#missed kiss from akaba reiji

[darkfromday]

missed kiss from:

It took me four and a half days but I wrote more Arc-V for the fandom.

(I still don’t know what the title is because titling is suddenly hard. Gah.)

of course it’s pendulumshipping what the fuck do you think I breathe for

(ahem anyway it’s under the cut.)

The first time Yuuya's boyfriend kissed him, he was asleep and missed out on half of it.

(To this day he still pouted a bit about it, because they weren't a very affectionate couple in general, and before that morning they'd only ever held hands. And for all his abilities--riding a D-Wheel, growing  plants, charming spectators and wrecking dimensions--he couldn't turn back time to relive that kiss, damn it. So why'd it have to be then that his partner got mushy?

Reiji just chuckled and shrugged whenever it came up, enjoying the usual satisfaction of having his boyfriend's thoughts in knots.)

Yuuya had been looking after Reira with Tsukikage the evening before it happened; the Akaba matriarch was away for business yet again, and Reiji had kidnapped Shun to go and stock up on groceries. This wasn't the first time Yuuya had ended up kid-sitting Reiji's brother since they'd kept dueling, stopped arguing, started talking, and then started dating, so it was no trouble at all for them to get along.

It was only the second time that Tsukikage had also been called to look after Reira at the same time, though, which gave the two older former Lancers more time to truly get to know one another outside the desperation of a dimensional war. So while Reira drew and watched the nature channel, Yuuya chatted with Tsukikage about the well-being of his brother, Hikage, about how their duel schools were doing, and even about dealing with wartime injuries.

"The muscles are no bother," the young ninja had said, waving an arm. "The exercises I do in the mornings before classes dull those pains well enough. The problem is--"

"--the joints," Yuuya had finished for him, currently massaging his elbow. "Aa, it's the same. Every wall I slammed into or street I fell onto--it's like they're still with me. Nothing heals entirely."

He'd been wondering if he was mad to feel the way he did, but Tsukikage's understanding nod and grimace were a better balm than the ones he'd been testing on himself.

They'd shared coping strategies quietly so Reira couldn't quite hear, then invited him over for a friendly traditional table duel. 'No holograms or Solid Vision' was a Serious Rule in the Akaba household, period. Akaba Leo had found that out the hard way when he crossed his ex-wife and got kicked out of the LDS tower--again.

The Akaba family believed in skill gained with substance, no flashy displays or audience necessary. It was how they dueled and how they did business. Anything other than a cold, calculated victory was indecent. Such was Akaba Himika's will that in her house, her tower, only Reiji's distant fascination with Entertainment Dueling was tolerated--and only because of the blood they shared, along with Reiji's proficiency in all other required duties.

Reira was allowed no such weakness--and after his prior transgressions, nor was Leo.

On that windy summer evening, Tsukikage had won the table duel, and the one following, so they'd switched to chess to utilize the sad, dusty set the Akaba brothers seldom used anymore.

("Our mother used chess to teach us, to mold us into perfect duelists," Reiji told him once. "And warriors. The best soldiers are fearless. They think so far ahead as to simulate omniscience in the eyes of their peers. So this is what we were made into--myself, and then Reira."

Yuuya had been dumbfounded. "You claimed the Youth Championship because you were good at chess?"

"No. I claimed victory in every Championship because I was, and am, the best at chess."

"That's... that's just..."

"--Ah, you're right, I misspoke. I was the best, but Reira has long since surpassed me now.")

Reira had beaten both older boys easily at chess. Less than a score of moves each time. For him, getting out of practice in any skill or pasttime was an impossible concept.

"Ah geez," Yuuya'd said at last, "is there any game you and Tsukikage would let me win, just for my pride? I used to win a lot, you know."

The Fuuma ninja chuckled; Reira barely cracked a smile. Yuuya took the latter occurrence for the uncommon gift that it was.

After that they'd watched an animated movie or three. Reira's life before becoming the most junior Lancer hadn't been filled with anything silly or lighthearted, making his first attempts to find common ground with peers stilted and awkward; he was a weapon, polished and readied to be used once and (if absolutely necessary) shelved. It was safe to say that none of the Akabas thought he would survive that long.

Even so, Yuuya had felt warm looking at him just then, giggling at The Emperor's New Groove. The maladjusted young boy who'd whispered plaintively for his older brother, suffered constant panic attacks at the possibility of conflict and suffered incomplete sleeps dominated by night terrors was now a quiet, courageous kid who handily beat his comrades at chess and chatted about casual duels with Tatsuya, Ayu and Futoshi. This Akaba Reira stopped by You Show to practice Entertainment Dueling, leaping from Action Field to Action Field; this Reira did better in school and smiled when talking to people (not just the one person) he cared about. After so long sleepwalking through life, this Reira was awake, aware, and so alive.

After the films, they'd turned back to regular programming and found a channel with college kids doing stupid stunts to pay for university. Tsukikage had looked on impassively, but Reira made a noise like a snort and of course it caught Yuuya's attention.

"Hey now, what was that? What was that for?"

"N-Nothing, just... that looks like some of the stuff you do in your duels."

"Whaaaaaa? Reira, I'm a professional Entertainer and I learned it all from my dad who practically invented what those guys are badly imitating right now-!"

He'd paused for breath before whining a bit more, but took too long to get started again; Reira had begun laughing in earnest.

The sound was so unusual that Nakajima and several guards had come running to see what the matter was or who needed help, and were stunned to find it was just their youngest master enjoying some gentle needling. Tsukikage had to coax them away.

Naturally after they disappeared (around the next corner), Yuuya had insisted on rebuilding his reputation by doing every pose and stunt the college kids did, but flashier and with less flaws. Reira and Tsukikage teamed together, throwing him one ball, then two, then three, until he was juggling the rainbow in his hands, twisting and twirling into impossible poses. First he was a pretzel, then a rapidly-beating heart, then a ballet dancer, all with multicolored planets still swirling around him.

He had then tossed the balls neatly into a laundry bin across the living room and leapt onto the couch, scaring his audience off in order to mimic the gymnasts he used to watch on TV as a boy. With these stunts and more, he'd easily regained Reira's awe and Tsukikage's full attention, while also scaring the shit out of the guards around the next corner who prayed that Reiji's young rival wouldn't break any of the tables, chairs or picture frames.

And after all of this, despite Reira's growing comfort with staying up late and spending hours of leisure time with friends, the youngest boy had called it a night shortly after he finished laughing and clapping at Yuuya and trading Pendulum Cards on the sly with Tsukikage. He was still taking it day by day, a flower unfurling slowly for its day in the sun. Neither Tsukikage nor Yuuya were the type to begrudge him the wait.

Later Tsukikage had said, "You are different."

"Uh... thank you?"

The ninja had given him a small smile worthy of Akaba Reira, now sound asleep ten floors up. "It's a compliment."

"It is?"

"I noticed earlier--when you entertain, you don't wait for the smiles anymore. Before, you hoped that they would feel what you projected, not see how you felt. Now you are happy, and you already know you are sharing your joy."

Yuuya had smiled with a little more strength, because that made a strange kind of sense to him. "Yeah. I guess... before... I wanted them to smile so I could feel brave. Feel good. Reflect off of them. And now it's not like that."

"No. Now it's not."

There was more they could have said, yet it had felt just as natural to remain quiet about it.

(Yuuya had always sensed that Fuuma Tsukikage had someone, somewhere out in Standard, who was to him what Reiji was to Yuuya: a balancing force, a confidant, a comfort. Someone special. There had been things he talked about with this mature young man that he couldn't even scratch at the surface of with the other Lancers, even Gongenzaka, Shun or Serena. Tsukikage knew more about Yuuya's innermost demons and most tangled-up, mushy feelings than anyone else besides his mother and Yuzu. Even Reiji did not know all of the doubts and delights that his former second-in-command had heard and gleaned in the past year.

Yet.)

Instead of polluting the quiet with words, Yuuya had thought ahead to the tomorrows to come, plenty of time for questions and confidences, and simply said, "Good night, Tsukikage."

And in return, the young ninja had clasped his shoulder, briefly but firmly. "Sleep well, Yuuya."

They had both ignored guest bedrooms (still too comfortable after wartime) and  picked couches on opposite sides of the elevator door, protecting access to Reira even in sleep. The usual plan was to trade off sleeping shifts until Reiji and Shun finally made it back from whatever grocery store had rice milk in stock in Maiami.

Yuuya swore from the next day to the present one that Tsukikage was meant to wake him up that night after his four hour shift, but never did. Tsukikage, of course, stoically denied such a thing and suggested that Yuuya had simply been half-asleep during his watch and simply drifted off again close to morning.

But he couldn't keep away a smile every time he stuck to that story.

Fact: Akaba Reiji and Kurosaki Shun got back to the LDS skyscraper at approximately four in the morning, overloaded with short tempers and enough groceries to outlast two more of Akaba Himika's overseas trips.

Fact: Shun remembered his old room and immediately suggested they pass out and check on the others later in the morning, since if there was a problem Nakajima would have reported it immediately.

Fact: Reiji shot this plan down before it could form wings.

Fact: The two young men then spotted the grocery list they'd accidentally left behind at the receptionist's desk when they set out, and Reiji reacted with dismay upon realizing they'd forgotten to get more instant ramen for his at-home board meetings.

Fact: He insisted they go back out for it, at approximately four in the morning, in full view of his dumbfounded driver and guards.

Conjecture: Already a murderer, Kurosaki Shun took several moments to talk himself down from swiftly and simply ending a boy genius.

Fact: After a long pause caught by LEO Corp security cameras, Shun quietly but unwaveringly suggested that they go to bed now and Reiji go back out with his boyfriend that afternoon instead.

Conjecture: Mentioning Sakaki Yuuya reminded Reiji that his boyfriend was in fact upstairs, probably drooling into a bed somewhere, and seeing him now sounded like an excellent idea.

Fact: Barely loud enough to be picked up by the cameras, Reiji mumbled an agreement that they were done with the outside world for now. But only because of the lateness of the hour and the exhausting nature of consistently being around dark-cloud Shun, not because he'd asked Yuuya to help look after Reira during their mad grocery adventures and he was likely still up there now.

Conjecture: Neither of them believed that paper-thin deflection for a moment.

Fact: The guards ended up putting the groceries away, and Reiji and Shun went their separate ways to find what sleep they could.

(Conjecture: It was perhaps during this time, away from human and mechanical eyes, that Reiji found his boyfriend sleeping soundly, looking as beautiful as a fey creature, and decided it was finally time to share something more affectionate than hand-holding.)

And then later that very morning, someone was kissing Yuuya.

He had been dreaming of going to Six Flags in America with Yuzu, shrieking as the rollercoaster twisted and flipped him faster than Solid Vision Duel Monsters ever could, wondering if he could incorporate this stomach-flipping feeling into his next duel somehow anyway. The dream had started blurring at the edges when the kiss reached through dreamland to retrieve him, but Yuuya didn't understand what was happening at first. It took a minute or two or five before he got it.

Oh. Someone's kissing me. That's... that's nice.

His cheek had been kissed next, barely a skim before his tormentor traveled back to his lips, and whoops, there he went, Yuuya had gotten a boner. (Damn my sensitivity!)

That went a long way toward waking him up.

"Good morning, Yuuya," Akaba Reiji said casually, as though he hadn't just given his boyfriend their first kiss in fairytale fashion.

"R...Reiji? You're ba-haah... wha?"

He had been caught in a half-yawn, a groggy state of confusion that whispered to him hey, maybe you have dreamed all this, this is your desperate wet dream, and Reiji isn't back from the store yet.

"Thank you for looking after Reira with Tsukikage. Kurosaki and I got back a little later than planned. My fault."

Okay, Yuuya had thought, shifting the thin blanket to cover his lower half while starting a smile on his lips, maybe I am not dreaming.

"S’okay, as long as everythin' went fine...?"

Reiji had flushed and looked shy. Sleepy and shy. "Perfectly well. Except, ah, I may need to go back to the store later today with you."

"No problem...!" He had been a little giddy, conscious of the kiss but otherwise perhaps three-quarters asleep, which probably explained why he kissed Reiji in return right then, morning breath and all. The older boy didn't seem to mind. "Is Tsukikage gone?"

"With the dawn, as always."

"And Shun...?"

"Passed out, downstairs. He's a little upset with me."

"Heh, what else is new? --What about Reira, did he sleep in again?"

"You know we Akabas don't allow ourselves that kind of luxury," Reiji had teased, then relented when he saw horror overtake sleepy complacency on his partner's face. "Yes, Yuuya, he is still sound asleep."

"Okay... good..." He hadn't been able to think of anything else to say. Until he had.

"Reiji...?"

"Hmm?"

"Did we just have our first kiss? Did I dream that...?"

There was an amused glint behind the red glasses. "You did not dream that."

"Oh, okay......" Another yawn. "...Can we t-talk about it after I've had m-more sleep?

The middle Akaba child had chuckled, touching their foreheads together for a short infinity.

"If you still remember it, we can. Good morning, Yuuya."

"Good night, Reiji."

[entamewitchlulu]

oh my god there was only one bed for pendulumshipping? maybe theyre staying at a hotel and there was a miscommunication and yuya's too nice to let reiji say that its a miscommunication because the staff are already way too overworked and do not deserve to have to deal with that

i need you to know that i owe you my life

kiss meme open! | writing requests open!

“I’m so, so sorry, Mr. Akaba,” the harried receptionist said, actually getting up and bowing to him several times.  “I cannot imagine what could have gone wrong.  Please don’t worry, I’ll make sure this is fixed, right away.”

“It’s fine,” Reiji said.  “Please take your time.”

It actually wasn’t fine — Reiji was dead on his feet from no less than three meetings and two press conferences in a single day, not including his exhibition duel with Yuya just a few hours ago.  All he had wanted was to get into a hotel room, fall face first onto the bed, and stay unconscious until at least noon tomorrow.

Unfortunately, it appeared that there was some bug in the system, and his reservation had mysteriously disappeared — while the hotel was all but full of the dueltainment convention attendees.  At this point, Reiji would have taken a cot in the hallway if it could get him off of his feet and into blessed unconsciousness.

He shifted back onto one foot, leaning on the handle of his rolling suitcase.  The receptionist’s furiously clacking keys were just annoying enough to keep him awake, and on edge.  The last thing he wanted was to blame the poor receptionist for this mix up, but he was draining his patience quickly.  Were there any hotels near here that he might book instead?

“Oh, Reiji!  I didn’t know you were at this hotel too!”

Reiji blinked from the edge of passing out, turning his head towards the voice.  It was Yuya, of course — he’d recognized his voice immediately.  Yuya hurried over to him, and immediately paused, looking him up and down.

“You look like someone beat you up,” he said, rather bluntly.

It was enough to draw a small, tired laugh from Reiji’s throat.

“Perhaps someone did,” he said.  “You booked a room here?  I thought you’d go straight home.”

“I thought I would too, but I got caught up with some of the other duelists after the exhibition matches, knew I’d miss the trains.  Managed to snag a room here.”

He glanced at the pale faced, furiously typing receptionist, and then at Reiji’s tired face.  He frowned.

“Something wrong?”

“No, no,” Reiji said, waving a hand.  “There was, perhaps, a miscommunication of some kind...or a bug in the system.  At any rate, it seems my reservation may have not gone through.”

He blinked a few times to try to keep himself awake, steeling himself for another walk to see if another hotel might have a spot — at this point, he was only causing a stir.

“I suppose I may have to see if anywhere else has an opening for the night — I don’t want to cause any further distress here.”

“What?  Looking like that?” Yuya said, looking him up and down again.  “You’ll pass out before you take one step out the door.”

“There are few options,” Reiji started, but Yuya had already wrapped an arm about his elbow and turned towards the receptionist.

“Can you just add him to my room?  It’s 304.  I’ve got the key and my ID here if you need to check it.”

Reiji attempted to protest — or at least, he thought he did, but what came out may have been little more than a mumble, as even in his exhaustion he was suddenly hyper aware of Yuya’s arm hooked into his.  The receptionist looked uncertain, glancing between the two of them, and asked Reiji something that he didn’t process.

“It’s fine!  We’re friends — you probably saw the duel, right?  Don’t worry, it’s fine.”

Reiji tried to stir himself, but he found himself accepting the second room key from the receptionist, and nodding vaguely when he bowed again and insisted that Reiji would get a refund or some form of compensation for this inconvenience, and then Yuya was taking Reiji’s suitcase with one hand and steering him towards the elevator with the other.

“Yuya,” Reiji said.  “You don’t...”

“Oh, hush,” Yuya said, keying in for floor three.  “Look at you — you’re going to keel over.  You need to sleep.”

Reiji was tired.  Tired enough that it wasn’t until Yuya unlocked the room and led them inside that it occurred to him that Yuya had planned on staying at this hotel alone.  And that he had just invited Reiji into a room that had only one bed.

Yuya steered him straight towards the single bed, turning him around and making him sit down.

“You need some serious shut eye,” he said.

“Yuya,” Reiji said.  “I cannot take your bed.”

Yuya blinked at him.  They hadn’t turned the lights on, so Reiji couldn’t be sure, but...was Yuya blushing?  Reiji wasn’t so tired that his mind wasn’t starting to work overtime about the entire situation — being so close to him — being in the same room as him — thoughts about him that Reiji had spent months upon months trying to suppress, trying to hide.  

Yuya would never think of me like that, he’d always told himself.  It will not do to strain our professional relationship with unnecessary feelings.

But Yuya’s hands were still on his shoulders, and they were warm, and they were both staring at each other in the dark of a hotel room with only one bed.

Yuya cleared his throat.

“It’s fine,” he said.  “I think I could fit on the couch.  You clearly look like you need the rest more than me.”

Reiji’s shoulders slumped ever so slightly — had some part of him hoped...? No, no, but that was foolish.  He had to remember to keep his thoughts in check, even if he was tired.  But...

“That ‘couch’ is a loveseat,” Reiji argued.  “You’d have to curl up to fit.”

“It’s okay!”

“No, it’s not.”

“Well if I can’t fit on the couch, you definitely can’t.”

“Then I will sleep on the floor.  Or request a cot.”

“I’m not gonna let you sleep on the floor!  If you’re gonna be like this, then we’ll just both use bed!”

The words hung for a moment between them.  Even in the dark, it was obvious that Yuya’s cheeks burned — and if the heat in Reiji’s face was any indication, so were his.  For what felt like minutes, but was perhaps only seconds, they only sat in the echoing words.  Reiji didn’t know where to direct his thoughts or where to try to suppress them anymore.  The bed was certainly large enough for both of them but...but they would be very close...

Yuya coughed, clearing his throat.

“Fine,” he said.  “That settles it.”

He turned on his heel and headed into the bathroom.  Reiji watched him disappear.  After a few moments, still thinking about it — wondering if Yuya was simply trying to get him to pass out before crunching on the couch — he couldn’t last any longer.  He didn’t even change out of his clothes, slipping off his shoes and dropping his scarf to the floor before sliding beneath the covers.

He was nearly asleep when he heard the door open again.  Yuya stepped softly across the carpet, and Reiji was about ready to try to call him out on sneaking over to the couch when he got the sensation that Yuya was standing very near him.  He heard Yuya’s soft breaths above him, heard the carpet squish beneath his feet.  Then Reiji heard him walking around the bed, felt the covers shift as Yuya carefully slid himself into bed next to him.  The mattress sunk slightly under his weight, close enough that Reiji felt his body lean towards him ever so slightly.

Reiji was starting to regret having gotten into bed facing away from the bathroom — if he opened his eyes, he’d be looking right at Yuya.  Was Yuya facing away from him, laying as close to the edge of the bed as possible?  If he managed to crack open his exhausted eyes, would he see Yuya’s face instead?  Reiji wasn’t sure which he hoped for.

He was so tired.   Too tired to think about it.  He felt himself drifting down, down, down.

At the very, very edge of sleep, he felt something touch his hand.  Not enough to wake him — almost...tentative.  He felt a hand, fingers, gently touching the back of his.  Yuya’s fingers were cool, and nervous, shying back when Reiji sighed a little too heavily.  Reiji tried to slow his breathing.

He was nearly asleep again when he felt Yuya gently touch his hand again — this time, Reiji was certain of it.  

He knew that if he opened his eyes, Yuya would be facing him.  Perhaps in the morning, this would seem like nothing more than a dream.  Maybe it was.  Maybe they would both never speak of it again.  

But for one night.  Just one night...Reiji let his hand relax, and when Yuya’s fingers slid gently between his, he gently squeezed his own fingers back.  For one night, at least, he could believe that maybe...just maybe...he’d never needed to be worried at all.

[pendulum-sonata]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Akaba Ray/Zarc Characters: Akaba Ray, Zarc, Leo Akaba, Reiji Akaba Additional Tags: Angst and Romance, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, One Shot, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, ZarcRay Week Summary:

When someone dissapears without a trace, it is said that they were spirited away...

(This is for the prompt "Myth" for the Zarcray Week 2019.)

“Morning.” Ray said to him, as she always did, despite her dad’s warnings.

But this time he didn’t answer back, didn’t even lift his eyes to her, even when she stopped to make sure there was confusion on who she was greeting.

“Hey! Don’t you want a rice cookie?” That’s usually their routine, she said hi to him, he sometimes returned it, sometimes just waved, others just smiled, and Ray would gift him with one of the cookies her father made for breakfast.

When that didn’t work, she felt her cheeks poof and she stomped her feet on the ground to make him snap.

The boy jumped a little from his seat on the huge roots of the tree, and his eyes, looking impossibly huge and shiny seemed to stare beyond her, to some unspecified point in the sky.

No sign of recognition in his eyes.

A chill on her spine had replaced her anger and she simply left him there, leaving the rice cookie at his feet.

.

.

.

Usually if someone is suspected of being spirited away, people organized walks to the forests, with talismans, bells and prayers for the person to come back.

Sometimes lead by a priestess.

This time there was no such effort, the grownups claimed that since the child was an orphan and the festival was approaching there was no time to loose.

But Ray was no fool, under those excuses she heard mutters, sneers, thankful prayers for someone finally taking the demon child away from their village.

.

.

.

“Dad! I’ll go fetch water!”

“Come back before it gets dark!”

Ray just hummed in response and went on her way, the river was not very far away so she was sure she would make it before night fell; before leaving the outskirts of the town she made sure to leave offerings.

‘Ray, you’re a good girl, no spirit would ever bid you ill will.’ That’s what people usually told her, but…

One could never be too sure.

As she kept walking the landscape seemed to become greener and colorful, which was sort of expected since it was summer, but Ray was not exactly sure when was it that any of the villagers had any time to plant flowers down this path, much less take care of them.

The river was as usual, running its course down south from the mountain, soon it would be rain season and it would become bigger and murkier due to landslides, but right now the water was clear and pristine, perfect for cooking dinner.

Ray kneeled, and was in the middle of carrying the bucket full when she heard rustling behind her and she froze trying to hear if it was some animal scurrying around or something worse…

When she felt a hand on her shoulder her hands moved on her own throwing the water to her assailant-to-be, and hopefully hit them in the head while she made her escape.

But it was all ruined when the stranger didn’t flinch from the water, so when Ray tried to push past him, she was met with a solid wall than made her fall back.

Of course the bucket had instead fell on top of her head.

A laughter reached her ears and when she looked up she saw a young man, one hand covering his mouth, and the other his stomach trying not to double over.

She almost yelled at him, about what was so funny, when she noticed:

His golden eyes, and oddly colored hair, his skin seemed to shine golden, even as the sun set, his hands had sharp claws he was barefoot.

.

.

.

Ray had been acting weird for the last couple of days.

Every day she made excuses to go to the forest, whether it was for water, for herbs or just for a walk, sit was always at the same time, when the sky turned a combination of oranges, reds and purples.

She had always been an early riser, and now she had taken to sleep in.

Or so he assumed since Leo had lost count of how many times he had caught her spacing out, her eyes glazed over in a daze.

She ate so little these days, and when she did, he could see she struggled to keep it down, and there were times when he felt that the house they both shared was being watched from afar.

One night, he caught her outside of bed staring at the moon, holding her belly tight…

Tomorrow, he would wait until tomorrow and then he would take Ray to the physician.

.

.

.

When the townspeople all joined efforts looking for Ray, the only thing the search turned up was her sandals; neatly placed at the bank of the river.

Today was the 7th day, and Leo didn’t need to look at the face of the priestess to know what she would say, to know that she now considered Ray to be lost forever.

.

.

.

“Dad, who is Ray?” His boy asked, having turned five this week, it was only appropriate he learned about her.

“She is your sister, Reiji.” Leo went to tell at large, the story of his precious daughter, maybe Reiji wouldn’t never meet her in person, but he will make sure that he will know her thoroughly.

Everything, except for one tiny detail.

Reiji was still too young, but his eyes already shone with the same with and curiosity that Ray had had once, maybe when he was older and outside of danger, he would explain better.

The forest looked more and more appealing as the years went by.

He missed Ray so much.

.

.

.

“Morning.” He greeted to the young woman in the temple.

Reiji could tell immediately that she wasn’t from around the village, as he was sure he’d never met her, but she didn’t look lost either.

When she turned around, he lost his breath.

He should say something, he ought to say something, but the words were stuck inside his chest as the beautiful woman, with hair flowing impossibly long in the wind and dressed in cloth that appeared to be made of the moon, the stars and the ocean all together, smiled at him.

“Have you ever heard of an orphan child in this village who was spirited away fifteen years ago?” She asked, and her voice sounded like music in his ears, he could simply nod. “No search was made, no funeral rites and no one to mourn for him…”

Reiji could feel the sadness dripping from her voice.

“…because he was not taken by the gods, he was drowned in the near river by a group of villagers who thought he was an ill omen.” She paused for a minute, as if considering how much she could tell him. “All because he could see it, the Other World, and because he could talk with its inhabitants, of course they would welcome him with open arms.”

“…What about my sister?” Reiji was surprised he had been able to find his voice, but he remembered now, he remembered vague mentions of a demon child, of certain rumors that maliciously said his sister had been taken by an evil spirit in revenge.

But he was more surprised when the woman’s eyes widened and she took a step closer to him, tears where now falling down her cheeks.

All of the sudden, she didn’t look so divine or otherworldly anymore, she looked completely and utterly human.

Her eyes, he recognized those eyes.

Reiji went to grab her, wanting to look at her closer, but his hands grasped at thin air.

.

.

.

“Did he make you cry?” He asked, when she reappeared at the bank of the river; she simply shook her head and walked to him, taking his hand in hers.

His silvery hair, contrasting heavily against his dark clothes lined with gold, moved with the wind, and she felt his lips kissing away her tears one by one.

“…I just wish I could have met him…” She said. “That would be my only regret.” She said, embracing his form

The hold of his hand tightened just enough to make know the idea of her regretting being with him pained him.

Would she want to leave him?

“Never.” She whispered against his lips before closing the distance between them, around them the fireflies danced and the wind picked up.

When she put space between them she watched him shift.

His sea serpent form was just as beautiful as he was in human form, with silvery scales that reflected the moonlight, his fangs grew bigger, and his hand became a long paw with three fingers and even longer claws.

But his golden eyes remained.

The same golden eyes that had bewitched her under that tree, when they were both children.

[checkurselfb4umachuwreckurself]

Wrote another fun fic involving the Fusion Dimension and how this arc is killing me

“Love Letters From Synchro” 2.4k

Shinji’s just calling to check in on Crow. Nothing worse than getting sent to voicemail, right?

Crow sat on the boat, Reira leaning on his leg, fast asleep. He was listening to the wind as it swept the ocean. He had heard the ocean traveling from the Commons to the City, but never this close up. The thrum, the bird squawks, the beeping- wait, that wasn’t the ocean; that was his disc. The beeping woke up Reira, who scootched away from the noise, closer to Tsukikage, who was starboard. Crow managed to pick it up by the second ring. “Hello?”

“Crow!” Of course it was Shinji calling. “I wasn’t sure if it would let me call you this far away. What time is it? Are we the same time zone? Don’t tell me it’s nighttime and I woke you up- sorry!”

A laugh. “Nah, I’m good, Shinji,” He nodded at Tsukikage and Reira, moving away to continue talking. “I’m pretty surprised they work too, actually- oh, and it’s 9am. You?”

Shinji nodded on the other side on the conversation. “9am here too. Good thing it’s consistent. It’d be a bitch to convert the time every time I wanted to call you.”

Crow giggled quietly. “Language, mister. Reira’s here.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll try to remember.”

Reiji made a neck cutting gesture, pointing at the upcoming ship- wait was that a pirate ship? “Gotta go, babe; I’m gonna fight some pirates.”

“Bring me back a doubloon,” Shinji laughed.

“I’ll see what I can do. Call me back later,” Crow cooed, hanging up his disc. He summoned out Raikiri- just in case.

Shingo lied against the grass. His duel disc was destroyed- thank a lot for that- and Crow’s disc sat on his chest. Held in front of his face was Crow’s card. He didn’t look scared like all the others that were carded. Right before it all happened, he tossed the disc to Shingo. As if it was more important to keep safe than himself. Shingo squeezed his eyes shut, sighing as he kept the card close. He couldn’t lose it. Protecting it was his responsibility. It was his fault this happened.

From his chest, Crow’s disc rang. In a panic, Shingo muted the disc. Silently calling was “Honey” with an obnoxious amount of bee and honeypot emojis. That was his boyfriend right? What was his name? It was similar, but nowhere as pretty as “Shingo” ...oh yeah, Shinji. That was it. A message popped up saying “Going To Voicemail”. Curious, Shingo unmuted it.

“Heya Crow!” Shinji’s voice chimed. Shingo had remembered Shinji’s voice from when they were underground, but he was nowhere as chipper back then. “Just tucked the kids in, they miss you very much.” Is this all? Shingo had half the nerve to pick up and say Crow wasn’t available at the time and he should try again later, but he was snapped out of his anger, hearing a sniffle. “We all do, ya know. Now I know how you feel when I don’t come home for days on end.” Shingo was silent. He knew what that was like. Some days his dad wouldn’t come back, leaving him alone for the night. He’d practically have to beg his friends to stay over those nights; he couldn’t stand it. Shinji laughed, choking a little. “Please call me back soon- oh and look! I didn’t swear for you. I’m getting better, I promise.” With that, Shinji ended the call. A small mailbox icon popped up, saving the message. Crow would get to listen to it later. Right?

Shingo barely got any sleep. He had slept on his side, head on Gongenzaka’s chest, with Gongenzaka’s arm covering his neck, entrapping him. He must have caught him shaking in his sleep and tried is best to restrain him. In Shingo’s arms was the disc; in his pocket, Crow’s card. He dared not jostle it; what if they still felt pain while in the cards?

He struggled to get out, only to be interrupted by Crow’s disc beeping again. Had he forgotten to mute it after the first message? The noise woke up Gongenzaka, who fortunately released Shingo. “Is that yours?” He asked, “shouldn’t you pick it up?”

Shingo shook his head, wiping the tears he must have leaked in his sleep. “I just… let it ring.”

They did, the disc presenting the same “Going To Voicemail” it displayed last night. “I was so sure you would have called, ya know,” Shinji hummed into the receiver. Gongenzaka went to press the “enter call” button, but Shingo snatched it away. “Anyways, hi Crow! It's your loving boyfriend just calling this morning to say good morning!” Shinji laughed, which made Shingo grit his teeth. “The kids have been very good and they’ve been doing all their chores. I've been taking your role best I can. Tony and Damon visited the other day, told me to say hi! The City’s restoration is going swimmingly! Be sure to tell me how the pirate thing went! Oh, I'm running out of time! See you soon!” As soon as it started, the call ended. The inbox icon read a red “2” now.

Shingo pulled himself up into a sitting position, the disc in his lap. Gongenzaka mirrored it, crossing his arms. “Sawatari, you should have picked up and told him what happened.”

“I can’t,” Shingo whispered, pulling the disc to his chest, small tears bubbling in his eyes. “I just can’t do that to him.”

He kept both close to him. Neither the disc, nor the card, was ever out of his sight. Shingo was starting to wish he had brought a backpack. He sat with the others who were thinking up strategies, but Shingo couldn’t concentrate.  As if to spite him, the disc rang. Yuuya and the others turned to him, curious. “This better be short,” Shingo hissed. He didn’t really mean that. Crow was gonna get to hear how much Shinji missed him, so of course he wouldn’t want Shinji to cut corners. Crow deserved all of it.

The disc switched the voicemail. “You know, it’s rude to listen to someone else’s calls,” Yuuya chided with a quirked eyebrow.

“Shut up,” Shingo whispered, leaning in to hear the message.

“Sorry if you're sleeping and can't pick up,” Shinji said, quieter than usual. That was new. Shinji was apologizing. “But we just wanted to say night- right kids?”

Three voices that Shingo would normally say he “unfortunately remembered” if he was in his right mind piped up. “Night dad!” That must have been Amanda, Frank, and Tanner: the Hogan-Weber kids.

Shinji’s tongue clicked. “Oh come on you won't call me dad but-” Shingo couldn’t tell if it was one, but the sound he heard sounded like Shinji shaking his head. “Whatever. Please call back soon! The kids miss you! Almost as much as me, even,” he laughed again. Despite his misery he was still laughing? How much was a facade for Crow? Or for the kids, that matter?

Speaking of the kids- “Shinji!” They all shouted at Shinji. So much for ‘almost’, Shingo guessed. He gave an inaudible sigh. He wished his father or his friends would have called him even just once. He’d been gone, what, weeks? Not even a single text or email. Sure they didn’t really know he left since he kinda snuck out without saying anything, but didn’t they miss him?

Shinji didn’t respond to their pleas. “Gotta go! Can’t let them stay up too long, ya know.” He made a noise that Shingo guessed was an air kiss- not that it was for him, anyways. “Love you to the Fusion Dimension and back!” Again, the inbox icon added another red number.

Shingo choked on his words, watching the disc switch to neutral. Yuuya placed a hand on Shingo’s shoulder. “And back…” he repeated in a whisper. As much as he didn’t want to, he let himself cry in front of the others.

Everyone was grouped up. Shingo was still a mess- physically and mentally. Seeing Crow turn into the card flashed in his head every time he closed his eyes. Was this what it was like to feel “un-fabulous”?

Reiji was lecturing about something. Cooperation or whatever. Where did that get them? Tsukikage and Crow were gone, and he was sure neither he nor Reira were there completely. Not to mention what happened to the girls-

As inconvenient as all the others were, Crow’s disc went off. Reiji sighed. “Sawatari, why are you still holding onto that.” It wasn’t a question.

Shingo scoffed. “It has everything that matters to Crow on it. His numbers, his win streak.” He paused a second. “His… selfies with his kids?” Reiji’s face didn’t change. “He’s gonna need it when he comes back.”

“If,” was Reiji’s only response.

“When,” Shingo hissed, letting the voicemail play.

“Hey Crow!” Shinji said, clearly tired. “I know it's earlier than usual, but I wanted to say hi before I went to work.” He gave out a small yawn. “It's kinda hard sleeping without you here-”

Reiji snatched the duel disc and pressed “enter call” before Shingo could even react. How much had the lack of sleep affected him? “Mr. Weber?” Reiji asked, pushing Shingo’s grabby hands away.

Shinji’s eyes immediately narrowed and his voice got dark. “What the he- who is this? Yuuya? Serena? Are you there?” He asked, desperately trying to match a face to the voice.

“This is Akaba Reiji,” Reiji answered- wow, a straight answer from them? That was rare. “I am the leader of the Lancers. The group that your husband-”

“Boyfriend,” Shinji corrected.

“Boyfriend, joined. Willingly, I may add.” Reiji’s voice was flat and didn’t waver. Reiji’s voice was where emotions went to die.

“What?” Shinji asked. He had remembered someone mentioning the Lancers during the Friendship Cup, but he surely wasn’t listening too well.

“I’m terribly sorry to say, but your ‘boyfriend’ was lost in a duel against the enemy.” Despite the ‘sorry’, Reiji didn’t seem too bothered about the loss.

Shinji was frantic. “What!?” he asked again.

Reiji continued, back to avoiding questions. “I best recommend you do not call this number anymore, as he will not be able to pick up.” They had essentially told Shinji to fuck off with not a shred of remorse. Shingo couldn’t believe this, but he couldn’t move either.

Shinji’s voice was wet and angry. “WHAT HAPPENED!?” He shouted, desperate for even the smallest of an answer.

There wasn’t one. “Goodbye,” Reiji stated as plain as if they had explained that water was indeed wet.

“DO NOT HANG UP YOU BAS-”

Reiji did.

They tossed the disc back to Shingo, suggesting he get rid of it to avoid anymore distractions.

“PICK UP THE FUCKING PHONE! WHAT HAPPENED TO CROW!? WHY WON’T YOU ANSWER ME!? IS EVERYONE’S LIFE JUST SOME STUPID GAME THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN IGNORE IF YOU AREN’T WINNING!? ANSWER ME AKABA.”

“What the hell does “lost” even mean? Is he missing? Did he get captured? Is… did you let him die.”

“Reiji, I took a drive, I’m calm now. Pick up the phone please. What happened to Crow. You need to tell me. Please call me back, Crow already has my number on speed dial.”

“You’re lucky I can’t travel across dimensions and beat your ass, Reiji.”

Shingo sat against a ledge, hugging his knees. The duel disc that sat next to him hadn’t gone off in a while, just the last few popping into the inbox. Reiji and the others left him behind, not wanting Shingo to draw attention by listening to the messages. He didn’t want to stay in the Fusion Dimension. No one needed him here. As skilled as he was, Shingo hadn’t won a single duel without help.

“Akaba, I need to give Crow’s card to Shinji. It’s the only way he’ll understand what happened.”

“Be my guest, but if you do, don’t come back. A true Lancer wouldn’t leave their mission for anything, or anyone.”

He broke from the hold, slapping his cheeks. He couldn’t give up. He was the son of the to-be-mayor of Miami City. Plus there was no way he would let Reiji call him a ‘fake lancer’.

But first…

Shinji was correct: Shinji’s number was on Crow’s speed dial.  Shingo pressed it, rocking his knees back and forth. What should he say when he picks up? What would he say if he didn’t pick up?

“Heeya,” a voice stammers out. It’s similar to Shinji’s… but more… intoxicated. “Is that you?”

The ‘you’ is not elaborated on, but Shingo assumes he meant Crow. “Are you drunk?” Shingo thinks out loud, suddenly sick to his stomach.

“Maybe,” Shinji slurs. That definitely means he is. Shingo takes a quiet deep breath. The only thing scarier than his dad saying he’s not coming home was his dad coming home drunk. Shingo would never touch that stuff, not even the fancy wines he sees at parties he gets dragged to. If it had even the slimmest chance of making him act like Furio? Nope. Never. “When are you coming home?” Shinji asked.

Shingo pauses. He forgot to explain who he was. Oops. “I’m... not your boyfriend. I’m Sawatari Shingo.”

“Never heard of you.”

Shingo pouted. “I’m a friend- well, acquaintance of Crow.”

Shinji hummed. “I’m glad Crow has so many close friends. Crow is the best.”

He certainly wasn’t like his father when he was drunk, but Shingo didn’t exactly want to stay on the line too long; Shinji still had the potential to turn on a dime. “Look, I’m calling to say that… well… Crow… Crow was carded.”

There was a long hollow pause. “What…” Shinji swallowed. “What does that even mean.”

“I… don’t know,” Shingo admitted. No one had really explained carding, had they? If they had, he surely wasn’t paying attention.

“He’s dead. Isn’t he,” Shinji stated. There was no question. Just solemn acceptance.

The cold wind was nowhere near as biting as the comment. Shingo took the card out of his pocket, rubbing his thumb against the edge. “I’m… sorry.” A tear splashed onto Crow’s printed face, Shingo promptly rubbing it off. “I would do anything to bring him back.”

Shinji’s voice was wet, but it didn’t sound like he was crying. “I hope he knows I’m sorry. For everything.”

Shingo looked up, seeing some Obelisk Force patrolling around. “If I don’t make it out alive, I’ll tell him for you.” Not waiting for a response, Shingo hung up. He turned off the disc, any new messages wouldn’t be automatically played.

And for the first time in days, Shingo’s thoughts were empty.

[reijiakabutt]

Troubles

Reiji didn't expect to come home late and find Ruri still awake. Day 2 || Sensitive

Amethystshipping || Reiji x Ruri

AO3

The end of the work day was always an interesting time for Akaba Reiji. Granted, the end of his official work day was 6pm but in general, his own personal day didn’t end until sometime near midnight when he would finally leave the office and take the elevator up to the family suite. At this point, everyone was fast asleep. Reiji was always careful to grab something quick to eat, cold leftovers were better than nothing.

As he opened the door and turned on the light at the entrance, he nearly jumped back. There was Ruri, curled up in a chair at the end of the hall with her eyes fixed on a tablet and earbuds stuck in her ears. Her eyes were not as bright as they normally were – she was up much too late.

Reiji shut the door a little loudly, so much so that he saw Ruri perk up at last. Her eyes much more alert as she took out the earbuds and put down the tablet. “Reiji!” She jumped from the chair and ran down the hall, practically jumping on him. “Where have you been? It’s late.”

He had been more than used to this situation. The way she would pounce on him. Part of him figured her eventual goal was to knock the wind out of him or to knock him to his feet. But Reiji was getting better at handling this, steadying his legs to support her. “… I work late, Ruri. Surely you’ve realized this.”

A pout as she released him from her full body hug. “You don’t have to be rude about it.”

“It’s not rude to be blunt.”

She didn’t have much of a retort, how odd. Usually, she was full of them – never was he allowed to have the last word. Instead, she just grabbed his hand and lead him deeper into the suite.

“And, ta-da!” Ruri leapt forward, holding her arms out to the dining table and Reiji simply stared for a moment, finding an actual meal waiting for him. Judging from the steam coming off the plate, she had just made it. He wasn’t expecting… hot food… not so late either. “Here I was, making sure you don’t starve from your cracker and coffee diet and you have to be rude and rebuke my affections.” Ruri huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turned her head away in a dramatic fashion.

He couldn’t help but smile. As if he could do anything to scorn or tarnish her affections by now. Reiji could imagine her being spoiled with a working oven and actual spices and meat that wasn’t manufactured in a lab to be condensed into a non-perishable, easy to consume canned food. One of these days, he knew that he should probably join her in her cooking sessions, see how she worked.

“… thank you, Ruri.” Reiji leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on her cheek. She always wanted some kind of praise, though she would never say so aloud. Having to ask was the same as begging and she considered that beneath her, not willing to embarrass herself further. The more dramatic she was, the higher the praise needed to be.

A slight blush appeared as she tilted her head. She was less pouty now, but still… “If you really want to thank me, then you should eat. Coffee alone isn’t good for you.”

He snorted as he took a seat at the table. “I do have other things throughout the day aside from coffee.”

“You know what I meant, silly.”

Reiji stared at the food momentarily, still in a slight surprise that she stayed up to make him an actual meal. Usually, he came back to find her passed out on the couch or the floor or even on the balcony, curled up on a small chair and huddled under a fuzzy blanket. This must’ve been some kind of motivation for her to stay awake longer. Before Reiji could take the fork and start eating, Ruri immediately took it from the plate and scooped up some of the food. He watched her curiously, not realizing she had sat down and moved the chair so close to his own.

Was she going to eat it?

No, not the way she was holding it so far from herself and to…

Oh, come on.

“Say ah.”

“Ruri…”

He locked his jaw for a moment. This was so... infuriating. Why couldn’t she just be normal and let him eat this himself? Or even, she could grab a fork and they could even share the plate? Why did she need to try to feed him?

The way her eyes were wide and hopeful and the way her smile was enticing – she was so conniving in ways he didn’t comprehend. But worse so, her acting like this was rare. Only recently had she come out of her shell. Deciding to be… doing more than simply distancing. Reiji sighed. He supposed he could sacrifice a few moments of embarrassment if it meant she wouldn’t backtrack. And he was rather hungry.

He opened his mouth, not expecting her to laugh the way she did. “You actually did it!”

Incredibly conniving… but still, she moved the fork forward till the food was in his mouth.

This was such a surreal moment for him. He was used to meals by himself, cold leftovers from a large lunch. Used to no one staying up to see him, awaiting his return. By now, he would’ve sat in silence and reading up on figures for the next day and other papers.

But instead, Ruri was there.

She continued with her strange little routine, feeding him and giggling each time – was she serious the first time she asked? If not, then there was no point in continuing the action. But she must’ve been. Maybe she was laughing because she didn’t think he would take on the ridiculous request?

After a few more bites, she handed the fork back to him. “Ok, Reiji – I’ll be nice to you. You can finish up yourself.”

Was this because she thought he was annoyed? Or was she tired?

Was he overthinking?

It was better to speak. “… you can keep going, you know.” Reiji muttered. He almost missed the adoring surprise in her expression. How she seemed genuinely shocked. Just as he was to find that she was awake and had made him food. It occurred to him in that moment that… neither of them were used to this kind of thing.

Loneliness had seeped through so far. She was attempting to grasp it in small doses while he dove to take hold of it at the first opportunity.

“… are you sure?”

Reiji  nodded. It wasn’t as if he was really all that tired and neither was she. Besides… even if she was, the table wasn’t the oddest place she had fallen asleep at.

[darkfromday]

light pollution

Prompt: Day 6 - Stars

Pairing: Mieru/Zarc, which I’ve taken the liberty of calling darkprophetshipping for now.

I don’t know how I came up with this ship.

There is a shadow trailing Mieru’s every move.

Ever since that day, the one where she had to hold her Darling down while he’d screamed and spewed demonic miasma, she has been aware of a presence at her back, invisible, but something coldly angry and sinister that makes others stay away from her. She is of course a believer in fates and things beyond mortal ken, but nothing Mieru has ever heard of could stalk someone, cloud parts of their Future Sight, or make them physically unable to see the stars at night.

This thing can do all that.

Mieru doesn’t scare easily, but she does get... sidetracked. Her mysterious hovering menace forces her to keep her distance from Yuuya, because somehow she feels that it would be happy to hurt someone she cares for so much.

That means that for days after that one leg of the Junior Youth she has no one to talk to about the growing darkness around her and her steadily-more-morbid predictions of everyone’s destinies. And as the tournament progresses without her and the invading strangers wreck Maiami, that shadow seems to grow stronger, actually gain form and substance enough to linger on her bedroom walls and flicker in front of any windows she passes.

She dreams of people disappearing, and wakes to find it is her new reality thanks to the city’s new foe. Academia. Akaba Reiji gives the nameless their name and calls for the best and brightest of Maiami to step forward and bravely defend everyone from the coming darkness.

Mieru watches the speech from her bedroom and thinks: I will become a Lancer.

It is the first clear thought she has had in a while. Determination floods her--who cares if she has cold shivers down her spine every so often due to her uninvited guest, or that she still doesn’t have full access to her prophetic visions, or any more successful tarot readings? She can still duel, and duel well. A Lancer just needs to duel for her life and topple a bunch of child soldiers not much older than herself. That will be no problem.

She thinks.

Except.

It becomes a problem that very night.

It’s nearly midnight. LDS’ light pollution chokes the constellations, not that Mieru could appreciate them right now anyway. The moon is a golden sliver in the sky as she packs a duffel bag full of tarot cards, Duel Monsters cards, and a couple changes of clothes.

Her shadow seems to be swallowed by the natural shadows of nighttime, so her plan is thus: sneak out of her room, out of her house, and make her way to LDS to join the Lancers. She can sneak into the building and sleep over until she’s accepted into the ranks.

Packing goes fine; keeping the house quiet for her sleeping parents works fine too. Things start not going fine the moment Mieru’s gaze snags on her full-length mirror. The darkness trailing her these days occasionally becomes a formless blob at her shoulder when she’s brushing her hair or changing clothes in front of it in the mornings, but this time, this day, the shape it materializes into looks very, very human.

Her eyes get huge.

“Don’t scream,” the thing whispers from the other side of the glass.

Mieru doesn’t scream. She yanks an old charm meant to ward off evil from off the dresser and points it at the space next to her reflection.

“Begone!”

A mouth forms on the shadow man, seemingly just so it can laugh. “Is that an appendage from an animal? Oh dear. Someone get help.”

“What are you?” Mieru demands.

“I’m your most important person,” it purrs. “Or your worst nightmare...”

You’re not Yuuya--! she thinks, backing away even as this man-shaped thing expands and grins devilishly in the glass. She has to think it firmly, because the disgusting, sludgy aura of the not-man does feel eerily like her Darling most recently felt--though she can’t fathom why.

“Y-You’re not important to me at all,” she finally stammers. “And once I get some stronger magic, I’ll get rid of you so you’ll never shadow me again--”

“Wrong, little sweet.”

The nightlight in her room is suddenly snuffed out.

Wha--?!

“It’s thanks to your skills that I was able to wake from within my host! Your self-styled “darling”. Now that I’m aware again, I can take my time finding every piece of my soul through my host, until I’m complete once more.”

It’s not cold, but Mieru finds she’s shaking. Host... soul pieces... complete?

“Darkness like you shouldn’t be completed--shouldn’t be whole. It only leads to pain.”

Suddenly the thick dark shadow writhes; Mieru tastes rage in its aura.

“You think you can stop me, Hochun Mieru? With your fortune cards and your weak monster spirits? Those Fusion-summoning children are nothing compared to my wrath, my talent. I’m letting them tear your world and every other world apart, because it will bring all of me together that much faster. Then I can destroy it all--every single world.”

It’s trying to scare her, lending images of fire and destruction and Yuuya’s face in different clothes over and over again. She doesn’t bend, because he--this--has become less scary with every hissed threat and clarified motivation.

“I will stop you,” she says. “Once I’m a Lancer, my Ritual cards will be even stronger than before, especially once they start making Pendulum upgrades. Whatever you are--you won’t stand a chance against me and my friends.”

BANG.

Her shadow slams its hands on the other side of the mirror. Mieru sees a crack form and pales, backing up. Her first concession; her first mistake.

“You asked what I am. What I am is far more powerful than you, your peers or your teachers could possibly foresee. I am destruction in purest form, the strongest Duelist ever born, and since you woke me from my tormented sleep, you can call me Zarc.”

BANG. Crack.

“You don’t scare me, Hochun Mieru. Your visions of the darkness to come are correct, and ego-boosting, but your mistake was in not sharing those visions before you woke their subject. Now--well. Ritual Summon is a powerful force, and you are too strong with it already to be left alone to push it farther.”

BANG. Crack.

Mieru glances wildly toward her packed-away deck.

“I hoped you’d join me,” Zarc muses. Its--His features emerge from the thick darkness: silver spiky hair, eyes as gold and slitted as the moon outside, Yuuya’s handsome face. “I’m unstoppable even without you, but it would have been nice to leave something intact. Ah, well. You will not be joining the Lancers, you will not get the chance to teach them about Ritual Pendulum, and you will not be there to try and put me back to sleep inside my host.”

The mirror shatters with Zarc’s next blow.

Mieru releases a choked scream and lunges for her bag, her cards, but oh, she’s too slow. Inky blackness from inside the mirror swarms around the room, cutting off her avenues of escape, swallowing her bag, nearly swallowing her. Zarc walks through the reaching, screeching shadows towards her placidly, like some wicked god.

She fights back--bites at the disgusting shadows and twists and hollers for help that doesn’t come. It all just seems to amuse him, this evil twin, this thing bending to be eye-to-eye with her.

“Let me go!”

“Now, now. I’ve just explained why I can’t do that yet.”

“Yet?!” Mieru half-shrieks.

Zarc laughs. One of his hands comes up and grabs her chin in a bruising hold, just barely caressing her cheek with the pads of his icky fingers.

“Oh, Mieru. So feisty, so charming. It’s why I won’t be killing you--you are just far too special. No--instead, I’ll just make sure all these silly little sweet thoughts of you running off to save the day take a hike.”

“NO! YOU CAN’T! I--”

The darkness closes in; Zarc smiles.

“Sweet dreams, Mieru-chan.”

And he kisses her passionately. As she vacillates between horror and fear in her helpless mind, frozen in his grip, wisps of his dark powers slide down her throat and throw a film over her eyes and tiny body, whispering to her in cloying tones. It doesn’t take long before she starts to feel very sleepy, and she’s collapsing in his arms soon after that, lost to his plan.

An annoying bird is chirping right at her window, which her tarot reading did not have the courtesy to tell her about last night. Mieru groans as she rolls out of bed, fumbles to shut the window and gives herself a once-over in the--

Hmm.

Was something different about her mirror this morning?

She studies it for a solid minute before noticing a minuscule crack near the top of the tall glass. Nothing to fuss over--the house did shift sometimes in the night. Accidents happened.

All right then. Agenda, agenda... agenda for today...

“OH!”

Mieru smacks her forehead.

“Today’s the day the Lancers get picked and we can see them off! I have to wish Darling good luck~!”

From then on she’s in a hurry. She bathes and dresses at rocket speed, grabs her book bag and only pauses to kiss her photo of Yuuya goodbye before she dashes out the door. Fast, fast, so very fast.

Far too fast to notice until too late that she’s missing a bag, that her lost deck won’t turn up for another few days, and that she had tasted ash and envy in the innocent, consensual press of her lips against that prized picture.

[pendulum-sonata]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Akaba Reiji/Hiiragi Yuzu Characters: Akaba Reiji, Hiiragi Yuzu Additional Tags: Drama & Romance, One Shot, Gift Fic, Kissing, Unresolved Romantic Tension, And then its resolved, classicalshipping, I love to fluff about them, but I tried to do something different here, Canon Related Summary:

They say unrequited love is the curse of the lonely heart and people are most of all, homesick of things they have never really known...

Happy belated birthday @timahina <3

“Can’t sleep?” He almost didn’t want to turn, here it was the reason why he was in the shore in the middle of the night, asking the one thing he couldn’t answer.

“...I have issues sleeping on unfamiliar places.” So of course lying through his teeth was the best course of action right now.

“Is that your nice way of saying Yuya’s snores keep you up? Or that you’re unhappy about sleeping on the floor?” She kept asking, her steps on the sand inaudible but he could tell she was closer now. “I swear when they all started with the ‘sleepover’ idea, I never thought they’d take it so literally.”

Neither had he, especially when the house – his family house – had enough rooms for everyone, the waves at the sea picked up as if making fun of his shortsightedness.

“I should have stopped them when they built that pillow fort...” Why was she even apologizing? It was not her fault that after moving the furniture the sleeping arrangement had landed him sleeping right next to her.

“Not a problem, I don’t tend to sleep so early in any case.”... And it definitely was not her fault that he had reacted way too late with the lights off that every time he tried to will himself to sleep his eyes sneaked to her sleeping bag, making out her form, counting her breaths…

His thought process came to a screeching halt when he felt her hand on his.

“Your hands are cold...” He regretted the moment his eyes posed on her, she was still on her sleep wear, which he knew was a useless detail to obsess over; it was sensible enough, but the thin white fabric – suitable for the summer of course – and the moonlight shining upon her.

“You can go sleep on you bedroom,” She offered, “I’ll just tell everyone that you got up early in the morning.” Her hands were warm and still locked enveloping his hand.

“I ...would appreciate that,” Why was she doing this? Sometimes his treacherous thoughts suspected she did it all in purpose and then she gave him a saving grace and that look, which made him feel like some... “Thank you.”

ᴥ

She almost tripped with her own feet, not her fault, tripping was not something that happened to her on regular basis it was just that this place darker than she expected it to be, it wasn’t right... she had been here before and the large window should give enough light even in the dead of night. But there was none and she had to let her eyes adjust to it before trying to move around, especially since there was a set of stairs to climb down from ahead of her... seriously who made a staircase – specially a spiraled one – without a handrail? It had to be a security hazard.

It’s just her luck that the steps are made of a translucent slightly glowing material that even within the dark were easy to spot.

Of course it was also her luck that had a soft lighting turn on the moment her shoes stepped on one of them, she froze in place thinking that maybe she had been caught until she realized the office reminded as silent as a minute ago, and the realization hit her: motion sensors.

The desk at the far end of the office was there, and the figure sitting in it was still not moving, she swallowed thinking that maybe he was waiting for the intruder to come down and face them with the consequences of this foolish adventure.

Maybe this was a sign...after all Yuzu knows she shouldn’t be here.

It’s not like she actually planned it ahead either, although once Nakajima realized that his access card was missing... she supposed there would be a lot of explaining to do tomorrow. It had just been there sitting on the table of the break room while he was struggling with the coffee maker to actually make some coffee.

Almost staring at her, like everything in this place it was pristine and slick

When she swooped down to help him with it at the same time of teaching him how to make a cappuccino he had been so grateful that he didn’t question her twice when she asked if the President – she had to bite her tongue to not say Reiji – was still in the building and quickly excusing herself when he answered that he should still be around but was ‘undisposed’ at the moment.

One hand waving at him and the other behind her back clutching at the card.

Yuzu didn’t know if congratulate herself for acting so natural or being ashamed for her lack of consideration for a poor, tired and obviously overworked man.

Of course that while thinking of all of these things, her feet had acted on their own and not only had was she already down the stairs but now she was right there a couple of feet from him.

He sat on his chair leaning down and looking at the landscape or he would if the blinds were not in place.

Or if he wasn’t sleeping.

The realization hit her like a truck, suddenly she felt very stupid and very conscious for what she was doing; of course he would be the type to sleep in his office rather than go home or have at least proper bedding available.

Somehow Yuzu was very aware that she had never imagined what he did when he wasn’t at work or some outing, she had no idea what his daily routine was like; did he fell asleep while on the work? Did he ran out of coffee? Did his eyes felt heavier and heavier until he finally gave out?

No, there was nothing about him that made this look like an unintentional nap time, there were no papers on the desk, none of the electronic appliances that she knew where hidden inside the desk had been left on by accident.

Most of all his glasses were off, put away to a sensible distance where he could grab them the moment he woke up but there was also little danger of them falling off to the floor.

Yuzu should really leave, right now, she had walked into a moment of him that no one except for a few selected were allowed to see and if she didn’t feel like invading his privacy before it definitely felt like it now.

But she didn’t, instead she scooted closer... his sleeping position could barely be called such, the chair had been adjusted but even then his arms were still locked on his chest and his legs were crossed... no wonder she thought he was awake before, still... he looked strangely peaceful and younger when asleep, without his glasses.

Her hand went to grab them.

‘I really shouldn’t do this... this is beyond inappropriate and if he happens to wake up I’m in for a world of shame...’

But it was too late.

Yuzu was already pushing his glasses onto herself, a little surprised that they fit a little tight on her, but his face was leaner and her forehead was slightly wider than his, it made sense. She also felt like giggling to herself at seeing everything around her blurry and moving a little at the same time.

Was this how the world looked to Reiji in the time he took to wake up and put them on? When he washed his face? Or when he took a shower...

‘Uh-oh, bad train of thought, bad train of thought...’ The nervous giggle left her before she noticed it and the sound echoed in the office.

Oh no...

In the three seconds that took her to realize the how screwed she was, she heard the creak of someone lifting up, two quick steps, a hand had snapped on her elbow and she had been forced to turn to face her doom.

Which right now looked blurry and fuzzy at the borders. It didn’t help that both the glasses and the sudden jerk had made her feel dizzy.

Without being let go she felt the glasses being taken off forcefully from her leaving a few loose strands of hair on her face then she was staring at the unhappy face of Reiji Akaba.

...Maybe it wasn’t unhappy, she had to blink a couple times before being able to focus her eyes again.

Nope, definitely unhappy. Any flutter on her belly at the full sight of him without his glasses was stomped down because of the perfectly visible glare and frown directed at her... He let go of her arm and she watched as he pulled a tissue and cleaned his glasses before pushing them up his nose as usual.

She imagined herself snapping at him for that, it wasn’t like her hands or face were dirty anyway, the words at least were imaginary but the snort she made was not.

“What are you doing here Hiragi Yuzu?” His voice was even and his volume neutral as usual, Yuzu almost envied him for pulling that in any given situation.

“I...” She was backed into a corner, and when that happened she usually had no other way out, honesty was the best route. “I came here to talk.”

Yuzu could count with one hand the number of times she’d seen Reiji give an exasperated sigh, now that number went up by one.

“You misunderstand, I do not mean what you came here for,” He snapped his fingers and the night sky appeared in front of her eyes, the lights of the place dimmed out even more in response. “I meant what are you doing inside my office at such hours and without my authorization?”

In a normal situation she may have been embarrassed for this, but as he said all of this he was looking sideways to the city landscape, and the way even his body seemed committed to shut her out

“Someone let the door open.” She said, hiding the card deep in her pockets.

Once again, no answer, not even the smallest hint that he has listened to her except for almost imperceptible drop of his shoulders, he was tired she realized and she needed to remove the pang of guilt before taking a step towards him.

“So… can we talk?” She asked looking up at him, not as much as a year ago – thank you growth spurts – but he was still taller than her, then she saw it… The shift of a single leg, meaning to retreat on par with her approaching, but that would have been obvious and lacked on subtlety, it was not his style.

“The only people who have full access to this office are Nakajima and my mother,” He said, still not looking at her and ignoring her question, Yuzu felt her eyebrow twitch at this. “Are you implying that they are careless enough to not lock the door behind them?”

“Maybe it was you.” The words came out of her almost too fast, a mistake that he would not believe, but it accomplished what she wanted: he was staring at her. “I mean if you were tired enough to fell asleep on your desk, anything is possible.”

More like glaring, but still, point for her.

“I am certain that I have never forgotten such thing.” Usually people got louder the more upset they got, so of course Reiji’s voice actually dropped now.

Two could play the same game, she could continue throwing shade at him to rile him up and then she when he would grow the most agitated she would simply storm out of the office leaving him to deal with whatever feelings she provoked in him.

The thing was… she didn’t want to, she too was tired of… whatever this was supposed to be.

“Really? You seem pretty forgetful for me lately, skipping on my birthday, leaving my texts on read, pretending not to remember it was my turn to babysit Reira…” She could go on and maybe she could feel better, only these couple admissions had already made her feel lighter but the point of this was not to vent out or making him feel guilty. “…Why don’t you ever talk to me anymore Reiji?”

There, she said it.

And somehow that sentence had managed to make the air around them grow heavier, he had gone back to look into a random point and he was stiff as a board, other than that he had no other reaction but that just proved he knew what she meant. Yuzu took another step forward.

“So you figured.” This time his leg did retreat.

“For a teen genius… sometimes you are very dumb you know?” The laughter that left her was not one of happiness or relief it was hollow. “What happened Akaba Reiji? I thought… especially after that time you invited us to the beach, I thought thing were going great...” More than great really, she thought remembering their talk at night. “And now you’re committed to avoiding me and can’t even acknowledge me, even when I’m standing in front of you.”

Reiji’s only response was a long sigh while he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Do you honestly find me that much of a pain in the a- butt?” Damn her dad’s voice reminding her of good manners.

“You’ve got it all wrong.” He has walked again to his desk and opened a screen. “I’m sure Nakajima is freaking out about his missing card so I suggest you give it back.”

The way his voice went back to sound so, so distant only pissed her off.

“Well, I wouldn’t have recurred to that if you had bothered to tell me what’s wrong from the beginning!” She no longer cared that her yelling would be heard all over the place.

“…As if you don’t know.” It was spoken in such a low and spiteful hiss that Yuzu was speechless until he gave her that look, his eyes flashing, the suppressed sigh and his knuckles white from tightening.

“Yes! I think I know!” How she wished there was something in the desk to throw at him. “Well… Damn you!! But I guess I’m out of line right?! It was your gift that brought us all the way here! You and your stupid cards! And your stupid, stupid inability to say what you mean!” His eyes still didn’t rise to meet hers. “Stop looking at that screen! You see? You don’t have the guts to face me! You’re afraid of me! Of her! Of looking at my face! But then again maybe that’s what you like about it right? You make it look like you’re afraid to cross some line between us… but actually that’s what has you worked up right? You’re nothing but a pervert.”

There were moments in her life where Yuzu could in all honesty say that she had put her foot in her mouth and this was one of them. The moment the words were said, she knew she'd crossed the vague, indistinct line between them that was getting harder to see every day.

She didn't quite expect the sudden anger though.

There was a rage in his eyes that he reserved for his enemies, and which she'd never gotten directed at her. Yuzu had not noticed herself stepping closer and closer to him during her rant until she saw that look and she attempted to back out only to have the back of her knees hitting a hard edge.

Reiji had caught her by the shoulders and guide her to stand in between him and the desk.

"Don't you dare say things like that," he said, in the calmest voice she heard. He didn't need to raise his voice at all to get his venom across. "You have no idea what I feel or what I’ve been through."

Yuzu really ought to shut up now, wait until he released her and be on her merry way.

‘Why backing out now? Isn’t this what you wanted?’

Yes it was.

“If I don’t know is only because you won’t tell me.” she said, managing to sound braver than she felt in the face of his anger, but in some way she liked it. She liked how controlled he was, even when he was as angry as this, so different of how she dealt with her own anger.

“You need to leave now.” More than ever she wanted to see him lose that amazing hold he seemed to have on his control.

“We have not finished talking.”

She saw the way his eyes moved over her face and stopped on her lips, and the way his fingers lowered from her shoulders to her arms when she licked them dry. She could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves, only this time he seemed so much closer to the limit.

"Did you really come here to talk, Yuzu?” And at this point a small breeze might make him lose it. “You took way too many bothers just to ‘talk’…”  Then, all of the sudden, his hands eased up on her much to her dismay. "However I'm not going to do something that you'll regret later and hate me for.”

"I'll hate you more if you keep on ignoring me, it's way too late to try and pretend everything's ok between us when obviously it’s not.” Despite her biting words, he was pulling away, stepping back… regaining control.

She could only think of one thing to get him back: grab his scarf and place her lips on the corner of his mouth.

Could this be called a kiss? His eyes closed and this close she realized the deep breath he took before talking again, her own belly was busy doing flip-flops.

"There's still time to preserve integrity and decorum," he said, his voice husky and his hands hung stiff at his sides, she could almost see the ache in them.

“I think this is what people call 'past the point of no return'." Still no answer and she made to motion to get closer. "If it means you’ll stop giving me these cold shoulder all the time, then you can screw decorum for all I care and do the improper thing! Now!"

His mouth was on hers faster than she could react; Yuzu staggered in shock, her hands warily against his shoulders. There was a kind of urgency about this rolling into one hard, clumsy kiss.

It was not one of those perfect, passionate kisses that you got in movies. But Yuzu didn't care. Her own urgency to have him close and take everything he was finally offering was too strong.

Then it was over.

He drew back, looking around the room and he adjusted his glasses, lopsided from the sudden movement, looking almost shy while doing it.  but even now she was very aware of the hold if his hand on her waist and he didn’t object to her hands gripping his shoulders

Now that she thought about it, stepping away from that kiss, from her company altogether had probably hurt him more than it had hurt her.

"Why didn't you say anything?" She whispered, something that had been coiled unconscionably tight inside her chest was finally loosening up.  

Reiji didn't answer,

"How long?" She asked burrowing her nose against his chest.

“I’m uncertain of the exact moment, but I can say when it started to bother me…” If this wasn’t Reiji she might be offended by the use of the word bother, such an awkward person he was underneath all the layers, “…Your Pro Duelist celebration party.”

She almost felt herself leap in shock, instead she just slapped his shoulder, "But… that was almost year ago!"

“I’m highly aware.” She felt him sigh against her hair.

Yuzu tried to summon some understanding, failing miserably, she couldn’t imagine coming to terms with any feeling, even the most insignificant that long.

“I simply… noticed you in a different light on that day." There was something in his voice that had changed. He sounded almost relieved to be getting it off his chest. "When you entered the Championship I had no doubt that you would pass; I knew you would pass… but I suppose it still surprised me. I didn't fully appreciate how far you had come until I saw your name down in the Pro Leagues registry right next to mine, and…”

She swallowed before lifting her eyes to his face again. “…Yes?”

 “And you were beautiful that day.” For a moment, Yuzu thought something might burst out of her chest. “When you smiled, everyone wanted to smile."

Yuzu didn’t protest when he finally motioned to step away from her, after such a confession she couldn’t be, except…

“Why didn't you say?” It was impossible to keep a teeny bit of exasperation of her voice.

“I was wholly unprepared to deal with these feelings; I don’t believe I was even aware of their nature of them until that night at the beach…” He sat on his chair again which he swiveled to face her and for a moment Yuzu felt a bit out of place with him looking up at her. “…And even then I had rationalized it was some effect of the stress and thought that maybe if I kept my distance the infatuation would fade.”

There, he admitted it, he was intentionally avoiding her and he was… infatuated with her, it was silly to feel embarrassed now but putting into words really did gave more weight to this.

“And since I believed any chance of reciprocation was highly unlikely I did not wish to make you feel uncomfortable.”

It was not an excuse, she thought immediately… but this was Reiji, so it was an explanation alright.

Then she felt his fingers attempting to intertwine with hers but in their current positions – him leaning back on his chair and her half-sitting on his desk still. – it was impossible.

Until he leaned forward of course, her hand felt tiny inside his.

“You have nice hands.” She blurted out without much thinking. “Um… so is this gonna be a thing? You and I?”

“Perhaps…” He said, his hand squeezing hers lightly. “I don’t do hand-holding or kissing in public and to be quite honest I’m unsure of labels such as boyfriend or girlfriend… You won’t get any shortcuts in your career, if you want to be an elite duelist you will have to work as hard as everyone else, the only thing you will get out of me in that regard is a recommendation which I wouldn’t do in the first place if I was not certain of your ability.

Yuzu felt her head tilt at his sudden, and felt her lips tug his display of negotiation skills even at such situations, always the businessman.

“I wouldn’t want you to anyway, what kind of self-respecting duelist would I be if I that was the case?” She started. “But if we’re setting ground rules… you have to take me out on a date at least once per week, even if it’s just for a coffee or ice cream, I’m not picky about food, and you have to let me pay every once one a while, I don’t want anyone thinking I’m mooching off you or something.” He seemed amused at this last condition. “My favorite flowers are tulips in case you do something to anger me again, but personally you can’t go wrong with an honest apology, don’t ever buy me chocolates or jewelry please.” He had this look on his face, when he was cataloguing information for later, and Yuzu couldn’t help but giggle at it and almost on cue she heard a chuckle from him.

“Those seem agreeable conditions, do you agree to mine?” He was eyeing her up again.

“Yes.” She surprised herself with how this felt so easy and natural.

“Does this,” He glanced at their stir joined hands. “counts as a binding seal?”

Saying she was surprised by his wit would be an understatement. “I’d rather to seal it with another kiss?” But he seemed more taken aback by hers.

He recovered quicker though.

“I have no objections.”

[darkfromday]

no need (9)

Prompt: Day 3 - Winter

Pairing: Amethystshipping (Kurosaki Ruri/Akaba Reiji)

I wish I had time to write 2482758459 more fics for these two.

“Would you prefer lavender or lilac, miss?”

“Um,” Ruri offered eloquently. What’s really the difference? “Bring me both, please.”

The saleswoman hurried back to the scarf section, dollar signs in her eyes.

Back in front of the fitting room mirror, Ruri held up scarves to her neck and earrings that were aquamarine, jade and orchid, and sighed.

None of them seems right.

She'd been scarf-shopping for an hour. Not for herself--her own boxed-up scarf, carnation pink, sat at her feet waiting impatiently for her to finish. No, Ruri wanted to buy her fiancé a new neck ornament, but imagining Reiji in any color that wasn't fire-engine red was sending up big negatives in her brain.

"Not that he wouldn't look good," she murmured to herself; he had a disgusting habit of looking good in everything. "But... champagne? Cerulean? Sunflower? Ugh! Maybe this is why he sticks to ordinary colors..."

The saleswoman hustled back, running over a few casual shoppers in her wake. (It looks like she chipped a nail, Ruri thought uncharitably.) "Here you are, miss--the large scarves in both shades."

"Thank you." She took them and tossed each around her neck in turn, eliciting some gasps from her lingering audience. Still, these didn't seem quite right, either.

"Are you having trouble deciding, dear? I assure you, both of these would go well with your lovely hair."

"You're very kind," Ruri said patiently, pushing that hair off her neck, "but I'm not looking at any more scarves for myself."

"She's quite right. They are meant for me."

Ruri nearly tripped on her own dress as she whirled around. For her part, the saleswoman started stammering immediately.

"Oh my--Akaba Reiji-san, what an honor! Is there any way--anything I can help you with--"

He held up a hand, not halting his stride until he was standing confidently next to Ruri. "That won't be necessary. I came here solely to see my fiancée."

"Fian--"

Ruri thought the woman would faint. Instead she managed to get it together and dismiss herself, though not without staring at Reiji's pockets as though she could see more of his limitless credit cards with her x-ray vision.

It was a relief to see the back of her. But--

"I didn't expect you," Ruri chuckles, kissing her lover briefly as he put one arm around her hip. "Silly me, but this was supposed to be a surprise."

Reiji led her toward the exit doors, retrieving the one scarf she had purchased earlier with one of his cards. He lifted one eyebrow as they went. "Reira told me where you'd gone."

"That little fibber! He promised not to tell!"

The CEO laughed.

They walked briskly to his car, stopping only briefly to unwind from one another and shiver before getting in on their respective sides. Reiji drove, while Ruri unboxed and admired her new adornment.

"It's beautiful--matches your eyes."

She looked over at him. "I could have gotten you a violet one. Why didn't you let me?"

"I vastly prefer your intangible gifts to me," Reiji said casually.

"Reiji."

He sighed. "You are kind, considerate and sensitive, and I wished not to harm any of those sensibilities or traits by telling you that I only wear the one scarf because it was Reira's first homemade present for me."

Ruri blinked--then she blushed, as the pieces finally came together. "Oh... Reiji, I didn't know... that's so sweet. I didn't mean to replace something so wonderful."

"Yes, I know. That is why I came to get you. Well--that, and..."

He gestured to the backseat, and she turned to look, laughing at herself once she had. The coat she'd neglected to take out into the winter storm was folded neatly there, waiting for her. Seeing it made her feel nearly as warm as he did.

"...I couldn't have you freezing to death out here before you found my real Christmas present next week."

[darkfromday]

break time (12)

Prompt: Day 4 - Sleep

Pairing: Orchestrashipping (Yuuya/Reiji/Yuzu)

Holy shit, y’all. I’ve waited my entire life to post this. No one can see it but the cameras but I’m squealing and bubbling. It’s not the best orchestrashipping tribute, but at least I finally got to the fourth prompt and one of the first scenes I ever imagined for rare pair week?

*shrug* Onward!

(1) missed message from tomato_clown: hey no offense or anything babe but where the hell are u

Reiji sees this text the minute his quarterly profits meeting ends. The buzz has worried him for a good while, and now that he actually sees the text behind it he is... no less confused. Has something happened and Yuuya is in the middle of it? Or has he forgotten to do something important, meaning Yuuya actually is upset with him?

Just as he's typing out his response, another message buzzes in, this time from mellowdiva: Reiji, if you got any dumbass panicky-sounding messages from Yuuya, ignore them. Told him you were in a long meeting today but he heard none of it.

Relaxing some, he chuckles, leaving the office and lingering in the elevator without pressing anything. He mentally flips a coin, then texts his girlfriend back before their boyfriend. 'Thank you Yuzu, your text came just in time. Does Yuuya need anything?'

mellowdiva: Just you, like I do. Hurry home.

Reiji smirks, and hits "1F". As he descends, he shrugs off his suit coat, revealing the standard gray hoodie he still wears underneath, and folds the coat over the arm not holding his phone.

He texts Yuuya next: 'Heading home now. Don't worry.'

The Entertainment duelist doesn't respond until he's made it to his car and driver and settled in for the ride to his apartment. Since Reiji's officially off and away from work, Yuuya's bouncy message tone chirps from his pocket.

tomato_clown: sorry, just worried me when u were late. u work too hard.

Reiji knows he does. Consistent overtime, late night call-ins, weekend Skype meetings and reams on reams of paperwork... Akaba Leo's return was meant to alleviate his burdens, but so far it had done no such thing.

Still, he tries to be soothing in the way he's been trained to be by all his time dating a dork and a diva. That means sending memes that are gradually funnier the whole way across town.

Yuuya takes three showers, but he still feels like he's drenched with sweat instead of freshwater.

"Stop wasting our water," Yuzu scolds. "If you've had a bad day, stop anxious-texting your entire contacts list and talk about it."

"It's not that--" He flops down on the couch, talking to the ceiling instead of her. Today he won both challenge duels and preserved his place in the Pro League, bringing himself one step closer to eventually matching Reiji's record. It's not that he'd had a bad day today so much as he had one weeks ago that won't let him go.

Yuzu finishes drying the plates and puts popcorn in the microwave. Only then does she make it into the living room to join him on the sectional, sitting close enough to stroke his shoulder and change TV channels simultaneously. Her touch is one of two that helps him relax these days, and this time is no different.

"Dad and I... still haven't talked, since I moved in here. Since our fight."

Her pink eyebrows lift at the words, then beetle. "Uncle Yuushou's still upset with you for moving out?"

The fact that he'd been upset at all still grinds Yuuya's gears. His father left him and his mother for almost four years without any kind of warning beforehand, though he'd been given the chance to so warn. When he finally returned, smug as anyone who hadn't actually defeated his ideological enemy could be, he seemed to think that no apology was needed for upending the lives of his wife and son in the first place.

After all, Yuuya had learned to be courageous, right? And Yoko was always independent enough to manage, right?

It was the dumbest conclusion ever, because it all was so much more complicated than that. In those first few months of his father's return, Yuuya saw his mother jump at shadows, and keep her dissatisfaction with the lack of air-clearing to herself. But he couldn't so easily forget the years of being bullied and tormented, ridiculed by people of all ages.

Yuuya had started staying over at Yuzu's more, and then at Reiji's as the older boy opened up and welcomed him. Inevitably Yuzu started wondering where the hell he went and tailed him to LDS. By the time Yuushou and Shuzou thought to tail her, the three of them had grown very, very comfortable with one another.

This had sparked the real flame of Yuuya's rebellion. Living with his childhood friend and a rich billionaire was the perfect, if most bizarre, solution to the alienation he felt in his own home. Even Yoko's crying and Yuushou's piercing accusations hadn't stopped Yuuya from packing and fleeing.

Except now he can't stop thinking about how he'd heard nothing from either of his parents since.

Yuzu is quiet as he finishes updating her on all the nothing he's heard since he moved out. She's moved from playing with the remote to playing with his fingers.

"You know I'd try and help, Yuuya, but... well, since I left home too I don't know if Uncle Yuushou would listen to me."

"I just want him to understand," Yuuya says. "I can't stay there and pretend everything's like it was. I won't."

"I know."

"But mostly I want to stop thinking about it. Like, we're supposed to be spoiling Reiji today and all I can think about is fighting with my parents..."

He trails off, pensive. The popcorn starts popping urgently and Yuzu gets up to retrieve it.

Eventually she picks the conversation back up. "The day's not over yet. We still have time to have fun before the weekend. So relax, okay? Reiji and I are with you and we're not going anywhere."

Then she brings the popcorn over with herself, cuddling with him while still leaving room for one more. Yuuya basks in her close proximity and uses it to gradually adjust his mood, until he receives a new message from el_rei that makes him snort with laughter.

"What is it?"

"Our boyfriend is shitposting again."

"Ugh," Yuzu groans. "Yuuya, I've told you before to tell him to delete his account and stop texting us memes. Those things can't be called shitposts when they're actually shitty."

"Hey, I like his jokes!"

"You like everything he's ever done--"

"Nuh-uh, I didn't like him all that much when he was grumpy and wanted to fight and boss everyone around all the time."

"When he had the stick up his ass, you mean? You especially liked him then."

"No I--!"

Yuuya pauses. Actually thinks back. Blushes. "...okay, maybe I did..."

Yuzu always knows when Reiji has made it home, whether she's heard the purr of his driver's car or recognized his distinctive footsteps on the stairs to their landing. But she also knows that their CEO likes to feel in control of his own actions and how others perceive them, so she always allows him to 'surprise' them and knock.

She's still standing just inside when he knocks today, so she's fast enough to open the door and pull him in before he can even pull his knuckles back from the wood.

"Welcome to your night off."

Reiji smiles. His suit coat's already off, but he takes the time to hang it up by the door before taking one of her hands in his, holding it gently.

"How was your audition, Yuzu?"

Oh, that. She shrugs, having mostly put it out of her mind the minute she got here. "I did well, but Mikiyo was there auditioning as well, so..."

"So you'll get it," he replies encouragingly. Then he smirks. "I could call in a favor."

"You'll do no such thing."

Yuuya calls from the living room just then: "Yuzu! Did Reiji make it in?"

Reiji takes the liberty of responding himself, moving into the main part of their tiny space to greet their third. Yuzu, still holding his hand, feels a gentle tug and then follows him. Only when they arrive does she let go so they can wind around Yuuya, and so she can tease him.

"Yep. I was keeping him all to myself."

"You can't nap in the hallway, there's no room--"

Reiji kisses Yuuya, cutting his protests short. Yuzu nods approvingly, because yeah, I should've thought of that. Kissing is the best way to shut him up.

"You should sleep," their rich rent-payer says when he's done making Yuuya quit frowning and ruminating. "All your texts today made you sound drunk."

Yuzu snorts as Yuuya yelps indignantly and her two boys go for each other's throats harder than they have since last week's lie-in. It's playful though, so it's all good.

About a month ago she and Yuuya started dragging Reiji out of his leech-like CEO life and making him come home for naps and bad movies once a week, close to the weekend. Their most-stressed-by-far partner is still a bit stiff, but Yuzu thinks he's come a long way.

Like now--he's not afraid to touch them, kiss them or get close to them. As they turn on Jupiter Ascending, he even rests his head near their shoulders and then their laps, not bothering yet to bring the details of his long day into their space. There will be time enough for that later.

This life was not what Yuzu anticipated the day she watched Strong Ishijima try and bully her best friend to draw out his father, but she has learned to be grateful for the hand of fate. Though the war took a lot out of her (out of all of them), and she has to rest a lot more now, she enjoys taking life a day at a time with her bickering boys.

Plus, Yuzu's never slept so well in her whole life as she does with them now.