Mokuba's Plan
By Pearl of the Dark Age
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh; unfortunately my imagination is not reality.
Chapter 12
Bones gave way to jelly. Knees trembled. Hands shook. Amelda felt like he was going to faint. He said a prayer of thanks for not crashing his motorcycle on the rest of the way to the laundromat. He was lucky to be in one piece, although he did not feel as if he were in one piece.
"Are you going to use that machine, pretty boy, or not?" a grumpy old woman asked, nudging him in the side. Amelda turned to look at the economy-size washer he was leaning against.
"Yes," Amelda smiled at the old lady. "I'm sorry if I bothered you." She was taken aback by his politeness. The redhead opened the duffle bag, emptied the contents inside the wash basin, closed the glass door, put the soap in the hole, and fed the coin slot. He stopped and looked at the elderly woman, who was now surveying him carefully.
"Are you alright?" she asked with a note of concern. Amelda smiled again. She reminded him a little of Nana. He nodded. "Ano," she replied thoughtfully, "if you need anything, I'll be over there." She pointed and walked off.
Amelda turned on the machine and watched Mokuba's clothes swish around inside. How can he be here? Amelda wondered. Is it just a coincidence that I should have a moment like that earlier and then see him? He slumped to the floor, his back pressed against a cold, tiled wall. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Picturing the scene in his mind, images reeled before him. Blur… ducks… Kaiba… Amelda recalled the look upon Kaiba's face. His heart ached with sympathy. It's my fault. I put him through that stress. Amelda knew that Kaiba must have been going through a hard time. He wondered if he should tell Mokuba, or better yet - return him to Kaiba now.
You can't do that, Amelda reminded himself. You promised Mokuba… The redhead could feel his heartbeat finally return to a normal rate. Exquisite pleasure and intense anxiety brought about by his encounter with his love, caused Amelda to feel as if he were torn in two. He could not stop trembling, and his pulse quickened again. He tried controlling his breathing. Tears streamed down his cheeks once again. It was almost unbearable. Why can't you see that I love you?
How Amelda returned home without crashing seemed like a miracle to him. He had resolved not to breathe a word of what happened to Mokuba. He opened the front door. "Dinner!" Mokuba screamed at him. "I'm starving! You have been gone for hours, Onii-chan!"
Still standing in the doorway, Amelda glanced straight across the room out the kitchen window to the setting sun. "It's not that late," he said, feeling sheepish. He had gone out for a drink at a local favorite bar of his after washing the clothes. He had not gone for the alcohol - he detested using drugs as an escape from pain - but for the company. He had needed a distraction. He handed Mokuba the bag full of clean laundry. "Besides…" he continued shakily, annoyed, "you have never actually starved - I starved for two years. Do not exaggerate to me."
Mokuba blinked, realizing his tactlessness. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan," he apologized. "I'm sorry for being such an inhospitable guest. I ruined your oven. I go through your things. I have taken you for granted. I'm sorry. I'll try to be a better…" He wanted to say, "younger brother," but felt that might anger Amelda even further.
Amelda was speechless. His kind face told Mokuba that he was forgiven. The redhead suddenly realized with amazement how much of himself had changed since he and Mokuba first met years ago. He no longer held grudges, even against people who had really wronged him. "Don't worry about it," he replied, thinking it over. "I'm not sorry I took you in with me."
Onii-chan went to make dinner, and Mokuba continued to work on his English essay. The silence was only broken by occasional questions about English or the book to help Mokuba. They ate dinner in silence. Even in the gloom that settled upon them, Mokuba was amazed by the fact that even nearing the end of the third week, his love for Onii-chan's food never waned. After Amelda cleared the plates and washed the dishes, he announced he was going out for the rest of the night. "I'll be back late, so don't wait up for me."
"Where are you going?" Mokuba asked. Usually during the week, Amelda was a diurnal; during the weekend, he was nocturnal. It was an unusual pattern in Mokuba's opinion, but he had accepted it as status quo.
"I'm going on a date," Amelda informed him. "It's nothing serious. Just a few drinks or something… I only just met him today."
"You're going out with a guy you met at the laundromat?" Mokuba asked, incredulous. "I thought you said you had your standards."
"I do," Amelda said softly. "There's nothing wrong with meeting someone at a laundromat, or any other place of public service. You know how they say there are many fish in the sea, right? Problem is that only a small percentage of them are gay." Amelda gave a little smile, "I can't turn up my nose just because of the place we meet. And to make the long story short: I met him at the bar, not the laundromat."
"When did you go to the bar today?"
"After the laundry was done," Amelda shut himself in the bedroom before Mokuba could ask another question. A couple minutes later he emerged in a different outfit. Any question Mokuba might have had vanished at the sight of Onii-chan.
"Is that suede?" he asked, feeling Amelda's pants. The redhead nodded. "Is it purple or grey?"
"I can't tell either," Amelda answered. "Ask a woman - they always know."
Mokuba decided not to ask about the rest of the outfit, which included patented leather heeled-boots, his signature gloves, and a see-through shirt. "Trying to make a good first impression?" he asked somberly. He was a little disappointed that Amelda was showing interest in a guy other than his Nii-sama. He was hoping that the pacifist would stay available until Mokuba could enact Plan D.
"First impressions are very important," Amelda said. "Especially with me. I'm very judgmental."
Mokuba said nothing as Amelda left. He turned off the computer in frustration. There was a small part of him that wanted to call up Nii-sama and turn himself in. He felt betrayed by Onii-chan, even though his common sense told him that he was wrong. Onii-chan has his own life to live, it told him, and you're just getting in the way.
Amelda would have ordinarily found the date boring if it were not for the constant distraction of his mind circling back to Kaiba every other moment. Somehow, Amelda had been talked into going to the guy's apartment after their drinks. The place was as messy as his own, but not nearly as crammed. There were RPG board games everywhere, and little figurines used for the games littered the floor. A musky odor of incense lingered in the air. White moonlight streamed through the open blinds, and soft jazz issued from a inexpensive clock radio. Two half drunk cups of espresso sat upon the coffee table. Two young men lay intertwined upon the worn sofa, which wheezed with each slight movement.
"What was your name again?" Amelda asked between kisses in a deeper voice than usual. He had already forgotten his date's name. He felt a little guilty using this young man as a distraction. All he could think about was Kaiba, and what he would like to do to him.
"Ryou," his date replied. Silver eyes looked down intently into liquid sienna, "Is something on your mind?" Ryou asked in a soft voice.
"I'm sorry," Amelda apologized. "I'm just preoccupied. It's been a long day for me."
"Oh…" his date smiled. He was feeling more comfortable with Amelda now. He placed one hand slightly above the crook of Amelda's knee, rubbing it timidly. "I like your pants," Ryou complimented, smiling cutely and blushing.
The redhead's cheshire-cat smile widened sadistically. "Then you'll like this even better!" He moved down, kissing Ryou's warm skin as he unbuttoned his shirt. But he did not stop there.
Three minutes later Amelda had his date moaning with pleasure. When he was finished, he moved back up to give Ryou a sticky kiss. A sharp tasting fluid filled Ryou's mouth as Amelda used his tongue nimbly to caress the roof of the mouth and the soft spot under the tongue. "Want more?" Amelda asked with a kinky wink. Ryou's eyes were like that of a trembling doe. He blushed like a rose.
Ryou felt eeriness by the moonlit silver of the redhead's eyes, which gleamed at him mysteriously. He gulped a silent answer, which Amelda took as a "Yes." Ryou found himself swept up into strong arms, carried into his own bedroom, and gently deposited upon his own bed.
A sudden craze surged through Amelda when he pinned down the shrinking violet. He was used to being the dominant one, always in control. He had years of experience up his sleeve, which he commenced demonstrating on his new boy toy. Ryou's mind swirled with endorphins as his skin heated under Amelda's touch. The redhead was about to take them to home base when suddenly he felt pain cut through his chest like a knife. Amelda cried out, surprised.
"Are you okay?" Ryou asked, shocked. Amelda clutched his chest, bewildered. Guilt was burning away in his guts like acid. He hated himself for turning his back on his principles. He shook his head in reply. "Do you need medicine?" Ryou asked in a terrified whisper.
"No," Amelda gasped. "I'm sorry, Ryou. I don't think I can go through with this."
Confusion etched upon the pale face. "But you were going to be the one to… How can you not be okay with that?" Ryou was under the impression this man was sexy and indestructive. He had not seen Amelda's arms; the gloves were still on.
"I'm sorry," Amelda apologized again. "Sex used to be about pleasure and control for me. Now… it's about love. I thought I could have just one more one-night-stand, but I was wrong." Amelda admitted sadly. "I'm sorry."
Ryou blinked. He felt a little silly being informed he was just a one-night-stand, but he also felt like he should have known better. "It's okay…" he said slowly. He looked away, unsure of how to respond properly.
Suddenly, Amelda wanted to be anywhere but where he was. "I'm sorry," he said, hurriedly taking off the condom, grabbing his clothes, and dressing at top speed. "But I don't think this can work out for us." Amelda left as quickly as he could, leaving a half drunk cup of espresso and a very sad Ryou Bakura behind.
When Amelda arrived home for the second time, he found all the lights turned off. He crept into his bedroom as quietly as he could, noting the darkness and the lumpy shape that was fast asleep. He pulled off his boots and changed into his Bedtime Bear (17) pajamas, soundless as the flight of an owl. (A/N) He slipped into bed, glancing at Mokuba one last time before closing his eyes. He was so drained, he fell asleep instantly.
"Onii-chan!" Mokuba shook Amelda awake. "Come look at this!" He scampered out of the bedroom.
Amelda spat out a mouthful of pillow as silver eyes snapped opened. Morning already? he wondered. He felt like it was only a minute ago he went to sleep. Being a light sleeper, he was instantly alert. It did not matter if he felt like he had not rested, with the exception of Mondays. He got up, not bothering with slippers or a robe, and went into the living room. Mokuba sat at the desk - the computer monitor glowed on some web page. "What is it?" the redhead asked.
"I got three emails: one telling me my account with the dating service has been terminated and two emails back from the ladies I set up with Nii-sama," Mokuba informed him with a heavy air. "I sent them both emails asking what they thought of the date. The second lady I set him up with seems to know that we are not the same person, and Vivian apologized for following "me" to Yugi's house!"
Amelda closed his eyes, wishing he was still asleep. His head hurt from trying to compute all this information in one swallow. "How does the second lady know that you two are not the same person?" Amelda asked, forgetting that the first lady had figured it out, also.
"I don't know," Mokuba said. "I thought she was dumb, but she said she figured it out on her own. The first blind date knew because Nii-sama had convinced her so."
"Why would you match your brother with a dumb woman?"
"There was a picture with her profile," Mokuba spluttered, blushing. "She was sexy."
"You chose beauty over brains?" Amelda asked rhetorically, giving Mokuba a stern look. The latter glanced away guiltily, knowing he had been foolish. "Why…" Amelda inquired, prickling with envy, "did Kaiba go to Yugi's house? Yugi is not gay, is he?"
"Yugi?" Mokuba laughed. "Not hardly - he's madly in love with Anzu! He told me the last time I stopped by Kame Game that he was saving his money so he could move to America just to be with her. As for why my nii-sama went to his place, maybe he is just looking for me."
"That makes sense," Amelda muttered. He felt like an idiot, jumping to conclusions just because of how he felt about Kaiba. "So Plan C has ended? You've been terminated?" Amelda did not bother to hide his smile of approval, which Mokuba noticed.
"Yeah…" he said, feeling ambivalent. He was disappointed that his plans did not seem to be working so far, but happy that Onii-chan still retained interest in Nii-sama. "How did your date go last night?" Mokuba asked, remembering his frustrations of the night before.
Amelda looked startled. He had already forgotten about Ryou. "He was not my type," he replied. "Too easy to manipulate, I believe… That would be too tempting for my sadistic side. I need someone with a backbone." Mokuba grinned in agreement.
Author's Note:
I could have put this in the reference section, but what the hell. Despite how the movie industry may portray this, an owl's wings do not make an audible sound to the human ear when they take flight. They are designed that way to better catch a mouse, lemming, or whatever prey they're after. So, if and when you hear Hedwig flapping her wings in Harry Potter, (1) or any other owl in any other movie, that sound is dubbed. There should be no "flapping" sound.
The idea of Yugi following Anzu to New York is not an original idea. I got this idea on my own, but I'm sure others have thought of it, too. It fits very well with canon. If you have this story line, I'm not trying to rip you off. My cousin, whose pen name is Una Morgan, wrote a story called, "America - the Next Adventure." Look in my favorite authors section It has Yugi moving to America, dealing with culture shock, romance, and another Yu-Gi-Oh style adventure!