(lol right. It would def make Sage more prone to snap at Anya too, so we could use it to start the argument we talked about before. We'll see how it goes lmao)

Sage was enjoying the good-natured competition that was taking place in the tavern. He didn't much like the place, but he had to admit it was a cozy place to have some fun when it wasn't full of loud, drunk people. And the fact that he wasn't working was probably helping his mood as well. Sage knew where he wanted to go with his hand...he had decent cards and was pretty decent at the game too, since he had played at risk before. But Anya had played more than he had, and he didn't know what cards she had, so it was hard to tell who would win. It seemed likely he would win, just based off of his cards, but he knew a game could turn in an instant.

(yeah that sounds like a plan!)

Sage caught her look and just grinned innocently at her before taking his turn and ending the game with a playful cackle. He stuck his tongue out at her, but couldn't hold the face for long since he couldn't help but grin in triumph. "All you did was pick cards up," he giggled, figuring she must not have had a great hand. "Now you owe me a very ugly rock," he said, trying to keep a straight face and failing miserably. All of their playful banter had definitely made the game more enjoyable than actually playing for something, and Sage was still having a good time.

Anya pouted childishly at him, before sticking her own tongue out at the boy. "You just got lucky." She complained jokingly. This childish game was fun... more fun than it maybe should have been for such a boring game. "But I'll find you your rock. And I'll bet that it's the ugliest rock you've ever seen!" She squeaked in an exited tone. It was a game of knowing when to stop... but it was also a little bit of luck. She enjoyed it though, and a false competitiveness was fun. She flopped back in defeat, taking in the warmth of the fire for a few seconds before sitting up on her elbows. "What're you wanting to do now? I think we'd struggle to make fun out of a lot of the games.

Sage giggled and made a face right back at her. "You're just jealous you lost," he teased before laying down next to her with a thoughtful hum. "I don't really know. I never actually have much planned for our crazy little escapades." He shrugged lightly and grinned over at the girl, the firelight seeming to make his eyes glow with a golden light. "I'll take being with you over working rooms or cleaning any day," he told her in a mostly joking tone. It was obvious he preferred her to the rooms...he preferred everything to working rooms.

The girl sighed slightly before turning her head to look over at him. "Yeah, I am a little jealous. I really wanted an extremely ugly rock!" She laughed as she rested her hands on her stomach. In a defeated pose. She met his eyes for the first time that night with the biggest grin. "I'd prefer to spend my nights with you over anyone I know. Even if we don't have anything planned, just being with you is nice. So we can just chill out for a bit." She smiled to herself, knowing she was rambling just a little, but she wanted to get it out.

Sage chuckled and shrugged. "Laying around with eachother works for me," he murmured. He found he couldn't break eye contact, just like the other nights. It sent some form of warning bells through his head, but it seemed like he couldn't move. The back of his head told him he wanted to, but he wasn't sure that was true.

(It's really short lol)

Lol no problem. I've been trying to shorten them down so I can type them up quicker while I'm away lol)

The girl nodded, trying not to break away from his gaze again. She wouldn't be the first to look away... not this time. She wanted to know if he felt the same as she did or not. She knew she should try and move... so that they wouldn't have to deal with whatever this was... but it seemed like they were both struggling with their feelings a little, but it was so strange... they shouldn't want to be near each other. They shouldn't want to get along, or be friends, or anything like that... but here they were. Laying side by side in front of a warm fire, trying to break from each other's gaze.

Sage could feel his heart beat speeding up, and it seemed like it was pounding in his ears. He shouldn't want to be with Anya...this was all so odd. And how did she feel about him? It seemed like she liked him, a lot, but good friends and love were very different. He felt a light blush spreading across his cheeks and he cursed himself in his head. This really shouldn't be happening. And yet here they were.

Anya felt a lump growing her throat the looker she held his gaze. Had it always been so hard to look away? And why wasn't Sage moving? Shit. She needed to stop this... To say something... but she couldn't. Her face flushed up a light pink, but it only got deeper. All she could do was push out one word. "Sage..." she almost whispered, not quite sure what she wanted to say after that. Most likely something about how they couldn't be doing this, but she couldn't manage to get it out.