Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Morning Routine
Characters: Shou, Juudai, Johan, Yubel
Friendship: Shou & Juudai
Romance: Yubel x Juudai x Johan, Black Magician Girl x Shou (hinted)
Word Count: 1,500||Status: One-shot
Genre: Friendship||Rated: PG
Challenge: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, C26, sidestory for any of your multichaps; Written for the 2015 Advent, day #23, start or add to a series; One Friendship Boot Camp, #28, fairies
Notes: This takes place in the same universe as Trust and Enchantment, sometime after Enchantment. And for those who may not have read some of my other fics, Autumn is Black Magician Girl.
Summary: Shou's usual morning routine is to attend to the needs of the fae prince and his two consorts.

Shou carefully set the cup of wine on the tray and hefted it to make certain it was properly balanced. He'd done this many times, but he always checked, not wanting to take the wrong chance and risk spilling breakfast all over the royal trio. None of them would get mad, but he would be upset at himself for doing it.

Ever since Johan arrived and became consort to Juudai and Yubel, the breakfast tray weighed more, with three breakfasts instead of two. But Juudai simply worked a spell so that the tray was never too heavy. That didn't mean it couldn't be unbalanced, which was why Shou took his time to make sure it wouldn't fall every morning.

Satisfied once again, he took a firm grip on the tray and headed for the royal bedroom. He knew what he would see: Juudai, Yubel, and Johan all entwined around one another, and likely with the marks of how they'd spent their evening on them still, since they hadn't yet bathed. But after a century or so, he'd gotten used to it, and he didn't feel his cheeks scorching red whenever he came into the room.

Shou almost didn't remember that he'd been human once, and technically still was. But more magic from Juudai made certain that his human servant wouldn't have to fear death or old age unless Juudai wanted him to. So Shou made a point of always being the best that he could be at his duties, so that Juudai would never want to reverse the spell. Three hundred years would come down on him hard.

"Good morning!" Shou declared as soon as he entered the bedroom. He knew he wasn't naturally perky when he first got up, which was part of why he got up at least an hour or two before the trio did. Several cups of hot tea put his mind into gear and made his temper just that much better.

It also helped Juudai, which was why the wine was for Yubel, the coffee for Johan, and the tea for the Fae Prince.

Johan groaned something incomprehensible, rolled over, and pulled the blanket over his head. Yubel tucked it in around him, a smile hovering over those rich lips. Juudai chucked as he reached over to caress his consort's bare shoulders.

"Johan lost a bet last night," Juudai confided, his eyes twinkling with merriment. "He'll need a visit to the masseuse."

Shou nodded at once, taking a mental note. It was part of his duties to see to it that all three of them stayed in the best condition that they could. That was another reason that he had to get over shyness when it came to whatever activities they got up to.

He sorted out the breakfast for the three of them, standing off attentively to the side once it was all ready. Juudai took a long satisfying sip of his tea and nodded in pleasure.

"This is definitely up to your standard, Shou," the prince approved, favoring his servant with a warm smile. "I don't even know what I would do without you anymore."

Shou ducked his head. Praise from Juudai could get him blushing faster than if he'd walked in on Lady Autumn without warning. "Thank you."

Johan eventually wiggled his way out from the blankets and drank down his first cup of coffee. He liked it strong and black, and at least three cups were downed before he even bothered to get out of bed. He did favor Shou with a smile of his own once he finished the first.

"Yeah, you've got a knack for this." He tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "You know, I've wondered. You're human, right? What brought you here?"

Before Shou could answer, Juudai rested one hand on Johan's arm, stroking it soothingly. "He had nowhere else to go and I took him in," Juudai said, his voice low and enchanting. "His brother is consort to one of my allies as well. This way they can see each other as well."

Shou bit his lip as the curiosity faded away from Johan's eyes and he attended to drinking his coffee and breakfast. He'd seen this happen before, when Johan asked questions that Juudai didn't want answered by anyone but him. Granted, nothing Juudai said had been a lie at all, but Juudai let few people who weren't himself give Johan information of any kind.

To keep himself occupied, he turned away and started to pick up the room a little while they focused on their breakfasts. Clothes would need to be sent to the launderers, a few stray cups from whatever they'd done the night before sent to the kitchen for washing, and the daily dusting and sweeping done as well.

He'd worked his way to the far side of the room before Juudai's hand fell on his shoulder and he looked up attentively.

"Your brother's going to be here tomorrow," Juudai said, his voice not quite as beguiling as it was for Johan. "You're going to want some time off, aren't you?"

Shou wasn't truly certain if Juudai spell-spun him the way that he did Johan or not. He'd never even been certain if he cared, either. He had a good job here, and he genuinely liked Juudai, no matter what. And he did get to see Ryou when the other made his visits to the royal court.

Granted, he still hadn't made up his mind on if he liked the person Ryou was consort to, but there wasn't much he could do about that. As it had been explained to him, if Ryou stepped back into the world of mortals, then he would die not just of accumulated old age, but of the injuries that had almost claimed his life in the first place. Staying here kept him alive, and the price of staying here was being consort to one of Juudai's allies.

"Yes," he answered, looking up at his prince. "How long will they be here?"

"At least a week." Juudai tilted his head back, golden eyes thoughtful. "Would you like three days off? I'm sure your brother will have plenty of spare time for you while he's here."

Given that Shou spent most of his time helping Juudai, Johan, and Yubel do all manner of things, the idea of three days off to spend with his brother whenever Ryou would have his own free time set Shou's head spinning with delight.

"Really?"

"Would I say it if I didn't mean it?"

That was one thing that Shou had learned very quickly once arriving here. Juudai said almost nothing that he didn't mean. Now he darted forward and wrapped his arms around the prince in a quick hug.

"Thank you!" Then it dawned on him what he'd just done and he stumbled back, stumbling over his words. "Your Highness, I didn't -" He knew that Juudai wasn't always big on certain lines, but not everyone really got to touch him, unless he chose to touch them first.

But now Juudai squeezed Shou's shoulder and gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't worry about it. You didn't do anything wrong." He glanced over his shoulder toward the bed. "I think we're about done with breakfast."

Shou nodded, straightening himself up at once, recalled to his duties. He could see Johan starting to wiggle out of bed, wincing from strained muscles. "I'll let the masseuse know that Johan needs him." Everything else was in the usual line of his duties.

Juudai's hand didn't move away from Shou's shoulder. "I do appreciate everything you do for us, Shou. You're incredible. I don't want you to ever forget that." He grinned for a moment, an expression that made him look somewhat more human than fae in the heartbeat or two that it lasted. "You should probably spend some time with Autumn today, too."

Accidentally entering the room with Juudai, Johan, and Yubel entwined with one another wouldn't have made Shou blush, not anymore. But the light mention of the lovely sorceress who had captured his heart almost from the moment that he saw her most certainly did it. Stammering nothing coherent – not that he needed to, as the teasing grin on Juudai's face told him – he took up the tray again and hurried out.

Sometimes he wondered what his life would've been like if Juudai hadn't invited him into this strange and beautiful world. He'd had little money and virtually no prospects to get any, and if he'd been lucky, he might've found a way to the nearest city in one piece. Getting a job hadn't been a sure thing. And even so, by now he would've been dead of old age.

But here, he had eternal life and youth, lived with people he liked, and there was Autumn, and his brother wasn't dead and would be there soon, and he liked how everything had turned out. He didn't want to change a thing.

The End

Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.