EDIT/NOTE: This is a chapter written before my Self Reflection author's note. I implore you to at least attempt to read it first before reading this chapter. I can't force you, but it'd be nice if you did.
24! - Summer Day
One year and seven months after Yami's revival from his coma.
The hacker licked his own mouth of crumbs from potato chips, the salty and slightly bitter taste lingering on the tip of his tongue. Yugi liked to pig out from time to time, but Atem always told him to be careful doing so. He was trying to keep the computer scientist fit, so he could buff up and get stronger. Atem was no unrealistic physical therapist, he knew temptations and vices were a guilty pleasure of all human beings. Hey, if Yugi wanted to pig out on some snacks, he couldn't stop him. He just reminded him to eat sensible portions if he wanted to eat his favorite things, since most of his favorite foods were pretty unhealthy. Like greasy burgers.
Right now as he was eating chips, he was laying against the headboard of their king sized bed. His laptop was in the lap of his legs, beside his white kitten whom was laying against his thigh. She was a little over three months old now, and she still looked so cute. She was a good girl, never biting or scratching. She only meowed if she was hungry or thirsty, or if she wanted some attention. She liked to play sometimes, and was very curious about everything. She was growing a gorgeously bright white coat on her little body, and her cute little pink nose. She was once so tiny, able to fit in his hand. She was getting bigger, getting faster and stronger. Her reflexes were very impressive, and she was very sensitive to sounds. Which was actually a great thing, since a lot of cats of her breed were born deaf, so Yugi was very thankful for that.
She showed affection to anyone of the house, while being suspicious to any strangers that visited. Almost like a guard dog, she didn't behave in front of the stranger until she smelled them and didn't sense any malicious intentions. That was another thing about her breed, she was extremely intelligent for an animal. Yugi taught her how to use the litter box in just a few minutes, and she got it down packed. Sometimes she'd meow when someone was at the door, and would sit by it. Sometimes she would put her paw on something that she would want, like a certain bag of treats. And sometimes, she would catch things that managed to get inside of the house and bring it dead to one of her owners. If a mouse managed to squeeze itself in the house, she'd kill it and drag it or hold it in her mouth and drop it in front of someone.
But most of all, she had her favorite person in the house, and that was her true owner. The owner that might as well have been her daddy, and that person was obviously Yugi. Yugi considered her his daughter at this point, and loved her just as if she was an actual human child. He cuddled her, he spoiled her rotten, and he treated her like a tiny princess. Whenever she did something wrong, she'd get a little scolding but that would be it. To him, she was perfect and she could almost never do any wrong. She was very calm and collected for her age, often liking to just laze around or just stare outside from the windows. Which was why she and Yugi cuddled so much, that was pretty much her favorite thing to do. Thankfully her breed didn't shed that much, so he never really had to worry about her hair getting on his clothes or bed while they laid together.
And right now she was resting her little head on his thigh, her paw stretched over his knee as if she was hugging it. Her blue eyes were closed, and sometimes she'd yawn and stretch a bit before going right back to sleep. They laid like this for a couple hours as he worked on his laptop, hacking into someone's database. The usual. Only the difference was, he was hacking something pretty dangerous. He had to be careful here, but he didn't doubt himself. He had confidence that he would do this correctly. He wasn't wearing anything special today, since he was just lazing in the house for now. Today was a special day for a certain someone. Atem and Yugi had a personal surprise for Yami, but it wouldn't take place until later tonight. Something else would be happening earlier today, though. Yami's birthday was actually a week ago, but he and Yugi were extremely busy at the time with work. So Yugi and Atem planned something for the birthday boy this evening since Yami didn't want a party.
Like Yugi, Yami was a summer-born child, so the hacker was actually dressed in something pretty scarce since it was pretty hot today. One of his boyfriends' T-shirts, that cool robe Ms. Wong bought him and his underwear. Like usual, briefs. He didn't really believe in boxers, apparently. As he tapped a few keys, his ears just barely heard the sound of the front door being unlocked from downstairs. That must have been his lovers, might as well greet them as they came in. Yugi put down the bag of chips and slid aside his laptop. He gently took Hikari's, yes he named her that, paw and placed it onto the mattress. She stirred a bit, but she was still asleep. He pet her head before standing up from the bed and bending down to grab his discarded sweat pants. After he had a little difficulty getting them on, he headed for the doorway to exit their master bedroom.
He traveled downstairs carefully and made it to the front door through the living room. He saw that the door knob was still jiggling, but not turning. Looks like someone was having trouble. Just in case, Yugi walked directly in front of the door to look through the peephole. He saw the statures of two men beside a girl with brown hair and sea foam colored eyes. She was rummaging through her purse, making a pout as she couldn't find her spare key to their house. That was no doubt Mana-chan. There was only one girl in this world who wasn't just adorable, but looked similar to his lover. He smiled at her difficulty in finding her spare, and began to unlock the door for her.
Once the front door was pulled open, Yugi immediately looked downwards since Mana was shorter than the three of them. He glanced behind her, where his lovers just stared at her struggle, before sharing a gaze with Yugi. They made a small smile, before returning their attention to her. "Mana-" Yami tried to say.
Mana cried triumphantly as she whipped out her key and swiped it to the air, a victorious smile hitting her face. "Aha! I found it!" However, she made a slight miscalculation.
"M-Mana..!" Yami made a worried expression while Atem face palmed.
When Mana struck her key upwards in the air, she also managed to slice Yugi's eyes with it. As blood dripped from the tip of her spare, she felt a couple of droplets of something wet hit her nose. Slowly, she craned her neck to look up. She saw the damage she did, and the size of her irises began to shrink. "Y...Yugi?"
With a sheepish smile, Yugi just blinked and wiped his eye of blood as the cut healed instantly right in front of her. "Ah, it's alright. A-Accidents happen."
She was of course told that Yugi could regenerate rapidly, but never saw it in person before. Understandably, she was more than surprised. "...!?" Her mouth gaped as she blinked several times at his healing injury. As she did this, she automatically dropped her key back in her purse without even looking.
Yugi took this time to look over at his lovers. "Hi." He greeted with a gleeful looking smile, his cheeks instantly becoming rosy from their arrival alone. He was like a cheerful yet very shy school girl who couldn't stand being around her crush without blushing.
Atem just pulled Mana aside, before bonking her upside the head. This woke her up out of her shocked state, and made her pout with a growl. He then took the back of his sleeves and wiped the blood off of her face. "Gross," He mumbled. After he cleaned her face, he kissed her on the head, the very place he smacked, and plucked her nose playfully before saying goodbye. "Call me later," He said. "Drive home safe, don't do anything stupid." He patted her head and walked beside Yugi to get into the house. Yami was going to tell her farewell as well, until she cut him off with a big hug. It wasn't often that Yami was hugged by a nice girl like her, so he started to turn red as well. He wasn't used to being shown affection from someone who now considered him her brother-in-law.
"U-Uh, see you later..?" He asked sheepishly.
"Mmhm." She said, picking up the 'Mmhm' thing from Atem. She let go of his abdomen and walked up to hug Yugi as well. He gave her an embrace back, shortly ending with her apologizing. "Sorry for that." She was referring to her key cutting his eye not too long ago. He just flagged it off of course. As they talked, Yami left the two alone by walking inside of the house as well.
"No worries, Mana-chan. Return home s-safely, okay?" Yugi reminded as she turned around while giving him a wave. Her car was parked in front of their house, still active on standby.
"Yes sir!" She replied back cheerfully, referencing Yugi's new status as a higher ranked veteran. He smiled wider at the girl's happy attitude, watching her getting inside of her car and beginning to drive away. As her black car drove off, he distinctively heard some bickering from behind. He started to sigh with a frown, before stepping back in the house and closing the door. All he heard next was squabbling and nonsensical shouting. How do you come in arguing like a bunch of children? Yugi sometimes felt like he was the more mature one out of the three, even though Atem usually held this spot. He then walked through the house into the living room, seeing Atem and Yami arguing by the couch. Yami was sitting down while Atem was standing by him, glaring at him below. Unfortunately, the argument sounded mostly serious according to their tones.
Yugi could tell because of the way they were talking, neither of them sounded very playful. Yami just rolled his eyes at the Egyptian as he started to pull off his tie. Yami had something small to do at work today, so Atem went with Mana, who was also off today, to drive up to the HQ and pick him up to take him home. He was still in his work clothes, currently trying to take some of it off while Atem wore an outfit that comprised of black, like usual. "Atem, I appreciate you and Mana picking me up, but that doesn't excuse that toilet you call a mouth."
"Sorry pretty boy, but I'm me. My language is pretty shitty, fucking deal with it." He retorted while putting a hand on his hip. "You've been dating me for almost two years, you knew what you were getting into. I cursed out your bosses, and I curse you out whenever you piss me the fuck off. Today was no different."
Yugi was strongly deciding against it, but, he still at least wanted to understand what was going on. So reluctantly, he asked why they were arguing. Again. "Alright, what's the problem this time?" He asked gruelingly as he walked passed the sofa.
Atem just sucked his teeth. "Pretty boy's bitching because I cursed him out and embarrassed him in the car earlier. Right around the time before we got here."
Yami scoffed. "Yeah, for a good reason too..." He sarcastically commented. "He cursed me out because I didn't eat anything today, including the lunch he packed for me."
"You're damn right it was for a good reason!" Atem scowled as he stood in front of him. "What if you pass out during a mission? You won't have any energy! You don't need those Superior assholes breathing down your neck again! And let's not forget," He rose his voice. "I only started to curse you out, because you called me a moron for worrying. So I called you a fucking dick-wad for not listening to me."
"Because you do worry too much, I don't need you nagging me about something as trivial as eating!" Yami shouted as his eyes turned red. "I told you, I'm not as weak as you think I am!"
A n upcoming snarl developed in Atem's throat. "It's not about you being weak, it's about you being a fucking idiot, you dumb ass!" He reached out and gripped Yami's now loose tie, yanking him forward. "I wouldn't be nagging you if you listened to me for once!"
Yami seized the Egyptian's collar, angrily gripping it tightly to pull him close as well. "Well maybe I'm sick of listening to you bitch and yell at me all the time!"
"I bitch and yell at you because I obviously fucking care about you! Ever think about that?"
"And that's very flattering, but don't you think it gets a little annoying sometimes?"
"Oh I'm sorry, me worrying about my boyfriend is annoying? Alright then, see if I fucking care. Spoiled brat."
"Insufferable dick." Yami spat.
Yugi stood by a nearby wall and watched with bored eyes at their back and forth.
"Pretentious bastard!" Atem hissed back while yanking him closer.
"Fuck you!"
"Fuck you!"
Yami's eyes were bright ruby red. "Fuck YOU!"
With a violent grunt, Atem lifted Yami in the air with one hand, his fist deeply groped into his tie. "FUCK. YOU. YAMI, FUCKING, SENNEN!" And he shook him with every word, too.
Yugi attempted to interject with a loud voice that held some sterness. "A-Alright, that's enough-"
"I'll fucking shove a fist full of broken glass in your fucking phony ass eyeballs, you little fuck!" Atem hollered as he pinned Yami down on the couch.
Yami countered by gripping the top of Atem's hair to pull him away from his personal space, and cause him mutual pain. "Only if you can move your fat ass quick enough to catch me first, asshole!"
"And just who the fuck are you calling fat!? I could bench press this whole entire fucking house if I wanted to!"
"I meant your huge ass, not your body! You Egyptian-Hulk-looking motherfucker-"
"Okay!" Yugi snatched them both off of the couch by yanking their clothing. "That's enough, seriously! You're both acting like children!" He scolded as they growled and hissed at each other. He huffed out a loud sigh and tried to speak more civil. "Look, it's Yami-kun's birthday. So w-why don't we-"
Simultaneously, both men stood up straight and glared directly at their third partner. "This doesn't concern you, Yugi!" They yelled in unison.
...Yugi felt his head throb painfully in anger. It didn't concern him? Their relationship didn't concern him? Really? That's what they thought? Seriously? Yugi's expression darkened with an even darker scowl. He was so sick and tired of being sick and tired of their constant asinine back and forth! Over and over, day in and day the fuck out, constant petty bickering for nothing! Nothing serious, nothing significant, just repeated bitching and whining! Well no more. This ends today. As Atem and Yami continued to scream and yell at each other over something Yugi couldn't even remember, he walked over to the sofa, bent down and placed his hand underneath the piece of furniture. He then flipped it over, hurling it right into the wall effortlessly.
That display of strength and fury caused the two men to stop and whip their heads over at their third lover. "...!?" Yugi was that strong as well?
"Now that I have your attention," The hacker said. "I'm going to ask you both once to stop."
After sharing a small glance, Yami and Atem swallowed slowly. "...Fine."
"Now hug, kiss and m-make up." He pouted once he saw their sour expressions. "Oh come on, it's Yami-kun's birthday!"
They still refused to move.
With an angry pout, Yugi stomped his foot. "If y-you don't make up, I'm gonna upload all the footage I took of us having sex to the internet! And trust me, I've got enough footage to make a bigger paycheck than both mine and Yami's combined!"
Atem blushed with both exasperation and embarrassment. "You wouldn't! We'd both kill you!"
"But I can regenerate, so I'm willing to flip that coin." Yugi said with a narrow of his eyes. "Are you?"
With just one tap of his finger, Yugi could indeed do that. It would make them repulsively rich, but it would also destroy their dignity. Yami groaned while combing his fingers through his bangs irritably. "Fine!" He seized Atem's wrist and yanked him close to his chest. Before the Egyptian could react, he leaned his head to the side and captured his lips. Almost instantly, Atem made a low moan and wrapped his arms around his waist. His eyes lowered with a flutter, as if he was in heaven. The two rubbed against each other as they caressed and groped parts of their bodies. Yami could feel Atem glide his hands underneath his shirt, while the agent rubbed his palms on his strong back.
Yugi smirked at the sight, as he knew them too well. He crossed his arms and tilted his head.
"Just to be clear," Atem lightly panted after breaking the kiss for a small moment. "I'm still pissed at you."
Yami's face was beat red, and very uncaring of whatever they just argued about. "Same here, fuck you."
"Mmn," The Egyptian dived in once more for another kiss. "Fuck you..." He mumbled against his lips.
"Fuck..." Yami moaned.
The hacker rolled his eyes with that same smirk on his face.
Jounouchi gave Yami a noogie as his older brother walked passed the two with some bags.
Joey and the two Kaiba brothers arrived at their home twenty minutes later with one of Seto's many expensive cars that his boyfriend just so happened to work on. Joey was a very skilled mechanic, and could not only fix cars, but he could add things to them that could make them work just as good as a race car. Seto was considering getting him a job at one of the many auto shops D75 secretly owned in town, but that would require the blonde to know how to install weapons in vehicles. Nothing was certain yet, but Seto would probably make it happen.
Mokuba was excited to spend the entire day with his big brother, never seeing him as much since he began working for D75. Everyday, the kid was getting taller and taller. Yami could barely recognize him when he showed up on his doorstep, grabbing at his waist to hug. The three of them showed up to pick up Yami for one of his birthday surprises. Nobody was going to tell him, but basically, Yami was going out of town with them to go to Kyoto. Some kind of gaming tournament was going on there, and Seto knew Yami would want to go since that's all he used to do before leaving high school. Joey and Mokuba were huge fans and they loved spending time with Yami, so they were going too.
After Joey finished rough housing with his best friend, he then moved onto Yugi to mess with him a bit as well. Before he knew it, Mokuba had joined in soon after. Seto meanwhile had simple conversation with his middle younger brother as he took his bag to the trunk. They would be gone all day since the tournament might not be the only thing they visited, so Seto recommended that Yami pack a few things in a small bag just in case. After managing to get Yugi down onto the floor, Joey and Mokuba claimed victory over his body.
"Haha!" They cheered with pumped fists.
Yugi just made a pained groan, his face firmly planted on the hardwood floor. Mokuba was sitting on his back while Joey had one foot on the back of his head.
A low and powerful chuckle echoed in the room, making Joey flinch and glance over at the owner of the house. Shit, he almost forgot Atem lived here too. Might as well greet the man. He was sitting on the arm of one of the sofas along with Yugi's new kitten, who was curled up right by his leg. Joey took his foot off of his withered and defeated companion, and walked over with a wave. "Hey!" He smiled. "Sorry about that, I didn't say hi." That was indeed quite rude to do, he hoped the red-eyed man didn't take offense.
Atem shook his head with a small smile. "It's fine. How's the kid?"
"Oh Mokuba?" The blonde nodded over to the youngest Kaiba in the house while leaning beside the couch. "He's great, doing pretty good in school. It's almost been two years since Seto put him in one. At first it was all private tutors, but now he can be a normal kid and make a better social game."
That's good, the kid wasn't too effected by what happened two years ago. "That's good." He then leaned a little closer to Joey with a quieter voice. "And how's life with King Shitbag?" He had to be referring to Seto. Joey laughed at that.
"Heheh. Ehh, Money Bags is fine." He shrugged. "He gets on my fuckin' nerves but, can't help but love him."
Atem exhaled with a roll of his eyes. "Ugh, tell me about it..."
"What, you and Yug' go at it a lot too?"
"Not Yugi so much, it's fucking pretty boy over there." Atem rolled his eyes over at Yami in the background.
Joey's blonde brows raised. "Aww, really? Never thought Yami to be an arguing type. I mean sure, when he gets pissed he'll give you a piece of his mind-"
"No, I mean seriously fucking irritating." The Egyptian interrupted with a sour expression. "I almost hacked his face into pieces before you came here." Atem reached down to one of the couch cushions to grasp the white furred creature laying by his foot. He held her up and placed her in his lap, where she found it a lot more comfortable. She meowed and purred as she was pet and scratched behind her ears. "Asshole was bitching about me worrying about him. Seriously? I make him lunch so his dumb ass won't pass out during work, and he doesn't even appreciate it."
Sadly, Joey knew exactly how he felt. "Tell me about it. Seto doesn't like the way the maid cooks, so I take over dinner a lot. Asshole never says thank you or show any kind of gratitude. I fix his car, wash his nasty ass boxers-"
"-Clean the dishes, lay out their clothes for work the next day-"
"-Check on Mokuba, iron his suit-"
"-And give them sex on a regular basis." They both finished their sentence at the same time. They both looked at each other and cackled with laughter.
Joey slapped his leg with a snort. "Right!? Nothin' but a bunch of ingrates!"
Atem couldn't stop smiling. "It just never ends." He began to mock Yami. "'Stop nagging me, stop bitching at me, I'm not weak! Blah blah blah...'"
"Heheh yeah. Or, 'Quit bothering me, I'm busy, you're always on my ass'." He scoffed. "As if they'd last one day without all that 'bitching and nagging'."
"Oh please, they'd cry wolf the second they'd realize we're gone. Pussies..." Atem pointed his thumb over at one of his loving boyfriends, Yami once again. "I save this asshole from being creamed at work and this is the thanks I get."
Joey sat on the couch while crossing his legs. "Tch. Yeah, and I make sure this tall bastard doesn't get into a car accident while driving with a shitty ass engine and broken breaks after a mission that I told him not to take. Does he care? No."
"They never care until they need us."
"Yup."
Suddenly, said tall bastard stood behind the sofa with cold blue eyes. "Sorry to interrupt the book club ladies," He said with cutting sarcasm. "But we should leave."
Joey made a small condescending laugh and dug his pinky in his ear with boredom. "Oh you're not talking to me." He replied curtly.
Seto folded his hands behind his back and leaned a little closer to Joey's direction. "Oh no, I was talking to both of you. Especially you, pup."
Pup? Atem asked himself with squinted eyes. The blonde stood up and walked right passed the couch and Seto without a care. "Uhuh, yeah whatever. I'm still not talking to you."
The eldest Kaiba shook his head while clenching his teeth. "Petty as shit."
"And you're a douchebag." Joey retorted right back as they walked by at the same time. Yugi, Yami and Mokuba all watched with amusement and confusion.
"And you're a grease monkey."
Jounouchi swiftly turned back around and countered aggressively. "And without this fuckin' grease monkey fixin' your old ass cars, you'd be fuckin' dead. Wanna try another one ya damn skyscraper? We got all day together."
"I know. Lucky me."
The hacker suddenly whined with irritation of yet another pointless argument. "G-Good God, does everybody have to argue in this house?" Yugi exclaimed.
"Hmph." Joey sneered while looking over his shoulder at his old roommate. "Moneybags is just scared cause I like his ex, and his ex likes me."
Atem boomed with laughter at that one, clapping his hands while leaning back in his seat. Yugi tried not to smile, but he was failing. Mokuba made an 'o' with his mouth, and Yami just looked somewhere else as his older brother grit his teeth angrily. "Alright that's it, get in the fucking car!" He yelled with a pointed finger.
"Oh, you mean the car that I worked on all night for you? Sure, no problem. Also," The blonde suddenly held up his hand to reveal a nice pair of car keys. Seto blinked, when did he swipe those from his pocket? "I'm fuckin' drivin'. Move aside," He pushed passed Seto and walked out of the doorway. Then after less than a minute, he poked his head back in the house while waving goodbye. "See ya Yug', bye Atem!" He said with a smile before disappearing from their sights.
After that very interesting scene, Seto mumbled and grumbled some insults before walking out with the blonde. Yami took this time to give Yugi a kiss, telling him he loved him and that he'd be back. He then moved to give Atem a peck as well. However, he hesitated, and gave him a stare. He seemed a little too happy at the moment. Atem shrugged with a smirk. "What? I like Joey."
Yami just shook his head and gave him a kiss anyway. "I love you."
He kissed back softly. "Sometimes, you make me wanna rip out your knee caps." The Egyptian gently smiled regardless. "But I love you too." He embraced Yami, much to the agent's surprise, until he felt his bones painfully shift out of place. Atem had squeezed him so hard, he almost rearranged his bone structure. He let Yami go and watched him cough and gasp for air. He just sneered. "That was for earlier, fucker. Have fun~" He winked.
"Asshole..." Yami mumbled as he was taken by the hand by Mokuba, pulling him out of the house. He waved goodbye to Yugi and Atem, who waved right back.
"Bye!" The preteen grinned.
The door closed, and the two lovers glanced at each other in silence. Hikari the kitten then broke that quick moment of silence by meowing loudly right in front of her owners.
She seemed irritated from all the humans making a bunch of noise.
The day was ending fast, the world was almost drowned into darkness. A clear night, stars appearing in the sky as the sun set. Atem parked his bike against the pavement, checking his phone as he pulled off his helmet. He got a text from both of his lovers, and a text from his little sister. While keeping his eyes on high alert just in case he'd get robbed again, he would briefly look back down at his phone to skim the text messages. He got off of his bike, walked around it to place his helmet in his trunk, all while looking at his phone.
Pretty Boy: The tournament's about to start, Seto got us good seats.
Puff Cheeks: Oh that's good! :)
Puff Cheeks: I miss you both already. :(
Atem smiled at Yugi's response. He could hear him whining now. Before he could reply back, he had to find somewhere to settle down first. He looked around the street he stopped by, noticing a bar just down the block. He was going to get groceries, but they didn't really need them. He definitely wouldn't drink, but he could relax for a while as an adult now, right? Besides, he was almost nineteen just like Yami now. It was weird since Yami was technically older than him, despite being born the same year. However, Atem was probably more grown up than ninety percent of the people he's ever met in his life. Walking in a bar wouldn't hurt him.
He placed his smart phone in his pocket and walked towards the bar. It looked kinda nice, and bigger on the inside than the outside. The doors to it's entrance were wide open, revealing it's colorful lighting and traditional looking interior. The tables, the floors, walls, everything looked like a traditional Japanese pub. Plenty of people, mostly men, were inside drinking their woes away. Above the building was a sign that read 'Dragon's Game', his black outfit was starting to shine from the bar's bright yellow neon lights. There was a sign beside the entrance that read two things. 'Mahjong and karaoke'. Cool, maybe he should visit this place again sometime.
He shrugged and went inside, trying to find any empty seats. Ah, there was one in the back, by one of the windows. He traveled over, walking passed any drunks who were in his way. Thankfully no one stared a him for being a foreigner. Huh, there were a lot of burly looking guys in here. And a lot of guys with tattoos, too. That wasn't smiled upon in this country, so that was odd. Maybe this bar turned a blind eye to that. Good, he spotted a table with only one cushioned chair by it. Perfect! Atem moved to sit down, and slipped his phone out onto the surface. He took his index finger and swiped across the screen to check his notifications. Damn, there were a dozen of them. Those idiots typed fast as hell.
Pretty Boy: Wait, aren't you both in the house together?
Puff Cheeks: No, Atem and I had things to do.
Pretty Boy: Weren't you off?
Puff Cheeks: Yeah, but I had to take care of something.
Pretty Boy: Which was?
Puff Cheeks: So many questions. I had to do a favor for someone, part of a deal.
Pretty Boy: Jesus, you're on that dark web shit again?
Puff Cheeks: I told you, I have businesses online.
Pretty Boy: I assume you're not gonna tell us what you're doing.
Puff Cheeks: I could if you wanted me to, but it's nothing crazy. Just assassinations and hacking low-level mainframes.
Pretty Boy: Just be careful.
Puff Cheeks: No promises. ;D
Pretty Boy: Yugi, seriously.
Yeah, Yugi had told Atem before they went their separate ways that he had a thing to do. He supposed that's what this was. He typed in a reply, and sent it before leaning his chin on his fist.
You: As long as he's not getting us killed, I say let him be. Oh, and no selling porn of us or I swear to God I will murder you myself.
Almost immediately, Yugi replied.
Puff Cheeks: I love you too Atemu. ;)
Atem made a sneer. Smart ass little shit.
Pretty Boy: Game's starting.
Puff Cheeks: Okay, have fun Yami-kun. Happy birthday!
You: Happy birthday pretty boy.
Pretty Boy: Thanks, I'll call you both later.
The Egyptian set his phone down and sighed to himself while closing his eyes. His mouth curled up a little, he was happy. Those two got on his last driven nerve, but he couldn't help but love them so much. He had two loving boyfriends, a beautiful little sister-Oh shit, she texted him too. He'd have to check that before he did anything else-
"Cereza?"
If he heard someone call him that one more time, he was going to rip his fucking ears off.
With an upcoming threat trailing in his throat, the young man slowly turned to the side while opening his molten red eyes. Oh wait, that was Ms. Wong. His expression instantly softened up at her smiling face. The woman was wearing yet another modernized looking qipao dress. In fact, it looked exactly the same as the one she wore to Yugi's party, just a different color. It was yellow, but her cleavage was still visible just like the other one. "Ms. Wong." He greeted back formally.
"It's so nice to see you!" She said before pulling a chair away from a deserted table and placing it across from him. "I'm actually glad I ran into you here, I was going to email Yugi to see if I could come over your house sometime."
"Oh that's fine, but what, you just wanted to visited?"
"Not entirely," She said with a growing smirk. "I, need to ask a big favor." That smirk was starting to turn sheepish.
"Erm," Atem blinked. "Okay?"
Suddenly, she darted her arms across the table and grasped the Egyptian's hands. She clasped them in her own, holding them with a warm hold. Her eyes looked desperate, her expression pleading. "Could you please let me hire you?"
"Woah, what?" Atem was taken aback. "Hire me for what?"
"Well, this is my bar." She then corrected herself. "Eh, no, this bar is actually a good friend of mine's. My father knew him very well, to the point where he vowed that our family would be forever in his debt. My father's dead now, so that burden falls on me."
He was starting not to like this conversation very much. "Uhh, okay but what does that have to do with me? And why take orders from someone you don't even know?"
"I do know the owner of this bar, and he's a nice and very wise man. He saved all of our lives, my entire family from bad people. I remember the ordeal entirely, and it was terrifying. I'd be dead if it wasn't for him, so we do indeed owe that old man our lives. It's only right for me to do him this much by watching his bar." She frowned while leaning her forehead on their clasped hands. "But, the problem is that I'm too busy with D75 to watch this place!" She whined pathetically, straining Atem's ears. "Gaaah why'd I have to go and get promoted? I know I'm amazing, but this is ridiculous! Ishizu was being too kind..."
"Ah, you're a high level veteran too, aren't you?"
"Yeah, right along with your boy-toy. But that's what I'm saying!" She exclaimed while leaning closer towards him. "You see how busy he was before he got his promotion. I'm already an elite veteran, so you know I'm ready to tear my hair out!"
"And again, you need me because...?"
"Oh, right." She was going to continue, until she realized she was making their hands sweaty. She giggled nervously before letting go and placing her own hands on her lap in a formal manner. "You see, the owner of this bar is kind of a retired yakuza, so people are constantly busting in with guns blazing. Or, swords sharpened rather. We get a lot of rude customers, a lot of them being ex-convicts or currently employed yakuza. Basically, a lot of dangerous people come here for a drink because this bar is exclusively for them."
Atem narrowed his eyes. "Then why was I allowed in? The door's wide open."
She flagged this off with a giggle. "Oh normal people know to stay clear of this place, it's made a name for itself on the streets and D75 looks over it themselves. As for the whole door thing, there's supposed to be a bouncer outside." She paused for a second after saying this, then she blinked and began to panic. "Y-You mean there wasn't anyone there to check you first!?"
The ex-agent answered her by just shaking his head. "Not only that, but your bartenders look like a bunch of pussies." He pointed beside them, all the way to the other side of the pub where the bar stood. The bartenders there looked way too terrified of their customers, serving timidly with hushed voices.
Vivian just sighed stressfully and face palmed. "I was supposed to run this place while he was across the world traveling, but I pretty much failed him." She lifted her hand from her face to look Atem in the eye to show that she was sincere. "That's why I was going to ask to hire you, I need someone strong to watch this place while I'm working most of the week. I can't tell you how many times this place has been broken into, or how many times a fight broke out and destroyed our alcohol." She leaned back in her seat and looked down. "Thankfully that old man's loaded, so repairs are no problem, but it's still a waste if he blows his money on the place that he entrusted to me."
Atem twisted his mouth to the side. That's why she needed help, it all made sense. "Well," He began slowly. "I'm not employed, and I refuse to work for D75 ever again. However," When he said this, he saw her head rise back up with hope. "Though I despise most women, I do like you. You're good with Ishizu, and Mana and Yugi like you too. You're one of the people at work that helps make their jobs a little easier, so I guess I can do this for you."
She started to gasp. "Y-You mean it?" She asked with a bright smile.
"Yeah, yeah," He mumbled. "I mean, I'm getting paid, and it's not like I'm really doing anything productive at home besides being a housewife for two complete morons." He shrugged. "Why the hell not, I guess."
"Ohh thank you!" She grabbed his hands again and bowed repeatedly while shaking them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She let go, then walked around to stand in front of him. She got on her knees and bowed her head all the way to the floor with both hands planted beside her head. "I promise I'll make it worth your while!"
He rolled his eyes at her over dramatic expression of gratitude. "That's cool, just get up off the floor. You're gonna get that dress dirty."
She stood up and carefully dusted off any dirt that may have flew onto her dress. "Of course you won't need to apply, I'll handle all the unimportant stuff. All I need for you to do is show up tomorrow evening at five O clock."
"Alright-Oh, hold on a sec." He held up a finger. "A few things."
Vivian blinked. "Conditions? Okay, shoot."
"For one, I cannot under any circumstances consume alcohol."
"..."
...
Vivian nearly passed out right on the table. "Y-You what?! What do you mean you can't drink? If it's a legal issue, trust me, no one'll know."
"No, I mean I cannot drink even a few drops of beer without getting totally pissed."
The Chinese woman swore she was feeling light headed at this point. "Sweet God, your tolerance is that bad?"
"Yup."
"Oh my head hurts," She moaned while rubbing her temples with her fingers.
"Now hold on," He cut off her whining. "That doesn't mean I don't know how to mix a drink. I make Yugi cocktails all the time, and I learn very quickly."
Vivian blew out some air. "Okay, I'll test that theory later, but I'll believe you for now. What are your other conditions?"
"I am not wearing a uniform. I don't look good in," He frowned at the bartenders' uniforms. "Whatever that is."
The woman knew exactly what he meant. Everything in this pub sucked, including the uniforms. The only thing great about it was the decor. "Wasn't my first choice, trust me. So no uniform, no problem. Anything else?"
"Only two more. One," He said. "Do not give me an absurd amount of cash for my paychecks, treat me as any normal bartender in that regard. Two," He held up another finger. "If needed, I am allowed to also cook in your kitchen for the customers."
Vivian's brows raised. "You cook?"
"Yugi unintentionally turns whatever he cooks into a science project, and Yami burns anything he touches. I'm the cook of the house needless to say."
She smiled at that. "Alright Mr. Do-It-All, I like your style." She waved her had over at the bar, and proceeded to walk away from the table. Atem grabbed his phone and stood up to follow her. "Come with me in the back, and we'll see just how good your bartending and culinary skills are."
"Okay."
She gave him a wink as they walked. "Considering your history though, I have a feeling I won't be disappointed."
"Trust me," He said back just as confidently. "You won't."
After Atem's talk with Vivian
He tightened the the mouth piece against his face, pulling down his hoodie more so no one would see him. Black hoodie, black mouth piece, black sweat pants, black boots...Check, check, check and check. Oh, and his gloves, couldn't forget that. Fingerless, covering up just enough. Oh yeah, and he couldn't forget about the brass knuckles underneath the gloves. Property of D75, of course. He took his phone from out of the strap sewn inside of his pocket. He could check it real quick before looking back up from the screen. He was on a highway right now. More specifically, he was in a cab driving on a high way. He knew someone could try and hack the car, but they wouldn't dare if they discovered who was inside of this car. Besides, he'd survive a car crash anyway. He's done it before.
Yugi leaned back in his seat as he watched all the speeding vehicles zoom by through the window. He glanced back down at his smart phone and checked his digital notes for addresses and key codes. Ah yes, everything was here. Now all he had to do was show up. That's when his phone vibrated in his palms. Shit, that was Yami. It was already wirelessly connected to his ear pieces that were hidden underneath the hoodie. He answered it by swiping his thumb across the screen. "Hi Yami-kun."
"Hey Yugi, I'm calling Atem so he can join the call."
"Okay, take y-your time." He saw his driver slowly peek from behind his seat, watching Yugi shift around. He looked timid, but he flinched once Yugi made eye contact with him. He slowly tilted his head and lowered his eyes. "Something wrong?"
"..."
"Keep your eyes on the road, sir. You'd kill us both if you crashed, but I guarantee you that I'd be the only one walking away alive." He layered in that threat just in case he was up to something. He didn't like the fact that he willing he was to drive him to where ever he needed to go, and he was painfully silent the entire time. He had to have been working for the person he was after right now. With a vicious glare, Yugi directed his attention back to his phone. His voice now laced with warmth and passion. "Hello? H-Hi Atemu." He greeted sweetly.
"Hey puff cheeks. You done with that errand of yours?"
"Nmm, no. Not yet."
"Alright, well try to hurry it up. We have to set up Yami's other surprise. I'm already home. Oh and by the way, Hikari's looking for you."
"Aww, I know. Let her know I'll be coming home soon." Yugi looked closely at his internet connection, seeing that it was at full bars. "S-Should we tell him what it is so he can come home excited?"
"Hmm, maybe. How about it pretty boy? You want us to tell you what it is?"
"If you want to, sure."
"How about I show you what it is?"
"Huh?" Yugi blinked. How would they-? That's when he heard a click in the background.
"Check your messages." The Egyptian instructed.
Yugi put his call to the side and pressed his finger on the chat icon. His messages pulled up, and an image was sent to them both. And-Oh. Oooohhh. Ohoho. Yugi couldn't stop leering. Atem had apparently sent a fully nude picture, with his ass to the front, and his black pants around his knees. He was standing in the walk-in closet of their bedroom, where the full length mirror laid. The rest of his bronze body was bare to the world. "Fuck," Yugi whispered to himself.
"Damn, Atem..."
Yugi could feel himself harden up just from the sight of that. "You're gonna get me killed sending stuff like that. I-I can't show up with a hard-on right now!"
"Heh, sorry. Just wanted to show you what you're coming home to. Of course, that's not the only thing that's waiting for you. For now, I can do more than that if you want~"
"Shit, like what?"
"I could touch myself and let you listen."
Okay, this what not helping his case right now. He had to finish this call and get this damn mission over with so he could-Uhh...Do, what he had to do. Yugi looked out the window to try and familiarize himself with the highway. Was this it? He noticed some of the signs, realizing that he was very close to where his stop was. Screw it, he'd get there on foot. "Listen, I really need to focus on what I'm doing right now. As much as I'd love to listen to that, I-I seriously can't show up with a stick poking out of my pants. My body's already warm and I think I'm getting hard right now."
"Yeah, and I'm still with my family. I'm in the bathroom though, so maybe I rub one out-"
"Not helping, Yami-kun!"
Atem laughed. "Hahaha!"
"Eh, sorry. Look, we made some stops to some arcades and a place to eat. It's getting late, so I'm gonna be coming home in a couple hours or so."
"Alright, good. I'll be waiting for you both. Hopefully Yugi'll make it before you do, though."
Yeah, he should probably try to get home first so they wouldn't have to wait. Yugi reached his hand down to push the button that moved the windows up. A couple hours, so two hours. He could get this done before then, no sweat. "Okay, I-I'll see you guys soon."
"Love you." They both said in unison.
This made Yugi smile as he nearly stood up, putting one foot onto the car's open window, feeling the rush of high winds flying at his face. It was a good thing he pinned down his hood, otherwise it would have flown off by now and revealed his face. "I love you too, see you later." He hung up and shoved his phone in his pocket, making sure it was secured back in that strap. The building he needed to go to was just over there! Just below this bridge. He could make it no problem.
The driver glanced behind him again, just to gape in shock as Yugi wiggled his body out of the window and threw himself off of the highway bridge.
END - 24!
Sorry for taking so long.