Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Under the Mistletoe ❯ So please... ( Chapter 7 )

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…^_^ Also, there's a bit of mild self-loving in this chapter…just a warning…^_^

Under the Mistletoe

Chapter Seven - So please…

Wednesday, December 21 - Day 4 and counting down…

The alarm went off loudly and Yugi slammed his hand down on it hard. It was now nine in the morning and he had to start getting ready. Malik would be there in an hour and he wanted to make sure that he was done in time. Grumbling to himself, the tri-color haired teen grabbed his towel and made his way to the bathroom to take a shower. Making sure that Yami wasn't around, he closed the door and locked it so he would have a repeat of was happened to him like last Friday.

He turned the hot water on in the shower and sighed as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His right hand reached out and lightly touched his reflection, wondering what it was that made C.A. and others want to be with him. The young duelist never thought about such matters before until the gift from his secret admirer. All he could see in himself were eyes that were the color of amethysts and hair that came in three colors. He shook his head for a moment as he removed his robe and stepped into the steaming hot shower.

Yugi let the hot water run over his slender form as he squirted some shampoo into his hands and began washing his hair. As he rinsed his hair, his thoughts went back to the highly erotic dream he had yesterday. He closed his eyes as he tried to remember any of the details about the faceless dream lover. The teen still could not see the face of this dream boy, but he could tell that the boy was slender, but toned. He smiled softly as he remembered the gentle voice calling him 'little one', a nickname he always wanted someone to call him if they truly loved him.

The youth leaned his back against the wall of the shower, one of his hands going to his lower regions of his body and grasping his hardening member. He imagined the dream lover was with him once again and as he began running his hand up and down his erection. The duelist moaned lightly as he pictured the boy's tongue running up and down his shaft as he pumped his hand faster. Just as he felt like he would about to experience pleasure, there was a sudden knocking on the door of the bathroom.

"Yugi!" Yami's voice called out. "Malik is here!"

Yugi groaned in annoyance as he rinsed his body off one last time and turned the water off. He grabbed his towels, dried himself off and tied the robe around his slender frame tightly. He opened the door to enter the hallway when he heard some yelling from downstairs.

"Get away from me, Pharaoh! Yugi and I have a date!"

"You and my hikari have a date? Malik, don't make me laugh…"

"He and I agreed to go out today to go get gifts…so get that Millennium Puzzle out of your ass and you might get a present this year!"

"Maybe if you stuck your Rod up…"

"YAMI! MALIK! SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" Yugi yelled as he reached the top of the stairs, his eyes flashing with anger. He took in a deep breath as he saw the shocked looks on the faces of the Pharaoh and the blonde Egyptian. "Look, it's the Christmas season and I would like it if you both could at least pretend to get along."

Yami sighed as he looked up at his hikari at the top of the stairs and nodded. "I'm sorry, aibou. I promise that I won't fight with Malik…today." Inwardly, he wished that the teen had put on some clothes instead of walking around in just his robe.

Malik chuckled a little at the spirit's discomfort and then glanced up at Yugi. He nearly dropped the bag he was carrying but recovered nicely. "Well, are you ready to go?" he asked, a smirk gracing his tanned face. "I'm not too sure that if a robe is suitable to wear on a cold day with snow everywhere…personally, I don't mind…"

The tri-color haired boy blushed furiously as he tightened the belt around his robe more. "Uh…um…yeah, I better change…" he stammered as he ran into his room, thoroughly missing the expressions that Yami and Malik gave one another.

Yugi sighed as he slammed the door behind him, making sure that it was closed. He shook his head as he glanced at the time on the clock. 9:30 a.m. 'Why is Malik here so early?' the duelist thought to himself as he rummaged through his clothes to find something to wear. 'Maybe he just wanted to keep me on my toes…he is crazy, after all...' He put on a clean pair of his boxers and pulled on a pair of faded black jeans as he looked through his closet. The teen's face softened as he saw the amethyst tinted angora sweater 'Christmas Angel' gave him as his third gift. He lightly fingered the soft wool and decided to wear that with his jeans. The fabric felt wonderful against his skin and he smiled again as he imagined it was the hands of C.A. caressing his slender form.

He sighed softly as he put on a pair of regular black boots and sat back down on his bed. The past few days have been hectic for the youth lately. First of all, he had a secret admirer sending him wonderful and expensive gifts that was accompanied with the most beautiful letters he had ever read. Second, he realized that he was attracted to both males and females. Next, Seto Kaiba and Duke Devlin had given him presents and that made Yugi realize that they probably liked him as more than a friend or rival. And then Bakura stole a kiss from the boy back in the bathroom of the arcade.

But the most surprising thing so far was Malik. The crazy Egyptian was in the laundromat when Yugi had to go there to wash his clothing. The blonde was there when he received a concussion thanks to Tea and probably saved his life. And now he was waiting for the young duelist so they could go shopping for presents. All of these things were happening so fast that the teen sometimes did not know what to think. Sighing, Yugi stood up from his bed and grabbed his coat on the way out of his room.

When he walked down the stairs, he was not expecting the sight before him. Yami was sitting down on the couch playing a game of Duel Monsters with Malik. The blonde Egyptian was cursing silently as the ancient spirit had laid a card down. It defeated the tanned boy and he stood up, glaring slightly.

"I'll beat you yet," Malik declared, his lavender eyes flashing. He then looked up and saw the tri-color haired teen watching them; there was an undefined emotion in the blonde's eyes as he saw the other boy. "Are you ready, Yugi?"

Yugi nodded as he put his coat on. He smiled at his darker half as he walked over to the door. "I'll be back later, Yami. I'll watch the shop tonight if you want to go out."

The spirit looked up and nodded slightly at the young teen. "That sounds good, aibou. Just be back at least by five o'clock."

The tri-color haired duelist grinned at Yami and nodded as he opened the door with Malik behind him. As the front door closed behind them, the blonde led Yugi towards a black sporty-looking car. It was a 1975 black Chevrolet camero [1] and it appeared to be very well-maintained. The teen looked at the Egyptian, questions about the car in his amethyst eyes.

"Ishizu decided to give me my present early," Malik stated as he opened the passenger door for Yugi. "Besides, I don't think that if we are going to buy presents, my motorcycle wouldn't be able to carry both of us and the presents."

The spiky haired teen just nodded as he wordlessly got into the car. It was rather nice and comfortable and smelled of leather and spices. He just stared at the interior of the vehicle, trying to assess how the Egyptian and his sister were able to afford to buy an expensive vehicle. He knew that the Ishtars were well-to-do, but he had no idea how wealthy they really were. Yugi just shrugged his shoulders as Malik entered the driver's seat and started the car, driving the two of them to some unknown shopping destination.

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

Yugi's feet were getting a little tired as he and Malik trudged through the throngs of shoppers in the mall. It was now three o'clock in the afternoon and they had bought a lot of presents. The duelist wanted nothing more than to sit down for a few minutes in order to rest his feet, but the Egyptian kept pulling him to look at various things and wanted his opinion on many items. He followed the blonde for a little ways and was pushed by someone behind him.

The teen looked back and didn't see anyone and then turned his gaze to see that Malik was nowhere in sight. Deciding to take this chance to sit down, he walked over to a bench near a deserted corridor and sat down. He stretched his arms out for a moment as he watched the craziness of the holiday shoppers as Christmas was coming closer. He also knew that the blonde will eventually realize that he was gone and will go to look for him. Suddenly, he felt a dark presence close by and it unnerved him greatly.

As he stood up, Yugi felt compelled to look in the deserted corridor. He warily walked into the hallway, constantly looking over his shoulder. The dark presence continued to loom closer to the petite teen as he started to feel unsafe. Unexpectedly, he felt someone come up behind him and pull him by his shoulders.

"M…Malik?" Yugi breathed out slowly as he was backed up against a wall. He thought that the person behind him was his 'friend' and closed his eyes. He gasped loudly as he felt something cold and sharp rest easily on his neck as his body was forcibly turned around.

"No…I'm not my hikari," a deep voice answered, an insane inflection to the male's tone. The tri-color haired teen opened his eyes in shock as he took in the form of Marik, the darker half of Malik.

Yugi tried to get away from the crazed spirit, but the wall was at his back the Marik was in front of him. "Wh-what do you want?" he stammered, the fear showing in his amethyst eyes.

"You are keeping my hikari away from me," the blonde spirit hissed angrily as he danced the dagger's edge lightly against his victim's skin. "You have the Pharaoh…you don't need anyone else. However…I can see why everyone seems to be taken with you…" The last statement was whispered into Yugi's ear, causing the youth to shiver in fear. He laughed insanely as he pushed the teen down to the ground and put his dagger away. "Shrimp...you are just too easy to bully. If you help me get who I want, I will allow you to live."

Yugi staggered to his feet and started backing away from Marik. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice quavering in panic. He was hoping that the crazed Dark did not want Yami…

Marik laughed insanely for a moment and then stared deeply into the hikari's eyes. "I want you to encourage someone to like me," he stated clearly, his own lavender eyes glinting dangerously. "Don't worry…I am not after your precious Yami. Even though Malik seems to be staying away from me, he seems to be…happy. I will not harm the boy." He smirked slightly as he spied the confusion on the teen's face. "The one I desire is not you, Yugi. I want the fiend's hikari…the innocent silver haired friend of yours."

Yugi's eyes widened considerably as he started to back away further from Marik. "You…you want Ryou?" he asked incredulously. "But…why? Bakura will never allow you to take him."

The spirit chuckled as he noticed the way the short boy was backing away. "Yes, I want that boy…and Bakura be damned! You will help me or I'll…"

At that moment, Marik turned his head and growled as he went into the dark shadows of the corridor. "I'll talk to you at another time, Yugi," the spirit called out as he disappeared.

Yugi stared at the spot the evil spirit was standing and then turned around to see a familiar face. He rushed over to Malik and hugged the taller boy tightly as if he would to Yami in the same situation; tears were running down his face. "Is…is something the matter?" the blonde asked, confused at the small teen's actions and awkwardly patting his pack.

"It…it was Marik," the spiky haired youth whimpered softly. "He…he…put a dagger to my neck and wants…me to get Ryou for him…"

The blonde Egyptian sighed softly as he lightly ran a hand through the duelist's hair and then stepped away. "I'm…I'm sorry, little one..." he remarked quietly. "Marik did not say that he was going to be out today. Don't worry, Yugi, I'll have a talk with him even if I have to use my Millennium Rod on him. I won't let him bother you."

Yugi looked up and tilted his head in slight confusion at Malik. The Egyptian was not acting his usual self; he was actually being nice for a change. He stepped away from the other teen and placed a hand on the blonde's forehead. "Are you okay?" he asked innocently. "Are you the real Malik or is this another trick to make me trust you?" The sting of the youth's words was softened by the playful twinkle in his eyes.

The blonde teen glared at the petite duelist and sighed in exasperation as he smacked Yugi's hand away from his forehead, but there was a small smirk on his tanned face. "You'll just have to figure that out for yourself," he answered cryptically, obviously enjoying the confusion on the duelist's face. He then grabbed the other boy's hand and dragged him out of the corridor and back into the main part of the mall. "Come on…I saw something in a jewelry store that I want to get someone and I need your opinion…"

Yugi rolled his eyes and sighed as he was dragged to yet another store. He sat around for a bit and then raised an eyebrow as he spied some interesting items in the display window. Malik was off in the corner talking to a salesman so that left the spiky haired teen to wander to the display and sighed softly. He was really taken by what he saw in the window and then turned around when the blonde Egyptian came up behind him.

"Thanks for your help today, Yugi," Malik replied as he peeked over the small youth's shoulder. "That's an interesting item, little one. Let's go…it's almost five and Yami would probably have a shit-fit if you aren't back on time."

The little hikari giggled softly and nodded as he allowed the taller blonde lead him out of the jewelry store. Spending the day at the mall with the Egyptian made him realize that the blonde had an interesting sense of humor and was not bad to be around with…

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

The time was now seven in the evening and Yugi sighed as he leaned his elbows on the counter of the Kame Game Shop. Yami seemed to be relieved to see his hikari safe and made sure that Malik left before the spirit left to go over to Joey's. He went over to their friend's place to watch a couple of movies with the blonde and another friend, Tristan. This left the small teen alone in the shop, similar to the situation he was in last Thursday night. But the main difference between now and then was that Yugi did not really feel lonely anymore.

He sighed softly as he stood up and walked around the various shelves and began rearranging some of the cards and books that were on display. The amethyst eyed duelist became so engrossed in his activity that he did not hear the bells that signaled someone had entered the shop. He was about to bend over and pick up a box filled with gaming books when he spied someone's shadow next to him. He yelped in fright and dropped the box, which was heavy, on that person's foot.

"Jeez, Yugi…nice to see that you're very jumpy," Duke replied sarcastically as he moved the heavy box off of his foot. He then chuckled as he saw the small teen's red face.

Yugi smiled sheepishly at his dark haired friend and set the box aside as he motioned to the taller boy to follow him to the counter. "Sorry, Duke…I had an interesting day today at the mall with Malik," he explained as he sat down on a stool behind the counter.

The emerald eyed teen raised an eyebrow and shrugged as he leaned against the counter. Just as he was about to say something, a man dressed in a uniform from a florist company entered. He looked at his clipboard and then looked over at the two teens before walking over to them. He put down a vase full of amethyst tinted roses and a small jewelry box. He then glanced at the two boys once again.

"I'm looking for a Yugi Mutou," the delivery man replied. "I have a floral and gift delivery for him."

Yugi raised his head and got the man's attention. "I'm Yugi Mutou."

The uniformed male nodded as he pushed the vase and jewelry box at the teen. "Here ya go, kid," he remarked as he pulled out a small envelope with Yugi's name written on it. "This is for ya as well. Have a nice night." At that, the floral delivery man left the game shop as quickly as he entered.

The tri-color haired duelist looked at Duke and then at the roses. They were absolutely lovely. They were a rare rose hybrid, being a deep amethyst color with a wonderful scent wafting from the velvety soft petals. Yugi looked closer at the vase and noticed a lavender colored card that had been laminated in hard plastic. He picked up the card and smiled softly at the words on it. 'With Time, roses wilt away. But my Love, like a Diamond, will last Forever. [2]'

Duke leaned over and chuckled slightly as he watched the faint blush color the young duelists face as he read the note. "Oh, how sweet…This secret admirer of yours has class," he remarked as he saw the small box and pushed it to his friend. "Why don't you open this too? I think it has something to do with the diamond remark on that card."

Yugi nodded as he opened the small box and he blinked his eyes for several minutes as he gaped at this latest gift. It was a ring with a wide silver band. It was obviously a man's ring and in the center of it was a large diamond and smaller amethyst gems surrounded it. It was a simple setting yet extremely elegant in its simplicity. He lifted the ring out of the box and gingerly placed it on the ring finger on his right hand. He held it up to the light and was in awe as the lights of the shop danced and sparkled on the finely cut gems. The ring itself was vaguely familiar…

"It's…it's beautiful," he whispered softly as he gazed at the ring and then glanced at the roses. There were a dozen of them, all of them set in a pure crystal vase. "And those roses…they are so wonderful and smell lovely."

The dark haired teen nodded and chuckled slightly. "This person really seems to be in love with you," he remarked candidly, his emerald eyes seemed to hold a slight tinge of jealously in them but it was quashed quickly.

Yugi just nodded as he spied the small envelope the delivery man had set down with the flowers and ring. He picked it up and smiled as he traced his name written in calligraphy on the paper. The handwriting of 'Christmas Angel' has become so familiar by now, the youth knew that he would recognize it anywhere. Delicately, he opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of expensive parchment done in light lavender. He then began reading the letter…

'Dear Yugi,

These roses are special roses that I wanted you to have. Yes, I know that they will eventually wilt and die, but at least you will get to see something rare and precious with your eyes. They are a hybrid that was specially created a long time ago and only a select few are able to get these rare beauties. They remind me of you…the amethyst color because of your lovely eyes…and the fact that you are a rare beauty.

You are so precious to me, Yugi…I would do anything for you. You are the beautiful rose that grows in my garden of desolation. You may be a rose, but you do have thorns that you will only show when you are in danger or if your friends are in danger. That fact only makes me want you more…makes me LOVE you more. Your innocence is the sweet perfume of a rose that draw me closer to you…entices me to be close to you as much as I can.

Do you remember a couple of weeks ago and you were in the mall with some of your friends? You were standing in front of a jewelry store admiring some rings. I made sure that you and your friends did not see me…but I saw you. I saw your wistful expression at the ring. I knew then and there that I had to get it for you. I know that you would not have mentioned wanting such an expensive ring as a present.

Anyway, I'm sure that you have realized by now that I have a bit of money I can waste. However, I do not think it is being wasted because I am spending it all on you. You are worth every penny, Yugi, and I mean to show you the world when this is all over.

Okay, here is another clue to my existence…obviously, I'm male but that isn't the clue. The next clue is this…I wasn't very well liked…in fact, I was hated. I am afraid that this clue will lead you to realize who I am…I do ask you this, little one. Will you please keep an open mind? And…I hope you will not reject me because I do not know what I would do if you reject me and hate me.

So please, until we meet under the mistletoe, keep an open mind and I shall keep sending you gifts and clue three more times. I love you.

Christmas Angel'

Yugi gasped slightly as he read the letter a few more times before allowing Duke to take it and read it as well. The tri-color haired teen's mind started turning over and over on who CA could be. For some reason, his mind kept drawing a blank but he knew that he really does know who his secret admirer was. He shook his head in order to clear it and saw something go by the large shop window.

"Did you see that?" the small youth asked, walking slowly over to the window.

"No…the only thing I saw was the romantic letter you got," Duke answered as he followed his short friend to the front of the shop. "You know, this 'Christmas Angel' person does really care for you if he is willing to lose you."

Yugi nodded as he sighed and turned to face his friend. "I know…I know…"

"I think you are in love with CA," the Dungeon Dice Monsters creator remarked as he went back to the counter to examine the roses, leaving the spiky haired boy to his thoughts.

'I think…I think you're right, Duke. I may be falling in love with my secret admirer...'

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

Sharem: Finally, I'm done with this chapter! And it's just about 4000 words…*grins* Anyway, sorry about the lateness of Chapter 7, but I had a slight probably with writer's block and the electricity was shut off on Friday….*grimaces* In any case, I'm going to try and get the next chapter out soon…I just can't promise anything on that.

[1] - this car was a suggestion by YamiRynEnjeru…^_^ It's a great car…^_~

[2] - The amethyst roses and poem was another gift suggestion by Midnight_Yaoi…I think that it was great! I just added the diamond part in the poem and the ring…^_^

CHALLENGE: I have a challenge for all of you writers out there…^_^ I would like to see a angsty romance between Joey/Seto/Ryou …I think that this would make an interesting triangle and see if all 3 could eventually end up together. If anyone does do this, please let me know…*grins*

Teaser for Chapter 8:

Yugi sighed as he leaned up against the chair in the dentist's waiting room. He did not want to be there but this appointment to have his teeth cleaned was made a month ago…

"You know, Yugi…I can afford to pay all of your medical bills for you."…

"Seto, I'm just not interested in you in that way." And the ancient Pharaoh walked away from the tall brunette…