Chapter 37, Piece 18 * * * * * * * *

There was a knock on the office door. A rare thing.

"It's open!" Yugi yelled.

"It's just me." Eric carried a thick envelope and a shy smile. "Honda here?"

"Gone to check on the new guy." Yugi shook his head. "Should be back in a couple hours."

"Oh." Eric stood uncomfortably. "Ah."

"Oh, hey! Ryou-kun sent me a box of British teas. You want to try some?"

"Uh, sure."

Yugi looked at the man and grinned. "You know, I'm just good at games. I'm not a superhero or famous or something."

Eric laughed, a faint blush just visible under his mocha skin. "Yeah, I know."

Yugi got up from the desk and went to the kitchen. "Forgive the mess, I haven't had a minute to clean."

"I just assumed the maid had the day off."

"What?" Then Yugi got the joke and laughed. "Yeah! That too!" He opened the cabinet. "So, what brings you down here? I don't get much excitement in the cave."

"The cave?"

"Yeah. I feel like a bear. From the day we go to the printer to the day you guys start sending in finished pages, I get to go out in the sun. Then, winter comes and I have to practically hibernate and do nothing but layout and edit word bubbles."

Eric nodded. "I know the feeling. I must be in Australia - spring begins when I deliver my pages."

"Speaking of," Yugi gestured to the envelope, "you're way early. You're not due for almost two weeks."

"Oh. This." Eric looked at the envelope like it was a rattlesnake. "This - it's - this is - nothing! This is nothing. Some sketches. Vague idea... I, uh-"

"Something new?" Yugi had to almost climb the counter to pull two mugs from the upper shelf. "Got to run the dishwasher tonight," he muttered. "I wanna see!" he said brightly. "You have a great imagination."

"Oh - uh - no - uh - these - these - uh - not really ready -"

"You were going to show Honda, right?"

"I maybe kinda -" Eric stammered, as Yugi carried the two tea cups to a drafting table. "I don't think you wanna -"

"Are you kidding?" Yugi cleared some space and pulled over a second chair. "Why do you think I started this? I love this stuff!" Firmly, he took the envelope. "I'm going to see it eventually, I may as well see it raw."

The drawings were not raw. The story was a finished product, and long enough for several issues. The story was pure romance, a sweet almost standard opposites attract love story. The art was far more explicit than Eric's usual work, but it fit the tone of the plot well. The uke was an African-American designer, the seme was a Japanese executive. A short, Japanese executive. With wild hair. Yugi finished the whole piece before he turned to face Eric.

Eric had finally stopped stammering and pacing, and sat on the couch until Yugi finished.

"Wow," Yugi said simply.

Eric shrugged, but didn't look at him.

"It moves well. The characters are believable. It's funny, sweet, sexy." He sipped his cold tea. "So is that how you see me or how you want to see me?"

"I... I don't-"

"Stop. We should talk about it. I'm not offended. I'm embarrassed." He grinned. "And flattered. I'm more like your uke in reality," he laughed. "But I'm not available. I'm still in love with Atemu."

"I thought -" Eric stopped abruptly.

"Atemu is in the Afterlife. Yes. He crossed over when we were in high school. About eight years ago. I'm not over it."

"Don't you think he'd want you to move on?"

Yugi laughed. "My yami? No. If he could have, he'd have taken me with him. He believed in eternity. Even death is only a new beginning." Yugi took another swallow. "If he could have taken me, I would have gone. I'd go tomorrow if I could find the shadow path."

"I don't believe you'd commit suicide over -"

"Suicide!? No!" Yugi looked repulsed. "No, the Afterlife, not death. If he were dead, I could resurrect him. That spell I found."

"What?"

Yugi grinned. "Nothing. Part of a legend. Don't mind me. My point is, that if Atemu's ghost walked through that door and told me to follow him, I wouldn't even stop to get my keys." He leaned forward. "And I don't want anyone sitting here hoping I'll come back."

"Ok, nothing serious. Just friends."

"With benefits?" Yugi snickered. "Why do you think I go back home every time I can? Ryou and I relieve each other."

"I thought Otogi said you were going out with that executive."

"Mokuba?" Yugi rolled his eyes. "Otogi-kun sees everything as sex. Mokuba is the younger brother of one of our high school classmates. I mean, he's not a kid anymore but, yeah, that's kinda like doing my baby brother."

"Ah."

"Besides, Mokuba has his own drama. Kind of a long distance, Romeo and Juliet sort of thing. Him, I feel sorry for." Yugi stood up and stretched. "The story's good. Let's split it into four issues. Oh, but change the seme's name. I will never hear the end of it if we keep 'Yuji'."