A/N: This collection of oneshots is for the 'Puzzleshipping Song Contest' on the BPSC Forum. There will be seven oneshots in total - one posted every two weeks. All are song inspired and the song/artist of the given round will be posted each chapter. More information on the contest and on the writers participating in said contest can be found on my homepage. Feel free to join us in the forum chat and help support and cheer on the contestants! Reviews, as always, are awesome and appreciated!

Round 1: 'Soap' by Melanie Martinez


sink or sw - no, just sink


Katsuya was an asshole, Atem decided right then and there.

Yes, his best friend since childhood was an asshole.

And this here asshole, in all his ass-like glory, had taken it upon himself to pour an entire tub of liquid soap into Atem's outdoor, in-ground pool.

Why, on God's green earth, would someone do such a thing, you may be asking yourself.

"I wanted bubbles."

Because he wanted bubbles.

"I think I might actually kill you," Atem said, as he watched the blond man do backstrokes in his pool, suds parting to allow Katsuya's body to drift past them, before cluttering back together in the empty space left behind. Soapy bubbles so thick and so numerous that Atem could no longer see the floor of his once pristine pool. "You might actually have to die for this."

"Oh come on. It's not a big deal," Katsuya said. He paused in his movements, his bottom half submerged in the pool, to glance over at Atem. "Look at it this way, pal, at least you don't hafta worry about cleanin' up the pool. I pretty much just killed all the bacteria for you."

"That's what chlorine is for." Atem pushed the words through clenched teeth.

"Pah." Katsuya dismissed him with a wave, then dunked his head under the sudsy water.

Atem considered for a moment circling the pool's edge so that he could hold his head under there. He decided against it a second later and, with a deep breath, Atem closed his eyes and forced his muscles to loosen. He rubbed his temples to soothe the dulling sensations of an oncoming headache away.

Not today, he thought.

He would not allow Katsuya's idiocy to ruin this beautiful Saturday afternoon. Atem deserved a nice, relaxing day off after the hellish week of work he just had, and he would not allow Katsuya to stress him out. He would not go gray young. He would not need meds for high blood pressure. He would not kill Katsuya. Not today.

But tomorrow, perhaps.

"Yo, I invited Yugi over. He should be here any minute."

Nope, scratch that – he was going to kill him today.

"Katsuya!" Atem hissed, his oncoming headache practically exploding into a very present migraine. "You didn't even ask me if that was okay!"

"I figured you wouldn't have a problem with it." Katsuya titled his head to the side, a tic in his cheek. "I mean, if I didn't know any better - "

"- and you don't -"

"- then I would think that you don't want him around for some reason..."

Katsuya was never very subtle in his insinuations. "It's just common courtesy not to invite people over someone else's house without asking first," Atem grumbled.

"It must have just slipped my mind," Katsuya lied, and they both knew that Atem knew that his best friend was lying.

Because no, it didn't just slip your mind. You're just an asshole, Atem's mind supplied.

But instead of voicing his thoughts, knowing that to do so would prove rather pointless, Atem settled himself down on one of his pool chairs and snatched up his book on the ground by one of the legs. He leaned back in the chair and shot a glare at Katsuya, who had submerged himself just deep enough in the sudsy water that only his wet mop of blond hair and amber eyes were visible. He was watching Atem like a crocodile, and Atem didn't have to see the lower half of his face to know that there was a shit-eating grin on it.

Atem resisted the urge to jump in the pool to drown Katsuya, but just barely.

The sound of the backyard gate clicking open drifted into the air, a noise that accompanied that of the chirping birds in the trees around them. Out of the corner of his eye, Atem caught sight of a tousled mane of blond and raven locks.

Yugi was here.

Great.

Yugi was exactly what he didn't need right now.

There would be no relaxing now, Atem knew. All hopes of doing so vanished into thin air with an audible 'poof' as Yugi – one of Katsuya's friends who the blond had met last year at a dueling competition of all places – bounced into the yard towards them.

Yugi – the beautifully striking young man (sinfully so) who was bright and playful and charming in the most awkward of ways with a voice that reminded Atem of soft, classical music. A man who Atem also just so happened to be madly in love with.

Atem bit back a groan at the thought.

His feelings towards Yugi were rather... complicated.

After all, Atem rather liked being alone. He liked his nine to five steady job, his black pressed suits, his evening tea. He liked paying more than the minimum due; he liked brunch, and taking his shoes off at the door, and ties that matched his pocket napkin. He liked black and white films, sorting the books on his living room shelves in alphabetical order, and going to bed at a decent hour.

His life was very straightforward and, when Katsuya wasn't around trying to piss him off, very predictable and calm. He thoroughly enjoyed the order and cleanliness and simplicity of his life.

There lied the problem since Yugi Motou was anything but simple.

No, Yugi was not budgets and quiet reading and timely mortgage payments.

Yugi was unnecessary risks; he was spontaneous road trips and impulsivity and pouty temper tantrums. Yugi was procrastination at it's finest; he was forgetfulness; he was pointless arguments that would no doubt end with Yugi storming out in the middle of the night and Atem chasing after him, because Atem knew he would always chase after him. Yugi was a hot mess who liked being a hot mess. And more than all of that, Yugi was possible heartbreak.

To be honest, the way Yugi smiled at him, the gentle curve of those pink plush lips, and the liquid shine in his eyes of blue violets caused absolute mayhem inside of Atem. The older man almost resented the way that Yugi made him feel. It gave him anxiety that he wasn't used to; insecurity, fear even. And it was so intense that Atem almost immediately went on the defense when around him.

And Atem knew that it was because of this that he was perhaps colder to Yugi than was warranted.

"Hiya Jou!" Yugi greeted, addressing the man in the water by his nickname. He said something to Katsuya about the pool - the ridiculous state of it, that is - and then looked over his shoulder at him. "Hey Atem!"

Damn it all to hell.

Yugi was walking over to him then, his hand raised in a friendly wave. "I see you have your hands full with Jou today."

Atem swallowed his initial greeting, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He couldn't tell if it had been a harsh slew of angry words or a declaration of love, but he didn't care to dwell on it. "Indeed," Atem said simply in response.

Yugi's smile did not falter. It never did. No matter how contrite or affectless Atem had tried to be, no matter how many times he had tried to push the younger man away, Yugi always stayed. It was somehow Yugi's most endearing and mind-blowingly frustrating trait.

"Are you going to join us in the pool?"

Atem raised an eyebrow, almost as if confused by the question. "Not in its current state, no."

"Suit yourself." Yugi shrugged, then raised his arms to shed his shirt, and Atem found the words on the page of his book really interesting in that moment. "Do you have sunscreen?" Yugi asked Atem, his top half bare and showing off the creamy quality of his skin.

"Yug', don't put that shit on," Katsuya shouted over at him from the pool. "Sunscreen is a body condom for the fuckin' sun. Come out and enjoy her in all her natural glory."

"Are you kidding me? I'll burn in two minutes. My skin is sensitive, Jou," Yugi whined a bit, his voice ending on a high pitch that went right to Atem's groin. The elder shifted in his chair with a cough.

"There's some over there," Atem said, gesturing with his head to the pool floats nearby. Yugi followed the path with a small thanks, and Atem was all too grateful for the additional distance put in between them. He watched only briefly as Yugi poured a burst of sunscreen into his hand and spread the milky substance over his arms, across his stomach, up his sides, around his neck, then back down over the curve of his hips...

...and man, what a great book this is, Atem thought to himself. Really superb writing and excellent use of similes, he mused silently.


One hour later had Katsuya tossing Yugi ungracefully into the pool, and Yugi splashing Katsuya as punishment, followed by Katsuya complaining that he got soap in his eyes, to which Atem grunted an audible 'Good' from his spot in his chair.

And then, Katsuya had announced that he was going to fix himself a sandwich.

It was only a few minutes after the blond had retreated inside the house that Atem gave into the urge to peer over his book discreetly and watch Yugi float around the pool. Yugi's skin, Atem noticed, was a blush of pink; a hue of color given to him by the sun's rays. It occurred to him that Yugi must have felt his stare, because those bluish pearl eyes turned to him then, appearing to almost glitter in the sunlight, and Atem momentarily froze.

Even in the big open space of his backyard, being alone with Yugi made him feel like he was in a tight, sealed-off tunnel, where breathing correctly was simply not possible.

Forcing himself to look away, Atem put his book on the ground and stood to his feet. He stretched his arms over his head, pulling at the stiff muscles in his back. "I'm gonna make myself something to eat as well," Atem said aloud.

"Okay, well, I guess if you're both eating, then I'll join you guys!" Yugi swam over to the edge closest to Atem and smiled. "Can you help me out?"

Atem looked down at him with a frown and glanced at Yugi's outstretched hand, his palm open and reaching out towards him. Atem placed his hands on his hips stubbornly. "There are pool stairs, you know."

Yugi blinked at him like he was the one being unreasonable. "The stairs are all the way over there," Yugi said.

Atem rolled his eyes at the emphasis Yugi placed on his words, because apparently swimming a couple of feet to walk out of the pool on his own was absolutely beyond him. Yugi just wanted to be difficult, didn't he?

"Can't you just help me out?" Yugi asked him again.

Atem sighed, tossing his hands in the air dramatically, displaying his annoyance for all to see, before bending over and reaching down to grab onto Yugi's hand.

God, he was an idiot.

That was his first thought when he felt his face collide with the first layer of the bubble-infested water with a splash.

Orienting himself quickly as his body completely submerged itself in the pool, Atem burst through the water's surface and sucked in a breath, indignant glare already etched onto his face. Using a steady stream of kicks to keep himself afloat, Atem turned to Yugi who - god damn it all - was the absolute prettiest sight in the world and brimming with laughter that bounced from his lips in a fit of hiccups.

Atem felt his heart twist at the sight and, in response, his fists clench underwater by his sides. "Yes, well, I am glad you find this all so amusing." Atem scowled. "Honestly, you're just as bad as – "

And then Yugi was kissing him.

Just like that.

One minute laughing at him, the next pressing up against him, arms wrapped around his neck. And it was the shock of those soft butterfly lips pushing against his that rendered Atem unable to respond in any way. His brain, along with his heart, had all but flatlined.

"Live a little, Atem." Yugi's breath blew across his lips as he spoke. "I promise it won't hurt." He kissed the corner of Atem's mouth, then pulled back enough to meet the elder's eyes.

Atem blinked once, moved his jaw just to make sure it was still attached to his face, then gave the boy holding him a pointed look. "It will always hurt," Atem muttered quietly. "Love is messy like that."

Yugi released him and made a grand gesture, spreading his arms out as he swam backwards with gentle strokes his legs. "It's a good thing we have all this soap to clean it up then."

Atem watched him silently, eyes locked onto Yugi's retreating figure, and almost wanted to laugh. Not enough soap in the world would be able to clean up the carnage that Yugi would leave behind if this all failed.

And it was this knowledge that fed into his hesitation, as his mind went over the risks of following Yugi deeper into the pool. This was going to be a mess - that was clear if the sinking feeling in his stomach was anything to go by - and he considered for a second the very real possibility of drowning; of losing himself completely. Then, he looked at Yugi, those eyes caught his, and he thought fleetingly that perhaps drowning was beautiful and maybe, just maybe, it would be painless.

Atem waited another moment.

Then, he took in a loud breath, ducked his head under the water's surface, and swam towards Yugi.