For a good minute, Yuugi sat silent, clutching his hands together as though they were the only things keeping him steady. Maybe they were, as his stomach twisted and he bit his lips in an old, thought-discarded habit.
Not because Kaiba was wrong...
But because he was right.
"They...saw what they wanted to see." He spoke slowly, carefully. "And in a way...what I wanted them to see."
Tighter. He clutched his hands tighter.
"I kept everything inside. I protected them just as much as they thought they were protecting me. And I was fine with that, really."
Until he wasn't.
"If the others didn't have to get beat up, or get dragged into danger, or have to get thrust into my problems...all the better, right?"
But even from the beginning, he knew that Jonouchi would fall to his knees to protect him. He knew Anzu threw her body into keeping him safe. His grandpa took precious money that he needed to keep the store running in order to keep Yuugi safe.
It was humbling, but frustrating.
"It's strange; I can't tell this to my other friends, but I can talk to you so easily. Maybe it's because you see me for me. You could tell the difference, even when the others couldn't."
He paused.
"And you're...precious to me. I feel a bond with you that's different from the others."
--
Mokuba Kaiba leaned against the door, ear pressed hard as he heard Yuugi say words that he'd known for weeks.
"...Maybe that's what it means to truly have a rival that can challenge you. You can approach them on equal terms and have an understanding that you can't with anyone else."
....
That.
That idiot. That actual, literal, screaming idiot.
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For a good minute, Yuugi sat silent, clutching his hands together as though they were the only things keeping him steady. Maybe they were, as his stomach twisted and he bit his lips in an old, thought-discarded habit.
Not because Kaiba was wrong...
But because he was right.
"They...saw what they wanted to see." He spoke slowly, carefully. "And in a way...what I wanted them to see."
Tighter. He clutched his hands tighter.
"I kept everything inside. I protected them just as much as they thought they were protecting me. And I was fine with that, really."
Until he wasn't.
"If the others didn't have to get beat up, or get dragged into danger, or have to get thrust into my problems...all the better, right?"
But even from the beginning, he knew that Jonouchi would fall to his knees to protect him. He knew Anzu threw her body into keeping him safe. His grandpa took precious money that he needed to keep the store running in order to keep Yuugi safe.
It was humbling, but frustrating.
"It's strange; I can't tell this to my other friends, but I can talk to you so easily. Maybe it's because you see me for me. You could tell the difference, even when the others couldn't."
He paused.
"And you're...precious to me. I feel a bond with you that's different from the others."
--
Mokuba Kaiba leaned against the door, ear pressed hard as he heard Yuugi say words that he'd known for weeks.
"...Maybe that's what it means to truly have a rival that can challenge you. You can approach them on equal terms and have an understanding that you can't with anyone else."
....
That.
That idiot. That actual, literal, screaming idiot.
Was he as dense as his brother?!
No. Denser. So much denser.