[Complete]

[dm_puzzle]

Who: Yuugi and Usagi
What: Usagi comes to help a friend
Where: Yuugi's and Daisuke's apartment
When: nighttime
Warnings: cute friendshipz, angst, and blood

Comments

[oomoon_rabbitoo]

Usagi watched Yuugi as he gathered the bed sheets. He was a little trooper, trying to carry on. Concern began to grow as the sheets fell to the floor and he went to the window. He's pushing himself.. The thought went through her mind as she watched him collect himself.

"Yes, I'm sure. I had something before, earlier," she told him, moving from her spot to try and take the sheets from him. If he wanted them clean that was fine, but she would do it. He had been through a lot that night, the last thing he should have to worry about was clean sheets.

"I'll wash these for you, since the stores are closed at the moment." she told him, a small smile on her face as the tiredness began to fade away.

"I would offer mine, but I doubt you like pink," she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

[dm_puzzle]

Yuugi considered arguing back again, but sensing that he was defeated he let the sheets slip from his grasp. Instead he gripped Usagi's forearm and smiled warmly. "Thank you," he whispered yet again, but he felt as though he couldn't say it enough. She'd been kinder than he deserved.

Yuugi opened to door to his room and turned back, his lips twitching as he looked over his shoulder at the blonde. At her mention of pink sheets, he thought only of his soul room, littered with children's toys. Yuugi gave a small chuckle. "If they do their job, Usagi-chan, that's all that matters!" he said. "But don't worry about it."

Besides, he was going to stay with Lelouch beginning tomorrow, anyway; there would be no point in making Usagi go out of her way to get sheets when he would only use them for a night or so.

[oomoon_rabbitoo]

Victory! Usagi had managed to convince Yuugi to give up his job of washing his sheets to her! Hearing his thanks again she shook her head, smiling back at him. "No problem," she whispered back. She began to look for the washing machine only to see the boy look over his shoulder at her.

"I suppose...but a lot of guys don't really want to sleep on something girly," she replied looking around for the machine. Once she found it she dumped the sheets in there, poured in some detergent and set the setting. The machine turned on and with that she went back over to Yuugi.

"Your sheets are in wash and soon enough they'll be in the dryer. Are you gonna stay up till they're done?"

[dm_puzzle]

Yuugi had dropped onto the living room couch just outside his room, his head in his hands. The heels of his palms pressed into his eyes until he saw starbursts behind his eyelids; it was much better than anything else running through his mind.

"I'm not most guys," Yuugi said, his voice dry. "Jounouchi-kun always said I needed to be more manly. Good thing he never saw my soul room..."

Gods, he missed Jounouchi.

He shook his head and lifted it from his hands, blinking at Usagi. "Maybe," he admitted, "if I can't sleep. I tried napping earlier because I thought the blankness of sleep would help, but... that didn't work out." He'd relived the scene again and woken up screaming into his pillow. "I could always sleep out here with a blanket, but I don't want to inconvenience Daisuke-kun..."

[oomoon_rabbitoo]

"Soul..room?" Usagi asked, the word slipping through her lips. She had no idea what a soul room was...but it did sound interesting. She took a seat next to Yuugi on the couch, staying close by but not that close to appear like she was smothering him.

Usagi didn't like his response. He needed sleep to at least temporarily get away from what happened. Sleep was always her best friend when it came to any troubling situation. At least in her dreams she could run away, if only for a moment. But Yuugi...

"I don't think your roommate would mind...and if you have trouble sleeping...I could help with that, if you like." she told him, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

[dm_puzzle]

Yuugi wished very much right then that he still had the ability to retreat into his soul room. It gave him peace, solace-- comfort that only one's own soul could provide. But he'd lost then when he'd separated from Atem the first time. Still, Yuugi thought, maybe there was hope if the Puzzle was ever finished...

But he couldn't risk it.

"A soul room," Yuugi said slowly, "is a-- a place in one's mind to go for peace or-- or for comfort. It's representative of a person's soul, as the name might suggest: mine, for example, is a bedroom littered with children's toys, and mou hitori no boku's is an old tomb, a maze with trapdoors and endless amounts of stairs..." His eyes glazed over as he remembered, then he blinked himself out of it. "I can't go into mine any more though. I first learned to go when the other me had control of my--"

He froze and broke off, then squeezed Usagi's hand gratefully. She'd mentioned something like that before. "I'd be so happy if you could," he whispered, his voice tired. Blankness. He wanted that.

[oomoon_rabbitoo]

Usagi listened and nodded her head at the correct moments. A soul room sounded like a scared place.Her heart went out to him. he wanted to go back there but...couldn't. At least not without Atem.. Usagi thought, squeezing Yuugi's hand in return.

"Get ready for bed then," she whispered back, using her free hand to give the boy a side hug.

[dm_puzzle]

Yuugi leaned into Usagi shutting his eyes tightly. He had always known friends were the most precious thing to him, but he had never truly appreciated that as much as he did at that moment. She would have his thanks forever.

"I am already," he said quietly. He'd ditched the patterned pajamas a few months before arriving in Salkia. Sweatpants and t-shirts did for now, and he had just showered moments before the girl's arrival. If he hadn't been so afraid of dreaming, he probably would have passed out by then.

[oomoon_rabbitoo]

Usagi let Yuugi lean on her. She repositioned herself a little to wrap one arm around Yuugi's shoulders and to allow the other to rake her fingers through his hair. He wanted to a have a dreamless sleep and she would grant him his wish.

"It'll be okay Yuugi-kun...." she whispered to him, continuing to let her fingers run through his hair. She held him in that embrace as she tapped into her power once more. Her fingers continued comb through his hair, gently the way a mother would calm down their crying toddler.

"You know...the Moon had a kingdom once...long, long ago..." she told him, hoping her story or at least would soothe him a little as her power began to flow into him to grant him his wish.

[dm_puzzle]

Yuugi wrapped his arms loosely around Usagi and let his face relax. His heart was pounding wildly-- he was sure Usagi could hear it-- but he trusted her. Her hand in his hair was soothing, and the repeated motion helped the rest of him to relax, too.

He was growing sleepy already.

"How could the moon... have a kingdom?" he murmured, a smile threatening to spread across his lips. "Silly..."

But he didn't believe what he was saying-- he'd been through his share of fairy tales.

[oomoon_rabbitoo]

She should feel his heart pounding away, but attributed it to be from embarrassment or something else along those lines. They didn't know each other that long and for her to be holding this way meant they had a close relationship. Even though the feelings behind this were purely innocent.

"From my world it did...or at least..the legend goes," she continued, a small smile on her lips as she continued the story.

"The kingdom of the moon was beautiful, ruled by a gentle Queen named Serenity. All the planets were in peace with one another when they entered into an alliance and when they did that marked the age of the Silver Millennium..." Usagi continued, flowing more of her power into him.

[dm_puzzle]

As his nervousness about was gradually abated, so too was the heartrate that went hand in hand with that worry. Yuugi's eyelashes fluttered and his breathing began to slow; he wasn't going to be able to stay awake for long.

"What... was the Silver Millennium?"

His question was fought through half-sleep and a yawn.

[oomoon_rabbitoo]

A sigh of relief passed through her lips feeling his heart rate go down. She never meant to make him nervous or see a reason why he should be. Unless of course he was shy...now that she could understand.

"The Silver Millennium was a time of peace for all the planets within the Alliance. The planets included Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Saturn... As another sign of peace between the planets, each of them let their daughter's, princesses in their own right, to become the Moon's guardians. For the Moon was the center of the Alliance and was in procession of a powerful crystal...." usagi continued, keeping her voice soft and gentle, waiting for Yuugi to fall asleep.

*smacks self* That was supposed to say "nervousness about dreaming." GAH. ><

[dm_puzzle]

[ooc: reply rushed because internet is about to shut off! @_@]

"A crys..."

He could still hear her voice, but he couldn't respond because he was so far gone-- asleep already, sinking blissfully into that blackness.

xD

[oomoon_rabbitoo]

[ooc: Noooos! Bad internets!]

Usagi continued to hold Yuugi as she told him the story of her kingdom. Though she made sure to keep it happy and light. When she felt he had fallen asleep, she waited for half an hour before tucking him into bed.

Feeling tired herself she still went over to the washer to put his sheets in the dryer before writing down a small note: Hope you feel better in the morning. ~ Usagi.

With the sheets in the dryer and note set on the arm of the couch Usagi quietly left Yuugi's apartment to fall asleep in her own bed at her house.