ECHOES BEYOND THE DOOR || Hisoka X OC

013 || A Rude Awakening

The game carried on, each card placed between them like an unspoken challenge, a tug-of-war of wills. Quasar tried to keep her composure, but Hisoka had a way of making even the smallest gesture feel loaded. Each time he leaned over to lay down a card, his fingers would brush just barely against hers, lingering longer than she deemed accidental. It was subtle, but enough for heat to spread to her cheeks—that she hoped he wouldn't notice.

But of course, he noticed everything.

The corners of his mouth curled upward each time, as if savoring the faintest reaction she tried so hard to hide. When she shifted her hands or averted her gaze to refocus on the game, he would merely smirk, his eyes never leaving her, his movements only growing more deliberate.

"You blush so easily," he murmured at one point, his voice laced with a mocking sort of affection. "I wonder... does the thrill of the game excite you that much?"

Quasar felt her face heat up again, and she struggled to keep her expression steady. "I think you're reading into things," she replied, keeping her tone cool despite her racing pulse. "The only thrill here is beating you."

Hisoka gave a low, amused chuckle, placing his next card with an infuriatingly graceful flick of his wrist. "Ah, is that so?" he murmured, his voice drifting off in mirth, as if her words were no more than a pleasant joke.

They played on, and with each move, Quasar found herself unwittingly drawn into a strange, magnetic push-and-pull. Her initial tension eased, replaced by something almost like camaraderie—but threaded with that ever-present wariness. Oddly, though, she realized that she wasn't as uncomfortable as she'd thought she might be in his presence, not even after everything that had happened in the earlier phases of the exam. The lull of the game had softened her defenses, and, strangely, she began to feel... at ease. If not exactly relaxed, then at least unguarded in a way she hadn't expected.

She felt herself drifting, her body loosening, the cards blurring together as sleep began to tug at her mind. The adrenaline from the day's events was ebbing, leaving a soft, hazy warmth in its place. She was aware of the fatigue that had settled into her bones, her eyelids growing heavy, her thoughts beginning to wander even as she tried to focus on her next move.

Hisoka's eyes flickered with faint amusement as he watched her, a glint of something almost indulgent in his gaze. "Getting tired, are we?" he asked, his voice soft, almost coaxing, as he leaned forward just slightly, his face shadowed by the dim light of the room.

Quasar blinked, forcing her eyes open as she gave a slight shake of her head, though it took a moment for her to respond. "It's... just been a long day," she murmured, a yawn slipping through her words despite her effort to stifle it. She laid her next card down, her movements slower than before, her focus blurring between the lines of the game and the growing need for sleep.

He didn't press her, merely watching with that quiet, watchful gaze of his, and after a few more rounds, she finally lowered her cards, letting out a sigh. "I think I'll call it a night," she said, her voice low, a hint of reluctance laced in with the exhaustion.

Hisoka merely nodded, his smile faint, his fingers lingering on his own cards as he began to gather them up. "Sweet dreams," he murmured, his voice drifting over the words like silk.

As Quasar slipped into the bed, pulling the covers around her, she cast a glance down at Hisoka, who was still settled onto the floor, his back leaning against the wall. He seemed perfectly at ease, his deck of cards in hand, shuffling idly as if the hard ground beneath him was of no concern. Even so, something about the sight tugged at her—a flicker of something almost like guilt stirring in her chest. She couldn't quite shake the thought that, after the exhausting day they'd all endured, even he might appreciate a bit of comfort.