Teratos High: Demon Hunters

Hey guys, and welcome to the latest update! :) ZB apparently was breaking her neck to get this out for her 100th reviewer, so it’s extra long, and very nummy for the puzzleshippers out there. I hope you all enjoy! And now…

On with the story!
--::--

“Do you know where Oceanography is?”

After getting the initial shock of finding out that Mariku had been in love with one of his best friends, Yami felt he had taken the news in stride. Aside from accidentally flipping over the fry tray all over Bakura’s lap of course. Considering that Mariku had first seen and fallen in love with Malik when the orphan was twelve, Yami figured he acted reasonably. Apparently age didn’t really matter to demons that lived for eons of time.

Go figure, Yami supposed it made sense in a twisted, weird sort of way. He hadn’t even realized demons outside of Atemu and Fantasia were physically capable of falling in love with humans. That was a shocker by itself.

Yugi started at Yami’s question and nodded, “You have Ms. Sharp next too?” The incubus obviously didn’t think the class was anything Yami could be interested in.

Yami immediately squelched the bubble of hope swelling in his chest. The human didn’t know why his traitorous heart jumped at the idea of having another class with the incubus. Perhaps they would have a class in private this time, without the prying eyes of the clan. He composed his face carefully, praying Yugi didn’t see his change of demeanor, “Yeah, well then I’m hitching a ride with you to class.” He smirked.

Seto took Joey’s hand, giving Yami and Yugi a jerk of his head in farewell. He ignored Bakura completely. The chimera snarled irritably at being obviously ignored and dumped his half eaten steak in the trash. He glared back at the messenger of death, attempting to burn holes in the reaper’s back. Yami fancied he spotted Seto’s shirt smoking before he walked out of sight.

“Sure,” Yugi nodded in surprise, blushing slightly at the human’s wicked smirk. He gathered his wits quickly and stood up, tossing out his tray, “I have to admit though; I didn’t expect you to be interested in this sort of class.”

“You’d be surprised just what I’m interested in. . .” Yami purred suggestively. Yugi’s eyes widened in undisguised shock, unable to believe the human had said something as bold as that without so much as batting an eye.

In truth, Yami was a bit surprised by his audacity as well. He had never been one to advocate talking suggestively, especially not in public. Even in the few relationships Yami had been involved in before, he rarely said anything that could be misconstrued in a sexual way. It was rare for anyone to stir Yami’s interest and they seldom held his attention for long. However, when Yami realized he wanted something. He took it.

He had never been in a serious relationship. He had never wanted one.

He had never cared for it.

Ruby eyes gazed intently at Yugi’s soft, blushing face. Since he had gotten to this school, the incubus had been wriggling his way into Yami’s mind. His presence seemed to soothe Yami and they could stimulate one another intellectually and physically – if Yami’s dream was anything to base the assumption off of.

He blushed at the memory.

If Yami was honest with himself, he would admit he had a crush on the incubus. He looked analytically at the demon, his sharp crimson gaze drilling into Yugi’s amethyst eyes. Yami’s gaze softened as he looked at those expressive and breathtaking eyes. Beautiful. He noted every detail about Yugi. Yami felt drawn to the demon like a moth to a flame.

Granted, Yami felt as if he was a moth that had already caught on fire. He was a burning moth that was close to spontaneously combusting.

A rosy blush stained Yugi’s pale cheeks and the incubi’s eyes went wide. Emboldened by this reaction, Yami slipped his hand next to Yugi’s, intertwining their fingers. The human wasn’t sure if he wanted to pursue this path just yet. There were far too many dangers and implications to be involved with a demon romantically. Yami was a risk-taker, but he wasn’t completely sure about this, and the idea frightened him.

He had a feeling things wouldn’t be so simple with Yugi. If he took a step in that direction with Yugi, he had a feeling he’d have to give up all of himself to the incubus.

And Yami wasn’t sure he could do that...

He didn’t know if he could be in anything serious.

For now he would play it safe with a bit of harmless flirting. After all, Yami rather enjoyed seeing Yugi’s face light up like the fourth of July.

“Well show me the way,” He said to the befuddled demon, comfortably. Yami basked in the way their hands melded together, as if they were made to fit against one another.

What inspired all this insanity? A voice in the back of his head whispered.

Are you crazy?! It demanded. You aren’t like this!

You don’t like touching, or feeling, or even playing around! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?

A smirked worked its way across Yami’s face, breaking the carefully constructed stone façade he had cultivated throughout the long years of his life, ‘I’ve momentarily taken leave of my mind’ he responded to the voice before blocking it out completely, ‘and I love every moment of it. . .’

Yugi didn’t yelp or pull away from him, so Yami took it as a sign to continue holding Yugi’s hand. Yami couldn’t help it, it just felt so right. He even imagined that Yugi smiled at the contact and edged closer.

Together they walked out of the emptying cafeteria with linked hands, ignoring the jealous blue eyes watching their departure. Anzu crossed her arms angrily over her skin tight shirt. It was painted on her shapely figure, classy, elegant and sexy — a feat only a succubus could pull off. She glared murderously at Yami’s back, chewing at her freshly manicured thumb, “That little hoe. . . ” Anzu snarled. She gripped her phone and flipped it open, dialing Ushio’s number.

“I want Yami dead!” Anzu shrieked into the receiver, “If he isn’t dead before the semester is out, you’re going to be celibate for a very long time Ushio!” She hung up with a click and stormed out of the cafeteria.

The cold gaze of a death reaper who had forgotten his laptop case followed her out.

“This could be problematic,” Seto muttered.

--::--

Yugi didn’t lead Yami to a classroom, but instead directed the human to a locker room. Yami looked around curiously until Yugi shoved a pair of school issued swimming trunks against his chest. Yami stared at them in disgust and shook his head, “You can’t expect me to put these on, can you?”

“You’re going to need them,” Yugi grinned and turned around to get changed.

Yugi turned his back towards Yami, and attempted to remove his shirt. The muscles in the sex-demon’s back flexed around his wings as they strained to remove his top. Yami watched with utter fascination, his gaze riveted on the incubi’s back. He had wondered how Yugi had managed to put his shirt on with the wings getting in the way. Now Yami was getting quite the show while he satisfied his curiosity.

Yugi’s bat wings fluttered, catching the article on its bended tip, successfully halting Yugi’s attempt to change.

“Sonova. . . that always happens!” He growled helplessly and reached back in an attempt to untangle the fabric. He winced as his wings strained to dislodge the offending shirt.

Yami walked over to the struggling demon and stoically untangled the shirt. A relieved Yugi smiled his thanks, a blush of embarrassment staining his pale cheeks. With his shirt removed, he turned to face Yami – who made a rather pathetic attempt to pretend he hadn’t been staring at Yugi the entire time.

Yami looked away, burning holes into the dirty black wall. He muttered a half-coherent “You’re welcome” and moved to change. He was feeling very bothered and flushed. It really wouldn’t do Yami any good for Yugi to notice the state of being he was in. He had a feeling the incubus might already know, no matter what Yami did to hide it.

Yami yanked his shirt off in an attempt to distract himself from thinking about Yugi – which he wasn’t doing.

He quickly shed himself of the remainder of his clothes and donned the school issued swim trunks. Like everything in Teratos, they were black. Yami wondered if it was one of the school colors.

He tied the drawstring securely. Yami trusted the students at Teratos just as much as he trusted the students at his old school – which was not at all. He didn’t want to get his only article of clothing pulled off. Yami tugged experimentally at his trunks before assessing that they were in no danger of being yanked down. He carefully folded his clothes over his forearm and shoved his clothes and bags into a silver locker the farthest from the door. Since there were no locks, he wasn’t in the mood to have any of his stuff jacked.

He turned back around to see Yugi jerk his head away sharply, a dark blush on the incubi’s face. The human was confused by Yugi’s actions until realization hit him like ton of bricks. Yugi had been checking him out too? Yami smirked inwardly, deciding to tease Yugi about his spying later. The human picked stared at Yugi with a critical eye, the crimson tide in his eyes burned with amusement but he left the incubi to himself.

Yet despite Yami’s advances, he was oblivious to the looks he was receiving from Yugi – since he was too busy “not” staring at the incubus.

If Yugi hadn’t known better, he would have thought Yami was a god. Before this point, he had vaguely wondered what the human would look like when he wasn’t wearing any clothes – there was really no use trying to deny he had a small crush on Yami. Especially now that he had seen the human without most of his clothes on - he had no idea how gorgeous Yami could look underneath his scruffy, baggy clothes.

Yami was around 5’7” nowhere near as tall as Seto or Joey, but taller than Yugi and perhaps the same size as Bakura. He was strong, with a straight back which was rarely found in a computerized age.

Yugi blushed lightly, amethyst eyes closed in concentration. He could see Yami in his minds’ eye clearly. The human had black and red spiky locks of hair, blond bangs which framed Yami’s tan face, and slanted ruby eyes. Yugi could imagine those eyes, framed in sooty black lashes. They seemed to bore into Yugi’s very soul, searing his blackened blood and crushing his heart.

Yugi could still feel Yami’s nimble fingers gliding across the skin of his hand and back. A small voice in the back of his head wondered what it would feel like if those nimble fingers slid across something else other than his hand. . ?

Blue October’s Calling You rang from Yugi’s discarded pants, causing the Incubus to jump from his daydream. His face flushed with shame, knowing his thoughts could lead to something very dangerous. . . His throat ached with yearning.

Yugi would have to “feed” soon.

Oh god. Again.

Bakura was going to have a field day teasing him.

Distracted, and in a worse mood than before, Yugi bent down and scooped up his phone. A text message from Seto blared on the small screen. Thinking this was odd –since Seto never texted anyone during the school day – he opened the message curiously and with no real expectations..

Yugi’s face flared with anger and his hand snapped the phone in half with terrifying ease. A small possessive growl ripped from his throat, and for a moment Yugi lost sense of himself in a tide of his demonic instincts.

The message was simplicity in itself, straight to the point and clear. Just five words.

There’s a hit on Yami.

--::--

Yami looked around in panic as a shark circled overhead. It came close enough to the human that if Yami were to reach out, his fingertips would brush up against its rough, rubbery hind. His lungs burned and a small, strangled sound was invoked from the back of his throat. Air bubbles escaped his nose and mouth, billowing out around his head.

What the hell.

What the hell?

WHAT THE HELL!

This was not what Yami signed up for when he decided to take Oceanography.

He hadn’t realized that the class would be underwater and as a result Yami was having a slight problem with the breathing issue. He couldn’t fucking breath underwater for a start!

Yugi swam up to the human who was beginning to look a bit blue in the face and rolled his eyes in exasperation. He gave Yami a sharp pinch to the side that immediately had the human yelping with pain, consequentially drawing in a lungful of water.

Yami’s hands flew to his throat in terror as he realized that he had just signed his own death warrant and shot Yugi a homicidal glare. The incubus merely continued to stare at him flatly with his hands on his hips.

Wait a second...

Slowly, the anger from Yugi’s betrayal slowly gave way to confusion.

Why wasn’t he drowning?

Hesitantly, Yami took in another ‘breath’ and cringed, half expecting a rush of water to flood through his lungs and suffocate him. Much to his shock, that didn’t happen. The water moved around his head and flowed through his mouth, but he didn’t swallow any water. When he exhaled, a burst of bubbles came from his mouth and nose.

Well this was weird.

Weirder than usual, Yami quickly amended.

“Breathing underwater...” Yami muttered, surprised to hear his own voice echoing around in his ears thanks to the shifting currents. Odd, he doubted he’d ever get used to hearing his voice in surround sound, “This is another one of those magic things that make me look completely stupid while you secretly laugh me, right?”

“Yes,” Yugi smiled sweetly at Yami, “I considered letting you go as long as you could hold your breath, but I thought that might be unnecessarily cruel.”

“After all, you just want to laugh at my misfortune and destroy the little of my pride that I have left, not endanger my life,” Yami growled under his breath.

“Of course,” Yugi replied cheekily.

The teacher took that moment to swim into the class, thus putting a premature end on their conversation. A long fishtail billowed out and around her body as she swam into the classroom. Even Yami, who was clearly unfamiliar with fantastical creatures knew what she was. After all, he had seen enough Disney movies with Leo to figure it out for himself.

She was a mermaid.

At this point, Yami really couldn’t bring himself to be surprised.

The mermaid had extraordinarily bright eyes and Yami had a difficult time pinpointing precisely what color they were. He had the instinctive feeling that they were violet... Beautiful amethyst eyes. Like Yugi’s, but not quite as lovely as the incubi’s.

Yami shook his head, a swirl of bubbles rounding off around his head. It earned him a strange look from the very subject of his stray thoughts.

“Hello class,” The teacher sang out. She flashed a smile at her class, exposing rows of jagged and pointed teeth, “My name is Ms. Sharp.”

Yami shrank away from the deceptively beautiful woman and her scary as hell smile, somewhat grateful he had decided to stick his hand in a vampire’s mouth instead of hers.

“...No kidding,” He muttered under his breath.

“Now today class, we will be learning about the different species of oceanic life. . . We’ll start with my personal favorite, the Great White shark. ”

A shadow fell on the students and Yami looked upwards. He immediately wished he hadn’t. Swimming in a large arc just a few feet from Yami’s head was the white underbelly of a shark. He had seen it before, but he had held onto the vain hope that it was a fake creature. Or just a hallucination from Yami’s oxygen deprived brain.

No such luck.

“Come here Brucey!” Ms. Sharp cooed. Surprisingly the shark obeyed, nuzzling the mermaid’s outstretched hand with its rough snout, “I named him after that funny Australian sounding shark from Finding Nemo. ” She explained giggling as Bruce rubbed her throat with his nose.

Yami was subconsciously holding his breath again, and it took a sharp prod in his ribs from Yugi to get the human to inhale.

“Ms. Sharp has thousands of ‘pets,’” Yugi laughed at Yami’s reaction, “She has raised each and every one of them herself.”

The incubus smiled apologetically before continuing, “You need to relax a little, the things that make sense on Middle-Earth no longer apply to what we do here at Teratos.”

“As if I couldn’t tell,” Yami muttered sarcastically. The corners of his lips twitched into a half smile, “But where is ‘here’ anyway, Teratos seems as though it’s suspended in air.”

As expected, Yugi gave a snort of laughter that had Yami glaring holes into the side of the incubi’s pretty little face, “Suspended in air?” He chuckled. His voice dropped an octave as Ms. Sharp began lecturing about the anatomy of a shark, “We’re in Hell. ”

“Are you kidding?” Yami leaned close to Yugi, “We’re in Hell? As in fire and brimstone Hell? I thought Bakura was just joking about that earlier! Why am I still alive?”

Yugi was surprised at Yami’s close proximity. He blushed, attempting to avert his gaze from Yami’s athletic body that had suddenly been shoved in his face. “There’s no brimstone in this part of hell. The tortured souls of the damned are on an entirely different level. It’s actually quite nice here, just on the border of the human world. ”

Yugi spoke to the watery floor, “It makes it easy for angels and demons. . . ” He shot a shy look at Yami, “. . . and humans to learn, together. ”

Yami frowned at the Incubi’s behavior, tentatively brushing his fingertips on Yugi’s bare shoulder. Wide amethyst eyes met Yami’s crimson gaze, and Yugi flushed a deep shade of pink.

At the moment Yami’s skin met his, Yugi felt himself lose his sanity for a terrifying second and succumb to his demonic instincts. The human’s touch did something to him. . . Something it hadn’t done before. He could feel his eyelids twitch and flutter, a tiny smile exposing the sharp fangs he hid behind his pink lips. He wanted Yami. . .

Desire pulsed through blackened veins and a rush of paralyzing venom flooded through his mouth. Yugi attempted to distract himself by swallowing and tasting the poison. It was sweet – but not in a bad way; like dried flowers. His eyes roamed over Yami’s muscular body, leading across his arm to rest on the tan fingers barely brushing against him.

Yugi let out a pained whimper as he attempted to control himself. It was barely audible to even his ears – yet Yami still somehow managed to catch it.

“Are you okay Little One?” The human asked with concern. He maintained eye contact with Yugi, searching into his expressive depths to find the reason behind the demon’s abrupt change in character. Yugi was usually so confident. It was out of character for the incubus to be without a witty remark or snarky comment.

“Y-yes”

Far from satisfied, Yami reluctantly pulled his hand away from Yugi’s naked skin, noting the tension visibly leave the incubi’s shoulders once he did so. A small frown creased a line between Yami’s eyebrows when he saw Yugi breathe out in relief. Was he the one responsible for making Yugi so stiff? A dull throb in the human’s chest alerted Yami to a clear sign of heartache.

What had he done to earn Yugi’s displeasure? Yami looked at the incubus with barely restrained concern.

“Let’s go pet the shark Yami!” Yugi said nervously, his usual smile back on his face. He didn’t wait for the human to join him, but instead paddled away quickly, using his wings to propel him forward in the water.

Yami continued to stare after Yugi, an unreadable expression on his face. “Is he crazy?”

His heart thudded.

Or am I?


Personal Fitness was a painful ordeal at schools around the world, but at Teratos it was a sacred practice which all students were required to take in order to graduate. Every. Damn. Year. There was one class offered fourth period, and both Yami and Yugi –dripping wet and shivering from their oceanography class – walked to the gym for their daily hour and a half of hell.

Yami ran a hand through his wet hair and glanced at Yugi. The Incubus wasn’t acting strange anymore, but Yami noticed he stayed out of arms length. Thinking he needed to give Yugi some space, he made up an excuse to change in the bathroom – away from him.

They met each other again outside, and Yami was glad to see Yugi acting more like himself. However whenever someone would bump into Yami and knock him closer to Yugi, the incubus would visibly tense. On the few times their shoulders brushed against each other, Yugi would cringe away from the darker teenager. Yami found it difficult to crush a pang of disappointment in his heart whenever Yugi shied away.

Although Yami pretended he didn’t notice these tense and awkward moments, a small knife of pain stabbed its way to his heart.

What’s wrong with Yugi? He thought with a frown, Or what’s wrong with me?

“-Mi, ” Yugi was talking to him. Jerking out of his thoughts, Yami flashed him an apologetic grin.

“Sorry, I wasn’t listening. ”

The incubus pouted adorably and turned his beautiful eyes on Yami. The human’s hands twitched with the need to touch Yugi’s soft cheeks and pull their faces together so he could claim those sweet lips. He resisted the urge – afraid that Yugi would withdraw from him again. Not only did Yugi’s actions disturb him, he feared his new thoughts would scare the incubus off.

They were far from appropriate.

“I asked you if you’d like to come to Starbucks with me after school today,” A small blush wormed its way across Yugi’s face, “I can drop you off at your house afterwards,” He added quickly when he sensed apprehension in Yami’s demeanor.

The human was hesitant, did he really want to risk spending time with Yugi after he realized he was beginning to feel something for the demon – especially since he believed it to be part of the reason Yugi was distancing himself from him. The subtle change in emotions. . . When did it happen?

“I don’t know,” He adjusted the wet strap on his book bag so it wasn’t digging into his shoulder as much, “Starbucks coffee isn’t really what I go for. . . I’m trying to cut back on my caffeine intake. ” He lied.

Yugi saw through the bluff and reached up to tug on a long strand of silky blond hair hanging from Yami’s bangs. The human watched as Yugi’s eyes closed and an odd emotion clouded through the expressive amethyst eyes – darkening them to a fathomless shade of violet. The incubus leaned up to Yami purposefully, standing on his tip-toes since he wasn’t quite tall enough.

“Please?” He whispered. Yami felt a jolt of heat shoot straight to his groin at that single, pleading word. Christ, now he knew why Yugi was such a good incubus...

The human stiffened further, ruby eyes going wide as he felt Yugi’s lips skim over his exposed neck. They took advantage of the human’s momentary lapse in judgment and parted, letting Yami feel the tantalizing scrape of fangs against the tender skin of his throat. Yami’s breath hitched in his chest, his whole body inflamed with the desire to tackle Yugi in the hallway and take him right there for the entire student body to see.

He nodded dumbly, unable to deny Yugi of what he wanted, “Yeah. Starbucks. . . Okay. ”

Yugi smiled and drew away, balancing on the balls of his feet. One of his tiny fangs poked from behind his full lips. Yami felt a hollow ache in his stomach as he wondered how those fangs would feel biting into his flesh. . . roaming his body. . . and Yami could claim Yugi as his. . .

Where are these thoughts coming from!? Yami jerked himself away from the Incubus, turning quickly on his heel and walking quickly into his personal fitness class.

He was secretly glad Yugi had a different teacher, even though it was inevitable that Yami would run into Yugi eventually throughout the period. And even if they didn’t see each other during the class, they would meet after school at Starbucks. Yami hoped it was the latter since he didn’t know how to deal with their rapidly changing relationship. Were they friends?

Or something more?

Yami couldn’t help but hope for the latter option again.


--::--


It was awkward in Yugi’s car. For one thing, Yami was so used to sitting in the back – he automatically climbed into his usual seat before realizing Yugi was staring at him oddly. Laughing like a fool, he got up and took his place in the passenger seat.

Yugi smiled painfully at him, “Sorry about earlier today. . . ” He looked embarrassed, “I haven’t. . . well, been feeling myself lately. ”

Yami gazed at him critically. A strange disappointment flooded through his veins, dampening his excitement somewhat.

He only did what he did earlier today because he was a hungry Incubus, right? There was nothing more to it. Nothing at all. Who was Yami to assume Yugi felt something for him?

Other than lust. . . The thought depressed him and he looked sullenly out the window. Colorful lights streaked out from the tinted windows. The dark glass dragged the human’s attention away from his sullen thoughts, and he gladly welcomed the distraction. He needed to be thinking about something else anyway.

Something else other than the good-looking incubus sitting right next to him.

Damn it!

Yami focused on the glass, ruby eyes inspecting it. Now that he was actually concentrating on the windows, he found that they were all tinted. Even the windshield. Yami felt he needed to comment on the strangeness of the car.

“Isn’t that illegal?” He pointed at the glass. Yugi was surprised at the change of subject, especially since Yami hadn’t commented on his earlier statement. In truth the incubus was relieved by the change in subject and the lack of commentary.

“Oh, yeah. It is. ” He said with a sheepish grin, “I sometimes drive Mariku to Middle-Earth and the tinted windows protect him from the sun,” Yugi explained. Yami just stared at the glass, touching the grey window with a tan finger, “Vampires don’t explode in the sun, but they can get pretty irritating burns.”

“You’re a good friend,” Yami muttered meaningfully. His heart swelled with emotion and he wondered if he even possessed a chance with the breathtaking incubus.

“Let have some music,” he reached towards Yugi’s small collection and flipped through a few CDs he was familiar with.

“Alright, Darren Criss or Brittany Spears?” Yami grinned wickedly at the incubus. Yugi laughed and nodded towards the first. Yami popped it in and started it up.

The two students sat in comfortable silence. The ice was finally broken and they were both grateful for the break in the tension that seemed to have surrounded them since earlier that day. When the track played a song they both knew, the demon and human broke off into song. Eventually they decided to sing a duet of ‘Not Alone’ with Yugi playing the role of the female – much to his everlasting displeasure – and Yami taking the male lead.

By the end of the song, Yami had been utterly blown away by Yugi’s singing voice. The demon could sure as hell pelt out the high notes, and Yami told him as much. So when Yugi finally pulled up at Starbucks they were both eager for a caffeine boost and for something to wet their throats.

“I can’t wait until I’m twenty-one,” Yami said wistfully, “Then I’ll be able to get the pure caffeine over the counter and not have to spend five dollars for a grande-moca-double-shot-expresso thing from a place ran by the Mafia. ”

Yugi looked at Yami questioningly, “What are you talking about?” He looked at Yami fishing around for money in his wallet and halted his search for cash by putting a restraining hand on the orphan’s forearm. The incubi’s mere touch sent shivers racing down Yami’s spine, a tremor that he could feel through his fingertips. Yugi gasped softly as something similar coursed powerfully through his body. He dropped his hand from Yami.

“Sorry” He muttered, flashing a grin at his clansmen, “I’ll get it for you. . . what do you want?”

The human felt a bubble of hope swell in his stomach as he saw how Yugi seemed to respond to the gentle brushes of their skin coming into contact.

Maybe he feels something for me after all. . .

“Small black coffee,” He replied neutrally. Yugi let out a loud snort at Yami’s order, trying and failing to smother laugh.

“What?” Yami asked, annoyed that he had missed some kind of joke. Yugi waved him off.

“Not only do you want a regular black coffee in place renowned for its original. . . ‘Caffeinated beverages,’ you don’t know the sizes for the drink! And I do. . . ” Yugi tucked a few strands of his silky hair behind his tapered ear and grinned, “That’s a bit sad really. ”

Yami scowled, “Shut up master of all thy holy caffeinated knowledge” He grinned, “I like my coffee black. I told you I don’t go to Starbucks for a reason. ”

“Apparently,” Yugi rolled his eyes and left to take their orders. Yami took a seat at a small wire table that seated two. His crimson gaze focused on Yugi’s rear as he left, admiring from afar. . . since it couldn’t hurt. . . right?

This is a bit like a date. . . Yami mused to himself.

No. You are not thinking about him in that way. It won’t happen. It can’t happen. It’s impossible. That didn’t stop his eyes from wandering back to Yugi’s lower body and admiring the view. Yami really couldn’t help but look appreciatively Yugi’s tight ass wrapped up in form fitting jeans. The way Yugi walked, his hips swaying. . . Yami swallowed thickly. Delicious.

The wire table which Yami had his hands pressed against was cool. Fall was beginning to set in as August began turning into September. The change was subtle. Like Yugi and myself. . . he thought numbly.

The trees had yet to inherit the colors of fall; Yami looked forward to the day when the leaves turned to brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow. Where has the time gone?

It had only been a couple of weeks since he was adopted, but the time where he first came to Teratos seemed a life-time ago. Yami traced an elegant finger against the metal ridges, subconsciously spelling out Yugi’s name.

“What are you doing?”

Yami’s head shot up, his digit frozen in the middle of a ‘G’. He looked up at Yugi, eyes wide with guilt.

“Just. . . thinking” he lied quickly. Yugi looked at Yami skeptically before handing him his cup of coffee. Black, just how he liked it.

Yami nodded, “Thanks. ”

They sat in silence, while each took an occasional sop from their steaming cups. Yami vaguely wondered what the actual reason Yugi had for dragging him to a secluded and quiet place like Starbucks. Yami pulled the top off his cup and ignored Yugi’s curious look.

His coffee was bitter and hot, almost to the point of being bearably drinkable. Not bothering to wait for his drink to cool down, Yami gulp down a long draught before resealing the cup. Yugi watched him with amusement – and slight disgust.

“That couldn’t have tasted even remotely good, ” He crinkled his nose in disgust, “Why do you drink your coffee black? It’s disgusting. ”

Yami cast a critical eye at Yugi’s own steaming cup of fluffy gooey, goodness, “And what is that diabetic coma disguised as a drink?” He rolled his eyes. “A minty-mocha, cappuccino. . . mess?” he teased.

Yugi snorted into his melting whipped cream. His wings twitched under his silk shirt, “It’s a tall double espresso shot with chocolate chip minty-mocha. . . ” the incubus took a breath and gave Yami an irritated look, “Frappachino. Damn it, it’s just a coffee. ”

Yami wagged a tan finger at Yugi; he gestured at Yugi’s girly drink then directed his gaze at his own cup, “That is not a coffee; This is a coffee. ”

He scrunched up his nose, “And if you have to inhale twice to say a name, it’s too long.

Yugi pouted, “But that doesn’t change the fact that it tastes better. ”

“Well obviously yours tastes better,” Yami smirked, “It’s basically candy in liquid form. ” He swiped Yugi’s cup before the incubus could object and took a tentative sip, “Ugh. . . I felt all my teeth rot at the same time. I’m going to need new fillings.”

“Well tough,” Yugi pouted, snatching back his drink and taking a greedy sip, “I like weird things. . . ” He looked up at Yami meaningfully.

The human felt the heat rise to the surface at Yugi’s flippant comment and he struggled to keep the raging fire underneath his skin and off his face.

“Well then” Yami pulled off the top of his lid again and took a small sip. The black coffee burned at his throat and chased the lustful fire back down into his belly, “We have something in common don’t we, Little One?”

Yugi’s pale cheeks flushed, yet Yami couldn’t be sure if his words or nick name had caused the easy reaction. He decided not to think about it and just smiled – enjoying the time spent with the incubus. Yugi smiled up at Yami and the human was heartened to find he looked as though he was enjoying himself too.

Before Yugi could think of a retort for their playful banter, his phone rang filling the quiet café. Yugi quickly excused himself before Yami could mention the change in Yugi’s ring tone. Did Yugi get a new phone? Now that Yami was looking at it, the phone appeared to be a different color than the last one.

Seto’s smooth voice echoed from the phones speaker and Yugi frowned, “Why hello to you too-. . . Ah. That’s right. Is it tonight? Well you should know. See? There’s enough time,” He nodded his head even though the messenger of death couldn’t see the action.

“Yeah. Okay. But will it be okay if I tell-” he paused, “Why not?” He shot the phone a glare, “It’s not ‘Ridiculous’!” He glanced over his shoulder “secretively” at Yami.

The human frowned as his intuition flared.

Is this conversation about me? He thought to himself.

Suddenly a lot more interested in the conversation, Yami sat on the edge of his seat; ignoring the discomfort this action caused his rear. He closed his eyes and tilted his head in Yugi’s direction. He could hear faint snatches of the conversation. It was growing increasingly more heated as Yugi and Seto argued.

From what Yami could catch, Seto was trying to reason with Yugi.

“He’s. . . Ushio. . . don’t tell. . . do you. . . frighten Yami?!”

“No! Of course not!” Yugi argued, “But I doubt he’ll go into cardiac arrest! He’d want to know! You know what would really freak him out. . . ”

Yami could hear Seto clearly now, he guessed the messenger of death had lost his temper. He was yelling, obviously feeling as if Yugi was being far too headstrong for his own good.

“’Freak him out,’ as if coming here didn’t freak him out enough! There’s a blasted. . . ” Seto paused, as if knowing Yami could overhear the conversation, “The stress just MIGHT send him over the edge! He is only human, a fact you seem to so easily forget!”

Yugi rolled his eyes, “Just because you are anal retentive and you need everything “Stress-Free” doesn’t mean he’ll pop when we mention this tiny. . . little. . . ”

“THIS PROBLEM IS NEITHER ‘tiny’ NOR ‘little’” The reaper yelled, “You are putting too much faith in this human! Do you want him to get killed because of your choice? Because I CAN’T bring him back to life if he dies!”

“No,” Yugi winced, the color draining from his face. Yami had to strain to catch the next part.

“. . . Stubborn. . . probably fight himself. . . ”

The incubus nodded weakly, hanging stubbornly onto his argument, “He deserves to know. . . ”

“If we can. . . this off without. . . noticing. . . be great. If we can’t. . . be alerted. ”

Yugi quickly shushed his cousin, finally noticing Yami listening intently on the conversation, “I’m going to have to call you back Seto. . . Yeah, okay. Zipped lips, got it. ” He flipped the phone closed and shoved it back in his pocket. The incubus returned to his seat, smiling awkwardly at the human.

The tense atmosphere returned in a crashing wave and Yami narrowed his eyes unsympathetically.

“What was the conversation about?” he demanded. His coffee felt like it was burning through to his hands because of the amount of pressure Yami applied to the cheap cup.

Yugi averted his gaze, “It wasn’t about you. ” He attempted to hold up his weak charade. Yami almost pitied the facade.

Almost.

He let go of his cup, certain that steaming coffee spilling over his hands would do nothing to improve his rapidly declining mood.

“Like hell it wasn’t,” Yami hissed, “The entire Starbucks heard the conversation that something is after a male human. I’m the only human around these parts for miles. ” He gazed angrily out the window, refusing to look at the incubus.

Looking frightened for a moment, Yugi took a long gulp of his drink, “It’s nothing big. . . ” he said in a persuasive voice.

Yami didn’t bite.

“What is it?” he asked flatly.

Yugi looked down, fiddling with the buttons on his phone while Yami waited impatiently, “Earlier today. . . I found out. . . ” he took a deep breath, almost spitting out the rest of the sentence, “ThatUshiohasahitoutonyou. ” Yami blinked owlishly then narrowed them.

“Did I just hear you say ‘Ushio has a hit on me?” He chuckled without humor, “Because that’s what it sounded like to me.”

Yugi nodded weakly.

“Ah,” Yami mouthed.

They sat in silence for a split second before Yami held his hand out in front of Yugi’s face, “Give me your keys to the car.”

Yugi wordlessly handed them over, unwilling to argue with the angry human. By the time Yugi had stood up and pushed in his chair, Yami was halfway out the door. The incubus hastened to follow, not sure if Yami would do anything dangerous when he was this angry.

The human climbed into the drivers’ seat and buckled in. Yugi didn’t question Yami’s motives but slid into the passenger seat and buckled in too. He watched as Yami turned the keys in the ignition and fired the car up.

“How fast can it go?” Yami asked the incubus icily. Yugi started at hearing the teenagers’ frigid voice.

“I-I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I’ve never tried. . . ”

Yami smirked before throwing the car in reverse,

“Well we’re about to find out. ”

--::--


Yugi sat on his parked car, watching Yami look for a restroom.

They were at Cantrell-Swift Park, and it was around seven. Yami had been driving for about two hours – only stopping when he had to pee. The human had been ruthless with Yugi’s poor vehicle. In all honesty, it was the first time Yugi had ever feared for his demonic life.

The human emerged from the public restroom shaking water from his hands, there were obviously no paper towels in the stall since Yugi could see water droplets catching the soft orange glow of the evening sky.

Yugi couldn’t help but smile fondly at the human. Yami seemed so perfect, even while he cursed softly and shook the water from his hands. The unusual crimson eyes that peeked out from behind a curtain of golden bangs gazed over at Yugi warmly. The incubus was wondering how those beautiful eyes would look when the sun set. Yami beckoned Yugi forward.

The incubus slid off the car, following the human to a rope jungle gym. Only once they were both comfortably trapped in a cocoon of ropes did Yami speak. And when he did, it was with quiet and contained voice it was almost as if he was trying very hard to control his emotions from getting out of hand.

“Why weren’t you going to tell me?”

Yugi sighed. He had expected this question; he already had a response that he picked apart and imagined with different scenarios. None of scenes had seemed even remotely appealing, and they usually involved Yami hijacking Yugi’s car and leaving the incubus to fly home on his own.

“I thought you could handle it,” he muttered, staring at the deepening sky resolutely. Yugi refused to look at Yami –lest he be hypnotized by the human’s ruby eyes, “And besides – we all thought it would freak you out if you knew.”

Yami snorted, “As if some demons showing up in the middle of the night to kill me and my foster parents wouldn’t freak me out. . . ” He raised an eyebrow, “I couldn’t take on psycho demons” He almost laughed, “But I would have liked a warning.”

Yugi winced and struggled to sit up, simply rolling over closer to the teenager, “I know you can take on ‘psycho demons’” He said softly. Yami just snorted in disbelief.

“And what do you know about the way I fight?” The human demanded, turning in the ropes just enough to face the demon.

Yugi remained quiet for a long moment. He turned in the mass of ropes to gaze at Yami – who met it intently. Yugi rested his hand on Yami’s scarred knuckles. His left hand, from when he fought the slime-beasts. Yami watched, amazed as Yugi shyly intertwined their fingers. The incubus blushed softly.

“I know you saved me. . . ” he whispered, his thumb traced soothing circles on Yami’s scars, “And you got this injury because you tried to help me. . . ”

Yami closed his eyes and held his breathe as Yugi’s words registered to him. He remembered that day.

“It was you. . . ” he said, gazing at Yugi as though he had never seen him before, “I had a feeling it might be. I remembered your eyes, but – Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

“How was I supposed to bring it up?” Yugi demanded softly. His nosed skimmed gently against Yami’s. They looked at one another, highly aware of how close they were to each other. Neither moved away.

“I don’t know,” Yami replied. He found himself enraptured by Yugi – compelling him to close the distance between them and claim Yugi’s porcelain lips with his own, “You’re smart. . . Figure it out. ”

The incubus laughed quietly. He kept their hands twined, their bodies melting together. They fitted so well with one another. It seemed almost wrong to tear the two apart.

“You think so?” Amethyst eyes glittered with the setting sun, “And weren’t you mad at me?”

“Mmhm,” Yami murmured. He just wanted to feel Yugi’s breath ghost over his face again, “Yeah. . . but then you went ahead and distracted me. . . I don’t care about that silly hit anymore.”

Yugi nuzzled against the human’s side, blinking innocently at Yami, “And what do you care about? If not for your life and family, then what?”

Yami pierced Yugi with his gaze and used his free hand to stroke the soft skin of the demon’s cheek. Yugi’s eyelids fluttered at the human’s feather soft touch, a soft hungry groan escaped his lips.

“I’ll leave that to your imagination” Yami’s voice dropped to a husky whisper. His lips hovered a hairsbreadth from Yugi’s, his eyes remaining locked with the incubi’s expectant gaze.

Yami wanted to badly to ravish Yugi against the ropes of the playground. His heart squeezed painfully in his chest with need. The human was frightened by the unfamiliar emotions coursing through his testosterone fueled body.

Yami had never been in love before – he wasn’t sure he even believed such a ludicrous concept existed. He had felt familiar lust before and he was alarmed when he felt the radical difference between what he was familiar with, and what he was experiencing now. He was frightened that Yugi might not return the same feelings that the human harbored.

The Incubus lived off sex and lust – how could the human know their emotions were equally matched unless he peed into the wind? Did he want to risk it?

The answer was immediate. Yes he did want to risk it.

Yugi was sweet, caring, loyal, and fiercely protective of his friends. . . and everything Yami was not. If there was anyone to take a risk on, Yugi was that person. If he only wanted Yami for his body. . . well the human could live with that. Yugi deserved so much more than what he got out of life currently. Yugi did not need Yami and the baggage the human carried.

The mortal could hardly imagine a world where Yugi did not exist. How did I live for so long without knowing him? He was certain no happiness could last without the incubus there to share it with. Yami wanted to freeze this moment forever, lock it in his heart and cherish it until the end of eternity.

Yami took one look at Yugi and his doubts vanished.

The demon’s amethyst eyes were devoid of lust – looking at Yami with a mixture of emotions in his clear violet pools.

He’s so damn beautiful. . .

Yami knew then that he was going to hell; he was about to commit a crime so heinous – not even Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all the other apostles could save his soul.

His free hand traced the outline of Yugi’s mouth. Wordlessly, he tilted the smaller teenagers face towards his gaze a fraction of an inch. Yami could feel a shiver race through Yugi’s shoulders in expectation.

The human didn’t want to ruin the moment with words – looking in the Incubi’s eyes for any sign of discomfort. There was none. Yami could clearly see his desire reflected in the other’s eyes. They wanted the same thing.

They wanted each other.

Yami brushed his lips against Yugi’s – breath hitching in his throat. A burning sensation spilt through his body, raising a deep yearning for more contact between the incubus and himself.

Yugi was stunned. Never before in his two life times had he ever experienced a kiss like the one he had now. Their lips had barely touched, but in that gentle moment alone, he felt more passionate about life than all of his old flings combined. The way Yami looked at him made Yugi feel as though he was the most beautiful person on the planet, loved and appreciated. The human’s touch sent fire through his veins, and for once it hadn’t been affiliated with his demonic instincts and urges.

He wanted to be touched and kissed by the mortal again and again – just him alone. The small contact of their lips brushing together made him feel so complete.

So pure and untouched.

Yugi hungrily captured Yami’s lips in an insistent kiss, eager to deepen it and feel more of the other. He was pleased to feel the human’s arms wrap around his waist, molding their bodies together through the tangle of the ropes. Yugi managed to sit upright while Yami braced them both.

Their lips moved against each other. Yami ran his tongue over Yugi’s lips, silently begging for entrance. The incubus smiled, complying with the demand. Yami took advantage of the situation, lightly coaxing Yugi’s tongue into action with his own.

Yami kept one hand firmly on the ropes, his other safely keeping Yugi against his body. The incubi’s hands stroked Yami’s face, ran through his hair, dancing feather light across his body. The human shivered.

They battled for dominance, Yami coming out as the victor. He won the right to explore the different curves and dips of Yugi’s mouth and the incubus let that inexperienced mouth ravage him. The incubus purred with delight, hooking his fingers in Yami’s belt loops and leaning closer.

Their need for air forced them apart, both panting heavily and staring into each other’s eyes. The enormity of what they had just done struck them like lightning.

The act they committed was wrong in more ways than one. Affairs between humans and demons were strictly prohibited – especially between and incubus and a human.

They both knew what they did was wrong, but the two teenagers still didn’t pull away from each other. Yugi buried his hand in Yami’s thick multi-colored hair, panting lightly.

“What have you done to me?” he whispered, lips brushing against Yami’s as he spoke.

The human chuckled, his rich voice carrying the sound in the silent playground – Yugi couldn’t help but notice how regal Yami was. The strong set of his shoulders, his kind smile, and the determined fire that burned behind his eyes was kinglike. Almost as if he was truly nobility, “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

He flashed Yugi a quick smile, showing white rows of straight teeth. But the grin vanished almost as soon as it appeared, giving way to a much more somber expression – one commonly found on the orphan’s face, “Now what?”

Yugi smiled. He felt more alive than he has when he was a human. Yami’s eyes began to purple under the darkening sky.

“Will you watch the pollution sunset with me?” The incubus asked shyly, “It seems like a good place to start.”

Yami smirked and pulled Yugi to his chest, marveling once again how well they fitted together.

“Of course, after all you have the car keys,” He teased.

Yugi pinched the human’s wrist before snuggling closer to Yami’s chest, happily leeching warmth and body heat from the human. Yugi planted a soft kiss on the jagged scars on Yami’s hand.

As the sun set, the human and demon cuddled under the darkening sky.