Notes: This fic is for Spirit's cliche challenge in the BPSC forum. Rebecca is the main character in this one, though there is slight puzzleshipping in here.
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.
Thanks to xXDarkxHikariXx for betaing! Enjoy!
"I'll take this book." A teenage girl, with long blonde hair and glasses, set the book she requested up on the counter. The cashier gave her an odd look as she read the title of the book, but she rang it up anyway and held out her hand.
"That will be twenty-five ninety-five."
"Here," The young lady said, giving the woman a small pile of bills. She snatched the book off the counter while the woman was busy placing the money into the cash register, running off a moment later. The woman cried out, holding out a hand as if to stop her. "Wait! You forgot your change!"
The girl didn't care, pushing the glass door open and sprinting out onto the street. She felt embarrassed, buying such a book in the first place, but she hoped that in the end it would be worth it, especially when she finally captured the love she'd wanted for so long. The very thought of her crush brought a blush to her cheeks, as well as a sense of anger. How could he have told everyone that he was in love with that man, that-that parasite!
Arriving home, she opened the door and slammed it shut, toeing her shoes off before heading for her bedroom. On the way there, she was stopped by a cheerful voice coming from the kitchen.
"Rebecca! Home already?" Arthur Hawkins, Rebecca's grandpa, stood in the kitchen, a soup ladle in one hand and a white apron around his waist. Rebecca nearly ducked her head in shame, trying to hide the book in her hands behind her back. She didn't need her grandfather asking her why she bought it or for what purpose.
"Yeah Grandpa. There weren't a lot of books at the store I didn't own, so I came home. Call me for dinner, okay?" With that, Rebecca ran to her room and shut the door behind her, turning her lock with a sound click. She tossed the book on the floor and lay down on her stomach, pulling the book over to her and opening it. The title of the book read "Potions and Spells, Ancient Remedies." Rebecca felt slightly ashamed for even buying such a book, when she wasn't a big believer in such things to begin with. She was mostly about science and technology, though she did admit there were some things that even science couldn't explain.
Flipping the pages to the table of contents, Rebecca searched for the type of potion she was looking for. Part of her wondered why she was even bothering, but the less rational side of herself demanded that she do this. She'd been nursing this feeling for almost two years now, and there was so way she would surrender her darling Yugi to that Pharaoh without a fight. That man wasn't even deserving of her Darling, not after nearly getting him killed so many times over the years. Rebecca couldn't fathom just what made the man so attractive to Yugi. The man was dangerous, and she just had to save her Darling from him.
Finding what she was looking for, Rebecca flipped the pages to the number written in the contents. What she found was a simple love potion, guaranteed to make whomever it was given to fall head over heels in love with someone, so long as a... Rebecca made a face at the next part, finding it slightly revolting. She had to pull out a strand of her hair and add it to the concoction. The less rational side of herself argued with her, telling her that Yugi wouldn't even taste the strand of hair. She could always cut it into pieces, and that way it wouldn't even be noticeable.
Satisfied, Rebecca read over whatever else she needed, and she decided it would go best with tea. All she had to do was slip some into the tea, and Yugi liked his so sweet that one could barely taste anything other then sugar, so he wouldn't even know she'd put it in his drink until it was too late. If she made regular dark tea, then any color changes wouldn't be noticeable either. Now all she had to do was figure out how she could slip it to him... And how she could make it without her grandpa finding out what she was up to.
A knock on her door startled Rebecca, and she squeaked, slamming the book shut and shoving it under her bed. Getting to her feet then, she strode to the door and opened it. She was met with Arthur's smiling face, the soup ladle still in his hand.
"Dinner time Rebecca," He told her.
"Thanks Grandpa," Rebecca replied. As her grandpa turned and walked down the hallway, Rebecca cast a glance back to her bed before following.
During dinner, Arthur revealed to Rebecca some news he had recently found out about. "Sugoroku wants the two of us to get together tomorrow evening for dinner, to discuss the new exhibits coming to town."
"So I'm alone tomorrow evening?" Rebecca questioned. Arthur flushed a little, looking away.
"Well, no," he answered slowly, not sure how Rebecca would take this next part. "I actually asked Yugi if he wouldn't mind babysitting you."
Clang! Rebecca's fork fell to her plate, and her jaw dropped. "Grandpa, you can't be serious! A babysitter, and it has to be YUGI?" Rebecca was outraged, wondering how her grandpa could do this to her. She was almost eleven for crying out loud! It was bad enough that he thought she even needed a sitter, but for it to be her crush... Rebecca was mortified. Now Yugi would never think of her as a grown-up! "Grandpa, how could you!"
"Now Rebecca, I didn't use those words exactly..." Truth was he had, but Arthur was simply trying to quell his granddaughter's rage. "I told Yugi that perhaps while Sugoroku and I were away, you and he could hang out, maybe play some games together. He seemed very happy about the idea of spending some time with you."
At that, Rebecca stopped, a blush lighting her cheeks. "R-Really? Yugi s-said that?"
"Of course." Arthur smiled, relieved. "He'll be by at five tomorrow to get you."
"O-Okay."
Dinner resumed after that, soon finishing up. While Rebecca took her plate to the sink, a new thought struck her. This was actually perfect! She wouldn't be able to make the potion before she went to Yugi's, but if she gathered what she needed tonight when her grandpa was asleep, then she could make it tomorrow! She could offer to make tea, and then slip into the kitchen and make both at the same time. So it wouldn't be suspicious, Rebecca would put everything in her backpack along with a few games and books, that way no one could question why she had her bag in the first place. It was foolproof! Smiling and chuckling to herself, Rebecca skipped off to her room to look at the book again and figure out what she needed to grab.
"Make yourself at home, okay Rebecca?"
"Um, sure... Thanks Yugi." Rebecca sat her backpack on the couch, watching as her darling walked over to the bookshelf. Yugi shot her a glance, a smile on his face, making him look so radiant that Rebecca blushed. Glancing around, she was pleased to see Atemu wasn't in the room. Maybe he had gone out as well. Rebecca felt giddy with the thought, praying it was just going to be herself and her darling.
"Is there a movie you'd like to see?" Yugi questioned her. "Or perhaps a game you'd like to play?"
"Um..." Rebecca wasn't sure what to choose.
"It's okay, take your time," Yugi told her, going back to browsing the videos. "And you can sit down, Becca." Blushing darker, Rebecca lowered herself onto the love seat, crossing her legs one over the other. As contemplated what she'd like to do, a sound met her ears. It sounded like someone coming down the stairs. Rebecca's green eyes widened when Atemu stepped into the room. He smiled when he saw her, and she had to fight to plaster a smile on her face. And here she had hoped it would just be her and Yugi! Oh well, she thought with a wicked chuckle in her mind. When she gave Yugi the potion and he fell in love with her, it would just be that much sweeter to see the look on Atemu's face.
"Hello Rebecca," the former king of games greeted her before walking over to Yugi and kissing him on the cheek. Rebecca felt her stomach drop to the floor as Yugi blushed adorably, turning his head to give the Pharaoh a chaste kiss on the lips. "Have you decided what we'll do tonight, Aibou?"
"I thought I'd let Becca choose, since she's the guest tonight," Yugi answered, giving Rebecca a wink that melted her right into the floor. "So, have you decided?"
"Um... Movie I guess."
"Okay, how about you come over here and choose one?" Yugi asked her, waving her to his side. Up in an instant, Rebecca darted over, getting between him and Atemu. If Atemu noticed her slight hostility, he pretended not to, turning and walking over to the couch and sitting down. Rebecca browsed the movies before choosing a romance. Yugi took it from her, her blush darkening as their fingers brushed, and strode to the DVD player, popping it in. He then joined Atemu on the couch, curling up against the once Pharaoh's side. Eyes darkening with jealousy, Rebecca sauntered over to the couch herself, plopping down on Yugi's other side.
"What is this one?" She heard Atemu ask, and she turned her head towards them.
"She choose A Walk to Remember," Yugi replied. Rebecca seethed as Atemu wrapped an arm around Yugi, holding him close. She'd had enough of the former spirit's affectionate touches towards her darling, and so she decided now was as good a time as any to make her potion.
"Would either of you two like some tea?" Rebecca asked, drawing their attention towards her.
"Sure. Atemu?" Yugi inquired, looking at his lover.
"Sounds fine."
Yugi went to get up as soon as he received Atemu's answer, but Rebecca shot to her feet, holding out a hand to him. "No! I'll make it. It's the least I can do for the two of you, since you agreed to spend time with me tonight." Slightly startled, Yugi nodded, settling back down against Atemu. Grabbing her backpack, Rebecca hurried to the kitchen, not noticing the odd look Atemu sent her way.
"Aibou, why would she need her backpack to make tea?"
"Huh?" Yugi blinked, looking up at him, then back the way Rebecca went. "That is odd... Maybe she brought her own."
"Perhaps..." Shrugging it off, the two waited for the little girl to come back.
In the kitchen, Rebecca set her backpack on the counter before opening it and taking out the book. Flipping it to the pages she needed, Rebecca then got out the rest of her ingredients, setting them up on the counter. She then hurried around the kitchen, gathering the tea items and the cooking utensils she would need. It didn't take her long to start the water, so she set to work on her potion.
It was relatively simple to make, and soon she had both hot water and a steaming batch of love potion. She put the tea into the teacups she'd found before hurrying to get rid of the evidence that she'd made something other then what she'd promised. Rebecca reached up and selected a strand of her hair, yanking it out of her head. "Ouch!" She exclaimed, her eyes watering slightly. Ripping it up in her hands, she dumped it into the potion, then spooned a large amount of it into a ladle. Carefully, Rebecca added the mixture to Yugi's tea, stirring it up before adding the large amount of sugar she knew Yugi liked.
Satisfied, Rebecca left the spoon in Yugi's cup so she would remember which it was. She then cleaned up her mess and placed everything else back into her bag, which she left on the counter. She could always come back for it later. Tossing the spoon into the sink, Rebecca kept her eye on Yugi's cup as she carried the tray of cups into the living room.
Yugi and Atemu smiled upon seeing her. Seeing their smiles almost made her feel guilty for what she was about to do. Almost. Setting the tray on one of the end tables, Rebecca picked up Yugi's cup and handed it to him. "Four tablespoons sugar, just how you like it," she told him, smiling herself. Yugi thanked her before blowing on it to cool it. Rebecca handed Atemu his, then sat down and picked her own up. She watched Yugi out of the corner of her eye, waiting for the moment when he drank her tea.
Yugi blew on it carefully for a few seconds before taking a sip. Rebecca held her breath, watching as he began to drink it. She smiled widely, drinking her own. The book had said that the person need not drink the whole cup. Only a few mouthfuls were needed for the potion to take effect. Rebecca monitored how much he drank, her excitement mounting as she waited. Yugi set the cup down on the coffee table after a few minutes and hit the play button on the remote, snuggling close to Atemu's side as the beginning credits began to play.
Rebecca turned her attention to the TV, not wanting to be caught staring, and she continued to wait, not noticing anything different. How long before the potion took effect and Yugi only had eyes for her? She raised her hand to her mouth and bit her thumbnail, chewing on it worriedly. Rebecca glanced to her side, seeing Yugi still snuggled up to the former Pharaoh, their attention focused solely on the movie. There was no evidence that any change was happening to Yugi. She watched him reach down for his teacup, her excitement beginning to grow again. Maybe the book had been wrong and he needed to drink more for it to take effect, or the time it took had been wrong.
After an hour or two, Rebecca found out how wrong she was. The movie was almost over by this point, and still nothing had happened. No looks her way, no realization of how much Yugi adored her, nothing. He was STILL snuggled against Atemu, and the tea in his cup was gone. Worst of all, Rebecca had dumped the remaining potion down the sink earlier, to hide the evidence of what she'd done, and so she couldn't give him anymore of it. Disappointment rushed through her as she realized that yet again she'd been unable to win Yugi's love for herself. Crossing her arms over her chest, she sat through the rest of the movie, not even sparing the couple a glance, feeling frustrated and angry.
The next day found Rebecca hunched over a few books in the library. Last night was a very big disappointment. By the time her grandfather had come to get her, there had still been no change in the small King of Games. It seemed the book she'd bought failed her, and so she made plans to come here today and look for more books on the subject. Usually after the first failure of something like this, Rebecca would have assumed magic potions didn't work and would have given up, but for Yugi's love, she was willing to take an extra leap.
Now the small girl was sifting through book after book of love spells, potions, and charms, looking for something, anything, that might help her gain what she so desperately wanted. Rebecca didn't even care who saw her looking through these books; if it came down to it, she would just pretend she was doing an essay on the subject of ancient potions.
"Rebecca? What on Earth are you doing?" Rebecca glanced up with a gasp, startled by the familiar voice. She was met with brilliant azure eyes staring down at her in concern, a frown marring the pretty features of one Tea Gardener.
"Tea!" Rebecca was quick to clasp her arms over what she was reading, drawing the books closer to her body, but Tea reached down and grasped one that Rebecca had failed to secure.
"Rebecca, what are you reading?" Tea questioned, reading the title of the book.
"It's nothing!" She exclaimed, shooting up and reaching for the book. Tea arched a brow at her, the look on her face clearly stating she didn't believe her. "It's research!" Rebecca insisted, angered that Tea was playing keep-away with her library book.
"Research for what?"
"School! It's for an essay!"
"An essay on magic potions and spells?"
"Yes! Now give me my book back!" Rebecca snarled. Tea sighed and dropped the book into the girl's waiting hands, sitting down at the table afterwards and placing her head in her hands.
"Tell me the truth," Tea told her. "I know you, and you wouldn't do an essay on magic for a college level exam. You'd stick with scientific things, or things that you could prove with actual fact."
"Shows how much you know," Rebecca replied, sticking her tongue out at the girl. "These things interested me a great deal, which is why I chose them for my essay."
"Becky," Tea's tone let Rebecca know she was getting annoyed, "don't lie to me. There's another reason for this, and I want to know what it is. You can't fool me; I remember you saying your exams weren't for a while yet." Rebecca's eyes widened at that. Crap! She thought, caught in her lie. She had said that to Tea! Blushing bright red from embarrassment, Rebecca huffed and looked to the side.
"You would think I was crazy," Rebecca replied, refusing to look at Tea.
"No I wouldn't."
Rebecca glanced at Tea, noting her eyes were full of concern again. Should she tell Tea about what she was trying to do? Rebecca's eyes widened a tiny bit when she remembered that the brunette had had a crush on the former Pharaoh for the longest time. Tea had been heart broken when she learned Yugi and Atemu were a couple, so maybe Rebecca could secure Tea's help on this! If she could get Tea's support, maybe they could each get what they wanted!
"If I tell you, promise not to say anything to anyone?"
At that, Tea arched a brow once more, but she nodded in agreement. Rebecca, not satisfied, leaned over the table, her pinky extended. "Pinky swear?"
"Alright," Tea agreed, linking her pinky with Rebecca's. Smiling, Rebecca sat back down and looked from side to side, making sure that no one else they knew was lurking about before she started speaking.
"Okay, listen: you know I've had a crush on Yugi for a while, right?" Tea nodded; that had never been news. Everyone knew about that. "Well, I was as upset as you were when I learned that he had actually admitted to being in love with that parasite. That's why I've been looking through these books, trying to find a way to make sure Yugi ends up with who he's supposed to be with."
Tea's eyes widened at Rebecca's explanation. "And you think he belongs with..."
"Me, of course!" Rebecca huffed, glaring at Tea. "That Pharaoh is all wrong for him!"
"How so?"
At that, Rebecca faltered. How was Atemu wrong for Yugi? Racking her brain for an answer, Rebecca could only come up with a childish answer. "He just is!" Crossing her arms over her chest, the smaller girl leveled another glare at Tea. "Besides, wouldn't you like to be with Atemu? These books are full of potions and spells, ones we could use to get the man we want!"
"Rebecca, don't you think gaining love through unfair means is wrong?" Tea asked quietly. The blonde's eyes widened again, not believing Tea could ask such a question. Did it matter? Did it matter when it would get them what they both wanted?
"Don't you want Atemu, Tea? You'd be doing Yugi a favor by taking him away."
"Becky, listen to yourself!" Tea suddenly snapped, her blue eyes alight with fury. "Listen to what you're saying! You're talking about wanting to separate Yugi from the love of his life, just to make yourself happy! Think about it, would it really make Yugi happy? Or are you just making excuses so as not to feel bad about what you're planning?"
Stunned speechless, Rebecca could only stare at the woman sitting opposite herself. Sighing heavily and feeling a little bad for snapping the way she did, Tea took a deep breath, leveling a disapproving look at the small blonde.
"Listen, you're right about one thing; I loved Atemu. There are still times that I wish it had been me who had captured his heart instead of Yugi, but the difference between me and you it seems is that I realize how selfish and wrong those thoughts are. Yugi and Atemu are my best friends, and I honestly want nothing more then for the two of them to be happy, even if I can't have Atemu."
"But Tea..." Rebecca started, tears gathering in her eyes. "it hurts."
"I know. Honey, believe me, I know." Tea smiled, reaching across the table to clasp one of Rebecca's smaller hands in her own. "I know it hurts, but you know what? It'll eventually go away. They belong with each other, and it's wrong to do things to try to tear them apart. It won't make them happy at all, and you could lose a couple of the best friends you've ever had."
"But-but there isn't anyone else for me other then Yugi!" Rebecca protested. Tea sighed and shook her head.
"Rebecca, you may think you're in love, but do you really even know what love is? You're still so young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. That's a very long time yet for you to find your soul-mate."
Sniffling, Rebecca said nothing. She was trying to reflect on what Tea had told her. Could there really be someone else out there for her? Did she even really love Yugi, the way Atemu did? She'd been so focused on Yugi for the longest time, but what did she really know about him? Tears began to fall down her cheeks when she realized she knew things about Yugi that everyone else knew, but she didn't know very many personal things. She didn't know his fears, his dreams, or anything like that. But Atemu did. Atemu knew all those personal things because Yugi chose to share them with him, because Atemu was the person Yugi loved.
Rebecca had never stood a chance.
A sob escaping her, Rebecca buried her face in her arms. A few moments later, she felt Tea's arms wrap around her, and she turned sharply, burying herself in Tea's chest and sobbing for all she was worth.
"I know, Becky. I know." Tea murmured. She knew what the little girl in her arms was going through, because she'd gone through the same dilema with her feelings for the former spirit. She had managed to get over those feelings though, and she firmly believed that in time, Rebecca would too. All this meant to Tea is that there was someone else out there for them, someone who was a better match.
She continued to hold Rebecca and sooth her, whispering words of comfort. Rebecca had learned a valuable lesson today. She just knew that someday Rebecca would indeed find someone worthy of her.
Reviews are loved.