Action Figures
Months ago, he wouldn't have been caught dead downtown let alone this hovel. Gangly teenagers were crowded around him and crossing his arms was all he could do to keep from marching out of there. Carly had insisted he come so he was being civil. She seemed to know the bulbous owner personally. They were chattering animatedly to each other. It irked him a little. He was stuck answering pointless questions, most of them centering on his recent fall from stardom. Although he was set to change into his true self, he wasn't quite ready to face that particular subject without reservations. His brief and tart responses eventually shushed them, which led to the unfortunate feeling of isolation when they all began talking animatedly to each other.
He hoped she would be done with whatever business she had here soon. With nothing better to do, he began observing the two. They had stopped talking and were looking at a computer screen. He figured there was no rule he had to keep a respectable distance.
"Hey, Carly, what's taking so long?" Jack asked. Carly readjusted her glasses and faced him.
"Oh, sorry Jack, I was just trying to get a new figure but someone marked up the price,"
"A what?" he asked.
"An action figure, it's sort of a hobby,"she mumbled. He glowered when he realized he had been dragged on an errand. She rubbed her head and gulped.
"Let's get out of here. It looks like I'm not getting it anyway," she said with a disappointed tone he wasn't used to hearing. Jack could fix that.
"You, the man with the ridiculously small glasses on his face," Jack shouted, making her companion purse his fish lips.
"Ah yes, I know you. Red Demon's Dragon doesn't sell near as well as it used to" he commented. Jack grabbed the man by the collar. Carly chattered nonsensically in the background, something about it being a bad idea.
"Here, special edition, first ever released Red Demon's Dragon figure. Now give her what she wants," Jack demanded. The man grinned in spite of his earlier snide remarks. He'd planned to give it to Mikage as he knew she was a fan of him, but if its something the reporter wanted, he didn't mind.
"No, Jack, that's worth a lot more than what I wanted," Carly protested. The man took out a sparkly box. It was probably something girly but at least she wouldn't be moping all day. Surprisingly, she didn't open it.
"Don't you want to check to make sure he gave you the right one," Jack insisted. She suddenly was sweating a lot, and it made him more than ready to get out of the store.
"I know it's the right one," she said, ready to go out the door. Jack snatched the box and opened it. After sifting through some package material, he found a highly detailed model of Stardust. He hadn't thought he would see it again anytime soon.
" They made a bunch of new figures to commemorate the Fortune Cup. I didn't have that one yet. He tried charging me more after we agreed on a price because Yusei won the tournament," Carly explained. He handed her the figure. Despite the explanation, it stung. Somehow Yusei got the better of him, even when it came to action figures.
"It was before I met you," she added. He scoffed. Why did that matter?
"You can have whatever childish toys you want,"Jack said, walking out the door. Carly snatched the Red Demon's Dragon from the counter and left a set amount of money. The owner yelped in protest.
"We already agreed. It was pre-ordered," she said and rushed out quickly with both figures. Jack had watched from the window. He wished she hadn't done that. He didn't want it.
"Just give it back Carly, I don't' care," Jack said, thinking he might swindle some more of her tea. The stuff tasted pretty good.
"You said I could have as many childish toys as I wanted," she reiterated. It didn't change the fact that she took both.
"Why did you want the Stardust figure anyway?" It was nosy. He had known her all of three days but it would bother him to no end if he didn't know why, just like when Yusei let him win.
"Are you crazy? You know him. If he keeps dueling like this, I can sell it off later and pay for our- my kid's college ," she said. He felt slightly relieved that it was strictly monetary. As for the kid, he'd pretend he didn't hear that part.
"You'll put Red Demon's Dragon on a higher shelf?" Jack asked because he was feeling petty and really needed the boost.
"Of course," Carly assured him.
This was one of the first one shots that popped into my head for 5ds. Originally, it consisted mostly of them hanging around a comic book store and Jack participating in some action figure trades to humor her. Way before I knew, they were actually going to get together, somewhat, sort of, not really-_-. I figured they would keep it maddeningly vague like usual. The ideas been refined with hindsight. Hope you enjoy.