Sorry to keep you all waiting. Lots of stuff happening lately.

Enjoy! (Angst warning, just in case anyone is allergic. Precautions, you know.)

Chapter 2

The walk home from the park was quite surreal, to say the least. As Tea walked the same sidewalks and crossed the familiar street crossings she had known as long as she could remember, it was oddly bewildering to her that it was all still there. It was still downtown Domino City, and everything was still the same as it was before she had been born, before she had met Yami, and before the visit at the park that day. People walked briskly with their suitcases or purses and chatting on their cell phones, involved in their own personal matters, most probably just trying to get home from work, carrying on with life completely oblivious to the turmoil within Tea's heart and mind.

Only Tea knew, and no one else; even Yami could only begin to guess.

Everything was in place in her house, the way it was every day – her father gone, hard at work in the real estate business, her mother on the recliner sipping tea and reading her trashy romance novel with the window slightly open, and of course her 10-year-old basset hound, Charlie, asleep on his rug. Life still carried on, even in her own home.

"Hey dear," her mother greeted her, without removing her eyes from the pages of the book. "How was your day? How's Yami?"

Already feeling as if she were on the brink of emotional self-destruction, she strangely felt that the words "Yami broke up with me" were not adequate enough to try to communicate her apparent sadness to her mom – at least, not now. Her mother, having met her husband at 16 and married by 18, had never experienced nor understood the world of dating and heartbreak resulting from relationships going sour.

"Good," she lied, her voice shakier than she had intended. "Yami's fine."

Though she was convinced her mother wouldn't be the least bit concerned by her daughter's strange behavior as long as she's wrapped in her novel, Tea raced up the stairs to her bedroom before she would even have the chance. Her room was tidy, as it usually was, and yet it seemed so foreign to her; the last time she was in this room, she was completely content with her life and herself, looking forward to each day, especially when she got to see Yami again.

This time, entering the room was Tea. Not Tea, Yami's girlfriend, but just Tea. This new perspective of the world around her, especially the homely space of her room, was both off-putting and quite upsetting.

In fact, the thought of it had finally triggered the start of the tears that had been threatening to fall since the moment Yami ended their relationship. For a moment Tea was frozen, standing awkwardly in the middle of her room, tears raining down her face, feeling so broken she didn't know where to go or what to do with herself. All the while the same questions circulated throughout her mind over and over again:

Why, why, why?

Did she even want to know?

Was she prepared for the answer?

At last, she resolved to sleeping the pain away – for now, at least. As she laid herself down on her bed, a fresh new wave of emptiness and nostalgia swept over her as her hand gripped the soft sheets, as she then remembered – Yami had taken her virginity on this bed. Tea distinctly and fondly remembered that glorious night, her vivid imagination taking her right back to it, allowing her to almost relive it. She gave herself to him, exchanging her innocence for a much deeper connection with him than she had ever hoped for. That was a night of true love between them, she was sure.

Tea frowned. The cold emptiness she felt without Yami by her side made her heavy heart ache severely. She was so overcome by her grief that she was completely startled by her basset hound hopping on the bed to join her. He then proceeded to sniff her face, and began the task of licking her tears away with his large, floppy tongue.

"Oh, Charlie," Tea cooed, patting his head as he rested his head on her stomach. "Sometimes you're a better mom than Mom is." But the old pooch was already fast asleep, as Tea herself gave in to her nagging fatigue.

The walk home for the other was even stranger than for the first, if possible. Yugi had witnessed the whole encounter with Tea, and was now sharing the pain, sorrow, and regret that his darker half was feeling. There was an awkward silence between them as Yami, in control for the time being, sulked all the way to the Game Shop, not saying a word physically or mentally.

"Yami?" Yugi finally spoke up. There was no answer.

"Yami, are you okay?"

A long silence ensued, when Yami finally responded, "I don't want to talk about it right now."

Yugi sighed. He understood. "Okay. Let me know if you want to talk. I know she meant a lot to you."

Suddenly Yugi felt himself being gently pulled to the forefront of his mind, taking over the vessel while Yami's spirit retreated into the puzzle. Remembering he had homework and chores to do, Yugi grudgingly forced the predicament into the back of his mind and prepared for an evening of work.

Meanwhile, Yami continued to pace the inner chambers of his soul room, feeling inner pain like he never imagined he would feel.

"It's for the best," he kept saying to himself, trying with much effort to suppress his feelings of remorse with justifications. "It's for the best. There's no other way. It's for the best."

Still, the ache nagging at his heart persisted, clouding his mind and thoughts within it. Tea was truly the perfect girl for him, there was no doubt. And yet, he could not continue their relationship. His fiery passionate love for her still burned strong, even now, and there was nothing he could say to himself that would chase away the feeling of regret and sorrow for what he had done...to her. To himself. To them.

He did the right thing – the selfless thing. Yet why does he feel such pain?

A few hours had passed by and Yugi still has not heard from Yami. He began to worry about his dark and question his reasons for breaking it off with the only one he ever had romantic feelings for. Sure, he liked Tea, and oftentimes felt a small pang of jealousy whenever she and Yami were together, but any envious feelings were suppressed by genuine happiness for them. He would never let his own emotions interfere with what was clearly meant to be.

It has been way too long now, Yugi thought to himself. Better go see if he's okay.

Yugi hopped out of his bed in his soul room and crossed the "hallway" to Yami's closed door. He knocked three times, noticing the door being much colder than normal.

"Come in," he heard a faint voice answer. It sounded as if Yami had used the minimum effort to respond at all.

The young one wandered into the chamber, ready to talk soothing words to the elder, and was stunned with the sudden icy chill that washed over his spiritual body. A low temperature in one's soul only meant that the soul was in great despair, and it both worried and saddened Yugi upon noticing this.

"Are you okay, Yami?"

His dark was pacing the room, arms crossed, looking quite distressed and very involved in his personal thoughts. He found a step from a staircase to sit on as Yugi walked towards him and joined him.

"I'll be fine."

Yugi gave his dark a quite inquisitive look. "Yami, why did you do it?"

Yami's eyes dragged themselves to meet the gaze of his light – empty, blank, and sad. "Do what?"

"You know...end it?"

The pharaoh's eyes fell slightly, staring past Yugi's shoulder, before looking away entirely.

"I felt that I was betraying you."

That response seemed to paralyze Yugi's mind entirely."W-w-what?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. I just could not continue with the relationship knowing that I'm hurting you."

Yugi's eyes widened in shock and fear. It was all because of him?

"Yami, you're not–"

"YUGI!" Yami suddenly bellowed, scaring the daylights out of Yugi. "Don't lie to me! I'm hurting you every time I'm with Tea and you know it! I can feel your jealousy every time I touch her...I can feel your envy whenever I kiss her and tell her that I love her! You think you have everything well-hidden from me, but you don't!"

Before he knew it, the back of Yugi's throat started to tremble; sensing tears about to emerge... but he suppressed them. Yami had never had an emotional outburst in his presence like this before; it was obvious he was quite distraught, and Yugi felt as if he were the cause of all his pain. A pang of guilt struck him in the heart as he remembered one specific night for Yami and Tea–one very special night for them both–making love to each other for the first time. Yugi was alert and aware the entire time, and indeed felt the green monster of envy creeping up on him. Finally, he could no longer hold back his tears. Upon noticing this, Yami's expression immediately softened as he put a hand on his soul partner's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Yugi," he whispered. "I didn't mean to shout at you."

"No," Yugi choked, briskly shuffling out of the chamber. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interfere with destiny." He pulled the ice-cold door shut, leaving a brooding pharaoh alone in the dark.

Awwww...a nice big spoonful of angst. Don't you love it?

Stay tuned for Chapter 3! :D