Pepper rolled her eyes a little, "If everyone else wasn't such a complete bore around here, perhaps I'd have moved on already. Even stoic Long's gone now," she sighed as she sat down on his bed.

--

James shrugged, "Doesn't matter, you're here now," he smiled, taking her hand.

"Why do you care so much about that log?" Tusk asked, curious.

--

Yue didn't say anything else, but she wasn't quite as chipper as her normal self.

"He's superbly fun to provoke," Pepper mused with a bit of a nasty smirk.

--

James tilted his head a little, "What's wrong?"

Tusk thought about that for a moment before accepting it with a small nod.

--

Yue shook her head. "Nothing," she replied.

Pepper shrugged, "He's just so disciplined, it's amusing."

--

"Did Laurel upset you?" James inquired.

Tusk shrugged.

--

Yue shook her head.

"You're not very disciplined though," Pepper noted with another smirk.

--

"Then why are you sad?" James asked quietly.

Tusk shook his head. "Nope," he agreed.

--

"I'm not," Yue replied.

Pepper chuckled, "You have plans? Because I'd like to beat you up."

--

"But you don't seem happy," James countered.

"You sure you don't want to bang first?" Tusk asked.

--

Yue was starting to get annoyed. "I'm fine," she replied.

Pepper laughed and she shook her head as she stood, "I'd rather beat you up right now than bang," she stated.

--

So James dropped it, following passively beside her.

"... Afterward?" Tusk asked.

Pepper smiled provocatively, "We'll see," she replied easily.

Tusk nodded, seeming satisfied. "Gym?" he asked.

"You sure you want witnesses?" she provoked with a smirk.

"... My place?" he tried.

Pepper shrugged a little, still smirking.

Tusk nodded before picking up his bag and starting to walk to his place.

Pepper followed along beside him, hand on his butt.

Tusk didn't seem to mind.

Pepper lay panting slightly on the bed, pinned under Tusk. She was superbly pissed off that she lost to him.

--

"Do you... want to watch the sunset tonight?" James asked mildly.

"That's quite a grip you have there," Tusk noted, also a little winded from the fight.

--

"... Sure," Yue replied.

Pepper snorted, acknowledging defeat as she didn't struggle. After a moment a smirk slowly grew on her face, she was a bit impressed surprisingly.

--

James grinned, excited, "Great!"

Tusk smirked back. "... What do I get for winning?" he asked, still keeping her pinned down.

--

Yue nodded a little, not terribly excited.

Pepper licked her lip a bit, "Some spice," she replied in a husky voice.

--

James paused, "Is that too pushy?" he suddenly asked, "Cause we don't have to if you don't want to."

"Just some?" Tusk asked quietly as he leaned in a little closer, but not quite within reach.

--

Yue let out a deep sigh.

"Depends," Pepper stated with another smirk as she shifted her body slightly.

--

James was backing off again.

"On what?" Tusk asked.

--

Yue stared a little at James, wondering what he was doing.

"Your performance," Pepper explained with a snort of a laugh.

--

James looked a bit lost.

"I'm pretty sure my record speaks for itself," Tusk replied as he pressed his body against Pepper.

--

Yue just shook her head a little, still not quite able to put her finger on what was annoying her so much about James.

"Hmm... does it?" Pepper breathed on him.

--

James sighed a little, "I don't know what... you want," he admitted quietly.

Tusk kissed Pepper deeply to give her a reminder before suddenly pulling out of reach again with a smirk.

--

Yue sighed a little, shrugging. "I don't know," she replied.

Pepper's hostility melted a little at the kiss but then came right back when he pulled away. She raised a eyebrow, "Two can play this game," she reminded him.

--

"Why does everything I do... upset you?" James asked, a little pain coming through.

"Don't you like this game?" Tusk asked.

--

"... I don't know," Yue repeated with a sigh. "It just... isn't as exciting as it used to be."

Pepper raised the other eyebrow, "If our situations were reversed," she smirked.

--

James stared at the floor for a moment, "But you weren't happy when it was exciting," he replied before pausing, "And you didn't trust me when it was exciting."

"Hmm..." Tusk mused as he leaned in again. "You'll just have to win next time."

--

"... It's not the same," Yue replied unhelpfully. "You're not the same."

Pepper snorted again before giving in to Tusk.

--

James cussed a little, "Of course I'm not the same!" he spat at Yue, "You wanted me to change, so I did... and now you're still unhappy?" he let out a long sigh, putting a hand on his head in an effort to calm down.

"I wanted you to stop flirting with other girls," Yue replied a little angry that he was turning this on her. "Not become this passive puppy that follows me everywhere. You've lost your edge."

James slowly turned his gaze to Yue. His eyes were passive as he looked her over.

Yue sighed a bit again, looking away.