Blink and You'll Miss It

{"Uhm... here's another prompt... Paper and OJ... uhm... want to prove who likes the other more and they actually get really competitive with a staring contest. Paper wants to prove that uh... he can be JUST AS competitive as OJ, The Inanimate Insanity Winner, uh- it uh gets pretty... pretty intense."

-Justin Chapman, January 2025}

Paper and OJ were sitting on the couch, watching some new rom-com on Netflix that they'd probably already forgotten the name of.

The plot wasn't anything too compelling. It felt like a movie Paper'd already seen a million times before... not that he was complaining, it was always nice spending together, and it was still a good enough movie.

But then OJ's arm wrapped even tighter around Paper's frame, and he couldn't help the way his eyes drifted to the stunning glass of orange juice.

Somehow, even with all the work OJ did running around the place, his glass had remained absolutely spotless. His eyes were pretty much glued to the screen - which was pretty surprising. Usually he was the one super invested in movies, and OJ was the one who'd find himself a little bored... but he seemed pretty invested in this one, and that was nothing short of adorable to him.

The way his face would light up whenever the story started to pick up the pace, or the music began to swell... it was... perfect, in Paper's opinion. The moment was tender, heartwarming... nothing could be better.

Until, of course, OJ's eyes flickered over to him as well. And Paper realised he'd been caught...

It still embarrassed him a little whenever it happened. But for some reason, this time he just... couldn't look away.

His eyes stayed locked onto OJ's, and pretty soon he realised... OJ was staring at him, too... his gaze was full of love and admiration...

But Paper knew OJ well enough to notice that little head tilt, the sly smile forming on his lips. He saw that determined glint in his eye, and that was the moment when he realised that this was going to be a competition. And he was more than willing to play along.

One of his hands fumbled around for the remote, pausing the movie and turning off the TV while maintaining eye contact.

There were absolutely no words exchanged. The air became thick with tension - not an uncomfortable tension, but tension nonetheless - as Paper studied every single movement his partner made. Every time he shifted on the couch, just to get that little bit more comfortable, or those times he'd stop breathing, just for a moment or two to regain his focus.

This wouldn't be a contest with OJ if he played fairly, though.

Paper knew OJ was... quite the competitive person. Whether on the show or in everyday life, he always wanted to prove that he was the best in whatever field he was aiming for. If there was a competition, OJ would do whatever it took to win, and took it pretty damn seriously.

He tightened his grip on Paper, his eyes drooping just a little to tempt him into giving in. OJ thought there was absolutely no way he'd be able to lose this... he always had such a massive ego, didn't he?

Well, Paper'd teach him not to underestimate the man he'd fallen for. To remember that Paper had just as much of a fighting spirit as OJ did. Two could play at this game.

The longer the staring contest went on, the more OJ's face seemed to morph into slight surprise. At the fact that Paper wasn't backing down. His boyfriend, normally so sweet and passive, hadn't even blinked once. It'd been a good five minutes, how was he still holding his ground so well?

With how much OJ took charge of things in the hotel, most people assumed Paper had a more... submissive personality. One that blended into the background so the real star of the show could shine. Maybe OJ had started to believe that too. But Paper wasn't willing to let him drown in that false perception of their relationship; he wanted to make what they were clear as crystal.

It was... a good change of pace. One OJ was welcome to. But it didn't mean he'd lose; he could stare at Paper all day, this wasn't even a challenge for him in the slightest. He loved Paper more than he could ever even attempt to put into words.

It seemed, to him, that there was no way he would ever lose.

Well, of course, no way apart from-

"Hey, dad!"

The reaction was immediate. There was no way he could beat his fatherly instincts...

OJ glanced away from his lover and towards his son, a slight smile on his face.

And his ears were immediately met with the noise of Paper cheering.

"Yes! Take THAT, hahaha!-"

To his surprise, Cherries just gave him knowing smirks. He'd done that on purpose...

"Wha- hey, you're supposed to be on my side!-"

"It's not my fault that papa's better at staring than you are!"

"Besides, you always think you're soooo good at everything. He earned this."

OJ let out a quiet, annoyed huff, pouting dramatically as he glanced towards the window in slight embarrassment.

Paper's eyes wandered to the TV, and back to his son, an idea popping up in his head.

"Hey, kiddo... do you wanna finish this movie with us?"

Cherries nodded eagerly as Paper pat the spot beside him, sitting between his parents with no hesitation.

"Yeah, of course..."

"What's it about?"

OJ flicked the TV back on, holding his sons close as he immersed himself in the movie again, faintly listening as Paper explained the plot of the movie to them.

His other hand found its way back to Paper's, and he just felt so... so satisfied with... well, everything about how his life had turned out.

And he genuinely couldn't think of anything... that could be better than these moments. He didn't know how he'd spent so long alone... so... so empty and void of any real meaning in his life.

He couldn't thank Paper enough for finally opening his eyes to all he'd been missing out on by shifting his focus away from the game, away from the hotel, away from his job... and onto what really mattered.

Because this? Sitting on a couch, half awake, gently stroking his sons' foreheads while his boyfriend whispered to his sons in the most loving tone he'd ever heard?

He wouldn't trade this for anything in the goddamn world.