Title: Insincere Sympathy

Author: Fenikkusu Ai

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds

Characters: Jack Atlus x Yusei Fudo

Prompt: #73 Cry/Tears

Word Count: 472

Rating: T

A/N: It's been almost three years since I updated this. I finally got the urge to write Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds again!

The sun was struggling to shine in the sky, and Yusei's worry was as impenetrable as the clouds surrounding it. The stress was just too much this time. Life had never been easy, but now it was getting to be just damned cruel.

Something was wrong with this winter. It was far too cold and Rally kept getting sick. It was after noon already, and her fever just wouldn't come down. Taka, Nerve, and Tank were watching over her now. They had nearly thrown Yusei out of the room so that he could "clear his head."

Reluctantly, he squared his aching shoulders and began to walk; the icy wind unforgiving against his neck and cheeks. The cobblestones under his feet were blurry, but he couldn't tell if the condition was from a lack of sleep or due to the unshed tears in his eyes.

Yusei resolutely put one foot in front of the other until he reached his destination. Once there, he grasped the metal railing and stared out onto the ocean. He breathed deep and could smell the tang of salt in the air. Yusei was utterly motionless and numb when he felt a furtive presence ghost beside him.

"Rally will be fine."

When he looked up at Jack, Yusei could feel the tears that were building threaten to release.

"How do you know? What if he doesn't? What if he…?" That was the moment when his voice broke.

Jack grasped his shoulders. "Trust me. I am still older than you, Yusei."

At last, the tear released; splashing against Yusei's nose in the process. He knew that Jack had seen it.

"Hey. Only I can make you cry, remember?" the blond teased gently.

Jack's words didn't cheer him up even when he seized him into an embrace. Yusei's nose was now pressed against his jacket. He was too emotionally exhausted to even argue.

Yusei was startled when he felt the sensation of pressure enclose around his left ear. It took him a short pause to realize it was Jack's teeth.

"Not now." Yusei breathed.

He was so wearied that the two words were all he could seem to muster. In fact, it felt like he was going to collapse right on the ground.

Yusei didn't know if Jack truly cared about Rally, or if he was just saying this to make him feel better. Jack was getting more and more unpredictable these days, and he wasn't the only one who noticed. Just knew that one day something was going to go totally wrong, and he might have to stop it. But, he would save that for another tomorrow. He had to.

"Come on. Let's go back inside together," Jack suggested. "It's too damned cold. We don't want you getting sick too."

Yusei nodded before allowing Jack to lead him back inside.