#puzzleshipping fic

[call-me-vico-or-nico]

Hello hello, I want to share something I wrote a few months ago that is not totally finished.

Is about how I imagine the return of the beloved pharaoh with his dear aibo.

So if you are a puzzleshipping writer, just enjoy puzzleship fics or if you love the dorky, fluff and domestic puzzle boys, just tell me if you want me to continue.

Two things: Is just a fragment, is not the total thing aaaand English is not my natal language so I tried to translate it the best I could. Enjoy!

•••••

The day that it all happened… Everything was very confusing, with various emotions mixed together.

Mokuba called him in the morning and in his voice Yugi could hear a lot of joy and a hint of pride. He asked him to go as quickly as possible to the KaibaCo. building because there was someone who wanted to see him.

Yugi suspected that Seto Kaiba had something going on, although he did not hesitate to go but throughout the journey he felt that something was happening, something big.

And fuck, it really was.

When he arrived at the facilities, crossing the large hallway towards one of the big offices, he could not believe his eyes.

Because Atem was there, dressed in modern clothes and talking to the eldest of the Kaibas. Although the last one was screaming rather than talking.

When the former king looked at him, his frown turned into a joyful smile, his eyes shining with excitement and nostalgia, ignoring Kaiba to go straight to Yugi, calling him over.

“Partner!”

Yugi was speechless, he was sure his jaw had fallen from its place. His eyes burn, his throat constricted, and his entire body trembled.

There were a lot of emotions going through his head, a lot of questions, but the one that sounded so loud in his mind was:

Is this real?

Yugi had already seen several simulations made by Kaiba, really good ones that made you doubt if it was a simulation. Yugi continued to be surprised when he saw them.

Yugi missed the pharaoh, he remembered him almost every day feeling the absence of his soul next to his own and the young one tried to always remember that his other self was where he should be.

Yes, sometimes Yugi watched Kaiba's simulations to alleviate that loss because there was nothing wrong with remembering someone you love.

But this...

Who could not assure him that this was not a simple and cruel joke made by Seto (not that Seto Kaiba was a fan of jokes but perhaps he would make some kind of virtual war just because he's bored)

So, when that "Atem" approached him with open arms clearly wanting to hug him, Yugi still didn't know what to do.

Should I hug him too?

Get away?

Scream?

And when he got close enough, that's when his mind and body reacted.

By hitting him.

In the face.

None expected that, not even himself.

•••••••

So, what do you think? (⁠・⁠∀⁠・⁠)

[river-nova]

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Rating: Mature

F/F and M/M

Puzzleshipping and Crystalshipping

Chaoter 4 is now up! I updated a few days ago but forgot to say so here.

Atem is a selfless dumb dumb that keeps putting people over his emotions and doesn't realize that Yugi likes him too. Also, Mana is holding onto more than she is letting on and needs Atem to make good on his promise to her.

[shinayashipper]

Warmth - Puzzleshipping Fic

Tittle: Warmth

Rate: T

Summary:

Without realizing it, Atem felt his hand rose and cupped his partner’s cheek, his thumb touching Yugi’s lower lip a little.

Oh, Atem thought, finally registering what he was doing.

I’m touching him.

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READ ON AO3

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Oh, yes, more self-indulgent fix-it fics from me!! as usual I could only manage short drabbles/one-shots but I hope you will enjoy!

[animeangelriku]

things you said when you thought i was asleep

It’s the middle of the night when the sound of Atem murmuring wakes Yugi up.

“—not used to it yet, I guess.”

Atem is not in bed, but if Yugi can still hear him, despite the low and quiet tone of his voice, he must still be in the room. Yugi’s about to turn around to see if Atem’s sitting at the desk (if he had a nightmare and he sat down so as not to bother Yugi, so help him…), but then Atem speaks again.

“I still don’t know what I did to deserve this.”

Yugi freezes where he’s lying on his side.

“I know you said it was about giving me a second chance,” Atem goes on, murmuring still, “but sometimes, it feels… like it’s too good to be true. Like this is all a dream of my own indulgence.”

He pauses for such a long moment that Yugi wonders if he’s fallen asleep where he is—wherever that is.

“Sometimes,” Atem continues, clearly not asleep, “I’ll close my eyes and pray that it’s not a dream. That I’ll open my eyes and I… and I won’t be back there. That I won’t see the thousand doors and hallways and…”

He takes a deep breath, and the pause he makes now is for an entirely different reason. He doesn’t need to say anything else for Yugi to know what he means; where he means. Yugi resists the urge to jump out of bed and pull him into his arms and reassure him that he’s not back there, that he will never be back there for as long as Yugi’s concerned, which will hopefully be for the rest of their lives.

Atem lets out his breath in a deep, quiet sigh.

“I pray that I’ll still be here. With all of them. With him.”

Something sharp tugs at Yugi’s chest. He closes his eyes and clenches his hand into a fist on the case of his pillow. He reminds himself to organize a meetup for the next time Anzu comes back to town first thing in the morning, and also to have a day for just him and Atem, like, as soon as possible.

He wants nothing else than to show Atem how mutual the feeling is—that Yugi and the rest of them pray every single day that Atem’s presence is not some sort of mass hallucination.

That he’s back to stay.

“Some days, it’s more difficult than others,” Atem murmurs. “Some days, I’m so scared that it’s hard to even breathe. But I think… I think I’m doing better now. My first instinct is to be ready for the rug to be pulled from underneath me, but I’m starting to choose not to believe that’s what’s going to happen. Every day, it becomes easier to believe that I’m not dreaming, that this is all real. Even if I might not know what I did to deserve it, I know that I deserve it.”

Yugi clutches his pillowcase again, except that now he also buries his face in it to stop the joyful tears burning behind his eyes. He’s prouder of Atem with every single second, and he’s so overwhelmingly happy that he heard Atem whisper these words into the universe as this sacred secret Yugi will take to his grave.

“So,” Atem says quietly, his tone final nonetheless, “I guess I just wanted to thank you. For giving me this second chance. For believing I deserved it.”

The only sound in the room in the next few seconds is that of Atem’s footsteps thudding silently on the floor, and then Yugi hears the rustling of sheets and feels the bed dipping slightly with Atem’s weight as he lies back down beside him. As soon as he’s within reach, Yugi blindly reaches out for him and wraps his arms around Atem’s waist, hoping that his pretense of still being asleep isn’t discovered.

To his luck, he hears Atem let out a small, soft chuckle before feeling his hand rest on his back.

I love you so much, Yugi thinks, thanking the gods for the opportunity to say the words to Atem out loud.

But that’ll be tomorrow morning, when they’re both meant to be awake. There’s no rush. After all, they’ve got all the time in the world.

[tyrantdk]

Grinch Au is taking on life!

The scene in Mt. Crumpet has gone from planned aggressive making out to Yugi & Atem planning revenge on Whoville. That is all.

[animeangelriku]

puzzleshipping 22

22. things you said after it was over

The knock on the door of his soul room comes before he’s ready for it.

“Other Me?” comes the voice of his partner on the other side, muffled by the barrier standing between them. “Can we talk?”

No, we can’t, he thinks, trying not to spiral into panic. He had been able to avoid having any kind of conversation about the whole mess with DOMA after it was dealt with, mostly because their friends were just glad that they had gotten that over with and they could now move on from it. He was actually hoping, against all logical expectations, that they would never have this conversation.

No, we can’t, he thinks, because if he and Yugi talk, his partner will finally tell him how upset and disappointed he is, how angry he is at his betrayal, at the way he took his soul and tossed it aside as if he didn’t think it’s the most precious thing in the universe.

No, we can’t, he thinks, his legs quivering threateningly beneath him. He only has his partner to lose, and he has already lost him once. He can’t stand even the mere thought of losing him again.

On the other side of the door, Yugi’s still waiting.

“Is…” His voice cracks. “Is everything okay, Aibou?”

“Is it?”

He screws his eyes shut and leans his head back against the door. He feels like his arms, rather than being crossed over his chest, are holding him together, the only thing keeping him from falling apart.

“Other Me, what’s wrong?” his partner asks, his voice determined not to let this go.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he says.

“You’re lying.” Yugi’s tone makes him wince. It’s not an accusation–it’s a fact, a statement. He doesn’t know if he would’ve preferred for it to be an accusation. “Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

Because everything is, he wants to say, but he bites the words down before they come out of his mouth. Around him, the room grows colder. Because I know you hate me but I don’t want to hear you say it.

Outside, even though he shouldn’t be able to, he hears his partner sigh.

“Other Me,” Yugi says, and there are so many emotions threaded in the way he speaks that he has trouble distinguishing them all: strangely enough, relief and disbelief are two he identifies. “I don’t hate you.”

Yes, he does, a dark, cold voice says inside his head, old and familiar and terrifying. He can almost hear it echoing around the room of his soul.

“No.” Yugi’s voice, even through the door separating them, is as clear and as strong as he has ever heard it. “I don’t.”

Whatever, he hears Yugi go on (except that it’s not his voice conveying the message, it’s his mind), or whoever is making you believe that, it’s lying to you.

He almost laughs to himself. He should’ve known that the thoughts screaming within him would be loud enough for his partner to hear them, and he should’ve known that it’s a two-way street.

“Can we talk now?” Yugi asks, and he tightens his arms around himself before standing up straight and turning to face the door. If anything, this is the least he owes him.

He takes a step back and lets the door swing open to reveal his partner standing on the other side.

“Aibou,” he begins, and he’s embarrassed by the way his voice cracks and wobbles, by the immediate burning he feels in his eyes. He should have the capability to hold himself together for two seconds without immediately breaking. But Yugi’s standing right there, after he thought he would never see him again, after he thought he had lost him forever, and it makes the burning in his eyes increase until his vision starts to blur. “I’m–I’m so–”

Before he’s finished his trembling apology, Yugi crosses the distance between them and throws his arms around him to pull him into an embrace.

“I know,” his partner says, his voice quiet and yet no less firm because of it. “I know.”

The air of the room shifts–changes. It no longer feels cold and oppressive and as though it’s closing in on him. There’s warmth and relief and light, and he shudders with a sob and hugs Yugi back, holding him as tightly as he can.

He had feared that their connection, the link between their minds, wouldn’t be the same after this; that it would be weaker, that it just wouldn’t be there anymore. But it’s been a long time since they have needed so many words to properly communicate with each other, and even longer since they have needed them to properly understand each other.

When his tears finally spill down his cheeks, Yugi clutches him more tightly, and he returns the gesture by holding him with as much might as he can muster.

He’s not okay just yet. Even if he might have his partner’s forgiveness, he still needs to earn his own. But he will, eventually. He will be okay.

And most importantly, they will be okay.

[animeangelriku]

25 puzzleshipping ??

25. (cuddling) with a first kiss.

Atem is weirdly aware of how clammy his hands are. At least, that’s how they feel, sweaty and clammy and overall unpleasant. His face feels clammy, which is not only gross but also the last thing he wants it to feel when he’s about to kiss the love of his life for the first time.

It should be no big deal, right? It’s just Yugi. This, of course, is a bit of a contradiction in and of itself, because Yugi will never be “just” anything, in any shape or form, because– well, he’s Yugi. Which, now that he thinks about it, might be the entire reason Atem is trying his best, and failing miserably, not to freak out.

(As if you could be calm and relaxed in a moment like this! a small voice says in his head, but he shoves it away to the back of his mind. He’s having enough of a hard time as it is, thank you very much!)

He should really ask if Yugi still wants to do this. He should ask if he still wants it, if he’s sure he does, if he hasn’t changed his mind, if Atem’s weird behavior or his dumb clammy hands haven’t scared him off, why does his face still feel so gross, did he never kiss anyone before he locked himself in a pendant for five thousand years?! Oh, gods, he actually can’t remember if he did, he’s blanking, he’s going to screw this up because he’s having some sort of ridiculous temporal amnesia–

Yugi curls one of his hands on Atem’s hip, pressing his fingers to his shirt with such strength that he brings Atem back to reality, where they’re lying side by side, as close as they can be. Yugi’s other hand gently cups Atem’s cheek, his thumb softly stroking his skin.

“You okay?” he asks, and his tone of amusement makes Atem exhale the breath he’d been holding and let out a little nervous laugh. He inhales deeply and releases it much more slowly this time, forcing himself to relax and remain in the present–in this moment, right here, with Yugi.

You’re panicking. Calm down. Everything is fine.

There’s nothing to be afraid of. It really is just Yugi. It’s just them.

“Yeah,” Atem says quietly, smiling. “Yeah. I’m okay. You?”

Yugi’s own smile widens into a grin.

“Never better,” he says. He presses his forehead against Atem’s, and Atem relishes the touch, his own (dry, thank the gods) hands on the small of Yugi’s back pulling him closer.

It happens, against Atem’s worrisome thoughts and expectations, completely naturally. Yugi leans forward ever so slightly at the same time Atem does, and when their lips meet in the middle, Atem feels Yugi’s grin against his own, and he smiles so widely that their teeth clash together in a way that is just a little bit painful–not enough for them to pull away, but enough to make them laugh.

Just as Atem starts to break the kiss, Yugi uses the hand still cupping his cheek to pull him back in, and Atem can’t help sighing in relief.

He truly had nothing to be afraid of. After all, it’s just them.

[animeangelriku]

21 for the ship thing! Need me some happy puzzlenerds!

21. things you said when we were on top of the world

As soon as they reach the observation deck, Atem is rushing to the railing, nearly crashing into it with enough strength that Yugi’s momentarily worried his boyfriend is going to smack into the glass in front of him. To their luck, he doesn’t.

“Aibou, look!” Atem says, his voice slightly higher-pitched than usual. At the same time, though, he sounds like he’s whispering and trying not to scream. Yugi can’t help grinning--it’s so adorable. “You can see almost the whole city from here!”

Yugi has only come here a few times. Grandpa used to bring him to this same observation deck when he was a child, and Yugi sometimes sneaked here after school when he needed to be alone for a while. Despite having been here before, he had never noticed how beautiful the city looks from this point, how the world suddenly seems so...

“It looks so small,” Yugi mutters to himself. Next to him, Atem nods his head.

“It does, doesn’t it?” Then he lets out an ecstatic sigh, almost like a laugh.

“What?” Yugi asks, chuckling. 

“It’s so weird, seeing everything below us,” Atem answers. “It all feels gigantic and towering most of the time, but standing here... I feel like that instead.” He sighs again, and Yugi sees his shoulders relax. “I never thought I’d get to be here, to see this, but now that I am? I feel like I can do anything.”

And you can, Yugi thinks, reaching out to place his hand on top of Atem’s. Now you can do anything you want. 

Atem turns to him with one of the happiest smiles Yugi has ever seen on him. It’s a good look on him. He bumps his shoulder against Atem’s, and Atem responds by leaning his head on Yugi’s shoulder so Yugi can rest his head on top of his.

Despite having been here before, no other time can compare to the way he feels now; standing here, looking over the city with the boy he loves beside him, his energy contagious, Yugi feels invincible.