The cool night air whipped around the two boys and they stood alone, bathed in the moonlight from above them, casting them in an ethereal tone.
The silence was deafening to anyone around and they would have been startled to hear the smaller boy's soft voice break the silence.
"I love you, Seto."
Silence.
"I'm sorry, Yugi. I don't feel the same."
The smaller boy nodded simply, the tears streaming freely down his flushed cheeks.
It's been a long, long time since I looked into the mirror
I guess that I was blind; now my reflection's getting clearer.
"I'm sorry. Yugi left yesterday for America. He decided to spend the next year studying abroad."
Seto stared at the small man in shock, icy fear running through his veins. It was because if him. He knew it.
He nodded and left, falling deeply into his thoughts.
Now that you're gone, things won't ever be the same again.
The passing days soon turned into weeks, but to Seto they felt like and eternity weighing onto his shoulders until the day he might see his love again. He had turned Yugi away, fearing that in opening himself up to someone else that he would be hurt. But he'd suffered a fate far worse. He had driven his angel away; had hurt him so badly that he's had to flee the country so that he wouldn't have to face him.
Seto would gladly suffer forever in agony as long as Yugi was there beside him, than bear to suffer a minute knowing that he couldn't touch him.
There's not a minute that goes by, every hour of every day
You're such a part of me, but I just pulled away.
But I'm not the same girl you used to know
I wish I'd said the words I never showed.
Seto wondered about Yugi. The petit boy alone in a strange country with no one but his Yami to turn to. Had he made any friends? Had he met someone?… He had to choke back the tears that accompanied the unbidden anger at the thought of his beloved in the arms of someone else but he knew he had no right. He'd been offered heaven and refused it. Now he would suffer his hell. He cursed himself for driving the other away. Yugi had had every reason to leave. To seek distance and solace to mend his shredded heart. Seto only wished there was a cure for his own. But he knew that the only one was now far beyond his reach.
I know you had to go away; I died just a little
And I feel it now; you're the one I need.
I believe that I would cry just a little; just to have you back now
Here with me, here with me.
The months passed in a blurred haze. No one ever saw or heard from except for Mokuba; and even that was a rare occasion. He hardly ate or slept He found little desire to do either. The dreams he had of his estranged love were torture to him and he slept only when the fatigue managed to overtake him.
One night, when he'd fallen victim to the weariness that plagued his body; he dreamed of the night that it had all happened and it had been so real that he could still hear the wind rustling in the trees, still pick up the scent of the boy's soap as he stood close to him. The agony in his eyes when he'd been turned away.
Drenched in sweat, Seto had fled from his mansion in the middle of the night only to find himself where it had begun; that small section of the park encaged by lush trees, where the moon now shine tauntingly. There was no wind and the silence enveloped him, letting him sink comfortably into his sorrow. He sank to the ground by a tree, leaning against it as waves of anguish continued to assault him.
You know that silence is loud when all you hear is you heart
And I wanted so badly just to be a part of something strong and true
But I was scared and left it all behind.
I know you had to go away; I died just a little
And I feel it now; you're the one I need
I believe that I would cry just a little just to have you back now
Here with me, here with me.
He wrapped his arms around himself, letting himself truly cry for the first time. The sobs racked his body and he could barely find moments to breath as the air was pulled violently from his lungs.
At that moment, he had never needed anybody or anything as much as he needed Yugi. His very soul seemed to cry out just to see him, to touch him but the unbearable truth lingered maliciously above his head.
Yugi was thousands of miles away from him and it was his own fault.
And I'm asking
And I'm wanting you to come back to me.
Seto thought to that night that now defined all his waking, and, it seemed, sleeping, moments. The pain on Yugi's face when he had lied, he'd never meant anything less than he meant those deceitful words, had lingered in his mind since, haunting him far better than his own demons. His amethyst eyes has shimmered with rivers of tears and in them he could see the boy's heart being shattered by his own hand.
I never will forget the look upon your face
How you turned away and left without a trace.
But I understand that you did what you had to do.
And I thank you
But through the pain that he knew he would never overcome and the loneliness that had become his shadow, he was grateful. Yugi had shown him the truth. He'd shown him that hiding from the enormity of his feelings was futile and only caused more pain. But it was too late now. He'd already lost heaven.
He never dared to let himself think about it; to think that maybe when Yugi returned that he might have another chance. He didn't deserve one and even someone like Yugi wouldn't go through all this and still care for him.
Would he?
No, he didn't think so. Though he'd been so wrong about many things, he didn't see how someone could be so forgiving; so loving.
Would he, himself, have done it? No, there wouldn't have been a reason. Yugi was so open, so brave with his feelings that the situation never would have arose.
I know you had to go away; I died just a little
And I feel it now; you're the one I need
I believe that I would cry just a little just to have you back now
Here with me, here with me.
He gasped when he felt the soft hands on his shoulders and soothing heat began to seep into his skin. Warily he looked up and found himself staring into teary amethyst orbs. The eyes were a little less wide, the body a little longer, but the angel in front of him was undeniably the one he'd dreamt of for months. The tears were still flowing down his cheeks and he was shaking uncontrollably but he didn't move, afraid that the slightest motion would cause the image to disappear like so many other ghostly apparitions.
The arms wrapped around him and he whimpered at the feeling
They felt so warm, so strong, so real. He couldn't help it; he threw himself against the beautiful angel, sobbing into his chest as the slender hands stroked his back soothingly. Physical and emotional fatigue finally caught up with him and he fell a sleep like that, resting peacefully in the arms of his beloved.
As the sun rose that morning it shined it's rays gently, a serene smile, on the two boys in the secluded grove. The boy with the multi-colored, spiked hair who leaned against a tree; contentedly holding his love in his arms. And the Chestnut-haired boy who laid asleep, his head rested on the other boy lap, letting the months of agony seep from his weary soul. There would be many trials for these love-worn children; but they had already overcome the toughest of obstacles; their own hearts.
In time, they would have their happy ending, but for now, they would bask, wordlessly, in the golden shards of light, breaking through the clouds to bless them with the suns approval.
As the chestnut-haired boy slept, words floated to his lips. Words that had been delayed far too long.
"I love you, Yugi."
Dai-na: Um……….. Um……… Oh. I was working on a companion fic for S&S, listening to my Michelle Branch CD when this came to me. I was crying through the first few paragraphs and in a hurry to type this so I could stop. That's why the Disclaimer (show's not mine; song either) and AN were down here.
Let me know what you think of this, `K?
