Part IX
(Halting)
"Yami," Seto said softly, and Yami looked back at him from where he was retrieving his shirt. "Stay."
"I shouldn't," Yami answered with a sigh. "Yuugi is supposed to be here with Mokuba."
"I doubt that Mokuba expects him back. Just stay," Seto argued. The temptation was in Yami's eyes, and Seto was glad. "Please." Reluctantly Yami returned to Seto's bed, and Seto wasted no time in pulling the smaller male close. Yami must have been tired; he fell asleep quickly, head nestled against Seto's chest. Seto was content to watch him… he looked peaceful. But why had Seto pushed the issue, why had he nearly begged for Yami to stay? Had he been trying to assert his dominance, to show that even though he played bottom in their relationship, he was still very much in control? No… Seto didn't need to control Yami… and more importantly, he didn't want to.
He had just wanted him to stay.
Seto gently stroked Yami's hair, and he admitted to himself that differences between Yami and Yuugi he hadn't noticed before were glaringly obvious: not only in voice and mannerism, but in strength; Yami seemed to be physically stronger than Yuugi. Also, amusingly enough, their hair was different; there was more blonde in Yami's hair. Seto was actually a little ashamed that he had never noticed before; he was a genius, and the differences were obvious. Had he been that wrapped up in everything else that such small details were passing him by? It made Seto wonder if there was anything else he was missing.
Seto moved his arm around Yami, and the sleeping form curled closer, sighing in his sleep.
Of course, Seto was aware enough to see one fatal flaw in all their encounters, all the nights they shared; Seto had realized it as Yami protested against staying…
No matter how different Yami and Yuugi were, the fact remained that they were still one body. Their relationship may have been working for the time being, but things would become increasingly complicated as time progressed. What were Seto and Mokuba supposed to do, write up some sort of time-share table? No, that was ludicrous; the four of them would not be able to progress in the manner they had for the past few weeks. Someone would break under the strain, and Seto was determined to make sure that it wasn't Mokuba who suffered… even at the expense of his own happiness.
Seto realized there were tears burning his eyes. When had that happened? He never cried, hadn't done so in years. He used his free hand to rub his eyes forcefully, making the tears go away. He looked back down at Yami.
Damn, but it felt right to have Yami in his arms…
He didn't want to let go.
"Did something happen last night? " Yuugi asked as he walked in his room the next morning. He had sensed Yami's feelings of sullenness and regret ever since they had left the Kaiba home. Had Yami done something regrettable?
"How do you stand it? "
"What do you mean? "
"When I'm with Seto."
"Oh. " Yuugi shrugged, turning to face Yami; the spirit had visually manifested and seemed to be sitting back wearily in a chair in Yuugi's room. "I just think. I don't even notice how long it is. "
Yami made a noise of disbelief. "Sure."
Yuugi frowned; that was completely unlike Yami… what the hell was going on? "What's wrong?" he demanded.
"Nothing. "
"You're full of shit, Yami. You seem to be forgetting that you can't hide anything from me, so either you're going to tell me, or we're going to have to do this the hard way. "
Yami paused, refusing to meet Yuugi's eyes for a few minutes. Yuugi waited patiently, watching Yami closely.
Finally, still not looking at Yuugi, Yami said, "Seto and I cannot continue, not at the price of your life. "
"My life? Yami, there's no harm in-"
"Yes, there is. You are forced to go elsewhere while I use your body to live; life is precious, Yuugi, and however alive I feel with Seto, I cannot take your existence from you. "
Yuugi was shocked. That was deep, beautiful… and the most heartbreaking thing that Yuugi had ever heard. "Yami," he said slowly. "You and Kaiba-"
"Someone is going to suffer," Yami interrupted abruptly. "Someone will falter. I've lived my life once; I can't infringe on yours just because I happen to share your body." Yuugi knew what was coming, and he dreaded Yami's next words. "It has to end. "
- author thoughts… -
I don't know if anyone saw this coming… did you? If so, 10 points! I talk about it a little more in my final notes… But this wasn't how the story was originally supposed to end.
ah, short, I know, but it really just transitions into the next part, which is the end… well, the end of this story. ^^ More on that at the end of Part X.
You know, I bet this sounds really strange coming from the author, but I want to know what the hard way was…
And Hanachan says:
First semicolons, then commas, then parenthesis, and now colons...Ash, stop with all the literary love affairs; someone's gonna get jealous, and it's most likely to be your Beta *heart*
Told you I was bad… XD She's strangely silent on the topic of ellipsis though.
To come out randomly, because I'm listening to the song "Extreme Ways", I like the line "then it fell apart". Fits the mood. But that's almost unrelated to the story, and if I don't shut up, I'm going to ruin the mood. *shuts up*