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There’s no other way to put it. Jounouchi’s losing his goddamn mind.
The most obvious reason is, of course, the massive crush he’s got on his best friend, because with every day that goes by the urge to just blurt it all out gets more and more powerful, and they hang out all the time so it’s always at the back of his mind anyway. He is trying his damnedest to figure out the best way to confess, but he doesn’t want it to be awkward or dumb and he refuses to make a fool out of either of them and that’s kind of limiting his options, so he’s basically stuck waiting for the right moment. He has no idea how Yuugi hasn’t figured it out yet because Jounouchi feels like he might as well have a neon billboard attached to his head flashing “I <3 YUUGI” for everyone to see.
Even worse, whatever marbles Jounouchi might’ve still had after that emotional rollercoaster got lost when Honda figured it out instead, and now Mr. Thinks-He’s-A-Romance-Guru is trying to wingman. He’s not actively trying to set anything up, at least, so that’s something, but every time Jounouchi and Yuugi are hanging out he’ll look up and there’s one Hiroto Honda standing there with a thumbs-up and a wink. Every. Time. He’s probably trying to be encouraging or something, but Jounouchi doesn’t really need the reminder of how much he’s dragging his feet on this, okay?
Also, Honda’s just... really stupid obvious about it. Jounouchi’s caught Anzu staring at him a couple times like she’s three seconds away from dragging him to the nurse’s office. Which, thinking about it, might actually give him some peace of mind for a couple hours, but if Anzu gets Honda alone and starts interrogating him he’ll talk.
Basically, Jounouchi’s stuck between a rock, a hard place, and some kind of breakdown, and he’s got no one to blame but himself. He’d give anything for a distraction right now, even if it’s another murder park.
His wish is granted Saturday morning when he strolls into the classroom and finds Yuugi and Anzu hunched over the morning newspaper chatting away excitedly. “Mornin’, guys!” he calls as he brushes past to dump his bag at his desk. “What’cha lookin’ at?”
“Jounouchi-kun!” Yuugi turns his signature megawatt smile on him that never fails to make his heart do little somersaults like he’s some five-year-old girl. “Look at this!”
Yuugi thrusts the paper up so Jounouchi can see. He’s holding it upside-down – too excited to realize, probably – but the giant blown-up photo of gleaming water slides is easy enough to read. “Is that a new water park?!” he yelps, dashing over to grab the paper. He flips it upright and scans the headline, a grin spreading across his face.
“Yeah! Domino Amusement Park’s just added a whole new section!” Yuugi’s bouncing up and down a little in his seat. “It just opened last week, apparently!”
“Oh, hell yeah!” Jounouchi slaps the paper down on the desk. “We’re goin’, right? We gotta check it out!”
“Absolutely!” Yuugi beams. “It’s open tomorrow, let’s go then!”
Jounouchi pumps his fist. It’s been a while since they all did something fun without some crap getting in the way; a trip to the park seems like the perfect way to unwind after a long week, and it’s not owned by Kaiba so the chances of murder are looking pretty slim. He turns to Anzu and asks, “That work for you? No wo –” He catches himself midway and lowers his voice. “No, uh, after school obligations gettin’ in the way?”
Anzu stares at him wide-eyed for a moment, long enough that Jounouchi starts getting a little worried – he doesn’t think he did anything, maybe the near slip up just now did it? – but then she blinks and smiles. “I’m free, yeah!” she replies. “Let’s all go!”
“Nice!” Jounouchi spots Honda ambling into the classroom at that exact moment and waves him over. “Yo, Honda, water park tomorrow, you want in?”
“What’s going on?” Honda wanders over and accepts the paper from Yuugi.
As Yuugi starts enthusiastically explaining what’s up again, Jounouchi shoves his hands in his pockets and watches how he lights up. Yeah, they all need this, he thinks. “Ain’t been to an amusement park in ages,” he admits to Anzu without looking. “’Cept Kaiba’s thing, and that doesn’t count. We gotta go on all the rides.”
Anzu doesn’t respond. Jounouchi’s brows furrow after a few seconds and he turns to look. She’s staring at him again with that weird I-can’t-believe-what-I’m-looking-at expression. He leans back a little, bewildered. “What? I got somethin’ on my face?” he demands.
“Huh?” Anzu blinks, then laughs in probably the most unconvincing way possible and shakes her head. “No, sorry, just... lost in thought, don’t mind me. What were you saying?”
Jounouchi frowns. That’s not like Anzu. “You feelin’ all right?”
He raises his hand to press it against her forehead, but Anzu swats it away before he gets close. “I’m fine,” she asserts, and now she sounds more like regular Anzu. “Really, I’m probably just tired. Didn’t sleep super great last night.”
Oof, school on no sleep is no joke. Jounouchi pivots his hand to her shoulder instead. “May your grades rest in peace,” he says solemnly.
Anzu rolls her eyes. “One, pretty sure that’s my line, and two, one night of bad sleep isn’t going to kill my scores.”
Jounouchi raises both hands in surrender. “I know, I know, ya don’t gotta rub it in. But ya gotta get your rest tonight for the park tomorrow! Right, guys?” he adds, turning to Yuugi and Honda.
Honda sets the paper down again and shakes his head, heaving a great sigh. “I can’t make it tomorrow, actually. Babysitting duty.”
Yuugi and Jounouchi trade dismayed looks. “Should we reschedule?” Yuugi suggests. “The park will be open other weekends!”
“Nah, you guys have fun. Tell me if it’s actually good and I’ll go next time.”
Jounouchi squints at him. “So we’re your guinea pigs.”
Honda grins, utterly shameless. “You got it!”
Jounouchi launches forward and grabs Honda in a headlock, which is exactly when the teacher comes in. The two of them scramble to take their seats before the teacher can scold them (not like he does that much anymore, poor guy’s gotten too used to them and their bullshit, but sometimes he gives it another go) while Anzu weaves around the desks to her seat and Yuugi folds the newspaper away neatly into his bag. He catches Jounouchi’s eye and beams gleefully before turning forward to face the front.
Jounouchi can’t keep a cheery little grin off his face, either. Man, he’s really looking forward to tomorrow. He glances over and notices Honda’s glancing in his direction, though, and when their eyes meet Honda lowers his hands to his sides, tips him a wink, and flashes him a... thumbs-up....
His face goes hot. Oh, that bastard. He probably doesn’t even have babysitting duty, does he? When class lets out Jounouchi’s putting him in another headlock and this time he’s not letting go, swear to God.
Well, joke’s on Honda, because Anzu’s going, too, and that means he’s skipping out on a cool water park hangout for nothing because Jounouchi’s isn’t going to do or say a damned thing in front of an audience. In any other event, sure, an amusement park would be kind of the perfect place to finally grow a pair and confess....
Nope. No. He cuts that train of thought off at the pass. It’s not happening, he’s not going to make this fun outing with his friends weird with his feelings, they’re just going to go to the waterpark and be normal and chill about it and everything will be fine.
When Jounouchi said he’d take another murder park as a distraction he’d been joking.
Oh, the first half of the day had been totally fine. The three of them had rolled up, gone inside, rode some of the rides for an hour or so, went to the water park and had a blast (and maybe Jounouchi got a little distracted for a bit so he ended up staying in the pool a little longer but he’s fully putting them blame on Honda for making him all self-conscious), left to go explore the rest of the park, and everything had been great. Sure, Anzu had still been a little off, but Jounouchi had chalked that up to her being worried over that serial bomber Yuugi’d read about in the paper that morning and he figured there was no way the guy would strike again so soon.
Then at one point he turned to Yuugi to ask a question and when he looked back Anzu was gone, and they’d both gone to look for her, and then there’d been a loud BOOM and there’d been smoke curling up into the air nearby and someone on the PA said there’s a freaking bomb in the park, as if some higher power set out to spite Jounouchi specifically. He’d grabbed Yuugi’s wrist in the stampede of people that’d followed. They’d made it a good ways together before the panicking crowds shoved them around so much that he’d lost his grip and Yuugi got swept away. Jounouchi had made it to the exit himself and he’s spent the past several minutes waiting impatiently for Yuugi or Anzu to show up, but no one else is coming out and they’re nowhere to be seen.
There’s another explosion inside the park and a fresh plume of smoke. Jounouchi curses loudly and shoves his way through the crowds back towards the scene. He’s calling it, amusement parks in Domino are just cursed or something. Either that or his friends are (besides Yuugi’s whole thing with the Puzzle, he means), because he’s willing to bet one or both of them got caught up with the bomber.
No way in hell he’s letting them deal with that alone. Jounouchi sizes up his options. There’s a beat cop guarding the entrance who glares at him as he sidles closer. He glares right back, but he backs off. The guy’ll just call backup before Jounouchi can break through and he’s not getting arrested today, thanks. The fences are short enough he can hop ‘em, he just needs the cop to look the other way for three seconds....
Luck might actually be on his side today, because at that exact moment a white-collar man with his wife and kid march straight up to the cop and starts demanding answers. The cop turns his full attention on them, trying to placate the nervous businessman. Jounouchi backs up a bit, gets a running start, and vaults the fence with only a bit of scrabbling. Some narc in the crowd calls after him, but he’s already booking it into the park, zigzagging past a bunch of rides and abandoned stalls. By the time the cops catch up with him, he’ll have found his friends.
It doesn’t take long, since all he has to do is follow the sound of things going boom. He was right on the money – a few cars on the Ferris wheel have been reduced to smoking, blackened husks, and Yuugi’s right there on the ground smack dab in the middle of a bunch more cops. No Anzu, though, which is concerning. Said concerns are pretty much immediately proven correct when Jounouchi looks up, because there she is in the damn Ferris wheel. First thing he’s doing when this is all over is finding an exorcist, this level of bad luck is not normal. And of course none of the cops are doing anything helpful, they’re just standing around with balloons in their hands listening to Yuugi, who... has a phone to his ear?
Jounouchi pours on some extra speed to try and catch up, but Yuugi pivots on his heel and dashes off, several cops in hot pursuit. He catches a glimpse of Yuugi’s face as he goes, though, and despite the tense situation he can’t help but relax a little. That’s the other Yuugi in control, so he’s probably got a plan cooking. Jounouchi changes course for the few cops still milling around at the base of the wheel instead. “Oi!” he shouts as he draws near. “Hell’s goin’ on around here?!”
The cops startle and trade glances. One of them steps forward. “Young man, you can’t just –”
Absolutely not. Jounouchi levels a death glare on the idiot. “My friend’s up there,” he snarls, jabbing a finger up at the Ferris wheel. “And my other friend –” His finger swivels in the direction the other Yuugi ran off to. “– just booked it with like half your squad. I think I gotta right to know what they got dragged into.” As he talks, he glances back up at Anzu and flashes a thumbs-up, mouthing reassurances. He can’t make out her expression from here since she’s so high up, but he hopes she got the message.
Antagonizing cops is always a toss-up, but Jounouchi’s banking on the hope that they’re more concerned about the bomber than one punk kid, and thankfully he’s right. Doubly thankfully, the situation ends up resolved before the cop’s even finished explaining – he just got started on something about balloon colors when there’s a sharp CRASH and everyone’s heads swivel in time to see a passenger in one of the cars smash through the doors and tumble to the ground in a heap of gangly limbs. Most of the cops instantly rush over to check on the guy, and Jounouchi’s designated exposition officer only hesitates for a couple seconds before joining them, casting a single warning look in his direction. Like hell Jounouchi’s going anywhere.
The other Yuugi returns shortly, pressing the phone he’d had into what looks like the head cop’s waiting hand and murmuring a few words before jogging up to Jounouchi. “Jounouchi-kun,” he greets with a relieved smile. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You too, man.” Jounouchi shoves his hands in his pockets and keeps one eye on the Ferris wheel. The head cop’s gone to talk to a park employee that had stuck around, and they’re both moving towards the ride controls. “You guys just had to get caught up in the thick of it, huh?”
“Not by choice.” The other Yuugi’s also got one eye on the wheel, but he shoots Jounouchi a sidelong glance as he wryly adds, “If you wanted to be involved, you should’ve kept a better grip on the other me.”
“I tried! It was a stampede out there!” Jounouch throws up his hands.
The other Yuugi snickers. Times like this Jounouchi wonders how he didn’t pick up on the guy’s existence the first time they met, because it’s so obvious that he’s a completely different person than Yuugi. Regular Yuugi would still be jittery after facing down a serial bomber, but the other Yuugi acts like it’s just another Sunday for him.
The Ferris wheel judders to life. The two of them turn to watch as the cars start turning again at a glacial pace, the exploded cars shuddering and creaking with every sway. “Who blows up a park?” Jounouch wonders incredulously. “They better catch the guy soon or I’m gonna have to throw down with the cops.”
The other Yuugi nods. It takes Jounouchi a second to realize he’s nodding in a specific direction, and he turns that way to see the group of cops hauling up the guy who’d jumped off the Ferris wheel with a bit less care than they’d probably treat a civilian.
Jounouchi stares. “You’re joking.”
“Nope.”
“He was on the damn ride?”
“The whole time. It’s not a bad strategy, really, it gave him a solid vantage point to watch us from and the police likely wouldn’t have suspected one of the passengers to be the bomber.” The other Yuugi’s expression darkens, almost uncanny to look at on Yuugi’s face. “He shouldn’t have gambled with people’s lives if he wasn’t willing to risk his own.”
The other Yuugi is, for the most part, a great friend to have in your corner. He has no tolerance for bullshit and an incredible sense of loyalty. Jounouchi likes the guy. However, sometimes he’ll say something that very forcibly reminds Jounouchi that he’s kind of seriously messed up and also may or may not be an ancient Egyptian curse-ghost-whatever.
Jounouchi’s strategy in these moments is to not touch any of that with a ten-foot pole and move on, so that’s what he does. It helps that in this instance the bomber definitely deserved whatever the other Yuugi hit him with. “Good job catchin’ him, then,” he instead says.
The other Yuugi just nods. He’s watching the cars rotate slowly around. It stops for a moment to let a mother and child off. Anzu’s at the tip-top now, but there’s no one else on board. She’ll be back on solid ground in a minute.
“You guys weren’t hurt or nothin’, were ya?” Jounouchi finds himself asking. “I mean – bombs ‘n’ shit, ya obviously didn’t get blown up, but....” Now that the situation’s basically resolved, the self-loathing is starting to hit. If he hadn’t let Anzu wander off, or if he’d managed to keep ahold of Yuugi instead of getting split up, he could’ve... well, he doesn’t know how much help he would’ve been, but he could’ve been here for moral support, at least.
“I don’t think so,” the other Yuugi replies after a brief moment of thought. “I would guess Anzu is shaken up, though.”
Jounouchi snorts. Yeah, no shit, anyone would be freaked after almost getting blown up. Although... Jounouchi’s brows furrow. The situation’s basically resolved, so why’s the other Yuugi still in control? “What about Yuugi?” he blurts out.
The other Yuugi turns to him with a single raised eyebrow.
“Not – not you Yuugi, the other Yuugi – the first Yuugi – shit!” Jounouchi’s eyes dart away as he curses. “You know what I mean!”
“I do.” Damn it all, the bastard sounds amused. He let Jounouchi flounder on purpose. “The other me is....” Jounouchi turns back to look in time to see the other Yuugi place a hand to Yuugi’s chest with a faint, considering hum. “Relieved,” he eventually declares. “But still anxious. I think that’s why we haven’t switched places yet.” Noticing the way Jounouchi’s staring, he smiles wryly. “He’s fine. He’ll be back soon.”
Jounouchi releases a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. “Good. That’s good.” Pause. “I mean, not that I want ya to leave or nothin’ –”
“It’s fine, I know what you meant,” the other Yuugi interrupts, still amused.
Jounouchi flips him off and goes back to watching Anzu’s descent. She’s about halfway down now, far enough along that he can actually see her face. She’s still looking pretty stressed, all things considered, but if Jounouchi understood the cop’s explanation earlier that’s probably because there’s still technically a bomb in there with her. He waves at her with a grin, hoping to ease some of that tension on her face. Anzu waves back after a second. She’s already looking a little more relaxed. Good.
“Jounouchi-kun,” the other Yuugi pipes up, oddly hesitant. “Can I ask you something?”
Jounouchi’s eyebrows nearly shoot off his face. The other Yuugi, not confident about something? He turns his attention back to his friend, who’s watching him quietly with an unreadable look on his face. “Yeah, what’s up?”
“Does my presence truly not bother you at all?”
This sounds familiar. Jounouchi distinctly remembers Yuugi – his Yuugi – asking the same thing the night after Death-T. Maybe the other Yuugi hadn’t been listening. “No? You’re cool, everyone thinks you’re cool, Yuugi thinks you’re cool. I don’t see the problem.”
The other Yuugi tilts his head. “There are two of us in one body, and I don’t think that’s going to change anytime soon,” he says mildly.
Jounouchi takes a couple seconds to think about it, since the other Yuugi clearly wants him to. He still doesn’t really see the issue, though? It’s basically a two-for-one deal in the friend department... or maybe it’s a buy-one-friend-get-a-friend-turned-crush deal....
... Oh, no. Jounouchi’s eyes go so wide it’s a wonder they don’t roll right out of his skull. The other Yuugi clocked him?! He’s gotta say something quick, before Anzu gets here, something to confirm one way or the other if the other Yuugi actually knows for sure.
“You – I – uh –”
Nope, he’s just a stuttering mess. And his face is definitely going red, his cheeks are too hot for it be anything else.
“Don’t overthink it,” the other Yuugi advises, like Jounouchi’s not having a mental crisis right now. He’s got a master poker face; Jounouchi can’t tell a single thing he’s thinking. “Just... is it a problem?”
Anzu’s carriage is almost at the bottom. The other Yuugi doesn’t seem like he’s going to let this go without an answer. Jounouchi, in a panic, goes with his gut and blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, which is, “No! No, man, I mean, I don’t – towards you, I don’t, but – look, you’re still cool and if Yuugi’s fine with it – shit, just, look, final answer, no, okay?!”
The other Yuugi blinks and the poker face crumbles, replaced with a look of surprise that if Jounouchi didn’t know better he could’ve mistaken him for normal Yuugi. Then the other Yuugi sputters and turns away, and he might be pressing a hand to his mouth but Jounouchi can see the asshole trying not to laugh. “Wha – hey! Shut up!” Jounouchi barks, swatting at him. “You dickhead, you’re the one who asked!”
“I did, I did.” The other Yuugi lowers his hand, wiping a tear from his eye. “You’re a very good friend, Jounouchi-kun,” he says fondly. “So let me offer you a piece of advice.”
Jounouchi folds his arms. He’s not sure he’s feeling all too charitable about advice from this guy at this particular moment, but sure, he’ll bite.
The other Yuugi slips his hands into his pockets and faces Jounouchi with a smile. “Grab on,” he tells him, “and don’t let go.”
Jounouchi blinks, confused. Then the other Yuugi shifts his weight, the Puzzle gleams in the afternoon sun, and Yuugi’s the one standing there instead, staring up at him with mild confusion. “Jounouchi-kun?” he asks unsurely. “What...?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Jounouchi spots the Ferris wheel stutter to a halt. Anzu’s finally getting off the damn thing. “Later,” he mutters to Yuugi. “Anzu first.”
Yuugi perks up and twists around, brightening even further as Anzu’s helped off the car by the waiting park attendant. “Anzu!” he shouts, rushing up to greet her. Jounouchi’s hot on his heels – whatever the hell was happening with the other Yuugi can be dealt with later.
Anzu’s wide eyes catch on them. She takes a few wobbly steps in their direction, clutching the straps of her shoulder bag in a white-knuckled grip. “Jounouchi,” she says faintly. “Yuugi. Um. Hi.”
The two reach her side. Jounouchi gives her a quick once-over just to make sure she’s okay, for his own peace of mind. She mostly just looks shaken, though, no scratches or bruises. “We’re so glad you’re okay!” Yuugi cries at the same time. “We were looking for you when the announcement happened – I’m sorry we weren’t there with you!”
Anzu flinches. “No, I – that’s my fault, I wandered off without saying anything. Sorry for making you worry.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it, all’s well that ends well or whatever.” Jounouchi scratches the back of his neck. “Just, uh, maybe we should hold off on amusement parks for a while. Every time we go somethin’ tries to kill us.”
“That’s not the parks’ fault!” Yuugi argues immediately, because of course he would.
“I’m just sayin’!” Jounouchi throws his hands up, because he’s right, damn it.
One corner of Anzu’s mouth ticks up in a ghost of a smile, but it looks almost automatic – there’s no smile in her eyes, they’ve still got that I-almost-died-today look that Jounouchi’s gotten way too familiar with in the past several months. “I agree, I... think I’m done with parks for a bit.” She takes a step back and glances over her shoulder in the direction of the park exit. “I kind of just want to go home,” she admits quietly.
Jounouchi nods along. Completely fair, he also doesn’t wanna be here any longer. “Good idea,” Yuugi agrees, his shoulders slumping a bit. “We’ll walk you back.”
Anzu, surprisingly, holds up a hand. “No, I – I’m good.”
“You sure?” Jounouchi checks. He can understand wanting to be alone and process shit after something crazy, but he kinda would’ve thought she’d want the whole safety-in-numbers thing.
“Yeah. I kinda need to decompress after... everything.” Anzu shoots both of them an odd look that Jounouchi doesn’t quite know how to interpret, but she smiles a little wider and adds, “I had fun today, before all this happened.”
“We’ll have to try again when the parks aren’t super-cursed or whatever,” Jounouchi agrees. “We’ll bring Honda, too, it’s not fair he got to miss out.”
“Right.” Anzu takes another step back. “I’ll... see you guys tomorrow?”
Jounouchi nods. “Get home safe, Anzu!” Yuugi says.
Anzu nods with another tiny smile, then turns neatly on her heel and walks off, still white-knuckling the straps of her bag.
Once she’s safely out of earshot, Yuugi and Jounouchi trade glances. “Do you think she’ll really be okay?” Yuugi wonders.
Jounouchi doesn’t have to give that much thought. “C’mon, it’s Anzu. She’ll be fine. And if she’s not, then tomorrow we just gotta annoy her so bad she’ll be too busy bein’ pissed at us to think about anything else.”
Yuugi’s face twists like he’s not sure whether to laugh or not. “I... don’t think that’s how that works?”
“Sure it is, you’ll see.” Jounouchi shoves his hands in his pockets and glares up at the busted Ferris wheel. “We’d better split, too. I don’t really wanna stick around here any longer than I have to.”
Yuugi nods fervently and falls in step next to Jounouchi as they leave the horrible murder park behind them.
The problem is, with the situation officially Settled and Anzu gone, Jounouchi’s out of distractions. It’s easier to ignore when they’re in a group, but when it’s just him and Yuugi, all the messy feelings he’s got come bubbling up to the surface and it gets that much harder to control. They’re standing at a crosswalk right now and Jounouchi’s eyes keep wandering down to Yuugi’s hand and his fingers keep itching to reach out and hold it and ugh.
If he doesn’t have any distractions, he’ll just have to make one. “Hey, Yuug.”
Yuugi tilts his head up to look at him. “Yeah?”
“You doin’ okay?” Jounouchi rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, I asked the other Yuugi before, but just wanna make sure.”
“Oh! Yeah, I heard you.” The light turns. Yuugi and Jounouchi step out into the intersection. “I’m okay. It was nerve-wracking, but Anzu was way worse off, and the other me had a handle on things, so....”
Jounouchi nods. Welp, there goes that distraction.
“Although....” Yuugi trails off, brows furrowing. One hand rises to his chin in thought. “While we’re on the subject, did the other me say anything weird?”
This is, in fact, the opposite of a distraction. Jounouchi nearly stumbles in the damn street and hopes his voice comes out normally and not suspicious sounding.
“W-Weird? Uh – no? What, uh... whaddya mean?”
He is not a good actor.
Thankfully, Yuugi’s too preoccupied to notice, it looks like. “I’ve been remembering everything when we switch places ever since Death-T, but... I think I’m missing the last few minutes you guys were talking. It feels like there’s a bit of a hiccup in my memories.” A faint spark of outrage flares in Yuugi’s eyes for a split second. “I think he might’ve blocked it out on purpose. I didn’t even know he could do that.”
The other Yuugi kept it from Yuugi? But why would he....
Jounouchi freezes. Oh, he knows why. The other Yuugi’s giving him a chance to do things properly. He was so obvious back there that if Yuugi remembered he would’ve figured it out right away, probably. So then... that advice he gave –
“Jounouchi-kun!”
A hand locks around his wrist and yanks. Jounouchi stumbles forward, more from surprise than the actual force of the pull, and not two seconds later a car zooms past. He’d stopped a couple steps short of the sidewalk.
Yuugi drags him onto the sidewalk, wide-eyed and worried. “Are you okay? You just froze!” he frets.
Jounouchi stares down at Yuugi’s hand latched onto his wrist. His heart’s jackhammering in his chest, and it has nothing to do with the car that might’ve just nearly pancaked him.
“Grab on and don’t let go.”
He can’t hide this forever. He probably can’t even hide this for much longer.
He thinks he might be tired of hiding.
Yuugi’s still looking worried. He slackens his grip a little. Jounouchi twists his hand around and reverses their grips before Yuugi can let go, his hand now squeezing Yuugi’s with such desperation he has to tell himself to relax a little before he crushes the other’s hand. Yuugi watches him closely with concern still etched on his face, but there’s a hint of color in his cheeks that Jounouchi’s praying he’s not imagining right now.
He takes a deep breath, and with blood roaring in his ears he opens his mouth.