Disclaimer: I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.
Fandoms: Yu-Gi-Oh GX
Title: Never Apart
Romance: Yubel x Juudai/Juudai x Yubel
Word Count: chapter: 1,616||story: 13,044
Genre: Adventure, Romance||Rated: PG-13
Challenge: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, section I010: a multichap with exactly 8 chapters; Written for the One Pairing Boot Camp, #40, actor; Written for the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp, #8, stolen
Notes: This takes place some years post-canon. Summary: Someone wants to separate Juudai and Yubel. Someone did not get the message that this is a very bad idea.

All of Yubel's eyes widened with deep joy the moment that Juudai opened his own. He looked around, hints of gold mixing in with his deep brown, then began to sit up.

"Yubel?" His eyes fell on Desire and a sudden rage lit his expression. "It was you wasn't it? You're the one who did this."

Desire took a step back, eyes going from Yubel to Juudai and back again. "He's awake. What more do you want?"

"The decks," Yubel replied at once, helping Juudai to his feet, arms still comfortably around his shoulders. "And there'd better not be anything missing."

Juudai's legs shook a trifle and Yubel held on a little tighter. The bond between them created by Super Fusion had been stressed almost to the breaking point, but not completely broken. It would heal with time, or with another application of Super Fusion.

Desire snapped out an order; Yubel didn't object, because there wasn't any way that he would get out of their sight before getting their decks back. Yubel didn't trust him.

Juudai's eyes moved over to the others standing in waiting. He smiled a little. "Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"

"We came for you," Shou said, moving forward, worried. "How are you feeling, aniki?"

Juudai rubbed the back of his head, taking care not to knock himself over. "I've been better. How'd you know what was going on?"

Yubel had wondered about that as well. But now Hane Kuriboh burst into the room, happily trilling as he snuggled against Juudai.

"That's how," Johan said, Ruby Carbuncle appearing on his shoulder and trilling to Hane Kuriboh. "He came and found me and told me what happened, and I started calling people." He shrugged. "The more people we called, the more of them wanted to come help. So we got Misawa and Fujiwara to work together and here we are."

Juudai nodded, looking at the two named. Misawa nodded firmly, quite satisfied with his work, while Fujiwara ducked his head a trifle. Fubuki patted his friend on the shoulder.

"You did good," he said. The conversation fell to the side as the servant Desire called for brought in two decks. Johan stepped over to take them after a quick look at both Juudai and Yubel. Yubel wasn't in any good to leave off embracing Juudai and Juudai didn't yet feel up to moving forward to take the decks himself. If anyone could be trusted with them until further notice, it was Johan.

But now Yubel scooped up Juudai, holding him close. "Are they all there?"

Johan fanned out each deck in turn, giving them a quick once-over. Then he nodded. "Nothing's gone."

"Good." Yubel turned full attention back to Desire. "Now, it's your turn."

From the way Desire moved back, he did not want it to be his turn. That was fine with Yubel. This wasn't going to be a fun game. This wasn't going to be a game at all.

Juudai leaned forward, eyes flickering faintly between deep brown, gold, and Yubel's own two-toned eyes. "I think the rest of you should step outside for this." His tone didn't offer a single bit of compromise, nor did anyone seem in the mood to argue. Though in all honesty, Yubel couldn't blame them. There weren't many people who could enjoy the sight of darkness incarnate unleashing his power to any extent.

It didn't take long for the group, even as large as it was, to clear out of other. Juudai drew in a deep, steadying breath, and Yubel could feel his powers working, holding him upright as he moved back to his own feet. This would be better that way, they both knew.

Desire made a leap for the door. The door slammed shut before he could get through, leaving the three of them alone in there.

Juudai smiled. It was the kind of smile Yubel could be, and was, very proud of. A smile that said no one tried to harm Yubel and get away with it.

"You tried to break my bond to Yubel," the Herald of the Gentle Darkness spoke, his voice low and dark and rough. "I have done things I am not proud of, and if you had the courage to approach me for that, then I would have faced you and we could have settled this in a reasonable fashion. But you thought you could take Yubel from me. You thought you could destroy me without a fair fight." The smile held shadows of anger and rage and Yubel could not have been prouder.

Darkness fell from the walls and moved toward Desire, a living force that no one could avoid or fend off. Juudai stepped forward with the writhing shadows, golden eyes brilliant and glowing.

"You do not deserve a duel. I would have given one to you, if you'd approached me in honesty. This is what you deserve."

Again the shadows rose up and this time they struck at Desire and he screamed and screamed, the shadows writhing around him, growing tighter and tighter with every moment.

"You thought you could take me away from Juudai," Yubel contributed to the judgment. "You know nothing of me and nothing of what I would want, nothing of the glory of Juudai's love and what we have suffered to be together. You claim to love me and you do not know me. You will never know me, because you do not care to know me. You love only the image in your mind, and that image will never be me, and I will never love you either."

Again a step forward. "Even if somehow Juudai were gone forever, never reborn, I would never love you or anyone else."

"No matter what anyone else says, I will always love only you," Juudai said, arms sliding around Yubel and his head leaning against one muscular shoulder. "I said it once and I meant it. I will always mean it."

Desire's screams echoed, not just in this room, but everywhere in his fortress. Anyone who hadn't left yet found the nearest exit, swearing one and all to never go anywhere near the Herald or his friends for as long as they lived.

Those of Juudai's friends who heard looked at one another. They knew who he was, what he was, and the kind of power that he had. But to hear him use it: that was something they weren't used to. There were those who thought they couldn't ever get used to it, and would do all within their power to avoid thinking about it as much as possible. Juudai was their friend. But there would always be that part of him that was this: the implacable and non-human wielder of the dark powers of justice.

Even those who had watched weren't paying attention to them, so no one quite knew how long it was before Juudai and Yubel stepped out of the fortress. Neither of them so much as had a hair out of place, and Yubel still supported Juudai with one arm around his shoulders. As soon as they were far enough away, the fortress shuddered and collapsed, leaving behind nothing more than a large pile of dust and debris.

"What happened?" Rei wanted to know, biting her lip. Martin had one hand wrapped around hers and made a point of not looking at Yubel.

"What needed to," Juudai said, his voice calm and unruffled. He took the decks Johan held out to them, tucking his own away and returning Yubel's. "It's over now, though. He won't bother anyone ever again."

"Nor will anyone who worked for him. The ones who got out, and the ones who didn't." Yubel knew that some of them had escaped. So long as those who had didn't try to bother any of them, both Yubel and Juudai were fine with that.

An awkward silence fell with that. Then Misawa cleared his throat. "Our exit point is about a day or so away from here. We should probably try to get back as soon as possible. Will you come with us, Juudai?"

Juudai considered, leaning against Yubel. "For a while, I think. But we have somewhere to be once you're all back home." He looked from one of them to the other. "Thanks, all of you. If you hadn't come…" Yubel didn't shudder, but Juudai did, and Yubel held him closer.

Neither of them wanted to admit what Juudai hadn't said: that without their help, Juudai and Yubel would not have been able to escape. Lucifer's spell kept Juudai too deeply asleep to do anything to stop the severing of the bond, already rebuilding itself. But Yubel knew what Juudai wanted to do afterward: take them to Neo-Space, where his power was at its peak, and they could rest together until everything was back to the way that it should be.

The group moved on, people arranging themselves so that they protected Juudai and Yubel in the center. Yubel didn't know entirely how to feel about that, but decided to remain content that people at least understood how important Juudai was and that he should be protected. They couldn't do it the way that Yubel could, but at least they tried.

Yubel and Juudai remained close together even as they walked, not wanting to separate by so much as a hair's breadth. Their separation had come far too close to being permanent, and Yubel far too clearly remembered what it was like not to be with Juudai. It wasn't an experience one wished to repeat.

And for so long as they both existed, in whatever form and whatever future lives, they did not.

The End

Note: Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.