Wings Of Fire One-Shots

The Third Wheel - Qinter 2

Human au.

-

Qibli cracked open a Pepsi, slouching on the worn out couch in his gaming room.
Thorn had invited some of the ladies over, and send Qibli downstairs, not wanting him to get in the way.
Qibli was okay with that, because Thorn said he could invite two friends over.

Of course Qibli's first choice was Winter.His second choice was going to be Moon, but then he realized that might be pretty awkward.
Instead he called Turtle.
Both boys agreed to come over.

He turned on Mario Kart as he waited, frowning as he was destroyed by the bots, scoring 10th or 11th place every time.He honestly wasn't that good at video games, despite his bragging.
More of a outdoor sport kind of guy.

Turtle showed up first, with a backpack slung over his shoulder and a sleeping bag in hand. "Mind if I spend the night? Coral is out with Tsu, 'Nome and Auklet and I don't wanna spend the night alone with my brothers."he shivered.

"Sure, dude.Anytime."Qibli bumped fists with him.
He knew Thorn wouldn't care, as long as they stayed safe and out of her way.

Turtle collapsed on the beanbag chair, book in hand, and half watched Qibli rage in Mario Kart.

"Mabye you should take a break.A looooooong break."Turtle mused, closing his book and sitting up straight, posture 100% perfect.

"I guess....How you been?"Qibli decided to start conversation.
He set down his controller, sighing.

"Okay,"Turtle gave a light shrug. "Busy.Coral put me in a 'Talented Writer Club' and now she wants me to be a writer.I'm currently working on my first novel, called 'Pushed Beyond Limits', based off of yours truly."
Turtle chuckled lightly, resting his chin on his hands.

"Sorry, bro...If you ever need anything: a break, help, etc. you know where to find it."Qibli was about to add something more, but a knock on the door made Qibli get up.

It was Winter, looking as if he'd run miles.Sweat dripped down his forehead as he walked in and immediately flopped down on the couch.
"Thanks, Qibli."he panted, wiping his forehead with a hand.

"No problem.Everything alright?"Qibli blinked, tossing him a can of Sprite.

"Yeah, I'm good,"Winter shrugged, gratefully opening the can and chugging it. "Just running from my angry sister.The usual."

"Of course,"Qibli waved a hand. "Another completely normal day in the life of Winter- what's your last name?"
Qibli just then realized, Winter had never told him.

Winter sighed. "Ice."

"Freezer, right side, top shelf."Qibli answered automatically, before getting what Winter was trying to tell him.

"Seriously?"

"Ohhhhh! Your name is Winter Ice! Okay, sorry."Qibli chuckled, Turtle bursting out laughing.

"So, can we play Mario Kart?"Winter nodded his head to the screen, seeing the game was still on.

"Oh! Ummmmm- I mean-"Qibli scratched his neck.
He didn't really want to play that game in front of Winter....

"Sure! Qibli, don't you wanna play it? You seemed reallllyyy good."Turtle sent Qibli a look, which he didn't understand.

"Fine."Qibli grabbed the controller, handing one to Winter.
"Turtle, you playing?"

"Nah, I'm good.Almost done my book."he patted his book, smiling softly. "Thanks for the offer, though."

So, Qinter played Mario Kart.
Qibli got some better scores, ranking up to 8th on a few, but he couldn't beat Winter, or really, any bots.
Winter on the other hand, was awesome at the game.He scored 1st place every time, probably only because Qibli wasn't good at it, right?

The 16th game, Qibli slammed down the controller, causing Winter to flinch.
"Okay, that's enough for me."
he sat back on couch, spreading his legs open in that 'dude sitting' way.

"Awww...Okay..."Winter set down his controller as well, beginning to tap the arm of the couch with his left hand.
"Now what?"

"I don't know."Qibli shrugged. "Wrestle?"

"Ew, no.That's something boys do."Winter wrinkled his nose, as if what he'd said made sense.

"We are boys?"Qibli didn't quite follow.

"You are, I'm not.I'm a sophisticated young man."Winter rolled his eyes.

"Ohhhhhhh.....You went to the wrong place, Mr.Ice."Qibli grinned.

"No one calls me a boy."Qibli the lunged forward on the couch and tackled Winter, both of them wrestling  around and ending up rolling onto the floor.
Qibli smirked in satisfaction, seeing as Winter was struggling beneath him, being trapped by his legs and arms.

"Get off me you heavy sand-snorter!"Winter shouted, placing his hands on Qibli's chest and pushing, trying desperately to shove the 'boy' off him.

"Hmmmm, no.Not until you admit you're a boy, too.Not a sophisticated young man."he said, in a very 'Wintery' voice.

Winter sighed heavily. "Why do you do this to me?"

"Do what, Icicle-brain?"Qibli smiled sweetly.

"This! Tease and taunt me, annoy me to death, etc."Winter scoffed, starting to find Qibli's weight on his stomach slightly painful.

"Because you're fun to annoy, tease and taunt."Qibli sent him a wink(one they totally didn't give Winter butterflies).

"Please? Get off?"Winter began wriggling again.

"No.You heard what I said."Qibli said stubbornly.

"Ugh.....fine you stupid child....I'm a boy, too."he rolled his eyes, waiting for Qibli to get up.

But he didn't.

"I don't believe you,"Qibli placed his head on Winter's chest. "At all."

"What!? Okay, get off!"Winter blushed, using all his strength to shove Qibli off him, quickly sitting up.

Qibli's head hit the matted floor, and he frowned. "Fine.Sorry."he also sat up, scooting to sit beside Winter.

"It's okay, I guess."Winter shrugged, eyes blank again.

"Really?"Qibli set his hand on top of Winter's causing them both to flinch at the contact.

"Yes, Qibs.It's fine."Winter mumbled, avoiding looking at their hands.
"I mean, I've had worse.Once, Hailstorm and Icicle were picking on me, and Hailstorm sat on my stomach and refused to get off for three hours.Icicle brought him food and they both ate, leaving me with nothing."
Winter chuckled softly, slowly lacing his fingers with Qibli's.

"Siblings,"Qibli grinned. "Rattlesnake and Sirocco, before I left for the orphanage, used to prank me alll the time.One time they taped me to the wall, so my feet were off the ground, and I hung there for twenty hours, before Cobra cared enough to help me down."he shivered, remembering the time clearly.

"That doesn't sound nice."Winter murmured, squeezing Qibli's hand a bit.
"I never realized our lives were so similar."

"Me either.You've got two siblings, I do, too.You've got horrible parents, so do it.You were neglected, I was, too.Etc."Qibli nodded, leaning his head on Winter's shoulder.

Meanwhile, Turtle watched them over the top of his book, a huge smile on his face.
"Wait till Kinkajou hears about this."
he whispered cheekily.