Title: Queer as Tachi
Category: AU drama/romance (yaoi and het)
Rating: NC-17 (most parts PG-13)
Summary: a soap-opera style retelling of the lives of a group of young men in Domino City, mixed in with a little improbable mysticism. Assumes the Ancient Egypt arc never happened/was delayed several years to allow Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Bakura, Kaiba, and all the others to grow up and have lives first. Yugi/Yami, Joey/Mai, Duke/Tristan, Bakura/Marik, Kaiba/Alastair
Author’s notes: I’m serious about the 18+ ...lots of explicit sex, both lemon and lime, bad language, adult situations, drinking, sexy dancing, complete disrespect for fandom, and occasional lapses of canon. Dub-friendly (re-dub). If you have any issues with details being out of place, remind yourself that it’s AU.
To think, it all started with an accident. Well, perhaps the accident wasn’t the real start, but it marked a turning point in Yugi’s life, when he was forced to face up to the reality of his relationship and decide whether it was worth nearly losing everything in order to maintain his closeness to Yami. It was spring, high school would be over soon, and he and Yami had been involved in an internal relationship for quite some time now. It was bizarre, he never lied to himself about that. He knew it wasn’t normal for anyone to consider themselves in love with a disembodied spirit whose only existence lay in the mystical realm contained inside the Millennium Puzzle. The point was, he didn’t care. Yugi loved Yami with all his heart, and was willing to accept that the only way for them to be together was for him to let his mind go inside the Puzzle. There, the intangible became real, and their spirits could assume form, to touch, to hold, to kiss. It was difficult at first, learning the mental concentration to allow himself to become just entranced enough without falling asleep, but Yugi managed it, and in time it became second nature to slip away and be with Yami in this special way. They were with each other constantly anyway, the pharaoh’s spirit always looking over his shoulder, seeing through his eyes, reading his mind before he could even speak aloud his thoughts. It had always been like that, only the bond had now grown stronger with love.
They had known their relationship had grown beyond mere guardianship and spiritual friendship in the late stages of the Battle City tournament, though there was never a marked event that pointed to the turning of the tide. By the time they were forced to face Dartz and save the world, they knew, and had confessed to each other, but even then the connection was only spirit, mind, and heart, all romance and feelings. Losing Yugi for that short space of time nearly destroyed Yami, but they came through the fire tested, stronger for it, more in tune with each other and willing to do anything to protect each other. Discovering that their spirits had a tactile response inside the Puzzle took the blossoming romance to the next level, though it felt a little silly to Yugi at first that his only physical encounter was not physical at all. Still, he much preferred being with Yami in whatever way was possible to real-life dating and people, because he knew Yami loved him. He didn’t have to pretend, or try so hard to win his heart, or put up with shattered expectations and pointless fumbling with people who could be dishonest, unpleasant, difficult, uncommunicative, or just plain uninterested in a short, wild-haired gamer geek. Yami could hide nothing from him, and wouldn’t, he had no reason to play head games and nothing to gain from manipulating Yugi. He only loved him, deeper than most because of who he was, and counted every day a blessing to be allowed the closeness and commitment he thought he had lost when he lost his body and memory. In time, Yugi even stopped caring what other people at school thought of him, when they noticed that he never dated anybody and never talked about anybody, and yet seemed to be so happy. He kept it from his friends, not knowing how they would react, but as time went on, he found himself longing to share the truth with someone he could trust. It was something he couldn’t keep to himself any longer, or else he would burst from his secret joy.
Sakura petals drifted like pink snow in the breeze as Yugi and Joey walked home from school one afternoon, breathing deep of the fresh air and grateful for the warmth that allowed them to have their jackets open again after a long winter. Yugi tilted his youthful face upward toward the sun with a happy sigh. “This is so awesome,” he gushed. “It’s perfect! We’re lucky to get out so early on a day like today.”
“Yeah, for once I’m not being kept after for some dumb reason or another,” Joey agreed. “At least, they haven’t caught me for one yet.”
“Well, if you stopped doing stuff that the teachers keep you after for, maybe they wouldn’t have to catch you,” Yugi laughed. “It’ll be a miracle if you even graduate.”
“Hey, I’ve been doing better,” Joey pouted. “At least I’m not last in the class on test scores anymore.”
“No, that’s very true.” Yugi smiled up at his best friend. “Just what are you going to do with the rest of your life? We have to pass with better scores if we want to get into university.”
“Why do you think I’ve been pushing myself so hard?” Joey kicked idly at an imaginary stone in their path as they walked. “Maybe it’s too late to turn things around, I don’t know, but I’m sure gonna try.”
“You…want to go to university?” Yugi blinked at him in surprise. “What for?”
Joey looked ahead of them, down the sidewalk, as though looking into his future. “If I tell you, promise you won’t laugh?”
“Of course I won’t laugh. What is it, Joey?”
The blond boy’s voice quieted seriously. “I think I want to be a teacher.”
He steeled himself for giggles, but none came. He glanced down to see Yugi looking eagerly at him with wide eyes. “Really?” he said with his usual enthusiasm. “Joey, that’s really great. What made you decide that?”
“Dunno,” Joey shrugged. “I guess I just didn’t want to be seen as the dumb guy, the one who goes to the trouble of getting into high school and then punks out and gets some boring job that lets me put my brain on hold for the rest of my life. Not that that’s what I’d think of you if you decided not to go to university,” he quickly added. “I know Tristan isn’t going to.”
“No,” Yugi agreed, “but I can’t really see Tristan in university anyway. I’m going to go…I think. If I can get in,” he said with a sheepish grin. “I don’t know what I want to do, my life isn’t like other people’s. I don’t know anything right now.”
“Things are kind of different with a five thousand year old pharaoh hangin’ out with you,” Joey said understandingly.
Yugi nodded, growing more serious. “It’s my destiny, to be Yami’s vessel. I can’t really plan out a lot of things like everyone else, because there’s no telling when some evil presence will pop up again, and try to destroy him or take the Puzzle or anything. Not that I mind…” An impish smile grew on his lips, one he couldn’t quite suppress. “I definitely don’t mind. It just means I can’t really think in the same terms as every other normal kid in school.”
“I’m sure you’ll think of something when the time is right,” Joey assured him with a slap on the shoulder. “Meanwhile, you and I can both go to university, so we’ll still be together. Right?”
“Right!” Yugi beamed. “Best friends till the end. Even if everyone else goes their separate ways.”
Joey shrugged again. “Eh, that’s life. I mean, everybody’s got to follow their dreams, right? Duke already owns his own store, he sure doesn’t have to go to university. Téa’s probably going to get into that dance school in New York. And I’ll bet you any money, the last day of high school is the last day we ever have to see Kaiba’s mug ever again.”
“Not if you and I keep entering tournaments,” Yugi warned him. “Kaiba’s going to be gunning for my championship title until he gets it.”
“Yeah, and so am I.” Joey elbowed his friend good-naturedly, though he almost knocked Yugi sideways into a fence. “Don’t think that just because you’ve got a pharaoh inside you, that you’re going to keep winning forever.”
Yugi caught his breath for a second, a blush dashing across his cheeks. “Uh…yeah, I know.”
Joey threw him a strange look. “What? Something I said?”
“Just…an interesting choice of words there, Joey.”
The strange look persisted, but Joey let it go. They were crossing over a busy street on a wide pedestrian walkway, and paused in the middle to look down at the cars whizzing below them. There were a fair number of people crossing back and forth behind them as they leaned on the railing, but the two friends felt comfortably alone as they watched the world go by around them. “It seems like it’s all gone by so fast,” Joey murmured. “It’s like, how can so many years have passed since I first met you and took that piece of your Puzzle? It feels like it was only yesterday.”
Yugi smiled softly. “I know. And yet, so much has happened to us in all that time. We’ve gone through so much, changed so much, since you used to be a street punk and I used to have no friends.”
“Yeah.” Joey laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You’ve been a good friend, Yug. I don’t think I would have turned out half this good if you hadn’t been there, taught me Duel Monsters and all that.”
Yugi just smiled away the compliment and turned his eyes back to the mesmerizing movement of cars below them. “Joey…can I tell you something…well, private? I want to tell someone, but it’s got to be someone I can trust, someone who won’t repeat it anywhere else.”
Joey’s brown eyes widened in concern. “You know you can trust me, Yug. Who’s been there for you all this time, huh? So…what is it?”
“It’s nothing bad,” Yugi quickly assured him, seeing the wary light in his friend’s eyes. “It’s actually something really good, at least I think so. But I don’t know how you’ll react, so I’ve been keeping it to myself for a long time.”
“Okay, now I’m really worried,” Joey said, turning to face Yugi. “You know I’m here for you. It doesn’t matter what it is, I’m not gonna get mad at you or anything like that, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
Yugi looked away shyly. “I know, it’s just…it’s something no one else would go through, so it’s not like I could predict which way you’d react. But I know I can trust you, and I want you to know. I really hope you can be honest with me, okay?”
“You got it,” Joey promised. “What is it?”
Yugi leaned in a little closer, so he could quiet his voice and still be heard over the wind and the traffic. “It’s about Yami,” he began. “He and I…well, we’ve been…” The blush in his cheeks was growing fiercer, too obvious for Joey to ignore, so Yugi just closed his eyes and blurted it out. “We’re in love with each other. We have been for a while now.”
Joey simply stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. “You…and Yami?” he managed after a moment. “Really? Like…seriously?”
“Yeah,” Yugi breathed, smiling faintly. “Very seriously.”
“But…how?” Joey looked as though he were trying to work out the square root of pi in his head. “He’s just a spirit, isn’t he?”
“When you love someone, isn’t that what you love? Their spirit?” Yugi reasoned. “I love his heart and his soul, because that’s all I have of him. Well…” More blushing. “We figured out that we can do more within the Puzzle, that’s as close to reality as we can get. But, mostly, I just…” He smiled the most gentle, innocent smile Joey had ever seen. “I just love him. He’s been a part of my life so long that it’s only natural.” The smile faded as he looked up into Joey’s face. “It’s probably hard to understand. None of you know Yami the way I do. I just hope you can be happy for me, if nothing else.”
A moment of silent stillness passed between them, and then Joey began to smile again. “So that’s it.”
It was Yugi’s turn to look confused. “What? Joey?”
“Nothing ever seems to get you down, no matter what,” his friend pointed out. “I always wondered what you had to be so happy about, or why you didn’t seem to be bothered when people teased you or talked behind your back about how you didn’t act like a normal kid.”
Yugi’s brow knit in question. “People said that about me?”
“Just because you weren’t chasing girls or stupid stuff like that didn’t mean anything,” Joey explained. “Those people are just jerks. But I always wondered. I mean, I knew you weren’t like everybody else because of the Puzzle, but I didn’t realize it meant you were…” He trailed off thoughtfully, but then smiled again. “Is he good to you? Does he love you back?”
Yugi returned the smile. “Yeah. He’s very sweet. You…” He fidgeted shyly. “You’re not freaked out about it?”
Joey held up his hands entreatingly. “Why would I freak out? Because he’s a spirit in the Puzzle? I already knew about that, that’s no big thing. I mean, I’ve been talking to him almost as long as I’ve known you. It’s a little late for me to start thinking that’s weird. Or is it because you’re both guys?”
Yugi turned away, leaning against the railing and looking down again. “I know you and I have been friends for a long time, Joey, but that kind of thing never came up. I didn’t know what you thought about…male relationships.”
Joey came over and leaned beside him, clasping his hands loosely before him as he looked out at traffic below. “Doesn’t bother me. As long as nobody’s hitting on me, it’s all cool.” He narrowed his eyes sideways at Yugi. “You haven’t been hitting on me, have you?”
Yugi burst out laughing, mostly in relief. “No, you’re fine, Joey. It’s not that I like boys in general, I just…it’s just Yami. I didn’t stop to think about him being a guy, I just fell in love with him.” He looked cautiously up at Joey, unable to believe he was really hearing this. “Really? You’re okay with it?”
“Really, Yug,” Joey said firmly. “You don’t have to be afraid. You’re my best buddy in the whole world, what kind of friend would I be if I freaked out on you now? You have to admit, compared to some of the other crap we’ve been through, this is hardly the weirdest.” He slung an arm over Yugi’s slender shoulders, pulling him close for a sideways hug. “Of all the guys in the world you could go for, I think you made the best choice. The pharaoh’s good for you, he watches out for you. I have faith in him. But he better keep treating you right, or he’ll have to answer to me,” he added sternly.
Yugi rested his head on Joey’s shoulder, sharing the hug. “Thank you, Joey,” he said softly. “I’m sorry I kept this to myself so long. I couldn’t dream of a better response.”
“You know you can trust me, Yug,” Joey said seriously. “I’m not offended that you kept it secret, though, I know why you did. Most people would think it’s pretty freaky. But I’ve been through everything with you, so I know how real he is. He’s not just your fantasy man or something.”
“That’s exactly what I was afraid of,” Yugi whispered. “That people would tell me it wasn’t right for me to be living in my fantasies, that I should grow up and face reality.”
Joey ruffled his hair playfully before letting go of him. “Don’t you listen to that for a second. Yami isn’t any less real than you or I. Sure, maybe you have to handle the relationship differently because he doesn’t have a body of his own, but…” He looked around, to be sure none of the passing pedestrians were lingering long enough to overhear, and then leaned in close. “What were you saying about the Puzzle, though? Can you really…?”
Yugi giggled quietly to himself. “Yeah, we can. We have. Lots. It’s like…it’s a whole other world inside the Puzzle, whatever magic it contains creates this place for Yami to exist, where I can touch him and everything. We realized it a long time ago, when my mind was restless and I went inside and met him…we actually saw each other and shook hands and stuff. So, we knew we could see each other there.”
Joey snickered. “You naughty boy, you. That’s why you blushed when I said ‘inside!’ You are so bad.”
“Joey!” Calling attention to it only made Yugi blush more. “Don’t make fun of it. It’s a beautiful thing.”
“I bet it is.” Joey stepped away from the railing, tugging on Yugi’s sleeve to get him to come along. They left the pedestrian crossing and kept going on their route home, heading for Kame game shop first since it was closer. “I can’t believe it. Of all of us, I wouldn’t have picked you for the first one to have sex.”
Yugi clapped a hand over his face to try to hide his blush. “I don’t think it counts, if it’s just my spirit.”
“Oh, it counts, all right. Congratulations.”
“Thanks,” Yugi groaned. “You mean you haven’t, yet?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but no,” Joey complained. Under his breath, he added, “Not that she stays in town long enough for me to even ask.”
“Well, I don’t think it’s anything for you to be ashamed of,” Yugi said supportively. “It’s not something you want to do with just anyone. It’s got to be special.”
“Yeah, in a perfect world, maybe,” Joey sighed. “Nah, I’m not upset. A little envious, maybe, but I know what I want and I’m going to wait for it as long as it takes me.”
Yugi smiled up at him, knowing who he was subtly referring to. “I think that’s a good plan, Joey.”
They had almost reached the game shop when Joey paused on a corner, under a flowering sakura tree raining petals on them. There was no traffic to stop them from crossing and going the rest of the way to Yugi’s home, but Joey seemed to have some other reason for standing there, hands in his pockets. He looked down at Yugi for a moment, studying him, and then asked, “Can I talk to him for a second?”
Yugi blinked innocently. “Who? Yami?”
“Yeah.”
“Um…okay.” The spirit had been observing the entire discussion as it was, he always knew everything that happened around Yugi, but for him to interact with people, he had to take over control of Yugi’s body. Yugi glanced down at the Puzzle around his neck as the Eye on its front began to glow, a sign that a transfer of minds was taking place. In a flash, a cooler, sleeker presence looked out at Joey from those violet eyes, his face calm and wise and not so childlike. The backpack seemed smaller hanging from his thin shoulders, somehow.
Joey recognized the change in stature and smiled faintly. “It’s really you, huh? Pharaoh?”
“For now,” Yami said placidly, offering his own shadow of a smile. “I’ve been listening to you and Yugi talk, so I know what’s going on. What did you want to say to me, instead of Yugi?”
“I just want to be sure my best friend is in good hands.” Joey glanced up at the pink petals drifting down onto their shoulders. “I guess technically, I’ve known you about as long as I’ve known him. Even though I didn’t know you existed at first. Yugi just seemed different sometimes. That was always you.”
“That was us, together,” Yami corrected him. “We bond, our souls together, neither one of us in control of the other. There have been very few times when I have come to the fore as myself alone.”
“Yeah, and I remember one of those times.” The darkly serious look in Joey’s brown eyes hearkened back to a sad few days when Yugi’s soul was lost. “I know I was mad at you for what happened, but I also saw what it did to you. Now that he’s told me this, about you guys, I understand. I know why you were so crushed.”
Yami closed his eyes and nodded. “I lost someone I love, the only one I love.” He sighed sadly. “So many people suffer because of me. Yugi isn’t the only one. All of you have suffered for your connection to me as well.”
“Yeah, we have,” Joey acknowledged. “What’s your point?”
Yami looked up at him, unsure why he was brushing off such a serious topic. “I don’t see how you can so easily forgive me for that, for what I let happen to Yugi most of all. If not for me, all of you would never go through these dark times.”
“Except that you’re not the one to blame,” Joey argued. “It’s not your fault that there are stupid, evil psycho nutcases in the world who figure the only thing they can do with their special powers is hurt people. You’re the one who stands up to them, and makes sure they don’t hurt any more people. I think that makes you the good guy, eh?”
The pharaoh tried to smile. “You make it sound so simple.”
“That’s because it is.” Joey reached out and took the pharaoh by the shoulder, forcing him to look at him. “You care about Yugi, right? And he already knows all the reasons for him not to be kicking you out of his mind, I’ll bet you guys have talked that over a million times. What goes for him, goes for me. We’re friends, aren’t we? I won’t pretend I like the suffering part, but I’ll go through it for you. No question.”
Yami’s deep, violet eyes shimmered. “Thank you, Joey. I needed to hear that. You have my word I will never let anything happen to Yugi again.”
“I know you won’t. I know you’ll protect him.” Joey’s eyes were still hard, but with a light of joy in them. “You better, or you’ll answer to me, you got it?”
Yami smiled, just short of a laugh. “I promise, I will protect him with my very soul. If I fail, I’m sure I’ll beat myself up worse than you ever could, but I’ll still let you do it.”
“Don’t just protect him.” Joey’s eyes softened with emotion. “Take care of him. Be good to him. And whatever you do, don’t you dare break his heart.”
Yami nodded. “I promise, Joey. I will love him for eternity.”
“Good,” Joey nodded back. “Now that that’s settled. You’re a good man, pharaoh. You’re just what he needs.”
Yami smiled kindly. “You can call me Yami, just as Yugi does. I know it’s not my real name, but I don’t remember what that is. You and I are too close of friends for you to be so formal with me.”
“All right, then. Yami.” Joey playfully punched the slender pharaoh in the arm. “I’m glad to hear about you and Yugi. Thanks, I guess, for being there for him, even if it’s not the most conventional of relationships.”
“Thank you, for your approval. It means a lot to me – to us both.” Yami smiled to himself, as if Yugi were standing beside him for him to glance to. “Your support is very important to Yugi. Without you, we would still be hiding in secret, afraid that the world wouldn’t understand our connection.”
“Even so, if you don’t want me to say anything to anyone, I won’t,” Joey promised with a casual wave of his hand. “It’s a pretty big announcement, you deserve the right to make it yourselves.”
Yami nodded once more, and the Puzzle’s Eye flashed again. The difference was finally clear enough for Joey to see, he wondered how he could have passed off the change in personality and countenance for so long as just Yugi being confident when he dueled. Yugi lunged and hugged Joey around the middle. “Thank you, Joey,” he said again. “I don’t know what I would have done if you didn’t support me in this. But…let’s keep it between us for now.” His eyes widened. “Definitely do not let my grandpa find out! He understands who Yami is but I don’t know if he’d approve of me being…”
“What? Gay? C’mon, Yug, you gotta say the word sooner or later.”
“But I’m not! Okay, so maybe I’m bi,” Yugi admitted, turning to look both ways before stepping into the street. “But Grandpa’s from a generation that still doesn’t approve of those kind of things. A lot of people don’t approve, here, they’re very traditional. I have to feel things out for myself, find out what he thinks, before I tell him. Okay?”
“Okay, but if you ask me, you’re afraid of nothing,” Joey suggested. “Your grandpa’s really cool. I bet he wouldn’t even bat an eye.”
“Yeah, well…I’ll find that out for myself.” They headed the rest of the way up the block to Kame’s front door, letting themselves in to say hello to Grandpa Muto behind the counter. The heavy conversation had been dropped just before the jingle of the bell announced the door opening, but Yugi already felt much better about himself and his life now that he had told someone. Within his mind, Yami quietly watched the world through his eyes, glad to sense the relief and joy in his young lover’s heart. Their relationship may have been limited to a spiritual and mental world, but it was more than he had ever hoped for. He listened to the boys tell Grandpa all about their day at school, and to their idle talk about games and cards, content to know that after Joey had gone home and Grandpa had closed up for the night, Yugi would be coming to him in the Puzzle, and they would be able to privately celebrate this next step together. Fortunately for him, Yugi was too distracted to pick up on Yami’s innermost thoughts, or he would have been blushing all over again for no apparent reason.
Once night had fallen, and all homework and chores had been thoroughly completed, Yugi hurried to change into his pajamas and crawl into bed, the Puzzle still swinging around his neck on its thick chain. It was early for him, but he wasn’t going to sleep just yet. He curled up on his side under the blankets and wrapped both hands lovingly around the Puzzle, clutching it to him as he closed his eyes and worked to quiet his mind so he could make the connection to Yami’s spirit that would bring him into the mystical inner world of the pyramidal pendant. When at last he pushed open the big, dark door that separated their minds from each other, Yugi found the pharaoh’s spirit sitting on the edge of a stairway within view of the door, perched waiting for him with his usual sultry smile. Yami had sensed him coming even before he came into sight, and simply jumped down from his seat to meet his lover, taking him into his arms and hugging him fiercely until Yugi giggled breathlessly. “Well, you’re in a good mood!”
They parted just enough to look at each other and smile. “I blame you,” Yami said casually. “I seem to be feeding off your mood, as usual. And I don’t need to ask what has you so cheerful, today.”
Yugi’s hands clenched into fists on Yami’s black shirt as he felt himself being caught up, nearly picked up off the floor. “It was time, really. Somebody had to know. Joey’s my best friend, I figured he was the right one to go to.”
“I agree.” The pharaoh lowered his head and kissed Yugi softly, a teasing precursor to what would probably be a long night of passion. Yugi purred under his breath, practically melting in the slender arms holding him. “Are you all settled in, then?” Yami asked him, noting the pajamas his young spiritual self was wearing.
“Mhm.” Yugi smiled brilliantly. “I’m all yours. Hopefully Grandpa doesn’t think it’s weird that I went to bed so early.”
“I don’t think you have to worry.” Yami kissed his forehead. “Of all the conclusions he could jump to, he would never guess the real reason.”
Yugi giggled cutely. “True. Come on.” He backed away, taking Yami’s hands and pulling him along. “We have the whole night ahead of us! Let’s go to our room!”
Yami smiled warmly as he let himself be dragged down one of the many twisted, stone-walled corridors that represented the mysteries of his mind. They had one room that never changed, one special room born of a combination of need and fleeting memory, a pharaoh’s bedchamber where they could spend these stolen nights together. The completely realistic mental playground was enough to satisfy them both, though it often left Yugi worn out in the morning from a lack of actual sleep. So long as he didn’t fall asleep in class (often), they both considered it small price to pay for the wonderful pleasures they enjoyed. Tonight would be no different, or at least, that was what they thought as they swept into their room already locked in a ravenous kiss. But it was not going to be the usual thing this night.
Joey Katsuya had never been anything remotely resembling a model student, but with graduation looming like a face-down Trap card in front of a desperate opponent, he was doing as he had said to Yugi – trying his hardest to make up for two and a half years of goofing off in class and devoting more brain power to Duel Monsters than homework. He was still up past eleven trying to finish a paper, to make it at least good enough to pass. He just needed to make it to the end of high school without failing, and maybe it would be enough to get into university. Anything to avoid spending the rest of his life slaving away for low pay in a kitchen or an office cubicle. But he knew his limits, and pushed away the books when he had reached them, rubbing at his temples. That’s it. It has to be good enough, I can’t add anything more to it, he complained to himself. I need a break. Damn, and now my brain hurts. Why me?
At that moment, the phone rang. Confused as to who in the world would be calling him at this time of night, risking his wrath had he been woken up from a good dream, he went over and swept it up from its cradle and growled, “What?”
“Is that any way to answer the phone, you big dork?”
The sultry feminine voice caught him completely by surprise, making his insides go both hot and cold at the same time. “M-Mai?”
“That’s right,” Mai Valentine purred into the phone. “Hope I didn’t wake you up, sleeping beauty.”
“No, I hadn’t gone to bed yet,” Joey grumbled. “I was doing homework.”
“No, seriously,” Mai retorted with a chuckle. “What’s up?”
“Seriously.”
There was a short pause. “Are you sure you’re all right, Joey? It’s not like you to be caught doing homework.”
“Long story,” Joey sighed. “Anyway, what are you doing calling me out of the blue like this? Do you have any idea how long it’s been since we last talked?”
“I know,” she replied, “but I told you, I’m not usually in one place long enough. Does it matter? I’m talking to you now.”
Joey leaned against the table, folding an arm around his middle in order to support the phone. “So…what’s up?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat. I know it’s late, but you’re the boy of the bottomless stomach, I figured you wouldn’t mind.”
Joey frowned in confusion. “Uh…don’t take this the wrong way, but how are we supposed to go get something to eat if you’re…wherever the hell you are this time?”
Mai snorted. “Go look out your window, dimwit.”
Without lowering the phone from his ear, Joey padded a few steps over to the balcony that looked out from his second-floor flat on the street below and slid the door open. To his utter surprise, there stood Mai, leaning on the door of a rental car with her cell phone up to her ear. She saw him appear on the balcony, and smiled her most tempting of smiles, winking. Joey’s mouth fell open, but he collected it in order to keep talking over the open connection. “What are you doing here?”
“You’re just as braindead as ever,” Mai taunted him, still smirking up at him from the street. “So are you going to invite me in already, or what?”
Joey shook himself alert and clicked off the phone, only waving at her to come to the door. He wasn’t in any shape to be going out, or even to be presenting himself to Mai in his ragged t-shirt and shorts, but he shrugged it off. It had been quite some time since they last crossed paths, even though an unspoken connection remained between them that neither could truly deny. The fact that she showed up to surprise him like this meant more to Joey than he could say, but he wasn’t about to go gushing about it the minute he opened the door to her. For now, they would just go out for a very late snack and catch up on things, putting on the usual mask of indifference so as not to scare Mai away again. It would have to be enough, on a school night.
Solomon Muto had not heard any sound coming from his grandson’s bedroom for some time, and noticed his music had shut off far earlier than usual. He liked to leave Yugi to his own devices, trusting the boy and figuring he knew best how to balance work, play, and rest, but even so, his grandfather’s instincts drove him to check up on him now and then, just to show he cared. As he was heading to bed himself, Grandpa Muto paused to listen at Yugi’s door to be sure. No scratching of pencil, no rustling of fidgety youth in chair, just dead silence. He opened the door cautiously and peeked into the darkened room. Light from the big square skylight that served as Yugi’s window showed him to be curled up in bed already, fast asleep. Smiling to himself, Grandpa tiptoed over to him and kindly tugged the blanket up a little higher over Yugi’s shoulder. Though he was growing into a beautiful young man, at times like this Yugi still seemed like the little boy Solomon had raised by himself, cute and innocent and free of the darker cares of the world. Brushing back the lock of bleached-blond hair that curled defiantly over Yugi’s forehead, Grandpa noticed that he was still wearing the Puzzle, its thick chain coiled over his neck. Poor boy, Grandpa thought, he was so tired he forgot to take it off before he fell asleep. What if it chokes him in the middle of the night? We can’t have that! Gingerly, so as not to make the chain jingle and wake Yugi up, he lifted the pendant from between Yugi’s slack hands and carefully wrangled the chain over his head. Yugi slumped further into complete rest, but otherwise did not stir or notice. Still smiling tenderly at his grandson, Solomon laid the Puzzle aside on the desk and crept out of the room, taking one last glance over his shoulder to be sure he hadn’t woken the boy. He knew life was hard for Yugi, in a way unlike anyone else understood, but there wasn’t much he could do except continue to be the strong, loving influence that he had always been. At the end of his adventures, there would always be a home to come back to where he was welcome and safe, Grandpa vowed. He closed the door behind him with the quietest of clicks and made his way down the hall to his own room.
Inside the mystical realm of the Puzzle, Yugi suddenly gave a twitch as a shiver rippled down his spine. He and Yami were simply lying together in the big, elegant bed, wrapped in white linen sheets as they cooled down from their passion. Yami had his arms around his younger half, and looked up sharply at the brief, violent movement. “Is everything all right?”
“That was weird,” Yugi breathed. “I just got a sudden chill. Huh. It’s probably nothing.” He laid his head back down on the pharaoh’s naked chest, where he had been quite comfortable. “I must have just fallen asleep for real.” He tilted his head just enough to plant a kiss to the warm, fragrant skin beneath his cheek. “You are so…good…”
Yami chuckled quietly in his throat. “I’m glad you think so. I do my best to please you.”
“And you certainly do.” Another kiss. “But I like this, too. Just being able to lie here with you, and feel your arms around me.” He scooted up alongside Yami and wrapped himself completely around him, until their arms and legs were completely tangled together and their heads lay within inches of each other, close enough to kiss, but only gazing into each other’s eyes for now. Yugi purred softly. “I could stay like this forever.”
“So could I.” Yami kissed his forehead. “Be careful what you wish for, Yugi. It just might come true.”
“Mmm…that would mean I didn’t have to go back to school,” Yugi smirked, nestling his head in the crook of Yami’s shoulder. “I don’t mind that. Man…I’m real tired all of a sudden.”
“You should sleep, for real,” Yami cautioned. “And I don’t mean here. You have a lot to do tomorrow, you need your rest.”
Yugi groaned quietly. “Don’t kick me out just yet. I want to be with you.”
The pharaoh kissed him again, from forehead to the tip of his petite nose. “All right,” he relented. “Stay with me a little while, then. I’ll rouse you when you should wake up…” He laughed at what he was about to say. “…to go to bed.”
Yugi giggled also, but tiredly, as if sapped of all his strength. “M’kay. I trust you.”
They laid together for a long time, or at least it felt so, just holding each other in a comfortable embrace and occasionally brushing a barely-there kiss to cheek or neck or lips. Yugi’s hand traveled in slow lines up and down Yami’s muscled arm, almost by rote, as he lay in a haze of delight for what could have been hours. Yami’s hand stroked the shortest hairs at the back of his neck, cupping his head protectively to keep him in close contact. It was the most intimate of expressions, enhanced by the fact they were both naked and spent, a lover’s embrace made more poignant by their mental and spiritual connection. After a while, though, Yami knew he couldn’t keep Yugi to himself any longer, and lifted his hand to stroke the young one’s cheek a little more firmly to get his attention. “Yugi…it’s time. You have to wake up.”
Yugi seemed on the verge of sleep, his eyes heavy and drowsy as he turned his head just enough to acknowledge Yami’s voice. “Already…?” he sighed softly.
“I know, I’m sorry. But I don’t want to be held responsible for getting you in trouble again, for falling asleep in class.” He clasped his arms around Yugi and rolled him over onto his back, pausing to smile down into his eyes before kissing him. “You need to get your rest.”
Groaning softly under his breath, Yugi rubbed his eyes and propped himself up on one elbow, finding it extremely hard to get up. “I don’t know, I think I’m already asleep or something. I feel so tired.” He finally pushed himself to a seat, blinking mindlessly at the blanket covering his lower half. Yami watched him for a moment, and then sat up beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder for support. Yugi glanced at him with hazy eyes. “Something’s not right.”
“Are you sure?” Yami studied him for a moment, and then got swiftly out of bed, bending to grab his jeans as he padded across the stone-walled chamber. Though he didn’t need to, for their spirit-forms were only representations of themselves from their imaginations, he pulled the pants back on before peering suspiciously out the doorway of the chamber. “I don’t sense anything unusual,” he mused as he came back toward the bed. “It’s just you and me in here, Yugi.” But as the youth turned his eyes back to his lover, Yami gave a start to see how worn and sickly he looked. “Yugi! Are you all right?”
“I feel kind of funny.” Yugi slid the covers aside and turned so his bare feet were dangling off the edge of the bed, but hesitated before hopping down. He took a few steps toward his pajama pants on the floor and then stumbled, going to one knee. Yami was at his side in an instant, arms around him to help him up. Yugi clenched a fist on his pajamas and looked up at Yami with the first glint of terror in his eyes. “Yami…I can’t wake up.”
Identical violet eyes widened fearfully. “What? Are you sure?”
Still dizzy, Yugi tried to stand, but was forced to rely on his lover to help him do so. He felt stupid standing there unsteadily, naked, pajamas hanging uselessly from his hand, but he couldn’t move. Worse, he couldn’t force himself to wake up. He had done it many times before, retreating from the Puzzle by prodding himself awake from the inside, just long enough to set the Puzzle aside and stretch and maybe change out of soaked briefs before falling asleep in the traditional sense. But this time, he couldn’t reach himself. He grabbed a secure hold of Yami and stared at him, scared beyond expression. “I can’t do it. I can’t wake up. Something’s wrong!”
Yami stared back, and then closed his eyes to concentrate, trying not to let his young love’s labored breathing rattle him. Even he was forced to shake his head. “I can’t sense your life force.”
“My what?”
“Your life force. I can always feel it, no matter whether your mind is here with me or where it belongs. It’s the connection between us that allows me to see through you, what binds us both to you.” Yami steered Yugi to a seat on the edge of the bed and stood back to think for a moment, trying to understand. “But I can’t sense it right now. It’s as if you’re not there.”
“But I’m here, I know I am.” Yugi prodded himself with a finger, in the arm and leg and stomach. “How can I be anywhere else?”
“Only one thought comes to mind, and I don’t like it.” The pharaoh paused long enough to help Yugi back into his pajamas before putting a sturdy arm around him and guiding him out of their room, through the labyrinth of the Puzzle to the place where the door between their minds stood. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he pulled open the heavy steel door that closed the Puzzle off from Yugi’s innocent mind, but he feared it would be something other than the usual sterile corridor and adjoining door to the small chamber that represented Yugi. He laid his hand on the latch and pulled, but the door was locked tight. Yami gasped, and then gritted his teeth and pulled harder. The big, imposing door marked with the sign of the Mystic Eye refused to yield to him. “This can’t be!” he exclaimed.
Yugi stood awkwardly beside him, only watching. “It won’t open?”
“No. It’s locked. It’s as if…no.” Yami shook his head furiously. “It can’t be.”
“What?” Yugi touched his arm. “What do you think is wrong, Yami? Don’t hide it from me, please.”
Yami sighed, knowing he would not have been able to keep an unpleasant secret from Yugi long even if he wanted to. “The only reason I can think of for our connection to be broken is if something happened to the Puzzle,” he said in a low, serious voice. “I can’t open the door because there is nothing out there beyond it, if the Puzzle is not connected to you.”
Yugi stared at him, trying not to tremble in fear no matter how much he felt like it. “What do you mean? Do you think…maybe the chain slipped off, or something? Or did someone come and take it?”
“I don’t know. I can’t know, not if I’m locked inside here without a way to connect to you.” He turned grave eyes on his lover. “But you’re in here with me, not out there where you belong. If something did happen to the Puzzle, you’re locked inside with me. That would be the only explanation for why I can’t sense your life spirit, and why you can’t wake up.”
Yugi gave him a desperate sort of smile. “What were you saying a little bit ago about being careful what I wish for?” He tried to step closer to the door, wanting to test the latch for himself, but he faltered again and reeled into Yami’s arms. His hand went to his forehead, trying to hold his head still in the hopes it would make the stairways and doors stop spinning around him. “So…dizzy…”
Yami held him and gently lowered him to the ground, so he could sit down. “Your spirit isn’t meant to be in here permanently,” he worried. “You weren’t made for this, the powers in here don’t belong to you. If your full mind and spirit are here, then your body…” He stopped short, unable to speak it aloud. Saying it would make it true, and mean certain doom for them both.
“I’m not in my body,” Yugi realized. “I’m in the Puzzle. And if something happened to the Puzzle, then I can’t wake up. I’ve got to get out, I’ve got to get back into my body. How…how am I going to get back, Yami?”
Yami looked up at the door towering over both of them, his brows knit in an expression of pure helplessness. “I don’t know.”