Dedicated to Her Randomness LariaKaiba
It was all Mokuba's fault. The kid had begged with puppy-dog eyes to be let to have a sleepover party. Then he had fallen asleep at 11:00, leaving Seto the job of entertaining a giant living-room-full of people, most of whom he didn't even like.
"So. What do you all want to do?" Seto asked.
"I have an idea," said Bakura, pulling a large bottle of Smirnoff's out of his pillowcase.
"You brought alcohol to an eleven-year-old's sleepover?" Marik yelled. "You rock!" Ryo and Malik hid their faces in shame.
"Not just the alcohol," said Bakura. "Have any of you guys ever heard of I've Never?"
Nobody had.
"Well," Bakura grinned, "everyone sits in a circle with a shot glass in front of them, and we all take turns saying 'I've never…' something you haven't done. And whoever has has to take a drink. Last one sober wins." He smirked.
"Bakura, how did you even get that vodka?" Tea asked.
"Stole it."
"Okay, everyone, let's get in a circle," Marik instructed busily.
'We need shot glasses," Joey said.
"I got 'em." Bakura held up a clinking bag.
Seto wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this game. After all, none of them were over 21 (except, technically, Atemu and Bakura), and it might lead, he reflected uneasily, to destruction of his property. Still, everyone else seemed to want to play, and as the default host he probably ought to go along with what his guests wanted. Besides, he'd never had alcohol before, let alone played a drinking game. It might be fun. He sat down between Atemu and Ishizu.
Bakura counted around the circle, starting on his left. "Atemu, Seto, Ishizu, Yugi, Tea, Ryo, Serenity, Joey, Tristan, Malik, Marik, me. That's 12. All right, I'll go first. Lessee…" he grinned. "I've never cried over a movie." Tea, Serenity and Ryo all reached for a drink.
"Ryo?" said Joey.
"Well," Ryo said defensively, "at the end of Return of the King, when Frodo sails away and leaves Sam behind, it was sad!"
"Atemu," said Bakura, "you're up." The Pharaoh frowned, then said, "I've never shoplifted." Bakura, Joey and Tristan took a drink.
"Marik," said Tea, "I don't believe you've never shoplifted. I bet you have."
"We lived in a hole our whole life," Marik pointed out. "When would I have had a chance?"
"Do you even know how creepy it is when you say we like that?" Tristan asked.
"Of course he does, that's why he does it," grumbled Malik.
Seto wondered if he would be mocked for this. "I've never had an kind of alcoholic drink before this."
"BA HA HA!" was the response of Joey, Tristan, Bakura and Marik. Ishizu rolled her eyes at them as she drank her own shot. She set it down and said, "I've never tried to take over the world."
"Aw, not fair, Ishizu," Marik complained. Bakura merely smirked.
"You know," Serenity commented, "those two are going to be utterly smashed long before the rest of us are even tipsy."
"So?" Marik grinned. "That just means the rest of you are boring."
"Guys, it's Yugi's turn," Malik reminded them.
"Umm…" Yugi said. "I've, um, never deliberately watched a soap opera." Tea and Serenity reached for a drink, and so did…
"Tristan?" said Joey in amazement.
'I can't help it," Tristan said shamefacedly. "I accidentally Tivo'd an episode of As The World Turns instead of Ninja Turtles, and it was so enthralling…"
"You watch NINJA TURTLES?!?" yelled Joey. "WHO ARE YOU?!?"
"No yelling," scolded Tea. "And it's my turn." She thought for a moment, then said, "I've never tried to cook for someone."
"Aw, boring," complained Marik as he, Malik, Ishizu, and Ryo took their drinks.
"You guys?" said Yugi.
"We tried to make dinner for Ishizu on her last birthday," explained Malik.
"Tried being the operative word," Marik added.
"Did they really?" Atemu asked. Ishizu nodded and shuddered.
"It wasn't that bad," protested Malik. "We put the fire out ourselves."
"How about you, Ryo?" said Tea.
"Well, Bakura lives with me," Ryo explained. "And quite frankly I'd be terrified to let him anywhere near the stove, so…Oh, it's my turn isn't it? Umm…" He hesitated to say this because he knew everyone would laugh at him, but it was all he could think of. "I've never been on a date."
"To Ryo's great surprise, nobody took a drink. "Wow," Tristan commented. "I don't know if this is funny or pathetic."
"Well, since nobody's done that, you have to say another thing," instructed Bakura.
"I, uh…" Ryo's mind raced, frantically trying to come up with something. "I've never been hit on by Pegasus. I'm sorry! It was all I could think of!"
Bakura and Marik laughed raucously as Seto, Yugi and Atemu shuddered simultaneously while reaching for their drinks.
"My turn," Serenity said. "I've never read somebody else's diary." Joey, Bakura and Marik all took a shot.
"Ah ha!" Serenity said. "I thought so. Joey, you are so dead."
"You read my diary?!" Ryo and Malik shrieked at their respective yamis.
"Ptch, it's not like it was interesting," Marik scoffed.
"I can't quite say the same thing," Bakura smirked. "Oh, the things I could tell…"
"Don't you dare," Ryo snapped.
"Why Ryo," Bakura grinned evilly. "I do believe you're nearly in tears."
"Knock it off, Bakura," Atemu said warningly. The thief subsided, throwing Atemu a dirty look.
Ryo's face was flaming. He couldn't believe Bakura had seen the personal thoughts and feelings he'd confided to his diary. Everyone was probably staring at him…
He felt a gentle touch on his arm.
"Ryo? Are you okay?" Serenity was looking at him with concern.
Ryo felt himself blush even redder (if it was possible) as he softly replied, "Yeah."
"Okay, back to the game," Joey announced. "I've never gotten my arm stuck in a vending machine."
"Yeah, well, I've never gotten in a fight over chicken nuggets," Tristan shot back.
"Guys," Bakura said, "amusing though it is, that is not how the game is supposed to be played." Both boys took their drinks while glaring at each other.
"My turn now," Malik said. "I've never lived with somebody younger than me." Ishizu, Joey, Atemu, Bakura and Seto all took a shot.
"Dude," Marik said, "I'm younger than you, technically."
"Well, I always forget," Malik said "For all intents and purposes we're twins anyway."
"Still." Marik thought a minute. "Okay. I've never had a yami." Yugi, Malik and Ryo all went for a shot.
"And we're back to me again," Bakura stated. "Let's see. Malik, Serenity, Tea, Yugi, Atemu and Seto have all had 2 shots, Ryo and Ishizu've had 3, Tristan and Marik have had 4, and Joey and I've had 5."
"Wow, Joey's had more than Marik?" said Tea. "I am in shock."
"Like I said, we lived in a hole," Marik complained.
"Lived in a hole, hee hee," Joey giggled.
"Uh oh," said Serenity. "I think the vodka is beginning to kick in."
"Well, 5 shots…no wonder," said Malik.
"So, you guys wanna keep going or what?" Bakura asked.
"How come you're so sober?" Atemu inquired. "You've had as many shots as Joey."
"I have a talent for holding my liquor, that's why. So are we gonna keep playing?"
There was a general murmur of assent. So…
"I've never been obsessed with the heart of the cards," Bakura snickered.
"It's not an obsession," Atemu said indignantly as he and Yugi took their drinks. "I've never owned a company."
"Hey!" objected Seto.
"Well, you've only had 2 drinks."
Seto downed his shot, then set the glass back down, feeling slightly dizzy. "I've, uh, I've never, um, flirted with anyone…"
"You don't get out much, do you, Seto?" Tea observed as she picked up her glass, along with Serenity, Tristan, and Joey, who seemed to be having difficulty finding his mouth.
"Well…" Seto could feel his face getting red. Or maybe that was just the Smirnoff's kicking in. "I'm not…I mean, I don't know much about girls."
Ishizu shot him a thoughtful look, but just then Joey distracted everyone by passing out onto Tristan.
"Dude! Get off me, man!" Tristan yelled. Then he realized Joey was out. "You lose!" he chortled, shoving Joey onto his (Joey's) sleeping bag.
"Hey, it's Ishizu's turn," Serenity reminded everybody.
"Let's see," Ishizu said. "I've never been a yami."
"Agh, 'Shizu…"Marik unsteadily tossed back his fifth shot, and Atemu and Bakura also took one. The latter seemed, despite his earlier boast, to be rapidly losing it.
Marik set down his glass with extreme care, then announced, "I love you guys," and passed out.
'You…can' take it," slurred Bakura, snorting in a inebriated fashion. Ishizu got up and moved Marik to his sleeping bag, then returned to her place.
"I've never danced in public," said Yugi. Tea took her fourth shot and looked around. Things were beginning to get a little blurry, as was her thought process… "I've never, um, lived thousands of years ago…"
Bakura took his seventh shot and promptly collapsed. Atemu took his fifth, said "I don't feel very good," and lay down on his back right where he was.
"I've never…lived with an older sister," Ryo said. "Sorry, Malik…"
"I've only had two anyway," Malik said cheerfully.
"My turn," said Serenity. "I've never known anyone here-who isn't related to me-since grade school."
Yugi and Tea took their drinks. Tea was losing equilibrium now, and she almost fell over putting her glass down.
Tristan giggled drunkenly. "I…haaave…nev'r been…attracted…to Ishizu!"
Ishizu laughed. But she abruptly stopped when she, and everyone else who was still conscious, realized that Seto, blushing furiously, was trying unsuccessfully to hide behind the shot glass he was drinking from.
"You really like her?" Tristan said loudly. "Wow."
"You…you just be quiet!" Seto managed. He peeked at Ishizu. She smiled at him.
"Talking about liking," Tristan continued, without losing a single decibel of volume, "I didn't even know, I mean you're not obvious, not like Ryo over there who can't even look at S'renity…" He passed out on the floor.
Ryo thought his face might actually burst into flames. He'd never felt himself turn this red. This was not one of his better evenings-first Bakura reading his diary and now this. He didn't dare look at Serenity.
Serenity regarded the blushing Ryo for a minute. Then she kissed him on the cheek.
On second thought, maybe this was one of his better evenings. In fact, it was wonderful.
Ishizu looked at Serenity and Ryo. Then she looked at Seto, who had been glancing at her sideways but quickly ducked his head away when her eyes met his.
Ishizu sighed. She rested a hand on Seto's shoulder. He turned towards her, startled, and she kissed him. Not on the cheek either.
"Are you trying to scar me for life?" Malik complained.
"No one's forcing you to look," Ishizu replied serenely.
"Is the game over now?" Tea asked. She was pretty sure it was, but on the other hand she was also pretty drunk.
"Yes," Serenity replied firmly, taking Ryo's hand. "The game is over."
Tomorrow, Seto reflected as Ishizu took his hand, I am going to have to thank Mokuba for this.
fin
