Carry On

A/N: And welcome to the first of the five chapters that will conclude the story of Carry On. Thank you so much for your patience while I finished these. I’m currently working on the last scene of the final chapter, but if I don’t start posting now then this story won’t be finished until June because I’m going to be going out of state in May, and I’d like to have this over with so I can take a break and start working on some new ideas. With that, I hope you guys enjoy what is to come! I’d love to hear what you think of these final chapters. -smiles-

Enjoy!

~ Ocean

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Carry On
By Ocean

Chapter Fourteen – Intervention

The fact that Yuugi had broken the bathroom door to drag a clothed Atemu out of the shower barely registered in Sugoroku’s mind beyond the implication that the need for such a drastic action indicated Atemu had fallen further and Yuugi was infinitely more agitated than he’d allowed himself to believe.

The pensive air that followed the two young men like a loyal dog disturbed Sugoroku to the point that he had closed his store prematurely and called his daughter, summoning her home on her lunch hour to come and help him understand what was going on. It had started from the moment he’d awoken and stumbled into the kitchen to discover that not only was his grandson awake at an uncommonly early hour, but that Atemu was sitting at the table hours after he should have been at work, looking for all intent and purpose as though he was bored out of his skull. Having never known the man to miss work for any occasion, including that short bout with a chest cold he’d had while Yuugi was in Hawaii, his presence alone was enough to alert Sugoroku that something was amiss.

He’d watched as Yuugi hovered around Atemu like a doting mother, never letting him out of his sight, even to the extent of following him down the hall to the bathroom and leaning against the wall while the Egyptian relieved himself. After breakfast the two men had removed themselves to the living room where upon sitting in the recliner Atemu had found Yuugi stoically in his lap. For the past two hours neither man had moved, and only two lines of conversation had passed between them.

“I didn’t stay home from work for you to sit on me all day.”

“You agreed to stay home so stop complaining, I’m thinking and it’s hard to do when you’re whining.”

Sugoroku turned his eyes from them to look at the clock in the kitchen, his brows furrowing in anticipated worry. Gina said she’d be home within the half hour. He hoped her mother’s intuition would help shed some light on the bizarre behavior he’d witnessed all morning.

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Yuugi rolled his right shoulder, the one pressing into Atemu’s chest, relieving some of the tension that had gathered during his persistent vigil. The other man ignored the movement in the same detached manner he’d ignored Yuugi since the younger man had occupied his legs, keeping his head turned away, his eyes closed, and his arms resting purposefully on both armrests. The deliberate lack of attention didn’t bother Yuugi because he was too engrossed in his own thoughts to pay any mind to Atemu. As long as the man was in his sights, and he was going to be because Yuugi had no intention of moving off his lap, he didn’t much care what he did.

Lowering his eyes to his own lap, Yuugi wiggled his upturned fingers lightly. Atemu had woken at his usual hour that morning, and Yuugi had feared that as he’d watched him get out of bed that he’d only agreed to call in sick in order to make Yuugi be quiet so he could sleep. He’d followed him tentatively and had felt immense relief when he caught up with Atemu in the kitchen, who’d been on the phone to the office explaining that he was taking a personal day. Yuugi’d been serious when he’d said that he’d be the one to call in for Atemu, but watching the other man keep his word brought a sense of pure affection that had left him baffled. The strong emotion did not dissipate when Atemu hung up the phone, nor when the Egyptian had proceeded to make himself a cup of tea. After a moment of fighting against his brain’s obnoxious tantrum at being awake at such an ungodly hour Yuugi had entered the kitchen and procured himself a glass of water before taking a seat next to Atemu. The two had sat in silence until Sugoroku had emerged, at which point Yuugi had forced breakfast upon them.

And now here they were, sitting in a chair and as far apart as when they’d been on different islands. Yuugi didn’t know what the next step was, or even what direction he wanted to go in. During the night he’d come to accept that as much as he hated the idea, he was in love with Atemu to an extent he hadn’t been with anyone else, and that this made him a pathetic loser who was as lost and confused and irritated as a foreign tourist without a translator. Well, so be it. There was nothing he could do about it now other than kick Atemu out, which was obviously not going to happen after his panicked plea to keep the man in his life the night before. He let the stress of this acceptance escape him with a harsh sigh and moved on to the next thought that was bothering him.

Even though he’d been a royal ass, Yuugi found that he couldn’t explain Atemu’s rampant behavior when he’d come home from work the previous day. The paper he’d had in his hand at the time held the key, Yuugi knew, and the fact that he couldn’t read it pissed him off exponentially. He could always take it to the university and have it translated, of course, but he had the real inclination that he didn’t have the time for that. Atemu’s words haunted him, sitting in his heart, leaking fear every now and then like an old faucet. What had he meant, telling him to find someone to make him happy in ways that he couldn’t? And who the hell was he to tell Yuugi how long he’d be fond of him?! Yuugi did not take well to being told what his emotions should and would be, especially not from someone who appeared so ignorant of the matter. In a brief lack of self control Yuugi balled his fist and hit Atemu’s shoulder, returning the glare that was given to him.

“What the hell was that for?” Atemu grumbled, moving his head but not his eyes away from Yuugi before eventually closing them again when the younger man answered.

“Shut up.”

Yuugi scowled because the action hadn’t relieved any of the coiled tension in his body or provoked a true reaction from Atemu. He just didn’t know what to do, how to make Atemu talk to him or how to curtail his own impulsive desire to lash out his insecurities physically instead of verbally. His mother had told him that relationships were hard, but this almost-relationship he had with the Egyptian was pure hell. The bitterness in him wondered if the fight was worth it, but the romantic in him wouldn’t allow him to indulge in the thought for long, and to his surprise he felt a sense of peace warm his mind and calm him in a deep and cleansing manner. Breathing deeply, Yuugi allowed himself, for once in his life, to stop projecting the image of the tough and independent man he assumed was expected of him and let his heart assume full control.

“Atemu?” Yuugi asked quietly. He wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get a response, accepting of the fact that whatever Atemu was going through, the man seemed to believe that the silent treatment was the way to get through it. “It’s okay, just listen, please?” He took another breath to compose himself, satisfied when he felt the rigid body beneath him loosen when he’d announced he didn’t expect active participation.

“I called Honda the other day,” Yuugi began. “I told him I was tired of how he was acting, how he was treating you. But mostly, I’m just tired of him being a dick. I can’t really say he and I have gotten along lately, even before you came around. I don’t know… I guess he was always Jounochi’s friend more than he was mine. I didn’t mind him of course, but I, um, I never really felt close to him, you know? Not like I do with Jounochi and Anzu.” Yuugi looked toward the kitchen when he heard the chair scrape across the linoleum, but he didn’t stop his confession when he saw his grandfather come into the room and look at him with compassionate worry. He wasn’t willing to let go of the freeing sensation that came from having someone listen to him like this without injecting their own opinion and analysis.

“Anyway,” Yuugi said, noticing that he was rambling, “I told Honda that we needed to go our separate ways.”

“Yuugi,” Sugoroku said with sympathy. “Are you sure about that?”

“I’m sure,” Yuugi answered with a curt nod. He looked at Atemu from beneath his bangs quickly before adverting his eyes. The other man still wouldn’t acknowledge him. “It was an easy decision, really. When it came between him and- … well, like I said, it was no contest. I just thought you should know Atemu. You too, Jichan,” he added.

Sugoroku brought his hands to his face and held his head, not quite sure what to make of this latest revelation. Never had he thought that Yuugi would cut off one of his friends. He felt a mixture of pride and anxiety that left his stomach disagreeable. He peeked through his fingers at the recliner, noticing that Atemu still hadn’t responded to Yuugi in any manner. “Is he asleep?”

Yuugi chuckled, though there wasn’t much humor in the sound. “No. He’s just giving me the silent treatment.”

This roused Sugoroku’s suspicion. “Why?”

Yuugi shrugged. “You’d have to ask him.”

Sugoroku frowned at this, making his way further into the room and taking a seat on the couch. Neither of the young men appeared willing to reveal what was going on, though he was observant enough to see that on Yuugi’s end it was not a lack of willingness but of understanding that kept him quiet. As for Atemu, something must have triggered his silence. Apparently it was going to be a family affair to get the answer out of him.

“You’re stupid.”

Both Yuugi and Sugoroku jumped at Atemu’s words. Yuugi raised his head from the man’s chest to look at him; surprised at the accusing side-long stare he was given. It took a conscious effort not to allow anger to overwhelm him at the fact that Atemu still refused to look at him head on. Instead, he demonstrated his confusion with his expression.

“You would throw away a friend so easily?” Atemu’s words were clipped, edgy, and indicated clearly the displeasure he felt. “You would make it sound like it’s some kind of damned act of martyrdom that you would choose me over him? Do you have any idea how selfish that is?” He turned his eyes away but, instead of closing them, directed a glare at the wall. He gripped the armrests tightly, enough so to expose the straining tendons in his hands. “Don’t do me any favors.”

“What in the world has gotten into you?” Yuugi asked, pure disbelief in his voice. “I wasn’t. I did this for myself, not for you. Just because you were part of it doesn’t make it about you. You’re the one being egotistical to think everything I do is because of you. I do have some pride, you know.” He crossed his arms and huffed, watching as Atemu’s face turned sour during his explanation. “Get over yourself.”

Yuugi grew worried as the muscle in Atemu’s jaw clenched so violently that he heard his teeth grind against each other. The tendon in his neck was visible, quivering beneath the olive skin. But other than these indications and the look of absolute hatred in his eyes, Atemu made no other movement, voiced no other concern or opinion. As the seconds ticked by and Atemu refused to do more than sit and fume in his emotions Yuugi’s worry gradually morphed into fear. He could feel the anger, the loathing, the power of the negativity shaking Atemu’s body so forcefully it was almost a struggle to remain seated on his lap.

“God! Talk to me Atemu! Don’t just sit there and hold it in. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong!”

Yuugi flinched when Atemu’s head snapped and he was the recipient of an expression sharp and hard enough to cut glass. He didn’t even realize he’d stood and backed away from the recliner until he watched Atemu curl into himself and to the furthest side of the chair, teeth barred and eyes narrowed. He tried to gain Atemu’s attention but to no avail, and his frustration nearly brought tears to his eyes as he whipped around to face his grandfather.

“What do I do?!” he asked. Yuugi plunged his hands into his hair and pulled as hard as he dared, unaware of the pain he was causing in his Sugoroku. He was feeling so overwhelmed with the possibility of Atemu permanently leaving him that he wasn’t paying any attention to the effect his and Atemu’s altercation was having on the other member of the family. “How do I get him to talk to me when he refuses like this? How can I fix things when I don’t know what’s going on?!”

Sugoroku jumped up from the couch and embraced his grandson, mostly to offer support but also to restrain his wildly gesticulating arms before he hit one of them in the face. “Easy Yuugi, easy. Whoa!” he said when his grandson nearly toppled both of them before he realized he was being held. “Careful! We’ll figure it out but first we need to help him through whatever he’s going through, okay?”

Yuugi defiantly shook his head and grimaced. He wasn’t at all satisfied with sitting back and watching Atemu implode, only then to step in and get to the bottom of things.

The sound of the screen door and feet rapidly ascending the stairs didn’t penetrate the thick atmosphere, and it wasn’t until Gina gasped in surprise and flung herself to the floor at Atemu’s side that anyone noticed she was home.

“Atemu?” she asked worriedly, raising her hands and placing them on his cheeks, holding his head gently. Tears came to her eyes when she saw the anguish on his face, and once he truly looked at her and his angry façade broke into pure despair she let them fall. “Oh my dear, what happened?” She turned to face her father and her son, repeating her question. “Yuugi? Dad? What’s going on?”

Yuugi grunted loudly, a sound that reverberated with his confusion and failing patience with everything that was happening. “I don’t know!” he shouted. He stopped himself from saying anything further when he saw Atemu flinch violently at his voice, falling off the chair and into Gina’s waiting embrace. Yuugi felt a stab of jealousy that Atemu was willing to be comforted by his mother and not by him, and shook himself free of his grandfather’s embrace. “I…”

“Shh,” Gina hushed into Atemu’s hair, rocking him gently while trying to convey to her son with her eyes that she was going to help him the best she could. “It’s alright, it’s okay, we aren’t going to force anything out of you you don’t want to tell us.” She gave a warning glance to Yuugi when she felt him disagree. “No, we aren’t. We’re just going to sit here until you’re ready.”

Eventually Atemu nodded against Gina’s shoulder, his body going lax in her arms with fatigue. By God did he miss his mother, the loving and comforting embrace that was always waiting for him should he need it. He would forever be thankful to Gina for offering her arms to him, to a nobody like him who didn’t deserve her compassion. And Sugoroku, who had treated him like a son who wasn’t a shame to the family. And Yuugi…

Atemu opened his eyes and turned them in the younger man’s direction, still unable to bring himself to face him fully. The raw emotion he saw in him was finally able to pull his voice from his throat, raw as though he hadn’t used it in months.

“What is it with you?” he asked, slowly pulling himself from Gina’s embrace to face Yuugi. “I keep telling you to stop pursuing me and you just won’t listen! Do you have any idea what you’re doing or why you’re doing it? This is just a phase you’re going through! Don’t you get that?! I’m just a phase!”

“No you’re not!” Yuugi shouted back, more than ready for the fight that was a long time in coming. Neither he nor Atemu seemed to realize or care that they had an audience, and perhaps that was for the best so neither of them would pull their punches. “Jesus, you’re not this stupid! How many times do I have to tell you that I like having you around and want you here? Cut that out!”

Yuugi was referring to Atemu’s dramatic eye roll as he’d spoken, the Egyptian pulling himself to his feet and pacing to the other side of the room. “Oh come off it already. You like having everyone around for awhile. Why should I believe I’m any different?”

“Because you are!”

“LIAR!”

Even Atemu appeared startled at the loudness of his protest, everyone having raised a hand to their chest or their mouth at the outburst. Color rising to his cheeks in embarrassment, Atemu forced himself to take a calming breath before continuing. “Look,” he said, fisting one hand on his hip in defiance to the accusatory stare Yuugi was giving him. “I’m tired of this charade, aren’t you? All the games we’ve played and the secrets we’ve kept, they’re just a waste of time. I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s too hard.”

“What’s too hard?” Gina asked once the silence became oppressive.

“Pretending I belong here,” Atemu said, his voice returning to its normal, quiet and smooth tone. He spared a glance at Yuugi, who stood gaping at him like a fish, before redirecting his attention to a spot on the far wall over Gina’s shoulder. “Yuugi, stop kidding yourself, will you? You don’t have anything to prove to anyone. I’ve already told you that you’re perfect just the way you are. Move on already, away from me and all the crap that I-”

“I love you.”

A leaf falling on the sidewalk outside could be heard in the room, all eyes on Yuugi, whose eyes were trained on the carpet at his feet with his brows furrowed in thoughtfulness. His voice hadn’t been loud, certainly shouldn’t have been loud enough to interrupt Atemu’s strong words, but it had, and now that he had everyone’s attention he wasn’t sure he wanted it. He bit his lower lip softly.

“I’ll be damned, but I do.” Yuugi raised his head and looked confidently at Atemu, whose eyes had doubled in size. “Know how I know? Because all that bullshit you’ve been spouting, I don’t care. Even if it’s true, which it isn’t,” he made certain to emphasize, “I don’t care. About any of it. Pretending you belong here,” he scoffed, and with determined footsteps walked to Atemu and forced the man into an embrace by clamping his arms around his neck. “I swear sometimes you’re the densest man alive.”

Atemu froze at the contact, unprepared for the admission and the force of Yuugi’s hug. He’d expected Yuugi to pull out the ammunition of ‘I love you’ in an effort to keep him around longer, but he hadn’t expected him to mean it. Not really mean it, not in the way he’d meant it when he’d told Yuugi that he was in love with him. But there was a little part of his brain refusing to be silent that was celebrating the fact that he was loved, he was loved and at last by a man who was a good man and not the degenerates he used to fall for. It was too much to believe. He didn’t believe it but he did believe it and Yuugi continued to hug him in that amazingly sincere and aggressive way that left no room for doubt that his words had been true. And just when he thought he couldn’t take anymore, the unthinkable happened.

Two more pairs of arms encircled him and Yuugi, holding them tightly, a head resting against the back of his shoulder while he felt the outline of a face pressed against his bicep.

“My grandson’s eloquent words have a point,” Sugoroku said, adding an extra squeeze to his embrace. “If you don’t know you belong in our family by now then you aren’t as clever as we know you are.”

“I told you Yuugi’d explain everything to you when he got home,” Gina said through a smile. “I admit it took him longer than I thought it would.” She laughed when Yuugi groaned in playful indignation. “But we do love you Atemu. All of us. And if you think the Motou family is letting you go that easily, well,” she paused as all three members tightened their hold on the now trembling Egyptian, “you’ve got quite the fight on your hands, don’t you?”

It took the entire family’s strength to support Atemu when he collapsed on them in tears, and pretty soon all of them felt the wetness falling from their eyes, despite the grins on their faces.

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The house was quiet with that full sense of silence that existed only when everyone was home but only one member of the family was awake. The sun had settled itself long ago and darkness had eagerly permeated the world in its wake, bringing along a calmness that was desperately welcomed by the Motous. Only two lights were on in the building; one low-watt bulb in the lower landing, illuminating the stairs, and a slightly stronger light from a side-table lamp in the living room. Atemu was curled next to this second light, his knees drawn beneath him on the loveseat while his upper body was supported by the arm cushion. In his hands he held the letter that had sparked the entire ordeal of that afternoon.

Gina had reluctantly returned to work once the tears had stopped flowing, lamenting that she would have to work extra late because of how long she’d been gone. Sugoroku and Yuugi had promised to tend to Atemu in her absence, and had done so with vigilance. Holding, soothing, supporting and encouraging, the two had aided the Egyptian’s efforts to find himself again. Surprisingly this hadn’t taken as long as everyone had thought it would, and once Atemu had collected himself they’d discovered that it was Yuugi who was worse for wear and needed the attention. Emotionally exhausted, and still affected by the fear of abandonment Atemu had induced, the young man stubbornly refused to allow any consideration to be placed on him until fatigue overcame him and he’d relented to lying down early and going to bed. Atemu had lain with him for a little over an hour before he was satisfied that Yuugi was sleeping the sleep of exhaustion and wouldn’t be stirring any time soon. When he’d exited from their bedroom, closing the door quietly behind himself, he was greeted by Sugoroku on his way to his own bed, grumbling good-naturedly that he was too old for the drama of children and needed rest.

Atemu found that he wasn’t particularly tired after his emotional breakdown. He wouldn’t say he was numb, but that was the best word he could offer to explain how he felt. It had been a relief, to say the least, to allow himself to cry so freely in such an aggressively protective embrace. All the years of torment, of hurt and fear and ridicule had burst from their prison when he’d been told in no uncertain terms that here, in a little game shop in Japan, he was accepted, he was loved, for exactly the reasons he was hated at home. The pressure had been so great that he’d felt like an elephant had sat on him. He wasn’t embarrassed by his reaction to the Motous’ professions of love, though he certainly wasn’t proud of his complete collapse into hysterics. It would be naïve to think that after one moment’s release all his problems had been solved and that he’d been drastically changed, but it was a step on a new path. He was just going to have to hold on to that and hope that he was finally headed in the right direction, preferably one that would allow him to shed his sense of worthlessness and belief that he was undeserving of compassion.

He smiled lightly when he heard the screen door open and waited patiently for Gina to ascend the stairs. He greeted her with a wave of his hand, and she accepted the invitation to come into the room and join him. Surprising Atemu, Gina opted to sit on the floor in front of him with her back supported by the coffee table and legs stretched out in front of her. She smiled fondly at him, reaching forward to put a hand on his knee before settling herself into a comfortable position.

“How are you feeling?” Gina asked.

Atemu’s shoulder twitched in the semblance of a shrug. “Alright at the moment, I guess.”

Gina shifted her weight so she could peer into the kitchen. “Where’s Yuugi? And dad?” She returned her gaze to Atemu. “I didn’t expect them to let you out of their sight.”

Atemu laughed, though the effort took a lot out of him. “Your father has the tenacity of a badger, but I’m afraid Yuugi and I tax him in ways he’s not used too. As for Yuugi…” Atemu lowered his eyes to the letter in his hands, frowning in consideration. “I think all this has been really hard on him.” The fact that he didn’t understand why was evident in the tone of his voice.

“He doesn’t take forced change very well,” Gina offered in explanation. “Especially not in himself.”

“Mm,” Atemu acknowledged, though he didn’t remove his eyes from the letter.

“Is he sleeping?” She grinned knowingly when Atemu nodded his head. “Good. He’ll be fine once he gets some rest. You’ll see.”

They sat in amicable silence for a few minutes, neither pressing on the other the need for conversation. Gina was more than happy to sit with Atemu, offering her quiet support and acceptance of his presence. She did grow concerned when she noticed him begin to fidget, and when his eyes flashed to hers for a moment before returning to the letter, she invited him to share what was on his mind.

Atemu folded his lower lip between his teeth and bit it gently. “Why doesn’t it bother you?” he finally asked.

“Why doesn’t what bother me?”

“Us.” Atemu opened his hand and swung his arm wide, trying to convey his meaning without words. “Me,” he added, folding his arm to indicate himself. He lifted his eyes to meet Gina’s directly. “Why don’t you hate who I am?”

“Who are you?” Gina was only partially playing dumb; though she thought she had a good idea what Atemu was referring to, she wanted to hear him say it, hear him confront the ugliness he had been shown throughout his life.

Atemu’s mouth worked to let the words come, though it appeared to be a painful process. “I’ve… been told most of my life that I’m nothing. Even before I… before they…” He shook his head, not ready to confront that confession just yet. “My brother is the perfect son. Obedient, respectful, handsome. He married the ideal woman. My parents adore her. I understand why they love him. But me…” He sighed heavily, squeezing his eyes shut. “I’ll never be like him. I don’t know how to be like him. I tried, but I can’t do it.”

“What are you trying to say Atemu?” Gina asked in an effort to help guide the younger man she now considered her second son.

“Why is it okay that I’m gay?” Atemu asked suddenly, a desperate edge to his words. “Why is it okay that I’m not normal? That I ‘choose’ this lifestyle when everyone knows that it’s wrong and disgusting and a sin? Why?!”

Gina didn’t answer right away, uncertain how best to explain herself. She didn’t want to give Atemu the impression that her answer was formulated or that she was placating him. He deserved an honest response and she was determined to give him one. Choosing her words carefully, she eventually began to speak.

“Honestly, Atemu, I can’t say that I’m okay with it. I mean, I wouldn’t be comfortable being gay, it isn’t something I would choose.” She put a hand to the floor and leaned on her arm, tilting her head to the side. “As for it being a choice, well, I have nothing to say on that. How would I know if it’s a choice or not? It’s not like I understand how it works. If you tell me that it isn’t one, then I believe you.”

Atemu brought a hand to his face and groaned, supporting his forehead with his fingertips. “No one would choose this hell,” he muttered.

Gina ignored the comment, hearing it for the frustration that it was. “To tell you the truth, Atemu, and I mean this, I don’t really care if you’re gay. What has that got to do with me?”

Atemu’s eyes widened in shock and his mouth went slack before he spoke. “Nothing to…? Seriously? Doesn’t my just being here bring disgrace and shame and disgust you? Wouldn’t others ridicule you if they knew I was here?”

“I don’t know if they would,” Gina said, shrugging indifferently. “As for the rest.” She looked at Atemu critically. “What are you going to do that’s shameful and disgusting? Are you going to attack us?”

“What? No!”

“Steal from us?”

Atemu vehemently shook his head, nearly bouncing himself off the couch.

“Rape me? Or Yuugi?”

Okay, maybe she had gone too far with that one when she saw the look of resentment that crossed Atemu’s face.

“I’m sorry! I wasn’t trying to imply-” Gina folded her legs and reached towards Atemu. She cringed when he initially flinched away from her, but found relief when he realized what she’d said and settled himself. “I’m just trying to get you to understand that you aren’t any of those things, Atemu. You’re not disgusting, you’re not a source of shame, you aren’t some horrible person!” She took hold of his forearms, waiting until he turned his head towards her, though his eyes were still on the floor. “Oh, my dear, don’t you see it yet? How much we love you? What a wonderful person you are? How proud we are of you?”

Atemu remained motionless for a good two minutes before releasing a harsh breath and nodding his head, offering Gina a fleeting smile of acknowledgement. The woman gave him a final squeeze on his arms and then settled herself back against the coffee table, a cautious air surrounding her movements. She hadn’t meant to push him so hard so soon and her confidence wavered. It was only now that she noticed the letter in Atemu’s hands, and when she reached out her palm, asking to see it, she was touched that he handed it to her without hesitation, though the manner had been solemn. Glancing at the writing Gina understood that it was a letter from home.

“No, I haven’t told him yet,” Atemu offered, leaning his head against the back cushion of the couch and closing his eyes.

“Told him what?” Gina asked distractedly, her thoughts lost in her perusal of the letter.

“My family,” Atemu said with a long-suffering breath. “About the phone call while he was in Hawaii.”

“Oh,” Gina said, finally looking up from the letter. “Well, um, hm.” It took her a moment to know what she wanted to say. “I… suppose it is your story to tell, Atemu. You don’t have to tell him.”

Atemu gave a derisive snort. “What’s one more secret, right?”

“I don’t really know if it’s that much of a secret,” Gina admitted. “He may not know the details, but I’m sure Yuugi’s picked up on something. He’s drawn to people with a troubled past.”

“Indeed.”

Atemu sighed deeply and pulled himself from the couch to sit on the floor in front of Gina, taking care not to sit on her outstretched legs when he positioned himself against the couch. He retrieved his letter and folded it carefully before roughly shoving it into his pants’ pocket. He shook off the concerned look he was given at his actions and bent his knee, resting his arm on top of it.

“You know what gets me?” he asked, biting the side of his finger. “That even when I give in to him and leave the country my father still influences everything I do. He says he wants nothing to do with me until I agree to do as he says, yet he takes every opportunity to alert me to the fact that I’m a failure. Why does he do that?”

“I don’t know,” Gina whispered. “I really don’t know. All I can say is that, to me, he still loves you and doesn’t want to let you go.”

“I don’t know about that,” Atemu said bitterly. “If we were talking about my mother or my brother, I might believe it. But not him.” He turned his head to the side, eyes looking upon a country thousands of miles away. “This has more to do with control than anything else.”

“I don’t want to believe that,” Gina admitted.

Atemu smirked, rolling his eyes. “I know. You’re just like Yuugi. You two want to believe that there’s good in everyone, that everyone wants to do the right thing. You guys don’t seem to understand that the ‘right thing’ is different in everyone’s eyes.”

The reprimand stung, and Gina found herself lowering her eyes in response. “What does the letter say?”

After a moment Atemu nodded to himself and stood, offering his hand to Gina and assisting her off the floor. He kept hold of her hand once she was standing, bringing his other over to cover it warmly. “Thank you for listening to me tonight. And for earlier.” He pulled her lightly to him and hugged her gently. “You’re a blessing to this tired fool.”

Gina returned the embrace, shaking her head in full understanding of the frustration that Yuugi must feel when trying to get through to Atemu. “You’re too hard on yourself. And on Yuugi.” She pulled back and placed her hands on his shoulders affectionately. “You can trust him Atemu. Even if he wasn’t in love with you, you could trust him. But, since he is,” she said slyly, smirking herself at the flattered grin appearing on Atemu’s face, “you can tell him anything. He’ll do anything for you, you know. You know he will. He may complain as he does it, but he will do it.”

Atemu laughed heartily. “Yeah yeah, point taken.” He rolled his shoulder towards the hallway before offering his arm to Gina. “Come on, it’s late and I don’t know about you, but I’m eager for this day to end.”

“Mm-hmm,” Gina said, knowing full well that Atemu was simply putting an end to the conversation before she could drill any more advice into his head. “You are smooth.” When Atemu flashed a smile she couldn’t help but give in, taking his arm and allowing him to lead her to her bedroom before he bid her goodnight and entered his own room. She watched after him until he closed the door.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

“Hrm?” Yuugi grunted when he felt the bed move beneath him. Before he knew it he was shoved onto his back from his side and there was an unmistakable warm weight on top of him. He fought to open his eyes, only realizing the futility of the battle once he had won it for the room was so dark he couldn’t see Atemu’s face. He scowled in a confusion brought about by his rude awakening. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Atemu said, his voice low and husky in such a way as to make part of Yuugi’s mind jump to attention. “I’m just coming to bed and you were lying on my side.”

“Huh?”

Atemu chuckled, leaning down to place a kiss to Yuugi’s lips before rolling onto his side, on his side of the bed, and pulling the sheet around his body. Yuugi had begun to raise his arms to wrap them around the man on top of him but, when he found only empty air above him, decided to roll away from the disturbance and go back to sleep. He didn’t protest when an arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him back against a firm chest, though he did offer a muffled complaint when Atemu nuzzled the tip of his nose into his hair. The motion tickled and Yuugi was simply too tired to laugh.

“Alright, go back to sleep,” Atemu murmured around a smile. “I’ll be quiet.”

“Nn-hmm,” Yuugi sort of said. He didn’t have time to elaborate on the thought, sleep overtook him so quickly.

Atemu laid awake for a short while after Yuugi fell back asleep, not really thinking, just allowing himself to be in a place of stillness that was non-threatening and almost peaceful. Gina had been wrong about one thing. Trusting Yuugi was not the problem, nor had it ever been. What concerned Atemu more was that Yuugi was going through his own transitions and self-revelations, just as he was, and he knew from experience that judgments and professions made during these times were usually unreliable. It was a difficult position to be in because he wanted to believe everything Yuugi told him, but he also didn’t want to play the dupe and naïvely follow all emotional confessions. He’d been fighting that instinct his whole life and bared the scars to prove it. He just needed to be sure.

With a final squeeze to Yuugi’s waist Atemu closed his eyes and went to sleep.

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to be continued…