Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Simple ❯ Real Life ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I do not own anything relating to Yu-Gi-Oh
Note: Story will be updated every Wednesday
Warning: TONS of cursing throughout story
Lemon Warning: If you want to skip the lemon, don't read past the statement "That was fucking awesome, Yami!" and skip to "So I was thinking that we would do the pharaohs in Egypt". If you don't think you're going to remember that, use F and Ctrl and type both phrases in, then delete the first phrase when you come up to it and use the Find function to get to the second part where the lemon is finished.
Lemon Note: The lemons actually DO serve a purpose, though, so yeah, I didn't just write it and post it without a reason...
Chapter V: Real Life
Yami was apprehensive upon heading back to Yugi's house. Yugi definitely could not blame him for being this way. Apparently every time they went to his house, they ended up fucking. Yugi wasn't sure he wanted this to happen again, but at the same time, he kind of did. He liked it.
He wanted the attention. He craved it in a way that he had never wanted anything else. It was sickening because it seemed to eat away at his subconscious, seemed to dominate his thoughts in every way possible. Yugi hated this but he loved it at the same time.
Maybe it was a vicious cycle he just didn't know how to end. The thought was oddly exhilarating.
Yami noticed it immediately when Yugi did not call out to his grandpa again. "Where's your grandfather?" he asked, alarmed and feeling his stomach twist with anxiety. He was confused and he didn't need to add another day of sex with Yugi to this. His thoughts were always too jumbled lately. His heart would twist in ways it shouldn't and his stomach bunched up more than once with the stress his head brought him.
Yugi lazily flipped the sign over so that it said Open and then went to the counter, gesturing him over with a leisurely flick of his wrist. The blue-violet eyes grew sharp as Yami looked over his shoulder for a moment and then walked over to him, looking horribly guilty and tense.
"He's in Egypt."
He failed to miss it when Yami's face drained of all color, completely white. So Egypt made Yami nervous or something? What the hell was wrong with Egypt? His eyes narrowed as he looked at him but he didn't question it and Yami didn't supply answers, turning away and completely acting as if he had not just seemed to have seen a ghost.
"He's doing an expedition. He does them all the time."
Yami nodded a little. "How often?"
It didn't scream enthusiasm, but Yugi hadn't expected it to.
"Every couple of months. He's old and his heart is kind of weak, but he doesn't want to stop and it's not like I can stop him anyways."
"You're his only grandson, right?"
"Grandchild. I'm his only grandchild," Yugi corrected.
Yami turned his head and looked at him in surprise. "No cousins?"
"Nope. Just me."
"Oh."
"My mom was an only child and Dad's family isn't exactly…nice, so we don't interact very often."
"Oh."
Yugi was oddly glad that Yami did not apologize for him like Tea had done. Or go "Yikes so Gramps is all yours, huh?" like Joey or just nod like Tristan had done. And he was definitely relieved when Yami did not try to steal from the cash register like Ushio did.
Instead, Yami did something that startled him.
"I'm an only child too."
"Yeah, but you have cousins. And I don't exactly see you taking care of an elderly grandparent."
"No, you don't," Yami agreed. "Because they're dead."
"Oh."
The red-eyed teen shrugged. "It doesn't matter. It happened a long time ago."
"Did you ever meet them?"
"No but my father had told me so many stories I might as well have."
Yugi felt a small bit of discomfort. They were borderline talking about their families and that was one of the topics that they had agreed upon not talking about–one that Yugi himself had personally brought up. He bit his lip and turned away just as Yami seemed to realize what made him so suddenly quiet.
"Anyways, so, um…" Yugi started, trying not to let awkwardness make itself known and failing miserably.
"About the project," Yami announced, turning to him. "Are we doing another slideshow presentation or what?"
Yugi felt gratitude flood his system because Yami wasn't pushing like Joey or Tristan would have and he wasn't sneering like Ushio despite the rather obvious discomfort he was exposing to the red-eyed teen. "Yeah, I kind of thought we would," he admitted, playing with his pencil, chewing his cheek as Yami looked at him thoughtfully. "I figured we would do what we did last time."
"Why? Neither of us was exactly happy about being paired together a second time and if we do a good job again…" Yami started, tilting his head slightly and letting his voice trail off.
"It's worth more than thirty percent of our grade. I am not about to let either of us fail just because of…" He struggled for the word for a moment. "Just because we fucked a little. So what? Fucking is healthy, you know. So by doing this we're just increasing our health."
Was that all this was to Yugi? Some kind of weird, sickly fun exercise activity? Yami almost smacked him. How could it not affect him in any other way? He personally had torn out a clump of hair on accident stressing over what others would think of him and Yugi was indifferent to it all?
"Besides, no one is ever going to know about it but us, right?"
Yami doubted that. Secrets always got out. This…thing they had going on was no different. It was like that cheerleader who had started sleeping around recently and her boyfriend found out despite the team having their lips shut about it.
What would happen if someone else found out? His stomach twisted. Japan was known for being okay with homosexuality as long as it was not flaunted but his parents… He shuddered to eventhinkwhat would happen with them.
He didn't answer and that was why Yugi paused writing some notes to look at him with an eyebrow raised, waiting.
"What?" the red-eyed teen asked in confusion before blinking and then nodding slowly. "Right, you're right. No one is ever going to find out about us."
"Good. I didn't think you would be one of those people who would fuck and blab."
Yami's jaw clenched for a moment before he turned away. "Yeah, not so much."
Yugi turned away and played with his paper again, writing another note and then tapping his eraser against the glass of the counter they were sitting behind. "So, if we do the same thing that we did as last time, do you want to do the shorter presentation slideshow and the longer one for our actual grade?"
"It makes more sense like that."
Yugi didn't think that Yami actuallymeantto snap like he did. He looked stressed and a little insulted because of the "fuck and blab" comment. Yugi wasn't stupid so he knew the only reason he took offense was because of his pride, not because he cared about the statement in itself. Yugi liked that about Yami. He was not easily offended but certain things, low blows beneath the belt, made him pissy. And he didn't takeeverycomment offensively, even where others would have.
Yami seemed to realize that he had snapped because after a moment he looked sheepish, scratching at the back of his neck. "Sorry."
"For what?"
Yami's eyes narrowed. Yugi wanted to dismiss it. That made two of them.
"Hungry?"
Yami blinked. "A little," he admitted. He hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch because he had gotten up late and lunch had looked beyond disgusting so he hadn't touched it whatsoever. Though why Yugi was bringing up food at a time like this was definitely beyond him.
"Want me to make you a sandwich? Because I'm going upstairs to do that in a minute anyways."
Yami's lips twitched slightly. "Please?"
"Turkey or peanut butter and jelly?"
"Peanut Butter and jelly, please."
"You know, you really don't have to do that whole polite thing with me," the smaller teen murmured, getting up; Yami gave him a startled look and Yugi instantly felt bad because if Yami was raised that way, calling him out on this was one of the rudest things he could possibly do. Immediately he changed the subject. "Do you know how to work the register?"
Yami blinked and looked down before shaking his head slightly. "But I'm a quick study so if you show me, I think it'll be fine."
Yugi smiled a little and went about pointing out the functions of the buttons and watched as Yami nodded every now and then, watched as he seemed to sort the information every which way.
"I think you'll be okay though. It's been a pretty slow day anyways," Yugi offered when he saw the way Yami started to look oddly uncomfortable; it was a misinterpretation on his part, because it was the fact that Yugi was so close and Yami could smell him that made him uncomfortable like this. "Grape, blueberry or strawberry?"
"Blueberry, plea–" He cut himself off and frowned.
"Blueberry, huh?" Yugi murmured, smirking. "Finally someone else who likes it."
"No one else likes it?"
Yugi rolled his eyes. "Joey can't even stand jelly. Tristan and Ushio like grape. And Tea likes strawberry," he supplied; Yami gave him a puzzled look and he was rather amused and grateful that he was willing to wait until Yugi was ready to tell him anything else rather than blurting out a question like his rather mindless friends. "We normally come here after school. And they normally don't leave until after like ten at night. So half the time they end up eating over here."
Yami's head tilted to the left the smallest bit. "But if blueberry is the flavor that you like, then why…?"
"I got tired of them fucking complaining all the time," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Joey ate it but bitched about it the entire time. Tristan didn't say anything but his face would screw up a little. Ushio bitched the entire time and almost wouldn't eat it. And Tea kept picking at it and saying it wasn't great and she liked strawberry better."
Yami snorted and shook his head. "Bakura and Malik can't even function if they aren't trying to chew each other's heads off."
Yugi laughed. "I've never seen you guys hang out together."
"That's because we don't. When the three of us are just together alone, things get really bad."
"You guys fight a lot?"
"Uh…no," he replied, snickering and shaking his head. "No, do you remember that Halloween freshman year?"
"When someone set off those awesome ass soda sprays in the hallway and soaked everyone while the girls ran away screaming?" Yugi asked, laughing hard. "Oh my god, that was epic."
Yami smirked and shook his head. "I told them toscaresomeone, not to freaking give everyone heart attacks," he muttered. "But then we got into this contest about who could scare who the worst and then somewhere along the lines we ended up working together and the massive Soda Attack on Halloween of 2010 happened."
Yugi howled with laughter. "That was you guys?"
Yami nodded. "Oh yeah. See what I mean? The three of us together is a recipe for disaster."
"Butawesomedisasters."
"That was us mild though." He paused and then leaned forward to lay his elbows against the counter and his chin in his hands. "We hadn't meant to terrorize everyone though. Just scare them a little."
"Yeah, but it was awesome like that."
Oh I bet. You probably got a free peek at Tea's breasts thanks to that stupid soda,Yami thought before narrowing his eyes. What the fuck? What should he care about that anyways? It wasn't like they were actually doing something other than having random hookups. If he was truly jealous, there was something wrong with him.
"And you got that one teacher in the face!" Yugi laughed, oblivious to his sudden change of posture; Yami turned his head, confused.
"What teacher?"
"The female one with the large mole on her face–the one who wears way too much makeup. With red hair and the tight suits she wears all the time."
"I knowofher and what she looks like, but I have no idea what her name is," Yami admitted, frowning. "I don't have any classes with her."
Yugi nodded. "Neither do I. I mean, I did for like a month but then she got swapped into another class. I don't know why but whatever. Anyways, she looked like a raccoon and everyone was laughing at her."
Yami felt his lips twitch up in the corner and felt slightly bad to be laughing at another's misfortune but the picture he got of the woman was nothing if not comical. "I bet."
"Okay, I'll be back in a minute," the smaller teen announced, turning and running upstairs with Yami's eyes trailing him until he disappeared from sight; as soon as he was gone, his head snapped around to look at the red door in front of him.
What the hell was wrong with him? Why would he be jealous of something like that? Was he really that pathetic? He felt nothing towards either of them. Sure, he and Yugi had fucked, but he didn't feel anything out of the moments they were practically tearing each other's clothes off. So was it about him being able to see down Tea's shirt? But then Yami was anything but interested in that brainless ditz of a brunette. He frowned at himself for a moment, shaking his head slightly. Tea seemed nice and he couldn't understand why he was badmouthing her all of the sudden, but then again, her flirting with him in front of Yugi was disrespectful on so many levels that Yami hated it with a passion. As well as the fact that while she seemed nice and liked him and the fact that he had an admirer, she was not someone that Yami couldeversee himself with–in any way. She had an air to her that he didn't like. And Yami was never one to dismiss his gut feeling–it had never been wrong before and he doubted it would now.
Maybe it was the fact that she respected Yugi so little. Because he knew for a fact that she was not oblivious to his flirting; he had seen the way she beamed when she had Yugi's attention and all it had to do with was the fact that Yugi was complimenting her, because she lived for them. And what was worse about her, she notonlyflirted with him infrontof Yugi but also with someone wholookedlike Yugi himself. He honestly could not think of a lower blow one could deliver their admirer. Well, aside from rejection in front of everyone else or making fun of them for having the courage to ask them out.
He wondered if Yugi had ever asked her out. Probably not.
He didn't understand it, but he had a feeling that Yugi had not asked her out for whatever reason. But why would you not ask your crush out if you had liked them for so long?
His fingers twitched and tapped against the skin of his sharpened jaw, tilting his head to the side and biting his cheek.
Yugi and Tea were too much alike at points. They both wanted attention. Although, Tea was more disrespectful with her ambition for attention and Yugi, so far, only fought with him every now and then when they got touchy, but didn't disrespect anyone. Although, his means probably weren't the best as far as attention-grabbing went.
Did Yugi really dislike himself so much that he would let Yami have purchase of his body every time he wanted? That he would hand it over willingly just for some attention in the moment?
Yami narrowed his eyes. But then, how was he any better? He let Yugi have sex with him too; there were always two when it came to sex. He could stop Yugi at any time he wanted and yet he never once tried. He wanted it and he didn't understand why. He liked it and it confused him.
He was raised to respect people and namely women and this entire thing was knocking his feet out from under him where he already lacked balance. He had no idea what the hell he was supposed to do and again, his parents came to mind. His father would have his hide. He would never make it to seventeen if he ever found out.
Yami felt something die inside of him with this thought. It was oddly satisfying, however, and it left him even more confused. What the hell was going on with him? Was he crazy? Stupid? Did having sex with Yugi make him an idiot? What the hell was wrong with him? How could that little pain in his chest feel so satisfying and induce such pride in himself? Was it supposed to feel like this?
Yugi came down with two sandwiches and put one in front of him, happily munching on his own. "So did anyone come in?"
"No," Yami replied, taking the sandwich and tearing off a bit before putting it in his mouth. Yugi watched him with interest; something was definitely off about the teen next to him. He wasn't sure what and he had no idea how to even describe it, but it was anything but alarming so he didn't comment on it.
"So how much longer until we close shop?" Yami asked, continuing with his tearing bits off his food and eating them; Yugi couldn't understand why he would tear his sandwich instead of just biting into it but again he didn't comment.
"A couple more hours."
"Okay."
Yugi pushed his confusion towards Yami's actions away and instead focused on eating his own sandwich. But a million questions jumped out at him. Why did Yami look uncomfortable when he had chosen Egypt for their project? Why had he paled drastically when he told him about his grandfather's expeditions? What had just changed while he was upstairs? Why did he not even care about Tea anymore? Why did Yami not talk down at him like the rest of them? Why didn't Yami go shopping anymore? Why didn't he wear the clothes they bought outside of his little drunken stupor? Why did it never seem like Yami was an inconvenience like the others sometimes felt to him? Why was Yami so polite in the first place? Why didn't he even bat an eye when he saw that his clothes were almost two hundred dollars? Why did he want to be around him anyways? What made him likeable like this? Why did they keep doing this?
When Yugi looked up at him again, Yami was pointedly studying his information worksheet and starting to group some bullet points together for what Yugi guessed was for a certain paragraph or other.
Wasn't them being around each other again supposed to be just as awkward as it was the first time? Maybe they had run out of awkwardness since then. The thought made him smirk.
Yugi wandered off and put their plates up and when he got back, Yami was working through some homework while looking for facts in the book they had gotten from the school library during lunch only two days before.
The bell on the door went off, making both of them look up; Yugi paled while Yami sat up even straighter, tensing as the three strode into the shop.
Why?Why?Why?Why?
Yugi was three seconds from asking that himself.
"Shit, man, I thought you were joking when you said you were going to be doing your project all day after school," the blond said, looking him up and down for a moment and shaking his head before his eyes flickered towards Yami. The two brunets didn't react to his presence at first and for a long time they just looked at Yugi and then finally their heads turned towards Yami and Yugi swallowed hard.
The tension was practically tangible and Yugi felt like someone should call him out on his twitching but then Yami seemed too nice to and the others weren't close enough to see his hands fidgeting through the glass.
"Why would I joke about that?" Yugi snapped, making all four of them look at him in surprise–his little group's was barely contained but Yami's eyes had only widened slightly and the emotion only showed near his pupils.
Joey was not happy with the small bit of anger in his voice and it became apparent with the glare he gave him after he had fought off his surprise. The brown eyes flashed in clear warning and beside him, almost imperceptibly, Yami tensed as if ready to lunge. "Maybe because most of the time you don'tdoschoolwork," he said in a voice with an undertone of threat.
"Actually, I get stuck doing all of yours and can't seem to get to my own."
Yami was used to spats but he didn't expect himself to be part of the one that was going on right now; he clamped his teeth into his cheek, uncomfortable beyond belief and really wanting this to end already.
"If you ever justbotheredto freaking pick up a pencil, maybe I wouldn't have to do your homework and fuck up my own," the smallest teen spat angrily, bristling suddenly and making Yami awkwardly look down at his worksheet as the tension threatened to suffocate all five of them.
"Dude–"
"They have a project to do," Tristan cut in before Joey could say his piece, looking at Yami and then at Yugi. "Come on guys, let's just go."
Ushio looked unhappy with this suggestion, his thick eyebrows pulling together as his lip curled slightly and his eyes tried to bore a hole into the red-eyed teen in front of him; after a moment of ignoring him pointedly, the teen raised his head and gave him a completely bored look.
Yugi was a second from choking when he saw the look on his three friends' faces. The shock, the irritation, was hilarious as far as he was concerned. All three of them looked like deer caught in headlights and he wanted to laugh out loud at this, but he kept himself quiet. Anyothertime and he would have doubled over, laughing until his face was red and his eyes were blurry with tears.
But this situation was hardly the time to do that.
"Seriously, guys," Tristan snapped, for once raising his voice so that both of them looked at him in surprise. "Let's get out of here already. They have a project to do. Not to mention that we have ourownprojects to work on."
Yugi watched them as they swapped looks and then turned to him.
"See you later, Yug."
"Bye guys."
When all three of them were gone and Yugi was sure they were out of earshot, he fell out of his seat, laughing; Yami looked at him, startled and wide-eyed by his display. He ignored the small bit of pain he got in his back from his tumble, laughing harder when he saw Yami's face through his lashes. He watched as the taller teen's lips twitched up into a small grin and his mouth parted just enough to let out a low chuckle that was purely amused. His chuckle soon grew into full blown laughter and Yugi couldn't help but find it odd how easily Yami laughed with him. Crude comments, harsh remarks, the truth cloaked in a nasty voice, were normally the only thing that got the others to laugh. Well, except for Tea, because only jokes or humorous stories about Yami got her to laugh apparently.
He liked the gleam in those exotic eyes. Stretching from the bottom of his pupil down to the outer layer of his irises. Pure amusement, clouded by nothing more.
He felt happier than he had in a really long time in that single moment.
Yami continued laughing with him, the tone rich and unfaltering. Yugi loved it. He admitted to it. He loved that laughter. It was different and unique and it made his stomach tingle with happiness and amusement.
Yami had to admit that he had not laughed like this outside of brief moments alone with his cousins. No one outside of them had ever really made him laugh for more than a minute or two. And now he had been laughing for five minutes straight. He was so stressed out half the time, so tied up with other things, that moments like this existed in such rare amounts, and it felt incredible to unwind and laugh like this. In fact, in all honesty, Yami had nearly forgotten what his own laughter sounded like. And genuine smiles felt weird on his lips.
For a whole ten minutes the two of them kept laughing until they finally quieted down and Yugi got up and walked around to the door to flip the sign and lead the way upstairs after gathering his own materials off the counter. Yugi shook his head, grinning, and took a seat on the couch next to Yami.
"Oh my god, their fucking faces. I nearly laughed at them."
Yami's lips twitched up into a huge grin. "Oh, I know. I saw your face."
"You pissed them off so badly!"
"I know."
"That was fucking awesome, Yami!"
The statement earned him a chuckle that died almost instantly and then Yami was staring at him with a concerned expression.
"Hey, what made you snap at them? I don't–"
Yugi shoved his tongue down his throat at that moment, deciding that he didn't want to talk anymore and really wished to avoid this conversation and any other involving those three. They were hardly something he ever wanted to talk about.
However the hell Yami managed it, Yugi was just lucky that Yami stopped talking or he might have had his tongue bitten off. He wasn't exactly welcomed because Yami's hands gripped at his shoulders, grasping a little tightly and then releasing again before pulling away. He didn't push him away but Yugi knew he wasn't exactly the happiest with the intrusion either. It was too sudden. Yugi wasn't even sureheliked it and he was the one who had done it.
It wasn't comfortable. It had been rushed and stupid and it was pretty obvious in the way Yami's tongue wasn't moving even once that he had moved a little too fast for his liking. Yugi definitely couldn't blame him though. When he moved his own tongue, it felt awkward and strange due to the desperation he had felt in the moment.
He hated it. Both of them hated it.
But eventually, when Yugi pulled back a little, it worked to help with the situation. Yami pressed his tongue against his hesitantly, as if inviting him back, and Yugi would have grinned if he could have. But it felt unnatural and wrong to do so when his tongue was in Yami's mouth so he decided not to try.
It was odd, but this time it was Yami who lost his patience with the slow pace they were going. For whatever reason, his hands were the one to reach out and start to shed his clothes away, pushing him back and his tongue sliding and warm against his. The icy minty taste of his mouth made Yugi's nerves hum with delight.
God, Yami was delicious. He thought he might swap out milk or white chocolate for dark with the way Yami tasted so nice.
Yami could not really put his finger on what Yugi tasted like. He recognized it but more like it was a memory, something that he hadn't tasted in a long time. Something that he knew he liked but had not been given the privilege to taste in a long time.
Then again, he was never allowed sweet things unless he was a good kid and when hetriedto be a good kid, apparently he failed horribly. His dad always found something to call him out on, whether it was something as small as wearing a watch that didn't quite fit the rest of his outfit. Admonishments were more popular than praise.
Yugi reciprocated and pulled his jacket and shirt off. Yami dug his teeth into his cheek, watching him, eyes focusing on his kiss-swollen lips. Maybe this was some kind of rebellion towards his parents? Maybe that was what this was? Maybe all this lust that he felt, that breaking off of whatever piece of him that had died away downstairs, was just some kind of manifestation of him wanting to rebel against his parents?
It was definitely possible. He always hated the tight leash they had kept him on. He was rarely allowed out the house and until he had come to Japan, he had been home-schooled and was taught at three times the rate that the district taught. While he was in fourth grade, he was already learning the material of a senior in high school.
His parents had never truly allowed him to socialize and when he did, they really only ever allowed him around girls. Some of them were older and more than once his father had tried to hook him up at the age of twelve and for whatever reason, he shied away from it all.
Maybe the lack of being around males outside of family had made him think that this was the ultimate rebellion against his parents?
Guilt and shame flooded his system. He didn't want to think he was using Yugi in such a pathetic way. He really didn't but it was so possible. It was so possible with the way his own mind worked and the way that this seemed so pleasantly okay with him. Yugi wanted attention and Yami wanted to rebel. How sickening was this?
But then, real life was nothing if not sickening.
That was why people tried to drown themselves in alcohol. It was why they stuffed pills down their throats. It was the reason for trashy hookups.
Was that what they were? A trashy hookup?
His stomach hurt with the idea. He didn't want to use Yugi like that and he didn't want to think that was what his first time was. He'd been plastered off his ass but in all honesty, he wanted to pretend that the little black spots in his memory were just from some kind of sensory overload instead of him not being able to handle his liquor.
Then again, he'd neverhadhard liquor before…
Vodka and beer, a couple Bloody Mary's, maybe a few shots of Russian vodka at some point…?
His head swam for a moment and it was only then that he realized Yugi was no longer touching him, instead having pulled back, staring at him with his head tilted slightly to the side and his eyebrow raised the smallest bit in confusion.
"Sorry."
"Thinking about your cousin?"
Yami took a moment and then grimaced; oh yes, that was why he had gotten drunk off his ass like an idiot and then fucked Yugi like that. Was it wrong that he took this opportunity immediately?
"Yeah, I haven't heard any news about Mokuba."
That was at least true, though his little gray-eyed, black-haired cousin was far from his thoughts in that moment, despite the codependency of the entire situation. His drunk ass had only gotten that way because of his cousin getting hit with the car.
Yugi chewed his cheek and then sighed softly. "I'm sorry," he finally murmured, scratching the back of his head and frowning; Yami wasn't the same as Rebecca or Tea and he had no idea how he was supposed to make him feel better. Rebecca wanted constant touches and handholding and Tea always wanted to be complimented and then she would let him drag Yami into the conversation so that she would be sufficiently distracted; how many times over the years had he comforted her saying that Yami wouldn't want to see her crying while his own heart had protested that he should be enough for her? But this person in front of him actuallywasYami and Yami was nothing like those two girls and he was not like anyone else he knew so he didn't know how he was supposed to approach a hard subject with this red-eyed teen. "But I'm sure he's okay though."
He narrowed his eyes and then shook his head; he didn't want to think about this anymore. He knew Mokuba would be fine. Seto would pull him through because that's what the two of them did. They did what the other couldn't fully do and in the end they always succeeded because they were that close.
Yami had never been that close to another person. He and his cousins were close but they all constantly fought and he and Seto rammed heads so often it was a wonder they could get anything done when around each other. And he and Bakura were constantly pulling death threats on the other. He and Malik had no common ground to stand on half the time. He could never be as close to any of them as close as Seto and his brother were.
They balanced each other out. They would do anything for each other. Loyalty meant life or death as far as they were concerned. It was terrifying to think that something like that could exist between two people, family or not.
But then it was also liberating and Yami yearned for that connection more often than not. What he lacked his partner would have and vice versa. He could mess up and not be judged on it and he could be a total asshole and they would call him out on it where others would fear to do so…
He shook the idea off and pressed his lips to Yugi's again, wanting to stop the thoughts in his head from forming any more; he shut his mind down–something he had learned when around his father and his constant disapproval–and worked his tongue into Yugi's mouth, gripping at his upper arms and pushing him back against the couch. Yugi had a brief moment where he wondered if he should have been offended by his sudden reaction but decided against it when Yami's tongue mapped out the roof of his mouth and left him breathless and slightly lightheaded.
He liked this a lot. More than he should. Way more than he should.
He pushed the thought away and let Yami pull his boxers and jeans down, following them with his own before his finger entered him. Yugi squirmed once and then twice because it was still extremely uncomfortable but then again, it was definitely better than that fucking burning sensation he had gotten their second time.
And of course this time Yami kept his finger still, pulling back to lick his lips; Yugi would have told him that he didn't need to but then the warm flesh was on his lips again, and a nice yummy muscle was in his mouth. Yugi was definitely going to invest in some dark chocolate mint patties because Yami's mouth, his taste, was exhilarating and he wanted it at his disposal whenever he needed it.
He moaned when Yami hit his prostate, the pad of his finger lightly running over it gently and making him arch into him and moan even louder, his body tightening like a bowstring with the torturous pleasure. Yami pulled back, chuckling, and then finally pulled his finger away to pump again, continuing his preparation. Yugi let out a breath, unable to catch it, and fell back into the cushions more fully, face flushed and eyes wide with delight.
Ooh, he loved his prostate more than he loved anything else right now. Well, aside from Yami's mouth, but he got that back only minutes later, their tongues dancing and swirling and warm against each other.
Yami still could not place the taste but he remembered it faintly. He knew he did but it was still elusive to his memory. And it was killing him to not know but he couldn't force it so he just let it die wherever it lay in the farthest recesses of his mind.
Years of scorn and disapproval hardly left room for better memories.
Hell, he couldn't remember the last–oh, no, he could. He was six and had just figured out the solution to a fourth grade math problem that had left him stumped for weeks due to the pressure his parents placed on him. And that praise had been so sardonic and nasty it had made him cry and that, of course, had gotten him his ass whipped with a leather belt. No room for tears if you're a Sennen.
Yami honestly could not remember the last time he had cried outside of news of Mokuba's comatose state and even then he'd listened to his father's words playing in his head–full of disgust and hatred and disappointment and leaving him feeling hollow inside. He had somehow managed to get the tears under control by means he didn't know and then for whatever reason, that stupid blonde bartender had bought his little story about being twenty-one…or maybe she had taken pity on him. He would not have been surprised if that was the case. He was a fucking mess when he showed up there.
Now that he tried to recall it, he couldn't even remember how the fuck he endedupat the damn bar. All he knew was that he snuck in there when some drunk girl–who heknewwas not any older than him because he had seen her in school several times–started dancing on the tables and then giving lap dances to strangers while drinking like there was no tomorrow. So he snuck in and got his drinks, laughing at her sardonically when she asked if he had had a bad night; he'd fucking taken everything from a single shot of scotch to actually snatching a bottle of vodka and drinking it straight out.
He had a feeling the bartender had gotten him a cab and they had gotten him home that way–or rather to Yugi's house–because his mind was blank past ones showing up at his door and then kissing him but then it was bits and pieces between the flashes of gaping hole in his memory–him on top of Yugi, him kissing him once or twice–and then it was all blank again.
Weren't blackouts supposed to happen when you became an alcoholic?
Yami couldn't help it. His inability to remember everything drove him insane. He still had no idea if he had raped him and he was afraid bringing it up would scare Yugi away and he really didn't want that to happen. Then again, if Yugi was willing to have sex with him again–initiating three times already–did that mean hehadn'traped him?
But then Yami remembered that some rape victims would throw themselves at the knees of anyone who paid them attention because they felt so low about themselves. Or maybe he had threatened Yugi at some point in his little drunken parade and now he was initiating because he thought he had to…
His head swam with thoughts now. Yugi commonly did anything under the sun for attention. So did that mean that he could have possibly been raped sometime before ninth grade? Or maybe even younger than thirteen? He felt sick to his stomach with the idea. What if that was why Yugi dressed and practicallyactedlike a sex slave?
His jaw unconsciously clamped down on his tongue and, in turn, Yugi's who made a squeaking noise and startled him out of his thoughts, pulling away with wide eyes and an expression of confusion painting his features.
"What the fuck?" Yugi cried, feeling his tongue swell slightly from the pain; fuck, Yami bithard. He looked at him to find that Yami was still confused, looking completely lost, head tilted slightly to the side, blinking once or twice. Yeah, Yami had not been with him when he bit down. "Never mind."
Yami had a brief moment where he wondered if Yugi had somehow turned into one of those empathetic figures he read about in books–always sharing the others' emotions–and then nearly smacked himself for being so stupid. "Sorry."
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
Something always seemed to be off between the two of them. Yami couldn't function for the life of him and Yugi was impatient when he wanted a fuck. He wondered if that would ever change between them. Would Yami ever get his head screwed on straight and would Yugi ever learn to have some kind of patience with other people? Ugh, his head hurt.
"Seriously, don't worry about it," he insisted upon seeing the guilty look on Yami's face. "Just start moving your fingers again already. It's weird if they aren't moving."
Yami's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed slightly, voice confused and curious. "I thought it would feel weirderwhenthey were moving," he muttered, adding a third finger and chewing his cheek.
"No, they feel good," Yugi muttered, closing his eyes and letting out a soft sigh of contentment that made Yami stare with wide eyes, eyebrows shooting up.
It was strange, but that statement brought such relief it nearly blindsided him. That could possibly mean that Yugi was just using him like he was using Yugi. Yugi got his pleasure and Yami got his release. Yugi got his attention and Yami got his rebellion.
If that was what it was anyways. He wasn't sure. It could have been a million things for all he knew.
Yami hated himself for being so complicated.
Yugi snapped his fingers in front of his face, making his eyes widen and focus on him again. "Good. I don't need you losing focus and stopping again," he muttered when he was sure Yami was all there again.
The taller teen nodded almost imperceptibly, looking slightly lower than his eyes to stare at either his lashes or his cheekbones, and then shifted his position slightly before pulling his fingers away.
Yugi felt strange. It was like Yami had just crumpled in on himself. He had meant it as a joke and yet Yami had taken it seriously and Yugi didn't like it one bit. But hehatedthe fact that Yami had just suddenly become meek, wouldn't make eye contact. The pride that he was so used to seeing was completely gone now and he felt like Yami was waiting for something and it made his chest ache.
When a few minutes passed–Yugi trying to think of something to say and debating that talking might be the wrong idea while Yami remained perfectly still over him, his posture just as meek as it had been when he spoke–Yami finally pressed into him. Yugi tensed immediately, completely taken by surprise, and Yami's eyes rose to his, narrowed and shining with puzzlement, his head tilting to the side once more in question.
Yugi forced himself to relax against the sudden intrusion and Yami seated himself a minute or two later, still going extremely slow for him. The red eyes were on his mouth now and Yugi thought he was going to kiss him again, but then his head turned away and looked at the clock and back. Yugi would have been lying if he said it didn't frustrate him that he had pulled away, but he didn't argue and when Yami's eyes focused on his, Yugi rolled his hips for him.
Yami didn't move right away and Yugi stared at him for a minute before rolling his hips again; when Yami still didn't move, he lost his patience and started rocking against him, making the taller teen burst out laughing. Yugi went red in the face with embarrassment; Yami had set him up, tested his courage to see if he would do it. He couldn't help it when he started laughing with him. Yami's deep laughter spurred him into it.
It felt good to know he would at least tease him in a way that made him want to laugh too. It was definitely a change and he liked it. Yami didn't laugh at his expense and his jokes were ones that he could enjoy himself and laugh about later too.
Yeah, he definitely liked Yami more than he liked Ushio. He was always the butt of every joke the massive senior made and Yugi was so fed up with it but could do nothing as far as physical went. He outsmarted him all the time and Joey and Tristan and Tea always played mediator when they got into a spat because otherwise Ushio would have him for breakfast. Or so they thought anyways. He was actually almost two hundred percent sure that, given the right motivation, Yugi could kick his ass to the US and back if he had the energy.
Yugi had to admit he liked Yami sober like this. Although, then again, he didn't think Yami could do anything funnier than having that intense look of concentration, tongue out and eyes sometimes crossing when he focused too hard in his drunken state. Yugi had actually spent an hour laughing at that at one point, crying and breathing hard for ten minutes after he got his last laugh out. Thirty minutes of those red eyes becoming crossed, thirty minutes of his tongue practically lolling out of his mouth, had become a permanent picture in Yugi's mind.
He couldn't help it when he started snickering, making Yami's eyebrow rise in confusion; Yugi hadn't even realized that they had started a rhythm at some point while he was in his head. Yami's confusion was evident but he was smiling at him and Yugi was relieved he didn't think his laughter was offensive.
"What's so funny?" the taller teen asked, tilting his head.
Yugi shook his head and laughed a little harder. There was no way he was going to speak of this at that moment. How badly would Yami react to that anyways? Would he be mortified or would he laugh at it? And if either happened, would he make a run for it first chance he got?
He liked the arrangement they had going on at the moment and with the flightiness he had already witnessed from him, he couldn't be sure Yami would willingly come around again if he became too mortified and Yugi didn't want to give up on this. It was too much fun for him to let go of.
"Nothing. Nothing, don't worry about it."
"I wasn'tworriedabout it. I was just curious." He paused and then narrowed his eyes. "ShouldI be worried? Because I don't think that laughter during sex is a good sign…is it?"
Yugi laughed harder and it came out strange and distorted when it mixed with the moan from Yami pressing into his prostate again with his next thrust. Yugi liked the fact that Yami had perfect recall as far as his prostate went. He liked it–definitely liked it. "No, don't worry about it." He moved a hand to grip at his shoulders and then the other to his arm, still laughing. "I was just…thinking about the look on their faces."
Yugi was well aware that Yami's expression was purely disbelieving but neither of them commented and Yami instead went back to just thrusting again. Yugi liked that he let it fall away so quickly. He waswaytoo used to being pushed into explaining. Half the time he couldn't even remember why he was friends with the other three. Although he did know why he was friends with Tea.
They'd been friends since they were four and their parents had always had play dates with them. Somewhere along the line, however, something had changed because they used to be close, much closer, and he had never resented her treating him like a child before. And now he practically hated her for it.
It had started before Yami but it had definitely escalated after they started hanging out. If you could call what they were doing hanging out.
Could you call fucking someone just hanging out?
His stomach started to coil with the now-familiar tightening of his muscles that announced his oncoming orgasm. That was cool, too. Yami didn't try to force him to come by jerking him off. Maybe it was just because he was new to sex…but then so was Yami and yet he still somehow managed to get him to come at relatively close to the same time as he did.
Yugi wondered if he should feel bad for this thing they had going on. He was using him for attention and Yami was using him as a distraction. And he didn't feel bad about it. At all. Not in any way. That seemed so wrong, but at the same time he couldn't find it in himself to truly care. Maybe Yami was the same way or maybe he didn't even realize they were using each other.
He had a feeling he did, but either he just didn't care like Yugi, or he just didn't mind it. Maybe he was really just some kind of pushover and didn't let it show in school. Yugi had no idea but either way, Yami wasn't putting a stop to it and so Yugi wouldn't either.
He didn't notice that his nails had sunk into Yami's skin and Yami's head had lowered to his neck, breathing a little harder due to the pain from the broken skin. Yugi really needed to apologize for that because this was already the second time he'd torn Yami's shoulders open with his nails.
And while Yami didn't complain, his body language was very expressive in the fact that he was not happy with this pain.
His muscles were tightening all over again and Yami started to move a little faster, striking his prostate a little harder. Yugi had a moment where he wondered what he felt like wrapped around Yami like this, because Yami was large–larger than him, and Yugi was not small–and besides that, he always heard about how some of the guys at school wanted to fuck a girl up the ass.
And then of course came the idea of whether or not he would loosen up like a girl's vagina did. He did not like the idea but he didn't feel any different than he had before they started doing this.
He'd felt sore initially upon awakening, but it had been more of an uncomfortable sensation than pain. Initially uncomfortable but later very nice. So Yugi couldn't complain.
Yugi let out a loud moan when he came, and Yami followed him almost a millisecond afterwards. Yugi found it oddly comforting to have Yami's body weight–predominantly kept off him–against his. It was mostly just enough pressure to make him feel the warmth that Yami's body gave him, and it almost made him purr with pleasure.
The blue-violet eyes took in the clock and nearly choked; they'd been fucking for two and a half hours now. That was a pretty big jump, as far as he knew–not that he was an expert on stamina when it came to sex or really stamina at all–to go from one hour to two and a half. It was already eleven.
Yami pulled away from him with a breath and Yugi watched as he rolled over to rest against the backrest and snuggle against him; Yugi wondered if he was supposed to be disgusted by the fact that his own semen coated both of their torsos because of his bottoming. And then there was the fact that Yami was pulling him closer and the liquid was still warm from his body heat. And yet…Yugistillcould not find it in himself to care.
Although he had to admit he was curious about why neither of them pushed for a shower. His mind was stuck on that thought when he fell asleep; eight hours later Yugi blinked his eyes open and found that Yami was still passed out next to him. Apparently Yami was not much of a light sleeper.
He looked him over for a moment and then smirked. Then he had the idea that maybe Yami was awake but not moving around because he was being nice enough to let Yugi sleep in as long as he wanted to. He snorted at the thought because in all honesty, he could definitely see that happening. It seemed like something the taller teen would do. He looked him over, stared for a long moment, and then smiled a little. Yami was half-awake. Yugi recognized it because Yami's eyelids fluttered but didn't open and his breathing had changed for a split second to rapid rises and falls of his chest before evening out again.
Yugi was used to watching his grandfather for moments like this when he had had his smaller series of strokes when he was still a freshman. He would alert the nurses and they would check up on him.
He squirmed out of Yami's grip and the red-eyed teen's eyes opened into slits, confused, and then closed again. Yugi waited a moment and Yami didn't move, which made him snicker when he realized that the teen still on the couch had fallen back asleep.
And then he frowned. Maybe Yami wasn't sleeping right.
Yugi wandered into the kitchen and got himself a bowl of cereal; halfway through his breakfast, he watched Yami's head poke up from the couch, slow, tired. He watched him move around and grab his clothes, not pausing in his motions even though Yugi knew he knew that he was watching him.
Yami stretched himself out and Yugi watched the muscles in his back roll as his shirt was pulled on over his head. Yami's hair was disarrayed from its usual chaotic gravity-defying spikes but sex hair definitely looked good on the red-eyed teen.
Yugi admired that sex hair for a moment and then smirked before shaking his head and frowning. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why was he admiringYami'ssex hair, of all people?
When you hooked up with someone for meaningless sex, release, you weren't supposed to admire them. You were supposed to just look at them and not care. But then, their situation wasn't exactly the most normal in any way.
Nerds were not supposed to be fucking bad boys. Bad boys were supposed to be the ringleaders of fucking every girl at school. They were not supposed to associate with geeks. And if they did, they sure ashellwere not supposed to let them fuck them and especially not initiate itorlet it happen more than once. If it happened that once, you never spoke of it. If it happened more than once…it meant something was going on.
That was what Joey told him. If you fucked a girl and it wasn't that great and they tried to brag about it, you denied it. And if the fucking continued, it meant either you liked it and won't admit it, or you have no taste in your fuck buddies.
But then, neither of them was female and Yugiadmittedto liking Yami fucking him.
Ugh, that word left a bitter taste in his mouth. Should he really be calling it that? It was vulgar, yes, but it was exactly what they were doing. They had no feelings for each other. The hookups were just happening because they wanted to use each other.
It meant nothing else.
"You hungry?"
The words left his mouth before he could even consider saying them.
Yami stopped short and turned his head, surprised, and then shook his head after a moment, pulling his canvas bag on and heading for the stairs. "No, but thank you for your concern."
Yugi shrugged and Yami was gone before he could even lower his shoulders completely.
Geez, that kid was fast.

Yami was still apprehensive when they got to the shop. He noticed that Yugi did not call out and he did not flip the sign over either; instead his hand was in his and he was being tugged upstairs into Yugi's room. He was about to ask about the project but a single look from the smaller teen warned him against it.
And then he remembered the taunts that they had gotten at school. Someone had called Yugi out on his good grade, called him pathetic and brainless for letting Yami do the whole thing the last time. Of course they hadn't been brave enough to say it to his face but they said it loud enough that when Yami was walking past their table which was right near Yugi's, practically everyone heard it.
Yami had stopped short for a second, blinking, Yugi had looked like he wanted to kill the girl but when he spared a half-assed flicker of his eyes towards their table, not one of them looked like they were going to do or say anything about it. Instead Joey and Ushio were smirking, Tristan was frowning, but Tea…she was watching him with a blatant stare. Yami would have rebutted this himself but one look at Yugi said that if he opened his mouth he would die a very bloody and painful death and despite how much his pride flared with the remark and the resentment towards Yugi's friends made his blood boil, he turned away and headed to his own table. It didn't stop someone from calling him a nerd–albeit playfully–but he ignored it in order to talk to the twins because if he hadn't, with all the dislike and indignation flaring in his system, he might have ended up throwing his food over someone else's head and he couldn't risk drawing attention.
Yami's stomach twisted. Yugi wanted a distraction.
And while Yami hated to be used–it was all he had known his entire life–oddly enough, this time he had no qualms with it.
He could do that if it meant Yugi felt better. After all, he could have very done the same for him when he came to his house drunk. He couldn't remember and if he really did rape him like the voice in the back of his head suspected, he owed him a lot more than just this.
He stiffened when Yugi put his hand down his pants, gripping his penis and pumping once or twice before palming him; Yami nearly panicked for a moment. It had nothing to do with his thoughts but merely the fact that this was the first time anyone had ever touched him like this before except for that one night that Yugi woke him up.
Yugi ignored the stiffening of his companion and instead worked his tongue into his mouth, resorting to pinching his arm when Yami didn't react to him licking his bottom lip. Yugi rolled his eyes behind their lids when Yami didn't immediately react to him and he was a mere second away from pulling back and snapping at him when the minty dark chocolate-flavored muscle started to dance against his. Yugi liked this feeling of control he had in that moment.
Yami was yielding to every one of his advances, letting him push at his lips and dominate his mouth effectively with his tongue. He didn't argue when Yugi started stripping him of his clothes, helping him to do what he wanted. And when Yugi didn't even bother to let him prep him and just hopped onto him, he choked into his mouth.
Yugi stilled himself because the lack of prep had made his ass burn again, and instead just focused on letting himself adjust to Yami's penis inside him. He was just glad that Yami's body was not as naïve as his mind seemed to be and he had hardened while they were kissing, quickened by Yugi's touch when he had taken up pumping and palming him again.
Yugi had to admit that their position was not the best. He hadn't even bothered to let them get further than the foot of the bed and Yami's legs were dangling off the side and Yugi's feet were next to Yami's knees. He had completely dismissed the idea of positioning, straddling him with his knees pressed against Yami's hips.
Yami was staring at him, eyes wide with surprise and blank of any other emotion. Yugi kept his arms around Yami's neck for balance, leaning forward slightly as he moved experimentally. This position, with Yami sitting up and the strange sensation of his feet having no purchase, was awkward and scared him a little.
Yugi had always had a deep fear of heights and it was doubled with the sensation of his feet not touching the ground. And with only Yami to keep him grounded, it was something that made his skin crawl. He hated depending on others. He had depended on his parents and they had left him behind and whenever his grandfather left, half the time he had the thought that he would not come back.
His parents were supposed to love each other. That was the whole point of them being married, right? So then why had they split up when he was only one and a half and dumped him with his grandpa? Yugi onlyhadmemories of Solomon and none of his parents outside of the–three, maybe four?–visits from them. They only came on his birthday and stayed for only two or three days if he was lucky enough to be graced with their presence at all.
They were his parents and they were supposed to be there for him and outside of financial support–they sent it via a debit card that he could use but never touched–they did nothing for him. His grandfather was literally the only constant in his life outside of Tea and half the time he couldn't even find it in himself to trust them completely. His grandfather was almost never there after he turned twelve–he did not blame him for wanting to do something with his life now that Yugi could practically take care of himself–and Tea's attention was very subjective. He had to meet a certain criteria for her to give him her undivided attention.
But that undivided attention? It was barely worth the crap he had to do in order to get it.
So to have to use Yami as an anchor in order to avoid falling off the bed made his skin crawl and his breathing quicken for a moment. Yugi barely even reallyknewYami. The most he knew was that he was an only child like him, he had four different cousins that were all male, he was great for partner projects, hated to speak in front of others, and his youngest cousin was in the hospital. Outside of that he truly had no other clue about who Yami was.
That thought actually made his chest hurt. He didn't know Yami. And, oddly enough, he found he really wanted to.
But not today. Today was purely for sex. Purely for distraction.
He bit his lip and then moved again, pulling himself up so that Yami was only inside of him by the tip. The prospect of falling was definitely in the back of his mind and a cynical voice spat at him that Yami might just let him, but when he wavered, Yami's hands were on his hips as they had been when he had first tried this position.
His teeth dug into his cheek with the idea that he could trust him, but it didn't stop him from tightening his grip around Yami's neck, leaning forward into him more and then continuing his movements.
He burned horribly. And he thought that it would never stop but when he paused and waited for it to leave for several minutes, Yami's hands just firm enough to reassure him of holding him there, it faded away. The sensation of panic at the back of his mind, the thought that he would fall over the edge of the bed? That didn't leave.
He didn't know Yami well enough to trust him not to let him fall. The idea made his stomach sink so he pushed it away and instead started to quicken his pace. He couldn't find his prostate no matter how many times he shifted his position and when Yami started with, "I–" he snarled, "Shut up, you talk too much" before the taller teen could get a second word out of his mouth.
He immediately felt bad because Yugi had a feeling he was only going to help him find it, but he was too mad with what had happened at school that he didn't care for it at all. Screw it if he hurt Yami's feelings or whatever. He just was not in the mood to deal with everything.
And Yugi didn'twantto depend on Yami to findhisprostate. He shouldknowwhere it was because it was his body. But then that was a stupid idea because he had never once touched himself. So that idea was ridiculous.
Yami turned meek again. His eyes lowered, his head bowed slightly and turned to the side, and he wouldn't look at him. Yugi felt like someone had just driven a pick ax into his chest when he saw that and he would have apologized but then Yami seemed to have pulled out of it just as fast and was now guiding his hips so that he hit his prostate every time.
But he still didn't look up and his head remained as it was, lowered just enough that his hair was only a mere inch from Yugi's face. He started to call him out on it, but then pushed that thought away again immediately. He was not going to be nastier than he already had because obviously he had affected Yami a lot more than he had meant to and the guilt was already there eating away at him.
Yugi had never made grand gestures before so he didn't know what he could do to make Yami feel better and instead just kept going. Yugi didn't last nearly as long as he would have if there hadn't been that tension between them and Yugi just wanting to get his release for the moment, his distraction.
Yami didn't release him until he pulled himself off twenty minutes later, feeling rather disgusted with himself for using the red-eyed teen like this. And it definitely didn't help that Yami was not looking at him even after he took a seat next to him, pulling his pants on again and watching as Yami did the same before wandering off into the bathroom to–Yugi supposed–clean himself off.
Yami turned the faucet on and then grabbed one of the towels hanging on the rack and started wiping the semen off his chest and torso. His head was numb with Yugi's words; if he had spoken too much, why did everyone else say that he talked too little? Was there no balance for him? Either he spoke too much or too little.
And each time he had gotten punished for it. He didn't give enough information or he gave too much and he was sore for days on end with bruises. He was well aware that Yugi was not his father but the way he had said it still made his stomach twist and his instincts told him that he was going to be punished. His head hurt with the thought. His muscles hurt with the tension that had been born with Yugi's words.
He couldn't unclench his jaw no matter how hard he tried and his back was sharp with harsh pain in his spine from the locked muscles. He could practically hear his bones moving beneath his skin and it brought back too many thoughts that made his head swim with massive pain.
He couldn't push it away immediately and it took several tries before it was finally snuffed when he put the towel away to dry and then walked back out, grabbing his shirt and jacket and pulling them back on.
Yugi now had his laptop out on his lap, typing away and acting as if nothing had happened. Maybe it was honestly not worth questioning. Yami found it to be a strange idea but he liked pretending that this had not just happened. He definitely didn't want to associate Yugi with his father in any way, shape or form and ignoring it was effective enough in that aspect.
"So I was thinking that we would do the pharaohs in Egypt," Yugi announced, and just like that, Yami felt something akin to hatred boil beneath his skin; he did not like Yugi anymore. Fuck it all, it was like Yugi wastryingto make Yami flee.
"Oh?"
It came out slightly rough and Yugi's head snapped up, eyes widening in surprise because Yami's voice had dropped drastically, coming out cold and low and barely audible.
For a full three minutes neither of them spoke, merely staring at each other, and then finally Yugi turned back to his laptop and murmured, "We don't have to but I figured it would be easiest."
They had gotten their sixty-page essay on the general society of Egypt done, a complete overview of it all, but now they needed to pick a subject and do it and from the list pertaining to Egypt, in all honesty, it was either the slaves or the pharaohs and Yami could definitely understand why the pharaohs would be more appealing.
He took a seat and pulled his legs up, kicking his shoes off and going over to him to look over his shoulder at the computer screen. He really didn't want Yugi to find out about Atem the pharaoh because he sure as hell would notice the resemblance–especially when he saw the stupid tablet carving that had both Atem and his…whatever he was, that looked exactly like Seto Kaiba.
Yugi would make the connection. There was no way he wouldn't.
Yami personally hated himself for looking like that fucking seventeen-year-old on the tablet. And he hated the fact that the tablet itself wasinthe museum inDomino City. An Egyptian woman named Ishizu Ishtar had brought it with her for whatever reason, brought it to the museum, made a big point of showing off a picture of the Millennium Puzzle that Yami himself owned and kept in his house.
No one had managed to put it together in their family outside of Atem the pharaoh and the artifact was priceless, as was the Millennium Rod that Seto had given Malik when he dismissed his heritage and the Millennium Ring that Bakura wore every now and then beneath his clothes. Ishizu wore the Necklace, someone else had the Anhk and the Scales and the Eye.
So if Yugi were to look up the pharaohs, he'd be able to track him back to Yami himself and Yami definitely did not want this, but Yugi was right in saying that they would find much more on the pharaohs than the slaves, especially considering they needed names of actual people in that time…
"All right. But how about I do the research and you can do the slides?"
Yugi gave him a confused look. The last time they had worked on their project, they had equally split the work up and worked on the slideshows and research together. Yami couldn't blame him for his confusion and he hated that he was practically pushing him away like this, but he couldn't find it in himself to care as much as he should have.
Because if he did this, there was no way he was going back home again and heneededto go home. It haunted his dreams, ate away at his subconscious. He wanted to gohome.
It wasn't a punishment–him being in Japan–but it might as well have been.
Yami didn't hate it in Japan. Far from it, actually. He loved it here. But he missed his parents despite himself. He didn't understand how he could miss them–not at all, in fact–but he did and he missed the sights. He missed everything about home.
His stomach twisted with the thought of going back. He wanted to so badly, but at the same time, he didn'twantto have to be around his parents, no matter how much he missed them. Not that he didn't seem to have them constantly sticking their noses into his business.
Still a virgin? Are there any cute girls? You should try to get a job at Kaiba Corp–is your cousin hiring? Well I'm sure he'd make a spot just for you if you asked him for one. Grades? How are Bakura and Malik? Oh, they're good? That's great. So, how are you doing in school? Are you at the top of your classes? I didn't raise you be a slacker. You better not disgrace this family. Stay away from any boys who don't look like they have a girlfriend. You never know over there. Don't bring attention to yourself.
Every conversation was the same. Yes, still a virgin–like he was going to tell them he'd gotten with a boy; he'd sooner die. Yes, there are some cute girls but none of them are really my type. No, Seto is not hiring. Yes, he probablywouldopen a spot for me if I asked him to. Good. Good. I'm doing well in school. Yes, I am at the top of my classes–in fact I'm called a geek because I've got high grades. No, you did not raise me to be a slacker. I will not disgrace the family, I promise. I don't have any guy friends except for one and I don't hang out with him. Yeah, I guess so. Will not bring attention to myself, thank you for fucking reminding me. Goodbye.
He could recite every conversation they had ever had since he had gotten into Japan because it was practically just a constant cycle of repeated questions and scolding and remarks. And he answered the same every time. He wondered if his parents realized that or not.
He honestly didn't think they did or they might have called him out on his bored tone every time he spoke to them. His mother probably thought he was depressed or tired every time they spoke. And his father was just digging for things he did wrong so that he could use them to bury barbs into him.
Yugi was still staring at him in pure confusion that was slowly changing into slight suspicion. "I guess so. Why?"
"Because that way it will be easier," Yami lied effortlessly. "And besides, you're better with computer graphics than I am."
That was true. Yami had never actuallybeenexposed to technology for the most part. He had had to pick up where his mind didn't comprehend and he'd had to do it all in three weeks–fourteen years' worth of technology drilled into his head just before ninth grade began and he had to blend in with everyone else.
His parents had said on more than one occasion that technology was a waste of time and would ruin his brain and so had forbade him from being around it whatsoever. Instead he was kept under lock and key with his parents' constant guidance and supervision.
"Yeah, but if we split up the research–"
"I know that it means you can just pick and choose what you want to put on the slides," Yami spat. "Iwasthere when we did our last project, Yugi."
The smaller teen bristled. "Okay, you knowwhat? If you're being pissy about what happened a few minutes ago–"
"It was thirty minutes ago and no, that's not why I'm pissy. You just aren't listening to me."
"If I wasn't listening I wouldn't be arguing, now would I Yami? I have to listen to what you're saying in order to be able to make an argument with you."
"Semantics are bullshit, Yugi."
"Semantics are the grounds of society."
"Whatever. Just let me do the research and you can do the slideshow. Let's just stick to what we'regoodat, shall we?"
"Are you saying I can't take good notes?"
"No. That's what you just said."
Yugi glared at him angrily. "You piss me off so badly."
"And you make me want to wring my own neck in order to avoid your presence."
"…That's a little fucked up."
"But it's also the truth." He snorted and looked at the laptop. "When does your grandfather get back?"
That was a wild change of subject that didn't go unnoticed but Yugi decided to indulge him. "Another week."
"So what do you guys do to keep in touch? Video chatting? Phone calls?"
"All of the above and texts."
"Well, that must be nice, right? He keeps you updated."
Yugi stared at him and the single word came stretched out and suspicious. "Yeah." What the hell was Yami getting at? And why did he look slightly pale, like he was up to something and extremely nervous about being caught?
"Does he ever ask about your grades and stuff?"
What the hell kind of question was that?
"Not really. Why?"
Just wanted to seejusthow unnatural my family really is, Yami thought wryly, shaking his head. "No reason. Just curious."
"What's with the sudden interest about my grandpa? And family is supposed to be off limits, remember?"
Yami was silent for a long time. "My parents always ask about my grades–every night. And they don't bother to talk to me unless it's by the phone." His answers, his voice, came out cold and calculating. "And I only ask because I was curious about it."
Yugi looked at the screen and chewed his cheek. "I'm sorry."
"Doesn't matter. Sorry doesn't mean anything," Yami replied, grabbing the smaller boy's laptop from his lap and starting up the internet.
"Where are your parents?"
Yami's entire body went rigid for one split second and then he was in an expressionless yet oddly relaxed-looking posture. "They travel a lot," he lied, shrugging. "They're always moving around so I never know where they are."
"They don't take you with them when they travel?"
"Apparently it would have messed with my schooling."
"I guess that's a pretty big deal in your family huh?"
Yami wasn't stupid so he didn't ask why he would say that; he had just told him, after all. Instead he let out an affirmative hum of "Mm" that made Yugi frown at him in response, the smaller teen's teeth digging into his bottom lip.
"Look, if I said something to you earlier–"
"Seriously, Yugi, don'tbotherapologizing."
"But–"
"It doesn't fuckingmatter. I don't care and I sure as hell don't care for an apology. Be sorry all you want to but don't waste my time and yours verbalizing it."
Yugi's mouth fell open in shock, eyes wide, and Yami ignored him pointedly, at his patience's end with this conversation. He should have known better than to bother even trying small talk. For whatever reason, they always ended up at each other's throats.
"All right…fine," Yugi finally muttered, still looking and sounding dazed when he turned away and stared at the laptop.