Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Machine God ❯ chapter one ( Chapter 1 )

It was the middle of December, perhaps 10:00 at night. Earlier, I had looked out the bay window of the ballroom where the piano sat and saw that the sky was crying soft, white flakes which by morning, would cover Domino City in a ebony pale blanket. I smiled, thinking of my friend's spiky hair that held the same shade as the snow falling outside my window.

I felt you before I could see or hear you. You came up behind me as I was sitting at the piano that you had gotten me. I had been practicing my Christmas music but I abruptly stopped as you placed your hands on my shoulders.

"I thought you had to work tonight? I thought you were gonna lock yourself up in that little dungeon you have down there," I said, my voice injured and bitter. "I remember you saying that you belonged with machines more than you did with humans. Even me…"

"I also remember you saying that you were never going to play on this piano," you whispered in my ear, making me shiver against my will.

"It was a bribe. What else did you want me to do?" I sat stock still as the hands ran to the front of my sweatshirt and the mouth slid to my neck.

"I wanted you to wrap your arms around me saying that you loved it and I'd drag you upstairs and make love to you all night. That's what I wanted to happen," I bit down hard on my lip as your hands covered mine and forced my fingers to move, pressing the keys.

A haunting melody from years ago echoed from the piano into the empty ballroom.

"You bought it for me after a fight…" I weakly protested.

"Over my working. I was apologizing…"

"You were bribing me to forgive you for something unforgivable."

"It wasn't that bad."

"You missed my birthday, damn it! My sweet 16th. I waited at Jou's for over 2 hours for you!"

"Okay…maybe it was that bad."

Your long, slim fingers still guided my own stubby ones over ebony keys. Black then white…black then white…if only everything was so simple. Good and bad, black and white…none of the gray shit in the middle where we always seem to be muddling about, searching for one another.

"I can't even save you out anymore," I whispered, dejectedly.

"What do you mean?" warm, wet lips pressed against my pulse point and I sighed.

"I can't save you. Mokuba used to be able to pull you out of your work but those damned machines have you now and his voice, his hugs, his pleadings won't even reach you. I thought I could be different. I thought for a while I succeeded. You were with me every night, warm and hot by me. Then Yami beat you," you cringed against my shoulder but I pressed on, " and everything changed. You reverted back to the old you, the workaholic you. You don't love me or Mokuba anymore. You just go thru the motions of love. You don't know what it means anymore."

You were quiet for a little, your fingers still pressing the keys. You started to softly sing,

Dancing bears, painted wings,

Things I almost remember,

And a song,

Someone sings,

Once upon a December.

For the first time, you started to work the fingers of my left hand, brining in the bass voice of the piano. The music thrummed thru the empty ballroom and echoed off the wooden floors.

Your tenor voice vibrated against my skin and sent shivers down my spine. I could feel the heat of your hard body inches from mine and I leaned back. You caught me between the piano and your chest and continued to play.

Someone holds me, safe and warm

Horses prance thru a silver storm

Figures dancing gracefully

Across my memory.

"You're programmed, just like those hell-bringers. You don't think, you process. You can't feel…you don't have a heart," I whispered thru clenched teeth. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes and all the while, you kept playing.

"You're cold and emotionless. You feed off of pain and grief like your friends feed off of electricity. You don't love me, you never did," I hissed, tears now flowing freely down my cheeks. As soon as I was done, you started to sing once more,

Someone holds me, safe and warm

Horses prance thru a silver storm

Figures dancing gracefully

Across my memory…

Far away, long ago,

Glowing dim as an ember,

Things my heart used to know,

Things it yearns to remember.

You faced me and kissed my eyelids, licking the tears from my face. The bass hand dropped out and you removed your hand from mine. My hand fell immediately from the piano keys. I let out a sob and you pressed my ear to your chest.

"Do you hear?" you whispered.

I was crying too hard to ask what I was supposed to be hearing. Your hand pressed my head painfully close to your chest, another moan betraying me.

"Can you feel it?" you asked again.

And a song,

Someone sings…

A soft, warm beat met my ears as you stopped playing. An even, steady pulse caressed my wet cheek, even thru the light blue fabric of your dress shirt.

"I do have a heart…and it beats only for you, Yugi."

I took a shaky breath and again faced the piano. My fingers moved of their own accord, I not even knowing what they were going to do. My mouth opened and I sang the final phrase of the lullaby,

Once upon a December…

"I love you Yugi," you whispered, your breath hot and heavy on my ear.

"And I you, my machine god."