Odd Couple

A/N - References to sex between two adults, nothing explicit.

It felt strange to be without Yami, even a year later. Though it had frightened him at first, he had grown used to the presence of the other spirit, and though he knew that Yami was where he was supposed to be, he couldn't help but miss him. After the Ceremonial Duel, his life seemed just as empty, if not more so, than before he found the puzzle. He still had his friends, of course, but as their final year came to a close, even they began to drift.

Anzu had been accepted on a scholarship to a prestigious school in New York. Honda and Shizuka had decided to take a trip around Japan, to catch up on all the sights she had missed, and Ryuji had a business to run. Mai had dragged Jou off to cheer for her at another tournament, and Bakura had taken some time to himself to recover from Zorc's possession. In the end, everyone was gone.

He trudged up the stairs to his home. His grandfather tried to congratulate him on his graduation, but Yugi hadn't been in the mood to listen. He just wanted to lock himself in his room, and mope. It wasn't as though his friends would be gone forever, but the sensation of loneliness was too familiar, and too much, to bear.

He dropped his bag down and began to work the collar of his dress shirt. On his desk was a new puzzle – perhaps it would distract him, at least for a little while.

“Hey, hey, hey. You're the one who graduated today. Why am I getting the strip tease?”

Kokoro. She hadn't changed as much as he expected. Her hair was a bit shorter, and her skin a little more tan – the last few months on vacation with her mother had done her good. She was still dressed like she was about to head out to the beach, in little more than a simple summer dress, and lounged across his bed like a content feline.

“Kokoro-chan? I thought-.” That she was never coming back.

When she first told him about the trip, he hadn't worried, but each week she was supposed to return home, only to call and say it was extended, that she had decided to visit another country. Her letters had become less and less frequent, from once a day to once a week, until finally, he hadn't received any at all, and each piece of mail he sent was returned to his door with a claim the courier could not locate her. It was supposed to be a two-week vacation in South America, that turned into a three month expedition.

“I'm sorry I was gone so long. Mom and I got to do all that mother-daughter bonding stuff.”

When she realized his dour mood, she pushed herself up and onto her feet in one swift movement. In the time she was away he had grown considerably – rather than stand at her nose, he had claimed more than an inch of height over her, which, although she herself was rather short, was an achievement that would have had him whoop for joy on any other day. It was obvious she expected him to immediately reach for her, and when he didn't, hurt flashed through her eyes, before they filled with irritation.

“Look, I'm sorry. I should have made sure to keep in touch. But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere for a good long while.” A grin spread across her face – that grin, the one reserved for mischief or lewd behavior. “I got you something. Several somethings, actually, but they'll keep.”

She dragged a suitcase from beneath his bed. It nearly sprang open from the pressure of the clothes inside, various shorts and swimsuits and underwear that made him bubble with jealousy – why wear something that lacy when no one was to see it? Amidst all the fabric, she found a large plastic bag with a language he didn't recognize – English script, but the words were incorrect, and there were accent marks everywhere. It, too, threatened to tear apart from the weight of its contents.

She reached inside of the oversized bag and began to fish around. The first item that she removed was a plastic case with Duel Monsters cards – he scooped it up. On closer examination, he found that they were in another language, several, actually. The second was a necklace with a shark tooth. The third seemed to be what she wanted, and she threw the bag back on top of her suitcase. In her hand, she had a rectangle, wrapped in brown paper.

“What is it?”

“Open it!”

At her behest, he gently tore through the paper, much of his previous hurt forgotten in his curiosity. Beneath lay a book, a rather large one. With the book, she had wrapped a large package of colored tape strips, the kind used to mark pages. He pulled more and more paper back, and stared dumbly at the title. It meant nothing to him, though Kokoro seemed thrilled.

“What is it?”

“Open the book.”

He opened to the middle of the book, stared for a moment, then slammed it shut as blood rushed to his cheeks. Kokoro burst into peels of laughter so hearty she fell out of her crouch and onto her back, knees in the air as she struggled to get enough oxygen to make the proper noise. The Kama Sutra – she went all the way to some foreign country, and came back with porn. It probably shouldn't have surprised him.

“W-what's the tape for?”

“So you can mark things you want to try.”

He shoved the book off of his lap and onto the bed. Though the book frightened him, it was something of a relief. He had feared that she found someone better, someone tall and handsome with plenty of money to throw around, but to bring him a book that called itself a guide for lovers told him that her intentions hadn't changed in the slightest. He was still the one she wanted to be with.

“Oh, by the way, your grandpa's going to his friends for the night. Big game night, I guess, and he won't be back until late tomorrow. Which means you and I get the whole place to ourselves. It would just be rude not to take advantage.”

As she pushed him back onto the bed, he realized that the weight in his chest had gone. It was a part of adulthood, for friendships to drift apart, just as it was for them to find each other again.