Chapter 8

Yugi spent some time playing the most violent video-game in his collection, working off his frustration with a certain genie's failure to live up to expectations. The genie in question draped himself over an armchair at the back of the room, as far from Yugi as it was possible to get and still be in the same room. When Yugi looked at him out of the corner of his eye, he decided the genie was sulking. It was proof of the unfairness of the universe that even that looked good on him.

When Yugi surfaced from his game-induced trance and peeked at Atem again, the genie sat hunched over a snake-shaped game board, playing against a seemingly invisible opponent. At least, that's what it looked like to Yugi, as half the pegs moved around the spiral board without anyone touching them. Shaking his head, but feeling less likely to explode than he had before, Yugi turned back to his own game.

After an hour, Yugi had calmed down about Atem -- and gotten nervous about Seto. In the aftermath of Sagalassos, Seto Kaiba had been one of the few among Yugi's colleagues to support him, refusing to give weight to the rumors about Yugi's supposed crime. After months of friendship and casual dating, Yugi had hopes tonight might prove special. At least, he didn't think he had misinterpreted the hints Seto seemed to be dropping…

Turning off the TV and game console, Yugi headed upstairs to finally get his real shower. He pretended not to notice Atem shadowing him up the stairs and lurking in the hall while Yugi went into the bathroom. Neither of them spoke. Yugi shut the door firmly behind him, hoping the genie would take the hint that he was not welcome.

Wrapped in his thick flannel robe, Yugi exited the bathroom and padded across the hall to the bedroom. When Atem tried to follow, Yugi shut the door before Atem could cross the threshold. The genie simply reappeared on the other side, inside the bedroom. Yugi glared at him. "I want to get dressed."

"I'm not stopping you."

"Yes, you are!" Yugi tightened his robe around him. "I'm not changing clothes in front of you."

This time, Atem didn't hold back the eye-roll. "I'll turn my back." When Yugi didn't move, he added, "I promise not to look."

"Damn right, you won't look! You'll wait in the hall." Yugi pointed a finger at the door. "Go! And don't talk to me, I'm still mad at you."

Atem vanished.

Yugi spent a moment indulging in paranoia, wondering if the genie was really gone, before saying to hell with it and pulling off his robe. He dressed in his best black suit and cobalt silk shirt. He wore the tie Seto had given him for his birthday, and his black dress shoes with the built-up sole. He even tried to tame his hair before giving it up as a lost cause. Finally, he opened the bedroom door and came face-to-face with a subdued genie.

Confronted with Atem's dejected posture, Yugi relented. "Do I look okay?"

Atem gave him a sullen glance from beneath thick, dark lashes, but remained silent. Yugi frowned. Did he look that bad? Nerves returning, he smoothed non-existent wrinkles from his shirt, then looked back at the genie. "Well? Cat got your tongue?"

"You commanded me not to speak to you."

"Obviously, I've changed my mind or I wouldn't have asked you a question." Yugi smoothed his shirt again. "So? Am I presentable or not?"

Atem's dark gaze drifted over Yugi's body like a lingering caress. Yugi felt his face heat up beneath that smoldering regard. Maybe he should've kept his mouth shut. It was safer when Atem was pretending to ignore him.

"You look very handsome, my most enticing master." Atem's voice was husky and even deeper than usual.

Yugi felt as if his face was on fire. "Um. Thanks." Darting around for somewhere to settle that wasn't Atem's eyes, Yugi's gaze landed on the clock beside the bed. A quarter 'til -- and Seto was always on time. In fact, he was the most punctual person Yugi had ever met, the polar opposite of Joey Wheeler. You could set your watch by Seto.

Atem startled Yugi from his musings. "Who is this 'Seto'?"

"Huh?" His mind still on his impending date, Yugi glanced absently at Atem -- and all his mental processes ground to a screeching halt.

Lounging against the wall, Atem rested most of his weight on one shoulder, his long legs crossed lazily at the ankles. Yugi's gaze went immediately to those legs, now encased in tight black leather. Against his will, his eyes followed the long line of Atem's torso, clad in a sleeveless leather shirt that buckled snugly across his chest. Low-heeled black boots and the usual accessories completed the picture -- one of a male model in a bondage catalog.

It took a moment for Yugi to realize his jaw was dangling somewhere in the vicinity of his knees, which had gone a bit weak. Oh. My. God.

Atem raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"Nuh." Yugi had to work his mouth a few times to form enough saliva to get his vocal apparatus under control. "I mean…" Nuh about summed it up, but Yugi couldn't help feeling that something more articulate was required. "Uh, you look… nice."

Atem's other eyebrow rose to join its twin in flirting with Atem's hairline. The corners of his mouth twitched. "Thank you, master. I'm pleased you approve."

Wrenching his gaze away from the way the leather clung to the lean lines of the genie's body, Yugi sought refuge in the clock again. He told himself the butterflies kick-boxing in his stomach were due to anticipation -- about his date. Not any other kind of anticipation. And definitely not any kind of anticipation having to do with Atem. No matter how… nice… he looked.

Seto, Yugi reminded himself sternly. Remember Seto? The guy who's taking you to the most expensive restaurant in town? He's the one you should be thinking about, not-- He didn't let himself look at the genie as he walked past him and hurried down the stairs, but he could feel Atem's presence close behind him all the way.

They had reached the living room before it occurred to Yugi that he was going to have explain Atem's presence to his date. Oh, crap. Seto wasn't likely to be as accepting of the "old college buddies" story as Téa had been. "Oh, god. How am I going to explain you to Seto?"

Atem smirked as he glided up beside Yugi. His breath tickled Yugi's ear as he leaned in close to murmur, "Are you in love with him, master?"

A shiver of… something… slithered down Yugi's spine. Atem smelled of frankincense and leather. Yugi caught himself as he swayed toward the genie like an iron filing drawn to a magnet, and sprang away from him as if burned.

"I…" He didn't know. He felt something for Seto -- friendship and gratitude, certainly. But, love? He wanted to. Didn't he? "Maybe." Maybe tonight would tell, one way or the other.

"But, he is important to you." Atem advanced. Again, Yugi retreated. "Is he not?"

The sofa hit the back of Yugi's legs and he fell onto the cushions. Atem followed him down, pinning Yugi beneath him. The scent of spice and leather and warm human male filled Yugi's senses. He licked his lips, staring up into mahogany eyes as his brain turned to mush. "Um, what were we talking about?"

Atem's smirk turned predatory as he trailed hot fingertips along the pulse pounding in Yugi's neck. His touch was like flame. Yugi's skin tingled in its wake. "Seto."

Who? Yugi blinked, trying to untangle his thoughts. Atem's fingers glided over Yugi's cheek, then teased the curve of his ear before burying themselves in Yugi's hair. "Um…"

"Your…date, master. This Seto person. Exactly what is he to you?"

Oh, right. Seto. How did Yugi feel about him? "He's… my friend." After last summer, Yugi had needed all the friends he could get. He had Téa, Tristan, and Joey, of course, but none of them worked at the university. When Yugi's colleagues had turned against him, Seto had stood by him. "Seto helped me, took my side against the other university regents… He's been great, always there for me when I needed someone. I owe him a lot."

"I see." Atem was so close that Yugi could feel that deep voice resonating in Atem's chest. "Perhaps you mistake gratitude for deeper feelings?"

"No, I --" Yugi's denial died in his throat. Atem had shifted closer, the weight of his body pressing Yugi deeper into the cushions. Atem nuzzled Yugi's cheek, lips brushing Yugi's jawline. Yugi's breath hitched. "I--"

His heart pounding so that his pulse drowned out all other sound, Yugi clung to Atem, his body molding itself to Atem's. Another inch and their mouths would meet. Yugi arched, desperate to close that final inch…

Oh, god. What was he doing?

Surprise more than strength allowed Yugi to buck Atem off. He scrambled up from the sofa and put that heavy piece of furniture between him and temptation. Temptation watched him with glittering mahogany eyes. Yugi hugged himself, disgusted at his own actions. How could he have tried to kiss one man while waiting for another -- a man who expected to take Yugi to his bed tonight? He scrubbed one hand over his face. "I need a drink."

"Alakazam."

A glass of wine appeared in Yugi's hand. It said something about his state of mind that he didn't even flinch, just downed most of it in a single gulp. He didn't taste the wine, but the act of swallowing it steadied him. Not looking at Atem, Yugi said in a soft voice, "Seto cares about me -- in his own way."

Maybe it was hard for others to see, but Yugi could. He closed his eyes, his fingers tight on the bowl of the glass. Maybe Atem cared, too, in his own way. But the genie would be gone as soon as Yugi made his third wish. Seto would still be there. Did it really matter if Yugi's feelings had started as gratitude? That didn't mean they couldn't become more. Giving himself a mental shake, Yugi tried to focus. An awful lot depended on the outcome of this date.

He slanted a look at Atem, who was still watching him with that unreadable expression. Yugi suppressed another shiver. "Are you sure you can't read minds?"

"No, I only sense things." Atem cocked an eyebrow, as if wondering at the non-sequitur. "I cannot read actual thoughts."

He "sensed things"? What did that mean? It still made Yugi nervous. "What kind of things?"

A negligent shrug, as if the genie was bored with the subject. "The good in a person's heart -- or the evil weighing it down. Most of the time, I can tell if someone is lying."

Yugi gave him a suspicious look from under his bangs. "Just how specific is this sensing of yours?"

"It is usually a general impression of things, meant to assist me in serving my master. It is a rare occasion that I get anything truly specific."

Had any of those rare occasions happened with Yugi? The butterflies were fighting a cage match in his stomach as Yugi wondered if Atem could sense how the timbre of his voice made Yugi tingle. Did he know that his touch left Yugi trembling for more? Could he tell that Yugi would be dreaming about a nude Atem descending the stairs for years to come?

"What do you--?" Yugi bit back the question. He was probably happier not knowing what Atem's magic had told him about Yugi. "Never mind."

Something softened in Atem's eyes. "I have never met another like you, Yugi. You have a good heart. I dare say it would balance against the feather of Ma'at on Anubis' scales." A faint crease formed between his brows. "Yet, I sense that something troubles you. What that something is, I do not know."

Atem circled the sofa, his gaze holding Yugi's so that Yugi felt frozen to the spot.
Atem reached to cup Yugi's cheek and run the pad of his thumb over Yugi's lower lip. The wineglass fell from Yugi's nerveless fingers and vanished before it could hit the floor. Yugi didn't notice. His world had narrowed down to Atem's hand on his face and Atem's mouth lowering to claim his--

The doorbell rang.

The sound jerked Yugi back to reality. It was a cold, lonely place compared to the warm fantasy of Atem's embrace. The bell rang again, an impatient sound that told him whoever was at the door was jabbing at the button. It had to be Seto.

Yugi's chest felt tight and his palms tingled. He forced himself to step away from Atem, moving around him to head for the door. He was careful not to touch the genie again. He knew that if he did, he would be lost. Seto, he told himself. Remember Seto? The man who supported you when you needed it? The man waiting for you on the other side of that door? The man you can have an actual future with, unlike Atem, who isn't even human. There was no future with a genie.

Halfway to the door, Yugi shot the genie a look. "Don't mess this up for me. I want your word that you'll be on your best behavior."

Atem remained silent.

Choosing to take that as assent, Yugi opened the door.