Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Friendship with Chocolate ❯ Reading Between the Lines ( Chapter 3 )

"Reading Between the Lines"

Once in the kitchen, Yami released a heavy sigh into the air.

That Jounouchi…. Sometimes he was so persistent, Yami wondered if the guy ever gave up! He knew that Jou meant well, but sometimes he could just be so ridiculous!

"Stop this." Yami muttered to himself, under his breath. Annoyed with Jounouchi, but not the type to let petty things get to him, Yami pushed his meddlings with Jounouchi aside and lead his focus to the sink. Setting Yugi's mug down on the counter, he flipped the faucet on and switched the nozzle to cold.

As the water began its descent into the mug, the fluidity and distinct sound it made got Yami's mind to enter an altered state. Relaxed, his mind reeled back to the first time Sugoroku, Yugi and himself went to Sea World in Orlando, Florida.

Yami would never forget the wonder and exuberance on Yugi's face as he watched all the killer whales do back-flips and fly through hoops in the air then splash back into the water. Yami chuckled at the memory. He remembered that Yugi's favorite part of the show was when the whales and dolphins swam on their backs and waved "bye-bye".

Ah…it was rather entertaining there.

Afterwards, Yami had bought Yugi a large swirly ice-cream cone and a package of gummy bears. Yugi gave Yami a Hershey bar and even though Yami really never ate, he accepted the offer anyway.

Soon after, Yugi was feeling a bit anxious, so Yami took him to the bathroom. While he waited outside the door, he pulled the candy bar out from under one of the belt flaps connected to his shirt. There was no way in the world that anything could fit in his pockets with the type of tight pants he wore! Just as he unwrapped the foil, he heard Sugoroku call him and motion for him to come outside for a second. Typically, he asked where Yugi was. Yami gestured towards the restrooms.

Everything was casual, until a rush of fear flashed up Yami's spine. Yugi was in danger; he could feel it. He remembered leaving Sugoroku and dashing off to find his Aibou.

Slamming the bathroom door open, he was shocked to find Yugi on the floor with three guys who looked to be Kyoto thugs all over him.

What were Japanese thugs doing in Orlando, Florida?! Two had knives and the other had Yugi pressed down so that he couldn't squirm to break free.

Though he was horrified, and had quickly become angry, Yami kept a calm composure and stepped upto the thugs.

He knew that is wasn't Yugi that they were after, thank goodness, but it was the golden Millennium Puzzle that tempted them so.

That was bad news for Yami, but he didn't care about himself at that moment.

After challenging them to a "little game" of his choice, Yami gave them all a Mind Crush. Stepping on them to help up the terrified Yugi, Yami knew he had to keep a closer eye on his Aibou from that point on.

And he had.

Everytime Yugi got into some sort of clash with some bullies or ignorant people, Yami was there to step in and take care of business before anything deadly even had the chance to dare show itself.

In fact, that became so much of a habit in the past years, that Yugi had become almost entirely dependant of Yami. It got to the point where Yugi depended on Yami so much, that he started hesitating when the time came to stand up for himself. Instead, he went and got Yami.

Now, Yami didn't mind this happening every once in a while. He would always be there for his Aibou, but at the time, it had just gotten so repetitive, that Yami could barely keep up. So, a little bit after the Orlando incident, Yami inched himself further away from Yugi; close enough to keep an eye on him, but allowing enough space for Yugi to make his own decisions.

….Similar to what was happening between Jounouchi and himself with little Yugi in the middle. He and Jounouchi both cared dearly for Yugi; Jounouchi being like a big brother and Yami behaving like a parent would be to his child. And Yugi looked up to them both respectively and Yami was fine with that, but to competitive Jounouchi, Yugi had to choose one or the other. Jou just couldn't seem to be satisfied.

"..To make his own decisions..", Yami muttered as his mind let go of those lingering thoughts. Just as he did, his ears instantly picked up on the sound of rushing water from the sink and the sound of something splashing on the floor.

Completely aware now, Yami looked down at the counter, and realized that Yugi's mug had overflowed with water and was now dripping onto the floor!!

"Oh no!" he exclaimed silently as he flipped off the faucet, snagged a dishtowel from the table and began wiping up the watery mess.

While cleaning, thoughts of his Aibou returned to that vacancy in his mind and his attention became ultimately divided.

There Yami was, kneeling down on the kitchen floor next to a puddle of water. His mind was elsewhere was his hand stayed lifelessly on top of the dishtowel, as it sopped up some of the liquid.

For a few seconds, he became concerned. He knew how Yugi was towards Jounouchi. He totally respected him. Yami knew it was foolish to dwell on such child-like thoughts, but….what if Yugi was taken away from him…?

First, almost by those thugs in Sea World, and now by a close friend?

Yami angrily bit his lip and shook his head. "Stop this." He growled to himself. Forcefully, he brought his attention back to cleaning up the water. Just as he did, he felt another presence in the room.

He didn't even have to lift his head. He already knew who it was. Still, Yami didn't say a word and simply ignored him.

"So….using an old-fashioned dish towel, are you? Must've ran out of Brawny."

Of course, it was Jounouchi.

Leaning against the doorway of the kitchen with a casual smirk on his lips, he whisked a few locks of stray hair out of his face then ran his fingers through it. "Whatcha doin'?" he playfully asked.

Becoming instantly annoyed, Yami said nothing for a second, but didn't pause in his cleaning. "…."

"Oh, are you busy?" Jounouchi prompted innocently, removing himself from the entrance and stopping right in front of Yami. Wordlessly, he watched the pharaoh pick up the dishtowel and rise from the floor. Ignoring the obvious gap between their height, Jounouchi silently eyed Yami; his mind thinking random thoughts.

In return, Yami looked up and stared blankly at the blonde for a second. Then he turned on his heels and went over to the sink. Flatly, he asked, "What do you want, Jounouchi?"

Smirking, Jounouchi followed Yami over to the sink and opened one of the cupboards for him and laid a packet of hot chocolate on the counter. As Yami devoidly accepted Jou's offer, Jou contented himself with sitting on the counter next to Yami. Stretching, he replied, "Ahhh nuthin' much. I just wanted to talk to ya, that's all."

"About?" Yami replied placidly, tearing the packet open and proceeding to pour in the coco.

Jou's playful demeanor diminished as his voice met a much lower tone.

"….Yugi…."

Back in the Living Room, little Yugi had become the only one left in the room. Ryou left not that long ago, saying something about getting home to record his favorite show at 4:30pm on the WB. Yami had left about 15 minutes ago to get him some more coca, and Jounouchi left the same time Yami did!

Lonely, and growing bored, Yugi rose from his placement on the floor and flopped into the couch. Staring blankly into the TV screen, he allowed his mind to drift and wander.

Yami and Jounouchi.

Everytime those two were in the same room, something always had to happen between them. Either Jou would confront Yami or the other way around….but it was mostly Jounouchi that started things.

Yugi inwardly sighed. Just what was up between those two? Come to think of it, earlier that day in the school fields, when Yami arrived, Jou got a little jealous and upset about his presence. And about a half hour ago, Yami and Jounouchi had gotten into another conflict while Yugi was in the same room.

It was like those two were always fussing over something….or maybe someone?

Yugi shook his head. He didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to accept the possible conclusion that Yami and Jouno were fighting over him.

That was just too much!

Yugi respected them both and cared for them dearly. Could he really have a favorite? Both guys appealed to Yugi in different and balanced ways. Infact, both had their own best attributes in Yugi's opinion, that choosing between them would cancel them both out. Yugi didn't want any broken friendships, but……he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt about the whole thing.

Tiring of the conflicting oppositeness of his brain, Yugi pulled himself away from his previous engagement and slipped off the couch.

Becoming curious to what was taking his Yami so long, Yugi pulled on his socks and began to make his way to the kitchen.

"Yami? Jounouchi-kun?", he concernly called, completely unaware to the cute sounding of his calls. Upon reaching the open doorway, Yugi stopped in his tracks, then quickly moved to the side of a wall.

He could hear voices coming from the kitchen.

The first, Yugi recognized as Jounouchi's, and the second, he didn't have to guess.

"Yami." He whispered, then absent-mindedly bit his lip. Slowly, his hand went up to his heart.

What were they talking about? He inched closer while staying pressed against the wall.

As he heard his Yami speak, he felt an odd yet strong sensation pulsing in his heart. It wasn't a painful sensation, but…it wasn't too pleasant either. Exhaling to relive the stress and anxious beating of his heart, Yugi closed his eyes and allowed himself to listen.

--

Is UGO really Ryou's favorite show?! It'd make sense if it were. His alter ego gets to torture everyone…

-Mel