madimpossibledreamer

        “Yugi!  There’s tea!” Grandpa calls upstairs, and Yugi opens his eyes blearily, coughing a little.  He’s tired and doesn’t want to move, but he doesn’t want to waste Grandpa’s work, so he finds the strength and manages to pull himself up from the bed.  His steps are slow, unsure, and it annoys him a little despite how much it shouldn’t.  It’s the Pharaoh in him that hates being weak because it puts him and others in danger.
        When he makes it downstairs, he shuffles to the cup after a muttered thanks that he’s not sure Grandpa can hear and begins sipping.  He’s distracted a little when someone starts giggling.
        He glances up, blinking a little, and almost doesn’t realize that his friends are here.  He’s tired and distracted enough that it takes him a bit to grasp that they aren’t actually supposed to be here.
        “Took you long enough,” Tristan states fondly.
        “Are you all right, Yugi?” Téa asks, looking concerned, and he covers a cough.  He nearly goes for a hug but remembers last minute that he’s sick and there’s limits to how generous he should be. 
        “I don’t want to get any of you sick,” he mumbles, voice hoarse.
        “Aw, come on, ya sayin ya don’t wanna play Duel Monstas?” Joey asks, grinning fondly, and Yugi starts shaking his head apologetically.
        “No, I can barely think straight; I wouldn’t be a good oppone—”  And then he catches the mischievous look on Joey’s face and fixes him with the flattest, most unimpressed look he can muster.  “You’re counting on that because you want a win.”
        “Aww, you’re hurtin’ my feelings,” Joey counters, but he winks when he thinks no one else is looking, and Yugi rolls his eyes, feeling cold and tired and a little dizzy.
        “Yugi, we wouldn’t be here if we were worried about getting sick.  Just—if you get me sick, I expect you to play nurse for me, right?”  Téa says with a smile, moving forward to run comforting fingers through his hair, and he’s half fallen asleep on her already.  He’s blushing a little but she doesn’t seem to mind too much when he hides that in her shoulder.
        “Well, we know you hate being on your own, and you have the best game system out of all of us,” Tristan teases, too, and then soon he’s got his head on Téa’s lap and she’s running her hands through his hair and she and his other friends are arguing about the game, whatever they’re playing, and cursing each other, and the restlessness has turned to contentment.

“I think he would like it if you were the one to finish the Puzzle,” Grandpa Muto says, and Katsuya glances over to see Yūgi’s eyes shining with tears.  He nods emphatically.  Feeling the weight of the moment, he puts the puzzle piece in place and feels a ghostly hand cover his own.  Together, the friends slide the piece into place with an audible *click*.

            Kaiba pulls aside his diminutive rival.  “I’m only going to say this once, Yugi, so don’t bother asking for a repeat performance.  But…thank you for saving Mokuba.”
            The Other Yugi is already shaking his head, smiling as Joey watches aghast.
            “If you should thank anyone, thank Tristan.  He rescued Mokuba and kept him safe while I dealt with Pegasus.  And, of course, I would never have made it this far if not for your help.”
            “What, dealing with that imposter?” Kaiba sneers.  “That was personal business.  I couldn’t let someone like Pegasus,” he spits out the name as if it’s an insult itself, “…take over my company, and the imposter wasn’t going to get away with hurting Mokuba.”  He pauses and looks Yugi in the eye.  “That being said, our business is now concluded.  I don’t owe you anything.”
            Joey fumes at that, but Yugi considers it true—they did help each other out, after all, and the man is somewhere in the vicinity of being a friend.  You don’t owe friends.
            “So don’t bother calling me the next time you idiots are too nosy and get yourselves in trouble.”
            Yugi smiles at that.  “Hopefully, Kaiba, we won’t need to.”

            Jounouchi hasn’t stopped teasing him since he’d had that talk with Anzu, and as much as he appreciates his friend and as much as he’d missed Anzu, it’s really getting a little old.  “So, come on, ya wanna reconnect wit her, right?”
            Given the emphasis and the weird face his best friend is making, he can easily understand what he’s getting at.  And, well.
            He wouldn’t mind.  Anzu’s grown up, in more ways than one.  She’s beautiful, now… (not that she ever wasn’t, his mind reminds him), and…
            …He’ll probably have a few dreams, but that’s not the point.  “I don’t want to scare her away, Jounouchi!”  He’s louder than he means to be, but then, he’s prone to accidentally blurting things out.  He continues, quieter.  “Anzu is my childhood friend, so her friendship is worth more to me than…”  He waves his hands vaguely, unable to think how to continue.  “She’s probably…dealt with people who don’t see her as a person, and I…I don’t want to be that person.”  His voice is small, on the verge of tears, rather like the Yugi he’d been before Duel Monsters and Yami and everything else.  “Besides, I…it’s been quieter, um.  After he moved on, but it still…I have the feeling that it won’t stay that way.  Maybe it’s better I don’t hang around her too much.”
            They don’t seem like they’re going to be switched onto the PE sports teams anytime soon, so Jounouchi sits down beside him, clapping a hand on his shoulder, doing his best to be comforting.  First things to deal with first.  “Yuge…if she’s at all as stubborn as she seems, then you trying ta keep her out of it ain’t gonna do anything.”
            Yugi smiles.  He still looks a little worried, but he’s calmer than before.  “You’re probably right, Jounouchi.”
            And now for what’s more important.  He’d thought it was just a simple crush, at first, but given the way his best bud is acting, it can’t be something so easy.  “You’ve looked at other girls.  I know ya have.  But she’s the only one you’ve ever looked at twice, or am I wrong?”
            Yugi’s shoulders slump.  “No, you’re not wrong,” he answers in a defeated voice.  “I never forgot about her.”
            “Well, den…don’ worry about it.  We’ll help you, an’…don’ worry about takin’ it slow.  She’d appreciate that, if she’s at all de friend she should be.”
            Yugi smiles.  “Thanks,” he states, before he processes what his friend has said.  “Uhhh, Jounouchi?  What are you planning?”
            “We got dis, mista King of Games.”  Katsuya slaps him on the back and then joins the game again on the players’ call.
            Yugi sighs and stares at his hands.