Disclaimer: disclaimed. All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi, KONAMI, TV Tokyo, 4Kids Entertainment, and Shonen Jump. I only own my OCs.
Warnings: possible OOC, character death, and mild suggestiveness
Dedication: to my friends Aleister Romanoff, Theseus Roman, and CharmingWillow…and to the late Kayla Jean Mueller, R.I.P up there in heaven, America's Angel.
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"Even though we've been hurt, we must find a way get through it, life goes on whether we want it to or not. The world keeps turning no matter how bad we feel. This is why we have to learn how to bounce back and move forward." –Anonymous
It was a clash of wills between junk and ice.
They both jumped back at the force. Yusei not-quite grinned even though he was in pain and Yuki grounded her teeth, a sound audible even over labored breathing and their combined battle rage.
"Come on, Yuki. I remember you were better than this the last time we dueled. What happened?"
Yuki made an incoherent sound at the back of her throat that might have been mistaken for a growl or maybe a sob, but Yusei couldn't tell—and he really wanted to know. There weren't many things that could rile Yuki up to this level. Incoherence was his thing; she was the drunk and the mess and the one who stumbled out of bars in the middle of the night, giggling as though there was no tomorrow.
Yuki… well, Yuki was Yuki.
There wasn't really all that much to say beyond that.
Junk Warrior's metal cuff sparked, about to wage an attack, and Yuki was almost crying. Yusei would've had Junk Warrior knock her monster off the field, but the wind flew out of his lungs, and she kicked his feet out from under him and trapped him against the floor.
He could hear the heavy pounding of her heart. Yusei was concerned. "Oi," He said softly. "You okay in there?"
She breathed against his throat. "No. Yes. No. Nii-san is dead."
Yusei had been expecting something such as this, if only because Yuki was bad at controlling herself; even when everyone else thought she knew what she was doing, the truth was, she really didn't. He probably knew that better than anyone else. "Come on, Yuki. Breathe. It is okay, you know? It's okay. I'm right here."
He was here. Someone would be here for her.
He would make sure she would turn out better.
"Don't go anywhere like Mama and Papa. Don't die like Taichi." She burst out as a dam of emotions.
Her brother was not in the picture.
Her parents had thrown her out.
Yusei let out a long and soft sigh. "You should know by now, Yuki. Nothing is going to kill me." It was not a reassurance, but a fact. Not an Earthbound Immortal, not a motorcycle injury, not the Netherworld, not even the Ark Cradle.
No one else was looking out for her. No one else had been looking out for her.
She nodded into his shoulder, her lips pressing there in an almost-kiss. Harsh was more to his taste, but—it was hard, and she was still just a girl. He pushed her off just long enough to breathe, and then quickly dove right back in.
They had kissed each other before, but never something as this.
It was both drowning in water and burning in fire at the same time, the air chocking at the top of his windpipe—asphyxiation and aneurysms and the world exploded in shooting stars behind his eyes. Yusei felt carnage and bloodlust, even, couldn't quite match to this. The Dark Signers didn't know what they were missing out on.
Yuki had that sad, fallen-down look about her, as though her world was crumbling around her while her heart refused to beat. She was so clumsy and depressed, and the sob that escaped her throat was half out of desperation, and the other half out of wanting.
She was also so very, very sad.
She cried, as Yusei felt her hot tears getting absorbed by his sleeveless black shirt.
Yusei held her until she had cried herself out.
"Sorry," She muttered, not looking him in the eyes.
Yusei looked very far away. "Don't worry about it, Yuki." He whispered softly, and then "Come on, again," He nudged her gently.
Yuki nodded. She wiped her lip, and steadily got back on her feet.
Yusei half-smiled, hiking his own Duel Disk up to guard.
That was his queen, his defrosting ice queen.