Winter descended over the city like a thick, frozen blanket covering everything it could in ice and snow. The once gentle breezes were like blades cutting through any jacket and chilling anyone who dared to venture outside to the bone. Judai was quickly learning that winter was Yusei's least favorite season. He was constantly shivering and finding ways to avoid going outside as much as physically possible.
Within the last couple days, he even noticed Yusei was refusing to leave his bed until the last possible second. Even then, his reluctance was clear with every move he made to leave the thick blankets and gather his clothes for the day. It was such a stark shift from how he was before, constantly up and out on time and prompt to a fault unless he got engrossed in a project. Judai had even noticed him sniffling more, but that was likely just the weather. After all, his own nose had been running a lot as of late.
"Yusei, come on. Don't you have to leave for class soon?" Judai teased him that particular morning, going over to the other's bed and plopping himself down on the edge. "Even I'm up before you. Now that's saying something."
The grumble and angry glare he got from the head that barely poked out from the covers was nothing short of precious in the brunette's eyes and he made it a point to smile at Yusei like he was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen.
"Babe, don't be like that," Judai laughed, bouncing a little on the bed to try and annoy the other enough to rouse him. "You have an exam today, don't you?"
Another groan of protest left the other before he finally shifted and sat up, immediately wrapping his arms around himself. "It's too cold…" Yusei muttered bitterly, more to himself than to Judai. He got out of bed and immediately slipped into his favorite jacket while he gathered his clothes and left to change.
That he could honestly agree on. The weather had taken such a sudden turn from chilly to bitter cold. It was only last month that autumn had been hanging on still and he and Yusei had started dating. It was such a shame that it was over. Their Saturday outings were now limited to what they could do indoors due to the weather and they'd even cancelled going out a few times in favor of staying here on the couch with mugs of hot chocolate or coffee.
"Hey, drive safely out there, alright? It snowed last night, and you said the roads were getting slick yesterday." Judai piped up as he followed Yusei to the door. "And good luck on your exam."
Yusei smiled at him and finished tying his scarf around his neck. "Thanks, Judai. I will. Stay inside today, okay? You've been sniffling, and I don't want you getting sick."
"You're one to talk. Besides, I have to go outside. I'm shoveling all the sidewalks for the neighbors, remember?" It was just a small odd job that he technically wasn't getting paid for, but it was something to do with his day other than sit around or clean. Especially considering Martha did most of that already.
Yusei shook his head but let Judai hug him before he turned and left for class. It had taken some time, but Judai was rather pleased that he was now able to hug Yusei without the other getting uncomfortable about it. Now, if only he could get Yusei to initiate one without it being a typical greeting or farewell hug.
Welp, best get to work! Judai thought happily to himself, gearing up in his own winter garb before taking to the sidewalks with shovel and ice melt in hand.
It took him almost all morning, but he steadily worked through each driveway and the sidewalk connecting them all the way down the street and back the other side. It helped that some of the neighbors had already come out to do their own driveway, especially as the morning went on. He even stopped to chat with a couple of them. By the time he made it back to Martha' s, he actually felt hot and sweaty and frozen solid all at the same time.
He took his boots off in the garage and peeled off his hat and gloves, trying to do his best to make sure he wasn't going to track any snow back into the house. When he got inside, he greeted Martha and went to the stove to start some hot water for a drink to warm up.
"Did Yusei not go to class?" Martha asked.
Judai raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head. "No, he did. Why do you ask?"
She gestured to the table where a black lunchbox sat. "He didn't take the lunch he made for himself last night. He must have forgotten it."
"He's been kind of forgetful lately. He couldn't find his glasses last night and they were on his head… He was using them to look for them." Judai chuckled, remembering how worried Yusei had been when he came bursting into the room to ask Judai if he'd seen his glasses.
Martha nodded and shrugged. "He's probably just getting burnt out from all his classes and work."
"Probably. I'll text him and let him know he forgot it." Judai said as he pulled out his phone.
'Hey, you forgot your lunch on the table. Guess that means I get to eat now, right?'
It didn't take long at all for his phone to buzz.
'Yeah, go ahead. I don't have time to come home and get it.'
'…What are you going to eat?'
'I'll eat when I get home. Don't worry, I'll be alright.'
Well Judai certainly wasn't having any of that. He frowned at his phone then looked between it and the lunch. The school wasn't that far away. He could probably make it there and still give Yusei a chance to eat a little or at least have it to eat in his next class.
With his mind made up, he bundled up once more and took a peek at what Yusei had packed himself for lunch. It was a simple sandwich with a granola bar on the side, not too out of the ordinary for him. Judai decided it couldn't hurt at all to add a couple things though. He flitted around the kitchen, getting some grapes and a thermos of tea for Yusei along with a maybe not so healthy chocopie.
Satisfied with his additions, Judai let Martha know he was leaving and set off back into the cold with the lunchbox slung over his shoulder and his phone in hand with directions to the school and nearest bus stop pulled up.
Thankfully, the bus was able to drop him off right at the campus, but unfortunately it had started snowing rather heavily by that time. It wasn't even the pretty fluffy snow. It was small specks that felt like ice when the wind blew it across his face. Judai could barely feel his fingers by the time his phone had guided him to the building he thought was Yusei's. He'd never actually been to the campus with him before, only seen it in passing and heard about it from the other.
'Where are you? I miss you.' He texted Yusei with a smile once he was inside. Now that he was there, he really wanted to surprise him.
'I just got out of class. I still have a couple more tonight. I'm sorry.'
'No, I mean. Where's your class? Like, what room?'
He heard the familiar chime of Yusei's phone after he sent that message and immediately looked up to see the other coming down the stairs to the left, staring at his phone in confusion.
"Yusei!" Judai called, waving him down. There were a few other people, likely his classmates, that had been walking down with him that gave him a look.
"J-Judai?! What are you doing here?" Yusei jogged over to him, worry written all over his face. "Are you alright?"
Judai nodded and slipped the lunchbox off his shoulder, proudly presenting it to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little cold is all. I brought you your lunch. No way am I letting you skip a meal. You barely eat enough as is."
Yusei's eyes widened in surprise, especially when he took his lunchbox and found it much heavier than when he'd packed it last night. "Judai… you didn't have to do this. What's even in here anyway? It wasn't this heavy last night. All I packed was a sandwich."
"Exactly. That's nowhere near enough food, so I added a couple things." Judai admitted, rubbing the back of his head. "I hope it's okay."
"Of course it's okay." Yusei shook his head, knowing better than to try and protest or argue with Judai on this at least. "Thank you…"
"Hey, anytime. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I let you starve?" Judai teased, loving the way Yusei's face lit up red.
"Not so loud here. I'm sorry." He hissed at him. "Come on. Let's go sit down. You look frozen solid." Yusei mumbled, glancing around before taking Judai's hand and tugging him down a few of the halls to an open room in the back of the building.
It looked like it was just a quiet place to study with a couple tables and chairs spread out by a wall that was completely covered in windowpanes from floor to ceiling, giving them the perfect view of the snowy landscape outside while they were warm and safe indoors.
"Judai, you really shouldn't have." Yusei said as he opened the lunchbox and pulled out the thermos and food. Despite the heater blowing warm air on them, he was still shaking a little. "I would have been okay. Besides, it's frigid out there. What are you going to do about getting back? Wait…how did you even get here?"
"I took the bus here. I'll take it back. It was definitely worth a little snow if I get see you." Judai smiled at him and moved to put his seat right next to Yusei, unzipping his coat and sliding an arm out so he could wrap his arm around the other without touching him with the cold, wet part of his jacket. "Geez and you told me I was frozen solid. You're the one who's shivering."
Yusei was so close to protesting and arguing with him about his actions, he could feel it in the way his back went rigid, but instead Yusei surprised him this time. Rather than get embarrassed and gently push him away, he actually leaned into him and pressed closer.
"Damn, you're warm…" Yusei muttered under his breath, resting his head on Judai's chest.
This time, Judai had no idea what to do. He was so used to Yusei not wanting too much physical contact that this threw him for a loop, not that he was complaining at all. Instinctively, he held onto the other a little tighter and rubbed his shoulder to try and help warm him up a bit.
They stayed like that awhile longer watching the snowfall outside start to grow heavier before Judai nudged the top of Yusei's head with his nose, speaking quietly. "You need to eat, Yusei."
"But that means moving and I don't want to. It's nice and warm here." Yusei hardly ever complained. Hearing him get upset over something that wasn't even an issue nearly made Judai laugh.
"I'm not going anywhere. You can reach your food from here, can't you?" Judai challenged, shifting to force Yusei to sit up a little. "If you don't eat, then I guess I'll just have to take my arm back."
He started to lift his arm away from the other but was quickly stopped by a firm hand holding onto his. "No. I mean- please don't… I'll eat."
"Good."
Both Yusei and Judai were very disappointed when the other had finished his lunch and needed to return to class. His side felt cold without the other snuggled up there and he could only image how chilled Yusei felt. He almost wanted to leave him his jacket, but he needed it to get home.
"Judai, wait. You're not going out in that." Yusei interrupted, reaching out to stop him.
"What are you talking about, Yusei? I have to go home." He looked outside to try and figure out why the other wouldn't want him to leave and felt his jaw drop. It wasn't just snowing outside anymore. It was full on, whiteout blizzarding.
Only now that he was paying attention to it did he hear the wind raging against the building and the icy snow spraying against the glass.
Yeah. No. We're not letting you go out in that either. Yubel protested as well.
He turned to Yusei, at a bit of a loss. "If I can't go home, then what am I going to do?"
"You can stay here until I'm done with class. I know that'll be a little while, but I can drive us home after and you won't have to pay for the bus again." Yusei suggested. "I'll come back here for you after I've finished."
Judai pouted a little but gave in quickly enough. This was going to be a boring couple hours. "Yeah… it beats going out in that."
"Here," Yusei paused and quickly took out a piece of paper, scribbling something down before handing it off to Judai. "At least you'll have wifi?"
Well that certainly made things better. Judai perked up and accepted the paper, hugging his boyfriend tightly much to the other's immediate protest. "Thank you!"
"Alright, alright, I have to go." Yusei squirmed out of his grasp and smiled at him, reaching out and squeezing his hand a bit. "Thanks for bringing my lunch. I'll see you after class."
"Anytime,"
And with that he was gone, a light skip in his step and a soft blush on his cheeks. Judai watched him go before returning to where he and the other had sat before. He scrolled through a few social media pages and played on mindless apps on his phone. Yusei had tinkered with it and fixed it up to keep up with the new tech. Basically, that meant he replaced everything inside it and kept the outer shell and files to make Judai feel better.
A couple hours passed and Judai had settled rather comfortably. A few students had passed by while he waited for Yusei, some looking out at the storm and just going back to wait out elsewhere and others making statements like "oh well" before shrugging and walking out into the storm.
"It still hasn't let up?" Yusei called, appearing at the entrance to the study area and walking over to him.
Judai jumped a little, having been so absorbed in his phone he never even noticed him approach. "Woah! Where did- Don't sneak up on me like that." He laughed, looking over at him. "And no. It's still going pretty strong."
"I guess there's nothing we can do about it… We have to start heading back." Yusei frowned a little and started walking towards the door before he stopped suddenly and whipped around, nearly making Judai run into him. "Wait. I forgot something. It's in the locker rooms."
"The locker rooms?"
"Yeah, I needed an extra class, so I decided to take kickboxing." He explained turning back. "Typically, people who aren't students aren't allowed back there, but I doubt anyone would stop you. It's not like they're going to ask for an ID from you."
"Alright. Are you sure? I'm not wearing anything close the uniform. I could just wait here for you. I wouldn't want to get you in trouble." Judai offered, gesturing to the chair he now mentally marked as his.
Yusei shook his head at that though and nodded for him to follow him. "No, it should be fine. We'll only get in trouble if we get caught. Come with me."
"If you say so,"
Judai followed after Yusei through a few halls and out the door into a breezeway shielding them from the worst of the storm and allowing them to cross over to another building which seemed to be full of sports related rooms and gyms. He could even hear the splashing of water from a pool somewhere down the hall. He missed swimming, but he thought it was far too cold to even consider doing so.
Yusei lead him into the locker rooms and went back to on near the back, starting to fiddle with his combination lock. Once he got it open, he grabbed a small bag Judai assumed had pens or tools in it and stuffed it into his backpack.
"There." Yusei announced. He closed his locker and turned around to find Judai's face just inches from his, the other's arm on the locker beside him. "J-Judai…"
"What? Cat got your tongue? Don't worry, no one else is here."
As if saying those words had jinxed him, the door on the opposite end of the locker room swung open followed by what sounded like an authoritative voice, maybe a coach or some kind of instructor. Judai took one look at Yusei's mortified face and immediately started looking for an escape route for the both of them. There wasn't another door out, but maybe…
"I'm sorry," he whispered to the other before putting a hand over his mouth and pulling him into a wider locker, letting Yubel's power close the door behind them.
He hissed at Yusei to be quiet when the other made a noise of protest behind his hand, his own attention more focused on what was going on outside and who was patrolling the lockers. It sounded like they were looking for something by how he heard them go down each row. The footsteps echoed through the room, closer and closer until a shadow passed over where they were hiding and paused there.
"Nothing here…Guess it got picked up and put in the lost and found." The voice muttered before they finally walked off.
Judai breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the entrance door open then close and it was only then that he realized just how close he was to Yusei. Their bodies were practically pressed up against each other, his leg in between Yusei's and if his hand wasn't in the way they'd be close enough to taste one another's breath. Yusei's face was bright red and his body felt like it was strung tight as a bow, wide eyes staring at him almost desperately.
"I-I'm sorry," he blurted out, lowing his hand from Yusei's mouth and quickly willing Yubel's abilities to open the door and release them both.
There was no easy way to get them both out of the cramped locker space without pressing a little closer and leaving in the reverse way they went in.
"Judai, what were you thinking?!" Yusei blurted out at him, completely flustered. "I-I know I said we might get in trouble, but was that really necessary?"
"Of course it was. I would hate to be the one that tarnished your record." He insisted, beaming at the incredulous look he received.
"They would have let me off with a warning at worst. I doubt they'd have cared that much…silly Kuriboh." Yusei muttered, turning around to leave.
Judai jogged to keep up with him. "Wait, wait! What did you just call me?"
Yusei laughed and just kept walking, glancing over his shoulder at him. "I called you a silly Kuriboh. Why? Do you not like it?"
"What? No! I don't dislike it, but…why Kuriboh? Please tell me it's not because of my hair." Judai pouted at him.
"It's mostly because of your hair," Yusei chimed back at him. "but also because it's your favorite card not to mention that giant plush you had me win you at the fair."
Judai was caught between being flattered and not all at the same time. This nickname was coming from Yusei though, and he didn't sound like he was mocking him like others had before. "Mmm, alright then. I guess I can accept it, but only from you."
The drive back to Martha's was bitter cold, and Judai held on tightly to Yusei to keep out of the wind. They were both quick to rush inside, snow blowing in after them. Once they'd gotten in and settled down on the couch to warm up, Judai looked across at Yusei who had already absorbed himself into whatever homework he had.
"Hey, so…since you called me Kuriboh, does that mean I can call you a nickname too?"
"I don't see why not" Yusei replied, not looking up from his laptop.
"Well, since you picked one of my favorite cards why don't I do the same?" He reasoned, starting to think through each card he'd seen Yusei play in almost every duel they had together. "What do you say to…Stardust? You said the dragon symbolizes hope to you and your eyes are as beautiful as stardust lighting up the night sky."
That caused Yusei's fingers to freeze over the keyboard. He looked up at him with a dark pink flush dusting across his face. "W-What?"
"You heard me. I think your eyes are beautiful. Like the night sky littered with stars. Sure, the moon is something to behold, but have you even been somewhere far away from civilization on a new moon's night and looked up at the sky? It's an inky dark blue and all you see are stars. It's gorgeous. Like you."
Yusei's mouth opened and shut a couple times, but not a word escaped him. Judai only laughed and leaned over, kissing his forehead. He realized his mistake the moment he felt Yusei jerk back from him, mentally cursing himself for being so impulsive.
"S-Sorry, sorry," he muttered, leaning back, rubbing the back of his neck.
"No, it's okay actually. You just surprised me is all." Yusei reassured him, smiling shyly. "It's okay."
Judai breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over to him, "You mean it?"
He nodded, eyeing him closely. "Yeah, I do."
Judai leaned over the rest of the way and touched their foreheads together. "I'm glad, Stardust~"
Kitana: welp! This was...not the chapter 14 that I started with at allll. I wrote one chapter and was gonna post it, then decided against it. Still not sure if I'm just gonna make it a one shot or what I'm gonna do with it, but here's this!
Thank you for reading, favoriting/following and reviewing!