Valkyria : Well, I can definitely say that I am on an roll this week. I managed to get the new chapter Emperor's Prophecy to my beta and updated my Final Fantasy VII story : Whispers of the Dead this month and got my Tales of Symphonia story : Flames of the Heart to my other beta, and I managed to update this before midnight!
Griever : And she managed to find the song that is releasing for Final Fantasy XIII-2. A new, clear, full version of it.
Valkyria : I'm glad that I was able to get this out today and find that song Griever is talking about. I hope you guys enjoy Part 2 of Atemu's and Yuugi's date.
Disclaimer : We claim no rights of the anime/manga Yu-gi-oh.
Current Song : New World by Charice.
"All our young lives we search for someone to love. Someone who makes us complete. We choose partners and change partners. We dance to a song of heartbreak and hope. All the while wondering if somewhere, somehow, there's someone perfect who might be searching for us." - Kevin Arnold
Chapter Ten : Love or Lust : Part Two.
Ryuuji Otogi always thought that he had some semblance of control when it came to his hormones, but as Honda whispered in his ear about the dreams he had about the both of them. That precious control began to crack in an scary rate.
He managed to pull away without pushing the brunet to couch and ravishing him until the both of them were incoherent messes.
"…you're not mad are you?"
"No," Otogi murmured, trying and mostly likely failing to keep the huskiness out of his voice. "Why would I be angry? It's just a dream."
Honda raised an eyebrow to that. "They're not just dreams. They're erotic dreams about you and I having sex in every kind of position imagined."
Otogi valiantly suppressed down the shiver of desire that trickled down his spine at that statement. He scooted over a few inches on the couch before turning back to his flustered friend.
"Dreams are dreams," Otogi spoke up softly. "It's nothing to get all flustered over, alright?"
"Yeah," Honda weakly smiled at the raven-haired man. "Just dreams."
An awkward, tense silence descended upon the two men and they didn't have the energy to try and break it with false conversation or false smiles.
Honda mentally smacked himself for even telling the other man about those damned dreams. He couldn't really tell if the other was upset or holding in his amusement. Otogi could always hide his emotions well from anyone.
Glancing at the man from the corner of his eye, he saw Otogi was staring at the wall with an almost dazed expression. He wondered if the man was still thinking about those dreams? It wasn't like he explained in vivid detail or anything.
He slid further down into the couch and let out an almost silent sigh. What if this ruin their friendship? Or made it awkward? He didn't want neither of those things to occur; He liked the way their relationship was now.
Despite the fact that Otogi constantly groped him, hit on him, and relentlessly asked him out, he liked their whole dynamic.
"Honda?" Otogi's soft voice drew him out of his thoughts. The brunet turned to see that Otogi had moved closer.
"Yes?"
Otogi moved his head down until their lips were inches away. "I'm sorry but I have to do this."
Before Honda could ask what the other man was talking about. He felt soft, yet firm lips press against his own. He quickly pulled away and gave the other man an incredulous look.
"What are you…-mmph."
Honda reached up and grasped Otogi's shoulder and firmly, but gently pulled him away. He gripped the man's shoulders when Otogi started to lean in again for another kiss.
"Otogi! Stop! What in the hell is the matter with you?"
"I'm sorry," Otogi panted, trying to lean back in to those sweet lips, but the strong hands on his shoulders prevented him from doing that. "I can't help it, Honda."
"Yes the hell you can!" Honda growled, he dug his fingers into the broad shoulders and felt a trickle of satisfaction when the lust in those emerald eyes began to fade away. "Calm the hell down, Ryuuji Otogi!"
Honda's resolved wavered when he saw how pitiful the look in Otogi's eyes looked. He gently pushed the businessman back.
"I'm sorry," Honda whispered giving Otogi a sad, weak smile. "I should have known how you would react when I told you about the dreams. I know that you are attracted to me."
Otogi chuckled bitterly and ran his hand through his damp hair. "Attracted is an understatement," he gave the brunet a weak smile of his own. "What are we going to do about this? I mean, we've handled this problem pretty good for years, but now…"
"We have to talk about this, Otogi," Honda shook his head and gave the other man a stern stare. "I do not want our friendship ruined; we've been friends too long for that to happen."
"Okay," Otogi suddenly wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. "First question; what's the matter with me?"
"Huh?"
"Why don't you feel the same attraction to that I feel for you?"
"How long are you going to stare at that article?"
"Until I memorize every single word," Seto murmured, his eyes never straying from the magazine. "I never figured that you would end up meeting my cousin."
"A cousin that you never told me about," Jou muttered unhappily. "Atemu is a good, kind man, a bit of a flirt, but a good man nonetheless. I could have introduced him to Yuugi ages ago."
Seto rolled his eyes heavenward. "Yuugi and Atemu? I don't think that's even going to work, Jou."
"Oh?" the blond questioned sarcastically. "And how would you know? You said that he's your distant cousin so how would you know what type the man has?"
"What I mean by distant is that I haven't seen him in ten years, we were close as children before he moved to Egypt."
"Egypt huh? You spent some time there as a child yourself, didn't you?"
"France, Germany, America, Italy, I've been everywhere, Jou, you know that."
"Of course," Jou flushed at the huskiness in the brunet's voice. "You don't hesitate to tease me in French, German, and Italian."
"What can I say?" Seto shrugged, but Jou didn't miss the amusement in Seto's eyes nor did he miss the smirk on the man's thin lips. "I do have my moments."
"You and that damn dry humor," Jou snickered, he waved a hand towards the magazine Seto had on his desk. "What are you going to do about that?"
"I should sue them for even mentioning your name, but you really don't seem to mind if you are in here are not. So, what do you want me to do about this?"
Jou shrugged and shifted under his lover's intense stare. "You really don't have to do anything, Seto. It's not like there's anything incriminating in the article, and besides, Mana is Atemu's friend and she wouldn't print anything bad about him."
"You didn't not just say something like that," Seto deadpanned. "Reporters and Photographers are like this," the CEO held up crossed fingers. "She would report something juicy in an heartbeat, and he would take credit for his pictures just the same."
"Of course they would," Jou muttered. "but she didn't print out the pictures she took of us…-"
"On your request? Or because she wanted them as souvenirs?"
Atemu's penthouse apartment was located on the east side of Domino City, and to Yuugi's envy, it had an incredible view of the city skyline.
The photographer decided on black and red for the primary theme for the apartment, a black sectional couch was in the living room with a coffee table in the center. Against the walls were scrolls placed carefully in glass cases, very old scrolls from the looks of it.
"What are these?" Yuugi moved to the display case, secretly enjoying the velvet carpeting against his socked feet.
"Ancient Egypt spell scrolls," Atemu replied, moving towards him. "or so they said when I inherited them from my uncle."
"Seto's father?"
"Biological, yes,"
Yuugi gave the photographer a dark smirk that he knew didn't fit him. " I figured that much, Gozoburo, his step-father, never really had an love for the arts."
"You knew him?"
"For a while, yes," Yuugi placed his hand against the display case holding the scrolls. "He and Seto never really got along, but Seto didn't care, he was only really concerned for Mokuba and Jou."
"How long have those two been together?"
"Since our senior year of high school," Yuugi replied with an nostalgic look in his eyes. "It was one of those 'I hate you, but I really love you' relationships."
Atemu chuckled at the amused tone in Yuugi's voice. "I can see Seto doing something like that, my cousin is an intelligent man, but he's as stubborn as a mule when it comes to matters of love and lust."
"Yes he is, much to Jou's frustration," Yuugi looked around and spotted a dark hallway near the kitchen area. "Is your studio in there?"
"No," Yuugi shivered how husky Atemu suddenly sounded. "That's the bedroom down the hallway, my studio is up those stairs."
"Can I see it?" Yuugi flushed when Atemu gave him sly smirk, and quickly corrected himself. "Your studio I mean."
"Of course," Atemu nudged towards the stairs leading to the second floor. "You did promise me a photo shoot after all."
"That I did," Yuugi murmured. "What theme are we using by the way?"
Both men made it to the second floor, and Yuugi couldn't help but smile once he saw how the studio was decorated.
Fake cobwebs were placed in the wall corners and fake bats were dangling on strings from the ceiling, pumpkins were placed against the small couch that Atemu had set up.
"Halloween!"
"Yeah," Atemu guided him further into the room with a grin on his lips. "I'd figured it would be a good idea since it's about a month away."
"Where do you want me to sit? Do you want me to change clothes or something?" Yuugi chuckled and touched the lit up pumpkin that was on an stand next to the couch. "This is very exciting,"
Atemu watched the adorable scene for a moment before walking over to his camera that was perched on his tripod.
"Just take a seat and relax on the couch, and I would have you change clothes but I didn't know you're size, but we can save that for the next time, yeah?"
"Next time?" Yuugi teased as he took a seat on the small, but comfortable couch. "Aren't you Mr. Confident? We're still on our first date and you're already thinking about the second one."
"Well," Atemu spoke up as he adjusted the camera. "To be an photographer you must be very confident in every action you take because you are around very intimating people all day long. Can you move slightly to the left?"
Yuugi did as instructed and held still when Atemu snapped three shots, he shifted his weight on the couch and waited for the next instruction. The librarian glanced up and saw Atemu adjusted the settings on his camera and couldn't help but smile as he noticed how intense the other man looked as he did it.
It didn't take an idiot to figure out how much Atemu loved his job as an photographer, but he couldn't help but wonder where the other man was from. Was he born in Domino? Did he have any siblings?
Atemu knew almost everything about him; his occupation, his circle of his friends, his habits, and even his favorite books and foods!
"Something wrong?" Atemu asked from behind the camera. "You look worried."
"Where are you from?" Yuugi blurted out, he flushed when Atemu raised an eyebrow at the random question.
"Japan, but I've spent my half life in Egypt as well." Atemu smirked when he realized why the younger man looked so worried. "You want to know more about me? Is that why you look so worried?"
"Yes," Yuugi replied with no hint of shame. "I want to know everything about you, Atemu Ishigami. Do you have any siblings? Are you an alien trying take me to your home planet? Were you married before? Are you in an arranged marriage but decided to run away and become an photographer?"
When Yuugi was finished with his tirade, he noticed that Atemu was on his knees laughing silently with tears running down his cheeks. He chuckled at the sight, the man looked so relaxed laughing so freely like he was doing now. Every since he met Atemu, the man was nothing short of regal and sensual in his movements and manner of speech.
"Okay," Atemu said, rising from his knees. "I will answer all of your questions when we finish the shoot, but you have to do something for me in return."
Yuugi felt weariness creep into veins despite his efforts to stop it. "And what would that be?"
"Another date," Atemu replied softly. "Do we have an deal, Yuugi?"
Yuugi didn't bother to tell that he was going to say yes to another date if he was asked, but if this is what it took to get to know the other man better then he was all game.
"Deal."
A/N : The photo shoot wasn't up to par, and probably wasn't what most of you were looking forward to, and I apologize for that, but on the good side, Atemu and Yuugi have another date! What will Yuugi learn about Atemu? Stay tuned and find out!