Chapter Text
There was really no other explanation for them breaking up, but she looked at him and wondered about all the things she could have done to prevent it from happening. He was the first person she ever felt a true connection with that wasn’t one sided like her past relationships. Everything was going so well, but maybe sometimes things really were too good to be true. teenage love was always something the older generation would scoff at. how could two people barely adults find anything substantial in love? was that even possible? misty had no clue, because her own mother had never explained to her about true love. misty knew that her mother probably loved her father, but he was always going to be one of the most terrible men on the planet to live. he didn't love her in the way that misty's mother needed... otherwise things would probably be a lot different.
then again, considering misty was also a love child created out of an affair... she really would never fully be able to grasp the concept of true love. she thought she did, though. she felt like she had the concept in the palm of her hands while being with Atem mutou.
This was supposed to be good for the both of them. That’s what they told themselves. however, It was time to move on from childhood romance and grow up. Their passion and their urgency was tumultuous and the baggage that tried so hard to break them apart had succeeded. For his own good, he knew he had to let her go in order for her to tie those strings tighter. Even if it meant that it would hurt like hell when it happened. they both had a lot of growing up to still do, regardless if people called atem much more mature than most their age. he just felt like he was old school, and he got amazing scores in school every single time. that was besides the point.
Maybe the future would be a better time for them. Or maybe there wasn't supposed to be a future for them at all. not so long as the past continued to creep in through the windows of their relationship and haunted them.
Even so, she stood there in front of him while he gathered his things, and she felt so hopeless. She still loved him more than she had ever loved anybody before, that wasn’t going to change. She didn’t want to break up. Sometimes people don’t always get what they want. Why couldn't she get up off the bed and grab everything out of his hands and throw it across the room. She could if she really wanted to, but that would cause an awful lot of mess and even more drama. she felt defeated thinking about it. her intrusive thoughts still yelled at her to do it anyways. no, I am not going to throw a temper tantrum and act like a baby...
“Atem, look at me.” Misty said shakily, ignoring her own contradicting thoughts.
He leaned over the bed, zipping up the suitcase he borrowed from Yugi. Atem straightened his back, then slowly turned to do what she asked. Misty looked like she would fall apart with one touch, and he was putting on a brave face to try and reassure her that things would be okay. Perhaps it came off as something else. come to think of it, misty never saw Atem cry. he was able to compose himself, and as mentioned before, he was much more level minded. what she wasn't able to see was that he was fighting his own battle inside. maybe he didn't openly cry in front of his own girlfriend, or his friends in general... but this was hurting a lot more than just some simple inconvenience.
“You gave me everything I never asked for, and you made me a better person.”
She faltered, looked down for a second and had to suck up the tears that brewed inside her. To Misty, Atem looked way more collected than he let on. He made it look easy, didn’t he understand how much harder this made it? She was being held together by very thin threads.
“I just want you to know that I’m sorry that I couldn’t fix it.” Her emotions overcame her and the tears fell anyways, and she covered her face quickly. "I really did try to, Atem. I really wanted it to be us for the rest of our lives, and I know how stupid that might sound given how young you and I both are."
Misty grabbed her face in both hands, and the sobbing was going to come no matter what she did at this point. She just wanted to really tell him how stupid all of this was. People had pasts and they made mistakes, but couldn't they move past them?
Damn it... seeing her cry cracked the foundation and he felt his arms were like lead weights. Gods, no, he didn’t want this to happen and it was taking every single ounce of will to keep from changing his mind when he knew this had to happen. Time apart to grow and experience life a little more so that neither of them felt like they weren’t given the chance.
Atem knew Seto was still too prominent in her life and it caused issues. Not because she wanted it to cause issues, but because Seto was always going to try to come between them. He always fought for things that he thought belonged to him, and Atem didn’t have much patience left to offer for the time being. While Atem knew Misty was in love with him, she still struggled with those conflicts from her relationship with Seto kaiba, and it just didn’t seem fair to Atem for her to think that everything she did wrong was going to be chastised like Seto did to her. he was the gasoline to her fire that blazed so damn high, that the smoke clouds caused a smog everywhere. why did Seto have to have such a jarring impression on her when they hadn't been together in such a long amount of time? it was because no matter what misty and Atem told themselves, Seto kaiba was misty's first love in some stupid, chaotic way.
Seto was either really obsessive and wanted to control her still, or maybe he had actually loved misty too. that was the issue... he wasn't good at channeling his emotions and it came out as him angry for losing control of her, or something. Seto didn't like atem to begin with, because when misty started to get closer to him and her brother, joey's, friends, things had changed drastically in her seto's relationship. they broke up more than once, and misty started to listen to other people's advice. she started to confide in Atem and that was how they got closer. that was how misty decided that she couldn't be with Seto anymore because he was trying to control her like he controlled one of his devices.
The passion and the admiration for one another blinded atem from the fact that he was a rebound and she so desperately didn’t want to be alone, that she never actually let herself be alone for her own mental health. she went from the last breakup from seto to atem's arms, and he didn't hesitate to let it happen. right or wrong, because misty and seto were still a little involved back then regardless, Atem just couldn't continue to ignore his developing feelings for her.
for weeks, they kept it to themselves too. every single time Atem and misty would meet up, it would be their own little private escape, just enveloped in kisses, touching and exploring what true feelings actually were. Atem was misty's first... and he wanted to continue to be her first in everything that brought her happiness.
“I’m not trying to punish you, Mi.” Atem said to her, his mouth dry and he didn't realize it until he spoke to her.
She shivered, wiping her tears because it wasn’t going to change anything. maybe he thought saying that was going to somehow make it feel like something other than a punishment. it still really hurt, he wasn't stupid.
“I don’t like hurting people I love, and this just needs to happen. You never know what the future holds.”
I wanted my future to be you.
“You’re going to take this time and dive into your studies. You’re going to thrive in college, and make a career for yourself, and time will seem like nothing at all. If it makes any difference, this is the hardest decision I…” his voice broke, but he cleared his throat and shrugged it off for now, “The hardest choice I have ever had to make.”
Then don't make this one.
For the sake of not making herself look more desperate, Misty humored his words and swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t say another word.
Atem lifted the suitcase from the bed, knowing what was coming next and he dreaded it. Now his feet also felt like lead weights, and walking out was going to feel like a blow to the chest. He just needed to keep it together long enough to get home with Yugi.
“I’m going to get going, are you going to be okay?”
She shrugged, nodded, then got a little choked up again, because she couldn’t say goodbye, and it’s not like she would never see him again. It just wouldn’t feel the same.
“I love you, Misty.”
Atem pulled into the driveway, where he saw Yugi sitting on the stairs leading up to the Kame Game Shop. Yugi brushed off his knees when he stood, then blocked the sun from his eyes. He’d been waiting outside for almost an hour, because he didn’t want to miss when his twin got back home. he had known for a short amount of time that this was going to happen. Yugi didn't expect it, but he also knew that a person could only handle so much with Seto on their tails for so long. of course he didn't tell misty that he knew something like this was going to happen, and he felt like he somehow betrayed her by keeping it to himself. truthfully, Yugi would rather betray someone other than his brother if he had to choose. it wasn't yugi's place to put himself in the middle of a relationship issue when it wasn't his relationship.
Atem didn’t want to grab his suitcase from the trunk, because it was all too real now. he thought about it though, and had even popped the trunk in order to do just that. instead, he pushed the trunk back down and kept on pushing with his strength for some reason... like he needed the car to stabilize him for a second. He felt defeated, beaten, and hopeless… the emotions sweeping over him from holding them back in front of his now ex girlfriend. Once he took that suitcase into the house and unpacked it, then it would be official that they were broken up with, and to be honest, he really could not completely face that reality.
The sky was so blue, the weather was perfect, and it was too much of a beautiful day for such sadness. Atem inhaled, knowing once he got inside, he was going to break apart. Even though he didn't want to face it
“Yami?” Yugi called out, taking a few steps towards his brother.
Atem nodded, then acknowledged Yugi with a small grin, although the conflict inside of him could be detected. Yugi felt it. any emotion that was so strongly felt by his twin made yugi's intuition kick into high gear.
“This might be a stupid question, but-“
When they stood face to face, Atem interrupted Yugi before he could finish his sentence, “She’s never going to forgive me.”
“That’s not true. She might be a Wheeler, and she might be hurting, but you had to do this for both of you.” Yugi saw the emotions playing on his brother's usually very cool and collected expression. the only other time Yugi remembered Atem looking this way was when they were children and they lost their mother, "let's go inside and play games."
Atem just kept nodding, his eyes becoming red with the threat of tears. Yugi grabbed his brother gently, for reassurance purposes, and Atem couldn’t hold it together anymore. the games were going to have to wait a moment.
-a few days later-
“Buck fifty.”
“What?”
“Okay, two.”
“For a fake I.D.? Are you joking me, Raptor?” Misty snapped, already feeling uncomfortable as it was to be around Rex and his friend, Weevil.
“Listen, pay the price, or no I.D.” He sighed, “I am basically risking my freedom making these.”
“You’ll go to juvie at the most, you little twerp… I’m not paying you $250 for a piece of plastic.”
Rex shook his head, a single click of his tongue, as he leaned back in his chair until it was on two legs. It bothered Misty so much that she lunged over his table and grabbed the back of the chair over Rex’s shoulder. He yelped in fear of falling backwards, then looked into Misty’s eyes with his eyes wide open.
“Fifty dollars, and maybe I’ll leave here and not wrap my hands around your stupid little neck before I do. Do we have a deal?”
“Hey, hey, hey! Come on! You don’t have to threaten me, Wheeler!” she watched him squirm around and shrink into himself. this felt like the old version of misty coming out of her, through the hurt and the distress. she didn't like the way it made her feel, but she couldn't silence it, which was why she even thought to go to shady little Rex.
she stole the money from a jar in her dad's bedroom that had collected a significant amount of dust on it. man didn't believe in bank accounts or something, and kept his assets underneath his bed. that was a really stupid place to leave money lying around. someone could go and steal it without even tearing the house apart... hence why misty did exactly that.
“My boyfriend just broke up with me, and if I am going to be single and heartbroken, I would much rather do it with a bottle to my mouth, should I have said that instead?”
“I’m sorry, I just wanted to get out of the house and let Atem have some alone time.” Yugi smiled at Joey as he opened the door and peeked outside, obviously not expecting company.
Joey nodded, and coaxed Yugi to keep it quiet while they walked through the living room past his sleeping father. mr. wheeler had not long been home from work. Yugi made a concerned face and immediately felt bad for knocking and not calling first - his dad was not the type anybody wanted to wake up accidentally.
Once they got into Joey’s bedroom, Joey switched on his television so that it would muffle out the sounds of their conversation. whether or not that actually worked didn't cross joey's mind.
“Is she here?“
“No, she said she had some things to take care of.”
“Like what?”
“I’m confused, did you come over here to ask me things about my sister?”
Yugi felt like Joey was growing agitated with him, which wasn’t his intention but he apologized anyways and sat down at the edge of his bed.
“Wanna talk strategy?”
——