#millennium|yugi

Admittedly, it had startled her when Yugi fell to his knees but it only took a moment to collect herself. In the back of her mind Anzu remembered that Joey hadn't seen this before. The two got along to so well that sometimes it was hard to remember they hadn't always been close. (She never forgot. There were moments she couldn't help but glare at the blonde, she heard the stories and had seen first hand how he treated her childhood friend. It was strange too, considering she now knew he was just as much of a dork as Yugi.) She took a breath. It was okay. His knees had to be in pain from when they gave out, he was sweating and his breaths were so heavy his chest had to hurt. But he wasn't twitching, itching to return to something (something she was now sure had been the puzzle). He wasn't bleeding anywhere that she knew of, there was no crusted red beneath his nails. He was completely aware of his surroundings before this. He knew who was talking he knew what was happening! Yugi was fine, she was sure of it. His speech wasn't slurred as if he was barely holding onto consciousness, she could hear him clearly. To anyone else his words would be terrifying but Anzu knew better. It was alright. It wasn't all that rare for him to say these things. She never asked what any of it meant or called his mom to see if he was alright--it wasn't her place. (Not anymore.) He was just tired. And it wasn't the kind that made it impossible to shake him up before a teacher called his name or the type that left him unresponsiveness in the nurses office. He just didn't sleep until late she was sure. It happened all the time! Yugi always preferred to game his nights away. It made sense he was stressed. His grandpa's life was at risk after all. As horrible as it was..Anzu was glad. Not for Solomons pain, no never. But for the fact it was stressing Yugi. Because that meant he was still there. That he wasn't in denial. That was always a problem with Yugi. He loved to deny that he had anything to confront. He hated conflict so he pretended there wasn't any at all. It was okay. Was she saying that for him or herself? Yugi was fine. After all, this is far from the lowest he's been.

yullium from last night/this morning before bed

I should miss you. Or at least him. Why are you a stranger, why did i let you become a stranger why did i make you one I dont know who you are but you still know me, . I hope you dont notice me avoiding you.

more Anzu and Yugi friendship bullshit. loosly based on a back and forth on em me and Nyx had relatively recently

She needed to go. She wanted to run. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't bring herself to go up the steps. Nothing could make her. Not right now not today. What the hell was she going to do? She needed to stay calm but when she called out to her son all she could hear was desperation. She tried again, "YUGI, SWEETIE...YUGI!" Her voice trembled the same way her body did. At this rate she was going to scare her poor boy. But she'd rather him scared than dead. Wasn't that a thought? That that house she had lived her whole life in was capable of taking her only son? Her baby? There was silence. A terrifying, deafening silence. Was this what hell is like? Waiting for an answer that will never come? She couldn't see beyond the stairs. The shadows consumed. Eventually, or maybe within a few seconds, she got her answer. From the dark a little boy with unruly tri-colored (how did he manage that??) curls stood in the dark. She didn't seem him walk into her line of sight--he must have done so while she was blinking. She still couldn't see a thing up those stairs beyond her son. A void so black she knew it only looked that way because it was all her brain could comprehend. Yugi smiled as though nothing were wrong. He said something. She didn't catch it. What type of mother was she? She assumed it was him asking what she wanted. She went with that and answered, "Mmama.. Mama's heading out. Did...you want anything?" Not the best delivery, she couldn't hide her fear. A smile broke through on the ten year olds face as he leaned forward (her heart jumped with that) and with the glee only a child could produce pleaded, "Can I come? Pleaaaaaase please, Mama you should let me commee!!!" He had no idea where she was going. But he wanted to come too. How sweet. She's supposed to be savoring these moments, shouldn't she? Even when she's home she doesn't do enough with him, does she? So she nodded. Too quickly she held her arms out for her boy. She needed to hold him. Know he was safe. "Of course, sweetie! Why don't you come down the stairs--Carefully--so we can go together!" The woman tried not to blink as she watched her child make his way down the stairs as if they had always been there. (God how long fucking was it?! Is it her paranoia or is it this godforsaken house??) To keep her mind from fritzing out she continued, "We can make a whole day! Grandpa won't be coming too, the shop's open right now, but we can have fun without him!" After far too long Yugi was off the steps. He stared at her arms before giving her a hug. It was a cute thing he did. He was going to stop that soon, wasn't he? At thirteen if she was lucky, twelve if she wasn't. She wasn't sure if the time'd come sooner or later considering her actions--choosing to spend most of her time home outside the house. She returned the hug, her eyes still at the top of the stairs. "I like the flowers on your face," was what Yugi said to his silent mother. Flowers? Right. It was spring. She drew little blossoms on her face--she's always liked a more expressive look with her makeup. She was going to sit in a part and watch the trees sway in a natural way and she wanted to look beautiful like the foliage in that park. She was going to have to change her plans to make it more appealing for Yugi. That was okay, she supposed. The trees will be there another day. Yugi might not. "Thank You, Yugi."

He didn't quite like to pry, he knew it was a bad habit when it came to his family but he never liked like to poke and prod. His old age hadn't gotten to him yet, he still remembered that night vividly. The night his grandson, only eight at the time, sat his shop floor watching him close up for the night. Technically he was supposed to be watching the boy for his daughter--it was a Saturday, she had left the house around noon and would back when her child was supposed to be in bed--but in reality he had the go back and forth from his shop to the kitchen. It wasn't like he let the kid be bored to death though, he let the boy walk around with his Game & Watch (if anyone asked, yes, he did chuckle when he bumped into the door frame). Despite that Yugi had been bored out of his mind, having already beaten the game on there 'a kabillion times'. So the kid ended up doing what he always did with that being asking for a new game to try. It had been a surprise to Solomon that Yugi took after him in that aspect, his daughter was fond of sudoku but never really got the appeal of most games he tried to show her. Yugi on the other hand? Oh that took to it like a fish in water. Solomon would give the boy puzzles (quiet, out of sight, it allowed them to co-exist while he was still on shift) for the boys enrichment and his daughters approval. There were two problems. The first being that the little seemed to figure out them in record time, some he enjoyed to take apart and recomplete over and over but others...with others the eight year old almost seemed offended at how easy the were to him. The other was that Solomon was a greedy man. Yes, that was true. And because it was true he handed the boy a new puzzle. One that was much different from the rest. One he could never solve (a part of Solomon knew he could, that part of him only fueled that act). The Millennium puzzle. Without a doubt Solomon remembered that day well. To be frank, while he believed in his grandsons capabilities, he figured he'd give up and return it in a week at most. But then a week turned to two. The three then a month then four months..before Solomon knew it years where going by. Slowly the boy lounged about in the living room less and less. Perhaps the teasing at school grew into genuine bullying. He had done nothing about that, never once called his school or told his daughter she had to step in eventually. Solomon never liked to pry. The boy would sit quietly for hours before returning to his games as though nothing had occurred (which, he supposed was correct. Nothing had happened and that was the concern). It hadn't ended when his teenage years came about. No, it was worse. His lips would look red and raw, his hands were scuffed--covered in nicks and cuts that'd bleed through his band-aids. Mazaki slowly stopped coming over to play which had been the thing his daughter would quietly worry about to him. She no longer had a way to get her son out of his room. Solomon paid little mind. (She was unaware of how concerning Yugi was being outside his room. He couldn't help but want to keep it that way. She should be involved but as a father he still felt that urge to protect her from such things. What was he protecting her from?) And sure, when the three of them sat together for supper, the teen would occasionally bring that box with him. Placing it on the dining table beside his plate. But that meant nothing. While hadn't seemed to touch its contents in years it wasn't surprising he had taken a liking to the container itself. It was quite intriguing. Maybe he was attempting to learn how to read its inscriptions before relinquishing it. "Who'd give up?" There was a near silent edge to his tone. While Solomon was sure Mazaki hadn't seen it, he had to tear his eyes away from how Yugi's grip on the strap of his bag grew. He was offended. Almost as though he couldn't begin to fathom considering what Solomon said. This was his fault. The day came and went and Solomon never asked about the reaction. He didn't like to pry.