Author's Notes: Written on my phone at 3am on memo pad app with the battery in the red let's goooooo

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is copy-written to Kazuki Takahashi and Konami

When Vivian had first met Mai, there was an air of familiarity. Despite never formally meeting Mai before their encounter at a tournament in Shanghai, Vivian felt that she had already known her years beforehand. There was something about the way the blonde bombshell carried herself, the way she dressed, the way she spoke, the way she seemed both so confident, yet so guarded. Vivian thought she sensed something vulnerable underneath the other woman's sharp words and wit, but had dismissed it as nothing more than a small sting from the pang of defeat.

(Vivian had just narrowly defeated Mai at the Shanghai tournament. When they went out for drinks later, Mai claimed Vivian got lucky. Vivian claimed Mai was just being a sore loser and shouldn't have underestimated the Duel Queen of the continent; it was pure skill and calculation. Vivian, however, did know it was a stroke of luck that saved her during the last turn of the duel, and she was going to take that secret to the grave.)

It was only years later, when they were vacationing in Bali, that it clicked. Vivian was watching Mai from the corner of the hotel bed, still groggy from the events of the previous night. Her partner stood at the hotel sink, combing her fingers through her damp blonde hair while waving a blow dryer underneath.

Something about the casual morning grooming reminded Vivian of her childhood. Her family always had a flock of peafowl freely roaming their countryside estate. She was told they served a practical function in tandem with their existence as live ornamentals. The birds were kept as a natural pest control around the finely trimmed topiaries, as well as deterrents to would-be intruders, as the peacocks had been fiercely territorial and temperamental; she had been told multiple times by her maternal grandmother not to approach them or pet them. They were strictly to be admired from afar.

But Vivian being Vivian, had been an utter brat and decided she wanted to pluck a feather from one of the peacocks, just to see if it could be done. She had read that predators like tigers would be hesitant and stop in their tracks when a peacock spread its feathers to reveal the eyeball-like pattern on its many tails. Well, of course that worked, because wild animals were stupid. But Vivian wasn't a wild animal. She was a six year old girl, and she was smarter and sneakier than a spoiled peacock.

Except Vivian had hesitated when she saw just how beautiful the bird was up close. She had only seen them from a distance, as advised by her family, and their heavy, lustrous tails had always brushed the ground. She was mesmerized when the bird had turned to her, fanned out its feathers and shook them in an impressive display, the sunlight shining off the iridescent eyes. It really was a sight to behold firsthand. Vivian had been awestruck by its beauty-up until it squawked and charged at her face.

She was scolded heavily by her mother and grandmother, while her father seemed to be the only one genuinely concerned about the scratches on her face and arms. But Vivian proudly bore them and beared the verbal reprimand as she clinged to a long, single feather with a shimmering eye at the end.

"Ah," Vivian murmured as she reviewed the memory. Mai clicked off the blow dryer and looked at Vivian's reflection in the mirror.

"That's why I felt I knew you then," Vivian said. Mai blinked and turned her head to look at Vivian directly. The Chinese woman had a cocky, dreamy smile on her face.

"What?" Mai asked.

Vivian said nothing and proceeded to pull the sheets back over her arms. She turned on her side, away from Mai. She didn't feel like getting out of bed yet.

"Hey," Mai said, approaching the bed. "Hey, get up. It's almost noon. We need to check out in 30 minutes."

Vivian snaked her fingers through the sheets and wiggled them just above her shoulder, waving off the words.

"Fine," Mai huffed. "Just wanna let you know, this was your choice. You made me do this."

Vivian yelped when Mai grabbed her ankles and yanked her off the bed.

End