WARNING: CHAPTER CONTAINS SEXUALLY EXPLICIT CONTENT
"Uh… Two Sevens."
"One Six."
"Four Eights."
"What?! Oh, come on! Cheat!"
Atem grinned, looking Jounouchi straight in the eye as he flipped his cards. Jounouchi was slow to check, wary after catching the glint in Atem's eye… but eventually, he looked down.
And cursed. "Fuck! Seriously, Atem?! You got four Eights?!"
Yuugi laughed, patting his best friend on the arm as Atem dropped the cards and pushed the entire discard pile towards him. "Sorry, Jounouchi-kun. That's just the luck of the draw."
"Atem's luck, you mean," Jounouchi grumbled, taking the discard and shuffling through it. "There has to be twenty cards here!"
"I only managed it because aibou called out my cheat a minute ago," Atem claimed. "When I had to pick up the pile. When it comes to Cheat and your opponent having a lot of cards, you can never tell if they have four of a kind or not."
"Unless you're holding one of the four yourself," Yuugi teased, drawing Atem's gaze to his… where it stuck. The two shared a faint, wondering smile as Jounouchi straightened out his hand, but said nothing. After a beat, Yuugi focused back on their best friend, his smile sticking. "We should keep it down, though. Everyone else has to be asleep by now. I think it's past midnight." And everyone would be trying to rest, since they would be disembarking early in the morning.
They were going home.
They still had a few days before their flight back to Domino, but the others had all voiced a desire to see the sights in Cairo. And since the Ishtars had assumed from the start that the group wouldn't want to linger near Luxor after Atem left, the boat had been ready to sail when they got back to the shore, one passenger still unexpectedly in tow.
They had spent the rest of the morning, afternoon, and evening retracing their way down the Nile, passing their time on the same deck and in the same small cabins.
It was a blast.
The somber acceptance of yesterday had given way to an intense, ecstatic relief, and with it came a restlessness that left them all chatting, joking, energetically squabbling and confessing their relief in soft, sudden outbursts. Yuugi had lost count of how many times his grandfather, Jounouchi, Anzu or one of the others turned to Atem and tugged him to their side, patting him on the back, grasping his shoulder, or just outright saying how happy they were he was still there. And Atem had accepted every show of affection with unusual ease, even returning the gestures sometimes in some subtle way.
All while Yuugi watched, ever silent, his heart filled with the constant beating wonder that Atem had stayed.
But the day had finally come to a close, and the crowd that had crammed into Atem's cabin for dinner and games and company had long since wandered off, the only sign they had ever been there the cluster of chairs pushed back against a wall and a few crumb-covered plates still left on the seats. The only ones who remained now were the three gathered around the small table: Jounouchi, Yuugi, and Atem himself.
And Jounouchi paused at Yuugi's reminder of sleep, humming thoughtfully as he rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, I guess we should go to bed. But it rubs me the wrong way, leaving a game unfinished."
"Then let's finish this round and call it a night," Yuugi suggested, earning a nod and a smile from Atem.
"Yes, one last game. Winner takes all."
"Ha! I like the sound of that."
And Jounouchi probably liked it even more once he won.
He gave a thoughtless whoo! as he proved Yuugi's desperate last play fruitless, dropping a lucky three aces down on the table with a smug grin. "Too bad, boys! Lady Luck heard my cry at the last minute and came to my rescue!"
"Don't give luck all of the credit," Atem insisted as he lounged back in his chair, both hands resting on the armrests as he relaxed, looking every inch the considerate king– at least, in Yuugi's eyes. There was just no denying the nobility about him, the divinity he had relinquished by his own will but still exuded so naturally, even when all of his royal trappings had been traded in for simple jeans and a wrinkled green Cactuar t-shirt. Most of his gold was gone, too, packed away: Yuugi himself had stored away the winged crown in his suitcase, since Atem was still unsure if he'd like to keep it or pass it on to the Ishtars for the sake of longterm preservation. But Isis had told him it was perfectly fine to decide later, there was no hurry. They had time.
They had time.
Now nothing shone on Atem's skin save for his rings, blue on gold, the cartouche emblazoned with his name and the Tetris earrings hanging from his ears. And his glasses, framing eyes currently crinkled with a smile. "I thought you might be reading my mind by the end there, Jounouchi-kun, calling all of my tricks like that."
"You know, Jii-chan told me once that sometimes you're better off not pulling any tricks at all in games like this," Yuugi shared, smiling as he dropped his own remaining cards on the table. "That being straightforward can be the most unexpected move of all. But, I think it'd be kind of telling if you did that all the time. And it doesn't do much good when you have no legal moves to make. I didn't have a single two or three there. Jounouchi-kun, you saw right through me, didn't you?"
"Haha, seriously, Yuugi. I was just guessing by the end. I'm too tired to look for tells." And Jounouchi did look tired. He climbed to his feet in one long stretch with his arms raised, his fingers nearly scraping the ceiling. "Uuun, anyway, I'd better hit the hay," he said, then surprised Yuugi and Atem both by bending down and hooking an arm around Atem's shoulders. He pulled him sideways into his chest in a lopsided hug, and the angle gave Yuugi a perfect view of his other self's shocked face. But Atem's expression soon softened, and his eyes locked with Yuugi's as Jounouchi spoke. "I'm glad you're here, man. We would have let you go, but that doesn't change how happy we are that you stayed."
"…Thank you, Jounouchi-kun."
"Yeah." Letting go and stepping back, Jounouchi allowed himself a second of honest, direct smiles, then sniffed tellingly and reached for the jacket he'd draped over the back of his chair. "Well! You two get some sleep, you hear? I know you've got a bunch of household stuff to work out, now that Atem's staying," he shot them both a grand grin, and Yuugi mirrored it right back at him without a thought. "But don't stay up all night! We're gonna tackle all the Cairo stuff we missed the first time around as soon as we hit port, and I don't want you two zonked out for the whole thing! Think of all the weird food we still have to try!"
Yuugi shook with a laugh, sudden and sharply giddy. "You shouldn't call it weird!"
"Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean." Jounouchi beamed at them both, an open, sleepy contentment sliding over his face… then he finally turned to go. "Night, guys!"
"Night."
"Night, Jounouchi-kun!"
He tossed them a lazy wave and shut the door behind him, his footsteps fading away as he moved unseen down the hall.
And the room fell quiet, and Yuugi turned find Atem him looking at him.
The smile they shared was instant, and easy, and breathless in a way that left Yuugi fidgety and eager to… to do something. He should do something. Or at least say something. They hadn't been alone since last night. Since… before everything. And Yuugi ached to express how happy he was, just like everyone else.
And all the while Atem just looked at him, the most contented smile Yuugi had ever seen on his face. He looked like he could be happy forever, just looking at him.
But Yuugi couldn't. He could never be satisfied with just a look.
But when he stood, it wasn't to rush to Atem's side and drag him out of his chair.
It was to claim Jounouchi's chair.
Atem's smile followed him as Yuugi sat down beside him and finally spoke. "He's right, you know. It might be kind of late to start now, but we should talk about what'll happen when we get home." Home. How good it felt to say that. To see Atem's face melt with the word, even as he shook his head.
"You heard Jii-chan earlier. He said I'm welcome to stay, just like before. And he thinks your mother won't mind–"
"She won't," Yuugi interrupted, grinning at Atem's surprise until he softened again, and went on.
"And everything I had before was what I imagined when I chose to stay. As long as your family is all right with me working for my board, and you're comfortable with me remaining in your space…"
…
Yuugi didn't even realize Atem had lulled him into such a relaxed slouch until he jerked upright, because for Atem to even ask– "Is that even a question?"
Atem didn't match his alarm, still smiling in the face of it. "This is a lot more than a month of me sharing your room."
"But I want you there, and definitely not just in my room. Or bed." Yuugi's cheeks burned with the claim, but there was no point in being shy about it now, when he saw nothing but banked fire in Atem's gaze. But he knew full well what Atem was really asking. This wasn't about space, or beds, or living arrangements. It was about them. And even if Atem's calm kept Yuugi's confusion from toppling into true distress, his heart still ached to think Atem wouldn't take that as a given. He broke the distance between them in a bid to make sense of it, grasping the closest hand Atem still rested on the chair. "Did you… actually doubt that?"
"I didn't." The hand below Yuugi's turned to squeeze him, the warmth in Atem's eyes coaxing the tension out of his bones. "I don't. But I still have to ask. It wouldn't be right to assume. There was no question about this lasting before."
No… no, it wasn't even possible before.
But now?
…Yuugi slowly relaxed, mirroring Atem's smile.
"And I'm the one who chose to stay. I just want to be sure about what you want. What you imagined."
Yuugi shook his head, but his smile remained. He knew now that Atem did know the answer. The noble fool was just respecting his right to change the rules, now that Atem had changed the game.
This wasn't a summer anymore. It was a lifetime.
Yuugi hooked an ankle behind his chair leg and dragged it with him as he scooted closer, to Atem's side of the table. The angle was awkward and made their knees bump, but Yuugi didn't care. He wanted to look his other self straight in the eye.
He put out a prompting hand.
Atem understood in a heartbeat, smiling as he offered his remaining hand.
Yuugi took it and drew both Atem's hands towards his chest, cradling them there, the same way he would once hold the Puzzle. "Then, be sure," he started, voice quiet and low with his insistence. "I love you. I want to be with you." Yuugi's heart stuttered with the words, and he saw the same aching happiness he felt shining in Atem's eyes. Yuugi squeezed his hands, trying to press his feelings into the touch. "For sure, you and me. Just us, forever… I was just accepting what you had to give before, and now… now, I–" His smile shook, and his eyes burned, and he couldn't say it. He just shrugged, unsure how to put it all into a single word.
But Atem looked at him like he understood, or maybe that he felt the same way. Because there was something barely contained about Atem: a stillness that sang of needing to stay perfectly still, or else he might fall apart completely.
And when he did move, it was slowly, giving Yuugi time to take the hint and scoot his chair back so he had room to stand. Room to hover over Yuugi, his hands escaping his grasp to settle on his shoulders, and Yuugi felt the warmth of his palms even through his jacket. "I want to be with you, too," Atem whispered, his voice low and humming and rich as he treasured him with a look. "Every second. All of them. Whatever else I do now…" He trailed off, his ever sure words lost as he squeezed his eyes shut, as though he were dizzy. As though he were overwhelmed.
Yuugi stood up.
It knocked Atem's hands off of him, but Atem didn't fight it. His eyes burst open with the shift and he rushed to adjust, hands catching at Yuugi's elbows as Yuugi cupped his jaw. Grasped his waist. Coaxed him close until the only thing Yuugi could see were Atem's eyes, and all he could see were his.
"I want to see it," Yuugi said, smiling into his gaze. "What you'll do. What you'll choose to do. How far you'll go and who you'll decide to be." For so long, Atem had been walking a path set in stone, never straying. But now? He had looked straight into what was expected of him and turned away, abandoned that divine road and the prize he fought so hard for, all of his own will. He found no answers. No memories. No guarantees or meaning.
But he had found choice.
He had found life.
Atem smiled.
Even without pulling away enough to see his face properly, Yuugi could see the joy of it in his eyes. Feel it when Atem reached up to press Yuugi's palm against his cheek. "As do I. I want to see it, too." Atem leaned forward, and Yuugi didn't breathe. Didn't dare, swallowing air as their brows brushed and Atem's eyes dragged him in. "I won't take this chance for granted. The chance to experience everything I couldn't before. To be here with our friends, and you. I want to find the limits of what I can do and who I can be, but even more? I want to watch you shine, and be happy. To be a part of that. I want to spend my life at your side."
Yuugi blinked, then shut his eyes, fighting against the emotions crumbling across his senses. The memory of a hospital roof, of forever burned across his mind, but it didn't hurt. The bitterness had bled out of the memory, leaving only sweetness. Because it wasn't just a dream anymore, or a fool's hope. It was real. Atem had a life now. A full and proper one, all still ahead of him, waiting to be explored.
And he wanted to share it with him.
"You're staying," Yuugi whispered, the words too good to be true.
"I'm staying." It should have been an answer, but the emotion there made Yuugi open his eyes, and he saw it. Saw the way Atem's eyes had smoked over. How speaking the words for himself had demolished his composure and left the emotions bare and open on his face. Left him vulnerable.
Yuugi leaned closer, until Atem blinked and focused on him. Whispered it again as warmth snuck up behind his eyes. "You're staying."
He was. He really, really…
Atem tensed, and didn't move. Didn't breathe, his eyes wide and bright and searching Yuugi's… and the ache for assurance there rolled through Yuugi like thunder.
Without words, out of words, Yuugi kissed him.
Atem met him instantly, wrapping his arms around him and clutching him close, so close that Yuugi felt Atem's little aching sigh. And Yuugi shook for it. Shook against Atem's lips, because they had thought their last kiss would be their last, and now–
A sob threatened to climb up his throat, but when Yuugi leaned away to swallow it, Atem followed and kissed him again, pressed and pried until Yuugi opened for him. And the brush of his tongue made Yuugi wilt, and hold on, and– and step somehow closer, until every part of them was touching.
Atem's breath shuddered again with the proximity, and something inside of Yuugi settled, assured, and satisfied… and unsatisfied.
Devouring each other, no space left between them, no sense that wasn't already overwhelmed by Atem, and still Yuugi wanted more.
He dragged his palms over his other self's hips, and Atem sighed for him again, the sound humming off of Yuugi's tongue and tugging at something inside his soul. Yuugi needed him. Needed to tilt Atem's face and taste his mouth. Remind himself that it was all real.
It was real!
The mantra colored Yuugi's kisses until he was desperate, his touch roving and should-be invasive. But Atem welcomed it all, gasping and clutching and pulling and kissing right back, urging him on and on and more.
More. Closer. He needed to get–
The need burned hot and fast and Yuugi quaked with it– until, at a hitch in Atem's breath, he registered his own spiraling greed.
Yuugi had bit him. Nipped at Atem's lip without even thinking.
But only gently, and Atem melted with a shudder as Yuugi nursed his lip, thinking to himself. He could… They had set aside sharing any more than this as impossible, unwise when Atem was leaving and the knowledge of that overwhelmed the joy. But nothing was impossible now. Atem was staying, so he could… They could…
Could they?
Did Atem–
Yuugi drew back from their kiss, pressing a palm against Atem's chest when he tried to follow.
Atem tensed at the stall, the fog slipping from his eyes as he looked to him, searching. And Yuugi's heart was in his throat as he stared back. "Mou hitori no boku," he started, but no other words came. He didn't know how to ask, how to propose it without suggesting. And Atem, would he agree because Yuugi asked? Yuugi didn't want it to happen just because he wanted it. But would Atem think to want it if Yuugi didn't ask–
Fingers gripped his wrist.
Yuugi blinked up, realized only then that he had fallen into himself and stopped focusing on Atem, suddenly and sharply aware of his gaze on him and the fire there– "Stop that."
Yuugi shuddered feeling those hot words against his lips, they were so close– then choked as he registered their meaning, hands and body flying back in a stumble of apologies because he must mean–
But Atem didn't let go, an arm locking around Yuugi's waist and drawing him back so he could smother his apologies in a kiss. The fear and doubts fell out of him and Yuugi was too dazed and hot to recover, to return the kiss– But Atem drew back and pressed their brows together again, forcing Yuugi to focus on him. "Don't doubt yourself," Atem said, his eyes blazing and locked on him. "Don't doubt me. You know I want you."
Yuugi froze, heart in his throat and face burning because had he been that obvious– but he stared, searching Atem as he searched him, his other self's gaze demanding and fervent and– and desperate?
"Stop it. Stop holding yourself back."
Yuugi… couldn't speak. A fire was building in his toes and spreading up, scorching the doubts out of him.
But it must not have shown, because Atem's determined expression crumbled into something pained, and panicked, and he begged, "Aibou, please, nothing more than what you want, but I–"
Yuugi kissed him, and the strangled sound Atem let out burned his veins.
He wanted this. He needed Atem.
As Atem needed him.
That was it. The only question that mattered was the one Yuugi managed between kisses, cupping Atem's face in his hands to hold him still when his other self refused to release his mouth. He kept them a breath apart, gasping in each other's face… and when a fraction of focus returned to Atem's eyes, Yuugi whispered, "Are you sure?"
Atem went still, breathless with the meaning… and his eyes narrowed. A familiar ferocity overtook his face, and he stepped out of Yuugi's grip to yank his glasses off and toss them towards the table, not looking to see where they landed.
Yuugi didn't look, either.
Then he caught the back of Yuugi's neck, thumbed his chin up, and kissed him.
Yuugi sank into it, dazed by how good it felt… then marshalled himself. He sucked on his other self's tongue when it dared past his lips, pressing his hand against Atem's stomach to feel it quiver against his fingers.
Everything was burning. Atem's touch, his lips, the cotton under Yuugi's fingers, his very thoughts as they came apart gasping– only for Atem to bury his nose in the crook of Yuugi's shoulder like it was some sort of haven from his own fire. But he just made it worse, kissing his way up the side of Yuugi's neck.
Yuugi froze against the impulse to whimper, heart hammering as his other self paused just below his leather collar.
He kissed the skin there, gently, then skipped above to suck below his jaw.
Yuugi keened at that, and the way the sound reverberated off Atem's lips shot fire right down his spine and lower.
He ignored it, lightheaded and not caring as he cradled Atem's head, threading his fingers through his hair. He scraped at his scalp until Atem groaned against him, and the sound made Yuugi ache. He tugged Atem back up to his mouth and his other self's willingness to switch his attentions to his bottom lip left Yuugi panting. He dug his fingers into his hips and mindlessly pressed against him, desperate to stifle the throb between his legs.
The contact sent it flying through his teeth, instead.
They burst apart, Yuugi gasping for air as they stumbled apart and locked eyes, the same frayed, shaken awe mirrored between them.
The same need.
Atem reached for him, dragged him close by the hip, but Yuugi put a hand to his chest again. And Atem froze, looking at him uncertainly, but Yuugi left him no time to wonder before reaching behind his neck. Careful of his hair, he pulled the cartouche over Atem's head and dropped it on the table, then slipped both hands behind Atem's neck to coax him into a long, slow kiss.
The tension ebbed out of Atem at the easy touch and he melded back into Yuugi, the sigh he let out tickling Yuugi's mouth until he grinned and pulled back to look at him. "I didn't want it to get tangled up or broken or something."
"I appreciate that." Atem smiled, completely relaxed beneath his fingers.
And Yuugi leaned back in, skipping his mouth to press a kiss just below his ear, where gold hung. "These'll probably get us in trouble, too."
"…Probably." That answer was quieter, and breathless, and Yuugi mused pleasantly over the sound before kissing his skin again– grinning against Atem's neck when his other self's grip on him tightened.
Yuugi ignored it, sliding back to remove the earrings he'd given Atem– was it a lifetime ago? It certainly didn't feel like weeks. But whatever the reality, Atem let him, and Yuugi didn't feel his other self even breathe as he removed one then the other earring, dropping them on the table before focusing back on Atem's face.
His eyes were shut.
And they remained shut as Yuugi touched his face to discover his jaw shaking. "Mou hitori no boku?"
Atem looked at him, his eyes dark, but sharp, and checking as he let go of Yuugi's waist to reach for him. Cool, familiar metal brushed the back of Yuugi's neck, and he shivered with instant sympathy for his other self as his heart pounded. Atem lifted the bare metal chain over his head and set it aside on the table, never breaking their gaze. Even after, as he reached for Yuugi's jacket.
Yuugi let out a broken breath as his arms were exposed to the hot air and Atem stepped closer, guiding numb hands out of the sleeves.
He dropped Yuugi's jacket on his chair without looking away.
Task done, Atem's hand remained where it was, clutching Yuugi's arm and keeping him close as they stared at each other, so close they should be in each other's arms.
Should be.
Standing on the edge of that thought, Yuugi tipped his face forward and felt an irrational urge to cry when Atem shut his eyes and leaned in, too. The sudden rise of feeling left Yuugi squeezing his eyes shut, a breath away from kissing his other self. "Feels like I'm going insane."
He heard a faint hum and looked again to see Atem smirking at him, warmth in his eyes as he ran slow fingers up Yuugi's arm. The touch made him shiver. "In a good way?"
Yuugi shook his head, grinning as he whispered back conspiratorially, "The best way. Like I don't know what I'll do, and I don't care."
Atem's brows barely lifted, but the delight shone in his eyes as he shifted closer, brushing his nose against Yuugi's… before reaching up to unclip Yuugi's collar. The leather joined the other articles on the table before Yuugi even registered it, and there wasn't time to before Atem reached for the hem of his shirt.
He pulled it up by the sides until Yuugi got the point and lifted his arms, and it was off him in an instant, tossed somewhere on the floor. Yuugi didn't look to find it, focus diverted by the mouth instantly back on his, and he allowed himself to be lured, following that kiss back into Atem's arms– gasping when his bare chest scraped rough cotton.
Atem smiled for the sound, the expression clear against Yuugi's lips even before he looked. But it was still wonderful to see when Atem pulled back and looked at him, so proud. So utterly, utterly satisfied. "Good."
Yuugi stared, dazzled, his skin hot as his mind slowly caught up… and he smiled. Reached for Atem's shirt hem, and his other self moved instantly at the prompt. In seconds they had the shirt off, tossed somewhere already forgotten as they focused on each other, smiles still stamped on their faces… but slowly fading away as other feelings set in.
Stillness. An impatient stillness.
Humming focus and a deep, aching want.
Hope.
There was nothing inconsistent between their eyes.
Just hope.
Yuugi moved, stepping close enough to kiss him, but just stared, keeping his other self caught in his gaze as he reached up, shaking fingers finding skin… and Atem's expression shook. He set his jaw against some sound as Yuugi grazed his fingertips down, down, across his belly. The skin there was tight, and tense, and warm… and it was only seconds before Yuugi found fabric and they both let out a sharp, hard breath.
There was a button under his thumb.
Yuugi pinched it open, and Atem shivered with the release, his eyes falling half-closed, but caught on Yuugi's face. And Yuugi couldn't believe how easy it was to find the zipper and pull it down.
Atem's expression rippled again, and Yuugi wanted to touch. Wanted Atem to keep making those faces.
"I can't believe I get to do this," he mumbled, eyes straying down when the zipper caught, pulled taunt by the tension behind it– and Yuugi fought the dizziness of knowing why and tugged harder.
Atem made a sound like he'd swallowed his tongue.
Yuugi didn't look up. Didn't stall, getting the zipper all the way down before opening the fly with his thumb. Pulling the fabric back, he saw soft blue peeking out: Atem's boxers, visibly tenting just beside his finger. Yuugi gulped at the sight, words stumbling out of his mouth. "Should've done this long ago." They'd tried. They'd tried to have this before, but Yuugi ruined it with his damn dread of losing him. But, now–
"No." Yuugi looked up at that whisper and was caught by the muddled look on Atem's face. His other self's cheeks were flushed, the color running all the way to his ears, and his eyes were fogged over with feeling. He looked incoherent and still he fixed his gaze on Yuugi. "No… This is perfect."
Yuugi's mouth twitched, heart too full for easy smiles. "Yeah."
Atem visibly relaxed with the agreement, and Yuugi stopped stalling.
He moved his hand.
Atem jerked upright, jaw clenching against a cry as Yuugi touched– then stilled, staring into his other self's eyes as he waited for a sign that it was too much, or too little, hyper-aware of the shape beneath his fingers. The boxers obscured it some, but Yuugi still felt dizzy as he pressed his palm against Atem's cock. It was warm, even through the fabric of his pants, and already hard. And knowing that? Knowing Atem knew he felt it? It was overwhelming.
And when Atem, tense and shaking and so restless hissed out, "Aibou," Yuugi could think of nothing but kissing him. But he didn't want to stop watching him. Didn't want to miss the emotions flying across Atem's face, shock and heat and desperation.
Yuugi wanted to soothe that desperation and feed it, all at once, so he dragged his fingers up.
Atem's mouth burst open and locked in place, a strangled sound catching in his throat. Then his features softened, his mouth forming a loose O as his eyes fell half-shut, quiet gasps tripping off his lips.
Yuugi heard them, and moved, pressing in and rubbing up without thinking.
Atem sucked in another breath and looked directly at Yuugi, and for a moment it was like Atem was back inside of him, able to speak directly to his heart, because Yuugi swore he heard him scream More.
So he answered, dragging down then back up again with a squeeze. He watched Atem's eyes flutter, his jaw clench against another moan, and couldn't look away, hypnotized by the sight of his other self falling apart and putting himself back together again in finer and finer pieces.
He was glorious.
"Mou hitori no boku." His voice slid spellbound over the words, distractingly low even to Yuugi's own ear, and he couldn't stand it anymore. He slid his hand up to the top of Atem's boxers, nails scratching his stomach as he worked his fingers beneath the hem.
A fine tremor ran up that stomach, but Atem gave no protest. Made no sound at all, his eyes fixed on Yuugi's with a cornered want, not reacting even when Yuugi brushed skin. Warm skin.
The sensation of Atem under his fingers was too much, and Yuugi looked down, wanting to see–
Atem slammed into him.
"Wha–" Yuugi started, but Atem swallowed the question before it got out, clutching the back of Yuugi's head to keep him still as he pried into his mouth and devoured him. The aggressive kiss scourged through Yuugi's brain and left him slack and unprotesting as Atem pried his hand out of his pants and dropped it, only to grab Yuugi by the hip and tug him close.
Against him.
Sparks burst through Yuugi's eyes and he cried out Atem's name, but it was muffled in the kiss and buried under Atem's own wordless whine, the smothered sounds blurring and humming through Yuugi's bones and when he recovered– when he looked, he saw his other self's eyes were shut. And they stayed shut as Atem's grip tightened and he bucked into him again. And again, a sharp ache rolled up from where they met, crashing through everything as Yuugi yelped and whimpered. He clenched both of Atem's arms to keep himself upright, his nerves burnt raw too fast, too much, too good– And he jumped when Atem did it again, the moan he held in his throat so low and sweet and deep that Yuugi could taste it.
If Atem's grip on him wasn't so tight, he would have collapsed.
Yuugi soon matched his grip, wrapping his arms around him and clutching him close and bare chests and stomachs and skin moved together, shifting with their gasping breaths, and Yuugi felt Atem shaking as he squeezed his eyes shut against it all. Against the pleasure reeling through him.
Atem.
But their lips never parted. And when Yuugi looked, he saw his other half staring right back at him, red eyes mere slits as he nursed his bottom lip, sucking until he strangled a gasp out of Yuugi.
Atem hummed at the show of pleasure and prodded deeper.
Yuugi shut his eyes again as Atem's tongue slid over his teeth, offering his own to coax it deeper.
They went on like that for awhile, Atem taking and Yuugi welcoming as they settled in each other's arms, gasping for breaths around kisses. Fingers slid and explored, the new sensation of bare skin on bare skin distracting them from the previous urgency but doing nothing to satisfy. Every touch merely toyed with the fire burning through Yuugi until the urge to crash together again left him whining. His touch grew twitchy, shifting lower and lower and more pointedly focused on Atem's lower half– until a tiny, affectionate nip to his lip made Yuugi think, Fuck it.
He was quite proud of himself for opening his eyes just in time to see Atem's burst open, to witness the shock flashing across his face. The sight was pleasure in Yuugi's gut as his fingers strayed down the back of Atem's pants– and boxers.
His other self sucked in a breath, deeper, and deeper, never letting it out and finally sliding back from their kiss with his mouth pinched tight against a very clear and loud reaction.
Yuugi saw that, sympathized, and drummed his fingers over Atem's ass.
"Ah– uh," Atem grunted, his eyes clenched tight, stifling as much of his reaction as he could until Yuugi squeezed him and made him snap, "Aibou!"
Yuugi beamed, head humming with a delight laughing and sweet and soundly inappropriate. He kissed Atem's cheek as he fondled him with barely moving fingers. "Yes, mou hitori no boku?"
Atem let out a smothered, incoherent curse, and Yuugi chuckled, knowing he deserved it. He was toying with him, but every crack in his other self's composure revealed nothing but pleasure, and Yuugi wanted more. Felt no qualms about tilting his head and pressing slow little kisses to Atem's throat. He lingered on his pulse to feel it race against his lips and squeezed again, shifting a hand around to Atem's stomach–
"Bed."
Yuugi's mouth came off Atem's skin with a smack, and he hovered, staring at Atem's collar bone as he processed–
Did his other self just say–
Atem's shoulder brushed his chin, and Yuugi forced himself to wake up, because Atem had gone stiff in his hands. He stepped back, face burning as he sought his other self's eye.
He found him tight-lipped and wary, uncertainty shining in his eyes even as he dared a careful, "If you want to."
Yuugi smiled, a delayed thrill running through him. It left him shaken and dizzy, like he'd just stepped off of a roller-coaster. He glanced back just long enough to kick his chair out of the way, then hooked his fingers in Atem's belt loops and tugged. "Come on," he breathed, grinning as he stepped back towards the bed.
Atem stumbled after him, face showing open shock, then open joy, his smile so bright that Yuugi could cry– but he forgot the urge when Atem rushed forward and kissed him.
Yuugi fell into it in a heartbeat, but they didn't stop. Atem pressed him backwards, coaxing him to keep going. So Yuugi did, stumbling as he fought to maintain their kiss between blind steps. Eventually he missed and his lips slid to Atem's chin, and before either could recover Yuugi's calves found the mattress and he went down with a thumping hiccup.
His other self wasn't thrown off at all, though. He climbed onto his lap and pulled him right back into a kiss, and the weight of him burned through Yuugi's focus and left him hard-pressed to do anything but shake. Atem was just– was just a hot press on Yuugi's chest, and stomach, and legs, and groin, and he'd make Yuugi fall over if he didn't stop pushing!
And he was tempted to let it happen, but Yuugi leaned back out of the kiss to ask if they should move onto the bed properly– and got stuck.
Atem was panting, face still flushed, his gaze straining to look past his own haze and focus on Yuugi's eyes. On his mouth. Atem looked at him, and he looked just as desperate as Yuugi.
And he– Atem looked so–
Yuugi leaned back on his hands, offering the flustered man straddling him a foggy grin. "You're amazing like this, you know?" he gasped, mindless and stumbling and far too enraptured to care. "I know I– I was being mean to you there, teasing you, but–" And he could have laughed, because Atem was already frowning, sobering fast with the need to protest. "I just can't get enough of seeing you like this." All flushed and breathless and barely contained, and so… so–
Heat ran hot up Yuugi's cheeks, and he fidgeted under Atem's weight.
And Atem smiled, his gaze smoldering, and he leaned into him. Pressed into Yuugi until his arms shook with the effort to keep them up. But Atem didn't seem to care that they might fall, clutching him to his chest.
"You have no idea," he breathed against his lips. "However I look, you… I could drown in you. I want to drown in you." Yuugi would have whimpered, but he couldn't breathe. Couldn't move or look away. His other self was just– there, right against him, his whispers and gaze soft and broken and loving– and lost. "I need you."
The stillness inside Yuugi snapped.
He hooked an arm around Atem's neck and pulled him down into a kiss, sighs and moans smothered on their tongues as they fell into each other's arms and back on the bed. They landed on it with Yuugi's legs dangling over the side and Atem kneeling over him, heavy on his hips, but Yuugi didn't care. He soaked up the pressure, his other self's kiss, and let his hands wander– down. Slide down that warm bare back to settle on Atem's ass and squeeze him through his jeans.
Atem made no noise at all. Just bucked against him like he'd been branded.
"Muhmn," Yuugi gasped between their lips, the friction of Atem moving like that right over his crotch punching him in the gut and leaving him listless… but he still clutched him, almost languid about it as he moved his fingers over Atem's backside. He wanted him to do that again. To feel him against him. If he just slid his fingers into his pants again–
"Aibou."
Amid the sleepy fire, that pointed hiss made Yuugi freeze.
Atem pushed himself up on his hands, pressed to Yuugi's shoulders, and gasped for air as he shot Yuugi a wild look. And Yuugi was– was just caught, stared back as Atem kept his gaze, sat back on his thighs, and reached down to tug on Yuugi's belt. "Take your pants off."
Hot silence met the demand, Yuugi too awestruck to speak. But Atem didn't relent. He stared down at him, his eyes tellingYuugi to meet his challenge… and finally, he did.
Yuugi smiled, then smirked.
Atem's expression dissolved into open, breathless wonder, and Yuugi reached down and tugged on the open flap of his pants. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours." The joke was beyond dumb, but Atem beamed at him for it and scrambled back off him and the bed without another word.
Yuugi stared after him, pushing himself up on his elbows so he could watch and follow his movements– and froze, gawking, as Atem stripped before him.
Atem tugged off both his socks while standing with a grace that shouldn't be natural, then focused his pants, tugging them and his boxers down in one quick, impatient shove. Then he kicked them away and stood upright, completely bare.
While Yuugi sat there, completely paralyzed by disbelief because this was happening, and… and Atem was just… standing there. All bright, dark skin, familiar fine-lined muscles flowing into well known and loved legs, and– and a cock, dark and heavy and jutting out from a fine tangle of short black hair.
Yuugi stared at it all, the heat rolling through his veins nothing compared to the awe flooding his mind.
This was happening.
It was real.
Holy shit, they were actually doing this!
And Atem just stood there, letting him look, his easy, comfortable vulnerability somehow more remarkable than the flesh he exposed.
And Yuugi's disbelief slowly faded, replaced by curiosity and a sharp, aching want. To touch. To do something. Anything! Yuugi's desire for Atem had always been a fuzzy thing, intense as it was, full of blanks and unknowns, and he had never known what it would be like if they ever had a chance to– this. Years of sneaking looks in the locker room and pixeled-out straight porn could never properly prepare him for this: Atem, naked and magnificent, within reach and waiting for him.
Waiting.
…Atem was waiting.
…
Yuugi jerked upright, eyes wide and face burning because he realized Atem was grinning at him.
How long had he been sitting there, gawking at him?!
He had no idea, but Atem didn't seem to mind the stall. He'd been so still and quiet that whole time, and when Yuugi finally jumped? He just smiled. And as though that were some signal he'd been waiting for, Atem held out a hand, his fingers glimmering blue and gold in the dark. "Your turn, aibou."
Yuugi swallowed, and rushed to move before he could think better of it. He sat up and pulled off his socks before standing up, stalling a moment to look up into reassuring reds before unbuckling his belt. He followed his other self's example and tugged his pants and boxers down in one go, and the release from the tight confines was euphoric. The relief was soon lost to the uncertainty of exposure, but Atem was already there, close enough to catch Yuugi's elbow. He really didn't need the support, lightheaded as he was, but Yuugi accepted it anyways, gripping Atem's arm as he kicked his pants off… then stood there.
With Atem.
It was way too hot to shiver, but goosebumps ran up Yuugi's arms as he looked down at Atem's body again, taking it in… then looked back up into his face.
Atem was looking at him, too.
Yuugi's skin prickled ten times worse at that realization, but– but there was no need for self-consciousness, was there? Atem knew his body. Had lived in it, damnit! Once thought of it as his own! How much more familiar could you get?! It… it wasn't anything like Yuugi with… with Atem's…
And there was no shock in Atem's gaze as he looked at him. No true curiosity. Just affection, and warmth, and… relief?
Yuugi stared into those downturned eyes, watching him watch him… and squeezed Atem's arm.
When he looked up, Yuugi blurted out, "Are you happy?"
Atem's eyes went wide, and Yuugi remembered– he'd asked that before, hadn't he? A month ago, maybe. Not long after their first kiss. After they first agreed it was all worth it.
…Atem smiled and stepped closer, holding Yuugi by the elbows as he breathed his air. "I never expected this. Never expected any of it." And his smile faded, replaced with a conviction that overtook his whole face and lit his gaze. "Getting the chance to live at your side, to keep that? To share this?" Atem looked at Yuugi like the whole world was in his eyes and it was all he ever wanted to see. "I've never been happier. I love you."
Yuugi breathed in, and in, filling up with the joy of it until he was smiling, and overflowing, tears welling in his eyes until he blinked them back and nodded. All of it. He felt– all of it, too. But he couldn't get out the words with his throat so tight, so the best he could muster was a quiet, "Me too," as he stepped close enough to kiss Atem's smile.
The tension seeped out of Yuugi's shoulders with the sweetness of it, and he sighed happily against Atem's mouth… but when his hands settled at his other self's hips, he found bare skin.
They stilled.
Yuugi opened his eyes, his lips still brushing Atem's, and saw his other self looking right back at him.
…
Atem, achingly careful about it, shifted a hand to the back of Yuugi's neck and coaxed him closer. Their noses brushed as he shut his eyes, swallowing with a controlled, slow swallow. And Yuugi watched, entranced by the man murmuring before him. "And it is… so good now, I know we'll make it last. But, could it really get even better?" There was no doubt in his voice. Just a deep, marveling wonder, as tentative as the fingers drifting down Yuugi's spine.
Yuugi shivered for them, delighting in the question. He slid his hands up to Atem's shoulders, the move drawing them no closer, but steadying them, prompting Atem to look at Yuugi as he insisted, "It can. We'll make it better. Together."
Atem stared back at him, taken aback, but openly spellbound.
And Yuugi grinned, the certainty a bright, fierce thing in his chest. They would be happy. Even happier. Yuugi believed that.
And Atem smiled so beautifully, shifting his grip to draw him even closer, until Yuugi's heart thumped with the brush of skin against his– until Atem whispered, "Yes," against his lips.
Yuugi shut his eyes and melted into the embrace as they kissed, slow and easy, basking the sheer reality of it all… until, inevitably, they pressed closer.
Yuugi let his jaw drop and gasped as all of his attention ran low. His cock was pressed against Atem's stomach, hot and firm, shifting with sharp sparks with every breath. And just there, beside the hot impulse to grind into that heat– Yuugi looked down, saw Atem's cock prodding his hipbone, then a hand turned his face up into another kiss.
Moans were buried between mouths, the fire rising as impulse coaxed them to move, hands encouraged them to keep going. It was a recipe to go down in flames, and the way Yuugi's knees shook said he would go down soon.
But he could only bear it if they went down together.
He gripped Atem's shoulders and pushed.
Atem's face flashed with an intense protest to not stop, but it passed as Yuugi guided him backwards to the bed and pressed him to sit down. Atem looked up at him, eyes wide and vibrating want as Yuugi stared back, dizzy as if he were looking off the edge of a cliff, a breath from falling over.
But he lost his balance a long time ago.
He bent over and caught Atem in a kiss, whispered against him, "Lie down."
Atem swallowed against his lips then slipped out of his reach, lying back on the bed without ever looking away.
Yuugi followed, crawling onto the bed and between Atem's legs as Atem watched, his eyes on him and completely still. But he jerked when Yuugi's knees brushed the inside of his thighs, spreading to make room for him with a gasping breath. When Yuugi finally planted his elbows by Atem's ears and settled over him, his other self's gaze was nothing but raw, open longing. And that look, the sight of Atem's head on the pillow, his other self under him– Yuugi might well have embarrassed himself and finished right then and there, but Atem gripped his hips and whispered, "Aibou–"
Yuugi sucked in air and slid down, seeking a mouth.
Atem met him halfway, catching him between his thighs to pull him in. And Yuugi's moans were folded in between Atem's, both smothered in the kiss as Yuugi settled into that warmth.
It was too much.
Atem gripped his hips and guided him into him, setting a sort of rhythm, soft, and slow, reluctant to part, and Yuugi squeezed his eyes shut and pinched his mouth against another cry as he– as he felt it. His other self's cock against his gut, pulsing with the same heat Yuugi buried in Atem's groin.
Too much.
Not enough.
Yuugi's hands twisted in the sheets, one lost beneath the chill of the pillow, and he forced himself to focus.
Hold on.
Keep moving.
He fell into the rhythm his boyfriend coaxed from him, let the tension slide out of him in gasps until he was just floating, lost, no longer rushing to some end but savoring Atem, warm and gasping and wanting beneath him.
But when Yuugi opened his eyes to relish his other self by sight? Atem was already staring at him, flushed, bright with sweat, mouth parted in a pant. Eyes devouring him with open, shameless awe.
Yuugi took one look and kissed him.
A long, aching moan rolled out of Atem the moment Yuugi was there to stifle it, and Yuugi followed it, chasing the sound with kisses down Atem's throat until he felt it vibrating against his lips– and stifled his own delight there when his shifting changed the angle between them.
Their cocks. They were–
Atem squeezed him between his thighs and bucked up, and they both collapsed, biting back cries.
Gods!
Yuugi shook, ached for breath, and rolled into it. Continued the rough, tight rocks Atem started and died when his other self met him. Shook beneath him.
Yuugi tried to look, to see their cocks moving, caught between their sweat-soaked stomachs– But Atem cupped his face and forced him to look at him. Keep looking at him as they gasped and choked and bit back moans and hissed cries and battered names. And seeing Atem so– seeing him look at him like that, Yuugi couldn't look away. Couldn't do anything– anything else.
This was it.
They wouldn't stop. They would drown, just like that, and Yuugi surrendered himself to it gladly. Let his elbows slide until they were chest-to-chest, one hand sneaking under Atem's shoulder as the other hiked his thigh up, twisting the angle they ground together until Atem threw back his head, lip caught between his teeth as he keened.
Yuugi let him go. Let him shake and lose himself while he dropped his brow to Atem's shoulder, ready to guide them the rest of the way to–
Atem twisted beneath him.
A wet, hot mouth caught his ear.
Yuugi arched into the shock, tasted cotton when he fell face first and open mouthed into the pillow. The heat did cruel things to his guts as Atem mouthed and sucked and gasped, "Let me hear you."
Yuugi's hips rocked without his leave at the sound of that voice, the sparking effect offering him no relief as he whimpered. Atem clutched him closer and repeated the demand, and after a heartbeat Yuugi found his voice enough to warn, "If we're too loud–" If he let his delight truly, properly loose–
"No, no," Atem breathed, rubbing his cheek against Yuugi's until Yuugi turned his head and looked across the pillow into hooded, fogged eyes. His other self begged, "Tell me what you're thinking."
Yuugi stared, mind blank as Atem gasped against his lips, a numb heat rising up his toes. Mou hitori no…
Yuugi shifted, rising back above his other self to look down at him, watch as their shifting made Atem bite his lip and hiss.
Yuugi shuddered. Murmured, barely conscious of it, "It's– always easier to think, than say–"
"I know," Atem gasped, and he rolled up himself, body stretching to meet Yuugi's until they were gasping together. "And we didn't– always hear, I know. I know. But I miss hearing you. I want to hear you. Please, talk to me."
Yuugi had no breath left to laugh, but he grinned and shook with the sentiment anyways. He bent down and brushed a kiss beside Atem's open mouth. "You were always– so much better at that, you know? Just 'saying'. How'd you do that? Huh? How?" The words poured out of him, baffled and wondering and twisting with the feelings in his heart. He let his body rock into Atem's as it would, his focus on the man listening to him. "I want to hand it– hand everything to you. How I feel. How good this is. Too good. That you're here?" It came out as a question somehow, and Yuugi choked on it, tears sharp and heavy in his throat as he balanced on his elbows to cup the back of Atem's head with both hands. He held him still through their rocking to press their brows together, squeezing his eyes shut against his own words. "That I get to keep you?" He heard Atem's breath hitch. Felt his hands shaking, so firm on his back, then shifting, moving, so good and still Yuugi tried, "I want– want you to know–"
"I know. I know," Atem groaned a bit too loudly– had to be too loud, then leaned up out of Yuugi's hands until Yuugi could feel his words against his mouth. "It's so much. So good. You're so good. So amazing… Aibou… Aibou–"
Yuugi whimpered, shaking against the praise. He might have woken the whole ship when Atem's hands slid low and grabbed his ass, guided him to grind against him. But he smothered Yuugi's cry with a kiss, like he meant to burn lost words right into his lips.
He– he couldn't–
Yuugi lost track of it all, lost in the rhythm of their hips, ears pounding, clutching Atem's back to keep intact. Their mouths came loose as they gasped for air, panting against each other, moving, moving– and Atem ducked his head to bury a long, bone-deep moan in Yuugi's shoulder. Yuugi arched against him at the feeling, thrusting–
Atem choked with the impact, and Yuugi shivered, nearly torn apart when Atem met him on the next try. Yuugi flew up on his hands to watch, to look at him as he tried again– and found Atem ruined beneath him. Flushed and shaking and heaving with each breath, eyes shot… and smiling.
Smiling back at him.
Because Yuugi was smiling, too.
Because this was real. This was happening– and Atem was smiling, completely unguarded joy shining on his face.
And Yuugi, rather than speaking or sobbing at the sight, caught him in another kiss.
Atem grappled him closer, thighs catching over Yuugi's hips with a smothered whine, and Yuugi whimpered in turn. Met him, the rolls of their bodies growing sharper and sharper until everything bled together: the lines between their skin, their pleasure, the kisses shared and given, the whispers and gasps and sweet touches, fingers dragging and holding and molding, catching on backs and asses and arms and skin and saying with every clutch and every look and every kiss Do not stop. Never stop. Yes. More. Stay. More. Please! More! Closer. CLOSER. CLOSER! MORE! CLOSER!
And they fell apart, Atem biting his lip a flash in Yuugi's vision before he buried his face in Atem's neck and suffocated on air, straining for pleasure, aching for an end–
Then it shattered.
Atem's fingers in his hair and on his ass and his voice in his ear– Yuugi registered it all before it crashed and he arched into him, crying relief into his skin as his entire body tensed up.
Then he fell… and fell… and floated. And in time, came shakily back to himself. Remembered Atem folded around him, arms tight and ankles hooked and a hand dragging up his neck. Atem crowed things into his hair Yuugi couldn't understand, sweet and warm and so, so good– Yuugi shut his eyes and gave himself over to Atem's caresses. His brain slowly drifted down from the clouds to register the warm, gasping partner beneath him… and the cooling wetness between them.
Yuugi pushed himself up on his elbows, prying himself out of reluctant hands to look down at the wet glistening on their stomachs.
At Atem, still hard. Still needing him.
Atem shifted beneath him, shivering like he was cold, and Yuugi looked blearily up into a flushed, yet satisfied face, his other self gasping and smiling like he didn't have a care in the world. "Are you… alright?"
"Yeah," Yuugi breathed, throat clogging on the word… and leaned in, intentions forming even as he moved.
Atem welcomed the kiss with a sigh, body relaxing in obvious relief– then jerked, falling back out of the kiss to stare at Yuugi.
Paralyzed by the hand on his cock.
Yuugi didn't hesitate. Just stared into Atem's stunned, flushed face, watching for any sign of protest as he gave a loose, experimental jerk.
Atem choked– arched, Yuugi's weight the only thing keeping him on the bed.
And it should have been mind-boggling, touching Atem like that. Yuugi had barely had a chance before. Only the quickest brush of contact, and now Atem was pulsing heat in his fingers. But Atem was looking at him, shaking and lost, and Yuugi couldn't abandon him. Even when he realized the skin between his fingers wasn't sliding as smoothly as his own would have – that there was no foreskin to cushion the rub – Yuugi let go only long enough to spit in his palm.
Atem's mouth fell open with a gasp, clearly getting his intention, and Yuugi kept his gaze, not looking down as he grasped him again. There would be time to savor every inch of Atem properly later. Right then, Yuugi just wanted to watch him fall.
He touched him, jerking from base to tip and back in one firm motion that left Atem bucking against his weight, gasping for air and begging him without a word. And Yuugi just watched, seduced by the way his other self shook beneath him. The act itself was simple, Yuugi starting with the base knowledge of his own pleasure with quick, tightening jerks, playing and testing what to do by the way Atem's face twisted. Yuugi rubbed over the head and ran his fingers down the length before settling on matching the rhythm of his other self's gasps, catching and speeding and stuttering and–
"Aibou." Hands clutched Yuugi's arm, his shoulder, and before Yuugi's eyes Atem's face twisted and his eyes gleamed and–
He was crying.
Yuugi froze, heart twisting with alarm and regret for whatever he must have done to prompt– but no. The emotion in Atem's eyes was relief. Pained, desperate relief.
Yuugi let go and settled over Atem so he could gather him in his arms, pull him up off the pillow and breathe in his ear, "I'm here. I'm here. Mou hitori no boku, I'm here." Because Atem looked so scared, like he couldn't believe Yuugi was there. Like he was afraid he would disappear. Yuugi didn't understand it, but he knew in his bones that it was true.
Atem shook and clung to him, slowly dissolving to fine shivers until, as Yuugi's mantra hummed on, he truly relaxed… and arched beneath him again, cock still hard against Yuugi's thigh. "I– I can't–"
Yuugi bit back a moan at that hissed whimper. So frustrated, like Atem wanted to melt into Yuugi's skin and hated that he couldn't. Yuugi swallowed his own reaction to the thought and kissed his cheek. "I know. I know." And he didn't bother with grace anymore. He rose up just enough to meet Atem's eye, saw the tears were gone, and took his cock in hand. He squeezed it as he would his own, alone in bed in the dead of night, desperate for relief.
Atem bucked beneath him, keening as Yuugi rolled with the motion and kept going, watching his other self twist. And all the while Atem watched him, gasping through an open mouth as he stared into Yuugi's eyes.
Wonder.
Love.
That had to be what Atem saw in him.
The worry still tight in Yuugi's belly unwound, replaced by satisfaction as wet warmth spread between his fingers and Atem crumbled, the sight so good Yuugi struggled to breathe… then he ducked his head to kiss back the sound rolling up his other self's throat.
But Atem was too lost to fold beneath his mouth, his voice rising unstoppered until Yuugi gave up on kisses and covered Atem's mouth with his palm.
That was enough to make Atem look, lost to his release or not. But Yuugi was ready to meet his shock, staring right back until Atem melted into it. His other self fell, moaning into his palm without ever looking away, and Yuugi shook at the sight like he was falling. The same listless exhaustion rolled through him as he rubbed Atem until his eyes fluttered and he was just panting behind his fingers.
Yuugi slowly pulled his hand away, and when Atem let out no loud noise, he replaced it with his lips, ghosting kisses across Atem's nose and cheek until his mouth shut enough to welcome him there, too.
Everything went still.
Exhaustion swept over Yuugi and he collapsed onto his other self, his cheek finding a shoulder as arms gathered him close, Atem's hands shaking on his back. Yuugi pressed a kiss to his collarbone and heard Atem sigh, the two of them melting together as the room fell quiet.
The sound of water slowly invaded Yuugi's senses. The river had been a soft constant he'd forgotten in the night, but it was always there, a quiet roar with nothing to block it out now. Not even the engine.
They must have reached port at some point.
And as they lay there, he realized that the room was surprisingly cold, and growing colder without their active heat to keep it warm. When Atem stretched beneath him, readjusting his grip, Yuugi felt something drip down his stomach and mumbled, "Need to clean up."
Atem sucked in a breath, and a spark burst through Yuugi's mind.
He jumped up on his hands to look down into unblinking, dazed reds, shock mirrored between them as they processed what just happened.
They– they had just…
…Atem smiled.
His face split in a wide, wide grin, and it spread up through Yuugi, left him beaming and dizzy and falling willingly into tugging arms until they were kissing, lips pressing together hard to endure their smiles and snickers and the sniffles sneaking up Yuugi's throat because they just did that!
He tried to rise, to look again, but Atem tugged him right back down. His other self buried his face in his neck and breathed deep, reveling sweetness in his voice as he whispered Yuugi's name.
Yuugi melted into it, catching a hand in Atem's hair and kissing his ear. He mumbled a barely audible, "Thank you." For staying. For loving me. For being you–
Atem pulled back to look at him again, soul-deep warmth glowing in his smile. "Why? This is ours! Not a gift from me to you."
Yuugi grinned. "Sure it is!" he insisted, leaning down to rub their noses together. "A gift to each other."
Atem's chuckle made Yuugi's heart swell, the sound deep and fond and so tickled. "Then I should be thanking you, too!" Atem proclaimed, only to slide into something sounder, the smile fading from his face as he stared up at him, gaze full and overwhelmed. "Aibou…"
Yuugi smiled as Atem reached for him, taking his hand in his and squeezing it. He played a thumb over one of his rings and leaned down to kiss him again, and Atem sighed and pulled him close, flush against him once more. They tangled together as they kept kissing, no rush or need behind the affection, just being, a quiet happiness welling up in Yuugi's chest until it fell out as, "I love you," between kisses.
Atem drew back just enough for Yuugi to see the reverence in his eyes as he said, "I love you, too."
Yuugi's eyes burned, and he soothed the sharp goodness by burying his face in Atem's shoulder, letting his gratitude take him as Atem curled around him again, sighing to pudding.
Then there was nothing but the closeness. Tiny sensations and contrasts where Atem touched him, and didn't. The crumpled sheets under Yuugi's palm and the cooling sweat on his back, the way the air played across his uncovered feet… and their skin slid together, slick in places…
The last point slowly took over Yuugi's focus, less and less welcome, until a small shift from Atem sent him up on his hands with the scrunch of a nose. "Just a sec." He only got a quick, passing look at Atem's alarm before his feet hit the floor, and the creak of springs followed him across the room.
Just as he reached the bathroom, Yuugi could have sworn he heard a whine.
He wasn't followed, though, and he left Atem alone only seconds before reappearing, skin tingling where he'd washed his front with a few swipes from the sink. Atem, having stood to linger at the edge of the bed, couldn't have seen that, but the faint glower on his face faded when he saw the damp washcloth in his partner's hand.
Yuugi shrugged, offering it with a grin once he was close enough. "I didn't want to get up for a full bath."
Atem smiled, accepting it with a simple, earnest, "Thank you," that left them lingering in the look. But Atem found his humor once he sat back down and started cleaning himself, smirking up at him. "I wouldn't mind a bath, though, if you joined me."
Yuugi snorted. "Not a good plan." He turned away, moving across the room to the door, and he stalled before it with a mixed pang of relief and embarrassment, thinking about what could have happened. Then he locked it and shut off the light, the light from the port window more than enough to guide him back to the bed and his boyfriend. "If we stayed up for that, we'd be dead on our feet tomorrow."
"Come on, aibou. We've pulled off all-nighters before."
"Not like this, we haven't. I don't know about you, but I haven't slept properly in days."
Atem was finished and waiting for him by the time Yuugi made it back, the washcloth tossed on the floor. But he stalled his retreat beneath the covers at Yuugi's words, looking up at him. And Yuugi stared back, an initial regret for bringing up the near-loss ebbing away at the somber relief that showed on Atem's face. A feeling Yuugi himself understood... and he moved closer. Cupped his other self's jaw and kissed him again, slow, and quiet, pressing the words that had echoed through his heart all day into the touch.
Thank you.
Atem welcomed it, soft and inviting and eyes shut, mouth caught open a bit when Yuugi pulled back to stare at him… and butt his nose into his. "Move. I want in."
Atem nearly spit in his face holding back a laugh, his grin positively dopey as he scooched around and made room for Yuugi. They grappled with sheets and pillows and their own legs until they were both under the covers, side-by-side. Except, the second Yuugi settled in, Atem crawled on top of him, wiggling his knees between Yuugi's and tucking his head under his chin. And Yuugi's surprise shifted to humor as his other self muttered threats against his chest. "If you tell me you have to pee now, I won't believe you."
Yuugi snickered at the imperious warning and slid his arms around Atem's shoulders, burying his nose in his hair. "I don't."
"Good." The mumble was soft again, and the final threads of tension seeped out of Atem as Yuugi held him… silence lingering until his other self spoke again, voice nothing but a breath. "Aibou…"
Yuugi smiled at that heavy, shaky whisper, kissing Atem's brow between golden bangs. "I know. Me too."
Atem didn't reply, but his easy stillness was all the answer Yuugi needed.
They went quiet, wrapped in each other's arms and too hot in the best of ways. Before long, Yuugi's eyes strayed to the port window, his mind floating on nothing… on the wonder of Atem against him. That he was against him. That they had actually found more than an end. Yuugi hadn't imagined anything but an end in so long, and now… Now, he didn't know what to do with it.
And there was still so much to figure out. A lot of obstacles if they wanted to make it work. Make a life for Atem and them work. They hadn't even talked about what they'd say to his mother, or anyone else not in the know yet. How they'd present themselves or if they should say anything at all, and what they'd do if– when it got out. Nevermind everything about actually being together.
But that was fine.
They had been fighting side-by-side against an unclear future from the beginning, and now, finally, they could work towards a goal they both wanted from the bottom of their hearts. That alone would make it easy. Whatever stood in their way, they could face it.
Yuugi kissed Atem's brow and whispered to him, and himself, "We know."
Atem shifted his head slightly without actually looking up, letting out a weak, questioning hum.
Yuugi rubbed his back, eyes on the window and everything before them. "We know what we want. So, we'll figure out the rest. What to do now. Together."
Atem melted to warm milk again, letting out another drowsy hum. "Hmm, yes."
Yuugi bit his lip to keep from laughing. Did Atem even hear him? Seriously, Yuugi had never known his other self to doze off so quickly. He must have been way more exhausted than he had let on.
Or, maybe this was just what he was like after sex.
The possibility glittered in Yuugi's thoughts, a tiny dot of light in a vast, starry sky he had never seen before. There was still so much to discover, an entirely new side of their bond to explore, no limits in sight.
Yuugi loved it.
Atem shifted in his arms and brushed his lips against Yuugi's neck, the kiss so light and delicate it scattered Yuugi's thoughts and left him swallowing tears, chest tight with happiness.
Neither spoke. Atem sighed, went still again, and Yuugi clutched him close, staring out the window until his eyes fell shut.
"Heeey, guys! Open up!"
"Sorry, Jounouchi-kun!" came the reply just before the door opened, then Yuugi's smiling face was there, then gone again before Jounouchi could blink. He watched his best friend dash across the bedroom to the table and the other man sitting there, leaving him to catch his bearings in the doorway.
"Right, right… You both up, then? Everybody's packing and saying we're leaving in like twenty– what are you doing?!"
Atem smirked as he looked up, distracted from his focus by Jounouchi's cry. "Isn't it obvious?"
"You know what I mean! " the blond exclaimed, huffing the words before whirling around and running back out the door. "Wait! I'll get Bakura and Otogi! Even Malik might want–"
His voice faded out of hearing, and then it was just Yuugi and Atem again, looking at the door, then each other.
Yuugi shrugged, grinning as he asked, "Should we wait? Or, should we clean up? We probably should clean up. We still have to pack." They still had baggage spread out across two cabins, and they'd pulled on some pajamas, but the clothes they'd worn yesterday were still sprawled across the room, dropped in an… awkwardly obvious trail to the bed. Even their jewelry was still tossed across the table, Atem's earrings beside his draw pile, his necklace tangled up in Yuugi's collar in the middle of the duel field.
They'd been playing around it.
The only thing Atem had reclaimed so far were his glasses, his eyes gleaming behind the lenses as he looked back at Yuugi. "Not yet. You promised me a duel, aibou."
Yuugi's smile curled into something with far more meaning, his gaze dropping to the field– then zipping back up again when a hand grasped his.
Atem thumbed over his knuckles, the gesture a soft contrast to his smirk. "And if we stop, or even wait for them, I won't have time to crush you."
Yuugi smirked back, and Atem was the one left blinking stars from his eyes as Yuugi asked, "Is that so?"
Atem said nothing. Just beamed at him, anticipation humming in his smile.
Yuugi squeezed his hand and let go. Picked up his cards, set one, and flipped another. "Fine, then I set a monster face down and activate the spell card Brain Control."
"Ah, we haven't used that one in a while."
"I was feeling nostalgic. Thought you'd appreciate it."
"While you're using it to take Dark Magician away from me?"
"Eh, he likes me better anyways."
Atem let out a gut wrenching laugh as Yuugi attacked and wiped out half of his life points.