Timidshipping (Shizuka x Yugi)
"Hey, Shizuka, I'm here!"
Shizuka looked up from her book of fairy tales as her older brother padded into the room, tossing his bookbag on the table.
"Hi, Katsuya," she said. "How was the trip?"
"Eh. Same old, same old. How about you, Zuka? Feeling any better?"
Shizuka carefully placed her bookmark into her book and closed it, laying it across her blanketed legs. Katsuya padded over and put his hand to her forehead.
"My fever's gone down, so I think I'll be okay," Shizuka said. "Thanks so much for coming to take care of me."
Katsuya ruffled her hair, grinning. He had
"I can't leave my sick little sister to fend for herself while mom's on a business trip, now can I? Oh, by the way, Shizuka, it is okay that Yugi came along, right?"
Shizuka felt her face heat up, but it had nothing to do with the fever.
"Oh, uh, well mom did say you could bring your friends along so, uh, of course not!"
Katsuya's brow wrinkled and he felt her forehead again.
"You sure you're okay? You're feeling hot again."
"Oh, I'm fine! W-where is Yugi now?"
"Oh, I asked him if he could grab some food stuff. I didn't want to wait any longer to check up on you."
The doorbell rang one long, clear note.
"That'll be him," Katsuya said.
He stood up and his knees cracked loudly. Shizuka winced at the sound, even though she knew her brother probably hadn't felt a thing. The door opened with a soft creak – oh, she had forgotten to oil that hinge – and after a moment or two, Katsuya reappeared with Yugi at his side. The shorter boy had a pair of shopping bags hanging from one arm and wore that familiar bright, warm smile Shizuka remembered from the card game tournament.
"Hi, Shizuka-chan!" Yugi said brightly. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Uh…yeah," Shizuka said. "How are you, Yugi-kun?"
"Good! Are you really okay, though? You're looking a bit red."
"I, uh, it's nothing. Just a little fever. It's going down; I think I'll be fine before tomorrow."
"Hmph," said Katsuya, feeling her forehead again. "If you say so. But I'm gonna make you some soup, okay? You keep resting. Here Yug, I'll take those bags off your hands."
Yugi handed him the bags, and Katsuya headed towards the kitchen.
"Need any help, Jonouchi?" Yugi asked.
"Nah. I'm actually a pretty good cook, believe it or not."
And then suddenly, it was just Shizuka and Yugi.
Shizuka swallowed. Her fingers edged toward her book, as though it could help her disappear from the room. Maybe Yugi would be just as shy as she was, and she wouldn't have to try to talk…
No such luck. Yugi plopped down at the table beside the couch, looking cheerful.
"It's been such a long time since I've seen you, Shizuka," he said. "How have you been? I mean, before the cold and all."
"Oh…fine…" Shizuka said, barely able to speak above a whisper. "What…what about you?"
If Yugi noticed her shyness, he didn't show it.
"I've been fine too. Things have been getting a little crazy, but I guess that's how life works, right?"
"Uh…yeah…"
Oh, what was wrong with her? She had known that Yugi was coming! Forget it, she knew what was wrong with her: she had a major crush on Yugi. Ever since Battle City, and she had seen him and her brother messing around, and his big, bright smile and warm, violet eyes, and then that strong, confident walk as he had climbed up into the stadium… But Yugi was so, so strong and confident, she could never expect him to look at her twice. She was just a quiet, unassertive bookworm who read and reread children's fairy tales.
"Oh, uh, Shizuka-chan…are these yours?"
Shizuka looked up from her lap and saw that Yugi was flicking through the small pile of Duel Monsters cards on the table. She blushed even deeper.
"Oh…yes…" she said.
"I thought so. I didn't think Jonouchi would have Tethys the Goddess of Light!" Yugi laughed. "Do you play?"
"Not really," Shizuka mumbled. "I mean…I watched the tournament, and so I thought I'd get a few cards… I don't really even know how to play…"
Yugi flicked through the cards one more time, his tongue half out. It was kind of cute. Then he set the cards back down and reached for his bag, ruffling through it. After a moment, he drew out his own pile of Duel Monsters cards.
"While your brother is making the soup, why don't I teach you how to play?" Yugi said.
Shizuka flushed.
"Oh, no…I couldn't…I mean…I don't think I even have enough cards to make a deck…"
"You're only one short. I counted," Yugi said, digging into his bag again. "Here, I have a couple that aren't in my deck. How about this one?"
He pulled out a shiny, silvery card depicting a tall, armor-clad lady with long silver hair, bearing a shield and sword.
"This is Athena. I think it'll fit with your fairy deck."
"Oh, no, I can't take your card –"
"It's okay, Shizuka, I don't even use this one. Take it!"
The card shone in his hand, and slowly, face still red, Shizuka accepted it. The little piece of paper was warm from being inside the bag, and the tiniest bit crinkled on the corner.
"Here, I'll move the table closer, so you don't have to get up," Yugi said. "Okay, so first, we have to shuffle our decks!"
Shizuka took one last glance at the beautiful card before she slid it into her deck and carefully shuffled. She could still see the small crinkle towards the middle of the deck.
Yugi's eyes were bright as always, and Shizuka's cheeks were as warm as ever.
Maybe he'd never know how much that card would mean to her. But the memories she was making here would last forever.
The card would be filled with them.
A/N: Geez…it was hard cranking this out, especially when I have so much other work to do for my English project. But here it is, and I hope it's cute enough to do this pairing justice! They're so adorable! Anyway, I'm gonna go watch My Little Pony now. :D Next up is Timeshipping (Atem x Kaiba).
