I'm very happy to hear that the twist was unexpected and a surprise, although I am a bit miffed that the gaping plotholes were gaping enough to warrant confusion. So I request that you *please* write questions in a review in detail and I'll see what explanations and excuses I can pull out of the air. So, it's basically Challenge Borath's Bullshitting Skills time. Ain't that dandy?
Yup, Zel's a meany, Yami and Bakura rock supremely together and aw… you missed me! Well, for being so good as to read through 16 'episodes' of this merry jaunt, this one is very long and comes with pictures if requested. I'll have them scanned shortly so if you want to see the boys in their Theo costumes, just e-mail me and I'll send out copies as soon as possible. Take note though; my skills at drawing anima characters are crap, I traced the poses and the faces are direct copies from episode pictures. The costumes at least are my own. ^^
Anywho, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's heading out of Angst-Ville into Happy-Town again, so sit back and enjoy the ride!
Premiere I, Bakura Smith (I'm going to kill Yami. Stupid forged documents…), and Yami Motou, are now proud owners of *the* gay club on this spit-of-an-island Japan: Theo. And indeed, we are pleased.It turns out that Stu wasn't all that interested in owning the place and just wants to have a good time dancing for the crowd, which is fair enough. Considering that he's gotten pretty chummy with Yami after he saved his neck (literally) when the Yakuza dropped by, it seemed logical to take on my other half as a partner. At Tony's insistence, Stu must own Theo, so he's staying around as a silent partner but isn't doing any of the work and only taking a snippet of his wages, sticking with what he earns for dancing.
Yami was too nervous about the prospect of running a club on his own, so he enlisted me as another partner. So Theo now has three owners, two acknowledged and one silent, and the club's reopening tonight. Very exciting.Stu left the reconstruction to our discretion so we've pretty much redesigned the place, working late into the night to produce charts and projections and general plans of action. It's been damn hard work, but hopefully it's all going to pay off. I'm just desperate for tonight to be over with. If tonight goes well, then the next year should. If it doesn't, we've worked our arses off for a month for zip. Well, I got over the whole Zel thing pretty quickly due to a need to focus all my energy on Theo, but we'll still be in a sizable amount of debt if it all goes to Hell.
Presuming it all goes well tonight, the loans will get paid off very quickly and we might even be able to put a deposit on our own flat in a while. Like I said, very exciting. At the moment Yami and I are sat at the breakfast table, which is covered with paper, going over the fine details for tonight. We'll have to leave for Theo at around noon to supervise the set-up for tonight, so we've both risen early to get it sorted. See how organized we are?"Right, the band confirmed last night that they'd be there this afternoon to set up the equipment and they'll be gone by tomorrow morning. If the debut goes well they'll come back in the future, and they might give us a discount," Yami tells me, thumbing through a notepad with a pencil dancing between his lips.
I'm not sure when he picked up the annoying habit of holding pencils in the corner of his mouth but it's really getting to me. Better than behind his ear I suppose, which just looks stupid.
Still, I reach for the pencil, thwap him atop the head with it and then give it back.
"Stu's overseen the lights and the artificial smoke which-"
Yami interrupts me instantly without looking up. "We don't want to use a lot of that."
"Yeah?""Yes, it's a pain when you're trying to sing. Only put it on when the band's there. Let them deal with it. It'll dissolve or something when we come on so we won't need to bother with it."
Feeling bitchy, isn't he? Heh. All this inside knowledge. Such an advantage over when Tony was running the place. It's all these little things that are going to make a difference.
"Alright, just when the band's on." I jot that down. I'd forget it otherwise and Yami would give me his annoying 'I told you so' look halfway through my coughing fit later. "That suits me fine. The lead's as thick as two short planks. She kept stroking my arm despite the fact that she's playing in a *gay* establishment."
Yami raises a correcting finger with a smile. "Ah, only three nights of the week. Three nights we're straight and boring, if only for the bills. And of course she was stroking you: you're irresistible."
That's true. Ah, it's such a curse being this gorgeous. Hmm. My narcissistic tendencies are on the rise again. Better curb those before Yami picks up on them and we get into an argument over who's prettier. Again.
"What are you guys doing up this early?"
Ah, the Hikaris finally emerge from their love-nest. Lazy sods. It's enough to make me sick.
Yami vaguely waves a 'good morning' at the microwave before jotting something down on his pad. And putting the pencil back in his mouth. He's doing this to spite me, I swear.
It doesn't look like he's going to answer Yugi's question though. "Finalising the agenda for tonight. Lots to do and not a lot of time to do it in."
Ryou takes a seat beside me and Yugi plops down by Yami, everyone now facing their respective partners. My Hikari eyes the papers with bemusement, sharing the look with Yugi who matches it. "I can see that. So what's the general outline? Or are we just going to have to wait and find out?"
Hmm. Going over it from start to finish might dredge up some things we may have missed. Yami seems to share my thoughts, looking up at me and finally putting down the (damn) pencil, sitting back in the chair and flicking through to the start of his notepad.
"I don't see why not," Yami muses aloud, glancing at our Hikaris sleepily. He didn't sleep well last night, and I can understand why.
He owes his Grandfather a fair bit of money that he's determined to make back a.s.a.p, so it's natural for him to want tonight to run perfectly. Hence him planning out everything through the night, including what colour lights are going to be on at what times. He'd worry his little head off if I weren't here to distract him, I swear.
"We're essentially working off a host and co-host premise, Bakura and I welcoming everyone back and introducing the band before staying in the crowd and generally making an appearance, meeting and greeting."
I quirk a brow. "He means that we're going to be keeping a constant eye out for Yakuza with the cover of meeting and greeting. Don't you love?"
He sniffs but doesn't give me an answer. Heh. Me: 1, Yami: 0.
"We also decided to have a theme to gain a bit more attention, and given the pestering that the crew at the place have been getting, we've certainly got it," he continues, smiling at me as he rubs his face. He still can't quite believe what I've done. Mind, I only told him about it two days ago.
Yugi and Ryou look to me when it's obvious that Yami's passing over this particular train of conversation to me. Understandable since it is technically my story.
"Well, I was bouncing around the Internet doing research, and I found this delightful little site that detailed the history and practice of The Hankie Rules."
I am pleased to see a certain amount of interest around the table, excluding Yami who is doing some sort of pornographic doodle in the corner of a 'predicted profits' sheet.
"It turns out that in America, back in the late 70's, early 80's, a lot of blokes wore coloured handkerchiefs in the back pockets of their jeans to advertise what sort of sex they were into. It saved some work and time in that you knew if you were on mutual ground with whomever you were propositioning to."
Yami snorts at 'propositioning'. All right, I know they aren't exactly innocent, but they're still my Hikari and Yugi, so I will consider them naïve for some time yet. Besides, they look more curious than excited right now.
"It isn't really used now, and the big problem with it was that what colour meant what wasn't set in stone, leading to confusion sometimes. So, I've taken what was pretty much finalised in San Francisco, and deemed tonight 'Hankie Night'."
I sit back feeling quite pleased with myself. I'm met with silence… Well, at least *I* know a good idea when I hit one.
Yami breaks the silence, looking pointedly at me. "*He* has been putting piles of fliers promoting all of this all over the city, without telling me I might add."
"And on the back I've printed the rules. It's up to them to pick their poison." A smirk. "I'm sure the sales of handkerchiefs around here have utterly soared thanks to me."
Ryou and Yugi are grinning and Yami's just keeping his wry look, but I think he's a teensy bit proud of me, and certainly grateful. This promotional stunt is going to help a lot, and if it doesn't, I'll be stunned. I've been printing these things off from Kaiba.Corp and sticking them in clubs and cinemas for two weeks. Kaiba was only too willing to help; he does owe Yami his life to a degree.
"So you guys have handkerchiefs already picked out?" Yugi asks with a smirk that is unbefitting next to his large violet eyes.
Yami quirks a brow at his Light. "I've left all of this to him. I'm assuming that what you've got is… appropriate?"
I should think so. Both of us have black, indicating S&M. It's just a matter of deciding which side to wear it on to denote uke or seme.
"Most appropriate. Although with our costumes, I don't think we're going to have any available pockets to stick them in."
"You have costumes?" Okay, Yugi's getting into this all so much now it's creepy.
Yami nods a bit sheepishly. "I've been sewing."
"We're going for spectacle tonight so we've pushed the boat for extravagance. As we're hosting the night, we want to be a bit distinguished." Understatement of the century. "How many sequins have you sewn in the last week again?"
That little tic at the corner of Yami's eyes comes back. It had gone for a whole day too. Might have to mention the sequins again later… Ooh, I'm evil.
"Five hundred and thirty six. And I'm not doing anymore."
Ryou and Yugi look impressed, sharing a look of consideration before regarding Yami and I in turn. "It sounds like you've both put a lot of work into tonight."
Yugi nods in agreement before facing Yami, the decidedly more nervous of us both. "I'm sure everything will go smoothly. And we'll all be there to support you both."
Yami looks like he's just discovered his favourite cat had died. "Oh yes, I had forgotten." I can't believe he still hasn't gotten over being watched dancing by his Hikari. Yeah, it's like dancing in front of your mum, but *really*. Yami isn't slutty. Sure pretends to and knows how to rile up a crowd by doing so, but he's maintained his honour or some bullshit.
"Are Kaiba and Joey coming?"
Please say 'yes', if only so I can watch his expression.
"Yeah-"
Ha!
"-and so are Anzu, Mai and Honda. The VIP pass Bakura gave us is unlimited." I receive a not-so-subtle Death Glare, Grade 2. I usually only get a Grade 3. He must be pissed.
Yami nods, absorbing that merry snippet of information and then filing it away in his head. It won't take long for him to figure out that I 'hinted' that we could use all the support we could get, guiding the Hikaris' minds in the 'everyone Yami knows' direction. Except for Grandpa, who has still yet to discover that Yami is, A: An erotic dancer and B: Joint owner of the largest and most popular gay club in Japan.
"Tonight's a one-off though, thank Ra. From then on it'll be much more straightforward. With no sequences and no feathers."
I can already taste his impending relief.
Something else occurs to me as I watch him finish his doodle, Yugi glancing over Yami's wrist at it before turning red and looking away. I direct my thoughts at my lover, his eyes rising from his drawing to meet mine when he senses me watching him.
"So you've pretty much packed in the whole Duelling Champion Extraordinaire thing? No more clinging to the title of Game King?"
He makes a thoughtful sound before nodding. "Yugi's skills are more than enough to defend our title, and I can still duel you. This is just… It feels more permanent, more of a career."
"And it pays better than struggling for endless weeks for a jackpot prize in tournaments."
A smile. "Definitely."
There's silence for a few minutes as we all consider the implications of that. So many things are changing now; Yami and I (almost) have a business going, we're planning on moving out, Yugi and Ryou are attached at the hip and everyone's growing up.
It all hinges on one thing though, and I vocalise what everyone is thinking with an eloquence that only I can accomplish.
"Tonight had better go well."
****
"You are not gluing stars to my face."
"Come on, Kura! It'll look great!"
"No stars. No glue. No argument."
"Just a few?"
This argument has been going on for two and a half minutes now and it's doing zilch for my nerves. Stupid over-stuffed Theo filled with people baying for blood and other fluids. Why am I doing this again?
"What about just one, right next to your eye here?"
I don't care if he's a partner. I am going to kill him if he asks one more time.
"Or maybe on your stomach, just-"
"Stu," Yami interjects, saving the guy's life. "If you're so keen about *someone* wearing the stars, I'll do it. It's not as if I could look any stupider."
I eye Yami from my chair, taking in his costume. Dark thick soled boots (they're platforms really, but he won't admit that), baggy orange khakis that are torn almost to shreds to the extent that he might as well not be wearing them, a *teeny* top of the same colour and manacles with oodles of chains. They're from my basement. The shackle around his neck we had to buy, but it looks good so I didn't quibble, and it's securing the most important item of all; his handkerchief is trapped under the metal to run down the side of his neck and over his shoulder. There are nowhere else he could really put it…
Hair tied back tight and his fringe doing fun things, I don't think he looks stupid at all. The braces hanging from the trousers around the vicinity of his knees look positively delightful in fact. Might give them a little pull and wait for the butler to come in…
Stu gives him a sympathetic look from where he's hovering in front of us both. He's decided he's doing our makeup because I've never done this before and Yami nerves are making his hands shaky. And he's decided that someone's wearing stars if they have to be knocked out first. For some reason.
"You do not look stupid, Eb. You look delicious, and they're all going to love you. Both of you. Even more with the stars."
Now Yami's going to kill him. Cool.
Stu notes the expression and drops a few of the tiny little sparkly things onto the dresser, showing that he's only got a half a dozen or so, approaching Yami at the first sign of acceptance.
Whilst our silent partner's affixing stars around Yami's right eye socket, I glance down at myself and pick at bits of my own costume. Yami did I decent job on us both, I'll give him that, but he's really gone for the uniqueness element as well as the risqué. I always knew he was something of an attention seeker. Probably why the little sod got this job in the first place.
I'm wearing my new Goth boots tonight, deep purple with red-coloured metal running along them up to just under my knee. Heavy duty but they look fantastic. My 'trousers' are little more than dozens of strips of dark, shiny material wrapped loosely around my legs connected with two strips of red running down either side from hip to ankle.
A cross of metal and the same material crosses my chest and back and he's taken the whip part off of four bullwhips and slung them about from the front of my hips to the back and around the cross thingy on my chest. My handkerchief hands from the connecting loop, draping down my stomach most invitingly. Purple and red strips of material riddled with sequins hang from around my waist and the straps around my biceps, but the best part are the cuffs. Yami found a white shirt and cut it to pieces, dying and clipping the cuffs around my wrists and the collar around my throat. Very kinky.
I've spotted a pile of peacock feathers in the corner that worry me though. I draw the line at feathers. They tickle.
Dragging my attention away from the feathers as Stu steps away from Yami, I spin the chair to look at my lover.
And start laughing.
Yami scowls at me before spinning the chair around to look in the wall mirror. He makes some sort of squeaking noise before rounding back on Stu, but Stu's already coming at me with a spray can. That can't be good…
"I can't believe you did this to me! I-they… Damn you to the fifth level of Hades!"
Different. Usually his insults contain references to camel anatomy.
"That's it, I'm taking them off. I can't believe you thought this was a good idea."
Stu waves him off still advancing on me. I grip the arms of the chair in pure terror.
"What are you going to do?" I bite out, not liking the look of 'creative genius' in his eyes.
He gives me an easy, well-practiced smile. "Just sorting your hair, ducks. Now hold still and try not to breathe."
Ironically, I could do that for several hours with the Ring, but I've locked that up in the office so I'm stuck with just breathing in small bursts when the spraying stops. I settle on closing my eyes to avoid being blinded, trusting him (quite likely stupidly) to not bollocks this up. For several minutes all I hear is spraying as he tugs periodically at my hair.
It sounds like he's doing something interesting with it, at least. But then, Stu's definition of interesting is… Well, like how Yami reacted to the stars actually.
Finally the spraying stops and Stu taps my head to tell me it's safe. Hmm. I can see black at the corners of my vision. Might have to check this out. I'm halfway to looking in the mirror when I catch Yami and freeze. He's lent over the dresser and picking at the stars. And not getting anywhere.
"Stu, they aren't coming off."
The words are low, clipped and dripping an undertone of Mind Crush with a twist of Death.
Stu laughs, a rather suicidal action I might add.
"Of course not! Just dab them with a bit of white spirit when you get home and they'll pop right off. Don't want them coming away when you're on stage, do you?" From the look on Yami's face, I think he would quite like that. "Now you two stay there and I'll go fetch my kit."
I take the opportunity to finally observe the results of Stu's spray-happy session in the mirror. Oh wow. First thing tomorrow, I'm buying hair dye.
The spray turned out to be black and Stu has, very professionally, coloured the tips of my hair and then about half the length towards my scalp. With my hair flicked and spiked, the result is damn effective.
"Looks good," Yami comments from my left, apparently having finally given up on trying to pick the stars off his face. They don't look *too* bad, I suppose.
I nod in agreement, carefully poking at the tip of my fringe and watching the wet spray glisten. "Yeah. Might have to play with some tin foil and a dye-packet tomorrow."
"Could be fun." He glances around for Stu who is apparently scavenging up all the makeup he can get his mitts on to apply to our unsullied little faces, walking over to the pile of peacock feathers that I had been dubiously eyeing earlier.
"Those had better not be for me," I say by way of a warning. The boots, fine. The bullwhips, fine. The feathers, not a chance in the fiery chasms of Hell.
Yami picks up one by its tip, twirling it about so that the illusion of an eye faces him, swaying with its delicate tendrils majestically telling me that I need some sort of verbal enema to stop this poetic shit once and for all.
"They're mine. I think they're pretty, exotic, and I'm not as ticklish as you," he says with a smirk in my direction. Little bastard. *One* wrong stroke and I get dubbed as 'ticklish' forever.
Before I can enquire as to what exactly Yami was *on* when he dreamed up our, unique, costumes, Stu reappears with a large black case. Dumping it on the table and whipping it open, he immediately turns to me and shoves me back down into my seat. Yami watches as I steadily disappear under eye shadow and kohl, and I do the same as he's subjected to the same treatment. It takes half an hour for us both to finish up, and the pounding music from the other side of the wall seems to get louder and louder with every passing minute.
I can't believe quite believe it, but I'm *nervous*. Yami's barely blinked at the prospect of facing a huge, horny crowd, more consumed with fussing with the peacock feathers he's arranging around his waist. Twirling quickly for my approval when he's done, I frown when I see his tattoo is prominently on display.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave that uncovered given earlier… hostilities?" I ask slowly, motioning as he approaches me smoothly, feathers swaying gently and giving him an ethereal appearance.
Yami shrugs making the chains covering him rattle. He doesn't so much as blink at the noise. He's used to this, but every time a whip touches me I almost jump. "I know it's uncommon for anyone outside the Yakuza to have a tattoo, particularly a large one like this, but it's highly doubtful that we'll have the police in tonight and no one's ever said anything negative about it before."
I poke absently at a star stuck to his cheek, having not really paid attention to the majority of the answer. I am suddenly very aware that there's a very big crowd out there and that the first thing they'll be seeing will be Yami and myself.
He obviously senses my nervousness, taking my hand in his and leading me towards the curtain that we will emerge from in mere moments. My gaze darts about us as I hear the DJ winding down, knowing from all our meticulous planning that our cue's coming up.
/It'll be fine, love. Once you're out there, you'll be full of energy and on an enormous high, wondering what on earth you had been so worried about/ he sends, affixing a small microphone piece over his ear and adjusting the thin speaking-piece across his jaw.
I cast him a dubious look, now listening to the drummer on the live band starting a steady rhythm as the base subtly comes to life. The crowd can tell something's up, the roar getting even louder. There has to be an echo in here… There can't be that many out there, surely?
Yami fixes my microphone for me, being good enough to ignore my restless hands and uneasy expression. When he's done tweaking, he takes my hand back into his.
/It's just a case of getting me out there in the first place/ I mentally bite out, counting the beats leading down to our entry. Ra, I can't do this…
Sensing that time is fast running out, Yami, takes his hand from mine and cups his own, a ball of Shadow Magic appearing between them spitting energy within moments. What the hell is he thinking to do with that?
/Try this. It's like an adrenalin burst; I used to use it when I first started performing. It'll get you going/ he tells me, our voices useless now over the noise outside.
It sounds like he's talking about a hefty drug, but what he's holding is pretty much what we're made of, where our energy stems from. I've always felt rejuvenated when dipping into it for power before, so it'll definitely work. It's not like it's dangerous… Aw, screw it.
I shove both hands into the mass just as Yami closes his own fingers into it.
Ecstasy is probably the only word that can describe the feeling of dark magic searing through every vein and throbbing out of every pore as we drain the sphere until it vanishes entirely. Part of me is eerily calm and detached whilst the rest of me is almost quivering with energy, ready to tackle anything.
Looking to Yami I see that he's in the same state, but there's apparently more to it than that. His pupils contract as I watch down to the size of pinheads before expanding to be fully dilated, a freaky sight in two seconds I can assure anyone. His irises are glowing magnificently as is the gold and red in his hair, his skin glimmering with a barely-perceptible glow as well. From the excited and slightly aroused grin he gives me, I can only assume that my body's in a similar state.
Yami's grin turns wicked as he reaches up a hand and grasps the curtain in fingers trembling from power and energy, his eyes daring me, urging me. I grin back, my hand reaching up to clutch the accompanying curtain, ready to reveal us to the masses.
/Let's give 'em Hell/
There's nothing but white as the beams from the spotlights crash down on us, but we stride determinedly out onto the stage in different directions, our arms raised and whips and chains battering around us deliciously. I want to laugh. I have no idea why, but I want to laugh low and deep and long and drown in this feeling of euphoria until my last non-breathe escapes me.
Yami starts it off though, his head dipped and eyes wild, nothing like the regal and composed leader I faintly remember. "Gentlemen, we bid you welcome to the grand reopening of Theo!" A flash of light from behind us, reducing us to nothing but back shapes with glowing eyes as the base guitar notches up a few decibels.
I finish walking to the very edge of the stage, standing with feet apart and a hand on my hip, the other toying with the whip where it runs from just above my crotch to down by my side. "And we do hope you enjoy your stay."
My tone is low and silky whereas Yami's was driven with energy. Quite a good contrast from the sounds of it.
Working on a sudden and inexplicable impulse, I all but swagger towards Yami and take a fistful of the chains by his waist, yanking them sharply so that he's pulled off balance and into me. He makes no sound of alarm, looking rather pleased at his new position as I hold him with one arm, the other fingering the links of the chains about his wrists.
"Shots half price for the first song," I announce, looking down into Yami's eyes as I speak and captivating the crowd through curiosity at our positions. My eyes snap up to regard everyone. "And body shots go for free!" I shout, shoving Yami upright and gesturing to the bar in the wall, the whips snapping violently with a loud crack.
There's an uproar of cheers and a storm for the bar as the band finally kicks it into high gear behind us. Yami and I drop down into opposite ends of the throng just as the singers and guitarists appear, greeting with slaps to various parts of our bodies and exclaimed appreciation for tonight. Tossing our mikes up onto the stage to be picked up later, we get lost in the bodies.
I bounce around on my own personal high for quite some time, fuelled by the atmosphere just as much as the magic running amuck in my body, finally bumping into Yami again about half an hour later.
Ah, Malik. It's been a while since I've seen him. Figured he would come to a place like this at one time or another. It was painfully obvious that he was gay just from the earrings, not to mention his strange attraction to his beloved Rod. Even I don't hold my Item in such high regard. Bet he sleeps with it…
Right now Malik has his arms crossed high behind his head, his face one of unbridled amazement as he stares at Yami.
"Ra, just how much magic have you taken? No wonder you're glowing!"
Yami responds with a sultry smile, reaching over Malik's shoulder to grab at one of the whips I'm attached to and pulling me into them both. After a bit of a struggle concerning limbs and costumes, Malik manages to unravel himself from us both, laughing outright.
Practically purring as his eyes shimmer boldly, Yami leans out of my embrace and flicks at Malik's left earring, he his head tipping and twisting like a mewling cat. "Why Malik, I had no idea you were so inclined," he murmurs smoothly, staring into wide purple eyes with his lips parted.
Malik raises his hands defensively, almost taking a step back but remaining stationary under Yami's gaze. "Hey, not *so* inclined: just bi."
Yami pouts and I find myself joining in the game, tipping my head to the side and stroking Yami's cheek as if to comfort him. "Well that explains the pile of het' porn in your room."
My lover 'hmm's loudly, his head tipping drunkenly to the other side as his hand reaches out for Malik's face again. "I'm glad. I would have been *so* terribly disappointed if that were not the case." Then he starts laughing, low and unrestrained, almost hysterically.
Malik's hands return to the back of his head and this time he does take a step back. He smiles bemused and utters something that sounded distinctively like 'fucking hell' before wandering away, leaving me to twist Yami in my arms. A quick kiss, a little grope to take the edge off the lust, and then we head off to seek out the rest of our merry party.
****
Well, I think I can say with an absolute certainty that tonight's been a hit. Because of the sheer volume of people in here tonight, it's taken me a very long time to find Ryou and co. Yami and I got separated some time ago and someone's talked him into dancing (I'm betting that was Stu) so now the both of them are up on stage with a few other dances performing some of the old sets. He's enjoying himself as much as I am, the magic still bouncing around us giving the joy-joys an even bigger push.
Sitting at a table on the uttermost balcony where I can hear myself speak, I'm sandwiched between pretty much everyone I know. Ryou and Yugi are getting the heat on opposite me, the atmosphere getting to them as much as everyone else. Devlin and Honda are looking a tad uncomfortable to my left, Tea and Mai are dancing down by the stage and Kaiba and Joey are somewhere off to my right, having a 'quiet moment' according to Ryou. I call that a likely snogfest, but they're finally getting on so I'm not going to go and find out which of us was right.
Apparently there had been quite a few developments on that front when I was 'away', namely the Pup getting caught in a storm and Kaiba grudgingly breaking his fever at his mansion. Even an idiot can deduce the end of that little fairytale. They're not a confessed couple yet, but it certainly looks like it's heading that way.
I find all of this enormously amusing. Within this little circle of ours, there are now (nearly) three gay couples. Fair enough, there are only two women and one of those is horrifically annoying, but still, there are other people in Domino! Most of them seem to have squeezed in here tonight, but there's a choice outside of the group! I think the only really straight people in here tonight are Honda and Anzu.
Devlin I'm convinced is a closet bi –again, long hair and an earring, plus he's naturally sensuous, and Mai… She's a puzzler. She's confident so she wouldn't go closet and doesn't seem to really go either way, although she does have a soft spot for the blond currently connected to our resident CEO. I think she's just *sexual*, particularly given the moves she doing down by the stage.
I finish the drink I've been nursing through my musings and contemplate getting another one. It's too packed to get to the bar and I'm not exactly thirsty. Think I'll leave it a bit, sit here and soak up the ambience.
I actually think I can safely assume that quite a few people in here aren't gay, come to think of it. There is no way there are this many in Domino. Word could've gotten around outside the city and men have come for the night, but I'm willing to bet that a lot of people have just come for the sake of a good party. I saw a pack of Goths lurking around at one point, which is usually a good indication of that.
Ryou finally breaks away from Yugi, Yami's Hikari moving over to drag Honda and Devlin to their feet. Orange handkerchief on the left? That's… 'Anytime, anywhere, top'. Well I never. Guess he has a bit more in common with Yami than I thought. Ryou's wearing a light brown one, so I suppose as long as he gets his hugs in their relationship works out well. I'm learning more than I wanted to about them out of this night I think.
Yugi flashes a grin at me and then drags his two captives away and down the stairs, leaving Ryou to come over and sit next to me
Ah, he wants a quiet word. This should be fun.
"What is it, Ryou?" I ask just as he opens his mouth to speak. It's a dominance thing.
"I just wanted to say that I think that you and Yami-Yugi have done an excellent job with this place. You both seem really happy," he states, having to speak a lot louder than he would normally just to be heard even at this close a range.
"It's the atmosphere. Could get anyone on a high. Even Kaiba looked like he was enjoying himself." I don't think I should tell Ryou about the whole 'ball of Shadow Magic' thing. It'd only worry him and piss me off, thus putting him at risk from my temper. Nothing hectic or bloody: I'd probably just end up putting cheese in his hair or something.
His big eyes regard me for long moments, picking me apart uncomfortably as he thinks. I bite the inside of my cheek to restrain myself. I really hate people looking at me like that.
"Does it feel weird?" Huh? "You know, knowing that you've lost a whole month while Zel was in control? Does it feel weird?"
I don't like where this is going. I haven't possessed him in months, damnit! And I have absolutely no inclination to do it again nor have I shown any! What more does he want from me? A friggin apology?!
I make my words even, not taking my eyes off his as I speak. "Not really. From my point of view I didn't lose the month. It just happened a whole lot differently to what you all experienced in 'reality'." Like me telling Yami that I loved him. I was very angry when I realised that that was something else that hadn't actually happened. There hasn't been an opportunity since… All right fine, I haven't got the balls to say it because I don't know what he'll do or if it'll jinx something.
Ryou says something else to me before patting my shoulder and standing, off to find Yugi or annoy someone else. I finish his drink and decide to hunt down Yami. He's not on stage anymore so he must be back among the crowd, 'meeting and greeting' as it were.
I bump into Rishid on my way down, obviously following Malik who's around somewhere, and we exchange a neutral nod as we pass each other. Opening the bond and laughing out loud at the flurry of emotion on his end, I follow its guidance until I'm in the very centre of what has become a mosh pit.
Wrapping my arms around my lover's waist, I pull him back into me and delight in the fact that he continues his sinuous movements against me, his hands raising to toy with my face and hair behind him. The peacock feathers are partially crushed between us, but their feathery caress upon us both is most pleasant. I nip at the nape of his neck, just above the heavy collar and hear him sigh pleasingly.
Craning his head back, Yami manages to get his mouth level with my ear, nipping briefly before speaking. "I've been getting tips on what I can do with these chains of mine."
I nuzzle into him with my eyes closed, the music and crowd fuzzing in my hearing as the world is reduced to just the two of us for a few moments. "Is that right. Anything we haven't tried yet?"
A grin. "A couple of things. I'll show you later."
Yup, Theo's premier was definitely a cracking success. I'm effectively getting paid and laid in the same night, the money's going to keep on rolling in and Yami and I can move out of Ryou's house and into our own place.
And then I can have a *really* big dungeon.
****
Hope you liked this phenomenally (for me at least) long update, and thanks for sticking around after the delay in updates. The full Hankie Rules can be found on a site that is addressed in my bio. I have used it without permission as I couldn't get hold of the writer, but I'm giving credit so I avoid shouting. It is GRAPHIC though so I implore the underage and immature to keep out of it and don't come sticking blame on me if you ignore the warning and your eyes melt or summut. It is a damn cool site though…
Please review with comments, fav. lines/parts and of course any queries that you have about the previous chapter. There'll be an FAQ at the start of the next chapter.
Borath ;p