Jay almost choked as he tried to stifle his laughter.  "You are dunking on me for liking kimchi, yet you eat stinky tofu."  He eyed her incredulously.  
                          
"Don't even try to compare stinky tofu to kimchi," she sassed back.  "Stinky tofu is like a rated PG move, and kimchi is like an R rated film."
                          
This time Jay did choke on his food.  He coughed and grabbed some water, trying to regain his breath.  Usually he was the one with the zingers, and was always pleasantly surprised when Nya had a spicy retort.  "What kind of analogy is that?" he wheezed between coughs.
                          
"A good one."
                          
Jay almost spit out his water.  He briefly considered the thought that maybe he should stop eating until their conversation was over, otherwise he really would choke.
                          
"Hold up, time out," he gestured with his hands, "if kimchi is an R rated movie, then stinky tofu is a porno."  
                          
Now it was Nya's turn to choke.  Her eyes went wide as her cheeks flushed, embarrassed at Jay's words and that he hijacked her joke.  Before she could recover, he cut her off.
                          
"One," he held up his fingers, "it smells like a sewer, and two: it tastes like a sewer."
                          
The red on her cheeks deepened, not from embarrassment, but from anger. "You take that back!" she seethed.
                          
"Make me."
                          
Nya stared at him for a solid five seconds, her clenched fist quivering as she resisted the urge to break her chopsticks in half.  She closed her eyes and pulled in a deep breath, finally opening them as she carefully set her chopsticks down on the table with a soft clink.
                          
"Stinky tofu is an acquired taste that requires a sophisticated palette," she said softly, her voice airy and rigid.  She blinked slowly, then focused a piercing gaze on him. Jay felt a shiver walk down his spine.  "Kimchi is overwhelming, abrasive, and loud."
                          
Jay wasn't sure if she was describing kimchi or himself.  Flirty play fight it was then.  A smug smile bloomed across his face; challenge accepted.    
                          
"But you like all those things," he countered and watched as her eyebrow inched upward.
                          
"Hmmmm," she murmured, "but I like stinky tofu more."
                          
Ouch. Shots fired.  Jay opened his mouth to let her have it but she cut him off.
                          
"I like it because my mom liked stinky tofu."
                          
Whatever witty comeback Jay had died in his throat.  
                          
"We found out from our neighbors that my mom really liked stinky tofu, and whenever she made it, the whole village could smell it." She glanced down at her bowl.  If Jay were not a trained ninja, he would have missed the slight waver in her voice. "When I was small," she continued, "I decided that I would like stinky tofu too.  I thought that if I ate it, my mom would be able to follow the smell and find me. Then our family would be back together again."   
                          
Well then, that took the wind right out of his sails.  Jay reached across the table and grabbed her hand, squeezing tight.  She looked back up at him, eyes glassy, jaw trembling, then looked away, pulling her hand out of his grasp and wiping her face with the sleeve of her kimono.  
                          
Jay retracted his arm, studying her.  It was rare for Nya to open up about her past or her parents, and experience taught him to smartly shut up when she did.  After a few seconds, she regained her composure and refocused on his bright smile, her anchor in the storm.
                          
"That is why stinky tofu is superior," she purred, a sly smile spreading across her face.
                          
"I wasn't aware it was a competition." 
                          
"It's not."
                          
Jay paused for a moment, considering her words.  "But then you discovered kimchi, and it changed your world."
                          
"It did." Her smile grew brighter.  She reached across the table and grabbed a piece of kimchi with her chopsticks.  Jay watched as she slowly placed it in her mouth, keeping her gaze focused on his.
                          
"Still gross?" he asked.
                          
"Strong. Overwhelming. Abrasive. Loud."  She said between chews, her steely gaze unfaltering.  Jay shifted in his seat, feeling both insulted and flattered, an interesting combination.
                          
He watched as her soft pink tongue darted out and slowly licked her lips.  "And also delicious."  She reached across the table again and took the last piece.  Jay leaned back in his chair, watching as she finished the last piece of kimchi.  
                          
"Looks like all the kimchi is gone," he noted, keeping his eyes glued to hers.
                          
"Is it?"
                          
Jay relaxed into his chair, jaw ticking, forcing himself to keep a poker face.  "Maybe there is a secret stash somewhere."
                          
"Do I have to find it?"
                          
"Perhaps."
                          
"Maybe I will go get stinky tofu instead," she said smartly as she started stacking their plates to the side.
                          
Jay raised an eyebrow at her. "You're still hungry after eating all your food? Then you sniped my kimchi!"
                          
The corners of her mouth pulled her delicate lips into a genuine smile as she finished her neat stack of dishes and gently pushed them to the side. "You didn't stop me."  Her eyes were bright as she watched him suppress a chuckle.
                          
"I'm not going to stop you from enjoying the things you like."
                          
"Who said I like kimchi now?"
                          
This time Jay did chuckle as he reached his arms above his head, stretching and trembling his body as he opened his mouth wide with a lazy yawn, purposefully showing her lightning crackling inside his mouth. "Everything you like is an acquired taste."
                          
Nya didn't like being called out.  She bit the inside of her lip to keep from snapping at him and returned her eyes to his.  "Will you change your mind about stinky tofu?"
                          
Jay sat forward again, gaze as intense as his element. "You know I'd do anything for you."
                          
Nya felt heat rush up the sides of her already flushed face and a change in the potential energy of the room.  Jay's element was humming beneath the surface of his skin, yearning to be let loose.  
                          
"But," he continued, resting his chin on his closed fist as he set his elbow on the tabletop, "I might need some convincing." The smile was gone from his face, replaced by a look Nya could only classify as smoldering. She felt a chill walk down her spine and to her toes as his eyes, speculative and bright, swept over her, starved.  
                          
Her mouth parted slightly and her face felt like it was on fire as she boldly stood up, leaning over the table, placing one knee on the tabletop after the other. It only took two bated breaths to crawl over to him as he watched her with unrestrained interest. Her nose was almost brushing against his but then he leaned back in his chair, forcing her to hunt him down.  One corner of his mouth tugged his lips into a small, sly smile as she chased after him, grabbing his neck and pulling him into a kiss.  
                          
He leaned back more, breaking the kiss to give her room to crawl off the table and straddle him, her legs swinging wide, bracketing him one at a time.  Once she was firmly seated on his lap she snaked her arms around his neck, pulling herself flush against him, rejoining her lips to his.  She pushed her tongue into his mouth, enjoying the prickling tingles that assaulted her own tongue whenever she kissed him.  It was like placing a low voltage livewire in her mouth, dangerous but exhilarating.  It made her feel alive. 
                          
His elemental power surged and she felt her whole body buzz as he wrapped his arms around her waist and easily stood up, placing her gently on the table.  Reluctantly, she broke the kiss. 
                          
"Is our food fight over?" she asked as she smoothed her hands over the collar of his gi.  
                          
Flecks of electricity sparked in his blue eyes, matching the brightness of his smile.  "No, it is just beginning."