Unbreak My Heart

Author’s Note – Okay, I am seriously not a happy camper these days. First, my computer starts showing problems logging onto the Internet. Then Windows starts acting up, locking up or shutting my computer off at the weirdest times. Scan disk and defrag was taking at least five hours to complete, which really isn’t normal! All of these signs indicated a hard drive failure, which was later confirmed by both my IT person and my brother-in-law. Fortunately, I got everything onto my husband’s computer before it died on me. I was waiting for my new drive before I could resume writing again. On top of that, I had to have my cat put to sleep, so things have been a little too rough around here lately for me and my muses to even think creatively. A huge thanks to all of those who have been reading and waiting patiently for updates. As well as hug to my two dear friends DracOnyx and ladywolf_Terri.

Disclaimer – I’ve been wishing that it wasn’t true, but I still don’t own YuGiOh.

Chapter Nine – Irish Hearts

Tristan and Duke entered the small house through a beautiful garden filled with roses and small flowers. When questioned about this, the green-eyed teenager admitted that the garden had been his father’s and he’d had gardeners continue the work. Duke freely confessed to having little to no talent with growing things, which had sparked some laughter between the two.

Tristan followed Duke into the house, relaxing a little as the teasing continued between the two of them. The nervousness he’d been feeling earlier in the day seemed to have disappeared, leaving only anticipation and happiness behind.

The dark haired dice master hummed to himself as he checked on the preparations he’d made this morning, smiling as it looked like the meal would end up being one of his best. That was something that Tristan agreed with as they shared the meal in the small dining room an hour or so later.

“So your dad was Irish?”

“Yeah, my mom was visiting a friend who was living in Dublin at the time and they met in a small pub. Da fell in love with her right away and followed her to Japan in hopes of winning her heart. It’s a curse of the Devlin men.”

“What is?”

Duke looked down at his plate for a moment before answering the hazel eyed teenager’s question.

“Love at first sight. All Devlin men know right away who their soulmate is when they meet them.”

“You’re kidding!”

“No, it’s the truth. Da finally convinced my mother to marry him a little over a year after they met. I was born the following year. They were happy together until the day I lost them in the accident.”

“You must miss them.”

Duke nodded, his green eyes misting over a little.

“I do, but I have a lot of happy memories to keep me going. That’s why I didn’t sell the house after the funeral. My guardian offered to but as the games were selling well, he realized it was a good idea to keep it and made sure it was in my name when we filed for emancipation.”

“It’s good to have a place where you can feel safe and loved, even if the people that were there are gone.”

“Exactly. I’ve made some changes to it since then, hoping to leave my own mark on it so when I find my life partner, the house will be ready. I just hope my partner will feel as happy here as I do.”

Tristan leaned back in his seat, taking in the beautiful furniture and tasteful pictures that graced the dining room.

“I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t feel happy here. It’s peaceful, and you can also feel that there was a lot of love here. My house is okay, but it’s nothing like this. It’d be nice to be able to come to a home like this.”

An almost shy smile curved Duke’s lips for a moment as he responded to Tristan’s comments about his home.

“I’m glad you think so.”

The two worked together to clean up the kitchen and afterwards, the ebony haired teenager sent Tristan to sit in the living room as he served dessert and coffee. He paused in the doorway, noting the light from the setting sun that bathed the muscular boy who was sitting near the window.

“Tá grá agam duit.”

The softly spoken words barely reached the hazel eyed guest, who turned to find his host standing in the doorway. There was a soft expression in the deep emerald eyes that made his heart pound for a moment, nearly taking his breath away.

“Did you say something?”

Duke shook his head, a wistful smile curving his lips for a moment before moving into the room, setting the tray down on the wooden table.

“It’s nothing.”

He poured the coffee and passed the plate that he’d filled with small cakes to Tristan, who took a few to nibble on. Conversation flowed freely again over the beverage and dessert. The topic bounced easily over many topics, each of them light hearted and sometimes silly.

For Tristan, this had to be the best evening he’d had in a long time. He was disappointed when it came to an end and expressed his thoughts as Duke walked him to the gate.

“I hope we’ll do this again. I really enjoyed myself tonight.”

“So did I, mo ghrá. We must do this again and soon.”

Tristan managed to stop himself from frowning when he heard the odd words, wondering what they meant. He smiled once again and headed for home, his mind replaying the evening he’d spent with his friend.

Duke watched him go with a saddened expression in his eyes. He’d hoped to be able to talk about something important with Tristan, but his courage had failed him at the last minute. When the muscular teenager was almost out of sight, a whisper was heard within the silent garden.

“Tá mé i ngrá leat. More and more so each and every day, mo chroí. I just wish I knew how to tell you.”

Tristan entered his room and fired up his computer, determined to find out the meaning of the words Duke had used. The machine booted up easily and thanks to the cable modem, was online within minutes. His instant messenger program activated once it detected the internet access and a window popped up, showing that one of his friends were online. The entire group had this program and had been known to stay up until late at night chatting and cutting up.

‘Dungeon_Master – How did the evening go, Tristan?’

Recognizing Ryou’s online nickname, Tristan typed his answer into the box and hit return, knowing that the white haired hikari had to be curious about how things had gone. Truth be told, he was rather stunned that none of the others were online. He’d expected to see most, if not all, of them waiting for him.

‘Sith_Lord – It went all right, Ryou. We really had a nice time. Just a little confused about a few things though.’

‘Dungeon_Master – Really? What’s going on?’

‘Sith_Lord – Marik with you?’

‘Dungeon_Master – Yeah and he likes your nickname. I don’t think he realized you’re such a Star Wars nut.’

‘Sith_Lord – Lol, no kidding. The fact that I’m a Sci-fi nut is something I usually don’t let out, Marik.’

‘Dungeon_Master – Yeah, he’s nodding. Anyway, what happened that’s confused you?’

‘Sith_Lord – Just some phrases he used tonight and some of his behavior was a bit confusing. I can’t quite pin down the behavior.’

‘Dungeon_Master – What type of phrases?’

‘Sith_Lord - Tá grá agam duit and mo ghrá. I’ve never heard those words before.’

‘Dungeon_Master – Hmm. You know what, Tristan? It seems familiar. He’s half Irish, right?’

‘Sith_Lord – Yeah, he mentioned that his dad came from Dublin.’

‘Dungeon_Master – If I were you, I’d find an online dictionary for Irish Gaelic.’

‘Sith_Lord – Irish Gaelic?’

‘Dungeon_Master – A friend once told me that the Gaelic used in Scotland and Ireland has some differences but are fundamentally the same. It makes sense that those phrases would be Irish Gaelic considering where his father’s family comes from.’

Tristan blinked, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that before. He wasn’t surprised that Ryou had, considering that his friend was from England and may have heard the language before.

‘Sith_Lord – I’ll see if I can find a good online dictionary and figure out what those phrases mean.’

‘Dungeon_Master – Good luck, Tristan. We’ll see you later. Yugi just called. He finished his homework, and his grandfather said he could come over and stay the night. We’re going to call for pizza and watch some movies.’

‘Sith_Lord – Okay. Tell Yugi I said hi and I hope the three of you have fun tonight.’

‘Dungeon_Master – We’ll tell him. Good luck on your hunt.’

‘Sith_Lord – Thanks. Talk to you guys later.’

Once Ryou had logged off, Tristan shut off his instant messenger program and brought up his favorite search engine, intent on finding a good dictionary. Twenty minutes later, he leaned back and stared at the screen, reading his discovery out loud in an attempt to calm his suddenly jangling nerves.

“Mo ghrá means my love, and tá grá agam duit means I love you.”

The tension, confusion, and mixed emotions that he’d been dealing with all week suddenly came back in full force. He couldn’t understand what it was about Duke that had him so unsettled. No one he’d ever spent time with during his lifetime had ever made him feel so happy yet so confused before.

Not understanding what drove him, he grabbed a jacket and headed out the door. Lost in thought, his feet took him to the house that he’d left a few hours before.

Looking up, Tristan was stunned when he realized where he was and following an impulse, he opened the gate and stepped onto the small front porch.

A slender figure dressed in baggy shorts and sleeveless T-shirt opened the door a few minutes after he knocked.

“Tristan, are you all right?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been all right in over a week.”

A concerned expression settled on Duke’s face when he heard the taller teenager’s answer.

“What’s wrong?”

Some instinct, a part of himself that Tristan never knew existed, prompted his next action. Without saying a word, he pulled the smaller male against him, cupping his chin in a slightly trembling hand before lowering his head.

The kiss was devastating, shattering every inhibition and fear that he’d once held buried so deeply within his heart and soul. Every confused emotion disappeared beneath the white heat that seemed to radiate from the gamer’s mouth.

Reluctantly drawing back, hazel eyes met emerald and clarity struck. He understood why he’d always felt so awkward and confused around the young man standing in front of him. Everything that he’d once thought of as truth dissipated as his heart spoke and his brain finally understood what it had been trying to tell him for so long.

Leaning down, he whispered in Duke’s ear, not caring if he butchered the pronunciation.

“Tá grá agam duit, Ryuuji Devlin.”

The fear that had been lurking within the emerald depths quickly disappeared, burned away by the joy that his words had wrought.

“Really?”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to figure it out, Ryuuji. My heart is yours for as long as you want it.”

“I’ll keep it safe forever and give you mine, if you’ll have it.”

Tristan smiled at him, relishing the words he’d just heard and responded in kind.

“It’ll be treasured forever.”

The taller teen leaned down, meeting Duke half way in a kiss that was even more intense than their first.

Author’s End Note – I know, I’m so evil! Horrible place to leave it, huh? Lemon next chapter!!! Translations are as follows. I found the phrases off of a web-site for people who are learning Irish Gaelic. If there are any mistakes, I humbly apologize. Anyway, please review and I should have the next chapter up soon! For those who haven’t put up their email addresses and would like to be on my update list, please include a working email address when you review and I’ll add you to my list. Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it.

Translations –
Mo ghrá – my love
Mo chroí – my heart
Tá grá agam duit – I love you
Tá mé i ngrá leat – I am in love with you