The sound of Kaitlyn's footsteps echoed through the dorm stairwell as she climbed. Her legs were still sore from the morning's run, sending twinges of pain through her calves and thighs with every step.

It's only one floor. I don't need to use the elevator for something like this. I'm not that lazy.

Today was a big day. It was finally time to study with Ian. Their first Intro to Programming assignment was out, meaning they had a perfect opportunity to work together on it. However, unlike last time, she wasn't going to focus on that exclusively.

We might end up finishing it. We might just play some friendlies. I really don't know. I'll have to be flexible and keep an open mind.

Shifting the backpack on her shoulder, she pushed open the door with a loud clunk. The brightness of the side common room greeted her, sunlight flooding through the windows at one end. Ian was already sitting at the table with his laptop open in front of him. His back was towards her, meaning she had a full view of the code on screen.

Must be his game.

"Whatcha doing?"

He nearly jumped out of his skin, slamming his laptop closed as he whirled around. Only then did he let out a long breath. "Oh! Kay! You scared me, there."

"I can tell," she giggled, sliding into the seat across from him. "Sorry about that."

"It's ok. I was just… focused."

"Yeah? What were you working on? The assignment?"

"No! No, of course not. It's, uh, something else. Don't worry about it."

Kaitlyn bit her tongue. She knew exactly what he was working on, of course. But until he admitted it himself, there was no way that she'd bring it up first. It would probably do more harm than good.

It's ok. It's still early in the loop, and things are going well. Have patience.

"If you say so." She shrugged with what she hoped was indifference and pulled out her laptop. "Well, want to get started?"

The pair began busying themselves with the comically easy assignment. They talked through it as they worked, mostly to share their incredulity and dismay at how basic it was. Having been through it before just made it even harder to take the thing seriously.

As brain dead as it is, the thing still takes a while to actually finish… Actually, I wonder how fast I can do this? Maybe I should start timing myself…

After about twenty minutes, she realized that Ian hadn't spoken in a while. A glance in his direction revealed that the guy was focused on his own laptop with a strangely serious expression.

"...Ian?"

He blinked, blue eyes flicking up to meet hers. "Ah! What's up?"

"Did you finish?"

"...No," he admitted, scratching his head. "Sorry. I… got distracted."

Inwardly, she let out a long sigh. It was just what had happened last time around. She knew firsthand how easy it was to lose focus, especially on something like this, but still. The assignment was so easy…

…It's ok. I'm not his nanny. I'm not going to press him.

"...No worries," she tried to smile. "Want to take a break or something?"

"Ah, we don't have to! We pretty much just started—"

"It's fine," she waved him off. "It's not like we're hurting for time. They gave us a whole week for this, remember?"

"Yeah, good point…" He hummed thoughtfully. "But I'd feel bad if we planned a study session and didn't even finish this."

She shrugged. "We can always come back to it after. Whatever you want to do. I just don't want to push it if you're not feeling it."

Some deep part of her rankled at the approach. Back when she'd been much worse at studying, it was an attitude like this that had ended with her failing every class. Taking breaks whenever she simply wasn't "feeling it" had gotten her nowhere fast.

I don't know if it's the best approach. But I do know that pressing him didn't work AT ALL. So we're going to try something different. We're going to let him decide.

Her resolve solidified as Ian began to slowly nod. "...Ok. We'll take a break, then come back to it. Maybe… we can play some friendlies?"

A slight smile crept across her features. "Sure! I'll never turn down a chance to beat you."

He chuckled, some of the tension in his shoulders slipping away. "Uh-huh. We'll see how long you can keep that confidence. Gimme one sec, I'll be right back."

Ian stepped toward his dorm, returning a moment later with his PlaySphere and monitor in hand. She helped him set it up in front of the couch.

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"Out of curiosity… do you have any other games? Besides Bash Bros, I mean."

Ian nodded. "Of course. I didn't bring everything, but I've got Water Insignia, Kingdom Spades, WarStar Battlefield, and a few others. Did you want to play something else?"

"No, I'm happy with Bash Bros," she clarified. "I just thought I'd ask. Kingdom Spades sounds familiar. I think I've heard of it…"

"Oh! You haven't played it?" As she shook her head, Ian continued. "It's one of my favorites. It's got some really cool design choices that make it play really well. The devs managed a really good balance of approachable and complex, plus the combat flows so smoothly. Not to mention it did a ton of innovative stuff for the genre when it first came out… You should give it a try sometime."

"Maybe," she hedged. "I'll have to buy a PlaySphere first."

He blinked. "You don't have one? How are you this good at Bash Bros then?"

"I played in a lot of tournaments. I've pretty much been bumming off of friends and other people as long as I've been playing. I only got to play Water Insignia because it was at a friend's house."

It was mostly the truth. She could have picked up a console on any number of loops, especially once Kate's Kitchen started taking off. However, she'd always had other things to spend her time and money on. Gaming just hadn't ended up being a priority, aside from Bash Bros.

"Huh… wow." Ian tilted his head thoughtfully. "That's even more impressive. I guess there's a lot of games you haven't played then, huh?"

"Basically, yeah," she agreed. "I've been pretty busy, but maybe I'll set aside time one of these days."

"Hm… Well, if you ever do want to try something out, you're welcome to borrow mine."

"Thanks," She nodded in thanks. "I'll let you know if I ever buy a PlaySphere."

"No, that's what I meant. You can borrow my PlaySphere."

Now it was her turn to be surprised. She turned to him with sheer incredulity plastered across her face. "Seriously?"

"I mean, why not?" He smiled. "It's worth it to make another Kingdom Spades fan. As long as we still bring my setup to tournaments. John might hunt us down otherwise."

For a long moment, Kaitlyn eyed him with suspicion, looking for any hint that he was joking. …He really is being serious. No way. That's too generous. A controller is one thing, but the whole console?

"...Are you sure? I mean, don't you use it?"

He shrugged noncommittally. "Not nearly as much as you think. But if I do want to, I can let you know. How does that sound?"

"I mean… it sounds like you're being way too nice. It's a deal." She finally allowed herself to grin. "Thank you!"

"No problem."

As they dove into their friendlies, Kaitlyn couldn't help but celebrate a little. It wasn't just the prospect of free access to a PlaySphere and games that had her excited, though. It was also what that access meant.

That really was super nice of him. Way nicer than he needed to be. I know he's always been pretty kind, but still… who lends someone an entire console like that? I've gotta pay him back somehow…

That payback did not come in the form of free wins, however. She continued crushing him relentlessly through each game. At this point in the loop, Kaitlyn was still better than Ian. But the gap between them was shrinking in real time. She could see him learn and adapt to her movements, forcing her to keep innovating and finding new ways to catch him off guard.

As her Corgo slammed CinnaBun off the edge of the stage, finishing off Ian's last life, he fell back against the couch cushions. "Dang. I thought I had you that time…"

She grinned at him. "So close, and yet so far. You're catching up quick, though."

"Yeah? I hope so. I'd love to win a tournament one of these days…"

"You will," Kaitlyn reassured him. "Trust me on that one."

As they continued playing, she noticed that Ian's movements became just a little sluggish. His reactions were delayed, and his decision making seemed just a little lacking compared to where it should be.

Maybe he got distracted again? Seems like he's been doing that a lot, lately…

After another game of this, she decided to ask. "Something on your mind, Ian?"

"Hmm?"

"You're playing kinda off."

A look of realization dawned on him as his face reddened slightly. "Ah, it's nothing."

Kaitlyn bit her lip. Come on. I feel like I have to press a little bit, this time.

"You sure? I mean, we can talk about it if you want."

He opened his mouth again, possibly to reaffirm that he was all right, but stopped. As his eyes met hers, she saw something flash within them: indecision.

Is that… an opportunity? Is he really thinking about it?

She almost pressed harder. Almost. It would have been so easy to ask a little more directly, pose a leading question that nudged him just in the right direction…

With a monumental effort, she swallowed the urge and took a deep breath. "You… you don't have to tell me. It's ok. I won't pry if it's personal. But… if you want to talk about anything, you can. Any time."

Ian visibly wrestled with himself for a moment. His words came out of him as though forcibly dragged. "It's… ok. Really. It's nothing important."

"Ok. That's fine. But… it seems pretty important to you." She gave him a level look. "At least, more important than classwork and Bash Bros."

His face turned stricken. "I—"

"I don't mean that as a bad thing," she quickly reassured him. "I'm not judging. It's just weird that you'd say it's not important when it really seems like the opposite. That's all."

He went quiet, and for a moment, she worried that she'd pushed a little bit too hard. Then, he slowly nodded. "...Ok."

"Ok?" Her heart leapt in her chest.

"I… just promise you won't laugh?"

She had to stop herself from laughing at the very suggestion. That probably wouldn't go over well. "Laugh? Why would I laugh?"

"I dunno. I just…" His hand scratched nervously at his brown curls. "I've never shown this to anyone, ok? So…"

Hesitantly, he stood up and walked toward his laptop. Kaitlyn's already soaring spirits rose further as hope blossomed within her.

No way. This is only week 4. Is he already…

Setting her controller aside, she hurriedly followed him and slid into the bench seat. Ian was already opening up his computer. After tapping a few keys, he angled the screen toward her.

"There's a, uh… a project I'm working on."