Maybe it was because I hadn't left Oakwood in ages, but the remainder of the week and a half I had left before it was time to visit my pack flew by in a flash. I spent most of my time preparing for the short trip and making sure I had everything I needed packed away so I could just grab my stuff and go. Now there was just one more day before I left and I knew exactly how I would spend it—not that Fen gave me much of a choice.

Since I mentioned the idea of a game night, the man had been reminding me at every opportunity so I wouldn't forget. The constant reminders were partially annoying, but at the same time, I was surprised to see Fen so excited.

It seemed like I was constantly learning about and seeing more sides of Fen in the short time we lived together. It was ironic to think that when I first met him, he was one step up from being considered a robot and now he seemed more...human in a way.

"What are you thinking about?" I jumped at the sudden intrusion of another voice and turned my head just in time to see Fen flop onto the couch beside me with curious eyes. "Are you thinking about me?"

"You wish," I lied, rolling my eyes. "Why are you so close?"

His shoulder brushed against mine as he turned his body to face me. "I just want to sit beside you. Besides, we've gone farther. Aren't we past the unspoken no-touching rule?"

"No."

"No?"

"No," I repeated.

Fen's eyebrows raised and a smile formed on his face. "Other stuff aside, I could've sworn you almost kissing me the other day was surely enough to prove otherwise."

"Me almost what?"

"When we had dinner," he clarified.

"I was not going to kiss you."

"You learned forward."

"You're imagining things." I dismissed the claim and before he could come up with a rebuttal, I asked, "Did you want to get this game night started or not?"

The change in topic worked as expected. Fen quickly got up and hurried to grab the basket of old board games I pulled out the night before from beside the TV.

"What did you want to play?" He questioned while the both of us took a seat on the ground across from one another with the basket in between us.

I shrugged. "You were the one who was so excited about this so you can pick first."

"Are you sure?" He asked and I nodded. "Well, in that case, let's play this first."

He pulled out an old box of Snakes and Ladders. I'd honestly forgotten I owned the game. Reed loved it when we were younger, so when I packed up to leave home, I took it with me in case he ever visited.

"Of all the games." I shook my head, an amused smile forming.

"I'm pretty good at this one," Fen told me.

"It's a luck-based game."

"I'm pretty lucky when it comes to board games."

"Really? I guess we'll see."

We set up the game and read over the rules just to make sure we didn't forget anything before Fen tossed me the dice.

"You can go first."

The confident look in his eyes made me shake my head as I rolled the dice, getting a four. I handed them back to Fen, whose grin was still present, as he tossed them and got a six.

"See? I'm lucky."

"The game just started. Don't get ahead of yourself," I argued.

Fen just continued grinning at me as we continued playing. With every turn, his piece practically flew up the ladder, leaving mine in the dust.

"You've got to be kidding me," I muttered after his third ladder in a row.

"Told you," he said smugly, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

"Beginner's luck," I countered, rolling the dice and moving my piece a measly two spaces which so happened to be one of the snake spots.

"It sounds like you're making excuses," he teased.

"I'm just getting started," I shot back.

Fen laughed. "Let me know when you want to play something else so I can beat you in that too."

Smug bastard.

"The game isn't over yet."

"We both know how it'll end though."

"You're wrong."

...Except, he wasn't. After three back-to-back losses and a depressing amount of snakes later, I'd finally reached a conclusion.

"You're rigging this."

"Am I, now?" Fen amusedly replied.

"It's the only explanation for this because it sure as hell isn't luck."

"Hear me out," he said as he leaned across the board, bringing his mouth closer to my ear. "Maybe you're just...bad?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Bad? You think I'm bad at a game of pure chance?"

Fen chuckled, leaning back. "It's a possibility."

"New game. I'm picking this time."

Fen packed away Snakes and Ladders while I dug around in the basket before finally settling on Monopoly.

"I'll win here too," he told me. "I'm lucky."

"Stop repeating your nonsense."

We set up the board and distributed the money before choosing our pieces. I chose the car while Fen chose the cat which had me side-eyeing him.

"What?" He inquired with a small smile on his face.

"You chose that piece because I hate cats, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Fen shrugged with feigned innocence.

"Liar."

"What if I just like cats?" He retorted. "You remind me of a cat."

"...what?"

Fen's grin widened. "You heard me. You're independent and you might act like a jerk at times, but you care about others and can be surprisingly affectionate when you want to be."

"You're ridiculous."

"And you're deflecting," he said, his smile never faltering.

"Let's just start the game," I muttered, shuffling the chance cards and placing them on the board.

The first few rounds were a mix of good and bad luck for both of us. Fen landed on a couple of properties and bought them quickly, while I managed to avoid any major expenses. It was in the later rounds when Fen's supposed "luck" decided to make an appearance and he managed to collect a relatively good monopoly. It seemed like after that, a switch was flipped in his head and he began to play more aggressively. He started building up his monopoly turn after turn, leaving me to try and play catch up.

I did eventually get a monopoly of my own but given the gap between us, it was difficult to build it up without also running the risk of losing all my cash if I accidentally landed on one of his spaces. Blame it on the fact I'd been on a losing streak all night, but I was determined to win this game. Even if it meant I had to resort to playing a little dirty.

"You should trade me your red card," I said to him since it was the last card I needed to complete my second monopoly.

"Why would I do that? If I keep the cards I have now, you're bound to run out of money here soon," he confidently replied.

"It'll be worth it."

"Oh? What will I be getting in return?"

"Cash."

He shook his head. "I have cash."

"I'll give you cards," I tried again.

"I don't need any of your cards to win."

I huffed and for a second, I considered giving up on trying to make a deal with him, but then I remembered who I was talking to.

"You wanted that kiss the other night, didn't you?"

Fen's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at me with a mix of surprise and intrigue. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb," I said, narrowing my eyes at him. "You seemed pretty interested in what almost happened."

He cleared his throat, clearly caught off guard. "You think you can use that as leverage?"

"I'm just saying it might sweeten the deal." I shrugged.

Fen's expression shifted to one of contemplation, and he leaned back, a thoughtful look on his face. "Alright, let's make this interesting. I'll trade you the red card, but you owe me a kiss."

My eyes widened in disbelief. "Seriously?"

It wasn't that I didn't expect him to agree because it was Fen after all, but it still caught me off guard.

"Seriously," he nodded, holding out the card to me.

I took it from his hand and eyed him. "You want to do this now?"

"At the end. I want to defeat you first," Fen explained and I rolled my eyes.

"Don't get ahead of yourself."

The red card did help give me a fighting chance against Fen's monopolies but in the end, it seemed selling my soul for the card wasn't worth it because Fen still managed to absolutely crush me in the end.

"What the hell?"

"I told you, I'm lucky," he repeated. "Time to pay up."

"You cheated somehow," I accused.

Fen pushed the board to the side. "You're just a sore loser."

"Nope. You had to do something to get that first monopoly, didn't you? Not to mention, Snakes and Ladders again—"

My words were cut off as Fen closed the gap between us and connected his lips with mine. For a second, I remained frozen, the competitive streak from before leaving my body. It was only when his arm brushed against me that I broke out of the trance and returned the gesture.

The kiss started off light, but as we both relaxed into it, it deepened. No words were spoken when Fen's fingers combed through my hair or when I pulled him closer. Neither of us said anything about the sparks either when we pulled away.

"That was..." Fen trailed off, trying to find the right word. "Nice. Really nice."

"Nice enough to do again?"

His eyes seemed to widen at my comment. "Huh?"

"Don't get me wrong, I still think you're a cheater, but I am leaving tomorrow."

Fen nodded and his surprise seemed to fade as my words sunk in. After a minute, his expression changed and he leaned in, capturing my lips again.

This time wasn't nearly as soft. He pushed my back against the couch while one of his hands slipped underneath my shirt. I knew he wouldn't stop there, so before he could go any further, I pulled back and met his clouded gaze.

"Same rules from before apply," I told him. "Don't try to make this into something more complicated than it is, alright?"

Fen's eyes held mine, his breathing heavy and lips slightly swollen from our kiss. "Alright," he agreed softly, though there was a flicker of something deeper in his gaze. "Just tonight."

I nodded. "Just tonight."

With that understanding, we didn't waste any more time talking. Fen's lips found mine again, and the board games along with everything else seemed to fade away.