Title: After Dusk
Theme: 46 – Healing
Summary: Yami reached the doorway, leaning against it; he stumbled, and almost fell, but didn't.
Rating: T
Genre: Drama

Yami reaches the doorway, leaning against it; he stumbles, and almost falls, but doesn't.

His hand is shaking; five minutes ago it had been wrapped around the guy's throat, squeezing, willing to go all the way just because he had been so mad, and almost would have if he hadn't remembered Yugi waiting for him back home – Yugi, who always had to make him promise he wouldn't do anything rash –

The back of his head is sore and throbbing. He knows, if he would reach up to touch it, that his fingers would come away wet, but he doesn't because maybe if he can get inside, quickly, Yugi won't notice –

The door opens before he can even get the key in the lock.

Yugi looks at him, taking in his image. Yami knows he must be quite the sight: after the fight, and he had just gone out for a drink – he was still drunk, hell – and getting mugged in the alleyway had just been the icing on the cake. There's someone else's blood on his hands and in his hair, bruises and dirt covering the exposed skin. He hadn't meant to come back like this. It isn't his fault. He had just gone out for a drink.

But Yugi doesn't say anything. He takes Yami's arm and leads him into the house, closing the door gently. It's cool inside, and here, it soothes Yami's racing heart and blood pressure. He can feel himself calming down from the skirmish, can feel himself becoming more lucid and more aware of the fact that he owes Yugi and apology…

"Yugi…"

"Not now."

These were the first words they've spoken to each other since Yami stormed out of the house four hours before, and Yugi doesn't even sound angry. But the tone in his voice doesn't allow argument; it's still stern and cold, making it clear that the discussion that needs to take place won't do so here.

He knows he deserves Yugi's anger, but some rebellious part of him, the part that still believes he was right in their fight from earlier, wants to continue their argument from before. But Yugi takes him upstairs.

Up to the bathroom. Yugi closes the door and turns to Yami, avoiding his eyes, face blank. His hands find the edges of Yami's torn and bloody shirt, lifting the edges and pulling it over his head. Yugi's fingers brush over the bruises on his torso, the scrapes and cuts and old scars that never quite healed. His touch lingers, tingling, and Yami squirms; their reconciliation wasn't supposed to go like this.

He sees Yugi reaching for the ointment lying on the countertop and feels a flush of irritating embarrassment at the other's assumption that he might need help doing such a simple task. "Yugi – " he feebly protests, attempting to cling to what little dignity he might still have.

Yugi looks up at him. "Do you think you can do it all by yourself?" he asks, not sarcastically. He's staring at him with gentle eyes – tired, saddened, gentle eyes, and Yami is struck for a moment by how calmly Yugi is taking all of this in. The guilt is spreading inside.

"…No," he finally admits. "I don't think so."

"What did they do?"

"They had a few knives. I think they just wanted to knock me around a bit." Yami swallows and hisses as the cold ointment on Yugi's fingers touch his longest cut, one that he couldn't reach. "But I was… mad, and I didn't keep a lid on my temper, so I started fighting back, and…"

"Did anyone die?" Yami is disgusted with himself after hearing the calm tone with which Yugi asks this; of all the things he's done, all the sins that he's committed, Yugi must be used to this kind of thing.

"No. I just… knocked a few of them out and the rest of them fled. So did I," he says around a tight throat.

Yugi nods, as if this is acceptable, and moves to a large bruise surrounding his collarbone. His fingers begin to spread the lotion on the skin, still light to the touch, as if he's afraid of hurting the other.

"Yugi," Yami says, finally, and his voice chokes it out. "I'm s – "

"What is it, Yami?" Yugi looks up at him, meeting his eyes angrily. "What could you possibly say that I haven't heard before?"

He's too shocked to say what he meant to; he had known that Yugi was still suffering under the lingering hostility and frustration from before, but thought that perhaps, if he had pretended everything was okay for a while…

"I just wanted to apologize," Yami says firmly, meeting his stare head-on. "I know I was wrong. You… you deserve to be happy, even if it leads you away from Domino, and it was selfish of me to cling to you and try to keep you here. I'm sorry."

Yami swallows, unsure of where all of this is coming from, but determined to get it out anyway. "I won't be happy with it, but I'll live," he says, which is true enough, so at least it's not a total lie. "I'll accept whatever you do, Yugi. If you want to go to this university in America… You know how to take care of yourself. I'm sorry."

Yugi is quiet for a few minutes; Yami, uncertain if he will even answer after a while, takes the tube of ointment and begins to slowly clean himself up.

"It won't be a problem anymore," Yugi says quietly. "Me going off to America, I mean. I didn't get accepted."

Yami's hands freeze.

"I've been accepted to other places here in Japan, so it'll be okay. It'll be easier for you to visit, not to mention much cheaper for all of us, if I stay in the country. I just… really wanted to go to that school." He shakes his head, as if this would clear his head of all previous desires to attend the university. "But it's okay, it's fine."

"I'm sorry," Yami says finally. "I know how much you wanted to go."

"It's fine," Yugi repeats again, a bit stronger this time, and he takes the lotion once more. "I'll be fine. Turn around, let me see the back of your head."

Yami knows that under normal circumstances he would have insisted that he didn't need all of this fuss; but Yugi seems determined to take care of him in light of recent events, as if he needs something to do with his hands. So he turns and lets Yugi's fingers work their way around his scalp, touching and trying not to poke too hard, moving strands of hair away from the wound to inspect it further.

"…Do you know if I'll be okay?" Yami asks hesitantly.

"Oh, it's healing," Yugi sighs. "It's just a scrape. Head wounds just bleed a lot more than other parts of the body; the skin isn't as tough here. But you'll be fine. It's stopped bleeding. You don't feel delirious, right? Turn around."

Yugi inspected Yami's eyes, explaining that he's staring into them to make sure the 'puu-pils' are the same size; Yami doesn't know what this means, but he stares back into Yugi's own, taking note of their exhaustion.

"No concussion. You'll be fine."

"You should get some sleep," Yami says as Yugi pulls back. "It's almost midnight."

"I'll be fine. There's nothing going on tomorrow; I'll just sleep in." Yugi gets up to leave, motioning toward the ointment. "Use that whenever the cuts start to hurt again. They'll be fine within a few days."

Yami grabs the tube but doesn't give these words any more thought. "What could you possibly be staying up for?"

"I've got some forms to fill out for the university," he says as he moves into his bedroom. The desk light is on, illuminating sheets of official-looking papers that Yami can't even glance at without feeling tired. Is this what Yugi's been doing all of these nights? So dedicated, and still rejected from that American college…

Yami moves over to turn off the light. "Do those later. You should get some sleep, partner."

"Yami," Yugi says, "they need to be done by next week."

"So you have a whole week to do them. You need your sleep."

Yugi almost looks annoyed, but then something in his expression softens. "I'll be okay, Yami. I just need to be kept busy. I need to do something with my hands. This is just how I deal with bad news."

Yami sighs quietly. "I just don't want you any more tired than you already are. How many hours of sleep are you getting? Five?"

"Four." Catching his look, he corrects, "Okay, four in a half. Six on a good day."

Before Yami opens his mouth to say "That's still too little," Yugi heaves out a sigh of his own and says, "But fine, I'll go to bed now." He looks at the other. "You just have to promise that you won't start running away on your own anymore. We're like violence magnets, both of us. I don't want to be worried for you like that again."

"…Deal."

After changing and climbing into bed, Yugi settles deep into the pillows as Yami stands on the desk chair to open up the skylight as an excuse to do something with himself. "It's nice like this," he explains. "Lets a breeze in. And you can see the stars."

There's a moment of silence. Yami doesn't know what to say next and knows he should leave, but… no, Yugi's right. He can take care of himself. All Yami needs to supply is the push to get him to the end.

He moves to leave the room, but Yugi's tired, amused voice catches him off guard from the darkness. "Oh, just stay, will you? I could use some company."

Yami turns back. "Sure?"

"Yeah, m' sure. Climb on in."

He does so, laying on his back on the edge of the bed, and Yugi rolls to his side, laying a hand on his chest. "Thanks," he murmurs quietly into his hair.

"For what?"

"I dunno. For everything."

Yami smiles at this, eyes still wide open. Yugi's breathing becomes quiet and patterned; before long he's asleep, nose in Yami's hair, as the other lays awake to hear the clock click to midnight and watch the stars glow dimly overhead.

Words: 1746
A/N: This started as an angry angst story, but I wanted a happy ending, so it just kind of happened. Hope it wasn't too cheesy.