AN: Thanks all! I don't own Yu Gi Oh but you amazing ppl keep me coming back for more!

31. Snow

Every snowfall Yuugi Motou could be seen dancing at night.

He never questioned the how or the why it happened, but every year when it got cold and snow started to fall from the skies over Japan he found himself in darkened spaces of Domino City Park, away from the stares of strangers, in the dead of night, staring into the half-visible form of his long-lost love.

He was never quite sure if it was a figment of his love-starved imagination or whether it was real, but nonetheless, each time he swore that he faintly felt his lost love's body against his own during every minute of their mindnight waltz.

It was not the Atemu who had left for the Afterlife that visited him, but his Yami, his mou hitori no boku. There he stood, pale and transparent and wearing the chicer version of his own high school uniform, chain-attached pyramid and all, his hands on his slightly cocked hips and a smile in place that suggested nostalgic cockiness in place of real arrogance.

The first time the snow had called to him, when he had still been a teenager, he had seen his departed love and whispered, "Mou hitori no boku," in a puff of white air. No echoing white breath had come forth from the other, no breath at all, nothing but that smile, but Yuugi swore then and every time since that there was something of substance in those eyes, something that meant some part of his other self had lived on. And that was enough for Yuugi Motou to hold on to; it was enough for him to dance with the air every time it snowed.

It stayed the same every year. Only when it was cold enough to snow, be it a blizzard or a few flurries, and only then, Yuugi saw his dark self, his Yami standing out in the freezing air, patiently awaiting his dance partner.

Without needing to ask Yuugi knew he would never see Yami any other time of year or in any other place than where he stood. He knew that though the touch was barely perceptible, and quite possibly a trick of his own brain, it was enough to sustain his love.

So Yuugi danced with Yami when he was eighteen in his nearly outgrown high school uniform on that first fateful night when insomnia plagued him, jacket forgotten as he was pulled from the comfort of his home by the call of the bitter, snow-dotted wind. Yuugi danced with Yami during the worst blizzard in Domino City history under the full moon when he was thirty, head thrown back in joyous laughter in the city park, ecstatic just to be with the one he loved so dearly.

And Yuugi still danced with Yami when he was sixty in that same park, just down the street from the game store he ran, owned, and still lived above. His steps were a little slower and the laugh lines were clearly evident on his face, a little middle-aged spread on his belly, but he still walked solidly and happily with the crunch of forming snow under his feet to waltz with the ghost of a man who now seemed to be a third of his own age.

For just over seventy years the lovers had faithfully danced with one another when the last snowfall finally came.

Yuugi Motou, eighty-eight, never married and with no children, but by no means unhappy, could feel his time coming to an end. His heart beat slower and irregularly and not without pain. He felt a sudden stab of regret and unhappiness. How badly he would have loved to have one last dance with his precious Yami.

He sighed a heavy, aged sigh. He didn't know what would happen when he died, but he was very worried that it might not involve the love of his life; he didn't care whether or not Yami had been 'real' all of these years, he had been real enough for Yuugi. He was going to miss that dearly.

Yuugi stood and made his way to the window in vain hope. He cracked a wide smile at what he saw. The barest of flurries were falling to the ground as if to answer his dying wish.

With as much energy as he could muster Yuugi slightly hobbled his way to his door, pulling his bum leg along with vigor. He threw open the shop door and let it jingle shut behind him, not bothering to find his coat or lock up the store for what he knew would be the last time.

His breath was just barely visible in the air and the weather was still too warm for the snow to stick to the ground, but Yuugi held out hope that maybe, just maybe, it was cold enough for his Yami to be

there. Quickly he pushed himself down the city sidewalks to the park, ignoring the pain in his chest and the way his breath had become constricted and labored. He sighed with relief when he finally reached the park and desperately searched with his aged amethyst orbs for the one who had held fast to his heart for over seven decades.

"There you are," he sighed happily, voice raspy. He chuckled. "I was afraid you might not make it in time."

He held out his hands for that ethereal touch and smiled sincerely when Yami silently walked to him and held him with a smile of his own. They stood in their assumed positions and began to dance to a tune only the two of them could hear.

But no sooner had they begun to dance than Yuugi let out a cry and fell to the ground.

"I-I'm glad, Y-Yami," he choked out, breaths coming out in quick pants as he clutched at his chest, "I'm j-jus-t, s-s-so h-hap-py. I l-lo-love y-ou."

Though he knew the ground beneath him must be cold Yuugi did not feel it in his arthritic joints or bones.

And for the first time in over seventy years Yuugi could swear he was actually hearing the voice of his dear mou hitori no boku, starting as a whisper but growing more audible with each word.

"...so...long...aibou, so very long. My sweet aibou. I love you so very, very much. I've waited for you for so long."

Yami reached down with youthful fingers to stroke at Yuugi's weathered cheek, and for the first time Yuugi could swear with certainty that the touch was tangible. Had he the strength to raise his own hand he would have touched it in return, and had he not been so afraid Yami might disappear from his view he would have shut his eyes and reveled in sensation.

"Y-Yami," was all he could manage in his gruff voice.

"Dance with me aibou." This time Yami purposefully whispered as he smiled and reached out a pale hand to Yuugi that seemed oddly more visible than ever.

Despite the protest Yuugi felt on his tongue that he seemed to no have the strength to vocalize, he felt his own hand rise with apparent ease to be firmly clasped in Yami's own and found himself moving to stand more smoothly than he had in years.

"Mou hitori no boku," he whispered, voice surprisingly lithe and light.

"Aibou, aibou." His dark self seemed very solid and real, and pulled him tightly into a hold Yuugi could completely feel.

Yuugi gasped suddenly, only to realize that he had no sensation of breath; indeed his breath failed to hang in the air in a puff of white when he exhaled in the cold night. He touched his weathered cheeks only to find them smooth and young again.

"Come with me aibou," Yami whispered into his ear.

"Always," Yuugi whispered back.

They joined hands once more to dance the night away as the air grew bitter and snow began to fall heavily on the ground. Their footsteps never formed to give evidence of their presence or their disappearance as they faded away in the hours of sunrise, beaming with love and bliss. They only thing that remained of them was the aged body of Yuugi Motou, aged eighty-eight, lying on the ground, covered in snow, with his hand clutching his chest and his lips upturned in a beautiful grin.

Thanks for reading!...not sure how I feel about this one...