Queer as Tachi – Chapter 94
Even though he had hardly slept all night, Yugi was ready to get up as soon as he heard his grandfather in the hallway. There really wasn’t much else he and Yami could do except go join Grandpa Muto for breakfast and wish him well handling the shop by himself all day; they were too moody to want to make love and too exhausted to even try, and even though the sun had risen, Yugi still feared the dream and refused to nap right now. He had not made any certain plans with anyone, which was good, because now he didn’t know if he felt like keeping them. He and Yami discussed nothing of it and put on their best faces for Grandpa, no matter how surprised he was that they were awake, much less eager to socialize with him over breakfast. The rest of the day would unfold in its own way, Yugi was simply glad that he and Yami were together and the nightmares had so far not led to anything worse.
Come morning, Marik made good on his demand that Bakura call his professors and feign illness, though it wasn’t hard. Even if the nightmares had not returned to bother either of them, Ryo was tired and sounded most sickly on the phone. After that, they fell back into bed and slept in some more, and finally dragged themselves to consciousness in the late morning. While Ryo showered, Marik picked up the phone and gave Yugi a call to make plans, perhaps for lunch since it was fairly close to that time of day. Marik knew Yami was out of the Puzzle, it was the perfect chance to put together a little double-date so they could all enjoy each other’s company. Yugi was very tired on account of getting no sleep, but the idea of going out with Marik and Bakura was very appealing so he and Yami agreed to meet them downtown around 11:30 for a lunch date. Nothing was said about dreams or rough nights, Yugi didn’t explain his exhaustion and distraction and Marik only said that he and Ryo were playing hooky so Ryo could rest up before his big exams. There weren’t even any chores around the house for Yugi to busy himself with, so he and Yami sat together on the couch and leaned on each other, having the TV on but not really hearing anything coming from it, until they had killed enough time. Bathing, dressing, and making their way downtown took up the rest of the morning, and they were still a little early to the meeting spot.
They chose that particular location because it was equidistant from both parties’ homes, so that each wouldn’t have to walk terribly far to meet the other. Downtown Domino also featured a wide variety of places where friends could go to have lunch, from ritzy upscale places frequented by the local CEOs to ramen shops for the salaryman on the go. The four young men met at a place somewhere in the middle, where they could sit down and indulge themselves over big bowls of hot noodles, rice, or soup. It was a deceptively sunny day, bright with a blue sky that seemed in such marked contrast to their internal moods, with enough nip in the air to require scarves and buttoned-up jackets. They gathered at just the right time, before the lunch rush, and snagged an open table while they still had the chance. There, gathered around together warming themselves with good, hearty food, they were able to catch up with each other since it had been quite some time since Marik and Ryo had seen Yami. Two months, in fact, and Bakura did not hide his surprise and quiet delight at seeing the pharaoh joining them at the restaurant. Yet, all four of them were somewhat subdued for a gathering of friends, and it didn’t take long for Yugi to confess to why. “I’m just really tired,” he sighed modestly. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
Marik gave him a hinting smirk. “Up well past midnight, as usual?”
Yugi closed his eyes and heaved a deep breath. “I wish it were due to that. No, I…” He gave his partner beside him a wary glance before deciding to truthfully explain. “I had a really bad nightmare last night. And it…it was like a recurring dream. Every time I closed my eyes it would start up again, I only got maybe a handful of hours’ sleep before I gave up and laid awake the rest of the night.”
Marik and Bakura both gave a start to hear the news. “Nightmare?” Ryo breathed.
“Yeah…a pretty nasty one.” Yugi shook his head slowly. “It felt so real, at the time. I was so glad to have Yami with me…if there was ever a time I needed someone beside me…” A hand eased onto his shoulder, and he glanced to find his partner smiling comfortingly at him. It made Yugi smile back in gratitude.
“That’s terrible, Yugi,” Marik said in sympathy. “A nightmare so bad you can’t even go back to sleep…I can’t imagine.” His pale blue eyes saddened. “You must be so tired.”
“Food helps,” Yugi responded with a cute look. “I’m okay. I’m just trying to forget about it – I don’t want it to come up again tonight. I want to actually sleep this time.”
“That’s so strange,” Ryo murmured, poking idly at his donburi. “I had a nightmare last night, too.” He glanced aside at his partner. “So did Marik.”
Now it was Yami and Yugi’s turn to simultaneously sit up with wide eyes. “You both did?” the pharaoh wondered concernedly.
“Mine wasn’t nearly as bad as Ryo’s,” Marik offered. “I managed to wake myself up out of it, but it brought up some rather unwanted memories.”
Yami gave a dark, musing purr under his breath. “I know what you mean.”
“Mine was terrible,” Ryo admitted, keeping his gaze shyly lowered. “I dreamed that the spirit of the Ring was going around killing everyone I loved.”
Yugi gasped slightly. “That sounds almost like the dream I had…”
Ryo looked up and shared an understanding look across the table with him. “Mine didn’t recur, though. I was able to go back to sleep. But I think Marik was right – I’ve been under so much stress lately, it’s no wonder I would dream something so unpleasant. That’s why we decided to give ourselves a day off.” He turned a hopeful little smile to Yami, beside Yugi. “And what a day we chose, the same day you and Yugi chose to perform your ritual. Lucky us, we get to see you.”
Pharaoh and partner shared a wary look. “That is kind of weird,” Yugi murmured, returning to the subject of dreams. “Bakura and I had almost the same dream, except mine was about the Puzzle, and his was about the Ring.”
“Mine was about the Rod,” Marik put in.
An unsettled look flickered through Yami’s eyes. “That sounds like a little more than stress. You haven’t been under much stress, have you, Marik?”
“Well, not really…” He glanced back and forth between the identical partners. “I thought it was kind of an odd coincidence that Ryo and I both had dreams about our Millennium Items, but…” His gaze hardened. “…if Yugi did also…”
Yami lowered his gaze and sighed. “And I did, as well. Not so much about a Millennium Item, but like Yugi, it was about losing the person who means the most to me. We both dreamed that our past enemies returned to destroy the people we love.”
Marik stared hard at him, his eyes narrowed. “Two is odd enough, but four is more than a coincidence,” he said darkly. “Something is going on here. We all share this connection through the Millennium Items…what could have caused all four of us to have the same kind of dream on the same night?”
Yugi turned almost directly to Yami, his eyes serious but his posture shy. “I’m telling you, it has to be the eclipse. It must have done something to the ritual.”
Bakura blinked at them, not understanding what one would have to do with the other, but Yami only shook his head. “There’s no way to know for certain,” he cautioned. “It could just be an extraordinary coincidence on Marik and Bakura’s part. But if it did have anything to do with the eclipse…” He set his hand over Yugi’s where it rested on the table between them. “If the worst that happens because we chose to perform the ritual during an eclipse is a few nightmares, we aren’t in any danger. It could have been a lot worse.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” Yugi mumbled defeatedly.
“Yami has a point,” Marik added helpfully. “All things considered, it seems to me like you two got off well. The ritual worked, and you’re both here and just fine.”
Yugi nodded his acceptance and decided not to bring it up again. They were all intrigued by the unusual similarity in their respective nights, though, so they sat for a while over their meal discussing whatever details of their dreams that they felt comfortable sharing. Very soon, they realized that all four of them had indeed dreamt at nearly the same time overnight, after midnight, after the eclipse was over, and all four dreams were unnervingly similar. The details were different, but the theme was the same, involving Millennium Items, shadow magic, and the loss of loved ones. It was enough to bring a shiver to Yugi’s back, and even Ryo looked disturbed, at which point they decided to stop talking about it and chide Marik about his coming birthday instead.
While the four lingered over their meal, wanting to spend as much time as possible with each other, the restaurant filled up fast and the lunch rush brought a bustling crowd to the counter. All the movement and noise distracted Yugi now and again, since he was sitting at the end of the table closest to the aisle, and at one point when he glanced idly aside, he thought he spotted a familiar-looking gray coat among the drab business suits and well-dressed shoppers. He looked a little more closely, and sure enough, when the figure turned around and peered at the full tables with some frustration, Yugi was delighted to recognize him. He sat up sharply, to the surprise of his table-mates, and waved a hand in the air. “Alastair! Hey, over here!”
Alastair’s eyes went to him immediately, and then widened with a happy little start. “Yugi!” Balancing his tray carefully, he wove his way through the crowded tables to meet his spiky-haired friend, his eyebrows raising again when he saw the person sitting next to him. “And the pharaoh…I didn’t even realize it was that time again. Hey…”
“Hello, Alastair,” Yami said with a kind smile. “What brings you here?”
“I’m on my lunch break.” He looked around the table, finding it full with Yugi’s other friends, who he simply smiled at. “Hey.”
“You should join us,” Yugi enthused. “We can make room. It’s good to see you!”
Conveniently enough, the nearest table had a free chair, so Alastair swiped it and set himself up at the end of the table, so he could look down it and see all the faces, familiar and strange alike. “Thanks,” he said as he shrugged off his coat and sat with them. “Not that I was really looking for company, but this place is packed. It’s nice to be able to sit down and not have to hurry up and eat.”
“Yeah, we’re kind of taking our time,” Yugi acknowledged, smiling around at his friends. “None of us have to rush off anywhere. You can totally join us. Let me introduce you…”
Alastair straightened up to be properly introduced, turning his attention to the unfamiliar pair to his right, but his eyes suddenly widened again. “Hey, wait a minute,” he exclaimed when his gaze fell on Marik, “I know you!”
Marik frowned curiously, but then his eyes also brightened. “That’s right, the motorcycle dealership!” he remembered.
“That’s right!” Alastair laughed. “Man, if I would have known you were a friend of Yugi’s! Talk about a small world…”
Yugi boggled at both of them. “You two met each other already?”
“Well, we didn’t exactly trade names,” Alastair admitted.
“I ran into him at the place where I bought my motorcycle, a couple months ago,” Marik explained. He then leaned across the table and offered his hand. “I’m Marik.”
“Alastair,” the newcomer said in return, clasping his hand briefly. His wry smile turned to the silver-haired young man sitting between them. “Let me guess…this is the second helmet?”
Ryo stared, confused. “What?”
Marik chuckled. “Yes. This is my boyfriend, Ryo.”
“Ryo Bakura,” Ryo added for further information.
“Nice to meet you guys.” Alastair turned a grin on Yugi instead. “What, do you know everybody in this town?”
“Just the duelists,” Yugi grinned back.
At that, Alastair turned back to the others with another interested look. “You guys are duelists, huh? I would have never thought that – after talking motorcycles with you.” He nodded to Marik. “How’s your bike? Working out for you okay?”
“Just fine,” Marik said with a broad smile. “I’m enjoying it quite a bit. Did you end up buying one, or…?”
“Yeah, got a nice street model.”
“It’s a really hot bike,” Yugi put in with a spunky grin. “I’ve seen it.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Marik laughed warmly. “What a funny coincidence, that both of us were there on the same day, and we’re both a friend of Yugi’s and never realized it.”
Alastair nodded his agreement and finally picked up his chopsticks to eat. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything by dropping in like this,” he added with a friendly nod to Yugi.
“No, nothing big, really,” Yugi shrugged. His appearance and the amusing introduction had lightened the mood considerably, and for that they were all grateful. “We’re all off today, so we came to hang out, spend time. Talk about things no one else would understand.”
“Ah, I get you.”
“So, how do you know Yugi?” Marik wondered. “Are you a duelist, also?”
“Yeah, you could say that,” Alastair answered between bites. “We didn’t exactly meet under the best of circumstances, but…” He favored both Yugi and Yami with a smile. “Yugi’s just that kind of guy. Nobody who gets to know him stays his enemy for very long.”
Marik also smiled at Yugi in the same warm, knowing way. “Yes, I know what you mean.”
Yugi hid his eyes from them bashfully. “So, how’s everything going?” he asked Alastair. “Work, and stuff?”
Alastair gave an exasperated sigh. “Work is work,” he complained. “I came over here on my lunch break just to get out of the place for an hour. People give me such a headache. Not that my day started out all that well,” he added, rubbing his forehead. “I had a pretty rough night last night, didn’t sleep well.”
Yugi blinked concernedly at him. “Oh, no, that’s no good. Were you over at…um…”
“Yeah, I spent the night there, but…it wasn’t his fault, actually.”
“Your boyfriend?” Marik wondered, remembering that minor detail from his brush with Alastair before.
The redhead nodded. “Everything was going great until after we both fell asleep. I had a bit of a nightmare that I just can’t shake off.”
The other four instantly shared a foreboding look, which Alastair didn’t notice as he was keeping his gaze on his noodles and muttered the admission with his head down as if embarrassed to say so. “A nightmare?” Yami prodded in a low tone.
“Yeah…” Alastair refused to look up, though he was doing more poking at his noodles than eating them. “It’s not the first time I’ve had it, either. But last night…man, it was just so real. A lot darker than anything I’ve dreamt before, and I’ve had some dark ones.”
Yugi gave Yami a meaningful look, but the pharaoh raised a hand to wordlessly caution him not to react yet. Alastair, after all, had no connection to a Millennium Item. “I’m no stranger to that feeling,” he said to put their companion at ease. “We were discussing something similar earlier. If you don’t mind me asking…what was it about?”
Alastair gave Marik and Bakura a wary glance, but they seemed to be listening without judgement, and Ryo’s large brown eyes even seemed sympathetic in a way, so he decided to indulge Yami’s question. “It was about everything that happened in the past,” he said unhappily, directing his gaze to the pharaoh, since he understood more than most. “The duel that I lost, only in my dream, I didn’t lose. It brought up a lot of dark feelings, and it tore my heart out to think of losing Kaiba that way. It really got to me.”
Marik and Bakura predictably stared at him. “You know Kaiba, too?” the former gasped.
Alastair blinked, realizing too late what he had just allowed to slip. Yugi folded his arms on the table before him. “I haven’t told anybody about you,” he said softly, “because I know how fiercely Kaiba protects his privacy. He asked me not to say anything, so I haven’t.”
“Ah…don’t worry about it.” Alastair shook his head, more at himself. “That was my mistake. I’m used to guarding myself so closely at work, but then I get here, and you’re here…and I’m comfortable talking about it with you because you already know…” He glanced at Marik and Ryo. “As long as your friends are cool about it…”
“That information is safe at this table,” Marik assured, “if that’s your wish. It’s not my place to meddle in anyone’s personal life.”
“As long as nobody else around overheard,” Yugi added worriedly.
“It’s too noisy in here, I doubt anyone would,” Yami said confidently.
Alastair glanced around nonetheless, and lowered his voice as he continued. “Yeah, so…I’m seeing Kaiba,” he confessed. “You guys know him, I take it?”
“All too well,” Marik said. “The coincidences just keep getting weirder.”
“Yeah, well…he and I have a lot of history. We’ve gone through some major changes together, and…”
“I told you about Dartz, right?” Yugi said to Marik. “Last year? Well,” he went on after Marik nodded, “Alastair was one of Dartz’s…people. One of the three who stole the god cards.”
“Really?” Marik’s face took on a look of complete bewilderment, but not so much as Bakura’s, since he hadn’t heard at all of the soul-stealing sorcerer and his bid to destroy the world. “Wow. Um…”
“Yeah, I know, it’s a really long story and probably one that doesn’t need to be told here and now,” Alastair sighed. “My job was to take down Kaiba, and I almost did. But that was years ago, I’ve put it behind me and, long story short, I’m involved with the guy now. At least I thought it was behind me,” he groused. “I had that same dream a week ago, and then again last night, but much worse, much darker. I dreamt it was his soul being taken, not mine, and then I lost him. I watched him slip away right before my eyes.” He shuddered and gave a little shiver. “I haven’t been able to get it out of my head all day. I woke up all freaked out, and didn’t really sleep well after that.”
Yugi made a little sympathetic noise. “I bet Kaiba didn’t appreciate that.”
“Actually…something happened to him, too.” Alastair forgot all about the others at the table and focused on Yugi. “When I woke up, he was already out of bed, across the room being all introspective and stuff. It was kind of weird. He said he had an unpleasant dream also but he wouldn’t talk about it.”
Yami stared intently at him across the table. “Are you positive? Kaiba did have a bad dream?”
“I guess so,” Alastair replied, a little taken aback. “All he would tell me was that I was in it. And it was something about Egypt. After that, though, he clammed up as usual and went back to sleep like nothing happened.”
“All right,” Marik said firmly to Yami, “now I’m starting to think Yugi’s right. Four is more than a coincidence, all right, but what about that? Kaiba, dreaming about Egypt? That has to be significant. He’s got something to do with the Millennium Rod even if he won’t accept it.”
The pharaoh nodded solemnly. “At this point, I’m inclined to agree. I can’t dismiss that something did happen, even if it was merely all of us suffering some kind of interconnected nightmare. But what of Alastair?” He glanced at their friend at the end of the table. “It’s very strange that he should dream the same kind of dream as the rest of us, if it was connected solely to the bearers of Millennium Items. I can’t be positive that it is all connected to the ritual or the eclipse.”
Alastair frowned deeply at them. “What are you guys rambling about?”
“All four of us had nightmares last night, too,” Yugi explained in a soft voice. “All about the same thing – about losing someone we love.” He turned to his partner. “But you didn’t dream about the Puzzle or anything, your dream had to do with the Seal. So did Alastair’s. It has to be connected, I’m sure of it!”
“Oh, man.” Alastair’s shoulders sagged. “The Seal still haunts you, too, huh?”
Yami wilted defeatedly, averting his gaze. “Yes, I suppose you have a point. Even so…we can only guess. We have no way of proving it.”
“I know. But…” Yugi turned contrite eyes on their three table companions. “…it’s possible that all these same nightmares happened to all of us because Yami and I decided to perform the ritual on the night of an eclipse. If that is the case, I want to apologize to all of you. It’s my selfish desire to have him out of the Puzzle that caused all this, as I see it, so…I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right, Yugi,” Ryo said gently. “The nightmares weren’t pleasant, but it’s hardly the end of the world. If it does so happen that your ritual affected us, somehow, so be it. I wouldn’t deny you the chance to be with him.” He glanced at Marik, as if considering just how he would feel if he had to forego the chance to be with his own lover.
“Yeah, it’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Alastair put in. “You don’t know that it had anything to do with you. It’s just bad dreams, it’s not like anybody’s hurt.”
“All the same, I don’t think I’ll forget it,” Yugi fretted. “It might make me think twice if the situation ever comes up again.”
“You should let it go for now,” Marik implored, “unless something else comes up that might shed light on the subject. None of us know enough about the ritual’s magic to know whether the two events are connected, but I’m with you – it’s a little too coincidental for at least six people to have the same type of dream on the same night. Especially if you consider who had the dream. I’ll be really concerned if it turns out our friends who have nothing to do with Millennium Items got through last night just fine.”
“I don’t get this Millennium Item thing,” Alastair said with a shake of his head. “I don’t really know that much about them. Dartz never said anything about them – he knew they existed, he knew something about them, but they never played into any of his plans so he didn’t tell us what they were. Only that the Puzzle marked the pharaoh we were after,” he noted with a nod toward Yami.
The others looked among each other, sighing and wondering where to begin. “Well, there’s seven of them,” Yugi said simply. “Bakura and I bear two of them, and Marik used to control one himself…”
“But we think it might belong to Kaiba, in some sense,” Marik added helpfully. “He doesn’t want to have anything to do with it.”
A smirk lightened Alastair’s features. “No kidding,” he sniffed sarcastically.
“That’s kind of how we all got to know each other. Dueling was a major part of it, but it also has to do with the Millennium Items.” Yugi glanced at his partner beside him, who sat listening in patient silence. There was so much that could be said, but he didn’t want to delve too deeply into the unpleasant aspects, like the spirit of the Ring and Marik’s past claim to the Rod and attempts to destroy the others. “There’s an even deeper connection between them and Duel Monsters – even Dartz knew that, that’s why he taught you guys to use the game to do his dirty work, too.”
“Yeah, it’s more than a card game, I’ll give you that.” Alastair glanced at the other two with renewed interest. “So does that mean you guys have access to ancient magic like the pharaoh and his sidekick, here?”
Ryo gave his own boyfriend a shy look and retreated into what was left of his lunch. Marik leaned on the table and replied in his most intelligent, collected manner. “I did, once. I used it for all the wrong reasons, I hurt people with it. I’m glad Yugi is keeping my Item now, it doesn’t belong to me and I don’t want to be tempted by that power again. My duty was only to guard it – I’m the last in a long line of tombkeepers destined to serve the pharaoh,” he added to explain.
“Wow…” Alastair nodded, impressed. “When you first told me you were from Egypt, I thought that was pretty special, but I had no idea how right I was.”
“The power you once possessed may be older,” Yami mused, “but in some ways, it shares a lot of characteristics with shadow magic, the kind contained in the Millennium Items. Perhaps I shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss the concept that they may be related after all. Like Yugi said…” He shared a sad look with his partner. “…the fear and loss contained in my dream stemmed from the Seal, not the Puzzle.”
“You know, come to think of it…” Alastair pointed toward the pharaoh while he thought out loud. “Pegasus. Wasn’t the Eye he used to have one of the Items?”
“Oh, that’s right, you would know about that,” Yugi remembered, from what facts he had been able to worm out of Mokuba about the initial antagonism between Alastair and Kaiba. “Yeah, that was the Millennium Eye. It’s sort of missing now,” he added sheepishly. “But I’ve seen six of the seven Items…and I think I know where the seventh is. It all comes back to Yami – to us, both.”
“No wonder Kaiba balks every time I bring it up,” Alastair snorted. “And if he did have a dream about Egypt, about this Millennium Item stuff…that’s why he won’t talk about it. It all makes sense now.”
They chatted for a short time longer about it, keeping to surface details of the Items’ existence and not touching sensitive information, but by the time Alastair finished his lunch, he had learned enough to be able to understand what was so important about these objects, why they had such a pull on the lives of these seemingly unconnected people. “I really don’t know anything about magic,” Yugi said in conclusion, smiling again. “I just know what I’ve experienced, and what I feel when I’m bonded with Yami. Mystical things like this are just part of my life, now, I take it as it comes. Like the eclipse.” He shrugged helplessly. “I mean it. If it turns out it was my fault everybody had nightmares, because of that, I’m sorry. I never meant for it to be that way.”
Yami rubbed the back of his neck consolingly. “And I told you, it’s all right,” Marik said to him. “There’s a lot worse that could have happened. As long as it’s blown over, and nothing else happens, I’d say we got really lucky. Call it a learning experience.”
“Same goes for me,” Alastair offered. “And if it makes you feel any better, Kaiba would never blame you – he’d just say he was overtired or stressed out at work or something stupid like that.”
Yugi giggled a little. “That does help, a little. Thanks.”
“No problem.” Alastair checked his watch and sighed. “Unfortunately, it’s getting near to the end of my lunch hour. I have to be getting back to the office. It was good to meet you guys,” he added to Marik and Bakura, who nodded back.
The others had long ago finished their meal as well, so they all decided to part company and go off to enjoy the rest of the day their own ways, all rising and collecting their coats. Once bundled up and out on the sidewalk, though, they lingered naturally for a few minutes more, taking their time putting on gloves and deciding when to actually walk away. “Don’t worry, your secret – or rather, Kaiba’s secret – is safe,” Marik said to Alastair before he left. “It’s really rather surprising. I didn’t know that he was…well, like us.”
“I don’t know if he is or not,” Alastair said, “but yeah – that’s something he doesn’t want spread around. My fault for letting it slip – I let my guard down around Yugi.”
“It’s all right,” Ryo assured. “We all have our own places and times where mentioning our sexuality would be bad. None of us would out any of the others if the situation were reversed.”
“Thanks. You guys are all right.” Alastair grinned brashly. “Exactly what I would expect from pals of Yugi’s. Say,” he continued more casually, turning to Yugi and Yami. “You guys interested in going out later? It’s been so long,” he complained. “I haven’t been able to go out clubbing since the last time we went out together. Months ago. After the kind of day I’ve been having, I could really use the chance to get out and blow off some steam.”
Yugi blinked at him, and then consulted his partner with a glance. “Well, we don’t really have any other plans. I’m really tired at the moment, on account of the not-sleeping, but…yeah, sure. What do you say, Yami?”
“It does sound inviting,” the pharaoh murmured. “True, we haven’t been out like that since we went with you, either. I would welcome the chance to put everything behind us and have fun for a night.”
“Great! There’s a club I’ve been meaning to check out, but you-know-who wouldn’t be caught dead in it no matter how much he had to drink first, so…you’re the best choices for company. You guys are invited, too,” he added to Marik and Bakura. “If you’re into dancing.”
Ryo blushed slightly. “Well, we have been dancing before, but…” He and Marik looked at each other, and smiled coyly. “…I think we’re going to spend the rest of the day in, ourselves. Marik is right. I’ve been working myself to the point of neglecting myself as well as him, so perhaps we ought to use the rest of the day to pay attention to each other. Alone.”
“Can’t argue with that idea,” Alastair said in a complimentary tone. “All right, as long as you know you were welcome. I gotta run,” he said urgently to Yugi, “so I’ll give you a call later this afternoon, when I get out of work. We’ll plan to meet up and check out this new club. What do you say?”
“Yeah, sure. You have my number. I’ll be at home,” Yugi promised.
“Okay. Later!” Alastair waved to them all, turning with a swirl of his magnificent coat and striding briskly away down the sidewalk.
The other four turned to each other. “Well, that was an interesting lunch,” Marik remarked.
“I’m really sorry if I caused you guys any trouble,” Yugi sighed, thrusting his hands into his coat pockets. “If I caused…”
“Stop it,” Marik warned him. “How many times do we have to tell you? It’s no big deal.” He, too, stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “Just because the ritual might have triggered these dreams, doesn’t mean we weren’t worrying about those things deep down inside somewhere. It just all came out on the same night, that’s all. I know I have deep fears about my ability to resist taking the Rod and using it again, and it’s no surprise that you and Yami are afraid of losing each other. It’s not like our dreams revealed anything to us that we didn’t already know.” His words may have been sharp, but the light in his eyes as he gazed down at Yugi was sad and sweet. “Dreams have a way of forcing us to confront the things we would rather keep buried, the things we don’t want to think about in our waking, conscious life. You can’t say that, in some ways, this might have been a good thing. It got Ryo to take a break,” he said wryly with a nod of his head toward his partner. “That’s good enough for me.”
Yugi lowered his head, but felt his lover’s arm come around his shoulders, one gloved hand resting on his arm. “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” he sighed. “It wasn’t any fun, it was really scary the way it wouldn’t leave me alone, but…sounds like you guys were able to put it behind you. I’ll try to do the same.”
“That’s all you can do,” Yami said soothingly. “Come, we’ll return home and lie down for a while. Even if you can’t fall asleep, you should at least rest before we go out dancing.”
“You do the same,” Marik suggested to him. “I know what your dream means to you. It was probably just as devastating as Ryo’s was to him. Go, get some rest, put it behind you. You only have half a day left to enjoy with each other, make the most of it.”
“You’re right. Thank you, Marik.” They all wished each other well, and turned to go in opposite directions, hand in hand or arm in arm with their respective lovers. Some distance down the block, when they were good and alone, the pharaoh gave his partner a squeeze and leaned down to murmur in his ear while they walked. “I won’t dismiss your concerns any longer. I think you may be right, that something happened because of the ritual.”
Yugi turned to him with wide eyes. “You do?”
“I don’t think it was anything dangerous, but it is rather significant that so many people shared the same experience overnight.” He held Yugi to his side and breathed a deep sigh. “As long as that’s the only thing that happened, though, because of our choice to do the ritual, I won’t worry. I can only imagine what kinds of worse effects it could have had, judging by some of the strange things which have happened to us before.”
“Yeah…I know. I agree.” Yugi snuggled into him so they could walk in matched stride, comfortable and in bonded tandem once again. “Funny, though. About Kaiba.”
“I can only imagine what might have gone on in that bedroom overnight,” Yami murmured. After a moment Yugi began to giggle, and then laughed outright, bringing a smile to his lover’s face.
Yugi and Yami both managed to snatch a short nap after all, just enough to refresh themselves, and by the time they woke up and were puttering about the house again, Alastair called to set up the plans. Knowing that the pair had to be back to their place before midnight so as not to deal with any inconveniences, they decided to meet up at the relatively early hour of seven so they could get in as much fun as possible before the twosome had to leave. Alastair had looked up the club’s address by that time, so they agreed to meet right outside the club itself, a new place that had opened earlier in the fall named after the nighttime hot spot in Tokyo, Shinjuku. It was a fair distance from Kame game shop, but that early in the evening Yugi and Yami could easily take a bus and feel perfectly safe. Though embarrassed, Yugi was also intrigued by the notion of a gay club – the closest thing to it had been Boys’ Night at the one club where they had taken Bakura on his birthday, and that was not at all a bad experience. But from day to day in his routine life, Yugi never thought of himself as gay, even with a male soulmate to make love to whenever they could be together. Yami didn’t care one way or the other, going out was going out and after the kind of night and day they were having, he was beginning to agree with Alastair’s reason for wanting to go out clubbing. They needed the mindless release just as much.
For his part, Alastair had no intention of telling Kaiba that he was going out with his rival pair, even though he was pretty sure that of all the hot boys he knew or could meet, Kaiba would be the least threatened by Yugi. Kaiba had never acted jealous before, but Alastair didn’t feel like giving him a reason to start. The less he knew about his lover’s club habits the better, for it was a world into which he would never go and to which he didn’t belong. It wasn’t as though Alastair did drugs or let himself be seduced into one-night stands or back-alley encounters; if Seto knew such things existed in the world he might have been more concerned, all the more reason not to tell him about Shinjuku. Or going out with Yugi precisely because he’d be more at home in a gay club than Kaiba, for that matter. Given the choice, Alastair might have preferred seeing Kaiba get rankled by the notion that Yugi was more fun to hang out with to letting him discover what kinds of potential trouble his worldly-wise lover might be tempted into. At least, the slender young foreigner thought as he sauntered up the sidewalk to where he had agreed to meet his friends, he had his very own hot, hard-bodied, sexually compatible partner waiting somewhere across town should he choose to blow off the club and pick up his cell phone instead. That was more than enough to keep him from wanting anything out of this new club except a couple solid hours of sweaty dancing.
A few young men loitered outside the club smoking when the three converged on the spot, but it was a chilly night, so it could be assumed that all the action was inside. They made their way in and checked their coats, and finally were able to turn to each other and smile and express their enthusiasm for this great idea. Alastair let out a bright laugh. “Look at you, Yugi! If I didn’t already know you were gay, I’d be able to tell now.”
Yugi blinked in astonishment; he didn’t think he looked particularly homosexual in his choice of tight pants and slinky shirt, just ready for a night of dancing. “W-what?” he stammered, trying (and failing) not to blush. “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
Alastair laughed again. “Relax, man, it’s a compliment. You look great. I’d warn you about getting hit on, but I’m sure the instant somebody looks at you wrong, the pharaoh will be right there in a flash to protect you.”
Rather than be ruffled by the suggestion, Yami smiled coolly and slinked his arms around Yugi from behind, wrapping them around his waist and leaning against him. “What says I’m going to even let him out of my arms all night?” he challenged.
Alastair waggled his eyebrows suggestively. “You look pretty hot yourself, you know. Good thing we’re both taken.”
“Indeed. Well? Shall we?”
Yugi took his lover’s hand eagerly, and together they passed through an arched entryway to the club proper. It wasn’t much different from any of the others Yugi had been to in his past couple of years of growing up, a little on the flashy side but not outrageously so. One thing was pointedly clear: the place was wall-to-wall men. Men of all kinds, sizes, and shapes, but many of them pretty and all of them certainly interested in each other. The music rioting through the club was intense and beat-heavy, not at all the sugary pop and mediocre dance hits that played at the last club the three had found themselves in together. It didn’t look to be a bad place, and the thought brought a confident smile to Yugi’s lips. He glanced up at Alastair and noted that the young foreigner wore a similar, satisfied look as he surveyed the expanse of the club. He turned to the pair with a grin. “Looks pretty cool to me. Luckily – their website didn’t have a schedule on it, so I wouldn’t have been able to tell whether we were going to show up on, I don’t know, Disco Night or something.”
Yugi grinned at the particular expression of disgust on his friend’s face. “Not a big fan of disco, I take it?”
“I’m gay – I’m not a queen.” Alastair turned gracefully and started away, flicking a finger over his shoulder to encourage his friends to follow him. “Let’s go down to the dance floor. See what this place is made of.”
The other two needed no encouragement, clasping hands and tagging along with him. The main floor was sunk a full level below the street entrance and bar area, ringed with metal railings wrapped in strings of lights and accessible by two main staircases. People were constantly entering and leaving the lower level, so the threesome insinuated themselves into the stream of traffic and climbed down to see if things were just as exciting as they looked from above. Legions of boys were dancing like mad to the heavy trance beat, many sporting multicolored glowing cords wrapped around necks, wrists, and heads. The DJ behind the tables looked just as into the music as his audience, keeping time with nods of his head while he scrambled to cue up the next track and mixed it seamlessly together. This place had a lot of the ambiance of Dream, but a wholly different crowd, Yugi noticed as his partner’s arms came around him and pulled him back into a body already beginning to sway to the tempo. Shinjuku was filled with men just like them, men at the peak of youth and beauty, men who were actively slinking up to and hooking up with other men right before everyone’s eyes. There was no hiding here, no being embarrassed, no putting on a show. Judging by how quickly Alastair fell into step with the music and lost himself in the sonic landscape, it was just the place they all needed and wanted to be.
Surrounded by such an enthusiastic crowd, in the dark and the swirling lights, in the heat of all those bodies, in a world where nothing mattered except sound and motion and the partner whose hands were all over you (if you had one), it was easy to lose all track of time and reality. The only thing that could break someone away from the pack of dancers was the need for a drink or the possibility of getting to know a stranger better. For Yugi and his companions, the latter wasn’t even an option, so they simply kept dancing until they were too tired to stay on their feet any longer. Brief breaks for water allowed them to climb upstairs and take a breath of slightly cooler air, but then it was back to it so long as the music stayed so fast, hot, and intense. Alastair kept up with Yami and Yugi the whole time, clearly dancing merely for the sake of dancing and not under any compunction to use it as a means to flirt with anyone. He didn’t mind the couple’s closeness at all, giving them the occasional envious smile whenever he caught them sensually writhing in tandem with their attention locked on each other. Even in this accepting crowd with an easygoing friend around, Yugi felt a little self-conscious whenever he and Yami got a little carried away, stealing sexually-charged kisses and gropes now and then. He would blush and shy away and giggle, and go back to dancing, assured by the glowing smile in Yami’s eyes that he hadn’t offended his partner. Far from it – Yami was relieved and happy to see his beloved Yugi smiling again after their awful night, so any and everything he wanted to do was just fine. It became a little game, as the pharaoh tried to see what he would be allowed to get away with before Yugi would laugh and try to refocus them on dancing. At one point, as they just stood chuckling at each other and clasping hands, Alastair leaned in and nudged Yugi’s arm. “Be right back,” he shouted over the music.
Yugi raised his eyebrows to ask a follow-up question, which Alastair answered by holding up an empty water bottle and waggling it. Yugi nodded understandingly, as if to give permission for their friend to go and get something to drink by himself. Swapping a suggestive smile with Yami to encourage him to keep playing with his partner, Alastair wove his way through the bouncing throng to the stairs and strutted his way up to the bar to get more water. Or perhaps an energy drink, he began to consider, for it might keep him going a little longer. The club was getting more crowded with the lateness of the hour, and even though he wasn’t interested in picking anyone up, Alastair enjoyed the sultry, leering stares he would get wherever he passed. He merely cast aloof smiles in response, saying in his own wordless way that they could all enjoy the view but he was off limits. He couldn’t help the flirtatious prowl in his step as he walked, he was gorgeous and he knew it, and made sure everybody else knew it, but he also knew he could squash any one of these pathetic little dogs under his heel one way or another. He may have put his past behind him, but he still retained the smug, superior sense of having the power to dominate and cast aside anyone who crossed him. It was that confidence, more than anything, that made him stalk through the club on his mission with a cool half-smile for anyone who glanced his way and ogled. Alastair sidled up to the bar, ordered a heavily-caffeinated energy drink, and meandered away to find a spot on the railing to lean and drink it down, since metal cans like the one it came in weren’t permitted downstairs on the dance floor. There were plenty of good vantage points from which to survey the tightly-packed sea of sexy bodies below, and Alastair took a moment to delight himself watching Yugi and Yami from above, as they were almost directly beneath his feet. It amused him to see them so taken with each other, acting like any couple deeply in love and lust with each other instead of an innocent kid and an ancient pharaoh. They looked perfectly at home in the club, smiling indulgently at each other as they swayed together, oblivious to the world around them. Alastair chuckled under his breath and took a swig of his drink, shifting his attention elsewhere. He may have been committed to someone who wasn’t there with him, but he could still appreciate the eye candy all across the packed dance club. A few more sips and his can was empty, leaving him free to return to the company of his friends below. He turned to do so, noticing as he did one of the men standing behind and beside him obviously looking him over from head to toe. Alastair just gave him one of the same bored, aloof looks he had been giving everyone all night and made to step away, but the man turned to intercept him before he could slip through a crack in the tight press of people all around them. “Hey,” he said, raising his voice over the loud music. “Haven’t seen you around before.”
Frustrated by the people in his way forcing him to deal with this would-be pickup artist, Alastair sighed and paused to give him his best brush-off. “Sorry, not interested,” he said in his most snarky tone.
The guy blinked, nonplussed. “What? What do you mean? I was just saying hi…”
“Yeah, right. Hi, followed by ‘let’s get to know each other,’ followed by more total crap.” Alastair eyed him condescendingly. “I know the drill. I’m not interested. Period.”
He made to leave, but the man got in his way. “What’s your problem?” he complained. “What’s wrong with somebody wanting to get to know you? C’mon, you’re hot…let me buy you a drink.”
Alastair’s gray eyes narrowed. The stranger was actually shorter than him, but much broader in the shoulders and muscled, giving him the appearance of being some kind of body-building musclehead type who wasn’t used to hearing “no” from anyone. He looked down his nose at this pushy interloper. “Sorry,” he said curtly, and rather snidely, “but I’m driving tonight. I don’t really feel like wrapping my bike around a light pole. Take it somewhere else.”
The man frowned, but didn’t seem to have gotten the hint. “Okay, so, not a drink. I’m not asking you for a lot, really…” A greedy smile crossed his face. “Why don’t we take it somewhere else, then? Say we slip into the back room, you can give me that much, can’t you?”
For a moment, Alastair didn’t know whether to laugh or sigh. He settled for a magnificent roll of his eyes. “For the last time, no!” he snapped. He had already figured this place had some kind of back hall or room where men could take each other for anonymous hook-ups, like all the gay clubs he’d been to before – but he had no intention of ending up there regardless. He thrust a hand out and shoved the stranger back out of his way. “Find some desperate little twinkie if you want to get sucked off so badly. I’m not available. Now get out of my way.”
He moved to throw away his drink can and go back downstairs before Yugi could start worrying that he was taking so long, but the man grabbed his wrist to halt him. “What’s your hurry?” he demanded a little more belligerently. “A slutty gaijin like you won’t get picked up by anyone else, here.”
Alastair disengaged his hand with a forceful flourish. “Get bent,” he snarled, his eyes flashing angrily. “What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand? I’m not interested, and I’m not available – I have someone to go home to already.” He glared disdainfully. “And I’m sure he’s a lot better than you would be.”
“Oh yeah?” the man shot back, sneering at his slender figure. “How do you know? You won’t know unless you give it a try. Come on, I’ll show you things your boyfriend can’t even dream of.”
Alastair looked him over with a scornful frown. “You’re not worth cheating on him,” he sniffed acidly, turning stubbornly away to end the conversation for good.
A hand suddenly groped over his ass. He spun and swatted it away, facing the man’s leer with a clenched fist. “Fuck off!” he demanded, causing several nearby onlookers to turn and stare.
“What, you don’t like it?” the stranger taunted, drawing himself up to make himself look bigger. He still had to look up to face Alastair. “Then what are you doing here?”
“I was dancing, until you decided to make me some part of your sick fantasy.” Alastair peered indignantly at him. “Go bother someone who cares.” He turned slowly, keeping one eye on the man, and for good reason. The unsolicited grope was proof that he would do just about anything without consent, and sure enough, as Alastair tried one more time to leave, the guy lunged at him, looking like he was ready to use even more force to stop him. In one swift move, Alastair whirled around and planted the heel of his boot squarely into the man’s chin. Spectators scattered in all directions as the man plowed through them and landed on the floor several feet away. Alastair stood straight and glared down at him, brusquely adding, “No means no, asshole,” before finally getting to push his way through the crowd and leave.
He was just beginning to think that Yugi must be wondering by now when he passed between a couple of smirking onlookers and came face to face with the spiky-haired pair themselves, standing at the top of the stairs joined at the hand, both of them staring in alarm. Before he could say anything, Yugi rushed toward him, towing Yami along. “Alastair, are you okay?” he yelped. “What happened? What did that guy do to you?”
Alastair huffed a sigh and flipped an errant strand of hair out of his eyes with a finger, trying to look casual and unruffled. “He didn’t want to take ‘no’ for an answer,” he complained. “I had to beat it into his head. I’m all right, don’t freak out on me. Let’s just find someplace out of the way for a bit. What are you guys doing up here?” he added as Yugi gestured for him to come along to a quieter corner.
“Same thing as you – we needed a break and something to drink.” They passed a few couples locked in passionate kisses and located an empty table in the far corner of the upper level, where they could at least catch their breath and stand and talk without being drowned out by the music. A curious function of the architecture blocked most of the noise from this far corner. There, Yugi bade his friend sit down and take it easy. “We saw part of it,” Yugi admitted, “the part where you kicked him in the face. I knew something had to have happened, but I’m glad you were able to take care of yourself.”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alastair assured him, leaning back in a chair. Yami had gone to get the water, and he silently slinked back up to the other two while they sat talking. “I don’t need anybody to come rushing to my aid or anything. It was just a little tiff, don’t worry about it.”
“Well, you know I’d help if I could,” Yugi said shyly, “but I’m not a fighter at all. That was always Joey’s thing…”
“You’re the one who tries to talk everybody down,” Alastair noted with an affectionate smile. “No worries. We’re all fine. How long do you guys want to stay? I know it’s getting a little late, but…”
Yugi fumbled in his pocket for his watch and checked the time, showing it to Yami so he could be assured. “It’s later than I thought,” the young one admitted, “but we still have time. I wouldn’t mind being totally tired out so I sleep good. The music here is really good,” he added with a grin.
“Yeah, we came on a good night. I’m glad.” Alastair reached across the table and playfully jostled Yugi with a fist against his arm. “You guys are a lot of fun. Thanks for coming out with me.”
“Anytime!” Yugi beamed.
They sat and chatted a little while before returning to the dance floor for one more set, but the downtime had allowed some of their fatigue to creep up on them, and they only danced a short time longer before deciding to call it a night. There would be just enough time before midnight for Yugi and Yami to curl up together at home and decompress, they didn’t have to hurry. By this time the incident had been forgotten and everyone was in a good mood again, such that they stood around saying an extra-long goodbye outside as friends will. The pair had walked Alastair to where his bike was parked by the curb half a block down, and they stood talking with him in the crisp night air while he sat on his bike with his helmet in his lap, delaying the departure as long as possible. It was fun being out with friends, it was a feeling he couldn’t remember having in a long time. Yugi’s fair giggle and the pharaoh’s quiet smile were something Alastair wanted to appreciate so he could go home and go to bed happy, forgetting all about the previous night’s unpleasantness and his long, frustrating work day. As he laughed at something Yami wryly said, he glanced aside and noticed a figure muscle his way through the loitering crowd at the door of the club. It was the same belligerent man from before, looking considerably more sour and probably drunk. Alastair sighed to himself; it was a sign that he had best finish his goodbye and leave. “All right,” he said to Yugi, “I won’t take up any more of your time. You got stuff to do before midnight hits.”
Yugi was just beginning to agree when the stranger accidentally looked their way and spotted them, realizing who he was seeing. To Alastair’s chagrin, the man straightened up and deliberately began to trudge their way. Yugi noticed his friend’s glance and followed it to see what he was frowning at. “What, what is it?” he wondered. “Wait…is that the guy from before?”
“Hey, you!” the man shouted from halfway down the block.
“Shit,” Alastair muttered. “You guys better get on. I’m not gonna leave you here with him around.”
“What…?” Yugi stammered.
“Get on!” Alastair demanded, starting the motorcycle in a flash. “Pharaoh…”
Yami took one look at the man storming up the sidewalk and understood. He pushed Yugi toward the bike. “But what about helmets?”
“I only brought the one. Here.” Alastair handed it over his shoulder to Yugi, who stood bewildered next to the bike. “I’ll be fine.”
“Yugi, get on,” Yami said urgently, leaping onto the bike behind Alastair. Yugi yanked the helmet down over his head just before his impatient partner grabbed him and hauled him onto the motorcycle as well, forcing him in between himself and the driver. It was an extremely awkward position, the bike was definitely not made for three, but Yugi and Yami were both skinny enough that they could make it work, albeit uncomfortably. Yugi was more or less in his partner’s lap, squeezed between him and Alastair’s back. He barely had time to grab hold of Alastair around the chest when Yami reached around both of them to cling to them, protecting Yugi between them. The man had broken into a run, but just as he reached their position, Alastair gunned the engine and roared away from the curb.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a very long ride to get Yugi and Yami home from there, though Alastair knew as he drove that they were not comfortable and probably rather nervous. Yugi had a death grip around his chest, and the edge of the helmet was pressing into his back, while Yami was desperately wrapped around Yugi and clutching at the front of Alastair’s coat. The windshield barely protected Alastair from the bitter wind, but he gritted his teeth and squinted into it, forcing himself to make the fast getaway and bring the two around to Kame game shop as quickly as he could. Yugi could feel Yami’s head resting against his back, perhaps using his body to protect himself from the wind. He didn’t move until he realized Alastair had given them a ride all the way home, relaxing only when the motorcycle pulled up outside the dark game shop. He slid out from between the taller two and stumbled onto the walk outside his door, pulling the helmet off and shaking out his crushed hair. “Man,” he sighed as Alastair turned off the bike, and Yami likewise slid off it, “that was crazy! I didn’t think he’d come after us…”
“He was probably only after me, but better safe than sorry,” Alastair said warily. “Sorry about getting you two caught up in that. I didn’t mean to drag you into my problems. I didn’t think he’d show up like that either.”
“It’s okay,” Yugi assured him. “At least we know for sure that you’re safe, and not being attacked by some overzealous jerk while we walk home like nothing’s wrong. And look! We’re home earlier than I expected.” He favored his friend with a sincere smile. “It all worked out in the end. It’s okay.”
“Not the best ride, though.”
“Well, no…but that just means you’ll have to give me one again some other time to make up for it.” Yugi beamed innocently.
“Thank you, Alastair,” Yami added in his serious manner. “I appreciate you looking out for us.”
Alastair nodded. Yugi heaved a disappointed sigh. “It’s kind of sad. I’m used to keeping an eye out for people who want to be mean or insult us because of our relationship, but I never thought I’d have to guard myself against other gay men, too.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, just because someone is gay doesn’t mean they’re automatically more enlightened,” Alastair said ruefully. “Gay men can be just as big of jerks as straight men. I’ve run into my share, believe me.” He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it, though. It’s over. As long as it didn’t ruin your evening…”
“Oh, no, I had a lot of fun,” Yugi enthused. “Thanks for asking us out, Alastair. I’m glad we had a chance to just go have a good time and not really worry about anything. And the club was really cool, too. I wouldn’t mind going again sometime.”
“Yeah, I had fun too,” their friend admitted. “Thanks, guys. Now go on and keep each other company while you still have the time.” He smirked at them as he slapped his helmet on, leaving them to wave farewell to him as he started back up and rode away into the night.
Once upstairs in Yugi’s bedroom where they belonged, the two lovers slowly, tiredly divested themselves of their sweaty club clothing and crawled into pajamas, leaving the laundry piled up so they could concentrate on spending the rest of their twenty-four hours with each other. Neither was much in the mood for sex that night, after everything that had happened, but Yugi was much happier than he had been all day and didn’t mind curling up in his warm bed to snuggle and make out with his partner. They did so for quite a while, until the very last minutes of the day were left to them. As tired as he was, Yugi wasn’t about to let himself fall asleep until Yami had safely returned to the Puzzle, admitting in a quiet murmur that he was doing so for Yami’s sake, to make sure that any effects of the eclipse on the ritual did not extend to the end of it as it had in the beginning. “I just want to know that nothing will happen to you,” he said petulantly, giving his lover a worried little pout. “Once you’re back in the Puzzle, everything should be back to normal, and then I’ll sleep.”
“All right,” Yami relented, combing his hand through Yugi’s hair as they lay wrapped in each other’s arms in the bed. “I suppose I can’t deny you that much, even if I want to see you sleeping well with no nightmares.”
Yugi closed his eyes and nestled his head into the crook of Yami’s neck, breathing deeply of his sweaty scent. “I really hope they don’t come back,” he mumbled. “I don’t think they will, but…you never know.”
“If they do,” Yami said warmly, “I promise you, I will sense it and be able to draw your mind out of them. If it gets that bad, I will let your mind enter the Puzzle so you can have a dreamless sleep.”
“We’ve never tried that, immediately after a ritual,” Yugi mused. “Usually, you go kind of dormant for the rest of the night, and I just…well, I go to the bathroom and then come back to bed and sleep.”
“I know,” the pharaoh said in his usual deep murmur. “But for your sake, I’m willing to try it. I can rest later. I would rather have the assurance that you’re all right, and not caught in the darkness of that nightmare again.”
“You’re so sweet,” Yugi purred cutely, nuzzling his neck affectionately. “I don’t want to wear you out, but if you’re so willing…I can certainly let you take care of me that way.”
“It’s the least I can do,” Yami smiled.
They spent the last minutes of the ritual day trading soft, gentle kisses, savoring the taste of each other’s lips, until the pharaoh’s corporeal form vanished and Yugi felt the subtle but insistent jog of their bond reinstating itself in his mind. It was always a comfort, but this night more than ever, and he was able to fall asleep rather quickly after the passage of midnight. Nothing more had happened to Yami at the close of the ritual, and everything appeared to be as normal as any other night in any other month as Yugi drifted into deeper sleep and showed no sign of being terrorized by bad dreams again. Nonetheless, Yami remained on the alert, watching over his soulmate like a guardian angel, touching his mind to Yugi’s now and then to be sure that there was no darkness there. He had all the time in the world to let himself rest after the exhausting day, so he stayed awake, focused, guarding Yugi’s mind against internal foes so he could sleep the whole night through.