"Yugi Moto as won the grand tournament!" Yelled the announcer into the microphone. The crowd roared with pride, cheering and clapping, enveloping the stadium as the podium travelled down letting the spiky haired man back to the ground.
"Oh darn, I was hoping for the underdog." A disappointment voice sounded with a sigh, dish rags being twirled around the clean and now very dry pint glass.
"Yeah well, you always cheer for the wrong team pumpkin….and you're always late for orders where's my pint?" The elderly man questioned, shaking his pint glass in the air.
She sighed as she turned back around to the man, taking his empty glass and putting it towards the nozzle, the glass tipped so the foam could glide down into the beer bath.
"Says you. He's got proper good since he first started at Duelist Kingdom." The woman said, removing the glass from the nozzle and handing it back to the man "That's a couple of quid you know." She said to him, her hand extended. He grumbled and waved her off.
"Just put it on my tab, and shoot for a better team while you're at it!" The elderly man wheezed out, a choking laughter in his voice causing the girl to wave her hand dismissively.
She leaned her back against the bar, crossing her arms over her chest as she stared at the blinking, occasionally static screen. She heard a small hum next to her as an arm snaked around her shoulders, pulling her close.
"Excited to see your cousin?" The heavy African accent asked beside her. The girl looked at her colleague from the corner of her eye before nodding her head turning her attention back to the screen.
"Very, Blessing. I haven't seen him for a very long time." She said to her, a small sigh escaping her lips.
"That's good child. Get Lizzie and go home, your plane is early tomorrow." Blessing told her, removing her arm and pushing her towards the bar door. The girl smiles widely at her manager, nodding her head and she lifted the door letting her out from behind the bar.
"How long ya gonna be gone for, Maple?" A younger males voice asked. He only received a shrug for an answer.
"Don't know. Maybe I'll never come back who knows." She said to him receiving disapproving tuts from Blessing, who was busy cleaning the bar top.
"No child you're coming back. This is your home, not that silly country." She said to Maple, earning herself a small chuckle from the brunette, then turned her attention back to the young man. "She'll be gone for a month." She just smiled at her, letting out a small laugh.
"Oh Blessing, we both know that's not how moving works." She said to her, earning herself another tut from the bar owner.
"Go and collect your child, she's in the back room. And stay safe, I will come to Japan to beat sense into you if I have to." Blessing said to her, pointing her head towards the staff room door. With a small wave, Maple said goodbye to the patrons of the bar and pushes open the door to the staff room.
She could hear hushed whispers from the patrons, and the occasional raises voice of Blessing, letting her know subtlety what she thought. But Maple did not let this bother her, she knew this was the right choice.
"Hey sweetie, time to get up. We're going home." She gently told the sleeping four year old, shaking her ever so slightly awake, just enough to gain her attention. The small child grunted, but pushed herself up anyway and yawned loudly. Maple smiled at her. This small being, that is her child, looking almost exactly like her, short brunette hair that ended at her shoulders and a small petite frame, apart from her eyes that were grey which she gained from her no longer around father. Unlike her mother, who had green eyes.
Lizzie sat up sleepily, almost immediately Maple picked her up and settled her onto her right hip.
"You excited for tomorrow?" She asked her quietly as the child placed her head onto her mother's shoulder, nodding it tiredly but never saying a word. Maple smiled gently at the small being, kissing her forehead as she gently pushed open the staff rooms back door. The cool night air creeped in and hit Maples face something fierce, making her pull her small bundle closer to her.
This would be the last time she experienced this air, it made her feel slightly sick. Sick in an excited way. Only good things were to come from now on.
~•~
Maple sighed as she brushed her teeth and combed through the tangled brown locks, occasionally yanking her hand away hard when she came to a very knotty part. She spat the residue toothpaste into the sink and skimmed her tongue across her teeth, before nodding at her appearance and grabbing her hair brush off the countertop. She hummed to herself slightly as she brushed the knots out from the bottom.
"It's been years...wonder how he's doing." Maple muttered to herself. She pulled down the bags under her eyes "I should have got more sleep." The grumbled some more, grabbing the primer. Maple began her morning routine, fully aware of the fourteen hour trip she and Lizzie was about to take. She was glad she wore something comfy, just a simple t-shirt and jeans with trainers. Her hair was loose, falling just below her shoulder blades. She was an incredibly slim woman, however having Lizzie did leave her with stretch marks, something that just made her self conscious. Of course she never blamed her little girl for them and she'd go through it again. She made sure Lizzie was comfortable too, prepping her a dress with a shirt underneath.
It didn't take her long to prep herself. She chucked on the makeup and then chucked the small carry on bottles into her carry on bag in case she needed to give herself a touch up. She looked herself in the mirror nodding approvingly.
"Maple, barmaid by night, make up artist by day! Mother all the time!" She announced to herself, cringing as a loud angry knock shook her bedroom door, gaining the attention of Lizzie who was busy chasing a fly that had perched itself outside the window, with her finger.
"House loud mouth the rest of the time. Shut up!" The voice angrily shouted, before footsteps and suddenly a slam erupted the house. Maple sighed, silently glad she'd be leaving the house for a month. Don't get her wrong, a house share was nice; all she needed to do was pay for her room and everything else was shared. However, her housemates were….something to be desired.
They kept to themselves and only bothered her when they wanted food but didn't want to cook. The other girl in the house, Leigh, regularly came to her for her makeup skills, ranging from "I need something for a fancy dress party" to "I'm going on a date." Maple wouldn't have minded, if Leigh paid her for the services. All good and well to do these things but make up was expensive and so was Maples skill. It's just unfortunate that Medway lacked places that required her skills, with no professional theatres or studios, there wasn't much she could do. A wasted talent.
She looked at Lizzie, who had been sitting quietly on her bed and shrugged her shoulders.
"They're just jealous because we're going on an amazing adventure." She told the small child, perching herself behind her and grabbed the small glitter hairbrush.
"Are we living with uncle?" Lizzie asked her. Maple shook her head no.
"No, but we're living close to him and his fiancé." She replies to her, grabbing two hair ties, parting the small child's hair down the middle. Lizzie nodded her head in understanding. She was a quote child, never spoke much, never made much of a fuss. A very well behaved child, but it was because of that she was normally teased by the other children at her current school. Lizzie was never like this all the time, only since her father didn't come back. Maple didn't want to think about that though. She knew the child would question later, but for now she wanted her to be just that, a child. A happy one at that.
Once she was done with her hair she stood up from behind her daughter and patted off her jeans. Turning to her daughter, Maple smiled widely and helped her off the bed, patting down her dress.
"All ready to go?" She asked her, receiving an enthusiastic nod from the child. Maple grabbed their bags, slinging their carry on bag over her shoulder and led Lizzie from out the room. Locking it she turned around to the door.
"Bye bye room." She said waving, Lizzie coping her with waving both her hands
"Bye bye room!" Lizzie said rather loudly, then followed her mother down the stairs and into the front room, where Maple laid down the room key for good. The mother was glad, soon they'd have their own rooms again, it was the first step to moving on.
~•~
The train took about forty minutes to arrive at London and then another few to get to London Stansted to the airport. After getting herself and her daughter through passport check and onto the plane, Maple could feel the excitement bubble in the bottom of her stomach. Buckling Lizzie into her seat making sure she had the window, the brunette adult bounced ever so slightly in her seat, preparing herself for the take off. Maple constantly looked out of the window waiting for the horizon to move. She was more excited than her daughter who had never been on a plane before. She heard movement, she heard voices, but she didn't take in what they fully said or did. The only time she seemed back with everyone was when the plane started to move its wings, and the horizon began moving.
"Oh my gosh we're moving!" She said excitedly, turning her head to her daughter trying to raise excitement in her, it worked, she earned a giggle. A man seated next to her seemed taken back by this sudden movement and sound, not that she noticed. The male next to her just sat in silence, taking in what was just said. He watched her carefully, wondering if she'd move again.
"We're getting faster!" She suddenly announced to the little girl, her bouncing getting more...bouncy and voice filled with more excitement. Of course, the white haired gentleman was slightly intimidated by her sudden announcements of the planes functions. Catching a glimpse of the small child next to her, the intimidation fell. He could only assume she was making it fun for the child.
As soon as the plane started tilting into the air and taking off the ground, Maple instantly turned around to Lizzie again, a massive smile plastered on her face.
"We're taking off!" She announced to her and while keeping her eyes on the outside world. He watched her some more. Maple's stomach felt like it was left on the tarmac, she couldn't imagine how Lizzie's must have felt. She smiled widely to herself as her bouncing continued. The brunette's attention never left her daughter, who was busy smiling widely and watching the clouds fly past the planes glass windows. The man beisde her cleared his throat and leaned forward in his seat.
"Is...is this her first time flying?" He couldn't help but ask her gently, instantly grabbing her attention.
"Oh? Oh yes! Yes it is." She said to him, laughing as she spoke to him, the smile still plastered on her face.
Maple stopped her bouncing, pressed her lips together and hummed into them.
"It's a giant adventure for my little girl." She said to him, giddy about being in the air, peeking over the white haired man's shoulders occasionally to grab a glimpse of the sky.
"I'm Maple by the way, are you going anywhere exciting? Well of course you are you're on this plane but whereabouts are you going?" she asked him, words spilling out of her mouth, almost as if she couldn't stop. It took the man back, she was chatty...very chatty.
"I'm actually going home from a business trip." He said to her, his voice calm.
Maple nodded her head enthusiastically, awing at his words.
"That's nice, was business fun? Oohhh what is it you do? Anything exciting?" She asked him quickly, only taking him back more. He sat uncomfortably in his chair, he didn't know how exactly to deal with her upbeat attitude, and for him, being a stranger she just met, she was very warm and welcoming to him. Maple noticed this, her eyes going slightly wide, her mouth forming an oh, as if realization had just struck.
"I'm sorry, I got carried away. I work... worked as a bartender so talking is pretty much half my job. You don't need to tell me anything if you don't want to, I'll stop annoying you." She said to him, the smile still on her face.
"It's no bother….I'm just not used to it. My name's Bakura." The white haired man introduced himself as. Maple nodded her head as she leaned back in her seat. She stayed quiet, happy at least she knew his name. Bakura looked at the little girl next to her, who was too busy with her eyes in the clouds.
"What's her name?" He asked her, pointing his head at the child. Maple turned to Lizzie slightly and tapped her shoulder, gaining her attention.
"This is Lizzie, you want to say hello?" She introduced and leaned backwards. Lizzie shook her head and tried her best to hide herself into her mother's side. Maple chuckled and looked at Bakura apologetically.
"She's a little bit shy." She stayed to him, receiving nothing more than an understanding smile.
Maple watched the window once more. It has been a few hours since her small, almost one sided talk with Bakura. She knew some customs, his name sounded Japanese, so introduction with just his surname is all she expected. He seemed pleasant, and wasn't put off with her mouth running off. The plane trip other than this was calm and smooth. Maple closed her eyes, and took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Her daughter, Lizzie, had made herself an almost like nest into her side, keeping herself comfortable. Images flashed through her mind, images of a younger her with her cousin back at her home when he visited. A small smile crept on her face as she watched the memory play in her mind.
Her small nap was soon interrupted by the plane shaking. Her eyes jolted open as she looked around almost panicked. The plane had never done this in previous trips, what was happening?
"Ladies and Gentlemen please fasten your seatbelts. We are experiencing some turbulence, we expect to be out of this in about fifteen minutes." A stewardess announced on the plane phone. Maple nodded her head as she buckled up the seat belt. She took a deep breath, settling into her seat. She glanced at Lizzie, who didn't seem have noticed the shaking if the plane
"I've never experienced turbulence." She mentioned casually to Bakura beside her, remembering he was there. He glanced at her, humming slightly in question, watching her nervously bounce her leg up and down.
"Are you okay, Maple?" Bakura questioned, receiving a nod.
"I'm fa-iiinnn-na-na-na-ne." She spat out as the plane shook harshly, making her somewhat quesy.
Bakura knitted his brows together as he watched her close her eyes and take in another deep breath.
"I'm fine! Isn't this fun?" She questioned, trying to uplift her mood. This failed at the plane shook some more. Maple glanced towards the window, her eyes growing wide as the plane wings shook violently, at least violently to her. She then glanced at her daughter, sliding an arm protectively around her.
"I do not like the look of that wing." She mentioned, backing in her seat, gaining her new friends attention. He looked over her shoulder questionably, placing on a reassuring smile.
"It'll be fine, it's normal. We have...about ten minutes and then we're out." Bakura said to her, turning his wrist to look at his watch. Maple nodded her head. She could cope with that, ten minutes was nothing. After all she was Maple, the fantastic makeup artist!...How being a makeup artist would help her right now she had no idea but she knew it would! She was just glad that Lizzie was sleeping through it. One thing Maple was always grateful for, Lizzie slept like a brick.
"You mentioned you were a barmaid, did you enjoy it?" Bakura asked her suddenly, making her jump. He was a softly spoken man, and if anything Maple hadn't expected him to make conversation...so why was he? Not that Maple was one to disregard conversation, oh no she jolly well wasn't!
"I did yeah! Interesting people, interesting days, never the same you know." She told him, as if forgetting that a moment ago she was terrified about the plane turbulence. "One of my regulars bought in a dog!" She continued "and he was the cutest little dog I've ever seen!" She continued some more "Absolute idiot, couldn't tell his tail from his nose. Kept running into chairs. I think he was blind, or at least partially he was about sixteen after all." She continued forever. But Bakura just sat patiently, listening to the rambling. She wasn't being malicious towards him, she was being pleasant and over all just very chatty. It seemed to help her get over the fact that the plane had turbulence.
"I -love- dogs. Lizzie wanted one but we lived in a shared house and only had a room together in it and our house mates did not like dogs. Oohhh I wonder if my cousin actually got one! I hope he did I'm never leaving the house if he did." Maple continued to Bakura, never stopping to take a breath. Bakura sat quietly, a small gentle smile on his face, brows knitted together. He didn't regret asking, he only wished she'd stop to maybe breathe every once in a while.
"You said you were on a business trip! Where do you work?" Maple asked Bakura, turning her attention towards him fully, a giant grin on her face. This took him back. He was not actually expecting her to ask about him. After a few seconds of silence, he began to reply to her.
"I work for Domino City museum." He replied simply in his naturally calm voice. Maple looked excited about this.
"Really?! I love museums. My cousin lives in Domino city! Oh such a small world." Maple replied with joy, the wide smile never leaving her face, her arm still around her small child protectively. "Well, I hope you enjoyed your time in London. I don't live in London, I lived in Medway. It's a gross place to be honest. People stab each other in broad daylight. Delightful really…" she said trailing off as she looked at the clock screen that showed on back of the passengers street in front of her.
A few more seconds went by with silence before the overly chatty woman perked up once more.
"Oh gosh is that the time?! I should get some sleep. Need to be wide awake to see my cousin and keep an eye Lizzie. You should get sleep too! I mean you're probably used to doing these trips but in case your not, get some sleep." She told Bakura as she rummaged through her carry on bag that was tucked underneath her set. She took out a small packet of facial wipes and began taking the makeup off her face, stuffed the used towelettes into the brown unused sick bag.
"Did you notice the turbulence stopped? That's great." Maple said to him, as Bakura just nodded his head and kept the small smile on his face.
"Sleep well Maple." He simply said and turned slightly in his seat.
She was a nice girl don't get him wrong, but she was very talkative. He heard shuffling next to him, and the squelching noises of the chair as Maple turned around to get comfortable while also making sure that Lizzie was comfortably nuzzled into her chest. The plane ride was certainly turning….entertaining.
~•~
"We are now landing in Domino City. Please fasten your seat belts as the plane lands. Please remain seated while the plane is taxiing to the airport. Thank you for choosing Domino Airways." The stewardess announced. Maple shuffled in her seat, fixing the last of her makeup. She had made sure Lizzie was buckled into her seat. Just a small bit of foundation, nothing more, nothing less. Oh and some primer...and concealer. She smiled to herself in the small mirror and placed it back into her carry on. The plane landed smoothly, and began its taxi service to the airport. She watched as Lizzie watched out the window with excitement, the buildings rolling pass her. Maple the opportunity to turn her attention to Bakura.
"Well it was lovely meeting you Bakura and I hope we bump into each other again." Maple said to him, keeping the wide smile. Bakura seemed a bit taken back, but smiled back nicely at her, nodding his head.
"Pleasure meeting you too, Maple, and you Lizzie." He replied as the plane slowed to a stop. Lizzie tore her gaze away from the window and quietly crept back into her mother's side, giving the man a timid wave. Bakura waved back at her before getting up to retrieve his carry on luggage. Maple undid hers and Lizzie's seat belt and waited until Bakura removed himself from his seat. She watched him as he stretched his arms up to grab his bag, then proceeded to leave the aircraft.
It was the only time she had to take in his appearance properly. Very slender guy who dressed in a smart casual way. Shirt with a cardigan and then some jeans and smart shoes. He was attractive, Maple would agree to that. Bakura happened to be incredibly sweet as well, at least she believed so even if she was the one doing most, if not all the talking. Still, not for now. Maple turned her attention to Lizzie, a wide smile in her face as she shuffled out of her seat and waited to Lizzie to get out of hers.
"We're here! You excited to see your uncle?" Maple asked the child, receiving an excited nod from her. The woman quickly remembered they're carry on bag and went back to the seat grabbing it. Swinging it onto her shoulder she went back into the isle and took a hold of Lizzie's hand, beckoning her to begin moving forward.
They managed to get off the tightly packed isles and quickly made their way towards border control. Maple began retrieving their passports from the carry on bag and their immigration paperwork. This would all be worth it. She saved so hard, never got anything for herself but always made sure Lizzie had what she needed. Moving her, that was going to change that. She was going to give her daughter the best life she could. Maple made sure they had enough funds for at least three months, giving her enough time to find a job.
Walking towards border control, Maple handed the gentleman her and Lizzie's paperwork. He asked for their passports, which she handed over for inspection and waited patiently. The man checked them over, stamping them accordingly and then handed back to the adult. She thanked him and proceeded to walk Lizzie through the gates first and then herself.
She felt Lizzie grab her hand tighter. There was a lot of people, a lot of them wore suits and a lot were in a rush. Maple nodded her head towards the luggage arrivals line. When she tried to walk over Lizzie had frozen solid. There was too many people for the child's liking.
"Hey now, you okay sweetie?" Maple asked her, bending down to her level. Lizzie shook her head, her eyes continuing to wonder everywhere. With a small sympathetic smile, Maple placed her arms under Lizzie's arms and picked her up, placing her onto her hip.
"Come on then, we're nearly there. Just think about saying hello to your uncle again." Maple said to her, earning a small nod from the child.
The two made their way to the luggage rails. It didn't take long for Maple to stop their things. One small pink suitcase with "Lizi" scrawled onto it. That was definitely her daughter's hand writing. Another shortly behind it with various cats and dogs printed on it. A small tag sat on the handle reading "Maple." The adult placed Maple onto the ground again and grabbed the suitcases. She handed the small pink one to Lizzie.
"Ready? We're nearly there!" She said to the small child, who began looking perkier and more excited.
They began making their way towards the arrivals hall. Maple looked around frantically for her cousin until she spotted him with his fiancé. She waved at the two of them until they noticed.
"Uncle Duke!" Lizzie yelled excitedly, dropping her suitcase and running over to the black haired man with odd eye make up. He was fully prepared for this and quickly kneeled down, sweeping her off the floor and bringing her up into the air. Maple smiled widely at the three of them, grabbed Lizzie's suitcase and began walking over to them.
"Nice to see you again, Duke, Serenity." Maple said to the two. Serenity smiled shyly at her fiance's cousin while Duke continued to "torture" his niece.
"It's nice to see you again too Maple. How was the flight?" She asked her. Maple thought for a second before smiling widely.
"It was enjoyable. Sat next and talked the ear off of a guy next to me. He was a very friendly guy, didn't seem to mind bless his soul." Maple said to her, a small chuckling escaping Serenity's lips. Duke had placed Lizzie back into the floor and watched the two woman interact, keeping a hold of the child's hand.
"We should go, I'm in the car park and I don't want to be charged through the roof." He said to the two. Maple nodded her head and began following the couple, Lizzie kept up with Dukes pace; not that she had a choice with holding his hand.
~•~
They sat in the car, Duke had decided on the behalf of them that the pair were going to spend a few hours at his house, with a few of his other friends coming from over for a catch up and just a chat. Maple could never get over how Duke was able to afford such expensive luxury cars. Maybe he's Dungeon Dice Monsters game really did kick off big time. Still she was pleased for him, it was his little business and something he loved to do. She could hear Duke and Serenity having a chat among themselves so she turned her attention back to Lizzie again.
Lizzie was sitting in the back next to her mother, counting the cars going past. Not just any cars though. Maple had set her a task, how many blue cars can she count on the way back to Duke's house. The mother could hear Lizzie count, occasionally stopping to count on her fingers before going back to counting again. Maple leaned over to her, looking out of the window.
"How many have you counted so far?" She asked her. Lizzie thought for a few minutes before finally giving up and counting on her fingers, then she turned to her mother quite pleased with herself.
"This many" She said joyfully, holding up seven fingers. Maple giggled to herself, wondering if she really did count that many. Lizzie could count to ten, but not in the right order, she could also write the numbers zero to nine, but rather or not she knew the order was another thing. Still, the child was proud of herself.
"Okay, let's continue then; we'll use our fingers all the time this time okay?" Maple said to her as the car stopped at traffic lights. Lizzie nodded her head and looked back out at the window, Maple taking a hold of her small hands and making them into light fists.
The pair watched closely, waiting for any blue cars to come by. Blue cars were not as common as red or silver, and with Lizzie starting school hopefully next week, Maple thought setting her a number challenge would at least help her count in a semi right order. Soon a blue car passed. Maple, very slowly said "one" with Lizzie; who was stuttering with what number to start with. She took the child's little finger and made it straight, showing "one." Lizzie smiled to herself, feeling accomplished with herself. Soon another came pass, and then another, the pattern repeating each time until she got to ten.
"See, ten blue cars." Maple said to her, touching each individual finger. Lizzie smiled widely to herself and held up her fingers to Serenity who had peaked into the back.
"Look! Look! Ten!" She said excitedly, keeping her hands up as the car stopped outside a driveway, that currently had another car in it. Serenity nodded her head, grinning at the child. Duke sighed at the figure inside the car parked on the driveway.
"Your brother is here early." He told Serenity, who looked ahead. She laughed slightly, giving an apologetic look.
"I'll tell him to move." She said about to hop out of the car, however she stopped when Duke gently grabbed her wrist.
"Don't. I'll just block him in." He said, shrugging his shoulders and getting out of the car. Maple unbuckled Lizzie's seat belt and got out of the car as Duke opened up the child's door.
With the four of them now out of the car they went towards the house. Duke quickly knocked on the car window, grabbing the attention of the person inside. He made a roll down motion with his hand, prompting the window to be rolled down.
"Hey Joey." Duke said to him, crossing his arms over the top of the open window and looking into the car. "Park in my driveway again and I'll puncture your tires." He said flatly. Joey glared at him, not noticing that his sister, nor Duke's cousin or niece were behind the black haired male.
"I dare ya! It's not my car!" He said to him, raising to the threat. Duke shrugged his shoulders, banging the top of the car as he stood up straight.
"Don't care." He simply said and moved away from the car. Joey noticed the people behind and waved enthusiastically. Lizzie crept herself behind her mother, only peeking her head out a little bit to watch what was going on.
"Joey Wheeler! Did you just threaten Duke to puncture -MY- tires!?" An angry females voice sounded from inside the car. The blonde, looking rather sheepish, turned to her to try and cool her down. Duke, with a look of satisfaction motioned for the others to follow him inside. Maple gently pushed Lizzie forward, making the small child to move ahead to get inside.
~•~
"So we're waiting on a few other people for this catch up. One came back from London today." Duke said to them as he set up a small games console and turned the TV to the correct channel. Lizzie sat in front of it patiently, watching him closely to learn what he was doing. Maple looked a bit surprised, before smiling widely.
"Really? The guy I sat next to was also coming from London! How funny would it be if it was him? Well, you probably wouldn't find it funny, I would find it hilarious!" Maple rambled on, earning a raised eyebrow from her cousin and a "A-ha" from him as he gave the console controller to Lizzie. Lizzle thanked him silently and looked at the screen, watching a speedy blue hedgehog running fast on the screen.
"Small world I would say! You know, like the song? 'It's a small world afterall~'" Maple continued, quoting "The Lion King" with the voice. Duke sighed at her, before watching her closely to see if she'd speak some more. Once he knew she was done he began taking his turn.
"Good to see you're still in high spirits. Want a drink?" He said to her, at least commenting that she was still rather cheerful, despite the current situation. Maple nodded her head, asking for just some water. Lizzie was too hooked to the game to answer, leaving Maple to say that Lizzie would like some squash.
Maple and Serenity went to sit on the couch together, getting into some small talk themselves. Soon afterwards Joey and his girlfriend had joined them. Both blonde, both big on attitude. Maple said they suit each other quite well. At least, it one was too angry to answer to something the other one could. Plus, Maple was sort of Joey's fan. Well, not sort of, she was. She always made she cheer for him when she heard he had entered competitions even if he couldn't hear her.
"Oh!" Maple said, turning her attention to the blonde haired male, silently thanking Duke for the water.
"I saw you in the tournament yesterday! Well not in person but on the TV! And come to think about it it was probably a couple of days now because we get your broadcasts a few days later." Maple said to him quickly and excitedly. Joey smiled to himself, puffing out his chest with a look that said "Is that so" on his face.
"Anyway my point is it sucks you lost!" Ego instantly deflated, followed by the loud laughter coming from her cousin, and a snicker from the blonde duelists girlfriend. "But I also wanted to congratulate you on getting so far. You were amazing!" And like that the ego was back but not as big. Joey however was doing his best to play it cool.
"I'll win next time. Yugi can't keep winning forever!" Joey said to her, showing himself to be just as determined. Maple smiled to him agreeingly.
"I'll keep cheering!" She said to him excitedly.
Soon the house filled with another couple of bodies, one being the "always winning every tournament" Yugi Moto; who while still short had actually grown somewhat taller since Maple had last seen him, and their friend Tristan. It looked like he had just come off his shift from work, he seemed rushed and out of breath as if he had just ran to get here. Lizzie had not really taken any notice, she was too into this game with a hedgehog, trying to collect as many rings as possible despite the fact that wasn't the mission at all. Still, it kept her entertained.
"Nice to see you again, Maple." Yugi greeted, Maple giving in a small wave in return.
"Nice to see you again too! Congratulations on winning your last tournament. Saw it working my last shift in the pub." Maple said to him, taking a quick sip of her water.
"Any idea what you're going to do for work now that you're here?" Duke asked her, making Maple think for a moment. She hummed lightly to herself as she thought about it. She knew she had the money in the bank but that will only last her and Lizzie a few months. When it came for more…
"I've got some funds in the bank. I'm going to try and find a job for Makeup artist. If not, anything will do. She said to them honestly, making sure it was low enough so Lizzie didn't hear. Lizzie may not have understood the concept of money yet, but that still didn't mean Maple wanted her to hear. Too young for this sort of thing.
Just as Maple finished speaking another couple of people came into the room. One was a brunette haired girl and another was the man Maple had been talking the ear off of on the plane.
"Oh, I know you!" She said rather cryptically looking at the two. "Well I know both of you, but you Bakura! I know I said I hoped we bumped into each other again but I didn't think it'd be this soon." Maple said to him. So this must have been the friend that he was going on about when he said they had returned from London. Such a small world. Maple smiled at the two of them.
"It's great to see you again as well Teá. How's the dancing going?" Maple asked her. A small sigh came from Teá's lips as she furrowed her brows, dropping herself down on the couch next to her and Serenity.
"I'm on break at the moment." She simply said. Maple gave an understanding nod, deciding not the press on any further with the matter at hand.
"Please, make yourself at home." Duke said half sarcastically but also half seriously. Lizzie stopped playing her game for a second when she noticed that there were a lot more people in the room. She slowly crept up onto her feet and immediately went over to Maple, forcing herself onto her lap in her own attempt to keep away from everyone else. Teá smiled sweetly at the child, rubbing the top of her head and scruffing up her hair. Joey looked at Maple, a questionable look on his face.
"So you know Bakura?" He asked rather confused. Bakura was the one to answer Joey's question.
"Yes, I was in the seat next to her coming back here." He said gently to him. Joey hummed to himself, waving it off in the end. It truly was a small world, he'd admit that.
Lizzie watched silently from her mother's lap looking at everyone carefully. She knew some people, she thought she did anyway. She knew her uncle Duke and auntie Serenity, however if she did meet everyone else she didn't remember. She knew she met Bakura earlier on today, so that was three people in the room she knew. Everyone else was kind of a mystery to her. She pulled on Maple's top gaining her attention.
"Why is his hair really spikey?" She asked her, pointing to Yugi. Maple thought for a second to herself, noticing only a few people were paying attention to her. Humming to herself, she thought of an answer rather quickly.
"It's his natural hair." She told her, not really thinking of anything else to suggest, not without it sounding like a suggestion to Lizzie.
"He looks like Tom from "Tom and Jerry" when he stuck his finger into a plug." She said to her. Maple couldn't help but giggle slightly, shaking her head.
"He might do, but Tom is a cartoon character. It's dangerous to do that." Maple said to her, earning a small nod from the child.
Unlike Maple, Lizzie was not into duel monsters. Maybe it was because she was too young to understand, but Lizzie didn't understand why people liked them so much. They just looked like shiny cards; she could get shiny cards from the cereal boxes her mother bought her for breakfast. Humming to herself, the child slowly took herself off of Maple's lap once more and went up to Yugi, tugging on his hand to gain his attention. Once had she looked away nervously.
"I'm stuck on a game can you get my unstuck please?" She asked politely. Yugi nodded his head following the small child over to where the game station and TV was. Sure it may seem innocent, but Maple knew better. Maple knew that Lizzie was using this as an excuse to see if his hair was real or not.
~•~
The small group talked for hours. Maple learned how everyone was doing since she last saw them. She learned a bit more about Bakura. Turns out he was friends with them for years, it's just whenever Maple was able to visit, she never got a chance to see him. As a teenager he was incredibly shy. He was shy now, as an adult but less so. Maple also learned that Tristan was currently working as a mechanic, he loved bikes so it only made sense. He was working while getting his qualification. It made Maple wonder that maybe once Lizzie was at school she could start doing part time education.
"Hey, there's something I always wanted to ask ya." Joey spoke up, grabbing Maples attention. She tilted her head slightly in question as she waited for him to go on.
"Lizzie's father...where is he?" Joey asked, pointing his head towards the small child that was currently standing behind Yugi who sat on the floor, parting his hair so she could watch the screen.
"Oh...he's away…" Maple said, dragging her eyes off the child. She suggested slightly in her seat as the others waited seeing if she'd say more about it. Instead she took a deep breath and turned her attention to Duke.
"Can I speak to you, privately for a moment?" She asked him. Unsure, Duke agreed and as quickly as that the pair left the room to the outside.
Joey watches confused before turning his attention back to the others.
"Did I say something?" He asked, shrugging his shoulders. Serenity opened her mouth to speak, before closing it and shaking her head.
"No but...I think Maple should tell you what happened when she's ready." She said to her older brother. Joey hummed to himself, shrugging his shoulders, before being whacked by Mai for being insensitive. Tristan also joined in with the scolding of Joey, who was trying to defend his view point.
"Papa will come back soon." Lizzie said quietly, grabbing their attention. Yugi briefly looked up to her as she leaned her chin into the top of his head.
"Mama said he'll be back soon and then we can be a happy family again." She said excitedly not thinking much about it.
That didn't sit well with Bakura, having lost his own parent as a child. He could understand why Maple maybe doing it, but he also knew that Lizzie's heart will be shattered when she found out.
The two stood outside for a good couple of minutes. The air was cold and fresh. Maple took a deep breath through her nose, images from two years ago flashing across her mind.
"I still miss him, Duke." Maple muttered to her cousin, earning a confused look from the dungeon dice monster master. It took a moment for it to click, but when it did he silently said oh.
"You mean Richard?" Duke asked just to clarify. Maple nodded her head, biting her bottom lip.
"I miss him so much. It's been two years since he died, two years since Lizzie last saw her daddy...do you know how hard that is for her?" Maple asked him, her brows furrowed, a sad, upset smile on her face. Duke remained silent, what could he say in a situation like this? He couldn't say much, he didn't know a lot about their relationship, only the little bits she told him.
"It's so hard, hard for her, hard for me. She asks when is he coming back? I don't know how to explain to her that he's not. I keep stumbling. Everytime that question pops up I stumble and say "soon darling soon."...Soon is never coming." Maple said to him, her fists clenching into her hands.
Duke stayed quiet, he knew her life hadn't been a smooth one. Placed into foster care at a young age herself because her parents chose drugs over her, being fostered by a lady called Blessing, who she later begun working for. When Blessing found out she became pregnant at the age of sixteen hell broke loose. When she found out it was with a man who was two years older than year, it became worse. Duke remembered her calling him on Skype, distressed and tearful, saying that Blessing wants her to get rid of it but she didn't want to and neither did Richard. Richard, all the time he was alive had been her rock. He had provided for his small family, provided until she completed secondary school, he was an amazing dad. He helped her when she hit her dark places. Without him, she struggled and Duke knew that. It was why she moved.
Still, he remained silent, watching as his cousin took a deep breath to calm herself down. She wiped her eyes with the palms of her hands and took a deeper breath to clear the snot that gathered in her throat. Once she settled down, she breathed out slowly.
"I'll tell her, when she nexts asks, I'll tell Lizzie the truth. She has a right to know, to help both of us move on." Maple said to Duke, wiping her hands onto her jeans. Duke nodded his head, and ruffled his cousins hair.
"You'll be fine, you've done well so far." He said to her, earning a wide smile from her through tear soaked skin and a red nose. Maple turned to him silently, taking in another deep breath.
"What if she doesn't forgive me? I've lied to her for these past two years." Maple said to him. Duke thought to himself quickly before waving his hand dismissively, as if saying she wouldn't be.
"She'll be fine, she adores you." Duke said to her. Maple nodded her head, muttering that he was right and wiped her nose once more with her arm.
Maple took her phone out of her pocket and looked at the time. She sighed slightly and turned her attention to Duke once more.
"I should head off, I'm signing Lizzie up to a school tomorrow." She told him, receiving a nod. The two turned around and walked back into the house. Maple watched as Lizzie played a video game with Joey now, apparently getting over Yugi's very spiky hair, something with a dragon on it, Maple wasn't too into video games she was a reader. But it was apperently she was bored of the hedgehog. She whistled gaining Lizzie's attention. Lizzie waved her hand at her and stood up, handing the controller to Joey to continue and then ran up to her mother.
"Hey sweetie, we're going home. Say bye bye." She asked her. Lizzie turned around to everyone and smiled widely, waving both her hands.
"Bye bye!" She said cheerfully, receiving byes from everyone else. Playing video games seemed to have bought her out of her shell. Maple picked up Lizzie as Duke came up beside her. Lizzie nuzzled into her mother's side, putting her head onto her shoulder. Duke was going to drop the pair off home, seeing as their suitcases was still in his car trunk.
~•~
Maple finished unpacking the last of their clothes. Lizzie was in the other room, happily looking around everywhere in every nook and cranny. If she was impressed now just wait until she saw she got her own room again! Maple leaned against the wall of her daughter's new room. She had already made up her bed for her. Currently all her other things like toys were still in the cardboard boxes that had arrived days before her. It was a nice size apartment. She had discovered that Bakura, the young man who she was now convinced she was stalking, lived a couple of doors down from her and Lizzie. The young mother could not dwell on this for long, feeling her stomach rumble. If hers was rumbling, her daughter's definitely was.
She exited her daughter's room and went back into the living area. Lizzie was laid on the floor on her back counting the wall tiles. Or at least she thought she was counting anyway. She was nodding her head, eyes flickering from tile to tile.
"You hungry?" Maple asked her. Lizzie immediately sat up and nodded her head, then flopped onto her stomach. Maple chuckled slightly and nodded her head towards the door.
"Come on then. I saw a store when uncle Duke dropped us back. Let's have a quick look in there." She said, tapping on her shoes at the entrance of their new flat. Lizzie followed suit and placed her shoes on, doing up the velcro straps. Once on, the pair left the apartment.
Maple turned around and began locking the door behind her. Lizzie had taken herself over the the rails and looked over. She stood on her toes, her small hands on the railing and chin just over the top as she watched the people below walking past the block. Everyone looked like ants to her from here. Maple tapped her shoulder, gaining her attention and nodded her head towards the way to the shops. Lizzie quickly let go of the rail and ran ahead, stopping at the stairs and waiting for her mother. As soon as Maple caught up she took a hold of the girls hand and slowly went down the stairs, or in Lizzie's case, jump down each one carefully. All the way until they reached the bottom. She let go of her hand once more and began running ahead again. A small smile crept onto Maple's face. Lizzie was enjoying it here, the new surrounding unfazing her. Excitement grew in her at the thought of Lizzie bringing home friends from school, or even making new friends in the park.
It didn't take long for the pair to get to the superstore. She just needed some ingredients for tonight, she could always do a bigger shop tomorrow. Lizzie had began taking herself off to look around the store. Maple grabbed a basket and began looking around, muttering to herself the ingredient list for tonight's dinner.
"Mince, Spaghetti, Onions, Tomatoes, Garlic, Ginger, Sauce." She repeated over and over again. Each time she came to an item she needed she took it off her verbal list and looked for more.
Lizzie on the other hand was having her own adventure in the store. She had managed to find the sweet aisle and was curious about all of them. She picked up each different sweet, tried her best to read the label and then placed it back when she discovered she couldn't. Lizzie was excellent when it came to reading, but only English and this...not a lot of it was in English. Pressing her lips together, the child looked for something she understood.
"Are...you okay?" Asked a familiar voice. Lizzie looked up at the person, knitted her brows together and turned her head to look away. It was the man from earlier, Tristan. The man with brown hair in a spike. She saw him bend down in the corner of her eyes.
"Were you looking for something specific?" He asked her. Lizzie shrugged her small shoulders; she wasn't sure what she was looking for. Tristan hummed to himself, turning himself to look at the aisle.
"I don't think your mum would be happy with you eating chocolate this late…Where's your mum?" He asked her. Lizzie thought for a second, realising that she was going to have to say something to him.
"Shopping here…" She said quietly. Tristan thought to himself briefly as he stood up. The child could hear the popping in his knees as he did so. A familiar sound, but she couldn't think of from where.
"They sell bread filled with sweet things here, why don't we go to that?" Tristan asked her, earning a look of confusion. Bread...filled bread. That sounded weird to the child. Maybe it was a sandwich? Still, he held out his hand for her to follow and Lizzie was curious, so she did.
They arrived at the bread aisle. Tristan was right! At least, she assumed he was, she didn't know what any of it said. She picked up different breads in their plastic wraps and shook them close to her ear, expecting them to be hollow. Lizzie looked at them in confusion when there was nothing rattling. She looked up at Tristan, the confusion visible on her face. He knelt down to her height, pointing at the weird symbols on the packet.
"This is red bean bread. It's very sweet." He said to her, then pointed to the other one in her other hand. "And this is Melon bread. It's also sweet, but you might like it more." He told her. Lizzie nodded slowly, as if understanding what he had said. Tristan remained calm, keeping a small smile on his face. Lizzie looked up, the confusion on her face quickly changing to that of joy.
"Mama! Look!" She said excitedly, gaining Maple's attention. Maple looked a little bit surprised to see Tristan there as well, but smiled and waved at him anyway; walking up to the pair. The small child waving the bread packets in her hands.
"Tritin said this one is red bean and this one is melon!" She said excitedly. Maple hummed at her as she knelt down to her level.
"Is that so?" She said, glancing at Tristan, who grinned at her. She silently thanked him and turned her attention back to Lizzie.
"Let's put them into the basket and we'll share one tonight after dinner. How does that sound?" She asked her, receiving a very excited yay from the child. As if they were to disappear, Lizzie dropped them in the basket. She began trying to drag the basket towards the tills. Maple quickly picked up the basket, muttering to herself that at least she got everything for dinner tonight and turned her attention to Tristan.
"Thank you, Tristan. I know she's safer here than back in England, but I'm glad you're the one she bumped into." Maple said to him. Tristan just kept the grin on his face and shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't worry about it. I'll catch you later, I need to rush home. I need to be up early tomorrow." Tristan said to her, and quickly turned his attention back to Lizzie.
"Let me know which one you like best, okay kiddo?" He said to her. Lizzie quickly nodded and waved her arm as he hurried off. Maple looked down at her daughter and then into the basket.
"Come on, we'll pay for this and head home." She said to her, nodding her head towards the cashiers.
~•~
The smell of garlic filled the small apartment. The windows were damp with condensation. Maple sat on the edge of Lizzie's bed. The child slept soundly, her belly full of her dinner and half of the red bean bread; which she didn't really like much. Maple tucked a small bit of her hair behind her ear, watching the child sleep. She was always a good sleeper, never made a fuss at night and always slept through it. Maple thought that maybe she'd be a bit more restless, being in a different country but nope she was wrong. Lizzie was proving to take on everything in her way.
The mother gently pushed herself off the bed, quietly leaving the girls room. Very silently, she closed her door. The apartment seemed empty without all their stuff everywhere. The boxes were neatly stacked onto the sound of room. Only a few of the big items, like the table and chairs and TV cabinet had been unpacked; but only because they were too big to fit into boxes. Maple wasn't too sure what she was expecting, they didn't own many things. She had to sell a lot of it after Richard died to pay for funeral costs. The brunette ran the potential conversations through her mind. It could go one or two ways, or it could go neither and Lizzie may just surprise her in general.
She couldn't keep thinking about it. Maple walked herself to her room and sat on her bed, then lied on her back, staring at the ceiling. Her brows knitted together as she breathed in deeply.
"This is just the first step." She muttered to herself, breathing out slowly through her nose. This was the first step of moving on. This was the first step to having a better life. This was the first step to move into the future.
This was the very first, hardest step.