Queer as Tachi – Chapter 89
Once the general air of enthusiasm over their visit to Tokyo passed, Yugi slipped back into his usual routine of work, play, and constant internal conversations with his spiritual partner. The autumn days were growing shorter and darker, and flew by far too quickly for his taste. He kept looking for opportunities to spend time with his friends, but everyone was sort of busy about something or another and they could never all get together on the same day. He had to settle for hanging out with one or the other, one at a time, between Joey’s classes and homework and everyone else’s unpredictable job schedules. Abiding by his routine made the days pass fast, and before Yugi knew it, they were nearing another full moon. He and Yami conversed over their mental bond about doing something special, something out of the ordinary and perhaps just the two of them, but it was a cold and dreary time of the year and Yugi’s well of imagination was rather dry. Ideally, he would have liked to go out of town with his lover, to get far away from all distractions and just have a day where they could indulge each other without worrying about keeping quiet or getting interrupted or anything. But to do that, he needed a great idea, not to mention a lot of money, and he didn’t feel like taking a big chunk out of his savings right now. He had just spent a lot in Tokyo anyway, even if the game expo wasn’t much of a vacation in terms of relaxing and indulging his partner. In fact, it was that trip which gave him the fleeting idea of taking Yami out of town sometime, to have some time and space all to themselves, but this coming month would not be it. All he could do was gripe about it to his grandpa and talk with Yami about what other little things they could do to enjoy each other – special treats would have to wait.
After finishing up his morning shift in the shop one random day, Yugi donned a warm coat and headed out to run some errands, culminating in a trip to the supermarket to stock up. On his way, he deliberately swung past a bookstore, not because he needed anything, but because he was in the area and the glimpse of a motorcycle parked in the alley next door alerted him that his search was not in vain. He browsed his way casually through the bookstore, a larger one further from home that he hadn’t been to recently, and decided to accost the slender young man up on a ladder stocking books on the top shelf for guidance. “Excuse me,” he said, unable to keep the grin out of his voice. “I was wondering if you could help me find the gaming magazines.”
Marik turned sharply, recognizing the voice but not the polite request. He blinked and then grinned back. “Yugi! This is a surprise. What are you doing here?”
“Well, ordinarily I’d say ‘looking for a book, of course,’ but…I’m really not,” Yugi said with a giggle. “I was passing by and thought I’d look in to see if you were working, and sure enough. Here you are.”
Marik hopped down off the stepladder and brushed off his shirt. “Oh, paying me back for all the times I came to bother you while you were working?” He craned his neck to look past Yugi, checking for his supervisor, and then gestured to his friend. “Follow me around, I’ll go ‘stock’ in the back. We can chat for a bit.” He picked up a stack of books and made his way around a couple of shelves until there were enough obstacles between him and anyone who could tell him to go tend to some other job instead of talking to his visitor. “There, that should do…” He set down the books and picked the topmost one up, the only one that needed to be shelved in that section. “So, what’s up? Just passing by, really?”
“Yeah, just on my way to the market. Wanted to say hi. Hi,” Yugi added with a wave that made them both chuckle. “How’ve you been? I feel so bad that I’ve gotten so busy that I couldn’t take time out to call you guys up or anything…”
“It’s okay,” Marik assured him with a little smile. “I’ve been busy, too. My work schedule is completely unpredictable – I work mostly days, while the student-workers are in school, but every once in a while they’ll throw in a random evening shift.”
Yugi looked around curiously. “You like it here?”
“It’s not bad.” Marik also glanced around at the brightly-lit bookstore with its rows upon rows of packed shelves. “I don’t think they’re going to ask me to be up front anytime soon, they’re still a little leery of me being a foreigner, but that’s okay. I’d rather be back here doing the mindless stuff. No big stress and good pay for the privilege.”
“Lucky,” Yugi teased. “Not having to deal with customers…that’s rare. Enjoy it while it lasts.”
“Oh, I will,” Marik promised. “Does that mean things are picking up at the game shop?”
“A bit. It’ll still be a couple of weeks before it really gets crazy, for the holidays, but…” He shrugged cutely. “I don’t mind. I’m used to it by now.”
“The full moon is coming up soon,” Marik noted. “Do you have any plans yet?”
“Not really,” Yugi answered with a pout. “I’d like to get together with friends, but everybody’s schedules are so screwy. I don’t think anyone is free that day.”
“I might be,” Marik said thoughtfully, “but I’m not sure about Ryo. I’ll have to check.”
Yugi perked up, detecting a happy change of subject. “How is he, how are you two doing?”
A broad smile crossed Marik’s face. “Would it make sense if I said I was in the middle of a living dream? Okay, maybe that’s a bit too much,” he laughed. “But we’re together, and happy, and that’s all I ever wanted. I’ve had two months to settle in, and I really like it here. It’s different,” he added thoughtfully, “but not in a bad way. Adjusting to living with a boyfriend took more effort than simply getting used to the quirks of this country.”
His friend cocked his head curiously. “Well, maybe it’s good that we didn’t try to force you guys to have a social life every weekend. You probably needed that time to get used to each other.”
“I’m glad for it,” Marik nodded. “Ryo is very sweet, and it was clear to me almost right away that he really needed someone to take care of him. Not in the physical sense,” he corrected himself immediately. “He’s been looking after himself for a long time. I mean…he just needed someone to love him. Someone who wouldn’t leave him for anything.” He smiled to himself. “Yes, perhaps it was for the best that we’ve been allowed to have a couple of months to adjust. We’re better for it. He’s happy, I’m happy, we have a good relationship and a fairly normal life.” He suddenly gave an exasperated sigh. “Even if he is needlessly overworking himself.”
Yugi peered at him concernedly. “But…you’ve got a job now. He doesn’t have to work to support the both of you, right?”
“Yes, and what I’m doing is really helping make ends meet,” Marik explained. “It’s not so much for the money, as for his schooling. He’s talking about taking some extra credits to maybe graduate early, or possibly add a second degree.”
Yugi’s violet eyes widened. “Wow…he already started a year late and caught up, now he’s trying to finish early? He’s going to study himself to death!”
“I know, and I keep telling him that,” Marik sighed. “I suppose I should be happy that he hasn’t decided to completely blow off his school career instead, now that he’s living with someone, because I’d feel bad if I corrupted him to that end. No, instead, he’s pushing himself onto the fast track, wanting the best marks in all his classes and then some. The head research advisor at the lab where he works complimented him on his work, it only drove him harder.” He hugged the book to his chest and sighed quietly, lowering his eyes. “I’ve told him that I’m proud of him no matter what he does, he doesn’t have to try so hard to please everybody. As long as we’re together, I figure I can be his stability and security, and sooner or later he’ll feel comfortable with it. It’s so cute to see him trying,” he added with a meager smile. “Sooner or later, he’ll relax. I’ll make him, if nothing else.”
“As long as you guys are still in love,” Yugi mused. “And he’s not immersing himself in school to avoid you.”
“Oh, not at all,” Marik said, returning to a lighter mood. “We have many wonderful nights together. We just don’t go out much – we tend to stay in, a lot. And pay attention only to each other,” he added with a naughty grin. “We haven’t been out since the concert at Duke’s. Maybe I’ll pull another overprotective-boyfriend move on him and force him to knock off early so we can go out with you and Yami. Or even just you, if our schedules don’t work on that particular day.”
“Yeah,” Yugi sighed. “I hope so. It’s hard for me to get away sometimes, too. I’ve got a lot of responsibilities now with the store, and most of the time I’m just living from…well, full moon to full moon, really.”
“There are worse things,” Marik teased him. “Say…isn’t Mai’s birthday later this month? I remember from a year ago, it’s around this time.”
“Yeah, it is. But, the last time I talked to Joey or Mai about it, I got the sense that Mai doesn’t want a big blowout this time. We got her good last time, so I think she’s probably of the opinion that once was enough. I’ll bug Joey about it again, and see if that’s changed.”
They stood around chatting for a while, catching up on recent doings and conspiring over the best ways to get Bakura to put aside his schoolwork long enough to enjoy a night out with his boyfriend, but eventually Marik put the book on the shelf where it belonged and reluctantly made to get back to work. “Well, that settles it,” he said determinedly. “We definitely haven’t had enough time to hang out and talk. That means I have to make plans for going out, and soon.”
“Well, don’t think the full moon is the only night I’m available,” Yugi smirked. “It’s just the most obvious. Give me a call, we’ll work something out. As long as I don’t take away from your special time with Bakura.”
“I’ll make sure you don’t,” Marik vowed with a sly wink.
Like any group of young people, the days afterward were filled with phone tag and various distracting chats, as everyone considered doing something with Yugi while Yami was out of the Puzzle but no one could make it happen. There was still lots to talk about, minor business to share, and even those phone calls either interrupting a workday in the game shop or late at night after sane people with jobs and classes should have been in bed were cherished. Yugi hung out with Joey one night, just buddies, and had a few long calls with Marik and Bakura, but in the end, the ritual day crept up on him without any plans at all. To his exasperation, Yami cheerfully revealed that he didn’t care, he liked the idea of keeping to themselves and not doing anything at all. So that was what they did. The weather was chill but not unpleasant, but they didn’t bother going out into it – they were lucky they even bothered to get dressed. As it was, they stayed in bed until nearly noon, not exactly asleep the entire time, and finally dragged themselves out when hunger overcame all other desires. Yami had been noticing in his own sagacious way that Yugi was subconsciously working himself very hard, as if to give his grandfather plenty of time to rest or somehow take on more personal responsibility for the game shop. The holiday season wasn’t even close yet, so the pharaoh worried that his young love was overexerting himself for no reason, when he should be saving his strength and will to work long nights and hard days over the coming month when sales would pick up exponentially. At least the guaranteed day off gave him time to relax, and with Yami physically around him, randomly catching him up for a snuggle or a kiss, Yugi forgot all about giving himself extra work or chores. They spent a fair chunk of the afternoon stretched out on the couch together, wrapped in a blanket, watching television. Yugi couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty for doing so, when he could have been doing the laundry or preparing an extra-nice dinner, and he idly mentioned it to his partner. Yami’s arms around him tightened. “Don’t you dare,” he murmured in his lover’s ear. “This is your day to rest. You have nowhere to be but right here.”
“Aww,” Yugi cooed cutely. “You don’t want to let me go?”
“You and Marik expressed concern about Bakura overworking himself,” the pharaoh noted. “Yet it seems to me, you have been doing the same thing.”
“It’s not that bad,” Yugi insisted, wriggling in his companion’s arms to be able to face him. “I’m just doing my job, that’s all.”
“You’re doing a little extra,” Yami said pointedly. “You can’t fool me, Yugi. I can sense it all the time.” He stretched forward and favored him with a little kiss on the forehead. “I don’t understand the reason for it. Grandpa isn’t particularly in need of rest or coddling, and you haven’t extended hours for the holidays yet. What is it?”
“I just want to do a good job. That’s all.” Yugi snuggled into his arms and nuzzled his cheek. “That’s so sweet, you’re worried about me. It’s okay, really.” He giggled adorably. “I’m young and healthy, I can handle it. I’m not over-stressed.”
“As long as you know I’ll be looking out for you,” Yami said with a warm smile down at his wiggly lover. “Just to make sure that you don’t become over-stressed in the future.” He chuckled throatily. “Don’t make me do as Marik does and forcibly pry you away from your so-called important duties.”
“Mmm, I’d like to see you try,” Yugi teasingly challenged. “What are you going to do, take over? Or maybe drag my mind into the Puzzle and keep me there?”
“Don’t tempt me,” Yami said with some amusement, rolling him onto his back and pouncing on top of him. Yugi giggled and squirmed beneath him, not really fighting back since it was such a pleasant position to be in. They nibbled a few kisses across each other’s lips before the pharaoh purred another thought aloud. “I suppose…compared to some of our friends, your busiest day still isn’t that terrible. But I know what it feels like when you’re tired and have so much on your mind. Your grandpa is right – you’re taking the store very seriously these days. I’ve been listening to your thoughts on how to change or expand the store and make it better. It’s all rather interesting.” He kissed Yugi again, a little more firmly. “But I will be here to keep you from losing your senses.”
“I like that idea,” Yugi murmured up at him with a dreamy smile. “You’ll be my stability, you’ll keep me grounded. But I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Even if I do have to take over the whole shop for myself, or do all the bookkeeping or something, it’s not going to ruin my health or my life.” He closed his eyes and sighed happily as Yami slid off him and curled up beside him again, snuggling him close so that neither would fall off the couch. “As long as we have days like this, I can’t complain.”
Yami nestled into the comfortable crevice between Yugi’s body and the back of the couch, resting his cheek against Yugi’s temple and heaving a contented sigh. His eyes closed halfway, he wasn’t even paying attention to what was on TV. “Mhm,” he breathed, too lazy and happy to even form more complicated words.
Yugi sighed in similar fashion. “You know,” he whispered, “all you have to do to keep me from overworking myself is lay on top of me…just like this…”
“Consider it done,” the pharaoh said in just the sort of dry tone as to cause Yugi to burst out laughing.
As hinted to the last time the entire gang found themselves meeting up at Duke’s, over the past couple of months Joey and Mai had been plunged into the worst of the wedding-plan decisions, finalizing things that needed to be taken care of this far in advance and mapping out how they would handle everything else. At least the wedding party was set: Yugi and Tristan as Joey’s attendants, and Téa and Serenity for Mai. Even though the date was in far-off May, they had to finalize the venue and soon after the guest list, so they could begin sending out invitations and subsequently fill their lives with the inanity of flowers, cakes, and dresses. It was the last thing Joey wanted to think about, being as school was weighing him down with much more important matters, but he bravely did his best to offer at least some kind of input whenever Mai brought something to his attention. It wasn’t enough to prevent them from getting into minor arguments over it, as Joey had a tendency to take out his frustrations over school on the wedding plans instead, but whenever voices were raised, he caught himself and forced himself to quiet down and rethink whether it was worth fighting about. Most of the time, the answer was no. To her credit, Mai recognized that he wasn’t angry with her, just stressed out, and over time learned when not to approach him no matter how excited or urgent something made her feel. A splashy new table centerpiece was not worth interrupting his study time.
Mai’s birthday snuck up on her much the way the full moon had snuck up on Yugi, but as she had said earlier in the month, she wasn’t looking for a big party this year. Because of all his school stress and her eager wedding planning, she only wanted a bit of private time with Joey, and wasn’t above saying so directly when asked by first Yugi, then Tristan and Duke. “Besides,” she said when discussing it with Yugi the night before his own ritual day, “I’m so over birthdays. When you get to be my age, they all kind of blur together after a while. It’s no big deal, really.” She then chuckled darkly. “Until I turn 29…I expect a huge bash for that one. So I can kiss my youth goodbye in a big way.”
“Oh, come on, don’t start with the age thing,” Yugi laughed over the phone. “That’s still a long ways away.”
“Not as long as you think.” Mai smiled to herself at his enthusiasm. “Thanks for thinking of me, though. Really. I just want to stay in that night, and spend some time with Joey. School is driving him crazy, he needs a night alone just as much as I do.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, maybe I’ll stop by with a present for you,” Yugi decided, “but other than that, I’ll let you have Joey all to yourself. And if you need me to drop any hints with him, say the word.”
By the end of that week, the special day had arrived, and true to his word, Yugi came by the old, familiar flat around the time Mai usually came home from work, so he could catch her before she and Joey got too into their “date.” She had already changed into a fuzzy sweater and greeted him at the door while her boyfriend fumbled around in the background somewhere. “Silly kid,” she teased Yugi, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “I don’t need anything.”
“Oh, I think you’ll like it, though,” Yugi said with a big, innocent smile up at her.
“Well, step in here for a minute.” Mai backed out of his way, letting him just across the threshold. “All right, then, lay it on me.”
Yugi dug in his coat pocket and fished out a couple of cards. “Here! Happy birthday.”
Mai smirked to see that it was, as usual, Duel Monsters cards, but she flipped them over and read them with some astonishment. “Yugi! These are super-rare! Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for these?”
“A while, I would guess,” Yugi said with a cheesy grin. “I thought you had them until you told me you were still looking for them, to add to your Amazon deck.”
“I was, and I am.” She stared incredulously at the cards for a moment longer, and then swept him up into a big hug that made him involuntarily blush. “Thank you, Yugi! I don’t know where you found them, but they’re the best. Thanks!”
Yugi grinned despite being trapped in a near-headlock. “I have my connections.”
Mai let him go so he could straighten himself out and gave him a warm smile. “Really, though. That’s sweet of you. I know you wanted to do something nice for me again, but this is more than enough. I’ll take good care of them and use them well.”
“I expect you to,” he said with a wise nod, and then raised his voice. “Hi Joey!”
Joey’s tousled head popped up from somewhere in the kitchen, where he had been making a lot of racket. “Hey, Yug. Can’t talk now, got stuff to do.”
“Yeah, I know. I won’t interrupt, I know you two have plans. I just wanted to stop by and give you those.” Yugi turned back toward the door with a little wave. “Take care of each other!”
Joey called out his farewell from the kitchen, while Mai saw to escorting him out and closing the door behind him. She turned back to find Joey once again more heard than seen, and sniffed a sarcastic little chuckle. “What in the world are you doing, anyway?”
He popped up again, and this time grinned sneakily. “I got it all planned out. You are going to sit down, have yourself a glass of wine, and leave everything to me.”
Mai folded her arms over her chest and eyed him with a disbelieving smirk. “I don’t know, that sounds kind of dangerous to me.” Then, she noticed that while she had been visiting with Yugi, he had set their little table-for-two in the corner with a lavish romantic setting. Candles, a rosebud, everything. From the sparkle that awakened in her eyes, Joey knew he had hit all the right buttons. “I see,” she continued in an understanding purr. “You’ve got it all planned out, all right. Did you come up with this all by yourself?”
Joey tilted his head in a noncommittal shrug. “It’s your birthday,” he remarked. “That means you get to sit and chill while I cook you dinner and spend the rest of the night giving you all your favorite things. Right?”
Mai stalked to meet him in the kitchen, finding that he had already taken out a glass for her. “Does that include…hmm…a backrub?”
“Anything you want,” her fiancé proudly promised. “It’s all about you.”
Figuring she couldn’t argue with that, Mai poured herself a glass of wine and then went to fish her deck out of the drawer in the computer desk where both she and Joey kept their tournament cards – in separate compartments. Once her new Amazon cards were safely put away, she sat on the couch and put her feet up for a front-row seat to Joey’s adventures in cooking. It wasn’t that he didn’t know his way around the kitchen, he just never involved himself in anything complicated or which didn’t involve reading instructions on a package. Watching him slice vegetables and juggle multiple pans was more hilarious than anything on TV at the moment. In the end, though, he managed to present a tasty little gourmet dish, which even kind of looked like the picture in the recipe book. He swept Mai over to the dining table and seated her himself, letting her taste-test the final result and pronounce it satisfactory before flopping down in relief and digging in himself. Mai savored another forkful and then gestured to Joey with it. “I can not believe this, and I was watching you the whole time. You did good. Mmm…real good.”
“Excellent,” Joey beamed. “Looks like I can follow directions after all.”
“Not something I would normally say about you.” He pouted at her, making her smirk. “And what’s next?” Mai prodded.
“Dessert, duh,” Joey snorted. “And after that, you call the shots. I got you a little something,” he added, pinching his fingers together to imply just how “little” it was, “but I figured having a night in like this would be more up your alley. Y’know…bein’ the center of attention, rather than surrounded by a bunch of gamer boys like usual.”
“As much as I love our gamer boys,” Mai said wryly, “you have a point.”
“Besides…” Joey lowered his eyes to his plate and shrugged awkwardly. “Most of our conversations over the past month have revolved around the wedding. I kinda wanted a night to sit and talk about anything but that. Catch up on more important things.”
Mai softened and smiled across at him. “I know I’ve been straining your patience on that subject, and I’m sorry. I’m just so excited, but really – the little details aren’t important. All that matters is that we’re together, so those little things can be done away with or compromised over so we can just…let it happen.” She, too, lowered her gaze demurely. “I don’t want things to get so out of control that we end up destroying our relationship before it gets a chance to really get started.”
“I don’t think it’ll come to that,” Joey confidently assured. “After all, we already live together. We’ve been together for a year and a half – by the time this wedding comes around, it’s just going to be a legal formality. A formality with a big party,” he added with a stupid grin.
“You would focus on that,” Mai sniffed. “All right, just one thing, and then I promise we won’t talk about it tonight.”
“All right, fine…what is it?”
“We have to get a final guest list soon, so the invitations can be sent out. Everything’s mostly set, there’s only one thing we haven’t discussed.” Mai gave him a steady look straight across the table. “Do you want to invite Kaiba, or not?”
She expected him to recoil, and perhaps splutter and say a few muttered curses before arriving at something approaching a coherent refusal, but to her surprise, Joey just leaned an elbow on the table and stared down at his plate. “Actually…I’ve been thinkin’ about that one,” he said after a moment. “It’s no secret that Kaiba and I don’t like each other. I’m pretty sure no one expects me to even invite him, and to be honest I don’t really want him there to ruin what should be our big day. But…” He lifted his head, showing Mai a uniquely pensive look deep in his brown eyes. “…over the past couple years, he’s been involved in every big, nasty thing that I’ve gone through, but not as the bad guy. He’s even helped out Yugi once or twice. Sure, there’s always going to be bad blood between us, but…he doesn’t hate you. So…if you want him there, just because he’s been a part of everything we have since Duelist Kingdom, I won’t make a fuss. And, you know,” he added with a stiff shrug, “Mokuba’s not so bad. I’d invite him. But you can’t have Mokuba there without Kaiba. He wouldn’t do it.”
Mai met his eyes and nodded. “You have been thinking, haven’t you?”
“More than I should’ve,” Joey grumbled, going back to his dinner.
“It’s true. I don’t hate Kaiba. As far as I know, he and I have never really had a problem with each other, and he respects my dueling skills. But I wasn’t going to add him to the list unless you were okay with the idea.” She prodded him with a look. “You want me to?”
Joey shrugged again. “May as well. He probably won’t come anyway, he’ll turn it down on principle, so I’ll still look like the better man for having swallowed my pride and invited him.”
“You’re probably right,” Mai acknowledged, “but okay. I’ll put the Kaiba brothers on the list.” She then gave him a warm smile. “Don’t worry, it’ll all work out. I don’t mind handling the small decisions, I only want you there for the really important ones. I just need you to rein me in before I lose my mind and become one of those psychotic bridezilla types.”
That made Joey laugh. “Oh, I promise – I won’t let you turn to the dark side like that. No way. That’s when we both know that it’s gone too far and we need to step back.” He cringed and gave her a sheepish sort of smile. “And even though I complained about it, it’s okay…you want me to wear a fancy tux, I’ll do it. Anything to make you happy. That’s all I want.”
Mai leaned forward on the table and grinned slyly. “I already have a compromise for you on that topic. I found some nice suits from a designer that I like, that don’t look like tuxes. They’re sharp and hot, you’ll still look good – you and Yugi and Tristan, all.”
Joey eyed her dubiously. “Okay, but what about the dress?”
“That’s my responsibility.” She straightened up with a haughty look. “You don’t have to worry one bit about it. I’m having it made, according to my own design. You’re not even going to get to see it until the wedding day, so consider it taken care of.”
The eyeing continued. “Why does it sound like that’s gonna cost us even more money?” He sighed tiredly. “I’m already kinda worried about what I’m going to have to spend on the rings. Everything else is going to be…”
Mai reached across and took his hand. “Joey, don’t worry about it,” she said as soothingly as she could. “I told you, my parents will help out. My mother is beside herself with joy over the fact that I’m finally settling down and getting married period, she’ll make sure my father helps us pay for it. And this is one time when I’m not above taking their money.” She squeezed his hand and then sat back. “But that reminds me. Christmas is coming up soon, and that’s when they said they want our families to meet. We’ll need to set that up.”
Joey wilted with a groan. “Oh no…not that…”
“I’ll take care of it,” Mai immediately promised. “Serenity and I are tight, I can just call her and arrange things with her and your mother to come up here for the holiday. And I don’t expect you to handle my parents.” Her eyes darkened briefly. “It’ll be the first time they meet you, as well as your family.”
“At least my mom is okay,” Joey mumbled shyly. “I don’t think we can scare up my dad by then, and I really don’t think it’s a good idea anyway.”
Mai reached for his hand again, and this time, he caught hers and caressed back. “Family gathering time isn’t any more pleasant for me,” she pointed out. “I understand how you feel. At least Serenity will be there, and she supports both of us no matter what. She’s a sweet girl. You’re lucky to have such a great sister.”
“Yeah,” Joey reluctantly admitted. “Don’t worry. I’ll put up with just about anything for your sake. I want you to be happy – with all the plans, with the fancy stuff, and with me.”
Mai gracefully lifted his hand from the table and kissed the back of it in reverse chivalry. “I’m already happy with you. Not even a doubt. The rest doesn’t matter.”
That appeared to signal the promised end to the wedding-plan discussion, and from there, they did as Joey intended and talked about other things. Frivolous things, casual things, their friends, their thoughts on cards – anything but the wedding. By the end of dinner, whatever stress had been rising between them over school, work, or wedding plans had completely dissipated, leaving Mai in a very glad, smiley mood and Joey extra-excited to be able to shower her with attention all night. He cleared away the dishes in due time and brought out dessert, a luscious chocolate ice cream cake that he knew would have his fiancé in heaven. After that, they stood near the balcony (it was too cold to go outside) and raised a toast to their future, and then Mai’s request was fulfilled promptly as Joey sat her down and gave her a lengthy backrub. She seemed inclined to want to drag him off to the bedroom immediately after that, but he had promised some kind of gift, and as long as she was seated and relaxed, he went to get it and present it now. Mai waited impatiently, exceptionally curious. Was it jewelry? Something romantic? Something naughty? The size of the box would tell her, she hoped. Joey returned from the other room with a surprisingly large gift box, with the name of an affluent department store emblazoned across the cover. It made Mai triply curious. “Joey?” she wondered as he held it out to her. “What is this?”
“It’s your present,” he said simply, resisting another “duh.” “Happy birthday.”
Mai took the box onto her lap and pried off the cover, and fought through the tissue paper to find something black and leather. She had to drop the box on the floor in order to pull it out – a knee-length black leather coat with faux fur trim, the kind with a warm lining for winter. The sight of it made her gape widely, and she held it up to stare at it for a long time before finally rising so she could try it on. “Joey,” she gasped openly as she slid into its perfect, slinky grip. “How did you…no, where did you get this? It’s beautiful!”
Joey clasped his hands behind his back and shrugged. “Eh, you said your other winter coat had a hole in the lining. This one seems a little more your style.”
Mai stretched out her arms, admiring every little thing about the cut and fit of the coat. “I love it, I really do. But…” She turned directly to him with a perplexed frown. “How could you afford it? That’s one of the most expensive stores in town – I should know!”
Joey turned even more shy, practically scuffing his toe on the carpet as he looked away. “Well, you keep talkin’ about how your parents are loaded and they’re gonna help pay for the wedding. So I thought, maybe…I’d use some of the money I saved up for the wedding, from the tournament prize, and spend it on you instead.”
He glanced up just in time, for Mai suddenly rushed him and kissed him deeply, still clad in her new coat. When she broke away, she gave a girlish giggle. “You are so adorable,” she squealed at him. “I love you so much, Joey.”
Joey grinned in return. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She pecked him on the lips once more. “I don’t even care if we can’t afford anything better than ramen in plastic bowls for the wedding. You mean more to me than any of that.”
The grin broadened. “So, you like the coat, eh?”
Mai gave a sarcastic snort, and then grabbed him and plunged into a hard, hot kiss that left his knees weak. While he straightened himself up and struggled to catch his breath, she temptingly let the coat slide off her shoulders and all the way to the floor. When she wrapped herself around him again, it was in a much softer and more tantalizing way. “Thank you,” she murmured pleasantly. “It’s very nice, and I’m sure I’ll get a lot of use out of it. But right now, all I can think about is you. You’re so good to me, even when things are rocky. Especially when things are rocky. I don’t know what in the world I did to deserve you, Jounouchi…” Mai lifted her head to kiss him again, as he stilled to accept it – things were going to be very good whenever she used his full name. The sweetness of her lips made his whole body flush hot as she slowly drew away to add, “…but I’m glad to have you.”
“I love you, too,” Joey murmured back with a soft smile. “I’m glad you’re happy.”
Without even considering picking up her nice new coat and putting it somewhere safe, Mai stepped out of it and took his hands, pulling him toward the hallway and the bedroom beyond. “Come on,” she implored. “I know what else I want for my birthday.”
The big, dumb grin that awakened on Joey’s face was something he could never control. Subtlety and innuendo were not necessary, he knew what they both wanted and was gleefully delighted that he was going to get it. In fact, at this point, he was willing to acquiesce to anything she wanted to do to him, for it would lead them both to a perfect ending for a birthday. They left the poor coat in a puddle on the floor, doused the lights, and disappeared to waste the rest of the evening away in the bedroom where it was meant to end.
That same evening, in a flat across town, Marik was nearing the end of his calm patience. Not only had he not been able to get time away to visit with Yugi and Yami on the pharaoh’s day out, but Ryo insisted he had homework of the utmost importance every single night, negating all attempts to seduce him into relaxing and forgetting the rest of the world for a while. Marik technically wanted nothing more than to see Ryo give himself permission to slack, to sit on the couch and watch TV or make out, but the deeper he immersed himself in schoolwork, the more Marik’s plans evolved into out-and-out sexual desire. Things were pleasant and adorable enough over dinner, but as soon as it was finished and cleared away, Bakura sat down at his desk yet again and buried his nose in his books, working on a paper about ancient Babylonian carvings or something. Marik tried to leave him be for a while, but as he sat in a corner gazing helplessly at his partner, thinking to himself just how beautiful he was even with his hair disheveled from combing his hands through it in frustration, the urge to interrupt him grew. Only the reminder that Ryo’s schooling was important to him and he took it very seriously kept him from physically dragging him away right then and there, but Marik could not resist the opportunity to perhaps cajole him first. He pushed himself out of the chair and slinked over, gingerly gliding a hand onto Bakura’s shoulder from behind. “Hey,” he murmured softly, “can I get you anything? Maybe…make you some cocoa?”
“Mm…no, thank you,” Ryo replied with his eyes still on his book. “The sugar will make me jumpy.”
“All right…” Marik remained there for a moment, and began to rub his shoulders a little. “Because you know…if there’s anything I can do to help you…all you need to do is ask…”
Ryo nodded and gave another affirmative, “Mm,” but said nothing more. He had a notepad beside him, a pen poised to take notes, but he was primarily reading through the book for information.
Marik frowned a little to himself, hunting through his mind for suggestions. “I could…draw you a bath,” he offered, even though there wasn’t much room in the bathroom for anything so lavish.
“Hm…”
“Maybe…strip naked and do a dance for you?”
“Mhm…”
Now Marik was positive that his partner was not listening to him at all. The monosyllabic answers were only making him think even more creatively, as if taking them as a personal challenge to do his worst. He kept absently caressing the back of Ryo’s neck for a moment, while taking a step to the side to size up the difficulty of the work before him. Bakura was definitely absorbed in his book, hunting through the dry text for a gleam of treasure he could capture on his notepad and turn into something spectacular in his paper. Marik watched him for a second, and then skillfully placed his hand right over the exact spot on the page where Ryo was reading. His silver-haired partner glanced up sharply, startled, and then gasped as the sultry young Egyptian swung a leg over him and sat down straddling his lap on the chair. “I don’t know what’s so fascinating about that book,” he said wryly, “but would you really prefer it to me stripping naked and doing a dance?”
Ryo gaped, completely nonplussed. “W-what? What do you mean?”
Marik leaned back and placed an elbow in such a way as to assert his superiority over the textbook. “You didn’t hear me say that, did you?”
“N-no, I…” Bakura began to blush. “I’m trying to research this paper…”
His partner kept leaning on the book on the desk, favoring him with a you-need-to-pet-me-now sort of smile as he traced one fingertip up the middle of Ryo’s chest. “When is it due?”
“Uh…not for two weeks, but…”
“Then it can wait.” Marik glanced back just long enough to flip the book closed and note the title. “The Babylonians have been dead for thousands of years, they’ll still be dead in the morning.”
Ryo struggled and spluttered for the briefest moment, but having Marik in his lap looking so adamant and hot helped him quickly overcome his outrage at the interruption. “But…why? I ought to be working…”
“Ryo, love…” Marik set his hands on his partner’s shoulders and leaned in to give him a quick kiss. “You’re an excellent student. These papers come easily to you, I know you’re not straining yourself to finish them in time. You’re allowed to have an evening once in a while to yourself.” His seductive smirk returned. “I’m only thinking of your health and well-being. The world will still keep turning even if you put off your studying for one night.”
Bakura lowered his head and gave his lover a shy smile. “Well…when you put it that way…” His hands ran lightly over Marik’s thighs, since they were so easy to access. “I can’t really argue with this, now can I?”
Marik leaned further forward, so he could clasp his hands together behind Ryo’s head. “I don’t know why you would want to.” He pressed a tiny kiss to the tip of Ryo’s petite nose and whispered, “Come with me? And spend some time with me?”
Ryo nuzzled back, clearly pleased to have such a temptation in his lap. “Will you do that dance for me?”
Marik collapsed onto him in laughter. “Oh, you heard me the second time, then…”
Big brown eyes batted at him. “Please?”
Eyes gleaming, Marik swiftly rose up off his lap and stepped aside, holding out a hand to help his lover up after him. “Maybe. If you’ve got some music for it. I can’t dance to silence, you know.”
Ryo shyly allowed himself to be guided away from his desk and back into the bedroom, though he was thinking about the suggestion and wondering if he had anything that would suffice. Marik would have been content just turning back the blankets on the bed and lying down to snuggle and make love the old fashioned way, but the idea had been planted and it wasn’t going anywhere. He stood aside in a sexy pose, hips cocked forward, as he waited for Bakura to toss through the handful of CDs he owned. He knew he was in trouble when Ryo glanced over his shoulder with a dangerous smirk and held one up, and then ran to fetch a portable player from the other room. When he came back, Marik had already divested himself of his shirt, revealing that he was wearing some of his favorite jewelry from home, a necklace and arm bands. Bakura snapped the CD into the player and turned to let his eyes wander his lover’s figure, paying attention to the gold bands. “I might accuse you of having planned this all along,” he said teasingly.
“Not exactly,” Marik demurred in a silky tone, “but I’m sure you’ll be pleased that you decided to give the homework a rest for once.” Curiosity lit his pale blue eyes as he heard the beginning of the music. “Ooo…what is this?”
Ryo smiled shyly as he stepped away from the player on the bureau and met his partner in the middle of the room. “One of the graduate researchers at the lab turned me onto it, about a year ago. He let me burn a copy to see if I’d like it. It’s…” He nodded back toward it. “…um, very unique. It mixes traditional taiko with…” At that moment, a sensual melody began to weave in with the beat. Ryo’s smile grew a shade brighter. “…um, more modern techno music.”
Marik listened intently, liking what he was hearing. The tempo was slow and delicate, though the rolling thunder of the taiko drums added to other traditional instruments lent a mysterious, ethereal, ethnic flavor to what might have otherwise been a bland, moody synth album. He took Ryo’s hands and guided him to the bed, nodding for him to sit down and just watch while he stepped back and began to sway gently to the music. Marik was a little embarrassed about it, yet, so he turned his back and gave himself a few minutes to enjoy the music and let his body find its own way, so that when he turned around and gave Ryo a seductive smile, he was no longer too shy to perform. Bakura knelt on the futon, hands clasped in his lap and brown eyes wide as he looked up to behold the lean, tanned figure of his exotic lover undulating slowly to the beat of the drums like some kind of court dancer from an Arabian fantasy come to demonstrate his talents for a king. Curling his arms over his head, he closed his eyes and parted his lips just a bit, swinging his hips in a well-timed sway that had Ryo completely entranced. Every move was deliberately designed to tempt and arouse the watcher, every writhe of his slender torso, every heavy-lidded gaze from over his shoulder or beneath his long bangs. Step by gradual step Marik danced closer, trailing his hands down his body to offer it up to his lover, until he paused right in front of Ryo and reached down to run a fingertip along Ryo’s cheek to his chin. Allowing his face to be tilted up this way, Ryo gazed eagerly up, eyes full of yearning. He had been completely transported by the setting, between the erotic undertone of the music and the sight of Marik’s beautiful body, all taut muscle and mocha skin gleaming with highlights painted by the moonlight falling through the window. Marik gave a little nod to signal, and with a rapturous sigh, Ryo reached to undo his jeans and pull them down over his hips. Marik swayed forward with the music, helping his lover to strip him, and then stepped out of the pants. His briefs followed in much the same manner. Ryo knelt before him, rising up a little on his knees in order to be able to touch him, gliding his hand gingerly along Marik’s flank to his hip and down his thigh, all while he kept writhing seductively to the drum-beat. Each swing of his hips brought him ever closer to his partner, encouragingly placing certain parts of him in prime view to be caressed in appreciation. He smiled deliciously as he felt Ryo’s hand run feathery-light along the curve of his ass, and turned to give him a full view, swaying in such a way that no one could resist. He even splayed his own hands across his ass, teasing even further. Bakura’s touch slid down his thigh to the back of his knee, and Marik smiled over his shoulder at him to find him looking up expectantly, blushing and breathing hard already. Marik continued to leisurely dance in front of him, turning back around step by step and stretching his arms over his head, putting his graceful body fully on display. Ryo rose up even more on his knees, no longer hesitant to take the gift being playfully offered to him. His hands roamed over Marik’s hips and caught him up, pulling him close so Bakura could lean in and give his cock a provocative lick. The breath rushed out of Marik in a startled chuckle, and he responded by nudging himself a little closer, effectively dancing himself right into his lover’s arms. Ryo wrapped his arms around behind Marik’s ass and kissed his cock adoringly, hoping to awaken him as much as he himself was already aroused. With a sighing moan, Marik let himself slide down the length of his partner’s body and land in his lap, throwing arms around his shoulders and plunging into a deep, wet kiss of savage desire. Bakura caught him and eagerly groped fingers into his ass while they kissed, lost in a haze of passion. He didn’t know what exactly he wanted, but it was going to come fast and hard after all of that. Marik tore his lips away and murmured heavily in his ear. “Don’t stop with just a taste. I know you want more.”
“Please,” Ryo whimpered with lips against his cheek. “You are so beautiful. I want all of you.”
Snickering to himself, Marik rose up and pushed against him, knocking him back onto his back and prowling on top of him, his naked body as sinewy and sly as a panther’s. Without any preface whatsoever, he tugged Ryo’s pants open and set him free. “Anything and everything,” he promised, “all night long.” They shared another hard, hungry kiss, and then he broke off for one more breathy comment. “This is a great CD. Let’s leave it running.”
All Ryo could do was moan and sigh in answer, because hands were beginning to roam all over him, sliding his shirt up and off and rendering him equally naked and wanting. He laid his hands on Marik’s arms, on the gold arm bands turned all warm from his skin’s heat, and grinned in delight. This splendid, exotic treat successfully drove any will to study right out of him, to such a degree that come morning, he didn’t feel the least bit guilty. There were more important things in life, after all.
Author’s note: an acknowledgement to GreenFire for helping brainstorm the last scene with Marik and Ryo, and for the line “asserting his superiority over the textbook.” Credit where credit is most due!