Title: By The Lake
Author: Svelte Rose
Pairing: Ryou & Téa
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh
30 Kisses Theme: No. 08- Our own world
Disclaimer: I don't own YGO unfortunately.
Whether by chance or due to fate's mischievous ways, she'd found it- him. Brown eyes wearily stared up at her, a ghost of a smile dancing around his lips before he turned to look back out at the spacious lake before them. Feeling slightly out of place and rather intrusive, she muttered her apologies and took a step back, ready to walk away.
But his hand had come up to snatch hers. With a beseeching look from him, she plopped herself next to him down on the plush grass.
It wasn't as though they weren't friends- they were. But there was always something about Ryou that kept him from the rest of them. It was this barrier that she felt whenever he hung out with them- a barrier that she dare not cross. And it wasn't as though this spooked her- it was more a question of respect for their friend.
As Yuugi and Joey ran off to compete in various games and such, she found herself left behind more and more often. Of course she tried to make it to their matches as much as possible but she had a life- one that didn't depend on the outcome of a card game. As such, she found herself walking home alone on many occasions. Sometimes, she'd come across the younger Kaiba brother and they'd walk home together but that had ended ever since Seto Kaiba began his competition.
And so, on this particular afternoon, she had decided to wander off path; she had a few hours to kill, anyways- what was the harm?
Her feet brought her here- to him.
While she knew she should be afraid at having found out about his other self and the unholy alliance with Malik, she wouldn't- couldn't allow herself to believe that he was something other than the nice boy they'd met and become friends with.
And so she sat next to him, introspective of their current lives with the only noise being that of the rustling trees and chirping birds.
Everyday, she found herself wandering off the same path to the same area where she found him. At first, she got lost trying to remember how she found the place originally but it was never for long. There were times when she was the first to arrive and him after but it wasn't the case of who arrived first and who arrived last- just that they grew to expect the other there even if they had to wait. The longest wait had to have been just under five minutes- courtesy of their English teacher keeping Ryou behind for tips on phonetics of the English language.
One particularly busy day, Téa found herself alone at school, doing cleaning duties minus her partner (who's punishment would be an extra week of cleaning once the teacher found out) and even though she moved as fast as she could, she was still an hour late.
When she arrived at the place, he was there, quietly napping against the tree as the wind danced through his hair.
His hair…She mused silently as she gently sat down next to him. It was probably the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen next to Yuugi's eclectic taste for strangely colored hair. At least he and Miho dyed theirs- she was pretty sure Ryou's white hair was natural. In any case, it brought him to his fan girls' attention and now, like Kaiba, there was a club dedicated to him in school.
It would be an hour and then some before he woke and muttered his apologies at having occupied her shoulder, mistaking it for a pillow in his slumbering state.
She hadn't minded- at all
It would take a couple more months before she realized that this ritual of theirs had become something she'd relied on no matter how her day went. There was even a time when he surprised her with a sandwich and a little bottle of juice she recognized as having been from a favorite deli of hers in downtown Domino- the opposite direction of this very place. And while she should have been puzzled at how he knew what her favorite store was amongst the hundreds on the street, how her favorite sandwich was made without the tomato (even though originally, they made it with the tomato- she didn't complain; she hated tomatoes), and even how she always had to have a long straw for her drinks…
She was flattered. Her stomach hadn't complained either. Taking huge bites out of her meal, she glanced over and blushed when she found him chuckling at her. Had her mouth been void of masticated articles and such, she would have stuck her tongue out at him and made sure he received a very, very wet raspberry.
And from that day on, he'd always made sure to bring little items whether it was that sandwich, dessert from one of the most frequented pastry shops (her being one of their most loyal customers), or even just little items of candy.
No more than few words passed between them- usually just standard greetings and such but never any details or further elongations of what occurred to them at school, deep thoughts of duels, etc.
There didn't need to be any words.
More than once, he would fall asleep, her shoulder having become his make-shift pillow. It never bothered her; she would just sip her juice quietly, studying the wide-expanse of water before them.
When it happened, there were no words to describe it.
Having been the first to arrive, she had chosen to stand up and watch a family of ducks playing in the water, wishing for her camera.
The harsh sound of branches snapping and leaves rustling having reached her ears, she turned around and beamed, opening her mouth for their usual introductions.
But the words immediately left her once she caught his face, her own bereft of a smile; a slight burst of a feeling akin to fear made its way through her body.
His hair had been slightly unruly and instead of the usually warm chocolate eyes she'd always searched for in the school hallways, his were a mix of that and crimson red.
Once crimson-brown clashed with cerulean blue, he halted his procession immediately and stared at her with an unreadable expression. She could feel the power he possessed emanating from his muscular body and took a step back, hand protectively over her chest.
His own chest was practically radioactive with the ring glowing as such.
Her body had tensed quickly and voices from every corner of her mind screamed at her to run.
The transformation from her Ryou to his other self occurred before her eyes.
She knew she should listen to her instincts but shock kept her there. Waiting for his next move.
Run! Run! Her mind screamed.
And so she did- straight to him.
With a brief look and adrenaline pumping through her slender body, she gently laid her hand on his cheek and kissed him- crying out, pleading for the return of the one who possessed her beloved chocolate-colored eyes. There were no words exchanged- there were never any words exchanged between them, just that simple action with every bit of what she felt, placed into it.
It would take her a moment or so to realize that the only reason they broke their kiss was when he fell into her arms, unconscious.
Their lake-side meetings still occurred, same time, everyday. He still kept bringing his treats and when the weather turned for the worse, she'd be there with a plastic sheet, a blanket to place over it, two more blankets for each of them and an outrageously large umbrella to protect them from the elements.
Not much changed- not even their aversion for the quiet surroundings.
She smiled as she burrowed herself next to him and he instinctively brought up an arm around her, pulling her body closer to his.
…Nope. She mused silently.
Not much had changed at all.