Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "The Boys of Summer" is performed and recorded by Don Henley. "Afternoon Delight" is performed and recorded by The Starland Vocal Band. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.
The Boys of Summer
Ch. 5: Afternoon Delight
All right, that was Cook's Corner. What's next?
Yami pushed back his blond bangs, frowning when the wind whipping over the open top of the Prowler blew them right back over sunglasses. Let's see… go 2.7 miles past Cook's Corner and pass three large oak trees, turn right immediately after. Go over the ridge and the road forks in three directions…
Seto let out a barely audible snort of air. What lame directions. I guess they don't believe in road signs out in the boondocks.
Apparently not, Yami agreed, eyeing the chaparral and gnarled oaks that seemed to have sprung out of nowhere. Just a few miles back, there were housing tracts and shopping centers as far as the eye could see, and now, dirt driveways and a scattering of mailboxes were the only signs of human habitation. At least Pegasus was nice enough to map this all out for us.
Hn. Only that nut would… what the…?
Yami and Seto both turned their heads to see a motorcycle suddenly roar by their car, then slow down just enough to keep pace in the bike lane on the passenger's side. The rider turned his head slightly to look at them, then gave them the bird.
"What the fuck!? This is a single lane, buddy!" Seto yelled, flipping the biker off in return.
The man simply raised his hand again and flipped up his face shield, revealing a familiar pair of blue eyes.
Yami blinked over the top of his frames. Valon?
"It is! Valon, you crazy fucker! What do you think you're doing?" Seto snarled.
The former Doom member merely winked and pointed at the young billionaire, then crooked his finger in a come-hither motion before lowering his face shield and rocketing his bike ahead of the roadster.
Guess he wants us to follow him? Yami began folding up the map.
Guess so.
Valon began to slow down as they approached a cluster of old oaks and motioned for Seto to turn right onto a narrow asphalt path. The road took them up over a ridge and then split in three directions. They followed the left fork to a bridge over a dry creek bed, then drove along a line of white pasture fencing which led to a guard booth beneath a gate marked "Welcome to Toon World."
"Cheesy. 'Welcome to the Funny Farm' would have been better," Seto commented, as Pegasus' security staff checked them over and waved them onto the property.
Yami smiled and pushed up his shades. "Right. Because that's not cheesy at all."
Seto scowled and pulled the Prowler into a circular driveway in front of an expansive ranch-style house and parked behind Valon's bike. "Shut up, Yami."
"Mmm, make me, Baby," Yami purred, his voice smooth as silk.
"I'll shut you… what do you want, Valon? Shouldn't you be at WORK or something?"
The Aussie leaned up against the rental car and grinned. "Naw, yesterday was a national holiday. So today's my 'day off.' Well technically... I'm chucking a sickie, not that Pegasus really cares. But ah, since I have an open invite to come down to the station whenever I please..."
"You decided to come down and irritate me," complained the young CEO.
"Hey now, I have other things to do with my time than irritate you. Like horseback riding."
"Riding?" Yami's eyes lit up. "That's probably why Pegasus wrote down 'wear jeans' in his directions. Hmm, I haven't ridden since… well, in a long while."
Seto folded his arms across his chest. "And that's a good thing. I don't trust horses. They're big dumb animals that are just waiting to dump you on the ground and kick you in the head."
Yami frowned at his lover while Valon laughed. "Now that sounds like something Amelda would say. He refuses to ride with Rafael and me. Says that he fell off once when he was a wee lad and doesn't want to do it again. But since you've got a meeting planned with Pegasus, Kaiba, I don't see why Yami can't come riding with me. I'll keep an eye on him for you."
"Oh, like you did yesterday?" Two pairs of blue eyes met. "And this time, try to keep your clothes on, both of you."
"Kai-baby, the term 'bareback riding' doesn't mean that the rider is naked," Yami pointed out with a smirk.
Valon chuckled in agreement. "If it worked that way, riding bareback would chafe… all that leather against the insides of your… ah… hehe."
Seto rolled his eyes. "Fine. Go ride. But remember Yami, I get two hours so I don't want any distractions from either of you during that time."
"But Kai-baby, what if I fall off and get kicked in the head?"
"Then go bleed somewhere quietly." He leaned over and kissed his lover on the forehead. "I'll see you in two hours. Try not to accumulate any injuries in the meantime."
Crocketts ended up leading Seto to the expansive back patio, where Pegasus had planned to conduct the meeting. The brunette billionaire quirked a brow at the choice of location but made no comment… he figured Pegasus was only half sane at best, so if he wanted to have a business meeting in the back yard, so be it. And at least the stable was visible from the yard, so he could keep an eye on Yami just in case something did happen.
The first half-hour passed by uneventfully. The two CEOs were in the middle of discussing a planned release of a new Duel Monsters card series when Yami and Valon rode by the back fence. Seto's ears were still tuned to Pegasus but his eyes and mind were preoccupied by the sight of his boyfriend trotting a dark bay horse past the yard. Are all horses that tall? Couldn't they find him something shorter? If he falls off he's going to break his neck. Why does Valon look so smug? What's so funny? He's probably telling Yami some lame joke… but at least Yami's smiling, and he does look good riding, all hot and sweaty with his legs apart, swaying slightly in the saddle… Doesn't that hurt your balls?
Pegasus' grating voice broke into his reverie. "You know, we can take a break if you want."
"Huh? What?"
Pegasus smiled and motioned for Crocketts to refresh their drinks. "Take a break. You are on vacation, you know."
"We're here to talk business, not to waste time having lemonade while…"
"… while you're obviously distracted by your boyfriend riding around with my employee? Hmm?"
"Can it, Mr. Crawford."
The silver-haired man shrugged. "I was just stating a fact. There's nothing wrong with being concerned about your boyfriend, Kaiba-boy. As a matter of fact, I wholeheartedly approve of your relationship with Yami Mutou."
Seto bristled at the nickname. "I don't need your approval," he snarled. "I'm only here to talk business, not to discuss my personal life."
"I happen to be taking a day off, so I'm not exactly anxious to discuss business matters myself; you'll forgive me, I hope. I only agreed to this in consideration of your convenience." Pegasus focused his single eye on the younger CEO. "I know you don't care what I think. And I admit, I was initially skeptical about your relationship with little Yugi-boy's other half, but… Well, how did those tattoos turn out? I never did find out if you went with my revised design."
"I did. Not that it's any of your business."
"That's wonderful! I was quite pleased with the way those illustrations came out. I still have the original paintings and if you'd like, I'll give them to you."
Seto's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why?"
"Well, what am I going to do with them?"
"What's with you, anyways? Why the nice guy act?"
Pegasus looked slightly offended. "Who said I wasn't a nice guy? It's true that I wasn't behaving very well during the Duelist Kingdom tournament and I do apologize for that, but I'm trying to make amends." His expression grew somber and serious. "It's not easy being alone, Kaiba. You have a good thing going right now. Don't mess it up."
"Hn. Whatever," Seto huffed, his eyes flickering over to the fence again as Yami's horse loped by, followed shortly by Valon's. What's the deal with the pep talk? Why does he care?
Pegasus smiled to himself and sat back in satisfaction. "Have you ever tried discussing business on horseback?"
The brunette rolled his eyes. "No."
"Well, neither have I. But it's bound to be interesting. Want to give it a shot?"
The four riders returned to the stable shortly before noon.
"It was nice of you and Pegasus to come riding with us, Kai-baby," Yami said, expertly reining his horse up next to Seto's Appaloosa. "And thanks for the invite to dinner and the First Thursday Artwalk tonight, Pegasus. We hadn't heard about it, but I'm sure we'll enjoy it."
The last thing Seto wanted to do was spend the evening as well with the Industrial Illusions CEO and his trio of ex-Doom devotees, however Yami wanted to go, so he was stuck. Ugh… Seto made a face and shifted awkwardly in his seat, causing the spotted mare to begin backing up, much to the brunette billionaire's dismay. "Yeah, whatever. My ass feels like it's been pounded with a meat mallet. This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever done. Stupid horse. Stupid art shit."
"Aw, it's not poor Bun-bun's fault that your, well, bun-buns aren't used to riding," said Pegasus slyly. Valon snorted derisively.
Seto glared at them both. "Who the fuck names a horse 'Bun-bun' anyways? I know you're crazy, Pegasus, but that's pushing it, even for you." Valon sniggered, then turned to his boss, awaiting his comeback.
"Well, her name's actually Dark Rabbit," Pegasus sweetly explained. "Bun-bun is just her special nickname."
"Special my ass!" Seto complained, yanking off his borrowed riding helmet. Why he was the only one stuck riding with a helmet he had no idea, but it was starting to drive him crazy.
Valon burst into peals of laughter as Yami raised both brows and grinned broadly. "Oh Seto… it's okay, my butt is a bit sore too. Takes a while to get used to riding again, I guess. But it was fun."
Hmph. You want to ride something, I'll give you something a lot nicer to ride.
Not here, Kai-baby, the former Pharaoh replied with amusement.
Seto glanced at their two companions, then shrugged. Don't tell me what to do. With a firm tug on Yami's arm, Seto pulled his boyfriend in for a through kiss. Pegasus and Valon whooped encouragingly while the two locked lips, Seto's hand coming up to hold Yami's head in place.
Yami finally had to break away for a breath of air. Kai-baby, you devil!
Blue eyes glimmering, Seto smirked and tapped Yami on the nose. My meeting was thoroughly fucked thanks to you distracting me. So now I'm going to drag you back to the hotel and give you what you've got coming.
"I still… mmm… say I wasn't… distracting you… oooh!"
"Hn." Seto slipped his tongue under the lobe of Yami's ear as the shorter teen writhed on the bed, sliding right out of the towel that he had wrapped around his waist after his shower. You kept riding by the patio with that idiot Valon, and you had your thighs squeezing that horse so hard…
Baby, I was squeezing hard because I was trying to keep my mount going!
See, you keep saying dirty things like 'mount,' 'stud' and 'riding.'
Yami rolled his eyes, then gasped as Seto flipped him over and pulled him up on his knees. "Anxious, Kai-baby?"
"Hn. I told you, I'm going to give you what you've got coming." Yami tried to squirm away, but Seto hooked an arm around the younger duelist's waist and pressed his knee lightly into the junction of Yami's leg. Give it up, Yami.
But I don't want tooo, the ex-spirit whined playfully. I didn't dooo anything wrong.
Seto caressed his lover's ass, then lifted his hand and slapped it down onto his target with a loud smack. "Ow! What the…" He pulled off the towel he had been wearing and rubbed his own sore buttcheek in confusion. "That was weird."
Yami rolled halfway onto his side and considered his lover. "Our link is getting a lot stronger, it seems. Like with yesterday…"
"Do I really hit that hard?" Seto interrupted, frowning.
Yami shrugged a shoulder. "Sometimes. And sometimes you hit even harder. Normally I don't mind, but we're both a bit sore right now."
"Hn. So what would happen if we stayed mind linked during sex then?"
The former Pharaoh just gave the brunette a mysterious smile. "Would you like to find out?"
"Do you have to ask?"
(Lemon deleted for ffnet - summary is Yami and Seto mess around and make a mess of each other)
(Over in Domino…)
Yugi smiled unconsciously as he drifted through a pleasant dreamscape. He was in a soft bed with Anzu lying beneath him, her intense blue eyes framed by wisps of silky brown hair, a light flush coloring her skin, her lips swollen and parted and...
Ohhhh, Anzu! Anzu, I love you!
Violet eyes snapped open as Yugi suddenly awoke. God, that seemed so real. I wonder… nah. But…
Yugi got up and blearily looked at himself in the mirror and sighed. He wished he was taller like Honda, or funnier like Jou, or more charming like Otogi, or more confident like… Yami. I want to call Yami and ask him for advice, but he's on vacation and I already know what he's going to say, and besides, I shouldn't bother him while he's off spending quality time with the guy he loves. Even if Kaiba's still in denial over… Love. Hmm. Briefly he thought about his vision of Anzu in bed, then slapped his hand down on the counter in determination. That's it - Yugi Mutou, you need to stop pussyfooting around! You were brave enough to take on Pegasus and Marik and Dartz and save the world with Yami countless times, so asking Anzu out should be a piece of cake!
He sighed. It obviously wasn't a piece of cake or else he'd have already done it. So he decided to approach the problem from another angle. All right… I helped Yami land the most prickly, stubborn guy in all of Domino, even if it was with a little help from Mokuba and Noa, so I should be able to help myself land the most loyal, sweet, friendly girl in all of Domino, right? Right! I even survived a heart-to-heart talk with Kaiba, right? Right again! So I'm not afraid of talking to her… even if she says… no. Oh God, what if she says no? Or worse, what if she's not over Yami yet? No! Wait, Yugi… now you're sounding negative and you are most definitely NOT a negative person. Think of the positives. Think of how gutsy you really are, even if you're scared shitless. Think of all the things you've been through with Anzu and the others, even if you're shorter than everyone… but you're taller than Mokuba and maybe Noa! Okay, okay, I can do this! I will do this! I know I can! Now… I just have to keep telling myself that…
Sucking in a breath, Yugi ran to the nightstand, grabbed his cellphone, and started dialing as fast as he could. Please pick up…
Several tense seconds went by, then just before he decided to hang up…
"Hello?" answered a sleepy female voice.
"Um, Anzu?"
"Oh, hi Yugi. What's up? It's…"
"Sorry, I know it's really early. Too early to call, probably, but uh…"
"Yugi? Is something wrong? You sound really tense."
Yugi sucked in another deep breath and blurted out, " Anzu do you want to see a movie or maybe have dinner or something I don't know when or what yet but it's up to you please say yes I really like you."
Anzu went silent for a moment, then said, "A movie? Sure… what did you want to see?"
"Not a movie. Er, well… yes, I… I don't want to see a movie as friends. You know what I mean?"
"… Are you asking me out on a date?"
"A date? Uh… yes. Please say yes."
"Sure, why not? It'll be fun."
YES! Yes yes yes! She said yes! "Oh, great! Okay. Uh… I don't know when though."
Anzu giggled. "That's okay. Think about it and let me know what you decide. Whenever is fine with me, but… I guess we're a little busy this weekend, aren't we?"
"Yeah. And I'm sorry I woke you up."
"That's okay, Yugi. I'm glad you did it. It was… sweet. Thank you!"
Yami was just getting settled in bed and closing his eyes when his cellphone suddenly went off. Seto's forehead wrinkled as he mumbled something and threw an arm over Yami's waist while the crimson-eyed teen struggled to grab the phone before it woke his lover up completely.
"Um, hello?"
"Yami! Hi! Oh my God!" Yugi screamed into the phone. Yami winced and held the cellphone away from his ear as his aibou literally shrieked.
"Wait… Yugi? What's going on?"
"Oh… oh geez… I did it! I asked her out!"
"Huh?" Yami dug through the foggy recesses of his mind for a better response. "You mean Anzu?"
"Yes, duh… isn't it afternoon over there?"
"Mmm."
"Well, then why are you… never mind. I probably don't want to know. But yeah, I asked her out and she said yes! Isn't that fantastic!"
Yami quirked a smile at Yugi's excitement. "Yes, it is."
"It was sooo weird too. I mean, I just woke up after having the strangest dream. I dreamt that Anzu and I were in bed and all I could see was her brown hair and blue eyes, and she looked at me and I just stared at her eyes. They were so intense!"
"Aibou." And then he yawned. Wait… he just had a dream that… OOPS. Please tell me that our signals didn't cross…
"… I'm bothering you, aren't I? You were taking a nap or something. I'll let you go. Call me later."
"No, it's all right," Yami said, unsuccessfully trying to stifle another yawn.
"Heh… I don't want to earn Kaiba's wrath. I'll talk to you later. Have a good nap. Gosh, can't believe it…"
Yugi hung up and Yami put the phone back on the nightstand. Seto reached out and tugged him back over against his body.
Mm glad you hung up because I was just about to do it for youuu, the brunette said, his mental voice sleepy and slurred.
Yugi was just excited because he finally asked Anzu out.
Hn. That's nice. Sleep now?
Yami chuckled softly. You're becoming spoiled. Soon you'll want a nap every afternoon.
Is your fault. Wiped me… out… you…
The younger teen simply smiled when he realized his lover had just fallen asleep again.
TBC
Additional Author's Notes (regarding how this chapter came up):
- Re: First Thursday Artwalk. I mentioned it but didn't explain what it was during the story, so for those of you who are curious… Artwalk is an "open house" that takes place the evening of the first Thursday of every month where select Laguna Beach art studios and galleries stay open late to promote their works. Usually the artists will be on hand to talk to visitors and people just walk and mingle. It's a self-guided tour and many of the galleries offer snacks and drinks, so if you want to get buzzed for free…
- You should always ride with a helmet. But I let Yami, Valon and Pegasus get away without wearing one. Bad little me. Hell, I've done it before and I haven't cracked my skull… yet.