Notes – For the gx_100. Set post-GX. Short fic is short.
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When they both called each other to say that they'd been accepted into Duel Academia Fubuki felt happy.
When it turned out that they both scored high enough to be considered elite students Fubuki felt happy.
When he was rescued from Darkness, even after all that he had been through, Fubuki felt happy to be back.
And when he watched Ryo have his graduation duel against Juudai, that made him feel happy too, with a touch of pride added in there.
But after that there hadn't been any feelings of happiness in connection with Ryo. Of the few times that Fubuki had even spoken to him since then he was left feeling bitter and pained.
He kept photo albums. And surprisingly enough he was still able to look at them and remember all the good times that they'd held for the two of them. Maybe that's why he'd found it so easy to get back in touch with Ryo after his own graduation. It was possible that part of him didn't even feel that Ryo had gone, mixed with the difficult acceptance Fubuki had made towards how Ryo lived his life now.
That distorted view summed up the present Ryo quite well. He would never be the person he had been before, but at the same time he wasn't the same Hell Kaiser he'd been a few years ago either. Shou had taught him the value of respect once more, and now Ryo sat somewhere in the middle ground, watching the world from that wheelchair of his. It was quite suited to him.
Even so Fubuki didn't associate the same kind of happiness towards Ryo that he had felt in the younger days they'd had together. It was more like… gladness. He was glad that his friend was doing so well but it didn't feel the same.
The closest he came to it was when Ryo first started to walk without the aid of the chair once again. He wasn't strong enough to manage the same kind of confident strides that he had done before, but maybe the feeling of being humbled would do him some good.
The real happiness came after that…
They were talking in one of the side rooms from the duel arena. Manjoume had set this place up so they all had somewhere to sit and catch up between Pro League matches, since so many of them would meet here by chance. For all they had been respected in Duel Academia neither Ryo nor Fubuki were in the Pro Leagues now, but they still came here from time to time, mostly to support those they knew.
Fubuki had been talking on about his usual nothing much when Ryo had silenced him by raising his hand. He needed space to think and Fubuki respected that. If he didn't then their friendship probably wouldn't have lasted this long.
Ryo observed him closely, which was sort of unnerving.
Then after coming to some sort of mental conclusion, Ryo leaned forward and kissed him. It was sudden and there had been no permission asked, but Fubuki certainly didn't mind at all.
After a few seconds Ryo pulled away and left it at that. There had been no words spoken at all, but that didn't matter.
For the first time in connection to his best friend, Fubuki felt truly happy.