Cosplay Shenanigans

6 - of setting sun and poker chip

A/N: My drawing of Mairi Cabanila.

***

"So, do you still wanna do more challenges?"

They were barely exiting the stage, but Mairi seemed to have craved for more, as well as jabbing Abel for his hapless loss. However, the fact she still held the same glazed look and monotonous voice as she casually robbed his fame poked the heck out of his nerves. She practically won a landslide victory... Why wasn't she giddy at all?

Well, forget that question. What did he expect from an apathetic cosplayer? The time where he would eventually understand her was when a millennium had passed. One thing he managed to grasp though, was that she was definitely throwing shades at him.

"Heh, guess you really like humiliating me." Abel sneered, exasperatedly crossing his arms over his chest. His narrowed eyes cast Mairi a side glance, before they trailed away. "Fine, I admit my loss. Your cosplay..." He rubbed his hair. "... it's pretty appealing, and you did some great poses." He peered at her once more. "There, I said everything you wanna hear. Happy?"

Mairi's lips subtly drew back, as if she was holding back something. "That's rich coming from a conceited man, but that's cute of you."

"And when will you stop mocking me?!" Abel promptly barked and thankfully, there were no high temperature anomalies swirling in his face. "God, what is it with you calling me cute? Do you have anything else to say about me?" he groused, huffing out loudly.

"I do," she answered fervently. "Your massive ego might have blocked your eyes from seeing reality, but that makes you extremely passionate and heartfelt. I saw that well when you were explaining your cosplay."

Looks like she's being chatty again.

"Heh, those insincere compliments won't work on me anymore. Nice try," he scowled, tossing all of that flattery bullshit from setting foot in his heart. Nevertheless, that didn't stop them from affecting his stiffening body. "Gotta step up your game, Mairi."

"Sure, if that's what you want." The not-so-quiet cosplayer nodded before she pointed out, "You're actually good-looking, so that's a bonus point for your cosplay. You're also a pretty sportive and fiery guy with an extremely competitive spirit."

"Damn right I am," he snickered and placed his arms on his hips.

Wait a sec. Those compliments... they were all straight up from Mairi. The moment realization struck him like a truck, he instantly retreated from dousing in her fakery. And to add fuel to the fire, the radiating hotness in his cheeks made a swift return. "Actually, why the fuck are you throwing in more?!"

"You said I should step up my game," Mairi explained as she innocently cocked her head once again. "So I'm trying to follow what you want."

"Idiot, that's not what I meant!" Abel cried.

Even until now, he couldn't get a grip on why Mairi kept provoking him all over the place. She could just be stupidly oblivious, but she... looked a little too genius for that case. The only sensible reason was that she was condescending him, trying to drag his confidence to the slumps. The nerve of this woman. She's really playing this game...

"You might be victorious, but that's for now. One day, I'll show you who's the one dominating here," Abel vowed between his teeth. "And as promised... the winner gets to do one thing to the loser. What do you want?"

"Friends," Mairi responded without hesitation as she shuffled closer towards him. "It's the easiest thing I had ever asked."

Guess she's still sticking with her original plan.