"Come on, Yugo, it won't be that bad," Yuya says with an innocent grin and pleading crimson eyes.

"If it's not going to be that bad, then why don't you go? Or even Yuto for that matter?" Yugo growls, glaring at Yuya before his angry stare shifts over to the other boy in the room.

"Because, he knows what we look like and what we can do," Yuto states calmly, keeping his arms crossed and resting against the wall. "He hasn't seen you, which means you won't raise any suspicion."

Yugo really hated just how nonchalant he was about all this, balling his hands into fists and ready to just hit something- someone (possibly Yuto, most likely Yuto).

"Then wear something to cover your damn faces! Use makeup! A mask!" His fist slams down on the table, once. Twice. "You guys know how to blend into a crowd, don't you? It can't be that damn hard!"

"Yugo, please!" Yuya steps in between the two to prevent Yugo from going over to attack Yuto. He raises his hands up in his defense, as well as to protect himself if needed. "Look, it's just this one time, okay? You won't have to do anything like this again, I promise."

Yugo is still glaring daggers through the pendulum magician, trying to aim that glare more at the xyz knight, but his eyes end up settling onto him. Seeing the apologetic look on his face, he really can't remain angry at Yuya for long. He takes in a breath and then lets out a sigh, slumping over in defeat. "You assholes owe me for doing something as stupid as this," he grumbles, pouting with arms crossed, nearly imitating Yuto except more childish.

"We will, won't we, Yuto?" Yuya looks over, only receiving a sigh and a nod from the other. His gaze returns to Yugo, intent on cheering him up for this. "It's only one night and you don't have to stay that long. Just...try to get some information and leave." (Wait, he should probably word that better.) "And you have to stay a minimum of at least four hours. You can't just go in and leave."

Yugo lets out a groan, hand going to his face. "Seriously? Four boring hours?" He mutters something about how it'll be the longest four hours of his life under his breath. "I still think one of you should go. This is a ball of all things. You know I don't know how to dance." (Or fit in with those posh types, he wants to add. Yuya could act his way through, Yuto could play the mysterious loner with charm, and Yugo could...not keep up a cover. It didn't help that he had bad experiences with those wealthy folk in the first place.)

"That's why we'll teach you the basics," Yuya chirps as he does a quick twirl in front of him, "just in case if you have to dance."

"He has to," Yuto emphasizes, "It'll be strange if he doesn't dance at least once there. I think we'll also have to tell him what he can and can't do either..." In other words, it would be nothing but painful lessons that Yugo would have to endure until the night of this cursed ball.

"You've got to be shitting me. I'm never doing something like this again. Ever."

~...~

Yugo let's out an annoyed huff, while simply glaring at whatever passes him (some other guests end up scurrying away, muttering something about his scowl), that memory still fresh in his mind. He never planned to attend a single ball in his life. Those were meant to be some fairytale bullshit dreams come true. And maybe if circumstances were different (very, very different), he would have enjoyed something like this.

Especially if he didn't have to be snooping around in this palace. Which was surprisingly not tainted with evil around every corner (but there were plants decorating nearly every part of this place, which was kind of creepy). For the supposed home of a big baddie, it was oddly...pleasant. On the surface it was anyway, he was certain much darker things were held behind certain doors.

"I can't believe I had to come here..." Yugo grumbles as he pinches himself through the sleeve of his white tuxedo. Sadly, a pinch doesn't work to wake him up from this dream. He's still here, amongst many, many dangerous villainous beings and wealthy innocent bystanders (he's assuming innocent but honestly anyone here might as well be a villain to him, only so many who were neutral to the growing war were invited).

He tries to recall Yuya and Yuto's words, reminders of how he's supposed to act. Don't throw a tantrum and keep a smile on his face, or some kind of pleasant look. Act like he has all the money in the world but don't attract too much attention. (But he feels so out of place being surrounded by such rich folk and lavish surroundings, it's uncomfortable and he doesn't think he can keep an act up for long). All while keeping his eyes open for the host of this party.

Yuri, the fusion emperor.

While he hadn't exactly met him face to face, he had seen his image before, heard of the terrors and horrendous deeds he had done. (Yugo had nearly been affected by one of his many orders to destroy parts of another region. Luckily those residing amongst synchro territory only had minimal damage- if one wants to call it that- due to some mutual agreement.) A madman, a heartless being who spared no one. He toyed with lives, playing with any who crossed his path in search for unlimited power. And yet, with such a violent history behind him, he was still managing to hold a ball. Then again, he was certain this ball was just to flaunt his wealth and power, or possibly recruit more under his wing. (He figures that he really should have paid more attention to the briefing of this mission but was too busy being pissed with being assigned it.)

Thinking about said emperor, Yugo realized he shouldn't be just standing in one spot. He had a job to do. The synchro mechanic had to find any information around here all while avoiding getting caught (and dancing if possible). So, he begins to take small steps into the sea of people, uttering small apologizes whenever he bumps into someone (which is almost every three steps and he has to keep himself from barking out a 'move it'), and trying to search for the emperor.

It should be easy, he thinks. How many guys here had violet and pink hair? Sure he saw one other guy with a shade of purple hair (which was oddly shaped into tentacles? Weird.) but he definitely looked nothing like the fusion emperor. That guy looked angrier if anything, almost as if he didn't even want to be here either.

Yugo ignores practically anyone who isn't his target. He considers going to try and search throughout the rooms, but it's only been an hour into the party and apparently he can't do that until the second hour. (He had no idea there were certain 'rules' to follow when trying to sneak around at a ball, another reason why one of those two should have come instead of him). Maybe he could get away with searching it early? It's not like the host would be in his room during his own party. Now he'd just have to find where the hell the bedroom is (that's where important information is kept, right?) and he could-

"I need your help," a smooth, sultry voice whispers into Yugo's ear, causing him to straighten. An unfamiliar hand is already tightly wrapped around his wrist. His instincts tell him to throw a punch at whoever this is, get this person off him. His eyes are already narrowing, but when he looks over to see who it is, any anger he has vanishes and he pales to the sight.

Oh no.

"You never introduced yourself when you arrived, correct?" Lavender hues meet with his sky blue ones. Yugo is not given a chance to respond. "Nor do you seem intent on trying to get on my good side, whatever that may be." His lips grin slightly to his own joke, eyes quickly looking elsewhere for a moment.

"Umm..." That's all Yugo manages to get out as he's still frozen on the spot. Was he caught? He definitely was caught. Shit. Of all the people to come up to him at this ball, it just had to be him. He should have introduced himself- why the hell didn't he? If he had, he wouldn't have been captured by the goddamn fusion emperor.

"Shh," he hushes Yugo, raising a finger to his lips in order to silence him, "just come with me. Stay by my side at all costs." It's more of a demand than a request and Yugo promptly obeys (though he really wants to just run). The emperor releases his wrist, only to affectionately grab onto his arm, practically hugging it and pulling Yugo way to close for comfort while resting his head against his shoulder. (Yugo is not going to admit at how he can feel his own cheeks heat up from this sort of contact.)

Yuri lets out a small giggle and Yugo can't tell if he was laughing at his stiff, innocent reaction or whatever it was he was trying to do. Honestly, his mind was still racing as to how he, of all people, had been picked out of a crowd by the fucking fusion emperor. Was it due to his slight resemblance of the other two he allied himself with? (He never saw it honestly but so many others did.) Or was he being a little too grumpy for this ball? Various reasons popped into his mind, all while Yuri was leading him through the crowd, somehow managing to avoid everyone (most politely step out of his path once they see him) and eventually they reach a set of doors. The emperor pushes through them, leading the two out to a balcony, quickly shutting the doors behind them.

"Stay here with me for a few minutes," he says as he pulls Yugo over to the edge of the balcony, never removing his arms from him and remaining right beside him. "I'll make sure you get whatever it is you wish at the party. Drinks will be on the house, I'll accompany you and you can have whatever you desire."

"Uhh..." Yugo was still very, very confused. Why was he offering him all this stuff? Didn't he know who he was? Why was he needed anyway? Wasn't he going to just...kill him? He was the good guy who got whisked away by the villain, being held captive (and now apparently being bribed for some reason). God he really wished he never came to this stupid party. "I don't..."

"Hm?" Yuri looks to him with a curious gaze. "You don't what?" He asks, trying to find the rest of his question in his eyes. But then it clicks. "Oh, you don't understand why I did this?" He chuckles, his free hand being brought up to his chin as he does so. "How cute of you. I never thought I'd pick such an innocent man out of the multitude of faces there. Don't worry, I just need someone to latch onto so others don't latch onto me."

"...Huh?" Yugo stares, blinks. Some quiet seconds pass before it clicks for him. "Oh! You needed a partner!" In other words, someone to ward off admirers. (Did he even have admirers? Maybe not in that sense or maybe he did.) "And...you picked me?"

"My, my, how quick you are." There's a hint of sarcasm in his voice and Yugo shoots him a glare. Which he immediately tells himself he shouldn't have done and nearly expects this heartless bastard to silence him for good.

"Now you look as if you want to kill me. I get that a lot, though I never thought I would at my own party," Yuri comments nonchalantly.

"Well, you have done a lot of bad stuff," Yugo replies (unintentionally) quick. "Your history isn't much of a secret either."

"So, you know the darker side of me?" Yuri flashes him a grin and Yugo swears something changes in his eyes. "That would explain you being dumbstruck when you first laid eyes upon me. Or perhaps you were just captivated by my charm?"

"No way, you idiot!" Yugo hisses and even stomps his foot. (He would have flailed his arm if it wasn't still held captive by the other.) Was he really serious about what he said? Some joke that was. "I am not captured by your charm or whatever it is! You just surprised me! I mean- you just stole me away from the rest of the party!"

"You truly are different," Yuri muses as his gaze rests upon the synchro mechanic. "You know, only a few ever dare to fight back against me, shout at me and even call me an idiot." He tightens his grip on the other's arm for a moment. And in the blink of an eye, Yuri is pushing Yugo against the railings of the balcony, pressing his body against his, leaning forward to make him lean back slightly. One hand still holds onto his wrist, the other having a firm grip on his chin, forcing their eyes to meet.

"Oh..." Yugo gulps, not realizing what he was actually saying nor how he was acting until he pointed it out. Shouldn't he be kissing up to this guy to get information? Anything but trying to bark back at him really. Yet, here he was, nearly ready to be pushed down by the fusion emperor to his death. (Though he'd definitely fight back or even try to drag him down with him if it came to it.)

"Don't worry, you're a lucky one. I'll spare you tonight," he says rather sweetly and it sends shivers down Yugo's spine. "Under one condition, of course."

"And that is...?"

"You truly are slow," Yuri sighs and taps a finger against his captive wrist. "I thought you would have picked up on that by now. Stay with me for the rest of the night. I'd rather have you by my side than someone foolish who just wants to bow down and suck up to me. I wouldn't mind if it were something new, but I swear they all use the same lines over and over. They really need some new material."

"Uhh..." Yugo pauses and he knows this is his chance. He'd be right beside Yuri the whole time, but he'd also be literally right beside him the whole damn time. He wasn't sure if he could handle a whole night not going off on the emperor. (He really wanted to shout and ask him if he was crazy for threatening him like this.) In the back of his mind, he could nearly hear Yuya and Yuto urging him to just say yes. He'd learn something from this, wouldn't he? He sure hoped so. "Sure? I mean, I-I'll stay with you."

"That's just what I wanted to hear." Yuri sports a smile before his grip on his chin tightens as he pulls Yugo down slightly and presses their lips together. The emperor makes sure to keep a hold on Yugo, not letting him pull away (not that he does). Eventually he releases his hold completely, allowing Yugo to move off the railings. Seeing as he doesn't move, Yuri simply returns to his original position, hugging one of Yugo's arms. "You truly are an innocent and good boy. How did you ever manage to end up in a place like this, I wonder?"

Yugo's whole face goes red to that kiss and he's at a complete loss for words. Yuri seems to find it entertaining though and is content without an answer (or whatever incoherent noises are coming out of Yugo's mouth).

"By the way, I have to call you something. So, what is your name, my dear? You can speak again, can't you?"

"I-It's Yugo."

"Fusion?"

"Yugo!"

Shit.

Yugo mentally facepalms, recalling how he isn't supposed to give away his real name tonight. He's undercover and that meant going under some alias. So much for not blowing that part of his cover. (Why the hell was he chosen for this mission again?)

"Yugo..." Yuri hums the name and for a moment and he swears that the emperor will suddenly know who he is, what side he's on, and just be killed on the spot. "A cute name that really does sound like fusion. Truly the perfect one for me tonight."

Before Yugo can make a comment about his name isn't anything like fusion, the doors to the balcony are pushed open, the muffled chatter that was once drowned out grows louder. They each turn their heads, spotting a short male with cyan hair in a blue and golden tuxedo. In his hand are a bag of...chocolates? (Yugo can't help but stare- doesn't this boy look familiar? He could have sworn he saw him once with Yuya.)

"Sir? People are asking for you inside." The new arrival eyes the synchro mechanic for a moment with brimming curiosity. "Huh, didn't think you'd pick someone like him out." Yugo lets out a growl, but is silenced by Yuri stepping onto his foot, his anger turning towards him instead. "Sorry for interrupting any of your alone time."

Yuri lets out a sigh, resting his head back against Yugo's shoulder, ignoring the death glare he's shooting him. "I think I picked out a good one, Sora. But, it's fine. You're doing your job and I can't stay out here forever. I do have duties to attend to tonight."

"I wouldn't mind telling them something else, but it's kinda hard to point to another direction when everyone is looking for you," Sora replies before grabbing a chocolate and popping it into his mouth. "And better to have me interrupt than someone else, right?"

"I suppose so." Yuri looks back to Yugo. "Come. You have to fulfill your part of the bargain."

Yugo gulps as he's dragged back inside with Yuri latched onto his arm (he swears he can hear Sora giggling to his misery and even uttering a mocking 'good luck'). As they reenter, now he can feel countless eyes on both of them, or maybe it's just on him, or just Yuri. He honestly can't tell but he knows they're being stared at by everyone they pass. (Where they staring at them the first time they walked through? He hadn't noticed.)

And he knows that Yuya and Yuto are going to kill him when he gets back for grabbing so much attention (he figures Yuto might end up scolding him, Yuya would try to stop any fight from breaking out).

He feels a slight tug on his arm, and he glances over to Yuri, who seemed to be slightly annoyed. "Your eyes are supposed to be on me. Don't focus on anything else or I'll have to force your thoughts to be on me to."

"Is that supposed to be encouraging?" He asks, irritated by that command. (Again, he has to remind himself to go along with this for the mission.)

"Maybe, maybe not." Yuri shrugs, never intending for that to be helpful. "But you're far to distracted. I hope your'e not going to be like that when we dance later."

"Oh please, I am not distra- dance?" Wait. No. He's not supposed to be dancing with the enemy. Being like this was as far as he'd go.

"Mhmm. Dance. It's what people do at balls. And since you've agreed to be with me for the night, you definitely have no choice. You're my partner. I just hope you can dance...you can, can't you?"

"Sort of..." Yugo admits, looking elsewhere. He wasn't exactly confident in his dancing skills. He only had about three days to practice and he was certain the emperor would be a pro at it.

"Lost your bark, have you?" Yuri teases. "I suppose dancing is your weakness then? You should be glad I know how to lead. And don't worry, it'll only be for one or two dances. I'm not to particularly fond of them."

"You threw a party where you dance and you don't even like it?"

"Who says I have to? It's only necessary for social interactions, other than that, dancing is quite dull."

"That's pretty stupid."

"You're response isn't so bright either."

"You wanted me by your side."

"And you want to keep breathing for the remainder of the night, don't you?"

(Yugo swears he could feel something slithering around his throat as he threatens the other. It's his imagination, isn't it? Or maybe this was part of the emperor's abilities. He really hopes its the former.)

"Bastard..." Yugo grumbles and if he could cross his arms, he would have. Yuri wears a triumphant look on his face and if they were not at this ball, the synchro mechanic would have been more than happy to just throw a punch at him, or even one of his trinkets (that he sadly did not have on him at the moment).

~...~

As the ball comes to an end, Yuri gives his farewell speech for the night. Yugo, along with that Sora kid, stand beside him (he guesses that the shortie was more important than he looked if he was standing up here). The synchro mechanic is already mentally checking out of this ball. He spent more than enough time with Yuri, surprisingly never losing his temper that much around him. (Okay, maybe he tried to actually punch him once but was stopped by some vines before he could even throw his fist at him.) And he had gotten some information that passed between Yuri and Sora's conversations throughout the night (they weren't stupid and made sure to keep the more important bits out of his earshot.) Now he had enough and couldn't wait to get the hell out of here and never deal with the emperor again (at least not being his special synchro partner).

As he hears something about a goodbye and sees people shuffling out of the palace, Yugo is ready to follow after the crowd. He turns, tired, intent on leaving but is stopped by a familiar hand grabbing his.

"I didn't dismiss you," Yuri says casually. Again, he steps to his side, being uncomfortably close (though Yugo feels as if he's gotten used to it- he had spend how man hours beside him like this?).

"Yeah, but I can't stay here forever. I gotta get home," Yugo replies, lacking the energy to really argue and just barely stopping himself from yawning in his face.

"I know. It's a shame you can't. You would have made such a perfect pet. Who knew you'd be so obedient the whole night, Pogo."

"Yugo! It's Yugo, you asshole!" Yugo's energy spikes, but only for that short time. Yuri only chuckles in response to that. "Whatever, I'm going home."

"But before you do..." The emperor turns, standing in front of him to halt his movement. He pulls up Yugo's hand, letting his soft lips brush against the back of his palm. (Are his cheeks going red for the millionth time tonight? Yes they are.) "You were enjoyable company. Very entertaining. Your scary face kept so many at bay for me. I didn't think I'd also find such a good guard dog to. Perhaps for the next ball I'll send you a personal invite."

"I, uhh..." He's still caught off guard by that gentle kiss (every time he had done something like this he froze on the spot) and his slightly kinder words (he sounds sincere but he knows this guy probably doesn't mean it). He doesn't even want to come to another ball nor play the role of his 'guard dog'. And if he's going to send a personal invitation, that would mean giving out more information about himself, wouldn't it? (He had already accidentally given his name and he didn't want to end up giving out more information again.)

"Your reactions are priceless." Yuri smiles as he lets go of his hand. "Maybe I really should keep you...but that'd be too easy right now. I'll find you sooner or later, my little fusion." He playfully winks to the other, knowing that would cause the boy to go from speechless to angry in half a second.

"It's-"

"Yugo."

"-Yugo!"

Yugo is still angry from the purposefully mistaken name, though was surprised that Yuri had even bothered to correct himself.

"I do hope to see you around. Enjoy the ride home." Yuri flashes another smile at him before passing by, heading over to walk alongside Sora. Yugo's gaze remains on the two, watching them go, chatting about who knows what (he's too tired to try to eavesdrop).

"I can't wait to go to bed..." Yugo mumbles, not bothering to think about this situation any longer and finally making his way out of this palace.

~...~

"Dude...no way." Yuya sounds surprised as he looks to the morning paper, eyes going wide while remaining transfixed upon the printed text.

"What? Did something happen yesterday?" Yugo asks before beginning to drink some of his coffee (he rarely has this caffeinated drink but he needs it after getting three hours of sleep thanks to that damned ball. He honestly wonders why he even bothered to wake up this early). He lazily looks over to Yuya while he remains slumped over the table.

"I can't believe it..." Yuya says and ushers for Yuto to go to his side. Yugo never thought he'd ever see Yuto's eyes go wide, mirroring Yuya's own surprise. While it's a rare sight, Yugo is simply annoyed that those two aren't telling him anything about this unbelievable news.

"What the hell is it you two?" Yugo growls as he gets up from his seat.

"Well...I never thought you and the fusion emperor would be a thing." Yuya folds the paper, showing the article (the title in rather large and bold print) about Yuri and his new supposed lover. A picture of the two from the ball accompanies it. And to make matters worse, it's one where they had been so close during one of the slower dances. (Neither look to pissed off at each other and Yugo couldn't recall if he really was enjoying that dance with him or not. Maybe the picture had been photoshopped. Yeah, he'll go with that excuse if asked.)

Yugo's face goes blank as his eyes narrow in on the picture. He's really glad he's not holding up his mug or else it would have dropped to the floor in an instant. In this groggy state of his it takes him a few seconds to actually register what he's actually seeing.

"What. The. Fuck?!" Yugo yells as he suddenly has energy to dash over to Yuya and snatch the paper out of his hands, quickly skimming the article. His face goes red as he's constantly considered the fusion emperor's secret lover and some other bullshit about their apparent love life that is now coming to light. (He's going to kill whoever wrote this article, he decides.)

"You know, I think we can use this to our advantage," Yuto speaks up to break the silence. Yugo growls at him as his grip around the paper tightens (and he's only seconds away from ripping this up).

"Fuck no! I am not going along with this!" He shakes the paper, jabbing a finger at the article. "I'm not going to be his damned lover!"

"But you can get close to him this way!" Yuya's eyes shine to the idea (and Yugo feel betrayed that he's siding with Yuto on this). "You'll be such a great undercover agent! Just imagine all the information you can get from being right beside Yuri!"

"He'll kill me when he finds out who I am!"

"But he won't," Yuto argues, calmly. "He didn't get rid of you last night for a reason."

"That was one night! And this article is just so- so stupid! We didn't even do half the shit it says! And you guys said I'd never have to do something like this again!"

"We said you wouldn't have to go to a ball again," Yuto points out. "This is different. You pretended to be his lover last night, apparently." (Not even he believed the article, but Yugo did say he was forced to be by his side the entire night.) "So, all you have to do is keep playing the part."

"Wait, what?" Yugo just stares at him, trying to wrap this around his head now. Why the hell did he have to keep playing this lovers act? Wasn't this all made up just so the paper could have some eye-catching article?

"Yuri confirms it," Yuya points to the crumpled up paper in Yugo's grasp. "Not the whole you did this for a show, but he says you're his lover."

Yugo pauses before trying to find where it states that. It takes a moment (and help from Yuya) before he finds the statement that Yuri had apparently made. Was he still being used to get rid of more admirers? Wouldn't that just make him a target for whoever wanted to go after Yuri? More importantly, why the hell did he confirm everything on here? Was he intent on making his life hell?

"I'm...going back to bed." And he hopes when he wakes up, this will all just be a dream.

~...~

"Yuri, sir? May I ask why you bothered to say all that stuff to the reporter?" Sora asks while looking over to the emperor, setting down a tray with his breakfast on the table.

"One reason was to get her off my back." The fusion emperor takes a piece of toast, inspecting its quality before taking a bite. It's satisfactory. "Another was to see if he's going to take the bait."

"Who? That synchro lover of yours?"

Yuri chuckles to the sound of that. "I never thought I'd hear you utter such a thing to me. But, yes. I picked up some interesting information from him. Aside from the basic facts he is also a recent addition to those of that silly rebellion group."

"Oh, those Lancers guys right?" Sora practically spat out their name in disgust. "Such a lame name for a group. But is he really on their side? He doesn't seem to fit their type exactly."

"I do wonder how he managed to join as well, but that mystery will be solved another day." The emperor wears a devilish smirk as his gaze rests on Sora. "Did you know that simpleton had a good luck note signed by Yuya Sakaki in his pocket? I doubt he even realized it was there."

"Seriously?" Sora blinked and one of the plants that decorated the room had began to grow, extending a thorny vine towards the smaller boy. At the end of it a thorn was poking through a small paper. The boy tilted his head, seeing that this was indeed the paper he had spoken about. "Wow...I can't believe he actually had that on him the whole night." Or most of the night until Yuri had stolen it from Yugo.

"I couldn't believe it myself at first. But if all goes according to plan, he really will be an interesting pawn to use in this game, don't you think?"

based on a dialogue prompt kinda? from the-modern-typewriter on tumblr (can't post the link but thats where it's from). I don't like using it word for word tho so I changed it up a bit