I woke up cocooned inside Kek's embrace. I shifted against him, savoring the warmth of his body. Reaching out, my fingers searched for Bakura's and Marik's hair, or their shoulders, anything I could brush my fingers against for the comfort of their proximity, but my fingers smacked into the leg of a table instead.
Then I remembered the party, and that explained why my head hurt like I'd drank vodka the night before- also why I was stiff from sleeping on the floor instead of wrapped up with everyone. But the smell of french toast remedied all my little complaints. I crawled out of Kek's embrace to go investigate. I expected to find Yugi in front of the stove, but it was actually Atem. He was a hot mess- his hair was shooting out in extra directions- I mean, more so than usual, and his eyes were bloodshot, but the french toast stacked on a plate beside him looked fantastic, and that's what really mattered.
"You've been practicing." I grinned. That first day that I taught him to make hamburgers, he couldn't even hold a spatula correctly.
"Everyone else is always so busy, so I've been trying to cook." Atem shrugged, a little sheepish.
"Need any help?'
"You could start waking people up, but watch Yugi. He's-"
"Grouchy in the mornings, I know." I laughed. "But not half as bad as me, so I'll be fine."
I decided to wake up my own first. I covered my mouth to mute my laugh when I walked back into the living room. Kek was coiled into a ball at Marik and Bakura's feet on the couch, snoring. He must have woken up without me, but not enough to go find me. I slipped my phone out from one of the hidden pockets in Bakura's robe and took a picture.
"Is that breakfast?" Honda asked as I switched to video.
"Yes. Would you set the table before I wake Yugi?" I asked, eager to get rid of him before I woke the others.
"Good idea." He scratched his head, yawned, and made his way to the kitchen.
With him gone I was able to creep closer to the sofa and close in on Bakura's sleeping face.
"You're still cuddle bunnies."
"In my defense- I was drunk," Bakura muttered, his eyes closed.
"You're so good at excuses," I teased. "Atem made french toast and it's almost ready."
"Why the fuck do I care to eat Mr. Pharaoh's french toast?" Bakura opened his mouth wide to yawn.
"Because he looks more than a little hung over and I'm sure you'll think of plenty of ways to taunt him about it."
Bakura popped open one eye, grinning. "Okay, that does sound fun. You win. I'm up."
One down. Two to go. As Bakura padded, barefoot, into the kitchen to tease Atem, I leaned down to Kek and stole a kiss. He murmured against my lips. His eyes fluttered opened and he grinned.
"What did you say?" I smiled myself, brushing our noses together.
"The light above you makes you look like an angel."
"Thank you." I blushed. "Atem's cooking breakfast."
"Okay." Kek kissed me again. Sat up. Kissed me yet again. Stood. Grabbed me and kissed me again. Then he attacked my throat with a swarm of kisses that left me breathless.
"Go eat!"
"But you're sweeter than French toast." Kek licked up my throat.
"You can have me for dessert tonight."
"When you put it like that..." A last kiss, and Kek followed Bakura and Honda into the kitchen.
I stooped down, pressing one knee into the couch cushions and hovering above Malik. I woke him up gradually, brushing my nose up his cheek first, then grazing my lips against the shell of his ear while I combed his couch-mussed hair.
"Morning," he whispered.
"Good morning."
"Hmph. I forgot why I usually don't have more than one drink. I sleep too hard and won't notice how I twist."
"Oh." I straightened up enough to reach for his shoulders and massage them, understanding that his back hurt. "We'll leave after breakfast and once we're home, massage your oils into your back."
"Thanks." Marik hooked his arms around my waist and kissed me. He sighed, burying his face into Bakura's red robe. "Thanks."
"Making you happy makes all of us happy," I whispered into his hair.
"I know… and I love you guys for it." Marik chuckled, nervous and a little giddy.
"Don't make me cry before breakfast." I pulled away and swiped at my eyes with Bakura's crimson sleeve. I moved to go up the stairs, but not before adding in a quiet voice, "We love you too."
I left before I got any more emotional. My heart somersaulted all the way up the stairs, and I had to rest at the top to catch my breath and calm down before slipping into Yugi's room. I hadn't expected Marik to say it yet, although he'd said it in a safe, general way. Still, it was hard not to curl into a ball and giggle. For once I didn't even want to eat- not even french toast. My stomach was jittery and excited. I wanted to laugh and kiss all three of them until all the joy overflowed from my fingertips as I stroked their hair. Taking one more moment to hug myself with a grin on my face, I straightened back up, and went to find Yugi and Jonouchi.
The scene that greeted me in Yugi's room was a familiar one, something I'd often see when I was dating Yugi. He curled half on top of Jonouchi, so similar to the way Bakura always curled on top of Kek that I couldn't help smiling at the comparison. Their hair was tousselled more than Marik's, fanned out against their pillows. The matching bracelets they always wore lay on top of each other from their wrists overlapping.
I decided to leave the bracelets alone, but- dressed up as I was- I was in the mood to steal something. Leaning over, I slipped my fingers behind Yugi's neck and unfastened the collar. Yugi whimpered the moment it left his skin.
"Bakura, steal something else. That was a gift." Yugi rubbed his eyes.
"I know. I gave it to you to replace the one you lost at that tournament in Oslo."
"Ryou." Yugi noticed it was me and sat up. "Sorry, I thought you were the other Bakura."
"Stupid Seto. It's his fault we were kicked out of that hotel and lost some of our stuff in the rush," Jonouchi grumbled, rubbing his forehead with a scowl as he woke up. "Picking a fight with that other duelist. We're lucky we didn't all get disqualified."
"Atem made breakfast." I set the collar back into Yugi's hand, my job of waking him up complete.
"You'd better watch out, Ryou. He's getting almost as good as you at cooking."
"We should hurry and eat, then." I smiled, keeping my thoughts to myself.
Any pre-schooler with an easy bake oven could graduate to French toast with enough practice. Atem can challenge my reign over the kitchen when he can serve a mimosa brunch of eggs benedict-topped percutio, smoked salmon piped new potatoes, and strawberry crepes- with a cantaloupe champagne carpaccio for dessert.
Almost as good as me in the kitchen! Yugi! Please!
I rushed back into the kitchen to see how the third-rate chef with fourth-rate plating skills was coming along. Everyone else was already around the table digging in and talking about Duel Monsters. I released a slow breath. Perhaps it wasn't fair to insult Atem's french toast, even if Yugi did imply it was comparable to mine- I have owned the same sourdough starter for years, thank you very much! I bake my own bread and soak it in homemade custard before frying it!
It was good though. He used a pinch of cardamom along with the cinnamon and that gave it a bit of extra spice that was very pleasant. The company made the meal even more memorable. Everyone sat crowded around Yugi's table. The chatter was easy and non-stop. There wasn't half a moment for an awkward pause with so many people all adding bits to the conversation like patches to a quilt. And the fact that it was Yugi and Kek, Jonouchi and Bakura, Atem and Malik, that it was everyone together and not separate factions made it one of the best breakfasts I've ever had in my life.
As long as it's known before all the gods in the Tribunal that my cooking is better.
Put that on Ma'at's scales and weight it.