Chapter Text
“Hey kid, what’s goin on?”
Pigsy notices Mei blankly staring at her bowl of noodles while sitting at the counter by the cashier. She always hangs there when there’s nothing else for her to do, but this time something’s off. Instead of her usual constant conversation with Pigsy accompanied by her laughing at whatever she’s watching on her phone, she’s completely silent and her phone is nowhere in her sight. She snaps her head up once she realizes the question was directed at her.
“Oh me? Yeah I’m super!” Mei awkwardly laughs, but the laughter isn’t convincing for either of them. She picks up a single noodle with her chopsticks only to drop it immediately back into the bowl. “Just super…”
“Alright Mei,” Pigsy circles the counter to take the seat next to her. “You’re not fooling me, now what’s happening?”
“…as long as you don’t laugh.”
“You kiddin me? The only person I’ll laugh at for a good reason is Tang. Tell Pigsy what’s bothering you.”
Mei hesitates a little bit and Pigsy notices her fingers rapidly tapping at the side of her leg.
“What do you do when you think you might have a tiny little definitely NOT important crush on somebody?” Mei crams her words into a second, hoping he would understand what she said and not force her to repeat herself. Fortunately for her, he understood exactly what she said.
“Is this about that demon kid?”
Okay, maybe he understood too much.
“Oh god am I that obvious?!” She buries her face into her hands, refusing to let Pigsy see the red start seeping into her face.
“Uh, I kinda had a feeling since we defeated that Lady Bone Demon. I saw you with your arm around him by that fire, it ain’t that hard to connect the dots.”
Mei starts to sink into the table and burrows her face into her arms. Pigsy makes an awkward attempt at comforting her by rubbing her back with his hand. Mei knows he’s not huge on physical contact, so she appreciates the gesture despite her embarrassment.
“Look if you’re asking what to do about it, I say confront it!” Pigsy says this with pride. “When I was your age I was a bit of a Casanova. I could make any girl or guy fall for me with a few words and a kiss on the hand, and I didn’t do that just by hiding in the corner.”
“So I shouldn’t let it die and burn to a crisp or ignore its existence?”
“Mei you’re not the kind of kid who runs from a good challenge.” Pigsy sees Mei pick her head up to face him. “Don’t do it now, but tell him when you’re ready. No need to rush, there’s always time for these things. Besides, if it’s any help to ya, I think he feels the same.”
“REALLY?!”
“NOT SO LOUD KID! You might drive some potential customers away!”
Mei covers her mouth in response, even though Pigsy ended up yelling louder than her.
“But yes really. That prince seemed to like being with you on that log, and he ain’t exactly a huggy type of person.”
Mei pauses for a moment and starts to smile. Yes she doesn’t have a confirmation from Red Son himself about his feelings for her, but she also knows Pigsy is as honest as can be. So if he sees something she doesn’t, then she’s definitely going to trust it.
“Thanks Pigsy!” Mei wraps her arms around him to pull him into an embrace. “I don’t really talk about this kinda stuff with my parents so…this really helped.”
“Hey anytime kid. Keep me updated alright? I don’t hand out good advice just to hear no results!”
“Hey why don’t you ever take your own advice?” Mei lets go of the embrace and smirks at the now confused Pigsy. “I mean, you say all that yet you and Tangy still aren’t together-“
She watches the confusion quickly shift to embarrassment. Pigsy’s usual pink skin immediately flushes with red and she’s met with nothing but sputters and mumbles before getting an answer.
“MEI!” Pigsy pulls himself off his chair and quickly walks back to his original spot behind the counter. He immediately goes to the cashier and counts money, desperately finding an excuse to do anything but be a part of the conversation. But Mei isn’t dropping it so easily.
“You know I’m right!”
“Look kid it’s none of ya business who I’m into and who I’m not-“
“But you’re DEFINITELY into Tang! You can’t talk about ‘connecting the dots’ with me but act like everyone else hasn’t picked up on the painful romantic tension between you guys!”
“LOOK I-“ Pigsy slams the register drawer harder than he intended. “It’s harder than it looks! That freeloader frustrates me so much that it’s just…frustrating! Ya know how many chest pains I get cause of that man?!”
“From anger or pining?” Mei slyly remarks, getting a death glare from Pigsy in return. But his attempt to be intimidating failed, he just looked nothing short of adorably flustered. “Whatever happened to the Casanova that could win anybody over with a sentence and a kiss of the hand-“
“Tang ain’t just anybody!”
Pigsy didn’t know if it was possible to get anymore embarrassed. Thankfully it was just the two of them in that room, but with the teasing look Mei was giving him he may as well have been in front of a crowd.
“Oh you’ve got it BAD for him Pigsy!”
“Look you got your advice Mei, we don’t ever talk about any of this again. Ever.”
He turns his back to her, planning to start his work day until-
“A BET!”
Pigsy freezes before he can even reach his ingredients. He doesn’t turn around to look, but he knows full damn well Mei is wearing the most evil smile she could right now.
“…what?”
“Lets have a bet! This way we BOTH can confess our obvious crushes to our crushes themselves! I bet I can confess to Red Boy WAY before you can to Tang! Winner gets bragging rights AND a new relationship if feelings are reciprocated!”
“I’m way too busy with my noodles to-“
“It sounds like you’re scared Pigsy!” Mei starts clucking like a chicken at his lame response. “Come on you have a clear advantage over me! You see Tang everyday, you guys already act like you’re married all you gotta do is say the words!”
She receives no response from him, but based on the trembling in his shoulders, he’s flustered beyond relief. She just need one more push of encouragement-
“Damn, looks like the Casanova is Casa-NO MORE.”
The comment was more discouraging if anything (and a lame attempt at playing on words). But it seemed to work, as Pigsy is now facing her with his hand extended out.
“Deal.”
Mei smirks before vigorously shaking his hand.
“A bet it is!”