"There's a full arcade just down the hall! We should definitely check it out," Sihan said, his voice brimming with excitement. "We spent so much time locked away in the music room yesterday, let's mix it up and try the arcade for a change!"
"An arcade? I didn't even notice one was here. How did you manage to find it?" Haoran asked, tilting his head with curiosity.
"Well, I went on a little scouting mission while I was out buying snacks," Sihan answered with a proud grin.
"That actually sounds pretty cool," Qixian remarked, adjusting his shirt. "I could use a bit of mindless fun."
"Let's go then. Lead the way," Yichen added, feeling the need to move after the heavy atmosphere of the previous night.
"Follow me!" Sihan chirped, gesturing for them to keep up as he practically skipped toward the game room.
_____________
A few moments later, they pulled open the doors but it didn't open.
"Idiot, you should push the door." Qixian said as he force himself not to laugh.
Haoran laughed at Sihan though he did help him push the door, as they all entered, they find the room filled with the nostalgic hum of electronic music and flashing lights.
"Oh, look! They have a row of claw machines over there!" Haoran pointed toward the corner, his eyes lighting up. "The plushies inside are so cute! Look at that little round cat."
"Do you want one?" Sihan asked, leaning casually against the machine.
"Are you offering to get it for me? Or are you just going to make me watch you fail?" Haoran challenged with a playful smirk.
"Is that a dare? Of course, I'll get it for you," Sihan replied confidently. He then turned toward Yichen, winking pointedly at Qixian—a gesture that only left Qixian looking utterly confused. "What about you, Yichen? Why don't you try your hand at winning a plushie for Qixian?"
Yichen turned his gaze toward Qixian, his expression unreadable but focused. "Do you want one? Pick whatever you like," Yichen asked.
Qixian crossed his arms, trying to hide a small flush of color on his cheeks. "Don't you two just want an excuse to turn this into a competition? But sure. I'll take the rabbit if you're so confident," Qixian answered.
"That's the spirit! This is going to be great!" Haoran said, clapping his hands in anticipation.
"Alright, let's set the stakes," Sihan announced, his competitive streak finally taking over. "The first one to successfully grab a plushie wins. The loser has to pay for the big dinner tomorrow—since we're heading out early tomorrow!"
"You're on. Prepare your wallet, Sihan," Yichen said, stepping up to the second machine and gripping the joystick with grim determination.
"Game on!" Sihan shouted, dropping his first coin into the slot.
__________
"Hey, Haoran, look at them. They've been at it for ten minutes straight and haven't even come close," Haoran snickered, leaning against a nearby racing game as he watched the two struggle with the machine claws.
Qixian glanced over at the intense, frustrated expressions on Sihan and Yichen's faces and shook his head. "They're hopeless." He sighed, "While they're busy battling the machines, do you want to go check out that photo booth over there?"
"I've got it! This is the one! I can feel it!" Sihan yelled, his face focused against the glass as the claw successfully snagged a stuffed toy. He held his breath as it began to lift, only for the plushie to wiggle free and tumble back into the pile. "Damn it! That was so close!"
"Why is this claw so ridiculously loose? This has to be rigged," Yichen complained, gripping the joystick so hard it looked like it might snap.
"Yeah, they're definitely going to be stuck there for an eternity," Haoran agreed, rolling his eyes with an amused grin. "Let's go." They abandoned the competitors and made their way toward the glowing curtains of the photo booth.
Haoran stepped inside first, looking around the small space with a puzzled expression. "Qixian, do you actually know how to operate this thing? I'll be honest—I have no idea what I'm supposed to do in here..." he admitted, tentatively poking at the touchscreen.
"You're a top scholar, yet you're being defeated by a simple photo booth?" Qixian teased, ducking under the curtain to join him.
"I'll have you know I've spent my life studying, not hanging out in arcades! Besides, being a scholar doesn't mean I'm born with the innate knowledge of how to take a four-cut photo," Haoran retorted, giving Qixian a mock glare.
"Relax, I've got it. It's easy," Qixian said, his fingers dancing across the screen to select a frame. He leaned in close to Haoran, checking their reflection on the monitor. "Alright, get ready... Now, let's pose!" He clicked the start button, and the countdown began to flash.
______________
"Yes! Finally!" Sihan's shout of pure joy echoed through the arcade as the metal claw successfully dragged the plushie into the prize chute. He pumped his fist in the air, his face glowing with a hard-won victory.
He turned toward Yichen with a triumphant grin, ready to brag about his superior skills. However, the gloating died in his throat the moment his eyes landed on Yichen. The Enigma was leaning casually against his own machine, dangling a plushie by its ear and wearing a smug, irritatingly calm smirk.
"Damn you," Sihan muttered, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Yichen's prize. He huffed, shaking his head. "Well, whatever. At least I got one for Haora—" Sihan cut himself off mid-sentence, spinning around as he realized the space behind him was empty. "Wait, where's Haoran?"
Yichen's smirk vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp, focused concern. The two immediately moved and began scanning the neon-lit room.
"Haoran!" Sihan called out, his voice rising above the electronic beeps of the games.
"Qixian!" Yichen shouted, his eyes darting toward the exits.
Just as they were about to split up to search the rest of the floor, two figures stepped out from behind the heavy velvet curtains of a nearby photo booth.
"Oh! You two are finally finished with your little war?" Qixian said, looking at them with a dry, amused expression.
"You're just in time! We need to take a photo together—the four of us!" Haoran announced, emerging with a wide, excited grin. He held up a strip of glossy paper for them to see. "Qixian and I already finished our round! Look at this one! Isn't Qixian absolutely beautiful in this frame, Yichen?"
"Was that comment really necessary?" Qixian asked, rolling his eyes. "Besides, I'm handsome, not 'beautiful.' Get it right."
Haoran opened his mouth to deliver a playful retort, but Qixian didn't give him the chance, playfully shoving him back toward the booth. "Enough talk. Come on, you two, let's get in here."
"Wait a second..." Yichen stopped Qixian by the wrist. "Take this one first." He held out the prize he had won—a soft, white bunny with oversized, floppy ears.
"Thanks..." Qixian murmured, his usual sharp edges softening as he took the plushie. He hugged it slightly to his chest as he stepped into the small booth.
"Qixian! Look! Sihan gave me a plushie too!" Haoran cheered, showing off his own prize—a round, grumpy-looking cat with a disproportionately large head.
"It looks exactly like you do when you're sulking," Qixian teased, reaching out to poke the plushie's velvet nose.
"Hey! I do not look like a cat! If anything, it should look like you—" Haoran protested, though his smile remained wide and infectious. "Oh, but wait! That bunny actually suits you much better!" he added in a singsong, teasing voice.
"Alright, everyone look at the lens! Three, two, one!" Sihan announced, his arm wrapped around Haoran as they all faced the camera.
The booth flashed repeatedly as they cycled through poses—some serious, some chaotic, some looks like arguing, and several where they were all laughing too hard to stay in the frame.
"I'm keeping this one for myself," Haoran whispered as the final strips printed out, his finger tapping a photo where he and Qixian were posed side-by-side. The resemblance between them was unmistakable—looking less like friends and more like the twins— though they truly were.
____________________
By the time they retreated to the quiet of their shared room, the lighthearted energy from the arcade had completely evaporated, replaced by a suffocating stillness.
Outside, the sun was sinking below the horizon, bleeding deep purples and bruised oranges across the sky, while the air felt unnervingly heavy—as if a violent storm were brewing just beyond the shoreline.
Yichen had been unusually silent from the moment they crossed the threshold. His movements were mechanical and stiff, his posture rigid like a pulled bowstring. His eyes, usually sharp and observant, had grown dark and distant, fixed on some invisible point in space as he disappeared into his bedroom without a word.
"What on earth is wrong with him now?" Qixian muttered under his breath, his brow furrowed in concern as he watched Yichen's bedroom door click shut. "He probably just overexerted himself at the arcade. A headache from all those flashing lights and noise," he reasoned, trying to shake off the nagging feeling of dread beginning to take root in his chest.
A scent was beginning to fill the suite—it was deep and woodsy, reminiscent of a torrential downpour hitting ancient cedarwood, but there was an underlying edge to it now, something sharp, and predatory.
But as the minutes ticked by, the atmosphere didn't clear. Instead, it thickened. Qixian lingered in the living area, nursing a glass of water, but he found he couldn't take a sip. His skin felt unnaturally tense, his own pheromones beginning to prickle and react to a sudden change in the air.
The scent quickly transitioned from a subtle aroma to a physical weight that pressed against Qixian's lungs. It was leaking from under Yichen's bedroom door in waves, swirling through the living room like a visible, intoxicating fog.
'Something is wrong,' Qixian thought, his instincts as an Omega screaming a warning. 'Don't tell me—is he...?' He stood up abruptly, the glass of water nearly slipping from his trembling hand as the realization hit him like a physical blow.
He left the glass of water on the table and moved toward Yichen's door, but as he drew closer, he had to pause. The air here was so saturated with that raw, masculine scent that Qixian felt his knees go weak. It was overwhelming, a tidal wave of dominance that demanded submission. 'Is this really his?' he wondered frantically, bracing himself against the wall. 'It has to be. There's no one else here but the two of us.'
Steeling himself, he raised a hand and struck the wood.
Knock. Knock.
"Hey, Yichen? Are you okay in there?" Qixian called out, his voice wavering. "Your scent... it's leaking all over the room. It's getting hard to breathe out here."
He waited, his heart hammering against his ribs, but the only response was the sound of his own ragged breathing.
Knock.
"Yichen? Seriously, open the door," Qixian tried again, louder this time. Silence followed, but the pressure in the air spiked, turning violent. It felt like the room itself was beginning to vibrate with suppressed power, sending a jolt of pure panic through Qixian's veins.
At the third knock, when the silence from within felt more dangerous than any shout, Qixian leaned his forehead against the cool wood of the door. "Yichen..." he whispered, his voice trembling with the desperate hope that he was wrong. "Are you... are you in a rut?"