Something to Say
Jounouchi had a sudden… well, something - Burst of emotion? Revelation? Enlightenment? - when he was halfway to the game shop.
He knew exactly what he was going to say.
He knew exactly how to say it.
He ran the rest of the way… and all the game shop lights were off. The front door was locked. He swore… Wait! Yuugi's bedroom light was on; he could climb up… "Ew," he said out loud. How cliché, and sappy, and movie-stupid… He whined nonsensically; he didn't want to be so dramatic, but he wanted to make his thoughts known while they were still fresh in his mind! Finally he decided that he had to do it and set on the task of climbing. It took him fifteen minutes, and he fell twice. At least luck was on his side: the window was unlocked. He was able to open it and lean on the windowsill, breathing heavily, half of his body hanging out the window. Climbing was a lot harder than it looked!
Then luck left his side: Yuugi wasn't in his room. Terrific as usual! He finally had something important to say and no one was home! He pulled himself all the way up into the window, sitting on the sill and leaning against his knees. The world was against him; that was the only way to explain it. And he had wasted all that time (and energy) climbing…! He pounded his fist against the wall in frustration.
Yuugi's grandfather came rushing in. "Who's that?" he demanded loudly, holding… some frighteningly painful-looking object that Jounouchi couldn't identify over his head. Jounouchi panicked, holding his arms up in surrender.
"It's just me!"
The old man blinked and lowered the dangerous-looking object. "Jou…? What are you doing in Yuugi's window?"
Jounouchi tried to think of how to explain what he was doing, but came out with no logical reason for having climbed up the window like some stalker. He blushed, averting his gaze so he couldn't see the reproachful look on Yuugi's grandpa's face. "It was important to talk to Yuugi."
"…and you couldn't knock on the front door like a normal person?"
The blush burned hotter. "I, ah, thought everyone was asleep."
The elder man heaved a sigh. "I was. Yuugi isn't here; he went over to Anzu's about half an hour ago."
Yuugi went out? Damn it! "Oh. Uh, sorry to bother you, Jiichan." Hey, that was the first time Jounouchi had called him that…
The old man softened a bit. Go affectionate nicknames! "Go out the front door, Jou."
"Thanks," Jounouchi said gratefully, rushing out; he didn't want to press his luck.
Anzu's house yielded no better results. It turned out that everyone had grouped there and then left for a movie.
At least he had knocked on the door.
With a considerable - and, in his opinion, reasonable - amount of irritation Jounouchi walked to the movie theater and made himself comfortable against a tree. If he had done his math right, he was going to be waiting another hour… and knowing his luck, it would probably be longer. He settled himself in for the long wait, trying to keep his thoughts clear in his head; he didn't want to go through so much trouble only to get confused when he finally saw Yuugi. Ten minutes passed. The stars dimmed, the sky became overcast…
"Don't," Jounouchi said menacingly to the sky.
Thunder rumbled as though in response.
"Please?" Hey, he was willing to beg if it helped…
…but rain poured down anyway, droplets hitting the ground with such force that they seemed to shatter and bounce on impact. Jounouchi sighed. "I hate you." Reduced to loathing Mother Nature; what a night! All he wanted to do was talk to Yuugi, and instead he got all this. Half an hour passed. The rain slowed to a drizzle, but Jounouchi was already soaked so he really didn't give a damn. After all, he already looked like a drenched rat; that wasn't how he had wanted to have his talk with Yuugi…
Another half an hour passed before people began filtering out of the theater, laughing and chattering. A few people looked at him as though he was some sort of enigma, but he just glared at them, eyes skimming the crowd, looking for one small of group… Of course, his friends were the last people out of the building. He figured that Honda was the first one to see him; when he pointed to Jounouchi they all rushed over to join him. Jounouchi wondered if Honda had been able to see that he wasn't in the best mood.
"Man, where were you?" Honda asked. "We tried to call, but no one was home."
Jounouchi glared. Apparently his mood hadn't been as evident as he thought.
"Hi," Yuugi said sweetly, hugging Jounouchi even though he was soaked. "How are you?"
Jounouchi blinked. Don't be sarcastic, don't be sarcastic… "Oh, great." Shit; that was sarcastic. "First I try to find you, and - in my desperation - climb into your window. Jiichan gives me the death glare from hell and threatens my life with some… scary thing," Jounouchi's arms were waving wildly, as though trying to add merit to his exaggerations, "and all that just to find out you're not home! I walk all the way to Anzu's house and learn you guys aren't there either! Now I'm wet, I'm cold, and I have something important to say!" When Jounouchi finished his tirade he thought about what he said, thought about his ranting, and was worried that Yuugi would be hurt, and the whole situation would go to hell. If Yuugi was hurt…
However Yuugi didn't look phased; he was just staring at Jounouchi. Their friends covertly walked away but were obviously listening from their position a few feet away. At least they hadn't insulted Jounouchi's intelligence by pretending not to listen. Finally Yuugi asked, "You broke into my house?"
Jounouchi paused, his entire heated mood brought down by that one question. He blushed again - enough with this blushing thing! "Uh, yea. I guess I did."
"Baka," Yuugi said affectionately. "Jiichan probably would have pressed charges against anyone else."
"Thanks for the mood-lifter," Jounouchi grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Love ya too." There was a dead silence; everything around them, the whole night, seemed to be caught in it… and then there was the distinct sounds of someone slapping their head. Jounouchi cringed, both from the sound and from his own words. That wasn't how he planned to say it. He had just been so geared up for it that it slipped.
Yuugi broke the silence. "Do you?"
Jounouchi nodded sheepishly. "Yea." There was a pause, and he knew that Yuugi wanted to hear him say it. He wanted to hear himself say it. He knelt down and looked at Yuugi, serious and solemn as he could be. "I love you." Yuugi all but launched at him, hugging him tightly. Jounouchi wrapped his arms around Yuugi, holding him close. Hey, if he got hugs like that every time he said it, he would have to profess love more often…
Someone in the group started clapping. "That's distasteful!" Ryou protested, but someone else joined in. Jounouchi spared one arm to flip them off.
Yuugi laughed. "Let them have their show," he whispered, and then added cheerily, "I love you, too."
- author says -
This was... all... sappy. I think I was trying to cast a bit of doubt on what he was going to say for a while, but we all saw this coming, huh? Ah, well, sap is fun. Besides, I write enough angst to choke a small donkey. ^_^