Written for the "Super Fun Deathship Drabble Contest" held by maariku and creampuffsandcardgames on tumblr
Ryou has to slip off his gloves to unfold the piece of paper in his hand, the material too bulky for him to do it with them on. The frigid air meets his bare skin like a lion meeting a lamb, showing no mercy to his unprotected hands. He slides his gloves back on the moment the map's open. He groans when he sees it; he'd been aware Marik was drunk when he drew it out, that had been part of the rules, but the writing is nearly illegible and he's pretty sure the colored squiggles are from crayons. Ryou had at least attempted to make the map he handed over to Kek and Marik descriptive despite being intoxicated himself when drawing it, but this is completely useless.
Bakura shuffles closer to glance at it over his shoulder. "Wow, never knew Marik was such a good artist. That tree right there, that's a masterpiece."
"Bakura, he labeled that a rock." Ryou says, checking the compass hanging around his neck like he once wore the Ring. As expected, the windrose in the top right corner is off too.
"But it's green. Rocks aren't green, they're grey."
"Maybe it has moss on it?" Ryou guesses, shrugging. "Or maybe Marik was just really appreciating the color green when he drew this? Look, he also made that pond green. What time is it? Shouldn't we be starting soon?"
Ryou turns just in time to watch Bakura drop his phone into the snow. He ducks down to pick it up, cursing under his breath. "We still have ten minutes until we agreed to start searching, but I have no doubts that Kek and Marik are cheating and already on the move, so we should start too."
"And what makes you think that?"
"Thief's intuition. I know we said you should stay here and guard our flag, and I go and steal theirs, but I think it'd be best if we switched up." Bakura pats the bright red flag sitting on top of a snow mound for emphasis.
"Oh?"
"It'll be unexpected."
"And this has nothing to do with the fact that our map is shit and you don't want to get lost?" Ryou smiles.
"Of course not. Now hurry up and get out of here."
Ryou waves at Bakura before glancing at the map, guessing a direction, and heading straight. He isn't quite familiar with the forest, but he's visited on occasion and he wondered around a few days ago to prepare for this little game. It was sort of like capture the flag, only less people and over a greater distance. They had split up into two teams, hidden their flag, and made a map that showed where it was so the game wouldn't last forever. On the chance that it lasted more than two hours, they would all be declared the losers.
It takes him over thirty minutes to find a river, indicated by a giant pink squiggle with little questionable fishes on the map. Ryou has never prided himself for being active, but trudging through snow is ridiculously tiring. He just hopes Marik and Kek don't come across the trail he left behind and decide to follow. Luckily, most of the snow is melted by the river's edge, and he won't leave a path walking along it.
With a check at the map, he heads upstream and prays his intuition is correct and he's going in the right direction. The sound of a twig snapping from behind makes him jump, and he bolts away without even checking behind him. Spurred into action, Ryou races along the river bank, ignoring a sudden shout from one of the other two competitors. Damn, he can't believe he's already been found. Though there's no punishment for being spotted, they'll know he's getting closer (maybe) to the flag.
He slows once he begins feeling a stitch in his side, doubling over as he catches his breath. Ryou spares a glance behind him and sees no one. Success.
He raises the map to his face again and his completely unprepared when a snowball strikes his hand. Ryou yelps, the snow managing to find its way under his gloves, and spins in a circle. He only spies trees to one side and the river to the other. While he's swiveling around like a fool, another snowball hits his shoulder.
He whirls around and spots a flash of golden hair. Ryou drops the map and ducks down to scoop up a handful of snow and shapes it. He huddles, waiting for his attacker to show himself, before letting the snowball fly. He listens for it to impact his target, already reaching for more snow, and a startled yelp follows. He throws his new snowball, misses, and dives behind a tree, only just dodging another projectile.
It takes a second for them to compact more ammo, and somehow they both peer out behind their cover at the same time. Two snowballs are sent flying, and Ryou recoils when he gets hit, falling on his ass in the snow.
"Hey! Stop aiming for the face!" Kek, his attacker, shouts.
"Sorry," Ryou giggles, already preparing more snow.
"Truce?" Kek calls out from the left.
"Only if you come out with your hands up," Ryou finishes another snowball just in case, but Kek appears with empty hands. His face is red, his hair bogged down from snow. Kek walks right up to him then shakes his head vigorously, spraying the snow onto Ryou, before plopping down beside him.
"Your map is looking a bit soggy there," Kek points out the wad of paper in the snow a few feet away.
Ryou jumps to his feet, crying in despair. "No! I needed that to win!" He turns on Kek. "You made me drop it on purpose."
Kek shrugs and grins, not denying the accusation. "Marik wouldn't let me look it over; it's probably wrong anyway."
"Oh yeah, well prove it. I remember what it looked like; you take me to your flag and I'll tell you how accurate it was." Ryou crosses his arms and sticks his nose in the air, trying not to smile.
"Or," Kek stretches out the word, "we could just go back to the warm car, eat lunch, and wait for Marik and Bakura to grow tired of smacking each other with snow." At Ryou's puzzled look, he continues. "Marik couldn't stop yapping about pummeling Bakura today. They've probably completely forgotten that we're in the middle of a game."
Ryou thinks for a second, then, "Well, as much as I enjoy being lost in the cold, I think I'll take you up on the offer." He reaches out and helps Kek to his feet. Ryou pockets the ruined map, not wanting to leave it.
Kek snatches Ryou's hand. It's awkward with their bulky gloves on, but it's the thought that counts. "I think I remember the way back to the car. If I'm right I get a kiss."
"And if you're wrong? Still want that kiss?" Ryou laughs.
"Hey, if you're just giving away kisses for free today, I'll take one now," he jokes.
Ryou stops walking and Kek turns to him. "Fine, but you'll have to bend over a bit, unless you want more snow in your face." He waves his snow-covered glove to prove his point. Kek does so, and instead of the innocent peck he was expecting, Ryou's kiss is directly on the lips and full of tongue.
Ryou pulls away too soon, face flushed. "Let's go find that car, yeah? Then we can kiss without freezing to death."
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