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Yuugi’s leg bounces impatiently as he waits for someone to come in and tell him they’re ready for the interview. The waiting room is comfortable and all—a nice temperature, well furnished, with a steadily ticking clock that is admittedly starting to get on his nerves—but for some reason they’ve left him here for twenty minutes now with nothing to entertain himself, and the air is unbearably dry. He blinks rapidly and rubs at his eye, trying to rid himself of the prickly sensation plaguing them.
He realizes his mistake too late. “Oh, no.”
What is it, Aibou?
Yuugi looks around frantically for a mirror, but for some reason, despite otherwise being well-furnished, there isn’t one anywhere in the room. “I think I just smudged my eyeliner.”
His other self appears on the couch next to him, eyes narrowed in on Yuugi’s face. It looks fine to me. Your bangs are a little ruffled, though. Is that intentional?
Yuugi frowns and tilts his head at his other self. After a moment, his other self mimics him. His bangs do look a little weird, but it’s hard to tell how much of that is how his other self normally appears and how much of that is a reflection of Yuugi.
He runs his hands through them, flattening them and making sure the parts that look like they’re sticking up lay down with the other pieces of his hair. His other self copies his movements, showing him the difference in real time. He re-tucks the stray locks that have slipped out of place back behind his ear.
Yuugi leans back and scrutinizes his reflection. “That looks better, right?”
His other self doesn’t respond, only stares at him expectantly.
Yuugi frowns, and his other self mimics the expression, lips pouting cutely and brows pulling together in confusion. It looks…off, even though there’s nothing wrong with his appearance anymore.
…It looks like Yuugi’s face.
It’s a silly thought—of course it looks like Yuugi’s face. They’re physically identical. It would be weird if it didn’t look like Yuugi’s face.
But his other self usually holds that face differently. His frown is more resolute. His brows furrow fully, tilting downward regardless of his expression. His gaze is sharper than the soft curiosity that’s currently reflecting out of his eyes.
They may share a face, but this isn’t his other self’s face.
“Mou hitori no boku?” Yuugi whispers.
His other self blinks, eyes widening and eyebrows going up in surprise. Then his expression softens again, this time settling into something a little more natural for him—the set of his jaw sure despite his confusion, brows drawn together, eyes sharp and attentive. Yes?
Yuugi lets out a breath of relief. “You weren’t responding there for a second…”
I wasn’t? His other self blinks in surprise again. I’m sorry. I must have gotten a little too focused on mimicking you.
Yuugi laughs, trying to brush off his lingering unease. He rubs the back of his neck. “Yeah, that must have been it…”
Seemingly unconsciously, his other self follows his movement, rubbing the back of his own neck just like Yuugi had.
Yuugi stares at his hand, unable to tear his eyes away. It stays there, held in place by Yuugi’s shock.
Aibou?
“Sorry,” Yuugi says. He lets his hand fall. His other self’s falls with it. “I’m sorry. I’m—”
“Mutou-san?” someone calls.
Yuugi startles and shoots to his feet. “Hi! Yup! That’s me!”
His other self smiles and gives him two encouraging thumbs up. Yuugi smiles back and rushes off to follow, trying to put the whole thing out of his mind.
But he can’t help but wonder whose smile was really on his other self’s face.