Disclaimer: I do not claim any ownership to the series Yu-Gi-Oh or any of the characters. The plot, however, is mine.
A/n: I don't know where I am taking this. The idea was learning to trust again, and this was the result.
Summary: Three years have passed since the Ceremonial Duel. People have moved on; however, things begin to drastically shift when the Millennium Items are sought after, and someone returns. Trust becomes an issue especially when pain is inflicted in the worse way. Takes place after DSOD. Revolutionshipping.
Rated: M, just to be careful.
zZz
A Long Ways Back - 001
The rain splattered against the window and fell like unending torrents as the clouds covered the city of New York in grey dreariness. A young woman of twenty-one with deep sapphire eyes and wavy brown hair that dropped below her shoulders sat upon a dark maroon couch as she leaned against the window frame staring out at the gloomy day. She had just return home from practice at one of the prestige schools of dance within New York where she was preparing for an upcoming performance during the next winter school year.
Being able to follow her dreams always made Tea Gardner happy, but the young dancer could never forget what she left back in her hometown of Domino City. Memories of her final year of High School always raced through her mind when she had time to herself. She had been away for almost three years. Three years since everyone said goodbye.
Two days ago, Tea received a phone call from her childhood best friend, Yugi Motou. Summer break starts this week, and she was planning on traveling back to Domino to catch up and see everyone. While the thoughts of him not being there seemed to clinch her heart in pain, she kept certain memories close to her heart.
Located on the white desk within the small apartment sat a black, velvet jewelry box. After leaving the tomb and making their way back to Cairo, before boarding the plane back to Domino City, Tea disappeared into the gift shop to purchase another cartouche. This cartouche had a specific date on the back and a certain name in hieroglyphics of a certain pharaoh who had captured her heart.
Tears pooled within her sapphire eyes and spilled to drop upon the plush material of the couch. Not many knew how each person was going to continue especially with both Tea and Yugi. Most of their friends thought Yugi would suffer the most. However, even Yugi knew that it was Tea who was the one hurting the most. During the ride to the final resting place of the Millennium Items, Yugi gave Tea the closure she needed with the pharaoh. Memories of that night danced across her mind as she remembered that final moment alone with the once nameless pharaoh.
The pharaoh, who everyone had learned was named Atem, came to her room during that final boat ride. She had visit Yugi just an hour before asking for some information, losing what little courage she had, before running out and crying against the wall, knowing that she had failed in saying goodbye. When she returned to the small cabin she was occupying for the journey, Tea collapsed upon the bed allowing the tears to flow freely. It wasn't long before she heard a knock at the door.
Tea rolled her legs to a much better position before dragging the afghan blanket around her shoulders. Even though it was the later part of spring, the weather had been gloomy and cold. Just as she was currently feeling when the memories of that night danced across her mind. The pharaoh had arrived at her room asking if he could come in.
"Good evening Tea," he calmly said. "Can I come in?" asked the pharaoh. Tea nodded, stepping to the side and returning to sit upon the bed. She watched as the pharaoh walked in, closing the door behind him.
"Is something wrong," she asked. His eyes held confusing emotions as he looked around the room as if he were trying to avoid landing upon her concerned eyes. "Atem?"
"No. Nothing is wrong." He replied gently. "Yugi told me that you came to visit him."
Tea shook her head as she tried to hold back the tears that were starting to burn within her cerulean eyes as the reason she was there came back like sharp sword to the chest. "It was nothing. I just came to talk to Yugi about something. I guess seeing the cards and everything just reminded me of a few things."
"Nothing wrong with that," replied Atem. He walked across the small room to arrive at Tea's side. Keeping his eyes locked with her own, he gently sat upon the bed with just a small gap between them.
"Why are you here, though? Shouldn't you be preparing for tomorrow," asked Tea softly. She felt the bed moved when the pharaoh sat beside her. A light dusting of rose covered her cheek bones causing her heart to race as nerves started to race through her skin.
"Tea." Atem turned, taking the young dancer's hands within his own rubbing his thumb against the softness of her skin. "I didn't come here just for small talk. I know you have been hiding your feelings regarding a certain person."
Tea's face heated up as she tried to quickly stand. "What gave you that idea?" She tried stepping away from the pharaoh, but he tightened his grip upon her, forcing her to drop by his side again.
"I know that your visit to Yugi was just a cover-up. You were really there to see me."
The young dancer remembered as the young pharaoh spoke softly as he held her hand gently within his own that he knew how she felt about him. However, he was afraid to reciprocate upon those feelings, knowing that he would be eventually leaving this world. Tea didn't care, though. She wanted to enjoy what precious moments she had with him. He tried denying the touches, the feelings that were racing through both him and her, but unfortunately, his heart won.
Atem kissed her with a strong passion as her arms wrapped around his neck, bringing her flushed against him. They fell softly upon the bed. His body was twisted as he leaned over her while she held him close to her own. His mouth glided over her lips, nipping and sucking before soothing the bruised skin with his tongue.
He pressed once, twice against her teeth before she finally opened allowing their tongues to merge and began a dance of their own. His hand traced against the side of her face causing her to break away with a soft moan. He used this to drag his wet lips across her jaw and down her neck, sucking on the pulsing point. Her body tensed and turned against the feeling as his hands danced across her bare shoulders to the rough hem of her white shirt.
Tea pulled her legs to her chest, resting her head upon her raised knees. She rolled her head to stare at the small jewelry box before closing her eyes. The young dancer remembered as both broke from the kiss and he stood to leave the room, explaining that he couldn't allow this to continue.
Atem turned his head to the side. He felt as the young dancer placed soft kisses upon his exposed neck. "Tea, I cannot allow this to go any further."
The young dancer dropped her head against the pharaoh's chest, tears pooling and falling, splashing like shards of a crystal. "I know. It's not fair, but I want this. I want you."
The pharaoh swallowed hard as he breathed deeply through his nose. Grabbing the young woman's hands, he moved them to the side and took a step away. However, he was quickly stopped when the young dancer moved, slamming her body against the back of the pharaoh, and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. "Stop, Tea. This is not wise."
Tea traced her hand around the rim of his black shirt, her fingers dusting against the warm skin underneath. "If this isn't wise, then why are you trembling?" Her hand trailed under causing a ragged breath to escape from the pharaoh's lips. She trailed it once, twice before stopping at the buckle of his belt. "I need this. You need this. Even if it is just for tonight." She pulled the buckle apart, loosening the belt before breaking the button and dragging the zipper down. She slowly dipped her hand within the material and skin, gripping and gliding her hand across him gently. The young dancer felt him tense as a deep moan escaped the pharaoh's lips.
"Tea," he groaned as he reached for her hands, dragging them to his chest. He quickly turned, pulling her to him, slowly tracing a single finger down across her cheek. "Keep my feelings for you as a memory, but I will not take what you are offering. I will leave this world, and I will pray to Ra that you will find another to offer it once more."
At first, she thought that he might change his mind and reciprocate what both were feeling especially when he grabbed her hand, drawing it up to rest upon his chest, and then pushing her against the wall to devoured her mouth with a deep, passionate kiss. His hands teased her body as he kissed her deeply. However, when breathing became an issue, they separated with her dropping to the ground. Tea remembered as he fixed his belt and kept eye contact with her, he stated that this was one thing that he did not want to take from her before walking out of the room.
The young dancer's emotions were a mess for the remaining of the night and throughout the Ceremonial Duel especially at the ending when Yugi defeated the once nameless pharaoh. Everyone watched as he congratulated the young boy before turning to face the door to the afterlife. She didn't want to see him leave, and it seemed that she was not the only one. However, in her heart, she knew that this was what needed to happen. He had been sealed within the Millennium Puzzle for over 3000 years with no memory of why he was there. Now that he knew, it was time for him to rest and enjoy the peacefulness that the afterlife gave.
Once everyone arrived back in Domino City, Tea focused on the remaining school year. She applied for scholarships and worked on her dancing so that she would have a video to submit for the upcoming auditions. Yugi continued with his dueling, attending small tournaments that were hosted in the city.
Tea and Yugi even tried a relationship during the final months of High School. While she cared about the young duelist and knew he had feelings for her, those all seemed to change for them both. He knew she loved the pharaoh, and he could not really see a relationship with her anymore. She was more of a sister to him as he was a brother to her. Instead, when Rebecca Hopkins started staying in Domino City, Yugi started a relationship with her.
Tea's plane ticket had her leaving tomorrow in the early parts of the morning. She didn't know exactly what Yugi had planned, but he said to make sure she was ready to have fun that evening when she arrived in town. Fun. It was a word she didn't use very much especially since the Ceremonial Duel and leaving Domino City.
As soon as she received the scholarship and the acceptance letter to one of the prestige schools of dance in New York, she had everything packed and an apartment ready for her to rent. Once graduation came, Tea made sure to say goodbye to her friends, promising to return and visit but to also forget about the painful memories that tugged at her heart.
The young dancer glanced at the bags sitting by the door. She doesn't know why she packed for two months. She doesn't know why she made the decision to stay for two months. Her parents were excited to see her, but for one of the months, they would be gone for a business trip. Tea knew her parents were busy and couldn't expect them to stay the whole time she was there. She had her friends, though, and that counted the most.
Rolling from the couch, Tea made her way back to the bedroom. When she arrives back in Domino City, things were going to be interesting. For one, she was no longer the young schoolgirl that everyone had seen her for. Instead, dancing required rigorous workouts and over the summer when she first arrived in New York, she began running in the mornings and working out in the evenings. Tea walked back to the bathroom. Maybe going back to her hometown was a good idea.
R+R!