A/N: Well, here's the last chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Little Angel

Chapter 11

Yami sat in the exact same place that he had the night before, this time facing a dark sea as the sun rose in the sky behind him. He absently thought back to the events of the previous night.

Jou had let him cry until the sun had gone down, then had walked him home after promising not to say anything to Yami's grandfather. Yami was grateful for that, and even though he knew that Jou didn't quite understand the dream, he was especially thankful that his friend had been there to listen and comfort him.

Sighing, Yami lazily traced patterns in the sand with his fingers, idly wondering what Yugi was doing right then. Was the angel all right? Maybe he was doing better than he was, maybe even considering finding another person to spend his life with. At that thought, Yami had to fight back tears as the overwhelming desire to be with Yugi nearly consumed him. Jealousy also welled up inside of him at the thought of Yugi with someone else, then it faded into despair as Yami reminded himself that there was nothing he could do about it.

Deciding to try and distract himself from his thoughts, Yami kicked off his shoes and socks and waded out until the water was up to his knees, the spray soaking the hem of his shorts. Looking out at the still-dark ocean, Yami absently thought that it was sort of fitting.

That darkness was exactly how his future looked right now. Before he met Yugi, Yami hadn't exactly had much of a direction in life to begin with. He had just been a wanderer, not quite knowing where he was going. But, now that he had an idea of what direction he wanted to take, the path had been completely cut off from him.

Yami waded out even farther until the water was up past his waist. He had no direction, no true purpose that he could think of, except that he had wanted to love and protect Yugi. Every other purpose that he once thought he had suddenly seemed so insignificant compared to that beautiful angel, but if that beautiful angel was no longer with him…

Yami deliberately halted that thought before it was fully formed. He was then in water halfway up his torso, and, for reasons unknown, he just kept going. The thought of just swimming out to the dark horizon and never coming back had nearly entered his mind when his crimson eyes narrowed suddenly.

It looked like there was something floating in the water a ways off, but it was difficult to tell what it was. It was just barely visible, an unidentifiable speck floating on the edge of the deep blue horizon. Curious, and with nothing better to do, Yami began to swim out to it.

As he came closer, Yami suddenly felt an odd warmth in the back of his mind. It was a good, comforting feeling, and it was also familiar, so very familiar. Yami couldn't quite place it, though, so he concentrated on moving forward through the water instead. He began to swim even faster to try and reach whatever was there, and as he got even closer, he saw that it looked like a body. At that point, Yami hesitated for a moment, wondering if what was out there was something that he didn't really want to see. He shrugged it off, though, and swam closer.

When he got close enough to see the body a bit more clearly, all movement in his body ceased, and it was only a mouthful of salty water that brought him back to reality as he immediately reached out to grab the arm of the boy in the water. The boy had soft, fair skin and an angelic face, and hair that was extremely similar to Yami's.

Yami swam back to the beach with the boy in his arms faster than he knew he could swim. In less than five minutes Yami was sitting on the sand, soaking wet, with the boy in his arms, trying his best to wake him up.

"Please, Yugi…" Yami pleaded, tears already forming in his crimson eyes. "Please, please wake up… Please, I need you… Just open your eyes…"

The hope that had filled his heart for a few moments began to fade. Yugi continued to lie lifeless in Yami's arms despite all of the taller boy's efforts.

"Please, Yugi, please…" The tears that Yami had been trying so hard to hold back earlier began to fall, mixing with the salty seawater. He slowly closed his eyes, and leaned down to touch his forehead to Yugi's.

"Please…" he said in a barely audible whisper, "I need you, Yugi. Just open your eyes for me, please…"

Yami slowly opened his eyes after a long moment of silence save for the waves crashing over the white sand. He breathed a shuddering sigh of relief. Yami had finally been rewarded as Yugi's violet eyes opened, looking about dazedly until they met bright, tear-filled red.

"Yami…" Yugi's soft whisper had to be the most beautiful thing that Yami had ever heard in his entire life. Suddenly, the angel's body tensed, and his face twisted in pain. Yami's eyes widened in fear.

"Yugi, what's wrong?" The angel tried his best to relax, then murmured, "It's just… my wings… it hurts where they were…"

Yami noticed then that the trails of saltwater trickling down Yugi's shoulders and back were misted with red. "Oh, Yugi…" Yami started, but was hushed by a slender finger on his lips.

The angel looked up at Yami, and saw the worry in his crimson eyes. "But…" Yugi said softly, his eyes shining, "…it was worth it…"

Yami was speechless for a few moments as he stared down at the fallen angel in his arms. Yugi smiled up at him with tears in his eyes, ignoring the pain in his back.

"Oh, Yugi…" Yami finally managed, then he hugged the small angel close to him as he allowed his tears to flow freely. "I love you, my angel…" he whispered softly in Yugi's ear.

Yugi smiled through his crystal tears, and replied softly, "I love you, too, Yami…"

A/N: Well, that's all, folks! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed on my chapters, and hopefully I'll have some new chapters up for some of my other fics soon.

P.S. Ya'll must go and read Panseru's fics, and you will review on them! Mwahahahahah- Okay, I'm done now.