Chapter Two – Introductions

"Must you embarrass me like this?!"

"Yug-"

"It's bad enough you dragged me here, but to tell everyone that I'm the one in desperate need of help!"

"Yug-"

"Why I'm in my right mind to tell them how you-!"

"Look towards the doorway, Yug."

Yuugi tripped over the secret he was about to reveal regarding his former best friend, mouth hanging open before he snapped it shut, hmphed! loudly, and sullenly turned his eyes towards the door. Jou celebrated his victory when Yuugi took a sharp breath and, taking full advantage of his buddy's distraction, quickly vacated the stage to the relative safety of the throng of his fellow students.

Completely unaware of Jou's tactful escape, Yuugi found himself unwilling to look away from the godly image in button-down shirt now making his way towards the stage. Choosing to ignore the stern expression that only enhanced the deity's allure, Yuugi allowed his blue eyes to saunter over the face, linger on the torso, and devour the legs that were, for all intent and purpose, as far reaching as Mt. Everest.

Yuugi had an overwhelming urge to take up mountain climbing.

- - -

Ryou trailed Atemu's purposeful strides to the front of the classroom, pausing to reassure his students that everything was well and that the seminar would proceed post haste. Smiling as he joined the two men on stage, mindful of the potent stare they were sharing and growing nervous with Atemu's ensuing silence, he cleared his throat and turned to address the room.

"Sorry about that folks. Shall we begin? Would you kindly form rows of, oh, I'd say about four couples deep in front of the stage please? Yes, that's right," Ryou encouraged, motioning with his arms as his students moved to comply with his request. He kept a careful eye on Jou, wanting to know exactly where the troublesome man was going to place himself. Much to his chagrin, after a moment of hesitation the blond aligned with a petit brunette only one couple away from Yuugi. Ryou suppressed a groan at the impending - … no, the promising look of trouble Jou was giving Yuugi, who in turn had not torn his eyes away from Atemu.

Taking advantage of his friend's rather blunt interest in Yuugi, Ryou decided to alter the order of his seminar. He explained briefly how the next two hours would proceed, with him explaining a technique, Yuugi and Atemu demonstrating it correctly (he said this in warning to Atemu), and then how the couples were to take turns practicing as he walked amongst them. Once the rules were established, and he'd answered a few not-stupid questions, he started his introductory speech.

"Hey," Yuugi finally said by way of greeting, keeping his voice lowered so as not to interrupt Ryou's address. As much as he enjoyed looking into those exotic eyes, a deep coffee brown warmth laced through with veins of peppermint red that mixed into a delicious cinnamon swirl that made his mouth water, being watched with such dryness was beginning to grate on his nerves.

"I'm Yuugi," he tried again. An elegant, deeply black and perfectly shaped eyebrow rose at the introduction. It was all Yuugi received.

Jerk, he thought half-heartedly. Much to his surprise, however, the moment the thought crossed his mind the other man smirked and, yes, it was a sinful act that fully deserved the scowl Yuugi gave in reply.

"Now, as these two have been demonstrating here," Ryou interrupted, walking over to Yuugi and Atemu, "one thing that makes a kiss good is connecting with your partner before you kiss, and one of the best ways to do that is to look into each other's eyes." He stood behind the duo to better present them, and also to provide himself the opportunity to discreetly jab his knuckle into Atemu's side. It was an affectionate reminder to not act like a cold-hearted bastard in his classroom, thank you very much.

"Keep in mind it doesn't have to be a soul-searing search," Ryou continued, nodding around Atemu to encourage Yuugi to continue his participation. "You simply want to let your partner know you're in the moment."

"In the moment," Yuugi muttered under his breath. He turned his attention from Ryou back to the man in front of him, who still insisted on not emoting.

Feeling the tension Ryou, without interrupting his speech, leaned over to whisper in Yuugi's ear, "His name's Atemu."

"Really?" Yuugi said with mock enthusiasm. "I thought it was Mute." He silently cheered when Atemu's eyebrows narrowed in consternation.

Ryou chose not to comment. "Next, I want you to partake in a little foreplay. Would one person reach out their arm to the other? And if you're wearing anything that's covering your arm, please either remove it or push it out of the way if you would."

Atemu turned his eyes to Ryou before sighing heavily. In one quick motion he unbuttoned his cuff, rolled up his sleeve, and extended his bared left arm to Yuugi, settled his weight on his right foot, tilted his head, and stared impatiently at the blue-eyed man.

Yuugi looked at the arm vacantly. What was he supposed to do with it?

"Well?" Atemu snapped.

"Well what?" Yuugi examined the arm in front of him, his gaze floating to Atemu's eyes and back to the arm several times. He found that he quite liked looking at them both, but no matter how often he did he remained baffled by the request. And by Atemu's attitude. He was forced to watch the limb more closely when it was pressed further into his face, and his brain took the opportunity to notice the nice, rich shade of milk chocolate skin.

Hn. All of his references appeared to be linked to food today. Though, in his defense, Atemu was a deliciously tempting morsel of maleness.

"I thought you knew how to do this," Atemu said, his low, hushed voice breaking into Yuugi's musings.

"Do what?" Yuugi asked, amiably distracted by the vibrations left in the wake of Atemu's words.

A silent moment passed before the arm was suddenly removed from Yuugi's vision to be replaced with the image of Atemu turning towards Ryou and drilling a hole into his head. Knowing he'd been insulted, but not sure how, Yuugi huffed and reached forward, taking a strong hold of Atemu's wrist and pulling the limb in to his possession.

"Get real," he chided. "I know how to do this. I don't know how he wants me to." Yuugi nodded towards Ryou to emphasize his point.

Atemu revealed a disbelieving frown before replacing it with his customary expression of languor. His arm being held by a handsome man provided no legitimate reason to complain.

"Everyone ready?" Ryou questioned, ignorant of the two-man scene performing behind him. When his students signaled their agreement he exclaimed, "Then watch and learn!" and turned to Atemu and Yuugi expectantly.

Yuugi, abruptly the center of attention, stared with wide eyes first at Ryou, then behind the instructor at the other students, before finally locking gazes with Jou. He paled when Jou waggled his eyebrows at him and made a dreadfully inappropriate gesture.

The arm in his grip remained perfectly still, but Yuugi could sense the growing agitation in the air. "Um," he said, cotton-soft so that only Atemu could hear him, and hopefully everyone else would think he was only taking a small breath. "What am I supposed to be doing?"

Atemu repressed a sigh. Gorgeous or not, he had no interest in a simple man.

"Kiss the length of my arm," Atemu rumbled in his throat.

"Oh." Embarrassed by his lack of attention Yuugi quickly bent over and placed a chaste kiss to the back of Atemu's wrist. Then, sensing that more was expected, he placed a couple more kisses, about two inches apart, and paused.

The complete lack of response from Atemu confirmed Yuugi's suspicion. He'd done that horribly.

"Yes, well," Ryou said, freezing the smile on his face so as not to be too obvious about his disappointment when Yuugi cast an apologetic glance his way. Glancing at Atemu and instantly feeling pity for Yuugi, Ryou turned and began his perusal of his students.

Atemu bit the side of his tongue, eyes glued to the still bowed form of the man in front of him. "Stellar," he muttered, with no intention of Yuugi hearing him. It was foolish of him to have hoped that this devilishly attractive man had any idea what he was doing. Yuugi was attending Ryou's seminar, after all. That, in itself, was telling.

Yuugi was having his own internal discussion, so preoccupied that he had yet to notice that he was still bent over, lips hovering over the tempting skin, grasping the limp wrist in his hand. He may have been a bit out of practice, but in no way did Yuugi believe he failed in terms of romance. Quite honestly that had been one of the worst attempts at foreplay – simple foreplay, no less! – that he could remember, and that included his first fumbled steps into the world of intimacy. Scolding himself for his outstanding lack of performance, Yuugi was unaware of Atemu's efforts to reclaim his arm, or his own tightening grip to prevent its removal.

"Stop it," Yuugi mumbled distractedly. "That sucked."

"No argument," Atemu said.

"It sucked," Yuugi reiterated, not hearing Atemu's protest. He stood, maintaining his grip, and shook his shoulders to relieve the tension in his neck. Turning his eyes to Atemu he said, in all seriousness, "I'm doing that again."

Atemu rose one of those eyebrows of his, clearly indicating that he should get a say in the matter.

Yuugi ignored him. He found it remarkably easy to do, despite the sex that oozed off the man. This was no longer about demonstrating his skill to the class. It was all about pride. And ego. Ego was absolutely involved. Yuugi wasn't about to allow his bruised character to persist, even if he was the one who damaged it.

Easing his hold so it was more inviting than restraining, Yuugi turned Atemu's arm until the delicate underside was revealed. He rubbed the pad of his thumb over the pulse in Atemu's wrist, and then up over the muscle of the other man's thumb, though not so far as to reach into his palm. He kept the touch light, teasing, wanting to lower defenses and create the proper mood of expectation. With his free hand Yuugi traced soft patterns on the sensitive skin of the underarm before leaning his face down to the prepared surface.

Parting his lips, Yuugi allowed the heat of his breath to pool over that small area of Atemu's arm that his mouth zeroed in on. After a moment of false hesitation, during which he kept his fingers idly tracing over Atemu's skin, he pulled the arm up just enough to meet his lips halfway as he delivered the first of several kisses. The warmth of Atemu's body floated into Yuugi's lips, making the pliant flesh even more so as Yuugi pulled away, only to place another kiss nearly on top of the same spot, but not exactly. No, not exactly, so the sensation would be hauntingly familiar while adding the quiver of excitement for the new.

The kisses continued, slowly inching their way along the length of the ever reaching arm, and Yuugi found himself being seduced by the action even though his original intent had been merely to show off his skills. No matter, he'd reached the crook of Atemu's arm, and here is where the fun began.

Pausing, Yuugi slowly wet his lips with his tongue, the flesh having dried due to the near continuous contact with Atemu's skin and, once pleasantly moistened, placed a heated, lingering, open-mouthed kiss to the bend of Atemu's elbow. While partaking in this delightful activity, Yuugi allowed the hand not supporting Atemu's elbow to dance along the man's fingers and wrist, continuing contact along the length of the limb.

Slightly increasing the pressure of his kisses, Yuugi began pulling his way up the remaining length of Atemu's arm, using, of course, his lips to commence the crawling. Deciding to add a bit of flare to better prove his prowess, he didn't stop when he reached Atemu's shoulder, but continued over the curve and to the man's strong neck. Here he did make a small sound of enjoyment, though he was unaware of it, much as he was unaware that the hand holding on to Atemu's was now cradling the limb in a firm, confident manner that clearly relayed his interest.

Yuugi slowed his kisses and lessened their intensity, placing one at the top of Atemu's shoulder, at the juncture where it met his neck, two languid kisses along the length of the newly exposed tendon, and then a final kiss directly behind the earlobe. Once he was done he remained leaning against Atemu, mind in a blissful haze, lips nicely tingling, and nose buried behind that adorable ear that just begged to be nuzzled. He inhaled and submerged himself in the heady scent of Atemu's skin. He wasn't paying much attention to the outside world, but even so, he was unable to miss the shrill whine of his best friend.

"She's laughin'! She ain't supposed to be laughing!"

Yuugi slumped against Atemu, now keeping his nose buried behind the god's ear to hide his mortification.

"Actually, Jou," Ryou said, approaching from the other side of the room. "Laughter means she's enjoying it."

"Eh?" There was a long silence, during which Yuugi pretended he didn't know the blond, followed by a sheepish laugh. "Aw… oops."

Yuugi decided then and there that being friends with Jou was hazardous to his libido.

- - -

Deciding the time was prudent to divert everyone's focus now that his demonstrators had been so rudely interrupted, Ryou walked to the front of the room and gathered the small bowl he'd brought with him to class. "Okay," he said, walking between each couple and handing them a small, hard candy as he passed, "now that we're all getting well acquainted, it's just about time to start practicing what you all came here for."

"Smoochin'!"

There was generous nervous laughter from the single people, while the couples applauded the sentiment. Ryou turned to admonish Jou for the outburst but had to catch himself when he realized the blond was innocent. To cover his mistake and maintain his dignity in front of the class he hopped onto the stage, handing first Yuugi, then a suspicious Atemu, a candy. When Atemu refused to put the sweet in his mouth Ryou took the opportunity to vent his frustration by shoving the piece where it belonged.

"Good boy," he admonished, patting Atemu on the cheek and ignoring the low growl that promised his imminent demise.

Yuugi pursed his lips to hide his humor at Atemu's petulance, tuning out Ryou's instruction for partners to switch places and repeat the act of foreplay so everyone could practice. "So," he said, popping the peppermint candy into his mouth and rolling it over his tongue, "I guess it's your turn, then."

Atemu made one movement with his jaw, presumably to hide his horrid orange candy under his tongue. He looked at Yuugi. He looked at Yuugi's outstretched arm. He raised his ridiculous eyebrow.

No way, Yuugi thought, eyes widening. After all he'd put into it, and now the sex idol wasn't going to reciprocate? That wasn't fair!

"It's your turn," Yuugi said more sternly. Striking man or not, the blasé look he was given was not endearing in any way, shape, or form.

"No," Atemu said.

No? Yuugi mouthed the word, his displeasure clearly evident. And why did Atemu keep looking at him like that? Like the man saw nothing wrong with his behavior, like rudeness was all part of the norm? This was unacceptable.

"I deserve it," Yuugi found himself saying, to his own humiliation. Had his mouth suddenly disengaged from his brain? He felt heat rise to his cheeks but forced down the color that wanted to follow through sheer force of will. After a few moments of stillness, during which he was stared at by that man, Yuugi decided to swim since he was already in the pool.

"It was good," Yuugi said, dropping his voice to an alluring tone. "Goodness deserves goodness in kind, doesn't it?"

Atemu lowered his eyes to Yuugi's arm, which still hung between them, outstretched and waiting, asking to be touched and kissed and petted. He raised his eyes to Yuugi's blue gaze. "I don't kiss others."

"But you accept them."

Atemu, as Yuugi was beginning to expect, did not respond.

"Then what are you doing here?" Yuugi demanded quietly.

Atemu shrugged one shoulder, nearly throwing Yuugi off his feet at the reckless display of emotion. "Ryou needed a favor."

Yuugi didn't believe him. "That's it?"

"You doubt me?" Atemu straightened his shoulders at Yuugi, head raised in righteous defense. His eyes narrowed when he saw the look of impending victory cross Yuugi's face.

Smirking, Yuugi crossed his arms over his chest and settled his weight on to his back foot. Well well, so there was a reaction in that luscious body after all. "I do." He leaned forward to emphasize the challenge, daring Atemu to prove him wrong. The other man leaned forward to meet him, a heated glare being shared between a leer and a frown, anticipation building, slowly building, rising and curling and –

"She did it Yug!"

- shattering at the piercing cry of one enigmatic blond.

Yuugi suppressed a curse, dropping his head and burying his face in his hand so there would be no possible way he could give Jou the glare he deserved. He felt Atemu linger near him before returning to his standing position. A piece of him died with the movement.

"Did what Jou?!"

"Made me laugh!"

Yuugi dared a look between his fingers, only to see Jou giving him a grin that outshone the sun as he stood with his chest puffed out and eyes wide in excitement. Turning his eyes to look at his friend's partner, Yuugi was mildly surprised to see that the woman was trying and failing to suppress a smile at Jou's antics. He was genuinely happy to see this, but he couldn't help but wish that Jou would leave him alone so he could make his own conquest. And from what he could tell, he was going to have to work hard to get beneath Atemu's skin.

Looking at said man, Yuugi found Atemu angled against the wall beside them, his bored gaze looking out over the class. He cleared his throat to get the man's attention only to garner an irritated glance at having been disturbed. Yuugi's spirits brightened.

He did love a challenge.

- - -

To be continued…