---later that night---
"Yugi you're fine now stop moving," Yami told his little koi.
"But Yami!" Yugi replied moving away.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun," he called seductively, Yugi glared at him through narrowed eyes before giving up.
"Okay, I'll do it, but I won't like it," Yugi told him and Yami quickly pulled him in. Yugi's head went under water for a second before he bobbed back up with his hair sopping wet,
"Yami! I thought you were going to teach me to swim!" Yugi cried sneezing out water that had gotten in his nose.
"I am, just relax it can be fun for you if you'll just lay back and relax," Yami said bending back making his feet come off the sandy shore. Yugi watched him, pouting as Yami floated in front of him in nothing but his short swim trunks. Yami swam a couple small circles around him before curling around Yugi's waist and working his fingers under the waist band of his all ready slightly over sized trunks. Yugi pulled away, but couldn't go far enough due to Yami's legs locked with his; Yami pulled him back into him by the waist band, making the small vampire fall back into him. Yami wrapped his arms around Yugi, trapping him on his back unable to move.
"Relaaax," Yami purred as Yugi tried to wrestle free of the older vampire's grip; Yugi quickly gave up as he realized his head was going under water and he stiffened, even though Yami was holding him on his back.
"Shhh, relax," Yami whispered as he began to swim out into deeper water with Yugi still laying on his stomach; Yugi very slowly relaxed into Yami.
"Okay, now kick your feet a little, like I am doing," Yami said gently as he floated along on his back, relaxing his hold on Yugi's body a bit. Yami waited a moment before he felt Yugi begin to move his feet very slowly; Yami let go and let himself sink away from Yugi's body before letting him go all together. Yami quietly swam next to Yugi, barely touching him to make him move the right direction, all the while smiling at his accomplishment, he finally decided to move further away and let Yugi swim on his own until he finally swam up next to him, into the little one's line of view.
"I told you it was fun," Yami said smiling at him as Yugi opened his eyes, blinking up at him; Yami quickly put his hands under Yug's back to keep him from panicking and sinking.
"I-I swam?" Yugi said looking back and forth, he was somewhere close to the middle of the lake with Yami.
"Yes, I told you so, it's nice to go swimming," Yami told him diving under and coming back up on his other side, grabbing him again.
"Have I finally made you conquer your fear of swimming?" Yami asked pushing Yugi upright and draping the little one's arms around his neck.
"I wasn't scared, I was just... a little paranoid," Yugi told him as Yami began to swim back towards the shore; Yugi yawned slightly resting his head on Yami's bare chest.
"Are you getting tired?" Yami asked looking lovingly down at the vampire on his chest.
"Yeah a little," Yugi replied.
"Well, how about we get to land a little faster before we fall asleep out here," Yami said seeing Lassie's head come out of the water and he let out a loud whistle for her. He saw her yellow eyes turn to see him and with a small squeak go back under water. Yami soon felt her coming up under him and lift him out of the water with Yugi who was practically asleep on him. Lassie carried them back to the edge of the lake and Yami lifted Yugi off of Lassie and carried him; the little one put his arms around Yami's neck, resting his head against his chest. Yami grabbed their towels that he had brought and wrapped one around his shoulders and let Yugi do the same before picking him up again.
"Yami, I can walk," Yugi said sleepily.
"I know, I just like carrying you," Yami said smiling and kissing Yugi on the cheek. They reentered the mansion and trudged up to Yami's room, for the first time in days they had been back in that room. Yami laid Yugi on the bed swim trunks and all and left him for only moments before returning with their PJ's. Yugi blushed a deep red as Yami changed from his swim shorts into his pajama pants.
"Come on Yugi, you have to change, I don't want to sleep with a wet fiance," Yami said sitting Yugi up; he started to take Yugi's swim shorts off for him, smirking, but Yugi came to enough to move away and bat away Yami's fingers, pulling his shorts up a little, he stalked away to the bathroom, leaving Yami with a hurt look on his face. He returned, dressed, to Yami and crawled into bed.
"Yugi? Why won't you let me see you?" Yami asked wrapping his arms around the little ones waist and pressing into him.
"I-I just don't like to be watched," Yugi replied hesitantly. Yami could see right through the story,
"Yugi, it's okay if you're scared, but there's no need to be afraid of me," Yami told him tightening his grip slightly around Yugi's stomach.
"I'm not scared," Yugi insisted huddling down and curling up.
"Yugi, you forget, I'm a vampire too I can feel it, you're afraid of something I just wanted to know what," Yami said leaning into Yugi's back and giving the back of his neck a feather light kiss that sent visible chills up the little one's spine.
"It's okay my koi, you can tell me anything," Yami whispered lovingly.
"Anything?" Yugi replied.
"You promise you won't get angry and leave me?" he asked.
"Yugi, if that's what you're worried about, there's no need, I will never leave you" Yami replied nuzzling Yugi's neck and gently nipping at his ear lobe making the little vampire shiver.
"N-no, that's not what I'm scared of," Yugi said Yami could feel Yugi tensing and began to rub his back with a free hand. Yugi rolled over to face Yami and buried his head in his chest.
"Sex, Yami, I'm scared of you staring at me because of sex," Yugi told him trying to hold him as though he was going to get up and leave him alone. Yami looked sadly at his koi understanding what he meant; he was afraid that if he didn't want to make love with him that he would dump him. He felt wet hit his chest and he looked down to see Yugi crying, gripping onto him,
"Oh, Yugi, shhhh, it's okay, it's all right I'll wait for you I won't leave you just for that," Yami said stroking the small vampire's back and holding him close.
"I love you so much, I would never leave you over something like that," he added kissing the top of Yugi's head. They lay there like that in the bed until Yugi finally stopped crying and started to fall asleep again, reassured that Yami wasn't going to leave.
"Good night koi," Yami told him smiling and settling down next to Yugi, the little one staying right where he had been on Yami's chest.
Yugi awoke in the morning to the sound of Yami's light snoring and looked up at him, smiling; he got up and walked into the bathroom and grabbed a towel he returned and draped it over Yami's face, like a cloth you'd put over a dead person's face, and went beck to the bathroom to get a shower when he returned Yami was still asleep and snoring. He had put on his clothes when he accidentally bumped the side table, the small noise woke Yami, making him sit up with the towel still on his face. Yugi looked over and cried,
"Eeeek! the mummy lives," playfully, of course, when Yami reached up and took the towel off his face.
"Yugi, why did you do that?" he asked tiredly rubbing his eyes.
"Because you were snoring and sleeping like the dead," Yugi said leaning back with his head in his lap. Yami looked sleepily down at him blinking,
"I've always snored there's nothing to do about it," Yami said laying back down.
"Wake up," Yugi said pushing Yami. The older vampire just rolled over, dragging the blanket with him and covering his head.
"Yami," he whined again rolling him back over onto his back.
"Yugi, have you ever had one of those days, where you just wanted to sleep in?" Yami asked through the blankets on his head. Yugi stared at him,
"No," he replied finally just giving up and laying down across Yami's stomach.
"No? you've never just wanted to sleep in and let the day slide by?" Yami asked pulling the sheets off his head a bit and staring down at Yugi.
"Nope, I never was able to until I met the man I love," Yugi said catching Yami off guard and pulling the blankets off of him, before he could get out of the way Yugi was on him in a big hug.
"All right, all right, I'm up, ow!" Yami cried sitting up Yugi had gone to kiss his neck and had accidentally punctured it with his fangs when Yami moved, jerking him back a little bit and tearing the flesh. Yugi immediately withdrew and scuttled away, hiding under the blankets like a scared puppy; Yami licked his fingers and drew them over the small scratches, looking at the shivering lump of blanket that was Yugi.
"Yugi?" Yami called to him going under the blankets to get him; Yugi was curled up with his hands over his head, breathing fast.
"Yugi?" he called again reaching out for him the little one started to breath hard and heavy and Yami pulled the little vampire towards him.
"Yugi, did you take your medicine?" he asked quietly holding him; Yugi shook his head and Yami laid him down gently and reached over to his side table drawer where they had put the bottles and took out the ones that he needed.
"Here Yugi," he said giving him the pills; Yugi shakily took them and swallowed, holding onto Yami until the shivering stopped.
"I'm sorry Yami," Yugi said still holding onto him.
"It's okay Yugi, you didn't hurt me," Yami told him getting up off the bed and holding out a hand to him; Yugi took it and followed him, sticking to the older vampires side. The two of them walked into the kitchen to the sight of Ryou sitting on the counter like a dog with a large bowl and at least two empty bottles of blood. He was crouched there, holding the bowl in his clawed hands and drinking from it. Yami bit his tongue to keep from shouting at him the get off the counter top, when he noticed what the tiny fledgeling's tail was wrapped around; Ryou had that long tail of his wrapped tightly around the neck of another bottle of blood. He put the bowl down and Yami's jaw dropped open as his tail casually flicked the bottle forward over his shoulder and with amazing reflexes Yami had never even seen Seto show, he grabbed it out of the air without even looking at it. That was when Yami decide to step in, before the fledgeling could get the bottle open; he looked up just in time to see Yami walking up to him. Ryou quickly stuck a claw into the cork at the top and pulled it out pouring it into the bowl.
"You little theif!" Yami exclaimed snatching the bowl and bottle away from him. Ryou didn't even look at him,
"You took my drink," he growled looking up at Yami and locking gaze with the much older, taller, vampire; he looked pissed.
"You're stealing our blood," Yami growled right back,
"I am not you ass, that's my own stuff, look at the label on it," Ryou told him rubbing the space between his eyes like he wasn't feeling well. Yami looked at it, indeed it wasn't his, Seto's, or Jou's and it defiantly didn't smell the same it smelled like it was almost bad and very slightly coagulized.
"Where did you get this crap?" Yami asked looking disgusted, he meant it he wanted to do something about the people who gave him this bad blood, even if he disliked the fledgeling who was drinking the stuff.
"I got it off an ebay market, the cheapest stuff I could find," Ryou murmured.
"How on earth could you drink this kind of junk?" Yami hissed walking over to the sink he turned the bottle over and began to pour out the contents; Ryou got a scared look on his face and dove for it lying belly down on the counter as the blood flowed between his fingers, he sat up, kneeling, bringing his head up to eye level with Yami.
"Why did you do that!" he almost screamed at him.
"That was practically bad blood, that could have made you sick don't you understand that?" Yami shouted right back in his face.
"I payed for that blood with my own money, do you know how friking hard it is for me to get money? I've had the same job for the past eighty years, I have a chain of five and I've recently acquired a new job just to get enough money for that junk I've been drinking," he responded practically sitting right on the edge of the counter and shouting at him.
"What the heck do you work with that gives you that little money?" Yami asked actually slightly curious.
"I'm a barkeeper moron how the heck else do you think I pulled off that trick with the bottle? There are five bar owners who have taken my story, and I rotate between them every year, the new job is prostitution, you wouldn't believe how many sickos there are out there who would go a round with me," he hissed sitting back down on his heels.
"That's sick!" Yugi cried looking horrified at him.
"It's a living, blood is expensive no matter how you look at it, and those few who took my story are my only income for money even if the bar dancers share their tips with me," he murmured out completely sitting down and looking slightly dejected.
"What's the story you're telling them, I'd think it hard to hide those legs and that tail of yours," Yami said relaxing a bit now that the vicious fledgeling had done the same.
"I told them that I was sort of like a bonsai kitten only with at child, and the police found me but I ran away," Ryou told him "and they all believe me and keep it a secret, I don't hide my tail at two of the bars, Ice something er'other, the owners are related, I couldn't tell you how many men have wanted me just because of the way I can grip a bottle neck with my tail, gets more money too," he said a tiny hint of a smirk crossing his lips at the thought, those men were always a little more careful with him. Yugi latched onto Yami's side as he listened, it was disgusting and scary at the same time. Yami noticed this and put a hand on his back to calm him before looking back to Ryou, the pitiful creature had his head hung and his tail lay like a limp rope behind him,
"I guess it's okay if you get some blood out of the freezer,since you live here now, but none of mine, Seto and Jou have more," Yami warned, the fledgeling looked up at him.
"I can? You mean I don't have to drink that disgusting excuse for blood any more?" he asked sounding hopeful.
"Yeah you can, no vampire deserves to drink coagulated blood," Yami said shooing him off the counter.
"Just don't sit on the counters now, Seto would have your hide for it," Yami warned again as the short one hopped off and walked away towards the freezer, wobbling a bit and holding his stomach.
"Yami, is it true that they'll do that?" Yugi asked he just couldn't get his mind off that thought of being wanted just for a tail.
"Probably Yugi, but you don't have to worry, I won't ever let that happen to you," Yami replied looking down fondly at Yugi and giving a light kiss on the temple before going back to watching Ryou. The short fledgeling had just darted out of the freezer carrying at least two bottles; he quickly shut the door and crouched shivering horribly, leaving the slightly oversized parka on. Yugi detached himself from Yami and slowly approached Ryou's shivering form.
"Are you going to be okay?" he asked kindly putting a hand on his shoulder he really was freezing cold.
"I-I-I'm f-f-f-f-fine," he chattered out.
"C-c-c-can't st-st-stand t-the c-c-c-cold," he added pulling the parka in tight on his body. Yami walked up behind Yugi and picked up Ryou, rubbing his skin quickly through the jacket until the small fledgeling finally stopped shivering; he sat him back down in a chair the fledgeling looked up at him questioningly.
"What? You where cold right?" Yami said grabbing the bottles that Ryou had had in his hands off the floor.
"Yes," Ryou replied watching Yami carefully as he warmed the blood then handed it to him sitting down across from him.
"Thanks," said pulling the cork out of the bottle and drinking it straight from the bottle, when he drew away he sighed and put his head down on the table.
"That tastes good," he muttered.
"How long have you been drinking that bad stuff?" Yami asked considering that the bottle he had just drank was normal untampered with blood.
"Haven't had that much good blood in a long time, normal humans don't have alot of blood that tastes like that, that was probably a mix of about three different people's blood," Ryou replied looking up at him through a half-lided eye.
"Well, don't let me catch you with that disgusting kind of blood in my home again," Yami said standing and pulling Yugi with him. Ryou nodded and went back to his drink as the pair walked out of the kitchen.
"Is my Yami actually being nice to Ryou?" Yugi asked once they were out of earshot.
"I don't know, I guess the little pest is growing on me, but that stuff he was drinking really was disgusting, Yugi, I couldn't just let him drink it and get sick," Yami replied as they walked down the hallway. The older vampire leaned over to his little lover and gave him a light nip on the top edge of his ear.
"I wouldn't let you drink it why should he," Yami whispered making the shorter vampire lean into him with a small purr.
"I guess you're right, I just hope he doesn't keep working," Yugi replied as they walked out into the back yard to find Seto and Jou sitting out in the sun getting nice and tanned over.
"How long will it take for them to crisp?" Yugi asked Yami pointing to the two asleep in each other's arms.
"Seto won't burn as easy as Jou; Jou will be blush red all over in a matter of hours if we don't wake them up," Yami replied smiling as Jou rolled over to show his less exposed side the blond had a defiant half light half dark tan going on his body. Yami walked up to the pair and bent over Jou casting a shadow on his face the blond opened an eye and sat up.
"Ow, how long have I been out?" he asked rubbing his head.
"From the look of the sunburn on your right arm I'd say about an hour and a half," Yami replied pointing to the reddest spot on his shoulder. Jou turned over and poked his lover awake.
"What Jou?" he grunted sitting up, it was true he barely had a noticeable tan.
"We fell asleep again," he said standing up and wrapping his beach towel around his shoulders.
"Okay, I'm up, I'm up," Seto said following Jou like he was hypnotized. Yami and Yugi just watched them go before they went all the way out to the gazebo on the lake where Yami finally just pulled him into a deep kiss, Yugi moaning in a tiny shot of pleasure when Yami let go.
"Is this what being engaged is supposed to feel like?" Yugi asked hazily panting,
"I think it is," Yami replied resting his forehead against Yugi's and gazing deep into his violet eyes.
"I think I'm going to like this then," he said wrapping his arms around Yami's waist and closing his eyes, leaned forward to capture Yami's lips in a long slow melting kiss.
note: okay, um, I found the two notes from this chapter are kind of disgusting, all right, coagulization is pretty much the scientific term for a scab it's what happens when blood hits oxygen. and a bonsai kitten it literally what it sounds like it is a very disgusting twisted practice... you really don't want to know any more.
Gruzzee: awwwwww! a nice slow chapter and who can say no to Yami and Yugi fluff.
Cazi: yeah but you forgot to mention the disgusting state of Ryou's work life aibou...
Gruzzee: Cazi don't ruin the moment, now every one out there please R&R and come back for more.