Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Under the Mistletoe ❯ ...For you to realize... ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Yu-Gi-Oh…but does a Duel Monsters deck that I own count? ^_~

Sharem: Anyway, this story was inspired by "To Make the Season Bright" by Tsukino no Kodomo…it's one of the best Christmas stories that I have read…maybe that's why it's on my favorite stories list at Fanfiction.Net…^_^

Under the Mistletoe

Chapter Three - …For you to realize…

Saturday, December 17 - Day 8 and counting down…

Yugi grumbled loudly as he put all of his clothing in a couple of laundry baskets and brought down the stairs one at a time. He should have done this a few days earlier but he either had to watch the game shop or had to do homework for some of his college classes. What made it worse was the fact that the washing machine was on the fritz and he had to drag his dirty clothes, and Yami's laundry, down to the local laundromat. He really wanted to watch some of the Saturday morning cartoons on the local television station while listening to the hum of the washer and dryer.

"Why did the washer have to mess up now?" the teen moaned as he pulled on his coat. As he was about to put on his boots, Yami walked up to him with yet another basket full of dirty laundry. "Yami! I thought that the two baskets you put in the car was all the laundry you had."

The taller male just chuckled as he handed the basket to the shorter teen. "Sorry about that, aibou," he remarked. "This isn't mine, you know. This is all yours."

"Mine?" Yugi asked confusedly.

The spirit chuckled and opened the front door for Yugi. "Yes…unless you forgot about the pile of dirty clothes you left in the laundry room when you realized that the washing machine was broken."

The spiky haired teen grimaced as he followed Yami to a dented, slightly rusty old car. The Pharaoh opened the trunk for the teen and helped him place the laundry basket inside along with one other basket. The backseat was filled with three laundry baskets already and there was no more room. Sighing, Yugi turned to face Yami only to have his darker half scowl at him lightly.

"You're wearing that necklace again, aibou?" Yami asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. "And I see you are wearing the same outfit as yesterday." He then noticed the Dark Magician plushie in the front passenger seat. "When did you get that?"

Yugi blushed very lightly and then glanced up into the spirit's crimson eyes. "I got it the day before yesterday, Yami. It was a present. And yes, I am wearing the necklace again because I like it. I'm also wearing the same clothes as yesterday because it is the only clean clothes that I have other than that silk shirt and I'm not about to wear one of my best clothes just to do the laundry." The teen pouted for a moment, slightly aggravated that his yami would act funny about the presents he received.

'This is NOT going to be a good day' he thought to himself as he opened the door and sat in the driver's seat. 'Why is Yami acting funny? This started yesterday when I got this beautiful necklace and pendant from Christmas Angel…Oh well.'

Just as the diminutive duelist was about to start the car, Yami opened the door and leaned over Yugi and buckled in the seatbelt for the teen. He brushed the teen's thighs lightly for a couple of seconds, causing Yugi to blush a little. "You should wear the seatbelt at all times, aibou," Yami murmured gently towards his lighter half. "I don't want you to get hurt whenever you drive."

Yugi's breathing became shallow when he felt the spirit accidentally graze his thighs with his hands. He silently wondered if his darker half was unconsciously trying to tell him something. Shrugging to himself, the amethyst eyed teen smiled innocently at Yami and thanked him. He then started the car as the spirit shut the door and drove away from his home. He didn't have to worry about the ancient Pharaoh being by himself since he understood what most machines were used for now. That and he could watch the game shop for him today. Yami had promised him to do that after the teen came home last night after talking to Mai.

It took Yugi just a couple of minutes to arrive at the laundromat and he noticed that it was practically empty as he pulled into the parking lot. The only person apparently inside was an elderly lady who insisted that cats actually ruled the world since the time of the Pharaohs. She was a harmless old woman who seemed to have taken a liking towards himself and Yami. She also took a liking to one other person but Yugi declined to think of him.

"Ah, young Mr. Mutou, I'm glad to see you today," the old woman beamed at the young teen as he began to bring in the five baskets of laundry. "There was another boy in here doing his laundry…I wonder where he went off to. Have you seen him?"

Yugi smiled gently at the woman. "No, Mrs. Nelson…the only person I saw in here was you," he answered, a smile on his face as he finally brought in the last basket and the Dark Magician plushie. He decided to bring it with him so he could keep himself company with the toy. He glanced at the baskets he brought in and sighed…Yami still didn't separate his clothing and the spirit had his underwear on top of one of the baskets for everyone to see. Just as the tri-colored haired teen began to separate all five baskets of laundry, he heard Mrs. Nelson say goodbye to him and to whomever else was in the laundromat. He became so engrossed in the sorting laundry activity that he didn't notice someone walking up behind him.

"Hello, Yugi," a silky voice replied behind the teen duelist, startling Yugi from his activity.

Yugi whirled around to meet a young teen with deep lavender eyes, beautifully tanned skin, and light blonde hair. The duelist scowled slightly at the boy's appearance. He did not need trouble right now with him. He was doing his laundry at the laundromat for goodness sake! Not to mention, this was the other person who Mrs. Nelson took a liking too for some strange, mentally disturbed reason.

"Malik," Yugi grumbled out, the scowl still on his face. "What are you doing here?"

Malik Ishtar chuckled deeply and grinned at the uncomfortable look on the other teen's face. "The same thing that you're here, Yugi…I'm doing laundry," the blonde Egyptian answered slickly. "Isis forgot to get a repairman come over to fix our washer and dryer and ordered me to wash my own clothes."

The young duelist rolled his eyes and turned back to finish sorting his clothes and Yami's. Just as he finished, he noticed that the other teen was smirking. "Now what?" Yugi asked in exasperation. He was getting tired of the Egyptian being around him. He just doesn't trust that other teen.

"Oh nothing…nothing in particular," Malik answered smoothly, his lavender eyes were dancing with amusement. "But I just find it amusing that the Dark Magician plushie you have on that washer is covered by a pair of boxers that has cartoon Red Eyes Black Dragons on it…"

Yugi just stared at the tanned boy for a moment and then squeaked when he saw what Malik was talking about. He swiftly took the boxers off of his toy and made sure that it was okay. When sorting Yami's things, he thought he had tossed those boxers into the right basket. He mumbled a thank you to the blonde teen and began loading one of the washers. He was halfway in filling it up when he saw the Egyptian staring at him. He was about to say something when the blonde said something first.

"That's a very nice pendant you're wearing," Malik stated, as he impulsively reached over to examine the jewelry. "It's looks very expensive. How can you afford something like this when all you drive is that rust bucket of a vehicle outside?"

Yugi felt like sticking his tongue out at the tanned teen but refrained from that childish action. "Just for your information, Malik, the pendant was a gift," he stated as he smacked the Egyptian's hand away. "And don't touch anything of mine, got it?"

Chuckling softly, Malik stood off to one side and began peering at the other baskets. He then pulled out a pair of boxers that belonged to Yami. It had the Toon Blue Eyes White Dragon on it. "The Pharaoh sure has interesting taste in underwear," the blonde remarked, laughing as he saw the stricken look on Yugi's face. When the shorter teen tried to grab it, Malik just held it above the boy's reach. "This is perfectly fine…you said not to touch anything of yours. You didn't say anything of Yami's."

"Just give it back, Malik!" Yugi exclaimed, frustrated by the other boy's actions. "Just don't touch anything I have here!"

"Aw, you're no fun," the blonde teen pouted, but retained a smirk that unsettled Yugi's nerves for some reason. He threw the boxers into another washer. "I'm just waiting for my clothes to finish drying…let me help you put these things in the washers for you."

Yugi gave the Egyptian a confused look and sighed. "Just don't mess any of the clothes up, Malik…you know that I don't trust you," he remarked innocently as he began loading up the washer that the boxers were tossed into. For the next few minutes, the pair was silent as they put the dirty clothes in the washer and filled up a couple more. Just as Yugi put in the coins to start the machines, Malik had a pensive look on his face as he watched the smaller teen finished with the washers.

The tri-colored haired teen glanced at the Egyptian for a moment, confused as to why the other boy had that look on his face. He watched Malik go over to the dryers and opened a couple of them and took the clothes out. He began stuffing them into laundry bags. Seeing how much of a mess the blonde was making with his clothes, Yugi sighed and walked over to him.

"What are you doing?" the blonde asked, his lavender eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the spiky haired teen dump one of the bags on a large table in the laundromat.

Yugi shrugged as he began folding Malik's clothes. "I'm folding your clothing," he answered as he quickly folded a silk shirt. "You know, if you want your things to last longer, you have to care for them."

The blonde Egyptian just stared at Yugi as the small duelist folded all of his clothes and placed them carefully in the bags. "Thanks," he said quietly as the other teen handed him his clean laundry. He then glanced outside. "Yugi, it's going to be almost dark when you are done here. And that means it's going to be cold."

The teen just shrugged as he went to sit down near the window. "It's okay…I got my coat. And I've lived here all of my life so I'm used to it."

Malik nodded as he hoisted the bags over his shoulders and made his way to the exit. "Okay then, shrimp," he remarked, smirking as he earned a glare from the smaller boy. "Tell the Pharaoh that he needs to change his taste in boxers." He laughed loudly, and slightly insanely, as he was pelted with a rolled up newspaper when he left the building.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It was late afternoon when Yugi's laundry was finally finished. Yugi then went outside to put the baskets of clean clothes inside his beat up car. When he finished putting the last basket in the trunk, he grabbed his Dark Magician plushie. He was about to place it on the front seat when he noticed that there was an envelope on the dashboard. He picked it up curiously and went over to the driver's side and got in the car. He recognized the graceful handwriting from the earlier notes he had received. He eagerly tore into the envelope and pulled out a note.

'Dear Yugi,

I hope that you don't mind that I have left this note here for you instead of having it mailed. I am sure that you were expecting another gift and do not worry, you will get one. After all, I did say that you will get one every day until Christmas Eve.

My gift isn't to be mailed to you, my lovely angel. Just go over to Royston's, the department store over on Main Street. When you are inside, just tell the sales lady your name. My gift will be waiting for you. I hope that you will like it…hell, I hope that you like all of the gifts you have received so far.

Everything I am doing…I am doing it for you. I'm doing it for you to realize how much…how much I care for you. My heart feels like bursting every time that I see you. My eyes feel like they will explode if I cannot even see you, even if only just for a few fleeting seconds. I ache to touch you, to feel you…but I know that I must take this slowly. I so wish for you to trust and love me.

Ah…now it is time for me to give you another clue to my identity. I have a sibling…I can't tell you the sex of this sibling because they may give me away too easily, my angel. Until the morrow, little one, and you take delivery of my next gift, I bid thee farewell. And remember, you have seven more gifts after this one that are waiting to be gazed upon your lovely amethyst eyes.

Love with all my heart,

Christmas Angel'

Yugi's beautiful eyes watered slightly as he read the note over and over again. Thinking for a moment, he decided to go directly over to Royston's. He knew that it was a high-end store that catered to menswear. It took him a few minutes to drive to downtown Domino and look around for a parking space. That took another few minutes. He finally lucked out and pulled into a spot directly in front of his destination. He locked up his car and warily entered the store, gaping at all of the fine clothing that was inside.

He shyly walked over to an impeccably dresses young saleswoman and smiled at her. She glanced down at Yugi and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, may I help you?" she asked, her eyes were soft and warm.

Yugi shuffled his feet for a moment. "Um…yes…I was told to come here and tell a sales lady that I'm Yugi Mutou."

The young woman's eyes brightened up considerably and took a hold of the young duelist's arm. She led him towards the back of the store and put him up on a stool. She began taking in his measurements and smiled widely.

"You are exactly the size my client said you would be," she remarked happily. "You wouldn't believe how long he was in here searching for something that would suit you."

The tri-colored haired teen blushed slightly and tilted his head in innocent curiosity. "Can you tell me who your client it?" he asked, his tone sounding very hopeful. He heart plummeted slightly when the saleswoman shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry, Mr. Mutou, but I had explicit instructions not to say anything about him," she answered lightly as she disappeared into a back room. She came out a few minutes later holding something in a garment bag. This piqued the young man's curiosity even more. His eyes went wide when the saleswoman took out a beautiful sweater that had Yugi's initials monograms along the left front breast area. It was done in silver stitching on soft amethyst tinted angora wool.

The young woman smiled widely as she held it up to Yugi. "The client was right…the color of the sweater really matches your eyes perfectly. Why don't you wear it now? It's probably getting really cold outside."

The spiky haired teen just nodded as he took off his coat and pulled the soft sweater over his head. It was snug, but not too tight. In fact, it was a perfect fit. "It's so soft," he murmured appreciatively. "If you see your client again, tell him that I love this gift…and the other ones as well."

The saleswoman smiled and nodded. "I will do just that, Mr. Mutou."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yugi arrived back home an hour later and quickly put his laundry, and Yami's, away. When he was done, he walked over to a mirror near the front door and admired the sweater once more. He just couldn't believe how wonderful his gifts were and how beautiful those letters were. He sighed softly as he headed towards the door that leads to the game shop. He was about open the door when it opened up for him.

Yami was standing there; his crimson eyes looked at his light up and down and took in the new sweater Yugi was wearing. "Oh…Yugi…I thought that I heard you come back," he remarked. "And that's a very nice sweater…"

The young teen's eyes lit up with happiness and excitement. "Isn't it?" he replied happily. "It's another gift…"

"From a secret admirer, I take it," the ancient spirit finished, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Yugi, you shouldn't accept gifts from complete strangers. You don't have any clue as to what they may be up to. You are such an innocent, my hikari."

Yugi backed away from the Pharaoh, his own eyes becoming teary. "Yami…can't you just be happy for me? Someone out there really likes me…and I like that!" He then ran back up the stairs to his room and slammed the door behind him. Little did he know that the latest letter fell out of his pocket and onto the floor.

Yami bent down and picked up the note and opened it up carefully. His eyes scanned the elegant writing for a moment and then his eyes widened at the words. They were carefully constructed and heartwarming. 'No wonder Aibou is acting the way he is…but Yugi, I'm going to figure who this Christmas Angel is and make sure that he, or she, will never hurt you!'

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sharem: WOO!! I think this story reached 3000 words! I love long chapters…do all of you? ^_^ Anyway, I hope everyone like the bit of humor I tried to put in. Also, I'm still trying to think of more gifts to give to Yugi and need help…so, please, people…send me an email or in review as to what you think would be a good gift. If any of you want to get in the details, I can be contacted on MSN messenger or by email…^_^ And thanks to all of who have reviewed…you guys make me feel special…^_^