31_days | [1 Nov '06] [Yu-Gi-Oh!] "Easy Desperation", Mai/Valon

Title: Easy Desperation
Day/Theme: 1 Nov 2006 - the heart asks pleasure first
Series: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters
Pairing: Mai/Valon
Rating: PG
Summary: One of the more peaceful moments in Mai's association with the Orichalcos gang.
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is copyright property of its owners and creator Kazuki Takahashi respectively. The following story was written for non-profit fun, and is in no way an intended infringement on the above-stated copyrights.

Technically, Valon was on the little shopping trip to check that Mai Valentine had acclimatised to her newfound power. It was her first venture into the world after gaining the power of the Orichalcos, and the danger was that she'd be overwhelmed by power and temptation and do something like taking random duellists' souls in public.

"So? Are you reporting that I'm about to go nuts?" Mai asked.

Technically, Valon wasn't supposed to tell her about his orders.

"Yeah. You're a raging loon, I can tell," Valon said. He decided that technicalities didn't stand much of a chance in the face of biology - did Dartz not notice what kind of a woman Mai was when he decided that Valon should be the one to keep tabs on her? Anyway, there was no harm in telling her. She was obviously doing fine; she was enough in control of herself that she'd managed to get the guy behind the counter of the biker gear shop to offer her three discounts.

"I think I should get some knuckle dusters to complete the violent psycho look." She extended her hand and modelled the brass knuckles like rings. "What do you say?"

"I'm not paying. Go wild. Even wilder, I mean," he added.

She smiled at him before she turned to collect the gear she'd chosen, though the joke really didn't deserve it. But over the weeks that he'd been showing her the ropes at Paradias, Valon had learned that she appreciated honesty. And her smile was a really good incentive for him to use the knowledge.

He waited at the door as Mai paid with her brand new Paradias credit card, and decided that it really didn't matter that he'd told her. Mai was doing well, and she wasn't going to tell Dartz on him. He looked out across the busy shopping centre floor and eyed the stores across the way. There were a couple of restaurants at the other end of the floor. He probably thought about that fact a little too hard.

"Let's go," Mai said, coming out the door.

"Let me help you carry that," he said as they walked off.

"I got it."

Valon eyed the restaurants. "Please, please, please," said something in his head.

"So, what do you wanna do now?" Valon asked out loud. "We can relax a little, no need to just stick to business. Maybe we can have some lunch."

"I remember the boss specifying that we shouldn't waste time. Something along the lines of 'Get your supplies, if you must, and get back'," Mai replied, but she was smiling.

"That's just because he's antsy about us attracting unnecessary attention - he tends to get careful right before he makes a big move." And there was a pretty damn big move coming up soon: Mai's first Orichalcos duel, against no less than the creator of Duel Monsters. "There won't be any problems. It's not as if we're going to knock over the local 7-Eleven."

Mai said nothing, looking down at him with a particular, smug smile. He'd learned enough about her to see that she could tell what he was angling for, and she liked playing with him about it; she liked that he knew it and played along anyway. A man could get a real dent in his ego from it, but hell, he probably had enough to spare.

("Please.")

"A movie," Valon suggested, and jerked his thumb at the escalator. "The cinema's one floor up. C'mon. We sit in the dark for an hour. What could we possibly get up to?"

Mai gave him a sardonic look. "When you put it that way, it sounds downright exciting."

Valon realised that he'd given her what could be considered the most clumsy, teenaged come-on in history. So he wiggled his eyebrows and said, "How about it? Two seats in the back row are waiting for us, yeah?"

Mai laughed, short and sharp - but it looked like she'd decided to take it as a joke, as she had a trace of smile left when she shook her head. "We've got things to do."

"Still say an hour or so of fun couldn't hurt," Valon said, walking faster as she lengthened her strides. "But I s'pose we could do with more biking practise, since you're going to be spending quite a bit of time with your new toy soon."

Mai groaned. "I wish I could convince you people that I have a perfectly serviceable car."

"I think the boss likes the bikes as an intimidation tactic. Ploughing into a duel on a motorbike gives a certain impression, y'know?"

"I'm not fond of the kind of strategy that's likely to put me in traction."

Valon considered saying something about the top grade medical staff at Paradias, but decided that it wasn't the kind of reassurance Mai would appreciate. "Don't worry. We'll get you used to the bike in no time."

Mai's eyes narrowed briefly. "It's not like 'we' really need to do that," she said. "Just because you brought me into the organisation, it doesn't mean you have to baby-sit me."

Valon noted the use of "the organisation" with satisfaction - Mai was on the ball, already careful not to drop names that could link them to Dartz. "'Course not. I'm only here because I want to be," he said. "So, where to next?"

He scanned the area for a map of the stores. Mai didn't reply, and he looked back at her. "Got anything in mind--oh, sh-"

"What?" Mai snapped.

Valon had an idea that if he said, 'you look like you're about to cry a river', he'd get punched. "I asked where you wanna go," Valon said.

Mai looked blankly ahead, then put a finger to her chin. The shocked, crumpled-face teary look faded, and her face got its normal, structured look again: everything in control, not a hair out of place. "I could do with a new cell phone. Just in case the company communication tech konks out."

"Never does. That stuff is really well built," Valon said.

"This job requires a lot of travelling, right? I'm not getting stranded in the middle of nowhere because my bike and my com-unit both run out of gas."

"All right. I saw a map on that pillar over there, let's find the cell phone shop."

Mai's bulky bag thumped into a lot of the Saturday morning crowd as they made their way to the pillar. Valon took a nagging notice of the way none of the men she bumped seemed to mind, once they saw who'd done the bumping.

Strangely, Mai didn't notice the appreciative looks, though it was the sort of thing she liked to play up to. Just as well. She might notice the way he reacted to the guys as well, and either tease him senseless or get angry, since it wasn't like he had a right to get twitchy about anyone staring at her.

They reached the map, and Mai studied it as Valon glared over his shoulder at some idiot. "Looks like it's one floor up," she said. Valon looked back in time to see her giving him a smile he'd have to call brilliant, if asked. "Same floor as the movies."

("Please, please, please.")

One of these days, Valon thought, he was going to embarrass himself out loud. For now he cocked his head and grinned back. "Looks like it."

"Let's go," Mai said, tossing her hair as she turned around, back to playing with her full deck, in a manner of speaking.

Valon lengthened his strides to match her pace. Weird to think that he could throw Mai off that much just by saying he liked walking around with her; the stuff with her former friends must have really screwed her over. It seemed ridiculous when he looked at her now: Her chin was up, and now she was taking note of the men who smiled at her, and sometimes smiling back as she marched to the escalator. It didn't look like there was anything that could stop her.

It wasn't so bad, maybe, if Mai thought he was kind of desperate. Maybe it was the way she needed it right now. Maybe it was the way to get her. And it wasn't like he'd have to fake it.