I'm sorry I ended up skipping an update. I was a little tied up in a whole lot of stuff, but I'm back now! I'm drawing the cover for Frondescence, (even though the time before I start that is going to be monumental) and it's turning out well. Anyways, here you go. :-) PLEASE leave a review; this is the second to last chapter!
Chapter 9:
Options, Opportunities
A month passed, and graduation was through. The two caps had flown into the air, Yami and Yuugi both having passed the year with flying colours. Only a couple more months for each of them until they would be able to move out on their own, no longer tied to the hospital by the bounds of law. Yami would receive his college funds and Yuugi his parent's stocks and funds, and they would go out on their own to explore the world and make their own ways.
But, for now, they would just enjoy the summer in each other's company.
For example, right now, they were sitting in the garden where they'd had their first kiss, legs brushing up against each other's lightly as they swung back and forth, enjoying the cool summer breeze. The radio was playing softly in the background and Yami saw Yuugi singing along, and he wished again that he could hear the sound of Yuugi's voice.
This was enough, though. He was happy like this. He knew so much about Yuugi now, they had gotten to share things with each other that Yami was certain they never would have shared with anyone else. As he got better and better at talking, he and Yuugi did it more and more, growing closer and closer. He honestly felt like Yuugi was one of the highlights of his life and he knew that Yuugi felt the same way. No matter what, they would stay close and find a way to make things work. If somebody had asked him then who he would marry, he would have said Yuugi.
Of course, he'd gotten to find out why Yuugi cried sometimes at night, too.
He'd been walking to his room from the water cooler just a week ago, trying to subtly go past Yuugi's to check on him. He hadn't cried in the last three weeks, but Yami still liked to be sure that nothing was bothering him. He didn't want Yuugi to be in pain.
The door was slightly cracked, like it was that first night. Like it hadn't been since, even if he was crying. Yami approached cautiously, his feet scooting along on the floor as he leaned forward and pushed the door aside, checking into the dark room. His eyes scanned along the walls and floors for a moment, taking in the familiar scenery, before they finally came to the dark form of Yuugi.
He was curled up on the bed, hands looped around his knees as he cried softly. His form shook and shuddered with what seemed to be the weight of the world, and Yami longed to fix whatever had made him so sad. He couldn't help himself; he snuck forward slowly and approached the bed, his hands curling around the metal bars on either side as he leaned over and slowly placed a kiss on the top of Yuugi's head. The other seemed not to notice at first, but within a couple of seconds stiffened up, raising his head slowly in question.
"Yami?" He asked softly, his eyes flickering open. As they always did, those eyes caused a flutter in Yami's heart like nothing else ever could. His breath got caught in his throat as he tried to respond, and he found himself entirely unable to form the words. So, instead, he reached out and ran a hand gently along Yuugi's tear-streaked face, stopping at his chin. Yuugi leaned into the touch like he was a cat starved of attention, and his whole demeanour softened. It wasn't long before he was scooting over, allowing Yami passage into his bed.
Yami willingly scooted in, nuzzling Yuugi affectionately before he reached down and grabbed the covers, pulling them back over both of their bodies. Yuugi was silent for a little while, just letting Yami hold him. Their communication was silent, as it had been before Yami had learned to speak, and neither of them minded. It was like they just knew what the other was thinking sometimes, and now was one of those times. Yuugi needed silence for a little while.
Soon, though, the silence became repetitive. It became just a little too comfortable. Yuugi knew he had to talk to Yami, tell him what was bothering him, get it off of his chest.
"You know, I feel like it's my fault." Yuugi said, smiling just the slightest bit, even as tears streamed down his face. Yami's eyebrows furrowed as he read Yuugi's lips, a frown appearing on his face. "That I didn't know them. It was my fault they sent me away, and now they're gone. I just... I wish things could have been different, you know? Maybe if I had opened up more, put forth more of an effort to talk to them once I was there, they would have talked to me. I know it's not my fault that they're..." He tried to choke out the word, but 'dead' got caught in his throat, "gone. But I feel like it's my fault I didn't know them better beforehand." He admitted. "Now, that chance in gone."
"No." Yami said immediately, shaking his head. He leaned forward to pepper kisses all along Yuugi's face, the tears leaving as his lips pushed them away. When he was done, he simply held Yuugi's face in his hands, looking into the eyes that couldn't look back at his own. "It wasn't your fault. You make everyone around you so happy. You make Mai and me and Joey so happy. If they didn't want to e around you or didn't put forth the effort, it's entirely on them. You tried. That's all that matters." Yami said feverently. Yuugi's eyes filled with tears again, but he nodded his head.
"I love you." Yuugi said.
Yami's eyes widened. Yuugi hadn't said that before, and Yami hadn't thought them far enough along to make that move yet. He knew with every fibre of his being that it was true, though. He and Yuugi were in love, deep and wide and stunningly beautiful, love. He'd never felt this strongly towards another human being. He never would.
"I love you, too." Yami said, placing a kiss on Yuugi's forehead again. Yuugi gave a sigh and snuggled up to him, eyes closing as he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.
They slept together that night, cuddled close until the sun came up.
Of course, things had gotten better since Yami had told Yuugi that. Yuugi had gotten more confident, less sad, and most of all, he'd been joyful. He'd told Yami countless times that he was so happy they'd met, and Yami couldn't help that his heart bursted with joy every time. They spent almost every waking minute together, with Joey and Mai there at times.
Yami felt a woosh of cooler air as the door behind him opened. He turned, his arm still around Yuugi, and he was surprised to see a nurse coming through. He looked like she meant business. Her arms were across her chest and her feet were splayed apart, showing that she would not be argued with. "I need the patient Yuugi Mutou. The doctor would like to speak with him." She announced.
Yami frowned as Yuugi stood up, retrieving his cane from where it sat beside the bench. He nodded his head and turned, giving Yami a small kiss on the cheek goodbye before he followed the nurse out the door. Yami was alone, the radio still playing uselessly beside him, and he felt his shoulders deflate. He soon stood up, finding the loneliness to be exhausting, and walked back to the door, going back inside the hospital.
He knew what he would do.
It had been at least a couple of weeks since he'd seen Mokuba, and he missed the little devil like mad. His high energy and enthusiasm was starting to make Yami miss spending time with him gaming. He'd been spending his free time with Yuugi lately, for the most part, and he didn't want to end up obsessed with his relationship. He had other friends and other commitments, and it would be silly to give those up for more time with someone, even if he did like Yuugi best.
He eagerly walked towards Mokuba's bedroom, opening the door and immediately walking in. He almost fell over when he was hugged out of nowhere, hands wrapping around his torso and almost sending him flying backwards into the hallway. His back hit the hall wall before he could fall, and he stared blankly out for a couple of seconds, too stunned to look and see who exactly had their arms around his waist. Finally, he gathered his wits and looked down, a satisfied smile flashing onto his face as he saw who it was.
"Mokuba, you're getting stronger." He said out loud, wrapping his arms around the younger boy. "Keep that up and you'll be going home in just a couple of months."
Mokuba had been rapidly increasing, even more than the other boy in his condition. He was growing again, eating a ton, spending a lot of time now sneaking out of his room and running around the hospital, and most of all, talking non-stop about how excited he would be to go back home with his big brother once he was better. Seto may have acted like a dick to everyone else, but he was kind and gentle and loving to Mokuba, and his mood around the hospital (especially towards Mai) since Mokuba had started to get better had become more one of slight appreciation and less one of believing the entirety of the place to be incompetent. Of course, he still did have some problems with...
"WHEELER, you will treat me with more respect. My funding towards this hospital probably pays your check, I'd suggest you shut up before I get you fired. Don't think that I can't." Kaiba boomed from across the hallway, followed by a very annoyed Joey.
"All I said was that the stupid coat makes you look ridiculous. How do you expect people to even take you seriously when your hips are so pointy they could kill a small child?" Joey demanded, waving his hand around in exasperation. Mokuba pulled away from Yami and turned towards the bickering, his eyes lighting up as his smile became even wider. He loved it when his brother came and visited him, but he loved it more when his brother and Joey came to see him.
This development had started around three weeks ago. Joey had walked into the room while Kaiba was trying to visit, and things had slowly gone downhill with bickering and fighting, and they just wouldn't leave each other alone. Now, most people would think that this would bother Mokuba, but it actually did the opposite. Mokuba knew that Seto actually enjoyed Joey's company, because with anyone else he would just ignore them. With Joey, he put forth the effort to actually fight back and talk to someone other than Mokuba, for which the young boy was grateful in seeing. Joey stuck around Kaiba, too, which proved that the feeling wasn't one-sided. Not to mention that Mokuba loved how sassy both of them would get in the other's presence; it was great entertainment.
"Are they always like this?" Yami asked Mokuba, raising an eyebrow. Mokuba turned around from Seto, (he'd thrown his arms around his brother, and Kaiba had stiffened up, trying not to look affected by the affection) nodding his head with a smirk. His arms were still wrapped around Kaiba, and the older was trying desperately not to look awkward standing there without hugging back.
"Would it kill you to show some affection sometime?" Joey growled, crossing his arms. Seto rolled his eyes, but he actually listened, wrapping his arms loosely around Mokuba and giving a small squeeze.
"Happy now?" He asked Joey once Mokuba had pulled away. Joey paused, not sure of what to say.
"I guess." He finally choked out, turning towards the wall and crossing his arms. Yami smiled; Joey was a little too confrontational for his own good sometimes, it would definitely be good for him to have someone to fight with occasionally. He could see the two of them getting to be okay friends, even if Kaiba was still a mega douche for talking down to Yuugi. Yuugi had told him in private though that he didn't really blame him; he was going through a lot with Mokuba's relapse. Yami, as reluctant as he was to forgive Kaiba, agreed that he could still understand and sympathize with the situation.
"So, how have you been?" Yami asked Mokuba, once he'd returned to neutral ground. Mokuba smiled radiantly as he launched into a story about how he thought he was going to be off of the medication soon and he'd been practising his sign language with Rebecca, whom had told him he had the skills to professionally translate. He talked about his video games and his happiness over the new Harry Potter book and movie coming out, and mentioned that Mai had given him clearance to leave the hospital and get lunch with Seto as long as he was back in forty minutes.
The three of them listened intently, (well, Yami read his lips intently,) adding their own comments into the mix, and the conversation was civil for the most part. By the time Mai came and tapped him on the shoulder, Yami had already forgotten that Yuugi had gone to speak to his doctor.
However, when he turned and saw Mai's face, he knew that something had happened.
"Yami, did you hear the news?" She asked, her voice shaking with excitement. She was radiating happiness and joy, her eyes alight with the possibilities that lay ahead. Yami was almost taken aback by how joyful she seemed; Mai never showed this much emotion.
"What news? Did something good happen?" He questioned, tilting his head to the side. Mai nodded her head vigorously, grabbing his arm as if to steady him. She looked him in the eyes, as if wondering if he was joking. When she came to the conclusion that he was telling the truth, she let go of him, nodding her head up and down. She calmed her excitement, returning to her usual blasé attitude.
"Yes, something great happened. I'd tell you myself, but you might want to hear it from him. Let's go, hotshot." She said, gesturing towards the hallway. Yami tilted his head in confusion, but he nodded his head as Mai turned, assuming that he'd follow. After throwing a goodbye to Mokuba and Joey over his shoulder, (ignoring Kaiba completely, which Kaiba seemed okay with) he turned and walked after her, curiosity driving him forward.
"Mai, can you at least give me a clue?" He questioned, jogging a little to catch up. Despite that he'd said it out loud and he knew that she could hear him, she didn't even acknowledge that he'd spoken, too excited to stop to say no. Yami rolled his eyes as he continued walking, figuring that trying to get her attention again would produce the same results. Even though he was as curious as he'd get out, he knew Mai couldn't be stopped once she set her mind to something, and she'd have to slow down to give him a hint.
Soon, they were standing outside of Yuugi's door, and Mai paused to knock. It was almost entirely pointless, seeing as how she barged in anyway without waiting for an answer, but at least it let Yuugi know that someone was there. He was sitting in his bed with a smile on his face, his closed eyes leaking tears that were clearly happy down his face and onto the sheets. Yami didn't think he'd seen Yuugi smile that wide since right after their first kiss. Whatever was happening, he immediately liked it if it made Yuugi this darn happy.
"What's going on?" Yami asked, walking to the side of the bed. Yuugi smiled his brightest smile and laughed a little, throwing his head back and just generally enjoying himself. He looked like all of his troubles had just been lifted off of his shoulders, and it made Yami crave to know what had made him so jovial.
"I'm going to be able to see." He announced vibrantly, giving a rich, long sigh. "There's a surgery the doctors can give me once I turn eighteen, I might be able to see." He said.
Yami felt his jaw drop open. Yuugi was going to be able to see?! That was fantastic! He would be able to look Yami in the eyes and tell him that he loved him, he'd be able to walk without the cane, he'd be able to stop worrying over things like where he was or if something bad would happen and he wouldn't be able to see to stop it. Even if he could still do the same things as other people blind, Yuugi wanted to be able to see the views again. He wanted to be able to watch the sunset with Yami. He'd be able to do that now, and it was great.
"Well, there's only a 50% chance it will work, since it is experimental," Mai explained. Yami still couldn't get the smile off of his face. "And if it does, he'll still have trouble seeing colours."
"But I'll be able to read again, Yami. I'll be able to drive as long as I can tell the difference between red and green, and I'll be able to actually see you. I'm so happy Yami, you just don't know- I'm, I'm just," Yuugi was starting to get choked up with happiness again, and Yami walked over to him, wrapping the younger boy in a large hug. Yuugi leaned in to Yami's warm arms and relaxed, and Yami could feel the tension leaving his body as he calmed down some. He was still nervous, Yami could tell.
"That's great." Yami said in his ear. "I'm so happy for you, aibou." He purred. Yuugi smiled and shrugged him off, blushing a little bit at the intense display of affection in front of Mai, who was standing with her hands on her hips now, looking fed up with the two of them.
"Don't quite celebrate yet." She said, shaking her head. "There's still only a 50% chance. It's great and awesome and I hope that it works, but don't get your hopes up too much, Yuugi." She reminded him. Yuugi tensed up again, nodding his head. Yami glared at her.
"Don't worry, I'm sure things will turn out okay. You just have to believe that they will. You deserve this, Yuugi." He announced confidently, puffing his chest out in defiance of the negativity. Yami was a big believer in positive energy; he knew that if you believed something hard enough, you could make it a reality through hard work and just a little luck. He was confident that Yuugi would make it through okay.
"Yeah, I know what you think. They said that they can do the surgery in a couple more weeks, after my birthday." Yuugi said. "Actually, the only reason they hadn't mentioned it before was because I was too young to have it done. I have to be eighteen to sign for myself to have it." Yuugi reminded him. Yami shook his head, remembering that Yuugi's birthday was coming up in early July. He'd almost forgotten that Yuugi was actually a little older than him, probably thanks to the height difference more than anything.
"Well, I'll be eagerly awaiting the day, aibou. I'll be there for you as soon as you open your eyes again for the first time." He said, nodding his head. Yuugi's answering smile lit up his face, and he nodded his head again.
"I know you will. We're a team, Yami. You would be there for me no matter what, and I would return the favour." Yuugi confirmed, raising up a hand to get a high five. Yami's hand smacked into Yuugi's and Yuugi wrapped his fingers around the other's, too quick for Yami to pull away. Yami's eyes softened as the warmth of the hand hold echoed through his body like a shout; Familiar! Safe! Love!
"You'd better be careful now, Yami." Mai said, using sign language so that Yuugi couldn't hear what she was saying, "Yuugi will see the way you look at him like a love sick puppy if he ends up able to see." She reminded him. Yami felt his face heat up, but he refused to allow himself to show any other signs of embarrassment as he glared at her, not wanting to take his hand out of Yuugi's to sign anything back. "Actually, I'm going to leave you two love birds alone for now, to have some private time."
She'd spoken out loud this time, and Yuugi nodded his head in response.
She walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her. Yami had immediately climbed into the bed with Yuugi, running his fingers through the other's hair. Yuugi snuggled back into him, humming a little. He turned once Yami was situated, so that the other could see his lips.
"Will you read to me, Yami?" He asked. Yami had read out loud to Yuugi several times since he'd started talking, because it was a great exercise for him and Yuugi loved to hear his voice. Yuugi had told him in private (blushing like mad) that he thought Yami's voice was sort of sexy. Not to mention that Yuugi had missed reading terribly; reading in Braille just wasn't the same as it was reading it yourself. Hearing it wasn't much better, but it would work for him.
Yami reached over across Yuugi's chest to grab the book of Grimm's fairy tales he'd been using, picking it up and flipping it open to The Little Mermaid. This was one that didn't end well, but Yuugi liked it anyway. He sat up, wrapping his arm around the smaller one and holding the book open with his free hand, clearing his throat as he began to read.
His voice filled the room and caressed Yuugi's ears, to the point where Yuugi was barely even paying attention to the story. He listened for as long as he could, trying to make his eyelids stay open as the temptation of sleep coiled around his body and tried to drag him under. He resisted, hanging onto the sweet sound of Yami's voice for as long as he could before finally giving in, letting the tendrils pull him into a deep, deep sleep.
Yami looked down when the story was done, his vocal cords sore from talking without a break. He smiled a little bit when he saw the smaller boy asleep leaning against him, and suddenly, he felt sleepy himself. The book fell from his hands as his eyes became heavy, the sound of it hitting the floor causing Yuugi to briefly stir. Yami ran a hand through his hair again to comfort him, sufficiently lulling him back to sleep. He scooted down carefully, trying not to disturb Yuugi as his body slid down so that his head could find refuge on the pillow. He knew that if he got up to find his own room Yuugi would awaken, so it would be better to fall asleep with him.
So, Yami let himself slowly fade off into sleep.
The time would pass in the blink of an eye.
Joey was happy for Yuugi, he really was. He'd been spending more time with Mai and Seto, (whom, of course, he would deny taking a liking to) with Mokuba as well. In fact, Mokuba came with him almost everywhere now, since he was mobile. So, Joey was happy for Yuugi, but couldn't find the time to really talk to him with everything else that was going on.
For example, now, he was grumpily walking down the street with Seto and Mokuba, wishing that the first of the two hadn't forced himself into the mix when he visited, insisting that he should go if the other two was going out. Since Seto legally had rights to Mokuba, it was either say yes or Mokuba wouldn't be able to go, and well... Joey hated to say yes, but he'd been planning on taking Mokuba out to iced cream for two months now, so he wasn't about to reschedule just because Seto felt like being a dick. That, and he'd offered to pay, which was very appealing seeing as how Joey was flat broke.
The street was crowded with people, so the three of them had to keep close to avoid getting swept up in the large crowd. Joey felt a particularly insistive bump from the side that Seto had claimed to walking on, and he let out a short growl. "Watch where you're going, Rich Boy!"
"Maybe if you didn't act like such a mutt, I'd take notice as to where you were walking." Seto retaliated, glaring at Joey. They continued to glare heatedly as they walked, not paying attention to where they were going. Joey felt a tug at his foot and his body fell forward as he threw out his hands to catch himself, arms flailing as he tried to keep on balance.
His face hit the ground hard, and he let out a small puff of breath as he collided with the concrete. Mokuba erupted into laughter from Seto's other side, holding his belly as his form shook with joy. Seto even let his lip tip upward the tiniest bit, the closest thing he'd ever done to a smile around Joey. Joey's face heated up as the laughter continued, in anger or embarrassment, he wasn't sure.
Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of his face. He looked at it quizzically, following the arm up to see that it was Seto's. Surprise crashed through him as he reached up to take the hand offered, using it to pull himself up on the pavement again. He waited for Seto to make a comment about his falling, but even after Mokuba stopped laughing, they stood there in utter silence. Things were slightly awkward.
"You were blocking the road. Come on, let's go before you trip over thin air again, Mutt." Seto mumbled. Mokuba started laughing again, the tension in the air replaced with happiness. Joey decided not to ruin the light mood with a retort, so he just turned and walked again, a small smile on his face. Yeah, Seto was a jerk, but he made Mokuba laugh and obviously wasn't too heartless if he helped him up. Maybe he was even an okay person.
They walked the rest of the way to the iced cream shop laughing and arguing, tension turning into something just a little less tense as the two learned to relax more and more, as they had been doing for awhile now. Mokuba eventually switched to Seto's other side and held both of their hands before finally giving up and climbing on Joey's back for a piggy back ride, because he was too tired to walk all the way there himself.
Once they were finally to the shop, they walked in, and the cool air overcame them. Joey had called Mai on Mokuba's request about halfway there and asked if she wanted to meet them since it was her day off, and she'd eagerly agreed. She would be there in ten minutes, but had encouraged them to go ahead and order before she got there. Kaiba picked out a table and set his coat at one of the chairs to reserve it, and Joey and Mokuba waited patiently in line for their iced cream.
Finally, they made it to the front of the line.
"I'd like a chocolate cone!" Mokuba declared, smiling brightly at the woman behind the counter. She had large, blue eyes, and almost entirely white hair down to her waist, with a thin form and smile lines around her eyes. She seemed gentle, fragile, but lying just underneath, she was strong.
"I'll take a chocolate milkshake, and a bowl of cherry cordial for Mai." Joey said, nodding his head at the woman. She smiled at him, and it lit up her face like she was glowing. "What will Seto want?" Joey asked Mokuba.
"He'll want plain vanilla in a bowl. He's not very adventurous." Mokuba said. Joey nodded his head at the girl and she took down the orders, telling them their total. Mokuba slid the money he'd been given across the counter, telling the woman to keep the change. Her eyes widened, (knowing Seto, he probably gave Mokuba a fifty) and she nodded her head, thanking them.
"I'll bring it to you when it's done, if you'd like." She said, smiling at them.
They walked back to the table to find Mai and Seto sitting across from each other, neither one saying anything. As soon as Joey saw his girlfriend, he ran to her side, throwing his arms around her neck enthusiastically. Mai rolled her eyes before turning her head, nuzzling Joey's nose before leaning in for a quick kiss. When the affectionate display had ended, Joey sat down next to her and Mokuba next to Kaiba.
"So, how was work today?" Mai broke the ice.
"It was okay." Joey responded with a shrug.
The waitress came out with the iced cream on a platter, setting Mokuba's in front of him and then the milkshake and cherry cordial in front of Mai and Joey, before finally reaching Seto.
As she looked up at him, she froze, eyes widening to the size of dinner plates. Seto glanced up to look at her and he froze too, looking surprised. Joey thought it was the first time he'd seen the CEO speechless.
Things went on like that for a good twelve seconds before she finally unfroze. She straightened up her skirt and stood up tall, blushing a little as she stuttered out an apology. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Kaiba." She said, smiling. Kaiba continued to remain frozen for a couple more seconds before he finally got the wits to respond.
"Nice to see you again too, Kisara. Thank you." He said pleasantly, for once. I repeat, Seto Kaiba was being pleasant. This would go down in the record books.
There was another moment of (slightly) less awkward silence, before Kisara broke out in a fit of nervous giggles. "Thanks again, but I really have to get back to work." She told him, nodding her head. Seto cleared his throat and leaned back, shaking his head in agreement. She then practically skipped away, her hands swinging back and forth beside her body as she went to fulfill her next task. Seto watched her leave, frowning as she went.
The entire table sat in stunned silence, none of the iced cream touched.
"You knew her?" Mokuba finally asked. Seto shifted uncomfortably in his seat, nodding his head. He reached out and picked up his iced cream cone, taking a soft lick. He avoided making eye contact with anyone, acting like he was entirely absorbed in the dairy product. After finally realizing that they wouldn't relent until they had the story, he set down his iced cream with a sigh, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. No, he was not pouting, CEOs of major companies didn't pout.
"Well, I helped her once." He started.
Seto walked outside of his building, the rotating doors swirling around behind him, the motion slowing as he distanced himself. The air was cold and humid at the same time, a combination that made for genuinely awful weather. Rain pelted down in soft droplets, scattering across the hood of his limo and landing in his hair like it was meant to. He scowled at the weather, happy that he would at least be out of it in a couple more steps.
Motion, at the corner of his eyes. He didn't turn, but his eyes moved, looking to his left. There, blurred by the constant downpour, stood a young woman.
Even through the rain, he could see her stunning white hair, the colour slightly darker than usual thanks to the layer of water that had soaked in. Her clothes clung to her body, and he could see her shivering from the cold. The rain continued to pelt down, the few other people crazy enough to be out in this weather having brought umbrellas. He had no clue why he felt the urge to help her, but there was something about her that seemed magnetic, maybe a little familiar.
He climbed into the limo, shaking the wet hair from his eyes. As soon as he shut the door, he felt an itch under his skin. He bounced his leg in attempt to stave it off, but it was a useless effort. It felt like he'd left something unfinished, something that wasn't quite done yet. It was building up in him, the feeling that he shouldn't be in the car when she was on the street.
The window rolled down, and the driver looked in the back mirror. "To home, I'm assuming?" He questioned.
Seto knew he couldn't do it. He almost growled; who was this girl to have such a pull on him, Seto Kaiba. He reached under the seat, feeling around. The driver's eyebrows scrunched in confusion when there was no answer, seeing Seto disappear from sight for a moment before coming back up, a folded umbrella held in his hands. He kicked the door open. "No, not quite. I'll be right back."
He climbed out into the freezing cold, opening the umbrella again as he walked up to the girl, mercifully still standing on the street corner. He approached her cautiously, knowing that he would come across as odd, or even friendly if he seemed too enthusiastic.
She didn't even see him approach as he walked up, her head ducked down to try and preserve heat. She froze up entirely as she felt the rain stop, looking up in surprise. Her eyes met with Seto's, and there was a long pause where nothing was said. She felt her mouth go dry as she analyzed him, and he couldn't bring himself to be the first to speak.
"Thank you." She said, finally. The walk light turned green, but she was still, not wanting to move from the shelter that the umbrella offered.
Finally, Seto found his voice. "That limo over there is mine." He said, gesturing back towards it. "If you need a ride home, you could come with me." He offered. She nodded her head in understanding, but didn't make a move, letting her shaking (which had returned when the surprise left) subside before she did. When it was down to the minimal quiver, she shook her head no.
"I shouldn't accept rides from strangers. Even ones who are so kind." She said. Seto gave a deep sigh, knowing that he wouldn't be able to allow himself to let her walk home alone in this weather. He nodded his head in agreement, but ,made no move to leave. She looked up at him curiously as they stood there, slightly awkward and wet.
"Well, then, I guess I'll just have to accompany you home." He said, straightening up. Her eyes scanned his form again curiously, as if looking for malicious intent in his offer. Finding none, she turned back towards the light, which had flashed green again. She started walking and he walked beside her, across the street.
The first block was silent. The second block the same. The silence felt oddly comfortable for them, like they were both used to it. Seto thanked Ra that she hadn't tried to strike up a conversation, because he had proved himself incapable of casual talk several times, and the last thing he needed on this weirdly compulsive streak of kindness was more proof of how socially awkward big business had made him in non-formal situations.
Three blocks later, they stopped in front of a large apartment complex. She turned towards him, her eyes scanning his again, looking for answers. Unfortunately, he had none to give.
"What's your name?" She questioned, her eyes shining with curiosity.
"Seto Kaiba." He said, without thinking. Recognition flashed in her eyes, but she didn't mention the company. Kaiba was oddly relieved; she was one of the few who had the decency to leave it out of the conversation.
"Kisara." She said, offering her hand to shake. Seto switched the umbrella to his nondominant hand and put his hand in hers, and gave a short shake. She nodded her head along with the movement. "Thank you. I hope to see you again, Seto Kaiba."
Kaiba just gave his own head nod, not knowing how to respond. That didn't really need a response anyway. It was probably more of a rhetorical statement.
She turned, walking through the door. He could see her go up the stairs through the glass, and he stayed firmly rooted to the spot. She disappeared from his sight.
"So, that was what happened. I just held an umbrella for her while it was raining outside." He mumbled, finishing his story. He'd left out most of it, like feeling the insatiable urge to go back out once he was in the limo, and how she had seemed oddly familiar. The bare minimum was all that they needed to hear from the story, so that's all that he told.
"You did something nice?" Joey asked, his mouth dropping open in shock. Mai elbowed him in the ribs, rolling her eyes at his juvenile behaviour. "I mean, uh... Good job?" Joey tried again. Mai was tempted to give him a second dose of her elbow, but found that it didn't feel much worth it. At least he tried this time.
As they left, Joey paused. Mai tugged his hand towards the door, but he held still. She looked at him cynically, not understanding his urge to wait. He held up a finger, and she let go of his hand. "I'll be right out." He promised. Mai shrugged and continued out the door, seeing no point in trying to make sense of her boyfriend's actions. Boys were stupid sometimes, and Joey was no exception to that.
Joey knew that Seto had felt something about Kisara. He wasn't stupid; there was the same sparkle in his eye as he knew was in his own when he talked about Mai. So, he approached the counter, leaning over it until she noticed him.
When she finally saw that he was there, she dropped what she was doing and came right over, a smile on her face. "What can I get for you?" She asked enthusiastically, smiling at him.
"Well, you see," He thought up a good lie as soon as he could. "My friend, Seto, the one that you knew," She nodded her head, so he kept going, "He's a little shy, so he couldn't get up the nerve to ask himself," If he wasn't mistaken, that was hope gleaming in her eyes, "So, he wants to know if he can have your phone number. Sorry he's a bit of a chicken to do it himself." He apologized, laughing a little. She lit up, immediately reaching over and grabbing a napkin and the pen from her pocket.
"Here you go. Tell him I said that he shouldn't be shy, too." She said, handing Joey the information. He took it happily, nodding his head and smiling broadly as he did. Yeah, he was meddling, but it felt kinda good to meddle.
He ran outside, waving goodbye to her, and handed the napkin to Seto.
"What's this?" Seto asked, looking at the numbers as if they were a foreign language.
"Well, it's your birth certificate." Joey said sarcastically, putting his arms on his hips. Mai smiled from beside him, just then piecing together what her boyfriend had done. She couldn't say that she didn't approve. "You were acting like a chicken, so I told that girl you wanted her number. Now you have it."
"Why the hell would you care?" Kaiba asked, narrowing his eyes. He couldn't risk glancing back inside towards Kisara, who gave him a small wink. He turned back to Joey, his cheeks tinted pink.
"I figured that if you got some romance in ya life you'd stop being such a douche." Joey said simply, unable to admit that he cared at all. Nope, not caring. Not even the tiniest bit. Seto could go die in a hole for all he cared, except he didn't care, nope, not at all. Not caring. He did that for entirely his own personal gain, figuring that if Seto had a girlfriend to take up his time, he would get more time with Mokuba. Nope, he was entirely not caring about Seto.
Silence followed.
Yami and Yuugi sat together outside of surgery, Yami leading Yuugi's hand to the proper places on the paper to sign. He sloppily wrote his name over and over, making sure the hospital had proof that he knew it was an experimental surgery, he wouldn't sue if it wasn't their fault, he wouldn't get angry at the doctors if it didn't work, etc. It was all very tedious work, and all of the assurance was making Yami more than nervous.
He just wanted this to be over with, just wanted to know that Yuugi would be okay.
Finally, the last line was signed, and they sat there in utter silence. Yuugi was twiddling his thumbs, probably remembering his birthday party a couple of days ago. Yami didn't have much money to get him anything, (Yami paid for most of their dates) but he managed to scrape together enough for an audio tape of the first Harry Potter book, which Yuugi had fallen asleep to listening to last night. It would be something to listen to while his eyes healed, something to keep his mind off of the pain of his eyes adjusting.
It wouldn't be much, Yami knew, but it would help him to pass the time.
The clock ticked by painfully slow, the minutes seeming to stretch into hours. Yami squeezed Yuugi's hand, as much for his own reassurance as for his partner's. He wanted to be as supportive as possible, but was finding it hard through all of his own worry.
"Yuugi Mutou?" The doctor called, his clip board sitting snugly against his chest. Yuugi stood, and Yami stood with him, walking a couple of steps towards the door. They came to a halt outside of the hallway. The doctor turned and waved them forward, and both of them took a couple of steps.
He raised his hands, looking at Yami. "Only he's allowed past this point." The doctor said, gesturing towards Yuugi. Yami felt anxiety rise up in him at the idea of leaving Yuugi alone, but he forced it down, for Yuugi's sake. He didn't need to give Yuugi another reason to worry, and pissing off the doctor preforming the surgery would probably fall under that category.
"I love you." Yami said, leaning down to press a lingering kiss on Yuugi's lips. Yuugi blushed a bit, knowing that there were probably more people than necessary having seen the kiss, but he didn't complain. He knew exactly how Yami felt; he was nervous, too. It would take all of his strength to get through this on his own, and a small dose of affection beforehand could never hurt.
"I love you too." Yuugi mumbled, stepping away. Yami felt a pain in his chest as he watched Yuugi walk away, but he knew that this was something that Yuugi had to face on his own.
He just hoped everything would be okay when he came out the other side.