Happy Halloween/pumpkin carving, everyone! ^_^

Yugi entered through the door of the Gameshop, eyeing the dark room curiously and the abandoned counter. He heard a familiar buzzing sound filling his ears and smiled.

"Grandpa? Yami? I'm home!" He called.

"Yes, we're upstairs, Yugi!" Solomon called back, his voice slightly faint.

"Coming!"

"Did you bring the supplies?"

"Yes I did, and lots, lots more!"

"You didn't use up all my money, did you, my boy?"

Yugi laughed a little, trudging up the stairs, the large plastic bag swinging and crackling against his leg. "No, Grandpa, don't you worry. I bought the extra stuff with my own money."

"What stuff?" Another voice called, young, deep and curious.

Yugi reached the top and looked about the sight before him. Yami and Solomon were sitting on the couch, watching a dueling game on television, which explained the faint buzz in Yugi's ears when he walked in. He had purposefully left to the grocery store on his own to let Yami and Solomon have some bonding time with each other, since, after all, Yami decided to stay with the Mutou family for as long as he had a separate body from the smaller boy. The two faces turned and smiled warmly at Yugi, which he returned.

"I see you two have bonded quite well while I've been gone," he noted cheerfully.

"Yep!" Solomon smiled and brought the surprised Yami into a strangling headlock, and the old man buried his finger in the crown of Yami's head, laughing with pride. "This boy will be my new dueling competition! One of these days, we'll see who's best!"

"Uh, grandpa…"

"Yes, lad?"

"Yami is turning purple…"

"Oh! My bad," Solomon quickly released the poor ex-Pharaoh who gasped for the sweet air the moment he was free. He panted heavily, cradling his throat.

"Oh, Yami!" Solomon frowned for a moment disapprovingly. "Stop acting like a water-deprived dog, you're fine!" He thrust his hand forward and roughly smacked Yami straight in the middle of his back, causing the teen to break out in hysterical coughing.

"Are you trying to kill me?" He gasped.

Solomon threw his head back and laughed. Yugi stood there, still gripping the ends of the plastic bag (although his grip was loosening a bit while watching), dumbfounded with their interaction—so much so that he couldn't find the words to speak, but his grandfather saved them both the awkwardness.

"Well, then! Are you two up for onigiri? I'm thinking of making some for myself, but I'll let you have a few for a snack."

Yami sat on the floor, still trying to regain proper breath. Yugi answered for them: "Sure, thanks grandpa!"

"You two have fun," Solomon winked, and Yugi blinked a couple times, a blush creeping up, but not fast enough for Solomon to notice before he disappeared into the kitchen. The elder knew of his grandson's little crush on the ex-Pharaoh. Although he wasn't directly told, there were too many signs not to pick it up—Yugi was as easy to read as a book. The boy seemed to have developed this shortly after Yami got a separate body and decided to stay. How the older teen didn't seem to notice this, however, Solomon would never comprehend. But he couldn't say what was going through his mind.

"So," Yami cleared his throat, grabbing Yugi's attention. The boy whirled around to smile at him, which he returned. "You still haven't answered my question. What do you have in that bag there?" He raised a curious eyebrow at the big bag Yugi still held. It was half Yugi's size and touched the ground. He wasn't sure where Yugi got all the money to buy all that, but he didn't bother asking.

"Why, it's Halloween décor!" Yugi beamed, practically skipping over to Yami and seating himself beside him on the floor, plopping the bag next to him.

"Halloween décor?"

Yugi nodded, dragging the bag so Yami could see. He started pulling out various items: Pumpkin and ghost cookie cutters, a sign that said "haunted house" on it to hang on the door, with paper ghosts smiling wickedly on the top. While he dug out everything, he explained: "I figured with Halloween so close, we can have some fun together and make things or decorate the shop. Doesn't it sound fun?" He smiled in a child-like way.

Yami picked up a few items from the pile of supplies, studying them curiously and connecting the dots in his mind as to what each item's purpose was. "Yes, aibou. It does sound fun. Especially since I've been wanting to spend more time with you these days," he paused. "But you're going to have to teach me a lot in terms of what holidays you celebrate in these modern days. What is the purpose of Halloween?" He asked, poking around the pile once more.

"It's to celebrate and honor the dead; a very old tradition. That's mainly what it's for," Yugi answered, still maintaining a bright smile.

"Ah. You're right—a very old tradition, indeed. We had something quite similar in Egypt, celebrating and honoring the spirits of those who have moved on." Yami smiled, and Yugi's became wider as he looked up at Yami. He loved hearing about Yami's life in Egypt, at every opportunity he could get. It wasn't spoken of much. Suddenly, Yami's smile dropped and he gave a fake, fuzzy spider he held in his hand a quizzical brow. "Is this supposed to be scary?" He asked, frowning at the spider's goofy face, it's green eyes crossed at Yami's glaring ones.

"Well, despite Halloween having to be a creepy holiday, we have to also keep it kid-friendly, Yami. They'll be coming over on Halloween night expecting candy and things," Yugi explained, shrugging his shoulders. He proceeded in holding the giant bag upside-down and instead dumping all of its contents. Yami's eyes widened when he saw everything.

"How much did you pay for all of this, Yugi?" He asked slowly.

"I'm not telling!" Yugi stuck out his tongue playfully. "I will tell you it was expensive, but I had the money. Don't worry about it."

"Alright, then… if you say so."

"Alright!" Yugi suddenly exclaimed happily, his hands coming together for a single clap after sorting out all the items. "Where do you want to start?"

"Hmm," Yami scanned everything before him. Something shiny, silver, and sharp got his immediate attention. He stiffened. There were two of them. He quickly pulled them out of the pile, holding them up so Yugi saw.

"Why do you have knives in your pile?" He said firmly.

Yugi raised an eyebrow at the taller. "To carve our pumpkins. Remember? We went to that pumpkin patch out in the country and got them. On Halloween, you carve a design in them, then put a candle inside to make them light up at night," he smiled when he saw Yami's body relax and his eyebrows raising in sudden interest and delight. "Do you want to do that first?"

"Um… sure, why not?" He replied quietly, shrugging his shoulders. Couldn't hurt… Yugi grinned and stood up.

"Alright, I'll get the pumpkins from the kitchen. Be right back!" Yami nodded and watched as Yugi jogged to the kitchen door and vanished behind it. While he waited, Yami picked up a couple interesting decors and twirled them around with his fingers. He considered, for a moment, carving Yugi's face in his pumpkin. Nah, too cheesy, he thought to himself, slapping himself mentally for coming up with such a corny idea.

There was a grunt, and Yami turned to see Yugi enter the living room once again, and two very large, heavy, bright orange pumpkins tugged under his arms as he struggled to walk back to their spot. Newspapers were clenched between his teeth. Yami stood with his arms outstretched slightly, ready to help him at any given moment. "Yugi, do you need any—"

"Oof!" the boy fell to the floor, one pumpkin slipping out of his grasp and rolling a few feet away. Yami rushed to Yugi's side and helped him up, taking the other remaining pumpkin from under his arm and proceeding to reclaim the one momentarily lost. Yugi crawled back to their spot on the floor beside the couch.

"T-thanks," he ducked his face with embarrassment, his face coloring quite noticeably while gripping the end of his shirt.

"It was nothing," Yami smiled reassuringly, plopping the pumpkins between the two boys. "Now, what do we do?" He said, changing the subject for Yugi's sake.

Yugi looked up and smiled a little. "Now, we have to lay out the newspapers so we don't get the floor messy."

"Why would we get the floor messy?"

"Because you're taking out the insides of the pumpkin before carving. You have to, if you want to put in a candle and everything."

"That seems a little… cruel. Taking out its pumpkin guts." Yami said playfully.

"Oh, it's fine," Yugi grinned.

"Okay, so, lay out the newspaper. Like this?" He started unfolding the papers and laying them one over another beneath them.

"Yes, good," Yugi smiled, nodding. Once that task was completed, Yugi took his pumpkin and one of the knives. "Now we have to take out the pumpkin guts,"—Yami suddenly smirked at the thought and Yugi's choice of wording—"so we cut the top first, so we can dig it out." Yugi demonstrated, and Yami watched intently. He observed where the tip of the knife pointed and how Yugi slid the knife up and down through the pumpkin, over and over again, moving around the stem circularly. Yami looked down and studied his own pumpkin in his lap as he sat cross-legged, and the knife in his grip. He glanced up at how Yugi did it another time, then began his own, making sure to copy every move Yugi did so he could get it just perfect. A couple minutes later, it was finished, and Yami felt a sense of accomplishment and pride with his work.

"Now pull it off," Yugi gripped the stem and held the pumpkin down with his free hand, and began tugging. Yami mirrored his actions. He found it to be a little difficult, though. When the top was released, he discovered the reason why after seeing all the roots that connected the top with the rest of the pumpkin. He eyed the seeds and goo that lurked inside.

"So, how are we supposed to get it out?" He asked, getting a little disgusted with the sight before him.

"Well with your hands, of course!" Yugi snickered, holding up his hands beside his head and wiggling his fingers.

"With your hands?" Yami furrowed his eyebrows deeply, starting to have second thoughts about this.

Yugi laughed. "You can use a big spoon if you want, but it's not nearly as much fun," he smirked, then dove his hands into the pumpkin.

Yami cringed at the sound of Yugi's hands reaching inside the pumpkin, the gooey sound filling both their ears.

Yugi laughed as his hands extracted, and in his grasp, a big pile of seeds and goo. "Look what I got! See, not that bad. Just try it!"

Yami narrowed his eyes with both disbelief and disgust at his aibou. "I can't believe you do this for fun," he stuck out his tongue.

"Just try it!"

"No," Yami crossed his arms stubbornly, looking away.

"Yami!" Yugi whined.

"You can't make me."

"You wanna bet?" Yugi smirked.

Before Yami could even glance at the boy and figure out what was going through his mind, the smaller had placed his pumpkin to his side momentarily and tackled his other half to the floor, aiming to grab his hand.

"Ah! Aibou, get off of me!" Yami cried desperately, clawing at the floor. Yugi laughed as he kneeled on top of the taller's backside and reached for one of his clawing hands. Seeing Yugi's motives, Yami's eyes widened and his hands immediately retreated from view and he held them to his chest.

"No! You can't make me!" He hissed, holding his hands tighter, hidden from sight.

"Yami, I am going to make you, whether you like it or not! Ugh, why are you being so stubborn, it's going to be fun!"

After a few moments, the two barely noticed the awkward position they were tangled in. Yami lying on the floor with his hands tucked to his chest, and Yugi sitting/lying on his back. One of his hands wriggled between the carpet and Yami's chest and that hand touched one of Yami's clasped hands. But it was crushing with Yami's body on top. The other hand did the same and wriggled through, and found his other hand. Basically, both arms were wrapped tightly around Yami's body. There were many grunts and struggling sounds as Yami tried desperately to keep his hands unreachable.

"Alright you two, here's your—" Solomon stopped dead in his tracks and stared blankly at the sight before him with the tray of onigiri in his hands.

"C'mon, Yami! Give me your hands!" Yugi hissed. Yami's legs flailed a little, trying to kick Yugi's bottom, but it did no good. Yami's voice was muffled as he yelled something incomprehensible into the carpet for reply, something along the lines of "for Ra's sake, Yugi, get the hell off me!"

Solomon didn't even blink as he placed the tray on the floor where he stood and almost robotically turned away back into the comfort of his kitchen.

Yugi's eyes bid shut as he buried his face in the back of Yami's spiky hair, wrapping his arms tighter around and trying to pull the clasped hands apart underneath, but Yami's hold was just too strong!

Suddenly, Yugi stopped. His eyes shot open. Yami stopped struggling as well, feeling Yugi's body stiffen above him. Yugi looked around the room and saw the tray of onigiri on the floor several feet away, then he looked down and realized their position. He blushed crimson red, then quickly removed his hands from around Yami and got off of him, scrambling away to his end where he sat previously.

Feeling Yugi's weight remove from him, Yami sat up and looked over his shoulder to see Yugi hugging his legs and burying his face between them, rocking back and forth sheepishly.

Yami smiled and he sat cross-legged with his arms folded proudly over his chest, closing his eyes and nodding. "See? I knew you couldn't make me."

Yugi pouted and glared at the taller teen over his knees, causing Yami to chuckle.

The door to the kitchen opened ever so slightly, and Solomon's head peeked in. "It is safe? Are you two done with… whatever it was you were doing?"

Yugi blushed again, harder, and hid his face in his knees again. Yami smiled. "Yes, sir, we're done."

"Oh, good. Kids these days and their roughhousing," Solomon mumbled and walked out to the living room. "Well, I'm off to bed, so… don't stay up too late, you two. Remember, tomorrow starts the weekend, so you have all day to continue decorating or carving. Also, Yami, tomorrow I can leave for the store and finally buy you an extra mattress for the spare room. Do you mind sleeping one more night in Yugi's room tonight?"

Yami glanced over at the trembling-all-over-with-embarrassment-Yugi, huddled against the couch. "Not at all, sir," he smirked.

"Alright. No more roughhousing tonight," Solomon firmly warned and slouched tiredly through the hall and to his own room.

When there was a faint click of Solomon's door shut, Yami turned his focus back on Yugi, who still hid his face.

"Yugi."

No reply. He continued to rock nervously back and forth where he was planted.

"Yugi!"

Yami's voice was so commanding that time, Yugi felt forced to look up, so he did. His stern face suddenly softened and he smiled, glancing at their pumpkins, which were put off to the side.

"Are we going to finish these?" He asked gently.

Yugi shook his head. "No… I don't want to tonight. Like grandpa said, we have all day tomorrow. I'm getting a little tired," a yawn escaped his lips to prove his point.

Yami nodded. "You go on ahead, then. I think I know what to do from here."

Yugi raised his head and blinked. "You're going to carve your pumpkin?"

Yami nodded again.

The smaller's expression changed to one that held sorrow. "All by yourself?" He said quietly. Yami shrugged in response.

"It's okay. I don't mind. Besides, I have an idea, and it's going to be a surprise. You can see it in the morning," He smiled. "Don't worry. It won't take long. I'll come join you in a bit."

Yugi suddenly held a tinge of regret for leaving Yami, but he nodded, though reluctantly. "Well… okay. If you say so," he stood and began walking, but stopped, and turned abruptly. "Wait! You're going to touch the pumpkin guts?" His eyes widened.

Yami chuckled. "Looks like if I want to carve this pumpkin, it leaves me no choice."

Yugi giggled. "Hold on. I want to see this. I want to see your reaction to your first time dipping your hand in those pumpkin guts!"

"Yugi," Yami groaned.

"What? It's only fair!"

Yami sighed, picking up his pumpkin and holding it in his lap again. He closed his eyes and turned away, very slowly dropping his hand into the pumpkin. There was nothing for a moment, but then a second later his fingers made contact with seeds and slimy string mixed in. Yami's lips parted and he dipped his head, looking like he was going to hurl, but he stopped when he felt an additional hand reach down and dig with him. He opened his eyes and looked to his side to see Yugi smiling with his arm outstretched and his hand in the same pumpkin.

"Yugi, what are you doing?"

Yugi shrugged. "Just thought I'd help you get over this."

Yami closed his eyes again. He felt Yugi's smaller hand take a pile of seeds, then drop them, having only slime covering his flawless skin. He intertwined fingers with Yami's, who's hands were also coated with pumpkin. They both lifted their joined hands out of the pumpkin to the air. Yami watched as their fingers played with the other.

"Well… that wasn't so bad," Yami shrugged, smiling a little. Yugi giggled.

"Well now we will both be needing a good washing for our hands."

"Indeed… but again, allow me to finish. You go on ahead and get some rest," his smile grew. "But not without washing your hands first."

Yugi giggled again, a little blush coating his cheeks, and he nodded. Their fingers slipped away with ease, and Yugi rushed to the bathroom. Yami chuckled, shaking his head to himself as he dug more into the pumpkin and took out the seeds, listening as the water began running down the hall.

After a few minutes, the water stopped and Yugi appeared behind him again.

"Well… goodnight, Yami. I can't wait to see what you come up with," he smiled.

"Goodnight, aibou. I promise you it'll be good." Yugi nodded in reply to this. There was a moment of stillness—Yami sensed that Yugi was hesitant to leave. He looked up to meet his light's innocent gaze. "Come here," he said softly.

Yugi looked at him, puzzled, but came closer to Yami and kneeled beside him. "Yes?"

Yami smiled. He reached up his clean hand and placed it on Yugi's cheek, and leaned in. The smaller gasped lightly as he felt Yami's lips graze over the corner of his lips. It wasn't a full-on kiss, but it was close enough to make butterflies fly loose in the pit of his stomach and a blush shot up in his cheeks. Yami took his sweet time, keeping his lips planted there for several moments before gently pulling away. He said nothing as his hand retreated from Yugi's cheek and his focus returned on the pumpkin, as if nothing had even occurred. Yugi stood up and stumbled from time to time to his room, his thoughts racing and his heart pounding madly in his chest. He struggled to open the door leading into his room, but when he finally got through, he closed it behind him and slid to the floor against it, reaching up and touching where Yami kissed with wonder. Could Yami possibly feel… like that…?

Yugi grinned like a fool to himself and stood, crossing the room and flopping himself onto the bed's cushiony surface, giggling with delight. He wondered how long Yami would take before he would come join the smaller boy, but he figured sleep was probably in order right now—he was far too tired to stay up much longer. The boy's eyes slowly drooped before coming to a full close, and he was out like a light in a matter of minutes with his hands close to his heart and a smile spreading on his lips, replaying that moment in his mind over and over until it was ingrained into even his dreams.

The sun shone through the window, disrupting Yugi's pleasant dreams. He furrowed his brows at the brightness of the room and opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but it was no doubt Yami's arm that was wrapped around his torso from behind. A fuzzy feeling returned to him when he remembered last night, but he also felt groggy and wanted to wash his face and wake up.

The boy silently slid out of Yami's hold, careful not to wake him, and opened the door as quietly as he could manage. He went to the bathroom and turned on the faucet for the sink, splashing cool water on his face, then felt around for a towel. Once that was done, he went out through the hall and entered the living room. On the coffee table in front of the couch sat a pumpkin, directly facing him. Yugi reached up to rub his eyes, then peered at the carved design. When his vision adjusted to his surroundings and the sunlight, he made a very audible gasp. It was Yami and Yugi's faces together. Yami was leaning over to kiss his head as Yugi was smiling, and both held the millennium puzzle in their hands. Yugi stood there with his jaw dropped as he stared at the detail in the carving—Yami was an artist!

"I knew it was too cheesy. Trust me, it was much better in my head," came a mutter behind him.

Yugi turned to see Yami up and awake, leaning on one leg in his signature stance and his arms crossed as he frowned disapprovingly at his carving.

"No! No, Yami, no…" Yugi protested and went over to the taller one and wrapped his arms around him. "No… it's beautiful." He said, muffled in Yami's chest.

Yami smiled a little, caressing the back of Yugi's head. "Well then. As long as you like it, I'm glad."

Both felt another presence in the room. Yami looked over his shoulder as Yugi looked over his arm to see Solomon just exiting his room into the living room where the two boys still held onto each other. The hunched, older man—still in his pajamas and slippers and all—rubbed his eyes and gazed ahead to see the two teens and the pumpkin carving just a little ahead on the coffee table. Seeing the carving, drinking in with his glazed eyes how Yami's arm was wrapped around Yugi's waist and kissing his head, Solomon's eyes widened and he frowned with a—

"What the…!"