Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Awakening ❯ Shopping ( Chapter 3 )

—DML brings you another chapter of Awakening. This is where Atemu and Yuugi go shopping for clothes. Poor Atemu has no clue and Yuugi has to teach him everything. But who said that clothes shopping couldn't stir up some feelings. Wink wink, hint hint…

 

**This be a long chapter, folks…

 

Chapter 3 - Shopping

 

Atemu was a little afraid of Yuugi's car. Yuugi explained to him that it was like a horseless chariot. After letting Atemu look the car over, Yuugi drove them down to the local mall. Atemu was in awe at how much the world really had changed. The tall silvery buildings made even his great palace look small. And the people were dressed so strange! Women actually wore men's clothing!

 

“Why do these women dress in men's clothes? And why aren't most of the men wearing a shenti?”

 

“That's just the style we have nowadays.” Yuugi said, parking the car. He remembered that back in ancient Egypt, it was quite common for men to wear a skirt called a shenti. Yuugi looked over to ask the former king about Egyptian fashion, but instead he found Atemu fiddled with his seatbelt. Trying not to laugh at Atemu's confused expression, Yuugi showed him how to buckle and unbuckle the seatbelt.

 

Atemu practiced buckling and unbuckling his seatbelt before getting out. He only wore his earrings, bracelets, and shirt. Yuugi had given him some pants to borrow. He would have given the former Pharaoh some underwear when Atemu told him that he already had undergarments.

 

Yuugi and Atemu walked into the mall through “magic, sliding doors.” Atemu moved to touch the doors, but Yuugi pulled his hand back before the doors closed on it.

 

“This is the mall. Most people come here to shop or eat or hang with their friends.”

 

“Hang! I don't want to be hanged!” Atemu took a couple steps back and his hand flew to his neck, his eyes wide with fear.

 

“No!” Yuugi said, quickly. “Not that kind of hang! `Hang with their friends' means…like being with their friends.”

 

Atemu relaxed a little. “Well…why not say they come here to be with their friends?”

 

Yuugi shrugged. “It's just a phrase, I guess. Hey, there's some stuff even I can't explain.”

 

“Do you come here `hang' with friends?” Atemu asked as he followed Yuugi through the seemingly endless maze labyrinth of stores and shops.

 

“I used to…”

 

“Used to?”

 

“Yeah…see, my friends are…well, I sort of lost contact with them.”

 

“Are they all right?”

 

“As far as I know.” Yuugi replied. Atemu saw the sad look on Yuugi's face and realized he had more in common with Yuugi now. They were both a little lonely.

 

Suddenly, something caught Atemu's attention and he stopped. It was “TV” in the window of a store called Sam Goody. He walked over to the window and peered in, fascinated by all the oddities. One sign said: DVD, whatever those were. And what did VHS, CD, and cassette mean?

 

Yuugi wandered over to Atemu, who said, “Look, Yuugi. This Sam Goody person sells things for your Tee Vee.”

 

“Yes. Sam Goody is just one of the places you can buy movies and music.” Yuugi told him. “You can watch movies on the TV.”

 

“Did you say music? I enjoy hearing music. Has it changed a lot?”

 

Yuugi shrugged. “A little.”

 

“I want to see.” Atemu went inside the store and prowled around the music section. He found a strange device that had sounds pouring from them. He saw a girl wearing the device over her ears and Atemu copied her. He tried listening to the sounds, but it hurt his ears and so he took off the device and frowned a little at it.

 

“What's wrong?” Yuugi came over to him.

 

“That cannot be music. That…person sounds no more than a child! And…the way he speaks…it sounds like a whole different language. The only words I understood were `ladies', `body' and `do that thing'.”

 

Yuugi picked up the device. “These are headphones.” He put on the headphones and said, “Oh this called rap music.”

 

“Wrap music? Is it supposed to wrap me up?”

 

Yuugi took the headphones off and put them back on their holder. “No, r-a-p, rap. It's a type of music.”

 

“Well, I hate it. That is not music.”

 

“Rap isn't for everybody, y'know. Come on. We'll come back here later. We came for clothes, remember?”

 

“All right, Yuugi.”

 

Yuugi looked at him. “You said my name. That's the first time I've heard you actually call me by name.”

 

Atemu blinked. “Well, we share the same house, right?”

 

“Right. We're roommates.” Yuugi smiled.

 

There was a problem with the escalator too. Atemu was afraid of it and when Yuugi hoped on to demonstrate it, Atemu was even more afraid when Yuugi rode the escalator away from him. He called out for Yuugi and made quite a scene. Yuugi had to run down and ride up the escalator with him. People stared and some laughed at them.

 

One young man dressed in black with piercing on every unthinkable part of his body said, “Does the retard not know how to go up an escalator?” He and his friend laughed as they passed Yuugi and Atemu.

 

Yuugi blushed hotly and frowned after them. Atemu frowned too. “I've never been on an e…esca…”

 

“Forget him, Atemu. No of these people understand. They were born into the modern days of TV and rap music and escalators. They see you as mentally-ill when you do stuff like that.”

 

Atemu looked hurt. “I have a very good intelligence, thank you!”

 

“I know you do. But you'll have to keep it down so that people will know that you're smart.” Yuugi said as they stepped off the escalator.

 

Atemu looked back at the escalator. “Do we have to ride that thing again?”

 

“We don't have to. We can always ride the evaluator instead.”

 

“Yes. Let's do that after we get clothes.” Atemu replied, nodding.

 

——————

 

Yuugi waited patiently outside of Atemu's dressing booth as the former Pharaoh tried on another outfit. Hung lazily over Yuugi's arm were five sleeveless shirts and five pairs of pants that Atemu had picked out himself. One shirt was black and had the zodiac symbols lined up in columns on one side. Each sign was outlined in silver and gold. The matching pants were black leather.

 

The second shirt was plain and dark blue colored and the second pair of pants that went with it was blue jeans. The third shirt was a dark red shirt with tan khakis. The fourth and fifth shirts were simple white T-shirts and the last two pairs of pants were leather. Now Atemu was trying on an outfit that Yuugi picked out for him. The only thing that worried Yuugi was how much all of this would cost him. He hoped Atemu wouldn't pick out anything expensive.

 

Atemu emerged from the booth and turned to the tri-mirror in the men's dressing room for inspection. “I like this one.” He wore a tight short-sleeved shirt that showed off his broad chest nicely. Over the shirt was a black vest with big pockets. His pants were tight, dark gray-almost black, leather and they formed around his buttocks so well.

 

Yuugi felt his cheeks burn and he stammered, “Y-Yeah….you…uh, you look great.” He turned away to calm himself down before he started hardening.

 

Atemu looked through the mirror at Yuugi and asked, “Is something wrong?”

 

“No…no. Uh, why don't we buy you some new shoes now?”

 

“But I need new undergarments.” Atemu turned to look at Yuugi's back.

 

Yuugi was thankful that Atemu couldn't see his face. It was getting redder as he imagined seeing Atemu in boxers…briefs…thongs.

 

“Er…uh, we can get those some other time.”

 

“Are you needed at work?” Atemu asked.

 

Not right now, Yuugi thought. He turned back around, keeping his eyes on his shoes. “No. When we found the Restorative Scroll, it had no writing on it. Everyone was upset and they left. We had other artifacts to take back anyways. But when I was on my way home, I discovered that the Scroll did have writing on it.”

 

“When the Scroll is hit by the sun, the words are given life. After opening the Scroll and showing it to the light, you must close it back up and then reopen it. That way, if a tomb robber managed to get the Scroll, then when he first sees it, he'll think it's just an ordinary piece of paper and would crumble it up.”

 

“Yeah…I wanted to find your tomb for my grandpa's sake. Before he passed away, he said that he had always wanted to find King Atemu's tomb. He asked me if I would follow in his footsteps…”

 

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Atemu standing with him. “You do miss your grandfather, don't you?”

 

“Yes. I wanted to be an archeologist, just like he had been. He raised me. Both of my parents died in a flash flood when I was little.” Yuugi looked down again so Atemu would see the tears welling up in his eyes.

 

He dropped the clothes when Atemu held him close. Yuugi felt his blush returning and it became very hard to stand now. The former Pharaoh was so warm and strong and smelt nice, though Yuugi couldn't name what he smelled like. He realized now that Atemu was about a head taller than he was. Yuugi gently laid his cheek on Atemu's chest and hoped he wasn't hardening noticeably.

 

Atemu released Yuugi—to Yuugi's discomfort—and returned to the dressing booth to take off his new outfit and put on his old one. Yuugi picked up the clothes he'd dropped and waited for Atemu to appear again.

 

——————

 

Underwear shopping! Yuugi could barely think straight now. Every time he stopped a sexy pair of boxers, he couldn't help imaging what Atemu looked like in them. He kept his eyes focused on the not-so-sexy pairs of underwear.

 

But Atemu, glancing around at all the different types of underwear, stopped and plucked a tiger-striped thong from its place on the racks. “What is this?”

 

Yuugi turned and saw Atemu holding the thong. “A th-thong…”

 

“Am I supposed to wear this?” Atemu asked. “I don't think it would even cover my ass!”

 

And a damn good-looking ass it is, thought Yuugi. “W-Well…uh…”

 

“Should I try it on?” Atemu asked.

 

An image of Atemu wearing only that one small thong flashed into Yuugi's mind and he tripped over his own foot and fell flat on the floor. Atemu dropped the thong and ran to Yuugi's side. “Yuugi, are you all right?”

 

Yuugi got to his knees and collected the clothes he'd dropped. “Nnn…don't…get the thong.”

 

“Are you ill? You've been acting strangely ever since I suggested we buy new undergarments.” Atemu said.

 

He's the one who looks really, REALLY good, thought Yuugi. “I'm fine. Let's just get a packet of ordinary briefs for now.” He stood and grabbed a bundle of white briefs wrapped in plastic. Atemu carried the clothing and briefs while following Yuugi to the shoe section.

 

——————

 

Atemu tested the burger and found that he liked it. He ate it and asked if Yuugi would buy him another.

 

“Oh or what about getting something at that place? Taco Bell, is it? Wait, let's try Mc…McDonald's? Or this Piz-za Hut?!”

 

“Take it easy.” Yuugi laughed. They were sitting in the restaurant section of the mall with lots of bags of clothing and shoes for Atemu. Yuugi had never felt so relieved to be sitting down. How did those younger people spend so much damn time running about the mall? Whoa, thought Yuugi, maybe I'm starting to show my age a little too much.

 

“But that—what's it called?—burger! It was delicious! The only meat I've ever eaten was quail, duck, goose and fish. I never cared much for the pigeon.” Atemu smiled.

 

Yuugi smiled too. “Okay. Here.” He fished a twenty from his pocket. Take this and buy something from Taco Bell, but don't buy it if the price is over twenty dollars.”

 

Atemu took the twenty dollar bill and examined it. “This is what you've traded for my clothing and undergarments?”

 

“Yeah. It's money.”

 

“Well, I know what money this. You said my meal couldn't be over twenty. Don't I need nineteen more of these pieces of papyrus?” Atemu asked.

 

Yuugi sipped his Sprite and shook his head. “See that number 20 in the corners? That means that `piece of papyrus' is worth twenty.”

 

“Oh, I see…” Atemu said. He stood and walked over to Taco Bell to order. He came back with his food and tasted it. “It's a little…”

 

“Spicy? I know. I never liked tacos. The beans gave me indigestion.”

 

Atemu put down the taco. “Oh…” He dug some money from his own pocket. “That person handling the money gave me this along with my food.”

 

“That's because twenty dollars must've been too much. So that's what was left over. It's called change.” Yuugi said.

 

Atemu held it out to him after inspecting it. “Here. It was your money in the first place.”

 

Yuugi took it and said, “Thanks.”

 

Both young men got up and decided it was time to leave. Atemu loved the evaluator more than the escalator. He watched the floors rise as they went down in the little glass box to the first floor where the parking lot was. The silvery doors opened, but Atemu didn't walk out with Yuugi. Just for fun, he pressed the `2' button.

 

Before he could skip out to join Yuugi the door shut and the evaluator went up. Atemu pressed against the glass, watching helpless as Yuugi fell away from him. Yuugi immediately ran for the stairs. Unfortunately, the stairs were on the other side of the mall. It wasn't like Atemu had a cell phone or a walkie talkie, then Yuugi could tell him to stay put until they found each other.

 

The evaluator stopped at the second floor and Atemu looked out as the doors opened. A young man and the same girl from Sam Goody came walking towards the evaluator. Atemu recognized the girl and ran over to her.

 

“Please, you have to help me!” he said.

 

The boy and girl stared at him. The girl cocked an eyebrow and asked, “Uh, do I know you?”

 

“You should. I was shopping at the Sam Goody at the same time you were.”

 

“And I should care about that, because…” the girl trailed off.

 

The boy looked irritated and shoved Atemu hard. Atemu fell to the ground with the only two shopping bags he was carrying. The boxes containing his new shoes spilt all over the floor.

 

The boy stood over Atemu and said, “Leave my girlfriend alone, you crazy asshole.” For good measure, he kicked one of Atemu's shoeboxes across the floor.

 

The young couple laughed out loud as they got into the evaluator and rode it to the first floor. Atemu sat on his knees and started collecting his shoeboxes. Without Yuugi to help him, Atemu felt more afraid of this new age than ever. He had accepted it, yes, but that didn't mean he wasn't frightened of it.

 

Suddenly a copper-skinned hand held up the boxes that the boy had kicked. Atemu looked up to see a stout woman attached to the hand. “Here, young-un. I saw what those hoodlums did to ya.”

 

Atemu took the box and put it back in his shopping bag. “Thank you.” They both stood and the former king was able to get a better look at his helper. She was a stout woman with a darker tan than he was, probably an African. She wore a simple red shirt with worn-out jeans and black-and-white shoes. Dozens of keys jingled on her belt and she pushed a cart of cleaning supplies.

 

“Don't I know you?” the woman asked. She squinted at Atemu's face and then fished a pair of red glasses from her shirt pocket. When she put them on, she smiled. “Yuugi! Honey, I didn't recognize you. Egypt really did a number on you. You lookin' good with that tan. Oh and you grew a few inches too! Now, you saw how clean your house was. I made sure of that. And I fed Foxie, just like you asked.”

 

“You know Yuugi!”

 

The woman blinked in surprise. “You ain't Yuugi?”

 

“No ma'am. I'm Atemu, his roommate.”

 

“Oh Lordie, child, I'm sorry. You both look so much alike.” the woman shook her head. But then she perked up and smiled. “Well, anyways, my name is Shirley.”

 

“It's nice to meet you. Are you a friend of Yuugi?”

 

“Well, you could put it that way. I live across the street from him.”

 

“Didn't Yuugi loose contact with you?” Atemu asked.

 

“Contact?” Shirley looked puzzled. “I don't think so. Why you say that?”

 

“Yuugi told me that he'd lost contact with his friends.”

 

Shirley nodded in an understanding way. “I think he meant his high school friends. I saw his ex come by his house. I told her there was—oh, snap I forgot to tell Yuugi about that.”

 

“Ex? Ex what?”

 

“His ex-girlfriend, Tea. Oh she is so cute and so sweet. I can't imagine why Yuugi would break up with her.”

 

“Atemu!” Atemu snapped his head up and beamed when he saw Yuugi running towards them. Yuugi stopped to catch his breath as Atemu hurried over to him.

 

“Yuugi, you came to get me!”

 

Finally having enough air to speak, Yuugi replied, “Of course. I was worried you'd go off on your own. Dammit, they need double evaluators in this place.”

 

“Yuugi, who is Tea?”

 

That question took Yuugi by complete surprise. He straightened up and simply gaped speechlessly at Atemu. He found his voice when he saw Shirley. “Shirley!”

 

“That's my name. How you, suga?”

 

“Fine. Thanks for taking care of Foxie while I was away.”

 

“You're welcome, Yuugi, honey.”

 

“Yuugi,” Atemu said, “you didn't answer my question.”

 

“Tea is my ex-girlfriend from high school.”

 

“Why did you…break up with her?” Atemu asked.

 

Yuugi sighed heavily. He must've found out about Tea from Shirley, Yuugi thought. “Look, I need to take Atemu home. I'll see you around, Shirley.”

 

Shirley shrugged and grabbed hold of her cart. “You boys be careful now. God bless and see ya `round!”

 

Yuugi towed Atemu out of the mall before something else happened. The car ride home was a quiet one. Atemu kept pestering Yuugi about why he broke up with Tea. Then he told Yuugi what Shirley said. Again, Yuugi was surprised into silence. Tea had come all the way from Paris to see him! But why? Did she want to get back together? No, the last time they'd spoken, Tea had said she was seeing some French guy named Jean-Claude. Maybe it was just a friendly visit.

 

“Yuugi, why aren't you answering me?” Atemu asked, as they turned into Yuugi's driveway.

 

Yuugi parked his car and turned off the engine. “I broke up with Tea for two reasons. One was that she was going to another school that was far away. A school for dancers and Tea wanted to be a dancer.”

 

“Dancers and archeologists cannot mix?”

 

“No, no. See, I wouldn't have been able to handle the long-distance relationship.”

 

“Oh. And what's the second reason?”

 

Yuugi took a deep breath and exhaled, saying, “I'm bisexual…I like both men and women as…” His voice trailed off, but he could tell that Atemu got the picture.

 

“Is…that why you were acting strangely when we bought undergarments?” Atemu asked, curious.

 

Yuugi blushed again. “Let's get this stuff inside. Foxie's probably wondering what we're doing. Tomorrow, we'll buy you some stuff for your room.”

 

Atemu got out of the car and helped Yuugi carry the shopping bags to his room. Atemu thought, does Yuugi find me attractive? Do I find him attractive? Well, I admit he does have that adorable, boyish face. But…I don't know.

 

Yuugi left Atemu to his room and went to find Foxie. The cat was sleeping on the couch. There was another phone message. It was from Tea again.

 

“Yuugi? Oh rats, you aren't home. It's me, Tea. Well, anyways, I have some things to tell you. Could we meet and talk? Is the usual place all right or does it bring back too many memories for you? Call me back when you get the chance, please.”

 

Yuugi stared at the phone for what seemed like hours. He finally picked up the receiver to confirm his date with Tea.

 

—Oh my, what's going on here? Flickering sparks between Yuugi and his old girlfriend? Oh come on! This is an Atemu/Yuugi fanfic! But still…you never know…