Here's your chapter three everyone! Not that anyone is really paying attention to this fic oops lol but if anyone happened to be waiting on it
oh yeah and since this is fanfiction dot net and apparently we do things this way here: I don't own yugioh nor do i claim to, this is an unofficial fanwork
anyway enjoy!
One week into the process.
"I have a passport ready," said Seto into the phone.
"Thank you."
Seto waited. Nothing. Finally he said, "I believe you owe me at least one duel for this."
"Of course," said Atem. "When should I be there?"
"In an hour," said Seto, then, "I expect you to be punctual," and then he hung up the phone.
Atem was accordingly punctual. Seto was not; he decided to wait fifteen minutes or so before confronting him. This was a standard tactic of his. Make them wait, make them sweat, make them lose focus.
Although in this case, if he were honest with himself, it was just as much in order to try and pull himself together. He was going through his deck, checking and re-checking that nothing was out of place, when he noticed his hands were shaking from excitement. It was so boring being one of the best duelists in the country sometimes. No opportunity for a real challenge. But at last, he was going to be able to feel the spark and life of an actual competition, the thrill, the adrenaline, heightened by Atem's beautiful skillful intensity. He felt he could allow himself a moment to calm his emotions.
Finally he was ready. He strode into the dueling arena, making sure to give off an aura of utmost confidence, when he saw something that made him freeze.
It was Atem, not fifteen feet away from him, his spine up against the wall and his eyes fluttering shut as Yugi pressed gentle kisses into his mouth.
Seto felt something in his stomach turn over, but he made no sound. They were absorbed in each other, intent upon each other, Yugi's hands in Atem's hair and Atem's head tilting into the contact. Seto wanted to look away, wanted to yell at them for doing such things on his property, but he couldn't stop staring at Atem - the way his hand on Yugi's chest came up to cradle Yugi's face with the utmost care and gentleness; the way his mouth moved softly against Yugi's; the small sound he made when Yugi pulled briefly away to kiss along his jawline. Their focus was deep and intense; it was like something consecrated and holy, a sacred event right up against the wall of the vast echoing duel arena.
Seto remembered Yugi's I guess we'll just have to wait and see and felt a rush of bitterness. There went the last of that hope. They hadn't waited very long, had they.
Then Yugi's leg slid between Atem's thighs and Seto thought he'd better put a stop to things before they went any further. He cleared his throat, so pointedly it could have stabbed someone, and took a certain satisfaction in watching them spring apart.
"If you've quite finished," he said acidly, "we have a duel to carry out."
Yugi at least was bashful, his face turning bright red and his hand on the back of his neck as half-formed excuses fumbled out of his mouth. Atem, however, took a step forward and crossed his arms in a calmly defiant posture, as if Seto had walked in on nothing more than a polite conversation. "We do indeed."
His lips were slightly red and slightly wet. Seto had to force himself not to stare. "Why is Yugi here?"
"Hey, I wanted to watch," said Yugi, "no need to be like that." He seemed to be recovering from the embarrassment. "The others will be along in a moment. Shizuka invited them all out to see a movie and it doesn't end until half an hour from now."
"Thank you for that fascinating information," drawled Seto. He turned his gaze back to Atem, and suddenly remembered his end of the bargain. "Here." He fished in his pocket, found what he was looking for. "Your passport."
Atem took it, cool eyes still trained on his. "Thank you."
"Time for your payment," said Seto, his hand almost automatically moving to the duel disk on his arm. "Shall we begin?"
The duel was a simple enough one. There was hardly even a special summon in sight - only a basic back-and-forth of attacks and trap cards. It was as though they had come to some tacit agreement that this was just a warmup, the first act only, as if to see what had changed in the long time since their last confrontation. Seto was reminded of two fighters, two wolves circling each other, gauging each other's strengths, testing each other's boundaries. He was also reminded of foreplay.
Yugi's friends arrived halfway through, all very excited to see a duel between two masters, but when Seto's life points finally clicked down to zero, there was a sort of a muted sigh. "That wasn't even interesting," he heard Jounouchi mutter. "What's the point?"
Seto couldn't agree less. "Another one," he called, and began shuffling his cards. Of course this way of dueling was interesting. Perhaps it wasn't the adrenaline-pounding blow-for-counterblow excitement that he was so looking forward to, but it was tantalizing. It promised more. It let him see the vast potential of power underneath Atem's restrained style, the quickness and cleverness with which he executed even the simplest of strategies, the way they were both raring to go and he was making himself wait. Just a little longer. Building the anticipation.
The foreplay metaphor suddenly seemed rather more literal.
He lost this duel as well. "Do you want another one?" Atem called from across the arena, and Seto found himself honestly weighing the options. He'd had a taste, and he wanted more, but at the same time it would be so sweet to return to work with the promise of something greater spurring him on until the next match.
"No," he said curtly, "that's enough for today," and there were groans from the uninvited viewers.
"Is that it?" called Anzu, and Seto did not reply, but turned and headed for the exit. He had no more business here anyway. Faintly he heard Atem behind him saying, "There'll be more soon, don't worry. We were just getting warmed up," and he allowed a small smile to creep onto his face at the thought that they understood each other so well, from opposite sides of the field.
Then he remembered Yugi, and Yugi's hands in Atem's hair and Yugi's mouth on Atem's own, and it was like a kick to the gut. Or like a stomach-clenching loss of life points. The memory floated in his vision, taunting him, and it made him uncomfortable for a reason that was more than base jealousy, something more fickle and proud. He dug at it furiously, frustrated by the fact that he was having some godforsaken emotion he did not understand -
Ah, there it was. Atem had been kissing Yugi, had been touching him, so very gently - and Atem was not supposed to be gentle. He had an overly soft heart, it was true, but Seto had only ever seen him be sharp and commanding about it, with strong support for his friends and bitter anger towards those who wronged them. That power and sureness was what drew Seto to him in the first place. The fact that Atem could be otherwise, that he could be tender and hushed and soft, that he could hold Yugi so carefully and let Yugi pin him to a wall without protest - it bothered Seto. It wasn't the Atem he knew. It wasn't his Atem.
He'd gotten his rival back, after a time when it seemed like he never would, and now he was slipping away again. Deep in some part of him that was not as ruled by reason and logic as he would have liked it to be, it bothered him more than it should.
I know I say it a lot, but I would really appreciate reviews! And the more detailed the better! (No pressure of course; if you can really only leave a short review then don't feel forced to come up with more stuff)
Also, this might sound weird, but if you like this fic then could you tell people about it? maybe get the word out there? This account is really new and I'd like for the stuff I've worked on to have more exposure/recognition, so maybe just be like "hey check out this fic that i like and maybe you'll like it too)
Also the next chapter might take longer because i have to figure a bunch of stuff out regarding where i'm planning to take it next.
Anyway have a nice day and please review!
