Title: Surprise, Surprise

Author: Erudit

Pairings: YY/Y; S/J, M/M and R/B mentioned

Genre: Romance/Angst

Warnings: Shonen ai (That means male/male content!), Tea bashing, likely rape and suicide attempt

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters (though I wouldn't mind owing some of them).

Intro: It's almost Yugi's birthday and the little hikari is all alone.

Blablabla- Thoughts

/blablabla/- Yami and Yugi talking through mind link

"blablabla"- normal talking

Yugi sat in his room, staring blankly at the wall in front of him. His thoughts were miles away, centered on a certain yami. Atemu had been more distant recently. He always seemed to have something to do when Yugi wanted to talk to him. And he was not the only one. Lately all his friends seemed to have developed a busy private life.

Ever since Joey and Seto Kaiba got together, his best friend spent the afternoons (and most of the nights too) at Kaiba's mansion.

Malik and Marik had gone back to Egypt with their sister to check up on a few things.

And Ryou … the other hikari spent all his time trying to teach Bakura the modern ways of life. Yugi didn't even want to know how many things Bakura had already blown up or cut to pieces. He well remembered the first time Atemu had tried to cook, and the Warfield that they had had to clean up after that attempt. Ever since that incident they had agreed upon Yugi doing the cooking, which was something the young hikari thoroughly enjoyed.

Tristan was currently on an exchange-trip in Europe (something he probably did to impress Serenity) and wouldn't come back for another two months, and Tea … well … he had found out that she only kept talking to him to get on Atemu's better side, and had therefore started to ignore her. He might be innocent but surely that didn't include being totally oblivious to everything going on around him.

A few weeks ago Yugi overheard his yami and Tea arguing. What it was about he had not been able to make out but it had ended in Atemu telling Tea to stay away from him and Yugi. Atemu had been upset the entire day and had from that moment on avoided to be in Tea's presence. Yugi was just glad that his yami hadn't found out that he had been eavesdropping on them, even if it was just unintentionally. He didn't even know why he had stayed in the first place. He could have easily slipped out of the room and leave both of them alone. As a punishment for his curiosity, he supposed, he now had to live with the knowledge of the quarrel but couldn't ask his yami about it since Atemu would then realize that he had listened in on them. And that would surely disappoint him.

Talking of Atemu, Yugi wondered what the former pharaoh was doing now. He had mumbled something about helping Kaiba before he left but hadn't stayed long enough to further explain. Yugi sighed. Atemu had been helping Kaiba a lot in the past few weeks. Did that mean that Seto was in trouble or was his yami just too lazy to make up new excuses for his sudden disappearances? Yugi sadly had reasons to believe that it was the latter. For Yugi knew that Atemu couldn't have been helping Kaiba. Just yesterday he had tried to call his yami at Kaiba's mansion, and the CEO had denied knowing where the pharaoh was. Then Joey had taken the phone out of his boyfriend's hands and had told him about what Yami was supposedly doing for Kaiba, and that Kaiba seemed to have forgotten it already, and, and, and. Joey had kept rambling on for a few minutes trying to cover up for Atemu, until Yugi had just hung up, feeling tired and on the verge of tears. Not only was his yami lying to him, no his best friend seemed to have taken Atemu's side, and was now lying to him as well.

When the ex-pharaoh had come home that night, Yugi had acted as if nothing had happened. He was not ready yet to hear Atemu's new excuses, and since Joey obviously had not had time to tell Atemu about his call, his yami had acted as if nothing had happened. They had eaten together silently, only here and there commenting on the food and the weather, until the former pharaoh had excused himself to go to bed. Yugi had sadly watched him leave, all his fears confirmed, as they had never had to talk about weather before. Had there been nothing else to talk about? Atemu used to tell him explicitly about his day, mentioning every little detail so that his little hikari wouldn't feel left out and Yugi did the same. Obviously it didn't matter anymore. He didn't matter.

Today, after breakfast, Atemu had once again left Yugi to himself, and, no matter how many times the hikari told himself that it was just his imagination and fear of losing Atemu, the sinking feeling in his stomach told him otherwise. Atemu was drifting away from him.

He probably sees nothing but a burden in me. He always has to protect me from bullies. To him I am a nearly seventeen-years-old child. Yugi glared at the wall angrily, as if it was its fault for Atemu not liking him anymore.

Or maybe he's never liked me. Yugi continued hesitantly after a few seconds, and his wide amethyst eyes which usually held so much joy, although at that moment nothing but anguish and hurt could be seen in them, were brimmed with tears. To find out that the person one loved so much didn't care for one at all, was a feeling the young one couldn't bare. With heart-breaking sobs he threw himself on his bed and buried his head in the pillow. Yami hates me, Yami hates me, Yami hates me. Yugi repeated in his head, time after time declaring what he thought to be true.

A few days ago Yugi had asked Atemu if he could help him, in an effort to spend more time with his dark half, but Atemu had brushed off his help as if fearing that Yugi's presence alone would doom the project he was working at. I always destroy everything he works so hard for. I get hurt so easily. He has to constantly worry for me. For a moment Yugi hoped that Atemu would feel his anguish and ask him what was wrong but no sound came through the mind link. The former pharaoh had long ago stopped caring for his hikari's feelings. The mind link was closed tightly.

"Yami hates me." Yugi stated softly after some time. His tears had subsided, he had none of them left, and he was looking out of the window from his place on the bed. His eyes held a defeated look in them. The hikari was broken. His soul crushed by the very one who once saw it as his duty to protect Yugi from all harm.

Suddenly a bell chimed and a deep baritone voice announced the presence of the ex-pharaoh: "Yugi, I'm home." Yugi sat up hurriedly and, in an effort to hide his distress, brushed away his tears. He needn't have worried though, as the Atemu didn't even look into his room as he passed by to change in his own room.

"How was your day?" asked Yugi softly, hoping to start a conversation. "It was ok." The ex-pharaoh sighed. "Listen Yugi: Bakura invited me to a movie." Yugi waited for his yami to continue, hoping that he might be invited too. He had spent the past few days at home and was quite bored. But no invitation followed.

"I just came home to change clothes. I might come home late, so don't wait up for me, ok, little one? I don't want you all tired tomorrow." In a fleeting moment of sarcasm, Yugi wondered how it would matter if he was tired tomorrow, as long as he spent the entire day at home anyways. "Why? Are we doing something special?" "We?" Atemu sighed again. Obviously a we didn't exist anymore.

"No, I am sorry, little one. I have to help Kaiba again tomorrow." "How long are you going to have to help him?" Yugi wondered. He wished Atemu would make up something new. Anything as long as it wasn't the same old lie. Every time his yami mentioned it, a knife seemed to cut through Yugi's heart and soul. If he said something else, then at least Yugi wouldn't know if it was true or not.

"I don't know, little one. Hopefully not for much longer." The ex-pharaoh stated. "Well, I have to go. Enjoy your evening, Yugi." And with another chime, Atemu had once again left their home.

Yugi was tempted to look out through the window and watch his dark half but he stayed on his bed, wishfully thinking back to a time when Atemu had been in need of him. Had there even been such a time? Had the pharaoh ever really been in need of him?

-to be continued-

Please review. I'll continue as soon as I see that somebody is interested in this story.