365 Days of Starshipping (Part 2)

Shots Served

9/25/19

When Yusei woke up again, he curled up a little to soak up some more warmth from the sheets before finally opening his eyes and sitting up from the bed so he could check the time on his phone - just past midnight, which explained why it was still so dark in the room. It didn't explain why Judai hadn't come to bed yet, though, which was odd because he usually tried not to stay up past eleven or so for consistency's sake.

Well, he was wide awake now anyways, so he might as well take a peek downstairs to see what was up. Getting closer to the door revealed that something was going on in the living room from the noises that were filtering through it, so he didn't bother to open it quietly as he squinted and adjusted to the difference in light before looking down from the landing and staring bewilderedly at the scene.

Jack and... Haou, apparently, were having a drink-off while Crow sat off to the side with a can of soda. Judai and Yubel had decided to watch in spirit form as well, standing near Crow while watching with amused looks, though Judai looked a bit despondent when Haou took another shot of whatever kind of alcohol it was.

Most importantly though, Jack looked drunk as hell and Haou, despite looking about half as bad, was still clearly drunk from how unreserved he was acting. It was the main reason Yusei'd had to pause for a moment and double-check that it was actually Haou, because Haou wasn't the type of person to cheer loudly and slam a shot glass down on the table in victory.

"Oh, you're up!" Judai greeted, hearing him come down the stairs quickly in curiosity, "You look a lot better than earlier."

"I feel a lot better, too," Yusei replied, giving him a smile before noticing that Crow was giving him an odd look, "Judai's here."

"Ah, got it," Crow nodded, taking another sip of his soda and waving at the space next to him, "Didn't realize you were there, though I guess it makes sense."

"Tell him it's okay, he couldn't have known," Judai stated, waiting for Yusei to pass it along before continuing, "Anyway, I'm glad you do. Meanwhile, me on the other hand? I'm totally fucked in the morning, while Jack's just going to be absolutely dead to the world."

"Once again, I'm very glad that just because we share a soul it doesn't mean that I have to feel what you do," Yubel snickered, patting him on the back roughly, "Haou's only drinking that much because he knows he's not the one who'll have to deal with the after-effects."

Yusei raised an eyebrow, noting that there was only a single open bottle of alcohol and asking, "Have they really drank that much?"

"Oh right, you haven't seen the different ones yet... That's stuff from the spirit world, it's potent as hell because it's got magic imbued in it," Judai explained, wincing again as Haou took yet another shot, smirking challengingly across the coffee table at Jack, "It's also got the worst hangovers associated with it, that kind especially because of the type of magic used."

"Haou took over for a bit initially so he could try the food, but then Jack came back and one thing led to another, resulting in a match to see who could hold their liquor better," Yubel tacked on for context, "Of course, Haou wasn't going to do it with anything he deems to be shitty alcohol, so he portal-ed to the castle just to fetch some duel monster alcohol. It's definitely superior to anything here, but also Jack would have zero tolerance for it."

It was at this moment that Haou finally took notice of Yusei joining the crowd, but that was mainly due to the fact that Jack looked to be on the verge of passing out and had buried his head into his arms on the table.

"Yusei, welcome. Here, try this, it's good," Haou said, waving him over with an intent stare that told him he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

"I don't drink though, I hate the taste of alcohol," Yusei admitted as he walked over slowly, warily watching as Haou paused after pouring a shot for him.

Eventually Haou smirked widely, pushing the shot towards him and stating, "A man after my own heart, I hate that shit too. This stuff though? Tastes like liquid candy, try it."

"By that, he means the flavor changes depending on the person, that's what the magic does and why this particular one is so bad hangover-wise," Judai elaborated, popping up behind him with a sigh, "It's some really potent magic, but it is good. You should be fine if you drink just that, but anymore and you're gonna feel like complete shit later."

"Just don't fall into the trap of wanting more, because it specifically targets flavors that are either favorites or associated with favorite memories," Yubel warned, explaining the magic in a little more detail.

With all that in mind Yusei shrugged, figuring that if they both were essentially saying it was fine then it was fine, and knocked back the shot quickly.

Shit, that is good, Yusei thought, licking his lips a little as he savoured the taste - it was a strange mix of that spicy hot chocolate Judai had made for him that one time, cotton candy, and coffee, but for whatever reason it worked (probably because it was magic and not an actual combination of them) and if it hadn't been for the warnings he'd been given, he'd definitely have asked for another. As it was though he could already feel the effects of the alcohol setting in, feeling a little lighter and a good kind of fuzzy as it really started to hit him.

"That stuff is good," Yusei agreed after a few seconds of zoning out to focus on it, sliding the shot glass back onto the table as he relaxed a bit, "Definitely strong, though."

"Damn it, y'know what? Let me try one, I'm curious now," Crow cut in, leaving his soda behind and coming to join them at the table, Haou easily agreeing and starting to pour another shot, "If even Yusei likes it then I have to try it."

Needless to say, Crow ended up loving it, and then he was right next to Jack about thirty minutes later because he couldn't resist wanting more. Yusei ended up taking a couple pictures of the scene for later, with Judai laughing right next to him and listing off all the different ways they could start accumulating more fodder against them as revenge for all the pictures the two had taken of them.

When Haou finally swapped back with Judai, though, it was even funnier because the second Judai took over he swayed, leaning over the table with a dazed look on his face, "Whew, okay, I am- I feel very drunk right now."

Yusei ended up having to help him stand up, leaving the other two behind because at this point they had both fallen asleep at the table and there was no way they were waking up any time soon. Judai simply wouldn't sleep though, laughing bubbly as he practically crawled on and clung to him instead once he'd plopped them both on their bed, so Yusei just gave up on trying to force it and talked with him instead, hoping to lull him to sleep with repeated light strokes through his hair and the occasional kiss, in which Yusei could taste the alcohol on Judai's lips and tongue.

Which was very evil, because those occasional kisses were quick to melt into one big blur of feels-good, addicting make-out sessions - Yusei was convinced it only served to make him a little more drunk, though the thought faded away almost immediately at the eager brush of Judai's tongue against his, the slight tilt of the head that made their lips move against each other just right, and the light tug at his hair to push him closer.