"You can't pass."
"I just did."
"Come on, Shaw. Don't be boring."
Shaw sighed. "Kill Briggs. The rest doesn't matter."
"That's not how the game works."
"Then I'm playing it wrong."
Hudson leaned forward, annoyed now. "You know what your problem is? You take everything so seriously. It's a stupid game."
"You’re being immature."
"It'sfun. You remember fun, right? Or did daddy decide fun wasn't part of the curriculum either?"
The second the words left his mouth, he knew he'd crossed a line.Shit.
"Fuck you, Hale."
"Oh yeah?" Hudson knew he should back off, but something in him wanted to push. Wanted to get a reaction. "You can dish it out but you can't take it?"
"I'm not doing this with you."
"Doing what? Having an actual conversation? God forbid you show some personality."
Shaw's mouth flattened into a line. "At least I don't run my mouth constantly to cover up the fact that I have nothing interesting to say."
"Wow." A grin spread across Hudson’s face despite—or maybe because of—the insult. "See? Youcanbe fun when you try."
"I'm not trying to be fun. I'm telling you to shut up."
"Make me."
Childish as fuck. Hudson knew it even as the words left his mouth. But something about Shaw's controlled calm made him want to crack it open, see what was underneath.
Shaw moved fast. He grabbed Hudson's jacket and shoved him. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt but hard enough to make a point. Hudson shoved back, harder, and suddenly they grappled, not quite fighting, but definitely not being friendly either.
They rolled. Hudsontried to pin Shaw's arms, as Shaw used his weight to twist them over. It was stupid. It was aggressive.
"You're such an asshole," Shaw growled, managing to get Hudson flat on his back.
"Yeah? You're so fucking uptight—" He got a hand free and shoved at Shaw's chest, but Shaw caught his wrist and pinned it above his head.
They both breathed hard. Shaw was right there—too close, too warm, the heat coming off him in waves against Hudson’s cool skin. His pulse was loud in his ears. Shaw's pupils were blown wide, dark eating into the green, and Hudson was aware—acutely, inconveniently—that he had stopped caring about the argument.
"You don't know anything about me," Shaw said, voice low and rough.
"Yeah, well, whose fault is that?" Hudson shot back. "You won't even play a stupid fucking game without making it weird."
"Imake it weird? You're the one talking about fucking your teammates."
The words hung between them. Shaw's expression darkened—intense in a way that made Hudson's stomach flip.
"You really want to do this?" Shaw asked.
Hudson's brain screamed at him that everything about this was a bad idea, but his mouth apparently operated independently.
