Look to the Moon: Summery – Yami, curious about Yuugi's periodic disappearances, follows his lover into the woods on the night of the full moon. He really should have stayed in bed. (Think of this as a kind of warm up session for 'Antecedent', the fic that will be coming after I finish 'Phoenix's Ashes').
Well this would have been up on Thursday evening but due to ffn being a bitch and not letting me load any documents it was delayed, by far longer then I would have wanted. And then it wouldn't even let me complain, 'coz it kept coming back as 'page cannot be displayed'! Seriously, for four days! Right then, this is just a silly little thing really with not much point or plot, but I hope you all enjoy it none the less.
Blood and Roses
Look to the Moon
Yami frowned as he opened his eyes to find the bed void of its usual second occupant. Then he growled as he heard the front door ease closed, the lock clicking in place, Yuugi was at it again? It was time he got to the bottom of this. Yuugi might claim he became restless on some nights and needed to get out for some air but there was no reason he couldn't wake Yami and tell him he was going out! God damn it he'd told Yuugi he didn't mind going out with him for air! He didn't like the thought of his little lover out there in the dark on his own, he didn't mind this little quirk of Yuugi's and he understood that Yuugi didn't want to wake him but for heavens sake why always on a full moon?
He wondered if there truly was anything to be said about the traditional meaning for lunatic?
The green numbers on the digital clock flashed midnight as he scrambled into the first clothes he found on the floor and ran down the stairs to slip out of the front door after Yuugi. For a moment he was scared he'd lost the smaller one, but his fears were settled a moment later when he reached the end of the driveway to see Yuugi's hair bob around the corner to his left. The park? He jogged after him, careful to keep enough of a distance so that Yuugi couldn't hear but so Yami could still see him. Yuugi had good hearing; sometimes, after three years of being together, Yami was still surprised by him. Another reason why he loved him so much.
He hid behind the brick corner of a block of flats when Yuugi reached the park gates, they were closed at night and so Yami wondered what Yuugi was going to do, surely he was just going to jog past them and carry on down the road… he slunk further down when Yuugi looked over his shoulder, as if checking to see whether he was being watched. He cursed to himself quietly, is this what he had sunken to? Stalking? If Yuugi ever found out about this he would be heartbroken thinking Yami didn't trust him or something. Yuugi turned back when he didn't see anyone but Yami looked down for a moment at the asphalt pavement, what was Yuugi doing to have to be so suspicious? This was the safest neighbourhood for miles (which was the only reason Yami let him continue this); he shouldn't have to stop for so long to search for watchers.
Yami looked back up when he heard the quietist of thumps from where his lover was… he blinked confused, or where his lover had been. He shot up from his hiding place, scared that something had happened to Yuugi, knowing he had missed something for him to be there one second and gone the next. He frowned to himself when, after a frantic few seconds of looking up and down the silent roads he saw Yuugi's small figure vanishing into the park. Yami frowned, the gates were still firmly locked and there was no way Yuugi would have managed to both open and close them in the short time Yami had looked away… he jogged up to the entrance, perhaps Yuugi had squeezed himself between the iron bars? He had an uncanny flexibility after all. Shaking his head and reminding himself to ask about that later Yami realized that Yuugi could be far away by now. He had to catch up.
Finding a foothold on the low brick wall surrounding the park he scrambled over the bars that stood upright from the top of the wall, his coat, long enough to brush his knees, got in the way but eventually Yami managed to land with some grace on the other side. Not wanting to waste a minute he brushed himself off quickly and began running down the path he thought Yuugi had taken, once again wondering what the hell it was he was actually doing here. Was he really just making sure Yuugi was safe? Or was he jealous that Yuugi might not be telling him something? That he was missing out on a part of his beloved's life no matter how small? He wasn't sure himself.
The sudden haunting sound of a howl made him stop dead. He turned, for a moment fear overcame his rationality and he stared into the trees on either side of him frantically. As if expecting a pack of hunting wolves to come out of the darkness and jump at him, claws and teeth shining and ready to tear him apart. The park was dark at this time of night, only the faint glow of the city lights (now far away) and the light of the full moon illuminating the area poorly, exaggerated shadows and the wind rustling the leaves were enough to make anyone start believing in the supernatural. The howl faded away, the last notes lost on the cool breeze, and Yami shook himself, it was most likely only a dog lost in the park. You didn't get wolves in this part of the country.
When he turned his head to continue running his gaze caught a flash of a distinctive style of hair and he smiled. Yuugi was only a few seconds ahead of him, jogging casually along the path below the one he had taken. His smile widened, he knew where these paths lead, he could jump Yuugi and surprise him. Yami continued up the slight incline to where the path would end at the point of a small cliff, only a few meters high, and covered in trees. Below there would be a clearing in the trees just a little hidden from the path Yuugi was taking, he could slide down the grassy embankments to the left of the cliff and hide in the clearing until Yuugi ran by.
But when Yami reached the end of his path he found that there was no need to slide down. Yuugi seemed to have strayed off the path and into that very same small gap in the trees that would make for a very romantic make-out scene. He grinned and crouched down behind a tree trunk, waiting for Yuugi to finish whatever it was he was doing in the shadows over there, he couldn't quite make it out.
Yami smiled down at the clearing, knowing he had finally caught up with Yuugi, and was about to shout down to him to catch him out. It was time he finished this game. But something made his voice dry up in his throat: why was Yuugi naked? Yami could see Yuugi had folded his clothes neatly in a pile just under the shade of an overhanging rock, his pale skin caught the moonlight and made Yami shiver but his confusion and curiosity overweighed his desire. He watched as Yuugi moved to stand in the very centre of the clearing, his back to him, and tilt his head back to look up at the moon. He spread his arms, letting its full silver light bathe him entirely.
Yami was becoming severely worried now, was Yuugi a little less balanced then he'd thought? He couldn't really be crazy could he?
He resolved to stay quiet and see what happened. And for a long moment nothing did. But then he noticed that Yuugi's breathing had definitely picked up, hyperventilating almost, his shoulders and chest heaving with the amounts of air he was sucking in. It was as if he'd run all the way up Everest and Yami found himself to be thoroughly confused, in all the time he'd known Yuugi he was never out of breath (apart from during and after sex). They'd once jogged all the way into town together when the car had stopped working and while Yami was panting when they reached their destination Yuugi looked as calm as if he'd just stood up. Only a thin sheen of sweat a sign that he'd been running at all. So this was definitely weird.
It only got weirder from there.
Yami watched as Yuugi's hands clenched, his fingers curling into imitation claws, the muscles on his back strained visibly and for a minute Yami was afraid Yuugi was going into some kind of fit. The moonlight seemed to become brighter then, almost looking as if it were clinging to his lover's body. It was another few seconds before Yami actually realised that it was Yuugi who'd begun glowing with a faint white light. But… that couldn't be right… people didn't glow. Yami resolved to get at least eight hours of sleep when he got home.
But what happened next insured he wouldn't be sleeping for the next week. A grey shadow began spreading over Yuugi's body, starting from the base of his neck, as it spread further over his body it became darker and darker until his skin was covered head to foot with a jet black substance. Yami couldn't see his body anymore when suddenly Yuugi knelt pulling in his arms and curling into an almost ball, he leant forwards trying to see what was happening but it was impossible, all that was visible was a black blob against the shadowy night.
It was a good couple of minutes before anything else happened. Yami's heartbeat was frantic with worry for Yuugi, his mouth dry with a strange kind of anticipation, but he kept quiet, needing to know what happened at the end of this strange ritual. And then the black blob uncurled itself, but it was a good deal smaller then before. Yami's eyes strained, struggling to see what Yuugi was doing, was this some trick of the eye?
And then the blob moved more fully into the moonlight. Yami fought back a gasp that threatened to grow into a kind of scream. In his lovers place stood a jet-black wolf. Not a human, not Yuugi, but a wolf! Yami froze, not breathing, not even thinking, and stared at the creature in the clearing with wide unfocused eyes. The wolf shook itself like a dog shaking water from its fur and looked around, its tail swaying gently. Then it tilted its head back, its ebony black muzzle pointed to the moon as it let loose a howl. Yami's hands clenched convulsively, it felt as if the blood in his very veins had cessed to flow. His throat constricted, he fought back the urge to retch in his horror. The howl faded in the air just as the other had and Yami chanced a glance down to see the wolf dart out of the clearing, shoot across the path and vanish into the trees on the other side.
For a long time Yami sat there, sucking air into his burning lungs and trying hard not to think about what he had just seen. But he just couldn't block out the image of the wolf emerging from Yuugi's shadow. He fell back against the tree trunk, his fingers pulling hard at the blades of grass under him. This wasn't happening, he was dreaming, he had to be dreaming! Yuugi wasn't… he wasn't…
"Oh, god." He knew Yuugi was hiding something, he'd just thought it was something essentially trivial. But this! This was… it was way beyond anything he could deal with right now. If ever.
His lover wasn't even human.
Stumbling to his feet with the help of the trees support Yami began to run back the way he had come, every few steps he tripped clumsily, not really paying attention to where his feet were taking him, not noticing the sting of salted tears on his cheeks. It didn't matter anymore. The pain in his heart overtook everything. Not paying attention backfired on him, however, when he finally regained enough of his senses to realise he had taken a wrong turn. And gotten himself lost. The park looked so different at night, every tree, every stone on the path or leaf caught in the wind looked ominous and foreboding.
He stopped for a moment, a thin trickle of sweat running down his brow. Oh god what was he going to do now, he couldn't go back to the house, he couldn't meet up with Yuugi after what he had just seen, what he had just discovered.
Yami felt his blood freeze at the low growl he heard from behind him. Whipping around in fear he gasped at the sight that met him. A great hulking beast of a wolf stalked, slowly, threateningly out of a thicket of hawthorn. It's grey fur dirtied by patches of brown, its yellow teeth bared, snarling, eyes sewn like shiny green sequins on the night.
"N-nice wolf. Stay away now, shoo." Yami said nervously, his hands raised in defence and surrender. He took a slow step back, fighting desperately the urge to run madly in the opposite direction. Running wasn't going to help him now; it would just entice the wolf into running after him.
It leapt to the right, Yami scrabbled backwards, his foot caught on something and he fell hard onto his backside. Hissing in pain Yami looked up to see the wolf hadn't moved it had only feigned right. It was playing with him. Yami's heart rate was increasing fast, despite his effort to control his panic. Was this thing someone else that pretended to be human? Is this what Yuugi would do to him if they met at night? Did Yuugi even love him? Really and truly as he'd always claimed? His hand clenched around something on the ground, it felt smooth and cool, but he couldn't look to see what it was for fear of what the wolf would do.
Its broad grey shoulders shook with something Yami recognised eventually to be laughter. So it was a supernatural? He scowled at it without realising what he was doing, this had been far too confusing a night to bother about things like species difference. It stopped laughing when it noticed the lack of terror in Yami's face. It huffed, then growled, Yami's body sent a wave of adrenaline through his blood stream, urging him to run. He didn't have time to move before it lunged at him, claws flashing, jaw wide open and revealing teeth sharper then knives. It went for his throat. He shouted in panic, in desperation Yami fisted his hand, the one that was clutching something, and threw his arms across himself for instinctual protection. He felt its fur damp and coarse against the skin of his hands, felt its breath wet and hot on his face, saw images of his time with Yuugi flash before his closed eyelids.
But then he heard the wolf yelp loudly in pain. Its weight jumped off him. Yami blinked open his eyes, confused. He lowered his arms to see the grey wolf biting at its flank as if trying to get rid of a flea. The skin was smoking ever so slightly. Yami looked down at his hand in shock. Clenched in his fist was a teardrop shaped silver necklace, dirtied with specks of dirt and scuffmarks, the thin silver chain was snapped. Someone must have dropped it. His befuddled brain kicked itself into action. Silver! Werewolves were weak against silver! So that's why Yuugi preferred stainless steel in his jewellery and cutlery. A sharp stab of pain shot through him at the thought of Yuugi but he pushed it down, it wasn't time to brood.
The wolf recovered before he did. It darted forward and nipped the wrist of the hand with the necklace, only nipping because he missed biting the hand off entirely. Yami gasped in pain and dropped his lifeline. Again it lunged at him and this time Yami knew there was nothing he could do to save himself.
But just as the wolf was only inches away from ripping out his throat a black blur collided heavily with its side. Intercepting the wolf mid-leap and knocking him to the ground. The grey wolf looked dazed for a moment, picking itself off the ground with some confusion. But Yami was too busy staring at the second wolf that had appeared out of nowhere and was currently stood three feet in front of him, growling in the other's direction.
A pitch-black wolf, its muzzle tinted dark ebony. Yami tried to keep his breathing controlled, he wasn't sure whether he wanted to hyperventilate or stop breathing all together. He was no good with animals but even an idiot could identify this one with the one he had seen… he fought back the image. The grey wolf snarled, its lip curling back over its gums. The other was unfazed, returning the warning snarl without hesitation. Yami, however, was worried. Even with his befuddled, overstressed brain he could see that the grey wolf was much larger then the black one. The smaller was streamlined and sleeker, it looked like it could outrun a cheetah, but it didn't look like it could win a head on conflict with the bulky mass of the other. But wolves weren't stupid, the black one had to know what his chances were of winning, so that meant…
They fought viciously, biting and clawing at each other with a savage abandonment. Snarls and growling echoed into the night. Yami scrabbled backwards, unable to muster the strength, physically or emotionally, to stand or even look away. He felt his heartbeat like a fierce drumming against his ribs, felt pain at the sight of the injuries being inflicted on the black wolf.
As suddenly as it started, it was over. The black wolf fell as the grey one vanished into the forest, bleeding severely and leaving a red trail behind it.
It was silent for a moment. The sound of the injured animal's breathing and Yami's tripping heartbeat the only sounds in the night. Yami stared at the black wolf with wide eyes: it had saved him! Its flank was matted with blood from where the other wolf had bit it; one of its forepaws was twisted strangely, broken? But that was not what Yami was interested in. There would be only one wolf in the entire world that would fight for a human's life, his life, at the risk of its own.
Trembling finely Yami moved so he could sit next to the poor creature. He dropped the pendant into his pocket so it couldn't hurt him further and reached out to see if the wolf was even conscious still. Hesitantly his fingers buried themselves in the thick fur of the wolf's scruff, it was soft and the skin underneath was radiating warmth, was that a good sign or not? He froze when the wolf moved its head with what sounded distinctly like a half-hearted growl, but strangely enough he didn't feel even an ounce of fear. Yami saw its eyelids crack open for the barest of moments glimpsing a flash of purple before they closed again in pain. He felt a wave of inexplicable relief flood him, he laughed quietly in the hysterical manner only a near death experience induced, there was no mistaking those eyes. He hadn't changed, not really.
"Yuugi…" his other hand hovered awkwardly over the wolf's muzzle, wanting to pet him but wondering whether Yuugi would take it the wrong way, the last thing Yuugi needed was to think he was being patronised. He felt his confusion melt away, his physical and emotional weariness was pushed to one side, Yuugi was injured, he needed help, and that was all that mattered. At the name the wolf's eyes shot open, bright purple filled with a mixture of disbelief and fear, Yami felt the body tense under his hand.
Yami held Yuugi's gaze for a long time, trying to convey that he wasn't angry or disappointed of horrified, trying to show him that he still loved him despite how awkward this could become. Yuugi dropped his gaze first with a look Yami couldn't decipher and began trying to stand. It was painful enough for Yami to see his little one suffering but watching him trembling with the effort of simply standing was more then he could bear. He muttered his name over and over wanting to reach out and touch him again but almost too fearful to do so, wanting to help but not knowing what he could do. Animal care certainly was not his forte. But when Yuugi tried to take his first step by putting pressure on the injured paw he couldn't help but wince and reach out for him when the wolf yelped and fell into Yami's chest. The blood dirtied his jacket but he didn't give much of a shit when Yuugi pulled away almost harshly and tried to walk forward again, this time hobbling with his forepaw held in the air.
He sighed, "Oh no you don't." And reached out to grasp Yuugi's rather fluffy tail and pull him back down. The wolf made a strange noise of surprise when he was pulled back onto his hunches, blinking stupidly for a moment as he tried to figure out what just happened. Yami smiled, he wasn't stupid he knew why Yuugi wanted to get away. Moving to sit in front of the wolf he held his muzzle in both hands and forced Yuugi to look at him. Yuugi's eyes expressed a mild discomfort, obviously having Yami touch him when he was like this felt a little weird. But Yami ignored it and spoke slowly, clearly, making sure Yuugi understood, he wasn't even sure he could understand but, hey, nothing tried nothing gained he supposed.
"Okay Yuugi I will admit then when I followed you out the house tonight I didn't quite expect a secret this big but that doesn't mean I'm going to leave you." Yuugi blinked and Yami fought back a smirk at the look, oh Yuugi understood all right. "Honestly you just saved my life! Like I'm going to abandon you now!" His shoulders slumped, he sighed, "I'm sorry for betraying your trust in me, I just didn't think following you would lead to something like this, I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't get jumped by some serial rapist. Forgive me?" He finished somewhat lamely.
Yuugi looked at him disbelievingly for a moment Yami was asking him to forgive him, after his secret! He huffed after a moment, even now humans confused him, not that he would ever voice that thought to Yami. But now there was, unfortunately, only one way he could show his forgiveness…
Yami blinked when Yuugi leant forwards and licked his cheek, nuzzling his wet nose affectionately into the hair behind Yami's ear. Yami blinked again, this was surreal. Not only was he sat with a wolf in his arms, but he was sat with a wolf in his arms that was actually his lover… yeah, he definitely needed those eight hours.
"Right then," he stated, "how are we gonna get you home?" Yuugi made a move, an attempt to slink away, he pulled him back, "Oh no you don't, we're getting you to a doctor. That wrist is clearly broken, you are bleeding and I can't carry you like this. Way too heavy." Yami avoided calling it a paw, despite the fact that it currently was, this was still a little too awkward for that. Yuugi huffed out a sigh and collapsed painfully on Yami's knees, Yami understood the point he was trying to make, 'what do you expect me to do then?'
"You know you could – I could carry you if – " Yami's sentence fizzled out, still too awkward to say, Yuugi didn't react to the words, just twitched his pointed ear towards the trees as if listening for something. Yami looked down at the broken joint, his hand resting on the fur of the slim foreleg just above the injury, he could feel the rise in heat on the skin across that area, Yuugi was doing well in handling this pain. Then suddenly he understood why Yuugi was reluctant to switch forms, the human body must be much less capable of handling such injuries quietly, he would be in less pain if he stayed this way. But that wouldn't make it any better. He tried to come up with an alternate solution.
"If I tore up my shirt I could bind it pretty well – " again he didn't finish, Yuugi's growl cut him off. Yami sighed, "Alright I won't touch. But, Yuugi, you are going to have to… do something…" Yuugi's head shifted until his eyes were hidden in Yami's elbow, the arm bent to help support him, reluctant. Yami drew in a breath, "You want me to… do you need privacy?"
Yuugi's head shifted again, a no, Yami opened his mouth to say something encouraging but didn't get the chance when a faint silver light began penetrating the wolf's fur from the inside, like tiny shafts of light through the holes of a sieve. He watched, fascinated and (still) a little unsure, as the black fur slid away like dark water and vanished into the shadowy ground beneath, falling away from the body and even between Yami's own fingers, though he could feel nothing but air as it passed. For a long moment he panicked, thinking something bad was happening to Yuugi, but then the light faded as the last of the black fur soaked into the shadows and in his arms was the body of a young man, not a wolf.
Yuugi groaned in newly discovered pain and rolled over so he was on his back, draped over his lover's arms, rather then his injured stomach. Yami smiled down at him, happy, almost ecstatic that he was back to 'normal'. Yuugi mock glared and said tiredly, "You realise, of course, that I'm going to have to blame you for this?"
Yami hugged him closer, Yuugi's head resting on his shoulder, "Blame me all you want love, you're still not going to get rid of me that easily." They were silent for a moment, Yuugi trembling slightly in his arms, still perfectly naked and now cold in the autumn night (though perhaps that wasn't the only reason for his shaking). Yami pulled off his long coat, draping it around Yuugi, avoiding the injuries, and hefted them to their feet, Yuugi still in his arms. Yuugi whimpered. Yami shushed him, kissing him sympathetically, as they began finding their way out of the park.
"You need to get to the hospital." Yami said when they were in sight of the gates.
"No." Yuugi protested immediately.
"Yes, I don't know how deep that bite wound is and it's in a nasty place, and your wrist will heal like that if you don't get it set." Yuugi slipped awkwardly between the bars as Yami scrambled, once again, over the fence, not skinny enough to even try squeezing through. He picked Yuugi up again immediately after, ignoring the smaller's protests that he could walk fine on his own now.
"No Yami," Yuugi argued, "I can't go to the hospital. They use silver medical instruments there, and besides, my blood readings are too weird to be considered normal. They'd stick me in a lab."
"Oh." Yami stopped walking, now unsure where to go.
"There's a special doctor." Yuugi breathed painfully, "A couple of blocks away, he… he know us and… he won't ask questions…"
Yami nodded, deciding that this night had been far too strange to start fighting against the flow now, and followed Yuugi's directions. The small nip on his wrist twinged painfully, like an annoying paper cut. He felt something similar to fear and excitement in his heart, remembering the other stories he'd heard. "He… that other wolf bit me…"
Yuugi's laugh was quiet and breathy, weak, "Doesn't work that way love. Myth. Your either born one or not." A soft smile, "Don't worry, I don't think he had anything contagious. If he did I've got it too."
Yami laughed a little, "You need to work on the encouragement thing."
Yuugi's smile grew, "Love you too."
It was a little weird. And it was more then a little different. But Yami found himself settling into his newly acquired knowledge with an almost disturbing ease. He wasn't sure whether he was disappointed or not that the werewolf's bite would do nothing more to him then cause a scab, he did want to be part of every corner of Yuugi's life after all. But he supposed he might just be able to fall back a little on this one, let Yuugi handle himself like he'd proven he could do just before. They were a little awkward in the morning, Yuugi a little cranky in his pain, the doctor had patched him up but he wasn't able to snap his fingers and make the injuries just go away. But Yami knew that one day Yuugi would be ready to talk about it properly with him, would feel comfortable enough to really tell his lover about his world. And Yami had to smile when he thought about it, if their relationship had not only survived something like this, but actually gotten stronger, then it was certain that this was the real thing. All they had to do now was finalise it with the marriage. He wondered how Yuugi would react if Yami proposed next time there was a full moon…
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So. Hopefully there weren't too many problems with that, there are probably a few typos because I haven't read this through as thoroughly as I usually do the others but ahh well.
Now dear readers, do we want the next one-shot to be orientated around:
a) Felines (and/or werecats)
b) Canines (and/or werewolves)
c) Vampires
d) Spirits (including fairies and the like), ghosts, and shamans
e) Simple fluffy magical-related (i.e witches, sorcerers) romance
f) Something completely different including sci-fi, ufo-ish kind of stuff
g) OR a combination of any of the above
Quite the choice there huh? You may decide, as I have kind of started a lot of them so they are currently sat as little drabbles on my computer. Don't mind which one I write next, they're all pecking my head right now.
Review Please!