Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: One Week Away
Characters: Shou & Juudai
Word Count: 1,000||Status: One-shot
Genre: Angst, Friendship||Rated: G
Challenge: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section B30, write about your BrOTP; Written for the One Friendship Boot Camp, prompt #47, week
Summary: Juudai took a week after fusing with Yubel to come back to Duel Academia. What did Shou do in that week?
On the first day, not a single morsel of food or drop of drink passed Shou's lips. He remained in Osiris Red, curled up on the bunkbed that had once been his, and tried to tell himself that if he listened the right way, he could hear Juudai snoring underneath him.
He was wrong, but he tried anyway, and when he woke out of a half-doze wherein he'd rolled over to see Juudai there, traitorous tears stung his eyes and he rolled back over, shoving his head underneath the pillow and pretending he hadn't woken up at all.
Juudai would come back. Shou refused to even think that he wouldn't. Going off to become an adult wouldn't take forever. It couldn't.
On the second day, he stayed where he was, still gazing up at the underside of the bunk over his, still wearing the robe he'd acquired in Dark World, and underneath it his Ra Yellow uniform. He knew he should change out of it, at least. He knew he had plenty of clean uniforms waiting for him.
He didn't move.
He'd worn this the last time he saw Juudai. Taking it off would mean time had moved on. That more time had passed without Juudai. He wasn't going to do that. Not yet, anyway.
Asuka and Fubuki and the others came to look at him. He didn't talk to them. He didn't really have anything to say. He'd said it all before.
He just stayed where he was, and he waited.
On the third day, he slept more, but only because he had barely slept the last two days. It was the sleep of exhaustion and when he finally opened his eyes, he didn't dare to look below to see if somehow, Juudai had returned while he'd been out of it.
He wanted to, but the silence in the room was too much, and he knew without looking at all that he was the only one there.
Not sleeping wasn't going to bring Juudai back any sooner. Nor would sleeping. Shou didn't know which one he wanted to do, or not do, the most.
Kenzan reminded him of what happened the year before when he'd searched so much for Juudai that he'd passed out at the end of their duel. He didn't want to do that again, did he?
Shou had to think about that. He decided that he didn't.
On the fourth day, Shou finally pulled himself out of Osiris Red, which reminded him so much of Juudai that leaving the dorm actually hurt. It wasn't like when he'd been promoted, since then he could return any time he wanted, and Juudai made it clear that spending the night was perfectly fine. The Red dorm was empty without Juudai in it, no matter how many other students there were there.
There weren't many anyway; a lot of them had been promoted while he and the others were in Dark World. But even the handful that remained couldn't bring the kind of life to it that Juudai did without even trying.
With Kenzan standing guard to make certain he didn't fall over, he showered and changed and even had one of Kabayama-sensei's amazing meals. He didn't eat much; living in Dark World meant that he had to fight for his meals more often than he didn't, and he hated having to do that. He'd never had a lot of meat on his bones and the months there hadn't made it any better.
What had Juudai eaten, he wondered? He'd been Haou, feared and respected and a ruler of terrifying power. Surely he'd eaten the best foods available.
What was he eating now? Where was he, that he could eat anything at all?
Those thoughts chased Shou into his sleep.
On the fifth day he finally dragged himself into his classes. He couldn't have guessed on a wager what they were being taught, but he turned up and sat in his seat, head resting in his hand, mind so far away it might as well have still been in the other worlds.
From what he could tell, the others who'd been on that trip weren't much better where this was concerned, and that made him feel a little more in touch with them at least. He wasn't the only one changed by all of this.
On the sixth day Asuka talked about putting together a memorial of some kind for everyone who hadn't returned. Shou stayed out of it. He would remember Juudai and his big brother in his own way but people like Amon and most of the monsters he didn't care for at all.
He bought a pack of cards, more because he had nothing else to do with his time than anything else. It turned out to have almost all Dark World monsters in it. He wouldn't tear up cards, but he found someone who played that kind of deck and gave them all to her without any kind of explanation.
On the seventh day, they held the memorial and Shou found himself outside eventually, vividly recalling every moment of Dark World he'd ever wanted to forget, including that moment when Juudai told him he was going off to become an adult.
Please come home, aniki, Shou prayed from the depths of his heart. I know you will, but please, come home soon.
Some prayers are answered sooner than others. Shou stood frozen as Juudai turned toward him, eyes bright and cheerful as they hadn't been since … since… in way too long. He smiled, smiled with a strength Shou couldn't remember seeing, either.
He wrapped his arms around Juudai, sobbing helplessly, and beat his fists against the other's back, and wanted to know where he'd been and why he hadn't come back sooner, and he wasn't ever to go away like this again, where Shou couldn't find him or he couldn't find Shou.
On the seventh day, Yuuki Juudai came home, and Shou let himself rest.
The End
Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.