Hey everyone! Thanks again for the amazing amount of support I'm recieving on this story! I wanted to say that I am touched by all the beautiful reviews I have gotten :-). My next puzzleshipping story will be updating less frequently, as I will be working on some Christmas present fanfics (A second chapter to my story "Does this Count as a Love Triangle?" will be added,) and some Supernatural fanfiction, which some of you know me to write. By "Less frequently" I'm thinking in the realms of one chapter every month for a little while. It may end up speeding up and it may not, depending upon how things go. Hey, this update was on time, though! Anyways, on with the story!
Chapter 8:
First Kiss
The next day, of course, Mai approached.
Yami was awoken by a hand landing on his shoulder and shaking him, rousing him from his sleep. He shook his head as he slowly woke up, the vivid colours of his dreams starting to fade and be replaced by the dull confines of reality. He sat up abruptly, jerking away from the hands that rested so firmly on his shoulders.
His vision blurred as light flooded his vision, and he flinched away from it. Slowly the colours started to come into clarity, a mess of blonde and purple and white and skin tone swirling to take on the shape of Mai valentine. He set his arm down, not even realizing he had lifted it to shield himself from the light, and his eyes assessed the surroundings. Mai was holding her key (the one that worked for all the hospital rooms) dangling from her right hand, and her eyebrow was raised.
"What are you doing in my room at," Yami glanced over at his alarm clock, "Seven o'clock in the morning? Don't you have something to be doing?" He complained. He didn't have to get up for at least another hour.
Instead of answering his question, Mai sat down on the edge of his bed, straightening up her skirt (breaking uniform again, mind you,) and choosing her words. Yami waited patiently for her explanation, trying not to rush her. Mai always talked when she was good and ready, and he had a feeling that he knew what she was going to be talking about. He remembered last night clear as day, and knew exactly where she would think he went wrong.
"Why didn't you go ahead and kiss him, Yami?" She asked. Yami lifted his hands to respond, but she held up a finger to tell him to stop. Yami shut his mouth, willing to hear her out. She gave a small pause before continuing, "You were right there and you were so close, I think he was really expected you to kiss him. Dear, I love you to pieces and you know that I do, but you could have just made him think that you don't really like him. I don't know if you thought he didn't want to, or you got nervous and weren't sure yourself if you wanted to kiss him, but..." Mai paused again and then shook her head, letting her sentence trail off.
Yami felt a small pang of guilt. She was right, he could have made Yuugi feel like he hadn't liked him in the first place. At such a crucial stage in their relationship, a small mess up like that could make all of the difference, especially with all the barriers in place. So, the only logical thing to do, the only way to make sure this was fixed...
Was to break the barrier.
"I wanted to kiss him Mai, I really did," He admitted, sitting up a little straighter. Confidence and hope were colliding with anticipation to make an odd concoction of determination in his stomach. Later, he didn't quite know how yet, but he could work that out later, he was going to kiss Yuugi. "It wasn't the right time, though. I know it will be soon, but you just have to let me think through how to make it special. This is something that's important to me, Mai." He said. Mai's eyes crinkled as her lips quirked up in a small smile.
"All right then, if you insist. I'll leave you alone about it, but I just wanted to make sure you knew how important it was. I want you to be happy, that's all." Mai said, giving a smile. She leaned forward just a little bit, her elbows gently brushing the sheets as she faced Yami with a twinkle in her eye, "So, what are you planning on doing?" She asked, not bothering to sign it.
Yami felt his stomach sink.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure. I don't know what would make the moment special. Do you have any ideas?" He asked. He knew he wanted to actually talk to Yuugi, and he knew that he was ready to. What he didn't know was the when and the where. They would have to be somewhere private, because Yami wanted Yuugi to be the only one to first hear his voice. Not only that, but the time would have to correspond with that. Yami didn't want to go some place knew, because he wanted it to be significant. He just didn't know right now what would be significant.
"I have no clue. You'll have to work all of that out yourself." Mai told him, shaking her head. "You know him better than I do, Yami. And you've not even talked to him yet." She said. "At least, not verbally." She tagged on, almost as an afterthought. Yami nodded his head.
"I'll think of something." Yami said, thoughtfully.
"I know you will." Mai said, giving him a small wink. "And, just to make sure, I'm coming during your class today and picking you up to go have lunch with me. You can tell me what you've come up with then." She said, flipping her hair. Yami rolled his eyes as Mai stood and stretched, throwing a wink over her shoulder as she exited the room.
Yami glanced back at the clock, giving an internal groan. He let his body simply fall back into place, shutting his eyes tightly against the sunlight slowly starting to become stronger and stronger through the window. His body relaxed and his mind returned to the fuzzy colours of his dreams as he faded off back to the land of sleep.
Of course, all good things must come to an end. Or, in less general terms, his alarm clock did ring an hour later.
School was boring as usual, the end of Yami's senior year approaching fast. He only had two more months and didn't have to take end of course exams this year, since he would be going onto college. He'd already taken all major testing; ACT, SAT, etc. So he didn't see much of a point in paying attention in class. He did the bare minimum work, just enough to make sure Cecilia didn't have trouble passing him. He had to keep up his GPA , even if his ACT score was a solid 28.
So, he ended up waiting anxiously for Mai and thinking through things he could do with Yuugi to make the big moment special. He could take Yuugi to the place where they first met- but that was the Cafeteria, and would be filled with people until it was closed. After it was closed, they might get in trouble for being back there, and getting chewed out by security wouldn't make for the most romantic evening. He could take Yuugi to the waiting room where they wrote to each other, but again, filled with people. Yuugi's room was significant to them, but it just didn't quite have that romantic spark Yami was going for. He couldn't think of anywhere.
"Yami, someone's here to see you." Cecilia said. Yami's eyes drifted over to the window to see Mai standing patiently outside, a smile on her face. He felt a streak of confusion cloud his thoughts. What was Mai doing there at that time? Lunch wasn't for another hour. Was she going to cancel?
His stomach sunk at the thought. He really needed her advice right then; he didn't think he could deal with the headache that came trying to think up what he was going to do. He knew that Mai would have a good idea to help spark his creativity or would at least keep him from exploding with frustration.
He just had to think this through like a game. He had to strategize the best time and place to produce the optimum results from his kiss. It shouldn't be all that hard, but somehow, nothing he thought of felt right. Yuugi would love it whatever he did, he knew, but this was more important than that. He couldn't quite explain it but; sometimes, in a game, he'd see the best option to take and have to go back and do something different. Not because it was no longer the best option, but because he felt like something better would come along down the road. Most of the time, this ended up to be true. He couldn't help but feel that now was one of these times.
He'd know what to do when the time was right. Or at least he would pretend like he would so he didn't go insane from worry.
The door swung open, Mai getting sick of having to wait for the teacher to get around to opening the door. She busted through with a smile on her face, her boots bouncing on the floor as she approached. Cecilia and her hadn't talked much, but for what they had, they'd enjoyed each other's company.
"Hey there, Teach, I was just wondering how booked Yami's schedule is for today?" She asked, her eyes sparkling. She held up her hand in a peace sign, attempting to appeal to Cecilia's inner hippie.
Not a lot of people in the class knew this, but Cecilia had actually been big in the anti war movement and protests. Of course, she'd never touched drugs in her life and would never dream of it, but it didn't change that that was a small part of her to this day. Of course, that didn't mean she wasn't still embarrassed about it. Yami only knew because Mai had found out when she mentioned that hippie clothing was coming back into style, and mentioned her enthusiasm to bring back bell-bottom jeans. Cecilia had embarrassedly admitted to her own streak of rebellion.
"I don't know, why, Mai?" She asked, blushing slightly at the peace sign. She had been a little more open about it after Mai had told her the new generation was going to bring it back, but she still didn't openly advertise it, and especially not to the students. Some parents could be pretentious and might claim she was a bad influence on their children.
"I was wondering if I could go ahead and get Yami now to go to lunch. The place I want to go is a twenty minute drive away, so I wouldn't be able to take him if we left during the regular lunch period." She announced, still smiling. Cecilia paused, attempting to keep her strict and teacherly demeanour as she pretended to contemplate the proposition. "I'll bring you back a chilli dog." Mai offered.
"Well, well," Cecilia gasped, putting her hand to her chest in mock horror, "I can't believe you'd imply that I would be so easily swayed! I am a professional!" She exclaimed. A small pause passed between them and Mai raised her eyebrows. Cecilia let her hand fall back to her side. "Minus the onions." She said flatly, waiting a moment before she broke character and gave Mai a subtle wink. Mai smiled and nodded her head, taking the mental note.
"Thanks, Cecilia." Mai said, raising a hand in parting as she walked over to Yami's desk. "Get up, we're going out." She commanded him, flipping her hair and marching out the classroom door, not bothering to check and make sure that Yami was following. He could hardly resist rolling his eyes at the display as he got out of his desk, gathering his things and putting them in a neat little pile. He turned to Cecilia.
"I'll probably be back before the end of the day, as long as she doesn't do anything too crazy." Yami said, shaking his head. "So I'll just leave my stuff here for now."
"I wouldn't put it past her." Cecilia teased. "If you aren't back until later, I'll just leave the classroom door unlocked so you can come and get your stuff. I would go ahead and stay until you return, but tonight I have a date night with Pegasus." She informed him, smiling as her eyes glazed over as if reliving fond memories of her husband. Yami's thoughts drifted back to the long-haired man; he could definitely see those two meeting at a hippie rally.
"Okay, thank you!" He signed, then quickly turned towards where Mai waited. She stood with her arms crossed and her back to him now, looking off into the distance. He walked out of class and gently nudged her arm, causing her to jump. She laughed it off before grabbing his hand and starting to pull him forward, towards the open elevator door. Once they were there, the questions started.
"You don't really have to drive twenty minutes to get where we're going, do you?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow. Mai's eyes twinkled in mischief before she closed them, nodding her head.
"Twenty, five, when you think about it, there's not really that much of a difference." Mai said flippantly, opening her eyes again. Yami noticed that she'd had a habit of sassing and generally speaking with her eyes closed, as if she not only didn't care about the reaction other people had to her words but actually refused to see it. Yami liked that about her; plus, he could always tell when she was bluffing on games when her eyes stayed closed just a little too long.
"You're a horrible person." He told her, smiling. She smiled back, head turning towards the elevator door as they arrived on the first floor. She paused at the exit, waiting for Yami to get off to (he had to scoot past a family entering the elevator). As they were unloading, her hand drifted to her mouth and rubbed her chin in a gesture of thought.
"Say, do you want to invite Joey along?" Mai asked him, eagerly leaning forward. Her eyes sparkled at the name and he could see that she was hoping he would say yes. Joey would be fun to hang out with and made Mai happy, so Yami shook his head enthusiastically in agreement to the suggestion, letting a smile overtake his expression. "Okay, I'll be right back. You stay here." Mai said excitedly.
A couple of minutes later, Joey came strolling around the corner with Mai. The three of them promptly discussed going to the usual pizza place, but Joey had actually won out with saying that there was a new hot dog cart on the edge of town, about ten minutes out, and Mai needed a chili dog anyway. So, the three of them piled into Joey's car, Mai calling shotgun and Yami gracefully accepting the back seat for the drive, going between watching Mai and Joey talk and looking out the window at traffic.
They arrived in fifteen minutes because Joey had taken a wrong turn, but it was well worth it. The hot dogs were great, and the New York scenery and smell of the city in his nostrils left Yami feeling slightly nostalgic; he had gone to this area of town with Anna before. As he ate his hot dog, Mai and Joey talked. Most people in that situation would feel like a blatant third wheel, but Yami couldn't feel like anything but a wanted friend in their presence. Mai made sure that he was occasionally included in the conversation, and they didn't act overly romantic around him.
As they sat, Yami thought through all that had happened in the last few months. So much has come to pass, it would be difficult to pinpoint a specific thing that would seem significant to Yuugi and would make their first kiss stand out. Yami was still a little nervous about having their first kiss- it seemed almost too soon, but he knew that Yuugi wanted to and it was a gamble he was willing to take. After all, the worst thing that could happen would be Yuugi wanted to go back to being friends- and while that would suck, Yami had never been one to force romance into relationships. He could deal with it.
As long as Yuugi was happy, he could be too.
Through all of his thoughts, though, he could not pinpoint one single location. He wanted to be able to make it special, Ra darnnit! He had no clue what to do, and even as Mai and Joey were throwing away their wrappers, he was sorting through places in his head. He had been distracted for a couple of minutes by Joey's antics, but for the most part he'd spent the lunch in deep thought, which wasn't what he'd meant to do. He wished things were simpler than this.
Mai and Joey laughed on the way home, Joey telling a joke that momentarily distracted Yami from his brooding thought. He'd laughed along with them, eager for the relief and warmth that spread through him at the action. Of course, he hadn't remembered that Joey had only spoken the joke; and that he wasn't supposed to have understood it.
"Whoa, Yami, are you laughing?" Joey questioned. Yami paused, his body freezing as his brain pinpointed why Joey had picked out the action. He quieted, flinching down in his seat. The car seemed to abruptly change to filled with slight tension and nervousness, most of which was Yami's. The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours before he finally shook his head yes, looking down for a moment.
"He can do that now." Mai put in, unhelpfully. Joey sputtered, shaking his head back and forth for a moment to clear it before he gave a deep sigh, his eyes returning briefly to the road as the traffic moved forward. He turned back to Yami as soon as the car had stopped.
Yami was almost ready for him to be angry over not being told. It wouldn't be all that unreasonable. It had obviously been something that Yami had to work on for awhile, and the fact that he'd not yet told Joey of his new capability could be seen as a lack of trust. Of course, Joey had probably been noticing Mai speaking when she signed or heard rumours from the other nurses that had seen Yami go in and speak to Pegasus, but that didn't mean anything. He wouldn't have believed it unless he'd been told by Yami.
Joey had always been his most understanding friend, though, and Yami was relieved to see a smile stretch across his face, feeling his own lips twitch upwards in return. "That's good for you, buddy. I probably should have caught on before now, though."
"Please. There could be an elephant in the room somewhere and you wouldn't "catch on" without somebody telling you to look for it." Mai remarked from her side of the car, flashing her brilliant smile. Joey's face got a couple of shades darker in a blush, and Mai and Yami shared a laugh as he mumbled something that Yami couldn't quite catch.
"Well, you're one to talk." Joey retaliated, even though it didn't make sense. The rest of the drive was spent laughing and exchanging words between the three friends, (or, well, signs in Yami's case) and generally goofing off. By the end of it, Yami felt much more relaxed than he had on the actual trip, and he was thankful that he no longer felt the stress that came with worry. Of course, his thoughts changed once they made it back to the hospital.
Yami noticed that they had burned quite a bit of time eating; he would only need to go to another hour of school today. He hopped out of the car eagerly, stretching as he left the vehicle. He waved his two best friends goodbye as he grabbed the doggy bag in which they had put Cecilia's chili dog, and ran to the elevator, pressing the button insistently. His foot tapped impatiently as the buttons lit up one by one, until the elevator finally stopped on his floor.
His eyes widened in surprise when he saw how full it was. There had to be at least ten people crammed into the small space, and nobody looked like they were getting off. A few of them looked irritated that Yami was taking so long to get on, and he figured that this might not be the most pleasant of elevator rides if he decided to get on then. He smiled and waved, trying not to grimace as he turned and marched away from the open door. He saw out of the corner of his eye as he turned, a woman throwing her hands in the air in exasperation, and he was glad that he hadn't gotten on.
The hospital needs new elevators, Yami thought absently.
He took the steps two at a time, wanting to get back to class. He'd been gone long enough,a dn if his mind stayed unoccupied long enough, he started to freak out about STILL not knowing what to do for Yuugi. So, it was hardly three minutes later when he jogged up to the closed classroom door, slipping in soundlessly and leaving the chili cheese dog on Cecilia's desk, slinking back into his seat. She stood oblivious beside him, helping a student with some science work.
As she turned around, she let out a surprised yelp and jumped, a hand fluttering up to cover her chest in surprise and horror. Yami resisted the urge to laugh at her behaviour, shaking his head as she recovered from the fright. As soon as she had her senses back, her eyes honed in on the take out bag on her desk, and she signed Yami a quick thank you before walking up and grabbing it, slipping it into her usual lunch box in hopes of keeping it warm. She didn't ever eat in front of her students if they didn't have something to.
The rest of the class day seemed to fly by all too quickly for Yami, who clung onto the last minutes of the time like a dying man clings to the remains of his life. He flinched when school was called out, dutifully packing up his things before standing, backpack slung around his back, thoughts returning to panic almost immediately.
Suddenly, a warm hand on his shoulder made him jump. He turned around to come face to face with Cecilia, and he had the brief thought of, She certainly got me back for scaring her earlier, before his mind turned to confusion. She stepped back to sign to him, and spoke while she did. Yami noticed while she was talking that Yuugi was standing patiently beside her, looking antsy. "Yami, Yuugi would like to know if you would like to go on a walk today, and maybe hang out with him for a little while?" She inquired.
Yami almost face-palmed. He'd forgotten that Yuugi and him had a daily routine in his nervousness to figure out what he would do for their first kiss. "Of course I'd like to." He assured, waiting until Cecilia had translated to reach forward and grab Yuugi's hand, gripping it firmly in his own. A small smile appeared on the other one's face, and it made Yami's heart flutter.
"Bye!" He signed one handedly, using the other to practically drag Yuugi out of the room. Cecilia waved back at them and smiled, her happiness radiating and seeming to encase her entire form, making her seem tranquil and peaceful and consistent. Yami loved Cecilia.
As soon as they were out of the class, his eyes started scanning. He walked down the hallway at an equally fast pace, slowing down just a little around the bend so that Yuugi wouldn't get hurt. As soon as they were around the corner, Yami stopped, looking again. When he found that they were in a more private area, he spun and stopped, and Yuugi accidentally walked right into his chest. He started to pull away and apologize, but one of Yami's hands snaked around his waist and held the other taught against his own body.
Time seemed to slow down as he gently pulled Yuugi close, trying to apologize with body language, since now didn't feel like the time to first speak. He tried to apologize for not moving fast enough, for being stupidly finicky about where they would have their first kiss, and most of all for almost forgetting him back there. Yami felt like the whole thing was just complicated that day, and he hoped for both of their sakes that it would get better.
Yuugi seemed to melt into the hug, leaning into Yami's shoulder. Yami experimentally lifted the hand circling his waist and moved it up to Yuugi's hair, ruffling it up the slightest bit, his fingers dancing trails along Yuugi's scalp. Yuugi must have liked it, because he pulled away from Yami's chest to lean fondly into his hand, and Yami let out a chuckle. At that, Yuugi broke into a toothy grin and gave a blush, waiting another moment before pushing Yami away. Yami was thankful that he didn't have to be the one to end the hug; they couldn't have just stood there all day.
The walk to Yuugi's room was quick and effortless after that, the warm and familiar presence walking alongside Yami making him feel comfortable and alive. This all seemed so normal and mediocre and beautiful, and it made Yami realize even more just how in love he was with Yuugi. If someone can make even the most mediocre of things feel special and exciting and new to you, you want to hang on to them.
When they finally arrived, they strolled into the poorly lit room, Yami not even bothering to turn on the light. Yuugi let go of Yami's hand and stumbled over to his bed, hopping up onto the cool sheets as he kicked his shoes off and lay back in the bed, completely exhausted from the day of work.
Just then, Yami noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. If he hadn't been so observant, or if Yuugi had turned on the bedroom light, he never would have been able to see it. But, there, outlined in the glorious sunlight filtering through the window, creating a perfect shadow against the curtains, was the flower Yami had picked for Yuugi. Captivated and no longer thinking about his partner sitting eagerly against the cool mattress, Yami walked forward and pulled aside the curtains, having to know whether or not his eyes were deceiving him.
He saw the wilted blue flower, the ends turning brown, pitifully sagging in a half-filled vase. It sat untouched except for a couple of petals that had slowly fallen off, too dead and too weighted to stay attached to the stem. Yami knew that the nurses came in to clean almost every day, and that they would have taken something like this out of the room had they saw it. Of course, there was always the possibility that they hadn't seen it, but it wasn't a huge one. Certainly not one he would consider, not when he saw the small note in the corner.
It was wedged by the flower pot good and tight, and Yami almost missed it. He dully noted in the back of his mind that if the pot were to be lifted, someone would most definitely see it flutter down to the floor. In Yuugi's neat handwriting, it read, 'Do not throw away.'
Yami slowly replaced the paper, his head swirling with thought and ideas. Did that day really mean that much to Yuugi, that he would cherish the flower even when it was wilted? Even when the last softness had gone and been replaced with crisp petals and rough textures, even when everything appealing about the flower had slowly faded, Yuugi had kept it. It was rubbed away in certain areas, as if the petals had been handled fondly many times, maybe in life and definitely in death. Despite the fact that the flower was gone, had been gone for a long time, Yuugi cherished it enough to keep it by his bedside, even writing a note asking the nurses not to throw the pitiful thing away.
Did this flower really mean that much to Yuugi?
Yami knew it wasn't the flower, though. No, it was the premise behind it. It was the fact that Yami had given him that flower, the fact that Yami had thought about him, and Yuugi had cared about it and remembered that day enough to keep it with him. Yami thought that the sincerity and innocence of the act was one of the most adorable things he'd ever witnessed; Yuugi keeping something for so long, when they'd only been friends for a couple of weeks at the time, meant more to him than you could ever imagine.
Yuugi found the flower significant, he found the action significant, he would find the garden significant. The garden was quiet and peaceful and nobody ever went there, and at night you would be allowed to sneak a boom box up and play it out on the porch, the smell of the flowers all around while the sounds of the city seem to fade off into the distance. Some place they would both think of as significant, probably for as long as they lived. Some place that Yami thought would be absolutely perfect for your first kiss with someone.
Yami walked back to Yuugi's bed with a dopey smile on his face, climbing in and wrapping his arms around Yuugi, still grinning like a fool. He felt like a huge weight had just been lifted from his chest, like all of his worries and anxieties had just drifted away, like he had this thing in the bag. Yuugi nuzzled back into his touch, something he never would have done had there been people around, and Yami tried to concentrate on what he would tell Yuugi to get him there.
For now, he just needed to find a way to tell Mai of his plan.
Fortunately, he need not wait long.
Mai busted through the door to Yuugi's room, laughing as she closed the door and leaned against it, sinking down the floor and out of sight. Yuugi sat straight up in startled surprise, his body moving just the slightest bit away from Yami's in an attempt to be more socially acceptable. Mai gave both of them a heavy shush before the room sat still, seconds ticking by like a turtle making its way across a roadway. Yami waited impatiently for an explanation to the antics.
"I'm hiding from Joey." She finally admitted, smiling broadly. Suddenly, it seemed to have just occurred to her that she could be interrupting something, as she looked in between Yami and Yuugi sitting so close and raised an eyebrow. The expression physically hurt. She raised her hands so she could talk to Yami without Yuugi knowing or hearing the exchange. "So, you finally decide that Yuugi's room is special enough, or were you two that close for other purposes?" She questioned hopefully.
"Actually, I did think of a place." He explained. Her eyes lit up with promise.
"Hey Yuugi, I think I need to take Yami for at least a couple of minutes, maybe a little longer if things go good. Sorry sweetie." She said aloud. Yami started to protest, his hands trying to explain that he would talk to her later, but to no avail. She marched over determinedly and grabbed a hold of his arm, practically dragging him out of bed and across the floor to the door. He grumbled as he finally relented and walked outside with her, stopping outside the door and standing with his arms crossed expectantly. She put her hands together enthusiastically, wiggling.
"What did you have in mind?" She practically gushed. Mai had never acted this excitable before, and it caught Yami a little off guard. Instead of giving her snark or complaining about how she'd been just a little bit rude dragging him out of the bed, he decided to give her a straight up answer.
"Fine. I was planning on going to the garden on the top floor and sitting on the bench with some blankets. I was thinking about having a radio up there for Yuugi, since he can't look at the stars. When we're up there, I'm going to talk to him and then give him a kiss. Happy?" Yami asked. Mai paused, narrowing her eyes into slits.
"Okay, fine. I'll go get the radio set up and you go pick out some warm blankets. The flowers may be out up there, but that doesn't mean it's not cold as balls. I'll tell Yuugi to put on a sweater and eventually bring him up to the place later tonight so he doesn't know it's a surprise from you until he's there." Mai said, sitting up straight and flipping her hair. She had returned to her usual no-nonsense self, and she wasn't about to take any crap from anyone. What she said went, and this was no exception.
Besides, Yami like the ideas, anyway.
Which is how he ended up sitting alone in the garden late at night, a plethora of blankets piled up around him to donate warmth and an ancient boom box he couldn't hear softly playing what was supposed to be mood-setting music. He shifted uncomfortably, glancing back again at the glass doors he was so eagerly awaiting the opening of. He turned back and sat with his eyes closed, humming softly to himself as he went through what he was going to say in his head. The large blue bloom he held in his hand, fresh from the bush, brushed against his skin as he swayed his body slightly to pass the time, hoping to take out some nervous energy.
He should have noticed the small burst of air on his back as Yuugi was shoved outside and into the garden, should have felt another presence as it slowly felt around with the walking cane, searching for what could possibly be waiting out here.
Yami felt it when a hand landed gently on his shoulder, and his own hand reached up to cover it, fingers intertwining as the hand lifted from his shoulder and pressed into his own, a smile coming over his companion's face. Yuugi drops his cane then, because he knows that Yami will take care of them, and Yami would go to the ends of the earth to make sure he never takes that trust for granted. Nobody would ever hurt Yuugi, nobody.
He leads Yuugi over to the seat, and his friend sits down, butt firmly in place on one of the blankets Yami brought. He grabbed another one, a woodsy pattern with a bear and a moose on it, and drapes it over Yuugi's shoulders. Even with the added heat, Yuugi scoots closer in the darkness, like he just couldn't go two seconds being farther away than necessary. Like Yami was gravity to his ungrounded soul, holding him in place and keeping him steady. Like they were two magnets, who couldn't help that every fibre of their being wanted to be close.
Yami's arm came to drape around Yuugi so easily, almost too easily, and Yuugi's head was resting lightly on Yami's shoulder. A hand was placed on a knee and a quick kiss to the forehead before Yami's eyes turned to the stars, watching the skies dance high above them. He couldn't see them very well; after all, this was New York, but he'd always dreamed they were more beautiful other places. Here, with Yuugi, they seemed almost like they were able to be seen. Almost like they were reaching out to specifically shine on the two that night.
Yami turned to Yuugi, affection radiating from deep down in his core, screaming at him that now was the time, and he took a shaky breath. This was the one that had been with him for the past two months, gotten through the communication barrier and remained his friend, had given him his first date and helped him come to terms with the fact that he wasn't entirely straight. He had loved this person almost as soon as he had laid eyes on him, even though he'd been too frazzled and confused to acknowledge it at the time.
Now, he noticed that Yuugi's lips were softly moving, nonsense lyrics.
"Kiss me hard before you go," He sang, "Summertime sadness."
Yami wished he could hear Yuugi sing, but he figured that having Yuugi hear him talk would be sufficient enough.
"Y-Yuugi," He croaked out. The younger boy's head whipped towards him, shock and joy both in equal parts his expression. Yami couldn't help but give a small smile, continuing with what he had planned to say, even if he could feel his voice snagging and knew it wasn't perfect. He knew that Yuugi didn't expect him to be perfect. "Will... Will y-you kiss m-me?" He questioned, finally spitting out the words.
Yuugi smiled broadly, and Yami quickly unfolded their intertwined hands, placing the stem of the blue flower that he had in the palm of his love. Yuugi's hand closed around it before he lifted it to his face, inhaling the rich scent as he let the petals dance across his skin. The blue contrasted with the pale white of his skin, making him seem almost ghostly for a second. Dangerous and beautiful. He didn't need Yami to protect him, but he let the other. Yami liked that.
"You learned to speak?" Yuugi asked gently, when he put the flower down. Yami paused, uncertain if the question was rhetorical or not. When he didn't respond, Yuugi continued, "You literally learned a language on my behalf, and all you want is a kiss? That doesn't sound fair to me." Yuugi said, making sure he was facing Yami. Yuugi wasn't stupid; if Yami knew how to talk, he knew how to read lips now. "No, I have something I'd like to show you." Yuugi said. Yami waited patiently as Yuugi's eyes began to flutter open, revealing something that hadn't been seen since they stopped being useful.
Yami let out a gasp. Yuugi's eyes were beautiful. Some may have compared them to amethyst; however, that wasn't what Yami saw. No, Yami saw the universe, the nebula, all the most beautiful purples and pinks and the lightest hints of blue hiding within those eyes, the colours that wrap around the stars and blot out the black, leaving it a swirling pool spilling out of the centre. Yuugi's pupils, instead of being normal, were broken and spilling out to cut through the nebula with an absolute black, leaking a couple of centimetres down to create the effect that someone was pouring his pupils out of a pitcher. So that was why he couldn't see.
"You can kiss me, now." Yuugi mumbled, looking down and blushing. His eyes closed again quickly after that, him being too self conscious to show off for too long. Yami sat there stunned, unable to react, until suddenly, his body moved of it's own accord.
It was like watching it happen in slow motion, like he wasn't even controlling his own body, like the thought briefly crossed his mind and then he was reaching out without having given himself the command, his hands lightly grasping the other's face in between them and pulling him closer and closer, until...
The soft of their lips met, and Yami felt a warmth like never before spread through his body. It felt like they were talking with their very souls; like they were thinking with the same mind, one person. They both moved together, Yami leaning forward and Yuugi leaning back until their entire torsos were pushed up against each other's, wet lips still gently moving against each other as both felt like their hearts were going to pound out of their rib cages, and oh, no other kiss had ever felt that way before, oh.
They finally broke apart, panting, and Yami pulled away. Yuugi, instead of letting him go, wrapped his arms around Yami's neck with a look of determination and brought him back for one more quick peck before sitting up on the bench, leaving Yami stunned and happy. It wasn't long before he was laying his head on Yami's shoulder, their silhouetted forms barely visible in the dim moonlight.
The next day, a new, healthier flower sat inside the vase with the old one on Yuugi's windowsill.