Hi! I've been a big fan of Laddershipping for a while, and I hope you enjoy my first multi-chap story! I've included some of my favourite characters from other fandoms just to mix up the friendship groups.
I hope you like it!
A match made in Hell
Zorc charged down the corridor, huffing and puffing, toting a lurid pink binder and several hefty rucksacks. Students leapt out of his path as he thundered through campus, a baby-blue scarf trailing in his wake. He burst into his childcare lecture 5 minutes late.
"Sorry! Sorry!" he wheezed, leaping onto the nearest bench. Several students were catapulted into the stratosphere.
The professor sniffed "That is fine, Mr Necrophades. But please be more prompt next time."
"Oh yes, of course! It won't happen again!" Zorc nodded earnestly.
"Nice one, Zorc!" said Teá, sighing.
"Sorry, I just couldn't find my notes! And my locker key fell down the drain. I'm having a really bad day." He huffed, massaging his brobdignagian tusks.
"Oh well. Hey, did you see?"
"See what?"
"The football team training outside? Bakura looked so dreamy…"
"No!" Zorc lied, blushing furiously. He had been staring at the campus hottie so rapturously that he'd backed his pink Renault Clio into a wall. That was the real reason for his lateness…
"Of course you didn't!" piped up Princess Fiona disbelievingly from the row behind.
"Shut up, Fi! I caught you making eyes at Ash Ketchum!"
"I would never!"
"Oh yes you would!" cried Teá, "And Zorc, you were totally checking out Bakura!" she poked the flustered demon in the ribs with a sly scoff.
Zorc put his head is his hands. "You guys!"
"It's true!" rapped Dory, her fins flying. "You SO fancy him!"
Zorc blushed and looked at the ground. His hands closed around the paper heart he had been carrying all morning with the words "I think you're amazing" written on them in glittery lilac gel-pen.
Meanwhile, in Degree-Level Extended Citizenship studies, masculine hooting and the sound of chomping sandwiches rang through the classroom.
The campus star, Bakura, was slouched across his desk at the back of room. His woolly white hair fell around his shoulders, which were adorned with his "Domino College" polo-shirt. He had everything. Brains, looks, talent and popularity. There was just one thing the pallid jock was missing: Love.
"Zoinks!" cried Shaggy, spraying his mates with bits of baloney and sour-dough. "An exam in two days? Far out, man!" He pulled out his sunglasses.
"Heheheh! Did you forget to study?" came the snivelling cackle of the college stud, Weevil Underwood. "I didn't! I was up all night….with Teá! In the back of my Ford Escort… I studied her… ALL night!"
"you scored with Teá?" cried Harry Potter, his lightning-shaped scar throbbing with disbelief. "but I'm the Boy Who Lived! No fair!"
"All's fair in love and war!" quoted Marik, his palm-tree shaped quiff ablaze.
Bakura sat hunched over his notes on "Responsibilities of a UN citizen", glaring at his rowdy pals. His friends were great, but he needed to study. It was his dream to get this degree.
"Shut up!" he roared, throwing his notebook down on the desk. The motley rabble fell silent.
"Why did you even choose this course?" Bakura fumed. "You NEVER pay attention!"
"My Mom chose it for me!" admitted Shaggy, lobbing some glue towards the interactive whiteboard. "I hate citizenship!"
"I didn't know this was citizenship!" shouted Harry Potter, pouring his pumpkin juice over Marik's hair to douse the flames. "They told me I was doing Defence against the Dark Arts!"
"I'm just here for the pies!" said Marik happily, tucking into Shaggy's lunch.
"Well, maybe if you stopped slacking off you might achieve something." Bakura grumbled.
The gang considered this for a moment, and then a voice piped up from beneath the seats.
"Hey, guys… guess who got some DAMES last night?" came a nasal whine.
"Rigby!" They cheered, pulling the class clown up from his dingy hideout. The hot racoon brushed himself off and threw an arm around Marik's shoulders. The racoon was a known bi-sexual, but his friends tried not to judge him for it. He always had the best jokes up his sleeves.
"I'm pullin' ladies!" Rigby guffawed, thrusting suggestively. The gang bellowed their appreciation and punched the air.
"WOOOOOOAAAAAAAHH!"
Bakura clamped his hands over his ears and tried to follow the lecturer's laser-pointer as it pointed out important parts on a terribly made PowerPoint presentation.
"So 'Kura… when was the last time YOU got laid?" Rigby cackled, flopping down all over Bakura's desk.
"Get out of here, you dumb rodent." Bakura scowled down at the hairy mite.
"OHHHHH!" cried the crew, eagerly watching.
"Cos, you know…" Rigby winked seductively "I'm always here if you need me."
Marik burst out laughing. "Yeah, well, Bakura is a bit bent."
The entire room went silent.
"MARIK ISHTAR!" Bakura screamed, his face puce. "DO NOT TELL LIES!"
"Eugh, sorry mate. Just trying to make conversation." Marik shrugged.
Rigby pulled out a pile of water balloons and began bombarding Bakura with them.
"GAY! GAY! GAY! GAY! GAY!" he roared with laughter, pelting him mercilessly.
"Hey! Stop that!" cried the lecturer in vain.
Bakura stood up, face dripping. "I HATE you, Rigby." He spat, and stormed out.
"Hehehe… All's well that ends well!" Marik said awkwardly, as the whole class stared.
By lunchtime, the whole college had heard about the incident.
"Did you hear?" broached Princess Fiona, "…apparently, Bakura's gay!"
The girls were shocked. "You don't say?"
Zorc was being unusually quiet.
"I mean, I guess we all knew all along, really!" smiled Dory. "The signs are all there!" she winked at Zorc.
"What?" the lardy demon mumbled. "What do you mean?"
"Oh Zorc!" rodomontade Teá "We all know how you feel about Bakura… you don't need to hide it from us!"
Zorc was horrified. "How didja guess?" He clamped his hand over his cavernous mouth when he realised what he'd said.
"You know, if you like him, you should just ask him out!" advised Dory. "Bakura's a really sweet guy deep down. I bet he'd love to date you!" She swam over to the salad bar, flashing Zorc a cheeky grin over her dorsal fin.
"You know, if you're too embarrassed, we could ask him out for you!" suggested Teá enthusiastically.
"No!" cried Zorc , clenching his fists. "I would want to do it properly…see how our love develops… you know, give it time. If I'm not brave enough to ask him out, then how can he trust me to do anything more?"
"I don't care!" said Teá. "If you don't take action soon, I will!"
Zorc blushed, again. "OK... just give me time."
Over at their usual table in the corner, Bakura's gang were being as rambunctious as ever. Shaggy was seeing how fast he could eat a whopper plate of spaghetti while the rest of the guys egged him on. Bakura alone was not joining in the fun. Suddenly, someone caught his eye.
"Hey, Rigby. Who's that guy?"
"Oh, that's Zorc, the fat childcare guy. You don't want to talk to him, he's super geeky."
"Oh, right." Bakura said, slouching down in his chair. Zorc was chatting away to some girls from his class. They looked like they were having a great time.
Then Zorc turned and looked straight at him, and it felt like lightning had struck his soul. He felt his cheeks flame with passion and his heart began to pound. Zorc's eyes widened when he noticed Bakura looking at him and he turned around with a squeak.
"HEY BAKURA! LOOK!"
Bakura turned around.
"Look how many meatballs Shaggy can fit in his mouth! TEN! It's awesome!" Harry Potter crowed. Shaggy's bristly face bulged with mince as he grimaced.
"Ugh! Grow up!" Bakura ranted, getting up to put his rubbish in the bin.
"What's up with him?" busked Weevil, "Oh well! Let's get back to having fun!"
Bakura stormed out of the cafeteria, on his way to the LRC. He needed to clear his head. He would never admit it, but he could not cast the memory of Zorcs sparkly eyes and disarming smile from his mind. Why did he feel this way? Why did the mere thought of Zorc eye's growing wide as he looked at him give Bakura such a huge warm feeling, like he was being held by a warm gingerbread sarcophagus? He couldn't understand it.
I am not in love with Zorc. I am not. I have not been in love with him since the day I came here. I don't even like him. Bakura told himself, but the moment the thoughts manifested themselves, he knew deep down that he was telling himself the exact opposite of the truth. Zorc was well and truly in his system.
I wish he was here now, Bakura thought wistfully but he wouldn't like me...I bet he thinks I'm an insensitive jock.
Suddenly there was the tremendous sound of books crashing to the ground as a rack of shelves was flung over, to reveal Zorc, nervously clutching a stack of "Supervising and Parenting" manuals. He looked thoroughly miserable as he silently cursed his own clumsiness and the inconvenience of having an over-large tail.
Bakura's eyes widened to the size of beautiful planets. "Need a hand?" he asked kindly, before he could stop himself.
When Zorc looked up, and saw Bakura, his cheeks flushed to the colour of spring blossom. He looked so beautiful and so fragile Bakura had to resist the urge to scoop him into his arms and hold him for all time.
"Um...thanks." Zorc mumbled, looking away self consciously. Bakura reached out to take the books, and when their hands brushed, he felt a wonderful tingle run through his body.
Zorc watched Bakura's stunning biceps flex as he took charge of the 3000 tonne stack of books.
"Don't worry about it." Bakura said, smiling slightly. Zorc felt his heart flutter as he looked into Bakura's chestnut eyes. They gleamed with a million secrets, and Zorc could have stared into them until his dying day.
Bakura handed the books back and Zorc sighed wistfully.
"See you round, doll." He said, turning to walk away, his orange polo shirt caressing his lithe body like Zorc wished he could.
Suddenly, Zorc couldn't bear it anymore.
"Hey... Bakura?"
"Yeah?" Bakura said, his voice as sweet as treacle.
"Are you...um...busy later?" Zorc stuttered, looking away in embarrassment.
Bakura grinned handsomely.
"I thought you'd never ask." he said, tenderly taking the crushed paper heart from Zorc's hand.
I hope you liked it!
I love romantic Laddershipping. I think it's so sweet, and shows that anyone can fall in love, no matter what they weigh.
Love, Septimus. xxx