Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Author's note: I'll be real: I really don't know much about Zexal besides what I've learned from the few fanfics out there. Which means that aside from other things, the characters are probably kind of OOC here. So let's just say for the sake of things that Quattro was still burned in the fire, and that everything after that is AU. And that Kaito and Thomas are friends. Okay? Enjoy!
There's nobody in Thomas's hospital room, and judging by the lack of flowers, no one has really stopped by.
Kaito opens the door slowly, because he doesn't know how Thomas feels or if he's asleep and he doesn't really want to bother him. There's a container of food that he's smuggled in inside of the flowers he's brought. Hospital food is terrible, he knows; and even if Thomas isn't on one of those weird restricted diets Kaito knows he's still not eating the best quality food.
Thomas is awake. Or at least Kaito thinks he's awake, because he can't really see those weird scarlet eyes of his. The whole right side of Thomas's face is covered in white gauze. He's staring straight ahead, with his head lowered a little and his hands limp in his lap. Someone must've propped him up; there's pillows stuck haphazardly around him in a sad attempt that only has Thomas half sitting up. It doesn't look very comfortable.
Kaito wonders if Michael and Chris have come to visit him yet. They must have though, they're Thomas's brothers and they love him more than anything.
"Hey, Thomas."
Thomas jumps a little. He must not have heard Kaito come in.
"Kaito?" Thomas can't see him. He turns his head but meets a faceful of pillow that he couldn't see beside him.
"I brought you flowers. And food." Kaito extracts the container from the cheerful plastic wrapped around the pink roses and holds it out. Thomas is still struggling to move the pillow that's blocking his view. He can't see it, and he's groping around in a way that looks and feels pathetic.
"You're fine, don't worry, I'll come to you." Kaito hurries farther into the room. He makes it to the foot of the bed before he can make out the side of Thomas's face that isn't wrapped in sterile gauze. The visible eye is glazed over and dimmer than usual, bloodshot and tired looking. It makes Thomas look like he hasn't slept in months, and the way his eye follows Kaito to the left side of the bed without blinking easily makes for one of the creepiest stares Kaito has seen in awhile.
"Kaito?"
"Don't sound so confused. Unless you messed up your brain too. I brought you roses, I couldn't find anything in your gold so I had to settle for pink." Kaito sits on the bed beside Thomas without asking, because strangely there are no chairs in the room. He tries to ignore the way Thomas flinches a little when the bed dips. "And I made some pasta for you because everyone knows that hospital food sucks. If you're not on one of their diets that is. If you are it's only because they're trying to feed you their poison; trying to keep you here longer. I can bring you some cookies too if you want, I wasn't sure what kind you like so I wanted to ask you first."
"Why did you bring me flowers?" Thomas asks.
Kaito finds that odd and little rude. But he supposes that Thomas has always had a few problems and that this must be another one surfacing. Lack of manners.
"I heard somewhere that they're supposed to help speed up the healing process. Plus they smell nice. And they'll look good in this room." Kaito surveys the off white walls and the sickly Blue curtains that Thomas must hate. Blue isn't his color.
"I'm not going to heal. Ever. So it's pointless," Thomas says. "I can't see the stupid things anyways."
Thomas drops the flowers into his lap and angles his head to the side so he can pin Kaito down with that creepy stare again.
"I didn't have to get you anything you know. I didn't even have to come visit you. I have plenty of other things to do." Kaito knows that Thomas is probably just upset and a little lonely, and losing your sight in one eye has to be enough to give anyone a bleak attitude, but he's still pretty annoyed. "I came to visit you because you're hurt and that's the nice thing to do."
"Well don't you think it's a little insensitive to bring flowers to the guy who just lost his eyesight?" Thomas brings his lips up in an obvious sneer, but the bandages reach past his chin and pull at his lips in an odd way. He ends up looking like he's about to cry.
"Don't you think it's a little insensitive to be such a jerk? Do you do this to everyone who comes to visit you? You may be upset but you can't take it out on the people who are trying to make you feel better." Kaito stands up. He braces himself to meet Thomas's eye again, but the boy keeps his head turned down. He's still in the same slumped position that he was when Kaito arrived, but he brings his shoulders in a little and the pillows cocoon around him. The flowers are lying on his legs, and Thomas brings his hands away from them like they're about to burn him.
"No wonder no one brought you any flowers." Kaito snatches the bouquet from where it sits. Thomas does nothing but bring his hands closer to himself and subtly lean away from where Kaito is standing. "Next time someone comes, try to be a little nicer."
Thomas still says nothing, and Kaito snorts. He can't be surprised, really. Thomas had always been a little odd and annoying even before he became famous. Before he had his eye scorched.
"Waste of my time coming here if all you're going to do is insult me." Kaito turns back slightly before he exits. Thomas is still curled into himself with his hands pressed into his stomach. He looks like he's trying to form a barrier between himself and something unseen, and the position must be getting uncomfortable.
Kaito leaves without saying goodbye, but before he closes the door he thinks he sees Thomas start to tremble.
Thomas Arclight is released from the hospital exactly two weeks after his accident. The room he leaves behind is still as barren as the day he was admitted to it; and the day that Kaito came to visit.
Chris and Michael come to collect him. Chris signs the papers and they both hold Thomas's hands as he stumbles out of the building. The bandages have been removed from his eye, and there's a long scar that runs vertically from his eyebrow to the bottom of his cheek. It gives Thomas an edgy look that he would love if it was part of a halloween costume and not permanent.
On the way to the Arclights car, Thomas walks into Michael twice and almost trips going down the hospital steps. He misses the door handle four times before he gives up and allows Chris to open the door for him.
"The doctors said that loss of peripheral vision would be an issue. You aren't used to seeing through only one eye yet. That's what the therapy is going to help with." It's small, but it's the only consolation Chris can give to his younger brother, who's sitting in the seat beside him biting his lip and trying not to cry.
"It's not going to help. Nothing will."
Michael reaches over the back of Thomas's seat and lays a hand on his shoulder. It's meant to be comforting, but Thomas shrugs it off and curls into himself. He looks out the window for the rest of the ride and pretends not to notice that the tears are only coming out of one eye.
"Thomas? Is it alright if I come in?"
The curtains in Thomas's room are still closed and the lights are off.
"Can I turn the lights on?" Michael asks. "I brought you some tea."
"No."
"Can I open the curtains?"
"No." Thomas rolls over in bed to face his younger brother. He sits up slightly and tilts his head so that he can focus on Michael; the blankets slip away from one shoulder, and Thomas looks so confused and lost that Michael's heart hurts for a moment.
"Okay. But I brought you tea. And food, you need to eat."
"I don't have to." Both of Thomas's eyes follow him but Michael knows that only one is tracking his movement. He walks around to the right side of the bed without thinking; it's the side he would crawl to when he was younger and had a nightmare, or when there was thunder, or when he and Thomas were in the orphanage together. When Michael makes it halfway around the foot of the bed, Thomas loses sight of him and wrenches his neck painfully to the right. His arm gives out underneath him from the sudden movement and he falls abruptly back against the pillows.
"Thomas! Thomas, I'm so sorry, I didn't think." Michael hurries back around to the other side of the bed and Thomas snorts.
"Shut up, Michael. It's not a big deal." He says, but there's no venom in his voice.
"Are you feeling any better today?" It's been three days since they had brought Thomas back from the hospital, and the only places the middle Arclight brother had visited were his room and the living room couch. He spent the majority of his time in the dark. Chris figured it was because Thomas would rather see nothing than only half the world.
"No."
There's no point in attempting conversation. Thomas is laying on his back now and staring up at the ceiling. A chandelier glitters high above them and Michael wonders how much of it Thomas can actually see. The younger boy sits down on the chair positioned by the bed and rests his tea tray on the nightstand. He picks up one of the china cups he's brought- just because Thomas won't eat doesn't mean he won't drink- and carefully pours the tea into it. He's about to hand it to his brother when Thomas lurches upward and pins Michael down with his left eye.
"You don't have to do that for me, Michael. I'm not an invalid," Thomas snaps. "Give it to me, I can pour my own tea."
Michael sets the cup he's holding aside for himself and lifts the teapot to pass to Thomas. Thomas snatches for it and misses by an inch, thrusting his hand into thin air instead of grabbing the handle like he meant to. Michael catches his hand and presses the handle into his palm, gently and without words. He passes the cup to Thomas next, who soundlessly accepts it without looking at his brother.
They sit in silence as Thomas takes a minute to align the spout of the teapot overtop of the cup. It's awkward for both of them, because Thomas feels like a child and because Michael knows that Thomas must hate this new weakness. He looks away, not wanting his brother to feel more embarrassed than he probably already is.
There's a shout and the sound of something falling. Michael whips his head around in time to see the half full teapot roll off the bed and onto the floor; it shatters into pieces and the remaining liquid inside spreads across the floor. There's tea spilled all over the blankets of the bed, all across where Thomas's legs are, and Thomas is furiously shoving them off of himself.
"Thomas, oh god, are you okay?" It's not very hard to tell what happened. Thomas had missed the cup and poured the tea- the very hot tea- over his own hand. "You need to run that under the water. Here, get up, we'll go take care of this and someone will clean this all up and change the sheets."
Thomas says nothing. He keeps his eyes glued to his burned hand and bites his lip in the characteristic way that tells Michael he's trying very hard not to cry.
"Come on, no harm done, we'll just get you bandaged up and everything will be fine." Michael says, and pulls Thomas up from the bed. He wraps his arm around Thomas's slumped shoulders and guides him gently to the door, past the splintered china and puddle of tea, and to the bathroom. Thomas sniffles softly and brings a hand up to wipe at his face. For both of their sakes, Michael focuses harder on the hallway before them and pretends not to notice what his brother is doing.
Kaito comes once a week, no matter what, for his dueling lessons with Chris. It's tradition at this point.
"If you hold on a minute, I'll get Chris for you. He's a little busy right now." Michael is holding a tray full of dirty tea cups. "I'm sorry you missed tea, if you had come just a few minutes earlier you could have joined us."
"Oh, no, that's okay, Michael. Maybe next time." Kaito shuffles his feet awkwardly. From where he's standing in the foyer he can see Thomas and Chris sitting in the living room. Thomas is laying on the couch beside his older brother, looking up at the cards that Chris is leafing through.
"Alright. Well just give me a second to set this down and then I'll get Chris for you. Unless you want to just join them? You're welcome to if you'd like." Michael says.
There's nothing Kaito would like less at this moment than to sit in the same room as Thomas, so he politely declines. "No, that's okay. He seems busy, I'll let him finish with Thomas." His voice trails off awkwardly.
Michael just smiles gently and nods. "I'll be right back." He makes his way for the kitchen, glancing briefly at his two brothers as he goes.
Voices drift into the foyer; Thomas is propped up on both arms, absorbed by whatever Chris is saying to him. The older brother is holding up a few cards, and judging by the motions he's making, is explaining to Thomas how the cards work together. Kaito can only assume Chris is making Thomas's deck stronger.
It's rather creepy to stand in the foyer staring at the two, Kaito thinks, so he takes a few steps to the side and seats himself on a priceless looking chair. From this angle he can't see Thomas, which means that Thomas can't see him.
If Kaito's being honest, he does feel bad for what he said to the middle Arclight. Thomas has always been sensitive, they all know that. He's quick to lash out, from anger and sadness, and Kaito can't say he blames the younger boy for being upset over the accident. And admittedly, Kaito had overreacted.
"They were just flowers, there was really no need to act so childish." He mutters to himself.
From the living room, Kaito can hear Michael's soft voice alerting Chris to his visitor. Kaito stands, suddenly nervous. He fears having to see Thomas.
It's a stupid fear, he tells himself. If anything comes of it, he'll tell Thomas he's sorry and that he didn't mean what he said. No harm done, water under the bridge; Thomas is forgiving. He ought to be, anyway, given the amount of things he's done wrong himself. And besides, Kaito thinks, Thomas and he are friends and at some point they'll have to make up. The sooner the better.
Chris rounds the corner and Kaito thinks he's gotten lucky, that Thomas has stayed where he was, when Kaito sees him.
Thomas is standing behind his older brother like a little boy. His hand is wrapped around Chris's upper arm and he's peeking out from behind the wave of blue hair to stare at Kaito with wide scarlet eyes. The right one is dull, Kaito notices; it's a pale pink, like the color has leached out. The scar around it is pinkish and clearly still in the process of healing.
"Kaito, it's so lovely to see you." Chris steps forward at the same time that Thomas steps back. At the sudden loss of contact the older boy looks behind him, just in time to see Thomas lurch backwards before taking off for the stairs.
"Thomas?" Chris asks, clearly concerned. "What's wrong? It's just Kaito."
Thomas doesn't answer; he's too busy rushing to his room. He misses a step once and nearly falls backwards, and Kaito can hear the nervous breath Michael takes. A door slams when Thomas is out of sight and then all is quiet.
Kaito can feel his face heat up. The remaining Arclight brothers are staring at him, clearly waiting for an answer.
"Did something happen between you and Thomas?" Chris asks. He takes on that concerned older brother look that means Kaito will be in for it if he's done anything to hurt Thomas.
"Umm, I, well, I went to visit him when he was in the hospital. And we got into a fight, sort of?" Kaito feels like a child who's gotten in trouble at school for pushing someone on the playground. Chris is staring down at him with that stern older brother look- Kaito knows it well because it's like the one he uses when someone hurts Haruto- and Michael keeps glancing up the stairs like he's debating checking on Thomas.
"A fight about what?"
"Flowers." Kaito responds. He looks down at his feet and tries to ignore the way his face heats up in embarrassment and guilt. Hearing it out loud it sounds about as stupid as the fight itself.
"Flowers?" Michael looks bewildered. He asks the question like he's heard Kaito wrong.
"Yes."
Michael giggles softly. "That would be something Thomas would get angry about."
"Do you want to tell me a little bit more about what happened?" Chris asks. He doesn't sound mad anymore, just like his big brother instincts are really kicking in and he's ready to solve the issue before it traumatizes Thomas more.
"I guess so. Yeah, sure. It was stupid, we need to solve it. I need to solve it." Kaito shrugs, very uncharacteristic of himself. He's used to being the one prompting others to resolve their issues, not the one with the issue needing to be solved.
Chris smiles and beckons Kaito to follow him. The older boy leads them to a sitting room around the other side of the house, and Michael makes his way upstairs, assumably to check on his older brother.
"So what exactly happened?" Chris has a small smile on his face; clearly he finds humor in the whole situation and Kaito feels himself relax a little. Except he knows Chris won't be smiling anymore by the end of the story.
"I heard about what happened to him. So I thought it would be nice to bring him some flowers and some food, you know, just to brighten him up a little. But he was insulted, he said it was stupid to bring flowers to someone who's blind in one eye." Kaito pauses. "And I might have gotten a little annoyed and said some things that weren't the nicest. I overreacted, I don't mean anything I said."
Just as predicted, Chris had sobered up. "What did you say to him?"
"Well I don't remember exactly but-"
"General idea. Generally what did you say to Thomas?" There's something dark in Chris's eyes.
"That he was lucky I came to visit him. Because I could have been doing other things. And that it was no wonder no one else had come to visit him since he was being so angry about a simple nice gesture." Kaito lets his voice die out as soon as he sees the look on Chris's face. The oldest Arclight looks torn between full anger and sadness.
"You know you should not have said that, right?" Chris says. His voice is soft and entirely opposite from what Kaito was expecting.
"Yes, of course. I regret it. I know Thomas is… sensitive to things like that."
Chris sits down on the couch beside Kaito and looks him in the eye. "Thomas values you a lot. You're about the closest friend he has. And at a time like that, he needed you more than anyone else. I shouldn't say much more than that, I'll leave that to Thomas. But you will go upstairs right now and apologize to him. And you two will talk things out and make up because whether or not this matters to you, it matters to me and it will make Thomas happy."
Kaito agrees.
And that's how he finds himself poised in front of Thomas's closed bedroom door with Michael beside him.
"Just knock on the door, he'll let you in." Michael says. "He's a little upset lately. If he lashes out please don't get mad at him."
Kaito nods. Michael gives him a pat on the arm that says "you'll be fine" and takes his leave. The only thing left to do is let Thomas know he's there, but Kaito isn't sure if he should announce himself or just knock. Thomas is prideful, he knows, and after the way he fled before Kaito figures he won't be too keen on opening the door if he knows who's behind it.
He settles for a simple knock, because Thomas won't ignore it if he thinks it's one of his brothers.
"Just come in."
Kaito does, hesitantly opening the door and peeking his head in. His eyes adjust to the darkness slowly. There's only one window not covered by curtains, but it's high enough up to be considered a skylight and throws a beam of sunlight on the wall opposite. The room is quiet, he can't even hear Thomas's breathing, and the lack of sound combined with the sparse light makes Kaito feel like he's entering something sacred.
The first things he notices, besides Thomas in the bed, is the row of dolls Thomas has along one wall. There's got to be ten or twelve of them, all in frilly dresses with cold porcelain skin and glass eyes as creepy and empty as their owners. A dollhouse sits proudly on a table in front of them all. It's pink and blue- at least Kaito thinks it is, he can't really tell when it's so dark- modeled after a victorian house with the porches and elegant paneling.
"Why are you here?"
Thomas is sitting up in his bed. He's surrounded by pillows and blankets and tilts his head to an odd angle. It reminds Kaito so much of the day at the hospital that for a moment he panics and says nothing.
"I want to talk to you."
Thomas is holding a doll in his lap. It's dress is delicate pink lace and it's gold hair shines in the dim light whenever Thomas shifts. He's running his hand over something white that covers most of her face, the right side to be exact, and Kaito knows immediately what it is.
It's one of Thomas's beloved Gimmick Puppets brought to life. Or not life, be reality. Dreary Doll looks as sad and hopeless as she does on her card, and the irony isn't lost on Kaito as to why Thomas is holding her. The younger boy runs his fingers across the bandage covering the right side of her face, lingering on the place where her eye should be.
"Why?"
Kaito doesn't know what to do. He feels awkward standing in the middle of the room, but he's not sure how close Thomas will let him get.
"Do you mind if I sit down first?"
Thomas gives him a wary look but nods anyway and gestures to the chair beside his bed. It's positioned conveniently on the left side, Kaito observes.
"Thanks. Umm, really I just wanted to apologize. For the things I said in the hospital. It wasn't okay. Any of it."
Thomas says nothing. He keeps his gaze firmly on the doll in his hands. When Kaito looks over at him, the younger boy is leaning away slightly, like he's trying to put distance in between himself and Kaito but is too afraid to move.
"I understand that this is a tough time for you right now, and you had every right to say the things that you did and-"
"Did you mean any of it?" Thomas interrupts. "At all?" His voice is small.
"What? Thomas of course not." Kaito replies. Thomas looks scared, like he's afraid of what the answer's going to be. Kaito leans forward and puts his hand on Thomas's left one. He slides both their hands off of Dreary Doll's eye and surprisingly Thomas doesn't pull away.
"I would never, ever mean any of the things I said." Kaito can feel his face heating up again because he doesn't know what to say next. "I was just upset is all. It didn't seem necessary for you to insult me bringing you flowers and I got a little over reactive about it." Thomas opens his mouth to say something but Kaito strokes his hand and continues. "No, let me finish. I understand why you said what you did. It's a traumatic thing, what happened to you, and I assume you were just upset about everything. I didn't mean any of what I said then and I most definitely do not mean any of it now. I never will."
Thomas is silent again, but Kaito can tell he's thinking of what to say in reply.
"That was really hurtful, you know." Thomas begins quietly. "But I'm sorry too. I'm always saying things to hurt people, that's what Tron tells me, and I did it again. You're my best friend Kaito, pretty much my only friend, honestly." His voice dips even lower when he says that. "What I said was insensitive; thank you for bringing me the flowers. You were right, you didn't have to do that for me. I appreciate the gesture and I'm sorry for the way I reacted. I accept your apology and I hope you will accept mine." He raises his head and gives a half hearted smile.
There's a problem with everything that Thomas is saying, and it's not just the words. The younger boy sounds mechanical, like everything that's coming out of his mouth has been rehearsed; like it's something that Thomas has been practicing in his mind.
"Thomas you don't have to apologize," Kaito says, his voice as weak as Thomas's. "You didn't do anything wrong, I did."
Thomas shakes his head. He brings his hand back up to the doll and hugs her to him like he's very distressed. He looks like a child, Kaito thinks, with the way the blankets seem to swallow him up and the doll in his arms.
"No, I was so mean to you. You were only trying to help." He squeezes his eyes shut, "You were the only one that came to visit and I sent you away."
Kaito doesn't realize that Thomas is crying until he hears the soft sobs the other boy is making. He has his face buried in the doll's hair and his knees are to his chest.
"What do you mean? Surely I wasn't the only one to visit. What about all your friends? And your brothers? Thomas they were worried sick about you. They love you."
The younger boy wails. "Nobody came to see me, Kaito! They knew I was there but everyone was too- they were too busy!" Thomas dissolves into tears again. It's hard for him to form a full sentence, he's crying so hard. "Chris and Michael never came to visit me. They showed up when I was admitted and then came to take me home, but I was all alone! They were too busy with Tron. And I don't have any other friends. Everyone hates me for what happened to Rio. They never bothered to check on me."
Thomas looks up at Kaito and the older boy's heart just about shatters. "I was so scared, Kaito. I-I sat there everyday and waited for someone to come see me but it never happened. And then you did and I ruined it and I was all alone again."
Kaito doesn't know what to say. He finds it almost impossible to believe that Chris and Michael, Thomas's biggest fans, had left him by himself.
"What?" It's far from the intelligent, comforting words Kaito had hoped to give, but it's all he can think of at the moment.
Thomas wipes the tears from his eyes and begins dejectedly, "Tron told them it wasn't worth their time, I think. It's not that they didn't want to come, it's that he didn't let them. He's always saying I'm too sensitive. That I need to be more like Chris and Michael."
That's just about the most awful thing he's ever heard, Kaito thinks, and he feels about a thousand times worse for the things he said to the boy. He knows Thomas may not like it, but Kaito moves to the bed and wraps Thomas in his arms. The younger boy stiffens a little and tries to pull away, but Kaito rests his head on top of Thomas's and begins to rock him back and forth gently.
"Shh. Thomas, you're wrong. Tron is wrong. You don't need to be like Chris or Michael. You're brothers love you exactly like you are, they don't want copies of themselves. They adore you, even if you don't realize it. And so do I. I wouldn't want you to change because you're already the Thomas that everyone loves."
Kaito wipes a stray tear off of Thomas's face and strokes his hair. "I have a hard time believing that no one else wanted to come visit you. Look at all the fans you have, they care about you. Are you sure that everyone knew you were in the hospital? I don't think Chris and Michael talked about it very much. They didn't want to hurt your feelings by telling everyone what happened."
Thomas wipes the back of his sleeve across his face to clear it of the tears. He's stopped crying, so Kaito leans back and perches on the edge of the bed. "People like you, Thomas. You're not alone."
Thomas scoffs. He's suddenly very focused on the blanket that's wrapped around him.
"No, I'm being serious. Whether you believe it or not."
"Kaito, I really don't expect you to understand," Thomas says bitterly. "You have plenty of friends. If you were in the hospital everyone would come visit you." He hugs Dreary Doll closer to his chest and strokes her hair sadly. "Haruto would come and sit with you all day and everyone would bring you flowers and candy and you would appreciate it. You would never be lonely."
Kaito's at a loss for words- far from the first time, he's starting to realize. Part of what Thomas says is true; there's no denying that nothing would be able to keep Haruto away if Kaito was in the hospital. But there's no way Kaito's going to agree with that, Thomas doesn't need to feel any worse about himself than he already does.
"That's really not true, Thomas." He tries to protest, but it's weak and rather ineffective.
It does nothing to make Thomas feel better. "Even you know it's true!" He says, and his voice comes out a pitch higher, like he's stressed out about the answer. "I have fans and people adore me but they don't really care! I know there's a difference Kaito, and so do you."
There really is no way to win this, Kaito decides. He could lie and say that Thomas has handfuls of friends, but they both know it's not true. Thomas has Chris and Michael and Kaito, and the amount of love they have for him makes up for the lack of others, but he can't say that. It sounds too fake.
"Okay. Okay, Thomas, you may not have the biggest number of friends, but that doesn't matter. I mean, come on, how bored would you get if you were always with Yuma? Or Ryuga? We both know how annoying those two are. You would go insane." Kaito says. He ruffles the younger boy's hair and laughs slightly. "I just can't imagine it. You, Yuma, Shark and the rest of the little kids. You're way better than ten of them."
Thomas gives him a weak smile. It may not be much, but Kaito can tell that he's starting to feel a little better about himself.
"I could destroy them in three turns. At the same time." Thomas offers, and gives a small laugh of his own. "They'll be lucky if I have time for to offer some of my fanservice to them." The smile is bigger this time and Kaito finds himself returning it.
"Exactly! They're just jealous of you, Thomas. And they're not worth a minute of your time."
Thomas looks up at him. There's a fragile expression of happiness on his face and Kaito can't help but feel extremely relieved.
"So, friends again? Everything forgiven?"
To his delight, Thomas nods. "Of course, Kaito. I accept your apology and you should know that you should accept mine too. I mean it, I shouldn't have said the things that I did. You're my friend, Kaito, I need you." Thomas leans in to hug Kaito, who gladly accepts. He holds the younger boy to his chest and buries his face in the red and blonde hair.
"So how long will it take before everything's healed?"
Thomas pulls away. He looks confused and a little hurt and Kaito thinks that he's probably ruined their nice moment.
"It won't ever heal, not really. I'm blind in one eye, it's never going to come back. You know that."
"I do know that." Kaito puts his arm around Thomas again. "I meant everything else. The other burns and scrapes. How long before you heal, or have you already?"
"I don't really know. I haven't paid much attention." Thomas ducks his head sheepishly. He pulls up the sleeves of his pajamas to inspect his arms. They're covered in the ghosts of scratches and burns, though not deep enough to scar or leave behind any permanent damage.
"Getting there," Kaito says. "You'll be back to normal soon."
"Not with this thing across my face." Thomas points to the scar on his eye sullenly. "Now everyone's going to know that there's something wrong with me."
He's dropping back into self-hatred mode, Kaito can tell, so he pulls Thomas's hands into his own and looks him in the eye.
"I think it's cute. And badass. It looks good on you, you'll intimidate all your opponents even more now." He laughs. "They'll know they'll lose the duel before it even starts."
Thomas gives him a halfhearted smile. Maybe it didn't work fully, but it had made a little bit of an impression, so he's satisfied. Kaito knows that confidence can't be built in a day.
But Kaito has a younger brother, and he knows the exact ways to deftly change the subject and still keep the conversation going. "So, Dreary Doll, huh?" He says, and rubs a bit of the dolls dress between his fingers. "Where did you get her made? It looks so accurate."
Thomas smiles, a full one this time, and Kaito leans closer to listen to what he's about to say.
The next day, Kaito returns to the Arclight mansion. It's out of the ordinary and enough to surprise Michael when he opens the door.
"Did you forget something here yesterday?" The youngest Arclight asks. He seems rather perplexed, especially when he looks down and sees what Kaito's holding.
"No, I'm here to see Thomas, actually." Kaito smiles at Michael and holds up the flowers in his hand. "I have something for him."
Michael smiles. Both he and Chris had gotten the run down of the conversation yesterday. Kaito and Thomas had talked for a while longer, long enough for the shadows on Thomas's wall to grow long and disappear, before the younger boy had fallen asleep. Kaito had left the room happier than he had been in awhile, content with the small bit of self confidence he had given Thomas. It hurt him to see his friend think so lowly of himself.
"He's in the living room." Michael says. He backs away from the door to let Kaito in and smiles happily before walking away.
Kaito takes another look at the flowers in his hand, makes sure they're perfectly arranged, and makes his way into the room. Thomas is on the floor, sitting in the middle of a circle of duel monsters cards, and Kaito can't help the fleeting thought of how adorable Thomas looks.
"Hey, Thomas." The younger boy looks up at the voice, clearly too engrossed in his task to have noticed Kaito before, and stands.
"Kaito." He smiles and then tilts his head in confusion. "Why do you have those?"
"I heard somewhere that giving someone flowers is supposed to speed up the healing process." He says.
Thomas laughs awkwardly, and for a fleeting moment Kaito is worried that he's making himself look stupid.
"If this is some weird way of making up for things, it's okay, I forgive you. And you forgive me? You didn't have to get me anything." Thomas replies. He sounds nervous, like he's not sure if Kaito is mocking him somehow or if they're about to fight again.
"No, Thomas, I brought them because you're still healing!" Kaito gestures to Thomas's arms, which are wrapped in white bandages and not covered by the jacket that Thomas usually wears. "Even if you're not still in the hospital. It's also a small way to maybe make up for the things I said before." Thomas gives him a look. "Even if everything is forgiven. And look, they're not pink this time. I went to three stores but I finally found some. You know how hard it is to find gold flowers, Thomas?" Kaito laughs and ruffles the younger boy's hair.
"Pretty hard?" Thomas takes the flowers and glances sheepishly up at Kaito. He holds the flowers close to his chest.
Kaito makes a noise of affirmation. He looks down at the cards spread around their feet as Thomas shyly sniffs the flowers. He runs his fingers along the petals of a few of them and smiles to himself.
"I love the color. Thank you so much, Kaito." Thomas says. He sounds hesitant.
"Of course. Anytime." He replies. "Now. What exactly are you doing to this deck?"
Kaito may not be Chris, but he prides himself on knowing an awful lot about dueling. And with the lack of Thomas's older brother, Kaito sees this as the perfect bonding experience.
"I'm sorting it out. I need to make it stronger. It won't be good enough until I can beat every single opponent. Chris was helping me, but he went off to take care of something with Tron. And anyway, I want to show him that I'm smart enough to make my own strategies." Thomas hugs the flowers closer to him and looks around at the cards on the floor. Some are grouped, others have been placed by themselves, and a few, the number cards, mostly, are sitting safely on the couch.
"Do you need help?" Kaito offers.
Thomas's eyes dart downwards enough that Kaito knows he's considering it.
"Or if you don't want help, do you mind if I keep you company?"
A smile spreads slowly across Thomas's face and he looks back up at Kaito. The right eye is getting better, Kaito notices; it's not so glass-doll creepy anymore. "That would be nice." He says softly, and Kaito knows that's all the affirmation he needs.
Michael is passing the living room when he hears the voices from inside. Kaito and Thomas are sitting together- Thomas's head on Kaito's shoulder- in the middle of the chaos strewn across the living room floor. Kaito is saying something about using Gimmick Puppet Des Troy here instead of there, and Thomas nods as the older boy places the card over to the side.
It's at this time that Chris rounds the corner, and as he gives his youngest brother a confused look and starts to make his way into the living room Michael holds up a hand.
"Don't. Let them be. They're doing fine on their own."