Surrogate : Complications (18+) BOOK 2 (*ON HOLD *)

| 5 | Being Childish ||

 "Oooo!" Penelope winced when Ryu, Liam's character, flew across the screen in slow motion with a great belt of defeat at the end of Chun Li's impossibly fast leg.

"Wow," he said, wiping his forehead. "You're good at this."

"Yeah," she said, pulling some hair behind her ear as the points tallied up on the screen. "Played a lot with my brother."

He met her eyes at that. There was something in the depths that she couldn't quite place.

"You beat him this bad too?"

She smiled. "Not at first. In fact, he handed me the trophy of shame on several occasions, but once I got caught up on game, it was the end of his self-esteem."

Liam laughed from his core, which made her laugh in turn. She thought about letting him win several times, especially after beating him so badly in the racing game they were engaged in twenty minutes ago, but she didn't have it in her to let anyone have anything.

"Suppose I'm more of a lover and less of a fighter."

He could say that again. As soon as the thought crossed her mind she froze. What the hell Penelope, really? GAH! "Hey look, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game just opened up, that's cooperative."

"Working as a team, I can do that, hopefully better than I've been performing solo."

She took his offered arm and they strolled over to the game. "There's nothing wrong with your performance."

He glanced down at her, mischief in his eyes. "Yeah? Well, the incessant losing would disagree with that statement."

She shrugged, taking a stance in front of the new game as Liam inserted the appropriate amount of coins. "It's just you were playing someone of superior skill, is all. How were you to know?"

She could feel him looking at her, but she kept her gaze on the screen, while her mouth fought the smile threatening her somber expression. "Superior skill, huh?"

She nodded the smile tweaking the corner of her lips. "I'd say."

"Okay," he said, standing now acclimating to the new game. "Which turtle do you want?"

"Hmm," she moved through the familiar four options. "Not sure why I'm acting like this is a real debate. "Has to be Raphael."

"Really!" She looked over at his raised eyebrows.

"Why do you sound so surprised?"

He shrugged. "Just wouldn't have guessed that is all."

"Why not?"

Another shrug as he selected Michelangelo. "Just, he's so angry."

"Yeah, he's got some issues, but don't we all. Each turtle on their own is unique and has their strengths and of course their weaknesses, but together. Together they are unstoppable."

When his turtle stopped moving she looked over at him. He was gazing down at her with creased brows.

"Hey, Mighty Mikie, you coming down this tunnel with me or what?"

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when they finally sent the Shredder over the side of the building, with Master Splinter's help of course!

Her stomach had been a churning, angry two year old for the past ten to fifteen minutes.

She hated interrupting Liam's celebratory high, but his kid was not playing any games.

"Liam?"

He looked down at her, and his look of amused triumph faded quickly. "What is it? What's wrong?"