puppycrush2 | week three

Quite a bit, yes.

[He again watches as Mark picks a ball at random and throws it, earning himself a spare. Akechi's fingers tap at his chin as he watches the scene unfold, gaze flickering upwards towards Mark and he gives him a wry smile at the question.]

That's right. If you get it in two throws you'll have a spare. But you know... You might have better luck if you kept using the same weighted ball. I note you never pick up the ball you used previously. I can't speak for the weight but it is interesting. There's quite a difference between a five pound ball and a twelve.

[Akechi pushes himself up and grabs the same eight pound ball he's been using. He lines himself up and rolls it down the lane, earning himself another strike. He nods in satisfaction, clapping his gloved hands together. Two hundred point game might not be too unlikely!]

[ shitshitshitshit—

Mark goes from feeling cool and comfortable to his eyes widening at Akechi's observation and subsequent helpful tip. He'd been so focused on the strength with which he threw the ball — had to make sure he didn't put a hole in the lane, or in the back wall, or anywhere, really — that it's the little details that have been slipping his mind.

Like the fact that, in hindsight, Akechi has been using the same ball the entire time. What else is he missing... surely that's the only thing... ]

Okay, I think I see your point there. [ laughing, totally normal, brushing it off, totally normal. ] Let's see then...

[ He's just going to... pick the coolest-looking ball he sees, and stick with that one, then. Blue and yellow — like his costume, so, easy to remember — and a fourteen-pounder, not that he's aware of that. And then he's just going to roll it, and...

... in the gutter it goes, and he puffs out a sigh, waiting for the ball to come back. No no no, this one is his now, he can make it work...

On his second go he just sends it right down the middle, earning himself a 7-10 split in the process — but that's it for his turn, and it still was kind of(?) a successful frame for him, so. ]

Alright. I'm definitely not beating you, [ happy to concede that point already, ] but let's see if I can at least keep up now.

[He really doesn't think anything of it despite Mark's internal panic. Akechi honestly thinks he's that new at the game. So he gives a light chuckle.]

You never know. I think you're doing quite well.

[Akechi slides out of his seat to grab the ball he's been using. He gets a spare this time, knocking three the first time and the rest after. Again he shakes out his wrist as he heads back.]

A few bad throws from me and you'll be right back in this. [Akechi continues to adjust his gloves as he takes a seat.] No matter what we do you seem to have a knack for it. You're a talented individual.

[ ... See, even knowing what he now knows of Akechi, getting a compliment from him still feels like a badge of honour (even if Mark is, essentially, cheating, but it's not like he can help it).

So he smiles, and sits back to watch.

And looks away at the idea that he just seems to have a knack for things. ]

I guess I'm just lucky. [ small shrug, looking back up at Akechi. ] I mean, this is only our second time going out, right? We got two things you're great at, too.

[ But alright... his turn. Using the same ball this time and everything!

It's a spare for him as well, knocking half and then the other half of the pins over. Turning back to retrieve his drink, still absolutely no worse for the wear, ] I'm just happy if I can keep pace with you.

Ha. I'm not good at bowling but I understand it which, I can admit, does give me an edge.

[At Mark's remark Akechi offers what is truly a genuine smile. A little pleased, a little embarrassed. People, at this point, know what he's like so... Any sort of praise is a bit of surprise. Who would like him when he's not pretending to be someone else?]

I'd be quite pleased to have someone be able to keep up with me. And you really do meet my expectations over and over again. We would have been exceptional rivals.

[Rival is the closest he can get to saying friend right now.]

[ ... Akechi has a nice smile. It's so different from that night after the match ceremony— It's really, really nice.

Mark sets his drink down to lean back, reciprocate it. He wants to tread this line very carefully, but he also wants to keep the mood up — it's such a good mood — so... ]

That kind of sounds like it's the thing that's important to you. [ Rivals is an odd word, but there's a way Akechi is saying it that has Mark thinking it's not in the traditional sense. Or it's just Akechi's love language, or whatever. ] I mean... this is fun, and I like trying to keep up with you. So, who knows. Maybe a rivalry could still happen.

[ Positive framing... thinking about the future, people being able to change...

... but also it's just nice to be able to make someone else happy, so Mark will thrive on that, too. ]

week three | dates

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