Tidings of Comfort and Joy
Part IV: Angels Do Not Sleep With Dolls
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Disclaimer: Patty cake. Patty cake. Baker's man. Bake me some rights as fast you can. Roll it. Bake it. Mark it with a 'T'. And split the rights to Yugioh! between Kazuki and me! (In other words: still do not own Yugioh!) Also, note: There is a section in here that's based on part of a conversation in Fruit's Basket. (Also not owned by me.)
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December 4th
Yami's introduction to Yugi may not have been proper, but there was one thing he did know.
Yugi had a really nice room.
It wasn't very big, but not too much on the small side either. The gathering dusk filtered down its light through the slanted window. A large, wooden chest was marked "TOYS" in big red letters and indeed it was overflowing with the small and medium items. They weren't expensive or technical, but nice, simple ones that still conveyed the joy of play, which was all that mattered to a four-year-old. An ever-saluting toy soldier, a plastic sword, a red bandanna, a box of Lincoln Logs, and a small plastic pirate ship with rather large plastic "cannon balls" were scattered in a small area on the floor. An oval woven carpet with colors light blue, yellow, and green covered the spare space of flooring. In one corner was a small bed, slightly bigger than Yugi so that it would keep for at least a few more years. It looked very comfy indeed with waves of thick, wool and cotton blankets neatly covered the bed and the fluffy white pillows only made a nap look more enticing. Across the room from the bed, there was a tall closet with painted white wooden doors that remained "conveniently" closed.
All and all it gave a warm, cozy feeling of home.
And Yami wasn't too sure of what to make of that.
The little child Yugi, who had let go of Yami's hand upon reaching the room, raced to his bed and clambered on top of it. Quickly arranging himself, he grinned at Yami, his amethyst eyes glimmering expectantly. "Well?" he urged. "What do you think? Do you like it?"
The kid's smile was almost contagious. Like the common cold. Hands at the side and trying to look nonchalant, Yami just shrugged, looking refined even with that gesture. "I suppose it's suitable for one such as you," he allowed. Inside, he was starting to become calmer. Pride was once more returning to his voice and posture and he liked being the one in control. Even the little bit that he was grasping at allowed him to settle and gather himself.
"Good!" Yugi exclaimed. Then, he turned a little shy. Tilting his head down, he peered up at the angel. A small blush spread across the tips of his cheeks. "I had hoped you would," he said, slowly. His eyes lowered to floor. "I didn't exactly know how to prepare for an angel. We don't have that much, but..."
Yami's heart melted.
Without a second thought, he closed the distance between him and the child. With more gentleness that he could ever remember using, Yami softly put a reassuring hand on the shoulder and tenderly lifted up the boy's chin so that they were staring eye to eye. A soft smile warmed Yami's face. "I could think of no better place to stay," he reassured.
Joy glittered Yugi's eyes and a large grin spread across his face. With a squeal, he quickly leaped and wrapped his arms around the angel's middle. "Thank you!" he laughed, his arms tight in a hug.
With the sudden loss of breath from surprise, reality swept back into Yami like a torpedo. Horrified of what he had done, Yami quickly pushed Yugi away, still grasping him at arms length. 'That wasn't supposed to happen,' he thought. The fact that he was an angel and supposed to spread good will didn't alter his judgment. Good Lord, he had behaved like one of those goody-goody two shoes back Up. Ew. True, it was just for a moment or two, but still. Ew.
Stupid kid.
Worming his way through Yami's well-built defenses.
Well, Yami wasn't about to go down without a fight!
The fact that the angel had almost exploded at the hug didn't seem to faze the kid all that much for once more he continued with his little "I'm-happy-so-everything-must-be-good" attitude. "I'm so glad you're staying, Sir!"
Ugh. Yami almost cringed. Okay, first things first. "My name is Yami," he stated firmly. "Don't call me 'sir'."
Still that large grin remained on Yugi's face, "Okay!"
The kid grew serious for a moment. He looked absolutely laughable. "Yami," he said, slowly.
"What?"
"Nothing. I was just trying the name."
Already irritable, Yami snapped, "Don't say my name unless you have something to say!"
"Okay!" Yugi's eyes grew wide in surprise.
Yami growled. 'Calm down,' he scolded himself. 'He's just a kid. You are the mature one here. Mind to start acting like it?'
"No," he forced out the words. "No, it's okay. You can say my name even if you don't have anything to say." 'After all,' he reasoned. 'I am getting a place to stay. And it could be worse than having to stay with a four-year-old.'
Yugi just grinned.
"Yugi!" Grandpa's voice suddenly called.
"Yes?" Yugi called back. Yami had to let go to block his eardrums. For such a small kid he sure had a quite a wallop in the lungs.
"It's time for dinner," came the loud reply.
"Okay!" Yugi shouted.
With that, he jumped off the bed and raced out the door. Yami blinked. Suddenly, there was a pause of footsteps. Then, they came clambering back.
Yugi's wild haired head poked out from the doorway. As usual, there was a large grin and sparkling eyes. "Don't worry about a thing," laughter evident in his voice. "I've got lots of plans of what we can do." With a reassuring, quick nod, he ran back down the stairs and toward his awaiting dinner.
Yami blinked.
'Houston, cross that. Maybe there could be worse things.'
'Quit being stupid. He's a four-year-old. What's the worse he can do?'
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"We're going to have a sleepover!" Yugi declared, jumping up and down on his bed, clad in loose flannel red and green pajamas. With one last playful shriek, he flopped down onto his bed bursting into laughter and giggles. Gathering his breath, he looked over at Yami, waiting expectantly to see his reaction.
Yami raised a dignified eyebrow. "A what?" he asked, skeptically. He could almost swear that he had heard this word before. And he didn't remember it having a good connotation.
"A sleepover!" Yugi exclaimed, giggling. "It's when one friend goes over to the other friend and they have bunches of fun!"
"Have you been to one of these before?"
"No."
Skepticism was written plainly on Yami's face.
"Then how do you know it's fun?"
"I just do. Everybody knows."
A sarcastic snort.
"So what do we do?"
Yugi started jumping up and down again.
"We can play games!"
"No."
A tilt of the head.
"Why not?"
A sigh. Yami was all for clever games and sorts. However, he could hardly expect that of a four-year-old now could he?
"Just no."
"Well, then, what do you want to do?"
"How about you just go to bed and I'll pray for morning."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
A smile.
"Don't you need to sleep?"
"Angels don't need sleep."
An unbelieving laugh.
"Yeah, right. Everyone needs sleep."
"Not angels."
Yugi just shook his head with an indulging smile. He clambered under the covers, grabbed his Dark Magician doll, and patted the spot next to him. "C'mon," he motioned for the angel to come over. "You can sleep next to me."
Red, warning lights were going off in Yami's head. His retort was straight and to the point. "No."
"Oh, c'mon!"
"No."
"You have to."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not!"
"If you don't come to bed than I'll stay up the whole night bugging you!"
Yami gave Yugi a doubting glance. "You couldn't do that," he said confidently. A smirk grew on his face. "You'd fall asleep."
"No I wouldn't."
"Oh? And how do you plan to avoid sleeping?"
An almost cruel light flittered in Yugi's eyes.
Yami watched as Yugi gathered a deep breath.
For a moment, there was silence.
And then...
"This is the song that never ends," Yugi sang. "It goes on and on my friends! This is the song that never ends. It goes on and on my friends! This is the song that never ends. It goes on and on my friends!"
Yami's eye twitched, but he held strong.
"Ha," he scoffed. "If that's the worse you can do then you can forget it."
Yugi gave a look that said Oh, yeah?
There was another deep breath.
He began to sing, "It's a small world after all..."
"NO!" Yami panicked. Then he grumbled, "Fine, fine. I'll get into bed."
Yugi just beamed. As Yami grudgingly settled beneath the covers, Yugi picked up his Dark Magician doll. He held up to the angel.
"If you want," he offered. "You can have it for the night."
"No," Yami said.
"But-"
Yami gave him a stern look, "Angels do not sleep with dolls."
Yugi just smiled and went to sleep.
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The morning found two occupants in the child's bed- both fast asleep. Though one remained invisible to the world, they were almost mirror images of each other. What's more... two pairs of arms were intertwined around a single Dark Magician doll.
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Whew! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Longest one yet! Yahoo!