Prideshipping (Seto x Yami no Yugi)
Ordinary people hated to be around them when they were in close proximity. Even those close to them found it grating to get too near, especially when they were in conflict – which was pretty much always. It seemed like their auras pressed against each other, neither willing to give up air space to the other. The pressure was so great, it sometimes seemed as though sparks might fly from the friction between their prides.
It had never been worse than on Pegasus' castle.
More than the monsters clashing together, it was as though their very souls were attacking each other. Neither could possibly lose. Both had more at stake than they cared to admit. Gaining what they had lost required beating the other down – at the cost of losing the other's stake.
The other side of Yugi stood tense and tall, as if to make up for the height difference between them. Red eyes flashed across the battlefield. As the air heated with the friction of battle, his stance only grew tenser. The easy confidence he had held at the beginning of the battle was starting to wear, and now, beads of sweat were forming on his brow. This was for Yugi. He had to save Yugi's grandfather – no matter what the cost. He had to defeat Pegasus. But he had to get there first, and he stood in his way. So he tried to tell himself, so he tried to convince himself that that was why he was fighting, but he could not deny the truth: he didn't think he could allow himself to lose, even if the stakes hadn't been so high. He absolutely did not want to lose...especially to him.
Seto Kaiba stood as stiffly as ever, his blue eyes hard and cold when meeting his opponent's gaze. His knuckles were white, they gripped the cards so tightly. But even his cold facade was starting to wear down, even as his opponent's did. He could not determine the outcome of this duel. He wasn't sure he wanted to. He held the right cards – but his opponent somehow managed to counter every move, even as he himself counter-countered his opponent's. Neither could gain a clear advantage over the other. But Seto was running out of time. Mokuba was waiting – who knew what terrible place Pegasus was holding the small boy. If he lost here, he would never save Mokuba. But, he barely liked to admit, that wasn't the only reason he was tense. It wasn't even the main reason. He simply did not want to lose. Especially to him. He told himself that this was for Mokuba. As he stepped back towards the edge of the wall and threatened to kill himself, he told himself it was for Mokuba.
But it wasn't. Not really.
Blue eyes met red eyes. Red eyes met blue eyes.
They could rationalize all they wanted. They could say they had a reason for fighting. But the truth was right in front of them.
They just didn't want to lose to each other.
A/N: Prideshipping is one of the reasons why I hate yaoi. Especially Yu-Gi-Oh yaoi. Seriously, I went looking for inspiration by reading other Prideshipping fics and...ew. Sorry, but I wouldn't want to read about that stuff in a het relationship, so I don't want to read about it in a slash relationship either. Next is Pressureshipping (Sakate x Kotsuzaka).
