Chapter 9

"Seto! Right on time, as usual." Yugi stood aside to let Seto enter. He sounded far more cheerful than he felt. "You, um, look very nice."

"Who," said Seto, staring past Yugi with narrowed blue eyes, "is he?"

First Atem, now Seto. Sheer force of will kept Yugi from throwing up his hands and leaving the two of them to hash things out between them. He shut the door and turned to see Atem standing in the opening between foyer and living room. The genie was the picture of masculine confidence, shoulders back, head high, feet braced wide apart. Somehow, all that black leather made him seem taller, more imposing. His smirk was back, with a vengeance.

Yugi fought the urge to groan at the look in Seto's eyes as Seto met the challenge in Atem's posture and expression. Oh, god. And Yugi had thought he was doomed before. What could he say to defuse this situation?

Before Yugi could formulate a plan, Atem took the option out of his hands. The genie stepped forward, thrusting out his hand. "I'm Atem Sanesu, an… old friend… of Yugi's."

Seto just stared at Atem until Yugi's well-placed elbow convinced Seto to shake hands. He pulled back almost immediately and fixed Yugi with a speaking look.

"Um…" Yugi swallowed, then gave himself a mental shake. Get a grip. What's the worst that could happen? "Atem, this is Seto Kaiba. He's on the board of regents at the university. Seto, Atem and I knew each other in college."

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Knew? In the Biblical sense?"

Speechless, Yugi could only gawk at Seto while feeling his blush attempt to make him spontaneously combust. He shot a glance at Atem, whose smirk had turned lecherous. Oh, shit. "No! No, no, no. We were just friends -- barely even friends, more like casual acquaintances, really…"

"Yugi!" Atem pressed a hand over his heart and took on a wounded expression. Yugi wanted to hit him. "Do I mean so little to you?"

Seto growled.

Yugi thought his heart might actually stop. Or explode right out of his chest. "Atem, stop teasing! You're going to give Seto the wrong impression."

"What's the right impression?" Seto demanded, then shook his head. "Never mind. We'll talk about it later. We need to leave now. Our reservations at the Regal are for eight o'clock."

For a moment, Yugi had no idea what he was talking about. Then it hit him: dinner reservations. Their date. Somehow, he'd forgotten all about that. Again. "I'll get my cane."

"Leave it," Seto said, taking Yugi's arm and glaring at Atem. "If you need additional support, you can lean on me."

And that, in his own unique way, was Seto being thoughtful. He really does care, Yugi thought. Maybe Seto's looks weren't as exotic as the genie's, but he was a handsome man, with dark brown hair and piercing blue eyes. At well over six feet tall, Seto towered over both Yugi and Atem, though the genie didn't seem impressed.

Yugi decided to cut things short before something genie-ish happened. "We don't want to be late! Let's go." He glanced back at Atem. "Don't wait up!"

Seto stopped in his tracks. Yugi tried tugging him toward the door, but it was like trying to move a mountain. Seto scowled at him. "He's staying here? With you?"

Since there was no point in denying it, Yugi nodded. Seto's grip on him tightened. The glare he fixed on Atem was nothing short of incandescent. "I'm sure you're capable of amusing yourself." Seto all but snarled the words. "We won't be back until tomorrow --after brunch, at the earliest."

Yugi hadn't thought it possible, but he felt his face get even hotter.

Atem shrugged. "The hour of our return is of no consequence to me."

"See you tomor--" The words froze in Yugi's throat. Had the genie said our return? He narrowed his eyes at Atem. "I'm sure you'll enjoy having the house all to yourself while I'm gone. There's food in the fridge, if you get hungry. You'll be okay here tonight. Alone. Understand?"

"Perfectly." Atem smiled.

Fuck. The familiar sense of impending doom was back, stronger than ever, and it had brought its friend Panic. Yugi snatched open the door and, desperation lending him strength, almost threw Seto through it. Yugi held his breath as he ushered Seto down the walk toward the sports car parked at the curb. When nothing happened, he let out a sigh of relief. They were going to make it!

"Nice wheels," Atem said from mere inches behind them.

Yugi almost jumped out of his skin. Even Seto looked startled, his eyes narrowing, as he glanced between Atem and the closed door of the house.

"What do you think you're doing?" Yugi hissed at Atem, releasing Seto so that he could glare at the genie. All that practice was really paying off. Soon, Yugi would be glowering with the best of them. "Go back in the house!"

"Have you forgotten the rule?"

"Rule? Yugi, what is he talking about?" Seto demanded. "What rule?"

Yugi saw red. Not taking his eyes off Atem, Yugi said, "Seto, go on to the car. I'll just be a minute. I need to have a few words with Atem." Preferably four-letter ones.

Clearly unhappy about it, Seto gave a reluctant nod. "I'll wait for you by the car."

"Thanks. This'll only take a minute." As soon as Seto was out of earshot, Yugi turned on Atem and grated, "What. The. Hell?!"

Atem's expression was bland. "You seem agitated, master. Have you changed your mind about going to dinner?"

"No, I have not changed my mind about going to dinner!"

"Shall we proceed, then?" Atem made as if to step past him. Yugi grabbed his arm.

"No! We shall not, because there is no we, there is me and there is Seto. You are staying here." It wasn't easy to shout in a whisper, but Yugi managed.

"Once again, my most forgetful master, I remind you that I must remain within reach of your voice at all times."

Yugi almost choked on his outrage. Later, he promised himself. You can scream at him later. "You are not going with me on my date!"

"It's the rule."

"But-- You-- Argh!" Yugi clutched at his hair. "I promise you that I will not even think the word 'wish' tonight. Seto and I need to be alone!"

Atem shrugged. "I could make myself invisible, if you prefer."

Oh, yeah, because an invisible voyeur was so much better than a visible tag-along. "I'd still know you were there!"

"No one else would."

That reasonable tone was working Yugi's last nerve. He balled up a fist and shook it at the world in general. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Are you talking to the universe or me, master?"

Either. Both. Yugi scrubbed both hands over his face. "You're trying to kill me, aren't you? You're trying to frustrate me straight into an early grave -- and it's damn well working! You're going to give me such high blood-pressure that my heart will explode right out of my chest. Will that make you happy?" Yugi grabbed Atem by the straps buckled across his chest and shook him. "Will it?"

Atem blinked at him. "My only happiness is to serve you."

"Argh!" Hands still fisted in the leather straps across Atem's chest, Yugi sagged against him and panted for breath. The damned genie really would be the death of him. Yugi straightened, raked his bangs back from his face, and peered at Atem with pleading eyes. "Why won't you listen to me? What do I have to say to make you understand?"

"I understand perfectly," Atem said. "But it makes no difference. I must go where my master goes."

No wonder Atem's past masters never kept him around for long. They were simply trying to preserve their own sanity. Yugi darted a look at Seto, who was leaning on the white sports car and watching them with an unreadable expression on his face. Yugi focused on Atem, trying to make him co-operate by sheer force of will.

"You can't follow me on a date. I'm not that kinky!" Realizing what he'd just said, Yugi hastily added, "Not that I'm kinky in the first place -- I mean-- Oh, you know what I mean, and if you don't, I don't want to hear it! You have to stay here. Or in the puzzle, or limbo, or Timbuktu for all I care. But you cannot come with me!"

"Is everything all right, Yugi?" Seto had decided to rejoin the party. Peachy.

Yugi nodded. "Everything's fine. Just give us another second, okay?"

"We're going to be late." Seto made it sound like a cardinal sin.

"It'll only take another second, I promise. Why don't you go ahead and start the car?"

Seto shot Atem a withering look that would have incinerated a lesser man at that range. It just bounced off the genie's impervious expression. Seto growled. "Fine. But if you're not in the car in two minutes, I'm leaving without you."

Yugi bristled at the tone. He didn't like it when people talked to him like that, but he really couldn't blame Seto for being upset. Once Seto was safely in the car, Yugi whirled on Atem. "You have to stay here."

"I cannot."

It was like beating his head against a brick wall. An incredibly sexy brick wall -- and it really should be illegal for Atem to look so good in those ridiculous pants -- but a brick wall, all the same. "Okay, look…" Yugi wracked his brain for a compromise and was surprised when an idea waved a flag at him. It was crazy, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He gave the genie a speculative look. "You said you can make yourself invisible?"

"Yes."

"Okay. If you insist on coming with us, you'll have to do it while invisible. And you're riding on the roof. Seto's car is a two-seater."

Atem smirked. "As you command, master." He bowed… and vanished.

Yugi almost had a heart attack when he realized that Seto might have seen Atem disappear into thin air. He shot a look at the car and was relieved to see Seto apparently absorbed in selecting a station on the radio. Taking a steadying breath, Yugi hurried down the walkway. He had more bad feelings about this than all the characters in every Star Wars movie combined, but he just sighed and joined Seto in the car. "We can go now."

"About time." Seto put the car into gear with more force than was absolutely necessary. "Who is that guy, anyway?"

"I told you. He's just someone I knew in college."

"Do you always invite strange men to stay with you? What's wrong with the local hotels? Or does he have some sort of bizarre hotel phobia?"

Yugi's laugh sounded phony and forced even to his own ears. "I just didn't feel right sending him to a hotel. He's new in town and… well…" He shrugged. "You know how I am."

"Oh, yes. Friendship uber alles." Seto rolled his eyes. "Couldn't your 'old buddy' darken Gardener's doorstep instead of yours? I thought she was the reigning friendship queen."

"Téa only met Atem yesterday." And it wasn't as if Yugi could ask her to put Atem up at her place, though he couldn't explain the real reasons to Seto. Deciding to ignore the slight against Téa -- really, Seto didn't get along with any of Yugi's other friends -- Yugi changed the subject. "So, you made reservations at the Domino Regal?"

"They have a four-star restaurant."

Yugi suspected that Seto had chosen the restaurant because it was located in one of the nicer hotels in Domino City. He had been getting hints that Seto wanted to take their relationship to the next level, that he hoped to convince Yugi to spend the night with him in one of the Regal's rooms. A part of Yugi wanted that, to feel that closeness with someone. A greater part of him warned that he needed more than just physical pleasure. He needed…commitment. Love.

The conversation moved onto safe topics that had nothing to do with genies or "old college buddies." Yugi kept up his side of the exchange with an effort and tried not to picture Atem, invisible and perched on top of the car. He thought about Atem's cynical take on love. The genie said that he didn't believe in love. Yugi did -- but was he really in love with Seto? He thought about it long and hard, finally coming to an unhappy conclusion as honesty compelled him to admit the answer was no. So, was it fair to go on this date, knowing Seto expected more than a simple dinner?

"We're here." Seto's voice cut into Yugi's wrestling with his conscience.

"Huh?" Yugi looked around and saw that they were in front of the hotel. "Oh. Um, Seto…" He hesitated, uncertain how to proceed. He didn't want to hurt Seto, but he had to tell him the truth. He was fine with casual dating, but their relationship couldn't go any further at this point.

"What is it? Do you need to freshen up?"

A grateful Yugi pounced on the excuse to delay the upcoming conversation. He needed to think things through and figure out a way to let Seto down easy. "Yeah, thanks. I'll just be a few minutes."

"When you're finished, have the maitre d' show you to our table."

They turned the car over to the valet and headed inside. The maitre d' pointed Yugi toward the amenities, and Seto went ahead into the dining room. Yugi had to admit there were perks to dating someone as powerful as Seto Kaiba, one of which was never having to wait for a table. After making sure Seto wasn't watching, Yugi bypassed the men's room and ducked into an out-of-the way alcove. He looked around. He appeared to be alone, but… "I know you followed me."

Atem appeared in front of him. "I'm merely obeying--"

"--the rule. Yeah, I know." Yugi rubbed at his temples. Atem had a distinct talent for giving him headaches. "Your rules are ruining my life." Or, at least, his love life. Such as it was -- which, admittedly, wasn't much.

"He's not worthy of you."

"Huh?"

"Seto Kaiba. Compared to you, he is less than crocodile dung. You deserve much better."

"Yeah? Well, in case you haven't noticed, suitable candidates aren't exactly beating down my door." Yugi shoved his drooping bangs out of his eyes. He conveniently forgot he'd been thinking along similar lines. Oh, not that he was too good for Seto -- despite his faults, Seto was, underneath it all, a good man. Rather, Yugi had realized that he wanted more than Seto was offering him. Casual sex was not enough. However, it rankled to have the genie trying to dictate Yugi's love life. "Besides, who I date is none of your business."

"It is my business," Atem argued. "You are my master."

"Well, I can take care of that!" Yugi concentrated until a token appeared in his hand. "I wish I'd never met you. I wish you'd go back to wherever you came from. No more genies for me, okay? Good-bye!"

Atem folded his arms and refused to take the token Yugi tried to foist on him. The amused look on his face sent Yugi's blood-pressure through the roof.

"Why the hell are you still here?! Grant my wish, damn it!"

"You cannot wish away your genie, master. It is not in your best interest."

"Tell that to my blood-pressure!" Yugi slumped against the nearest wall. "Okay. Have it your way. I wish for a new car, a houseful of new furniture, and a fancy mansion to put it all in." The other two tokens appeared in his hand. He waved them at the genie. "There. Three wishes. Grant 'em and hit the road. Better luck with your next master."

The genie ignored the tokens. "He plans to seduce you tonight, you know. That's why he chose a restaurant located inside a hotel."

"How dumb do I look? I know what he's planning!" Yugi threw up his hands. "Maybe I want to be seduced. Did you ever think of that?"

From the look on Atem's face, it was clear he hadn't. He gave Yugi a confused glare. "Why would you want him to seduce you? You are beautiful, intelligent, kind, and generous. You could have anyone you want! So, why would you settle for crocodile dung?!"

"I… didn't think you even liked me."

"I didn't say that I did." The warmth in Atem's eyes and the twitching of his lips belied his words.

Yugi shook his head. He turned to go and find Seto, then paused. "Atem… Why didn't you grant my wishes?"

"You like your car, you don't care about your furniture, and you'd hate living in a fancy mansion."

"Guess you know me pretty well, after all." Yugi ducked his head, peeking up at Atem through his bangs.

"Oh, I don't know." Atem's voice was soft. "You continue to surprise me."

Silence stretched between them, warm and full of potential. Then Yugi sighed. "I have to go tell Seto I'm going home."

Atem smiled.

When Yugi headed back into the restaurant's main dining area, Atem fell into step beside him. Yugi glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. "Remember, Seto mustn't see you."

"Alakazam."

The invisible genie keeping pace, Yugi went to find his date.

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Not wanting to have a confrontation inside the crowded restaurant, Yugi convinced Seto to accompany him out onto the terrace. There, wrought iron tables sat on the stone flagging. Wide steps led down to a path that disappeared between double rows of topiaries into a formal garden. Several of the tables held diners, so Yugi started down the steps and into the garden, seeking a private spot for their conversation.

"Well," Seto said, taking Yugi's arm to assist him down the steps. "This is… romantic."

Oops. Not exactly the impression Yugi was going for. Maybe the gardens weren't the appropriate setting for what was to come, but it was the best Yugi could manage. Safe on even ground again, he gently pulled free of Seto's grasp. "Um, I guess."

"You don't think so?"

"Well, I… Um. Seto, we… need to talk."

"That's never a good thing to hear." Seto stopped walking and fixed Yugi with a wary look. "Does this have anything to do with that Atem guy?"

"No, not really." Maybe Atem had made Yugi consider his own actions, but the decision was Yugi's. He'd finally realized he needed to be true to himself. No matter how lonely he might be, he couldn't settle for sex without love. "I made a mistake, Seto, and I'm sorry. I know you had special plans for tonight, but I… can't."

"Something better come up?" Seto sneered. "Something named Atem, maybe?"

"No! It's not like that. I just--"

"You 'just' what? Decided I wasn't good enough for you? When did this happen -- on the ride over? I was plenty good enough when you needed someone to stand up for you with the board of regents."

Yugi flinched at the accusations. He hadn't wanted to hurt Seto, but clearly he had, and now Seto was lashing out at him in retaliation. "You've been a good friend," Yugi said. "You've been there for me since last summer, and your support has meant a great deal to me."

"But--?" Seto snarled.

"But… I'm not in love with you."

Silence stretched taut between them. Then--

Seto laughed. It was a nasty sound, cold and cruel. Mocking. "And you think that matters to me? As if."

"But--"

"Did you really think that someone like me could ever fall in love with a cripple like you?"

The words stabbed at Yugi like a knife. In them, he heard echoes of every schoolyard taunt from his childhood. He shivered. While he wasn't in love with Seto, he had considered him a friend. That Seto would say something like that to him hurt more than Yugi had thought possible.

"Don't flatter yourself, Mutou." From his superior height, Seto sneered down at Yugi. "You were a convenient amusement, nothing more. Enjoy your cab ride home."

With that, Seto turned on his heel and stalked away, head high. Yugi clenched his hands at his side and tried to breathe past the tightness in his chest. Finally, he sighed. "…That went well."

"You know--" Atem materialized, his furious glare boring a hole in Seto's departing back. "--revenge is a direct benefit."

Yugi blinked at him. "…Huh?"

"Say the word and that bastard will never insult you -- or anyone else -- ever again."

Had Atem just offered to off Seto Kaiba? Yugi gaped at him. "Let me get this straight. You aren't willing to let me date him, but you're perfectly willing to kill him? You really aren't human, are you?"

What might have been hurt flashed over Atem's face almost too fast for Yugi to see it. Then Atem's expression settled into a cold mask. "I never claimed to be."

No. No, he hadn't. In fact, he'd been pretty adamant about the whole genie thing from the beginning. Yugi shook his head. His leg was throbbing, his head ached, and he felt a little nauseous. All he wanted to do now was go to sleep and forget this night ever happened. He looked around. No one was in sight. "Take me home, Atem."

"…Alakazam."