I had a request for a part two of last week's one shot and also I really wanted to write this one, so here you go!

Will's POV

I met Nico just inside of the place we had first met; Cupid's Laser Tag Arena and snack shack. Rain battered on the metal roof, almost like ping pong balls hitting a table. I was afraid that he wouldn't show after I had been standing in the lobby alone for five minutes, looking through the large crowd of people, talking and eating and playing the arcade games that lined the outer edges of the room. I considered calling him when I heard the bell above the door chime and saw him step into the building, shaking droplets of water off of his black hair. I watched him glance around the room and I caught his eye, giving him a slight wave before quickly letting my hand drop to my side. He walked over and I felt a slight wave of nausea as he stood by my side, my hands clammy as I wiped them on my jeans. Last time it was so much easier, just me and him on opposite sides in the near pitch blackness of the laser tag arena, confidence filling me as I held the laser gun over his body. The connection I had felt between us had changed when I had asked him out, and we had gone from exhilarating tension to the awkward first date chills I had felt so many times before. 

"There's a game starting, should we go in?" Nico asked. I heard a slight tremor in his voice as he spoke, and my heart sighed in relief as I realized that he must have been just as nervous as I was. Hopefully, the nervousness between us would disappear once we stepped into the laser tag arena. We signed up for a game, and were put on a team with a huge group of people I didn't recognize. From the way they were talking I could guess that they were all family and I felt Nico shrink closer to me, our hands brushing as he looked for someone he recognized. I could feel the hairs on my arm stand up and my cheeks redden and I glanced down to see Nico staring up at me, a slight grin on his face. 

"They don't look like they'll be much help," Nico said, pointing at a boy who looked to be about thirteen, currently shooting his younger sister with his gun while she tried to get her mom's attention. "It looks like it'll be up to us to win this thing. Are you ready for the challenge?" he had a smirk on his face, the same smirk he had worn when he won the last game we played together. I couldn't help but love that smirk. It was one of the things that had attracted me to him in the first place."I mean, I'm willing to work hard to win this game. Can I count on you to help me?" It was at that moment the walls opened up, the doors opening to reveal the arena, black as the night with some of the obstacles lit up in neon lights. Suddenly I felt my nervousness melt away, replaced with anticipation, and another strange feeling that I couldn't quite place. It was along the lines of pure joy and romance and whatever that feeling was called, I was sure that Nico had something to do with the cause. 

"You can count on me," I said, grinning. I couldn't see well in the dark, but I was sure that he was grinning, too.

The family we were paired up with didn't seem to have a plan so when the buzzer sounded and we heard cheers from the other team Nico and I were running, catapulting ourselves over the obstacles with our laser guns in hand. Nico was fast and agile, navigating the course with ease. I realized how he had managed to win the last round we had been in. He was like a cheetah in the forest, on its way to hunt down its prey. He must have realized that I was having trouble keeping up with him because after about a minute he stopped, sitting against a wall with his head turned in the direction of the other team's side, gun clutched tightly to his chest. "You're really fast," I panted, trying to catch my breath without gasping. Taking subtle breaths wasn't working as well as I had hoped so I took in greedy gulps of air while Nico let me rest, his eyes trained on our surroundings the entire time. Around me the neon lights glowed, casting a pale yellow shadow onto Nico's sharp features, illuminating his sharp jawline, small nose and dark brown eyes. I was having trouble tearing my eyes away from him, but I was forced to cut my gaze when he looked at me, frowning. "Do you hear anything?" he asked. 

"No," I responded. "That's good though, isn't it" Nico shook his head. 

"It means they're smart enough not to make any noise," he told me. "They're somewhere close, I can feel it." Nico's suspicions were confirmed when a laser came flying down from up high, hitting Nico square in the chest. In the yellow light I saw his eyes widen in surprise as I heard the all too familiar sound of an energy point lost, and watched as one of the tick marks on his vest disappeared. We looked above us to see a group of boys standing on a hidden platform, five feet above the ground with no visible entry point.

 "How did you even get up there?" I called up to them, my gun pointed at the one in the middle while Nico switched between the two others on the side. 

"They helped us," yelled the boy in the middle. There were footsteps behind us and I turned my head while still keeping my gun trained on the boys on the platform to see five more players step out of the shadows. They wore identical grins, and I knew they could tell that they had us trapped. The five on the ground fanned out around us, while the three on the platform prepared to shoot. It was the one on the left who shot this time, and the laser would have hit Nico square in the chest had I not stepped in front of it, taking the blast on full force. 

"Will, you didn't have to do that," Nico said, watching with wide eyes as one of my energy points ticked away. "You were at full health before that. I would have been fine." 

"Well, now we're equal," I said. "You can thank me later."

"You know this is just laser tag, right?" said one of the boys on the ground, the one to the far right. "It's not like it was super heroic or anything."

 It was in the span of just a few sentences when I realized that we were surrounded by a group of eight. If they had fulled their team up to maximum capacity, there would only be one left at the base to guard the target. I had never been the fastest runner or the best strategist, but I had always been a good shot. One person, I could take. "Nico," I hissed. "They only have  one person at the base." Nico looked around the group, and I watched his eyes widen with partial shock and partial joy as he realized the lack of thought by the other team. 

"Do you think you could-" he asked, trailing off as he realized that all eight boys seemed to be leaning in, trying to catch every word. They had yet to shoot after hitting me, and I couldn't decide if that was reassuring or worrisome. Either way I was starting to get suspicious as to why they hadn't acted, especially in their position of power, and I figured it was best to move while we still could.

"What about you?" I asked him nervously.

"I'll hold them off," he assured me. "You did save me, after all. You said I could thank you later, and I'm thanking you." I didn't know why, but hearing those words come out of his mouth made my heart flutter. "Go!" he urged. I waited a beat before pushing against one of the obstacles, sprinting away as yelling erupted from behind me. I heard the sound of boys yelling for help to get off of the platform and lasers hitting vests. I could only hope that it was Nico doing the firing  as I ran off in the direction of the target, dreading the footsteps that I was sure would soon follow. Nico was good, there was no doubt but I knew that even he couldn't hold off eight people forever. 

The guard looked shocked to see me when I burst out from behind one of the obstacles, my finger already pressing the trigger as I rapid fired lasers at both the guard and the target. After a few seconds, two hits to the target and two hits to him, the guard seemed to realize what was going on, and he began to fire at me, two missing before one hit, bumping me down to three energy points and three more hits left until I won the game. Another laser hit me just as I set one at the target. I knew my priority should have been the guard. Knocking him out of the game would have meant a free shot and the target but I couldn't help but take another shot at it as I felt a laser hit me in the chest. I had one energy point left. It was dumb but I hit the target, just barely able to dodge another laser. I saw it zoom past my shoulder, and I could feel my face go pale. I was almost there; one more shot, and the game would be won. I wasn't sure if I could face Nico if I lost the game, especially after his brave sacrifice for me.

I heard footsteps approaching as I wildly shot a laser from my position on the floor, unsure of whether it would even hit the target. I moved out of the way of another laser, squeezing my eyes shut as I barrel rolled to the right. As I opened my eyes they fell on the target just in time to see my laser hit, a wide smile on my face as I realized I had won my team the game. I heard Nico let out a whoop, and I sat up to see him standing behind me, staring at me with a look I could only describe as the utmost admiration. "You did it!" he cheered, holding out his hand to help me up. "You actually did it!" 

"You're the real hero here," I told him, taking his hand and pulling myself up so that our noses were nearly touching. "How did it go after I made my great escape?"

"I lost all of my energy points," Nico shrugged. "But I wasn't expecting anything else."

"Well, you were amazing," I told him. "I don't think I've ever seen so much courage in one person." 

"You were amazing, too," Nico said, almost breathlessly. I didn't know how it happened but we were kissing, his thick, soft lips pressing up against mine as our fingers intertwined. My body pressed against his, our foreheads touching. Even through the kiss, I could feel him smiling.

"You know it's just laser tag," said one of the boys from the floor, sulking past us. We broke apart as Nico shrugged, taking my hand in his. 

"It might be just laser tag," Nico said, smiling widely. "But for us, it just might be the start of something amazing. Under the glow of the neon lights he was kissing me again, and I felt myself smiling.

Hi guys, I hope you liked this one!

Nina