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Quakitus reclines on a chaise lounge on a balcony overlooking the library. He feels something almost like regret as he looks down at the hundreds of shelves of books that neither he nor Pika really get the time to actually enjoy.
But, well, they have it.
One day, when enough of the server has been brought under Vanguard's control and Pika and Quakitus finally have some free time to actually have fun together and not just steal moments in between being set to work, Q thinks he'd like to spend hours down in there. Just forget about everything else, forget about the rest of Vanguard and all the orders. Lie with Pika in a pile of pillows and blankets and close his eyes and listen to Pika turning the pages of a book while their hearts beat in perfect sync.
Flavor spreads across Q's tongue. She hums. Salt. Meat.
"Beef," she says immediately.
Behind her, in the kitchen, Pika laughs softly. Q hears the clink of a fork against a plate.
"Yeah, that was an easy one to get started," Pika says. "Can you tell how I cooked it?"
Quakitus wants to turn around and look at him so badly. She settles for sinking lower into the plush upholstery of the lounge and staring at the ceiling high above.
"You always cook it the same way," Q says. "Grilled with not enough pepper."
"What if I did something different this time?" Pika says.
Q snorts. "You didn't."
"Hm." Another taste in Q's mouth. Sweet and cold, with a slight tartness.
"Apple," Q says. "Are all of these gonna be this easy?"
"Okay, well, if you want a challenge, then what's this one?"
Sweeter. Soft. A crust— a pie? Not pumpkin, not apple. Quakitus presses his lips together and tries to chase after the taste with his tongue.
"That's a pie," he says.
"What kind?" Pika says, sounding smug.
"Can you take another bite?" Q says.
"Oh? You can't get it from the first taste?"
"No, I just want another bite," she says.
Pika puts another forkful of the whatever-it-is in his mouth and Q shuts her eyes and tries to concentrate on the rest of the sensation. Sweet, very sweet. Definitely some kind of fruit. A little bit of… cinnamon? Flaky crust, which tastes really good but is a little bit distracting from the flavor that she's trying to pick out.
"Blueberry," she says, feeling a little more sure after she's said it.
"Do you still get a point for that if I had to give you two bites of it?" Pika says.
"Yes, of course I do," Q says. He sits upright on the lounge again, excited to keep going.
"Alright, fine. How about this one?"
Quakitus hears the distant crunch at the same time the taste blooms across his tongue.
"Bread," he says immediately.
"There's something on it," Pika says, voice muffled as his mouth is still full of bread.
"Huh?" Q stares ahead, thinking about the overwhelming taste of bread in her mouth. "It's just bread?"
"I'll give you a half point for that," Pika says.
Quakitus punches the cushion on the lounge. "What is it? It just tastes like fucking bread! There's nothing else there!" She wants to turn around and throw something at Pika, but she doesn't want him to end the game. She settles for biting her tongue instead, and the satisfying sting of blood fills her mouth.
"Ow," Pika says. "Why did you do that?"
"Quit cheating," Q retorts, licking blood off her lip.
Sweet, heavy. Watermelon and—
"Health potion," Q says.
"Yes," Pika says, his tone flat. "Don't do that again. This is rigged to let you win anyway; I don't know why you're so mad about the bread. It was pumpkin seeds and oats, by the way."
Q scoffs and falls back onto her back on the lounge. "Why are you putting that awful stuff in your mouth? You know I don't like that kind of bread."
"Just because you don't like it doesn't mean I can't eat it," Pika says.
"That's not nice," Quakitus says.
Cold again. Sweet. Chocolate.
"Ice cream," Q says, a smile spreading across her face. Pika is being nice again. She can forgive him, she supposes. "Chocolate ice cream. Can you eat more of that?"
"Yeah," Pika says.
Q puts a hand against his jaw, rubbing softly in appreciation as Pika eats a few more spoonfuls of the ice cream. The taste lingers in his mouth and he smiles, humming happily.
Then, of course, Pika has to ruin it again.
"Why are you eating vegetables right after that?" Q says. "I'm gonna bite my tongue again, you asshole."
"Please don't," Pika says. "Okay, but which vegetable?"
"Carrot."
"It's a parsnip."
"What the hell is a parsnip?"
"It's like a carrot, but it's—"
"You're lying to me."
"Oh my god," Pika groans. "I'll give you a point for that, I guess. Here's the next one."
Warm, buttery, salt and pepper and—
"Baked potato."
"Good girl," Pika says.
Quakitus face heats up. "Are we doing that now?" she says.
"Doing what?"
Meat again.
"That's not pork."
"No, it's not."
"You already did beef."
"So I can't do it again? You don't like my beef?"
Quakitus is about to say something in response to that, but Pika puts a larger piece of the beef in his mouth before she can do so. It's enough that she intimately knows that Pika won't be able to say anything for a few more moments.
It doesn't stop him from letting out a long and pornographic moan.
Bastard.
Q glares down at the library. "You're teasing me. I'm gonna bite myself again." He's not actually going to, but if Pika is going to keep this up, then Q might need to end the game early, which sucks because he actually does like playing this game. "What's the next one? The real next one, stop stuffing your mouth with your meat."
Pika laughs. "You can shut me up with yours later. And I only have one more, actually."
Sweet again. Juicy.
"Strawberry," Q says.
"Good girl!" Pika cheers. "You got them all! Now you get anything you want from me as your prize. Anything."
Quakitus finally spins around on the lounge. "I want more ice cream," she says.
She grins as she watches Pika's face fall with disappointment.
"Just ice cream?" he says.
"Nope," Q says. He gets up and walks across to the kitchen, where the collection of foods is still spread across the table in a neat line. He grabs the bowl of ice cream and sticks the spoon into it, stirring and softening what's still left. He then brings the spoon up and carefully smears it across Pika's lips, then dives in to lick it off.
Thoroughly.
Pika's eyes are dark when Q pulls back. She smirks and takes the bowl with her, returning to the lounge and pleased to see that Pika comes along without needing her to tell him to. She pushes him onto his back and swiftly tugs his shirt off him.
Much better.
"I want ice cream, and I want to eat it off you," Q says.
"Well," Pika says. "You did win."