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To Sion, Yushi is the absolute cutest person he has ever come across. Especially—most especially—when he sulks.
And as Yushi’s boyfriend, he had the privilege of annoying him every now and then just to see that adorable, sad pouty cat face without suffering any repercussions. The way his eyebrows furrow, the slight jut of his bottom lip, the annoyed whine that follows—it never failed to make Sion weak.
And this was how this whole thing started.
Yushi was a gamer. A dedicated one, unfortunately.
So, when Sion stumbled upon a game infamous for making players suffer, he immediately saw an opportunity.
“You should play this,” he said, shoving his phone in Yushi’s face.
It looked harmless enough. A cute little game where you play as a bug exploring an underground kingdom. Along the way, you start fighting other bug-like creatures, uncover some secrets, and slowly piece together the story of a fallen bug civilization.
But what Sion conveniently failed to mention was that the game was also notoriously difficult.
He had played enough of it himself to know exactly what it was capable of. The confusing maps, the long runbacks after dying, and the bosses that were designed specifically to ruin someone’s day.
Which was exactly why he was recommending it to his boyfriend.
He could already picture it.
Yushi groaning in frustration after dying in the boss fights. Yushi dramatically flopping into his shoulder while throwing his Switch. Yushi adorably pouting as he complained about those annoying little bugs.
In other words, easy sulky Yushi content.
Sion almost cheered in excitement when he downloaded the game.
“Why is it so hard to jump around?”
“You’re just bad at platforming,” Sion said as he sat beside Yushi in his bed. Yushi was already done with the tutorials, but he was still shaky with the controls.
Yushi softly groaned while shooting him a quick glare. “I already hate this game.”
Sion nearly laughed out loud. There it was, his adorable, grumpy boyfriend.
“You’re literally still at the first area,” Sion pointed out.
His character jumped onto a platform, only to miss it by a thread. It then fell to the spikes. Yushi whined for what seemed to be the nth time that day. “You were supposed to avoid the spikes.” Sion couldn’t help but tease him some more.
“Don’t talk to me right now,” Yushi deadpanned.
His response only made Sion’s grin grow wider.
The little bug on the screen then came face-to-face with a slightly bigger bug. Yushi confidently swung his nail. The enemy hit him first. Then, again. And again, until the larger bug landed one final blow. Both of them watched the screen fade into black. It returned with the little bug character sitting on a bench, all of the coins Yushi had collected gone.
“I hate this game.” Yushi groaned, throwing himself against Sion, nuzzling his face against his shoulder. Sion huffed a quiet laugh, immediately lifting a hand to pat his head.
All things were going according to plan.
Every few minutes, after every defeat, Yushi would end up clinging to Sion, demanding emotional support.
Sion almost deemed the mission a success.
That is, until Yushi encountered his first boss.
It was like a switch inside him was flipped.
It was subtle at first. After dying a few times, he stopped complaining. Then, he leaned forward to his screen, his warmth leaving Sion’s side. He gripped his Switch tighter as his eyes narrowed.
Sion expected another whine or maybe another dramatic complaint.
But, instead, Yushi turned quiet.
His full attention was now locked onto his little bug character as he guided it around the arena, carefully dodging attacks and hitting deliberate attack combinations.
It was honestly concerning how fast he became invested in it.
“I think I got it,” he blurted out suddenly.
“What?”
He barely gave Sion a glance. “His pattern.”
“His what?” Sion asked, almost nervously.
“His attack patterns. I’m getting him this time.” Sion should have known he was doomed the moment Yushi said that.
What Sion expected to get was his adorable, whiny Yushi.
What he got was a scarily obsessed Yushi, too engrossed with defeating bugs.
Time seemed to drag on as Sion watched him.
His eyes were trained on his screen, barely blinking. Yushi stopped reacting when Sion would talk to him. Every call and nudge Sion did to get his attention resulted in him being flatly ignored. And worse, he even shushed him at one point!
When Yushi finally defeated that boss, both of them let out a big sigh of relief.
For a moment, Sion thought it was over. His agony of being ignored by his boyfriend would end. Surely, Yushi would close the game and declare that he was done with it forever.
Instead, Yushi opened the map and moved towards the next area.
“You’re still playing?” He asked.
“Yeah.” The answer came too quickly for Sion’s liking.
“But you already spent an hour on that boss,” he reasoned out, trying to mask the complaint in his voice.
Yushi shrugged. “It was fun.”
Well, it doesn’t sound fun to Sion. Though it was just for one day… right?
The next day, Yushi played it again.
And again.
And again.
After a week, Sion started to seriously regret everything.
Whenever he visited Yushi’s dorm room after his classes, the game was already running. Whenever they hung out, Yushi would steer the conversation towards the game.
Then came the realization that he had officially been replaced by a bug.
A bug.
And it was his own fault.
One afternoon, Sion found himself sprawled across Yushi’s bed while his boyfriend sat beside him, hunched over, his Switch in hand, still playing that godforsaken game.
Sion stared at Yushi’s broad back as the familiar game music filled the room. His boyfriend intently stared at the screen, his tongue slightly poking out in concentration. He barely noticed Sion rolling over, scooting closer to him, and wrapping his arms around his waist.
Nothing. Not even a glance over his shoulder.
The betrayal burned embarrassingly.
“Ushi-yah,” he mumbled quietly, trying to get his attention.
“Hmm?”
“I want cuddles.” Sion tried, nuzzling against Yushi’s side.
“After I defeat this boss.” The answer came almost immediately, his eyes never leaving the screen.
Sion frowned. “You’ve been fighting bosses for days now.”
“There are a lot of bosses,” he simply replied.
Sion let out an offended huff. Yushi, on the other hand, continued playing.
He let out another huff, louder this time.
Still nothing.
The sound of fighting continued, and it was starting to piss Sion off.
Finally, Sion unwrapped his arms around Yushi. He leaned back dramatically with a thud, crossing his arms, glaring at the ceiling.
Several moments passed.
Then, Yushi paused the game.
For the first time in what seemed like forever, he looked away from the screen. He turned around, and his eyes landed on Sion.
Sion ignored him, avoiding his eyes as he stared ahead, with a clear frown on his face.
Then, in his periphery, he saw Yushi smile.
“You look cute.”
Sion froze.
Yushi's smile grew wider.
“Are you seriously jealous of little bugs now?” He asked, failing to mask the amusement in his voice.
“Those bugs are annoying and stealing you from me.”
Sion heard a laugh. Before he could spiral further, Yushi flopped down on top of him. Instinctively, Sion’s arms wrapped around him. Yushi nuzzled his face against Sion’s neck. Before long, his shoulders started shaking.
“Stop laughing at me,” he grumbled dramatically, turning his head away.
“I’m not laughing.” Yushi’s reply came out muffled as he clearly tried—and failed—to suppress his laugh. Sion groaned as heat crept to his face in embarrassment. “You’re cute when you’re jealous,” he added.
“I’m not jealous,” Sion insisted. Though even he could hear how unconvincing that sounded. Yushi hummed, clearly not believing him as well.
“Don’t worry, I’m still choosing you over the bugs,” he said, pressing a kiss against Sion’s jaw.
Sion grumbled as he held Yushi tighter. “That should not be something I have to be chosen over.”
“It was a difficult decision to make.”
Sion gasped. Yushi laughed again.
He responded by turning his head even further away, not daring to look at Yushi.
A few seconds passed.
Sion felt a finger poke his cheek. And again. He felt Yushi move closer to him, still poking his cheek. He fought so hard not to turn his head towards him, his frown deepening. “Stop that.”
“Hyung,” Yushi called out to him in a small voice as he continued pestering him to get his attention.
A few more moments passed, and Sion couldn’t keep the act up any longer, always a weak man to his boyfriend. Slowly, he glanced over.
Yushi was already staring at him, with the biggest puppy eyes, and a slight pout across his lips. He looked so goddamn cute, and it was completely unfair.
“This is cheating, you know?” Sion muttered weakly.
“I’m sorry for ignoring you,” Yushi said softly, tilting his head slightly. With it, the last of Sion’s resolve crumbled as he fully leaned into the hug. “I think I got a little too into the game,” he continued, tightening his arms around Sion.
Sion huffed a soft laugh against his shoulder, “You think?” he asked, but there was really no bite into it.
That earned him a laugh, followed by a small kiss on the cheek. “There,” Yushi said. “That’s better.”
Sion settled a little more comfortably, finally savoring the warmth he had been missing for the past few days. “After you finish the game, you should compensate me with more cuddles. Maybe even a date.”
“Deal,” Yushi agreed. But when he lifted his head, a sheepish grin slowly formed on his lips. “But, technically, I already finished it a few days ago. I’m just doing the endgame bosses now.”
Sion blinked.
“So, you’re telling me, all you’re doing now is optional?” Sion asked, incredulously.
He only got a soft laugh as a response. Sion then proceeded to flip their positions, caging Yushi beneath him. “New rule,” he said as he started peppering kisses across Yushi’s face. “No more playing that annoying game when I’m around.”
Yushi’s laugh echoed across his dorm room, and Sion couldn’t get enough of it. “Okay,” he answered. “But no promises though.”
“That’s good enough for me.” Sion smiled before finally planting his lips against Yushi’s. His arms wrapped around Sion’s neck, humming contentedly into the kiss.
A few days ago, Sion wanted a sulky Yushi. But now, with Yushi in his arms like this, he figured this was much better.