With You

Two agitated yamis, two sleepy-eyed hikaris, and one emotionally
exhausted hikari woke up the next morning to one of the Phara




Two agitated yamis, two sleepy-eyed hikaris, and one
emotionally exhausted hikari woke up the next morning to one of the Pharaoh’s
highly annoying messengers knocking at the door.

 

Bakura and Marik only growled threateningly at them, but he
only seemed to ignore them and turned his eyes to the smallest hikari who was
shivering in the middle of the group and holding on tightly to Ryou’s shirt.

 

“Our Pharaoh wishes to see his…pleas – ”

 

Bakura jumped from the bed and grabbed the messenger’s
shirt, growling with intimidation. “You better think twice before you finish
that sentence. His name is Yugi and you’ll call him by nothing else.” He said,
just quiet enough so the hikari in the middle couldn’t hear.

 

“Our Pharaoh wishes to see Yugi in his chambers.” The messenger
restated.

 

“That’s better.” Bakura released the man and climbed back
onto the bed. Noticing the messenger wasn’t leaving he growled again and the
man seemed to take the hint.

 

“What would he want to see me about?” Yugi asked, confused.

 

“I thought he would’ve known better. I told him you’d come
see him when you wanted to. You don’t have to go, Yugi.”

 

Yugi looked down at the wrinkled sheets on the bed and
nodded. “I know I don’t, but I should.

 

“In that case,” Ryou spoke up, causing Yugi to look at him,
“I’ll help you clean up your face. It looks like you’ve been crying for hours
and I’m sure you wouldn’t want Yami to see that.”

 

Yugi nodded and let Ryou lead him into the adjoining room. A
few minutes later the two came back and Yugi headed for the door.

 

“Would you like us to come with you, Yugi?” Malik
questioned.

 

“No, I’ll be fine.”

 

“If he does anything to hurt you, you can always come back
here. We’ll be waiting for you.” Bakura offered.

 

Yugi only nodded and pulled open the door.

 

~~

 

The walk to Yami’s chambers didn’t seem to take very long at
all. It seemed like he had only just stepped out of Ryou and Bakura’s rooms
when he arrived at his destination. With slight hesitation he knocked on the
door.

 

The door opened and Yugi slowly stepped in. He jumped when
the door closed behind him and he turned to see Yami standing there looking
more tired that he had been the night before when he cried himself to sleep in
Bakura and everyone else’s arms.

 

“Yami, I – ”

 

Yami quickly walked forward and placed two fingers over
Yugi’s lips to stop him from continuing. “Please, listen to me, Yugi. I never
meant for it to seem like I didn’t care and that I wanted you to leave; I never
wanted that. I just know how you are about your family and your friends and you
will end up missing them eventually if you choose to stay here.”

 

Yugi backed away from Yami and instead turned to look out
the window. “Yami, don’t you think I would’ve realized all that when I first
stepped through that portal. I made my decision so wouldn’t you think I’d live
with the consequences? You could’ve at least let me stay a bit longer before
telling me to leave.”

 

“I didn’t mean that day, Yugi. I only meant when all of us
agreed it was time for you to go.”

 

“Yami, I’m not a little kid anymore. I can make my own
decisions for myself. I don’t need you or anybody else to hold my hand.”

 

“Yugi – ”

 

“No, Yami. I hate it when people treat me like a little kid.
I can take care of myself and my decisions are for my own reasons. Why can’t
anybody just accept the fact that I do know what I want in my life?”

 

“I know that, Yugi. Please, can’t your just forgive me and
put this matter behind us?”

 

Yugi’s eyes widened and he glared at Yami. “You mean forgive
and forget, right?”

 

“If that’s what you want.”

 

Yugi sighed and shook his head, turning to the door. He
pulled it open and paused before speaking up again without turning around. “No,
Yami, I can’t just forget. You hurt me, Yami, and I know it hasn’t many times
before but that’s the fact that you still did it and you don’t even know how to
apologize sincerely. I think being Pharaoh for this long has made your head
swell into thinking you really can do whatever you want.” With that said Yugi
walked out the door and let it close with a slight thud behind him.

 

~~

 

Yugi opened the door to Bakura and Ryou’s room and was
surprised to see all of them pretty much where he’d last seen them on the bed.
All four of them looked up and Ryou was the first to jump off the bed and bring
him into his arms.

 

“Yugi, what happened? What did he want?”

 

Yugi mumbled something into his shirt and Ryou had to ask
him to repeat it after pul awa away slightly.

 

“I said that Yami wanted me to forgive and forget for him.”

 

Malik gasped and grabbed a fistful of sheets in his hands. “That’s
the lowest thing he could possibly do right now to ask for Yugi’s forgiveness.
Doesn’t he realize how much he hurt you?”

 

“I guess not.” He pulled away from Ryou and turned back
towards the still open door. “I just wanted to let you guys know so you
wouldn’t worry. If you don’t mind now, I’d like to just be by myself for a
while.” He stepped out the door without waiting for them to reply and headed
down the deserted hall.

 

Walking outside he stepped up to closclosed gate and stared
down at the village below. He took a deep breath and let it out in a large
sigh. He slid down against the bars on the gate and sat down in the rocks with
a soft plop.

 

“I’m not even sure I know how to go back home.” He announced
to himself softly.

 

Yugi didn’t know how long he stayed outdoors but he knew it
must’ve been a few hours since the sun was now high in the sky and sweat was
dripping down his face and neck from the heat. He decided to go back inside the
palace and cool down but when he turned around he bumped into somebody. Backing
away and saying apologies for his accident he froze when he saw whom it was.

 

“I saw you sitting out here for the longest time. I thought
you might like some company.” Yami told him.

 

“Well, I was just going back inside so you can get back to
your own duties. After all, ruling Egypt can’t be as simple as hanging around
somebody like me all the time.” Yugi then pushed past Yami since he kept trying
to block his way and made his was for the slightly opened doors. &nbs 

“Please, Yugi, can’t you forgive me? I’m sorry about what I
said. It was wrong!”

 

Yugi paused at the door and turned back to face Yami and
slowly shook his head negatively. “I can’t just forget what you said, Yami. Why
can’t you realize that?” Without waiting for a reply Yugi stepped inside the
much cooler palace, leaving Yami outside.

 

~~

 

The encounters with Yami continued throughout the day. After
running into him at the front gates he also met him while wondering the halls,
in the gardens, Yugi even went as far as hiding in the dungeons to get some
privacy but Yami found him in there also. Every time he asked for the same
thing and every time Yugi gave him the same answer before leaving him behind.

 

The next time he ran into Yami it was in the kitchens where
he was getting something to eat since he’d skipped breakfast and was too busy
getting away from Yami to get some lunch and dinner had already passed.

 

Yami stood in front of the door blocking the only exit
except for the window and Yugi wouldn’t dare jump out that unless he wanted to
kill himself. The Pharaoh motioned for everybody to get out before proceeding
towards Yugi and holding his shoulders just tightly enough so Yugi couldn’t
escape but wouldn’t hurt him.

 

“Yugi, can’t you give me a better answer than you can’t forgive
me, like why you can’t? I told you I was sorry. I even talked to Ryou and
Malik; I even went to Bakura and Marik in hopes for a little help in how to get
you to forget. I don’t think I’ve ever met anybody more confusing than those
two thieves. Please, Yugi just tell me how to make it better? If you don’t want
to leave yet than you don’t have to.” Yami pleaded.

 

Yugi sighed and stopped struggling under Yami’s hands
gripping his shoulders. “You just don’t get it, do you, Yami? You hurt me and
you’re just asking me to forget it. I just…can’t.”

 

Yami stepped away from Yugi, finally understanding what the
five had been trying to tell him.

 

//“Yugi isn’t the same person you knew when you left. He’s
had to grown up so much in those two years. He just isn’t the type to forget
something like telling him to leave and make it seem you don’t want him when
he’ s given up so much to be with you.” Ryou explained sadly.//

 

//“Yugi and the rest of us got into an argument a short
while after you left, Yami,” Malik explained. “Seto excused him accidentally of
not loving you and he’s already proved that he has many times since then. He
distanced himself from us and we were all worried about him; we tried
everything to get him to forgive us and he wouldn’t until we really proved
ourselves that we were sincerely sorry about what we had done. Yugi gave Ryou
and me a break since we didn’t actually say it and I bet if he ever sees Seto
again he’s going to wait until he knows for sure that Seto’s sorry about what
he said.”//

 

//“Listen, Pharaoh, Yugi’s told you he isn’t a child
anymore, right?” Bakura questioned, annoyed at having been pulled away from
Ryou. He continued without waiting for an answer, “Well, that’s the truth. I
don’t know what’s been going on the past two years we were away from him but
the truth is is that everybody changes and Yugi is defiantly one of those
people. Imagine all the times he’s been deceived because he’s so caring and
forgiving. All those times he was betrayed because of it; he was bound to have
hardened a little because of it and there’s your result.”//

 

//Marik stared at the Pharaoh irritably before deciding to
answer Yami’s question. “If you ask my opinion and if I were Yugi, I wouldn’t
forgive you for the longest time, but that’s just me. I heard what Bakura said
to you though and as much as it might hurt, Yugi has definitely hardened in
these last two years, and I don’t blame him at all. You might want to actually
try thinking about what you said before trying to confront Yugi about it.”//

 

// Yugi’s eyes widened and he glared at Yami. “You mean
forgive and forget, right?” –

Yugi paused at the
door and turned back to face Yami and slowly shook his head negatively. “I
can’t just forget what you said, Yami. Why can’t you realize that?” - Yugi sighed
and stopped struggling under Yami’s hands gripping his shoulders. “You just
don’t get it, do you, Yami? You hurt me and you’re just asking me to forget it.
I just…can’t.”//

 

“I see…I am sorry though,
Yugi, and I wish you’d believe me. I’ll just leave you alone; it’s obvious I
won’t get slight forgiveness for a while if at all.” Yami turned and walked out
the door. He paused at the door and turned back to Yugi with tired eyes. “Could
you at least come to my chambers so we can spend the night together? You don’t
have to sleep in the same bed, I could have one fixed up for you.”

 

Yugi seemed to think about
it for a minute before closing his eyes and shaking his head.

 

Hurt swelled up inside
Yami, but he tried his best not to let it show lest he run into somebody on the
way up to his chambers, he didn’t feel like having people questioning him about
it. “I understand, Yugi. I’ll see you in the morning then?” Yami didn’t wait
for a reply. He turned and walked out the door letting it swing shut behind
him.

 

Yugi felt terrible for
treating Yami like this but he couldn’t just forgive me. ‘Yami needs to
understand that I’m part of this relationship too and that I can make decisions for myself.’ With that thought in
mind he left the kitchens and headed towards Ryou and Bakura’s rooms.

 

~~

 

Yami spent the whole night
sitting in his bed or looking out his window overlooking Egypt trying to think
of someway for Yugi to understand that he was sorry for what he’d done. Deep
down he knew he was extremely sorry and that somehow he knew Yugi knew he was
too, but he still seemed to need to show he was for Yugi to really forgive him.
It couldn’t be any sort of a bribery either; it has to special. Maybe a large
party where he announced his undying love – ‘No, too short of notice and I
don’t know how long Yugi’s going to give me before he decides to leave.’ Maybe
he could go on a picnic with Yugi and they could just spend the day together –
‘My advisors would never stand for it. They care more about Egypt than if my
personal life is in ruins.’

 

It was even longer before
Yami realized that he couldn’t do anything with Yugi that would help to show
how sorry he was. He was stuck in the palace where people could find him with
e he he didn’t know how long Yugi was going to stay before giving up on him,
and Yugi wouldn’t come anywhere near him for longer than five minutes.

 

‘Have I possibly ruined
everything between us that there isn’t anymore hope?’