Small Note
Sakura: EXTREMELY SORRY! I should have updated this chapter a LONG time ago, but I got lazy and updated Truth or Dare like crazy! From now \on I will make a schedule and every other week I will try and update this story at least once. Believe me once winter break comes up I will get more chapters for this story out… or at least I hope so…
I would also like to thank s2Teennovelist for helping me with ideas for this chapter!
Chapter 9
Dates
Can we make this relationship work?
The crisp clean air of the morning put Yuugi in a really good mood. He and Yami had just exited the carriage when they arrived at the park in the middle of Vampire City. The grass was a lush green color and glinted with the morning dew. Trees of different types were planted in random areas around the park offering shade in the afternoon heat. No one was around so it was the perfect time to take a morning walk.
The two chose a path and started their walk with the peace and quiet around them. As they walked Yami would take a glance at Yuugi, but when Yuugi looked his way he would turn his head the other way. Yuugi giggled every time Yami did that and reach out to take Yami's hand. "Lighten up a little. I want you to have a good time today."
Yami squeezed Yuugi's hand. "I'll try, but…well…" He kept trying to explain something to Yuugi, but he wasn't sure how to explain it.
"Take your time Yami," Yuugi reassured him. "If you're not ready to tell me that is fine."
Yami sighed and looked down at his feet. "Yuugi, would you believe me if I told you I have never had a real relationship before…"
Yuugi stopped their walk when they reached a fountain that was in the middle of the park. The fountain was a beautiful marble piece of art with two angels on the top with water coming out of their mouths. Yuugi took a seat on the edge of the fountain and patted the spot next to him.
Yami sat down beside Yuugi and looked at the water behind them. He reached his hand out and dipped his fingers in the water to created small ripples.
"So…" Yuugi began. "You've never had a real relationship before."
"That would be correct." Yami replied.
Yuugi watched Yami move his fingers around in the water. "So even five thousand years ago you never had a wife or lover?" It took a few minutes before Yuugi realized what he said and covered his mouth with one of his hands.
Yami looked toward Yuugi, but with the mask it was once again hard to tell what he was feeling. "Who told you I was five thousand years old?"
Reaching behind his head Yuugi scratched a non-existing itch in nervousness. "Ethan let it slip how old you were." He bowed his head. "I'm really sorry if you didn't want me to know. Please don't be mad at Ethan."
Yami's chuckle made Yuugi look up. "I'm not mad at Ethan. It isn't really a secret how old I am. I guess I just didn't want you to freak out that you might be dating an old man."
"I can at least say you look good for your age." Yuugi said with a small laugh.
Before long both were laughing and having a good time. They spent the rest of the time after they calm down talking about different things and Yami even opened up some about some of the things he liked and disliked. Yuugi decided he would try later in the afternoon and see if Yami would open up some about his past.
As the day process on lunch time rolled around and the two found a nice little café to stop at for lunch. Yuugi ordered himself a grilled cheese with ham and tomato and a hot chocolate as a drink. Yami didn't order anything, but as a gentleman he paid for Yuugi's meal. They waited at the counter for Yuugi's meal and after it was given to them they found a table outside on the front patio to enjoy the nice day.
People walking around shopping would stop and stare in amazement as the King and Yuugi talked and laughed, before smiling then moving on. A few elders would stop and bid their King a good day before moving on.
Yuugi held half of his sandwich out to Yami. "Are you sure you don't want any?"
Yami shook his head and push the half back toward Yuugi. "No Yuugi I am perfectly fine. I drank some blood this morning, so I'm full."
Yuugi dropped the half back on his plate and drank some of his drink. "So... Is there something you have in mind that we can do after lunch?"
Yami crossed his arms across his chest and looked toward the street as if in thought. "I normally do anything my children love to do."
"I'm sure there is something you like to do?"
"Well…" There was uncertainty in Yami's voice. "There is one thing I do like to do that my children find a little boring."
After lunch Yami lead Yuugi down to the local theatre. At first when Yami mentioned he liked to go to the theater, Yuugi thought a movie theatre. He realized he was completely wrong when they stopped in front of a theatre for plays and dramas.
The ticket booth outside listed two plays being played this week and the times at which each showing would be. The two choices were Phantom of the Opera or Romeo and Juliet. On that day Phantom of the Opera was being showed at two which was in thirty minutes and Romeo and Juliet was being showed later that day around six.
"I'll understand if you don't want to go see a play…" Yami said to reassure Yuugi that he didn't have to do something he didn't want to.
Yuugi shook his head. "No this sounds like a good idea and it's something you like to do. I saw a few of my high school's plays, but never one done in a real theatre with real actors. "He said with a smile Yami's way. "We never know I might enjoy this and want to come back again some time."
"So which play would you like to see?"
Yuugi thought it over for a little while. He had seen Romeo and Juliet many of times on TV and the plays from his high school. "I think Phantom of the Opera would be a good pick. Plus it starts in thirty minutes so we have plenty of time to get good seats. Then after the show we can grab some dinner before calling it a day."
Yami reached out to grab Yuugi's hand and intertwined their fingers. "Sounds like a plan." He led Yuugi to the ticket booth and was able to easily get tickets for the show, before heading inside. They showed their tickets to the lady at the double doors leading inside to where all the seats and stage were. Once she let them pass, they stepped inside and Yami lightly pulled Yuugi to the left and up some stairs.
On the second floor they passed by many doors before stopping at one that was labeled 'King Booth'. Yami opened the door and like a gentlemen allowed Yuugi to enter first before he entered and shut the door.
It was a small balcony room with a circular couch and velvet curtains parted so the play down below could be viewed. Yuugi walked over and looked down to see they had the best view in the house of the stage. Of course the curtains on stage were closed so nothing was to be seen at the moment.
When he turned around he saw Yami was reclined on the couch with his arms crossed.
Yuugi approached him and sat down beside him. "So how are we going to see the play while sitting down?" He asked when he realized the stage wasn't visible to them while sitting down.
Yami pointed to two flat screen televisions mounted to the each wall beside them. "We may view the play from the televisions or I can get us some chairs to enjoy it from the balcony."
Yuugi relaxed against Yami and looked up at him. "You thought of everything when having this room built didn't you?" Yuugi teased.
"Who says I had it built for me?" Yami teased right back.
After they enjoyed another small laugh, they talked about more trivial things until the play started. Once it started up the televisions in the room came on and the play began. As the play played out, Yuugi would change from watching the TV to going to the balcony and looked down at the stage. Sometimes Yami would even join him.
By the time the play ended and Yami and Yuugi were able to grab themselves a quick dinner before heading back to the palace. Yuugi had to admit to Yami that he had a wonderful time and would like to hang out with him again soon. Once back at the palace, Yami saw Yuugi to his truck and made sure he drove away safety before going inside to check on his children. There was no telling what troubles they got into while he was away.
Yuugi had a smile on his face the whole way home as he thought about the amazing time he had with Yami.
Two weeks few by in no time and September turned into October. The weather began to change from mild warm to a slight chilly. Yuugi had to pull out his jackets and put one on each morning before going into work. Other than the weather turning cold putting Yuugi down, everything else kept Yuugi's spirits up. His job at the shop was great and he was quickly getting the hang of it. Yami was impressed with him because the shop was getting more business since Yuugi started running it.
Speaking of Yami, Yuugi and Yami's relationship had taken a good turn. The first week into October the two made the decision to start dating and the children couldn't have been happier. They thought it would be months before Yuugi and Yami started to date.
That leads Yuugi to the moment he is in right now; sitting at work with Ethan and Taylor trying to think of something for him and Yami to do on their first date. It was currently a Wednesday and Yami and Yugi planned to go out that Saturday.
"You could always go to a movie and dinner?" Taylor suggested while sitting on the counter.
Yuugi shook his head and took a seat on the stool behind the counter. He had just gotten done with helping a customer with an item they bought.
Ethan rolled his eyes at his lover. "That would be something you would plan for you and I."
Taylor stuck out his tongue.
Yuugi crossed his arms and closed his eyes in thought. "I want it to be special, but not too over the top. I've had many dates before, but Yami told me he hasn't dated anyone before." He said before opening his eyes back up. "I just have no idea want we could do."
"What did you do with some of your other dates?" Ethan asked.
Yuugi sighed. "They didn't last very long, but when I was dating someone we did simple things. Sometimes we would hang out like normal teenagers would and then sometimes we would do something romantic like dinner and a night walk in the park."
Taylor grinned. "What was the longest you dated someone?" He asked with sly look in his eyes.
Ethan narrowed his eyes at Taylor before hitting him on the head. "That is none of your business Taylor."
Yuugi chuckled at the two, but answered Taylor's question anyway. "The longest I dated someone was for a year. We dated my sophomore year of high school. It was a boy who I had been friends with since middle school and he knew how to treat me right. I thought he might be the one I would spend my life with, but then he got in a car crash and died. It took the longest time for me to get over it. After him anyone else I dated it was only for a week to a month, but no one made it pass a month before we broke up." He smiled slightly in memory of the boy. "I finally stopped dating when I moved to Cairo for college. I decided to focus on my work and get my degree before trying to find that special someone to settle down with."
"Oh…" Taylor said with his head bow. "Sorry for meddling…"
"It's alright…" Yuugi reassured him. "I think I'm finally starting to move on and it's nice to be dating again."
"Alright then…" Ethan pulled out some paper and a pen. "Let's get back to work and figure out the perfect date."
So the rest of the afternoon was spent trying to figure out the perfect first date for Yuugi and Yami.
Saturday picked to come quickly that week and before Yuugi knew it he was standing in the large foyer of the palace waiting on Yami to come down. It was currently one in the afternoon which was great for what Yuugi had planned. The first part of the date would be going to the park for a nice picnic, and then the rest of the date was a surprise from Yami. Yuugi kept drawing blanks about what to do after the picnic so Friday afternoon he called up Yami for some ideas. Yami informed him that he would plan the rest of the date and it would be a surprise for Yuugi.
Yuugi was dressed in blue jeans, a long sleeve white shirt with a black vest, and sneakers which was good for the type of weather they were having that day. It was chilly because of the wind, but with the sun it was just warm enough to get by without a jacket.
He only had to wait a few more minutes, before Yami finally came down. Yami was dressed in his normal black leather pants and combat boots, along with a white muscle shirt, and a leather jacket. He wore his bandages instead of the mask that day, which was something different to Yuugi.
"No mask today?" Yuugi asked with a sweet smile.
Yami chuckled. "No, I decided to leave it off today. We are going on a picnic after all and I might be required to eat." He teased while wrapping an arm around Yuugi's waist.
Yuugi snuggled into Yami's side and breathe in the spicy dessert scent that was the Vampire King. He had to admit to himself that, Yami's scent had to have been one of the things Yuugi liked about him.
Someone cleared their throat and Yuugi and Yami broke apart, with light blushes on their faces, well Yuugi had a blush, no one could tell on Yami if he was blushing or not.
Ethan smiled at the two and handed his father the picnic basket he packed. "Hope you two have a great time. I'll make sure to keep everyone around here in line while you are gone father."
Yami took the basket and smiled at his son. "Make sure you do that or no one knows what trouble Jason and Taylor will get into."
"Don't we know it…" Ethan replied. He waved at the two before hurrying back down the hallway he came.
Yami rewrapped his arm around Yuugi's waist and stirred him toward the door. "Shall we begin our first date?"
Yuugi agreed. "We shall."
By the end of the date, it was easy to tell Yuugi and Yami had become even closer. Yuugi was really starting to fall for Yami and his gentleman like charm. Yami was falling for Yuugi's kindness and beauty. When they returned back to the palace it was late into the night around eight. The sky was dark and the stars were shining brightly.
Yami kissed Yuugi's hand and wished him a goodnight, before seeing him off. Yuugi drove home with another big smile on his face like everytime after he got done seeing Yami. He honestly couldn't wait until the next date.
By the end of October, Yuugi and Yami had gone on enough dates to consider each other lovers or at least boyfriends. Taylor, Ethan, and Jason found themselves spending more time with Yuugi and thanks to Yuugi they found themselves spending more time with their father. Chan and Kotaro loved having Yuugi around because Yuugi was almost like a mother to them. It happened to be Halloween weekend when Yami asked Yuugi on another date. Yuugi had wanted to help Yami plan the date, but Yami told him he would find out what they were doing on that day.
So when Sunday October thirty first rolled around Yuugi arrived at the palace on time around five just before the sun would start to go down. Yami was there to welcome Yuugi and let him join in on dinner with him and his family, before his kids were going to go out and enjoy the scary holiday.
The dinner was simple with some small talk before the children, minus Jiro, got too anxious and ventured out of the house early. Jiro excused himself from the table when his siblings left. With all the children gone, Yuugi and Yami had the whole room to themselves.
Yami finished off the remaining blood in his goblet before turning to Yuugi with a smile on his bandaged covered face. "Yuugi, would you like to take a stroll with me out in my garden?"
Yuugi wiped his mouth to get rid of any food stuck to his face, before nodding his head. He took Yami's hand when it was offered to him and let Yami led him toward his garden. While Yami was dressed in a long white turtle neck and black dress pants to keep himself warm in the cold night, Yuugi had dressed himself in blue jeans and a dark purple t-shirt with a black cat on it. Before they walked past the double doors into the garden, Yami wrapped Yuugi up in a cloak, since he left his jacket in the foyer on a coat rack. The cold wouldn't affect Yami, seeing as he was technically dead, but it would however affect Yuugi.
As they walked outside into the newly darkening sky, Yuugi took note of how dead the garden looked. Bushes were all dried up with their flowers all gone and dead and the paths they walked were littered with dead leaves which had fallen from the bare trees. In the middle of the dying garden was a fountain, but no water was running in it and it looked like it had been dried out for a while.
They both took a seat on a bench that had a nice view of the whole garden. Yami wrapped his arm around Yuugi's waist. "You know I used to think this garden represent me in every way. It was once lush and beautiful before it began to die away. I first had this garden built for my children, but over time I stopped looking after it and let it die. It was much easier to let it die away then keep it beautiful."
Yuugi looked up at Yami confused. "Are you trying to say you are not beautiful?"
Yami looked down at Yuugi and Yuugi was surprised to see that the one crimson eye he could see held sadness.
"I used to believe that. For the longest time I saw myself as a monster with nothing to live on for. I love my family very much, but in my heart I felt like they weren't enough to feel the emptiness. I felt I needed someone in my life that could show me that I'm not the monster some people see me as." Yami spoke with such sadness and pain in his voice.
Yuugi felt like crying when he heard Yami talk like that. He reached up and placed one of his hands on Yami cheek. They sat their staring at each other for the next few minutes, before Yuugi got brave and lead up with his head titled just enough so he could brush his lips against Yami's.
Yami's brain seemed to have shut down because all he could do was sit there with this look of shock on his face. It was a simple first kiss between the two of them, but it was enough to send shivers down Yami's spine.
When Yuugi broke away he had a smile on his face. "Yami you are beautiful in your own way. This garden no longer represents you. The Yami I see is handsome, charming, caring, and the list can go on and on."
A slight smile appeared on Yami's face. "I'm so happy to have found someone as loving and caring as you Yuugi."
Yuugi smiled back up at him. "I'm also glad to have found someone as wonderful as you."
The two shared another short kiss, before they broke apart. Yami reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. The necklace was a palm size flower pendent on a silver chain. The flower itself was beautiful to be hold with its crystal like crimson petals with some black mixed in.
Yami looped the chain around Yuugi's head and let the flower rest on his chest. "I was waiting for the right moment to give it to you." Yami explained as he watched Yuugi admire it. "I would like you to wear it as a symbol of our love."
"It's gorgeous…" Yuugi whispered to himself. He looked up at Yami before wrapping his arms around Yami's neck. "Thank you so much. I promise to take good care of it."
Yami hugged Yuugi back before pulling back just enough to kiss Yuugi's forehead. "I really want this relationship to work for the two of us, because I feel like I'm falling in love with you."
"Me too Yami, I think I'm falling for you too." Yuugi whispered to Yami.
They spent the rest of the evening in each other's arms relishing in the blossoming relationship they had.
Sakura: Just to clarity at the end. Yuugi and Yami have not said 'I love you' yet in their relationship that is why Yami and Yuugi said they think they are in love with each other. I haven't decided yet when they will say those three little words.
This chapter was the kick start of Yuugi and Yami's relationship. The rest of the story will pick up and we will start to learn about Yami's past.
Also before my readers go crazy on me, YES, next chapter everyone will learn why Yami wears a mask. I'm sure everyone is ready to find out the truth behind the mask and bandages.
Yumi: With all that said… Review!
