DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Most of this was originally a deleted scene from Chapter 12 of my ongoing fic 'The Shadow Tournament'. It was a bit too long and distracting for that chapter, but I liked it too much to get rid of it entirely, so here it is expanded into a full fic! I hope you enjoy it.

Distraction from the Storm
By Shadow's Mirror

It was just past 3am when the skies burst open to unleash the worst storm in over twenty years upon Domino City; however it went completely unnoticed inside a certain small hotel room.

That room's inhabitants were otherwise occupied and too intent on what they were doing to pay any attention to the howling wind that shook the windows or the rain that pounded on them as if trying to punch holes through the panes of glass. With the curtains drawn tight, even the flashes of lightning that lit up the night sky went unseen in that warm, if not downright cosy, room.

When they finally took a break, both were stunned to notice both the time and the intensity of the storm raging outside. Neither had realised that they were so caught up in what they were doing.

Rex Raptor stared at Weevil Underwood for a good five minutes before his shock finally began to relax its fierce grip on him enough for him to do more than blink. "Well... That was..." He paused, his mind still reeling too much for him to find the words he wanted.

"Yeah. It was." Fortunately for Rex's ego, Weevil seemed to be similarly shaken. He stared back at Rex.

Rex couldn't seem to look away, but at least his mind finally sorted out what word he'd wanted. "Enlightening."

"Yeah." Weevil still stared back as he nodded slightly. "So... now what?"

"I..." Rex blinked, then frowned as an odd uneasiness settled in his belly. "I have no clue." He was only a little relieved to note that Weevil nodded in agreement. While it was kind of nice to know he wasn't the only one so affected by this situation, he also wouldn't have objected if the other teen had wanted to take the lead. "What do you want to do?"

Weevil sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, already in utter disarray from similar motions made during the past couple of hours. He glanced away, his mind whirling and the look in Rex's eyes simply too much for him to take just then. But only a moment later, he couldn't stop himself from looking at him again. With another sigh, he decided to be completely honest, for once. "Part of me wants to run and not look back."

Rex nodded even as he winced. "Yeah. Yeah, I get that. Me too. But... only part. Right?"

"Right." Weevil groaned softly and gave his companion a resigned sort of smirk. "Guess that means we're seeing it through to the end, huh?"

Another nod. "Guess so."

Looking down, Rex caught sight of the cause of their emotional upheaval and was reminded that there was one thing he still hadn't said. He looked at Weevil again. "You were right. Even though it's taking a lot more time than I thought it would, this was worth doing and I'm glad we started it."

Weevil's smirk that time was pure smugness. "Told you so."

Rex could ignore that smirk, just this once. It had been all Weevil's idea, after all. "So... that just leaves one important question. Whose turn is it?"

While the storm continued on outside, in the warm and cosy hotel room, their distraction from the storm resumed as the two old rivals returned to the Monopoly game set up on the bed between them.

The End