Notes: This goes along with my headcanon that, after high school, Yuugi and Jounouchi get an apartment together that's close to Yuugi's university. They're about eighteen/nineteen here, therefore. I also consider this to be Wishshippy, but it's pre-ship since they wouldn't be a couple yet (according to how I see things). Content warning for child abuse, by the way. Verbal/emotional, and some implied physical.

Lucky

". . . is this a surprise? How can you act like this is freaking surprising when I told you—?!"

"You didn't 'tell me' jack shit and you know it!"

Yuugi ground his teeth together and hugged his knees to his chest as he sat on the top step outside of Jounouchi's apartment. Jounouchi-kun's old apartment, he corrected himself, and it was that—that reminder that he repeated to himself over and over again like a security mantra—that kept him from getting up and going inside and getting involved. Jounouchi didn't have to live there anymore—he was leaving, for good, and he was going to live with Yuugi and everything was going to be fine—and so after today, none of this would ever happen again.

But the shouting, easily audible through the walls and closed door, still bothered him.

". . . fuckin' happened, you lying piece'a—"

"It all happened, and maybe if you could put down the booze for five seconds and actually sober up for once you could actually remember more than just your own—"

"I remember fuckin' everything—!"

"If you did, you wouldn't be fucking pissed right now!"

Jounouchi needed to settle things with his dad. That was what he'd said, anyway, when he told Yuugi he was going back to drop off his key, and Yuugi suggested he just leave it on the door mat. He couldn't do that, he said. He had to face it, like a man. Say goodbye and settle things the right way. He hadn't wanted Yuugi to come, either, but Yuugi didn't want to let him go alone, and in the end they'd agreed on the compromise that Yuugi would wait outside while Jounouchi handled things inside the apartment.

Yuugi was so tense it was a little painful. This was what they'd agreed upon, but—

". . . because you—"

"Because I what? Because I want to do something with my life besides support your fucking habits—?"

"Yeah, you 'supported' a whole helluva lot—"

"What do you call all of this?!"

"I call it you're an ungrateful little prick—"

"What the Hell have I got to be grateful for?"

"How 'bout me puttin' up with your shit for the past eighteen years?"

"Right back at you, asshole!"

Something inside the apartment shattered, and Yuugi whipped around to stare at the door, his heart pounding in his chest with all the fury of a trapped wasp, as the sounds of heavy footsteps, swearing, and loud crashes followed it. Yuugi put one hand flat upon the landing, and flexed his fingers against the concrete as he fought to keep himself calm. He had promised . . . he had promised . . .

". . . figure it out? You don't think that maybe this is why I wanna leave, genius? Why I—"

"Yeah, I get that you wanna walk out an' blame all the fuckin' problems in the world on me just like that fuckin' whore—"

"Oh for fucksake, not this aga—"

"But lemme tell you something, you little asshole, I'm not some fuckin'—fuckin' fuck-up you can blame for all your fuckin' shit, an' if you wanna take a look at who fucked it all up, then you can take a look in the goddamn mirror, 'cause if you hadn't been born in the first fuckin' place, if she'd got rid of you like I said—"

Yuugi's blood felt frozen for only a second before rage overtook it, white hot and burning, like a lit match thrown on oil. He had promised, he had promised, but he pushed himself up from the stairs and crossed the landing to the door—

"Then you'd still be married and everything would be great because it's not like you ever did anything wrong in your marriage ev—"

"Nothing so wrong as having you, you stupid, fuckin' worthless little—"

"STOP!"

Jounouchi hadn't locked the door behind him, and both he and his father turned to stare with wide eyes at Yuugi, who'd thrown the door open with enough force for it to bounce back against the wall. Now that he was standing in the doorway, no longer kept out of the loop, he felt a fraction calmer, despite the way his heart was still hammering out a war anthem in his chest. Jounouchi had his back against the wall, his father standing before him, and Yuugi allowed himself only a second to appreciate the fact that this was the first time he'd ever seen Jounouchi's father in person.

"What the fuck did you jus—who the Hell're you?" Jounouchi's father demanded.

Jounouchi tore his eyes from Yuugi to look at his father, and then looked back at Yuugi again. If it wasn't for the panic he could see written plainly across Jounouchi's face, Yuugi would have thought he looked angry. "Yuugi," Jounouchi said, his voice tense. "Go wait outside. You said—"

"No." Yuugi wasn't sure which one of them he was talking to, really, but he kept his eyes focused on Jounouchi's father as he crossed the room to stand by Jounouchi's side. It wasn't so much that he was calmer, he thought, as it was that this felt right. This was the last time. It was the last time Jounouchi was going to have to deal with it, and Yuugi— "You're wrong."

Jounouchi's father narrowed his eyes, his face scrunched like Yuugi had presented him with a riddle. "'Scuse me? What the fuck're y—"

"He's not—Jounouchi-kun isn't worthless," Yuugi said. "And he's not useless, either, or any of the other things you've said today. I don't even know how you can say all of that, given everything he does for you, but—"

Jounouchi's father laughed, sharp and bitter. "Everything he—? Right, I dunno what the fuck kinda stories he's been tellin' you, but I can tell you I—"

"He doesn't have to tell me anything. I can tell well enough what's been going on myself," Yuugi said, and he stared solidly back in the face of the dirty look Jounouchi's father gave him. "But that's not what I mean. I'm not really talking about everything he's done here, or how hard he works, or any of that. That's something you should appreciate, but that's not why you're wrong about him."

"Yuugi—" Jounouchi said, but Yuugi held one arm up in front of Jounouchi, both to put himself between Jounouchi and his father, and to signal to Jounouchi that he wasn't finished yet.

Jounouchi's father snorted and folded his arms. "S'pose this is the part where you're gonna tell me 'bout my own fuckin' kid, right?" he sneered. "Go ahead then, be my guest. Be funny to see what fuckin' bullshit you come up with."

Jounouchi glared at his father. "Don't you dare—"

"Your son is my best friend," Yuugi said, and though he didn't raise his voice, it was enough to quiet Jounouchi. "And he's one of the bravest, most trustworthy people I've ever met. For the past four years, there's never been a single time when I thought, even for a second, he'd let me down. No matter the danger, he's always had my back, whether it was in a fight, or a duel, or—or anything. He helped me save the world. He's risked his own life to save mine, more than once."

"Yeah, sounds real great," Jounouchi's father said sarcastically. "Now lemme—"

"I'm not finished," Yuugi said, and he ignored the irate glare Jounouchi's father sent his way. "Jounouchi-kun was there for me through the hardest parts of my life. He was there for me when I felt completely alone, but was too afraid to do anything about it myself. He was there for me when I felt like I did nothing but put everyone I loved in danger, and that included him. He has always been there for me, in every way, even and especially when I couldn't be there for myself. No matter the circumstances, or the time, or what he had going on in his life, he was always willing to drop it all to be there for me when I needed him the most. Jounouchi-kun is . . ." Yuugi took a deep breath. "He's one of the only people I can think of that always had faith in me—that has always made me feel like I'm good enough, as I am. That has always made me feel like I don't have to be someone else to impress him, or for him to like or count on me."

"And?"

"And you don't see that. You don't see him for who he really is. You don't, or you can't, see how wonderful of a person he is, how many people he helps just by being him. How—How even if we hadn't had to save the world together, even if he didn't have the chance to pull me out of burning buildings or save me from drowning, I'd still say that he saved my life simply by being there for me as my best friend."

Jounouchi's father stuck his thumbs through the belt loops on his pants as he regarded Yuugi with a scornful expression. "And I s'pose you think I'm just a fuckin' piece'a shit for it, huh?" he said. "You gonna sit there and tell me how much of a fuckin' lowlife you think I am, then?"

"No," Yuugi said, and he hadn't really thought of it until that moment, but just as much as he knew everything he said about Jounouchi to be true, he knew that this was, too. "I'm going to say that I feel sorry for you, because I do."

Jounouchi's father scoffed a laugh. "Sorry—"

"I do," Yuugi interrupted. "Because Jounouchi-kun is going to be okay. He has friends—and family—who love him. He doesn't need you. But you? You'll never see him again, and that's your loss. And not just because he's supported things here, but because he's one of the best people you could ever meet, and if you hadn't wasted the eighteen years worth of chances you had to build a real relationship with him, you'd see that." Yuugi regarded Jounouchi's father for a second more before he shook his head. "But you don't, and I think that's really just sad."

Jounouchi's father continued to glare Yuugi with something akin to indignation and disgust, but Yuugi no longer cared. He turned to Jounouchi and saw that Jounouchi was staring at him with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth. Yuugi forced a little smile for Jounouchi's sake, and reached out to take his hand. "Come on," he said. "Let's go."

"Wait," Jounouchi's father said, as Yuugi pulled Jounouchi toward the door. "We're not fuckin' done here yet, boy—"

"Yes you are," Yuugi said fiercely, even as Jounouchi opened his mouth to respond. Yuugi looped back around to put himself between Jounouchi and Jounouchi's father, even as Jounouchi put a hand on Yuugi's shoulder to tug him back. "You've said all you needed to say, and so did Jounouchi-kun, and so did I. We're leaving."

The look Jounouchi's father gave him was scathing, but he looked quickly back at his son. "Fine," he spat. "Get the fuck out, then. And don't you ever come back."

"Don't worry," Jounouchi said. With the hand he had on Yuugi's shoulder, he gently nudged Yuugi out of the door. Yuugi turned as he stepped out onto the landing, and watched as Jounouchi shut the door behind him with a little more force than necessary. Yuugi didn't think a slammed door could ever sound so beautiful.

They headed down the apartment stairs in silence, and it wasn't until they were halfway down the street that Jounouchi said, "I'm—I'm sorry you had to hear all that, Yuugi. And that you felt you had to . . . do what you did."

"You don't have anything to apologize for," Yuugi said, and he looked over to see that Jounouchi wasn't looking at him, but was instead staring at the ground as they walked. "I told you years ago, he doesn't have any right to treat you like that. He never has."

"Mm." Jounouchi kicked at the concrete, his hands in his pockets, and after a minute he asked, "Did you . . . uh . . ."

"What?"

"Really . . ." Jounouchi cleared his throat. "Did you . . . really mean all that stuff you said back there? About, uh—what I've, I mean, what I'm—were you serious?"

Yuugi stopped short. He stared at Jounouchi, and it was only when Jounouchi stopped as well and turned to look back at him that he said, "Of course I was. I meant every word. You don't believe me?"

"No, it's not that. It's just . . ." Jounouchi ran a hand through his hair, and scratched his fingers along his scalp and down his neck as he said, "Really?"

"Yes, really." The idea that he'd been making it up or exaggerating was absurd enough to make Yuugi laugh a little. "I told you years ago, remember? In Battle City. You're my best friend, Jounouchi-kun. I love you. I thought that was pretty obvious by now."

Jounouchi stared at him; his brown eyes were wide, and looked oddly bright. In the next beat he'd closed them, and covered his face with one hand as he took a deep, shaking breath.

"Jounouchi-kun?" Yuugi asked, and he felt a little bit alarmed as he took a step forward. "Are you okay?"

"Okay?" Jounouchi asked, and when he looked up Yuugi saw that he wasn't crying, but laughing—beaming, really, as he stepped forward and threw his arm around Yuugi's neck in a hug. "I'm better than okay. I'm lucky. The luckiest damn guy in the world."

"Well, I don't know about that," Yuugi said, and he was laughing, too, as they started walking again. "I think I'm pretty lucky myself. I might have you beat."

Jounouchi scoffed. "We'll see about that. I bet if we ask anyone they'll tell you I'm way luckier."

"No way. I can bet you at least two of our friends would agree with me, probably three—"

"You're on! Let's go call Anzu right now, she'll tell you . . ."