Sooo I'm pretty upset right now…Not about reviews! Nope, the reviews were gorgeous, and I think I'm going to start replying to some of them, not all, but some that really touch me, and or help me :3.
Anywho…that's not the point. *sigh* I keep all my files in a USB key…well…I was almost done with my diary of an orphan, strawberry duct tape, and chasing the challenge…when it mysteriously went missing *rubs temples* so now…I'm redoing…basically whole chapters…oh well, I guess maybe this will teach me to save the files to my cpu as well n.n no sense crying over spilled milk…
Soooo I'd like to thank 00Midnight Siren00 for pointing my fopas out xD Yeaaa funny story, My keyboard broke cause I was typing to fast and my n key just totally flew off…lol…and I got this 23957239847593804 YEARS OLD KEYBOARD! IT'S LIKE A DINASOUR! And I'm not used to typing so hard on this piece of old dirt cause I had a laptop and well…it misses tons of keys, so like, when I typed "back" it said "bak" and dum ol' spell check thought it said bake so that's what it put…ah, spell check, a blessing yet a curse…I've been proofreading but it gets rather tedious after weeks of writing a 9,000, 10,000 word long chapter lol. I know you feel me :3. Plus, keep in mind that this keyboard is a tad bit longer then my old so I might miss-spell stuff, but THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THIS TO MY ATTENTION CAUSE IT'S BETTER THEN GOING ON, MAKING TYPOS GALORE AND HUMILIATING MYSELF! I'll try harder not to rush myself with proof reading ;3
I appreciate people like you to be honest, it means that you actually care about how I do in this, and you're not just going to close out the window and never look back at the fanfic again, but you're actually looking out and telling me what I need to work on. Those of you who have never written a fanfiction probably don't understand and think that it's mean, but it really is a blessing, like having your own little guardian angel(s) looking after and guarding your fanfiction…as…silly as it sounds…yeaaa I tend to have some sort of awkward fetish for similes and metaphors as most of you have probably noticed.
OH! And for all of you, (not that any of you have done this yet…) DON'T PESTER ME ABOUT MY RUN ON SENTENCES! It's just part of my writing style I'm warning you right now xD You can't just change your writing style, I mean, some people LOVE it, and some people absolutely HATE IT! Like my English teacher…she calls me the "Run on Queen"…hehe…
Doglovergirl77, your review made me feel really good about myself, you took your time to make the review so long (I LOVE LONG REVIEWS, I mean obviously sense my chapters are like the Mississippi river) and I'm so happy you thought the way I worded things is funny xD This story, I will warn you, will have the tendency to make you want to cry or bash your head into the table from Yugi's stupidity, so I like to really sprinkle it with some raw humor so that way when you're crying, it's all good because then you remember the funny stuff…and you start laughing but something happens between Yami and Yugi and you start crying, then you remember the cat metaphor and you start giggling again and then-so yea, you get the point, I'm here to make you confused!
Haha, and one more for AkuZeku, you truly have to be one of my favorite reviewers xD Just so ya know, I get that tingly feeling to ;3, but if THAT gets you into fangirl mode then get a seat belt because it's just started B3
Sorry if I'm scaring you guys…I'm on sugar right now n.n
And…I have to restart the WHOLEEEE strawberry chapter…guuuuhhhhhh…so, those of you interested, I'm REALLY sorry T-T Enjoy~
"Absolutely not." Yugi shook his head, plopping the iron pan-full of freshly baked cookies on to the counter. Mai could ask Yugi for anything and he'd give it to the woman in a heartbeat. A place to stay? Okay. Toys for Ethan? Of course! Jump off a building? Why not? But this?…This was crossing the line.
"Come on Yugi! It's just one night! And it's Christmas for God's sake!" Mai pleaded, jouncing her toddler in her skinny arms as she multi tasked between holding her baby and wrapping the remaining presents they had gotten for their guests. Yea, you could say they were having a Christmas Party...if you brushed aside the fact that the guest list consisted of 4 people and that if he hadn't invited them over Mana probably would've bombarded him with lengthy text messages, all probably listing off the various clothing or cosmetics the spoiled rotten Beverly hills woman had received. However, Mana wasn't the only mischievous little trouble maker pressuring him for a Christmas party…. Joey had shown quite a bit of interest when ever Yami and he got into a conversation about Mai, Yugi had already warned the monkey-dog-human hybrid that if he was to ever lay even a finger on his sister that Joey would find himself missing a few teeth and some fingers. However, this did not phase the overconfident fool, he insisted that the smaller host this party as a chance to see what Joey proclaimed was "This beautiful, blonde mystery woman I've heard oh so much about."…Which was Joey's sweet way of saying: "Let me see this gorgeous beach babe."
This was all well and good though…he could handle the 4 of them, hell, he did it every day Yami indirectly refused to stop the monkey business playing itself off in the office…but…Yami was not included in this, for lack of a better term, package deal, at least, not yet anyway, however with Mai's begging tone and her determination to get his boss onto the guest list wasn't helping his firm resolve. Gah! No! Yugi was not letting that jerk weasel his way into the one day of the year Yugi was actually slightly less miserable! No way in Anubis' grave he would ever agree to it! Besides, Yami had his family, not to mention that they were rich, Who'd give up the happiest day of the year to be spent with the richest people in all of Japan just to spend it with a bunch of low, poor co-workers and an ex-girl friend who just so happened to be related to one of them? Oh, and this was only the first of many reasons…
Reason 1: Yugi got to see Yami every day of the week at work already!...Not that he didn't get to see the others as well…but at least they didn't treat him like some child's toy.
Reason 2: He's a Jackass
Reason 3: Joey and the others were already chaotic enough, they didn't need someone who'd encourage their rash behavior
Reason 4: He's a Perverted Jackass
Reason 5: They already went out and bought presents for everyone! They couldn't just leave Yami out of the gift exchange…! No matter how much he wanted to…
Reason 6: He still hadn't quite…sorted out his feelings for his boss…
Yea, it sounded stupid, you'd think after about a week you'd be able to know if you liked the man or not, but sadly, it was not that simple. Especially when the person you're interested in was the source of your malice throughout the day. Perhaps it was just hate? Hate and love were to sides of the same coin, so each could be easily mistaken for the other. But still…he was pretty sure people you hated weren't supposed to make you feel better when all was said and done, it just didn't quite feel like friendship either…Nothing made sense anymore! He wished that day on the way home from the hospital had never happened, it made him so confused, it scrambled and deranged everything he once knew, like an awkward jig-saw puzzle, once displaying a proud picture, now arranged in utter shambles. Still, even if the fact that Yugi might like Yami was the most confusing it was also the best reason for him not to come. He had a list for this one to.
Reason 1: Yami's not gay
Reason 2: He's a Jackass
Reason 3: Yugi was still a virgin, in more ways than one, he'd never had his first kiss, never a boy/girlfriend, and most definitely never sex...and he had a feeling if a relationship between he and Yami were to bloom, this would be the first thing to change.
Reason 4: Boss-employee relationships were a strict no-no. In fact, if caught both would become fired and Yugi would find himself right back where he was: Homeless, poor, and a passionate hate for his theoretically former boss.
Reason 5:Who went out with their Ex girlfriend's brother?
Reason 6: Yugi would never actually sum up the courage to tell Yami of his feelings…
Not that he actually had…real feelings yet…well, not technically…he was still in the questioning stage…
"I thought you were just starting to warm up to Yami!" Mai rolled her eyes, smoothing the misty, clear tape onto the semi-sloppy wrapped gift before recklessly tossing it into the pile of all the other semi-sloppy wrapped gifts. Yugi wasn't the only one frustrated as of late. Mai was beginning to wonder if she'd have better luck with prostitution rather than wasting her time applying for various job offers only to have the metaphorical door slam right in her face. But, to be quite honest, even though she loved Ethan with all her heart she'd die before she had to shove another living being right out of her vaginal regions…yea, babies were cute, and they were small…until you actually had one squeezed out of your body….not so small anymore eh? Besides, if either Yami or Yugi knew she was contemplating this, they'd probably slap her silly until she saw either death or sense…which was exactly what Mai was going to do to her baby brother if he didn't get his mind made up about whether he thought Yami good or bad. Yugi always seemed to rant on about Yami being bipolar, though in reality her brother had it backwards.
Yugi blushed crimson as he heard Mai's words. How did she know! It wasn't like he had told anyone about these maybe feelings, not even Mana knew and she practically knew Yugi's whole life story right down to what toothpaste he used!...Whether he wanted her to or not…"Sense when? I'll have you know I still hate the bastard" This was true. "Just as much as I did in high school!" That was a lie…
"That's not how Yami tells it~!" Mai sang teasingly, causing Yugi's blush to array deeper throughout the soft, once pale white, now light pink valleys of his face. Of course! They were best friends! How could Yugi have missed the fact that Mai and Yami told each other everything and anything it seemed, so it was almost a given every time Yami noticed something that Mai would be the first to know. But seriously, it wasn't like he was showing up at the man's desk with flowers and chocolates as of late! Just what difference could Yami have possibly spotted in his vibe? Yugi was good at keeping most things to himself, however in those few months he had worked for Yami, it seemed that everything Yugi thought only he knew, Yami also had knowledge of. Geez, he knew Yami was always a tad bit perceptive, but he had no idea the other was a certified mind reader!
"Oh? And just how did he tell it?" Yugi demanded softly, yet by no means kindly, as the reply had come out between two sets of tightly clenched teeth. Yami this, Yami that, God! It was like his sister was trying to convince him into a new religion, and Yami just so happened to be the center of it.
"He tells me that you smile a lot more around him."
"So…?"
"And that you actually laughed at one of his jokes the other day."
"Yeah."
"And that every time you talk to him you get this cute little blush."
"I always blush when I talk to him!" Yugi immediately regretted this sentence as soon as it came out, for he was faced with his sister's wide, amethyst eyes, staring at him from across the room as she stopped mid-tare from separating a small slip of tape from the rest of the role. Great, instead of proving Mai's ridiculous theory that Yami was his own personal god, he had fueled it, lovely. Though, however embarrassing his proclamation proved, it was still true, Yugi did always feel his face heat up around the other, yet again another hint he himself discovered not too long ago that his feelings for his boss might not have been just hate, but rather quite the opposite.
"Out of anger…of course…." Came Yugi's weak cover up as he turned his attention away from a once gaping, now smirking sister and back to setting the oak wood table with their finest set of china…Which…happened to be a few cups and plates from the dollar store down the street. At first, they were thinking that paper plates would suffice, but Grandpa had always taught them that such a special occasion called for nothing but the best, and well, it seemed 99 cent tableware seemed to be the utmost limit for the small Motou family this year…oh well…at least they were attempting to follow some of the older's morals…no matter how big of a failure they turned out to be.
"Oh, but of course." Mai falsely went along with Yugi's half-assed charade, if you could even call it that. Yugi glared silently at the table setting before him, he hated it when his sister mocked him, no one mocked Yugi Motou and got away with it anymore besides Mai and Yami Sennen….or…sometimes known as Yami Atemu.
Yugi grinned ruefully at the random, yet almost warm sort of memories. The notorious Yami Atemu…that's what everyone called him back then, only those who knew Yami during or before freshman year knew that his real last name was Sennen, but one year during a school play, which just so happened to be themed to ancient Egypt, Yugi's forte, Yami was chosen to play as the great and all-mighty pharaoh. At first, Yugi was quite jealous that he didn't get the main role in his favorite subject masquerading as a play…but then…he remembered the words 'main role' and decided that perhaps it was best since the poor boy didn't do so good in front of audiences. Anyway, the pharaoh's name in the play was Atemu, and apparently the play hit so big that it actually pooled in tons of money from a wide range of sources, but not for the reasons you think. No, it wasn't how utterly fascinating ancient Egypt was, how Yugi would've liked it put. No, it wasn't that the cast was extremely well fitting for the roles…even though it was seeing as how Yami seemed to fit perfectly for the role of a tyrant. It was the fact that, as most girls and even a few men would say: "Yami looked so freaking gorgeous!" So yea…there you had it, a perfectly good play with an excellent plot popular because the main character in the thing was hot as hell? Typical…this angered Yugi to no end, even to date, but he supposed it was just because he wanted people to see the beauty of the ancient culture…not the beauty of some popular guy's abs. So…from that day forward everyone knew him as the great "Yami Atemu"…ah…the good old days…
Wait…"the good old days"? Just what was good about them? Well, aside from the fact that he didn't have to get a job, nor pay the bills, or take care of a nephew 24/7 as his widowed sister frantically scrounged around the city looking for a job. Perhaps he just missed the teachers….or…no…he…he missed Yami. That made no sense for a vast amount of reasons:
Reason 1: Yami was still very much with him…in fact a little too much if you asked him.
Reason 2: Uhhhh…hello? Constant bullying?...
Reason 3: It's so much harder to be gay in high school than it is in the real world…
Reason 4: He actually had friends now!...well, as close as a bunch of circus clowns could get to that, and back in high school he was strictly a loner, thus making him a really big target for bullies…as…was mentioned various times now
Reason 5: As hard as a job was to maintain, homework was worse, don't let what the adults say fool you, school is much more work then…actual work.
Reason 6: Back then he…still…hated Yami.
He still hated Yami, yes, but it was different now, Yugi found himself actually feeling sort of…flattered that Yami had actually taken his time to bully only Yugi…as…weird as this revelation sounded. There were tons of nerds and Goths that were even dorkier then him, surprisingly, but Yami only teased Yugi…as if…as if Yugi were the only exception, something special to the other, like an irreplaceable toy…
Gah! What was he thinking! Of course he didn't miss high school, and he most certainly wasn't Yami's toy or anyone else's! And you know what? Anybody who said otherwise, including himself could kiss his a—
Yugi's train of thought was immediately severed when the buzzing of the apartment door rang through the house and he let out a long winded sigh, it was most likely Mana, the woman had been looking forward to this little celebration for weeks now, and probably couldn't wait an extra half hour to actually arrive on the scheduled time.
"So…" Mai continued on as Yugi ventured out of the kitchen and toward the door to let the more than likely spazzed out girl who was waiting there, ready to describe every girly present the other had in painful detail. "Can Yami come over now?" the blonde bit her lip, seeming to look nervous as her eyes flittered to the door and back to her younger brother's anger-creased face…god, if her brother didn't learn to lighten up a bit he was going to end up as feeble and stingy as their grandpa had.
Yugi sighed, rubbing his temples as he approached the wooden door. "Why are you so adamant about this?" He demanded, attempting to rub off the sweat his deep thinking had produced. Who ever said thinking was never a work out was wrong, Yugi felt like he had run at least 5 miles…considering that's just how long his trail of random, scattered thoughts seem to lengthen out. With a mental note to make a list of reasons of just why he should go to a therapist or something, he gripped the metal door handle and swung it open to reveal, not the tanned skin of Egypt…nor the callused one of a wannabe playboy…but the smooth, fair skin of the man who'd been haunting his thoughts for so long now…the source of his want to go on an arbitrary massacre, and at the same time the source of his happiness…stood right in front of his dazed eyes, holding a small bag of gorgeously wrapped presents that looked as if he actually took careful time into wrapping each one individually, nothing like the messy ones they had produced.
Mai let out a breath of surrender, fighting back an army of giggles as she watched Yami stare down at her gaping, and immensely blushing baby brother. "Because…I sort of…already asked?"
Yugi's brow twitched in a combination of anger and dread as he stared up into those all too haunting velvet, red eyes.
Mai was going to be the death of him.
Yugi groaned breathlessly as he buried his exhausted face into his sweaty palms. The calm, close, family and friend Christmas party had turned out nothing like it should've. As soon as Mana and the others arrived soon after Yami, of whom seemed content on ignoring Yugi the whole damn time! Now, usually Yugi would think that his boss was upset with him, but this was wrong for many reasons, and of course, the shorter began to list them off inside his throbbing head.
Reason #1: The man sure wasn't speaking nor directly confronting Yugi, but he sure seemed intent of throwing Yugi a sort of…promising…smirk every now and then in between random conversations with others.
Reason #2: He was a Jackass…..welll, he guessed this time that that particularly well known fact was sort of contradicting to this whole argument…if…you could call it that…considering no one was on the other end of his thoughts…
Reason #3: Yami wasn't a straight forward person, by all means, but if he was unhappy with you, or upset with your antics, he sure as hell made it known. Yugi had learned this shortly after he met the man when a few of his jock buddies insisted on him pulling a nasty old prank on the teachers…let's just say that…those so called 'friends' of his weren't seen hanging around Yami for a full 2 months before the man finally let it go. His boss was a collected person…but grudges most certainly weren't his area of expertise when it came to releasing them….Nooot that Yugi was very good at it either…
Reason #4: If Yami was angry with him, would he have even come to the party in the first place?
Reason #5: Mana was quite a gossip…and in fact, a professional at divulging any piece of information she desired…heh…now that he thought of it perhaps Mana would've been better off as a reporter. Anywho, surely by now Mana would've been able to sense Yami's discomfort toward Yugi, uprooted its origins, and ran straight to Yugi to spill the newly grounded scoop. Then again…Yami, like Yugi, was stubborn when it came to giving up or out, so, the two equally truthful facts sort of cancelled each other out…
Reason #6: Yugi, in all honestly, couldn't live with himself if Yami hated him.
Yea, he knew, he was extremely hypocritical when it came to the subject…and…many others he refused to ponder, however, he had long since come to terms with the fact that without Yami he'd be nothing, the funny thing was that he realized this before he even began to question himself about his feelings for a certain arrogant boss.
But, that was getting way off topic, even if it was an important piece of information, at least to Yugi, that wasn't exactly his number one issue currently. If you didn't count the whole "crush" ordeal obviously. Anyway, where was he before he got off topic again? Oh right. It was supposed to be a family/friend close Christmas party…calm, gathered, peaceful…and, as you could clearly interpret, Yugi never got his way, and this fine Christmas evening was no exception. Mana was constantly screaming and singing quite deliriously as she "forgot" the rules to the generously hosted party that clearly expressed: "NO ALCHOHAUL BEFORE PRESENT OPENING!" But of course, the young Motou was partially at fault for even letting he damned substance into his house…Yugi did not drink under any circumstances, not Christmas, not weddings, not New Years Eve or day, the stuff was vile, and he could still remember the first time his grandpa had asked him to try it. He still wondered to this day as to how people could learn to love the despicable liquid swishing down your throat like fire licking down a hole, scorching the delicate pink flesh inside the esophagus, making its way down to your stomach in a painful travel, up the brain to cloud your memory, and back to burning its way out in your urine…honestly…alcoholism was just as much an enigma to him as to how the earth was created.
And Joey? Well, let's just say if Yugi wasn't careful the blonde dufus was going to get a hole punched right through his guts if he flirted with his sister one more god damn time.
"Present timeee~!" Mana squealed in artificial excitement, compliments of the copious over-dosage of beer and wine.
Yugi groaned further, hardening his massage over the tense temples. See, here was another thing…due to Mai and Yugi's amount of money—or rather, lack thereof—the presents bought for their guests weren't exactly…extravagant…gifts, to say the least. Most of them weren't even 20 dollars! He could just picture Mana's broken face as she opened the cheap makeup set fresh off the shelves at the local convenience store, or the loud snort that would emit from Joey once he found his pleather(1) wallet wrapped in cheap, easily tare-able foil wrapping paper. Oh well…it could've been worse really, they could've been like the rest of the world and bought "expensive" trinkets, drop 'em into gift bags, and slap a name tag on it just to give them to some person they probably hardly know, and most likely will just leave it in some closet or garage to collect dust. At least, Christmas had sentimental meaning to the household….
Even if that sentimental meaning was about 5 bucks in total.
"I call going first!" She squealed after no reply was given, plopping down onto the warn down couch to, rather harshly he might add, push the shining, gold, wrapped box into his un-sure hands. The present looked at least 500 dollars! The intricate, spread out designs adorning the paper, the glimmer it seemed to present in the florescent light shining above. Damn! Why was every one richer than him! Oh, that's right, he already knew every single reason as to why—
"Open it! Open it!" Mana pressed on, staring at him with pleading eyes as she pushed the beautiful gift further into his lap. Yugi sighed slightly, silently thanking his Egyptian friend for cutting off what was to most likely be another long winded—or witted he might say, list of reasons as to why his life so terribly sucked. So, to appease his slightly obnoxious friend, his fingers began sliding over the tape as he ripped the dazzling exterior from the slightly heavy box in his arms. Just what in the world could the woman have gotten him that was so heavy? He felt dread…heavy….usually meant expensive, and judging by the weight holding him to the couch, the grand total of this most likely fantabulous object was probably more than his own weekly pay check, of which was still higher than the rest of his co-workers…even though his work consisted of counting the ceiling tiles and rarely tagging along on investigation outings. Still, Mana didn't earn to much either, then again…she did belong to a family of a bunch of rich rat—pleasant people…ehem…
"Oh…Mana…you, uh…thanks." Yugi stuttered, feeling a familiar heat shoot up through his face as he stared at the cooking set in front of him. This was extremely embarrassing, considering no one in the room knew about his love for cooking with Mai and Mana as the exceptions…then again, Yami probably already knew since apparently Mai was like Mana and couldn't keep her girly mouth shut. Still, He could already hear Joey letting out a few snickers and Marik whispering something into Tristan's ear, the words "frilly apron" and "Yami" clearly heard from the sentence, and somehow, he knew exactly what the two were discussing, and boy did it make his blood begin to boil. Though at the same time, a wave of relief rushed through him, this cooking set was direly needed and it sure saved them an ass load of money, an ass load of money that was equally, direly needed as well.
"Me next!" Joey grinned widely, grasping a present—well, at least, what he thought was a present, to be honest, it looked like some 4 ton truck ran over the thing—and tossing it toward his "Little Protégé", long story, like a football.
Yugi rolled his eyes, and people thought he was lying when he told them Joey acted like a 3 year old? And that wasn't even the sad part. Joey was really…his best friend in a sense, sort of…not really…well, the closest thing to it anyway. Joey had already expressed his thoughts on Yugi, them being that the smaller one was extremely admirable in all seriousness and someone the blonde actually looked up to. Mentally…anyway…Physically however, it was very much Yugi doing the looking up most of the time. Aside from his grandpa…Yugi never had that long awaited honor a kid looked up to their whole life of finally becoming taller than their mother or in some cases father, and since the man never really had that chance, at least he could trump his grandfather…but anyone could trump his grandpa really…
Thoughts of family and friends vanished however when his hands came in contact with something thin, and what felt like hard rubber, his veins twitching hotly at the very sight as he knew this extremely familiar joke.
"Joey…" he sighed, plopping the tool back into the box with an immense blush. "You know I'm never going to use this, right?"
A laugh was his reply, a for-sure sign that the man was enjoying the almost held back annoyance dripping through his tense facial expression. Yes. Best friend he may be. Practical? Not even close.
"I figure you could use it, I mean ladies aint' gonna want you with that thin layer of muscle going on there, If it's even there in the first place! C'mon Yug', Humor a guy and use em! Maybe people will stop mistakin ya for a tike." He cackled, not doing anything to cool the nerves flexing within the midst of his stress and annoyance, but sadly, Yugi knew he was better than to burst out at someone as idiotic and pitiful as Joey Wheeler, former class clown, current office clown. So he pushed the dumb bells aside and awaited his next gift, seeing how the gift exchange had automatically deemed Yugi to be the first receiver.
"Merry Christmas, Yu-chan." Yugi snapped his head up, gazing into those cherry red eyes as his smiling boss slipped a small, cube-shaped gift into his lap. Still, Yugi did not flinch, he kept that eye contact, knowing, remembering, that those same eyes usually lit up a raging flame within his body, but now the only thing that they seemed to heat up any more were his cheeks. What was wrong with him? Where was the fiery passionate hate underlying his actions? Where was that sass, that defiance to that commanding, sensual voice? Where were those incredibly witty remarks he exchanged annually with his boss? Now, there only seemed to be an aching…it was painful in its own way…but he also felt a warmth that counter-reacted to the pain, soothing it into a sort of emotion that Yugi had no way of interpreting, aside from that small blush coating his face and the rate of his heart increasing so quickly.
The blushing only increased however when he realized just how quiet it was, and how incredibly stupid he probably looked staring at his boss with, what he was sure, was a longing look, cause boy did he feel it. So, with the weight of the room's eyes staring at him intently, as if attempting to suddenly harness the power of the force and use it to make his hands tear open the paper, he began to do just that. After all, the last surprise he needed in life was to find out one of his friends was a Jedi. Specifically Yami.
As soon as he was finished however…he wasn't exactly sure how to react as he stared at the object lying quite comfortably in the delicate looking box holding it. Perhaps this was a joke? Maybe…what Yami said…was true? Was he serious? Yugi thought it had all been some sort of…elaborately composed play his boss had made up in case…
Wait, in case what? In case Yugi just so happened to randomly inquire as to what animal Yami thought he acted like? He highly doubted that's what Yami did in his spare time…think up random and farfetched situations in which Yugi asked him awkward questions that secretly had merit. No, definitely not that. Though, he was pretty sure he did some slightly questionable things outside the office…his reasonings were becoming a little too accusatory.
Oh screw it.
Yugi broke out laughing, hard. He could tell the whole room was staring at him with quite a few questions on their mind, the first being what he got, the other being if he poor man was laughing or crying… But he paid no heed to this as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Laughing and Crying for one of the first times in a while in the same week? Poor little Motou was on a role! And it was all…thanks to Yami, but of course, what was new?
His slightly shaking fingers wrapped around the fuzzy material of the stuffed animal as he pulled it out to stare at the beady eyes of, yes, a porcupine.
"You're sick, you know that Yami?" he giggled, half still observing the stuffy in his arms and half looking up to see Yami's almost kind, gentle looking eyes, most likely pleased that Yugi was enjoying his gift just as much as Yami was enjoying Yugi letting out such a laugh like that in such a long time. Though his attention was directed toward both of these, part of him couldn't resist a small glance around the room to see how confused everyone was, and to say they were puzzled would've been an understatement. Joey looked dazed. Mana was scratching her head rather dumbly. Tristan looked half-way surprised, and Marik looked on the verge of breaking out in almost as loud a laugh as Yugi's, the only reason being that he had no clue what was so funny in the least.
"So I've been told." He cooed, eyes softening further as he saw Yugi actually embrace the cute stuffed animal in a loving hug. The man looked like a child…well, more so then he usually did anyway, but the way he smiled and giggled like that…just…having fun….laying back, it was worth all the money in the world to Yami just to see that more than dazzling smile adorning his Aibou's face, and even more so that it was all because of him.
"Are you going to give it a name, Yu-chan?" Yami teased, snapping Yugi out of his almost girlish mode, and of course, adding yet another large blush to his piling collection. Embarrassed for probably the 600th time that day? Wow, Yugi was no expert when it came to his mathematics, but he was pretty sure that was a clean, new record.
He settled for a pout as opposed to a glare for reasons that he was far too busy to begin listing as he jut out his lip slightly, silently scouring his mind for a name that would suit the "mini Yugi".
"Atemu." He answered, quite without thinking. Everyone broke out into a hysteric laughter at the familiar memory, even those who didn't go with them to high school which was about ¾ of the room, had heard the story of the notorious Yami Atemu. However, he couldn't stop the grin from slipping onto his lips as he found an extremely rare sight presented before him.
Yami was blushing.
"Must you always patronize me?" Yugi sighed, fighting the urge to smile and giggle like a high school girl. Really, this shouldn't have been happening. Yugi wasn't supposed to be fraternizing with the enemy, he wasn't supposed to actually enjoy talking to his boss, and he most certainly wasn't supposed to be all the sudden wishing he could just curl up next to him by the warm, crackling fire beside them. You see, after all the presents had been distributed, the two had somehow ended up separating themselves from everyone else just to have single, one on one conversations with each other, and believe it or not, Yugi was immensely enjoying the intimate stories and just knowing that Yugi was currently the absolute, single most center of his boss' attention. It gave him this slightly pleasurable tingly feeling massaging his insides and just making his heart want to burst, he felt drunk, he hadn't drank any alcohol, as he had a strict, lifelong boycott on it, but it was something different…like being drunk off of…happiness…yea…happy…
"Of course, if I won't who will?" Yami smirked, dealing out the first seven cards to the shorter man across from him before counting out his own.
Yugi rose an eyebrow, staring down at the fancy, red cards lying face down in front of his crossed-legs.
"What are we playing?" He inquired, though despite his curious words his hands fumbled across the carpet to get a grip on the thin, laminated cards littering the floor neatly. He hadn't played a good game of cards sense his grandpa stopped gambling with his bar buddies and actually started to take into consideration that a man his age was in no shape for the booze, the poker and the smoke. Yea, Grandpa was into that kind of stuff. What? 80 year old men couldn't be badass to?
"Ah…Go fish, if it wasn't already obvious." He stated, motioning toward the lazily spread out rectangles spread out randomly that lay smack dab in the middle of their pretzel-legged bodies, not to mention his boss already had a good pair of jacks laying in front of him from his newly dealt hand.
Yugi snorted, picking out a pair of 4s and gently placing them below him. "Go fish? Isn't that a bit…childish?" Though, really this wasn't why he didn't fancy playing it with Yami…it was just the fact that Go Fish was supposed to be a fun, and relaxing game, winning and losing weren't supposed to matter, but he was playing Yami! His life-long enemy! Of course winning and losing this game was going to be like life or death to them! Ugh…he could already just smell the millions of re-matches most likely to take place. Not that Yugi would lose…no, he'd smash the other so good you'd be able to see his foot print on the side of his face!...Aaaand so the competitive spirit began…great…and they hadn't even started playing yet.
"Childish?" Yami's eyes twinkled, slight mirth beginning to sparkle through those ruby red windows. "No Yugi. Childish, is when someone gets a stuffed porcupine for Christmas, names it after their boss, and doesn't let go of it for at least an hour." Yugi glared, lighting up to a fiery red as he remembered the whole ordeal. Yea, he still couldn't believe he had just….blurted Atemu out as a name. Hell, he couldn't believe he named the thing! But…he couldn't take it back now! For many reasons:
Reason #1: It already happened in front of…well…everyone.
Reason #2: Every time he looked at the artificially fluffed object, the name 'Atemu' just seemed to flash through him like a sudden lightning bolt, what use was changing the name now when he had already knew it by something else? That was like naming your dog Max and changing it to Rufus 5 years later!
Reason #3: Yugi wasn't exactly a very…original person…so therefore making up names wasn't exactly something he trusted himself with.
Reason #4: It wasn't like Yugi was going to snuggle with the thing in bed…
Reason #5: He liked Egyptian names.
Reason #6: Why the hell was he debating this…?
"But," Yami sighed, smiling down at his employee, "If it really bothers you that much, let's say we put a bit of a…spin…to it, eh?" Yugi blinked in interest, suddenly he felt a lot more compelled to participate in this ridiculous activity with his boss, especially since, being the sort of play boy material kind of person he was, usually when he added a spin to things it was bound to spice up the game a hell of a lot more. It wasn't that Yugi was a gambler or anything…but it was like he said before, Yugi liked a good challenge.
And Yami, in and of himself, was definitely a challenge.
"I'm listening…" Yugi squinted slightly at him, as if debating whether he should take it back, because, yes, while a challenge fit him quite well, Yami's challenges could become a bit too spicy…and just end up plain dangerous.
"Whenever someone gets a pair from their opponent, they ask them a question." He said simply, drawing his cards back up to his face, ready to begin.
Yugi pursed his lips, silently listing the pros and cons of this situation. What was the worst that could happen? Yami asking about his sex life? It wasn't like the man didn't already know that Yugi was a virgin to just about everything…that was pretty much a given at first glance. Then again…at first glance all you really got was some 12 year old nerd. Besides, his boss knew just about everything Yugi himself knew, so why not take this as an opportunity to get some dirt on Yami?
"Fine, I go first though." Yugi grinned, copying Yami's earlier moves to bring his playing cards back up to view point.
"Always." Yami smirked, "I mean, ladies first, right?"
Yugi growled low, trying his best to narrow down a list of guesses he could make as to what card in his hand was mutual to Yami's all the while attempting to drown out the snide remark from his less than charming boss at the moment. He needed a question, because now that he thought of it, he hardly knew anything about Yami…except for the fact that he worked as a cop, dated his sister and was a big ass in highschool, oh, and that he was related to Kaiba…
Huh…maybe he knew more than he thought? Oh well, while those 4 things were pretty major, he had a feeling he was only looking at the light side of the moon.
"Got any…7s?"
"Go fish."
Dammit!
Yami chuckled, watching in utter satisfaction as his Aibou's face scrunched up in anger and disappointment, he loved the many sides Yugi radiated off himself. The immature, the overly mature, and most certainly his determined side. It was like hanging yarn above a cat's face. Close enough to touch, yet not quite there to grab. Yes, Torturing the boy was just far too easy, to be quite honest, part of him worried if he'd give Yugi so much grief that one day he'd just keel over from a heart attack due to stress and over exertion. Perhaps…Yugi just needed a good massage…
"Got any Kings Yu-chan?" He sang, looking up to see just what he wanted to see once more.
Yugi half sighed half growled before flicking his king carelessly toward Yami. "Are you sure you didn't rig this thing?" He narrowed his amethyst eyes up to those velvet ones. Yugi liked a good game as much as the next guy, but he wouldn't stand for cheaters…especially ones who could actually get away with it.
"Now, why ever would I do such a thing?" Yami clicked his tongue, picking up the half dented king to slap the pair next to his jacks. "I already know just about everything there is to know about you…" He drawled, taking Yugi's thoughts right out of his mind for at least the 3rd time that night.
"Just ask the damn question and get it over with already." Yugi glared, placing his chin in his palm as he prepared for the inevitable.
"Fine." Yami frowned, "If you had to jump off a cliff, who would you chose to catch you at the bottom?"
"I thought these were supposed to be real questions."
"It is a real question."
"No it's not, it's a situation masquerading as a question."
"It's a situational question."
"Exactly!"
"Still a question."
Yugi sighed, hiding his vague blush, it was a harder question then it sounded like, because if you were jumping off a cliff 100 feat, or maybe 100,000 feat off the ground, it had to be someone you trusted…
Someone you liked…
Someone you could count on to be there for you…
Someone…
Yugi looked across from him, to see ruby eyes waiting patiently for an answer.
Someone he'd probably never admit it to.
"I dunno…no one in particular I guess…" He mumbled, staring at the pair of kings beside Yami, silently wishing his boss had asked for another card, more preferably one he didn't have.
"No one…? What, so you're going to let yourself die? Or do you really think you can land on your feet without breaking every bone in your body?" Yugi looked up hesitantly, he felt…that they weren't talking about jumping off a cliff anymore. Well, physically speaking anyway. He felt like…this was supposed to have a more deeper meaning, but somehow his brain either couldn't grasp it as well as it usually did because he was around Yami, or his brain just somehow refused to pick it up. He had a small feeling it was a bit of both. Still, this question was getting a tad bit more uncomfortable with every second his flickering eyes shifted across their surroundings, intentionally avoiding a certain garnet color staring him right in the face.
"Not…not neccaserily." He choked out, shaking his head as he let all thoughts of awkward vanish. It was Christmas, he needed to loosen up a bit! "Maybe I just have magical super powers no one knows about, and I'll just grow wings and fly before I can hit the ground." He grinned, feeling a sense of success as he heard his boss chuckle slightly. "I always knew you were an angel." He cackled.
"Yea…" Yugi snorted, "And I've got devil horns holding up my halo."
And from that moment on, there were no awkward situations…everything was just…amazing…they laughed, talked, laughed some more, the questions of course continued, and Yugi finally had gotten to know so much about Yami he had never even began to fathom. Like, what sort of shampoo Yami used, he also now had knowledge of every single candy bar the other fancied, what kind of movies the other was into and even his opinion on different flavors of ice cream. Really, if you had asked him any other time before that night, he would've immediately denied that Yami made his Christmas. But it was all there, the proof, the girly giggles, the smirks, Yami's suggestive winks…and really…it was the first time, that he could only think of one reason as to why he was feeling this way…
Reason #1: He really, really did like Yami.
Oookayyy soooo, remember when I told you I lost my usb a few minutes ago? Well I found it…! But, here's the catch:
My laptop finally died xD
I'll still be updating as I do usually, but I might be delayed a tad, however it's okay because I'll just use my dad's when he isn't looking instead!
Shhh, it's our little secret ;D
Anywho…oh, here's the next question:
If Yugi had to give Yami a gift for Christmas, what do you think it'd be?
I do these questions so I can interact with you guys, so please answer them if you can :S It just makes me feel like instead of just…you know…slapping a story onto and hearing your feedback, while that's all well and good, I want to actually connect with you guys sort of…you know…it's hard to explain, but I really can't tell you any other way ^.^;;
PLEASE REVIEW! Help Mama out ;D! Enjoy loves!~
P.S.: HOPE MY SPELLING WAS BETTER THIS TIME 83