Lily did not beat him that time. Or the time after that. They were zero to three. 

“Give me your cards! I’m shuffling this time,” she demanded. Not even bothering to hand over the ones he asked for. It was getting harder to keep her frustration in check. Thankfully, Willis seemed amused more than anything.

He obliged her request, though not without a raised eyebrow, “I thought you hadn’t played card games before?”

She snatched the cards from him. Falling into swift shuffling of the deck. “I hadn’t. My parents let me shuffle sometimes when they played poker. I used to do it a lot when I was bored,” she explained. The cards moved easily in her hands in the familiar motions. It was oddly nostalgic. “They eventually stopped letting me after my mom taught me how to stack the deck.”

Willis snorted, “Is that why you asked to shuffle? So you could stack the deck?”

“Of course not! I don’t even think you could do that in a game like this,” she retorted. Maybe I should try if I lose again. Not that she would need to. She dealt the cards. “I’ll win this time.” An assurance to herself if nothing else.

“You said that the last two times,” he pointed out, picking up his cards.

She did the same. “Well this time the deck is actually shuffled properly.”

He gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his chest, “Are you saying I’m bad at shuffling?”

“Yes.”

He let out a low whine, “You could have at least pretended to be joking.” Though he didn’t seem truly bothered, as the next words out of his mouth were, “Do you have any queens?”

“Go fish.”

The two fell into that rhythm. The back and forth of question and answer. It was automatic. It was simple. But it was also tense.

“Have any 7s?”

“This is the fifth time you’ve asked me, I think,” he teased.

“Well doing this worked for you! It’s called adjusting my strategy,” she defended herself. “You are bound to have one eventually. Like right now?” She leaned forward expectantly.

“Go fish.”

Damn it. She did just that with a huff. She pulled an eight. One more until she had them all. “Real fishing would be easier than this.”

He gave her a look, “Have you been fishing before?”

“No. But I’m sure it would be less of a headache at least,” she growled lowly. Maybe I could just make the cards I need. Though he would be able to tell I made them. Plus I couldn’t possibly distract him along enough to even try without-

“Have any 5s?”

“Go fish.”

When Willis picked up the card, a weird look crossed his face. His ears shivered, moving like they weren’t quite sure where to be. It would be a humorous sight if the game didn’t feel so serious. She must have made a face of her own, as he went, “Don’t worry about it.”

Lily looked down at her cards. Maybe it would be smart to change things up? The other prince’s comment got to her. If I ask for 8s I could complete that set all the same if he has the last one. She took a deep breath. “Do you have any 8s?”

At that, Willis broke down laughing. He hid his face in his cards. It almost sounded like he was struggling to breathe.

“What?” she snapped. To which she simply received a hand wave.

“Just- just go fish,” he said through barely contained snickers. His face turned a warm shade of pink. “You like me, right?” he asked suddenly.

She pulled a card. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

She rolled her eyes. “I-” she paused. I do. She almost said it without an ounce of hesitation. Without a thought in her mind. Do I mean that? Would it be wrong if she did? She swallowed roughly, “I do…”

She got a shaky smile in return. A lot seemed to churn in his brain as he looked down at his cards. Eventually, he looked her right in the eyes, a rarity. An odd warmth stirred in her chest.

 “So… have any 7s?”

Her jaw dropped, “You’re joking.”

Unfortunately, his cackles told her he was not joking. In between his laughing fit he turned a card to her, revealing the last seven. The one she had asked for turns and turns in a row. All but the last one.

The warmth turned to a blaze. “Oh go fuck yourself Willis!” the curse spilled out of her. She might have been horrified if it didn’t make them laugh even harder. She threw the three 7s at him with little care. Only one of them actually hit, but her target was unphased.

“I’m sorry okay! It was too funny not to!” he weakly defended himself, struggling to catch his breath in the process. He wheezed, coughing a bit.

Lily threw down the rest of her cards as well, “I’m done, I quit.”

“What- noo,” he whined. “You’re so close to winning!”

“I was close the last time too!” her tone started loud but gradually died out as she abruptly became aware. She had cursed him out. Oh stars why did I do that- I’m acting like a child.She grumbled weakly, wrapping her arms around herself, as if she could curl up like a turtle.

Willis went quiet, laughter dying out. The sound of the waves were deafening.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have teased you. It’s alright if you don’t want to play anymore,” he eventually said.

“No no don’t apologize- I should be apologizing,” she stuttered out. She collected the scattered cards. “I’m acting childish.” He's too nice.

While she gathered them, his hand came over hers. She flinched, but resisted the urge to pull back. He didn’t actually touch her. Yet she looked at him all the same.

“It’s okay, Lilium, really. It’s easy to get frustrated and competitive over stuff like this,” his tone was gentle. His hand ghosted hers. She let it happen. It wasn’t quite physical contact, but it made her shiver all the same. A comforting gesture. He added with a small chuckle, “I would know.”

She took a deep breath, “If you say so.” Heat still buzzed through her body. She returned to her task, and he helped on his side. Once she had all of them, she tried to return them. But instead he offered the ones he had. Her eyebrows furrowed.

“You can hold onto the deck if you want. It looked like you were having fun shuffling the cards earlier,” he told her.

“Oh… thank you.” She took them. Allowing herself to perform those simple motions. It eased the tense that had built in her shoulders. There was something so satisfying about how easily they slid around in her hand. She focused on that. 

Like their time before, they sat in silence. She didn’t mind it. After a while, Willis spoke up, “Maybe next time we can really go fishing.” A silly suggestion.

“Maybe. Sounds a bit hard to do in the dark, though.”

“The moon will return eventually. I don't mind waiting.” 

Lily hummed, closing her eyes, “I don't either.”