Alter

Take 2!

Vee was doing his best to hold back a smile, watching War from a few seats away. War, seated at the far end of the table, looked stressed out and grumpy, furiously glaring at his laptop as if it had personally offended him. Vee knew better than to let even a hint of a grin escape. If War caught him, he'd probably misinterpret it, assuming Vee was mocking him. Which, of course, he wasn't.

No, not at all. War was just... cute.

Wait. Cute? Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!

"Hey! You good? Or have you finally snapped?" War's voice snapped Vee out of his mental spiral. He was giving Vee a look — one of those "what's wrong with this idiot" stares. Vee must've been shaking his head a little too aggressively.

"I'd worry more about your ending if I were you," Vee shot back, trying to regain his composure. War's frown deepened, but, to Vee's surprise, he didn't fire back. Instead, he went back to pounding on his keyboard.

A moment of silence. Then, War suddenly slammed his hands on the table. "I'm starving!"

Vee stared at him. The guy's nose was practically flaring, and somehow, somehow, despite everything, Vee couldn't shake the thought that War looked... well, yeah, cute.

After their first chaotic meeting, Vee had done some digging into War's past. Not because he was interested, of course. More like... intrigued. There was something about War's sharp tongue and that cocky grin that pulled him in. People didn't usually talk to Vee like that. In fact, most people didn't talk to him at all.

But War? He wasn't like anyone else.

Vee had found plenty during his "research." War had a reputation — women, trouble, a whole lot of drama. Apparently, he'd toned it down after some tragic events, including the death of a cousin and a suspicious connection to another man he'd lived with. People whispered about it, but War's fans were strangely quiet about his past. It was as if they'd all made a collective decision to focus on his present, not the skeletons in his closet.

Vee wasn't as easily convinced. He knew there was more to War than the reformed author image he projected. The second he looked into those piercing eyes, Vee could tell: this man had secrets. Big ones.

"Hey! You!" War's voice pulled Vee back into the moment. "Do you want some?" War waved a chocolate bar around, already munching on half of it. Vee eyed him suspiciously. The whole scene reminded him of kids who would pretend to offer snacks, only to yank them away at the last second and laugh at your expense. There was no way he was falling for that. Not from War.

"No." Vee answered flatly.

War's face lit up with faux disappointment. "Aw. Not a fan of sweets? You sure? You look like you haven't eaten anything since that coffee. I've got an extra one. It's only 7 PM, and I'm running on fumes here. Last meal was 11 AM."

Without waiting for a real answer, War got up, walked over, and plopped the second chocolate bar on the table in front of Vee. Then, instead of going back to his seat, he leaned against the table, casually munching away at his own candy.

"Seriously though, Vee. Can I call you Vee? Yes, I can. Anyway, why do you seem to hate me, huh?" War's tone was teasing, but Vee could sense the genuine curiosity underneath.

Vee scowled and pushed the chocolate bar back toward him. "I don't like it. I don't like you. And I'd appreciate it if you got back to your chair."

War chuckled, clearly not taking the hint. He kept talking anyway, switching gears to some nonsense about the real ending to a story, comparing it to The Little Mermaid. Vee was barely following until War casually dropped, "One of them turns into sea foam, just like the mermaid."

"So... they died?" Vee asked, his skepticism clear.

"Dew did." War said, staring off into the distance with an unsettling sadness. Vee raised an eyebrow, realizing War's mood had shifted — dramatically.

Then, as if flipping a switch, War snapped back to his usual mischievous self. "You sure you don't want this chocolate?" He pointed at it again, eyes wide with hunger. Vee rolled his eyes and pushed the bar back for the second time.

"Fine, take it. You're practically drooling over it."

War's face lit up with the biggest, most radiant smile Vee had seen yet. He tore into the second bar like a kid unwrapping a Christmas present.

"Thanks! I'll indulge myself then."

As he chewed, War's voice got strangely soft, almost... cutesy? Again with the cute!

Vee tried to refocus on his work. He needed to put some distance between himself and this absurd situation, but War just kept talking. Vee had had enough. "Just finish your damn rewrite," he grumbled, making a shooing motion.

But War wasn't done messing with him yet. "Vee. P Vee?" War teased, inching closer. "Aren't you happier now with some chocolate in your system?"

Before Vee could retort, War shoved half the chocolate bar into his mouth, covering Vee's lips with his hand to stop him from spitting it out.

"Just eat it!" War laughed, watching Vee's horrified expression as he begrudgingly chewed. Vee glared, humiliated and annoyed, but the taste was good. Maybe his blood sugar was too low.

When War finally removed his hand, Vee watched him lick the remaining chocolate off his fingers. He couldn't explain why that sent his mind into a tailspin, but it did.

And then War leaned in to wipe the corner of Vee's mouth. The small, gentle touch sent a shock through Vee's system. One second of skin contact, but it might as well have been a lightning bolt.

Vee's mind raced, but he managed to snap back to reality. "We're keeping your original ending. Call James. We're leaving."

War grinned triumphantly. "I knew it! Food really is the way to a grumpy man's heart."

Vee's heart was still racing. Whatever just happened, he needed to get out of there. Fast.

To War maybe Vee was a tough nut to crack, but he had a feeling he was getting closer. And that thought? That made him very happy.