Title: Before the Rain
Rating: K+
Summary: "I've never really gotten the allure of kissing in the rain." Yugi looked over at his partner, surprised. "Well, maybe that just means you need to try it."
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairings: Puzzleshipping (Atem/Yugi) with hints of tendershipping (Bakura/Ryou) and whatever Duke/Téa is called.
Words: 2488, according to MS Word.

Disclaimer: Knock, knock. Who's there? Donna Sue. Donna Sue who? Donna sue me – I'm broke! Ba-dum, ching!

A/N: Yes, I am still alive. And still writing pointless fluff, for some reason. :|

And, uh, just pretend that Valentine's Day is on a Friday instead of a Saturday this year. Enjoy.

Before the Rain

It was composed of Hershey's kisses arranged together, made to look like roses when bound in its clear red wrapping. Fresh leaves and tiny flowers were tied alongside, complete with a thin stem that Téa was clutching tightly in her palm as she read the card attached.

"Well?" Ryou heard Joey demand as soon as her eyes had grown wide at seeing the signature on the card. "Who was it?"

Tristan leaned over Téa's shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of a name, but she closed the card by slapping it on the desk as she glared at him.

"I'll tell you when I'm good and ready," she said firmly. She tucked the card away before then shifting her attention to the small bouquet as she admired the tiny details on the ribbons and the careful composition of the flowers.

Joey eyed the chocolate. "So, uh, Téa, can I have one?"

As the two of them began to bicker, Ryou slid over to where Yugi sat at his desk. "Hey."

"Hey," he greeted back. "What's up?"

Ryou shrugged. "Doing okay. Bakura nearly landed himself in jail again last night, so I'm a little exhausted for staying at the police station until one in the morning, but…"

"'Again'?" Yugi repeated after a moment, distantly. Distractedly. "What was it this time? Theft?"

Ryou shrugged a shoulder and smiled. "What else?" He dodged a flying elbow as Téa reached her arm up to hit Joey upside his head. "So, uh, happy Valentine's Day."

"Yeah, you, too," Yugi replied half-heartedly, putting away his loose leaf paper inside his bag as he packed up.

Ryou watched him. "What was that?"

"I'm sorry?"

"What's distracting you. You're skittish, jumpy, and avoiding eye contact. Something about Valentine's Day freaks you out, or what?"

"It's…" Yugi began, glancing back at the clock as it ticked closer and closer to the final bell. "It's nothing."

"It's never nothing," Ryou replied, tilting his head a fraction. "… Yugi, what's wrong? Don't tell me if you don't want to – I would never ask you to do that – but I won't deny that I really do want to know. Are you all right?"

"What?" Yugi looked up at his friend quickly. "Yes, of course I am."

"Then what's wrong?"

The school bell rang, steadily clanging three times overhead as the students of Domino High stood and filed out of their classrooms. Yugi used this as a means of both stalling and avoidance, swiftly grabbing his back and slipping out of the room as he headed down the hallway.

Ryou sighed, waiting for the mass of students to pass before finally catching up with Yugi, minutes later, as his friend was closing his locker. The white-haired teen put a hand on the door, gently but still firm, and prevented it from being closed. "Who is it?"

Yugi looked as if he were weighing his options: the choice of privacy, the choice of denial… or, of course, the choice of opening his heart to someone else. The choice of risking embarrassment and awkwardness; the choice to bear his heart to another.

"…Atem."

Ryou's initial shock was mild. It did make sense, actually; after Bakura had stopped trying to destroy the world and gained a body of his own, Ryou had found it very easy to let himself fall for his own other. Not that he would ever admit it aloud: it was far too soon, and much too difficult to even consider. But for two souls like Yugi's and the pharaoh's, it would definitely explain quite a few things…

"You'll tell him, of course."

Yugi laughed. "You're not serious." After he noticed no change in his friend's facial expression, save for one eyebrow rising to meet his hairline, Yugi gaped. "…You're not joking?"

"Would I jest about something like this?"

"It does seem more like Joey's department," Yugi agreed, "but still. Ryou, there's… absolutely no way."

Ryou finally let his hand off of the locker and Yugi closed it quickly. "There's no way for what?"

"For… it to work out." Yugi swung his bag over his shoulders, stooping to tie his shoe as he hid his face, as if scared that the students still milling in the hallway would immediately know what was going on if they caught sight of his reddening skin.

"For a happy ending," Ryou clarified, nodding. "All right. I can understand that."

Yugi looked up. "Yeah?"

"That's not to say that I think what you're doing is a good idea," Ryou went on, frowning. "It's a little ridiculous, if you want the truth."

"What's so ridiculous about being realistic?" Yugi argued, standing up slowly, eyes level with his friend's.

"It's not about realism, Yugi, it's about life." Ryou's brows drew together, serious as he met his friend's gaze. "It's about you and Atem. I'm guessing this development between you two is nothing new."

The silence told him everything.

"You're partners," Ryou went on. "You were created to match perfectly. In mind, in soul, in game – even in body. It certainly wouldn't surprise me that you'd match in hearts, either."

Yugi began to shake his head. "Thank you for your concern, Ryou. I'll see you on Monday."

"You're welcome, but I still haven't heard a decent excuse."

"…I know that there is no way I can cut myself from him," Yugi said quietly. "No matter how strong or weak I am, he'll always be a part of me." He shrugged offhandedly, as if none of this mattered. "But it's not mutual. It's just… better, this way." He started walking.

Ryou waited a moment before calling after, "And that's it, then? You're giving up?"

Yugi stopped, turning to look over his shoulder. "There's nothing to give up, Ryou. Nothing's even begun."

"And nothing will begin until you let it." The Brit's brown eyes focused on his friend's violet ones. "You've always been one to fight until the end, Yugi. If you want something… you should go for it. 'You never regret taking a risk,' I once heard. I forget who said that quote, but it's true."

"It's easier, like this," Yugi said firmly. "It's easier not to convince myself that I can bend and fold reality to my liking, because I… well, I can't. It's just simpler. It… hurts less."

"'Mate, if you choose to lock your heart away, you'll lose it for certain,'" Ryou replied, hesitating for a fraction of a second. "I think that one was from a movie. But… at least think about it, will you?"

Ryou was the one that turned away this time, hitching his bag onto his shoulder as he passed the classrooms lining the hallway, heading for the exit at the end of the hallway. The other students and teachers were gone by now, leaving the building empty and silent as his resounding footsteps fell against the clean tiles.

"…Good luck," Ryou suddenly heard Yugi's voice call. "With Bakura."

He smiled, never knowing Yugi's words to have only one meaning, before heading outside to greet the rain.

"…Yugi?" It sounded like Téa's voice. "You all right?"

Yugi turned to face her. She was standing a few feet away, watching him with concerned eyes. In her hand was still clutched the chocolate-and-flower bouquet, while in the other, she held on to her schoolbag.

"I'm great." He gave a tiny smile. "Really."

She looked unconvinced. "Well… I hope things work out, whatever they are," she said finally, frowning but nonetheless accepting his decision not to tell her. As she turned to go, however, departing with "I'll see you later, Yugi," he forced himself to speak.

"Am I being stupid or realistic, not telling him?"

He offered no clarification, and Téa did not ask for any as she turned around with a sad smile. "Honestly? No offense, but knowing how you respond to certain things… probably the former, Yugi."

Yugi bit the inside of his cheek, contemplating this.

"For the record, I held this same argument with myself, a few months ago, when I debated on whether or not to tell Duke…" She winked, tossing him a Hershey's kiss from her bouquet. "And here we are now. Good luck."

Yugi caught it, this time returning the smile with ease.

"Why didn't you call for a ride?" Atem asked him as soon as he'd walked through the door. The pharaoh frowned at Yugi's sodden clothing. "Go change out of those. You'll get sick, won't you?"

"Probably." Yugi offered a tiny smile, and as Atem raised an eyebrow, still concerned, he went on. "I'll go change. I'll be back in a minute."

Before the other could respond, he headed up the stairs to his room, tossing his bag over his desk chair before slipping out of his wet clothing. When he'd tromped back downstairs, clad in fresh jeans and a black shirt, Atem was offering him hot chocolate in the kitchen. Yugi accepted it with thanks, taking a seat at the table next to his other and glancing to the wall as the rain continued.

Atem wrinkled his nose at the sound and sight of all of the water pounding against the kitchen window. "I don't see how you stand this, partner."

"Stand what?" Yugi made himself focus on his hot chocolate. Hot chocolate. Not Ryou, not Téa, not how he was going to even begin to say…

"All of this… water. It's unnatural."

Yugi shrugged. "I guess it's just common, on this side of the world. We need this rain, actually; there hasn't been much snow this year – that white stuff Bakura used to growl at, remember? – so everything's gotten really dry. The rain helps make the grass grow." He sipped on his hot chocolate. "Some people find it romantic, actually."

The pharaoh arched an elegant eyebrow. "They think grass growing is romantic?"

"No, just the falling water. That's how kissing in the rain got so popular."

"I've never really gotten the allure of kissing in the rain," Atem stated, shrugging a shoulder as he glanced back outside.

Yugi looked over at his partner, eyebrows raised in mild surprise at a perfect opportunity offered to him so soon. "…Well, maybe that just means you need to try it."

Atem blinked. "Yugi? … What are you saying?"

Yugi stood, walking out of the kitchen to the entrance hallway, where he snatched his coat from the coat rack and put it on. "Come on," he called, and as he heard the pharaoh cautiously follow him outside, Yugi thought fiercely to himself, What are you doing?

He had little to no idea, to be honest. He actually thought there was a very large possibility that he had gone crazy. But then, people had been saying that for years – for his addiction to puzzles, for his claims of a deceased pharaoh living inside his necklace, for all of his talk about magic in monsters, hearts of cards, and games in shadows – this, of all things, should not be as much a risk as the numerous amount of other bizarre things that had happened to him already.

Though it was, in a way. It was personal. Sure, in many a Duel Monsters game he had quite often been fighting for a friend, and sure, the Heart of the Cards was something always he put his own faith in…

But this was his own heart. It was every bit as real as all of the battles he'd faced before, all of the games he'd won, all of the times he'd saved the world with Atem by his side. This meant something to him, to Yugi; not to the universe or the world of Duel Monsters… to Yugi. Just Yugi.

Just Yugi, preparing to offer himself to Atem.

Just Atem.

The last time he remembered rain in his time of Egypt was when he had been eight years of age; he had been a child, unaccustomed to water falling from the sky in such thick drops, and more than content with staying inside the palace until the sky made itself right again and stopped crying so much.

But this… wasn't that bad. It wasn't romantic, exactly – Atem thought he might need a while to get used to the idea that some people thought standing in the middle of the street soaking wet as their clothing clung even tighter to their skin could be constituted as sensual – but the rain was soothing, in a way, and almost even… nice.

"It's a shame that you just changed," Atem mentioned, eying Yugi's clothing that had, up until a minute ago, been perfectly dry.

Yugi laughed; the pharaoh listened closely to the noise, admiring how it sounded against the rain. "Yeah, I guess. But it's just water; it can't do much harm."

No, it couldn't. Atem turned around, looking up and down the street at the various houses lining their street: all of the cars were in their driveways, and most of the lights were on in the windows. Nobody was outside. Nobody except for them.

Atem enjoyed the knowledge of being aware that they were alone. In such open sight, but with absolutely nobody around… and Yugi did apparently think this rain of his was romantic, so perhaps now would be an appropriate time…

As the pharaoh turned his head to speak, a mouth caught his own, and his breath paused for a beat in his chest.

This… was not what he had been expecting. He had half a mind to step back out of shock – but his body took over, wrapping an arm around Yugi's smaller body and exploring his partner's wet hair with the other hand. It was extremely wet, and admittedly felt a little bizarre, with such indecent exposure in what should have been broad daylight. But Atem pushed the thoughts away, focusing on Yugi, only Yugi – before Yugi himself pulled away.

There was, of course, a moment that passed in which Atem wondered what, precisely, was supposed to happen next. Technically he had not initiated anything; clearly, Yugi was at least somewhat interested. And he hadn't exactly held still on his own participation…

"This is something I've kept to myself for a while," Yugi began finally, softly; Atem had to lean forward to hear him over the rain. "Since the Ceremonial Duel… technically even before then, but it wasn't until later that I realized, after you'd bargained your way back to be here, denying the Afterlife to stay with us…"

Atem leaned in even closer, pressing his forehead against Yugi's own. "You're worth it, you know."

His partner looked up at the pharaoh through his own eyes, gaze steady as he slipped a hand into Atem's and held on to his fingers tightly. Yugi said nothing, smiling as Atem's lips came to meet his again, accepting his unspoken offer wholeheartedly, while he placed his hand behind Yugi's neck.

And this time, it wasn't unexpected or strange.

It was just warm.

A/N: Sometimes I enjoy taking a break from writing about endless woe to scribble out a one-shot that doesn't have a depressing ending. –shrug– I told you it was pointless.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall take my dive back into the Bottomless Sea of Fanfiction Angst.