I'll still trounce you."

Her instinctive reaction to the word 'trounce,' not nearly as common in American vocabulary as it is in British, is a severly grossed out expression. What she thinks it means, the world may never know, but based on that face, it's nothing good. After a moment of weird look, though, she figures it out from context clues and there's a slackening of the look into something more surprised, and it's accompanied by a loud, "Oh!"

Hey. Wait. That's rude. She scowls a little, but tosses her controller aside and gives a roll of her eyes to give the indication she doesn't care. Because she doesn't. Super really completely doesn't care even a little bit. Or, at least, she'd stop caring if he'd stop bragging. He'd been at this all day, she'd played it twice.

"Not like it matters. I mean, okay, so you're passable when it comes to Mario. I'd kick your butt in just about anything else." She gets to her feet, stretching her arms straight up above her and then dropping them as she turns back to look at him. "But, I'm feeling all cagey with the indoors. You sure you don't wanna come outside to do stuff?"

He glanced at the closed window. Some light was still visible under the shades. Bugger. Outside wasn't an option unless he wanted to reveal what he was, and worse than that, die in flames. He shook his head.

"Get enough outside with my knight." That wasn't the real reason, of course. He didn't care what he did with Sir Lan. He could do whatever he wanted during his own time. But he hoped it would be enough for Buffy to buy. "But this place is huge. Plenty to do without leaving the castle. You know, I think I saw a bowling alley. Are you any better at that than Mario Kart?"

"I don't know, you any better at bowling than you are at taking a punch?" She raised her eyebrows at him, judgey, then shrugged it off, pacing over to the window and tugging the blinds away from it a little bit, just enough so she could peer out through them. More light filtered in, creeping up near the couch where Spike sat but not quite landing on him. She glanced back over.

"Tell you what," she dropped the blinds back to the window and walked to him. "You stay holed up inside playing video games, I'm gonna go pet the horses. Or possibly ride. I haven't decided yet." There was that expectant arch of her eyebrows again, and she waited to see if he'd invite himself to come with.

OPEN }{ the truth are you avoiding me

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