Chapter Text
Bright pastels and cute imagery were never DJ Subatomic Supernova's style; he had a reputation as a serious intellectual to uphold, after all, and being seen partaking in such things would most likely undermine that. As such, him spending any more time than he had to in Akusuka, given its wall-to-wall applications of that style, was a rare sight to behold.
And yet, one day, some of the people walking around Akusuka, if they had eagle eyes, might have noticed him in a local arcade. And if they'd also noticed a certain someone else there, they would've known exactly why.
Nova carefully tilted the joystick, making the claw in the machine inch around little by little. This particular crane game contained a number of plushies, most of them depicting Akusuka's mascot and charter, Sayu, along with some other characters in the Doki Doki Mermaid Club game. They'd already failed twice at catching a toy, and if this time wasn't their time, they would just go off to win some tickets at other games.
But maybe, just maybe, they could finally catch one of those toys this time. All they had to do was focus... position the crane just right...
...
"Hey, Nova!"
"Ah!" Nova jumped at the voice...
...and their thumb reflexively hit the button, sending the claw down.
With a sigh, they decided to just turn around and greet the other person - none other than Neon J, their long-time friend and recent boyfriend.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you..." J said.
"That's all right." Nova already began to wonder which ticket-producing games to visit first. "I must admit, this has been quite enjoyable so far - even if I have been having trouble winning something from these machines."
J didn't respond for a brief moment, instead just staring ahead. Just as Nova was about to ask him about his silence, he finally spoke up.
"Are you sure about that?"
"What do you--" Nova turned back towards the claw machine...
...and saw the claw gripping the tail of a Sayu plushie and dragging it the last couple of inches towards the chute.
"...are you serious?"
As if answering his question, the claw opened up and dropped the plushie into the chute.
Behind him, he heard J say, "I think that's a 'yes'."
"...well then." He pulled the toy out of the machine; it was a relatively standard Sayu plush, depicting her in her most recognizable form.
J leaned over and studied the plushie. "That was pretty cool, though."
"Yes... the universe can work in strange ways. Billions of possibilities at any given moment..."
Nova stared at the plushie for a little bit. The more they looked, the more they thought, and the more they thought, the more an idea came to them.
"J?"
"Yes?"
"I was thinking - which I often do - since you helped me win this..." Nova held the plushie out to J. "Would you like to keep it?"
"Oh!" J looked back and forth between the plushie and Nova. "Are you sure?"
"I'm positive." Nova leaned in and whispered. "Consider it my way of thanking you for bringing me here."
J took the plushie and held it for a moment, staring into the pink mermaid's smiling face. "Thank you, Nova..."
Nova watched J put the plushie in his coat pocket, thought back to how he got it...
...and then it occurred to him.
"By the way, why were you calling out to me earlier? Were you just saying hello, or...?"
"Oh, that!" J clapped his hands together. "Actually, I found a space game over there" - he glanced in the relevant direction - "and I thought we could play it together!"
"A space game?" Nova's interest piqued; for all that space-related games tended to be scientifically inaccurate, he could still appreciate them as long as they were fun and didn't push his suspension of disbelief too much.
"Yeah!" After a second, J giggled. "You know... maybe we can get the high score together with the power of love!"
He pulled the Sayu plushie out of his pocket and did his best impression of her.
"Because love is the most powerful power in the world! Love Love Sayu Pyun~!"
Despite his usual demeanor, even Nova couldn't help chuckling at that.
As the two headed off to that space game, Nova already knew that, after today, he would have a new appreciation for the Akusuka district.