Title: A Fate Worse Than Death
Pairing: Edo x Juudai
Timeline: After second season, but before the end of their second school year.
Notes: I wrote this for the 15pairings challenge on Livejournal. I will be writing twelve other fanfics, each a different romance, for that challenge.
"Here, drink this." If someone other than Yuki Juudai had told him that, it could well have been the last words out of their mouth for a very long time. But Edo Phoenix stared at the extended hand that held a glass of milk, and then stared at Juudai as if he weren't quite certain that he'd heard what he thought he had. Which indeed he wasn't.
"That's a glass of milk." He said it in much the same way that many people would have said 'that's a week-old dead fish'.
Juudai nodded eagerly, as if Edo should be reaching for it with the enthusiasm of a man seeing water in the desert. "Right! Milk's good for you, and it tastes good! You should drink more of it. It'll put some color in you."
Hadn't Edo made up for the sins of his past? He rather thought that he had. So why was he being forced to undergo this torment? He only kept milk on his boat because he needed it for his regular breakfast cereal. It wasn't something that hedrank. That was for children under the age of twelve. Or for people who weren't Edo Phoenix at all. Since that was virtually everyone else, there were plenty of people out there to drink milk, and he felt no need to join their ranks.
"I've got color in me," was all that he said. He had come to discover over the last few months that Juudai could confuse him in virtually any conversation. It didn't have to be in a duel. Just talking to him could do it so very easily.
This was a perfect example of that. Juudai simply held the glass out to him, obviously expecting him to take it with all the enthusiasm that he himself possessed.
Edo knew well that Saioh had lost his powers when Juudai had defeated the Light of Ruin. But he wondered now if perhaps his manager could have told him that something like this was going to happen before that duel. Of course they hadn't been on the best of terms then, and he'd been very busy hunting down DD, but there had to have been a brief moment or two, didn't there? If he'd known this was coming, he would have made some kind of an effort to stop it or avoid it.
How could you get around a simple glass of milk, though? Especially one being offered by Juudai with that simple smile and laughter in his eyes? It was worse than being faced down by almost anything else he could think of in a duel. It didn't matter that there was only himself and Juudai there. The only thing that would have made a difference was if Juudai wasn't there doing it in the first place.
"Come on!" Juudai pushed the glass of milk closer towards him. At least it was aplain glass, which was the only kind he had on his ship. Edo had never wanted to have any of those glasses with various animated characters on them. Or any glasses that had actors or actresses on them, and God forbid he have something with a puppet on it! No, plain was the way he wanted to go for that, or perhaps some elegant design. He'd never seen one that truly struck his fancy, though. "Edo! Drink it! What's it going to do, hurt you?"
Edo stared at the glass again, and reluctantly began to reach for it. Juudai was right about something. It wasn't going to hurt him. It wasn't as if he'd never had milk before or was allergic to it. It was the fact of being offered milk by Juudai that was so startling.
"That's it!" Juudai grinned at him encouragingly, and Edo wanted to do something to get rid of that grin. It was simply too happy. Hadn't Juudai ever been sad about anything for more than a few hours? A day or two at the most.
Yes. He knew the answer to that, and there was the tiniest shred of regret in him for it. There were grains of salt larger than that regret. It had all worked out for the best, after all. So Edo generally didn't bother to think about it that much. And the point was, Juudai wasn't sad about anything now, and he had that infuriating grin on all over again.
There was something he thought of that might get rid of that happy smile. But while Edo could duel with the best of them, and could do so many other things that almost any other kid of his age would have thought impossible, he just couldn't fathom himself doing that. Not to Juudai. Not to anyone. It simply wasn't possible.
"You know, you should practice this kind of thing more often," Juudai said, his casual words breaking into Edo's concealed thought processes. "Maybe then you'd be better at it."
Edo blinked a few times as he stared at the glass of milk he held. Held, but still regarded as something a touch more dangerous than your average cobra. And he hadn't drunk from it yet. "What are you talking about? Drinking milk?"
"No!" Juudai laughed at that, a pure sound untouched by any sorrows of the world. Edo wondered if he could ever hate this boy again. He wanted to sometimes, more than anything, but hating Juudai, once you got to know him, just wasn't possible. Even Saioh had come to admit that. "Just talking with people. Hanging out with people. It's not that hard. You should do it more often."
Edo's lip curled at the very thought. He'd spent most of his life trying to avoid people unless he had no other option. He didn't duel for the excitement of it. He dueled because it was what he had had to do in order to find his father's killer.
But before he could express any of that, Juudai pointed imperiously at the glass of milk. "Go on. Drink it!"
He might as well do it. Juudai wasn't going to go away unless he did. The thought that perhaps he didn't really want Juudai to leave and that was why he kept on delaying didn't cross his mind. Said thought might have speculated about such a crossing, but never actually did it. After all, some journeys are better left unmade, even by thoughts.
Edo sipped at the milk, and did not find it repulsive at all. The sight of Juudai's beaming face made it just the slightest bit more bearable, even with the inevitable milk mustache he knew he sported. He wiped at it a bit roughly, but even as he did, Juudai was shaking his head. "Now what?" Was this insanity ever going to end? Couldn't he wake up and find out it was nothing more than a very realistic bad dream?
"That wasn't a good enough mustache," Juudai said it almost solemnly, but very seriously. Edo could scarcely believe it all over again.
"It wasn't good enough?" He had two PhD's and he couldn't get a good enough milk mustache? He was one of the youngest stars of the Pro League and his milk mustache wasn't good enough? He had beaten the Kaiser and this was what he heard?
Juudai nodded, his attention never wavering from Edo. Then he snapped his fingers. "I know the problem! You're too pale. The milk doesn't show up enough!"
Only Juudai could have saved the world from unending light and destruction the week before and be fretting over how someone was too pale for a proper milk mustache now. Edo wondered if he would have been better served just to go back to the Pro Leagues and stay there for a while until Juudai forgot all about him. That shouldn't take more than six months or so, right?
"Well, I don't tan very well," Edo replied. The protest might have been a touch on the lame side but it was also true. Edo had tried to get a tan once. He'd spent two weeks after that trying to get rid of the sunburn. He just didn't have the kind of skin that lent itself well to basking in the summer rays.
"You don't have to for this!" Juudai declared eagerly. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere!"
Before Edo could form a proper protest, or any protest at all for that matter, Juudai was out of there, zooming his way up the beach towards the Osiris Red dorms. The Pro League star stared after him, confused as he usually was when it came to that guy. How could Juudai be like that? What was it about him that just made him so different from every other human being that Edo had ever met in his life?
Maybe that was why he stuck around. He wanted to find out the answer to that question, and several more that related to Juudai. He had some time to spare now, before his next duel in the pros. He might as well get this out of his system so he could return to his real life. Not that it wouldn't have been nice to stick around and get to know Juudai a little better…
Whatever was wrong with Juudai had to be catching. Maybe it would be better if he wasn't here when the hyper duelist came back.
No, that wouldn't work either. Juudai wouldn't even be able to comprehend the thought that Edo might not be interested in whatever it was that he had planned. He would have the entire island's population searching for him in five minutes flat, and they knew this place far, far better than he did. If he had the time to explore it, maybe he could've found a good place that they wouldn't suspect. But there wasn't time enough for that.
Especially because Juudai was already on his way back, waving some kind of container above his head as he caught sight of Edo. The closer he got, the more detail Edo was able to make out, and he found himself picking off said details in his head without any conscious decision to do so. The minute he did so, he refused to pay any attention to them no matter how enticing they were. He had more important things to think about: like whatever it was Juudai had in mind now.
"This'll do it!" Juudai declared, running up the gangplank to him. "This'll get you areal milk mustache! One that I can see!"
Edo wondered if it would be worth it to point out that it wasn't really going to make a difference if he had one of those or not. It probably wouldn't be. Juudai had made this his current focus of attention, which meant he wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted. And it was a glass of milk. All he had to do was drink it, wipe the mustache off, and Juudai would be happy and go away, and that would make him happy.
Or so he hoped.
There was only one way to find out.
What Juudai had brought was, unsurprisingly when Edo considered the matter, was chocolate milk mix. In mere moments, a pristine glass of milk was transformed into a dark and possibly sinful delight, and once again said glass was in Edo's hand. He rolled his eyes a little. He could've been doing almost anything, and instead he was here doing this.
"All right." This better make you happy. He refused to take that thought any farther along, and simply drank it down. It really tasted better like this, he decided almost at once, and from the way Juudai's eyes lit up, he was happy with the results, too.
"That's perfect! That's great! I should take a picture!" Juudai never knew how close Edo came to throwing him off the ship for that. But the feeling faded quickly, especially as Juudai was suddenly reaching for his lip to wipe it off.
Edo's own hand went up and wrapped around Juudai's wrist, stopping him before he could actually touch him. Neither of them moved. It was almost as if time had stopped for a moment, just for the two of them.
If someone else had been there…let's presume for a moment that Tenjoin Fubuki was there watching them. He, of all people, could not and would not have missed the sudden tension crackling there, or the way they simply stared at one another, not moving or blinking. It is entirely possible he would have broken out with pompoms and cheered them on, so it is really for the best that he wasn't there.
Edo dropped Juudai's arm without a word, and the other reached for him again with a happy smile, as if that entire moment hadn't happened at all. He wiped off the mustache, then smiled cheerfully at him. "See, that wasn't bad at all, was it?"
Edo said nothing. The feel of Juudai's finger, so very close to his lips, had sent chills unlike anything he could remember experiencing through him. Juudai didn't notice that he hadn't said anything at all, or so he presumed from what he said next.
"I really need to get back, though. Wish I could stay longer." Juudai had to be telling the truth. He wasn't smart enough to lie, in Edo's opinion.
"You could stay the night." The words all but fell out of Edo's mouth, and he had no idea of why. A thousand contradictory thoughts surged through his mind, but they were all brushed away by the casual shaking of Juudai's head.
"Wish I could, but I can't. The E-Heroes and the Neo-Spacians are having a poker tournament tonight, and I'm supposed to be judging it." He shrugged a little. "But I'll come back tomorrow." He flashed a grin and between one breath and the next, was gone, racing back up the road just as if he hadn't come down it less than five minutes earlier.
Edo watched until Juudai was out of sight. Then he watched until it got too dark to see.
And then he went and made himself another glass of chocolate milk. Juudai would come back. He would have to. He'd left the chocolate mix.