Author's Notes: This fic is a gift for SilverDragon-Purity for her deduction abilities. The lyrics are parts from the song "Into The Night" by Santana. The pairing is YugixYami with a side serving of SetoxJou.
A Gift From The Heavens
Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell.
It was love from above, that could save me from hell.
She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,
How the devil himself could be pulled out of me.
There were drums in the air as she started to dance,
Every soul in the room keeping time with their hands,
And we sang...
"A party? Tonight?" Yugi questioned in a hesitant tone. "I don't know." He shook his head. "Why did you tell me just now, Jounouchi-kun?"
The blond in question ran a hand through his hair before drawling with sarcasm: "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you would have made sure you have something planned for tonight if I had given you time to prepare an excuse?"
"What makes you think I don't have anything planned?" Yugi asked with a frown. Jounouchi merely waved his hand dismissively before answering: "Oh please, you never go anywhere these days, Yugi. Besides, I checked with your grandpa before coming over."
Eyes falling to the floor, Yugi had to admit that Jounouchi had a point. He really had not been going out much lately. He just did not feel like it much. The only times he drew himself out of the shop was for his lectures at the university. Most of Yugi's time was spent thinking about Atemu, the other him, as sad as it was to admit that. As time went by, Yugi became frightened of the possibility of him forgetting the spirit of the Sennen Puzzle and without the youth himself noticing, Yugi had started to live almost completely inside of his memories.
"What kind of a party is it anyway?" Yugi managed to ask, looking up to Jounouchi's face. The blond was grinning widely now that he had won and he explained helpfully: "Kaiba is holding a costume party. He only invited known duellists, so I guess he's planning a new tournament."
"A costume party?" came Yugi's displeased query. "I don't suppose you had the foresight to consider the fact that I would need to find a costume?" This was how things went very often; Jounouchi would do his best to be helpful and a good friend and then he would overlook something simple that was still very vital. Those thoughts were brushed aside, though, as Yugi wondered about Jounouchi's assumptions; Kaiba had not held a professional level Magic and Wizards tournament in three years, not since…well, the End.
"Are you saying Kaiba-kun has invited us?" Yugi questioned, a bit incredulously. Kaiba should have known that Yugi did not duel anymore, not to mention he had not invited Jounouchi into any of his events before.
And just then Jounouchi's hand came forth, holding an envelope out to Yugi as the blond spoke: "Here." With that the envelope was dropped into Yugi's hands and the blond turned away to shuffle through the duffle bag he had brought with him and insisted on dragging with him into the living room. Yugi let his friend do as he pleased as he ripped the envelope open and pulled out a white card with silver lining. There was bright blue writing on the card, inviting him to Kaiba's party.
"This is the real thing…" Yugi mumbled as he checked the signing on the bottom, stationed next to a print image of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. He glanced up from the invitation to see Jounouchi straightening up and lifting a deep violet garment to him.
"Here's your costume", Jounouchi said enthusiastically. "It's a Dark Magician outfit!"
"Yes, I can see that", Yugi said as he observed the garment carefully. It was hand-sown, but skilfully so. "Did Otogi-kun make this?"
"Yeah", Jounouchi said with a nod. "In his designing class. I asked him to as soon as I got the invitations."
Yugi had to frown as he wondered about that. Why had Jounouchi gotten both of their invitations? He could understand that Kaiba might have grown up enough to let go of his grudge with Jounouchi and invite him to the party, but why would the brunet send Yugi's invitation to the blond?
"Is something wrong?" Jounouchi's voice came, snapping Yugi out of his thoughts. "Don't you like it?" Yugi gazed up into his friend's eyes to see him looking at him like a kicked puppy. And Yugi had always held a weakness to kicked puppies.
"No, no! I like it!" Yugi hurried to assure the other. "It was a very nice idea." Not feeling like sharing his internal thoughts with the blond, Yugi tried to come up with a distraction. "What are you going as?"
"Um…" Jounouchi's cheeks actually flushed slightly from what Yugi guessed to be embarrassment. The blond scratched the back of his head as he spoke: "Actually, someone else chose the outfit for me." The Dark Magician outfit was handed to Yugi. "I'll be an angel."
Yugi had to wonder how someone had managed that. But, then again, it was not like it was a cheerleader or a ballerina, which would have been…scarring.
"Yugi?" Jounouchi's voice called and Yugi blinked up at his friend, who had lifted an eyebrow. "You dazed off for a moment there. Where did you go?"
"I didn't go anywhere, Jounouchi-kun", Yugi answered a bit defensively. "I just stopped to think for a moment."
"Well, you've been doing that a lot lately", Jounouchi said and Yugi noticed the worried tinge in the other's voice. "Are you sure you're, you know, handling everything?"
"I'm handling everything just fine", Yugi replied instantly, turning his face away so that Jounouchi would not see his unconvincing grimace. He was handling things as well as he could, considering that he had lost the other half of his soul.
"If you say so", Jounouchi conceded in a silent tone. "Go get dressed. We'll be leaving in an hour."
"Right", Yugi mumbled with a sigh. "I'll be back soon." And with that Yugi turned to make his way to his room. As he walked up the stairs, Yugi wondered if Jounouchi was right and if going out occasionally would help him move on. Sitting in his room brooding certainly had not done it.
The party was just starting when Yugi and Jounouchi arrived on the scene. Quite the few quests had chosen to dress up as Duel Monsters, many going as far as coming as their own signature monster. Yugi actually found Mai among the crowd because her Harpy Lady outfit had her as the main focus of a gathered crowd of men. Of course, there were also some classics; there were many different witches and vampires in the party hall.
"They're playing some good music here", Jounouchi's voice commented from the left and Yugi glanced up at his friend to see him smiling widely. Yugi had helped the blond fight the unruly locks of hair out of his face, sticking it in place with an innumerable amount of hairpins before they had placed the headband that served as a halo on the blond's head. Jounouchi's outfit was a pure white one and he had a pair of small, fluffy wings coming out from the back. The taller male's cheeks glowed with a thin layer of golden powder that did nothing to lessen the plotting air around him.
"Are you getting at something?" Yugi questioned in a stoic tone, knowing very well that his friend did have something on mind.
"You should dance", Jounouchi spoke out and Yugi groaned. "I mean it. This is your first time out in months and I want to see you have fun."
"But I don't want to", Yugi grumbled. "And besides, it's not like you would dance either."
"Then we'll make a deal", Jounouchi replied. "If you find someone to dance with, I'll dance with any one person you point out."
"Oh?" Yugi questioned sceptically. "Even, say, Zigfried-kun?"
"He's not here", Jounouchi said cheerfully. "But, yeah. That's the general gist of it."
"Alright then…" Yugi spoke and then glanced around the room, until his eyes fell on a tall brunet. "Kaiba-kun!" Yugi cheered as he waved to the duellist in question. If he had been a more sinister person, he would have smirked in satisfaction when Kaiba did actually start walking towards them but since he was not, he only smiled widely up at the brunet.
"Mutou, you made it", Kaiba spoke out in a neutral tone that Yugi interpreted as Kaiba's way of being welcoming. The brunet turned his gaze to Jounouchi. "Katsuya."
Now Yugi had the perfect chance to look over Kaiba's costume, even though doing so effectively distracted him from the way Kaiba had used Jounouchi's first name. The brunet was dressed as what the boy guessed to be a demon. At least, that was what the black outfit with leathery wings in the back suggested. In addition Kaiba had a pair of red devil horns on his head and silver contacts that made his eyes flash.
"Great costume, Kaiba-kun", Yugi spoke out in a friendly tone and received a grunt in response. He had not expected anything else so he was not bothered and continued: "I was wondering if you would mind taking Jounouchi-kun on a spin over the dance floor." The brunet actually lifted an eyebrow in a manner that almost looked interested. "We agreed that I would dance some after he did so too."
"I wouldn't mind at all", Kaiba replied, surprisingly enough. "It could be…well, fun, I suppose."
"Never, ever, say 'fun' again", Jounouchi growled out then. "I've never heard that word sound so creepy before."
Kaiba only shrugged in response before reaching out to grasp Jounouchi's wrist and speaking to the blond: "Shall we dance, then?"
There was something suggestive in Kaiba's tone when he spoke, and Yugi realized that he had not been the only one to notice; Jounouchi's cheeks had flushed a bright red. And as the blond allowed the taller teen to start leading him towards the dance floor, the game king could not help but pipe up: "And be gentle with him, Kaiba-kun. It's his first time." It really would be Jounouchi's first time dancing a slow song; Yugi hoped that Kaiba would manage to come out of this with his toes intact.
"Certainly", Kaiba replied with a toothed grin while Jounouchi released an indignant squeak. In the next moment the two vanished into the gathering crowd.
"They would have serious trouble with trying to be any more obvious", a voice commented from Yugi's right. The short boy jumped in surprise, his eyes widening at how familiar the voice had sounded. He turned his head to glance over to the male sanding beside him and came across a face covered in a golden mask that covered the upper half of his face. The next thing Yugi noted was that the new arrival was dressed in familiar clothes, they looked exactly like the ones Atemu had used in the Memory World. And then there was the hair that looked almost exactly the same as Yugi's. But, all of these features could have been ignored if it had not been for the last thing Yugi's eyes focused on.
The young man had deep red eyes that were as dark as a pair of rubies.
"W-what?" Yugi stuttered in a mix of awe and confusion, while those dark eyes seemed to laugh as the taller male spoke: "The matching outfits." He pointed to where Kaiba and Jounouchi had vanished to. "Anyone can see that Kaiba had them tailored for them." A short laugh broke free from him. "Anyone who would think about looking for it, I mean."
"T-that's not what…" Yugi started but trailed off almost immediately. He did not think that asking what the other was doing there was a very tactful question. He decided on a better one and spoke: "How did you get here?" The short boy felt his cheeks redden and swallowed before continuing: "I mean, you are Atemu, aren't you?"
"Yes, Yugi, it is me", the crimson-eyed youth replied with a smile, slipping off his mask to reveal a well-missed face. "Though, I go by the name 'Yami' now. I am the darkness to your light, after all."
"I see", Yugi muttered in a rather dazed manner as he watched Yami's face with admiration. Then the boy's ears registered the soft melody that was gaining volume. He smiled up at the other teen and spoke: "Would you like to dance?"
"Yes", Yami answered without a moment's hesitation, bringing his hands to Yugi's hips. "I'd love to, Aibou."
Partner. The one thing that symbolised all of Yugi's longing for his other half became realized in that word when spoken in that specific voice. The boy smiled widely up at his counterpart as he placed his hands on the other's shoulders. First the two started swaying to the melody of the song, until they both got the hang of it and they could start moving their feet in a slow dance.
"You didn't tell me how you got back", Yugi whispered softly, not wanting to break the calm atmosphere that had fallen over them. It seemed that Yami shared those sentiments, since he replied in an equally quiet voice: "The gods decided to grant me with the one gift that would truly make me happy." Yami moved one hand up to caress Yugi's cheek in passing. "I'm here to stay. Happy birthday to me."
"B-birthday?" Yugi questioned incredulously. "It's your birthday?"
"Yeah", Yami answered as their dance came to an end with one final spin. "So, where's my birthday kiss?"
Scoffing only half-seriously, Yugi reached up to cradle the former pharaoh's chin in his hand and smiled ever so slightly as he said: "Right here." And then he lifted himself upward while pulling Atemu's face down to press their lips together into a short and sweet kiss.
"Happy birthday", Yugi spoke after pulling back. "Welcome back."
"Thank you", Yami replied before bringing his hands to Yugi's cheeks. "Although I was expecting a different kiss." And with that the crimson-eyed male leaned in and captured Yugi's lips in a lot deeper kiss that had the shorter teen's knees almost collapsing from underneath him.
When Yami pulled back, Yugi was left with shaking legs and uneven breathing. The taller male stepped back from the other before speaking: "I think we've stuck around this crowd long enough. How about we go outside? I saw a nice garden out there when I arrived."
"I'd like that", Yugi answered and allowed Yami to lead the way out of the ballroom and into the dark, moonlit gardens. The sounds from the party slowly faded to the background and Yugi spoke out: "So the gods knew I would be here tonight?"
"The gods are aware of everything, Yugi", Yami replied and grinned at Yugi in the dim lighting. "Even Jounouchi's quirks." The words had both of them laughing softly at the truth in the words, after which they allowed a companionable silence to fall around them.
Slowly, arms came around Yugi's shoulders and pulled the boy against a warm body. Feeling content, Yugi brought his own arms around the other's waist.
"I love you, Yugi", Yami's spoke softly over the silent whistling of the wind. "I'll never leave you again."
"You'd better not", Yugi mumbled as he rested his head on a strong shoulder. "Because I love you too."
The confessions were not necessary, for each of them could feel the other's emotions through the bond connecting their souls. Still, the feelings had a different impact when spoken out loud; that was when they became real, as real as Yami's new existence by his partner's side.
Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place,
You could tell how we felt from the look on our faces.
She was spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes,
No room left to move in between you and I.
We forgot where we were and we lost track of time,
And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night.
And we sang...
The End
Ending Notes: While I was writing this, I noticed that my one-shots don't like plot overly much. I hope this is to your liking, Silver. It has all the prompts you wanted: puzzleshipping, a costume party and a birthday.
