Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Changing Makes a Difference ❯ Christmas and After ( Chapter 9 )

It was the next day that Yami had awoken in his bed alone. On the side table beside him was a note from Yugi that said he and his grandfather had gone out for last minute Christmas shopping and Yugi didn't want to wake him.

Yami rolled his eyes at the note and got up to get dressed and find something to do until Yugi got back. The first thing he tried was TV but there wasn't anything on. He went into the game shop to look around but thought that he had somehow lost interest in it without Yugi bouncing around it and showing him everything himself. He went back inside and looked at all the movies the had but out of the dozens and dozens nothing seemed to catch his interests if there wasn't going to be an adorable smaller teen above him, snuggling into him as they watched the movie.

~~

It didn't take Yami long before he was completely bored and believed he was going to go crazy if Yugi didn't get home soon.

`That's it! Yugi defiantly makes everything worth it! My life is so… dull without him around as the light of my life!' Yami decides finally.

He gets up from the couch and wanders into the kitchen and finds Rebecca making X-mas cookies.

"Hey Rebecca, could you use any help?" `I must be completely desperate.'

No matter how annoying the blonde girl may be to him he was anxious to make time go by faster than it had been going for him.

"Sure Yami. There're more aprons in the cupboard over there so you don't get your clothes dirty. Then you can wash your hands and I'll show you what to do from there." She replied eagerly.

Yami walked over to the cupboard and pulled out one of the aprons. As he tied it in the back he walked over to the sink and washed his hands, drying them off afterwards. Walking back over to the blonde she showed him how to get the dough less sticky and then how to roll it up so they could get better shaped cookies.

Handing him a few cookies cutters she smiled at him. "You can start with these if you want or there's more over there on that table. I think that's everything."

Yami nodded and started on his own dough, picking up a circle-shaped cookie cutter to begin with.

`If this doesn't help make time go by at least a little faster then I'll shoot myself and then go out looking for him.'

~~

When the duo in the kitchen ran out of flour Rebecca turned her head over to Yami. "Hey, Yami. Since you aren't working on anything right now could you go get one of the bags of flour from the garage? I'll finish up the rest of this tray and put it in the over for you." She offered.

"Okay." He took the apron off and wiped his hands clean before exiting out to the garage.

"Thanks. They should be near the back against the wall if you go right." She called after him.

Yami looks around the dark room and feels his way along the wall for the flour bags where they indicated. Unable to see the boxes though he tripped over them and landed on his back. He laid there in complete irritation. `Why isn't there a goddamn light switch!?' He felt like screaming it at the top of his lungs.

"Oh Yami, I forgot to tell you there's a light switch to the left of the door just as you come in! And you might want to watch out for the boxes of toys for the game shop!" Rebecca called out.

Yami growled low in his throat. `And she now decides to tell me. How convenient of her to happen to forget that and tell me not to trip over boxes I already had tripped over.' He got up back towards the light that was coming through the crack below the door and felt around for the light switch to the left of it. After the lights blinked on he walked back over to the boxes he tripped over and put the toys and card packs back inside and pushed them aside.

He then looked for the flour bags again, rubbing his back.

"They had to be plastic toys I landed on, didn't they?" Yami grumbled out.

He found the flour bags shortly later and picked the first bag off the pile and walked back to the door.

Once just outside the kitchen though he finds out that landlord and lady luck don't like him that particular day. A hole on the bottom of the flour bag tears open and the contents inside flood out onto the floor and completely over Yami himself. And to prove how much that wasn't enough, Yugi and his grandpa walked in through the front door just as it happens.

Everything is silent as everyone takes in Yami's new appearance and the mess at his feet before stifled giggles could be heard by the door.

Yami looks over towards the door and was ready to glare at whomever it is, but stops himself as he sees Yugi was the one trying to stifle the sniggers.

Pretty soon the giggles turned into a round of unstoppable and uncontrollable laughter. Yugi was gasping out apologies to Yami the best he could to Yami without choking on air at the same time.

Yami just watched him and can't seem to bring himself to care that somebody was laughing at him. He probably would've ended up laughing along if there weren't other people besides Yugi around to hear him. He would do anything for Yugi; he loved him. And if that meant the younger found the situation that funny at the moment than who was he to stop his fun?

`He doesn't get to laugh very much at school. I'm glad he's happy.' Yami thought as the sweet sound of the rare laughter coming from Yugi rung through his ears.

After Yugi finally calmed down he helped Yami to the bathroom so he wouldn't make a bigger mess and then goes back to the kitchen to clean the floor for his koi.

Yami comes out a few minutes later, ready to clean the mess he made, when he sees Yugi just as he's finished cleaning it for him.

Yugi stands and, when he notices Yami standing there, smiles at him shyly; his eyes begging to be held.

Who was Yami to refuse his koibito such a request? He opened his arms in invitation and the younger happily runs into them, rubbing his face against the leather of Yami's vest.

Yami kisses the top of his head and rubs his cheek into Yugi's soft, spiky hair before whispering to the smaller teen. "You didn't have to do that, Yugi. I would've done it."

Yugi pulled his face away from his nuzzling and smiles up at him, still shyly. "I didn't mind Yami, I was glad to help the one I love." He looks down to hide his face. "I'm sorry for laughing at you."

Yami hugged Yugi tighter for reassurance. "Don't worry about it, Yugi. It sounded nice to hear you laugh like that for once."

"Really?" Yugi looked back up at him.

Yami nodded and the younger hugged him tighter to him. "Thank you for cleaning it up though."

"Your welcome, Yami. I love you so much." Yugi whispered back.

Yami's heart swelled at the words and his eyes teared up. He didn't want Yugi to look up and see and end up thinking that he said something wrong or had done something to upset him so he pulled the little one against him once more and hugged him tighter. He felt even guiltier about the bet the younger knew nothing about, but even more love for the smaller teen that he thought he was capable of.

//"Nobody's going to want you now" Keith smirked; poison dripping from his lips and the comments continued to ring in Yami's head. "Nobody will ever want you for you. They'll only lust for your body when I'm through with you. And then they'll leave you if you ever try to tell them what you've been through. They'll think that you're a disgusting whore who enjoys this kind of thing." Keith laughed as he continued to pound mercilessly into the broken body below him. "You're worthless, Yami. You always will be. You're a burden on your mother and you are on this world for the sole purpose of pleasing others with your perfect body."//

Yami shook his head to clear it and wiped his tears away shamefully before looking back down at Yugi in his arms comfortably. He squeezed tighter just slightly before releasing the younger.

Yugi looked up at him with worry. "Are you okay, Yami? You started shaking like you were scared of something."

"No, little one. I'm fine, don't worry about me." He smiled lovingly at him.

Yugi smiled back just as Rebecca walked in.

The blonde smiled at the cute picture the two made with each other before clearing her throat for attention. When the couple looked at her, waiting, she smirked. "There's some cookies in the kitchen that could use a little decorating. I was wondering if you two would like to help while I'm finishing the last batch?"

Yugi's smile widened and he looked up at Yami eagerly, his eyes begging him. Yami would've laughed at the cute look he made had Rebecca not been around and nodded, releasing Yugi once more.

The younger grabbed his hand and pulled him into the kitchen after the blonde and sat beside him on one of the stools.

Everything needed to decorate the cookies were set out for them already and they started working.

After about half an hour Yami hears frustrated growls coming from his koi and looks beside him to see what's wrong. He thought Yugi looked adorable with the pout on his face and the mock glare he was giving the empty looking bottle of frosting.

"What's wrong, Yugi? All out?" Yami asked.

Yugi looked at him, still pouting, and showed him the tube. "I can't get anymore out and it's the last of the red frosting we have until we can go to the store and pick up some more."

Yami smiled and handed his hand out for the tube, which Yugi handed him with a big smile growing on his face. Yami carefully pushed his fingers up from the bottom to the top until he was sure there wasn't much more frosting that he could get out. He handed the bottle back to Yugi who smiled and thanked him before turning back to his barely frosted cookie once more.

Yami continued as well until a few more minutes later when he heard an `eep' come from Yugi. He looked over and nearly burst into laughter like Yugi had earlier when the flour had rained on him. Yugi had the last of the red frosting splattered over his face and tears were welding up in his eyes, ready to cry.

"What happened now, Yugi?"

"I only needed a little bit more so I was trying to do what you had done to get more frosting to come out but my fingers slipped and it went on my face instead." Yugi cried out.

Yami reached for some paper towels across the countertop, careful not to get any of the frosting on his vest, and wiped Yugi's face clean. He pulled the paper towel away to see if he got it all and smirked wickedly when he saw a little bit more near Yugi's lips. He leaned forward after placing the towel on the counter and kissed it away. He heard Yugi's gaps before the younger tilted his head towards his lips, asking Yami to kiss him there too. Yami smiled and complied happily. Their lips met and they shared the kiss happily before Yami pulled away a few minutes later.

"Mmm, delicious. It's all gone now."

Yugi blushed lightly and giggled. "I like that way better than that paper towel. It was too rough on my face."

"I'll have to keep that in mind then, won't I?" Yami licked his lips jokingly.

The small blush on Yugi's cheeks grew and he quickly turned back to his cookies with embarrassment. It wasn't until a second later though that he realized that only half of his cookie had red frosting on it and he couldn't use that half without ruining the cookie by thinning it out too much.

Yami smirked and pushed the green frosting tube over to Yugi. "You could make a yin-yang cookie with the red and green." He offered.

Yugi smiled. "Thank, Yami. That's a great idea." He took the tube and proceeded to make the offered design.

~~

"YAMI!!" Yugi jumped on top of Yami's still sleeping form and jumped up and down excitedly on top of him. "Get up, Yami! It's Christmas!"

Yami cracked open a crimson eye and sent a playful glare his way before closing it again.

"Please Yami!" Yugi begged, sending the puppy dog eyes out to work, hoping that Yami would open his eyes again to see it.

"Fine." Yami replied and lifted his hips up, which made Yugi fall backwards onto the bed.

In truth, the only reason Yami had agreed to get up was because he didn't have the heart to say no to him.

He stood up from the bed and got dressed with Yugi hurrying him along eagerly.

"Are you done yet?" Yugi asked impatiently after a few minutes.

Yami smiled at him and nodded.

Yugi bounced off the bed and grabbed his hand, dragging him down the stairs to the living room.

Yami sat on the couch and apologized for keeping them waiting.

"We weren't waiting that long." Author replied; everybody nodding in agreement.

Yugi's looking around for an open seat but decides on the floor when he finds there isn't any more room on the couch or chair. He's stopped though when he feels a small pressure pulling him towards the couch on his waist. He looks down and sees Yami's hand wrapped around his waist, pulling him towards him. Yugi gets the hint easily and cuddled himself into Yami's lap happily. Yami wraps his arms around Yugi once the younger was comfortable and waist as Rebecca started to hand out presents.

Yami's whole attention is on Yugi as he watches his smaller koibito open his presents as they were handed to him, not expecting to get anything, which didn't really bother him as long as the tenshi in his lap stayed where he was.

At the end everybody stood and made their way into the kitchen for some cookies except for Yugi and Yami.

Yugi smiles somewhat shyly at his koi before sliding off his lap and onto the now free couch. Yami watches him curiously as the younger reached into his pajama pants' pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box with a silver ribbon wrapped around it in a tiny bow.

The younger of the two pushed the box into the older's hand and whispered out and embarrassed and shy "Merry Christmas, Yami" and waist for his koi to open the small box.

After getting over the initial shock that Yugi had gone through the trouble of getting him something, Yami looked a the box for a second before taking the ribbon off and opening it. He gasped as the beautiful silver charm inside glinted at him with morning sun shining on it.

He picked it up carefully, as if it was made of glass and could break if not handled with care, and set the box aside.

The charm was in the shape of an upright rectangle with two hearts intertwined on the center, one black and one white. He opened the locket and red the inscription branded into it:

Together Forever

I give you my heart

On the other side he saw the same picture as on the front except slightly bigger and underneath it said:

I love you, Yami

Yugi

Tears were brought to Yami's eyes and he didn't care if Yugi saw them this time. He looked back over to Yugi and his eyes widened as he saw the silver chain the younger held out for him in his hands. He took the chain and beaded it through the hold on the top of the charm and turned back to Yugi.

"Could you help me put it on?"

At Yugi's shy nod he handed the silver charmed-necklace to Yugi and then turned his back to him. He sucked in a small breath as the cool material of the chain touched his bare skin on his neck.

He turned back to Yugi and gathered him in his arms. "Thank you, Yugi." He breathed into the smaller's ear. "It's the best gift I could ever hope for. I love it."

Yugi snuggled into his arms lovingly. "I meant every word." He then added after a second in slight humiliation, "I was going to get you the one shaped like a heart, but I wasn't sure if you would like that or not."

Yami chuckled lightly and pulled back, looking sadly at Yugi. "I'm sorry I don't have anything to give you though that's this special, Yugi."

"Don't worry Yami. You gave me the best gift anybody could have ever hoped for when you asked me to be your friend, first and best, and even more so when you asked if I would go out with you.

Yami's heart pounded in his ears and he felt even more guilt than he had been the whole time about the bet. Yugi truly loved him for him and didn't care about his problem; he honestly cared about him.

`Then was Keith wrong? Could somebody really know what had happened and still actually want to have me because of who I am?' Yami wondered in confusion.

"I love you, Yami." Yugi whispered as he wrapped his arms around the taller and snuggled into his chest further.

Yami held him closer and rocked them back and forth slowly, pondering over what Keith had told him only two summer's ago. Finally he gathered his courage and whispered back, "I love you too, Yugi. I love you too."

He felt the smaller teen tense up and pulled back to look at Yami in disbelief, his eyes asking if he really did.

Yami nodded with a small smile on his face and watched as tears glittered in Yugi's eyes and fell down his pale cheeks before he hid his face back into Yami's chest and cried happily into the leather.

They stayed like that the whole day before Yami carefully stood with Yugi in his arms and carried him to their room. He worried for his love as he tested his weight once more.

`He's lighter than the last time I checked a few days ago.'

~~

In the morning Yami's suspicions and fears were confirmed. Rebecca was shaking him awake and sirens blared in the background.

"Yami, wake up! Something's wrong with Yugi!" The blonde genius gasped out.

Yami's crimson eyes shot open and immediately looked beside him to where Yugi was having problems breathing and was shivering slightly even under all the covers of the bed.

He jumped out of the bed and went to Yugi's side, kneeling beside it. "Yugi, please wake up." Yami pleaded in what he knew sounded like a worried voice. He didn't know how long he would last if Yugi didn't open his eyes and tell him he was okay or maybe be shaken awake by Yugi and tell him he was having a nightmare… but nothing like that happened. Instead, paramedics burst into the room and strapped Yugi onto the stretcher. For the first time in his life Yami cried in front of people he didn't he know.

Rebecca was at a loss for what to do and gasped when Yami suddenly shot up from his spot on the floor and ran downstairs.

She looked outside and saw Yami run out onto the street, staring after the ambulance before falling to his knees in complete defeat.

(I was going to leave it there, but then thought that wouldn't be a very good idea. So you readers get to have even more to read. Hope you're enjoying it so far and hope you like the rest as well.)

~~

A couple hours later everybody was piled into the car and was driving down to the hospital to visit Yugi.

Yami stared out of the window, wallowing in self-depression and cursing himself for not asking Yugi about it sooner. He blamed himself for the whole mess and Yugi could die because he was too careless.

~~

As they were sitting in the waiting room Rebecca sat beside Yami after watching the teen huddled by himself in the corner, silent tears trekking paths down his face.

Yami looked up at he and in a scratched up and nearly forced voice asked her, "How could this have happened? It's all my fault."

"No, Yami. Don't say that. It's nobody's fault; it just… happened." She tried to explain. "I walked by your guys' room when I heard it though. I opened the door to see what it was and found out that it was Yugi. It was because he couldn't breath right. I tried to wake him up but he wouldn't so I called my grandpa up. He told me to call the ambulance because Yugi needed help. After I called them I woke you up to see if you knew anything but obviously by your reaction you didn't."

Yami glared at the floor. "I knew."

Rebecca looked up surprise. "You did?"

Yami nodded in self-hatred. "He didn't eat very much. I knew he was underweight so I tried to help him. I even saw his ribs and everything twice at school. He told me why but he didn't tell me anything more than that. I tried to get him to eat more but every time he tried he'd end up feeling sick and go to the bathroom."

Rebecca was about to gather him in a comforting hug but stopped when she heard Yugi's name called out by one of the nurses.

Everybody walked over to the lady to see what she would say about Yugi.

"Is this everyone?" Solomon nodded at her. "Well we discovered that Yugi is malnutrition as well as anorexic and bulimic, but he's more anorexic than the other; only partially bulimic."

Rebecca gasped and held onto her grandfather. Solomon stared at the lady in shock and disbelief. Yami's hand instantly came up and grasped his locket Yugi had only given him the day before.

"Can we see him?" He asked in a raspy and choked voice.

"Yes, but one at a time."

Yami expected Solomon to want to go first, but the old man nodded at him to go ahead. "I want to calm down before I see him first. You go ahead, Yami."

Yami nodded his thanks to the old man and followed the nurse through the double doors. He was led down a few halls up towards an elevator near the back.

"Yugi's on the third floor. You go to the left once you reach there and go straight until you come to the room 203C. It'll be on your right."

"Thank you."

After the nurse left he stepped into the elevator and pressed the number 3 on the button pad. He walked down the hall to the left once the ding sounded and the door opened and all too soon he found himself standing in front of his designated room.

He took a deep breath before he turned the knob on the door and walked in. He nearly choked at what he saw.

Yugi was hooked up to many different machines and tubes with few needles poked into his arms to give him nutrition and an assortment of medications.

He walked over to Yugi's unconscious form and took one of the small and pale hands into his own, caressing it lightly.

"Why, Yugi? Why?" He asked over and over again before he eventually broke down into more tears as he hid his face into the sheets of the bed.

Yami didn't even notice somebody else had entered the room until he felt a comforting hand on his back. He looked up in confusion into the smiling face of another nurse.

"Yugi'll be okay, sweetie. He just has to be careful from now on." Yami nodded and she rubbed his shoulder in reassurance before going to the end of the bed and wrote something on the chart before turning and heading to the door, sending him one last smile before she closed the door.

Yami felt a little better now, but not by much. He stayed there staring at Yugi's unmoving form sadly with an occasional tear slipping from his garnet orbs for about forty-five minutes before he leaved over and kissed Yugi's cold lips and getting up to leave, not noticing the flutter in Yugi's eyes.

Yami's hand was on the doorknob and was about to open it when he heard a strangled voice of somebody calling his name from behind him.

The junior froze for a second before turning abruptly back around and saw Yugi's nearly dull violet eyes watching him; the usual cheeriness empty from them.

"Are you leaving me?" Yugi choked out in a strangled voice with fear evident clearly in it.

Yami walked back over to the bed, almost afraid that Yugi would disappear from him if he got too close. He sat back down in the chair and took Yugi's hand back into his own once more, caressing it with his thumb. "I'll never leave you, Yugi. Not until you say."

Yugi tried to smile for him but found that he was too tired and settled for just looking into his other's red eyes, loving how the sparkled in the low lights in the room. He knew Yami and everybody else found out what he'd been doing to himself by now and thought it was better than them finding out some other way.

"I'm sorry Yami." He rasped out. "For doing what I did."

Yami squeezed his hand reassuringly, all the while thinking over everything that had happened the past couple of weeks.

He found he didn't care about the bet anymore and he only wished and hoped with all his being that Yugi lived and would be wit him.

His other hand unconsciously came up and held onto his locket like it was a lifeline for him; and in some way he really believed it was.

Yami then leaned down and whispered into Yugi's ear. "We'll always be together, forever, Yugi. Can I keep you? (1)"

Yugi smiled weakly at him he best he could and nodded. "Always." He whispered back.

The junior leaned over and wrapped his arms around Yugi in a small hug. Neither boy heard the door click closed again.

The three smiled lightly at each other. They didn't have to say anything to know each of them were glad Yugi was going to be safe and he had someone to help him through it now.

They decided to go wait in the waiting room for Yami to come back down.

Inside the room, Yami let his tears fall from his eyes. He made his decision.

`This bet is off. I'll tell Joey when we get back to school and I'll make sure Yugi never finds out about it so we can be together. I need him. I do anything to keep it like this.'

His heart swelled and for once it wasn't for how guilty he was feeling over the baka bet but it was for how much he truly love Yugi.

`My savior; my angel; my Yugi.'

**

(1) From the movie Casper. I thought that line sounded kawaii and I had to borrow it.

I also wanted to say thanks for all the reviews and to make things a little bit easier so you know when to look for this fic, I'm going to be trying to update every Monday. But I'm only going to try, so there's no promises.