Chapter 2: For the World
Tuning Magician or Timebreaker Magician…?
Yuya couldn't pick.
He sat in the centre of the small leather sofa, his cards strewn out on the coffee table in front of him.
It had been five days since the... 'incident' that had left Yuya shaken and Yuto with a bruised forehead.
Yuya had done just what Yuto had asked and tried to forget all about it, and it had worked to an extent, he'd barely thought about the attack since.
What had stuck with him from that night however, were the feelings he'd developed towards his best friend.
They were… confusing, to say the least.
It was as if their brush with death had awakened something within him, something he'd buried deep inside of him since Yuto had shown up in the Standard Dimension all those years ago.
That was only the half of it.
He could have sworn that when Yuto grabbed his hand for them to make their escape, he'd felt the other boy's empathy and concern flowing through the contact of his warm hand. The connection they shared was strong given how good friends they were, but how strong must their bond truly be for them to… feel each other's emotions? Yuya had been over it a thousand times, and came up empty each time, his emotions only pointing in one direction- and that was towards Yuto.
Even now he couldn't stop thinking about his feelings, about… him.
He looked up from his cards, his eyes looking for a better distraction to mask his uncertainty.
In front of him was an old electric fireplace, dusty and disused, a decadent reminder of the previous occupant's tastes in interior design. He'd never even considered cleaning it or fixing it, instead being quite content to use the electric heaters he'd brought over from Standard.
Above the stone brick work of the fireplace (which looked strangely out of place in a room with patterned white walls) was a long mantel supported by the outcrop in the wall. On it stood one of Yuya's most prized possessions, the Friendship Cup. It's silver, diamond studded frame was far too large to allow anything else to be placed up here, and he wouldn't have it any other way. He was proud of what he'd accomplished in the Synrcho Dimension, and this trophy was his reminder of how many lives his dueling had touched there.
To the right of the fireplace was another sofa, its brown leather obscured by the… most perfect sight he'd ever seen.
Lay across its length was Yuto, his head propped up by a few cushions as he attentively turned the pages of a book Yuya had never seen him read before (figures). The argent pearls of his eyes darted furiously between the words in front of him, his mouth permanently curled into a beautiful smile that had Yuya's chest fluttering.
He swallowed hard and continued to stare, entranced by Yuto's captivating look. Emotions began bubbling to the surface once again, a nervousness clenching his stomach as he realised that these were the same emotions he'd felt on that fateful evening five days ago.
He couldn't look away.
He suddenly wanted to feel Yuto's warmth again, to feel his tender devotion and his unyielding compassion, to feel protected and loved.
It ran deeper than that though. This wasn't just a desire for safety and protection, it was raw attraction, a need for something more, something physical.
He was noticing different things about his friend now… things that friends definitely shouldn't be paying much attention to.
He noticed how perfectly his slim body was moulded to his shirt, the black fabric tight to his skin, accentuating the well-toned muscles that it housed.
Well, this pretty much confirmed it, he thought.
He had a serious crush on Yuto.
The boy in question suddenly looked up from his book and stared back, slightly bemused.
A rush of heat quickly flushed Yuya's face a scarlet red, the pendulum user looking away as fast as possible as not to catch Yuto's gaze.
Now looking in the opposite direction, he closed his eyes and tried to relax.
It's only Yuto, he's just a friend… just a friend… just a-
Yuya's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the unmistakable voice of the boy across from him,
"Everything alright Yuya?"
Yuya stiffened.
"Errr y-yeah, yeah," he stuttered, praying to God that Yuto wouldn't notice how strangely nervous he was.
Yuya thought for a moment that would be the end of it, but Yuto quickly followed it up with another question,
"Do you maybe want some help with your deck? You've been sat there for like two hours…"
"Um sure sure," he replied hastily, being sure to keep his response as short as possible to avoid his words coming out a garbled mess.
Yuya heard Yuto put his book down and jump up, letting out a relieved breath as he did so.
This was ridiculous, he thought. Here he was, getting flustered and nervous at the sight of Yuto.
They'd been friends for years and he'd never had trouble being around him or talking to him… and yet here he was acting as shy as a teenager around their first crush.
Yuya almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of it.
Crush or not, they were still best friends and he wasn't going to let his feelings get in the way of that.
Yuto eased his way around the coffee table and sat down on the sofa… directly next to him.
Yuya's stomach filled with butterflies as Yuto leaned in to look through his cards, his light purple locks brushing gently against his face as he did so.
Yuya wanted to reach out and grab them, to feel how soft and silky his hair was, but he stopped himself.
It wasn't easy, but he came to the conclusion that his best friend might find it a bit weird if he randomly started playing with his hair.
Yuto leaned even further across to grab a card on the far end of the table, his pitch-black hair and invitingly bare neck now nearly in contact with his face.
Yuya almost fainted as Yuto's scent flooded his senses, overloading them with the sweet confection of his shampoo.
Hints of grapefruit and vanilla filled his nostrils, its saccharine essence so intoxicatingly fragrant that Yuya was left light-headed once Yuto moved back to his place beside him.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Yuto asked concernedly as he placed the card back on the table and rearranged a few others into piles. "You look kind of feverish."
Yuya's eyes widened in horror. He hadn't noticed how visibly hot he'd become, with his cheeks and lips now flushed a candy red.
He'd never been so embarrassed in his whole life. What could he possibly say now? It was obvious there was something going on, and it was only a matter of time before Yuto caught on.
"Y-Yeah I'm good don't worry, it's just a headache," he lied, trying his best to sound convincing.
Yuto was having none of it.
Having thought he might have gotten away with it, Yuya wasn't ready for what happened next.
Yuto, with an expression somewhere between concerned and amused (at his terrible lie), turned to face him and placed a gentle hand on his cheek.
The contact immediately sent flares of heat shooting up his neck, and he could feel his cheeks becoming hotter and hotter. Sparks were flying in his chest, his hands beginning to shake.
Yuya slowly turned to face Yuto, savouring every second of the warmth of his hand upon his cheek.
"You're burning up Yuya," he exclaimed, clearly distressed at his condition.
He moved his hand so it was pressed firmly onto his forehead, the heat of his touch almost causing Yuya's breath to hitch.
He could feel the power of Yuto's emotions coursing through him.
Through the palm of Yuto's hand and the tips of his fingers, they ebbed and flowed, streaming straight into Yuya's conscience.
This was the same phenomenon that he'd experienced on the night Yuto saved him he deduced, only this time he was fully aware of it.
He felt everything that Yuto was feeling, his concern, his worry… but something eluded him, almost like it was just beyond his reach.
It was a feeling that Yuya couldn't grasp, as if Yuto's conscience was holding it back.
Wait.
If he was feeling what Yuto felt, then Yuto must feel how-
Yuya quickly jolted backwards at the realisation that his secret feelings for his best friend might not be as secret as he thought they were.
Yuto swiftly retracted his hand as Yuya recoiled, his face a picture of surprise and uncharacteristically, embarrassment.
A silence descended upon the pair as they stared at the floor, both of them wondering what this connection they shared really was.
Yuya shuffled his feet uncomfortably as his thoughts drifted to the question of if Yuto could feel his desire for him.
He couldn't possibly… could he?
As far as Yuya was aware, Yuto didn't even know he was gay…
He just hoped that his emotions hadn't given him away. If he was ever going to pursue his feelings for Yuto, he wanted to do it his way and not rush into things.
Yuto rose to his feet, leaving Yuya sat awkwardly staring at the wall.
"I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable," Yuto said almost ashamedly. "I just don't want you getting sick."
Yuya felt a pang of guilt. This was his fault.
He was the one who harboured feelings for his best friend. He was the one who wasn't ready or willing to talk to him about it. He was the one that was going to ruin their friendship because he couldn't control his emotions…
"Yuto don't be sorry… It's okay, I'm okay." Yuya rose to his feet too and looked him in the eye.
He wanted to tell him everything right there and then, how much he really liked him, the way he made him feel, the weird connection between them when they touch… but he couldn't.
Now wasn't the time.
He couldn't risk ruining their friendship by admitting his feelings all at once. He had to try and ease their close friendship into a relationship where Yuto wouldn't feel pressured into being with him just because they were best friends.
Yuya offered Yuto a weak smile.
This seemed to calm the Xyz user, who smiled back before looking down at the cards on the table. He let out a slight chuckle and pointed at the tiny pile that was to be Yuya's main deck. "You've still gotten nowhere."
Yuya had totally forgot!
"Oh shit yeah I need to get this done I have my big duel tomorrow," he panicked, sitting back down to sift through the mounds of cards.
As he quickly gathered them up, a thought sprang into his mind.
This duel could be the perfect opportunity to show how much he truly cared about Yuto.
He glanced up at Yuto who was still stood above him, watching on as he constructed his deck.
If he could put on a show that had all of Yuto's favourite monsters in, then maybe he'd get the message and start to understand how he felt towards him?
It was a long shot, but it would be a good start for trying to cultivate a relationship with him. Plus, it was a super cute idea (he thought so anyway).
"Hey I know you're really busy tomorrow with your essays and everything, but I'll be action dueling Kaito at the old Spade Branch building to celebrate its reopening, do you think maybe you'll be able to come?" Yuya's voice was filled with expectancy and hope.
Yuto beamed back at him. "Of course I will! I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Yuya felt a tear of happiness prick at the corner of his eye which nearly became a deluge as Yuto clicked open his deck box and placed his Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon on the table.
"And neither would he…" he grinned, pointing at the card. "Just be sure to have fun out there and put on a show, it's what you do best."
Yuya choked back the lump in his throat as he picked up the card, its powerful dark aura pulsing so wildly in his hand he had to place it back down again.
This was amazing! With this card he could put on the perfect show for Yuto!
Yuto edged out from behind the coffee table and headed in the direction of his room with Yuya staring after him.
This was going to take some planning, he thought as he turned to look for Dark Rebellion, who he had unknowingly placed face down on top of his own Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, as if they were-
He groaned and shook his head in realisation at what he'd done, his face flushing a blazing red once again.