Diallo: -paws at the collar of jingle bells around his neck-
Z-S: Awww, you look so cute!
Diallo: -pouts- I'm not cute!
Z-S: Oh well, then your adorable.
Diallo: I don't do cute and adorable!
Z-S: -glomps Diallo- Then your just cuddly then!
Diallo: -pants- Hope... you... enjoy!
Click… clomp… click… clomp!
Bleary crimson eyes peeled open at the unusual sound coming from the roof. Rubbing the sleep from his clouded eyes, Yami glanced over at his bedside clock to find it displaying 2:30 am. Groaning, he slowly swung his legs over the bed and stood up.
Click… clomp!
'What in the hell is that?' He asked, yawning as he fumbled over to his window to look out at the still falling snow. Shaking his head at the thought of more snow, he sighed while running a hand through his tousled and tangled hair. 'Whatever the hell it is, it has a death wish for waking me up!'
Click… scrrreeeck… clomp!
Crimson eyes blinked at the sudden sound of something scrapping across the shingles of the roof, causing Yami to lean closer to the window. Shivering as his warm skin brushed against the icy glass, he noticed the roof washed in dim light from the street lamps.
Hearing the familiar sounds moving over the roof again, Yami went over to the closet and pulled out a warm robe before going back to the window and opening to hear a snort. Leaning out the window a bit further, he looked up to hear the same sound of something raking against the tiles but coming from the other side, meaning it was over Yugi's room.
Getting ready to run and see what the noise was by going into Yugi's room he stopped as he heard the sound of something coming toward his side of the roof. Crimson eyes widened as they watched a large shadow etch across the roof, displaying something that looked like a weird set of coat racks before a body appeared, showing him it was the silhouette of a large deer.
'… There is a deer on my roof…!' he thought, watching the shadow move across the roof before his thoughts got the better of him, causing him to stumble back into his room to trip over one of his boots, landing on his already sore rear.
Wincing at the stinging sensation, Yami slowly got to his feet before hearing another snort and looking up to see the deer poking its head in the window. Eyes widening, he couldn't help but do the first thing that came to mind… which was to scream.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Yami looked over to find the deer no longer there. Panting, he nervously ran a hand through his hair before letting out a startled 'eep' and bouncing on his already aching rear.
"Y-Yami… what's… wrong?"
Hearing the familiar soft voice of Yugi, he quickly peered over his bed to see the little one standing in the doorway rubbing the sleep out of his right eye while yawning. Pulling himself up, Yami darted over to the little one and blinked as he looked at the ears. Blinking again, he shook his head as the ears had a normal look to them… but he could've sworn that they were pointed only seconds ago.
"… Yami, are you alright? You look a bit pale," Yugi yawned, looking up into frazzled crimson eyes as Yami looked at him before darting off to look at the open window.
"Did you hear it too, Yugi? That pawing on the roof?" Yami asked, looking back at Yugi to find him blinking cutely before cocking his head.
"Huh?"
"The sound, there was a deer on the roof!" Yami uttered out, his voice teetering on the edge of being frantic.
"How could a deer get on the roof? Are you sure you didn't have a bad dream or something?"
"Why in the hell would I be dream about a deer being on my roof?" Yami snapped, before stomping over to the open window and pointing out. "There was deer on the roof and I heard it and even seen it, that's why I was screaming!"
Shaking his head, Yugi covered another yawn before reaching up to scratch his head while walking over to Yami and shutting the window. "Yami, I think your mind is playing tricks on you," he smiled before pushing Yami toward his bed. "I tried to warn you about eating that pizza so late."
Yami shook his head. "I know what I saw," he grumbled, "And the pizza is not the blame for it."
"Then explain to me how a deer would get up on the roof of a two story house? Sure, they can jump high… but I seriously doubt they can jump that high."
Slumping on his bed, Yami groaned while running a hand through his hair. "I guess you're right… maybe I am seeing things. It's not like there's any such thing as flying reindeer."
Hiding his frown by letting out a fake yawn, Yugi sighed while watching Yami take off his robe to toss it across the room before lying back down and pulling the covers back up around him.
"Crazy holiday… it's making me crazy…"
Shaking his head at Yami's grumbling, Yugi picked up the robe from the floor, before folding it nicely and placing it on the dresser then leaving the room to go back to his own. Entering his room, he walked over to the window and opened it before crawling outside to find his reindeer companion standing there.
"Orion…"
: Jeez, that human has a set of lungs on him! And I thought your Grandpa could scream… :
"Two words for you, Ori…"
: Let me guess… Big Trouble? :
"No Cookies!"
: What?... Crooked Elf! :
Watching Orion snort and drop his head in defeat, Yugi came out of his reprimanding manner and walked toward the deer before running his fingers over the felt like ears. "You brought this one on yourself, y'know. You're supposed to stay invisible…"
: But I am invisible! Just take a look at me! :
Pulling away, Yugi took another look at the deer to find it surrounded by a faint gold aura, which made the deer only visible to those who believed in Christmas as well as being pure of heart. "Then that would mean… that Yami is starting to believe in Christmas," Yugi smiled, stepping up and hugging the deer, causing the bells on the reins to jingle.
: Yup, but he only heard my hooves and seen me, he has yet to hear the jingle bells. :
"Gee thanks a lot for rubbing that in my face," Yugi pouted, poking the deer in the nose to receive a snort in return. Motioning the deer to follow him, Yugi crawled back in the window and watched as Orion squeezed in behind him before going over to his bed and sitting down.
: At least it's a start, ne? :
"Yeah, but I only have until the day before Christmas Eve to get him to believe… and I have a little less than 2 weeks left," Yugi sighed, running a hand through his hair.
: That's not what's bugging ya, is there? There's something else that you're not telling me. :
Turning his head away from the prying reindeer, Yugi sighed. "I don't know what you're talking about. I just want Yami to enjoy Christmas as much as I do."
: You like him… :
"Wha? You've got your antlers crossed," Yugi countered, shaking his head.
: Hmph, no use in denying it, buddy. You're a terrible liar. :
Turning to look up at the deer, Yugi pouted while crossing his arms. "You're delusional, I don't have feelings for Yami… he's not my type," he mumbled, tossing a glare as the reindeer broke out laughing, tossing its head up in the air making the bells echo in the room.
Picking up one of his pillows, Yugi threw it at Orion to receive a surprised grunt before watching as he shook his head. "That's what you get for laughing at me, and don't think I'm going to be giving you any cookies for a long, long time," he said, turning away from the deer and laying back on his bed.
Hearing Orion snort, Yugi sighed as he listened to the retreating hoof beats before hearing the click of the window, signaling that Orion had went back outside. Huddling into the covers, he thought back to what the deer had said and smiled sadly. 'You know me too well, Ori.'
"Ok, are ya sure dat Yami won't kill us for this?"
"What's the matter, pup? Scared?"
"Maybe… I mean dis is all Christmas decorations… and y'know how Yami is about stuff," Jou sighed rubbing a hand through his hair while looking over at the blue eyed brunet that was helping Ryou put ornaments on the large tree in the living room.
"I think these decorations have been stored away so long they deserve a chance out," Ryou smiled, looking over to watch Bakura, Malik and Marik swag garland around the rest of the room.
"I'm just surprised that Yugi was able to lug that tree all by himself out of the basement," Malik chuckled. "I mean it's twice his size."
Nodding, Bakura looked around the rest of the room before eyeing Yami's shorter double coming from the kitchen carrying a large tray that had a Christmas platter full of cookies as well as holiday goblets filled with eggnog.
"I wanted to thank you guys, so I made these for you," Yugi smiled, sitting the tray on the coffee table.
"Yes, more of dem awesome cookies!" Jou cheered, plopping down on the couch and grabbing a cookie as well as one of the goblets. "I'm telling ya, Seto, Yugi can make da best cookies!"
Watching the rest of the group treat them selves to the cookies and drinks, Yugi flushed lightly at chorus of 'yums' coming from the others. Looking around the rest of the room, he smiled thinking that the house looked and felt ten times better than when he first arrived, it wasn't feeling cold anymore. "Thanks for helping me on such short notice, especially since we just met."
"Think nothing of it, Yugi. It's the season for giving anyways," Ryou smiled, munching on another cookie.
"I'm just curious as to where Yami is," Bakura mused, looking over at Yugi curiously before glancing around the room at all the decorations. "I can't wait to see what he's going to think of this place."
"I dun want to be 'ere when he gets back," Jou sighed, shaking his head. "Sure, this all looks like something straight outta the North Pole… but when Yami sees this… he's gonna hit da roof."
Yugi sighed, knowing that Jou had a good point… Yami probably would go ballistic. "Don't worry about it, Jou. If he gets mad, I'll tell him the truth, that it was me that asked you all to help me," he offered, giving the others a warm smile.
Marik shook his head while finishing off his third cookie. "What are you gonna do if he kicks you out?" he asked before feeling a blow to his ribs from Malik's elbow. Arching a questioning eyebrow at his lover, he took notice of the pointed look and shrugged it off; it wasn't like it was a crime asking a simple question.
Running a hand through his hair, Yugi settled for twirling one of his golden bangs around his finger idly. "If that happens, I guess I'll just go back home and that'll be it," he sighed, glancing down at the floor while still playing with his hair.
The others all exchanged sad and confused glances. They had all heard the Yugi had run away from home and were worried about what he was running away from and the way he sounded seemed as though he was admitting defeat, surrendering to be a failure.
"As for Yami, he should be back in an hour or so. Someone called him this morning and he told me that he would be back around 4," Yugi stated, looking back at the others before getting up from his seat and walking over to the entrance way to pull out a clump of mistletoe from the pouch of his cream colored hooded sweatshirt.
Noticing the mistletoe in the little one's hands, Bakura smiled while getting off the couch and walking over to the shorter teen. "Need some help?" he asked, having a set of gleaming amethyst eyes look up at him in gratitude, causing him to inwardly flinch. Ryou was cute but Yugi seemed to be the epitome of the whole 'cute and innocent' stuff, which was hard to bare. He felt a bit surrounded by all the cuteness in the room.
"Thanks," Yugi smiled, handing the mistletoe to Bakura as he put it in place, letting it dangle amongst garland and bows.
"No problem, I happen to love that little plant anyways," Bakura smirked, looking over at Ryou and motioning him to come over.
Chuckling at the blush that dusted across Ryou's cheeks, Yugi excused himself from the others before making his way back to his room upstairs. Reaching his room, he smiled as he went over to the window to see Orion standing outside. Opening the window, he ran his hands through the smooth fur as the reindeer poked its head inside.
: Your human is going to either blow a fuse or have a hear attack when he sees what you did to his living room. :
Sighing, Yugi shook his head. "So I've been told, but it's all I could think of at the moment," he replied, tapping his finger against one of the bells. "I'm running out of ideas."
: You could always show him that you're an elf. :
"I don't know about that… but it might work," Yugi mused. "Hmm, maybe a good flight would give him the spirit."
: Yup, a good flight does wonders… Wait a minute! Are ya outta ya mind? :
"No, it's perfect," Yugi smiled. "He'd have to believe in all us then."
: That or he's going to be thinking that he's lost his mind! Humans like him do not like the thought of being corrected for something that have set their minds to no longer believe in. :
"We'll see how he takes to the lights and decorations, and then we'll see where to go from there," Yugi sighed, petting the deer while before giving a wave and going back down the stairs.
Yami sighed as he pulled up into the garage. Getting out of the vehicle and closing the door behind him, he ran a hand through his hair. All he wanted to do was crawl back in bed and sleep, since his uncle had him loading inventory at the game shop for the past few hours.
Rubbing his aching temples, he sighed as he headed for the door connecting to the house. "I sure hope I have some aspirin left," he mused, walking into the house, glancing into the living room to see all the decorating before walking into the kitchen and searching for aspirin.
Finding the wonder pill and getting a glass of water, he swallowed the pill before his crimson eyes sprung open as he recalled what he had seen in the living room, nearing causing him to choke on his water. Coughing, he scrambled back into the hall to stare into the lavishly decorated living room to see his friends gathered around his coffee table with Yugi sitting among them.
"What in the hell is going on?!"
"Uh oh…"
"I'm waiting!"
"We decorated… nice isn't it?" Ryou replied shakily with a forced smile.
Yami growled, causing the entire group to cringe at the tone of the growl. They could already tell that their red eyed companion was about to hit the roof. Shooting a glare at his friends, he turned away sharply before storming up the stairs, unaware of the hurt flashing through amethyst eyes.
Hearing the door slam, Yugi cringed. "Maybe you guys should go," he sighed, looking at the others to see them give a hesitant nod in reply. "I really appreciate what you did though."
"Be careful, Yugi," Jou smiled, patting the little one on the shoulder.
Nodding, Yugi smiled as everyone gave him a pat on the shoulder or in Marik and Bakura's case ruffled his hair before leaving him to contend with his upset house companion. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he went into the kitchen before fixing up a smaller tray with a plate of cookies as well as a glass of milk.
Walking up the stairs, he inwardly flinched recalling the look on Yami's face. Shaking it off as he reached Yami's door, he eased the tray on his hip before knocking on the door. "Y…Yami."
He was greeted with silence before hearing the sound of something flopping down on the bed behind the door. "Can I… can I come in?"
"What do you want?"
Cringing at the harsh tone, Yugi looked down at the cookies in the tray to ease his quivering nerves. He never liked someone displeased with him or yelling at him, it always made him extremely nervous. "I… I want to talk to talk to you."
Silence.
"Yami?"
"… C'mon in, Yugi."
Z-S: Yeah, the lines are working for me again!
Diallo: Good for you, although I think I'm a bit worried about Yugi... Yami seems a bit pissed!
Z-S: He reminds me of you when I put that collar around your neck!
Diallo: The bells are annoying!
Z-S: -rolls eyes at Diallo- Oh well, hope ya enjoyed
Diallo: Please Review!