[fic] Just Don't Look Back, Chapter 20 - Yugioh, YamixYugi, angst/romance, R, AU
Title: Just Don't Look Back
Chapter: 20
Author: Chey (duelist_gurl163)
Rating: R
Genre: Angst/romance
Pairing: YamixYugi
Archive: Here
Overall warnings: AU, implied sex, insanity, violence
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Before he met Yugi, Yami spent his days panhandling alone. Yugi put his heart into changing Yami’s life, giving him companionship, a home and his love. But even he can’t save Yami from the control of his past, nor the dark path he is set upon.
Disclaimer: Yugioh continues to not belong to me.
- 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 -
---
“The actual shopping should only take an hour or so. Mom and I should be back at the apartment around three,” Yami said, sitting down to put on his boots. “But she’s extremely picky about furniture placement, so I probably won’t be back here until evening.”
“That’s okay, take your time. Pick out some good furniture,” Yugi replied, standing beside him and studying him covertly. Yami was looking a little better now that he was sleeping again. The nightmares were back, but there had been no more hallucinations for the last week. Yugi tried to look at that as an improvement, but he still couldn’t push away the familiar heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach as he gazed at him.
“We’ll try. I think she asked me to come along mostly to help move things…” Yami trailed off, looking slightly put-out. Yugi managed a laugh, pulling him to his feet.
“Well, have fun anyway. I’ll see you later.”
Yami leaned down to kiss his lips, which Yugi returned, but broke off quickly. Yami looked a little puzzled, but when Yugi said nothing, Yami offered the parting words: “Okay, well…yeah, see you later.”
Receiving no reply, he stepped out the door, waved and closed it gently behind him.
Yugi waited until the door closed before he sighed and turned to make his way down to the Game Shop.
“Hi Grandpa,” he said as he walked in.
“Hello Yugi.” He glanced at the stairs. “Did Yami leave?”
“Yeah.” Yugi leaned against the counter. “It was really nice of you to give him the afternoon off. Especially considering all the time he didn’t work last week.”
“Well, he’s been working overtime to make up for it, and today’s-” He grimaced slightly, lifting one hand almost reflexively before relocating it to his shoulder.
“Grandpa? Are you okay?”
“Yes…I’m fine. Just aching a little. As I was about to say, today’s a big day for him.”
Yugi faltered for a moment, distracted by his grandfather’s somewhat-flushed face. “Oh…yeah…he and his mom are going furniture shopping for the first time since the earthquake.” He paused. “It must feel pretty nice; to finally have an apartment they can afford to furnish themselves, after all that time. I think he was really looking forward to today, despite all his complaints about being dragged along for manual labor. That might be why he slept pretty well last night. Compared to other nights, anyway.”
“How is he doing anyway, with those dreams?” Despite Yugi’s success in keeping him quiet at night, there had been no way to avoid explaining the reason for the blood on the walls.
“I don’t know…the same, I guess.” He didn’t mention that the nightmares seemed to be getting worse in content, based on Yami’s reactions. “I’m just relieved he’s sleeping again. It’s scary, seeing what the nightmares do to him, but it was even worse to see him get so sick. When he was hallucinating…you know people think that’s funny, seeing someone just talking to the air, but it isn’t funny. It’s horrible. The things he was saying and the look on his face…thank God he listened to me and is at least trying to sleep now.”
“Yami respects you; he knows you only want to help.” He paused, then said curiously, “I’ll understand if he’s asked you not to tell anyone, but…I can’t help wondering what all those nightmares are about.”
Yugi felt his heart sink further. “I…I don’t actually know either.”
“You don’t?”
“He won’t tell me.” He lowered his eyes.
“Oh.”
Yugi bit his lip, finally voicing something he’d been trying not to think about since that horrible day last week. “Grandpa, I think I’m losing him.”
“What? Oh, Yugi, no…”
His concerns spilled from him uncontrollably. “He won’t talk to me, he won’t tell me about the nightmares or the hallucinations or even who ‘Shoua’ is. He won’t tell me anything anymore. I don’t know what I did wrong. I tried to be there to pick him up when he fell. I supported him. I let him know he was loved. I held onto him when he was scared. I put my whole heart and soul into being someone he would know it was okay to come to for help, but he won’t come to me. So where did I mess up? I have tried so hard…but in the end I can’t do anything. Why?”
“I’m sure everything you’ve done means the world to him,” his grandfather said gently.
“How am I to know? He won’t talk to me. He even told me once that I was allowed to ask him anything, but now when I ask…he won’t answer.” His eyes stung. “I thought things would get better. He was released from jail; he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. His mom is doing well and his life is back to normal…I thought that meant he’d be happier. Instead…I know it’s dumb, but I haven’t gotten to hug him or cuddle with him or even really spend time with him for weeks. Any time we do spend together feels strained, and…I miss him. I miss his smile.” Yugi could feel his face reddening from making such an emotional admission, but still he rambled on, “It’s been gone for so long, and now it’s like there’s a wall up between us. I feel like I should try to talk to him, but he always shuts me out. I’m constantly afraid something will happen to him. There’s this fear that’s always in my stomach and I’m terrified all the time that something will push him over the edge. That he’ll get sick again or he’ll be so depressed that he’ll do something stupid or that I’ll say the wrong thing and make things worse- this isn’t him, Grandpa, you know? He was never like this. It’s like he’s put on this mask of some person that I barely recognize.”
Sugoroku’s expression was one of sadness. “Yugi…you might be wrong. Maybe he’s finally taken off a mask he’s been wearing all this time and the truth is that what’s underneath isn’t pretty.”
Yugi swallowed. A heavy silence hung in the room. His voice cracked as he said, “Y-You’re right. I thought all he needed was a shoulder to cry on. I thought I could save him. I had this idea in my head that I could fix whatever was wrong with him and I tore down his walls thinking I could handle it and instead…it goes too deep. I wasn’t ready- I wasn’t ready for this.”
“Yugi, you did everything you could. You shouldn’t put yourself down. Sometimes people need help that nobody can give them. That doesn’t mean you did anything wrong.”
Yugi barely seemed to be listening. “I love him. I never thought I’d say that about anyone. It’s real and it’s there and…I think in spite of everything he really loves me. He might be scared and confused and all twisted up, but in his heart I’m positive that he loves me.”
“That’s a good thing,” his grandfather said.
“No, it’s not,” Yugi said, in tears. “It’s not good; it’s terrible, because I’m…starting to wonder if it’s worth it. To walk around, feeling this way all the time…is any love worth that? If he didn’t love me I could walk away and trust he’d be alright, but he does love me, he needs me and I can't deal with all of this. I can’t keep reaching out to him only for him to push me away and leave me standing here feeling helpless and scared and-” He stopped himself from finishing.
His grandfather took in a sharp breath, lowering himself to the stool behind the counter, but he didn’t take his eyes off his grandson. “I can’t give you an answer,” he finally said. “But your health and your happiness should be your first priority. I know that Yami would want you to be happy. It might mean making a tough choice, but if you’re truly not happy, you shouldn’t stay with him. Not if you’re only doing it out of pity or guilt.”
“I know.” Yugi wiped his eyes, even as they stung worse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on like that. I…I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”
“Yugi-”
Yugi looked up, confused at the sudden cut off, only to see his grandfather leaning against the counter, breathing heavily, grasping his left arm.
“Grandpa? …Grandpa?!”
- - -
The ambulance arrived within minutes. Yugi stood back by the stairs, shaking, everything a blur around him. Even after the ambulance left, he couldn’t bring himself to move. Part of him couldn’t believe what was happening. One second everything seemed fine and then the next…
I should have known something was up. Grandpa only has muscle aches in the winter, and it isn’t cold enough outside anymore for him to still have them. I should have called the hospital then but I was too busy babbling…
“I’ve called your father and left a message for him, Yugi.” His mother arrived in the room, carrying her purse and tucking her cell phone into it. “I’ve told him to call us at the hospital. Do you want to call Yami before we leave?”
“I…” Yugi paused, mind reeling. “No…I mean…he and his mother are out anyway, they wouldn’t be there. I’ll call him later.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
He followed obediently to the car, still shell-shocked. She noticed and put one hand on his shoulder gently. “Grandpa will be alright.”
Yugi nodded, trying to believe it.
At the hospital his mother filled out paperwork, leaving Yugi to sit in the waiting room alone. He drew his legs up to his chest, shivering. It wasn’t fair…he was already losing the man he loved to demons that he couldn’t defeat. Now was he about to lose his grandfather to a heart attack?
As the minutes ticked away, he found himself wondering if this was how Yami felt after the earthquake. Not knowing if his loved ones were dead or alive or somewhere in-between…
Yami.
More than anything right now, Yugi wished Yami was there. He would have given anything to be enfolded in Yami’s arms, to hear Yami telling him it would be okay.
But even as he thought about it, he found himself thinking about the recent weeks. Yami, pale and thin and sick, torturing himself in his dreams, suffering from constant unknown anxieties during the day…
Yesterday, when Yami told him about he and his mother's plans to pick out furniture, it was one of the few times he’d seen a spark of real life in Yami’s eyes ever since the attack on Ezui and the first time he’d seen it since he returned from prison. This morning he’d finally seemed like he was doing okay. He was looking forward to something, he was making plans, he was even smiling a little and when he’d kissed him there was real feeling in it. But Yugi had been unable to return it. And now, as he sat here, he thought that he didn’t deserve Yami’s comfort. He had no right to call him for help, to put more stress on him.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as his mother returned, sitting down beside him. “He’s in testing right now to see if surgery will be required, but the doctor says he’s doing all right.”
Yugi nodded.
“It’s getting close to three o’clock, if you’d like to take the phone and try to call Yami.” She held out the cell phone. Yugi took it. “I’m going to go home and pick up some books and music for your grandfather so that he won’t drive the nurses crazy when they get him to his room. Don’t go far, I’ve told the doctors to get you if there’s an emergency.”
“Okay.” He clutched the phone to his chest as he watched her walk away. Then, opening it, he punched in Eve Atemu’s number and listened to it ring, praying he would just get the answering machine.
She picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”
In the background he heard a muffled curse and heard Eve stifle a laugh. “Hi…Eve, it’s me.”
“Yugi?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you alright? You sound odd.”
“I’m fine, I…are you back from shopping?”
“We just came in. Do you want to talk to Yami? He just dropped a chair on his foot; I'm sure he’d be glad to hear your voice.”
Yugi bit his lip. “N-no, it’s okay, don’t. I just…wanted to tell you…that me and my family are going out with some friends and probably won’t be back until late. So that Yami won’t be confused when he comes home and nobody’s there.”
“Of course, I’ll tell him.”
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem, Yugi. Bye now.”
“Bye.” He hung up, closing the phone and closing his eyes as he did.
I can’t tell Yami about what happened yet.
Yami was finally doing alright, even if it was just for one day. So he flipped open the phone again and began calling his friends instead.
- - -
“Who was that on the phone?” Yami asked, dragging the chair after his disastrous attempt at carrying it.
“It was Yugi. He said he and his family were going out with some friends for the day and wouldn’t be back until late, so don’t be surprised if they’re not home.”
“Oh, okay.”
“His voice sounded strange, though,” she remarked.
Yami turned. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. He just sounded strained. I hope he’s not catching that bug you had.”
Yami frowned. She noticed.
“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. He might have just been worried about you feeling bad about being left out,” she tried to reassure him. Yami took a deep breath.
“Yeah, you’re right. That’s probably it.”
But as he turned to go back down to the curb, where the furniture store truck was parked, his mind was no longer on chairs and linens.
- - -
When Yugi’s mother returned, she was carrying a stack of books. She waved the top one at Yugi. “The hospital store had this. A whole book of those Sudoku puzzles your grandfather is so crazy about. This should inspire him to get well faster so that he can get started on them. Has the doctor told you anything new?"
Yugi nodded, trying to look pleased about the book. “He came out about twenty minutes ago to say the testing was almost finished. So he’ll probably be back soon.”
“Okay. Did you talk to Yami?”
“He…wasn’t there. The machine answered, I guess they aren’t back yet. I left a message. I also talked to Jounouchi and Anzu and Honda…sorry about using up the minutes. I just…figured they should know.”
She nodded. “It’s fine.”
“Here’s your phone back.” He handed it back to her and resumed his curled-up position.
Not long after the doctor reappeared and pulled them aside. “The blockage is worse than we expected. It’s not a worst-case situation, but we would prefer not to waste time and would like to do surgery today. If you would like to visit him, now would be the best time and I can explain the procedure in more detail.”
Yugi’s mother nodded and looked over at Yugi, who shook his head. “Go on…tell Grandpa for me that I love him.”
“I will,” she promised. Yugi watched her walk away and knew he could have followed, but he didn’t want to. He was scared enough, he didn’t want to hear any more about blockage and surgery and risks. He didn’t want to see another person he loved lying in bed, weak and broken. He just wanted his grandfather to be okay.
Yami used to be good at soothing his worries. No matter how trivial, Yami had always wanted to hear about them and help. More than ever, Yugi wished he was there to help him now.
But he’d made his choice when he called. So he closed his eyes and tried to convince himself he’d done the right thing.
- - -
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” Yami’s mother implored as Yami hurriedly buckled his boots by the door. “Yugi’s not going to be home anyway.”
“Thanks for the offer Mom, but…I don’t know, I just feel like I need to get back,” he replied distractedly. He’d been acting like that ever since she told him about the phone call.
Disappointed, Eve said, “Okay, well…say hello to Yugi for me.”
“Of course.” Yami hugged her quickly. “Good night.”
He vanished out the door so quickly that he was halfway down the stairs before she could call out good night back to him.
Outside, the sun was dropping low in the sky. He urged himself to a sprint as he hurried toward the Game Shop, only to arrive and find it empty.
Yugi said he and his family were just going out with friends…I shouldn’t be so nervous.
But something inside of Yami was telling him that things weren’t right. Searching the house gave him no clues and finally he found himself sitting down on the couch, staring out the window at the darkening sky.
Yugi had been acting strange all week. He’d been distant, quiet…his hugs were stiff and he never wanted to meet Yami’s eyes. Now this…which shouldn’t be a big deal at all, but it felt wrong. It felt all wrong.
Yugi…where are you?
X - X - X
Notes: Never assume it can't get worse. ^^;
I'm a little unsure how I feel about the first part. I have a tendency to make male characters too emotional, but at the same time, I imagine just about anyone would be losing their grip and rambling if they were in Yugi's position. And Yugi always struck me as someone a little more accepting of his emotions than others.
Chapter: 20
Author: Chey (duelist_gurl163)
Rating: R
Genre: Angst/romance
Pairing: YamixYugi
Archive: Here
Overall warnings: AU, implied sex, insanity, violence
Spoilers: None.
Summary: Before he met Yugi, Yami spent his days panhandling alone. Yugi put his heart into changing Yami’s life, giving him companionship, a home and his love. But even he can’t save Yami from the control of his past, nor the dark path he is set upon.
Disclaimer: Yugioh continues to not belong to me.
- 01 - 02 - 03 - 04 - 05 - 06 - 07 - 08 - 09 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 -
---
“The actual shopping should only take an hour or so. Mom and I should be back at the apartment around three,” Yami said, sitting down to put on his boots. “But she’s extremely picky about furniture placement, so I probably won’t be back here until evening.”
“That’s okay, take your time. Pick out some good furniture,” Yugi replied, standing beside him and studying him covertly. Yami was looking a little better now that he was sleeping again. The nightmares were back, but there had been no more hallucinations for the last week. Yugi tried to look at that as an improvement, but he still couldn’t push away the familiar heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach as he gazed at him.
“We’ll try. I think she asked me to come along mostly to help move things…” Yami trailed off, looking slightly put-out. Yugi managed a laugh, pulling him to his feet.
“Well, have fun anyway. I’ll see you later.”
Yami leaned down to kiss his lips, which Yugi returned, but broke off quickly. Yami looked a little puzzled, but when Yugi said nothing, Yami offered the parting words: “Okay, well…yeah, see you later.”
Receiving no reply, he stepped out the door, waved and closed it gently behind him.
Yugi waited until the door closed before he sighed and turned to make his way down to the Game Shop.
“Hi Grandpa,” he said as he walked in.
“Hello Yugi.” He glanced at the stairs. “Did Yami leave?”
“Yeah.” Yugi leaned against the counter. “It was really nice of you to give him the afternoon off. Especially considering all the time he didn’t work last week.”
“Well, he’s been working overtime to make up for it, and today’s-” He grimaced slightly, lifting one hand almost reflexively before relocating it to his shoulder.
“Grandpa? Are you okay?”
“Yes…I’m fine. Just aching a little. As I was about to say, today’s a big day for him.”
Yugi faltered for a moment, distracted by his grandfather’s somewhat-flushed face. “Oh…yeah…he and his mom are going furniture shopping for the first time since the earthquake.” He paused. “It must feel pretty nice; to finally have an apartment they can afford to furnish themselves, after all that time. I think he was really looking forward to today, despite all his complaints about being dragged along for manual labor. That might be why he slept pretty well last night. Compared to other nights, anyway.”
“How is he doing anyway, with those dreams?” Despite Yugi’s success in keeping him quiet at night, there had been no way to avoid explaining the reason for the blood on the walls.
“I don’t know…the same, I guess.” He didn’t mention that the nightmares seemed to be getting worse in content, based on Yami’s reactions. “I’m just relieved he’s sleeping again. It’s scary, seeing what the nightmares do to him, but it was even worse to see him get so sick. When he was hallucinating…you know people think that’s funny, seeing someone just talking to the air, but it isn’t funny. It’s horrible. The things he was saying and the look on his face…thank God he listened to me and is at least trying to sleep now.”
“Yami respects you; he knows you only want to help.” He paused, then said curiously, “I’ll understand if he’s asked you not to tell anyone, but…I can’t help wondering what all those nightmares are about.”
Yugi felt his heart sink further. “I…I don’t actually know either.”
“You don’t?”
“He won’t tell me.” He lowered his eyes.
“Oh.”
Yugi bit his lip, finally voicing something he’d been trying not to think about since that horrible day last week. “Grandpa, I think I’m losing him.”
“What? Oh, Yugi, no…”
His concerns spilled from him uncontrollably. “He won’t talk to me, he won’t tell me about the nightmares or the hallucinations or even who ‘Shoua’ is. He won’t tell me anything anymore. I don’t know what I did wrong. I tried to be there to pick him up when he fell. I supported him. I let him know he was loved. I held onto him when he was scared. I put my whole heart and soul into being someone he would know it was okay to come to for help, but he won’t come to me. So where did I mess up? I have tried so hard…but in the end I can’t do anything. Why?”
“I’m sure everything you’ve done means the world to him,” his grandfather said gently.
“How am I to know? He won’t talk to me. He even told me once that I was allowed to ask him anything, but now when I ask…he won’t answer.” His eyes stung. “I thought things would get better. He was released from jail; he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. His mom is doing well and his life is back to normal…I thought that meant he’d be happier. Instead…I know it’s dumb, but I haven’t gotten to hug him or cuddle with him or even really spend time with him for weeks. Any time we do spend together feels strained, and…I miss him. I miss his smile.” Yugi could feel his face reddening from making such an emotional admission, but still he rambled on, “It’s been gone for so long, and now it’s like there’s a wall up between us. I feel like I should try to talk to him, but he always shuts me out. I’m constantly afraid something will happen to him. There’s this fear that’s always in my stomach and I’m terrified all the time that something will push him over the edge. That he’ll get sick again or he’ll be so depressed that he’ll do something stupid or that I’ll say the wrong thing and make things worse- this isn’t him, Grandpa, you know? He was never like this. It’s like he’s put on this mask of some person that I barely recognize.”
Sugoroku’s expression was one of sadness. “Yugi…you might be wrong. Maybe he’s finally taken off a mask he’s been wearing all this time and the truth is that what’s underneath isn’t pretty.”
Yugi swallowed. A heavy silence hung in the room. His voice cracked as he said, “Y-You’re right. I thought all he needed was a shoulder to cry on. I thought I could save him. I had this idea in my head that I could fix whatever was wrong with him and I tore down his walls thinking I could handle it and instead…it goes too deep. I wasn’t ready- I wasn’t ready for this.”
“Yugi, you did everything you could. You shouldn’t put yourself down. Sometimes people need help that nobody can give them. That doesn’t mean you did anything wrong.”
Yugi barely seemed to be listening. “I love him. I never thought I’d say that about anyone. It’s real and it’s there and…I think in spite of everything he really loves me. He might be scared and confused and all twisted up, but in his heart I’m positive that he loves me.”
“That’s a good thing,” his grandfather said.
“No, it’s not,” Yugi said, in tears. “It’s not good; it’s terrible, because I’m…starting to wonder if it’s worth it. To walk around, feeling this way all the time…is any love worth that? If he didn’t love me I could walk away and trust he’d be alright, but he does love me, he needs me and I can't deal with all of this. I can’t keep reaching out to him only for him to push me away and leave me standing here feeling helpless and scared and-” He stopped himself from finishing.
His grandfather took in a sharp breath, lowering himself to the stool behind the counter, but he didn’t take his eyes off his grandson. “I can’t give you an answer,” he finally said. “But your health and your happiness should be your first priority. I know that Yami would want you to be happy. It might mean making a tough choice, but if you’re truly not happy, you shouldn’t stay with him. Not if you’re only doing it out of pity or guilt.”
“I know.” Yugi wiped his eyes, even as they stung worse. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go on like that. I…I’d rather not talk about it anymore.”
“Yugi-”
Yugi looked up, confused at the sudden cut off, only to see his grandfather leaning against the counter, breathing heavily, grasping his left arm.
“Grandpa? …Grandpa?!”
- - -
The ambulance arrived within minutes. Yugi stood back by the stairs, shaking, everything a blur around him. Even after the ambulance left, he couldn’t bring himself to move. Part of him couldn’t believe what was happening. One second everything seemed fine and then the next…
I should have known something was up. Grandpa only has muscle aches in the winter, and it isn’t cold enough outside anymore for him to still have them. I should have called the hospital then but I was too busy babbling…
“I’ve called your father and left a message for him, Yugi.” His mother arrived in the room, carrying her purse and tucking her cell phone into it. “I’ve told him to call us at the hospital. Do you want to call Yami before we leave?”
“I…” Yugi paused, mind reeling. “No…I mean…he and his mother are out anyway, they wouldn’t be there. I’ll call him later.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
He followed obediently to the car, still shell-shocked. She noticed and put one hand on his shoulder gently. “Grandpa will be alright.”
Yugi nodded, trying to believe it.
At the hospital his mother filled out paperwork, leaving Yugi to sit in the waiting room alone. He drew his legs up to his chest, shivering. It wasn’t fair…he was already losing the man he loved to demons that he couldn’t defeat. Now was he about to lose his grandfather to a heart attack?
As the minutes ticked away, he found himself wondering if this was how Yami felt after the earthquake. Not knowing if his loved ones were dead or alive or somewhere in-between…
Yami.
More than anything right now, Yugi wished Yami was there. He would have given anything to be enfolded in Yami’s arms, to hear Yami telling him it would be okay.
But even as he thought about it, he found himself thinking about the recent weeks. Yami, pale and thin and sick, torturing himself in his dreams, suffering from constant unknown anxieties during the day…
Yesterday, when Yami told him about he and his mother's plans to pick out furniture, it was one of the few times he’d seen a spark of real life in Yami’s eyes ever since the attack on Ezui and the first time he’d seen it since he returned from prison. This morning he’d finally seemed like he was doing okay. He was looking forward to something, he was making plans, he was even smiling a little and when he’d kissed him there was real feeling in it. But Yugi had been unable to return it. And now, as he sat here, he thought that he didn’t deserve Yami’s comfort. He had no right to call him for help, to put more stress on him.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as his mother returned, sitting down beside him. “He’s in testing right now to see if surgery will be required, but the doctor says he’s doing all right.”
Yugi nodded.
“It’s getting close to three o’clock, if you’d like to take the phone and try to call Yami.” She held out the cell phone. Yugi took it. “I’m going to go home and pick up some books and music for your grandfather so that he won’t drive the nurses crazy when they get him to his room. Don’t go far, I’ve told the doctors to get you if there’s an emergency.”
“Okay.” He clutched the phone to his chest as he watched her walk away. Then, opening it, he punched in Eve Atemu’s number and listened to it ring, praying he would just get the answering machine.
She picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”
In the background he heard a muffled curse and heard Eve stifle a laugh. “Hi…Eve, it’s me.”
“Yugi?”
“Yeah.”
“Are you alright? You sound odd.”
“I’m fine, I…are you back from shopping?”
“We just came in. Do you want to talk to Yami? He just dropped a chair on his foot; I'm sure he’d be glad to hear your voice.”
Yugi bit his lip. “N-no, it’s okay, don’t. I just…wanted to tell you…that me and my family are going out with some friends and probably won’t be back until late. So that Yami won’t be confused when he comes home and nobody’s there.”
“Of course, I’ll tell him.”
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem, Yugi. Bye now.”
“Bye.” He hung up, closing the phone and closing his eyes as he did.
I can’t tell Yami about what happened yet.
Yami was finally doing alright, even if it was just for one day. So he flipped open the phone again and began calling his friends instead.
- - -
“Who was that on the phone?” Yami asked, dragging the chair after his disastrous attempt at carrying it.
“It was Yugi. He said he and his family were going out with some friends for the day and wouldn’t be back until late, so don’t be surprised if they’re not home.”
“Oh, okay.”
“His voice sounded strange, though,” she remarked.
Yami turned. “What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. He just sounded strained. I hope he’s not catching that bug you had.”
Yami frowned. She noticed.
“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. He might have just been worried about you feeling bad about being left out,” she tried to reassure him. Yami took a deep breath.
“Yeah, you’re right. That’s probably it.”
But as he turned to go back down to the curb, where the furniture store truck was parked, his mind was no longer on chairs and linens.
- - -
When Yugi’s mother returned, she was carrying a stack of books. She waved the top one at Yugi. “The hospital store had this. A whole book of those Sudoku puzzles your grandfather is so crazy about. This should inspire him to get well faster so that he can get started on them. Has the doctor told you anything new?"
Yugi nodded, trying to look pleased about the book. “He came out about twenty minutes ago to say the testing was almost finished. So he’ll probably be back soon.”
“Okay. Did you talk to Yami?”
“He…wasn’t there. The machine answered, I guess they aren’t back yet. I left a message. I also talked to Jounouchi and Anzu and Honda…sorry about using up the minutes. I just…figured they should know.”
She nodded. “It’s fine.”
“Here’s your phone back.” He handed it back to her and resumed his curled-up position.
Not long after the doctor reappeared and pulled them aside. “The blockage is worse than we expected. It’s not a worst-case situation, but we would prefer not to waste time and would like to do surgery today. If you would like to visit him, now would be the best time and I can explain the procedure in more detail.”
Yugi’s mother nodded and looked over at Yugi, who shook his head. “Go on…tell Grandpa for me that I love him.”
“I will,” she promised. Yugi watched her walk away and knew he could have followed, but he didn’t want to. He was scared enough, he didn’t want to hear any more about blockage and surgery and risks. He didn’t want to see another person he loved lying in bed, weak and broken. He just wanted his grandfather to be okay.
Yami used to be good at soothing his worries. No matter how trivial, Yami had always wanted to hear about them and help. More than ever, Yugi wished he was there to help him now.
But he’d made his choice when he called. So he closed his eyes and tried to convince himself he’d done the right thing.
- - -
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” Yami’s mother implored as Yami hurriedly buckled his boots by the door. “Yugi’s not going to be home anyway.”
“Thanks for the offer Mom, but…I don’t know, I just feel like I need to get back,” he replied distractedly. He’d been acting like that ever since she told him about the phone call.
Disappointed, Eve said, “Okay, well…say hello to Yugi for me.”
“Of course.” Yami hugged her quickly. “Good night.”
He vanished out the door so quickly that he was halfway down the stairs before she could call out good night back to him.
Outside, the sun was dropping low in the sky. He urged himself to a sprint as he hurried toward the Game Shop, only to arrive and find it empty.
Yugi said he and his family were just going out with friends…I shouldn’t be so nervous.
But something inside of Yami was telling him that things weren’t right. Searching the house gave him no clues and finally he found himself sitting down on the couch, staring out the window at the darkening sky.
Yugi had been acting strange all week. He’d been distant, quiet…his hugs were stiff and he never wanted to meet Yami’s eyes. Now this…which shouldn’t be a big deal at all, but it felt wrong. It felt all wrong.
Yugi…where are you?
X - X - X
Notes: Never assume it can't get worse. ^^;
I'm a little unsure how I feel about the first part. I have a tendency to make male characters too emotional, but at the same time, I imagine just about anyone would be losing their grip and rambling if they were in Yugi's position. And Yugi always struck me as someone a little more accepting of his emotions than others.