(Malik)
I wasn't the only one acting weird, though; at that moment, Seto was getting an earful from Bakura, and Ryou was inside getting some coffee – he was the one doing all the driving at oh-dark thirty. Somehow, it was hard to wrap my mind around the idea that someone so come-and-go to our lives had us all upside-down as he left. After all, Ryou was usually an early sleeper, and Bakura wasn't much of a lecturer.
I backed out of the car, stretching my arms above my head. Considering how much time he and Seto had spent together, Yami should have been there, but for some reason he copped out; he stopped by work and gave me a box for Seto, telling me to make sure not to forget it. True my word, I hadn't forgotten; it was on top of the car. I just had to wait for Bakura to get done talking to the guy so I could give it to him…
I got impatient pretty damn quick – wasn't he on some sort of schedule? "Hey, Seto!" I finally called out. He said something to Bakura and walked away, standing in front of me. I never was good with goodbyes – I'd never stuck around for any. Goodbyes were something people did when they cared… Plus, I didn't know what to say. It was hard to come up with a decent good-bye when the guy was standing there right in front of me. "I, uh… Yami told me to give this to you." I held out the box, and he took it, tilting it slowly to one side, then the other, as if gauging it.
"Okay." He looked at me, and shifted almost unperceivable, but it was just enough for me to notice. At least if it was an awkward good-bye, I wasn't alone.
"Don't act suspicious when you get there," I said. "And remember, you're a free man, so live like one."
"Don't let Kentaro-san wreck the garage," he replied. "I implemented enough while I was there; even he should be able to stay afloat."
"Deal. Now get the hell out of here." I slapped him on the shoulder and walked away, heading towards Bakura; I passed Ryou along the way, but we didn't say anything – we had all the time in the world to talk when he got back. As I settled down next to Bakura on the porch, Ryou and Seto got in the car. Seto was still holding Yami's gift, to my surprise; I'd have expected him to throw it in the backseat with his suitcase.
"You think they'll stop him at the airport?" Bakura asked as they drove off. I shrugged.
My forehead scrunched as I thought, and I slowly brought myself to say, "You do realize that we just helped someone, right?"
"It's crossed my mind, but I try not to dwell on it."
The car was already out of sight; in no time at all, they'd be at Otogi's place. Within a couple hours, it would be like Seto had never been there at all.
Just like a good runaway.
"Want to go play a game?" Bakura asked, pushing himself to his feet. I looked up at him. For once, he had a good point; it was better not to dwell on it. What was gone was gone, and it was fun while it lasted. But… the whole ordeal with Seto reminded me of something. I shook my head.
"Not right this second. I've got… something to do." He raised an eyebrow at me, and I knew he was asking a question, even if he hadn't voiced it. I sighed slightly, elaborating as I stood to leave: "I need to go call my sister."
(Ryou)
It looked like Seto wanted to smile.
Mokuba wasted no time; he exchanged a few words with Yuugi, then came barreling down the front walk and into my backseat, buckling in beside Seto's suitcase.
"Got everything?" Seto asked.
"Yes."
I didn't need any other confirmation; I started backing out, nodding towards Yuugi before I turned the car and headed for Tokyo. We were sitting there with a good half-hour's drive ahead of us, my car radio was broken, and I didn't know what to say. It was sort of anticlimactic to sit in silence when I'd slept away half the day just so I'd be awake for this little adventure.
And here I'd thought when I agreed to rent out part of the garage that it'd be an uneventful source of income.
Still, it was a little sad; as much time as I'd spent with Seto building up his alibi, I still felt like I knew next to nothing about him other than he was devoted to the teenager in my backseat. It was a shame that they couldn't stay; if it had all been a little less illegal, they could have lived in Seto's apartment… but even I knew better than to think it could work out that idyllically.
"Where are you going?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the road.
"California," Seto answered. "Miyuki has a brother there, so we're going to stay with him until we find an apartment."
"Ah." I nodded. "What about work?"
"I've been discussing it with him."
I nodded again. The car went silent, so I tried something different. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mokuba," I said, hoping to strike up some conversation with him.
Nothing; he made a small noise of acknowledgement, but didn't say anything else. I had just about giving up on both of them when Mokuba piped up, "Hey, Niisama, what's that?"
I glanced over to see Seto looking down at the box in his lap. He'd had it since we got in, and I hadn't asked who had given it to him, but I remembered seeing Malik with it. "Yeah, what's in there?"
"Only one way to find out," he said, tape snapping as he pulled the top flaps back. He stared inside for a minute.
"Well?" Mokuba urged. I looked over again to see Seto lift out a wooden box. The body of it was covered in vertical panels, and the lid and base were wider than the body, and top was an intricate carved pattern of mindless shapes. In the very front there was a keyhole.
"Oh!" I said, smiling and turning my attention back to the road. "It looks like a puzzle box – Yuugi told me about them once. You have to move around the panels and stuff to find the key. It's supposed to be a lot of fun."
"Who gave it to you?" Mokuba asked.
"Yami," Seto replied simply. I didn't look over, but in my peripheral vision I could see Seto begin looking for the key.
(Mokuba)
I looked back up to Niisama; he was pushing a panel down, and it moved. Yami, he had said. Just who the hell was Yami? I hadn't even realized that Niisama knew these people well enough to get gifts… Imagine that – Niisama finally made friends, and he had to leave them to be with me. If it were possible, if he would agree, I would have liked him to stay and enjoy it. But I knew better than to even suggest it.
"Got it," Niisama said under his breath; I watched as he held the key he'd found between his thumb and index finger, holding it up as if examining it. After a second, he used it to unlock the box, lid popping open. About the same time the driver turned off onto another road.
"Almost there," he announced cheerfully. "Ready to go, Mokuba?"
"Sure." I could see the signs directing us towards the airport. Freedom was so close – it had never seemed more real than it did right then. For months I'd told myself that Niisama would succeed, that we'd get out on our own, and everything would be alright, but it'd never really hit home. I had never anticipated actually getting out of the orphanage, and yet there was the airport; if it were a person, it'd probably stick its tongue out and say 'I told you so.'
In the front seat Niisama let out a little snort, maybe an almost-laugh; he folded up a piece of paper and bent up a little so he could slip it into his back pocket. I watched curiously while he put his gift back into its package, smoothing the twisted tape down as best as he could. "Niisama, what – "
"We're here," the driver said, stopping the car. Sure enough, we were in front of the airport. "It's been good."
It was surreal, stepping out of the car – there was chatter all around us, even so late; people were laughing and talking on cell phones, toting suitcases and baby carriers. The air was so… alive, electric, and so much different from the orphanage in a million different ways. It just felt like a fresh start. I was still standing there in shock when Niisama stopped beside me, suitcase in one hand, box under his free arm. "Want me to carry that?" I asked. He nodded and handed me the box.
I was about to start for the doors, but the driver stopped us, saying, "Before you go, we have something for you."
Niisama turned, and the driver leaned out a little, holding out an envelope. Niisama stared at it for a second, and finally seemed to gather his thoughts. "Is that…? I don't need your money."
The driver smirked and explained, "Well, technically, it's yours, and it's only half of it."
"I paid rent for a reason, Ryou," Niisama said slowly. "I was there, I paid my dues."
"I agree," the driver countered. "But it's not just from me…" He laughed softly and added, "Don't make me go home and explain this to Bakura. He insisted."
Niisama raised an eyebrow, but took the envelope, holding it out towards me. "Put it in your backpack, and keep track of it." I nodded, setting the box on the ground and shifting my pack on my shoulders to put the envelope in there, nestled safely between a pair of jeans and my only t-shirt.
"So I guess this is good-bye," the driver said. "Take care of each other."
"Thanks," I said. "Good-bye."
He and Niisama barely nodded at each other, and the driver flashed a warm smile before taking off. I reached down and grabbed the box, following Niisama into the airport. "Hey, what did the note say?" I asked, falling into step just a little behind him. He reached into his pocket, holding the paper out behind him as we reached to ticket counter. Once we stopped I set down the box again and took the note while Niisama talked to the employee at the counter. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't what I saw.
Do what you're driven to do, and enjoy the surprises that come with it.
I blinked and looked up at Niisama. He was still talking, and I didn't want to interrupt to ask, so I looked back down at the message. There was no signature, just sloppy handwriting. I shrugged and folded it up again, reaching forward and putting it back in his pocket; he only spared a second's glance back at me, then returned to the woman he was talking to.
"Okay, have a nice flight, boys," the woman said, smiling as she handed Niisama something. Niisama looked down at me and smiled – really smiled, something I had missed since he left the orphanage – and I just knew everything would be alright. I smiled back.
"Thanks," he said. "We will."
notes
Thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooo much to purkle dragon goddess for being such an awesome beta!! Especially for this chapter, since I was evil and decided to get it done on four hours of sleep. ;; So sorry!
Was that a dull ending? bites lip It came down to hopefully tying things up properly, but I'm afraid its boring. TT The one thing I think I regret about this one is that I didn't get to play more with Malik; he was a lot of fun. And there's all sorts of little AU tidbits that are interesting to me – just the fact that so much would be different if Seto wasn't adopted makes me all intellectually excited.
Then my brain shorts out, and I get over it.
Anyway, I thought a puzzle box was a WAY too appropriate (and possibly ironic) gift for Yami to give Seto, but it was hard to describe! Box anatomy sucks. And Yami's note kicked my ass – I was trying my damnedest to come up with something that related to them and how they were acting – and that was what I came up with. Hopefully it doesn't suck. TT
Random note: I love airport atmosphere – its… ahh, airport. So I was trying to capture that, especially for a kid from an orphanage – I imagine that's not a very happy atmosphere.
Anyway, so, thanks for reading! It's been a good time, and I appreciate that people have read it and liked it! Have a good one!