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: In Juudai's Soul
Pairing: Yubel x Juudai
Word Count: 1,000||Status: One-shot
Genre: Romance||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Diversity Challenge: section B, #29: write a fic about your OTP.
Summary: [one-shot, Diversity Challenge, Yubel x Juudai, Soulshipping] Yubel loves living in Juudai's soul.
Yubel loved living in Juudai's soul. It wasn't something that had been considered before he made the move to do it, but now, there wasn't anywhere else in all creation that Yubel could imagine being.
Juudai's soul glowed with warmth and a rich darkness that nourished everything that came in contact with it. Yubel knew that was the part of him that was the Gentle Darkness itself, and took a deep pleasure in being so close to it. Like everything else about Juudai, it was something Yubel considered wonderful and perfect.
Humans thought Juudai flawed, imperfect, prone to making bad decisions, and any other amount of errors that Yubel knew weren't true. Oh, he did those things. Yubel knew better than most what Juudai did.
But those were part of what made him perfect in Yubel's eyes. It was not that he was flawless, but those flaws made up a larger package of wonder that Yubel treasured with all the care of any dragon protecting a treasured item.
Not that Yubel considered Juudai an item; Juudai was Juudai, the one that loved Yubel as Yubel loved Juudai, and there was nothing else that needed to be considered on the matter.
Yubel didn't miss being human, nor did Yubel miss the beauty that had been traded for skin that nothing could harm, no matter what. Yubel would rather be able to protect Juudai for all eternity, no matter what a mirror might say, than to be attractive and useless to him.
Being like this made Yubel aware of all of Juudai's thoughts, simply by taking the effort to bend attention that way. Yubel didn't do it all the time; Juudai did deserve some privacy, and he would frequently share whatever was going through his mind anyway.
He did this even more frequently when he was in class and didn't want to think about whatever it was that was being taught. Or if he didn't need to think about it for whatever reason: there was little about Fusion Summoning that he didn't already know, after all.
Yubel regretted at times the actions that led to being sent into space. This was only because it had led to so many missing years with Juudai, and there was much that needed to be caught up on. He'd told some of it already; of how his parents had despaired when he kept having nightmares, and on the advice of a relative, had his memories suppressed. He'd mentioned that before their final duel, but Yubel hadn't truly let it sink in at the time. There had simply been too much else going on.
But now Yubel listened with full attention, wanting to know all about those missing years. Juudai spoke of how people still feared him even after no one fell into comas when they dueled him, and he'd had to fight hard to find people who would want to duel him. He'd spoken of his arrival at Duel Academia and forging the bonds with his friends there.
Yubel tried not to be too jealous. It wasn't easy still, but Juudai stated more than once that while he cared about them, it didn't take away from the love he'd pledged once before. Yubel knew he was right. It didn't stop the occasional twinge of jealousy, but those could be ignored now. They would never be separated again, and that was something that couldn't be said for Juudai and anyone else.
There were other tales that he had to tell about the years they'd been apart, and Yubel listened with full interest. There was regret, of course, for not having been there when he'd fought against the Light of Ruin's most recent mortal host. That was part of the reason for the change in the first place, and to have missed that…
Well, it wasn't something that would happen again. If and when the Light chose another, Juudai would be there to fight once more, and this time Yubel knew they would fight together, as they'd always been meant to.
Some of the tales he told were of people that Yubel would've gladly punished if the chance had arisen. Not because they fought Juudai in duels, but because they hurt him in various ways. But always Juudai forgave them. He'd learned of forgiveness during their time apart, and wanted Yubel to understand that as well.
Yubel wasn't always certain of it; few had ever been pardoned who'd offended the crown in the old days. But Juudai insisted that making friends was better than killing people.
So long as none of these people actually attempted to kill Juudai, then Yubel decided they could live. And if they did attempt to do so, then Yubel believed completely that Juudai could defend himself. He was much stronger than he'd been as a child, and with their powers merged as they were, it would take someone very special to even be able to scratch him, at least so far as Yubel knew.
Which meant it would be a very good idea to watch out for any further minions of the Light of Ruin. There were others; Yubel didn't know who they were, but they existed. The Light could never be completely defeated, only portions of it sealed away from varying amounts of time, or driven out of a given individual.
The day would come when Juudai would leave Duel Academia and strike out into the wider world. He hadn't mentioned what he planned to do out there, but Yubel had ideas, sparked in part by what he'd shared of his thoughts.
It went without saying that they would be together throughout whatever Juudai chose to do. After all this time, they were together in a way that nothing could ever break or strain.
Yubel enfolded Juudai with all the love that burned bright and strong and true within, and could feel his own love burning in return.
Forever meant forever. Throughout the future, throughout all other lives, they would be one.
The End