"Maybe if I drink carelessly, the smear of this wine will mirror the honeyed words you speak against my neck." Four years of this back and forth, four years pretending as if whenever one sat at a desk, they were not thinking of the other. It was only about the office, the title, the flaunting status to wave around on an ego-fueled power trip. Arrogance fueled their rivalry, a petty sort of tangible relationship that balanced between disgust and intrigue. Both men sought the same thing, it was only natural to put the other down, whether it be through words or fists. It was power they craved; checks and balances could never be an equilibrium to the high both men sought when put against each other. Anger is a drug, and once the two got a taste, it couldn't take even the watchful eye of an entire nation to subdue the withdrawals.