Welcome to my cute, random little one-shot.

I don't own anything in this work.

But regardless of that, I hope you enjoy it and leave many, many reviews.

Forever Unrequited

There was something about fall that made it such a superior season compared to the rest. Maybe it was because the Earth changed its colors, reds and yellows staining the leaves of the normally green trees. Or it could have been the refreshing chill in the wind that seemed to calm the intense heat of the dissipating summer. Vaguely, this boy wondered if his other half enjoyed the fall, seeing as how he had formerly been a desert king. The Pharaoh of Egypt.

Yuugi Motou, a thinner, meeker, paled version of the king, sat at his usual window seat on the train that he took home. Seeing as how gas prices were soaring, he figured public transportation would be the cheapest way to go. Although between his grandfather, Atemu and himself, Yuugi didn't really need to save money.

Business has been soaring recently for the tiny game shop that was attached to his home. Maybe it was the recent success of Seto Kaiba's latest version of the duel disk? Recent success meaning Seto was now the second richest man under twenty in the whole entire world. The CEO had been bragging about it all through work that day; Yuugi had to sit through it, knowing his arrogant friend was paying him a lot more than he was worth, regardless of the fact that Yuugi pretty much did nothing more than play card games with him.

He couldn't complain, though. Seto was putting him through college.

The teenager paused in his thoughts, reaching a hand into his pocket to pull out his cell phone. It was nearly 6 o'clock! Apparently Yuugi was getting a little bit of overtime this week. He chuckled inwardly, flipping the phone open.

A bright message instantly popped up, the phone shaking in vibrations.

'One New Text Message!'

Shrugging, the teen gave into said message, clicking the appropriate buttons to read the text.

'Hey Yuugi! What R U up to right NOW?'

Anzu was big on text messaging, just like any other girl these days. He sighed, a smile small forming on his face as his thumbs played the phone like an instrument.

'Nothing that I know of. Why?'

Hands still holding tightly onto his phone, Yuugi laid them gently onto his lap, waiting patiently for his dearest friend to return his text.

She was his dearest friend, and quite possibly a greater rival than he had ever known. Of course, Yuugi refused to think of her that way. Her affections for Atemu were... Obvious, but Yuugi didn't mind. The tanner version of himself would make a perfect boyfriend for any girl. He was strong, a real-life knight in shining armor, ready to protect anyone from anything at any time. Atemu was also kind, making it hard to believe that he was ever a king of anything, seeing as how royalty had a knack for being cruel and heartless. Not this Pharaoh, he was anything but.

Yes, he would be a great catch for any girl.

For the slightest moment, Yuugi wished he had been born with a vagina. He nearly laughed out loud at his silly thought, but was shaken from them by the vibrations of his cell phone.

'Wanna hang out tonight?'

It had been awhile since the two friends had any time alone together. Yuugi had been so busy with 'work' lately that he hadn't been able to do much hanging out with anyone besides Atemu and his grandfather. Actually, Atemu got out a lot more than he did. It was good for the elder to go out and spend time with people other than Yuugi. Anzu had been very good about getting Atemu out of the house and into things other than card games...

'Sure! Want to come over to my house?'

He wouldn't admit it, but Yuugi was pretty tired. He may not have done much work, but he still had to get up pretty early in the morning. If Anzu really wanted to go out or anything, he would still go without hesitation or complaint.

Yuugi raised himself from his seat as the train screeched to a halt at his stop. His lithe frame squeezed past various people, murmuring 'excuse me' and 'sorry' every so often as he bumped into them accidently.

The walk back to his house was very short, seeing as how the train station was only a block or so away. He didn't even bother to run or jog, though he did wave to a couple of teenage girl's across the street that he recognized from school.

Instantly as he walked up to the entrance of the game shop, Atemu opened the door. He really was a complete gentleman, even to another man like Yuugi.

"Welcome home, partner." He welcomed, taking Yuugi's briefcase from his tiny hands. "How was work today?"

Yuugi smiled in response to the greeting, gladly letting his other half take the heavy briefcase from him, "It was fine. Kinda boring."

The two walked together into the house, settling into opposite chairs in the kitchen. Yuugi admired the other teen for a brief moment, taking in his breath-taking smile. It was almost as if Atemu waited all day for Yuugi to come home. Almost as if that smile was reserved for the fairer-skinned teenager.

"How was your day, Yami?" The fact that he was the only one to call Atemu by that name anymore made it that much more special.

Said boy shrugged from his spot across the table, "It was... The usual, I suppose."

They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other's presence and the calm that it brought. Atemu opened his mouth again, as if to speak, but the sudden buzzing of Yuugi's phone stifled any words.

With nimble hands, Yuugi has flipped open his phone and was already reading Anzu's latest text.

"Anzu is coming over."

"I see; would you like some privacy?" Yuugi enjoyed Atemu's warm voice and the soft touch of his hands against his own.

"Not particularly. If you want to hang out with us, you can."

The two once again sat in silence, Atemu's hand still on Yuugi's. It was incredible the amount of emotion that filled the room. Maybe it was because of their mind-link that it seemed so...

Heavy. The room was heavy with feelings. Unspoken, yet unhidden, feelings.

Yuugi wanted so badly to just tell him that it was alright. It was okay to feel so strongly about another person, but...

He sighed, lifting himself from his seat, Atemu's hand falling to the cold table below.

"I've got to go get dressed." Yuugi's small smile did little to encourage his other half, but he let Yuugi go regardless.

It was so hard to be alone with Atemu sometimes. He cared so much for his other half in a way he had never felt before. There wasn't much he could do about it...

Scratch that, there was a ton he could do about it. He knew Atemu felt the same, though he wasn't quite sure why. Yuugi had always thought of himself as relatively unattractive. The former king was beautiful beyond all reason. They seemed to be an inappropriate match. Not to mention that although Atemu felt the same way, he hardly realized it. He had been forced into adulthood as a child by becoming ruler at such a young age; he never had time for feelings or love. He only knew how to go through the motions, responding to his feelings was...

Unheard of.

For whatever reason, though, Atemu DID returned his feelings full force.

The only problem was Anzu.

Just like every other girl in the world, Atemu was her crush. Maybe it went beyond that even. Yuugi would dare to say that the girl felt nearly as strongly for Atemu as Yuugi himself did. The thought made him sigh again, wondering how to get around the situation without feeling like he stole Atemu from his friend.

Changing into a white shirt and a pair of faded jeans, Yuugi walked back to the kitchen. Atemu had left, although he wasn't sure to where. He supposed that it didn't matter; a small dinging noise from the game shop told him that his guest had arrived anyway.

"Yuugi!" Anzu smiled brightly, wrapping slender arms around her friend. She pressed her soft face into Yuugi's shoulder momentarily, pulling away to meet his face.

"Hey you," he greeted softly, taking her hand, "How've you been? It's been awhile."

"Yea, like a week or so." She agreed, walking with him to his living room. "I've been really busy with school and stuff." Anzu told him, as if she was trying to apologize for a situation that was not her fault.

"It's alright; Seto's been keeping me busy, too." The boy laughed, sitting beside her on the couch. "I miss hanging out with you, though."

Yuugi reached for the remote, completely missing the pink tinge that stained Anzu's pretty face. He began flipping through the channels lazily, looking for anything mildly interesting to himself or the girl.

Anzu, however, was watching him instead of the television, debating within herself something major.

Something life changing.

Yuugi, however, did not notice this.

The blurring channels on the television were not enough to distract him from the situation at hand. He briefly wondered where Atemu had run off to, knowing it was entirely none of his concern. Though he was uncertain as to whether or not the other boy was having these same feelings of despair.

Did Atemu realize Anzu's feelings? He must have, they hung out fairly often these days.

"Yuugi?" Anzu piped up, a hand ghosting over his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

The teen realized he had been flipping through the same channels without even reading the show titles. Yuugi gave a small laugh, placing the remote in his friend's hands. "Sorry, I guess I'm a little distracted."

He didn't notice that she tossed the remote onto the other end of the couch, turning to face her friend.

"Me too..." She admitted softly. "There's a reason I wanted to see you today, Yuugi."

"I see, and what would that be?" He asked her playfully, wondering if she was going to tell him about her obvious crush on his other half.

"Well, it's really embarrassing," she must have been truthful because her face had become a shade of red comparable to a strawberry. "You and I have been friend for like... Ever." Anzu's words were hardly deep, but Yuugi blamed her nerves. He was also aware of the fact that she was shaking.

He took her hand, realizing that this was a confession of epic proportions.

"Yuugi." She let out a deep breath, meeting his eyes. She had been planning this for awhile and she had planned on it being extremely difficult, especially because she already knew his answer.

"I think I've fallen in love with you."

Yuugi's grip on her hand tightened unconsciously, eyeing her in blatant shock. "Wha-- Me?" He asked incredulously. "I thought you loved Atemu!"

Anzu laughed sadly, enjoying the ministrations his hand was now doing on her own, "No. No, Yuugi. I mean, he's handsome and-- He's just not, YOU, though."

Yuugi shook his head, "Me? Wow."

This meant there was nothing to worry about, he supposed. He wasn't stealing Atemu from anyone, although he now had to turn Anzu. Which would hurt her, but there was nothing he could do about that. He didn't return her feelings. "Anzu, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," she told him as if she had been expecting that answer from the start, "I know."

He felt as though he owed her an explanation. He could at least honor his friend with that. Yuugi had to admit that his self-esteem was rather high, even though it was for a terrible reason. He was rejecting a pretty girl, one of his best friends. "I'm so sorry though, Anzu, I really want to like you back. I'm just..." It was hard to say the words to him even, "I'm in love with Atemu."

"I know," she said again, laughing this time. She lifted her sleeve to her face, wiping away tears that spilled regardless of her laughter. "I know."

Yuugi frowned, pulling her into a tight hug. Her head rested itself upon his chest, tears flowing without end onto his white shirt. He rubbed her back gently, trying to soothe her pain. Her hands were clutching desperately at his shirt now, and he was at a complete loss as to how to go about the whole situation. Yuugi just let it happen. He let her get it all out, it was the least he could do.

Yuugi let himself slide down the front door that he had just closed, sitting in front of it. The night was awkward, confusing, revealing...

All in one. And now he was alone again, left to deal with breaking Anzu's heart, even though she knew it was coming. Were his feelings for Atemu really that obvious?

The said ex-Pharaoh walked into the shop, coming to sit beside Yuugi on the floor.

"You handled that well, Partner. It's not an easy thing to do, you know." He reassured him, as if he had any experience with 'that' sort of thing.

"Thanks," the smaller teen mumbled, letting his face fall into his hands. "I feel like an ass."

"Don't, love is difficult. You can't return someone's feelings just because you want to." Atemu said, letting a hand slide under Yuugi's chin, "especially if you're already in love with someone else."

Atemu lowered his lips to Yuugi's, gently, slowly. It wasn't passionate or hungry, it was simple. And yet, not so simple as to play down either of their feelings.

Their lips moved against each other's in unison, nipping gently, hands softly touching faces and shoulders.

When they finally broke apart they leaned their foreheads against each other's.

"Anzu knew." Yuugi said finally.

"What?"

"Anzu knew that I loved you, and she still confessed to me."

Atemu seemed to ponder this for a moment, "Well, honestly. If she hadn't confessed, you and I would still be in that strange limbo between being together and being friends."

"You were spying weren't you?" Yuugi smiled, knowing the answer already, it figured that he confessed the thing that confused him most to the wrong person, and Atemu heard it anyway. It was unromantic and pretty unfair, but...

"You think she was planning that all along?"

"I don't think that's for us to know." Atemu told him, wrapping his arms around the tiny teenager.

Anzu walked away from the game shop, tears still welling up in her eyes. This was by far the most difficult thing she had ever done.

Admitting that you love someone.

Admitting that you love someone that you could never have, when you KNEW that you could never have them.

Was it worth it?

She knew the answer long before she even decided to do it.

At least Yuugi would be happy, and in the end...

That's all she really wanted, anyway.

Hope you enjoyed it, loves.

omg kairi