A/N: Love these two, and there's not enough good stuff on them out there. It's such an interesting dynamic. And with the ending of the series being so sad, I had to write a little fluff, though it's a bit angsty and doesn't resolve the question we all want to know - how can they end up together when the Pharaoh has to leave!? So sad!
Anyway, this takes place right after the whole Oricalcos/Waking the Dragons stuff. That season was so incredibly intense and epic, and was pretty much filled with my two favorite pairings - this and Joey/Mai. So please enjoy this fic, and leave a review!
WARNING: If you're really desperate, you could see a little bit of Yami/Yugi in this fic, because I do acknowledge how close friends they are. But that's what I see them as - friends. This is a Yami/Tea fic, but if people are really offended by Yami/Yugi undertones... then yeah.
Words: 1401
Characters: Yami, Tea, (Yugi)
Time: Right after Waking the Dragons series
Genre: Angst/Romance
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to the creators of Yu-Gi-Oh, not me.
The fear that shoots through my heart… the pain that resides in my veins… the hope that blossoms in my mind. What does it all mean? Have I ever felt this way before?
When she is in danger… nothing else matters. I forget everything I ever knew, and can only think about what I can do to save her, to comfort her, to be with her. What does Yugi think about that? Does it hurt him, does he even know, how much I have grown to care for the one I only know through his body?
What if it kills him to see her hurt, just as much as it kills me?
Yami lifted the golden puzzle in his hands. But whose hands were they, in reality? Whose hands felt things such as cold metal and soft skin, whose eyes gazed upon both the demons of shadows and the angels of day? Those angels that stood beside him, through every test, through every pain. And the angel that stood out to him most, whose name and whose presence filled his dawning hours…
Tea knew him only as the Pharaoh.
And Yugi… literally, his soulmate. Could Yugi decipher the maze of his mind and help Yami understand this strange sensation, this powerful emotion, or would Yugi believe that Yami was a thief of friends and love, a betrayer of trust?
There was no one Yami trusted more than young Yugi. Without Yugi, Yami would be lost, empty, hopeless, for he had no closer friend.
And even then, knowing how painfully Yugi could be hurt by his selfishness, Yami could not cease to care for Tea as he did. His spirit, already split between different lives - different millennia - now felt as if it were being torn yet again, this time between two friends.
Alone in the depths of his mind, Yami fell to his knees, his hands fisted tightly in his hair, shaking.
What can I possibly do?
Once, he reached out to her, with Yugi's hand. She took it, smiling delightedly, her eyes alight with a happiness that filled Yami's soul like he never could have imagined.
(The touch was so different from the recent times he had held her hand, when he was pulling her into a moving train and she'd fallen into his arms, or when he had helped her reach the top of a dangerous cliff, only for them to walk together into even greater danger.)
Even now, she just sees Yugi, doesn't she? The idea made him wince inside, and yet, he couldn't tell her, for that could cause Yugi pain, and that was unacceptable –
(He could never risk losing Yugi again. Not after experiencing life without him, not after hurting him so much already.)
But how could Yami live with the pain inside himself, too? There were too many times that he had held Tea in his arms, his arms, when Yugi was gone, and she was all that saved him from collapsing into the dark nothingness of his halved heart. And that was when she looked at him for who he truly was. Pharaoh, she called him, her eyes shining as much as – or more than – they did when she looked at Yugi.
They both had to decide, Yami knew. No, all three of them had to decide.
Lying on the cool grass, Yami and Tea gazed at the same sky. Tea suddenly raised her arm and pointed at a small puff of a cloud.
"Look, Yugi. It looks just like your Kuriboh."
"It does indeed," Yami smiled. "But, it is not Yugi beside you at the moment."
The words escaped him before he had realized what he was saying. Inside, Yami felt Yugi's curious frown. Never before had they made a point to distinguish which spirit was at the forefront.
"Oh," said Tea, still bright, though undeniably surprised. "Hi, Pharaoh. Maybe we can find all of your monsters in the clouds!"
"Perhaps we can," murmured Yami. But instead of searching the skies, he sat up, drawing Tea's gaze with him. He felt her eyes as vividly as he felt the warm kiss of the sun on his skin.
She, too, rose until she rested on her knees, looking at him closely and curiously. Her head titled lightly to one side. "Is something wrong, Pharaoh?"
She was so near to him at that moment. For some reason, as Yami turned his head and caught sight of her eyes – clearer blue than even the sky itself – he found himself unable to wait any longer.
"It is not what is wrong," he said slowly. "It's what is right that I never seem to understand."
But he did not give her any time to contemplate his ominous words. Yami reached out, touched her soft cheek gently with his palm, then pulled her to him and kissed her. For one heart-stopping second, he felt her freeze beneath his lips.
And then she relaxed. A hand touched his shoulder, hesitant and unsure until Yami moved closer to her. Her hands then fell to his back, while he embraced her; Yami tangled a hand in the hair at the nape of her neck. They were so close, so connected, that every other thought vanished from Yami's mind. Just as no air could pass between their bodies, no misgivings and fear clouded their souls. There was only excitement, desire, love; their lips moved deeply and fiercely.
It was Tea who drew away first. She moved slowly, as if in a dream; it seemed to take millennia for their lips to part. Yami opened his eyes at the same pace. Mere inches away from him, Tea was beaming. Smiling, Yami leaned forward to kiss her again, his lips barely brushing hers this time. He could feel her lips twitch at the corners.
In the back of his mind, Yami heard a small, bemused laugh. He nearly jumped. Somehow, he had almost forgotten Yugi's constant presence.
"What is it?" Tea asked. Her warm breath tickled his cheek.
It's all right, Pharaoh, Yugi said plainly. It's not like I couldn't see this coming. Who am I to argue against love?
But, Yugi, said Yami. Are you sure? I –
Very sure, promised Yugi.
Then I thank you, said the pharaoh. You cannot possibly know how much this means to me.
I think I can, said Yugi, and Yami could feel his bittersweet smile. And he could also feel as the boy faded politely away. He was still quite as ever-present as always, but now, it was as if he were standing at a distance with his kind eyes closed.
Thank you, Yugi, the pharaoh said again, this time mostly to himself. Aloud, he said, "It's nothing, Tea."
Her eyes turned soft, reminding him of sand and flower petals. She scooted closer to him and leaned against his chest, one hand pressed flat over his heart. Yami instinctively put an arm around her, warmth spreading through his body, and he didn't think it had anything to do with the hot summer sun. Was this what people meant when they described a heart so full that it felt like it could burst, all because of love? In his arms, Tea let out a small sigh.
"I always wondered," she said contemplatively, "whether the side of you that I loved… sometimes, I didn't know which one it was. It was so hard, sometimes. What if I loved both of you? I mean, I do, in a way. But, Pharaoh…"
When she looked up, she somehow stole Yami's breath away with nothing more than an honest face and an infinitesimal smile.
"I don't think I could ever lose you, Pharaoh. I don't think… that I ever want to live without you."
"And I you, Tea," said the pharaoh. His voice rumbled deep in his chest. "I promise you. I will not leave you alone. We will always have each other."
"I'm glad," she whispered, closing her eyes.
But Yami had no idea how hard it would become to keep that promise. As he looked back at the sky – where Kuriboh had vanished to be replaced by nothing more than an empty field of blue – the pharaoh wondered. If his time in this modern world was to culminate in just one choice, one life…
How can I decide which to choose?
Resolving one conflict led only to another, Yami realized. Somehow, he had a feeling deep in his soul that the his time in this world was drastically limited.
Could he live with himself if he broke her heart? Could he live with a broken heart?
I may never know.