Dripping Wings

Yuugi stood starring at the expanse before him. He was finding himself starring quite a bit lately.

But the garden was so big. It had to have been the size of a football field, meandering paths and hidden niches with resting areas and fountains and bushes and trees....Yuugi was nearly as overwhelmed as he had been at the aviary.

And green was everywhere. Colors ranging from neon green to a dark hunter and green-black shadows inside the bushes coated the area in a rich, life filled aura. Roses of the deepest reds Yuugi had ever seen bloomed everywhere, wild flowers of white and pink and purple, pastels and vivid highlights and blooms the teen didn't recognize.

There was a strange flower that looked similar to a lily, however the curls of the petals flowed everywhere, wisping up into the space above them. They glimmered in colors anywhere from silver to gold to a reflective platinum to bronze.

His breath was stolen away. "By the gods," he whispered to himself. "This place is incredible."

There was a wall of ivy that reached ten, perhaps fifteen feet into the air, and Yuugi could see in a few slightly bare areas that it was growing up a marble wall, keeping out unwanted guests.

The guard next to him crossed his arms, pleased with Yuugi's response. "The plants have been growing for ages beyond count here. The Goddesses made sure when they created this place that it would never die."

"The Goddesses built this place," Yuugi asked.

"They built the whole palace. Not by hand, mind you. But by magick."

It's no wonder the aviary was made so big. It was probably meant to serve more than just one or two people at a time. He started to walk, taking his time to notice as many details as he could soak up. And the smells that drifted from these plants...surely this was the heaven that everyone dreamed about.

Yuugi began to tread discreetly when he heard quiet sobs coming from somewhere around bush. He was walking on one of the many trails that was in the garden, still not far from the main entrance. He rounded the towering plant, leaves thick enough to act as a wall of its own, and saw a person sitting on the ground, their knees brought up and their head bent over them, crying.

It was the Priestess.

This was the first time Yuugi had actually seen her express a rather human emotion. A frail emotion. He went and sat down on the bench that was next to her, extending his feet out in front of him. "What was her name," he asked.

Her head jerked upwards, looking at the new intruder. What was in her eyes shocked Yuugi immensely. She looked lost, her stormy blue haunted and forlorn. "Yuugi! How did you..." she looked away. She was clutching something in her hand, holding it at her chest. She didn't seem to have the heart to question him. Another tear rolled down her cheek. "Emerald. Her name was Emerald." A sniff. "Rather fitting, really. She had her father's eyes, and they were both such a vivid green..."

Yuugi caught a glimpse of what was in her hand as she looked at it, using her thumb to push the object around a little. It was a locket, a little gold one with a dainty chain. Lilian sighed, resting her head on her arms as she draped them over her knees. "She had been your age, and already five years into her training. She had developed young. She'd snuck out one night, there was a boy she liked...stupid little boy really..." she gave a weak laugh. There was no life behind it. "But he loved her so much he'd have jumped off the end of the earth for her. Someone...someone found her. Someone who wasn't supposed to. She had telepathy, you know. She could call out to anyone she wanted to at anytime...it was one of her Gifts. She was a light user to. Like me." She paused again, gathering the strength to continue. "I heard her scream so loud I jumped out of bed and nearly burst out of my skin. I found her quickly...she was still bleeding...th-the person who found her was standing over her...a rusty bayonet in his hand. I knew he was getting ready to cut off her new wings. He got away before I could kill him...we never could find out how he got away, or where he was from, or anything." Another cry of anguish bubbled past her lips, and she covered her mouth with her hand. "The healers and I worked on her for seventy three hours solid. One of her wings didn't come out all of the way. We tried to pull it out, but it snapped. The trauma killed her. She never had a chance." She looked ahead mournfully. "The boy she liked...Delyle was his name...he committed suicide the day after he found out." She lowered her head again. "My husband became depressed...and lost in a duel to a second rate magi from a rival country, just because of stupid mistakes."

Yuugi was left speechless. No wonder she was a cold bitch. Her daughter was murdered, her husband...Yuugi assumed 'lost' was another word for 'killed.' And it was no wonder her past was coming up to haunt her. "I understand where you're coming from," Yuugi said. "I used to like the rain, a long time ago. It felt so good to just sit out in it and purposely get wet. It always made me giggle for no particular reason. But I learned not to like when it washed my parent's blood down a dirty city drain."

Lilian looked up at him, a little shocked herself. "What happened?"

"I don't know for sure. I was only six. But, I remember running with my parents. They were both terrified, and there were men chasing us, yelling things at us I couldn't understand. We had come up to a wall, and we finally stopped, my father turning around to fight them. My mother told me to run as fast and as far away as I could and never look back...there was a tiny opening near the bottom of the fence into an alley, I was the only one that could fit through. So I ran. I didn't come back until the gurgling screams went away." Yuugi stopped, reliving the complete memory after so long of trying to forget. "I went back to them. Where else was I going to go? But...they were lying on the ground, unmoving, blood everywhere. There were feathers everywhere and I kept thinking 'an angel must have come and rescued them They're up in heaven right now, and the angel left some feathers from it's wings. But I wasn't here.' So I sat down next to my mother, and I prayed and cried all night long for the angel to come back for me. But when I woke up in the morning cold an wet and hungry, I knew wasn't coming back. So I lived on the streets the rest of the time, my only friend a chronic drunk that at least didn't care when he had to kill someone who tried to hurt me..... I lost faith and hope that night. I hear it's two of the most precious gifts one can have...I forgot what the third was."

"That's love, Yuugi. Love is the third."

Yuugi jumped when Atemu's voice whispered in his ear, the arms wrapping around him keeping him from falling off the bench.

"Atemu," the Priestess looked up. She couldn't hold his gaze for long. "I'm...I'm sorry for acting the way I did. I haven't yet come to terms with what happened to me and the ones I loved."

"You probably never will," the Prince replied. "But I don't expect you to."

Yuugi allowed his weight to settle against the body next to him, glad for the warmth even though it was the middle of summer. Inside of him, it could have been winter for all he knew. "How long have you been there?"

The Prince hugged him tightly. "Since 'I was only six.'"

Lilian stood up, wiping tears from her eyes. "Thank you for sharing, Yuugi. I'd forgotten for a while that I wasn't the only one who had a right to be bitter about something..." she looked ahead. "I'd better go. I've got a lot of work to do."

"Take a bubble bath," Yuugi suggested. "And light a bunch of candles around it. My mom always said it was good for the soul. It might help."

She was silent for a moment, paused, an then gave him a heartfelt smile. "I'll do that. Thank you."

She turned and walked slowly out of the garden, not looking back.

Yuugi turned his attention to the intense eyes starring at him. "Yuugi-"

Then teen cut him off by placing a hand softly on his face, his thumb over both lips. "Don't apologize. It won't change anything. And please don't give me pity. That's an emotion that solves even less."

Atemu laced his fingers through those on his cheek. "I wasn't going to." He moved in a little closer. "I wanted to tell you I love you." He gave Yuugi a soft kiss.

Yuugi smiled, kissed back, and saw an opportunity to ask something he'd been meaning to, and find something out that had been eating at him. "Atemu..., when did you first fall in love with me?"

The Prince stopped, looking at Yuugi a little surprised. Then suddenly his visage looked defeated. "You've been listening in a bit lately, haven't you?"

Yuugi's face said everything he needed it to. I deserve to know.

The Prince sighed, hesitant to start. "I was fourteen when I had the vision. It had been dark, and so cold, and I was completely alone and wrapped up in cold iron chains. I had cried in the vision when I thought no one would come, but then there was a tiny little light off in the distance that had grown bigger. Out of that light shimmering white wings were flapping, slowly coming towards me, and a person wrapped their arms around me and all of the chains melted away. A circle of white fire flared up around us, and I remember my body had been so broken, but the person held me close, and when I looked up it was your face I was looking into. You told me that everything was going to be all right, that you'd keep me warm in the shadows. Over again you said 'It'll be all right love, I promise. I'll be with you.'" He stopped, his eyes a little sad. "I was starting to become afraid that you never would show up. But here you are...wings and all. Yuugi...I was in love with you before I met you."

Well I'll be damned. Atemu apparently hadn't expected him to want to jump into the relationship right away, though. But Yuugi just knew that he had added yet more fuel to that burning fire by his silent flirting in the aviary, and then his blatant request to be kissed. And even at the moment he looked defeated, as if Yuugi would be frightened away by the sure intensity of the Prince's emotions. He decided to quell those fears by giving Atemu a passionate kiss. "You remember," Yuugi stated breathlessly after pulling away, "that I'm still falling in love with you."

The Prince smiled. "I remember, Yuugi." He could have almost laughed in sheer relief. "I remember." He kissed the teen again, happy and desperate and needy. Yuugi responded all too eagerly, turning himself enough to wrap a leg around the Prince's waist. Atemu hummed appreciatively, happy to let his hands roam as they approached sensitive and rather explicit areas.

He delighted when Yuugi gave a shocked gasp, the responding act of the teen to hold on tighter, his hands moving to return the favor.

Yuugi gave a dejected moan when Atemu pulled away.

"I think I can get off early tonight," the Prince stated, brushing his fingers through Yuugi's hair. "But I'm afraid my lunch break is just about over."

The teen frowned. "Get me all worked up, and here I have to wait." He sighed. "All right. As long as I get you to myself tonight." He kissed the Prince one more time. "I'll see you then."

Atemu hugged him, starting to get up. "I love you."

Yuugi smiled. "I'm falling in love with you." His reply from the Prince was a good laugh. He watched as Atemu started to walk away.

"Until tonight," the Prince yelled back, walking out of view.

"I'm holding you to it," Yuugi replied back.

Atemu left sight. Yuugi sighed, now noticing that he was straddling the bench rather than sitting on it the conventional way. It was also then he noticed a person that had faded from view.

Mahaado cleared his throat, giving Yuugi a leerly glance.

"What," Yuugi asked indignantly.

"Nothing, Sire."

He scowled. "You're a horrible liar."

"Never claimed to be good at it, Sire."

He let the subject drop "Anyway, could you show me to the kitchen? I think I'm just about ready for my lunch too. I imagine you must be getting hungry."

"No."

Yuugi shrugged. "Well, all right."

The guard motioned his hand. "The kitchen is this way, Sire. Follow me."

xxx

Yuugi sat on the queen sized bed in the Prince's bedroom, watching as the sun went down beyond the balcony railing. Although he had not seen any clocks in the palace, he still had some sense of time, and he also knew that in the summer there was more hours of daylight than in winter. If it had been back in Domino, it would probably have been nearing nine o'clock, or nine thirty perhaps.

Get off early. Yuugi wasn't sure what a full days length of work entailed, but he was pretty sure that Atemu was running behind.

The rest of the day had been rather dull. Mahaado had refused to take him to the library. The guard said it was restricted access, and he would need written permission to go in there from the Prince himself. It must have been some library to have that kind of limited access.

The teen looked up when the door behind him opened up, his spirits lifting just a bit when he saw Atemu walk in, closing the door softly behind him. Yuugi smiled. "Hey there."

The Prince rubbed his hand over his face, looking tired. "Hey," he replied. He started walking towards the bathroom. "I'll be right back."

Yuugi frowned. Well, this was romantic. He sighed, repositioning himself to sit cross-legged on the bed.

The minutes ticked by.

The teen frowned even harder when the sun had finally set completely, the stars above twinkling brightly. It was dark in the bedroom but for the moonlight pouring in from the half moon. Perhaps he ought to just go to bed. "Argh," he groaned to himself.

"Now did you really think I'd forgotten," that deep voice asked him from across the room.

Yuugi tried to see through the darkness, but the Prince's form remained hidden. He heard Atemu clap twice, and suddenly the entire bedroom was lit with the light of hundreds of candles burning. Yuugi's spirits started to lift again, his expression shocked. He knew all of those candles hadn't been there earlier. All the more surprise. "I had sure hoped not," he replied.

Atemu was standing next to the doorway that led to the bathroom, arms lazily crossed, a smirk resting on his lips. He was completely stripped of his jewelry and linen apparel, now wearing a silk robe the color of milky silver moonlight.

"Are you just going to stand there looking delicious, or do I have to drag you to the bed myself," the teen asked lightly.

The Prince chuckled. "Speaking of delicious..." he picked up a silver tray that was resting next to him on a table, and brought it over. "I brought some dessert up for us."

Yuugi's ears perked up. Dessert? He had never had that many desserts before. "What is it," he asked, curiously looking at the contents of the tray as Atemu sat down next to him.

"Crepules. One of my favorite treats." He pulled Yuugi closer to him, picked up one of the forks on the tray, and picked up a small piece of it.

Yuugi couldn't figure out what it looked like it was made of. A small, thin pastry perhaps, rolled around a soft white substance, covered in a sauce the color of red wine with crushed berries in it. The fork was set in front of his mouth, and he took a bite.

Heaven invaded his taste buds. It was sweeter and softer than cream cheese, the berry sauce so perfect it caused him to moan and savor every morsel. "Oh....this is delicious." He noticed another fork on the tray, picked it up, and returned the favor.

Atemu smiled as he took the bite offered him, Yuugi accidentally allowing the sauce to slightly dribble onto his chin. Without thinking, he leaned over and licked it off, sealing the area with a tender kiss.

He couldn't help the blush that dusted across his nose and cheeks when he noticed the look in Atemu's eyes. The Prince chuckled a little, dipped his forefinger into the sauce, and placed a drop of it right on Yuugi blush, also licking and kissing it away.

Yuugi's heart fluttered. So this was what it was like to fall in love. He could really get used to it. Atemu gave him a tender look, offering him another bite of the crepules.

Yuugi laughed when they were half way done with the treat, suddenly realizing that he was actually being romanced. His smiling face was all the Prince needed to see. "This is so good," the teen stated. "What's in it?"

"It's a cream that has been whipped and churned about a dozen times, sweetened only very lightly with sugar, and wrapped up in a soft dough. The berry sauce is crushed raspberries and blackberries, with a small splash of white wine." He gave Yuugi another bite.

"I could get addicted to this."

Atemu laughed. "This is the reason I was banned from the kitchen when I was ten."

Yuugi laughed too. And before he cared to admit it, the treat was completely gone. Atemu gave a dejected pout, causing Yuugi to laugh again, and placed the tray on a bedside table.

The Prince came back, placing himself directly in front of Yuugi, gently beginning to caress his face and arms. "Yuugi, I have something I want to give to you." He reached into the only pocket on his robe, pulling out something that glittered a little with a pale gold. To Yuugi, it looked like a bracelet. "Yuugi, there is a tradition that has been passed down since the throne was first erected over nine thousand years ago. All of the royalty, when they fell in love, took one feather from their wings and created a token out of it, giving it to the one person they would spend the rest of their days with." He unclasped the bracelet, and Yuugi could see the feather he was speaking of had a been bent to create a circle, encased in a braid that had been made of tiny little gold chains that sparkled in the candlelight. The Prince placed it on his left wrist, clasping it in place.

Yuugi's eyes softened. "It's beautiful."

Atemu sealed the offering with a kiss to the teen's wrist. "It is a symbol that not only have I claimed you as my own, but that I also belong to you."

Yuugi leaned over dangerously close, bringing his hand up to Atemu's face. "Thank you," he whispered, and was the first one of the evening to initiate an intimate kiss.

The Prince wasted no time in pulling Yuugi's body flush with his, one hand on the teen's back and holding him in place, the other removing his clothes. The teen felt his shirt fall away from him, Atemu's mouth moving down to his neck.

Yuugi knew what the Prince smelled like. It almost made him drunk each time he brought his nose to that handsome body. But if something smelled that good, what would it taste like? He untied the robe around the Prince, anticipation swirling around inside of him as he allowed his hands to roam.

Atemu shivered a little when Yuugi's tongue started to dance around his shoulder, small teeth nipping lightly every now and again at his collar bone. He moved forward, forcing the teen to lie down on the bed, and attacked his mouth again. Yuugi was only too happy to help him with the removal of his pants, releasing a sigh of contentment when their bodies became flush again, no clothes hindering them this time.

Atemu started to really lose his self control when Yuugi brought his knees up, now encasing his lower body between the teen's legs.

The Prince was a little shocked when he actually found himself starting to lose the little battle inside of Yuugi's mouth. Deciding on a little distraction, he started running a hand up the teen's inner thigh, causing Yuugi to gasp, lose control of the kiss, and be dominated once again.

"Atemu," he moaned softly, his lips crushed again in a kiss. He pulled back a little, only a short opening for speech. "Don't tease," he pleaded.

"No," the Prince asked. He started to move lower. "What about this kind of teasing?"

Yuugi cried out when he felt a warmth envelop him, Atemu's tongue far more talented than he originally thought. His blood was rushing through him, and his body temperature started to rise. The hands that had been placed on his inner thighs kept him from involuntarily closing his legs. But Yuugi found himself, instead, wanting to open them further.

The Prince stopped before climax could hit. He ran his tongue up Yuugi's chest, stopping at the neck and below the ear, deciding he liked that area.

"Oh...hmm....tease...y-you oh! .....Mhmmm....you're being mean..."

Atemu chuckled a little. "No, my love, I intend to make this night last for quite a while..."

xxx