IC inbox

[knifemonopoly]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 *** PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1> If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.

Main handle: < Player1 > Anon: < turtleluck >, < actuallydied >, < burner >

Comments

[knifemonopoly]

[...

He thinks he might never stop realizing how grateful he is to have friends like this. Friends who stand by him, not just when he's in trouble, but also when he needs other kinds of support...friends who understand, who hear even the parts he doesn't say out loud...who he can unwrap his wounds in front of, and trust that they won't see him as a weakened part of the herd, easy to pick off, but instead pull out the thorns and shrapnel and make sure it'll heal clean.

He needed to hear this, too, from someone who knows what they're talking about, who's experienced something like it. Anything bad came from the hydra -- a situation in which you could not think otherwise without being suppressed. A space that was empty, that no one else could fill but Yugi -- the hydra would never understand, it co-opted and rewrote. Being bothered at being alone in your mind -- is not a weakness. The words help Atem's feelings about the event settle into a shape he can understand and accept; they help him know himself, to understand what happened and why, and that the answer to "why" isn't "weakness." Ryou presses the sides of their faces together, and Atem shuts his eyes, and tilts his own face in, just a few degrees -- turning towards the comfort offered, accepting it, letting the contact to the sensitive nerves in his cheek and eyelid send warmth and a sense of peace he hasn't felt since Lust had embraced him right away after meeting him outside the other-world all through him.

He gives a little nod against Ryou's face -- yes, he understands.

He's content to be quiet for another breath or two, not in a hurry to respond further. When he does speak, he's clearly calmer, the tight note of I don't know if it was something wrong with me gone from his voice.]

You're right.

Thank you. I'll remember what you've said...and keep it in my heart.

I'm very lucky to have a friend like you.

[softspokenlandlord]

[That is still always 100% the nicest thing anyone can ever say to Ryou. Therefore perhaps understandably so, the blood rushes to his face, spreading across his cheeks and nose like someone's drawn streaks of darker gray across his features. It's a perfectly normal reaction when your friend's hugging you and saying nice things while you're both hashing out your feelings about this crazy peninsula.

It is absolutely normal to want to stay like this for a little longer and it's just business as usual to think about how nice it would be to put a hand in your friend's hair just to see how it'd feel and if it would help him relax.

Of course...Ryou keeps all of that to himslf because it's not his turn anymore. This is Atem's time to be comforted and held and made to feel important.]

I'll be here for you as long as you need me. You've been here to strengthen me, the least I can do is lend my shoulder when you need it. We are all only human, after all. When it becomes too much...sometimes this kind of thing is what anyone would need.

[Ha...he uhm. He should probably let go of Atem but he doesn't want to be the one breaking their contact. This feels right. Like Ryou's heart has been filled with something warm and soothing that was slowly spilling out to the rest of his body, soft and comforting and good.

He wholeheartedly believes this is just friendship. This is how it feels when it's perfect, he'd just never...had that perfect feeling before. That's all, right?]

[knifemonopoly]

[What Ryou says sort of just washes over him; over the last 36 hours, so many of his doubts and worries have been lifted away, and he feels grounded again, centered like he hasn't been since he realized Yugi wasn't in his heart anymore, and he's deeply, deeply glad.

Talking about this...it's helped a lot.

It feels like time to let go, though. Had he really just brushed his face against the side of Ryou's a moment ago? Is that normal? Ryou seems to think it is, so Atem decides not to worry about it, and schools the dark-bruise blush back down off his own face before loosening his hold on Ryou and pulling back, feeling more relaxed than he has in...well, in weeks.

He picks up the mug of blood off the coffee-table and raises it.]

Here's to putting our pieces back together.

[softspokenlandlord]

[It was nice while it lasted, but Ryou respectfully allows Atem to pull back even if he is a bit reluctant. It's okay. He's happy to be of use, and privileged to have a friend like this.

He settles properly on the couch, allowing Atem the room he needs to finally return to his morning drink. It's funny to think that it's blood, not coffee, but the metallic scent was hard to ignore. Not that it creeped Ryou out too terribly--he understands a monster's needs.

When the gesture is made, Ryou simply nods firmly, giving an affirmative "hm!"]

And to persevering through the next adversity.