#freshnightcrawler

For @freshnightcrawler. Merry Christmas!

“Yugi-kun! Jonouchi-kun! You two are on clean-up duty. Everyone else, you’re dismissed. Have a good Christmas break, everyone.”

The teacher let the students out of the last class before break, the excited teenagers quickly filing out of the room. Anzu stopped to wave at Yugi. “Do you want me to wait for you?” She asked. Usually, the two walked home from school together.

“No, thank you. You go on ahead.” Yugi smiled.

“OK. I’ll see you later, alright?” She gathered up her book-bag, leaving Jonouchi and Yugi alone in the empty classroom.

“Yeah, see you.” Yugi waved, taking the broom from its place in the corner.

“Here, I’ll take that.” Jonouchi grinned, scooping it warmly from Yugi’s hands. “You put the chairs on the desks and clean the chalkboard. I’ll sweep up.”

“Thanks Jonouchi.” Yugi replied, pleasantly surprised. He knew how much they both detested sweeping. As the youth began his new task, wiping the chalkboard, he began musing on his holiday plans.

This would be his first Christmas in three years without Atem. How was he going to cope? He had considered inviting all his friends to a Christmas party, but it wasn’t really what he wanted, deep within himself. Lonely silence wouldn’t help either. He already lived every day of his life like that.

Tears welled up in his eyes, more than he wanted Jonouchi to see. Yugi sniffed, a little too loudly, trying to regain his composure. “I’ll be fine.” He told himself. “I can make it by myself. I’ve got to – for Atem.”

“Yugi, is everything alright?” The steady rhythm of Jonouchi’s sweeping died away as the tall blonde looked concernedly in his direction.

“Umm, no, it’s not.” Yugi let his head rest against the chalkboard, feeling mucus begin to run down his face. He was crying for real now, not just sniveling a little. He was tired of being alone. He was tired of having cold, silent nights. The chill of winter had set into his heart, and he wanted the warmth of someone else beside him.

When had Jonouchi come to his side? However he had done it, he was there now, his arms like a welcome prison, holding Yugi against the wall. Yugi breathed in deeply, appreciating the kind touch of his best friend.

“J-Jonouchi . . .” He gasped, tears still running down his face. “I’m sorry, I just . . .”

“Tell me what’s wrong.” His mouth was next to Yugi’s cheek, his breath tickling at his spiky blonde hair. “Tell me what’s going on, so I can fix it.”

A shiver ran through Yugi’s body at Jonouchi’s words. Why was this suddenly affecting him so much? He gulped, turning to face Jonouchi. “I want Atem back.” He whispered the words aloud, trying not to get any snot on Jonouchi’s shirt.

Jonouchi held him tighter, ignoring the gooey fluids still pouring down Yugi’s face. “I know he’s your best friend and all, Yugi. And I can’t even imagine what it must have been like to lose him. But he’s . . . he’s not here now.” His voice took on a tone of frustration. “Can’t you at least appreciate us, all the people who are still here with you?”

Yugi’s heart was too loud, pounding in his ears like a drum. His breath-rate increased, his imagination soaring. His hopes were too high, and his entire body felt like it was blazing. He was seeing a thousand different ways that he wanted this to end – things he didn’t even know he had been capable of imagining. How had he never seen exactly what Jonouchi meant to him?

“I do appreciate you. I just . . . oh -” Jonouchi’s hand was warm against his skin, sliding between his shirt and his back. Yugi was pulled completely off the wall, into an embrace that sent devastating shudders through his whole body. He wanted to shout in a fervor of heat; he wanted this moment forever.

“I’m just tired of being lonely!”

There. He had said it. His true feelings were out in the open. Yugi couldn’t take them back now.

Jonouchi paused, the moment pregnant with silence. His arms loosened, and he stepped back, looking down at Yugi with serious eyes. “Then I won’t let you be alone anymore.” He promised. “If you’re lonely, I’ll be beside you. If you’re scared of the dark, I’ll turn on all the lights and sit beside you. If you can’t breathe, I’ll breathe for you until you can. Yugi, I’ll give you everything you could ever need. If you want it, I’ll get it for you. Just tell me. It’s my Christmas present to you.”

“A-anything?” Yugi questioned, his mind reeling at the new thoughts of how far that word really reached.

“Yeah, anything.” Jonouchi nodded.

“Then I want . . .” No, he couldn’t say it. He needed more time with his feelings before he could ask for something like that. But he did know what he really did want, more than anything else. This was what he had missed the most since Atem left. This is what he really dreaded at the end of each day.

“Jonouchi, I want you to sleep with me tonight.” Yugi looked up at him, his innocent violet eyes touched with a new-found maturity. “Not . . . like that.” He hurried to add. “I just . . . don’t want to be alone.”

Jonouchi took his smaller hands in both of his, grinning widely. “Of course I will! That one’s easy! Go ahead and ask for one more thing. I mean, come on, I can do more than that!”

Yugi laughed, shaking his head. “No, really, that’s all I want.”

“Nah, come one. Just one more thing.” Jonouchi pleaded. “I want you to have the best Christmas ever.”

Yugi looked around, feeling self-conscious. “Would you . . . I mean . . .” He didn’t want Jonouchi to take his request the wrong way. “Will you sleep in my room with me, on Christmas?”

“Yugi.”  He said softly.

“I mean, I get so lonely, sleeping by myself.” He said quickly, brushing off his heartfelt plea. “You don’t have to say yes to that. I’ll see you later, Jonouchi.”

“No. Yugi, that’s fine.” He said, grabbing Yugi’s wrist. “I said I would give you any present you wanted. If that’s what you want, than it’s yours.”

Yugi nodded quickly, not meeting his eyes. “Thanks. S-see you on Christmas?”