Symbioshipping (Ryouta x Esper Roba)

It was much too warm for January, but Esper Roba wasn't complaining. He didn't have to worry about trying to bundle up every one of his brothers in all kinds of winter gear before trying to get them to school. The morning routine was hard enough as it was.

He breathed out, and could just barely see his breath in the chill morning air. He had just dropped off his youngest sibling at day care, and now it was his turn to try and get to school on time. If the bus came when it usually did, he would make it just in time for the first bell.

However, the he couldn't see the bus coming from either direction, and he shifted from foot to foot, worried that he was going to miss math again. If he was paying for his high school tuition, then he didn't want to miss out on any of his classes. Especially math, which he was failing anyway.

Someone sneezed loudly beside him, and Esper jumped half a foot into the air. Was there someone else waiting at his stop? No one ever used this bus stop this early in the morning!

He glanced at the figure out of the corner of his eye. He had never seen the tall, tanned boy before. His sharp eyes glared out at the world from under a mass of spiky black hair, pushed up even higher because of the goggles he was wearing on his forehead. He hugged himself tightly, shivering visibly despite the huge puffy coat he wore – he must have been wearing at least three layers, not to mention his hat and scarf. His next sneeze shook him all the way down to his feet, and he sniffled loudly.

Esper looked hopefully for the bus, but it was still nowhere in sight.

"Um...good morning," Esper said.

The book glanced at him, looking irritated.

"Good? I wouldn't call this morning good," he half-growled. "It's absolutely freezing!"

"It's only forty degrees. It's actually pretty nice out."

"Hah," the boy said. "That's a good one."

Then he buried his face into his scarf and sneezed again. Esper rocked back and forth on his heels. Should he try to continue the conversation? The boy didn't seem to want to talk.

"So, um...do you live in Domino?"

The boy muttered something, but it was hard to hear him.

"I'm sorry?"

The boy pushed his scarf down.

"I said no. No, I don't live in this frozen winter wasteland."

"Oh. So why are you here, then?"

"Eh."

And he wouldn't say anything more. Esper thought about trying to say something else, anything to break the awkward buzzing silence, when the heavenly sight of the bus appeared.

"Well, uh, nice to meet you, then," Esper said, and he scrambled onto the bus.

He heard the boy grunt before shoving past to the back of the bus, where the heater was running. Esper slipped into a seat; the bus was thankfully mostly empty, and he could sit down.

Well, that was exhausting, Esper thought. I hope I didn't miss too much of math.

A/N: This...was...kinda crappy. I'm continuing my wintry theme, I don't know for how long (until I run out of ideas, I guess) but anyway, this couple...doesn't work for me, I guess. Maybe someone else has pulled it off, but I haven't gotten to know these characters well enough to work with them. And Ryouta/Mako was much too cold to be friendly. ;D Next up is Switchshipping (Mokuba x Meyari). Meyari is the Japanese name of that princess from Kaiba's virtual world, the one that looks like Mokuba. I don't remember her English name... (Adelina or something?)