So I lied. I have here a new story beginning…before I leave for vacation. This won't be a song-fic like Twilight, but I can't help but put music in it, so each chapter will be named after a song, and I'll have the lyrics up too. Can't help it. *^^ I love music too much.

I do not own Yu-gi-oh. I do however own a copy of the manga and all the ideas contained in this story. o.O

The song is Crash from the "12 Stones" self-titled album. I do not own that either, the rights that is.

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Fears of the Stone

Chapter One: Crash

As I lie tossing in my bed/ Lost in my fears remembering what you said/ And I try to hide the truth within/ The mask of myself shows its face again/ Still I lie time and time again/ Will you deny me when we meet again?/ And I feel like I'm falling/ Farther every day/ But I know that you're there/ Watching over me/ And I feel like I'm drowning/ The waves crashing over me/ But I know that your love/ It will set me free/

Yami's usually intimidating expression melted into a look of concern as he gazed at the peacefully sleeping man in his lap. 'Hikari…' Yami thought gently so as not to wake Yuugi as he slept. Though he could usually control which thoughts passed to Yuugi, Yami feared that in his current state of mind he would be incapable of masking them. 'My aibou…hn…' These trailing half-thoughts as they were left him slightly flustered. He absent-mindedly ran his fingers through Yuugi's soft hair.

Yuugi's appearance was strikingly similar to his own: unusual and unruly black hair touched with a near red hue at the tips and blonde bangs that held their own despite one's best efforts. Yami was considerably taller and arguably better looking by his own standards though. Bronzed skin, a result of his Egyptian heritage, accentuated muscles, blonde streaks surging through the ebony of his hair, arrogance, and three years were things the eighteen-year-old Yuugi lacked. Regardless of this, Yami preferred the gentle violet eyes of his hikari's to his own crimson ones. They were large and inviting, and Yami was found it difficult not to be consumed by their soul exposing depth.

It was not Yami's nature to be emotional, but as of late he made an exception for his hikari. In fact, it was rare that Yami showed emotion of any kind save anger or contempt. Never before had Yami felt it was his responsibility to protect someone, as a pharaoh only needed to concern himself with his own welfare. Herein lied a questioning of his nature. Yuugi. Obligation was an obvious source. There was really no choice as to whether or not Yami would protect Yuugi…they were connected after all. Oddly enough, the pharaoh wanted to be obligated to the young man, and such willingness left him with the emotions he did not know how to cope with. Since the day he laid eyes on the beautiful youth, he knew Yuugi was the purpose he sought. Unfortunately, he had yet to discern what he was to be protecting him from.

Even if he could not admit it openly, hell-he could barely admit it to himself, Yami loved Yuugi. Loved him to the point that the occurrences of the last few days threatened to break his heart…

Despite his current peaceful sleep in Yami's lap Yuugi had been troubled. For several weeks, he had been distant and excessively quiet. Whatever it was that caused him such distress, he had managed to hide it…even from Yami. It weighed heavily on Yami's mind that he could not protect him from this, that he could feel so much pain that he could not even reveal it to his other half. However, the situation reached a climax when it began to invade Yuugi's dreams

Several nights before, and every night since, Yami had awoken to Yuugi tossing and turning in his sleep. Amidst his garbled speech and moaning, he would cry out for Yami, but he never woke from the nightmare. Never remembered Yami holding him until he calmed. Never remembered the events of the night by morning. The fear, whatever it was, now plagued Yuugi's dreams more painfully than his waking hours. This evening's had been the worst yet.

Yuugi had drifted off to sleep early in the evening, his head resting on Yami's shoulder. Sometime later Yami realized he had fallen asleep as well, woken by Yuugi's all too familiar moaning. He pulled the sleeping teen into his lap in an attempt to calm the attack. However, the dreams did not stop with restless moaning like the rest had, and Yami found his hikari's cries becoming louder, more fervent, on the verge of hysterics.

"Yami…Yami, no…no…hnnnn…NO! YAMI!!!" Yuugi's eyes flew open, filled with fear, causing tears to spill down his abnormally pale face. Yami became conscious of the haze that clouded the young man's eyes. He was still sleeping. "Yami…" Soon, the silent tears turned into cries of anguish, and as Yuugi held his trembling hands before his dream-filled eyes, he sobbed inconsolably.    

//Aibou! By Ra, wake up. Please.// Only after he was sure that his hikari could not hear him, regardless of how loud he screamed, did Yami wrap his arms around the hysterical young man. He feared that Yuugi, waking to find himself being yelled at and restrained following a vivid nightmare, would be terrified. By this time, the howling for yami and shaking had become so intense, Yami wondered if his hikari might literally fall apart. It pained him to see Yuugi in such a state of panic, but the man had closed his mind, Yami assumed to keep the dreams a secret. As such, Yami settled on holding him close and whispering words of protection.

Slowly, the fit quieted, leaving the tear-stained hikari slumbering in the arms of his other. Even after he was sure the dreams had ceased, Yami did not release his hold on the teen. Foreboding lingered over the scene in a stifling aura, leaving Yami to curse his inability to protect his aibou from such intense trepidation. 'My aibou…hn…' These trailing half-thoughts as they were left him slightly flustered. He absent-mindedly ran his fingers through Yuugi's soft hair. Eventually, he too gave in to the influential voice of sleep, falling in dreamlessly as he held Yuugi protectively in his arms.

As I find truth where I found it times before/ As I search for your hope/ I'm finding so much more/ And I try to be more like you/ And I deny myself to prove my heart is true/ I hear your voice calling/ The time has come for me/ Inside this life I'm living/ There's nothing left for me/ My mind is slowly fading/ So far away from me/ Each time I start crawling/ You're there watching me…

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o.O There you have it. You won't get anymore until I'm home either. *^^ tee hee  Sorry, it would have been longer, but I would have felt bad if something serious happened and I wasn't around to update it for you all soon.

Kudos to anyone who can figure out what my title means. Ganbatte!

As usual, please R&R! I love getting reviews, good or bad, as long as they aren't senseless flames. *^^