Flashing golden lights, one rainbow, and a pair of trembling hands fumbled to take a screenshot. All you really did was tap and stare.
“Two SSR… And the limited-time featured one…”
He looked at you with wide eyes, and you suddenly realize the state of his hair, swaying rapidly, little blue sparks excitedly popping in the air.
“... On the free 10 pulls?!?!”
Your heart almost skipped when you noticed the slight red staining Idia's otherwise pale cheeks, gaze full of hope and perhaps a hint of something else. You couldn't even properly acknowledge your inner thoughts before a sudden yell reached you.
“Do that again! Wait, here, “
Idia quickly scrolled through his phone and tapped a few times before showing you a new screen. He pointed at the multi-pull button, and gestured how the new gacha worked.
“And then spin it around. Got it? Ah, orange means good. Now try it.”
The phone was practically shoved into your hands, with your senior moving to peek at the screen while you handled the device. His hands tensed on the table, his frame coming just a bit closer to you for the sole purpose of getting to see the screen as you tapped away.
Tap, confirm, spin around. Your index traced a circle on the gacha screen until a cord cracked, sparkling orange as the hidden shapes of the cards emerged. This time, it was two oranges, three yellow ones, and only a few were common. You could hear a gasp next to you, the same motion from the fire repeating, and a shaky hand tentatively taking the phone from your hands.
“You… Th-This is totally cheating… You're too op…”
He sat down, hunched over bringing a hand to his mouth, and started mumbling something about “breaking the gacha system” that you couldn't quite catch. Just as you were about to get up, he gently took hold of your sleeve.
“Wait wait wait, not yet.”
He didn't even look at you, but somehow, maybe from the corner of his eye, he knew you were trying to get up and wrap things up. You could see the way he started nibbling on his own sleeve as he watched the screen, some card thumbnails with different percentages next to the gacha. And, after what felt like an eternity,
“Don't play any gacha games. Wait, no, play if you want… but keep it to a bare minimum. Also don't do pulls for anyone else.”
Freeing the sleeve from that gentle hold, he gazed back at you.
“You're also not allowed to do this more than two times a week… I can't have my luck all messed up like this, otherwise pulling for my fave’s banners would be no fun. Whehehe, you're like a real lucky charm…”
Sharp teeth peeked from that wide grin, and it was easy to tell he didn't actually dislike the idea of being all spoiled and full of dupes of all his faves. So the reason for the specific dates… Well, it was more so a way to contain himself, and probably to avoid bothering you too much.
“You know, you're allowed to come to ramshackle if you want me to do your pulls. We don't have to meet at the bg club each time.”
“Huh?! Y-you're joking, right? There's no way I'd go all the way to the Ramshackle Dorm just to make you do some pulls and go back. I'm not risking accidental social interactions or side-quests. Aren't those two guys with you all the time too? I don't mind getting to see Grim and petting him but there's too many factors-”
“I mean that you're invited! You're invited to ramshackle. You don't have to if you don't want to…”
You weren't joking or messing with him. You weren't trying to make fun of him. It was already huge that you showed interest in his favorite games and never judged him for it, but this…? This was monumental.
His eyes snapped back down, staring at the phone on the table before slowly lowering further. You wondered if the reflection of the sunset always made his hair look the way it does now.
A nod and that soft confirmation sound was all you needed. Either way, he didn't look back at you or your general direction for the rest of the day.
Ever since your little deal, Idia has been coming over to Ramshackle once or twice a week. He would always bring a can of tuna for grim and offer you colorful candy. You figured it was because some part of him felt bad about using you as a lucky charm and always told him ‘no thanks’, but denying him so much was somehow making you feel guilty instead. After all, each time you rejected the sweet treats, he would look away and pull back his arm, turning the atmosphere a bit awkward.
Before you could get caught up in your thoughts, his knocking made you stand up straight, quickly walking towards the door.
“Hey. Um, here, excuse me…”
You didn't get the chance to deny the little gift this time, as he had put both the tuna and the candy in the same plastic bag, handing it to you the second you opened the door. The two of you sat down on the cozy sofa, and as he logged into one of his gacha games, your hands aimlessly searched inside the plastic bag.
If only for a moment, you could swear there was a crackling sound other than the bag, but you weren't all that focused either way. The loading screen was taking a bit too long, and your fingertips found something different than the cold metal of a tuna can.
Your gaze fell onto the sweet treats. It was a small bag of candy, but not just any kind: these ones had been out of stock in Sam's shop for weeks, the first bite always giving a nice rush of sugary flavor. You loved these, even though you only tried them once, and couldn't stop your eyes from widening at the sight.
“How did you get your hands on these?!”
Your excitement got the better of you, pulling the colorful little bag up close to inspect it. You didn't even notice he already logged into the game.
“Ah, u-um, I usually buy snacks online to try them out, so I just had them laying around…”
False. The second he realized you liked those sweets, he bought Sam's whole stock immediately in hopes of someday inviting you to his room.
You glanced at his screen, realizing he already had the gacha pulled up, and pointed at it.
“Want me to do 10 pulls?”
With a flinch, he almost pulled back, but forced himself to relax and nod. He was looking at your hands from the corner of his eye, and allowed you to tap the screen. After doing so, you finally tore the little candy package open.
Idia tapped the screen slowly, his fingers trembling. Maybe he really wanted this character? You stared, popping a candy into your mouth and humming in delight at the sweet rush. A dumb little smile played on your lips, and all the while the digits holding tightly onto the phone almost turned white. The crackling sounds nearby grew stronger, and you finally tried to focus on his screen again.
“Did you get something good?”
You looked up at him, who seemed frozen in place with eyes a little wide. He turned away, pulling his phone close to his chest and blocking your view of the screen.
“Y-Yes! Totally ssr quality!! Th-the best visuals! Okay, I'm done here, I won't bother you anymore"
Suddenly standing up, Idia dashes towards the door, his long legs making it hard for you to catch up. Left all alone in the living room, you blink a few times, wondering what that was about.
In the dark room, lit only by blue screens and some unnatural pink flame, laid an entire box of brand new sweets. The shape of a long figure on the bed kicked off the blankets in a fit of excitement, legs swinging in the air, face completely buried in a pillow. This was likely the beginning of a series of impulse-purchases, tinted with the obvious lack of self control.
