Cole shoved Kai, laughing when Kai punched his arm in retaliation. But Cole won again because of his distraction, and collected the tickets from the machine, adding them to the ones from his last game.
"Cole Brookstone strikes again!"
"You do." Kai rolled his eyes.
"Oh come on." He wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and pulled him down for a hug. "It's all in good fun. Wanna play another round?"
"Nah, something else."
"Like what? You wanna play guitar Star, like old times? They have a machine back there."
"And embarrass ourselves in front of a bunch of kids?"
"We beat the game when we were younger, there has to be something that stuck." He pulled Kai, carelessly stuffing the tickets into his pockets.
"Fine."
They each took a guitar from the machine, Cole threw in the coins and they selected a song, one of their favorites in childhood. Unfortunately, the guitars didn't work properly, which messed up his but especially Kai's playing, who put the guitar back with a huff after.
"It wasn't that bad, was it?"
"It was the fucking guitar."
"Yeah... you wanna just... hang around for a bit?"
"Just, stare?"
"Yeah." He smiled, surprised at Kai's stern expression.
"I'm kidding, you wanna go get ice cream next door? We can come back after."
"Sure."
He took Kai's hand and followed him through the arcade. Before they left, his eyes fell on the prices behind the register and the event display, catching on a figurine, one that Kai stared at longingly from time to time.
But the door shut behind them and Kai dragged him to the neighboring ice cream parlor, where they sat down and took a menu. Kai looked down at his with that familiar scowl on his face, while Cole flipped through his menu, turning it over to check the back and glancing at Kai, who stared across the street, before putting it down when the waiter arrived to take their orders.
After he disappeared again Cole asked, "Is everything ok?"
"Yeah."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
He reached for Kai's hand, freezing when he pulled back. Cole retracted his as well and let it drop back into his lap. "Do you wanna go home?"
"No. You keep having a good time, I'm fine."
"You aren't. Will you please talk to me?"
Kai fixed his piercing gaze on Cole. "Fine. I'm pissed 'cause I keep loosing. Now laugh."
"Oh... Sorry... I didn't wanna upset you, I thought it would be fine..."
Kai looked at him, expression unreadable, but softer than before.
"It was all just good fun, I promise. I didn't wanna hurt you... Don't try and say you aren't hurt, I know you are and that's ok."
He smiled, reaching for Cole's hand, who lifted it back up so he could take it. "Thanks... I know you don't want to, but... I can't control how I receive it... emotionally."
"I know, it's ok. I can stop?"
"Just... for a bit, until everything's all... a bit lighter?"
"Sure." He brought Kai's hand up and pressed a soft kiss to his knuckles, making them both blush lightly.
