Star: Hey guys. Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I was in immense pain. I couldn't move my back, and could barely move my right arm. Even today it still hurts a lot. That, and my eyes were way too strained from staring at the computer screen for five days in a row.

But better late then never, right? Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the final chapter of A Valentine in the Making.

disclaimer: don't own, don't sue

"speech"

'thoughts'

--------Strike Three?--------

If depression could be measured in levels, Yugi would be right at the top. Or the bottom, depending on how one looked at it. All he knew was that he was depressed beyond all reason, and nothing, absolutely nothing, could take him out of it. He hadn't smiled all day, and he'd barely said a word to anyone since yesterday. In fact, he hadn't even made eye contact with anyone since yesterday. He found no point in trying to socialize with people when he felt dead inside. Dead might have been too strong, but there was no other word that came close to how he felt. Empty didn't work, lonely was not even close, and any other word in the dictionary was inappropriate. No, dead was the only word that could sum up how he was inside. He was dead.

And seeing all the happy people around him was definitely not making him feel better. He had been surrounded by happy people since he stepped outside his door. Surrounded by all the people who were in love and wanted to flaunt it. All because of some stupid holiday that was over exposed and under appreciated. Why did he even care so much about Valentine's Day? Shouldn't that be a Catholic holiday? St. Valentine was, after all, a Catholic. Why should he try and follow it?

But he couldn't ignore the pangs in his heart. The ones that told him he had missed out. His chance was gone, and there would be no more. He refused to set himself up again, just to be crushed by unbearable disappointment. No, he had had it! No more plans. No more sneaking around. No more trying to get his courage up. He was over it, over Valentines, and over love in general. He didn't need it to be happy. He didn't need Yami to be happy. He had been just fine before the spirit showed up, and he was sure he could be happy when Yami was fine.

'Besides,' he told himself, 'he's not really going away forever. He'll come back for holidays and summer. And even after exams. He won't be gone for good. And maybe this time apart will help me get over him.' But even though he told himself these things, he knew it was all for naught. He would always be in love with his other half. He would feel incomplete with Yami gone. He would never be as happy as he was when he was with Yami. And it was that subconscious knowledge that kept him in his depression, though his conscious mind tried to present him with optimistic thoughts.

Yugi was aware of someone staring at him, but he didn't care. He'd rather just stare at the board in front of him, a perfect little actor pretending to be interested in school. He didn't want to be bothered anymore by Ryou, or Jou, or anyone else who thought they had another 'foolproof' plan to get him together with his yami. It was obvious that the universe didn't want them together. How many more distractions did they need to be aware of that fact? Secretly, Yugi thought the only reason they were pushing so hard was because they wanted to feel as if they had accomplished something monumental. Well, he wasn't going to be an experiment for them anymore. It was over, Yugi was throwing in the towel for good.

Clearly, Ryou didn't get that message as he changed seats to be next to Yugi. "Hey," he said in greeting. Yugi glanced at him through the corner of his eye, before turning his attention back to the teacher. "How are you doing?" the British hikari asked, genuine concern radiating from his soft voice. Yugi didn't answer him verbally, but shrugged. "Yugi, please say something."

"I'm trying to pay attention," Yugi answered. There, that should satisfy Ryou.

"Yugi, don't be like this. You still have today to tell him."

"I'm not going to talk about this anymore," replied the tri-color haired teen as he took down some notes.

"Yugi, please. Don't give up yet," Ryou pleaded. "You still have all of today. There is still hope."

"No. There is no hope. It's pointless trying to get me to talk to him, when every time I do, something interrupts us. I'm not going to go through that disappointment again. So just forget it; I have."

Ryou looked at him sternly. "No. I will not give up. Not when I know that this is possible."

"Then you are dense," Yugi said in reply. "This is my life, and even I've given up on this ever happening. So you should too."

"Why won't you just try it again? They say third time's the charm."

"And I say I don't want to deal with this anymore. I don't care what you say, it's not going to happen. Even if I did manage to find the will to try a third time, it would just end the same way."

"How do you know that?" Ryou asked, desperation and annoyance in his voice. "You can't know anything until you try."

Yugi turned to Ryou and glared fiercely at him. "And what exactly do you think I've been doing this entire time? Goofing off? I've been killing myself trying to tell Yami. I've put everything aside just so I could focus on this one thing. I've tried, and tried, and I'm sick of failure."

Ryou just sighed by didn't respond. He could understand how Yugi was frustrated with how things were going. But to just give up completely! That was too much. He had said that he would try till Valentine's Day. And it would be Valentine's Day for twenty four hours. So he still had plenty of time to tell Yami. Why was that boy so stubborn? Though, he supposed he could also be called stubborn since he refused to give up. But he wanted to see his friend happy. "So what are you going to do?"

"Nothing. I'm going to go on as I have all my life. Then I'm going to say goodbye when he leaves, and continue living."

"That sounds like such a happy existence," Ryou mocked, rolling his eyes.

Yugi sent him another glare. "This is my choice, and I really don't care if you don't like it."

"I'm only trying to help," Ryou countered with his own glare.

"Well, I don't want anyone's help. I just want to be left alone."

"At this rate, you'll always end up alone."

"If I do, it's none of your business."

The two teens glared at each other for a few seconds before turning and pretending to be focused on their work. It seemed as if their patience for one another was wearing thin. But they were both worn out from these past few days. Ryou with his numerous attempts to get Yugi to talk to Yami, and Yugi with his numerous disappointments. Their anger stemmed from the fact that no matter what they tried, nothing seemed to work. Why, they didn't know. All they knew was that it was incredibly annoying, and they just wanted it to be over already.

And yet, their stubbornness wouldn't let them give up. Well, it wouldn't let Ryou give up. Yugi's stubbornness refused to try again. Though in the back of his mind he knew there was a slim possibility of that happening, he didn't want to have to deal with the heartache and misery of failure. He did not like to fail at things, and failure at something so important was too much for him to deal with. So he would just rather shove his feelings to the back of his mind, then wait thirty years for those feelings to make him go crazy. But for the moment he just had to make sure that nothing would cause his disappointment again. And that meant giving up his hopes to tell Yami. Ever.

Now if only he could get that through Ryou's mind. But it would be hard, since the other teen seemed hell bent on getting them together. Yugi still didn't understand why the other was so adamant about it. It wasn't as if it were of huge importance to him. But then again, Ryou had a habit of trying to fix everyone's problems. Yugi definitely regretted not keeping his mouth shut. If he hadn't said a thing, Ryou wouldn't be bothering him constantly to tell Yami anything. Though even if he hadn't said anything, Ryou would have figured out the truth. He was good at that, annoyingly good. It was almost as if he could read people's minds. Very, very annoying.

-------

Pink.

It was everywhere. That bright, happy, bubbly monstrosity of a color littered the halls in the form of cards, candy wrappers, fliers, markers, and hair accessories. And speaking of accessories, how was it that females could stand wearing that tacky Valentine's jewelry? It was hideous! All those red and pink plastic hearts, covered in sparkles, and glitter, and bright metallic paint. The sight of a particularly obnoxious headband made Yami want to puke.

And what was worse was that the pink was not only attached to the girls. The boys were also wearing it, although against their will. Their girlfriends had forced them into wearing something festive to commemorate the occasion. And so many males were wandering the halls with red bracelets or pink necklaces. Though it was apparent that they wanted to rip the jewelry off, they didn't in fear of being yelled at. Women were crazy on Valentine's.

Yami was one of the few lucky ones who weren't subjected to that type of embarrassment. Although a few girls had tried to get him to put on a necklace. But just looking at the tomato red piece of plastic sent a shiver up his spine. So he politely declined and left. That one was easy, but getting away from Anzu proved to be much more difficult. The girl was very sneaky, and knew exactly how to work the situation. She almost had convinced him to wear it, too! And sadly it didn't take that much effort on her part. All she had to say was that Yugi would think it was cute, and he was reaching for the necklace. But hearing another boy complain about how aggravating the beads were, he quickly changed his mind.

Speaking of Yugi, his hikari was acting even more distant than before. And not just to him. To everyone, even the teachers. He seemed fine yesterday during lunch, but after it seemed as if he had lost all his energy and will to go on. What was going on with him? Why was he suddenly shutting himself off from the rest? What could have possibly happened to cause this change in him. And why hadn't yami noticed? Whatever had caused the change had to have happened between lunch and last period. So why didn't Yami notice anything was wrong?

Wandering the halls, the spirit took his time to get to the water fountain. He didn't really feel like going back to homeroom. Yugi's bad mood was something he didn't want to get involved in until he knew what had caused it. Experiences in the past taught him that when Yugi was mad, asking him a million times what was wrong did nothing to help. He would either ignore you completely, or start screaming your head off. He wouldn't talk unless one already knew what was going on, because during those times, he was not in the mood to explain.

So he just had to find out what was bothering his aibou. Which was easier said than done. It was like a closely guarded secret. But, strangely, it seemed as if everyone was carrying a secret. But Yami couldn't be the only one to not know…right? Unless the reason that Yugi was angry was because of him. But the spirit couldn't think of any reason for Yugi to be angry at him. He tried his hardest always to keep Yugi happy, so that couldn't be the reason. Or, that's what he hoped. But if it was about him, why hadn't the others told him what it was. Were they not supposed to, or did they really not know?

Spotting Jou and Honda up ahead, he decided to figure out the answer to that question. Picking up his pace, he pushed through the crowd to get to them. "Hey, you two," he said.

"Oh! Hi, Yami," Jou said nervously, obviously worried about what the spirit would do concerning yesterday's stunt.

"I need to talk to you two," the Pharaoh said seriously. Yesterday's stunt was far from him mind. "I need to know. Do you know what's wrong with Yugi?" The two boys exchanged looks, which Yami noticed immediately. Raising an eyebrow, he added, "Well?"

"It's nothing to worry about, I'm sure, " Honda said, his eyes darting all over the place.

"You are lying," Yami stated.

"He's probably stressed," Jou said. "Exams are next week, and you know how he gets about exams."

"It's not exams and you know it. Tell me what is bothering him," Yami ordered.

"Yami, it's nothing, don't worry," said the blonde. He could see the anger in Yami's expression, and gulped.

"Don't you tell me not to worry," he said firmly. "Of course I have to worry about my aibou. Now, you either tell me willingly, or I'll force it from you."

"There is nothing to tell," Honda replied, narrowing his eyes. "If he's keeping something from you, then that's his problem. Not ours, so don't threaten us."

Of course, that didn't make Yami happier. In fact, Honda's discourteous tone really struck a nerve with the teen Pharaoh. Just because he was not in power anymore, didn't mean that he would be treated as any other person. He still demanded respect from everyone, and he did not take it lightly when he was treated this way. "Listen to me," he hissed angrily, "you two are keeping something from me. Something important that concerns Yugi. I know you two know. Why you know and I don't is bothering me greatly, but I will not sit by and watch as my hikari distances himself even more from me. So you two will tell me what I want to know, or you will regret ever finding out about it in the first place." Though his stature was not big, Yami was still very intimidating, and he had the two teens pressed against the wall.

"Well, why don't you just ask him yourself?" Jou asked, trying not to look as worried as he really was. If Yami kept pushing, eventually Yugi's secret would get out and things would be ruined.

"I want to know from you two. If I ask him, he'll tell me nothing is wrong, and that I'm freaking out over nothing. But that's not true. I don't trust him to tell me the truth in this matter, which is why you guys are going to tell me."

"What do you know about it already?" the brunette asked, still glaring at Yami, though it was obvious he was a bit frightened by the angry spirit. He didn't take Yami's threats lightly; he knew very well just what the other was capable of. And he wouldn't think twice of forcing the truth out of them, as long as he found out what was wrong with Yugi.

"Nothing," the spirit answered sternly, though his glare softened a bit. "He hasn't told me a thing. I haven't figured anything out. I have absolutely no idea what it could be that is causing him to act like this."

Honda and Jou exchanged another look. Both were amazed that Yami couldn't figure out what was going on. They had figured it out fairly quickly. Was he that oblivious? Or did he already know, and still think it was something else? How could the spirit not know that the reason Yugi was acting strangely was all because of him. The signs were there, and they were pretty obvious. Yugi was always by Yami's side. He would stare at the spirit out of the corner of his eye. He blushed lightly whenever the Pharaoh smiled at him, and he'd give him a soft smile back. He was always looking for an excuse to see Yami during school. He would even come up with a lame excuse to get out of class, just so he could sneak by Yami's class and drag the other out. How did Yami miss all that?

"Has he said anything?" Honda asked.

Yami sighed and leaned against the wall next to them. "He keeps telling me he has something important to tell someone. That he has to tell them 'before it's too late', as he puts it. But he won't tell me who it is, or what he has to say. Well…he tried to tell me something twice, but both times something interrupted us. It feels like what he has to say is really important, but I don't know what it is. Which is why I'm asking you guys."

Jou sighed heavily, and Honda just rubbed his temples. What could they do? It was evident that the spirit was concerned for his aibou, but they couldn't tell him anything. It wasn't up to them to tell Yami what was wrong. That was what Yugi was supposed to do, but according to Ryou, the boy had just given up completely. The two didn't blame him for not wanting to be disappointed again, but there had to be some way to convince him to at least try one last time. "We can't tell you, Yami," Jou said. "Yugi will tell you when he's ready."

"But is it so important that he has to prepare himself before he tells me?"

"Yes, it is."

"Just give him some time," Honda added. "He'll come around soon."

"I hope so," the spirit said. "I really hope so."

-------

Yugi had gone the whole day without seeing Yami, and for some reason, he was happy about that. He didn't want to have to be around his other half while feeling like this. He was miserable, completely miserable, and being around the person who caused that misery wasn't a good thing. The teen didn't know how much more he could take before he either threw himself off the roof, or he just screamed it out on the intercom. And Ryou was certainly not helping AT ALL. The British hikari had not given up yet. He kept telling him that there was still time, that there were still a million chances for him to say it.

It was getting more and more annoying by the minute. He just wanted to scream at Ryou, and tell him to shut up, but he tried to control himself as best he could. He knew Ryou had his best interest at heart, but it was still extremely annoying! Everywhere he went, Ryou stalked him and told him to not give up. He was tempted to do just that if only to piss off the other hikari.

'At least he's not up here,' Yugi thought as he sat down on the roof. Once again, he was avoiding everyone else during lunch. He was amazed that he could go three days without eating lunch. 'My depression carries me through the day.' In actual fact, he just didn't have much of an appetite. He hadn't had an appetite for a while now. In fact, last night he hadn't eaten anything either. Nor the night before. Something he was pretty sure Yami had noticed. Because it seemed as if the spirit was pushing more and more snacks on him during the course of the day. Maybe to make up for him not eating during regular meal times.

'How can I concentrate on food when this is so much more important. How can anyone expect me to think of anything other than Yami? I don't care if I starve to death. I just wish I could get over him. I don't want to be stuck with these feelings forever. If only I could forget everything I feel for him. Things would be so much better then. Sure, I probably won't be happy, but at least I won't be killing myself every day by thinking of him.' The teen sighed and closed his eyes as he felt a breeze blow past. Things were just so complicated. In a million years he never thought that he would feel this strongly about anyone. That he would be willing to devote himself entirely to another person, and that he would do anything to be with that other person, to see that other person happy.

But then, that was what love was all about. To be willing to give up everything for another person. Sacrifice was a part of love, wasn't it? One had to be prepared to give of themselves at any minute for the other person. Even if it meant that they had to be prepared to hide their true feelings for the good of the one they loved. And that was what Yugi was doing. He was keeping his feelings hidden, and all so that he wouldn't hold Yami back from living his own life. Sure, half of the reason was that because he was afraid of being shot down. But also because he knew that Yami would turn down that school all for him. And Yugi didn't want that. It was as the saying goes: 'If you love someone, let them go.'

The door swung open and Malik walked out onto the roof, followed by Ryou. Yugi opened one eye to look at them before closing it again. He didn't feel like arguing at the moment. So he would do his best to ignore Ryou. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Looking for you," Malik answered. He sat down on Yugi's right, and shoved two bread rolls into Yugi's hands. "Yami made us take this for you."

Yugi looked down at the bread rolls, but didn't make a move to eat them. He really wasn't hungry. And he wasn't about to shove food down his throat, no matter Yami's good intentions. "And why were you looking for me?"

"Because you've avoided coming down to lunch for the past three days," Ryou said. "And I'm pretty sure that you aren't eating much at home."

"Well, other things have been occupying my time." These bread rolls were hot. Very hot.

"You can't risk your health just because of something like this," Malik commented. "It's no reason to make yourself sick."

"I'm not sick, and I won't be getting sick. I've just been thinking about this whole damn thing for too long. I'll get over it soon, so don't worry."

"But we have to worry, especially if you aren't eating!" Ryou retorted. "It's not so important that you have to stop taking care of yourself!"

Yugi glared at Ryou. "Of course it's more important! Everything concerning this situation is more important than anything that has to do with me."

"You are crazy!" Ryou yelled. "I know you love him, and all. But you have to think of yourself first!"

"I can't!" Yugi yelled, standing up. "Why the hell should I bother, when he's all I can think about?"

"Then either hurry up and tell him, or get over it!" Ryou yelled back, standing up as well. "But stop bitching every minute about how hopeless it all is!"

Malik quickly got up and stood in between them. "Guys, come on. Don't argue."

"I'm so sick of hearing you complain!" continued Ryou, ignoring Malik." I've been trying like hell to help you win Yami over. And all you've been doing is saying how it's not going to work, and how it's all pointless. If it's so pointless, why the hell am I wasting my time!"

"I never asked you to help! I never asked you to do anything! I didn't even want you to know! But you had to be your nosy self and get yourself involved in something that doesn't concern you! You are always doing that!"

"If you don't want me involved in your business, don't fucking tell me anything then! I'm not going to stand around listening to your damn problems all the time!"

"I wouldn't tell you anything if you stopped trying to figure everything little secret out! You dragged yourself into this, and all because you had to know my secret! So excuse me if I bitch about you!" Yugi was crushing the bread rolls in his hands, and he had a huge urge to throw them at Ryou's head.

"Guys, just calm down!" Malik said. "It's not worth fighting over."

"Your plans were stupid from the start! I never should have listened to you!"

"But you did, because you are desperate for his attention! You can't do anything without thinking of him! You are so pathetic!"

"At least I don't go hanging off him like a horny slut!"

Ryou and Malik both gasped as they stared at Yugi. He did not just say that! Oh damn, hell would be raised for sure now. "What the hell did you just say?" Ryou hissed.

"I said you are a horny slut!" Yugi really didn't care what he was saying anymore. He was so over everything at the moment.

"Why you…you little bitch! How dare you say that, after everything I've done for you!"

"You are a pain in the ass, and always have been!"

Malik could no longer take it. He was far too frightened of them to even think of stopping them now. He needed reinforcements. And so he quietly snuck away from the argument, and hauled ass down to the cafeteria. Bursting in through the doors, he ran up to the table where the rest of the group was sitting. "Come…fighting…roof…" was all he managed to get out as he panted.

"What's going on?" Marik asked, wondering what exactly his hikari was going on about.

"Roof…Ryou and Yugi…fighting…gonna kill…each other." At least he managed to get the point across that time. Yami and Bakura quickly stood up and ran out, hoping to rescue their hikari's from any injuries. The rest of the group followed quickly. They all headed up to the roof, where, thankfully, Ryou and Yugi were still in once piece.

"I fucking hate you, Ryou!" Yugi screamed, not caring about the new audience. "You're a bossy little whore, and I can't stand you!" A collective gasp from the group registered in the back of his mind.

"And you're just a pathetic little freak, who is too much of a wimp to do anything without clinging to others!"

"And you cling to people because you are nothing but a slut who just wants to be fucked all the time!" Yugi then threw his crumbled up bread at Ryou.

"I'm going to kill you!" Ryou yelled as he leaped towards Yugi. He managed to grab a hold of Yugi's hair and began to pull at it. Yugi managed to kick him in the shin, which sent Ryou falling. But Ryou kicked his leg out from under him, and Yugi fell down as well. Yugi then slapped Ryou hard on the cheek. But before they could do any more damage, they were pulled apart by their yamis.

"What is wrong with you two?" Bakura asked as he struggled to keep a grip on Ryou.

"He's an ungrateful little prick, and I'm sick of him!" Ryou yelled, as he tried to break free.

"You psycho freak!" Yugi yelled back. "Why the hell can't you just mind your own business, and stay the hell out of my life!"

"You're the one who always comes to me! Grow some balls and learn to deal with your own problems!"

"Fuck you, jackass!" Yugi then pushed Yami away, and stormed towards the door. "I'm done! Fuck all of you!" He ran down the stairs, not caring that Yami was running after him and calling for him to stop. He ran out of the building, and went towards the back field. Fuck the whole day! He was through with Ryou, and he was through with Valentine's Day.

"Yugi, stop!" Yami called out as he ran after his hikari.

"Leave me alone!" Yugi yelled at him. "I don't want to deal with you anymore!" Of course, Yami didn't listen. He grabbed Yugi's arm, only to have it ripped from his grasp. "Don't touch me!" Yugi said, pushing the spirit away.

"What is going on?" Yami asked, once again grabbing Yugi's arm. Though Yugi tried to pull it away again, Yami kept a firm grip. "Why were you and Ryou fighting?"

"Because he is an annoying bastard, and I can't stand him! Now let me go!" Yugi said, still trying to free his arm.

"What is with you lately?" Yami snapped, loosing control of his emotions for a second. "Why are you acting like this?"

"You want to know? It's because I'm tired of dealing with shit like this! I'm just tired of dealing with things in general! And you aren't making it any better!"

Yami blinked, not expecting to be singled out like that. "And what exactly am I doing to make things bad?"

"You're going to leave me for that stupid college!" There, he said it. Now if only he could tell Yami how he felt.

Yami was silent as he let go of Yugi's arm. College? Is that what was bothering him all this time? "I don't understand. I thought you wanted me to go to that college."

"I said I did, but I don't! I don't want you to leave, but it doesn't really matter now. You're going to leave and leave me alone!" Yugi knew they were making a scene, but he didn't care. He couldn't take it anymore.

"If you don't want me to go, I won't," Yami replied quietly.

"No! You have to go!"

"Well, make up your mind!" Yami was utterly confused. "Do you want me to stay, or not?"

"Yes! Of course I do, but you can't stay! You have to go to that college!"

"Why should I? I'm only going because you said it would be a good opportunity for me. Otherwise I'd be going to college with you."

"But you can't!" Yugi felt like ripping his hair out. Why couldn't Yami just understand? "You can't give this up just because of me! You've given up so much because of me! I can't take this away from you as well."

"Aibou, I don't care about that college," responded the Pharaoh. "I never did. I would rather stay here, with you. You know that."

Yugi felt tears of frustration start to build. "No! You can't stay here! Don't you get it?

"Apparently not, so why don't you explain exactly why I can't stay." Now Yami was beginning to get annoyed. Yugi had been telling him for months that he should go to that law school. That he'd never get another opportunity as great as this. And he had gone along with it, because Yugi seemed excited by it. But now Yugi was saying he didn't want him to leave, but he couldn't stay as well. What exactly did Yugi want?

"If you don't go, you might regret it forever. And I don't want to take away this chance from you. You can't give this up for me! This is such a great experience! So that's why you can't stay!"

"Yugi, I'm the spirit of a five thousand year old Pharaoh who died trying to save the world. Nothing could possibly top that experience."

"And what if I told you I hate you? Would you leave then?" Yugi was almost desperate now.

"Maybe, if I didn't know you were lying."

"Why don't you get it! You can't stay here! You have to take this opportunity! You can't stay here because of me! Even though I want you to stay! I want to be selfish this once and keep you, but I can't take this away from you!" And then the tears began to fall, but Yugi didn't care.

"But in actual fact, you want me to stay?" Yami watched the tears roll down his hikari's cheeks, but as soon as he made a move to wipe them away, Yugi backed up.

"Yes. I really want you to stay," the teen answered, angry at himself that he let the tears fall so easily.

"Why do you want me to stay so bad?"

Yugi shook his head. "Isn't it enough for me to say that I don't want you to leave?"

"No. I want to know exactly why you want me to stay so badly. Because it's for that very same reason that you want me gone." Yami would finally get to the bottom of this.

Yugi's eyes widened, and he opened and closed his mouth as if to answer, but he didn't make a sound. Could Yami already know? How could he know that the same reason he wanted to keep Yami was the same reason he wanted to push him away? He didn't want to tell him. Not now, not like this. Not through an argument in the middle of the school surrounded by the other students. But what else could he do? He'd never get another chance. So he might as well tell him now. Things couldn't possibly get any worse than they already were. So what if he ruined things between them? At the moment he couldn't care less.

But before he could say a word, the sprinklers suddenly came on. Everyone who was on the field at the time started freaking out, and running off the grass. And then, everyone's clothes and skin began to turn red. It was red water! So that was what Bakura and the others had been planning. Taking advantage of the confusion, Yugi grabbed Yami's collar and pulled him down into a kiss. He felt the other tense up, but he didn't care. He slowly pulled away, and stared into Yami's shocked and confused expression. "I love you." He finally said those three words. "I don't want you to leave, because I love you."

Yami stood there, gaping at his hikari as he tried to figure out what exactly had happened. He didn't even care about the water that was still raining on the two of them. "You…you…what?"

"I love you," Yugi repeated. "I've loved you since the day I first met you. I never realized exactly how much I cared until I found out that you'd be leaving me. But I love you so much. And that's why I don't want you to leave." And now, to wait for the reply. A strangely, he felt fine. Sure he was nervous as hell, but it was ok. He had said what he wanted to say, and now he didn't have to worry about keeping it a secret anymore.

"So…wait…you love me?"

"Yes."

"…really?"

"Really." Yami continued to stare at Yugi for a minute, before his shoulders began shaking with silent laughter. As the seconds rolled by, his laughter increased till he was doubled over, clutching his sides tightly. Yugi just watched him, glaring at his other half. "I'm glad you're taking this seriously," he spat.

"Oh, aibou," the spirit said between laughs. "My hikari." He managed to control his laughter long enough to walk over and embrace Yugi. "I can't believe it! I just can't believe it!"

"Believe what?" It was now Yugi's turn to be completely confused.

"That you could be in love with me," the Pharaoh explained, still laughing.

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Oh, my hikari. My little hikari."

"Yes, we've established that."

"It's just…I never once thought that you could feel the same!"

Same! Did he just say 'same'? As in 'similar'? As in…did Yami really mean what Yugi thought he meant? His heart was racing a mile a minute as he stared at Yami. His mouth hung open in shock, and he was vaguely aware of the water from the sprinklers falling on his tongue. Why hadn't someone turned that off yet? "S-same? What…do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yugi shook his head. Yami smiled, and leaned down to gently place a kiss on Yugi's lips. Pulling back, he placed his forehead against Yugi's. "I love you too."

------

High up on the roof, the rest of the group watched the pair with smiles on their faces. So the last plan had worked perfectly. Even better than they had expected. Bakura wrapped an arm around Ryou's waist and drew him close. "Good job, Ryou," he said, planting a kiss on his hikari's cheek.

"Who knew it would work so well," Jou commented as he watched the two share another kiss, one of what was sure to be many.

"I'm amazed he even agreed to go with it," Anzu said.

"No, what's really amazing is how hard he can slap," Ryou said, touching his red cheek and wincing.

"I'll make you feel better," Bakura said with a smirk.

"Bakura, how exactly did you three get the red dye in the sprinkler system?" Otogi asked. The red water was still raining all over the back field, Yami and Yugi standing right in the middle.

"Well, it's a lot harder and more complicated than it looks," Bakura replied smugly.

"We poured buckets full of red dye into the water pipes," Marik said, rolling his eyes.

"Nice going, idiot," Bakura said, sending the other yami a withering look. "Way to ruin the plan."

"Oh, come off it, Bakura," Malik said with a chuckle. "The administrators would have found out sooner or later. Besides, it did it's job, causing a distraction to get them alone."

"Oh, so that's why you did it," Honda said, nodding in understanding.

"So tell me, Ryou," Anzu said, turning her eyes away from the new couple on the ground. "Now that you managed to get those two together, doesn't Yugi owe you big time?"

"You're right! He does owe me big," Ryou said with a smirk. "Especially after those comments and that slap. But you know…I'll give him some time before he pays me back. Because I'm sure Yami won't let him go for a long, long time."

"So, you think Yami's going to go away to that college now?" Marik asked.

"As if!" Ryou exclaimed. "Those two are completely inseparable now."

"And isn't that what we wanted?" asked Jou.

"Yup. So, Happy Valentine's Day, Yami and Yugi."

---------The End-------

Star: Aww, isn't that cute? Bet you all thought they were going to be interrupted a third time, huh? And, omg! Ryou and Yugi have such bad potty mouths, lol. I cracked up writing their argument.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this story. And that you all had a nice Valentine's Day. See you in Bright Shadows and A Mask Over My Heart!