(no subject)

[idolpro]

Who: kisses and the attached lips
Where: Game Tower => home
When: Day 73, night

[ You're summoned to the Game Tower - or maybe you're not, maybe you're too far away to get there. In any case, there's not really much at the Game Tower for you to see - winners are highlighted on the television screens in the lobby, the elevators once more locked. There are a number of radio announcers' voices as the results go by and none of them are recognizable or even very easy to focus on with how dull they sound. You can catch some of this:

" -- Heart Soldier Senshi -- not surprising that they got the most kisses, but who would have expected ☆ZRAEL!?"

"I know, right!? They really did a 180 since the last game!!"

"It's crazy! Now, here are some fan favorites -- "

" -- You voted, listeners, and your voice was heard! Who did you think deserved to win!?"

"First pick! Drumrooooooooooll -- "

"CEO ☆ S2FPYME= on future is now for his AMAAAZING game with Jigsaw! He was so intense! That's why the fans named him Intensity, you know!!"

"I knoooow, right? Oooh my goooood, it was sooo good I couldn't stop watching! Okay, next up is -- "

"Speaking of pep!pep!, you know who I reaaaally liked? A Sleeping Knight and 😘 were just like, the cutest! But it was sooo funny too, like, LMAO, a spray bottle???"

"Hahaha, I totally get it though! Guys are pig disgusting! But I totally ship the two of them, they're so good together! I loved them in the last game too ♥"

"Now, last but not least - ! BAD END=DEAD END . . . "

" . . . "

"Aaaaah, no one's surprised by that, huh!? They're so steamy with their kisses! They're so crazy! But man, the stuff that Prisoner did with Warden - I mean, their names say it all, right!? Right!?"

"I knoooww it was sooo crazyyyyyyyy!!! My heart was racing the entire time!!! You know, I totally prayed that they would kiss in the trial and then they did it here, they're soooo gooooooooooooood."

"You prayed!?"

"Yeah!?"

-- the chatter goes on, completely unimportant and fizzing out once the relevant portions have been relayed. pep!pep!, BAD END=DEAD END, future is now, ☆ZRAEL, and Heart Soldier Senshi will find not 500, but 800 points deposited into their banks. Every other unit gets the standard 100.

There's nothing in the lobby but leaves and sprigs of leftover mistletoe. You might find a few stray mistletoe around the buildings too, but they'll start to disappear with time. ]

Comments

[puzzlekeeper]

[ He goes very still, eyes widening. ]

... Yugi...

1 / 2

[puzzlers]

[puzzlers]

[ his hand snaps back and against the odds he forces a smile to surface. ]

[ no, don’t go there, bury the fear, uncertainty, and negativity. ]

But we probably have nothing to worry about. [ lifts his cup. ] Drink up, King! Wouldn’t want it getting cold.

[puzzlekeeper]

[ He closes his hands over Yugi's (the one not occupied, anyway). This tactic doesn't work on him, Yugi. ]

Wait.

[puzzlers]

[ stills, his facade slowly but surely starting to crumble as he looks to king. ]

[puzzlekeeper]

[ Bad. But also maybe good. ]

You don't need to pretend. Not with me.

[puzzlers]

I...I know. But I'm not! It'll be alright. Let's just make the most of what we have right here right now.

[ for tomorrow is never certain. ]

[puzzlekeeper]

[ He squeezes Yugi's hand. ]

Yes. We can and we should.

But I want you to remember something. If you ever have the chance to be free of this place - don't turn it down. Not for me.

[puzzlers]

I can't and won't leave without you, King.

[ bows his head as he returns the squeeze. ]

I'm sorry.

[puzzlekeeper]

[ He looks genuinely touched but also distraught by this stubbornness. ]

Yugi...

[puzzlers]

[ disentangles their hands and retrieves his own. he knows king's just looking out for him, but... he can't leave! not without him!! not now and not ever!!! feels the rift in his heart split further at the thought. it's for his own good, he tells himself, but the cost of his own safety is just too damn steep. his other self is just as important as himself. ]

It looks like the tea's getting cold after all... [ a strained laugh as he takes a sip. ]

[puzzlekeeper]

[ He sighs and wraps his hands around his own mug, looking down into its contents. This is a conversation they'll have to revisit... later. But for now, he'll give Yugi the reprieve he wants. ]

That's alright. It's still warm, at least.

[puzzlers]

[ it hadn't been his intention to sour the celebration. it just kind of happened and he regrets having found a way to go there. but, yes, later, perhaps when he'll be better equipped to argue staying and helping instead of the obvious alternative. ]

Do you really have a lot of gifts to get? It's not like their mandatory. Silly as it sounds spending time in the company of friends can be enough of a gift.

[puzzlekeeper]

[ He hasn't even begun to start thinking about it. ]

Are you sure? I know this holiday is important to people. I don't want anything I do - or don't do - to seem insulting or disrespectful...

[puzzlers]

I am. You can show your appreciation for someone without the use of a gift... [ but, hm, king might like taking part in some of the holiday traditions. it's his first time, so who is he to stop him. ] But it could be fun to do some shopping. Just... don't overthink and overdo it. [ for your own sake! ] But I'm sure that no matter what happens your friends will appreciate the effort.

[puzzlekeeper]

[ But overthinking and overdoing is like... his whole brand. ]

I think the biggest issue is just deciding what people might actually want.

[ And, of course, who to actually buy for... ]

[puzzlers]

It can be a challenge, but that's half the fun, right! and finding the right gift is just, well, it's something special.

[ gives his tea a lopsided smile, because that's how he's feeling right now. ]

[puzzlekeeper]

[ He takes a sip from his own mug, before "warm" turns into "tepid." ]

That's a knowing look. Should I ask how your gift search is going?

[puzzlers]

I just got each member of my unit something. [ runs his fingers along the rim as he looks up at king. ] That's it.

[ except he's hoping to get king something too. ]

Next year I'll probably get a bunch more people, but, for now, I think that's plenty. [ his unit means a lot to him. ]

[puzzlekeeper]

[ Gods, but he hopes there isn't a "next year"... ]

You really care for them already, don't you?

[ How could anyone not, but still ]

[puzzlers]

[ true, but who knows how difficult 'graduation' is and if that even means much of anything. ]

I do... they've been there for me throughout all of this and I definitely couldn't have done it without them.

[ finishes off his tea, which had definitely become lukewarm. ]

[puzzlekeeper]

I'm glad. Genuinely.

[ He glances into his mug again, fingers tapping idly at the side of it. ]

I don't know all of them well, but the ones I do... they're very special to me. I trust them. If there's any team I could have hoped you'd be on - aside from Heart Soldier, of course - it's theirs.

[puzzlers]

Me too. It would have been nice to be on the same team, but having a different assortment of abilities might help in the long run. [ though, that's not something he'd like to think about right now. ]

And it's not like I can't come visit and visa versa.

[puzzlekeeper]

That's true. Hopefully your teammates don't get sick of seeing my face all the time.

[puzzlers]

I don't think you'll have to worry about that.

King, thank you, for this and... everything else, really. I'm very lucky to have somebody like you in my life.