My yami smiled as I stepped through the door, out of the pouring rain. It was clear he was drunk, as he was most of the time now.
"Ra, rah, Ryou!" He frowned as he stumbled drunkenly on the word, and smiled crookedly once he pronounced my name correctly.
"How was your day, Yami?" I smiled sweetly at him, trying to stay on his good side. He was more unpredictable when he was happy-drunk than he was when he was upset and drunk. At least, then I knew he'd beat me up.
"Marik didn't turn up." He was disappointed in that. His drinking pal usually turned up for a day of sitting there, drinking whatever I'd managed to buy for them that time. Alcohol was expensive and I was lucky if they didn't ask for ID. I was luckier if they spent the day at Marik's. Then, if they were sick, I didn't need to clean up.
"Oh." My answer was blunt and unsurprised. Marik had been in school today, a rare treat. And sober, even rarer.
"I guess he didn't want to share." Yami stood up for a few moments, swayed, and then collapsed again.
"Hmm." I smiled internally. At least he was drunk enough to leave me alone tonight. I screamed, however, when Yami's hand grabbed my arm, his fingernails caught the slashes in my arm, and pain shot through me. I stepped away from him quickly, easily pulling my arm out of his loosening grip, the alcohol making him easy and somewhat easier to deal with than he was most nights. He was drunk enough that I could cook myself something and then head upstairs without him throwing knives at me. I winced at the dark memory.
"You, Ryou, wha?" He was falling asleep already, my scream had been a sick lullaby to him.
I stepped further away from him, and bent to pick up a not-quite-empty bottle of vodka, and two empty bottles of some substance he'd managed to pull the labels off. Both smelt horrific. I padded in to the kitchen, and set to cooking something easy and fast. I wanted to be out of the way long before he woke up. Once I was done, I'd lock my bedroom door and be out of his way if he wasn't quite sober when he regained his consciousness.
Once my meal was finished with, I washed the plate and set it quietly in the cupboard, out of his way. The vodka sat on the counter, it's little lid had been lost somewhere in the lounge, but I didn't dare disturb Yami again. I tapped the bottle with my fingernails, and found myself grasping it, taking a mouthful and swallowing the wickedly bitter drink. The taste stayed in my mouth as I stood, staring at the very first alcohol I consumed, bar a glass of champagne to be sipped at on New Year, and thought something that disturbed me.
He's taken over my life.
Yugi, Honda, everyone mentioned the drunken demon I kept hidden from the world like he was something dirty, to wash off your hands after you'd left it in the bin. And I had to live with it. Taking another mouthful, I looked through the door, at where he lay in a drunken sleep, and screamed.
"I hate you! You have to take everything I have away from me! I hate you! I hate you!" I pointed my empty hand at him like I could curse him, but gave up after all my outburst resulted in was some inaudible muttering from him, and tears from me.
I took the bottle upstairs, and sat legs crossed with the bottle cradled in my hands as I cried, taking a mouthful as I wanted. Nobody cared. Nobody wanted to know. And nobody actually asked how I dealt with him.
Maybe I didn't want them to.
Once the bottle was empty, I dropped it on to the floor and stumbled to the bathroom. My hair was still damp, sticking up slightly more than normal, but I stared at my reflection, clearly drunk out of my mind. I was a freak. White hair and brown eyes, I stuck out like a sore thumb and I was most likely only tolerated through pure politeness.
That was when the alcohol overwhelmed my every sense, and I passed out in one of my Yami's favourite places to do so, the bathroom floor.