Faint yellow streaks of the morning sun peeked through Yami's dark blue curtains and forcing him to wake up. His eyes closed, his face scrunched up, and his body moving away from the glaring morning light as he is reluctantly pulled away from the land of dreams. The movement did nothing to put him back to sleep, so he finally succumbed to his wakefulness and opened his eyes slowly. He groaned and did his best to go back under the covers to shield his body away from the cold temperature. It was winter after all.
At the sound of grandpa Solomon ordering him to get up for breakfast, he finally sat up from his bed and looked at his clock to check the date.
December 24 2015.
The year on the clock made his heart drop.
It's been two, almost three, years now and the lump on his throat was still there, the tears in his eyes were forming and ready to fall, but he bit them all back. He really needed to buy a new clock, an analog one that didn't show the date.
He padded down the stairs and gave grandpa a soft morning greeting before taking his usual seat at the dining table. He looked at his breakfast, it was pancakes. As the two males went into an easy conversation over breakfast, the former spirit of the Millennium Puzzle couldn't help but notice grandpa's sad eyes. He knew those eyes well since he sees it everyday for two, almost three, years now. After, breakfast, Yami took their dirtied plates and started to clean them while grandpa went down to open the shop.
Now that no one else was in the room again, it was then that Yami let his mind wander towards him.
His light.
His saviour.
Yugi.
He couldn't help but feel his heart break a little at the thought that he hasn't seen Yugi in such a long time. It pained him to know that he couldn't even reach him through their mind link anymore. After the Ceremonial Duel, Yugi won, proving that the light can now move on without his darkness. Instead of leaving for the afterlife, the Pharaoh, now legally named Yami Atemu, had decided to stay in the land of the living to live a new life since his previous one had ended too quickly. Everyone was happy for his decision. His decision also gave Bakura and Marik a second chance at life and they gladly took it to be with their lights Ryou and Malik.
Life was good and peaceful. Yami had been offered a place to stay in the Mutou household which he was grateful and he even enrolled in Domino High to be with his friends. After a few months, he and Tea had started seeing each other often, until a month before they graduated high school, they announced that they were exclusively dating. It was also on the day of their announcement that Yugi had his own good news to announce to the group. News Yami wished he never heard ever.
Yugi had announced that since he was the valedictorian, he was offered to be a part of a special group who will be travelling and learning around the world, and he had accepted. At first, the whole gang was at awe at the amazing opportunity. Even Tea was jealous since her dreams of going to a dance school in New York was shot to hell. She was now taking performing arts in Domino University as a substitute to her dream while taking ballet lessons on the side. When the whole shock of Yugi's opportunity subsided, everyone had a bout of depression knowing that they wouldn't see Yugi for a long time. But the small duelist had reassured them that he'd be back before they knew it.
"Six months will be gone in a blink of an eye, guys. And I'll be back here in Domino with you again."
Those were his words. He repeated them to Yami as well when they were both in Yugi's room while he was packing his bags for the long trip a week after graduation. Yami wanted to beg his light to stay by his side, he couldn't protect him if he was miles away afterall. He even tried to reach out to Yugi through their mind link so he could show how much he was going to miss the light, but ever since that day of Yugi's announcement, Yami couldn't reach him through the link. It was like Yugi had shut him out. He asked Yugi about it but the amethyst-eyed male just shrugged.
"Maybe it's slowly fading away now that we're not sharing a body. Natural progression, I guess."
Yami didn't want to believe it. During the first few weeks after the Ceremonial Duel, he and Yugi had tested how strong the link was. Yami went to Egypt to visit Marik and Malik while Yugi stayed in Japan, and they could still hear each other from their mind link perfectly. After Yugi had left, Yami went to Ryou and Bakura to ask if their link was fine, and the two said that nothing was wrong with theirs. Even Marik and Malik's was fine. So why not his and Yugi's?
He eventually dropped the whole thing when Tea told him that maybe it was Yugi's way of saying that he didn't want Yami to know how hard it was for him to leave. Or that Yami's thoughts might make Yugi second guess himself with going to the trip. So for six months, he waited for his light to return.
But it was on the fifth month that he eventually got a message from Yugi that said otherwise.
Yugi had decided to extend his lessons to a year, saying he enjoyed it so much, and he was offered to extend by the professor. Yami and grandpa had asked if he was coming back during the holidays but Yugi, again, didn't promise anything. He only said that he would try. Yami asked if Yugi could send him emails daily, again, the male didn't promise anything. When the gang had tried to surprise him by having Seto track him down, they didn't even catch a glimpse of his shadow. They went to Brazil and searched for Yugi everywhere, but only to be notified when they got back to Japan that Yugi was in Greece. They tried to catch him again, but he was in Ireland when they went to Australia. Eventually, they just stopped bothering and waited for him to come back.
After a year, the only reminder they had that Yugi was still alive and well was the presents they received during Christmas, their birthdays, and some eventual souvenirs he would send when he felt like it. All coming from different parts of the world. Only grandpa had a letter every time and it hurt Yami that Yugi wouldn't leave him a letter. He only got a little card in Yugi's handwriting saying:
To Yami.
This made me think of you.
From Yugi.
As annoying and emotionless as those cards were, he kept them in his wallet at all times along with the only picture of the two of them together. Reminders that Yugi was still thinking of him despite their distance. They were hidden in a secret compartment in his wallet that even his girlfriend didn't know about. Tea was the jealous type and the first time she saw that picture of the two tricolor-haired males was also the first time she and Yami fought. So Yami asked Bakura to alter his wallet so Tea could never see the photo.
After washing the dishes and cleaning up the house, Yami took a bath and dressed up to brave the snow outside so he could do some last minute grocery shopping before Christmas. He put on his turtleneck and a big thick black jacket Yugi had gotten him during that first Christmas he was away and his winter boots. The jacket had been his favorite and no one, not even Tea, could buy him one that he would prefer over it. He went down to the shop to check on grandpa if he needed any last minute items but the old man just shook his head. As Yami was about to leave, grandpa called him again.
"Seto called, he said to come by the mansion today to pick up Yugi's gifts," he said with a sad smile.
Yami's heart soared. He wished that this time, Yugi would leave a letter for him telling him of his travels, his adventures, his problems, anything. He already considered it wishing too much to even ask Yugi to write to him telling him that Yugi misses him.
Once the former spirit was outside, he was greeted by Joey and Mokuba.
"Hey, Pharaoh!" the blonde greeted. "Let's go to the mansion first and pick up Yugi's presents before we go grocery shopping."
"Hi, Yami," Mokuba waved his hand. "Seto's in the office doing some last minute work before Kaiba corp building closes for the holidays," he explained as they got in the limo.
"Yeah, the guy's overworking himself to an early grave, if you ask me," Joey commented.
"Well, he is taking it easy ever since you came along," Yami replied with a smirk.
During their senior year in high school, Joey and Seto had confessed that they like each other and had started dating. All those times they've been fighting and insulting each other were apparently them denying that they like each other. It was actually Yugi who talked to them separately and coerced them to eventually tell the other that they liked them. And now, they've been together for three years and they are still going strong.
"So, how are you and Tea? Is she still nagging you about not going to a 'normal' college?" Joey asked using airquotes.
Yami pouted. Tea, since they started dating, had slowly turned into a whole different person. She always told Yami to act a certain way, dress a certain way, and when he does something she doesn't approve of, she would scold him for it. The former Pharaoh was taken aback by it at first but whenever he would argue his case and eventually leave Tea's house out of anger, the girl would run out to him and apologize then promise to do better. Yami is almost at his wit's end with her but of course, he still waited the girl hand and foot. It is what was expected of him as her boyfriend, or so they say.
Then came the issue of Yami deciding on helping grandpa run the game shop instead of going to college. Of course, grandpa had been against it, but Yami argued that Solomon was already old and in need of assistance in the shop. While they could easily just hire help, Yami had insisted that he would volunteer instead. He even promised to go to college online. With help from Seto, Yami was currently taking online courses for a business degree. Tea had nagged Yami to "take college like a normal person" constantly since he enrolled. Yami had eventually put his foot down and told her that grandpa was his first priority. It was his silent promise to Yugi while the male was still out exploring the world. But Tea didn't need to know that tidbit.
"The topic has been dropped til further notice," Yami eventually replied.
"Oh. Well, you guys will work it out," Joey replied with a smile. But deep inside, the blond knew it was only a matter of time before everything just exploded between Yami and Tea and the two would separate. With a sigh, he started a new conversation, particularly about the packages that were waiting for them at the mansion.
Joey had been excited when they arrived at the mansion earlier this morning. All of the packages were from different parts of the world, as usual. Based from one of the letters grandpa received from Yugi, the male was currently getting paid to travel across the globe and learn. He was currently taking international studies and was working as an interpreter depending on which country he was currently in. And, much to grandpa's dismay, Yugi had taken to playing games to gamble for more cash, something grandpa can't believe he had passed on to his grandson. Seto was impressed, he had been tracking down Yugi to offer him a job as his own interpreter for business deals if that would mean that the smaller duelist would come home. But Yugi had declined, saying he still had some parts of the world he wanted to see. And no matter how many times Seto would add zeroes to his paycheck, it wouldn't be enough for him to come back. They were just going to have to wait for him to come back.
The packages looked like they came from Europe. Joey always got three big bags of junk food and candies from all around the globe and a small trinket as a keepsake. Seto usually got an envelope filled with background checks of people the CEO might deal with in the business world. And Seto was impressed by the extensive research Yugi would send him and they had saved him on more than one occasion so he was very grateful. It was a weird thing to give as a gift but as Seto said, he actually consider them gifts and he didn't mind. He actually preferred Yugi gave him those instead of some novelty item that will collect dust in his office. Mokuba always enjoyed his gifts from Yugi. He always got the weird toys and puzzles Yugi would find in his travels and Mokuba has yet to solve half of them. This year was no different since Joey found yet another set of bags filled with chips, snacks, candies, and chocolates with different labels on them. A note was always attached to them reassuring Joey that they were actually good. Yugi has a sweet tooth that Joey trusts.
They arrived at the mansion and Joey led them to the main sitting room where the giant Christmas tree was. The sitting room was decked out with blue and white shiny Christmas decorations. But the decorations paled in comparison to the tree at south wall of the room. Like Kaiba's ego, the tree was big and demanded attention. Silver tinsel and blue and pearly white christmas ornaments dressed the tree and a soft white glow came off from it thanks to the Christmas lights surrounding it. Instead of a star on top, it looks like Seto has had a custom-made topper, three white dragons that looked to be flying around each other and it also had a soft white glow around them. There were brown boxes everywhere around the tree along with boxes, obviously they were Yugi's gifts, and there were also gifts wrapped in colorful wrapping paper. Yami and grandpa already gave sent their gifts to Joey and the Kaiba brothers and the former pharaoh couldn't help but smirk at the boxes he had asked grandpa to wrap for him. He can't wrap a decent present to save his life.
"Nice tree topper. Seto still has a thing for dragons, I see," Yami joked as he stared at the ornament perched at the very top of the seven-foot tree.
Mokuba bounced to the former-spirit's side. "That's my and Joey's early Christmas present for him," he replied smugly. "Joey thought of it and we searched everywhere for a shop to do it."
Joey shook his head with an amused smirk. He wasn't even going to deny his boyfriend's "fondness" over dragons. "It was perfect. And suits him too." He walked over to the tree and looked at the tags of the boxes looking for Yami's and grandpa's gifts. He was mostly looking for grandpa's since Joey knew, the biggest brown box was actually for Yami. "Here you go, Yami," Joey handed him the biggest brown box. It may have been big but it was also light. When the package came in last night, he tried to shake it to figure out what was inside, but he could only feel a soft bumpy movement inside. "This one's yours." He then bent over to get another gift which was a smaller brown box. "This is for gramps. Do you want to pick up Tea's?"
"No, she said she'll get them on Christmas when we meet here in the mansion."
Joey nodded, not wanting to ask more. At first, he thought that maybe it was because he was in his honeymoon phase with Seto that's why he rarely saw Tea, but really, the brunette had rarely hung out with them now. Sometimes she took Yami with her on their dates. It was a miracle that Joey was even able to see Yami this often for which he was grateful. He only ever admitted this to Seto, he liked seeing Yami since he was the only thing tied to his best friend, Yugi. It was because of Joey missing Yugi so much that Seto started tracking the amethyst-eyed male. But for some reason, no matter how hard they try to reach him, they were always five steps behind. The CEO had taken to just hiring a headhunter to deliver his job offers to the smaller duelist, a rouse to get him to come back home.
"Oh well, I heard she's cooking for a lot of people for Christmas Eve this year so she might be busy. At least you guys will be here on Christmas for the party. I'm glad she agreed to go."
As if on cue, Yami's phone suddenly rang. It was Tea.
"Hey, Tea," the pharaoh greeted.
"Yami, where are you?" her voice was accusing and it took a lot from Yami not to retort.
"I'm with Joey right now, I told you yesterday remember?" They continued walking towards the car and at the sound of the car door closing, Tea spoke again.
"Are you in a car? I thought you're with Joey?" Yami could hear the annoyance in her voice.
Joey jumped when he heard his phone ring. He picked it up and heard Duke's voice. "Hey, Joey. Where you at?"
"Hey, Duke. I'm with Yami and we're in the car on our way to the grocery to help him buy some last minute grocery shopping before places close for Christmas. Why?"
"Nothing, just checking," Duke replied casually.
"Checking what?" Joey asked.
Yami scowled as he heard Joey's conversation. Though, he shouldn't exactly be surprised since this was not the first time Tea had done this. "Are you having Duke check up on me?"
At that, Joey hung up the phone not wanting to be a part of this argument.
"I was just double checking, Yami," Tea replied haughtily.
Closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, Yami leaned his head back trying to calm himself. "Tea, I picked up my and grandpa's gifts from Yugi and Joey is going to help me pick up some last minute things we need for the house. I told you this last night."
"What? I'm not allowed to know where my boyfriend is?" Tea demanded.
'Not if you ask it every hour of every day' Yami thought dryly but bit his tongue. He really was not in the mood to argue. "Tea, we're almost near the store. We'll talk about this later." Before Tea could refute, Yami hung up the phone and put it on silent.
Joey couldn't help but feel sorry for the couple. He knew what their problem was. They were mismatched. Tea was a headstrong woman who would do anything to get what she wanted in a way that she approved of, while Yami was someone who wasn't used to being ordered around, he was a pharaoh for heaven's sake. They both expected the other to be something else. To be someone else. The blond leaned back against the car door as his theory about why the couple won't just work.
His thoughts were interrupted when the limo driver announced that they had arrived.
At the store, Yami split the cart with Joey and Mokuba. The raven-haired kid was all too excited to dump numerous snacks on their side of the car that Yami couldn't help but chuckle.
"I don't know if Mokuba is rubbing off you or what." He dumped five cartons of milk on his side of the cart and ticked it off his list on his phone. "The way he's acting, you'd think Kaiba deprives him. But everyone knows that Kaiba's devoted to him."
Joey couldn't help but laugh as Mokuba went through shelf after shelf looking for treats he wanted to take home, as if Yugi's five bags of foreign snacks weren't enough to last them the whole year. "Seto doesn't really go to the store to buy groceries. He usually has someone from his staff stock them or just have them delivered to the mansion." It was after a few moments that Joey caught onto Yami's teasing. "Hey!" he glared at the former pharaoh who was only smirking and looked like he was biting his lip to stop himself from laughing. "I'm not a pig like I was in high school, you know. I've mellowed down a bit."
"Like a bachelor after he got married to the love of his life," Yami playfully commented as he pushed the cart towards the baking section.
Joey just laughed and put back some of the items Mokuba put on their side of the cart. Seto may have given him his credit card, but he needs to make sure not to spoil Mokuba too much. Though, he needs to protect himself when the kid suddenly pulls out the big guns and use his puppy dog eyes on him. A trick he learned from Yugi.
Once they were able to pay for their purchases, they got back in the limo and drove back to the game shop. They deposited the groceries and Joey and Mokuba decided to stay and hang out in the shop with Yami and gramps for a little while longer.
"You know, the offer of joining us for Christmas Eve is still open, gramps," Mokuba said while he looked through the different games displayed in the shop. He had taken to calling Solomon gramps since the old man has insisted to stop calling him Mr. Mutou.
"Yeah, gramps. Won't you and Yami be lonely if it's just the two of you here?" Three years of not seeing Yugi, they still insisted on spending Christmas at the shop.
"The pharaoh and I will be fine, Joseph. Besides, we're going to help out in the children's hospital tonight like we planned," he replied with a smile.
Ever since Yugi left, Solomon and Yami had taken to doing some charity work on the holidays. They really didn't want to spend it without the amethyst-eyed male. This year, they decided to help in the children's hospital. The kids always loved to see Yami since he looked like their idol, the big KOG. Usually, they had a small tournament and grandpa would donate a big portion of his inventory to give as gifts for the kids and some of the Duel Monsters booster packs as prizes for the tournament. He didn't mind donating a lot to the kids, they weren't in a bad position financially anyways. Solomon was a well-known gambler back in his younger days that he paid for his tuition his home and his shop from playing games.
"Besides, Joey, the kids are already excited for the tournament later so we really can't disappoint them by not showing up," Yami said.
"I heard Ryou and Bakura are helping you guys with the party," Joey said.
Ryou and Bakura became a couple all too quickly along with Malik and Marik. This took everyone by surprise but the two former spirits had expressed their admiration for their lights even while they were still sharing a body. And despite everything that had happened in the past, the two lights had forgiven them and even fallen for them as well. The couples said that there was just something between them that had drawn them to each other. Malik explained it as their bond still craving for the intimate closeness they used to share. The light was still craving for the dark and the dark is still addicted to the light as he says.
"For some reason, Bakura has insisted that he come along, to which Ryou happily complied saying he'll cook for the kids too," Yami chuckled when he told the couple of his plans. No one expected, except of course for Ryou and the pharaoh, that Bakura had a soft spot for kids. Bakura wouldn't even deny it too. He knew what it was like to be alone and helpless, it was that reason that he wanted to help. He also says it was his way of paying back for the damage he had done in the past. Yami understood what he meant. Witnessing your whole family and friends be slaughtered merciless and be left alone to fend for yourself then turn to an evil god for revenge, you wouldn't want that to happen to another innocent soul as well.
"He and Ryou had been a great help in wrapping all of the gift for the kids," grandpa said elbowing the pharaoh lightly on the ribs.
Yami rolled his eyes. He had been demoted to tape duty that night. Since he can't wrap a decent gift, he was to cut pieces of tape for the three to make wrapping much faster. Who knew Bakura was good at wrapping gifts?
There was a car honk heard outside.
"Speaking of which, that would be them," Yami announced.
"And that would be our cue to leave, come on, Moki," Joey said as he picked up his boyfriend's little brother by the waist.
"Merry Christmas, you guys!" Mokuba greeted from his post on Joey's shoulder.
Joey gave them a warm greeting and headed outside to greet the lovers outside before heading to the car to go home.
"You go on ahead, grandpa, I'll just get the gifts from the stockroom," Yami said as he handed him his winter jacket.
"Alright, I'll try to send Bakura over to help you load the van," Solomon waved before leaving the shop.
Yami checked the house part of the building to check if everything is locked and in place before heading towards the stockroom to get the kids' presents. There were five brown boxes of packed gifts and a small backpack with a Santa outfit for grandpa and elf hats for the three males later. Yami picked up the backpack first then got the first box of presents. As he got out of the stockroom, Bakura and Ryou were already entering the shop to help.
"I'm still amazed seeing the almighty pharaoh doing manual labor," Bakura snickered.
Yami rolled his eyes and pointed towards the open door of the stockroom. "The other boxes are there where we left them the other night. Help me get them to the car so we can leave early."
Ryou just giggled then pulled his lover towards the stockroom.
The Christmas Eve party for the kids turned out well. The hospital was grateful for their help with the food and gifts for the kids and everyone was happy with what they got. Even Bakura was smiling as the younger kids who didn't know how to duel kept insisting on him to tell stories about Egypt and about Ryou. Grandpa had donned the Santa outfit they brought and distributed the gifts to the kids while Yami, Ryou, and Bakura wore the elf hats as they served the kids food. Yami was surprised that Bakura wasn't complaining much.
While the kids were eating, Yami eventually took out his phone that was vibrating during the whole party. He already knew who it was that was calling. He groaned at the twenty one missed calls he got from Tea and a text from Joey saying that Tea called him. He turned his phone off, not wanting to argue with her on Christmas Eve and just deal with her tomorrow.
The action went unnoticed though as Bakura sat next to the pharaoh. "Trouble in paradise?" he asked with a smirk.
Yami rolled his eyes, "Twenty one missed calls and a text from Joey saying Tea called him to check up on me."
The former thief king whistled. "Man, you must be at your wit's end with that girl. Good thing Ryou's not like her."
"Well you're kind of like her 'Kura," Ryou commented as he took a seat next to his boyfriend. "I faintly remember you practically attached to my arm during the first few months of us dating."
Bakura scoffed. "Yeah, but I got over it. And look at us now. Still attached to the hip but not hating each other for it."
Ryou wrapped his arms around Bakura's shoulders and pecked his cheek. "Yeah. But only after I told you to knock it off and let me work in peace."
"I wish I could have your relationship," Yami sighed. "Tea's been trying to order me around since we started dating, and that was almost three years ago." He leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes. They still had thirty more minutes of dinner time before they start singing Christmas carols. "You know me, I'm not some pushover who's just going to be ordered around to act a certain way. I thought she was nice and understanding, you know. I knew her the way she was when Yugi and I shared a body. She was always a good listener back then. But now…" He trailed off and stared at his friends.
"Now that you're separated from Yugi, she acts differently," Bakura finished for him. "You know, I'm kinda thinking that the only reason Tea preferred you over Yugi was because you were the confident type and you also saved her life that one time. But…" Bakura hesitated and looked to his lover for support.
"But she always saw you and Yugi as one person. She may have had hero worship love for you back when you and Yugi were sharing a body, but she also sees the light that Yugi was and expected that from you," Ryou supplied. "Now that you're separated, she's frustrated that her expectations are not met at every turn."
Yami sighed. He had had this conversation with the duo before and he knew they were right, but he also wanted to deny it. He honestly didn't really want to date Tea, he had wanted the girl to transfer her affections to his light instead. But people around them already assumed they were together and it was Tea who actually asked him out. When he realized that Yugi had lost interest, and Yami himself was also too self-conscious to decline, he had accepted.
"Oh and it's not her fault too. You, my benevolent pharaoh, are at fault too." Bakura poked Yami's chest tauntingly. "You expected her to treat you the way she treats Yugi. Or to be more accurate, you expected her to treat you the way your light treated you when you were still sharing a body."
This statement made Yami open his eyes and looked disbelievingly at Bakura. "What?"
The former thief king flashed Yami his malicious smirk. "Why, pharaoh, are you denying my statement?"
Ryou flicked her lover's ear with a finger. "Be nice, 'Kura." He then turned to his friend with a kind smile. "You know, Yami, what 'Kura is trying to say is, you're used to Yugi's treatment back when you were just a spirit inhabiting his body, that maybe...you expect Tea to treat you that way too."
"Why would I do that?" Yami demanded, but kept his voice down so as not to alert the kids.
Ryou bit his lip. "Well, Bakura can explain that better than I do...It's kinda a yami thing." He then got up, "You guys talk. I'll deal with the kiddies. I'll even tell grandpa that you guys are out for a smoke, he'll understand."
Bakura got up and practically dragged Yami towards the small smoking area outside the hospital. The white-haired male took out a pack of cigarettes and his lighter that was an anniversary gift from his boyfriend and lighted a cigarette. He held out the pack towards the pharaoh who declined. Yami only smoked when he was overly stressed. He waved his hand to signal Bakura to get to the point.
Bakura sat down a bench near the trash bin that also doubled as an ashtray. "You know how when Yugi freed you from the puzzle, you suddenly had this uncontrollable urge to defend him?"
Yami nodded. He remembered the sick and twisted games he had played with his light's tormentors and how he did everything to avenge Yugi. It had scared Yugi at first until they eventually had a talk for Yami to control himself.
"Okay, so, that urge to protect him never really faded right?" Bakura didn't wait for Yami to answer. "Marik and I experienced the same thing, although our methods were a bit...unorthodox, we still had that strong urge to protect our lights from harm. And during the course of time that we've been with our lights, we experienced a warm comforting aura from them that made us feel safe that even after we've separated from them, we still crave that warm protective blanket. What you're experiencing with Tea right now is actually what happens when you're deprived of that protective warmth that only your light can provide. The warmth you practically latched onto when you were just a spirit that was tormented by the shadows for thousands of years."
Raising an eyebrow at the thief, Yami crossed his arms on his chest. "I still don't get the connection with Tea."
Rolling his chocolate brown eyes, Bakura took a big hit from his cigarette. "You're unconsciously craving for your light's warm treatment from Tea which she can't provide since she's not Yugi. Think about it for a sec. Ever since Yugi left, you've been expecting Tea to act a certain way around you. Your subconscious is looking for that familiar light warm feeling only your light can give you and the more you're deprived, the more you crave it from others. All of your decisions regarding your life has been centered around your light and you don't even realize it."
"So what you're saying is that I'm not happy with Tea because I'm pining over Yugi?" Yami asked taking Bakura's lighter to light himself a cigarette. He wasn't exactly ready with this revelation.
"Well, if you put it in those words, yeah. But don't think it's unnatural. It's not. You shared a body with Yugi. You have a bond, hell you have a fucking mind link with him. Granted, you're also deprived of that. I can only imagine how clingy you'll get when Yugi comes back," Bakura snickered and lit another cigarette. "Marik and I aren't as oblivious as you are so we practically never let go our lights when we were reunited with them. And besides, being tormented yet again after being separated from them then being given a second chance with them, it was just natural progression to want to be with them again."
He hadn't realized it, but Yami was already halfway through his cigarette. "What do I do then?"
Bakura rolled his eyes again. "Do I seriously have to tell you? Dump the brunette and beg for your light to come home then make sweet sweet love to him to get your cravings satisfied." The white-haired male couldn't help but laugh at the shocked face Yami made after his statement. "And honestly, you and Tea are never going far anyways. Think about it, you don't mind being away from you, but up until now, you're still heartbroken from Yugi leaving."
"Break up with her?" Yami asked more to himself than to Bakura, completely ignoring the other parts of Bakura's statement. He had thought of breaking things off with Tea on numerous occasions but he was always hesitant. Then it clicked with him as with the reason why.
He didn't want to break Tea's heart and have Yugi find out about it then it will lead to Yugi hating him.
Maybe Bakura's theory of his bond with Yugi had some truth. But then…
"Wait a minute. Let's say, hypothetically, that I am pining over Yugi. What makes you think he feels the same way for me?" he asked.
Bakura shrugged. "I don't. Even I thought that Ryou wouldn't feel the same way I felt about him. More so since I wasn't exactly in great terms with him." Bakura chuckled darkly at the memories of his past with Ryou. "But that's just the thing, I'm more afraid of me being tortured in the future of the what ifs than being rejected. But that's me. I'm just lucky that despite everything, Ryou fell for me. Will Yugi fall for you too? I can't tell, mostly because he's somewhere continents away from where we are."
Yami shook his head. "This is a lot to take in. Maybe it's only applicable to you and Marik since you guys were absolute jerks to your lights. Yugi and I are best friends."
Bakura hummed, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his knuckle. "That's also true. Hey, what do I know right? I mean, you and Yugi were really close. You were both nice to each other and everything."
Before Yami could retort a voice called out to them. "Hey, you two! It's time to pack up and go home!" Ryou yelled by the door.
The two darks disposed of their cigarettes and ate a piece of candy before going back inside, leaving the topic discussed outside.
Yami was restless the whole night. He twisted and turned on his bed as the words from his talk with Ryou and Bakura inhabited his mind. Was he actually pining over Yugi? He did miss his light immensely and he's been doing his best to try and contact him in any way he could, via the mind link or by pushing Seto to track him down. The first few weeks of the Ceremonial Duel was absolutely daunting for Yami. Anyone who touched him, he had a violent jerking reaction except when Yugi touched him. Yugi was always a comforting and safe presence to him. They mainly talked through the mind link and Yami preferred to share a bed with Yugi when they slept. Looking back, Yugi hadn't minded the clinginess at the time. He always welcomed Yami open arms and with a soft friendly smile. After Yami had gotten over the after effects of being separated from Yugi, he was able to interact with other people like he used to when he shared a body with Yugi and he was even able to sleep at night with the lights off and in a separate room from his aibou.
Maybe it only applied to Bakura and Marik. Their separation from their lights made them experience torment in the Shadow Realm until they were reunited again. Now, they have eternal gratitude when they were accepted again by their lights and a yami always has somewhat of a hero worship for their hikari after all.
It was around three in the morning that he was able to fall into a dreamless sleep. When he opened his eyes again, he groaned when he saw that he only got four hours of sleep. He could faintly hear grandpa moving around in the kitchen, so he decided to just forget about sleep and head down to the dining room for breakfast.
"Good morning, Yami. Merry Christmas!" grandpa greeted with a sweet smile. "I made chocolate chip pancakes. I think there's some strawberries in the fridge. Go cut clean them and cut them up so we can have them with the pancakes."
"Merry Christmas, grandpa," Yami greeted sleepily. He went to work with some strawberries he bought yesterday.
Solomon noticed the dark circles around Yami's eyes. "Late night last night?" he inquired slowly. He didn't hear any muffled arguments coming from his room so he may not be arguing with Tea last night.
The former spirit nodded as he took his seat. "Just thinking about a lot of things."
"Care to share?" Solomon asked as he served the male with a plate of pancakes.
The kind eyes of grandpa made Yami consider telling him what was eating his brain away. He got a few strawberries and begun to dig into his breakfast. When he finally got something in his stomach, he looked up to the old man that he had considered his family and spoke. "Grandpa, what do you think about Tea?"
The old man tilted his head to the side the way Yugi usually does when he was confused. "What do I think about a girl I've known since she was a child?"
Yami internally winced at his words. Right. The old man knew Tea longer than him.
Noticing the younger's discomfort, he smiled softly. "Well, she certainly changed after high school, that, I can safely say. I think that you guys were mismatched in the first place," he said carefully. He needed to stay neutral about this despite only usually hearing one side of the argument and eventually siding with the boy in front of him. "You and Tea clash too much, which usually leaves little room for communication and understanding. Since you both prefer to stand your ground and want completely different things without compromise, well, it is to be expected that you will be arguing most of the time."
Yami sighed. "I'm planning on breaking up with her soon," he said quietly. He wasn't breaking up with Tea because of what Bakura had told him, well not completely. But the former pharaoh got bits from what he said that he understood, and even grandpa was saying exactly the same thing as well. Breaking up with her was something he was just putting off since forever.
"Are you asking permission from me to break up with her?" grandpa inquired.
The younger male shook his head. "It's something I've been planning to do but I haven't really put into action yet."
"Well, my boy, if you've been thinking about it for such a long time, I think you should break up with her. No sense for you two to be together if the other one is already contemplating on leaving."
Yami looked up and was expecting a glare but was surprised to see grandpa's soft supportive smile. The former spirit smiled in return.
The rest of the breakfast was filled with a lighter and easier topic. Once they were done, Yami had cleaned the dishes and they both went to their little tree to collect their own presents to open in their rooms. Yami was excited to open Yugi's gift for him since the box was bigger than the usual things he got. Yugi usually bought him accessories or trinkets from past civilizations. The gift he got last Christmas was a box where he could put all the treasures Yugi had given him. Said box was now on his dresser glittering under the morning light.
Saving Yugi's gift for last, Yami opened the gifts from his friends. Joey and Seto had given him two tickets to Egypt and a voucher to the hotel there for a three-night stay all valid for three years. He couldn't help but smile fondly at the simple gift. While he had enough money, thanks to the treasures buried with him that the Ishtars had guarded for generations, he never used them unless he needed it. Since he'd been helping grandpa with managing the game shop and with his online classes, add having to deal with Tea, he really didn't have any time to go back to Egypt. He had been considering to go there to reconnect with his past self, and maybe think, but the craziness of his life in Domino made him put off the trip. He put the tickets and voucher aside, taking note to plan the trip as soon as possible. The rest of the gifts were just clothes and accessories from his friends. Grandpa had given him a senet board game he had had someone restore to look like what it used to back in ancient Egypt. Tea had given him gift check from his favorite clothing store.
When all of the other gifts were opened, he collected the trash and put it in a plastic bag he'll throw out later. Now, it was time for Yugi's gift. He eyed the big box that was sitting innocently on his bed. Before he could open it, he put away the gifts of his friends away then went back to his bed and put the box in front of him.
Yami tore through the brown box and was surprised to see a Kuriboh plushie wearing a gold necklace. The necklace had an eye of Horus pendant that had a ruby as a pupil. Yami was so excited he put the necklace on and hugged the Kuriboh. But he was surprised when he got a whiff of Yugi's familiar scent that his heart leapt when his brain registered what that smell was. Yami lay down on his bed and cuddled the stuffed toy and inhaled the familiar scent of his aibou. He didn't realize that he had started cry until the toy felt damp on his cheeks.
"I miss you so much, Yugi," he whimpered. He hugged the Kuriboh tight and was surprised when he felt something was attached to it underneath. He turned the toy around and saw a white envelope with his name on it. A face splitting grin painted his face as he realized that his wish was answered.
Yugi wrote a letter to him!
Keeping the Kuriboh in his arms, even going so far as to wrap his legs around it as if it would fly away if he let go, he took the envelope and was excited when indeed a letter was inside it. He might go berserk and reactivate his shadow powers if he saw a Duel Monsters card inside instead.
His eyes started to water as he read through his aibou's handwriting.
Dear Yami,
First of all, I'm sorry for not contacting you guys so much. A lot has been happening and my life has been such a whirlwind with travelling the world. Second of all, I miss you. Words can't express how much a I miss you, and I hope you don't hate me for not coming back so soon. And finally to my last point, I'm coming back. I haven't ironed out the details on the when, but I'm coming back.
I miss you, I miss grandpa, I miss the gang, I miss Domino. I miss my old life. I can honestly say that I have seen the world and now I want to come back. If we're being honest, I think I've seen the world twice now. The letter I wrote to grandpa will also let him know that I'm coming back. He'll be happy, I hope. Thank you so much for taking care of him, if you're asking me why I know this, it's because I know you well enough to know that you will take care of grandpa while I'm off seeing the world.
You have no idea how much I want to tell you guys about my travels. You will soon, once I come back. I promise you I'll be back in Domino soon. I hope you haven't rented my room out yet in the years that I've been away. You know I like my things in a certain order.
Anyways, while I'm gone, I know I'll be missing your birthday so I have two gifts for you in this package. The Kuriboh is a stuffed toy I saw in Domino Airport gift shop during my flight leaving Domino all those years ago. It's been with me for years and I have fought with security twice now just to keep it with me as my carry-on. I'm sending him to you so you can take care of him while I fix everything for my return. I'm about to get my diploma, can you believe it? I'll tell you all about it when I come back.
Your other gift is actually something I saw in Egypt. Yes, I went to Egypt and no I didn't see Marik or Malik. They were in America touring your tablet when I got there. Thank you, by the way, for teaching me how to play senet. I got that necklace by winning three rounds of senet in Egypt. When the man asked how I could play so well, I told him a pharaoh taught me. He thought I was kidding, but gave me the necklace anyways. I hope you like it. It suits you. The ruby made me remember your eyes, and the Eye of Horus fits your perfectly. You're the pharaoh. The living Horus.
Take care always, mou hitori no boku. And please look after grandpa until I come back.
Missing you, Yugi.
Yami couldn't help himself, he jumped for joy at the news that Yugi was coming back. After tracing his fingers over the old nickname only Yugi would call him, he rushed out of his room and yelled for grandpa.
"Grandpa! Grandpa! Yugi's coming back!" he yelled enthusiastically out on the hallway.
Solomon opened the door to his room with bright eyes, a piece of paper in his hand. "I know, I just finished reading his letter. Did you get one too?"
Yami nodded excitedly, the Kuriboh still in his arms. "How long do you think before he comes home?"
"Well I hope he comes now, but that's wishful thinking." Solomon chuckled. "Go, tell the others, I'll be sleeping for today."
Yami suddenly had concern written all over his face. "Are you alright, grandpa? Do you need to go to the doctor?"
Grandpa laughed and waved his hand dismissively at Yami, "Oh no. I'm fine. But this will be the first time I get to sleep soundly knowing my grandson is coming home soon. I haven't slept like that since he left."
Yami nodded with a smile. "Alright. I'll be heading out to meet the others. I'll be back for dinner, grandpa." He walked back to his room with an extra bounce in his step. He lay the Kuriboh plushie on his bed carefully as if it was a child after hugging it tight and inhaling Yugi's scent one more time. He then hid the necklace Yugi gave him underneath his shirt. No need for Tea to see it and get jealous about it now, it already took a lot for her to get over the fact that the jacket Yugi gave him was his favorite.
After one last look in the mirror, he put on his favorite jacket and left the Mutou house to get to Seto's mansion. When he got there, he was the only one they were waiting for, at least he didn't have to wait long for his news. They were gathered in Seto's massive game room. Mokuba and Tristan were on the carpet playing Overwatch, while Bakura, Joey, and Seto were playing a game of poker, with Bakura casually coaching Mokuba on how to win against Tristan, to which the younger was grateful for. Ryou was seated beside Bakura and talking to Tea.
Of course, his excitement died down a bit when he saw the disappointed face of Tea. From the look of Ryou's apologetic expression towards him and Bakura's scowl towards Tea, it was obvious that his soon-to-be-exgirlfriend had been complaining about him while they waited for him to arrive.
Before Tea even had her chance to get a hold of him. He blurted out, "Guys! Yugi's coming back!"
"No way!" was the collective exclamations of everyone gathered in Seto's mansion. Even Seto was surprised with the news.
Yami nodded enthusiastically. "Grandpa and I just got a letter from him saying that he's coming home soon. But he just has a lot of stuff to deal with first before he needs to come home. Not sure what he meant by that, but it must be something so important that he doesn't know when to come home."
At that, Seto got his phone out and called Roland who always picks up at the first ring. "Roland, track down Yugi Mutou right now and get to him ASAP. I want you to assist him in anything he needs done so he can come back to Domino faster."
The former pharaoh mouthed a "Thank you" towards the brunet CEO. He then took a seat at the floor by Tea's feet and took a handful of chips on the coffee table. It tasted weird, like he was eating a salad or something. "What are these?"
It was Joey who answered. "Yugi got me different flavors of Lays. I think that's Reuben or maybe the Gyro one." He looked at the bowl and saw the light brown chips. "Oh that's the Gyro-flavored one. Tastes awesome right?"
"So what did Yugi got you for Christmas, Yami?" Ryou asked as he struggled off of Bakura's lap.
"He got me a Kuriboh plushie and a gold necklace he won at Egypt over a game of senet," Yami said proudly.
Bakura scoffed from his position, his eyes never leaving the TV screen. "You make it sound like if it weren't for you, he wouldn't have won. We all know who won that day during the Ceremonial Duel, pharaoh. Don't sound too proud of yourself," he gave a quick smirking glance at Yami during his last statement.
"Well, I did teach him," Yami defended playfully.
"And I bet two packs of cigs that on the first actual game you guys played after you taught him, he won against you," Bakura teased.
At Yami's scowl, everyone started laughing.
"Well, Yami, you have to admit that Yugi is the true King of Games," Tristan said.
"So what am I Chopped liver?" Yami joked.
"Yes," Bakura and even Seto answered when he came back to the room.
"So, Seto, what did Roland say?" Joey asked.
"Yugi is about to graduate from his international studies degree. He minored in history too. He's getting ready to go to Egypt for his final exam for his minor in history," he explained. He went back on his original place on the loveseat with Joey. "When I asked if Yugi was struggling financially, although I highly doubt that given the gifts he's given us, Roland says that Yugi has been into stocks and is saving his winnings from gambling in different accounts. When I asked Roland about how well Yugi was with stocks, well, his answer made me order him to buy a portion of stocks in everything Yugi invested." Seto shook his head with a smile.
Tristan, Joey, and Bakura whistled, impressed with Seto's praise for Yugi.
"Do you think there's a way for him to get home quicker?" Ryou asked.
"Roland's already on it. I'm sending him to where Yugi is now."
"And where would that be?"
"New York City, I think. That's what Roland thinks. He could be in the Bahamas for all we know." Seto shook his head in exasperation.
The rest of the gang chuckled. It may have been frustrating to try and track Yugi down and visit him, but Seto was the one who got frustrated the most. He already fired too many headhunters due to his frustration. He basically just looked into the school and degree Yugi enrolled to to make sure it was legit and was relieved that it was.
"Yami, we need to talk," Tea said in a hushed voice.
Yami nodded and followed the brunette to the other room which was the library. When they were both sure that no one was following them and that they were out of earshot, Tea spoke again.
"I'm sorry, Yami. I know I'm a bitch for doing this but, I want a break-up," she said making sure to keep constant eye contact with Yami's wine-red eyes.
Yami was taken aback. He had been planning to break up with Tea. He had no idea that the girl had the same thoughts. "Tea..." he started but was cut off.
"No! Wait! Listen, Yami. I need to tell you this before I lose my momentum," she said. She bit her lip and was doing her best not to be affected by the other's presence. "I feel like we were better when we were just friends. I wasn't expecting too much from you before we started dating. And the only reason I had this infatuation with you was because you saved me that one time years ago when you were still sharing Yugi's body. In reality, I was in love with that knight in shining armor. Well, I'm not in love with him now and I'm not in love with you. So I don't think there's any point with us being together if I don't have any feelings for you. I don't think I even genuinely loved you in the first place." When she had finally said her piece, she tore her gaze from the boy and kept her head down.
Yami chuckled then wrapped his arms around the girl. Tea froze in his arms and he chuckled louder. "Thanks, Tea. I think you're right," he said. When he pulled away, he was met by a shocked expression from Tea. "I was actually planning on breaking up with you as well. I just thought maybe after three days or until the holidays have ended. It wouldn't be fair to you if I broke up with you on Christmas. You'd hate the holiday." At the smirk from the girl, Yami let out a laugh in which Tea joined in. It was the most calm and free he'd felt with the girl in such a long time, that maybe Tea was right. Maybe they were better off as friends.
Upon hearing laughter instead of the usual shouting, their friends went to the library to check up on them.
"Are you guys okay?" Joey asked.
The pair looked over at their friends' confused expressions and they laughed harder. They clutched their sides and let out their laughter, something they haven't done together in so long.
It was Yami who recovered first. "Sorry. We're fine, actually. Better even."
Tea recovered and straightened up. "Yup. We just broke up."
Tristan rolled his eyes but smirked. "Don't sound too heartbroken about it," he sneered teasingly.
The ex-couple looked at each other then laughed once more. Yami doubling over as he tried to clutch his sides. The rest of the gang looked at the couple and couldn't help but join in the laughter. Yami was the first to recover and he couldn't help but smile as at his friends and suppress the lump in his throat knowing that there was one crucial person that was missing to make this image complete. But he had to look at the bright side. At least he was coming back soon.
Come back to me, aibou.
A/N: Ending suuuuuuuuucks...I plan on making this a very short fic. Around 5-10 chapters only. This is just fluff galore that has been eating my brain and I couldn't concentrate on a puzzleshipping fic that I'm working on which is supposed to be my main project. So I'm posting this first and hopefully when I finish this, I can go on and continue working on my main project. Anywhoo... kindly review on what you guys think, I'll be posting chapter 2 next week...hopefully... I mean I did finish this chapter in 3 days only, complete with editting. Although, I'm pretty sure I still have typos and errors here.