[fic] Theme 057 "Stumble", for 100_wangsts {遊☆戯☆王: implied Yuugi/'Atemu'; G}
Happy birthday hikarichang!
...I do have a knack of posting angst-related things on people’s birthdays, don’t I? (eyes history) Heheh...well...this is another one of my favourites, so despite the angstyness I seem to be spilling out for the past few themes, enjoy it?
ATTN: icon does not imply anything for this theme.
Written for 100_wangsts. This is theme 057.
Genre: Angst
Rating: G
Pairings: implied Yuugi/‘Atemu’
Story Type: Drabble/one-shot
Summary: “I will never write again.”
Disclaimer: Do not own Yuugiou; shame, though, isn’t it?
Spoilers: (frowns) It’s AU, but it’s also a sequel to theme 084 - zero. See, I have later themes written in advance, and here I am, scrambling to finish the ones I should/need to. Go, Kaoru, go. For now, I’m leaving things vague so I don’t reveal too much what 084 is about. :D
Warnings: Genre says it all, doesn’t it?
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She knocked hesitantly on the brown door.
There was no response. That was to be expected.
She wetted her top lip with her tongue, worrying it with straight, bottom teeth, fighting with herself if she should go in. On one hand, she wanted to make sure he was okay, at least better than the last time she saw him; on the other, she remembered just how well that last time went. She did not want to see him like this, yet she was his friend - and, in the end, that was all that mattered, was it not?
The knob turned noiselessly.
“Hey,” she greeted the room in general, silently congratulating herself for not choking this time. She closed the door behind her, leaving it just slightly ajar.
There was a barely perceptible nod of his head to show he acknowledged her, but she smiled nonetheless - things were already progressing much more smoothly.
“How’re you today?” It was pointless to ask; she knew he would not be likely to give an intelligible answer, but it felt like routine, and she knew they both needed that normality even for a moment. She moved further into the room, making small talk, stopping to rearrange some of the items that seemed out of place.
“Ah, are these your manuscripts?” She leaned down to stare at the papers, the inked passages incomprehensible to her. There were scratch-outs and heavily blotted spots that stopped suddenly in the middle of the page. On others, there were half finished ideas that lay abandoned. On others still were scribbles that grew into a frustrated mess. The floor was littered with failed attempts. “This is brilliant, you know,” she tried, “you should finish-”
“I will never write again.”
“...What?”
He did not offer a repeat. This was to be expected - in fact, she should just be exhilarated that she had managed to get him to say a complete sentence, albeit not the words she wanted to hear.
The conversation - and consequently, her visit - had been exhausted by his statement.
I will never write again.
The words hung and echoed in the heavy air. She looked at him, weary. He was once a bright, young man; so full of life and ready for what it offered him; he had so much potential. Now he looked nothing more than a lost toddler, tripping and falling while trying to find his way home.
It was not a piteous gaze that she gave him when she whispered I’ll come back on Thursday, then, and closed the door behind her. He was never accustomed to pity; he hated that emotion.
If she could turn back time, she would. But as she could not, she would just have to see if Thursday would bring around a better outlook. That in itself would be enough of a blessing.
- Owari -
Story Word Count: 472
Authoress Notes: This was written while listening to Gackt’s Last Song, so that was part of the inspiration. Go watch the PV if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
Let’s play the “Yuugiou line reference” game. Hint: the line came from episode 25 of the dub. ;)