[fic] Theme 022 "Steam Engine", for 100_wangsts {遊☆戯☆王: 'Atemu'/Yuugi; PG-13}
In light of recent events - optometrist appointment on Saturday, Mother’s Day on Sunday, and the beginning of my summer Anthropology course on Monday - I didn’t get a chance to post this until now. Enjoy!
...if you like angst like me.
Written for 100_wangsts. This is theme 022.
Genre: Romance/Angst
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: ‘Atemu’/Yuugi
Story Type: Drabble/one-shot
Summary: Eloping was a good option, but not the best.
Disclaimer: Do I look like a Japanese man with a moustache? No? I thought as much. So I don’t own Yuugiou.
Spoilers: None - AU.
Warnings: MUCH NEEDED ANGST-err, maybe not ‘much needed’, but for me it is, since the last few themes have been entirely too cheerful.
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Atemu stared at Yuugi’s trembling form. “What do you mean ‘you cannot’?”
“I-”
“You are more than capable of making your choices in life, are you not? Why are you letting your parents control you so? Yuugi,” he gripped the other’s arm tightly, earning him a pained whimper. “You can do better this. Look, Yuugi, and imagine!” He pointed at the train behind him. “We can go anywhere with this; we can be away from their tyranny and start a new life together!”
“Atemu, please, I cannot-they will not let me-if they find out, I, I-”
He snarled. “They will what? Kill you? They cannot kill their own son without bearing the guilt for the rest of their lives. Do they not care about your happiness?”
Yuugi bit his lip. He knew what he had to say, and neither of them would be happy with his answer. “My happiness...” He faltered a bit under the intense gaze. “...is to continue with my parents’ company.”
“That is a complete lie and both you and I know it,” Atemu spat, drawing their faces together. Yuugi instinctively flinched at the hostile closeness. “Why, Yuugi...why? Do you not...love our times together? Do you not want a future together?”
He looked away. “I do, Atemu, but-”
“Then come with me! We can-”
“No, Atemu!” Yuugi cried, wrenching free of the strong hold on his arm. Atemu watched him fidget and take deep breaths. “Do you not understand? I love you - I really do - but it is my obligation to remain with my family. I am required to take over the business if-heaven forbid-anything happens to Father or Mother. They need me-”
“As do I!”
“-more than you!” A few tears slipped by clenched shut eyelids. “I am their only son, Atemu, and they would not know what to do if I deserted them for another. Please do not complicate this any further, I do not want to choose...”
“...So you think I want to? Yuugi, you are my life, I cannot-”
He clapped his hands over his ears, not wanting to hear the words - his pledge, his devotion, his loyalty - from his lover. He knew what Atemu would say; they had exchanged such words before. An infinite amount of times, every now and then. They had even promised each other the rest of their lives, even when he knew it would come to this. Why did this have to be so difficult? Why could his parents not be satisfied and happy with his choice in love? Why did the family business have to take a sudden surge in demands? Why could there not be a single, simple solution to this dilemmatic problem? Why? He wanted to throw a temper tantrum, scream at the world for the unfairness of it all, but in the end, he knew...
“Atemu,” he whispered. “I think...it will be better if we...parted ways...now.” He bit his lip again. “...before we do something we will both regret.”
He nearly missed the growl before Atemu crashed into him: lips on lips, hip to hip, fingers pressing and tangling in his hair. He moaned, hands on the other’s chest, pushing feebly. People around them halted in their tracks and stared at the scene, shock and disgust slowly scrunching up their features.
“Yuugi,” Atemu breathed harshly against his lips, pressing their foreheads together and ignoring the public’s scrutiny. “Stop with this nonsense! You,” he shifted his hips. He suppressed his own gasp that Yuugi voiced. “Want to leave this place as much as I do, do you not? Come now, dearest; do not toy with my mind and emotions anymore. I cannot live with that...”
Yuugi’s hands pressed again, this time successfully putting a bit more distance between them. The other’s arms fell down to his sides. He swallowed before looking into Atemu’s eyes evenly, even though inside he was a turbulent wreck. “Do you really know me that well, Atemu?” He forced himself to remain still under his lover’s glare. He needed to do this - it was for the best - and he could not back out now! “No words to say?” He laughed nervously. “I have rendered you speechless...perhaps it is better this way. It makes good-bye easier without the arguments...” He backed away before turning around and running, stubborn tears blinding his sight and sliding down his cheeks unchecked.
He could not get the image of Atemu out of his head, standing stiff and lost, exactly where and how he had left him.
“Sorry,” he murmured as a passenger yelped at the sudden pressure on her foot. “Sorry, sorry-” And he did not know anymore if he was apologizing to the person he bumped into or to himself for his actions on the platform.
This is what was supposed to happen, he thought with another hiccough, leaning against a brick pillar outside the train station. He rubbed his eyes angrily. It is for the best, he repeated several times. For the best. For the both of us.
- Owari -
Story Word Count: 846
Authoress Notes: So...Yuugi breaks things off. (huggles both of them) Don’t worry, you guys will get your happily ever after...somewhere else. Just not today and here.
And to clear any questions (because I’m aware that the prompt is only vaguely used), this is supposed to take place some time around the Industrial Revolution. Yuugi is the son and heir of a company that plays an important role in the advance of technology back in the 18-19th centuries, and Atemu...is his lover, obviously, but their relationship isn’t looked highly upon. Atemu wants freedom but Yuugi is trapped by his family duties. Yes, I think that’s it.