365 Days of Starshipping (Part 1)

Tournament Morning

4/14/19

Judai grit his teeth slightly as he looked at the crowd a few days later from the parking lot, tightening his grip slightly on Yusei - it was finally time for the tournament, and he was already being faced with crowds despite not even entering the building yet. Luckily for them, there was a special lot for competitors and special guests so he wouldn't have to enter the fray just yet.

Then again, if it were up to Judai he'd just avoid them altogether, only going in when he absolutely had to. Unfortunately he'd still have to thread through the crowded hallways to get to where he needed to go, and even using the paths that Yusei had pointed out to him in their earlier visit, he'd most likely be recognized by at least one person-

No wait a minute, he could just use his shadows to hide if it got bad enough!

"Idiot," Haou scoffed at him in his mind, not bothered at all about the many people who'd be watching and entirely focused on the duels ahead of them; he'd come out the second they'd left for the Kaiba Dome and had been feeding Judai his anticipation through the link ever since alongside Yubel, which... well, it was a double-edged sword, really. On one hand it fed into Judai's overall excitement for the rest of the day, but on the other hand it also made him more anxious.

"Judai," Yusei said, getting his attention once again due to the slight strain in his voice, "Too tight."

"Oops, sorry," Judai mumbled, loosening his arms from his waist and kissing the back of his head in apology before getting off the bike. He stretched his arms up in the air and sighed, taking a deep breath and double-checking that he had everything he needed.

Deck, side deck, ID, himself... yep, everything was here.

Now if only the nerves would go away, that would be fantastic.

"Just make sure you keep taking deep breaths every once in a while," Yusei suggested, standing next to him after locking up his bike and bringing a hand up to tuck some Judai's hair behind his ear and away from his face, "You'll be fine, just focus on the duels. If it gets really bad, try to think about something calming."

"So you then," Judai smiled softly, feeling a bit better now than before and leaning his head into Yusei's hand, "I got it, thanks. You're in the champion room, right? The one that's off to the side, half-way up?"

"That's the one," Yusei replied, grinning slightly as he started to squish Judai's cheek with his thumb.

Judai pouted slightly at the treatment, though soon enough they were both laughing quietly after Judai brought his own hand up to start poking at Yusei's cheek.

Ah yes, if there were anything or anyone that could make Judai feel better so quickly, it was Yusei - his calm aura was infectious and Judai found himself calming down with every second he spent with him. It was too bad he wouldn't be able to talk to him again until after the tournament due to certain rulings that had been instated; the champion wasn't allowed to talk to any of the participants during the tournament. Apparently its initial creation was for a rather malicious purpose, which was to keep Jack from finding out most of his opponents were set-ups during his reign as champion, but the rule was kept now because people recognized that it was probably best for everyone if it didn't look like any duelists were being favored within the tournament by the champion.

Granted, at this point the whole damn city knew and celebrated the fact that Judai and Yusei were a couple, so the idea of 'not being favored' was pretty much thrown out the window and smashed into pieces. Still, the sentiment was there and any little bit that would help him stay in a positive light was something he'd take.

"Come on, let's go," Yusei said after a few minutes of playful banter, content smiles on both their faces now, "The sooner you sign in, the sooner you'll be able to hide away in the contestant viewing room."

"Aw, I wanna spend more time with you," Judai pouted, though he took Yusei's hand in his anyway and started walking towards the entrance, "I won't be able to all day! Are you still sure that I can't just like, sneak in with my shadows and stuff, no one has to know I'm there-"

"No," Yusei stated, giving him an exasperated look and tugging lightly on his arm in admonishment.

"Fine, fine, I won't," Judai conceded, an innocent grin on his face as he pulled to a stop near the entrance and glanced around at the empty space around them, "Though if I don't get to see you until tonight, then at least give me this?"

Clearly sensing his thoughts, Haou and Yubel rolled their eyes at him through the connection before cutting it off with amusement.

"What's th-" Yusei started to ask, though Judai was quick to interrupt him by dragging him down into a kiss, taking advantage of his surprise to slip his tongue into his mouth and drag an accidental moan out of him. He made sure before he did so that he'd activated his shadows just in case anyone walked into the area, wrapping around and concealing him and Yusei from view.

"We've got time, we're early," Judai stated lowly, pulling back for a moment so he could look at Yusei's flushed and startled expression appreciatively, "Let me enjoy you for a bit, Yusei."

"We're outside-"

"And I've got shadows," Judai grinned wickedly, guiding him backwards towards the wall of the building, "No excuses not to now, huh?"

Yusei glared cutely at him in embarrassment, and Judai couldn't help but tease him a bit more by turning them around so when they got to the wall, Yusei was the one leaning over him and seemingly pinning him to the wall.

"Oh no, you've got me! What are you gonna do, hmm?" Judai grinned, pulling Yusei's arms up quickly to be on either side of him.

"Shut up," Yusei mumbled, leaning down and smashing their lips together.

Ah yes, Judai was feeling way better now - this was just the quick pick-me-up he'd been needing.