Day 24: It was their usual day for meeting up at the café. But when Yugi walked in, he was given the silent treatment. But Atemu was no stranger to silence and knew just what to do to get the ill of Yugi's bad day out of him.
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At the familiar café where they first met, it was practically routine of how their days go. Yugi would come in all bright smiles and something to say about how his morning went and Atemu entertained the game designer with work stories of his own. They had gotten someone new to join the morning crew and while the lass was still learning, she was a right clumsy girl and had been a source of frustrations for the other man in the teaching department. She luckily hasn't manned the counter but trying to keep her from making a mess of the coffee machine when it came to brewing more for the afternoon rush or nearly burning the rolls and breads she wisely forgot were in the oven were just some of the harrowing tasks Atemu had to face.
"She's a great girl and I trust in due time she'll lose the cold feet. Don't think I can handle another day of unclogging the cappuccino machine." Atemu told Yugi one day and Yugi couldn't help the laugh to bubble from the belly at the thought of the trials Atemu had to deal with for the new recruit. But aside from that, the two were very much in love and have seen a few dates since the day Yugi finally received the number from the handsome barista. They knew each other likes and dislikes, favorite food and drinks, pastimes and a variety of games that they loved to play and wouldn't mind a couple rounds of friendly competition. Especially when some of those competitions end with rewards like dinner.
It was a match made in heaven and Atemu couldn't imagine himself happier that he took the plunge and helped Yugi along with his endeavor to ask for his number. So it was to his surprise that their usual mid-day meeting turned out a bit differently when Yugi walked into the café with the most somber look upon his face. "Yugi? Yugi darling, what's wrong?" Atemu asked but received no response. The silent treatment, huh? Must've been a bad day. This would require a little bit of TLC and an early break. Looking towards his coworker, Atemu told him the same before rounding the counter and moved to Yugi's side. The boy looked like he was sorely trying to keep himself from crying as he wasn't the type to openly weep in public. With a gentle coo that Atemu had him taken care of, he took a hand into his own and went to head into the break room. He was grateful this was another of the rare days where the café was hardly busy. Once in the room, Atemu closed the door behind him and removed his apron, Yugi's steps mechanical as he went over to the table, sitting down.
Still no word out of him even after taking him from the public space. This will be a bit harder than he thought. But Atemu proved to be an expert of the somber moments even if the last time Yugi had a silent episode of this caliber was the first in which he had to handle. Moving to Yugi's side, a kiss planted on a soft cheek as Atemu told him he would get his lunch and come back. Grabbing the bento box from the fridge, Atemu returned to the table and set it down, opening it with care to reveal the selection he had prepared for himself. A few rice balls with pickled plums in the center, a side salad of crisp lettuce, tomato and cucumber and perfectly fried karaage for protein. It was a toss up between that or mini hamburger steaks but decided chicken was the right way to go for the day. And looks like it was a perfect choice as the moment Atemu turned to get some cups, the second pair of chopsticks packed should the two decided on a shared lunch date were in Yugi's hand and he was nibbling on a piece of chicken.
Good, a step forward, Atemu thought as he came back with the thermos and took the seat beside his love. Taking the other pair of chopsticks, the two shared the bento in silence, knowing that pressuring Yugi would get nothing out of him. Take it slow and easy, give him the tender care to weaken the walls and once they fell, Yugi will open up to him. Atemu practiced this will ease that he had it down to a practical science and for each time the silent treatment called for Atemu's expertise, severe or not since the first time, Yugi was absolutely grateful after. Silence continued through the break room as the two continued to eat from Atemu's bento, the barista knowing to speak now would break the atmosphere he was trying to build. He could already see the dark cloud ebbing from violet eyes, making him smile and offered the rest of the bento to Yugi without a single word.
He took it and smiled at Atemu, making his heart warm to see the smile he was waiting for. More progress. He filled the cups with chilled green tea and placed Yugi's cup before him, seeing a pale hand reach for it to take a sip. The barista could tell the air was starting to lighten up from the dreary fog that Yugi brought in with him and with just a little more quiet time—
"...Someone tampered with my coding."
Atemu's head shot up in horror once the light voice strained with unshed tears finally spoke up and gripped tight onto the plastic cup. "Tell me all about it." Yugi whimpered and nodded, giving the entire story of what happened that morning. It had been someone on the night shift, someone clearly jealous of his game. Another developer that had been trying to get their foot in the door for a personal project as well and had been much too jealous that Yugi could just waltz in and pitch an idea that had even Seto Kaiba interested enough to put it into immediate production. So with that jealousy and hatred, the person at fault had tampered with an important line of code and set him back months of work before the next check in. Luckily for them, the person was stupid enough to forget security cameras were always on 24/7 and can't be so easily tampered with to shut off long enough for them to commit the deed and scamper off successfully.
They were fired on the spot once word got to Kaiba but Yugi was absolutely devastated that someone would go to such lengths to sabotage him. "Kaiba gave me the time to fix it, sure, but...it just hurts to know someone would do this." Yugi whispered and Atemu could see the dam ready to break. Pushing the seat out to give enough room, Atemu held his arms open and that was the sign Yugi needed. He leapt from his chair and landed himself in Atemu's arms, gripping tight to him as he sobbed and sobbed hard. Atemu said nothing else and only stroked his back to soothe his lover's pain. Competitiveness in the gaming industry was always a hurdle that was hard to jump. For Yugi to have gotten this far before the first incident was saying much about his presence in the department before the jealous numbskull decided to choose now to act.
He had to say he was at least proud that Kaiba was giving Yugi extra time otherwise once this got to him and no extension was given, he'd chew the brunet out with the power of familial relations. Atemu never did speak to Yugi that he was cousins with the head of KaibaCorp. That was a surprise for another time when Yugi wasn't in work-related distress. When the hard sobs dissolved into mere sniffles, Yugi finally pulled himself from Atemu's shoulder and wiped his eyes with a sleeve, whispering a thank you to the other for taking care of him during a silent episode. "It's nothing, darling. You know I'm always here to take care of you during these episodes. No need to work under those conditions when I'm only a ten minute walk for a fix. Whether its for food or comfort." Yugi giggled, mood lightened completely and hugged the barista around the neck, promising a home-cooked dinner to Atemu as thanks for lunch.
It's a date, Atemu replied, bringing the smaller in for a gentle kiss. Finishing up the tea and clearing the containers from the table, Atemu donned his apron back on and left the break room with Yugi behind him, offering him three pieces of the blackberry scones with a honey glaze and raspberry tea to-go on him. Yugi took it all graciously and waved as he left the café and started back for the KaibaCorp. office. Yugi took one of the scones to munch on as he walked, moaning delightfully at the decadent, buttery taste paired with the sweet honey and tart blackberries. Yugi knew pretty easily who was in charge of the baking for the day and this was certainly Atemu's handiwork. He always made the best pastries, cakes and pies for the café.
Yugi will have to treat him to extra tonight. An after dinner reward was definitely in the cards for all Atemu did today.