Dreaming in Grey
Chapter 2: Light on the Dark Side of Me
Standard disclaimers apply. YuGiOh and "Kiss From A Rose" are property of their own creators. Written for Mamono's fic challenge, and based loosely around the song "Kiss From A Rose" by Seal. Many thanks to Harlequine, my beta reader!
Author note: Thanks for all the positive reviews last chapter! Hope this meets up to your expectations.
Warm, wet steam rose like a pale ghost from the cup of hot cocoa that Yuugi grasped in both hands. Leaning back on his soft, blue-covered bed, he greedily tipped the liquid from the mug into his mouth, feeling the smooth chocolate warm his body inside out. Letting out a soft sigh, he wrapped the warm woolen blankets his grandfather had given him closer to his body. A soft flash of light emitted from the inverted pyramid around his neck caught his attention, and he shifted his body so that he could face the almost mirror image that appeared next to him. Among the subtle differences between the two, the second boy's blonde bangs spiked back into the black and red at the back of his head. His eyes were narrower, wiser, a tainted shade of crimson. The less-than-subtle difference was that the snow covered window could easily be seen in it's every detail through the transparency of his body.
Smiling, the spirit crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back on the bed, his eyes glancing from the mug in Yuugi's hand to the boy.
"Did you even taste that?"
"No I didn't, " Yuugi replied sheepishly before taking a slower, smaller sip from his mug.
A good-natured chuckle emerged from the spirit. "I'm not surprised." He turned to face the window, and Yuugi followed his gaze. From where they sat, they could see massive patches of snow in the middle of the street missing, and footprints trailing around the entire area. A squeak of a laugh escaped Yuugi's lips as he remembered the happenings of that afternoon. After taking a plunge in the icy snow to make sure that Anzu wouldn't get wet ('She smelled really nice," he thought to himself, blushing.), him and Anzu had partnered up to finish the snowball war. He could still see her standing on her tiptoes rubbing snow in Honda's hair while he himself was chasing Jounouchi while utilizing an aim much truer than his own. Jounouchi, cornered on a main street where the snow had already been plowed, had to surrender or face the same fate he had tried to bestow on Anzu.
"Thanks for the help this afternoon, Other Me," Yuugi said softly, breaking through the silence, "I would have never been able to keep up with Jounouchi and Honda without you." The Other Yuugi turned to face him.
"I just wanted to even out the odds, partner." He said, then added teasingly, "Besides, you know I can't say no to a challenge."
"Or to playing the hero." Yuugi added, a blush still evident on his cheeks.
The spirit chuckled, "You were the one who wanted to make sure Anzu didn't get wet. I merely supplied the plan of action." The purity of his partner's resolve never failed to impress the ancient spirit. In everything, great or almost insignificant, Yuugi always strove to do what was right, and to give credit where he believed it was due. In the end, though, he always sold himself short, and this fact troubled the spirit greatly. He wouldn't even tell others when he was hurting, for fear of inconveniencing others. This realization reminded the Other Yuugi of his partner's restless sleep the night before. He leaned in closer to Yuugi, his facial features taking on a more serious nature. "Do you want to talk about it now?"
"About what?" The reply was too quick, and Yuugi winced at his mistake. He turned away ashamed, "I-- I don't." He looked down at the mug of cocoa in his hands and sighed. The odd sensation of heat against his neck caused him to turn his head to once again face the spirit, whose immaterial hand was placed reassuringly on his shoulder.
"Please Yuugi. Let me shoulder this burden." He asked, crimson eyes pleading to violet.
Yuugi was the first to break the gaze. Slowly and deliberately, he drank the last of his hot chocolate and placed the empty mug on his dresser. "It was just a dream. It just-- startled me, I guess."
"Yuugi, listen to me," his other protested, "I've been slow in asking you, hoping that you'd tell me. I've felt your agony for several nights now." Warm, transparent arms wrapped around the small boy, rocking his shuddering form back and forth slowly. "Tell me."
Drying his tears, Yuugi finally met his other's gaze. "It doesn't mean anything but--" He sighed, "It was more of a feeling than a dream. Everything was covered in this gray mist and... and I felt happy and whole. Like I belonged in here." He placed a small hand above his heart, just bumping the Sennen Puzzle around his neck. "But then I felt this... shove, only more strong, and my whole vision split between black and blazing, bright white." He shuddered, wrapping his arms around his knees, "And then there was this cracking noise, and I felt myself being torn in two... and I watched the white fall away, and everything turned that awful shade of black... and I was forgetting, and I didn't know who I was and I-was-so-scaredandaloneandthen--" He gasped for breath as the spirit held him closer, "And the light part just... it was dead, and the black didn't care! It had just killed it and..."
"Partner--- I'd never..." The spirit breathed into his other's ear, his voice filled with emotion.
Yuugi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, "And that's why the dream can't be true. It's not true. It's not..."
"My partner, my other, the light to my dark;" The spirit whispered gently as he held the boy, "As long as the stars shine in the sky, as long as our heart still beats, nothing will take you from me." His voice, though soft, echoed with a fierce determination. "Nothing."
Six hours. Six hours had passed since the snowball fight, and yet the shoulder that his hand had rested on still felt warm and tingly whenever she thought about it. With a wistful sigh, Anzu leaned her back against the wall of the bay-window in the living room, and took a small sip of strong green tea from her white and pink mug. 'It's wrong,' she tried to remind herself, 'I can't feel this way... I can't love both of them. It's not fair on any of us.' But the rationale she fed herself did nothing to quench the butterflies in her stomach, and she eventually relented; choosing, instead, to look out the window and think about white snow and the darkening sky. Of light and dark; thoughts of them dancing in her head like a sweet lullaby until her eyes closed and she fell into slumber.