Guard Dog Re-Edits, Christmas
Still working on the edits for part three. And since I'm running around for the next week on a road trip and unsure of net access, a new scene! Merry Christmas Season or what ever you may celebrate! Bah Humbug!
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"Yo, Yuugi!" The cheerful ringing of the shop's bell accompanied Jounouchi's gleeful shout, forestalling the usual welcoming shout. Yuugi poked his head out of the back room with a grin as he spotted his blond friend brushing some snow off his long black coat.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi paused as he saw what the blond was carrying. "You've got a very big package."
"Thanks, Yuugi." Jounouchi drawled back with a broad grin and a saucy wink. Yuugi fought a blush as he smiled back. "Hold the door, wouldja?" Jounouchi requested, motioning to the storeroom door with a jerk of his head as he waved to 'Jiichan. 'Jiichan shook his head at Jounouchi's antics, going back to his newspaper Jounouchi passed, Yuugi holding the back door open for him.
"What's this for?" Yuugi questioned, poking the ribbon that was wrapped around the brightly wrapped box as Jounouchi passed by. More appropriately, -who- was it for? It wasn't his birthday.
"Merry Christmas!" Jounouchi declared, setting the box down on a mostly cleared table. Yuugi blinked, running the dates through his head and realised that Jounouchi was correct... it was Christmas Eve. Okachan had picked up the Christmas Cake earlier that day after 'Jiichan had scolded her for not having picked it up already.
He'd forgotten what day it was in the Christmas and New Year's rush to buy gifts and games for the respective holidays. And it wasn't like Christmas Eve was a holiday he looked forward to anyway, he didn't have a girlfriend to parade around the streets with to be all romantic with.
"Open it!" Jounouchi cheered, nudging the box closer to him with childish enthusiasm.
"Jounouchi-kun..." Yuugi eyed the box with a touch of trepidation. "You're not going to tell me that it's from Santa, are you?" He asked suspiciously.
"Of course not." The blond made a mock-serious face at him as his coat swished back and forth from the force of the tail wagging. "Children who don't believe in Santa don't get presents from him. This one's from me!"
Yuugi raised an eyebrow at his best friend, then stepped forward. He did want to know what was inside of it... With a small grin, he started unwrapping the present, neatly undoing all the tape and un-creasing the folds, like he was uncovering a rare artefact.
"Yuu~gi!!!" Jounouchi practically danced at him and Yuugi finally gave in to his more immature urges and ripped off the paper, tossing handfuls up into the air in a frenzied multi-coloured cloud of paper scraps. Jounouchi whooped and cheered him on as he did so, grabbing handfuls of the wrapping paper out of the air and tossing into the air again.
"You're helping me pick those up later." Yuugi informed Jounouchi, who gave him unrepentant look back. He paused as got to the white box, partly to savour the anticipation of the unknown, partly to draw out the suspense and annoy Jounouchi. Then Yuugi screwed his courage up and pulled off the white lid of the box.
Inside, wrapped in tissue, was a coat. It was completely black, with large cord and leather fasteners and wood toggles. "Put it on!" Jounouchi demanded, as Yuugi pulled it out of the box, the fabric unfurling almost to the ground. "I want to make sure it fits!"
Yuugi nodded, petting the fabric for a moment and admiring the softness of it before letting Jounouchi assist him into the coat. "It's wool." Jounouchi explained as he settled the coat around Yuugi's shoulders, the hem stopping just below Yuugi's knees. "I wanted something durable that would be warm and comfortable to wear."
Yuugi caught the note of concern in Jounouchi's voice as the blond fiddled with the hood of the jacket until it lay straight. It wasn't Yuugi's height that worried Jounouchi, but how easily Yuugi tended to get cold in the winter time. He just couldn't seem to keep any fat on his body, which meant he froze in even the milder temperatures. He didn't go out in the wintertime because of this, although he did enjoy the occasional snowball fight.
"I can't accept this, Jounouchi-kun." Yuugi said quietly, touching the wood toggles up near his throat. This was obviously not a off the rack store bought coat. Or at least not from any store Yuugi could have even dreamt of affording. "This must have cost a fortune."
"You can and you will." Jounouchi said stubbornly back at him. "What good is getting a stable paycheque if I can't use it on my friends? Besides, I'm not here to keep you warm at night anymore."
Yuugi blushed. When Jounouchi had been living with them, they had used to share the bed in the winter. Jounouchi made an excellent space heater. "Yes, but..." He looked down. "This must have set you back a lot..."
To his surprise, Jounouchi laughed and patted Yuugi's head. "Don't worry about that! Trust me, this didn't set me back at all."
"Huh?"
Jounouchi shrugged. "Kaiba pays well." He said simply. "I'll give Ol' Blue Eyes that much."
Yuugi fiddled with the jacket cuff. Come to think about it, he didn't know how much Kaiba paid Jounouchi.
"Oh, that reminds me." Jounouchi reached into his own long flared coat, and pulled out a pair of dark blue smooth leather gloves. "This is from Mokuba. He says to say that it's from both him and his brother, and Kaiba didn't argue, so smile and nod, okay?"
"Okay?" Yuugi ventured as Jounouchi handed them to Yuugi. Yuugi felt them for a moment before pulling them on. To his surprise, they fit well. Usually gloves were too large to fit him well.
"Kaiba uses these as well, they're warm, but the leather has enough grip to hold the cards in a duel, so your hands don't freeze if you're duelling in the snow." Jounouchi gave him a slightly crooked grin. With their life, they had to consider that when buying clothing because chances were that they -would- end up duelling in the freezing cold.
Then Jounouchi pulled out a long swath of dark midnight blue fabric and draped around Yuugi's neck with a grin. It was soft and fuzzy, made out of some sort of fine hair or fur. "And one last thing..." A pair of ear-muffs were pulled out of a pocket and put on Yuugi's head, his long spiky hair practically swallowing the band.
"Jounouchi-kun..." Yuugi stared at himself in amazement. He couldn't accept this!
"Don't argue." Jounouchi scolded, waving his own scarf, dark red, the colour of blood, or the eyes of Jounouchi's Red Eyes Black Dragon, at him. "We all got them from Mokuba. Kaiba's is white and Mokuba got eye-gouging orange for himself. And he was glad for the excuse. Kid's got an obsession with dressing people or something."
"I'll have to think of something appropriate to thank him with." Yuugi murmured instead. Jounouchi gave him a broad grin, patting his head.
"Good. And now that you're dressed for it, you can help me get the rest of the stuff off the motorcycle."
"The REST?!" Yuugi squeaked.
Jounouchi laughed as he steered Yuugi out to the front of the store. "It's my New Year's gifts to your family. Nothing as extravagant, I promise."
"Good." Yuugi squared his jaw as they walked back out, ignoring 'Jiichan's amused looks. "Spend your paycheque on yourself too!"
"Oh, trust me." Jounouchi's voice took on a pleased smug rumble that made Yuugi do a double take. "I am."
Okay... That was good. Right? He shouldn't worry about what kind of trouble Jounouchi was getting himself into... Right?
He pulled the jacket closer around him as they stepped outside, Yuugi's boots sinking into the snow. Jounouchi didn't seem to notice as he wandered over to a large sleek dark blue motorcycle parked on the side. Yuugi might have wondered why Jounouchi wasn't worried about it being stolen except for the 'KC' logos on the sides. Kaiba's name went far in Domino City.
"The company car!" Jounouchi declared gleefully, opening up one of the saddlebags on the back and pulling out a bag. One thing Kaiba and Jounouchi definitely had in common, the love of going fast. "Here ya go."
Yuugi glanced into the bag, to find his curiosity blocked by the presence of more brightly coloured paper. Dangit, he'd have to wait until the New Years before finding out what was in there. Jounouchi laughed as he pulled a second bag out of the other saddlebag. "Sweaters for your Mom and 'Jiichan, warm socks for you."
"I think I love you." Yuugi breathed. One never had enough warm socks. They always either got lost in the wash or wore out. Although sometimes he suspected that most of the ones that went missing were because 'Jiichan was stealing them.
And he was noticing a definite trend in the gifts. Jounouchi may not have been around as much as he had been in the past, but he was still making sure that he had Yuugi's back safe and protected. Even if it was just from the elements.
Jounouchi just grinned at him, stomping through the snow back to the shop. Yuugi followed, a grin on his own face. Jounouchi held the door open for him as they stepped inside the warmth of the shop, the bell ringing as they stomped the snow off their boots.
"Ahem." 'Jiichan cleared his throat pointedly as they paused in the doorway, giving them a significant look then glancing up.
"'Jiichan!" Yuugi gasped as he realised that his grandfather had put a sprig of holly and mistletoe over the doorway.
'Jiichan just smiled and shrugged, his expression too innocent for the lecherous old man. "Never know when you're going to get lucky."
Jounouchi laughed. "Unfortunately for Yuugi, I'm not a pretty girl." He said with a smile, before leaning over and giving Yuugi a giant bear hug. Yuugi giggled trying to hug his best friend back and found himself tangled up in coats, limbs and bags.
Then he was released, Jounouchi handing the bags he was holding to Yuugi. "I've gotta head back to work." Jounouchi announced, handing Yuugi the bags he was carrying. "Call me about what you're doing on New Years! Later!" And with another jingle of the bell on the door, Jounouchi was gone.
"See?" 'Jiichan said smugly as Yuugi stared at the bags in a sort of dazed shock. "You never know when you're going to get lucky."
Yuugi shrugged back, shifting the bags around. Depending on your definition of lucky.
Hugs were nice, but he would have preferred to have gotten a kiss from Jounouchi instead...
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Christmas in Japan
And Christmas Cake is yummy. ^___^
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"Yo, Yuugi!" The cheerful ringing of the shop's bell accompanied Jounouchi's gleeful shout, forestalling the usual welcoming shout. Yuugi poked his head out of the back room with a grin as he spotted his blond friend brushing some snow off his long black coat.
"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi paused as he saw what the blond was carrying. "You've got a very big package."
"Thanks, Yuugi." Jounouchi drawled back with a broad grin and a saucy wink. Yuugi fought a blush as he smiled back. "Hold the door, wouldja?" Jounouchi requested, motioning to the storeroom door with a jerk of his head as he waved to 'Jiichan. 'Jiichan shook his head at Jounouchi's antics, going back to his newspaper Jounouchi passed, Yuugi holding the back door open for him.
"What's this for?" Yuugi questioned, poking the ribbon that was wrapped around the brightly wrapped box as Jounouchi passed by. More appropriately, -who- was it for? It wasn't his birthday.
"Merry Christmas!" Jounouchi declared, setting the box down on a mostly cleared table. Yuugi blinked, running the dates through his head and realised that Jounouchi was correct... it was Christmas Eve. Okachan had picked up the Christmas Cake earlier that day after 'Jiichan had scolded her for not having picked it up already.
He'd forgotten what day it was in the Christmas and New Year's rush to buy gifts and games for the respective holidays. And it wasn't like Christmas Eve was a holiday he looked forward to anyway, he didn't have a girlfriend to parade around the streets with to be all romantic with.
"Open it!" Jounouchi cheered, nudging the box closer to him with childish enthusiasm.
"Jounouchi-kun..." Yuugi eyed the box with a touch of trepidation. "You're not going to tell me that it's from Santa, are you?" He asked suspiciously.
"Of course not." The blond made a mock-serious face at him as his coat swished back and forth from the force of the tail wagging. "Children who don't believe in Santa don't get presents from him. This one's from me!"
Yuugi raised an eyebrow at his best friend, then stepped forward. He did want to know what was inside of it... With a small grin, he started unwrapping the present, neatly undoing all the tape and un-creasing the folds, like he was uncovering a rare artefact.
"Yuu~gi!!!" Jounouchi practically danced at him and Yuugi finally gave in to his more immature urges and ripped off the paper, tossing handfuls up into the air in a frenzied multi-coloured cloud of paper scraps. Jounouchi whooped and cheered him on as he did so, grabbing handfuls of the wrapping paper out of the air and tossing into the air again.
"You're helping me pick those up later." Yuugi informed Jounouchi, who gave him unrepentant look back. He paused as got to the white box, partly to savour the anticipation of the unknown, partly to draw out the suspense and annoy Jounouchi. Then Yuugi screwed his courage up and pulled off the white lid of the box.
Inside, wrapped in tissue, was a coat. It was completely black, with large cord and leather fasteners and wood toggles. "Put it on!" Jounouchi demanded, as Yuugi pulled it out of the box, the fabric unfurling almost to the ground. "I want to make sure it fits!"
Yuugi nodded, petting the fabric for a moment and admiring the softness of it before letting Jounouchi assist him into the coat. "It's wool." Jounouchi explained as he settled the coat around Yuugi's shoulders, the hem stopping just below Yuugi's knees. "I wanted something durable that would be warm and comfortable to wear."
Yuugi caught the note of concern in Jounouchi's voice as the blond fiddled with the hood of the jacket until it lay straight. It wasn't Yuugi's height that worried Jounouchi, but how easily Yuugi tended to get cold in the winter time. He just couldn't seem to keep any fat on his body, which meant he froze in even the milder temperatures. He didn't go out in the wintertime because of this, although he did enjoy the occasional snowball fight.
"I can't accept this, Jounouchi-kun." Yuugi said quietly, touching the wood toggles up near his throat. This was obviously not a off the rack store bought coat. Or at least not from any store Yuugi could have even dreamt of affording. "This must have cost a fortune."
"You can and you will." Jounouchi said stubbornly back at him. "What good is getting a stable paycheque if I can't use it on my friends? Besides, I'm not here to keep you warm at night anymore."
Yuugi blushed. When Jounouchi had been living with them, they had used to share the bed in the winter. Jounouchi made an excellent space heater. "Yes, but..." He looked down. "This must have set you back a lot..."
To his surprise, Jounouchi laughed and patted Yuugi's head. "Don't worry about that! Trust me, this didn't set me back at all."
"Huh?"
Jounouchi shrugged. "Kaiba pays well." He said simply. "I'll give Ol' Blue Eyes that much."
Yuugi fiddled with the jacket cuff. Come to think about it, he didn't know how much Kaiba paid Jounouchi.
"Oh, that reminds me." Jounouchi reached into his own long flared coat, and pulled out a pair of dark blue smooth leather gloves. "This is from Mokuba. He says to say that it's from both him and his brother, and Kaiba didn't argue, so smile and nod, okay?"
"Okay?" Yuugi ventured as Jounouchi handed them to Yuugi. Yuugi felt them for a moment before pulling them on. To his surprise, they fit well. Usually gloves were too large to fit him well.
"Kaiba uses these as well, they're warm, but the leather has enough grip to hold the cards in a duel, so your hands don't freeze if you're duelling in the snow." Jounouchi gave him a slightly crooked grin. With their life, they had to consider that when buying clothing because chances were that they -would- end up duelling in the freezing cold.
Then Jounouchi pulled out a long swath of dark midnight blue fabric and draped around Yuugi's neck with a grin. It was soft and fuzzy, made out of some sort of fine hair or fur. "And one last thing..." A pair of ear-muffs were pulled out of a pocket and put on Yuugi's head, his long spiky hair practically swallowing the band.
"Jounouchi-kun..." Yuugi stared at himself in amazement. He couldn't accept this!
"Don't argue." Jounouchi scolded, waving his own scarf, dark red, the colour of blood, or the eyes of Jounouchi's Red Eyes Black Dragon, at him. "We all got them from Mokuba. Kaiba's is white and Mokuba got eye-gouging orange for himself. And he was glad for the excuse. Kid's got an obsession with dressing people or something."
"I'll have to think of something appropriate to thank him with." Yuugi murmured instead. Jounouchi gave him a broad grin, patting his head.
"Good. And now that you're dressed for it, you can help me get the rest of the stuff off the motorcycle."
"The REST?!" Yuugi squeaked.
Jounouchi laughed as he steered Yuugi out to the front of the store. "It's my New Year's gifts to your family. Nothing as extravagant, I promise."
"Good." Yuugi squared his jaw as they walked back out, ignoring 'Jiichan's amused looks. "Spend your paycheque on yourself too!"
"Oh, trust me." Jounouchi's voice took on a pleased smug rumble that made Yuugi do a double take. "I am."
Okay... That was good. Right? He shouldn't worry about what kind of trouble Jounouchi was getting himself into... Right?
He pulled the jacket closer around him as they stepped outside, Yuugi's boots sinking into the snow. Jounouchi didn't seem to notice as he wandered over to a large sleek dark blue motorcycle parked on the side. Yuugi might have wondered why Jounouchi wasn't worried about it being stolen except for the 'KC' logos on the sides. Kaiba's name went far in Domino City.
"The company car!" Jounouchi declared gleefully, opening up one of the saddlebags on the back and pulling out a bag. One thing Kaiba and Jounouchi definitely had in common, the love of going fast. "Here ya go."
Yuugi glanced into the bag, to find his curiosity blocked by the presence of more brightly coloured paper. Dangit, he'd have to wait until the New Years before finding out what was in there. Jounouchi laughed as he pulled a second bag out of the other saddlebag. "Sweaters for your Mom and 'Jiichan, warm socks for you."
"I think I love you." Yuugi breathed. One never had enough warm socks. They always either got lost in the wash or wore out. Although sometimes he suspected that most of the ones that went missing were because 'Jiichan was stealing them.
And he was noticing a definite trend in the gifts. Jounouchi may not have been around as much as he had been in the past, but he was still making sure that he had Yuugi's back safe and protected. Even if it was just from the elements.
Jounouchi just grinned at him, stomping through the snow back to the shop. Yuugi followed, a grin on his own face. Jounouchi held the door open for him as they stepped inside the warmth of the shop, the bell ringing as they stomped the snow off their boots.
"Ahem." 'Jiichan cleared his throat pointedly as they paused in the doorway, giving them a significant look then glancing up.
"'Jiichan!" Yuugi gasped as he realised that his grandfather had put a sprig of holly and mistletoe over the doorway.
'Jiichan just smiled and shrugged, his expression too innocent for the lecherous old man. "Never know when you're going to get lucky."
Jounouchi laughed. "Unfortunately for Yuugi, I'm not a pretty girl." He said with a smile, before leaning over and giving Yuugi a giant bear hug. Yuugi giggled trying to hug his best friend back and found himself tangled up in coats, limbs and bags.
Then he was released, Jounouchi handing the bags he was holding to Yuugi. "I've gotta head back to work." Jounouchi announced, handing Yuugi the bags he was carrying. "Call me about what you're doing on New Years! Later!" And with another jingle of the bell on the door, Jounouchi was gone.
"See?" 'Jiichan said smugly as Yuugi stared at the bags in a sort of dazed shock. "You never know when you're going to get lucky."
Yuugi shrugged back, shifting the bags around. Depending on your definition of lucky.
Hugs were nice, but he would have preferred to have gotten a kiss from Jounouchi instead...
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Christmas in Japan
And Christmas Cake is yummy. ^___^