[drabble] 14 Gift Drabbles
Even more old drabbles from the YGO Fanfiction Contest Forums, courtesy of this meme:
1) Give me a pairing
2) Give me an AU setting
3) I will write you a three-sentence (or more!) fic
Some of these are ancient! From April of last year...gotta dust off those cobwebs! The Foreignshipping might make a future YGO Drabble appearance if it's not dead? D:
Behind the cut, in order: Jadeshipping, Foreignshipping, Manipulashipping, Softshipping, Antagoshipping, Rewindshipping, Bayshipping, Puppetshipping, Exoticshipping, Stubbornshipping, Staffshipping, Sparkleshipping, Ettushipping, and Lingershipping.
As always, if you'd like a drabble, leave me a comment with a pairing and an AU/prompt!
Pairing: Jadeshipping (Otogi x Ishizu) | AU: Company Party
For: Doubleplusgoodduckspeaker
She had thought it odd at first when he showed up at the entrance to the party and took her elbow, leading her through the crowds and inside with a grin and a whispered greeting. She found it odder still when he fetched her a drink and offered to show her around, moving them through rooms and across several floors packed with dancing couples, remarking upon a few pieces of art - at which point she realized that he was purposefully avoiding someone, and using her as a shield - and instead steered him onto the dance floor, where he couldn't escape.
"You weren't invited to this party, were you?" she asked, and he scowled at being found out so easily, mumbling, "must've gotten lost in the mail."
Pairing: Leon x Rebecca (Foreignshipping) | AU: Fairy Tale
For: Doubleplusgoodduckspeaker
"Where did you get an axe?" Leon jumped back as the girl in red struck out at him again; her aim was poor, and he was grateful for the few extra seconds of respite when she embedded the axe deep in a tree and had to yank it loose. Really, was walking in the woods alone at sundown such a crime? "What's your problem?"
"Look at those wolf ears! You're clearly dangerous! And you were following me!" the girl shrieked, and advanced on him, switching the axe to one hand when her hood slipped over her eyes. "Damn this jacket!"
"There's only one path through the forest! And don't flatter yourself, I was visiting my older brother!" Leon didn't know why he was trying to explain himself to her, but then he remembered the snacks his brother had packed for him - Leon was his only visitor, and he always gave him way too much food. Was he trying to fatten him up or something? He hoped a peace offering would help diffuse the situation.
"Would you like some cookies?"
His eyebrow began to twitch at how easily the girl seemed to recover her sanity, storing the axe somewhere on her person, but as she snatched the cookie with one hand and wound her other through one of his arms, he gave up and resigned himself to whatever she had in mind. It couldn't be worse than being attacked out of the blue with an axe, right?
He was wrong, as she began to pet his ears, dragging cookie crumbs through his hair. "Hey, that cottage in the forest wouldn't happen to be yours, would it? Can I visit sometime? How about tomorrow?"
Leon began to understand why he and his brother typically kept to themselves. The rest of the world was crazy.
Pairing: Anzu x Marik (Manipulashipping) | AU: Wonderland
For: Princess-Kally
"Move down, move down!" Marik shouted, and Anzu slipped into the next seat over, folding her hands over the armrests. Marik had taken up her half-finished cup of tea and was sipping it contentedly - and for that she was glad, as he had a horrible propensity for overbrewing it, and no matter how much sugar she heaped into it, it still tasted bitter.
"Move down!" He shouted again, spinning the now-empty cup on the table. Anzu glanced to her right.
"There aren't any more chairs--"
Her complaint was lost on him as Marik settled himself in her lap, reaching for the teapot to pour himself a new cup. He leaned back and she watched the steam rise from over his shoulder.
"You better not spill that," she said.
Pairing: Ryou x Shizuka (Softshipping) | AU: Regency
For: Doubleplusgoodduckspeaker
"Shizuka, your hair!" Her best friend, Anzu, reached out to pull a loose curl over her shoulder, checking and adjusting the elaborate updo. "Your ribbon is gone! Did it fall out?"
"It couldn't have." She reached a hand back to check for herself, but Anzu snatched it away.
"You'll mess it up! The pins are still holding, so you should be fine. I wonder where it went?"
She didn't voice her opinions aloud, but it was far more likely someone had stolen it. There was a bit of a game going among some of the boldest among them, trading favors as small as pins to as large as gloves or fans, and she wondered who had ended up with her ribbon - who had been nimble enough to take it without her even noticing.
Was there anyone she had slighted? There were plenty who pursued her, but a singular moment stood out to her - there was a man, a newcomer, who had asked her for a dance when a second later her brother's friend had whisked her away with no mind to her protestations. And there he stood, off to the side, dressed in a sharply tailored suit of blue, his white hair standing out among the plainer colors of the others in his company. Her own expression deepened into a disapproving frown when she noticed her own hair ribbon binding his queue.
"I'll give it back to you for a dance," he told her.
"Keep it. I don't want it back anymore."
"I would still like a dance." He offered his hand, and when she settled her own over his he slipped something into her palm. She recognized a button, one of the beautifully decorative silver ones from his cuff. "If you won't let me return your ribbon I'd like you to have something of mine, in exchange."
He took her elbow instead, and with her fingers locked around the button, she had no choice but to slip it in a pocket; it would have been too rude to drop it on the floor.
Pairing: Seto Kaiba x Yami Bakura (Antagoshipping) | AU: Employees
For: Princess-Kally
He didn't know what he had expected when he agreed to work for Seto Kaiba - thankfully temporarily, although he figured getting paid to find chances to annoy Seto was a win-win situation - but he had thought it would be a bit more glamorous than this. Was a helicopter ride over the city too much to ask? Apparently, as Bakura set the coffee cup down on the desk with a clink. Half a day into the job, and he hadn't done anything more interesting.
"So," he drawled, "I'm your personal assistant...anything else I can do for you?"
Seto didn't even look up from his laptop, gesturing to a stack of paper on the edge of his desk. "Copy those."
Bakura sighed as he collected the files. Well, his current efforts were being wasted; Seto was more into his work than he thought, and to make any impact at all he would have to be about as subtle as a brick wall. He wanted to make things interesting...it was only his first day, but he didn't like to waste time. Seto should at least be able to appreciate that much.
Pairing: Yami Yugi x Priest Seto (Rewindshipping) | Prompt: Habits
For: Azhdarcho
A light knock on the door startled him, and when he turned Yugi - the other Yugi, the one who looked so much like his Pharaoh - was there, standing in the doorway. Where the others approached him awkwardly, unsure what to say, making odd attempts to console him for what had happened when he found himself among them in the present, this Yugi was different, and his approach was always direct.
"Am I interrupting you?" he asked.
"I was meditating." Further explanation was not required, but he found himself continuing regardless. "I used to take the afternoons around this time for personal meditation, before..." He paused. "I find continuing the practice helps."
"Join us," the other Yugi continued. "Friday evenings, Jonouchi has a movie night, and Honda brings the pizza...it's a fun tradition. We don't want you to be so alone."
He did not have to extend the invitation, and it was for that reason that Set found himself accepting. "Far be it from me to break your habits."
Pairing: Priest Seto x Noah (Bayshipping) | Prompt: Abacus
For: Azhdarcho
When Noah had found himself suddenly stranded in Ancient Egypt - the result of an experiment gone horribly wrong, the machine was only supposed to transport him through space, not through time - the threat had been very clear: make himself useful to the Pharaoh, or he would be kicked out into the streets, where people were less kind to foreign strangers. The closest he had been able to describe his occupation so they would understand had been mathematician, and one day when the Priest who was his overseer had visited him, he brought along a familiar device and placed it before him.
Noah stared at the series of beads strung on wooden sticks, and absently flicked a few with his thumb.
"It's an abacus," Priest Set explained. "You use it to count."
"It's crude," he answered. "I can count in my head just as well, and to higher numbers than I can with this."
Set knew he was being insulted, but let it slide, preferring to ignore the strange man entirely while he worked on whatever project the kingdom assigned to him. Set considered himself a perceptive man, but when weeks later he noticed Noah carrying around the abacus, he couldn't understand why, and resolved to ask.
"If you do not need it, why do you value it?" he asked.
Noah looked at him, and his fingers tightened around the wooden frame. "It was a gift," he said slowly, "and it is the only possession I own. That gives it value, to me."
When the Ring Priest asked Set why he had stopped complaining about having to watch over Noah, he couldn't provide an answer, and refused when the Priest offered to give Set a break from it.
Later, he went through his belongings, and selected another gift.
Pairing: Malik x Strings (Puppetshipping) | AU: Pirates
For: Sierra's Darkness
Marik turned to the captain of the pirate ship they'd captured, one hand never leaving the hilt of the sword at his hip, just in case; he'd heard stories before, of other ships with lesser captains who had allowed their captives to rise up and take over their own ship, a keen strategy that he could appreciate, if not respect. They had been standing on the deck of the ship for almost an hour now, and throughout his verbal dressing-down, the other captain had refused to say a word in his defense, to the point where Marik turned to the others standing behind the pale, piercing-laden man and barked, "Why does he not speak? Is he mute?"
The second-in-command stepped forward, speaking up. "He is not mute, but he has taken a vow of silence. He will not say a word to you, not now, or ever."
"We'll see about that," Marik said, motioning for his officers to take the others to the brig. "If he will not speak, we will try to make him scream."
Pairing: Yami Bakura x Ishizu (Exoticshipping) | AU: Laundromat
For: Graces of the Child
The man throwing his clothes into the machine across from her wasn't wearing a shirt. Or socks, she noticed after a closer look, but at least he was wearing pants. Ishizu collected her clothes, folding them briskly and sliding them into a paper bag, pausing after she closed the dryer door to turn to the man who had by now lifted himself to sit on top of an adjoining washer and was watching her.
"Spare a few quarters?" he asked.
"Let me guess - you need detergent, too?" Rolling her eyes, she dug in a pocket, coming up with seventy-five cents; she held them out, but refused to move closer, making him have to lean forward to take the coins from her, bracing his toes against the floor to keep from tipping off the washer.
"I'm in luck," he said. "If you can spare it."
The detergent she had with her was a flowery, feminine scent, and she set the bottle on the counter, watching his expression with a smile. "Lucky you."
Pairing: Honda x Seto (Stubbornshipping) | AU: Fight Club
For: Graces of the Child
In school, he had tried to hide the bruises with a jacket, but gym class made that impossible, and the others had crowded around him, asking questions.
"Where did you get that?" Yugi asked. "What happened? Does it hurt?"
"Watch it-!" And Seto jerked away when Yugi poked the flowering bruise, dark against his pale shoulder.
Behind him, Honda hid a smirk, rolling his own shoulder with the memory of it - his own marks were confined to his back, mementos of the prior night and the empty parking lot behind that one club where people met to duke it out for cash and the thrill. He knew where those bruises came from; he had been the one who had inflicted them.
Pairing: Yugi x Malik (Liberashipping) | AU: Nurse's Office
For: Graces of the Child
"Say ahhh--"
"Yugi, shut it. I'm fine! You didn't have to bring me here," he said, frowning. "But now that you did, I'm going to get aid from a real nurse, not you."
"But she's busy! Let me help." Yugi dragged Marik to one of the cots, and waited for him to take a seat. He lifted a hand to Marik's forehead, eyes widening at how hot it was. "Marik! You've got a fever!" He waved the nurse over, all but stumbling over his words as he relayed the story of how Marik had collapsed in class and Yugi had volunteered to bring him to the nurse's office.
"I'll need to take your temperature, then," the nurse said, grabbing a thermometer and replacing the tip with a new one. "Say ahhh."
Marik stared daggers at Yugi, but did as requested, knowing he couldn't stay mad at the other for long when Yugi looked that worried.
Pairing: Marik x Mana (Staffshipping) | AU: Gangster AU
For: Doubleplusgoodduckspeaker
"Where's the boss?" Marik asked, looking over the rim of his dark sunglasses. It was easier to see with his own eyes, especially through the dim light and the fog. It was all for appearances, though, and his new employer sure enjoyed the spectacle, if what he'd heard were true. The communicator around his wrist beeped, and he lifted it to his mouth. "It's all clear over here."
"Great!" The girl skipped up to him from behind, and Marik's heart missed a few beats as he tried to figure out just how she had approached him without his knowledge. She was dressed like him, in a dark suit with her hair slicked back, away from her face, and she grabbed his arm and tugged on it, in the direction of the back doors to the theatre. "Come on! I don't want to be late!"
At his expression, the girl continued, "You haven't been working long, have you?" Her excited grin widened. "Don't tell me this is your first job?"
He nodded, once, flinching again when the girl continued to tug on his arm. "Well, then, let me introduce myself. I'm Mana - I'm the one who hired you!"
"You mean..." His boss had turned out to be this girl? He turned, slipping his arm from her grasp and sliding it around her instead, leading them towards the doors. "Then let me do my job. Let's go."
Pairing: Mana x Kisara (Sparkleshipping) | AU: Cooking Class
For: Graces of the Child
"Tell me how it is, and don't hold back!" Kisara said as Mana raised the fork to her lips.
"It's...great."
Mana looked up at Kisara's hopeful face; how could she say anything else? The food was overcooked and oversalted, but Kisara had been so enthusiastic preparing it that Mana would have hated to crush her spirit. The cooking class had even been her idea - Mana would have preferred to take the two to McDonald's instead of slaving away on fish and vegetables, and paying for the privilege to watch the other people around them make it better. This style of cooking was far too serious anyway, and she thought that when it came to cooking, if they couldn't have talent they could at least have fun. The staff hadn't agreed - really, you throw a carrot one time - and with the way they were watching her from the front of the room she figured she had better not chance even the most inadvertent 'accident' with the jar of flour on the back shelf.
"Really?" Kisara practically glowed at the compliment, and hastened to check the timer on the oven. "Are you sure? Did I season it enough?"
"Oh yeah. It was great." She made sure to keep her voice flat enough to praise but not enough so to encourage any future culinary experiments.
"Yours will be done soon! I can't wait to try it!"
When the oven beeped, Mana pulled her own dish out, feeling a slight stab of pride at how nice it looked. Was it supposed to smell like that? At least it wasn't burned! She could chalk that up as a success.
"So...? How is it?" Mana leaned across the table. "Be honest, now."
Kisara took a bite, taking a few moments to think about it.
"Mana..." She set the fork down and pushed the dish away from her, sighing. "It's...terrible."
Pairing: Seto x Jonouchi x Mai (Ettushipping) | AU: Laser Tag
For: Graces of the Child
He'd lost track of the others soon after they entered the maze. It was so dark, and the sound effects from the laser gun in his hands made him feel like he was really in some kind of alien battle, and not just in a game. He was sure that somewhere Honda was doing combat rolls, right in the thick of the action.
If he could, he should take a position of high ground, tracking and sniping. Charging forward blindly would only make himself a target. He'd never live it down if he lost to someone like Mai, or God forbid, Kaiba. Or Mokuba. Or his sister.
Really, he just had to beat all of them.
The sensors on his shoulders buzzed, and he instantly surged to the right, hiding behind a low wall. He'd been hit! He checked the ID on his gun to find the codename of the shooter.
Dragon.
Oh, hell no. Kaiba thought he could shoot him and get away with it? Hah, he'd find out just how wrong he was. Jonouchi knew the shot had to have come from behind him; he knew this maze well, and he could double back on the shooter and take him down. He dashed to the side, keeping as low as possible as he ran up a side ramp to the higher level, checking the corners as he went. He turned, gun poised, and nearly ran into another player at the top of the tower.
"Wait...Kaiba?" That couldn't be possible; Kaiba was on the opposite side, wasn't he?
"Jonouchi. You have three seconds to get out of my tower before I shoot you."
"What?" Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "What's your ID?"
"Find out for yourself." The sensors on his shoulders lit up again as Kaiba shot him.
"What the--?" He glanced down at his gun for the ID.
"You used your name? Who uses their name in laser tag?" Jonouchi took a step closer, pushing Kaiba aside with his shoulder to peer out through the windows. He could see thin dots of red on the other towers, identifying the other players' guns. A difficult shot, but the one that racked up the most points.
"Get your own tower."
Jonouchi ignored him. "Someone's pretending to be you down there. Has a player named Dragon shot you yet?"
Kaiba glowered. "I thought that was you."
"Ha, no. I'm Jinzo." He raised the gun to his shoulder, spotting movement below. When the face came into view, he knew just who was playing them.
"I've got a proposition for ya, Kaiba." He watched Mai as she expertly navigated the maze, staying in the shadows and using the walls and columns to keep herself shielded. "Let's work together to take her down."
Kaiba gave him the barest of nods. Well, that was enough. And when they were done, he'd get his chance to pay him back for that earlier shot.
Pairing: Atem x Isis (Lingershipping) | Prompt: Makeup
For: Graces of the Child
"Hold still." She dragged the brush beneath his eyes, winging the color out at the side. At the last second, he turned his head back, and the brush skittered across his cheek. Isis pursed her lips, reaching out a thumb to try and wipe the streak of black away without smudging the rest. "I told you not to move!"
"If I turn away, I cannot watch you." He grimaced as she reached for a sponge and used that to wipe away the traces of black on his cheek with a little more roughness than was probably required. "You look so...focused. I so rarely get to study you this close."
A light blush spread across her cheeks, and she picked the brush back up. "In order for me to finish you must close your eyes."
His face fell, but he did as requested. The next time she did his makeup, he let her work without protest or interruption.
1) Give me a pairing
2) Give me an AU setting
3) I will write you a three-sentence (or more!) fic
Some of these are ancient! From April of last year...gotta dust off those cobwebs! The Foreignshipping might make a future YGO Drabble appearance if it's not dead? D:
Behind the cut, in order: Jadeshipping, Foreignshipping, Manipulashipping, Softshipping, Antagoshipping, Rewindshipping, Bayshipping, Puppetshipping, Exoticshipping, Stubbornshipping, Staffshipping, Sparkleshipping, Ettushipping, and Lingershipping.
As always, if you'd like a drabble, leave me a comment with a pairing and an AU/prompt!
Pairing: Jadeshipping (Otogi x Ishizu) | AU: Company Party
For: Doubleplusgoodduckspeaker
She had thought it odd at first when he showed up at the entrance to the party and took her elbow, leading her through the crowds and inside with a grin and a whispered greeting. She found it odder still when he fetched her a drink and offered to show her around, moving them through rooms and across several floors packed with dancing couples, remarking upon a few pieces of art - at which point she realized that he was purposefully avoiding someone, and using her as a shield - and instead steered him onto the dance floor, where he couldn't escape.
"You weren't invited to this party, were you?" she asked, and he scowled at being found out so easily, mumbling, "must've gotten lost in the mail."
Pairing: Leon x Rebecca (Foreignshipping) | AU: Fairy Tale
For: Doubleplusgoodduckspeaker
"Where did you get an axe?" Leon jumped back as the girl in red struck out at him again; her aim was poor, and he was grateful for the few extra seconds of respite when she embedded the axe deep in a tree and had to yank it loose. Really, was walking in the woods alone at sundown such a crime? "What's your problem?"
"Look at those wolf ears! You're clearly dangerous! And you were following me!" the girl shrieked, and advanced on him, switching the axe to one hand when her hood slipped over her eyes. "Damn this jacket!"
"There's only one path through the forest! And don't flatter yourself, I was visiting my older brother!" Leon didn't know why he was trying to explain himself to her, but then he remembered the snacks his brother had packed for him - Leon was his only visitor, and he always gave him way too much food. Was he trying to fatten him up or something? He hoped a peace offering would help diffuse the situation.
"Would you like some cookies?"
His eyebrow began to twitch at how easily the girl seemed to recover her sanity, storing the axe somewhere on her person, but as she snatched the cookie with one hand and wound her other through one of his arms, he gave up and resigned himself to whatever she had in mind. It couldn't be worse than being attacked out of the blue with an axe, right?
He was wrong, as she began to pet his ears, dragging cookie crumbs through his hair. "Hey, that cottage in the forest wouldn't happen to be yours, would it? Can I visit sometime? How about tomorrow?"
Leon began to understand why he and his brother typically kept to themselves. The rest of the world was crazy.
Pairing: Anzu x Marik (Manipulashipping) | AU: Wonderland
For: Princess-Kally
"Move down, move down!" Marik shouted, and Anzu slipped into the next seat over, folding her hands over the armrests. Marik had taken up her half-finished cup of tea and was sipping it contentedly - and for that she was glad, as he had a horrible propensity for overbrewing it, and no matter how much sugar she heaped into it, it still tasted bitter.
"Move down!" He shouted again, spinning the now-empty cup on the table. Anzu glanced to her right.
"There aren't any more chairs--"
Her complaint was lost on him as Marik settled himself in her lap, reaching for the teapot to pour himself a new cup. He leaned back and she watched the steam rise from over his shoulder.
"You better not spill that," she said.
Pairing: Ryou x Shizuka (Softshipping) | AU: Regency
For: Doubleplusgoodduckspeaker
"Shizuka, your hair!" Her best friend, Anzu, reached out to pull a loose curl over her shoulder, checking and adjusting the elaborate updo. "Your ribbon is gone! Did it fall out?"
"It couldn't have." She reached a hand back to check for herself, but Anzu snatched it away.
"You'll mess it up! The pins are still holding, so you should be fine. I wonder where it went?"
She didn't voice her opinions aloud, but it was far more likely someone had stolen it. There was a bit of a game going among some of the boldest among them, trading favors as small as pins to as large as gloves or fans, and she wondered who had ended up with her ribbon - who had been nimble enough to take it without her even noticing.
Was there anyone she had slighted? There were plenty who pursued her, but a singular moment stood out to her - there was a man, a newcomer, who had asked her for a dance when a second later her brother's friend had whisked her away with no mind to her protestations. And there he stood, off to the side, dressed in a sharply tailored suit of blue, his white hair standing out among the plainer colors of the others in his company. Her own expression deepened into a disapproving frown when she noticed her own hair ribbon binding his queue.
"I'll give it back to you for a dance," he told her.
"Keep it. I don't want it back anymore."
"I would still like a dance." He offered his hand, and when she settled her own over his he slipped something into her palm. She recognized a button, one of the beautifully decorative silver ones from his cuff. "If you won't let me return your ribbon I'd like you to have something of mine, in exchange."
He took her elbow instead, and with her fingers locked around the button, she had no choice but to slip it in a pocket; it would have been too rude to drop it on the floor.
Pairing: Seto Kaiba x Yami Bakura (Antagoshipping) | AU: Employees
For: Princess-Kally
He didn't know what he had expected when he agreed to work for Seto Kaiba - thankfully temporarily, although he figured getting paid to find chances to annoy Seto was a win-win situation - but he had thought it would be a bit more glamorous than this. Was a helicopter ride over the city too much to ask? Apparently, as Bakura set the coffee cup down on the desk with a clink. Half a day into the job, and he hadn't done anything more interesting.
"So," he drawled, "I'm your personal assistant...anything else I can do for you?"
Seto didn't even look up from his laptop, gesturing to a stack of paper on the edge of his desk. "Copy those."
Bakura sighed as he collected the files. Well, his current efforts were being wasted; Seto was more into his work than he thought, and to make any impact at all he would have to be about as subtle as a brick wall. He wanted to make things interesting...it was only his first day, but he didn't like to waste time. Seto should at least be able to appreciate that much.
Pairing: Yami Yugi x Priest Seto (Rewindshipping) | Prompt: Habits
For: Azhdarcho
A light knock on the door startled him, and when he turned Yugi - the other Yugi, the one who looked so much like his Pharaoh - was there, standing in the doorway. Where the others approached him awkwardly, unsure what to say, making odd attempts to console him for what had happened when he found himself among them in the present, this Yugi was different, and his approach was always direct.
"Am I interrupting you?" he asked.
"I was meditating." Further explanation was not required, but he found himself continuing regardless. "I used to take the afternoons around this time for personal meditation, before..." He paused. "I find continuing the practice helps."
"Join us," the other Yugi continued. "Friday evenings, Jonouchi has a movie night, and Honda brings the pizza...it's a fun tradition. We don't want you to be so alone."
He did not have to extend the invitation, and it was for that reason that Set found himself accepting. "Far be it from me to break your habits."
Pairing: Priest Seto x Noah (Bayshipping) | Prompt: Abacus
For: Azhdarcho
When Noah had found himself suddenly stranded in Ancient Egypt - the result of an experiment gone horribly wrong, the machine was only supposed to transport him through space, not through time - the threat had been very clear: make himself useful to the Pharaoh, or he would be kicked out into the streets, where people were less kind to foreign strangers. The closest he had been able to describe his occupation so they would understand had been mathematician, and one day when the Priest who was his overseer had visited him, he brought along a familiar device and placed it before him.
Noah stared at the series of beads strung on wooden sticks, and absently flicked a few with his thumb.
"It's an abacus," Priest Set explained. "You use it to count."
"It's crude," he answered. "I can count in my head just as well, and to higher numbers than I can with this."
Set knew he was being insulted, but let it slide, preferring to ignore the strange man entirely while he worked on whatever project the kingdom assigned to him. Set considered himself a perceptive man, but when weeks later he noticed Noah carrying around the abacus, he couldn't understand why, and resolved to ask.
"If you do not need it, why do you value it?" he asked.
Noah looked at him, and his fingers tightened around the wooden frame. "It was a gift," he said slowly, "and it is the only possession I own. That gives it value, to me."
When the Ring Priest asked Set why he had stopped complaining about having to watch over Noah, he couldn't provide an answer, and refused when the Priest offered to give Set a break from it.
Later, he went through his belongings, and selected another gift.
Pairing: Malik x Strings (Puppetshipping) | AU: Pirates
For: Sierra's Darkness
Marik turned to the captain of the pirate ship they'd captured, one hand never leaving the hilt of the sword at his hip, just in case; he'd heard stories before, of other ships with lesser captains who had allowed their captives to rise up and take over their own ship, a keen strategy that he could appreciate, if not respect. They had been standing on the deck of the ship for almost an hour now, and throughout his verbal dressing-down, the other captain had refused to say a word in his defense, to the point where Marik turned to the others standing behind the pale, piercing-laden man and barked, "Why does he not speak? Is he mute?"
The second-in-command stepped forward, speaking up. "He is not mute, but he has taken a vow of silence. He will not say a word to you, not now, or ever."
"We'll see about that," Marik said, motioning for his officers to take the others to the brig. "If he will not speak, we will try to make him scream."
Pairing: Yami Bakura x Ishizu (Exoticshipping) | AU: Laundromat
For: Graces of the Child
The man throwing his clothes into the machine across from her wasn't wearing a shirt. Or socks, she noticed after a closer look, but at least he was wearing pants. Ishizu collected her clothes, folding them briskly and sliding them into a paper bag, pausing after she closed the dryer door to turn to the man who had by now lifted himself to sit on top of an adjoining washer and was watching her.
"Spare a few quarters?" he asked.
"Let me guess - you need detergent, too?" Rolling her eyes, she dug in a pocket, coming up with seventy-five cents; she held them out, but refused to move closer, making him have to lean forward to take the coins from her, bracing his toes against the floor to keep from tipping off the washer.
"I'm in luck," he said. "If you can spare it."
The detergent she had with her was a flowery, feminine scent, and she set the bottle on the counter, watching his expression with a smile. "Lucky you."
Pairing: Honda x Seto (Stubbornshipping) | AU: Fight Club
For: Graces of the Child
In school, he had tried to hide the bruises with a jacket, but gym class made that impossible, and the others had crowded around him, asking questions.
"Where did you get that?" Yugi asked. "What happened? Does it hurt?"
"Watch it-!" And Seto jerked away when Yugi poked the flowering bruise, dark against his pale shoulder.
Behind him, Honda hid a smirk, rolling his own shoulder with the memory of it - his own marks were confined to his back, mementos of the prior night and the empty parking lot behind that one club where people met to duke it out for cash and the thrill. He knew where those bruises came from; he had been the one who had inflicted them.
Pairing: Yugi x Malik (Liberashipping) | AU: Nurse's Office
For: Graces of the Child
"Say ahhh--"
"Yugi, shut it. I'm fine! You didn't have to bring me here," he said, frowning. "But now that you did, I'm going to get aid from a real nurse, not you."
"But she's busy! Let me help." Yugi dragged Marik to one of the cots, and waited for him to take a seat. He lifted a hand to Marik's forehead, eyes widening at how hot it was. "Marik! You've got a fever!" He waved the nurse over, all but stumbling over his words as he relayed the story of how Marik had collapsed in class and Yugi had volunteered to bring him to the nurse's office.
"I'll need to take your temperature, then," the nurse said, grabbing a thermometer and replacing the tip with a new one. "Say ahhh."
Marik stared daggers at Yugi, but did as requested, knowing he couldn't stay mad at the other for long when Yugi looked that worried.
Pairing: Marik x Mana (Staffshipping) | AU: Gangster AU
For: Doubleplusgoodduckspeaker
"Where's the boss?" Marik asked, looking over the rim of his dark sunglasses. It was easier to see with his own eyes, especially through the dim light and the fog. It was all for appearances, though, and his new employer sure enjoyed the spectacle, if what he'd heard were true. The communicator around his wrist beeped, and he lifted it to his mouth. "It's all clear over here."
"Great!" The girl skipped up to him from behind, and Marik's heart missed a few beats as he tried to figure out just how she had approached him without his knowledge. She was dressed like him, in a dark suit with her hair slicked back, away from her face, and she grabbed his arm and tugged on it, in the direction of the back doors to the theatre. "Come on! I don't want to be late!"
At his expression, the girl continued, "You haven't been working long, have you?" Her excited grin widened. "Don't tell me this is your first job?"
He nodded, once, flinching again when the girl continued to tug on his arm. "Well, then, let me introduce myself. I'm Mana - I'm the one who hired you!"
"You mean..." His boss had turned out to be this girl? He turned, slipping his arm from her grasp and sliding it around her instead, leading them towards the doors. "Then let me do my job. Let's go."
Pairing: Mana x Kisara (Sparkleshipping) | AU: Cooking Class
For: Graces of the Child
"Tell me how it is, and don't hold back!" Kisara said as Mana raised the fork to her lips.
"It's...great."
Mana looked up at Kisara's hopeful face; how could she say anything else? The food was overcooked and oversalted, but Kisara had been so enthusiastic preparing it that Mana would have hated to crush her spirit. The cooking class had even been her idea - Mana would have preferred to take the two to McDonald's instead of slaving away on fish and vegetables, and paying for the privilege to watch the other people around them make it better. This style of cooking was far too serious anyway, and she thought that when it came to cooking, if they couldn't have talent they could at least have fun. The staff hadn't agreed - really, you throw a carrot one time - and with the way they were watching her from the front of the room she figured she had better not chance even the most inadvertent 'accident' with the jar of flour on the back shelf.
"Really?" Kisara practically glowed at the compliment, and hastened to check the timer on the oven. "Are you sure? Did I season it enough?"
"Oh yeah. It was great." She made sure to keep her voice flat enough to praise but not enough so to encourage any future culinary experiments.
"Yours will be done soon! I can't wait to try it!"
When the oven beeped, Mana pulled her own dish out, feeling a slight stab of pride at how nice it looked. Was it supposed to smell like that? At least it wasn't burned! She could chalk that up as a success.
"So...? How is it?" Mana leaned across the table. "Be honest, now."
Kisara took a bite, taking a few moments to think about it.
"Mana..." She set the fork down and pushed the dish away from her, sighing. "It's...terrible."
Pairing: Seto x Jonouchi x Mai (Ettushipping) | AU: Laser Tag
For: Graces of the Child
He'd lost track of the others soon after they entered the maze. It was so dark, and the sound effects from the laser gun in his hands made him feel like he was really in some kind of alien battle, and not just in a game. He was sure that somewhere Honda was doing combat rolls, right in the thick of the action.
If he could, he should take a position of high ground, tracking and sniping. Charging forward blindly would only make himself a target. He'd never live it down if he lost to someone like Mai, or God forbid, Kaiba. Or Mokuba. Or his sister.
Really, he just had to beat all of them.
The sensors on his shoulders buzzed, and he instantly surged to the right, hiding behind a low wall. He'd been hit! He checked the ID on his gun to find the codename of the shooter.
Dragon.
Oh, hell no. Kaiba thought he could shoot him and get away with it? Hah, he'd find out just how wrong he was. Jonouchi knew the shot had to have come from behind him; he knew this maze well, and he could double back on the shooter and take him down. He dashed to the side, keeping as low as possible as he ran up a side ramp to the higher level, checking the corners as he went. He turned, gun poised, and nearly ran into another player at the top of the tower.
"Wait...Kaiba?" That couldn't be possible; Kaiba was on the opposite side, wasn't he?
"Jonouchi. You have three seconds to get out of my tower before I shoot you."
"What?" Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. "What's your ID?"
"Find out for yourself." The sensors on his shoulders lit up again as Kaiba shot him.
"What the--?" He glanced down at his gun for the ID.
"You used your name? Who uses their name in laser tag?" Jonouchi took a step closer, pushing Kaiba aside with his shoulder to peer out through the windows. He could see thin dots of red on the other towers, identifying the other players' guns. A difficult shot, but the one that racked up the most points.
"Get your own tower."
Jonouchi ignored him. "Someone's pretending to be you down there. Has a player named Dragon shot you yet?"
Kaiba glowered. "I thought that was you."
"Ha, no. I'm Jinzo." He raised the gun to his shoulder, spotting movement below. When the face came into view, he knew just who was playing them.
"I've got a proposition for ya, Kaiba." He watched Mai as she expertly navigated the maze, staying in the shadows and using the walls and columns to keep herself shielded. "Let's work together to take her down."
Kaiba gave him the barest of nods. Well, that was enough. And when they were done, he'd get his chance to pay him back for that earlier shot.
Pairing: Atem x Isis (Lingershipping) | Prompt: Makeup
For: Graces of the Child
"Hold still." She dragged the brush beneath his eyes, winging the color out at the side. At the last second, he turned his head back, and the brush skittered across his cheek. Isis pursed her lips, reaching out a thumb to try and wipe the streak of black away without smudging the rest. "I told you not to move!"
"If I turn away, I cannot watch you." He grimaced as she reached for a sponge and used that to wipe away the traces of black on his cheek with a little more roughness than was probably required. "You look so...focused. I so rarely get to study you this close."
A light blush spread across her cheeks, and she picked the brush back up. "In order for me to finish you must close your eyes."
His face fell, but he did as requested. The next time she did his makeup, he let her work without protest or interruption.