Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, the plot, the bishies and other characters...
A/NThis was written for the contest Vaz1201 and Demona organized. /waves to Vaz1201 and Demona/
At first, I didn't know what to write and I was totally uninspired, and I didn't want my old stories to enter the contest. But then, one day it just hit me while I was putting the dishes into the dishwasher...In case you didn't know – my muses have this tendency to inspire me while I'm doing the most inane things...Yeah...anyway, this is a Ryou/Tea fic, not the usual Bakura/Tea stuff I'm more concentrated on. I hope you'll like it and of course, reviews would be very appreciated.../winks/
On a starry night-by Alena S. Anigor
The night was cold and bright, with full moon illuminating the dark sky and the twinkling stars around. The wind played with leaves and the silvery beam of light cascaded down onto the tree branches, making shadows dance on the ground in front of a large house.
The house was empty save for her, silent and still. The lights were off, the darkness engulfing every room and every corner, creating a somewhat ominous atmosphere and making it look like the house was abandoned and haunted. But she decided to leave the lights off; it was easier to think and contemplate in the darkness.
It was quiet in the living room, the only sound coming from outside, created by the wind. It was October, the autumn in its fullest element and she wrapped a beige sweater around her shoulders snugly. It was his sweater, a simple piece of clothing he left at her house once, but it meant so much to her.
The only source of light was coming from the window, the moon shining brightly inside and illuminating her thoughtful and wistful face. She was lying on the couch, staring outside, watching the clear night sky and enjoying the piece and quiet around her. And she was waiting for him to come back.
He promised he would.
Cerulean eyes were open wide, searching for a familiar figure walking down the street, but the street was empty, not a soul outside. She lowered her head and glanced at her hands, holding the soft fabric tightly, clutching the sleeves of it to her chest. She could still feel his scent on it, soft, warm but masculine and strong. She took a deep breath, the scent sending a warm sensation through her body and she sighed softly, closing her eyes.
She missed him.
But he promised he would come back to her this autumn.
She smiled gently, still remembering how it all started. It was a simple gesture, something that would never indicate that there was something more behind his soft eyes and gentle smile, his polite words and gentleman-like behavior. She was still fairly young and naïve then, not comprehending, not recognizing...not acknowledging...
They were walking down the school halls together, Yuugi, Tristan and Joey debating about Kaiba's latest Duel Disk invention, and she was left behind, walking side by side with him. She realized that they had never quite had a chance to interact much and she started a conversation. He smiled and answered her every question politely, with something akin to respect in his voice and she never felt so...cherished and gratified. Surely, Yuugi was very polite and nice, but there was something else in his eyes that radiated warmth and kindness that she couldn't help but stare at him for a long time, before they reached the end of the hall and he quickly walked ahead of her.
She thought he was in a hurry or that she maybe went too far with the staring, but what he did next, surprised her and she blushed, not knowing herself why.
"Here," he said, opening the doors for her. She stared at him, puzzled and baffled for a moment before he gave her a genuine smile and said:
"Ladies first."
She chuckled softly at the memory, her eyes glazing over, not noticing the leaves dancing across the street playfully. When a car drove by suddenly and snapped her out of her stupor, she jerked and looked outside again, trying to see if he was perhaps, now, walking down the street.
There was no one.
But she still knew that he promised he would come back to her. And knowing him, he would never let her down...
Her thoughts drifted away again; it happened lately now. Whenever she missed him, she let her mind wander back into the past to meet her memories of him. She could relive her precious moments with him that way...feel the sensations he awoke in her every time he hugged her or kissed her, hear the gentle words he whispered in her ear.
It happened ever so slowly, growing from mutual respect and friendship to something more that took them both by surprise. Like a flower, waiting for the sunrise, slowly opening at the first rays of light, exposing itself shyly at dawn and blossoming fully when the next day came to show its beauty. She shook her head; she wasn't even aware of his feelings until it was too late and she fell for him as well.
She liked to reminisce about that night at her house, when he asked her to help him with his school project. She agreed happily, wondering for a moment if his yami wouldn't perhaps interfere but it all went smoothly and there were no distractions or interruptions. She made him and herself a light dinner, poured two glasses of juice and sat down at the table to reconsider his ideas, as well as her own. As the night progressed, the project was completely forgotten when they started talking about other topics and matters. They jumped from science to Duel Monsters and ancient Egypt instead, exchanging various thoughts and theories they both had about Yami and his mysterious past.
After an hour of chatting amiably about everything, she glanced at the clock on the wall and gasped when she realized what time it was. She got up quickly and apologized for not being much of a help with his project. He only raised his hand and shook his head.
"No," he replied in a serious manner and looked at her, "I should be the one to apologize. I'm sure you had more important things to do and I was only a nuisance to you."
She shook her head this time and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling warmly at him in a, what she thought, was a friendly gesture.
"Don't be silly, Ryou," she said softly, "I like having you for a company." She noticed that his eyes glimmered with something she couldn't define for a moment, before he smiled and nodded. She started cleaning up the table, balancing the plates and glasses in one hand, and picking the papers and pencils with the other. Without a word, he grasped one of her hands and she spun around so quickly that she almost bumped into him. They stared at each other, lost in a moment before she asked him in a somewhat breathless tone what was he doing.
"Helping you, of course," he replied plainly and she let him take the dishes out of her hands without another word. She gaped at him when he approached the sink, putting the dishes inside and grabbing the sponge from the small plastic bowl aside. She was standing in the middle of the kitchen, watching him washing her dishes in wonder. Tentatively, she put the pencils and papers down on the table and approached him, grabbing the drying cloth from above the sink.
He looked at her and smiled somewhat sheepishly when she couldn't stop staring at him. "It's only fair that I help you after you helped me." He said simply and continued on scrubbing the plates. Their fingers touched for a brief moment when he handed her the plate and he stopped for a second to glance at her quickly before he turned his head away again, his bangs shielding his eyes. And she had no idea that she was blushing...
The wind started blowing harder now, swaying the tree branches more violently and shaking the glass of the window slightly. She snapped out of her daze again and sighed heavily, wishing for a moment she could go back to relive all those moments again. Since that night, things were starting to progress between them slowly and gradually. They spent more and more time together, just talking and laughing, but every time there was something in the air between them, some kind of tension on the verge of breaking. She was still more or less clueless about the whole situation but after he kissed her on the cheek one night and then ran away from her in a hurry, things started to become clear to her. Almost absentmindedly, she touched her cheek gingerly, still remembering how it felt when he placed his lips there.
And he ran away, obviously embarrassed by his own action. It was funny, and weird and made her feel elated at the same time. And it was in that exact moment that she realized that she liked him more than just a good friend...
She looked outside again and her eyes saddened, still not spotting him anywhere. But he promised...he wouldn't break his promise...would he?
She liked his presence; it was warm, almost embracing just like his hugs were – safe and loving. He would surprise her by sneaking up on her sometimes, and when nobody was watching, put his hands around her and give her a soft kiss on the cheek. She would jump in surprise and shock and she would scold him for scaring her like that, but the argument would soon be settled with a few kisses on the lips. And she was happy again...
Their first kiss...she touched her lips at the memory and blushed slightly. It came out of the blue and it was so spontaneous and unplanned. They went to the movies together, back then when she knew what was going on between them but was still trying to deny her feelings...pretty much unsuccessfully. She was afraid although she didn't know why. It felt good to be around him, but deep inside, she was a suspicious, cautious and apprehensive girl who didn't leave anything to a chance. And that was why despite her smiles and cheerful comments, she was keeping a distance between them.
She was sitting in her seat, trying to calm her nerves down but soon, she started fidgeting and shifting in her seat and it didn't take long for Ryou to notice her strange behavior.
"Tea?" He whispered to her, concern evident in his voice, "Is everything all right?"
She nodded awkwardly without even glancing at him, her fingers digging into the plush material of her seat. There were a few people sitting in front of them and there was no one behind them, which was convenient, or so Ryou thought. He never liked when someone was breathing behind his neck constantly. He already had his yami to give him a good scare.
She shifted again and let out a long breath, releasing it slowly, trying to calm her racing heart down. It was all in vain. She could feel his eyes on her, she knew he was observing her carefully with those dark eyes of his and she suddenly wanted to scream, get up and run away from him. What was wrong with her?
She stiffened completely when she felt his hand resting on hers gently. He intertwined his fingers with hers and leaned in a bit closer to take a good look at her. Since it was dark in the hall, he could only make out the outlines of her face. She resisted the urge to stand up and kept on sitting in her seat, waiting for something terrible to happen. The characters on the movie screen were kissing passionately and she almost kicked herself mentally for choosing to see a romance movie. She could feel him shift again and she closed her eyes when she felt his warm breath in her ear.
"Are you okay? You're not feeling well? Do you want to go outside to get some fresh air?"
She shivered inwardly. Such sweet, innocent words and they were making her want to crumble and fall. She wanted so desperately to do something, anything. On an impulse, she turned around to tell him that she indeed wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home when instead of meeting his face, her lips met his in a soft kiss.
Her eyes widened, as well as his and they stared at each other for, what seemed an eternity, completely stiff and immobile. Surprisingly, she was the first to close her eyes slowly, deciding to just let go. She felt his lips moving over hers in a sweet sensation and somehow, all those anxious feelings and worries disappeared like they were swept away. They chose to ignore snide remarks from below as they kept on kissing...
Her eyes closed at the pleasant remembrance and her head fell down on the sofa. The wind calmed down now, not swaying the trees anymore and the leaves were now once again lying still on the cold concrete, plastered to the ground. She opened her eyes to see the moon, but her lips parted when she saw a cloud roaming across the sky and blocking the shiny rays. Suddenly, it became very dark in her living room, despite the streetlamps glowing outside. She stared at the cloud solemnly and closed her eyes again, not bothering to look if there was someone on the street again.
He wouldn't break his promise, would he? But what if...what if he forgot? Why did he have to leave her?
What if he decided to stay in Egypt with his father? What if he decided to stay with his yami and help him explore the secrets of his own past? What if he met another girl there and fell in love with her?
What if...what if he never comes back again?
She felt something hard in her throat and she blinked, realizing that she had tears welled up in her eyes. She sniffled and closed her eyes, making the tears fall down her face slowly. She leaned on the couch, letting her head fall on the soft fabric, still clutching his sweater in her hands. Another set of fresh tears fell on the beige material and she sobbed quietly in the darkness of her living room.
She heard the leaves rustling outside, she heard the wind blowing again and the windows shaking mildly, but she didn't care. She was alone again and she didn't care what was happening around her. The whole room was now engulfed in darkness.
She let her mind wander off again to remind her of all the happy moments spent with him, of all the funny things they did together, of all the fun they had with each other...and she suppressed another sob that threatened to escape her lips.
She didn't notice when the wind blew the dark cloud away and the moon was once again visible, illuminating her tear stricken face and her messy brown tresses.
It wasn't until she thought she heard someone walking down the street that made her lift her head to look out the window quickly. She couldn't see anyone, it was too dark, but there it was – an unmistakable sound of somebody's footsteps coming from outside and she waited, listened, prayed deep inside for that someone to be him. She was still hoping...
Slowly, the footsteps carried with the wind became more audible and she squinted, trying to see something. Looking ahead, she thought she saw someone moving and she straightened up, wiping the remaining tears from her face. Could it be him? Oh, God, please, let it be him!
And there it was, a tall, lanky figure walking down the street. She stood up and stared at the upcoming figure, not losing it out of her sight. Her breathing quickened, her heart beating wildly in her chest and she gasped when the moon illuminated a mop of silver, unruly hair. Without a second thought, she let the sweater fall down on the couch and dashed out of the living room.
She opened the front door almost violently and stormed outside. It could be seen through the window – a smaller, thinner figure running up to him, and hugging him so tightly and with such vigor that the young man with silver mane let out a gasp and almost stumbled back. He hugged her tightly, embracing her with all his might while she kissed him passionately and hid her face in his soft hair, crying on his shoulder from happiness this time.
The sweater was lying neatly on her couch as an assurance that he did come back.
That he would come back on a starry night like this...just like he promised.