365 Days of Starshipping (Part 1)

Nicknames

7/5/19

Yusei found himself stuck on his thought from the night before about nicknames, and he spent the entirety of the next morning staring at his boyfriend and trying to think up a good one. It was difficult to say the least, and he had a new appreciation for just how many Judai had managed to come up with for him because he couldn't even think of one.

Damn it, why couldn't he have had a name that could be shortened and still sound good? He loved Judai's name, don't get him wrong, it fit the man very, very well, but it did not help at all in this instance.

"Uh... Yusei? Is everything okay?" Judai asked after happening to look up, noticing that he'd been silently staring. They were in the kitchen at the moment after breakfast, and Judai had somehow convinced him to let him wash the dishes that morning instead of Yusei, so he was sitting at the table and watching.

Yusei swore that he did not pout in response, simply narrowing his eyes at him as he continued to stare. What could even be made into a nickname for him? Name shortening didn't work, he couldn't think of anything having to do with his abilities, and there weren't any incidents he could think of that would result in a lasting nickname - the fox thing didn't count, since it wasn't really a nickname in the first place and more-so just an observation.

Judai blinked when he didn't get a response, placing the last plate he'd been washing on the drying rack without even sparing it a glance and turning off the water, "Okay, I'll bite - what're you thinkin' about? I can't tell if you're mad at me or what with the face you're making."

"I'm not," Yusei sighed, resting his head in the palm of his hand as explained, "I just wanna know how you do it."

"Do what?"

"Come up with nicknames so easily."

A surprised look crossed his face for a moment before he smiled and laughed, leaning on the kitchen counter as he replied, "You like the ones I made for you?"

"I do," Yusei admitted easily, smiling affectionately upon hearing the other's laugh, "I just... can't come up with any for you though. It's bugging me."

"For me?" Judai questioned, humming and bringing a hand up to his chin in thought, "I dunno how to help you there. I'm used to ones that aren't very... nice, I guess you could say, like 'slacker' and 'drop-out boy'. Granted, those are from back in Duel Academy, but I haven't really gotten any since then so they're all I have to go off of."

Now he really needed to come up with a good nickname for him, because it would be a crime to let those be the only things he knew as nicknames. It ruffled his feathers a little more than it usually would, too, since there was still some residual stress and irritation from the previous night, so he was even more determined to figure something out.

"I'll keep thinking, I guess," Yusei eventually said, standing up and, upon seeing the perfect opportunity thanks to where Judai was at the moment, walking over and using his height to effectively trap Judai against the counter along with his arms. He smirked at the slightly flustered look that crossed Judai's face, leaning down and smothering what he was about to say with a kiss.

Dammit, there's hair in the way, he thought, pulling back for a moment to brush it away gently and grinning at how Judai seemed to redden slightly at the soft touch against his lips. The messy hair admittedly added to the look, making him look like some sort of cute, fluffy...

...Ah, there it is, Yusei realized, unashamedly ruining the moment with a shit-eating grin as he pulled back to really look at all of Judai to confirm his thoughts. Judai gave him a very confused look, though from the curious look in his eyes he knew that he'd finally managed to think of something.

"Stars," Yusei breathed, biting back laughter as he continued, "You're my fluffy Kuriboh."

The utter look of horror Judai gave him was the last straw, and he broke down into laughter as Judai sputtered in embarrassment, vehemently trying to deny it, "I am not a Kuriboh!"

"B-but your hair-"

"It does not!"

"And you're so cute like one-"

"That could literally be anything else! Why a Kuriboh?!"

It took a minute for Yusei to finally stop laughing and calm down, but when he did he pulled Judai into a hug, resting his head on top of his as he explained, "It's only partially because of your hair and how cute you are. The main reason is that when you think about it, your personality is a lot like one, too - you always try at least to find the best in situations and be happy, and you care a lot about others and are always willing to help me out, even when I don't ask you to."

"That... who thinks about that when they think about Kuriboh's?" Judai asked incredulously, laughing into his chest in a slightly nervous way that told Yusei that he was embarrassed about what he'd said, "Besides, that could describe a lot of things, not just Kurbioh's."

"Yeah, but like I said, you look like a Kurbioh so I'm going with it," Yusei chuckled, ignoring the fist that hit his back in retaliation, "Aw come on, you're my fluffy Kuriboh. I like the nickname, don't you? My fluffy Kurbioh."

"...Damn you, you actually made me like it with that little explanation of yours," Judai muttered, admitting defeat easily and looking up at him with reddened cheeks and eyes hidden behind messy bangs.

Ah, his cute, fluffy Kuriboh made his heart hurt with how much he loved him.