Title: Mistaken Birthday
Romance: Yubel x Juudai
Chapters: 1-1||Words: 1,970
Genre: Romance, Humor||Rated: G
Written For: Soulshipping Week 2021, day #7, Free Day; GX Month 2022, day #1, happy birthday
Notes: This takes place a few years after the end of GX.
Summary: Juudai misses his friends and decides that the end of August is the best time to have a reunion - after all, it's Yubel's birthday and he wants all of them to know Yubel!


Juudai lounged underneath the tree, his eyes partially closed, his thoughts as at peace as they ever were. A light breeze flickered by, tangling in his hair for a few moments before moving onwards. If he opened his eyes all the way then he could have seen so much more.

If he'd opened Yubel's eyes, then he would have been even more than that. But he reserved Yubel's eyes for matters of importance. Besides, in this world of spirits, he could see anything that he chose just by wanting it.

Ever since he fused their souls and he became aware of who and what he was, Juudai put a little more effort than some might have supposed he had in him to learning how to use his power. He knew that he couldn't use all of them; some he could only access when he didn't wear a flesh body. But he learned what he could and couldn't do, and one of the first things he'd learned was that seeing spirits was just the finest touch of what he was really capable of doing.

In point of fact, he'd learned that his power and the nature of spirits were so intertwined that he could spark the gift in others if he was around them long enough and if they wanted it or needed it. Journeyman had needed someone like Ojama Yellow, just like Hayato had needed Death Koala.

Sometimes he wondered if it happened to other people and he just hadn't been around them long enough to notice. Since graduation he'd wandered around so much.

Yubel's fingers brushed against the back of his neck. "You enjoy this," they murmured. Like always, they knew exactly what was on his mind. He leaned his head closer to them.

"I miss them some, though." They'd spent so much time together those three years that now being out in the world required adjusting. Of course, he'd had to adjust to so much else in his life that this was just one more thing on the list.

Yubel nodded, a faint quirk to their lips. "Then you could go visit them. I think they would like seeing you."

Juudai tilted his head a little. "Are you sure?"

"When am I anything else?"

He had to agree there. Yubel remained certain about everything. Sometimes their 'everything' was wrong, but that didn't mean they weren't certain about it.

He counted up the days in his mind. How long had it been? Weeks? Months? That sounded about right.

He tugged his laptop out of the case and flipped it open. He couldn't quite get internet reception everywhere he went, but this place here was one of the odd ones where it was at least possible, with a little figuring. Computers weren't his best subject by any means but he'd learned enough to manage when he really needed to.

So now he worked through until he could get to his e-mail, and worked out a quick message to his friends, at least the ones from Duel Academia. He'd made other friends during his travels and while he wouldn't mind seeing them again too, this was something different altogether.

Shou, Kenzan, Asuka, Johan, Manjoume, Ryou, Edo, Saiou, Hayato, he mused, before adding a few more names, such as Rei, Martin, O'Brien, and Jim. He asked if they could all meet him at a particular place he knew. Thin places between the worlds occurred naturally all the time, and it would be easy to find them at one of those. He assured them that there wasn't anything bad happening - and he could take care of it if he had to - but he just wanted to hang out for a while.

As he worked, another thought slid into his mind. It was little more than a whisper of a notion, but he focused on it - a notion encapsulated into a single word.

Birthday.

Was it someone's birthday? That certainly felt right but it wasn't anyone's that he remembered. Manjoume's had been a few weeks earlier. Shou's wasn't until closer to the end of the month. Ryou, Fubuki, and Yuusuke had their spree of birthdays at the end of October and start of November. But the end of August? He couldn't think of anyone who had a birthday then.

Oh. Oh! Juudai slanted his eyes quickly to where Yubel's presence hovered warm in the back of his mind. Often when they were in other worlds they appeared like usual, but today they seemed to want to stay tucked away inside of him.

Obviously Yubel had a birthday. They'd certainly not just popped into existence. But try as he might, he couldn't remember when that birthday was. He vaguely recalled glorious celebrations in their old hometown, but whether said celebrations had been because of Yubel or not escaped him.

They should have. Yubel deserved every bit of praise for everything they'd ever done to protect him, even if they didn't ask for it. Probably because they didn't ask for it.

Well. That made his mind up. He'd not asked his friends to spend much time around Yubel before, knowing that a lot of them were still a little iffy about them. But he thought they could manage just for one afternoon. Once he was sure Yubel's attention remained elsewhere, he added in a few notes to the e-mail, and sent it off quickly.

What can I get them? It wouldn't be that hard to find a way to get Yubel something. While their souls were one, and they could learn anything about one another with a little mental effort, they also respected one another's privacy. If Yubel knew there was something that he wanted to keep to himself, then they would allow it. The odds were that he'd tell them sooner or later anyway. He didn't like having secrets from Yubel. That had caused enough issues in the past.

But the question was what to get in the first place. Yubel didn't wear clothes and had never had a use for much else. Maybe some new cards? Yubel was as much a duelist as he was, and any duelist could always use new cards for their deck.

Somehow, that didn't feel right either, though. He wanted it to be something special, something perfect for them, something that really showed Yubel how much he loved them and how much he'd missed them, even when he hadn't been aware that he'd missed them. There had to be something.

Then he knew. He would have to travel a little to get it, but he could manage it, and then when he saw everyone, he'd give it to Yubel in front of them. It was private and public all at the same time. Exactly what he wanted.


Seeing everyone again was one of the best things Juudai could think of. He hadn't meant to startle everyone by walking out of a shadow - he'd been pretty convinced most of them knew he could do that to start with - but once the startled noises died down and Manjoume finished yelling at him for doing it in the first place, things started to pick up a little.

There were tables set up in the center of the park he'd asked them to gather in, some groaning with food, and one groaning with presents. Juudai was a little surprised by those; he'd mentioned that it was Yubel's birthday, but he hadn't expected everyone to get Yubel something! Still, he wasn't going to complain about it. Everyone greeted the two of them with 'happy birthday' - which was a little weird because he knew that they couldn't see Yubel. Yubel, unlike most spirits, appeared only to those they chose, so it was like they were saying it to him.

He could feel Yubel's presence there all along, though, watching him with their loving regard, observing his friends and dismissing most of them, enjoying the pleasure he felt when he plowed into the food. Yubel might not need to eat human food, but that in no way lessened the joy they took in knowing he enjoyed a great meal.

Finally, Shou stared him in the eyes. "Aniki," he said, "Aren't you going to open your presents?"

Juudai blinked for a second at that, then grinned. "Hold on." He reached inside of himself and tugged. In a second Yubel appeared, a flicker of confusion crossing their features before Juudai took their hand.

"Juudai?"

"Everyone, today is Yubel's birthday!" Juudai proclaimed. "I know I already told you, but I wanted to be sure that they know that I didn't forget." He couldn't help but be proud of himself.

He tugged a small item out of his pocket and presented it to Yubel. "I picked this up for you the other day. We can keep it in Neo-Space if you like."

Yubel stared down at it, then up at him, all three eyes clearly confused and mystified. Juudai started to say something else, when Shou spoke up again.

"Aniki, it's - it's your birthday. That's why we brought all this. " He waved tow rads the pile of presents. "I mean, happy birthday to you too, Yubel." He nodded at them before looking back at Juudai. "But we didn't know until you said something about it."

Juudai blinked a few times, then looked back at Yubel. Yubel nodded slowly.

"It's not my birthday. I don't even remember what that was anymore, it's been so long." They shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Enjoy your party. I'll enjoy it with you."

Yubel started to fade back into his soul, but Juudai seized onto them again, eyes flashing bright. "I don't care! If you don't remember when it was, then we'll just celebrate together! We do everything else together! And this is yours no matter what!"

He thrust the box at them, and Yubel slowly accepted it, still confused as they opened the lid. Once more heir eyes widened, and then a smile broke over their features. Juudai smiled as well. The moment that he'd seen that dragon statue crafted of amber, he'd known it should belong to Yubel. Amber was forever - just like the two of them.

Yubel cradled it for a few seconds before turning to Juudai. "Thank you," they murmured, before flicking their claw-hand and a box appeared there as well. "This is for you."

Juudai tilted his head as he picked it up and thought for a few seconds about tearing into it. Instead, he opened it up carefully and peered inside. There was a sun,crafted out of some black material that sparkled like the night sky.

"You are the Darkness, but you are the light to so many people's lives," Yubel told him. "This is all that I could find that spoke to me of you."

There could only be one answer to this as far as Juudai was concerned. He threw himself forward and wrapped his arms around Yubel, holding them as tight as he could, his heart and soul swelling with joy, fully aware that Yubel could feel that as well.

"If you two are done," Manjoume drawled, "we brought a few presents that you might want to look at."

Juudai reluctantly pulled himself back, swallowed, and nodded. "Thanks, guys. I missed you all too."

"And for the third year in a row, Juudai forgets his own birthday," Manjoume declared, arms crossed over his chest. "At least the cake's decent." His eyes shifted to the side where only a handful saw the tiny gremlins floating there. "No, you don't get any of it."

Juudai didn't bother holding back a laugh, but moved towards the presents. Cake could come later. For right now, he had Yubel and he had his friends - and he had so much new to discover.


The End

Notes: I decided to use this chance to finish last year's Soulshipping Week. Want that cleared up before December of this year rolls around again! I'm going to try to write something for every day this month, but I can't promise anything. We'll see how it works out.