AN: I don't own Yu Gi Oh and make no money, :P I really liked the idea I had but idk how i feel about this one now...oh well. I hope you enjoy it! (By the way, the stupidity of the insults here is intentional)
13. Childhood
When Yami Atemu Sennen was seven he was sure he met his soul-mate.
It had begun with a trip to the park. He had quickly disappeared from his mother's sight, just as soon as she had set him loose to wreak havoc on the park as seven-year-old boys are wont to do. And it had been almost as soon as he had set foot on the sandy surface of the playground to commence his reign of terror that his attention had been directed to a group of three boys by the far edge of his new kingdom.
Two of the boys were standing over another, pushing and kicking sand at him while they called him names.
"Baby!"
"Wuss! Get off our playground you big sissy!"
The boy on the ground must have been smaller than the other two boys, though neither of them could have been bigger than Yami himself. And, upon seeing this, Yami frowned. He didn't like it when little kids got bullied, and he didn't like it when little kids let themselves get bullied, because it meant someone had to save them. Yami took it upon himself to be that person.
With two small rocks in hand the small boy threw them, hitting one of the boys in the head and the other in the back.
"Leave him alone!"
"Who's gonna make us?" The two boys had whirled around, and looked ready for a fight.
"I am! And I've got more where that came from," Yami wasn't entirely sure it meant, but he did have more rocks in his hand, and he had seen good guys say it in the movies, so it seemed like that right thing to say.
The boys hesitated for a moment and looked to each other before scowling and turning to leave. "Fine, play with the big baby."
"Yeah, play with the stupid baby, baby-lover!"
Yami growled and the boys scampered off without another word. Once they had run off the sandy patch and onto the grass toward the safety of their own mothers, Yami made his move to the sniffling boy still on the ground. He fell onto his knees and shook the boy's shoulder roughly.
"Hey, you're okay now kid. Come on, get up!" he demanded impatiently. He felt awkward and unsure of just how to comfort the little boy.
The little boy continued to sniffle into curled fists and Yami's frown evaporated.
"Come on, kid, you're okay, really," he said more gently this time. "Come on, look up. You're gonna be okay."
Finally the little boy did look up, and then Yami found himself looking straight into the biggest and prettiest eyes he had ever seen in his seven years.
For reasons unbeknownst to his childish mind Yami blushed and flickered his eyes away. When his gaze landed on a scraped knee, however, he jumped into action again.
"Hey, stay still kid, okay?" Yami pulled at his shirt and wiped the edge of it against the wound, cleaning it of the blood and sand there. When the boy started to cry slightly he bent down to blow on it like his mother always did, even though he felt rather embarrassed and silly doing so.
Righting himself and trying to fight down the heat in his face Yami looked back at the boy, who was now looking back at him with something like wonder in his eyes. "There, you're okay now. I'm Yami," he paused. "I'm seven. What's your name kid?"
"I'm Yuugi," the boy's voice was soft and shy, and much to Yami's dismay he found it very cute. "I'm five."
Yami nodded and a moment of silence passed as they sat across from each other in the sand. Yuugi was staring at Yami unabashedly and it was making the seven-year-old fidgety.
"You can't let them do that," he said finally. "You can't let them beat you like that Yuugi. You have to fight back and stand up for yourself! Okay?"
To his surprise Yuugi shook his head back and forth and very softly replied, "But I don't like to fight."
"You have to Yuugi! You can't just let them hit you like that! Then you'll always get beat up!" Yami's irritation was quickly growing.
Again the boy shook his head with one adorable fist in front of his adorable face.
Yami stood and stomped a foot down angrily. "Why not?" he demanded rather than asked, clenching his fists at his sides.
Yuugi looked up at him with his bright, wide eyes. "Cause I have you to look out for me."
Now Yami's face was as bright as strawberry jam. He was quiet, completely unsure of what to do or say to the boy's honest reply. Luckily for him, the moment quickly passed.
"Yuugi? Yuugi, where are you?" a voice was calling from just past the tree line.
Yuugi scrambled to his feet, apparently unfazed by Yami's silence and unaware of the impact his words had had.
"Coming Jii-chan! I'm right here!" he called back towards the tree. He turned back apologetically to his new friend. "Sorry, Yami, that's Jii-chan. I hafta go."
All Yami could do was nod, mind still a bit dazed from the whirl of events.
Then, shyly, Yuugi approached Yami.
"Thank you for saving me Yami," he said sincerely.
Then, standing up on his tip-toes, he pressed a kiss to Yami's cheek.
"Yuugi!"
The boy broke the contact and tore away, running towards the voice.
"Coming Jii-chan!" he looked over and waved as he left. "Bye Yami!"
It took a minute for Yami to come out of his stupor, cheeks still aflame. "Wait!" he called, but it was too late, Yuugi had already disappeared.
That had been twenty years ago. And yet, when Yami Atemu Sennen went to the park that day and saw a young man with the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen in his twenty-seven years sitting on a bench, he was not surprised. Nor was he surprised when, after he sat down and the man turned to look at him, that he found his heart beat quicker and a blush rise to his face.
"Yami," he said and stuck out his hand.
"Yuugi," the other man replied with a smile that made Yami thankful he was not standing.
For a moment a tremor of anxiety formed in his mind that the other did not remember him, that his name would not be enough.
Then Yuugi moved his face closer to Yami's and leaned in toward his ear.
"Thank you for saving me," he whispered and turned Yami's head to place the first of many kisses to his lips.
Thanks for reading!