【James One-Shots | TWDG】

Tic Tac Toe【James x Reader】

It was a cold, windy night. The trees around your camp were making all sorts of whistling sounds as the wind danced between the leaves. The moon shone bright, lighting up the camp just enough that there really was no need for the fire you and James had started, but you guys liked to have it there.

Plus, it was nice and warm.

You couldn't sleep that night - you and James both, so you guys decided to keep yourselves entertained by playing tic tac toe in the dirt.

James grabbed a nearby stick, sharpening the end a little with one of his knives. He then brought it to the ground and carved a 3x3 grid in front of you both.

He smiled softly, looking up and watching you while you sharpened your own stick. You weren't as skilled as James when it came to carving, so yours ended up looking quite silly.

James' laughter confirmed this, and you looked up, smiling.

"What?"

The boy smiled back at you, then said, "nothing." In his soft, whispery voice.

You arched an eyebrow and scrutinized your stick, "what, does it look bad?" You asked as James continued to chuckle cutely.

"Of course not." He lied. "Just.. maybe we should work on your carving skills."

You pouted. "Whatever, walker boy. Let's just play."

James just nodded, bringing his stick to the dirt once again. He carved a small X into one of the squares, the top left, then looked over at you expectantly.

You examined the grid for a moment, then decided to place your O right in the middle. The best spot, in your opinion.

James placed another X below his previous one. You quickly prevented him from winning by placing an O under the last X.

A small grunt came from the boy as he quickly blocked you off too, placing an X in the top right.

You bit your lip and looked at your opinions, eventually deciding on the bottom right box.

This turned out to be a mistake, because James won by placing his X in the top middle spot, completing his row.

How did you miss that? God, you felt stupid.

"I won."

You looked up at James, who was grinning at you.

"Whatever, you just got lucky." You retorted, crossing your arms in defeat.

James chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Another round?" He offered.

".. sure."

You watched as he did his best to cover up the previous marking with dirt, then drew out another grid. This time, he let you start.

You quickly placed your O in the middle, apparently not learning your lesson from the last round - but you were determined to win this round.

James placed his X in the top left, again.

O in the top middle.

X in the bottom middle.

O in the top right.

X in the bottom left.

Damn it, he had two places to win now.

You decided to accept your defeat and placed your O in a random grid, watching as James lined up his Xs and grinned.

"I win again." He sang.

"How the hell do you keep winning?" You groaned, covering up the markings.

"How about we play one more round, but we make things a little more interesting?" James suggested. You looked at him.

"Interesting how?"

"If you lose this round, you have to..." James dragged out the sentence a little, eventually falling silent as he tried to think of something.

"Kiss me." He grinned.

Your face flushed as you gave a shy smile, "I- of all the things, that's the best you can think of?"

James shrugged.

"What if I want to kiss you?" You asked. He didn't seem to be expecting that, because he blushed as well.

"Oh." He tilted his head and scratched the back of his neck, "well, if you win, you can kiss me."

"Okay."

His shy smile turned into a slight smirk. "Okay." He repeated after you, then carved the final grid into the dirt.

He started off by carving his X in the top middle.

You placed your O in the middle. Again. Third time's the charm, right?

James put an X in the bottom left.

O in the middle left.

X in the top left.

O in the middle right.

It took James a minute to realize that you won. When he did, his eyebrows raised and he muttered a small, "oh."

"Looks like I have to kiss you." You smiled.

Before giving him a chance to reply, you leaned over and lighty pecked the boys lips, pulling back moments after. James leaned forward a little before you could pull away completely and kept the kiss going a few seconds longer.

He then leaned back with a shy smile and blush dusting his cheeks, clearing his throat.

"Congratulations, winner. Uh, the sun will be coming up soon, so I suggest you get some sleep." James said softly after a moment of silence.

You could still feel a tingling sensation on your lips from where he kissed you. You licked your bottom lip in attempt to make the feeling go away.

"Alright... what about you?"

"I'll keep watch." He said, leaning up against one of the logs that surrounded the camp.

"Okay." You nodded and moved a little closer to him. "Thank you."

You sat beside him and gently rested your head on his shoulder, yawning.

James smiled and gently wrapped an arm around you, watching you get comfortable.

"No problem. And, uh, we should play that game more often. It's kind of fun."

You snuggled further into his side and closed your eyes, smiling gently to yourself.

"We'll see."