"I love you so much, I can't stand it."
Bakura was curled up in my lap, nuzzling hard against my neck. I couldn't stop laughing. Everyone else in the room was laughing as well, but that didn't detour Bakura in the slightest. His cape was draped across us like a blanket. I took advantage of the cover and slid my hand up Bakura's outer squealed in delight and squirmed in my lap, causing fresh laughter to bubble in the room.
Honda was curled on top of a bean bag chair, asleep. Jonouchi was curled on the end of the couch and hugging a throw cushion. The party had wound down. The vodka bottles sat empty on their sides. Every other game in the game shop was surrounding Yugi's coffee table. WE were drunk and sleepy, and we probably should have called a cab to leave an hour ago, but I was so comfortable that I didn't want to move.
The party was much more fun than I had anticipated. My conversation with Atem helped a lot, and Ryou, Kek, and Bakura's acting had managed to dispel any lingering tension in the air. The fact that Kek got along with everyone eased my mind as well. If they accepted him- and he was once the worst of me- then what did I have to be stressed about? He and Jonouchi had even shadow-boxed in the living room while the rest of us played Clue.
"I love you so much," Bakura repeated, shifting until he found a different position and new areas to nuzzle.
My hands rubbed small circles in his lower back. For a single, radiate moment the world was peaceful, but of course that wasn't going to last. Atem crept up to us. I stayed quiet, already suspecting what he'd do. Reaching out, he plucked the crown from Bakura's silver hair and settled it back on top of his own head.
"Hey!" Bakura made grabby hands at the crown. "Give that back. It's mine!"
"I stole it. That makes it mine now. At least, that's how it always worked when you used to steal things."
"Yeah, but it's funny when I do it."
"But this way is more ironic." Atem pivoted and sauntered away.
Bakura lunged for him, but Atem dodged and Bakura fell face-first onto the carpet. Naturally, that wasn't enough to stop him. He jumped up and grabbed Atem from behind. They wrestled. Kek jumped up and dashed toward them, ready to break them up, but stopped when he saw that they weren't fighting so much as actually wrestling. The entire room watched for a moment before Kek broke the silence.
"Well… I'm impressed," he muttered. "You guys are pretty good!"
"Of course." Atem tried to get Bakura in a headlock, but Bakura slipped out of his hold. "I was great at wrestling."
"Yeah, cuz all your kiss-ass servants let you win," Bakura sneered.
"Priest. Set." Atem grabbed Bakura's left ankle and right wrist, but Bakura twisted out of it.
"Okay, maybe not that one." Bakura managed to wrangle Atem to one knee, only to be thrown over his shoulder.
Bakura landed on his back with an oomph. Again, Kek moved to assist, but Bakura scrambled up and jumped back into the match.
The scene was familiar. I'd seen similar matches painted on the walls of some of the chambers in the tomb. Bakura flung off his cape, and Atem flung off his shirt so they could lock together, each trying to throw the other.
"You know…" Yugi began. "I read that Egyptians used to wrestle wearing only belts. I think you guys should give us a more historical reenactment- I mean, you're both living history. Do it for science!"
"Fat chance, Yugi." Bakura managed to throw Atem to the ground, ripping the crown from Atem's hair. "Ha!"
"No you don't." Atem flipped up to his feet and grappled with Bakura again.
"You can share it for one night!" Bakura shouted as they played tug-o-war with the crown.
"You know damn well you have no intention giving it back!"
"So?"
"So it's not sharing when you don't return it!"
"Is too! It's long term sharing!"
They were so occupied fighting and arguing, that neither saw me as I strolled past, jerked the crown away from both of them, and fixed it on top of my head.
"There we go. Problem solved."
"Whatever. Have it. I'm getting tired." Bakura dropped to the carpet, arms and legs splayed out like a star.
"It's only fun to steal things from Bakura." Atem mimicked his posture on the floor.
"I'd better watch myself, or this new upstart thief will rob me of my own title." Ryou smiled.
I winked at him, and the subtle gesture was enough to make him blush. Yugi yawned and stretched.
"Should we call a cab?" Ryou asked. "It's late."
"It's early," Yugi corrected. "I can toss blankets and pillows on the floor."
"Been a while since we've had a sleepover." Ryou smiled.
"I'll go grab all my extra bedding." Yugi hopped up and ran upstairs.
Kek stole Yugi's place next to Ryou. They cuddled together, using Ryou's robe like a blanket. Most of us were sobering up, but Bakura and Atem were still buzzed out of their skulls. Atem was humming something that was probably three thousand years old, and Bakura was staring at the ceiling like it had insulted his mother.
"This is an outrage!" Bakura punched the carpet.
"What are you bitching about?" I admired my reflection in a wall mirror near the door. I looked damn good in that crown. Atem probably wasn't getting it back.
"I don't want friends."
"Poor, poor, Bakura, he had to laugh and drink with the rest of us. Here, I'll wipe away your tears." Atem scrubbed Bakura's cheek with the sleeve of his shirt.
Bakura made an attempt to shove Atem away, but missed and swatted at the air. Atem laughed, sitting up enough to poke at the straps of Bakura's sandals.
"Bakura, give me your shoes and I will officially royally pardon all of your crimes."
"Fuck you! I passed my weighing. Shove your royal pardon up your royal asshole."
"But your shoes are shiny and I want them." Atem whined.
"Tough luck."
"I'll trade you. The shoes for the crown."
"Bakura, say yes," I spoke before Bakura could say anything.
"Why would I-"
"Because I want the crown."
"You have the crown. It's on your head, and he's too short to reach it."
"Fuck you, Bakura!"
"In your dreams." Bakura snickered.
"You're so vain, you probably honestly think people have nothing better to do than dream of you all day long." Atem snorted.
"What could be better than dreaming about me?"
"Dreaming about me." I poked Bakura's shoulder with my toe. "Swap with him. I can order another pair of shoes for you, but Bulgari doesn't sell ancient crowns."
"Are we even the same size?" Bakura held up his foot.
"I think so." Atem held up his foot as well.
"Your feet are exactly the same size." Kek laughed.
"This is really fucked up somehow." Bakura frowned at their feet.
"So? Trade?" Atem asked.
"I guess." Bakura blew air from between his lips. "But you have to take them off. I forgot how."
I shook my head, laughing. Yugi walked in as Atem slipped Bakura's foot from the maze of golden straps running up Bakura's calf.
"I don't know what game this is, but I want to play." Yugi dropped the blankets to the floor.
"Save those thoughts for the game we're designing," Bakura said.
"I hope you realize you just gave me permission to design sexy mini games for our main game."
"We are so going to get banned from Steam by the time this comes out." Bakura laughed.
"If that happens I'll sweet talk Seto into designing something to complete with Steam- but we might have to design a few Duel Monsters games before he agrees."
"Could we anyway?" Atem asked, struggling with Bakura's second sandal.
"I want a Duel Monsters dating sim," Kek said.
"Where you date the other duelists?" I asked, wandering back to my chair and yawning myself.
"Pfffff, too easy. Date the actual duel monsters," Kek said.
"I want to date Dark Necrofear," Ryou said.
"Manage to get in a polyamorous relationship with all three gods and you can unlock the secret dateable character, Horakhty," Yugi said.
"Okay but… Dark Master Zorc."
"Bakura, no!" Atem shouted loudly enough to make Honda grumble under his breath before shifting onto his other side.
"C'mon. It'll be hilarious."
"But he has… you know-"
"That's why it'd be so funny!" Bakura cackled.
"Think about it," I changed the topic before they fully woke up Honda and Jonouchi. "Add an advanced mode that allows players to date three Blue Eyes at once, and Kaiba will cream on top of his checkbook before he finishes signing his name."
"Marik's got a point," Yugi said.
"Okay, okay, tomorrow write up the original ideas, but we have to finish the RPG before we do a dating sim." Bakura waved off the conversation with his hand.
"You mean write it up today." Yugi yawned again. "I'd better get some sleep. Do you need help making up pallets?"
"I got it." Ryou jumped to his feet, swaying.
"Careful." Kek stood up and stabilized Ryou.
"Thank you. I thought I'd recovered from drinking, but the second I stood it hit me all over again."
"At least it gives me a nice excuse to hold you." Kek snuggled against Ryou.
"Hey, what about me?" Bakura pouted at Kek. "Why am I laying on the floor with this jerk over here instead of getting smothered with affection?"
"Sorry. You're too far away." Kek snickered. He glanced at Jonouchi curled up in the corner of the sofa. "Can we move him? Marik should have the couch."
My cheeks warmed the second I heard him say it. At first, a flare of "I don't need special treatment" stubbornness tightened my jaw, but after a moment of thought- fuck it. I was a guest, and a couch wasn't that special. Not Yugi's couch at least. Ours was a little more sentimental because of the flood of pleasant memories that came to mind each time I saw it.
"Sure. He'll just sleep in our room." Yugi jostled Jonouchi's shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah," Jonouchi yawned, stretching. "Can't sleep with all the noise anyway."
"Atem? Coming to bed?" Yugi beckoned as he led a half-asleep Jonouchi up the stairs.
Atem had his legs shoved in the air as he tried to figure out how to strap the sandals around his pant legs.
"As soon… as I…"
"Gods! You're so fucking stupid!" Bakura sat up and showed Atem how to fight the straps and buckles. "I feel like your wet nurse."
"It's be really weird… if you made milk."
"Go to bed." Bakura dropped Atem's leg back to the carpet.
"No walking. Carry me."
"Oh hell the fuck no. Do I look like Kek to you?" Bakura stumbled back into my lap, crawling over me like one of our kittens before curling into my lap again.
"Ohhh. Kek!"
"Sorry. Busy." Kek was still nuzzling Ryou, making him giggle.
"Fine. I'll walk like a commoner." Atem only managed to crawl.
"How are you more drunk than me?" Ryou laughed.
"Because I always win!" Atem insisted.
"Come on." Yugi appeared again and helped Atem stumble to his feet.
"Aibou! You came back for me!" Atem threw his arms around Yugi.
"Of course I did." Yugi kissed Atem's forehead before guiding him to the stairs."Should I hit the lights?"
"No!" Ryou and Kek both shouted.
Again, my cheeks heated up. This time from appreciation.
"Oh yeah. Sorry, sorry." Yugi bowed in apology before turning up the stairs with the lights still glowing in the living room. "Goodnight, everyone!"
A few people called it back. Bakura grunted. His head grew heavy against my chest. I reached out, stroking his hair and sighing.
"I love you," I breathed into Bakura's hair.
Bakura looked up and grinned at me with a sleepy smile.
"Let's go to the couch." I winked at him. "You can be the little spoon tonight."
"I'm always the little spoon." His smile grew although his eyes remained lidded.
"That's because I love spoiling you." I kissed him before he fumbled to stand and followed me to the sofa.
Ryou was making a pallet, so I kissed Kek goodnight first.
"I wish it were big enough for all four of us," I said.
"We'll pine for you the entire night." He grinned before kissing Bakura goodnight as well.
"Just think of how nice tomorrow night will be once we're all cuddled back together." Ryou held my cheek.
He had a facetious smirk- one befitting of the Legendary Thief King. I narrowed my gaze. I knew he wanted to ask to kiss me. I opened my mouth to lecture him, but he placed a finger to my lips.
"Shhhh. A thief knows when to steal."
He swooped in, bringing our lips together. I moaned, knowing I shouldn't since Honda was still asleep nearby, but unable to hold back as my heart raced. He left me gasping by the end of that kiss, and yearning. We'd only made love a handful of times and I was eager for more.
More. More. More.
The more I got of them, all of them, the more I wanted.
"That was so in-character, I could weep with joy." Bakura tugged at Ryou's hair for a much rougher goodnight kiss.
With all our kisses exchanged, I stretched out on the sofa and locked Bakura into my arms. He sighed, sinking heavily into the cushions. I fell asleep to the sound of everyone's soft breaths echoing in the brightly lit living room.