The Ties of Friendship
Just a quick note, I took some liberties with Rebecca's past. Nothing major, and not much angst, even though I think her parents are dead. Don't worry; overall, this will be a story liable to kill you with fluff. And suppressed emotions in those first two chapters. ~.^
*~*~*
Rebecca haphazardly threw her bags aside when she entered her grandfather's house and ran to the kitchen, the probable source of the delicious smells floating throughout the house.
"Grandpa!" she cried, flinging herself into his arms.
"Rebecca! I'm so glad you're home!" Arthur said warmly, returning the tight embrace.
"Yes… home…" she said dreamily. "That has a nice sound to it."
Her grandfather chuckled and released her. "I hope you'll be happy here," he said, returning to the counter to stir what Rebecca recognized as chowder. "If you'd like to see it, your room is upstairs. Second door to the right. First door is a closet, third is the bathroom. My bedroom is off to the left, along with a rather nice study you can use."
"Thanks, Grandpa!" she said, dashing up the stairs. She could get her bags later. Being with her grandfather usually brought out the child in her.
She reached the door to her new room and abruptly stopped. Through the slightly open door, she could see the pale yellow wallpaper. She slowly entered, taking in all the surroundings. It was an almost exact replica of the house she'd lived in with her parents growing up. The first few years of her life had been the only years where she had an actual home.
The only thing different, of course, was the bed. Where her crib had once stood, and later her small, low bed, now proudly sat a four-post oak bed. It was beautiful, and she instinctively knew that there was something special about it.
She traced the lines on it softly with a finger. For a while she stood there, lost in thought, until her grandfather's calling brought her back to the kitchen.
She entered to find the table all set and the food ready to serve. "Oh, Grandpa," she said, suddenly feeling guilty. "You should have asked me to help."
He simply shook a finger at her. "Don't you worry about that, Rebecca," he said gently. "I have a feeling you found your mothers bed."
"Is that what it was?" she asked, feeling tears coming to her eyes. "It's gorgeous."
Arthur nodded slowly, sitting down across from his granddaughter, who also sunk into her seat. "It was where she slept when she was a teenager as well. It was where she had all her dreams."
Her dreams… and now it would be Rebecca's turn to dream in that bed.
*~*~*
//Maybe I should just come out of the puzzle, Yugi// Yami suggested. //I think that will make it easier for us to talk.//
Yugi nodded in agreement, knowing the spirit would sense it. A second later, the Millennium Puzzle glowed briefly and a hologram of his yami appeared, plopping carelessly on the bed. "So, Yugi, what did you want to talk about? Not that I don't already know…" Yami added, grinning and beginning to bounce.
Yugi cocked an eyebrow. "You really love that bed, don't you?"
"I spend most of my time in the stupid puzzle," Yami grumbled. "I deserve a little fun time."
Yugi shrugged, grinning. "If you want, Yami, you can stay out tomorrow night," he offered. "Grandpa's having some people over for dinner, and at least one of us should be entertained."
"Your presence is required?" Yami asked, stopping his bouncing and flopping on Yugi's pillow.
"Yeah," Yugi grumbled. "Bunch of old architects looking at me and talking about the good times they had when they were young."
Yami nodded. "My presence was always required," he mused. "As pharaoh, they never let you alone."
Yugi nodded, taking a seat beside a pile of old clothes and magazines. He gazed up at his Yami. "You said you already know what I wanted to talk about…"
"Rebecca Hawkins," Yami said wisely, though it was awfully hard to be wise while tossing Yugi's pillow into the air and catching it with his feet.
"Wha-" Yugi spluttered.
"You aren't very good at hiding your feelings, Yugi," Yami laughed. "I bet even Joey could tell, and he doesn't even have access to your train of thoughts."
Yugi scowled. "Well, if you're so sure you know what I'm thinking…" his voice trailed off and Yami raised a questioning eyebrow. "Well, could you tell me?" Yugi burst out, dramatically putting his head on the pile of clothes on the floor, including the leather shirt he'd worn the previous day. "It's too darn confusing!"
"Ever the innocent hikari," Yami teased gently. "If you really want to know, Yugi…" he struggled to control the enormous grin creeping onto his face, "I think you're growing up."
Yugi grabbed the first thing his hand came in contact with, which happened to be a random shoe, and threw it at Yami.
"Hey!" Yami said, covering his face with the pillow. "Let's face it, Yugi. You hit puberty awfully late. I haven't felt you show interest in a girl for ages. And Rebecca… well, let's just say she's grown up too. It's natural to notice such things. And it's good to know you're being natural, for once."
Yugi groaned. "This is really embarrassing," he said to no one. "Why did I ever come to you for advice?"
"Because I'm the one with the girls at my fingertips," Yami said, grinning.
Yugi snorted. "Okay," he continued, after a pause, "basically you're saying that I like Rebecca."
Yami groaned. "That was what you wanted to talk about? I thought you were asking for advice on how to get her! Your crush couldn't be more obvious."
Yugi turned bright red. "Yami!" he wailed. "What am I going to do?"
"Now this is more like it," the spirit said, sitting up and grinning. "First thing…"
*~*~*
Yami might be OOC, and Yugi and Yami's conversation might have been a bit odd, but oh well. I just wrote them the way I love them. ^.^ Oh, and for those of you that are now looking forward to Yami's 'girl advice talk', I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be writing it. ::sweatdrop:: Sorry, but I'm a girl! It's kind of hard for me. ~.^ Although if anyone else wanted to take a stab at making a humor fic out of it, go right ahead. LOL.
I mentioned beds a lot, didn't I? O.o No, there's not supposed to be anything symbolic about that…
As always, review! ^___^