notes: one of my friends suggested that i write a juasu christmas fic for the holidays, so i hope you like it; posting it really early since i'll be busy with finals! this is my first attempt at writing with judai's pov, so i'm sorry if it feels ooc, OTL. early apologies if i wrote yubel wrong or gotten my lore wrong too. writing asuka is personally a trillion times easier for me, but i feel like judai should get some time in the limelight too :)
also, i would like to thank those reading my judai/asuka stories! i know they are not a well-liked ship at all in the fandom (anymore?) and i didn't know that the reception i would get for my previous juasu fics would be so positive, so it really really means a lot to me! :'D [inserts hearts]
you will (probably) be happy to know that i planned a new multi-chapter fic for them, coming soon! details are a surprise (hint: slow burn), but i have everything from plot to chapters completely typed out and finished ever since the planning stage back in early october. i'm just waiting for a good time to post the fic for the upcoming new years. my profile should have the rest of my juasu fic plans, which i'll sometimes adjust! [heart] thank you for all the love and support for my juasu agenda! ;-;
lastly, merry (super early) christmas and happy (super early) new years!
disclaimer: i do not own yugioh gx.
.
.
the first once-upon-a-time
judai & asuka
.
.
Judai checks his phone and notes the time—eleven o'clock—and lets out a puff of breath before sliding it closed and inserting the device back into his pockets.
He watches his breath become visible despite the darkening somber evening sky pelting him lightly with soft snow. From his spot above the rooftop of someone's home he doesn't know of, Judai sees spots of light scattered everywhere. They come from the houses of those who sleep late, he assumes. It's not like he knows with certainty, since he remembered he used to sleep at random times of the night back at Duel Academia. Sho once told his drowsy back, It's only nine at night, Aniki, when Judai had gone to bed one day in their first year.
"You keep reminiscing," Yubel says quietly next to him, floating with crossed arms. They also observe the scattering of the lights and think of how these lights resemble stars, like the same stars they once saw from the balcony in their previous life.
Judai smiles. "I know." Yubel can always sense these things in him but that's what happens when you merge souls, he supposes. Absently, he shifts the strap of his travel bag in his fingers. He has to be careful because Pharaoh is sleeping.
Yubel glances at him. "You haven't talked to them in a while," they say, not being accusing or anything. Just simply observing. Judai knows Yubel doesn't really care for his friends.
"I will eventually," he replies, lightly.
Everyone is busy, he knows. Judai does not have a job or other obligations like his friends now that he graduated from school—he had not told anyone of his plans and had left the moment graduation officially ended and his diploma was in his hands. Left for real after his duel with Yugi-san and Yugi-san's other half with no words to his friends. He didn't think it was necessary. His friends know how he works by now: Judai comes and goes on his own, and saying something like goodbye indefinitely would be pointless. He doesn't want to say goodbye indefinitely anyway. No point if he'll end up bumping into them again.
He hasn't quite broken the news out to his parents either, about his new approach to being something of a wanderer-slash-vagabond, but figures they would be better off without knowing. They hadn't really been there during his lonely childhood and he seriously doubts he'd get a warm welcome back anyway if his parents knew who was residing in his soul. Briefly, he wonders if he is disowned now, or if they'd announce him as dead to the rest of the family that he never really had a chance to meet. Of course, they still raised and cared for him so he doesn't have a reason to hate them. It just stings a bit, that his parents were often at their jobs and he'd been stuck at home playing with his deck and friends. (And putting them in comas in the hospital—)
Yubel knows that the subject of Judai's childhood and parents is a rather touchy one so they simply ask, "Where to next?"
"Hm, where are we again…?" Judai abandons his inward self-murmurings about his parents and ponders to himself, obliviously unaware of his spirit companion rolling their eyes. "Oh, right!" America, yes. He forgot which part of America, but they are still in America nonetheless. "Asuka should be close by then. I think she's in this area… I think."
Dryly, Yubel echoes, "You think?"
Squinting at the faraway lights of other homes, Judai confirms, "Yeah. Let's try that direction." He starts walking, jumping from the roof to another one. "We just need to look for a name plaque with 'Tenjoin' on it."
The spirit grumbles, and Judai wonders if Yubel doesn't like Asuka. Despite sharing a soul, there were still some things privy to them individually.
"What do you think about Asuka?" Judai tries his luck in asking, walking to jump across another close rooftop. He briefly checks his bag over his shoulder and is relieved to hear the soft snoring of Pharaoh.
Pharaoh is sleeping so he can't cough out Daitokuji-sensei's spirit from his belly, but Winged Kuriboh pops up as Yubel answers with a slight huff, "Average. Too mature and stiff, but not too loud like the other ones. She's decent, I suppose."
He frowns a little defensively. "Asuka is better than average!" All of his friends are better than average. Leaping another rooftop with ease, Judai sees more lights in this vaguely-familiar area so he decides to jump to the ground and trek the rest of the way.
Eyebrow raised, Yubel says with a quiet challenge, "Enlighten me." Winged Kuriboh also looks at him.
"She's very responsible and knows what to say to me most of the time," says Judai in Asuka's absent honor. "Even if she can be a little scary or mean or naggy about it, I know she just wants to help. She stuck by me a lot." He thinks about some of his past interactions with her and thinks with fondness. Even the times where she yelled at him. "I know because I'm her friend."
Yubel tries to discern something as they look at him quietly. Winged Kuriboh is merely content that its master is happy. "I should be the one to ask for your opinion on her instead."
Judai recognizes the apartment complex they come across and starts to proceed to the stairs leading up. "I've said all I had to say," he replies simply.
Yubel looks skeptical but drops it when they can sense that it is the truth. Judai loves me the most, he can hear them think in passing.
.
.
"Yo," he says very casually and firstly to Asuka, one hand up in greeting. She is wide-eyed and blankly looking forward, lips stiffly pressed. Yubel thinks to him inwardly that he has no tact. Judai ignores that remark and continues beaming like all is well.
It takes her a while to process it, but Asuka finally shows some signs of life and murmurs, "You are real, right?"
Amused, Judai pokes his own cheek. "Yeah, I think so. If not, then I need to reevaluate my whole life again."
She bravely pokes him in the arm. "Okay, I'm convinced," sighs Asuka after feeling the very real cold fabric of his blazer against her finger. He just looks on with amusement because she always treats his unprompted visits like it's the first time he ever dropped by. It's a little funny to him, honestly. "Do I want to know what business you have this time?"
He grins, shouldering his bag. "Just thought I'd spend Christmas here since I was in the neighborhood."
Judai is about to make a joke in Saiou's voice about how it was fate that led him here to her apartment, but Yubel inwardly says in his mind, Don't, very seriously and he decides not to say anything anymore. Maybe it was too silly for Yubel to handle. Killjoy. (Dumbass, Yubel retorts, fondly. Judai doesn't know what Winged Kuriboh thinks, but it's probably on the same wavelength as Yubel because of spirit solidarity, right?)
"I'm lucky," Asuka deadpans before stepping aside. "Well, come in and hang your jacket up. You're covered in snow."
He is actually not aware of that. Judai pats his hair to shake off any bits of snow and says with a little grimace, "I think I need a shower too." Then he smiles widely at her, hoping he looks charming enough to be able to use some of her hot water without consequences. He begins to open his mouth—
"Fine," she agrees weakly before he can even throw out a few pleas, slightly pink-faced and she looks away from him. He briefly wonders if she is cold too. "I took my shower already, so you can go now if you want." Asuka gestures to his travel bag tentatively, almost timidly, "I could take care of Pharaoh for you."
"Thanks! I owe ya!" brightly chimes Judai, giving her his Gotcha! pose and politely taking his shoes and jacket off before handing her the bag and already walking down the hallway to her bathroom.
.
.
Clutching at the towel he placed around his shoulders, Judai enjoys the last of the warm steam before exiting the bathroom.
Poor girl probably ran out of hot water now, pipes Yubel inwardly, searching for something entertaining to do.
He rolls his eyes. That's not funny.
You just don't know real humor, Judai, Yubel smirks and says nothing else when the two of them reach the living room and Judai looks at Asuka playing with Pharaoh.
Both hands petting the cat's back, Asuka coos, "Your fur is really soft. Judai must've taken good care of you." She gently pets Pharaoh's head and the cat relaxes, curling up at her lap cozily. Judai is a tiny bit envious because Pharaoh is never like that with him, but he also thinks this sight of Asuka and Pharaoh is a cute rarity itself so he says nothing and simply stares. It must've been intense with his staring because Asuka suddenly bristles and looks defensively at him with rosy cheeks. "W-What…?"
Very nonchalantly, Judai tells her, "Nothing." He sits next to her on the couch and takes the towel around his shoulders to put it over his head, and he scrubs his hair vigorously to dry it off.
Self-consciously, she goes back to stroking Pharaoh's back with a slight grimace and scoots an inch away. "Watch it," Asuka warningly says for a moment, eyeing some of the water droplets mark tiny dots on her couch cushions and his jeans. "You'll splash me."
"Afraid of some water?" he can't help but tease and grin, letting his towel drop to his lap and he does nothing when Asuka reaches over to soothe out some of his heavily-disheveled hair.
She answers, "No," while she presses her palms softly on some stubborn strands of his hair sticking up. She is being very gentle. He thinks it's very kind of her. "I just don't want to get wet again since I already took my shower."
Judai snickers, "That's good because you might be low on hot water for a while." Asuka takes the time to give him a long look. "I'm sorry, 'kay? It's bad enough that Yubel told me the same thing." He has something of a semi-apologetic, semi-joking look in his eyes.
"Whatever…" she mutters finally, opting to look at a serene Pharaoh curled at her lap.
Since all is forgiven, he freely smiles. "Is his fur really that soft to pet?"
Judai could remember the chaos from the first time he had taken up the task of cleaning the cat. As the only one who could even do so among the spirits of Winged Kuriboh and Yubel and Daitokuji-sensei, it had taken a few tries since he never had a pet prior. Pharaoh often scurried away the first few dozen times until he grew fond of Judai. It didn't help that Daitokuji-sensei spent most of that time laughing at him suffering, soaked in bubble suds and water and whatnot, and his thoughtful deceased teacher still laughed at him because Judai couldn't really threaten someone who's already dead. (Next time, he's going to recycle the hang-his-spirit-in-a-paper-bag-above-the-toilet threat again. That worked last time.)
"It is," Asuka murmurs, taking her hands off his hair to stroke the feline again. "It's sort of like your hair: soft."
Experimentally, Judai pats his own hair. He can't really see her point, but maybe it's because he grew up with his hair like this his whole life, so it's more of a matter of familiarity and seeing it from an outsider's perspective. "So you're saying my hair can pass for cat fur, Asuka?" he asks seriously.
It must have been rather funny because Asuka abruptly laughs, trying to muffle it behind one of her hands and he sees her eyes gleaming under the lights of her apartment. "I didn't mean it like that, but I can roll with it," jokes Asuka with friendly intent.
He decides to pat her head, testing the feel of her hair on his palm. It's different from his hair, he can tell. "Yours feel… What's the word? Silky?" Judai musingly says. It's probably cold because her cheeks are glowing red and she looks stiff. He can't really tell because his skin is still warmed from his shower.
"Well, I do try to use conditioner a lot since my hair is long," admits Asuka, avoiding his eyes.
Whenever Asuka has something to say, she always looks at him. But she isn't now. That just won't do, Judai thinks. It sort of bothers him, like she feels insecure to tell him something. She shouldn't have to feel like that with him.
He gingerly takes Pharaoh and starts to scoot away; then he starts lying down flat on his back and places his dried head on her lap while letting Pharaoh rest on his stomach. "What are you doing?!" He looks up at her bright red face, satisfied.
He's never heard her screech before, either. "Resting my head," Judai lazily tells her. So that you could look me in the eyes again. "I'm tired, Asuka. There's no more couch space, and I leaped over rooftops to get here." He begins to stroke Pharaoh's back and he starts thinking he probably has magic hands when he washes Pharaoh because the cat's fur really does feel soft as Asuka had claimed.
"You always do that," says Asuka, rolling her eyes but not really pushing his head off her lap. He takes it as a good sign. "That's nothing new, Judai. You should be used to it by now."
She has a point, but he won't tell her that. "What will make you surprised then?" Judai inquires instead, languid.
He feels fingers combing through his hair and he likes it. "Not even I know," simpers Asuka indulgently. "You're just full of surprises."
He personally never really thought of himself in positive outlooks before, but it's Asuka and because it's Asuka, Judai doesn't say anything. She had always tried her best to lift his mood up if he had ever shown a sign of sadness or anything remotely depressing. Sometimes, he has to wonder what she really thinks about him for her to try so hard for him.
"I mean that in a good way," she mentions offhandedly, peering down into his eyes with something so earnest and genuine that he feels very touched and a little awkward.
"I guess I better take a step up and give you more surprises then," murmurs Judai, drowsy from the touches her fingers give to his head.
"We'll see," warmly smiles Asuka. Judai remembers this smile as he begins to close his eyes.
.
.
When Judai wakes up, he is groggy and is barely awake enough to feel a fairly-thick blanket over him. As he sits up, he realizes that there is a pillow behind him and that the weight of Pharaoh resting on his stomach is gone and his back hurts a little. Asuka is not here and Judai is alarmed for a moment before taking in the sight of her living room from the couch he fell asleep on. She had enough kindness to shield the windows from the morning light for him. He tries to blink the sleep from his eyes for a moment, feeling stiff.
"You were asleep for a while," Yubel tells him, appearing next to him and looking comfortable with the shadows and darkness of the room.
"How long?" he asks, more awake than before. He stretches his limbs and they crack.
Yubel glances at the clock that hung above Asuka's television. "A fair amount of time. It's almost noon."
"Yikes." Judai frowns slightly, a tad bit disgruntled and wondering why Asuka never woke him up. He runs a hand into his hair.
To be somewhat helpful, Yubel informs him mundanely, "I saw her step out. She looked ready to go shopping."
This makes him remember that today is a weekend, so Asuka going to work is out of the question. And before he can really do anything, the door opens and light seeps everywhere—the slight noise of hinges creaking is rather loud in the silence. Judai sits up to peer over the back of the couch questioningly, squinting at the brightness.
"Oh, you woke up?" Asuka asks him, closing the door and removing her winter boots and coat.
She had set a paper bag on the floor so she could unravel her scarf, and Judai can't help but gaze at it curiously as he begins to rise from the couch and fold up his blanket. "Yeah, just now," he says, feeling a sliver of sheepishness as he politely places the blanket neatly atop the pillow she had given him.
"Gee, you weren't kidding when you said you were tired," she sympathetically says, taking the paper bag to where he is and setting it atop her low table.
He shrugs, patting his head for any bed hair. His back still hurts a bit, but he thinks he'll be fine since he'll take up the guest room tonight. "I'll get over it." Judai pauses, tempted to look inside the bag. "What did you buy?" It looks rather bulky and heavy to him.
"Christmas decorations," Asuka immediately says with a smile. "I was planning to decorate today."
Judai rummages through the contents already when he sits on the floor, taking out some garlands and multicolored ornaments. "For what? A party?" he asks, slightly awed at the amount she had brought back. Are those candy canes and miniature reindeer dolls?
"Nii-san said he wanted to visit me this year," she reveals to him, fondly. "He loves Christmas, so I wanted to do something that'd make him feel comfortable here. I haven't seen him in person for a year because of our work."
Judai finds it touching. He smiles and kindly offers, "I can help." Asuka smiles appreciatively, helping him unpack the bag. "Still though, this is so much, Asuka! If you woke me up sooner, I could've helped you…" he says somewhat disapprovingly, lining up the store-bought ornaments in a pile on the table.
"You just looked so comfortable sleeping that I didn't have the heart to do it," Asuka defends herself, something of a pout on her countenance. "Besides, I can handle it. Buying decorations for Christmas is not as difficult as saving the world, Judai," she says, placing other baubles and gold ribbons to the pile.
You snored a bit too, Yubel says helpfully inside him.
Judai ignores it, the rude remark. "Next time, I wanna come along with you," he brings up, relaxing as he sees the bag finally emptied.
"You're interested in Christmas shopping?" Asuka skeptically inquires, rolling up the paper bag and placing it aside before gathering the red and green garlands to start hanging. "Are you feeling okay?"
He watches Asuka hop on a stool by her window to hang up the first set of garlands. "What?" he complains, leaning forward and propping his elbows on his knees from his spot on the floor. "I can't hang out with my friends now?" His palms cradle his chin. "Everyone complains that I don't visit enough, but you guys also wonder if I'm alright if I offer to hang out with you guys? There's just no pleasing you people!" One time, Sho thought he was ill while Johan was very shocked for a while. Kenzan thought it was a pleasant change, but Manjoume thought he fell and hit his head. The nerve of some people!
"Maybe if you did more of the second option and less of the first one, we'd think better," Asuka quips, approaching the other window with her stool to hang up the other garlands.
Judai mumbles and whines, "You guys are just mean."
"What was that?" he hears Asuka ask, darkly.
"I said that I'll work on it!" he quickly tells her with a chill down his arms, smiling weakly to amend anything else that may have struck a nerve. He sighs to himself when she nods in approval, and he begins to take some of the ornaments to help her.
.
.
"What are these?" Judai asks Asuka later that day, fingering the small plant in his grasp and eyeing the white berries it carries.
He had decided to help her by looking through her boxes of Christmas objects from previous years. He'd chosen a random box and this one seems to have plants in it; none he really recognizes. His parents never had really celebrated Christmas nor did they really decorate. This is all new exposure for him.
Asuka turns to regard him and then he notes how strange she looks after glancing at his hand. "Those… We don't need those this year. They're… holly plants!" she splutters, turning around again with squared shoulders. "You can set those aside."
Are these important? he wants to ask, after seeing her expression, but doesn't. "Okay?" says Judai instead with a raised eyebrow.
They are important, Yubel speaks up in his mind. To her, at least. They chuckle a little, empty and amused, watching Asuka take out a medium-sized tree from the supply closet nearby. It seems that she knows where the line ends for her since she's not using them.
What do you mean? he asks back, still seated on the floor and idly twirling a shiny bauble in his hands.
The spirit hums lightly, It'd be rude of me to tell you before she does. Ignorance is a bliss, is that not the saying? Yubel is quiet then, and it only confounds him.
Judai gives up trying to understand the cryptic conversation (it didn't even feel like one to him), so he ditches the bauble on the floor and decides to help Asuka with the tree. "I could move it," he offers, stepping next to her to take her spot. "Where do you want it?"
"There." She slowly gestures to a spot in the living room, a spot that is a couple feet away from the television. "Thank you," adds Asuka awkwardly, opting to go to where he was previously so she could pick up some of the baubles and other ornaments to hang on the tree.
It is when another hour passes that Judai finally sees how festive Asuka's apartment looks after all the decorating. "I've never seen your place look so Christmas-y before, Asuka." He is resting on the couch, and Asuka is packing the leftover things they didn't need back into the boxes.
Scoffing a little, she replies, "Well, you never came to visit me during Christmas before." Lifting up the sealed box, she pauses for a moment, contemplative. "I'm usually not this festive, but Nii-san likes it when we go all out with it."
Asuka vanishes into the supply closet and Judai muses quietly to himself. She really loves Fubuki that much.
Smiling, he takes the remote and turns on the television to entertain himself.
.
.
"What do you mean, Nii-san?!" Judai hears her yell into the phone, stirring him awake.
He is barely conscious and still in bed and he doesn't know what ungodly hour it is right now, but he can hear Asuka's voice from her room across the hallway despite the closed doors. He listens carefully after sitting up and shaking his head to rid himself of drowsiness.
"Snowed in… Really?" She's across the hallway, but Judai can feel the disappointment seep past his door. "Trains aren't working either? Flight cancelled? But…" Judai frowns to himself. "I see… If it's really heavy over there, I think you'll end up missing Christmas if you try to come after the snow's been removed." Asuka pauses. "It's fine, Nii-san. There are things we can't control. Maybe next year?" she asks softly, very hopeful. "All right. If anything, we can still call each other. Talk to you soon, Nii-san."
When Judai thinks she ended the call, he hears a heavy sigh. He wonders if she is crying. He rarely saw Asuka cry, if ever. But it just really sounds like she is crying right now and he's at a loss of what to do—comforting crying people isn't something he could do very well. He could feign sleep, but would that really make it better?
It would make you heartless, chimes Yubel approvingly. I like it.
Not helping, he inwardly sighs wearily.
Pushing aside his blanket, Judai peers out the window beyond the curtains and ironically sees nothing but a thin layer of snow covering everything. It's unlike Japan, where the snow can really pile up to a point where trains and planes stop functioning for a while. If planes aren't working there currently, that would mean snowstorms. It would be a lonely Christmas for Asuka. She had done so much decorating, too, for Fubuki…
Scowling, Judai feels renewed vigor. He'll just have to make sure Asuka stays happy himself. Forget sleeping in; Asuka needs him!
Thirty minutes later, Judai finds himself in her kitchen clad in his black turtleneck and jeans and olive-green jacket. Asuka is there sipping hot chocolate to herself, and he almost does a double-take at her because it did not look like she was crying at all even though he thought he heard her. In fact, she looks serene there at her dining table, mug in hand. Maybe he was just really sleepy earlier.
She looks at him curiously, face half-covered by the mug mid-sip.
"You don't have work today, right?" Judai casually asks her.
Shaking her head, Asuka regards him with quiet puzzlement. "No. It's winter break, so I have the rest of this month and New Years off." She idly twirls her mug, watching the liquid swirl. She goes to sip again.
"Then let's go out today! Just you and me!" he suggests cheerily, beaming.
Asuka suddenly chokes on her hot chocolate, coughing a few times. He worriedly watches her and wonders if he should've waited until she's done sipping before he said anything. Is it so startling to suggest hanging out? Judai winces when he sees her eyes watery from the coughing fit.
You made her cry. How evil of you, Haou, compliments Yubel.
I didn't mean it! desperately wails Judai, panicking. "Asuka, are you okay? I'm sorry!" He tentatively steps closer and lets his hand hover over her shoulder, a bit scared to touch her in case she reacts again.
Hoarsely, Asuka coughs into her fist, the adrenaline coating her face with pink, "Y-Yes, I'm f-fine." Placing her mug down, she clears her throat until she finally regains her composure and wipes the tear that slid down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Judai. I wasn't paying attention and I got startled. That's all. A lot's been on my mind." Asuka lets her fingers grip on the sleeves of her sweater to distract herself. "Nii-san can't make it anymore, so I'm not really too optimistic today."
"Ah," he says with sympathy, feigning obliviousness about the phone call she had earlier.
"I guess this means I don't have Christmas plans anymore," she continues to say, solemn. "I was going to go shopping today for Nii-san's present."
"We can still go," encourages Judai, setting his palm on her shoulders. "You don't even have to buy anything—we can walk around and just hang out. You need a pick-me-up, Asuka."
Asuka is quiet, so he thinks she isn't going to say yes and is about to walk out anyway because he needs the fresh air but then something of a miracle happens because she tells him, "I'll grab my coat."
.
.
"Stop that," Asuka frowns at him, pushing him away.
Grinning, he holds a beanie in his hands. It's a creamy white just like her coat, but it has a small picture of Cyber Petit Angel near the edge of the rim on the front. Judai had found it by chance when they entered a clothing store because Asuka said she had wanted to see if she could find Fubuki's gift here to mail him.
"But isn't it cute? You even own a copy of Cyber Petit Angel in your deck, so it's perfect!" Teasingly, he holds it closer to her head and she ducks. "Are you mad that I found this in the kids section?" he asks with an Are-you-mad-at-me tone.
Snippily, she says firmly, "No," which he takes as a Yes, but I won't tell you I'm mad. "I just don't want to wear this. I'm too old for beanies with pictures on them."
"This may be from the kids section, but it fits your head perfectly," he tries to reason while rolling his eyes, thinking about the first time he had somehow sneaked this on her head when they came here. She had put up quite a fight. Either she's horrifically strong for girl standards, or he's too horrifically scrawny for guy standards. (He really hopes it's the first one. She was able to lift him once by his collar when he went fishing, after all. He would like to assume that he doesn't weigh that light for a guy.) "Besides, I don't think anyone will care. They'll just think you're fun! The picture is not even that big! Look, it's, like, three inches tall!"
"And they'll think I'm eccentric." She resumes flipping racks of nice-looking jackets and coats, trying to discern which one would best suit her brother.
Judai snorts. "Eccentric how? Don't you work with kids? They're all eccentric." He follows her as she moves down the aisle, flipping through rack after rack.
He plays with the beanie in his hands as he waits. Having already checked the areas of the store that interested him, Judai has nothing else to do than to follow Asuka around. The kids section briefly entertained him, and then he found the beanie that screamed Asuka's name. (She keeps denying it, but he knows it screams her name. Asuka has no idea what she's missing out on.)
"Eccentric just like you," casually says Asuka, nostalgically, eyeing a red jacket momentarily and looking at him.
He doesn't really notice it. "Am I supposed to be offended?"
Shrugging, she starts to search through a new aisle on her jacket quest. "Depends on how you interpret it."
"Okay, I choose to interpret it as insulting and I am now offended," sulks Judai dramatically next to her. He is silent for a bit, letting her flip through more racks until she switches to the aisle behind them. "How long does it take to look for a coat, Asuka?!"
"Judai, we've only been here for thirty minutes." Asuka warily eyes a nearby cashier looking at them.
He goes back to twirling the beanie to distract himself, admiring the stitch work on Cyber Petit Angel. "Felt like two hours to me." If it weren't winter, he'd wish he was fishing right now. (Yubel says something about how it was his idea to go outside in the first place, and Judai bemoans internally how it sometimes feels like no one is on his side.)
Asuka sympathetically suggests, "How about you take a seat over there at the chairs and I'll meet you there? I'll only take a few more minutes and then we can leave."
"You mean hours?" he sarcastically asks, nodding as he retreats to his temporary sanctuary for the next few minutes (hours).
The cashier there asks him with a smile, "Girlfriend?"
Judai casually tells her as he slumps in his seat, "Friend who's a girl."
"Ah." Dimly, she sinks her shoulders slightly and goes back to watching Asuka inspecting more coats. There doesn't seem to be a line here in this store—which is rather odd, since it's getting closer to the holidays.
Looking outside the store's window behind him, Judai sees that it's snowing again. He looks at the beanie in his hands once more until he stands up and goes to the cashier and sets the beanie down once he's positive that Asuka isn't looking. "I'll get this," he whispers, a finger near his lips as the other points behind him at Asuka and he winks.
The cashier giggles quietly and starts scanning the price tag.
.
.
"You'll need this," he tells Asuka simply, shoving the beanie on her head once they exit the shop and they are underneath the little canopy outside. (Ha, he laughs on the inside. She didn't take hours like he had guessed, but Judai thinks forty minutes is cutting it close enough. She had whacked him with her bag when he pointed it out.)
Startled, she stops observing the poster of the opening and closing times of the store, fumbling with the store bag in her hand as her other one is tearing off the beanie. She scrutinizes it with incredulity. "You actually bought it?"
Judai gestures forward with a thumb. "It's snowing and you don't have anything to cover your head with." She doesn't even have a hood on her coat. He places his hands in his pockets.
"You don't have anything for your head either," murmurs Asuka at the hypocrisy, slipping the accursed thing back on her head with reluctance.
He looks triumphant, quietly crinkling a piece of paper in his pocket. If he has the receipt and hides it, then she can never ask for a refund. Ingenious.
Judai smiles broadly with closed eyes, cheekily—chipper. "I don't need any! I'm used to it." He had been around the world, enduring many weather conditions and seasonal shifts. Oh, and he saved the world many times. What's a little snow going to do to him? Darkness had told him that he is no longer fully human, after all. Judai would think half-humans can't get sick easily.
Sighing like all hope is lost, she scans the streets for wherever else to go next. He had decided to give her free reign and let her choose where to go since he will generally go along with anywhere as long as it doesn't put the world at stake. "Could we go to the park next?"
He nods and easily agrees, "Yeah."
.
.
Asuka pats down her coat. "I'm beginning to have regrets coming here," she deadpans to him with semi-serious remorse, herself flat on the ground and her back pressed in snow.
Judai fights back laughter and is failing, offering her a hand instead. "It's not that bad," he tries to placatingly say, his smile breaking the image of being a concerned friend. "The kid didn't even know you were there."
"But I was standing right here," she sighs gravely, as if treated unfairly, accepting his hand to pull herself up. Covered in snow, Asuka looks like she is trying to become a snowgirl.
"You're wearing all white—you probably blend in too much," he teases, helpfully pulling her up and keeping his hand there around hers and picking up the bag she dropped with his other hand. "Whatever happened to all the blue you used to wear?"
They resume walking together, away from the kids and away from the public.
She still looks a little disgruntled after being thrown snowballs at and tackled by a little boy playing tag with his friends. Judai thinks she's making a big deal out of it. The child did apologize, after all. Called her clumsy and stuck out his tongue at her before scurrying off with crimson cheeks to the rest of his teasing friends, but the kid apologized nonetheless. Judai hadn't understood why the kid had felt the need to do all of that other stuff, and he probably will never understand it. Kids are weird. He vaguely wonders how Asuka can handle it, dealing with teens at school every five days a week for her job. Was he difficult to work with like that back with Chronos-sensei?
"That was the color for my uniform. I don't think it really counts," Asuka says after some thought.
He knows she can't remember any of it, but seeing her decked out in white reminds him of her Society of Light days. Only this time, she is not brainwashed by evil sources of light or being a jerk trying to convert people into serving the aforementioned light as servants. He had thought, for a while, that the light would consume her completely before he got her back in a duel.
"Blue looks really good on you—just saying," he smiles at her, brandishing those memories away of White Asuka. He doesn't really like White Asuka. She's everything that Asuka isn't.
Asuka is right here and her eyes are normal and kind, and she always smiles with sincerity. She isn't the brainwashed White Asuka anymore with soulless caustic eyes. It puts his mind at ease, knowing that the regular Asuka is right next to him. The same Asuka he got to befriend.
She gives him a sweet smile, cheeks colored. She rarely smiles like this. It looks pretty on her. "Same with you and red, I suppose."
"Red was a part of my uniform so it doesn't count, right?" She gives him a blank look. "Pretend I'm wearing red then!" He chortles at the irony. She tells him this on the same day he switched jackets.
Asuka asks, "What happened to your red jacket anyway?"
"It had some tears in it," Judai answers with a shrug. Holes in his clothes are bound to come up since he travels so much. Not to mention, he doubts Duel Academia would give him a new blazer each time he ruined his. He'd have a fantastic track record for every jacket he accidentally tore. "They aren't too bad, but I thought this jacket would be better for the weather."
Thoughtfully, she hums. "I could fix it for you," offers Asuka.
"It's fi—"
"I insist!" she says determinedly. "Let me thank you with something, Judai."
Because he has some first-hand experience with this, Judai knows when to call it quits when Asuka starts to get stubborn about things. "Alright," he concedes easily, a little hesitant. "Thanks, Asuka." She nods rather happily, satisfyingly victorious.
By the time they find a bench in this snow-covered park, he acutely notices some jarring facts.
Fact one includes how Judai realizes that they are still holding hands once Asuka had tried to sit on the bench in question and could not do so because of his hand circling around hers from back when he pulled her up from the floor.
Fact two includes how he is somehow carrying the bag that held Fubuki's gift instead of her carrying it. (He vaguely remembers picking it up when she dropped it, but he apparently forgot to give it back because she never even asked for it back.)
Fact three includes how cold his hand is after Asuka hastily lets go of his fingers and cradles her hand with alarming protectiveness while he barely even has the time to blink and process these very facts into his brain.
"Sorry…" she murmurs with her head bowed, sounding like she offended him somehow. He doesn't understand why, and blankly flexes his fingers at the coldness of the air.
He liked how it felt earlier. "Why?" he simply asks.
Asuka sits grimly on the bench. "Were you uncomfortable with it?" She sounds very cautious, a little on the edge.
Judai doesn't know if he should be insulted or sad that she feels the need to ask him. Asuka has always been very mindful towards him and he always appreciates that. Her touches are always concerned or reassuring or uplifting. (Well, except that one time as White Asuka and she had been smiling weirdly in his face while clutching his shoulders. But he doesn't think it counts because, well… It's White Asuka.) He wonders if she's even aware of it, that he sometimes found some comfort in her touches.
"Not really," he honestly tells her, softly. He sits next to her and places her bag in between them. It serves as a sort of wall, maybe for her comfort, he reasons to himself.
"Nothing else?" Asuka murmurs very softly, staring at her hands in her lap. He thinks her fingers are rather slim and paler than his.
Observing her, Judai just says, "No. Nothing else," and shamelessly scrutinizes her face. He wonders why she glances away with red-tipped ears and he tilts his head to the side questioningly, feeling that he might develop a headache from thinking too hard about it. He doesn't see what's the big deal. "We've held hands before," he offhandedly points out, thinking about the aftermath of their tag duel some years ago.
He remembered many eyes on him and being a little embarrassed, but Asuka had looked happy despite it. They've also high-fived at some point and had also shook hands when she talked to him at the dorms too. Judai never really knew what she was talking about when she'd mentioned her doubts, but she had smiled at him and he had smiled back, him feeling thankful that he was able to help her with something despite all the tension that had been resting on his shoulders and in his mind during that time.
Oblivious, remarks Yubel, the peanut gallery. Judai rolls his eyes, knowing that it's probably true and he can't seem to do anything about it unless Asuka tells him directly.
"That's… different," says Asuka, somewhat stiffly. He has a hard time trying to interpret her tone. Different how? he wants to ask. Under what context does it count as different? "Let's go back," she finally finds the courage to say. "I could make us dinner and we can have a duel or two to pass time."
His eyes glimmering at the prospect of a voluntary offering to duel without any bribes, Judai decides to drop his thoughts behind and agrees eagerly. "I won't go easy on you!"
When she smiles this time, it looks a little somber but also spirited. "Neither will I!"
.
.
"And Shining Flare Wingman directly attacks you and I win!" he cheekily smiles at her from over his cards, propping his elbow on the table and cradling his chin with a palm. "Gotcha!"
Asuka sulkingly sighs as she slaps her cards down. They are not using Solid Vision or duel disks, but the damage done to her pride is probably still the same because she huffs indignantly and regathers her cards. "Best three out of four?" she asks almost miserably, but persistently.
Judai humors her, also regathering his cards and shuffling his deck with bright eyes. "Sure."
"I'll use Cyber Angel Benten to attack your Elemental HERO Sparkman!" exclaims Asuka forty minutes later with 1200 lifepoints, taking the risk of targeting his monster despite him having a facedown.
She wants to end it quickly with Benten's special effect, he concludes. With his 900 lifepoints at stake, Judai flips over his trap card and reveals Mirror Gate. "Sorry, Asuka. I'll be switching Benten with my Sparkman for this battle phase attack."
She hastily flips over one of her own facedown traps, revealing Doble Passé. "Right back at you, Judai, because I'm taking you down with me."
Because of the lack of Solid Vision, there is no fancy lifepoint tracker to indicate who lost but they both know the conclusion anyway.
"This is the second draw we've had," speaks up Judai, stretching. He thinks it's a little boring without Solid Vision, but it was a good game regardless. "Are you going to go for another rematch?"
He had won all the other times, but figures she'd probably throw something at him if he tells her that. He'd felt a bit guilty, but is it really his fault for having better luck? Asuka would definitely not approve of him going easy on her—he always battled with everything he has. It is something he abides by as a duelist. And, Asuka would never let him live it down if he lets her win.
Shuffling her cards back into her deck, Asuka heaves a sigh and shakes her head curtly before storing her deck back into her deck box and stretching her arms. "I'm tired, so maybe another day."
He awkwardly shuffles his deck, feeling like she is mad at him. "Today was fun," says Judai, trying to cast away the tension. He suddenly smiles. "You even kept the beanie I got you."
Asuka starts looking like herself again and mutters, "Because you told me you lost the receipt." He wonders what she really thinks of that beanie because she doesn't really look too disgruntled or annoyed about it. Just embarrassed.
Said receipt is still actually shoved deeply in the pockets of his jeans, but she doesn't have to know that. "Sorry," he says carefreely, not really meaning it. He thinks about tossing away the receipt to get rid of the evidence, but maybe he could keep it as a sort of memento to laugh about whenever he travels again. Judai starts going through his deck to keep himself busy. "I guess this means you'll have to keep it." Yeah, maybe he'll keep that receipt after all.
"Why so insistent on the beanie?" slightly complains Asuka, rolling her eyes.
To be honest, he doesn't know why either. He just thinks it looks cute on her. Must there be reasons? He can't seem to think of any.
"Consider it your Christmas gift." Idly, he stares at Elemental HERO Clayman's card. "Friends give gifts to each other, after all." When he looks up, she looks a little sad and forlorn and lost in thought, but mostly sad. Alarmed and wide-eyed, Judai clumsily sets his deck on the table as he assesses her face. "W-Was it something I said?" Not good. Fubuki will murder him if he made his sister cry. Well, he's never seen Fubuki livid or Asuka cry, but he never knows with the Tenjoin Siblings. (Judai prays for himself in a short-lived moment of frightened despair, just in case.)
"Oh, it's nothing," she smiles dismissively, emptily. Standing up, Asuka takes her deck box and starts walking to the hallway where their rooms are. "I'm just tired, so I'm going to bed for today. Night, Judai."
He continues to sit there awkwardly, drumming his fingers on the top of the table and he watches her until she is no longer visible and he can hear the door close softly.
"Girls," Judai sighs deeply, letting his head slump forward. From his mind, Yubel snorts.
.
.
She's not here, Judai concludes as he looks around the vacant apartment.
He doubts there could be anywhere to go to at nine in the morning and he knows that Asuka could handle herself, so he shrugs and decides to quell his worries by spending his day by himself. He's not really too much of a television person anymore, so Judai chooses to grab the olive-green jacket he left on the coat rack and steps into his shoes. Maybe he could take a walk instead, or scout for any potential fishing spots if he decides to visit Asuka again in warmer seasons.
Walking softly so that Pharaoh doesn't stir from his sleep by the couch, Judai begins to open the door only to jump back as it opens from the other side.
Asuka looks apologetic. "Judai! I'm sorry, I didn't see you! Are you okay?"
"I'm alright, Asuka." He looks at the bag she is holding and thinks it looks vaguely familiar. "I thought I told you I wanted to come along if you went shopping again!" he whines with indignance. He forgets all about keeping quiet to let Pharaoh sleep.
Looking self-conscious, she shifts on her feet and hides the bag behind her back. Suspicious, he immediately thinks. "I know… But I really wanted to go by myself this time," says Asuka, smiling shakily. He squints at her, skeptical. Things don't really go right when she's acting like this because she never acts like this: all shy and awkward in an un-Asuka manner. It sort of unsettles him. "I forgot to buy something the other day, so I went back to get it today," she tries to say to amend his suspicions.
He's still not too entirely convinced. "I thought you already picked out Fubuki-san's gift yesterday?" he asks, confused.
"Yes," confirms Asuka lightly, like she's explaining to a child. "I forgot another gift for someone else."
He leans back, crossing his arms in curiosity. "Who?" Last he checked, she had only told him about her brother.
Inwardly, he hears Yubel sigh. And of course, Yubel also doesn't tell him what he's not understanding so he's on his own. Which really sucks sometimes. All the time actually, but geez.
In the background, Pharaoh opens his mouth lazily and Judai can hear Daitokuji-sensei's spirit talking. "Judai-kun… I knew you were dumb because I've seen your grades, but this is getting sad, nya…" he says in very deep, grave distraught.
Judai inwardly scowls, indignation bubbling up in him. He also doesn't understand why Asuka looks a little disappointed, but she brightens up again and tells him with fondness, "Someone close to me," and she leaves it off at that. Before he can start going through his brain for more faces to attach an answer and name to, she asks him, "Are you going somewhere?"
Shrugging, Judai replies, "A walk. I got bored by myself." He takes in the sight of her coat-clad self and offers, "You can come along too if you want since you're still dressed."
Looking a little conflicted, Asuka tentatively inquires, "How long will you be out?" She fingers the straps of the bag idly.
"Not sure—maybe a few hours. I'll come back by lunchtime," he decides, impromptu.
Judai is accustomed to wandering; he doesn't ever really have destinations in mind anymore. He just lets the wind guide him, or as Daitokuji-sensei had smartly described it: choosing random directions and pretending to know where to go. Maybe he'll just go and scout for a good fishing spot and a lake after all.
"I'll stay here then." Smiling, Asuka brushes back a lock of hair. "There's something I need to do."
He pats himself on the back for not asking, despite the temptations to do so. "See you later then."
.
.
"Look up," Yubel tells him when Judai comes back to Asuka's apartment two hours later.
He had found a potential lake to fish back at the park from the other day, so Judai had been content enough to come back after lazily walking a lap or two around the area.
Pleasantly, he asks, "What?" In front of Asuka's apartment door, he stares at the familiar plant hanging above the door frame, the berries shiny underneath the gentle glow of the winter sky. "Why above the door outside?" he muses aloud. He had not seen that two hours earlier.
Yubel sneers, "Meaningless. Best not to think about it, my dear Judai-kun."
He feels like it does mean something if Yubel tells him not to dwell on it, though.
A little exasperated, Judai says a very unsure, "Alright," and lets himself into Asuka's apartment. Yubel decides to fade back into his mind when Asuka sees him close the door and hurriedly places her sewing needle aside in case she pokes herself. On her lap is his torn-up blazer, the redness highly contrasting her cream wool sweater. "You fixed it?" he asks, mildly surprised, as he joins her on the couch.
Asuka smiles, flattening the fabric against her lap for her to inspect. "Not all of it yet, but I managed to patch up the bigger holes." She starts to wag a finger at him, beginning to look stern. "You should take better care of your things. It looked worse before I started fixing it."
Raising both hands up in the air placatingly, Judai smiles weakly, "It's hard to do that if you travel as much as me!"
Most of the time when he isn't freeloading off his friends, Judai sleeps outside in clear areas of a forest, or even at hotels if he thinks it's not as safe outside. Such conditions left his clothes worse for wear. His shoes are always a little tattered now, his shirt a bit dirtied, and jeans a bit wrinkled. Luckily, his friends had his back when it came to laundry (though, he had to beg sometimes).
"Doesn't seem like a good excuse to me," she mutters, unsatisfied. He has enough common sense to look sheepish. She takes her needle and continues mending the smaller holes, him watching.
He lets her work until he decides to ask her, "By the way, how come you hung that plant up at the door?" Her shoulders bristle, her sewing paused. "I thought you weren't using them this year?" I thought they were special, he thinks.
Asuka takes a few moments to think of an answer. He is patient. "Tomorrow is Christmas, so… I thought maybe it might brighten up the place after all."
He's still confused but after how no one would tell him a thing while he's here, he figures it's a lost cause to question her further. Quietly, Asuka focuses on the holes in his jacket. Not wanting to disturb her and have her poke him with her needle, Judai entertains himself by plopping Pharaoh on his lap and plays with his paws.
Two minutes later, he looks at the scratch on the back of his hand and winces at it. "Ouch..." Pharaoh curls himself on his lap and is intent to go back to napping.
There is a bit of blood, but none too drastic or drippy. It's not as bad as when Johan had taken advantage of Solid Vision and had Amethyst Cat claw his face from a direct attack. Judai thinks nothing could ever top that for traumatic experiences with cats.
"You had it coming," laughs Asuka, fondly. "Luckily, I had this box of band-aids here just in case I poked myself." Carefully placing her needle on the table, her fingers grab the box and she takes out a band-aid. They're plain band-aids; no different colors or patterns of any kind. Plain and simple—that suits her the best, he thinks.
Asuka is very gentle when she takes his hand and aligns the band-aid at a decent angle to cover his bruise. She has really smooth fingers. He wonders if the gloves she had worn with her Duel Academia uniform was to protect her from developing calloused hands.
"Thanks," he smiles gratefully at her.
Wistfully, she releases his hand and nods and wanely smiles back.
.
.
"Merry Christmas, Judai," Asuka greets him when he gets up the next day, looking outside the window peacefully. "We have a lot of snow today, surprisingly." Her eyes briefly dim, and he wonders if she is thinking about her brother.
He returns the sentiment and tells her the same greeting of "Merry Christmas," and then he looks at a gift box in her hands. It's red with gold ribbons securing it—the box itself is a rather flat square. "Is that the gift for Fubuki-san?" he asks her, approaching the living room where she is.
"That's in my room," she tells him casually. Extending her arms with the gift box, Asuka looks at him expectantly. "This is yours."
"Mine?" Mildly shocked that he would get a gift, Judai numbly takes it.
She looks like she's waiting for him to open it and won't leave until he does, so he sits on the couch and really does open it. When he takes the lid of the box off after he discards the wrapping paper and ribbons, red fabric greets his eyes. At first, he thinks it's just his red blazer mended but he takes a closer look and lifts it up in the air and notices the differences.
Warmly, Asuka smiles. "It's a new jacket. One that's red." Judai quietly begins to slip it on him, testing the feel of it. It's really similar to the school's blazer. Everything about it is brand new. "Now you have another backup jacket in case your main one rips up again. I think this is leather on the outside, so it's more durable." Still mildly awed, he adjusts the front flaps to fit him better and he somewhat wishes there is a mirror for him to check rather than trying to twist his head back and forth. "Do you like it?" she finally asks, awkwardly bashful. [1]
"I love it, Asuka!" beams Judai with his sunlit grin and starry eyes. He feels cool in this jacket. "Now I kinda feel bad that all I gave you was the beanie," he lamely says, guilty. "I'll see if I can make it up to you."
Her eyes begin to dart elsewhere, away from him. It scared him a bit because he thought she was mad at him again. She sounds casual, but something is off in her voice. "You said you owed me when you came here a few days ago." Oh, right. He did. Does that mean she's entitled to ask something from him twice? "So… I'd like to ask for a favor now then."
Enthusiastic to see her happier, he complies easily. "A favor? I'll try my best for you!" Maybe she wants him to duel her again? Or maybe she wants him to treat her to something? Belatedly, he realizes that Asuka hardly asked him for any favors prior so he actually doesn't have any ideas of what she could want.
"Could you close your eyes?" she simply asks him. She looks very solemn, despite the smile she wears. The request itself is rather bizarre to him. Yubel flashes next to him, arms crossed and lacking much emotion as they scrutinize Asuka's face and eyes. Maybe Yubel sees something that he can't.
Judai closes his eyes. "They're closed."
"Keep them that way for twenty seconds," softly says Asuka. He starts counting in his mind. When he reaches twelve seconds, he can hear her footsteps fade for a moment before they come back. Odd. She's been acting strange recently, and—
He opens his eyes sharply, feeling his lips contact something. He recognizes the sight of Asuka's hair and her face is awfully close to his and her eyes are closed and he can't seem to breathe correctly because of her lips— And what? What's happening?
Yubel makes no sort of noise and is blank-faced and wide-eyed, and all Judai can do is blink rather dumbly. Only seconds tick; it hasn't even been half of a minute.
Asuka lets him go, ducking her head down very lowly and one of her hands clings to the flap of his new jacket. "Thank you for the favor, Judai," she whispers, speaking with something tender in her tone. He could barely hear her with how soft her voice is. Yubel quietly watches from the side. "Did you know that it's a Christmas tradition for people to kiss under a mistletoe?" When she begins to lower her right arm, he sees the same plant that hung over the doorway in her hands. "I lied earlier. This is a mistletoe. I just wanted to try it once," she continues talking with her head down. There is something sad about the way her fingers clench around his jacket. "Thank you again." He is about to bravely lift her chin up so he can see what she is feeling until she abruptly looks up at him with a smile that doesn't really seem to suit her face. "I'm going to put this back and make us some hot chocolate!"
She relinquishes his jacket and walks past him to rehang the mistletoe at the door, her bangs shadowing her eyes. Lamely, Judai collapses on the couch to sit in a very distinct stupor, his legs feeling weak.
Yubel finally looks at him, mundane. Smooth, they comment with nonchalance.
Why didn't you say anything? he skeptically asks his soul partner, still admittedly feeling dazed.
What am I even supposed to say? I could do something about it instead, Yubel shrugs with a dark teasing smirk. Though, my beloved Judai-kun would only get mad at me for hurting his friends. But, just say the word and I will—
...No, Judai finds himself saying absentmindedly; dismissively, distractedly. Rolling their eyes, Yubel quietly fades back into him.
He touches his lips for a moment with the tips of his fingers, awkward. Asuka really took his first kiss away just like that. Soft, her lips felt. Feeling some warmth on his cheeks, he tiredly plows a hand through his hair. He'd rather be saving the world again from some sort of catastrophe right now.
The kiss reminds him of Rei and her overly grand gestures towards him. While he feels nothing for Rei, he also doesn't really feel anything for Asuka either. Asuka, for the most part, respects him and gives him his space. She tries to help him many times, and Judai always thinks she does so because they are friends.
He loves Yubel, he believes. Has he always had such a soft spot for Asuka, then?
The sound of a mug clinks against the table in front of him. "Here," says Asuka quietly, holding her own mug.
He has enough energy to nod his thanks. The hot chocolate is warm when Judai takes a sip.
Asuka still sits next to him on the couch, but he notices she is farther away than usual. She looks like a textbook image of a polite woman—eloquent and refined and unable to clearly discern. "Are you staying for New Years?" she asks casually, like she never kissed him at all.
He really hopes that he also comes off as casual when he replies, "There's no shrine here in America for New Years, right?" Judai doesn't recall partaking in hatsumōde in the past because of his general lack of friends and his parents working during holidays, but thinks he should ask anyway. He has to say something back to her.
"No, I don't think so." She sips her drink again. He tries not to stare at her lips by intensely looking at his reflection in the ripples of his drink. "They do light up fireworks here, though. It's really pretty."
Judai may be an idiot or legendary slacker like what most people describe him to be, but even he can tell there is an invitation behind her words: Would you like to watch with me?
He feels like he shouldn't, like she should watch those fireworks with someone special whom she could share the memory with. Just not himself. He's not really that great of a guy anyway. Not that great of a guy for her, he feels. Besides, he thinks she feels sad whenever he tells her that he has to go and he doubts Asuka needs that extra baggage.
"I was going to head north after this." Staring at the lukewarm hot chocolate in his mug, he blurts, "I haven't seen Jim and Johan for a while. I'm due for another visit."
He can tell she is disappointed. He's making her sad again. He can't help it—the world doesn't rest for him, after all. Maybe telling her that he already has plans to visit their friends would be better than telling her that he's a little scared of what will happen between them if he stays for the fireworks, so he vainly clung onto some white lie in order to escape.
"Oh," says Asuka, awkwardly. Her fingers drum on her mug. Silence.
"You still have my phone number," Judai mentions, trying to salvage anything of a smile from her.
Scoffing lightly, she hides her lips behind her mug. "You always leave me on read when I text you."
Profoundly smiling despite himself, he nervously laughs. "I prefer calls more! I always forget to text back!"
Now that he thinks about it, Judai rarely gets text messages anymore from her. He always believes she's just busy, given what her job is. She used to text him if he is doing well or ask him where he is, and he never knows how to respond because he doesn't want to worry her. (He doesn't want to worry anyone, really.)
"Well, given my work schedule, texting is more convenient for me," Asuka defends herself, squaring her shoulders. (The atmosphere feels more normal now. Just the way he likes it for them.) She comments, "You don't even use reactions to messages either."
Feeling attacked, he rolls his eyes. "I'm not a technology person!" He hardly ever uses his phone—he finds it most convenient if he needs to check the time or contact anyone for emergencies. After all, that was why O'Brien even gave him this phone back when Fujiwara Yusuke and Darkness were around. However, there are hardly any emergencies anymore…
She sighs and looks away.
He looks at her saddened face and sighs himself. "I guess I could try to check my phone more often if you feel like talking," he says, deliberately casual, a hand behind the back of his neck.
Asuka doesn't look completely convinced, but she accepts it anyway because she probably knows it's the best she'll get out of him. Maybe he'll give her a call later so that she knows he didn't change his number or anything else on her, or so that she knows that she can still trust him with her number if she ever wants to talk to him.
She takes another sip of hot chocolate, hiding her lips. "Good."
.
.
"Here." Thrusting several unopened candy canes at him, Asuka looks stern. "Take them as a snack. I have too much."
Lifting his bag over his shoulder, Judai cautiously eyes the candies for a moment before taking them and storing them in his jacket's pockets. He had decided to don the jacket she gave him so it could make her smile. "Awfully nice of you," he teases lightly.
She shrugs. "Maybe you can share it with Jim or Johan when you meet up." She shivers slightly, making Judai remember that they are standing at the entrance of her apartment, door opened and he is ready to leave again; walk out of her life for an unknown amount of time. He had thought of coming back for summer because summer should be when she's off work again.
"I'll pass it along," silently promises Judai, giving her the Gotcha! pose. Then he awkwardly averts his eyes, shifting on his feet. "Asuka," he says her name with a quickened heartbeat.
Puzzled, she looks at him with wide eyes. "What is i—"
One of his hands grip her arm softly, and he daringly tilts his head and presses his lips to hers for a quick second and then he releases her. "It's tradition, right?" He turns to the side, unable to look at her and pointing up at the mistletoe that still hung above. The tips of his ears feel warm. But when Judai looks at her, he thinks his red-tipped ears cannot even compare to her face. It makes him feel awkward. "I-I'm going now!" he unnecessarily announces with more profound awkwardness, sharply turning on his heel and starts walking off, raising a hand in the air to bid her goodbye.
He's too scared to look back at her; too scared to see what expression she has, too scared to know what else could happen if he met her eyes.
Maybe he could wait a bit before he drops her a call. Maybe find some cave to hide in or the nearest ferry ship to take so he could be thousands of miles away and salvage some courage by then.
Forget that Asuka is his first and second kiss. Forget wondering if he is also her first and second kiss. Forget the softness of her lips. Forget questioning what their relationship is.
Adamantly going with the ferry ship idea (he still needs to use it to get to Jim and Johan anyway), Judai walks along the snow-laden road, relishing the cold evening air against his warm face.
Daitokuji-sensei cheekily says when they are a good distance away from Asuka's apartment complex, "Did you know that the mistletoe is for couples, nya?"
Bristling sharply, Judai's eyes widen considerably and he stops walking. "What?!" Who made these traditions? Who invented the mistletoe? He ought to have a very strong word or two with them. (Maybe sic Neos on them because Yubel's powers are really good for intimidation, he found.)
"I think you sent her the wrong message," Yubel casually says afterward, inspecting their claws. "But you told her it was for tradition, so you still have hope to not crush her feelings."
"What?" echoes Judai dumbly.
Feelings? Asuka had said she just wanted to know how it felt to have a mistletoe kiss. It startled the very life out of him, but he still went along with it. Although, he doesn't know if he wants to go through this experience again if he's being honest.
Evilly, Yubel smirks. "She didn't tell you after all. I thought she would, with how she kept her heart on her sleeve most of the time." They lovingly stroke Judai's face with a smile, grandly enjoying his confusion.
Bemoaningly, he asks with dread, "Tell me what?"
Letting out an amused cackle, Yubel hums at him in a rare moment of cheekiness. "I think it'd be more fun if you found out yourself." Their eyes roll up in thought. "If she had more courage, I might consider her a rival."
With one last look at Asuka's apartment, Yubel fades back inside of Judai, who still does not have any answers at all and wonders how much the world hates him and wants him to suffer despite him rescuing said world a few times already.
He shakes his head and continues walking, despondently dragging his feet. "I wish I was smarter."
"I wish for that everyday, nya!" chimes Daitokuji-sensei very happily, floating after him.
Yeah, the world really hates him.
.
.
For New Years, Judai is currently on a ship to Europe. The air is brisk and still cold due to the season, but he thinks it's nice and he lets the wind blow at his hair. He is staring out at the ocean in thought until he feels his phone vibrate. (He feels a piece of paper in his pocket when he reaches in to grab his phone, and knows immediately that it's the receipt of the beanie. He smiles to himself fondly.)
Asuka, the screen says.
He checks her text and sees that it's a photo of fireworks and the sky is dark. It must be the same fireworks show she had mentioned—the one that she wanted him to accompany her to, but he chickened out. The one that she wanted to share with him, but he chickened out.
Happy New Years, her message reads very politely, like she doesn't expect him to respond at all so she keeps the message very simple.
Judai thinks very carefully. He types, You too, and adds three fireworks emojis. (He's working on it; responding to her texts, he means.) He clicks on the send button, thinking that an actual reply from him might have flabbergasted her a lot and he grins at the thought of it, trying to visualize her face gaping at her phone screen.
When his phone vibrates again, he checks it and sees that she sent him a red heart emoji. Nothing but that. He doesn't know why she picked this particular emoji or why she chose to send him this, but he fondly blurts out soft laughter at the sight of it. At least he knows that it's red because of him, right? She probably couldn't find a better red emoji for him.
He sends her back a blue heart emoji because it makes him think of her and clicks on the call button next to her name.
Judai sees land approaching so he shoulders his bag and carries his phone next to his ear as he prepares to step off. She picks up after the third beep and he whimsically greets, "Asuka!"
"Judai?!" She sounds overly shocked and concerned (and he could hear the distant booming of fireworks in the background), and immediately starts asking how Jim and Johan are.
He warmly laughs and tells her that he barely got off his ship, and they chat the rest of the way as he locates Johan's apartment. He tells her about how Johan's probably asleep right now and that he might pop in at this time just to scare him awake, and she ends up lecturing him on pranking. Judai just snickers as she rants, amusement affectionately evident as he grins into the receiver even though she can't see it.
This, he thinks, is how he likes it with Asuka. This cycle of exchanging quips and words; this exchange of laughter and good-intentioned nagging—he thinks he won't trade it for anything else. Because this is what he has and shares with Asuka.
And maybe, once upon a time, at this very moment of their new conversation of him remarking about her insistence to call and text more, when she tells him an indignant Um, I call and text you because I care about you?, maybe there might have been something of a very very miniscule, slightly gooey warmness stirring inside of his chest for a moment because she hardly admits that to his face so openly and casually before. He wonders if it is normal for hearts to beat this fast.
Judai thinks for a moment that he might have an illness, but he feels fine otherwise and maybe it's better if he just consults Johan instead whenever he finds the guy's apartment to crash in because even though everyone says they're almost like twins, Johan is still smarter than him. Or Jim. Anyone, really.
"Are you listening anymore?" Asuka rhetorically asks, fondly exasperated.
He shrugs and smiles. The weird feeling is gone. "I am listening!" he proclaims proudly into the phone, to which she denies.
They talk some more; he jokes and she sighs, she nags and he whines. She tells him to take care and warns him about eating properly and staying hydrated and not getting lost and among all these other things she's trying to smother him with, making sure he knows that she definitely cares (she cares, huh?) about his well-being and that, You're welcome to stop by anytime you're in America, okay?, and also, Text me if you're visiting again so I can actually welcome you, dummy.
And maybe, once upon another time, Judai begins to think that it wasn't so bad that Asuka is his first kiss. (And second. But whatever.) As long as he can have whatever it is that they have right now, he thinks it would be okay.
.
.
ending footnotes:
[1] — to those wondering: yes, the jacket scene is inspired by one of 203wolves' juasu doujins on twitter! i love it a lot, haha! [cries]
notes: alright, i'm fairly certain that i wrote yubel completely wrong. i'm insecure with writing yubel and often have trouble writing them as in-character as possible, so i hope this is a fairly decent portrayal of them in a judai/asuka story? :') i just wanted to write my otp tbh; my deepest apologies to all yubel fans out there for the slandering! OTL (and to make this story work, let's just pretend that daitokuji-sensei told yubel what mistletoes are because i'm the idiot who forgot that yubel probably doesn't know what the modern world is like by the time i finished this story).