A/N: Thanks for the comments, enjoy the next chapter!
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Yami stared at Yugi for the longest time, unsure of what to say. The other teen had set his gaze at his hands in his lap, sniffling his nose, his tears still unceasing.
Yugi's parents were divorcing? It seemed so sudden…and Yami could remember Yugi only telling him good things about the two adults. Yugi never sounded like he was hiding something from him about his parents, and because of the state he was currently in, Yami expected that the other boy hadn't suspected any of this to come to pass.
His heart ached for Yugi, and Yami persisted to himself that he shouldn't feel this way, even if he did like the smaller teen. He had to be strong for Yugi, not all wishy-washy over the situation.
Retrieving more tissues, Yami handed them to Yugi, who once again took them and blew his nose thoroughly. He gave Yami a small smile of gratitude, and Yami could see that Yugi's tears had become less.
Watching Yugi set them aside, Yami sucked in a breath before tenderly grabbing the other by the wrist, gently tugging on it as a sign for Yugi to come to him. The smaller teen gave him an unexpected shy look, but nonetheless relented and let himself be wrapped up in between Yami's legs and surrounded by caring arms that immediately had Yugi relaxing.
Thankful for the end of the large sill to be framed by a wall he could lean against, Yami calmed down when he felt Yugi melt against him, sniffling here and there. He took to looking out the window at the scenery of the hospital's parking lot and a few trees as he soothingly let his fingers caress Yugi's arm in reassurance. Yugi head eventually lolled onto his shoulder, his purple eyes closed. Within minutes, Yami knew that the other male was asleep.
Of course when things took a turn for the worst for him, they also had to for Yugi. Basically, his sexuality had been spread around Domino High, humiliating him despite the fact that he got back to Ushio to a degree, and then Yugi had to have been told by one of his parents that his immediate guardians were having an abrupt divorce just out of the blue.
This was turning out to be quite a peachy day.
Closing his eyes and tilting his head back until it settled against the white wall, Yami let his thoughts melt away into noting as he joined his patient in slumber.
"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! What are going to Grampa's for?" Yugi asked curiously, a note of excitement lacing his voice. He literally bounced in his seat as he recalled each and every one of the fun games his elder had for him last time they visited.
His mother glanced over his shoulder, a weak smile spreading out over her lips. "You're going to spend the weekend at Grandpa's, Yugi. Mommy and Daddy are going on a little vacation."
"Vacation! I wanna come too!" Yugi protested, squeezing his stuffed bear in his arms securely. "Families are supposed to go on vacations to-gather." He put on a pouty face, hoping to guilt his mother into letting him come with them.
His mother's smile disappeared, but Yugi didn't notice it. "I'm sorry, Yugi, you can't come with Mommy and Daddy."
"But why not?" Yugi insisted, confused as to why he couldn't go.
"Because your Daddy and I want some time together; besides, Grandpa told us he has some new games he wants to show you," she said, hoping her last statement would take Yugi's attention.
Sadly it didn't. "But I want to come on vacation, too!"
His mother didn't answer, and Yugi frowned. "Mommy?" he prodded, repeating the name a couple of times before-
"Yugi! That's enough!" his father roared in the front seat, his eyes darting to the rearview mirror and then back to the road. "You are going to Grandpa's, and that's the end of it, do you understand me?"
Yugi had gotten a glimpse of those angry eyes in the mirror and his father's harsh shout had startled him into tears. He hugged his bear closer, his chin quivering. Then he heard his father sigh rather exasperatedly.
"Don't you dare start crying, Yugi! You are almost seven years old; no more crying, mister!" his father shouted with frustration, causing his son to become frightened and spill more tears down his face.
His mother reacted unexpectedly, with a loud pitch of voice as well. "Shichiro, please don't yell at him! He's young and-"
"He's too old to be crying, I'll decide what's best for my son, Masami," his father replied just as harshly as before, gripping the steering wheel, trying to concentrate.
The woman in the front was taken aback. "He's our son, Shichiro, and I think we should both decide what's right for Yugi - especially with his condition."
"Don't argue with me, Masami," the man said his voice suddenly low, ignoring his wife's added statement.
Yugi curled up in his seat, unsure of what his parents were talking about again, but he found it scary as they started to increase their volume. At one point, his mother shrieked and the car jerked violently, and it caused his parents to become what seemed even angrier. Tears flowed down his face unchecked, and Yugi wished that they were already at his Grandpa's house.
Finally, they arrived at the familiar Game Shop Yugi had come to know and love, and his parents had only gotten worse by the time Yugi was struggling to get out of his tricky seat belt. Both of his parents had gotten out of the car, appearing to have forgotten him. He watched with some curiosity out of the window as his parents continued to yell at each other, and when his father struck his mother, Yugi let out a cry of despair and fear as he buried his head into his teddy bear and wept more, not understanding what was going on.
It wasn't too long before the door nearest him opened, and firm but worn hands quickly unbuckled his seatbelt and hoisted him out of the car. Yugi took in his Grandpa's familiar scent as he buried his face into the elderly man's shoulder, wrapping his legs around the man's middle as he was carried into the house.
Not looking up as he was transferred from his Grandpa to his father, Yugi clung onto his parent as he was taken upstairs, teddy bear and all. He sniffled as he was carefully laid down in the guest room's bed and covered up. His father told him to sleep for a while before closing the door behind him as he headed back downstairs.
Whimpering as he curled up into a ball under the comforting sheets, Yugi hugged his stuffed animal closer, trying to figure out why his father would hit his mother. It wasn't long before his young mind overcame to exhaustion, his eyes slipping close, surrendering to sleep.
Yugi woke with a start, gasping as he sat up as quick as lightning, finding himself in his bed. There was sweat on his forehead, a couple of his bangs sticking, his heart was pounding, and his breath was uneven.
Unclenching his hands and letting go of the sheets he had tightly grasped, Yugi evened out his breath as best as he was able. He eventually pulled his knees to his chest, loosely wrapped his arms around his legs and let his head fall onto his kneecaps.
His parents were divorcing…his parents were divorcing. He had never thought that they would because of him, but now…
A whimper escaped his lips, and Yugi tried to suppress a sob from leaking out too. He sucked and bit on his lips, willing himself not to burst into tears. His chest ached with heartbrokenness, and Yugi felt utterly helpless.
Maybe he shouldn't have kept this secret to himself…protecting his parents and saying that they didn't have problems like they did. Yugi's lip quivered and he gasped, feeling completely stupid for not telling anyone that he parents fought. Maybe if he had, they would've resolved their differences and wouldn't be filing for a divorce right now.
"Oh gods…" Yugi moaned lowly, feeling his tears well up again. He kept telling himself through the years that nothing was his fault, and that he parents weren't fighting because of anything he did. He knew that they didn't get along for a reason still unknown to him, but Yugi couldn't help but feel like they only argued whenever he was around…
Suddenly, a door creaked open rather loudly, jostling Yugi out of his self wallowing. His head shot straight up as if something were to attack him, trying to figure out who was in his bathroom.
Yami appeared a second later, much to Yugi's relief. Yugi watched as the other teen closed the door behind him, wiping his wet hands on his pants, showing that they were all out of paper towels. He started to come into the main room, stopping short when he noticed that Yugi was awake and watching him intently.
"You're up," Yami observed without emotion, breaking the silence as he took a seat on Yugi's bedside, something that surprised Yugi a little. "How are you, uh, feeling?"
Hastily, Yugi wiped his tears away with the back of his sweatshirt's sleeve, snorting up the loose mucus in his nose. "Fine," he replied ungracefully, swallowing a lump in his throat.
The bully rolled his eyes. "Bullshit," Yami said rudely. "You can't be fine," he called out, "I'll ask again: how are you feeling?"
Yugi felt something stir up in him. "Don't talk to me like that. I said I was fine," he answered lowly.
He knew his words would anger Yami, but Yugi suddenly didn't want to share anything…he just couldn't.
Yami stared at him quizzically. "Do you seriously expect me to come in here after school, find you freaking out and crying, then comfort you and put you into your bed, only for you to tell me you're 'fine'? Don't bullshit me, Yugi."
"Look, I said I was fine," Yugi countered back, feeling his face heat up and tears start to prick at his eyes. "Just leave it alone."
"I knew it," Yami unexpectedly said, his voice lowered, as if he were just figuring something important out.
"Knew what?" Yugi questioned quickly, hoping that Yami wasn't thinking of saying what he thought he'd say. His insides squirmed.
Red eyes gleamed at him, not angrily, but not contentedly, either. "You know something," Yami called him out, and Yugi flinched. "See? I didn't know it before, but there's something about this divorce of your parents' that you're not telling me."
Not realizing the defiance that covered his words, Yugi snapped, "I don't have to tell you anything."
Before he could even register it, Yami was physically on top of him, pinning his hands down by his sides with brute force, making Yugi wince slightly. Yami's legs trapped his own under the bed sheets, and irritated crimson eyes stared into uncertain amethyst.
"You do know, that as a bully, I can usually tell if someone's lying, right?" Yami told him, a threatening tone somewhere underneath.
Yugi gawked at him, blinking his tears away. Yami watched him for a while longer, letting his grip loosen considerably when Yugi shut his eyes and turned his head away. Letting out an inaudible sigh, Yami let his left hand trace the side of Yugi's face, startling the other into looking at him again.
"Please, Yugi. You can't tell me what's up. I promise I won't spill a word to anyone, honest," Yami pleaded, and to both their surprises, captured Yugi's lips in a gentle kiss of reassurance.
Pulling away without another word, Yami crawled off of the smaller teen to sit back at the end of the bed.
His lips tingling, Yugi sat up, looking at Yami through sad eyes. He felt torn, not wanting to reveal what Yami called him out on, his secret. But at the same time, he knew that he should inform someone of his internal dilemma. Touching his lips with the tips of his fingers, Yugi called softly, "Yami."
The usually defiant teen looked slowly at him, those red eyes promising not to repeat anything he had to say.
Taking the silence as an invitation, Yugi pulled the sheet off from his lower half, scooting over so that he sat next to Yami. He stared at his bare feet that chilled against the hard linoleum floor, figuring out how to say what he wanted to say.
Twiddling his fingers against one another, Yugi started, "Well…I guess I've always have known that my parents have fought." The words hurt to say out loud, and Yugi felt uncertain about sharing. As if sensing his hesitant approach, however, a hand awkwardly grasped his own in an odd way to comfort him.
"I guess my parents started fighting ever since I was about five years old…just around the time I started acting up. I never really thought that they could be fighting over me then, but, as I started to understand what they were saying and stuff, I noticed that they only really fought when I was around them," Yugi continued, unconsciously leaning against Yami for support, vaguely feeling an arm wrap around his waist securely.
"I doubt it's you, Yugi," Yami told him sweetly, and Yugi nodded.
"I know that…it's just, I can't figure out what sets them off. And whenever they fight, it's around me, and that's all I can take from their disputes," Yugi somewhat protested, "I know that they don't argue about me going berserk like I often do…but maybe it's the stress or something." He thought for a brief moment, furrowing his brows. "But I know better than to blame it all on myself, don't worry."
"Should I worry?" Yami countered lightly, and Yugi knew that he was testing him.
Yugi shrugged after a moment. "I don't know."
"Have you ever thought that maybe your parents' relationship didn't work out like they had hoped? Maybe their compatibility didn't work out or something like that. Maybe they lost interest. Do they have a high-quality sex life?" Yami's arm tightened around his waist even more, drawing Yugi even closer.
Yugi's face flushed at the last question, fidgeting like a worm. "What kind of question is that?" he squawked, giving his caretaker an incredulous stare.
Yami's brows rose and he shrugged unknowingly. "I don't know," he admitted. "Just something I hear in school a lot."
"That a bad sexual relationship leads to breaking up?"
"Guess so."
The smaller teen sighed. "Well, I doubt it's that," he said, hoping to change the subject, letting his head rest against Yami's shoulder again as he let his eyes glaze over as he took up staring at the floor again. "But seriously…do you really think that those other things could mean so?"
The other teen made a noise that sounded to Yugi like a scoff, but he brushed it away. "Well, I'm not an expert, but maybe."
There was edginess to Yami's response this time, and it caught Yugi's attention. He looked up at the other, and in return the bully gave him an odd look like he was some kid who had oversized nostrils or something.
"What?" Yami inquired awkwardly. He narrowed his eyes slightly, hoping that Yugi would just go back to leaning on him.
"Is something wrong?" Yugi asked, a tone of concern lacing his voice.
Yami shifted on the bed, causing the mattress to squeak and moan. "I'm fine," he answered curtly. "Go back to telling me whatever you were going to tell me next."
Yugi didn't expect himself to smile, but he did. He knew that he shouldn't have, especially with everything he was going through, but he couldn't help it. Yami gave him another funny look, confused at his expression. "Quit it, you're supposed to be sad," he ordered quietly, feeling uncomfortable.
"I know that, but…I feel like you're not telling me something now; you seem to have this…ability to know what to say, as if you've gone through something similar or something," Yugi said in a knowing voice. "Besides, I've told you everything I could. Honest."
Yami rolled eyes, feeling his chest tighten a little. "I thought that you'd be the only one going at this show and tell thing," he remarked sarcastically, wriggling his fingers against Yugi's side, hoping to distract the other. Unfortunately, Yugi wasn't ticklish there. Instead, he was given a stern look.
"Please, Yami?" Yugi begged him, pulling out his puppy-dog eyes. "I told you what you wanted to know…"
Yami stared at the floor like Yugi had, biting the tip of his tongue. He might as well…it wasn't a big issue anyway. "My Mom left me and my Dad when I was nine."
Yugi went silent, not really expecting that, although he expected none-too-happy news in the first place. He kept his mouth shut, and Yami continued without encouragement.
"We don't know why she left…it wasn't like she and dad were fighting or anything. I just woke up in the middle of the night with her by my side, and well, she kissed my head, told me she loved me, and scrammed outta there," Yami explained, keeping his voice monotone. "Haven't seen or heard from her since."
Yugi's arm had wound itself around his, and he muttered softly, "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Yami said quickly, sounding uncomfortable and disgusted with the pity. "I'm not going to allow all this crap to turn on me; you're the one who's having a hard time. And before you even ask, no, I was already a jerk in school before my Mom left, so that has nothing to do with me being a jackass."
Yugi felt his shoulders slump, slightly relieved that he didn't have to ask. He chewed on his lower lip, feeling the air starting to tense. He wriggled his bare toes against the floor, letting a small smile grace his lips. He suddenly felt a weight lift off his chest as he came back to himself and his predicament.
Yami flinched when he wrapped his arms around the other teen without warning, and Yugi took in the other's cologne, letting his eyes close. "Thanks, Yami," he mumbled into the school uniform.
A/N: Eh, sorry for the abrupt ending there…I didn't want to really drag that on too much longer. But anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter! Thanks for reading, and please review!