[fic] Runaway - Yugioh, YYxY, general, G, theme 19
Title: Runaway
Author: Chey (duelist_gurl163)
Theme: 19 - “Sometimes, you need to run away to see who will follow.” for 50_lovequotes
Rating: G
Genre: General/romance
Parings: YamixYugi implied
Archive: You're lookin' at it
Warnings: AU
Spoilers: Yami's real name
Summary: He went after him, even knowing that he wasn't the person Yugi was hoping to see. ...Or was he?
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh...if I did, this wouldn't be FANfiction.
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Sudden shouting erupted from the other side of the wall and Atemu jumped, swearing under his breath as his hand slipped on the can opener, and the half-open lid sliced his finger. Pinching the wound, he glanced at the wall and grimaced. The shouts had quieted slightly, but were still audible.
Yugi…
He sighed and went to the bathroom to get a band-aid, his mind on what was happening next door. Another fight…this was the fifth this week. And it was only Tuesday. Back in the kitchen he got out another bowl, made room at his table previously set for one, and went back to opening the soup can.
Atemu had known his neighbours ever since he moved in, they’d helped him carry up boxes and often exchanged hellos when passing in the hall. It wasn’t until almost six months ago when he heard the shouting for the first time, and later heard a knock on the door. He’d opened it to find the young man from next door standing there, his expression subdued and voice quiet as he asked if he could sleep on Atemu’s couch for the night. Early the next day he returned to his apartment, and Atemu had figured that was the end of it.
But lately he’d noticed the fights seemed to be getting worse. Yugi had appeared at his door more and more often in the recent months. Last week he’d spent three whole days there. And while it hurt Atemu to see Yugi so unhappy in his relationship, he had (albeit guiltily) enjoyed those three days. It had been a long time since he had someone he cared about…a friend.
Pouring the soup into a pot on the stove, he heard a sudden loud slam. Expecting to hear knocking on the door at any second, he turned the stove on and waited. Yet no knocking came.
Puzzled, he waited a bit longer, but still there were no sounds outside. Had he misheard? He was positive that had been the door slamming next door…
Finally he got up and opened the door a crack. There was nobody outside. Hesitating, he turned off the stove, took a deep breath, and walked to the next apartment. He knocked, then jumped again as the door was yanked open without warning.
“I told you- oh. It’s you.”
Atemu nodded, struck into nervous silence at the slightly manic look in the young woman’s eyes. “Er…hi Mei…”
“Did he send you over?” She demanded.
“No, I-”
“Because I’m not interested in hearing whatever it is he sent you to say!”
“Yugi’s not at my apartment!” Atemu finally broke in.
“He’s not? Huh. Oh well.” She let go of the door and went back to piling bundles of clothes haphazardly into a suitcase. Atemu waited, but she didn’t look up.
“So…aren’t you going to go look for him?” he finally asked.
“What?”
“Well, you know Yugi isn’t at my place, so…aren’t you worried about him? And wondering where he is?”
“I don’t really care where he went.” She spun around, gesturing at the mess. “I’m sick of this. All this…running away he always does. Whenever we fight he just runs away, he never stays to work things out, he just runs.”
“Maybe he just wants you to follow him,” He suggested naively, and cringed when she exploded:
“Well I can’t follow him! I have a life! I have work, and my parents to take to care of, I don’t have time to go after him. I don’t even want to! Why would I follow someone who’s so immature, he can’t just sit down and talk when something is bothering him?”
“But…”
“Atemu, stay out of this. It’s none of your business.” She turned away, but not before he noticed the tears in her eyes. “I told him it’s over. There’s nothing else to explain anyway.”
He lingered. “So…is that his stuff?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you packing up his things?”
“Because this is my apartment, he moved in. So he’s the one that has to move out.”
“But he’s not here.”
“I’ll just put his stuff in the hall. If it gets stolen, he deserves it.”
Frowning, Atemu glowered at her. “Hey, you know you’re partially responsible for all this fighting too. I’m sorry the relationship…didn’t work and I know you’re probably hurt, but you can’t just pass it all off on Yugi. Don’t you think he’s hurting too?”
She turned, glaring. “And why do you care?”
He faltered. “I…well…look, how about if I take his stuff, alright? Just bring it over later on once you’ve got it all…packed.”
“Fine. Nine-thirty. If you’re not there it’s going in the hall.”
“Nine-thirty is fine.” He backed away, then stopped. “I don’t suppose you know where he’s gone?”
“Not very far, considering he doesn’t have a car.”
“But do you have any idea-”
“He likes the park nearby. He might be there.”
“Thank you.” Atemu took off at a run. Dusk had already fallen, the streetlights distorting people’s features. Many looked up when he called Yugi’s name, but they were only looking in curiosity, none of them was the person he sought. After ten minutes he began to slow down as the realization of how stupid this was finally caught up with him.
Pausing, panting, he leaned against a light post and looked around at the people walking by. This was a huge city and he had no idea where Yugi was headed, why had he thought he’d be able to find him? Even the park was a long shot. The likelihood that he would even find his neighbour was slim, and even if he did, what help could he give…
“Yugi!” The word burst from him suddenly at the sight of a familiar silhouette in the distance, sitting on a bench. He jumped up, about to sprint over, but the rush died as he noticed the melancholy slump to the man’s shoulders. Instead of running, he walked over quietly and waited for Yugi to look up at him.
He finally did, and sighed. “Hi Atemu.”
“Hi. Can…I sit down?”
“Sure.”
Atemu sat. He bit his lip, trying to think of something to say, when Yugi clasped his hands and said, “She’s not coming after me, is she?”
He shook his head. “No…I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I…didn’t really believe she would. She wouldn’t have said it was over if she didn’t mean it. I just…hoped.”
“I understand.”
Yugi swallowed. “It’s probably for the best.”
Atemu hesitated. “Yugi…can I ask you a question? It’s kind of a nosy one.”
“Go ahead.”
“Were you…really happy with her?”
He exhaled noisily. “I was. But time did weird things. Lately…no, I haven’t been. I’ve been thinking about leaving for awhile, I just didn’t want to, it was too big of a leap. I don’t have anywhere to go right now, I thought if I waited it would get better, and I wouldn’t have to move ahead blindly. Guess I don’t have a choice now.”
“Yugi…I’m really sorry.”
He smiled very slightly. “Thanks. You’re a good friend. All these times I’ve come running to you when I needed a place to go or someone to talk to…”
“But I was happy to be there for you!” Atemu broke in. “It was no trouble…I was happy to help.”
Yugi studied him for a moment. “Atemu, now can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“Why are you here? Why did you come all the way out here to find me?”
“I just thought…” He stopped.
“Thought what?”
“I thought…that someone…I thought someone should go after you for once.” He raised his eyes. “You’re right…you used to always come to me when you and Mei had a fight, and then tonight you didn’t, and I thought…maybe this time I should go to you.”
Yugi gazed at him quietly.
“I know, I’m not the person you hoped would follow you, but…”
“Not necessarily.”
Atemu’s heart leapt. “What?”
“N-nothing. I said nothing.”
“But I heard you…Yugi?” It was dark, but he could have sworn he saw the young man’s face flush. Yugi, however, didn’t respond. Finally, heart still thumping a bit harder than it should, Atemu checked the glowing face of his watch and got to his feet. “Well…I need to get back to my apartment before nine-thirty to save your stuff before Mei gives it away to bums. Want to come with me? I’m making soup.”
“No…I think I’d like to stay out here and be alone for a little while.”
“Oh…okay.”
Yugi glanced up at him then, and Atemu saw the smile. “Just give me fifteen minutes, I’ll be along. Save me some soup? If you’re not too busy saving my belongings?”
Atemu smiled back and rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Of course.”
x-x-x
Notes: I had trouble with the line: none of them was the person he sought. "Them was" sounds...wrong, cause there's a plural and a singular right next to each other. But "them were" doesn't sound any better, because Yugi is singular. So...GRR. I hate grammar. Anyone want to give me their input on it? xD;;
Not much else to say. I think I like making Yugi break up with people. He breaks up with people a lot more often in my fics than Yami does, anyway. xD