Heroic

By: Kerigan

D: I do not make any profit on my stories so I am not eligable for a lawsuit.

Yugi sat up with a layer of perspiration covering his body. His cotton tee shirt lightly clung to his pale shaking skin. Looking out the rather huge window beside his bed, he watched torrents of raindrops splatter against the transparent panes. The white curtains were pulled back so he could watch the rain before he dozed off, but now he wished they were untied. Sitting up straight, he hugged his knees, feeling the comfort of his own warmth. Lightning flashed and the room illuminated for a mere second, but Yugi knew nothing was wrong with his room. The nightmare had been absolutely horrible. His mind was still panicking even though he had already escaped his torment. Small bumps covered his arms, and he rubbed them silently. A tear slipped from his eye. It splattered against his skin just like the rain to the glass. Another one followed, and soon many after that. Embarrassed by this, he tucked his head between the tips of his knees pathetically.

Suddenly, a wind blew past him, and something cold touched his shoulders. He grinned through his pain. Looking up with tear filled eyes he revealed his smile to the man beside him. Yami smiled sadly back. "Want to talk about it?" the question seemed to come out quieter than Yami had intended it to be.

Yugi shook his head. "Could you just sit with me for a while?"

As the other nodded, Yugi mused over him. His transparent twin, his soul mate in literal terms, was always comforting him in his times of need. They had yet to find the magic capable of getting this spirit his own body. It was hard to believe that someone so brave and wonderful came from someone like Yugi. Yugi didn't think of himself brave at all. If he was brave, would he be sitting in such a position with damp tear stains amongst his sheets?

"We've talked about this before." Yami replied, the cold feeling returning to Yugi's neck. The spirit tried his best to comfort his younger companion, even if they couldn't touch. However, the gesture was nostalgic to him. Probably the most awkward bond the two shared was that they had the same mind, so of course, there were no secrets unless you deliberately hid them. It was too late at night to blockade a spirit's mind from melding with his own.

"I know." The other spoke up, and looked back to the storm billowing outside. "I have my strong points, and my weak points. I just….I'm tired of being afraid. Look at me Yami, if you had the nightmare I had then you'd be able to at least get out of bed."

The other smirked. "That may be true, but I know that you are much more forgiving. You can cope with problems better than I."

Scooting so he could lean of the headboard, Yugi wiped away the access water from his cheeks. "You're taller." He giggled.

A chuckle escaped his proud spirit and that seemed to make all the terror within him reside. "You are smarter."

"No, I don't think so. We're both masters of Duel Monsters, so I think we're equally intelligent." Yugi said.

Yami shrugged. "If you say so." Falling back onto the bed, he laid so his hair would brush against Yugi's arm. Grinning, the smaller of the two placed his hands, barely feeling it within the realms of reality. They could touch, but not all the time. If they tried hard enough they could get Yami solid enough to feel actual skin or hair, but never warmth. However, that didn't bother Yugi because he could feel his spirit's warmth in his heart.

"Will you ever tell me what your nightmare was about?" Yami asked, looking towards the ceiling with closed eyes. He didn't sleep, once again the gesture was nostalgic.

"Fire." Yugi replied quietly. "I was trapped in a closet, or a bathroom, and something had caught fire in the room I was in. I had tried to put it out but it kept growing and growing until I knew it was impossible to extinguish. So I tried to run out of the room, but the door wouldn't open. There was no windows, or anything. I was coughing so much I couldn't breathe…" he trailed off as his voice had gotten shaky. Swallowing, he continued. "After a while I got desperate. The fire began to burn my feet and my back. I started clawing at the wood just to get out, to live. I don't think I made it out."

Once again his knees trailed up to his chin, but he didn't cry. Yami remained where he was. "I would have saved you, so you didn't die."

"But you weren't there."

Yami opened his eyes and rolled onto his stomach so he could face Yugi. "I'll always be there." Then with that, he grinned, and curled his arms under his chin.

Yugi grinned. "So how did you save me?"

"Hm." The other looked away towards the wall as he thought. "I think I would have walked into your room and would have probably said 'Oh no! Yugi! There is a fire!' or something like that. Then when I heard you coughing and crying, I would have rushed over there and ripped the door off it's hinges."

Yugi laughed at this. "Ripped the door off the hinges? Couldn't you just unlock it?"

"No, that wouldn't be heroic at all." The other closed his eyes again and tilted his chin between his elbow.

Sinking back down to Yami's level, and laying his head on the pillow he lightly placed his hands where the spirit's chest should be. He wanted nothing more but to kiss him, but that would be impossible. Maybe one day."Thank you for rescuing me."

"Anytime." The other yawned and tried to snuggle up to his partner. "Goodnight."

"Sleep tight."

"And don't let the bed bugs bite."

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Short and sweet. Just to hold you over. One of my few Yami as spirit fanfictions. It's too depressing to never touch someone you love. So he's usually whole. I wanted a bitter sweet theme so wallah.