Sasami: Aloha all! I finally finished this chapter. *^^ I swear, I've worked on it for three days now, and I haven't been able to write it to my satisfaction until now. But hey! It's longer than any of the rest, and more interesting I hope.

Nijuu: It took you long enough, it had better be good. o.O

Sasami: Geez! I know! I know! Anyhoo…I figured out how to finish the chapter while watching YGO reruns this afternoon…tee hee *^^ Even with editing and dubbing, you can see all the fluff. Okay, no more talking. On with the chappie!

Nijuu: We don't own Yu-gi-oh, and chances are you don't either.

Sasami: Thankies! I do own the story though.

The song for this chapter is Everything from Lifehouse's first CD No Name Face.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Fears of the Stone

Chapter Five: Everything

Find me here

Speak to me

I want to feel you

I need to hear you

You are the light

That is leading me

To the place where

I find peace again

You are the strength

That keeps me walking

You are the hope

That keeps me trusting

You are the life to my soul

You are my purpose

You are everything

Yami had returned from the store, after the shortest hour he had experienced since his release from the puzzle, to a house full of his hikari's particularly intense foreign music. While walking home, Yami had felt unease and fear and pain through their connection, and anxious for Yuugi's safety, hastened home. Yuugi's breakfast was unfinished on the counter and there was no sign of the man downstairs, and again out of concern for his other, Yami abandoned the groceries on the floor of the kitchen. A scream echoed through his mind as he raced up the stairs to their bedroom.

/Why do you do this to me Yami?/ It was clear that Yuugi had forgotten to guard his thoughts. Still unaware of his yami's presence, Yuugi remained on his knees on the floor of his bedroom, sobbing incoherently into the shirt he held. Emotions that ought not to be within him escaped  in a fury of tears and howls. He feared his fondness for Yami, but he feared even more rejection from him. There would be nothing left for him if he could not even be accepted by his own darkness.

The bedroom door was open, and Yami was met with a sight more painful than he had expected to find. Yuugi was half dressed and crying on the bedroom floor. Nothing could have prepared Yami for the impact he felt when waves of fear and uncertainty flooded their link. It did not take much effort to realize he alone was the cause of his hikari's pain, though he was still unconsciously refused to see why. Without stopping to consider the consequences of his actions, Yami knelt down behind Yuugi and wrapped his arms around the younger man's trembling form.

//What is it I have done hikari?// Yami buried his face in Yuugi's hair, breathing in the subtle scent of lavender and eucalyptus, choosing his usual, less startling form of communication with the man. Nonetheless, Yuugi jerked at the sudden invasion of his mind and Yami's warmth against his bare skin.

"Yami!" Yuugi choked on his tear soaked voice. He did not want Yami to see him reduced to such a state. It was weak. Even if his yami was not fanatical about strength like Ryou's, Yuugi supposed that a pharaoh had no tolerance for fragility. Still, his tears would not stop and defeat was settling upon him.

//Hikari. What have I done to cause you such pain?// The emotions that flowed unchecked through their link answered his silent plea. Yami did not want to see it, did not want to know that his selfish desires were being fulfilled with such sorrow. It pained him to know that his hikari did indeed fear rejection from him. The fact that he had done nothing to change that view hurt even more.

"Please Yami. Let me go." Yuugi was certain that Yami could feel everything he felt, and their close proximity only enhanced it. His frenzied emotions kept him from guarding his mind properly, and Yami's embrace put a stop to it altogether. Too much was on the line in that moment, and Yuugi was unwilling to lose it all. Most of all, he was unwilling to having his affection returned out of pity. In such a state as he was in, if Yami were to acknowledge his feelings, the young man feared it would be out of pity for him, not out of a true emotional return.

//Aibou…// Yami hoped that attempting to employ such a name on his hikari would serve as an apology for its earlier use and reveal a favorable reception of the man's feelings. It was a risk. The pharaoh was concerned that Yuugi would view anything more straightforward as an invasion of his mind, as he had not directly stated how he felt.

"Do not call me that! It is more than I can take to hear you call me something you cannot possibly mean." When Yami called him "aibou" this time around, Yuugi had noted the change in his voice. It lacked the cruel tone of that morning, and it was changed from his words until that point. There was something uncertain in his voice, strong and commanding yet unsure. Yuugi could feel his resolve failing him. It was taking everything within him to not confess his feelings to the man who tried so hard to comfort him.

//What makes you so certain that I do not mean it?// Words Yami had not intended flowed down their link to his lighter half, settling themselves comfortably in the front of the hikari's mind. He had sent them quite by accident, betraying himself to the damaged soul before him. Yuugi's tears had ceased to flow so freely, and stopped entirely at the words he heard.

And how can I

Stand here with you

And not be moved by you

Would you tell me

How could it be

Any better than this

/Let me go Yami./ Yuugi pleaded less forcefully, evading the question with an  uncharacteristic use of his mind to speak to the man who held him. It was everything he wanted to be in those arms, but he needed to look into Yami's eyes. Needed to see the truth behind the words spoken within their minds. He had composed himself enough to ensure that his thoughts were at least partially guarded. Yuugi had not realized that he blocked Yami from feeling his need for him to see the truth in his eyes as he had felt everything else. Yami granted his request, settling back on his heels as he remained on the ground.

"Damn it Yuugi. Just trust me! Do you honestly think I would hurt you? I need you." Yami spoke aloud the harshly toned words, his voice barely above a whisper. He had done the same earlier that morning, as always, keeping his anger clear of Yuugi's mind. The pharaoh felt that something was inherently wrong with passing such raw and inhospitable emotion directly to his hikari's vulnerable mind. Besides, it would only cause more of the very pain Yami wanted to stop.

The words caused his hikari pain anyway. Yuugi stood up and turned to face his yami who now looked up at him, crimson eyes filled with worry and the other unreadable emotion. Disappointment and anger darkened Yuugi's normally bright amethyst eyes.

Abrasive words were not what Yuugi had expected from the dark spirit, and they sent him back on the defensive, his voice rising with every word he spoke. "Of course you do. If I get hurt, so do you, right? Ra, Yami! I'm not stupid or blind. You couldn't care less about me; it's only your own life you worry about." Tears began to fall again. Every time he started to trust the words of the pharaoh, he ended up hurt.

Instead of fighting the defeat he had been resisting for months, he surrendered to it, allowing all of the hurt, betrayal, and rejection he had been feeling to rise up within him. Even guarded, his mind could not contain the turmoil, spilling forth in a torrent of tears and flooding his yami's mind through their mental link. Yuugi turned from himself, away from the darkness he craved.

The older man rose to sit on the edge of the bed. Bowing his head into his hands and running his slender fingers through his tri colored hair, the pharaoh sat in silent contemplation on how to respond to his disconsolate hikari. Blunt truth seemed the only answer. //That is no longer true hikari. When we shared a body, yes, I did protect you partially out of concern for myself. Only partially mind you, but things are different now.//

"What do you mean?" Forgetting his bitterness temporarily, Yuugi spun to face Yami with a look of complete bewilderment. Though Yami had seated himself facing away from Yuugi, he felt the confusion filtering through the tumult of sorrow, anger, and fear in his mind. Perhaps an explanation was the key to setting them straight.

//When I was still a part of your mind, your body, we would both be hurt if the other was.// Yami paused to arrange his thoughts. //But now…now that I have a body of my own, our connection has changed.// He rose with the intent of exiting the room, of leaving Yuugi to his thoughts. Yami wished Yuugi to come to his own conclusions about their relationship now that he knew the truth. Walking to the door the quieted voice of his hikari stopped him.

"Then…" Yuugi trailed off his words knowing that Yami would understand his question. Hearing the pharaoh say that he was not forced to protect Yuugi any longer sent a tremor through the man's body. It was suddenly feasible that his yami was protecting him for something other than himself, but he had to be certain.    

//If you were to die I could, in theory, continue to live. Do you understand now?// Yami replied silently, resting his hand gently against the doorframe as if to leave. However, he remained in the room, giving his hikari another chance to clarify the situation.

"Only in theory?" he whispered. Convinced as he was, Yuugi wanted, needed desperately to hear the words from his yami he knew would follow. All of the strength he had been building within himself for the past three years had failed; he that perhaps standing on his own two feet was not worth the pain it caused. All he wanted to feel was safety. All he needed was for Yami to accept him. In that moment, he threw all independence and confidence to the wind, wanting only the companionship and approval of his yami.

Yami looked over his shoulder at the remarkable man with the tear soaked eyes, casting him a final look of concern, arrogance, sorrow, tenderness, and desperation all held together in one stare. Yuugi could felt his doubt melting under Yami's heated crimson gaze. //I cannot live without you.//  

You calm the storms

You give me rest

You hold me in your hands

You won't let me fall

You still my heart

And you take my breath away

Would you take me in

Would you take me deeper now

'cause you're all I want

You are all I need

You are everything

Everything

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sasami: How was it?! R&R please! That chapter took a lot of work, so I really want honest opinions. I revoke my previous request as well…Feel free to flame if that is how you choose to review stories.

Nijuu: Are you crazy? o.O

Sasami: Yuppers! :p  Flames are still critiques, just rude. I can still get a good idea about how my story is from them.

Nijuu: Okay…

Sasami: Oh yes! New topic: I want to apologize ahead of time for the length of time between my updates. School starts up on Monday, and I have a full schedule with 4 college level classes, so I'm going to be very busy trying to keep my sanity.

Nijuu: Horrible Senior year schedule hikari…o.O

Sasami: I know…*^^ I swear I will do everything in my power to update often, but I cannot guarantee it. It will all come down to the amount of time I have to type and upload everything, since I write it all down when I don't have a computer available. Please keep reading though! I promise I won't forget to update!

Ja ne minna-san!