Collection Title: In Any World||Title: Poke
Romance: Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel
Word Count: 5,000||Collection Count: 4/5
Genre: Romance||Rated: G
Challenges: Diversity Writing Challenge, J21, one-shot collection where the oneshots are not in 100% agreement with each other (can't exist in the same canon); One Pairing Boot Camp, #1, daydream; Another AU Challenge; Advent 2016, day #9, Another AU Challenge; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #27, 5,000
Notes: This takes place in an AU. Each fic of this collection will take place in a different AU. Also, I use 'they/them' pronouns for Yubel. And yes, I did a classical high school AU for them.
Summary: Juudai doesn't like getting poked, but the new kid in class hasn't heard the news: and wouldn't care if they did. A bargain can keep Juudai from his nap being interrupted, but it is going to lead to one he didn't expect.

Juudai flopped down in his chair, letting his book-bag slump over next to him, and closed his eyes, ready for his mid-morning nap already. He could almost feel all the eyes on him in various forms of disapproval, but he paid them no attention. He never did. It wasn't his fault that they couldn't understand the benefits of more than a paltry eight hours of sleep.

Technically he knew he should probably pay attention in class, but he made good enough grades not to really try to keep his eyes open that much more. It might've been different if he'd had a lower grade average, but he didn't and so it wasn't.

He could hear the teacher going on about something; a new student, he thought it was, but that didn't get his interest enough to try to wake up. He could meet whoever it was later, if they wanted to meet him. And they usually did, at one point or another.

It took Juudai a bit of effort not to drift right off once the teacher started the day's lecture. When he did keep his eyes open, he could see his friends scattered around the room, most of them making a point to pay more attention than he was. Manjoume in particular took notes, being a little obvious about it. But Manjoume was like that anyway.

Most of the others weren't as insistent on proving they were better students than Juudai. Misawa didn't need to prove it; they a ll knew that when it came to strict desk work, he was at the top anyway. Shou also stared avidly at the teacher, wanting to soak in every little bit of information that he could.

A flash of blue caught his eye from his left and he glanced that way during a break in the lecture. No one wearing blue was on that side, he thought. At least not that he remembered.

But there was someone there now, sitting ramrod straight and with every bit of attention focused on the teacher, to the point it looked as if they were afraid if they blinked they would miss something that could save the world.

He rubbed his eyes, stretched, and leaned over to poke the newcomer in the arm. "Hey," he murmured. "Who're you?"

The new arrival gave him a look, cool and distant. Juudai didn't think anyone had ever looked at him like that in his entire life.

To make it worse, they didn't even answer him, just waved him into silence and took more notes once the teacher started speaking again.

Juudai tried to process this and wasn't having a lot of luck doing it. Most people answered a simple question, even in the middle of class. It wasn't like he'd asked for the guy's life story!

Guy. Or girl? Juudai took another look, and realized that he had no idea. Whoever it was, they appeared perfectly balanced between the options.

Well. That was gonna be interesting.

He shrugged his shoulders to himself and settled back in to try to pick up his napping. He'd been having a fascinating dream involving flying with a dragon and he wanted to get back to it as soon as he could.

He hadn't managed to get all the way to sleep – not that he ever really drifted off that much – before a sharp finger poked him in the side. He looked around; the only ones who could've done that were Shou and the new person, and Shou was on the wrong side. He stared over at the stranger, who hadn't taken their attention off of the teacher as far as he could tell.

"Hey," he hissed. "Did you poke me?"

The stranger didn't even look at him. Juudai grumped, settled himself back, and wondered if he should bother paying attention. He couldn't even recall which class this was supposed to be, so it probably didn't matter. School bored him, mostly because it just seemed to go over things he either already knew, wasn't interested in, or suspected he'd never need to know in the future anyway.

He let his eyes slide closed and managed a whole two minutes of blissful peace before the poke came again, this time higher on his side. It was almost close enough to tickling territory and there weren't many things Juudai hated as much as he hated being tickled.

This time he grabbed for the intruding finger, but it slid away and once again when he turned toward the stranger, they gave every impression of not having done anything at all.

"If you're doing that, stop," he snapped, voice rising a bit too high. The teacher turned toward him, brows furrowed.

"Excuse me, Juudai-kun?"

Juudai flashed one of his brightest smiles and waved one hand in his best dismissive fashion. "Nothing at all. Just trying to get to know the new kid...um...um..." He wished he'd been awake enough to catch their name. That might've helped.

His teacher – all of them in fact – knew him more than well enough to figure out the problem, unfortunately. Chronos-sensei shook his head.

"Leave Yubel-kun alone, Juudai-kun. Class is almost over anyway. You can 'get to know' them later. If that's really what you had in mind."

There were people who would've gotten angry at the titter of laughter that spilled through the room at that. Juudai just grinned again, taking heart that he'd somehow managed to doze through most of the class and gotten away with it yet again.

But now at least he did know the other's name. He shot a quick look over toward them. Like everyone else they wore a school uniform, theirs in red, just like Juudai's. He could see well-toned muscles and a faintly amused quirk to their lips that made him wonder what they sound so funny.

Juudai determined that he'd stay awake for the rest of the class, just to make sure this Yubel person didn't try to poke him again. Clearly they would do it if he remained properly asleep, like any sensible person would be, so if he were awake, it wouldn't happen.

Juudai loved logic, when it worked in his favor.

Even knowing that this class was almost over didn't help, though. His eyes just kept wanting to fall together and there wasn't much he could do about it. He rested his head on his hand and let his mind wander aimlessly wherever it wanted to go.

Another poke practically brought him to his feet, and the rest of the class simply broke down into laughter as he stared over at Yubel. And still they made no indication of having done anything!

"Juudai-kun. Sit down. It's not time to go yet." Chronos-sensei bit the words off, slamming his book down on his desk at the same time.

Juudai sank back down; it wasn't any use to try to say that the new kid kept poking him when he couldn't even be sure of it himself. But there wasn't anyone else that it could be, since no one else was close enough on that side.

This time he kept his head tilted so if Yubel made a move toward him, he'd know about it. And if he got poked again, then he'd know that they weren't the one doing it.

So if I don't get poked, they did. Again, flawless logic. Juudai couldn't have been more proud of himself.

Chronos-sensei cleared his throat. "Juudai-kun, if you'd be so kind as to answer the question."

Juudai jerked his head around, blinking. Teachers very rarely asked him questions at all, knowing his tendency to have his eyes closed if not actually sleep. Chronos-sensei would do it on occasion, but why did he have to do it now?

"Uh..." He fidgeted, trying to think if he'd heard the question at all. Chronos waved his hand toward the board and Juudai glanced that way. Oh, right. At least this was something that he knew.

"He always does that," he heard someone muttering once he'd answered the question and sank back down into his sleep. "Sleeps through the class and still gets the answers right."

Juudai ignored it; it wasn't the first and it wouldn't be the last time someone complained about his habits. He hadn't been back in his seat for more than a handful of moments before that infuriating poke came again.

This time he did his best to ignore it, staring down at his book open in front of him as if it were the most fascinating item in all the universe. Again he found himself poked and he jerked some, not as much as before.

If I ignore them, they'll go away. He hoped. Even if they didn't, then class would end and he could actually talk to Yubel and find out about it.

Juudai tensed for a third poke but it didn't happen. Just as he began to turn his head to see what, if anything, his new classmate was up to, Chronos-sensei brought the class to an end with the usual assigning of homework. That had never been Juudai's favorite part of the day and he seldom bothered to remember to note it down anyway. He could always ask Shou or Asuka or Manjoume or Misawa what it was.

"Please behave yourselves, children," Chronos-sensei asked, in that familiar tone that said he knew them all too well and that no such thing would happen. He gathered up his books and headed out, leaving them to their own devices for the brief break until their next teacher arrived.

Juudai didn't even wait until he was out of the door before he whipped around to stare at Yubel.

"Why do you keep poking me?" He got right down to the point. The sooner he cleared this up, the better!

Yubel lounged back in their chair, turning a mildly annoyed look towards him. "Do you always sleep in class?"

"What if I do? Class is boring." Juudai pointed out. "Now, were you poking me or not?"

"What if I was? You're lazy," Yubel retorted.

"Don't waste your time," Manjoume said, peering over toward them. "That's just what the idiot does. If he didn't actually pass his classes, they'd probably throw him out of here."

"Wouldn't bother me if they did," Juudai said with a shrug. "So, would you stop the poking?"

Yubel gave him another cool look. "What do I get if I do?"

Juudai could wrap his mind about a lot of things. This wasn't one of them.

Yubel leaned forward now when he failed to reply. "You do understand what I said, right?" A wicked little smile played over Yubel's lips. "You might enjoy sleeping but I enjoy making you jump out of it. So one of us is going to get very bored and I don't want it to be me. What do I get?"

Juudai shook his head. "What do you want? That's not poking me, anyway."

Now Yubel leaned back, toying with a pen. "I haven't decided yet." They tapped the pen on the desk for a heartbeat or two. "All right, I have now. You've lived in town a while, right?" That got a nod. "Well, my family just moved here. You're going to show me around the whole town, every day, whenever I want, until I decide that I've had enough. Any day you don't show me something is a day where I poke you as much as I want. Got it?"

Juudai had a feeling he was being outmaneuvered. But what harm could it do to just show someone around? Besides, if they got to know each other better, then maybe Yubel wouldn't want to poke him anymore at all.

Again, logic.

"All right, you've got yourself a deal." Juudai held his hand out and Yubel took it. He could feel a few calluses and the handshake was strong and firm.

They had no more time for talk right then, since the next teacher entered. Juudai wasn't the only person who dozed off when Satou-sensei started his lecture. Juudai kept wanting to find a way to ditch class, but nothing he came up with worked.

But now he had a fresh new brain to pick for ideas. He grinned to himself; maybe this escorting Yubel around would have some non-poking benefits as well! He could hardly wait to find out.

"So here we have the school," Juudai said, gesturing around the two of them. Yubel rolled their eyes.

"I noticed that already. Show me something that I don't know."

"What don't you know?"

That got a shrug. "I don't know. If I knew it, then I wouldn't need you to tell me it, would I?"

Juudai grinned quickly at that. "You know, I think I like how you think."

"The horror." Yubel deadpanned. "The laziest person I've ever met in my life likes how I think. Is it because you don't want to think on your own?"

He waved one hand in front of himself. "I think on my own. It just wears me out."

"If that's why you sleep all the time, then you must do a lot of thinking before you get to class." Yubel followed him along as he wandered down the street, not really heading in any given direction other than a vague one of 'home'. He could show Yubel around more once he knew what they really wanted to see.

"Sort of. Like I said, class is boring. Even when it's not Satou-sensei." He scrunched his face up at that. "Anyway, I've only got another year to go and then I'm out of there for good." Words failed to express how much he looked forward to that.

Yubel gave him an arch look. "Not going to bother with college?"

"Are you kidding?" Juudai shook his head until he wondered if it might fall off. "Don't need it. I plan on hitting the road and traveling the world. A lot more interesting than sitting in a classroom all the time."

Yubel made a sort of noise that he didn't recognize. He also didn't look their way very much, switching around so he walked backwards, cradling his head in his arms.

"So what about you? College for you?" Juudai wanted to know.

"I haven't made up my mind yet," Yubel admitted. "My brothers want to go."

"You have brothers?"

Yubel cocked an eyebrow toward him, then reached out and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer. Juudai sputtered in confusion, until Yubel swung him around so he could see how close he'd come to stumbling off the sidewalk and quite probably into the path of an oncoming car.

"Yes, I have brothers," Yubel answered as if that hadn't even happened. "Johan and Rune. You'll meet them later."

"I will?" Juudai swung around to stare at Yubel again. From the first moment they'd begun to exchange words, Yubel took to telling him what to do and he took to doing what Yubel said with very little problem. It didn't feel wrong by any means.

The way it felt right was almost scary, in fact. But Juudai thought he kinda liked being scared, at least like this.

"What, did you think any family I had would not want to meet the guy who is going to show me around town?" Yubel laughed, a rippling sound that Juudai wanted to hear more of. "This weekend good for you?"

"Why can't I meet them at school?" They would go to school, wouldn't they? Or were they too young?

"Because you wouldn't believe them if you saw them otherwise. Trust me."

Oddly enough, he did.

They were twins.

No, it wasn't that simple. It couldn't ever be that simple. Not with Juudai's life. But he was okay with that, really. And this wasn't really a problem. It just wasn't what he'd expected.

Twins he could've handled and been fine with. He'd never met a pair before, though he'd heard of a few here and there.

But what he had in front of him now were triplets.

"Triplets?" He repeated the word as he stared at the three of them. They weren't all identical, not to the point he felt he needed an aspirin, but if he hadn't known going on that he would be seeing multiple people, he might have.

Even worse, if he'd met them separately, he would've thought they were all the same person, if they did one of those things he'd seen on TV and wore the same clothes and all reacted to one name.

He had a feeling Yubel wouldn't take that very well.

"That's what we are," Johan said, lounging back on a comfortable couch and rubbing the ears of a very adorable kitten perching on his stomach. "The Andersen triplets, they call us." His eyes twinkled with mischief. "They say Yubel's the good looking one but I'm not so sure I believe that."

Yubel rolled their eyes, taking a seat of their own and gesturing for Juudai to do likewise. "Well, this is Juudai. We're in the same class. We've got a deal."

"You and your deals," Rune said, his voice quiet and subdued but with a hint of amusement as he looked at his siblings. "What is it this time?"

"Yubel doesn't poke me and I show them around town. I guess I could show you guys too?" Juudai offered. Yubel smacked his knee without even getting up.

"No. Our bargain is just you and me. They can find their own guides." Yubel gave him a very annoyed look. Juudai had a feeling that they didn't do 'sharing' all that well.

But that was fine with him. Neither did he, really.

"Actually, I already have," Johan spoke up. He flicked his phone out of his pocket and worked through it until he came up with a picture. "What do you think?"

Rune, Yubel, and Juudai all looked over to see. "That's Edo Phoenix," Juudai said. "I know him."

"What's he like?" Yubel wanted to know, eyes narrowing for a moment. Juudai guessed they were the oldest, always looking out for their siblings. Or just nosy.

"Not too bad. He and Shou's brother Ryou kind of had a thing going for a while, mostly just snarking at each other. They're really good at that. But I think they broke it off when Ryou got into college."

Johan's eyes glimmered with interest. "Marufuji Ryou? I've heard about him." His gaze dropped back to his phone and the picture of Edo. "I think this is going to be fun."

Yubel swatted him lightly on the ear. "We're going to meet him before you do anything that you shouldn't do."

"I've done more things I shouldn't do than I can actually count, Yubel," Johan retorted. "And so have you."

That got even more of Juudai's interest as Yubel snorted. "Before you get started here, then."

"Do I want to know what you three have been up to?" Juudai wanted to know. It was a trick question: he really did. He wanted to know everything. The more he knew about them, the more he'd know about Yubel, and despite his lack of dating experience, he could figure out that hanging around Yubel was going to be something he'd enjoy. So that also meant getting to know Yubel's family and what they were all like.

Plus, just the few words he'd heard so far sounded like a really good story and there wasn't a lot that Juudai liked more than a really good story.

Yubel leaned back against the chair and toyed with a bit of hair. "I think what you really want to ask is how much we want to tell you, and when." A smile tilted those lips upward. "And what price I'm going to ask you for it."

"You're a mercenary, aren't you?" Juudai teased. "Always wanting to get paid for something that you do."

Yubel shrugged. "If you don't give something to get something, then you don't value it as much." They glanced at their brothers. "What do you think? What should he have to do for one story of what we've done?"

That sounded a little more ominous than Juudai thought it would, but the mutual grins made it seem worthwhile at the same time.

"He can help wash dishes," Rune suggested. "One story for one chore."

Yubel and Johan exchanged quick looks before they both looked back at Juudai.

"That sounds right," Johan agreed. "If you want more, then you help us with more things."

"When did I start getting recruited to help with household work?" Juudai pouted. He could manage most chores, but that hadn't been something he expected.

"Rune said it. One story for one chore. Otherwise, you don't get to find out anything." Yubel leaned forward and Juudai found himself caught by the sparkle in their eyes. "And we can keep secrets very well."

The more Juudai heard about all of this, the more that he wanted to hear, and the more that he wanted to know. He shivered a little in anticipation.

"All right. Payment in advance, I bet?" That would be what Yubel wanted. He knew it.

Yubel smiled that smile that was starting to really get to him in all the ways that he liked best. He'd never met anyone with a smile like that before.

"You're learning."

Wash dishes he did. Sweep floors he did, and vacuum, and help them unpack, which they hadn't completely gotten to yet. And for every chore, he earned a story about what they'd been up to before coming here.

He learned they were all about his age, but had asked to go into different classrooms so no one would stare at all three at the same time and start asking annoying questions. They consciously chose to dress differently, so it wasn't as likely people would think they were one person.

And they didn't have parents. They'd never had parents.

"So where did you come from if you don't have parents? How do you know you're triplets?" He gave them a very curious look. "Are you triplets or are you just fooling me?" Even after knowing Yubel for half a day, he wouldn't have put that past them at all.

Yubel put away the dishes they'd dried. "Last question first. Yes. Next question, blood tests. First, hell if we know. Orphanage." They shrugged. "We have someone who sends us regular checks and is kind of a guardian, I guess. That's it."

Juudai suspected that wasn't it. But even as more questions started to claw their way out of his throat, Yubel turned to look at him head-on and every one vanished.

"I think it's time you went home, Juudai. It's getting late and we have school tomorrow."

"School?" Juudai blinked, trying to get his head wrapped around that concept when he wanted to spend so much more time with this fascinating new family. "Oh, right." Yeah, school was a thing. A thing that he now shared with Yubel.

Who might poke him if he didn't do what their bargain said, and could probably do worse. Most of their stories had been fairly simple and pleasant, but once or twice Johan or Rune led into something and Yubel deftly changed the subject before it got too far. Juudai wasn't sure of what he'd have to do in order to get that information.

Darned if he wasn't curious as hell, though.

Day by day and moment by moment, Yubel and Juudai worked themselves into each other's lives. Rune and Johan were there too, and while Juudai could pick up friends as easily as picking apples off a tree, he had never clicked with someone the way that he did these three.

There were occasional moments of awkwardness, however, such as when he and Yubel came in from an early movie to find the lights off in the Andersen living room, but some very interesting noises that turned out to be Johan and Edo. Neither one of them so much as looked up as Juudai and Yubel passed them by.

But the next day it was all Johan could do to look either of them in the face.

Juudai didn't think that Rune had anyone that he really hung out with, at least not like he and Yubel did, or Johan and Edo. But he didn't seem bothered by that fact, either.

What Juudai did know was that the more time he spent around Yubel, the more that he wanted to spend around them, and the more he wanted to do things with Yubel that weren't just hold hands in a movie theater – which was pretty fun, really – or have dinner together at one of the fast food places around town – which was also fun until he learned they didn't share the same tastes in soda.

What tipped things over turned out to be Juudai's own big mouth. Anyone who knew him – including the triplets by this point – wouldn't have been surprised at all.

"A report." Juudai groaned, tossing the history book down and throwing one arm over his forehead dramatically. "I hate reports."

"I know. You've said so a lot," Yubel replied, picking the book up and putting it back in front of Juudai. "And we are both going to work on this one."

One thing he'd noticed very fast about Yubel was that they didn't really ask things of him. They bargained or they flat out told Juudai what he would do and he always found himself doing it. Most of the time because he remembered those poking fingers of doom and he really didn't want that to start happening again.

So now he knew they'd work on the report and it probably wouldn't be as bad as he made it out. At least he'd have a little more fun with it than he would if he struggled against it without them.

"What's the price this time?" Juudai wondered, not lifting his arm off his forehead. Fubuki-san called him a born dramatist and Juudai milked it for all he was worth.

When Yubel didn't answer right away, he looked over to see what Yubel was up to. The other lounged in their chair, giving him a very thoughtful look, one that sent a shiver all through him.

"Well?"

"What would you pay?" Yubel asked, perhaps a bit more curiously than Juudai would've liked. "We don't need help with the house anymore. I know my way around town now." They waved a hand toward Juudai. "So what can you do for it?"

For a moment, the world dropped out from underneath Juudai. It dawned on him that he didn't want to make a bargain, not like this. He wanted to do this with Yubel because he liked spending time with Yubel, even if it involved schoolwork. He would prefer that it not be, so he had time to focus on Yubel, but if that was what it took, he'd do it.

"Kiss me," he said, and only heard the words after they'd left his mouth in the first place. Well, now that they were out there, he wasn't going to argue about it.

Yubel raised their head to look at him, one eyebrow quirking upward. "Kiss you?"

"Sure." Juudai decided just to roll with it. "I mean, I'd really like it, and I don't think I'd be that bad at it." He refused to show for a second how nervous he was that Yubel might turn down the idea. That Yubel didn't want to kiss him anywhere near as much as he wanted to kiss Yubel.

Then Yubel reached out, grabbed hold of him, and pulled him close, lips pressing against his, hot and hard and passionate in a way that swept every idea he'd ever had about passion out of his head, replaced with a depth that he could only call Yubel.

He thought someone walked by. Maybe two someones. He thought he heard voices, but they didn't say anything he wanted to hear and they weren't Yubel so Juudai didn't pay them any mind at all.

When he could breathe and think again, he found himself staring into Yubel's eyes. Their lips curved a bit.

"I suppose that's an acceptable offer," Yubel said at last. Juudai nodded, not fully ready to trust his voice. "But I think you should know I don't exactly take kisses from just anyone."

"You can have all you want from me," Juudai murmured. He didn't move closer, but he could feel Yubel's heat regardless, a blazing warmth, as if he sat next to a fire, or maybe a dragon, or even a demon.

Yubel could be all of those or any of those and he didn't care, so long as they remained near each other.

Their fingers wove around his and he tightened their grip together.

"No one else but you," Juudai said, not looking away from the most magnificent person he'd ever known in his life. "I'm always going to love just you, Yubel."

That got a smile, one rich and warm and passionate. "Never would've ever wanted anyone but you anyway."

He knew that he was young and he should probably wait until he got into college or out into the world. He didn't care. He wanted Yubel. He couldn't think of being with anyone who wasn't Yubel. Nor did he want to.

He pulled Yubel closer and they kissed again, better and longer this time. All he wanted was to stay where he was.

But history reports called, as did food to be made and family members to explain this to.

But in the end he knew he'd be back with Yubel anyway and that made it all worth it.

He never did like being poked by Yubel, though. Yubel did find other things to do with their hands and Juudai, that both of them enjoyed to the hilt.

As they always would, no matter what world they were in.

The End

Note: Four down, one to go. The YGOTP month ran out before I finished this set, but I've got one more to do and I'm going to do it. Which will be difficult as we're coming up into the f/f week and I fully intend to take part in that, but let's see if I can manage it.

A high school AU. I mostly like how it came out. There are, of course, things I didn't get to, but aside from that, I think it worked out well. What do you think? And what do you think my last AU will be?