Thank you so much for reading! I know the updates are coming quickly, but it's because of a time limit I have imposed upon myself. It really means a lot to me that you've reviewed because this is my first story in so long and I really need to know how I'm doing!
Chapter Warnings: Bronzeshipping sexy-times and the usual swearing warning!
Chapter Four
"Now, Yuugi, you mustn't let such a friend slip through your fingers. Marik may be in Yami's circle, but his boyfriend is his own person and you should give him a chance."
Yuugi sighed as he and his grandfather walked together down the sidewalk. The sun had set long ago, but streetlights and shop signs lit up their way in an array of yellow, green, and red. Chattering friends and loud music surrounded them, but they were enjoying their evening together all the same.
At the moment, the pair was discussing Yuugi's new friend Malik. He and his boyfriend just moved to Domino a few weeks ago and had made friends very quickly. However, as much as Yuugi liked Malik and wanted to get closer to him, he was incredibly turned off by the fact that his lover Marik was friends with Yami Notaro; someone whom Yuugi found insufferable to say the least.
"I know, Gramps. I just can't justify anything that brings me remotely close to Notaro."
Yuugi's grandfather shook his head with a wise smirk on his face.
"You're still so young, m'boy. You'll learn that just because you disagree with someone doesn't mean they aren't worth your time."
"But Grandpa, we disagree on everything! He is the most intolerable pain in the-"
"Do you want to know the last time I heard someone speak this way of another person?" Grandpa stopped on the corner to wait for the cross sign and turned to look directly at his grandson expectantly. Yuugi resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his grandfather; couldn't he just bitch without being interrupted?
"Sure." Grandpa smiled, placing an old wrinkled hand on Yuugi's shoulder. He was completely content in this moment; an evening out to dinner with his grandson, listening to the teenager venting about someone he clearly had misinterpreted his feelings for.
"When my son came home one day, telling me about an 'unbearably stubborn broad' he'd met in school. A few months later they were dating."
Yuugi tilted his head in question. "But I thought my dad only ever dated my mom?"
Grandpa chuckled heartily as they began to cross the street. The light changed while they were talking and the other pedestrians waiting to cross were already out of the way; the light was slowly changing back to red so they scurried across as quickly as their short Moto legs could take them.
"He did."
"Oh, Gramps come on I coul-"
"Look out!" Yuugi turned back to where they had crossed and saw a woman holding desperately to her child while crazily gesturing towards the open road. Yuugi glanced where she told him and his eyes widened impossibly. He felt a harsh pressure against his back and the next thing he knew was cold, hard pavement.
"Call an ambulance!"
"Oh God, where's the boy?"
"He pushed him! Get the old guy over to the sidewalk!"
"Get back here you drunk bastard!"
"Grandpa!"
With a shuddering cry, Yuugi awoke. Sweat clung to his every inch, drenching his hair and causing his shirt to cling uncomfortably. He looked around frantically, trying to figure out where he was. When he saw Seto sleeping in the recliner and Jou still resting next to him, Yuugi relaxed.
He curled back up onto Jou's chest, letting tears silently fall from his eyes and desperate for comfort from his unconscious friend. There was nothing he hated more than dreaming about that night.
Jou's head had never hurt this bad in his life. Whatever they drank last night really fucked him up.
Slowly, he collected his senses back to him, first taking in the smells; he flinched at his own morning breath. God, it was like someone stuck sardines in his mouth while he was sleeping. He stubbornly kept his lips tight and continued surveying his surroundings. The gentle breathing next to him – and deeper breaths behind him – alerted his brain to the presence of others. His arms were full and warm, obviously holding on to another person.
Hoping to see Kaiba, Jou opened his eyes and glanced down. Although slightly disappointed, Jou was still happy to see Yuugi lying with him. He smiled and pulled his fingers through that crazy hair.
"He refused to leave you until he was sure you'd be okay." Seto's low voice behind him caused Jou to turn around and regard the sleep-tussled CEO in a recliner. If his head weren't throbbing, he probably would have realized they were no longer in the cabin.
Then again, knowing Jou's awareness abilities in the morning, maybe not.
"'Course he did," Jou said.
Kaiba nodded at this information, silently jumping with joy that Jou was awake. Though his excitement was immediately trampled by fear when Jou's face contorted in pain and he grabbed his hair tightly; the movement jostled Yuugi awake and with surprising awareness for having just been forced to consciousness, he sat up quickly to grab two painkillers from the bottle along with the glass of water and shove them at Jou, who took them gladly.
Then, much to Seto's amusement, without saying anything Yuugi smiled at Jou and burrowed back under the sheets into a little ball to fall asleep again.
Kaiba watched the small boy's actions with a slight twitch of his lips, thinking about his own little brother's attitude in the mornings. The brunette stretched his arms above his head and cracked his neck; sleeping in a recliner was not exactly conducive to comfort.
"Hey, quick question for ya."
Seto opened his eyes to look at Jou, making note of the way his hair looked like he just had the best sex of his life.
"Hn?"
"Where are we?" Jou laughed awkwardly, slightly embarrassed to not even know his own whereabouts. Kaiba moved to sit on the edge of the bed and comb through the blonde, knotted locks.
"What do you remember?" Jou shrugged, loving the way Seto took care of him. He made sure to keep a hand on Yuugi's arm; it rooted him to reality, much in contrast to the high Kaiba's fingers gave him.
"I remember Ryou's panic attack, and that's it. Did we drink to calm him down? Is he okay?" Remembering his friend's predicament served to bring Jou's anxiety to life. He remembered being terrified for his safety and had no idea what became of everyone. "God, I don't even know where I am! Where is everyone? Are they-"
"Katsuya, calm down. They are all okay, I promise you. We came back to the mansion last night after we were attacked. You got thrown through a window."
Thus began the recanting of their night to an amnesiac Jou, who took everything he was told in and kept uncharacteristically quiet. His mind was reeling with the news of magic. Are you kidding? Demons? No way. Not a chance.
But when a painful ball of fire invaded his memory, Jou begrudgingly accepted the possibility. Perhaps there could be something out there he didn't understand. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time. And, really, when you think about it, how do you explain déjà vu? Or knowing who is on the phone before you answer?
And if there wasn't anything more than what we see in reality, then what happened to his sister when she died?
Even when Kaiba caught him up completely, Jou remained silent. He just stared slack jawed and nodded dumbly when asked if he desired breakfast. Unwilling to confuse his pup any more at the moment, Seto went himself to the kitchen and collected bagels with fruit and a glass of milk. He saw no one in the kitchen or on his way around the house, and for the first time he glanced at a clock.
7:30 am. Only five hours ago had they arrived at the mansion after confronting a nightmare come to life.
It obviously wasn't every day that you faced the first demon to enter the human world in 500 years. As a child, he never cared much for the stories. Not that he disliked them, just that he found them rather arbitrary. There were enough interesting fairytales floating around the world; why did his family need to have personalized monsters?
Now... now that he knew they weren't just fictional, he wished he had paid as much attention as Yami had. Of course he would never admit this to his cousin, nor would he voice the fact that he had accepted what was going on the moment a fireball threw Katsuya through a window. His mind naturally considered outlying variables in rapid procession when faced with unfamiliar situations, and at this point there were very, very few other possibilities.
When he entered the bedroom again, he saw Jou lying on his side watching a still sleeping Yuugi with sad, watery eyes. After placing Jou's breakfast on the bedside table, Seto decided to venture to his own bedroom for some sleep in his actual bed. As much as he wanted to offer consolation, there wasn't much to be said until Jou admitted whether or not he believed.
He was stopped by a shaky voice speaking quietly from the bed.
"I've always gone to the game shop when I got scared." Jou smiled fondly at Yuugi, though tears had begun to fall from his eyes. "Even before all of the loss we suffered. If my dad yelled at me or I didn't want to tell my mom about a bad grade, I would go there. Gramps would just hug me and say 'Your life does not exist without you. Be strong, and don't ever let anything else run your life for you.' Every time, he said that. That man was there for me when my sister died. When my dad disappeared, my mom lost it and Gramps set up the guest room as my official residence.
When he died, Yuugi started taking care of the shop and he kept my room there. Even gave me a key so I could come and go as I pleased; I pretty much live there. Living in the one place I've ever really felt safe with my very best friend felt like a dream. That felt like magic to me. I never even really considered…that. You know?"
Jou paused to wipe a tear from his cheek and sniffed, eyes shining with unshed sadness. He sat upright, body stretching and tensing, muscles stiff, pain etched across his face. He groaned loudly in pain when his joints popped, causing Seto alarm and bringing the CEO across to stand next to Jou.
"What are you doing? You need rest." Jou snorted and raised his arm, gesturing Seto closer so he could use the other's shoulders as an anchor.
"Well unless you've got a catheter, I'm going to need to pause on the resting." A tinge of red graced Kaiba's cheeks when he realized that not only would he be helping Jou to the bathroom, but he may very well need to help him in the bathroom.
"There's a toilet across the hall. C'mon." Jou nodded and wobbled along quietly leaning on Seto. They halted for a moment in the hallway so Jou could rest and take in his surroundings. There was a deep red shag carpet, white walls with paintings and pictures of their family, and a ceiling to floor window with beige drapes, hiding the edges of the sunrise.
"Swanky digs, Kaiba." The CEO rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly with pride knowing Jou liked his home. They entered the bathroom ("Damn, it's as big as my whole apartment!") and awkwardly reached the toilet. Jou asked Kaiba to turn around and struggled to remove his pants.
Jou's head fell back as he sighed in relief. From his position facing the sink, Kaiba could see Jou's butt in the mirror and smirked when the blonde shakily bent forward to pull his pants up.
"This is not the way I wanted to see your ass for the first time." Jou blushed furiously and tightened the drawstring on his sweats.
"Whatever, rich boy. Take me back."
"I have to do something first."
"And what's that?"
Jou felt arms circle him from behind and Seto's warm forehead against his neck. He held Kaiba's hands in his own and closed his honey brown eyes in bliss. He only just barely believed this was actually happening. It seemed the theme for their weekend was accepting a whole new reality, one they'd only ever considered in their own minds.
"I have to tell you –"
"Holy frig if you do not get out of there right now I am going to shit on your floor!"
The two inside glared at the bathroom door, but made moves to obey neither their friend's voice nor his incessant banging. When he finally quieted down, they allowed silence to wash over them; Seto turned Jou around in his arms and caressed his cheek. They leaned in closer to each other, getting ready to share their first kiss.
"I'm doin' it!"
"Goddammit, Malik!"
Marik rarely went very long without sex. Honestly, the last two days since they arrived at the cabin (which felt like a million years ago) had been the longest period between sexy-time with Malik since they'd arrived at Domino. So he is really, really frustrated.
And waking up in their shared bed at Kaiba's with nearly painful morning wood and an overwhelming need to have his love next to him – especially after the events of last night – only to find Malik missing was annoying to say the least.
The tanned boy stretched his body and adjusted so he was lying on his bare back. Malik was probably in the shower or something to wash away the fear from last night.
Marik glanced thoughtfully at the ceiling, thinking for what felt like the hundredth time about that man that interrupted what was supposed to be a refreshing break. (One which his beloved was incredibly excited about and therefore cause for Marik to try especially hard to hurt the one who caused Malik pain.)
They had grown up in Egypt; a country with arguably one of the richest histories of magic and astonishing supernatural phenomena. So why was it so hard to believe Yami?
This was all just happening too quickly. There was no transition period. One day he was finishing his final exams and preparing for his last semester of high school and the next he was spending a terrifying night in a conveniently isolated cabin where a man covered in scales threatened their lives and one of his close friends started talking to Winnie-the-Pooh.
It all sounded like rushed plot development at the hands of an out-of-practice author.
He hated feeling like his very reality was being torn at the seams and that all of a sudden both his friends and the boy he ditched his family for were in grave danger.
He also very much hated the fact that only a few hours ago he was in a hair-whitening, life-threatening attack and now he had to worry about morning wood. Was there no end to the tortures of this new actuality?
"Well next time don't fuck in the bathroom closest to my bedroom and I won't have to resort to such measures!"
Marik glanced at the door to see his boyfriend flying through it and slamming it shut before a thump shook the frame. He saw those beautiful lilac eyes shine when they caught him lying on the bed and gratefully accepted Malik into his arms, holding himself to a reality where demons are fiction and teenagers don't get magic powers when they should be worried about their futures.
"Should I even bother asking?"
"I wouldn't."
The bottom Egyptian grunted his acceptance. Malik often did things of which Marik desired no knowledge. They had reached a point in their relationship where small things were understood; their trust in each other rivaled the oldest and truest of couples.
Plus, most people are better off not knowing what Malik did when they weren't looking.
The lovers spent a few moments in silence, basking in the safety of the other. Taking in the sounds of deep breathing and underlying tension. Last night, the two of them had fallen asleep before they could discuss anything, but it wasn't difficult to figure out that neither had stopped thinking about it. That's why Marik was not surprised to hear Malik bring up the subject without any prompting.
"I'm not too happy about this, love, but I think Yami may be right." The words that hit his neck were laced with anticipation and hesitation. Malik was unsure of his own belief, but after being nearly slaughtered by a slimy scaly man, he was willing to give his friend a chance. He just hoped Marik felt the same way.
With his hand furled in silky blonde hair and the other stroking a smooth, toned arm, Marik spoke: "Well where you go, I go, baby."
Malik giggled slightly – both in relief and silliness – before raising his head to look into those deep purple eyes. He had never felt as comfortable and at home as he did when he looked Marik in the eyes. He could be honest and hopeful, or he could be an inconsolable wreck, or he could be furious and ready to punch someone's lights out at a moment's notice. But no matter what, if he took just a moment to look in to his boyfriend's eyes, he remembered what held him down; Marik protected him from the horrors of the world and the unpredictableness of being Malik.
"It's going to suck."
"Probably."
"We will be in danger all the time."
"But we will be together."
Malik halted his anxiety to smile again at his love. They would be together, wouldn't they? After being viciously ostracized from their families and forced to move eons away from their home, they could probably face anything. As long as they were together. They'd experienced more at the ripe old age of seventeen than most full-grown adults. At that moment, Malik felt overcome by love for his partner; he was still scared of all that could happen, but if Marik was there it wouldn't be so bad.
He leaned down gently to kiss the lips that drew him in all those years ago. Despite his sometimes rough personality, Marik had incredibly soft lips. Especially when they were slicked by Malik's tongue.
Malik moaned lightly and braced himself with his elbows on either side of Marik's head. He pulled his body up so his legs were spread across Marik's still erect member. With a devious smirk he pulled away from his boyfriend's lips, dragging his tongue torturously slowly from his mouth.
"My poor love," he purred. Reaching his right hand between his own legs, Malik stroked his boyfriend through thin boxers. Marik groaned and ground his hips upwards, desperate for more friction. "I have neglected you recently, haven't I?"
He used his left hand to grip Marik's hair at the roots and pulled; Marik's mouth fell open in pleasure and his eyes shut tight. The strokes grew harder but slower; Malik relished every quiver and throb below him and craved more. He moved to straddle his own arm and pushed against it, adding even more pressure to Marik's lap and pulling a moan from his lover. His head fell to a place next to Marik's ear where he could trace the shell with a long curl of his tongue. Sweat built up on their skin, forcing them to slide agonizingly against each other with every slow thrust of Malik's hips.
Marik felt unbelievably hot. Every nerve ending at attention, liquidated joy flowed through his veins, building and building and unbelievably building beneath his skin. With Malik's hands working over his skin and that beautiful tongue gliding down his neck, he turned to mush. There were very few times when he completely relinquished control to another, and never to anyone other than Malik. But when he did…
Oh god when he did…
Malik bit harshly on the skin under Marik's jaw causing the boy under him to shudder and groan. The younger boy's eyes followed the trail his tongue made down to dark nipples; from the edges of his sight, he saw Marik with his eyes shut tight and his head forced back into the pillow, sandy hair splayed all around. Malik shifted his entire body so his chest rested above Marik's erection, fingers bent under the hem of his boxers and tongue licking along as the cloth slowly disappeared down Marik's legs. When they were completely gone, Malik grinned evilly in anticipation.
Marik moaned loudly and his legs bent up towards his chest instinctively when he felt Malik's tongue at the base of his penis. His body shook so hard it felt like he was on vibrate. Once he reached the tip, Malik opened his mouth to take in much of the length, not yet deep-throating. He knew Marik wouldn't last very long, but intended to enjoy every agonizing second before finishing. His right hand squeezed the base and the other teasingly gripped his balls. As his head bobbed up and down, the hand at the base twisted gently around, stimulating every possible inch of skin. Saliva along with the pre-cum made it easier when he relaxed his throat and moved both hands down to cup Marik's tightened sac. His boyfriend's fingers were tangled harshly in his hair, almost painfully pulling at the locks. With one long hum vibrating in his throat, Malik made Marik cum powerfully, his body thrashing naturally with satisfaction.
After one whispered 'fuck', Marik lay back contentedly against the bed and relaxed, feeling better than he had in days. Malik licked his lips clean and crawled up Marik's body with a happy grin on his face. He kissed his boyfriend's cheek and giggled when Marik's lips twitched. He was unable to say much, still in a state of paralyzing bliss after his orgasm.
"You're welcome." Malik said before curling up into Marik's side and falling back asleep.
Around noon, Yami and Ryou stirred from their positions in the former's bedroom. They had fallen asleep leaning against the bed frame while reading through the old Notaro family diaries; countless pages of information in the form of poems and stories filled those age-withered books. Names of demons Ryou had never even imagined along with their magical abilities.
One of them – called a Succubus – literally turned her victims on until they were about to burst and then jetted her tongue down their throat to drink their testosterone.
Talk about a hard death.
Then there were the vampires (they do not glitter, much to Ryou's relief), werewolves, wendigos, revenge-seeking spirits (very much unlike Casper), fairies, trolls, nymphs, Kazi demons (who were reborn from their ashes like a phoenix), golems, something that looked like a demonic dominatrix, and then a story about how Yami's great, great, great, great, great, great grandmother fell in love with a siren and killed her husband.
And that was only one book.
Others were stocked with spells and potions for vanquishing these demons or for daily worries like truth-telling serums or love potions. Ryou was absolutely fascinated by the information and had read as much of it as he could until his eyes closed of their own accord. He fell asleep leaning against Yami's bed.
For Yami, last night was a refresher course. When his mother died, these books were all he had of her and he had used much of his grieving time to read and reread them in hopes of feeling her presence. A part of him always believed, but until the attack he hadn't truly allowed it to surface. Now the faith in what his mother had taught him was rewarded, and he was quite frankly thrilled to prove her right.
Yami rubbed his eyes when he woke all the way, looking around his room to see diaries littered all around the floor and Ryou struggling to wake up. His white haired friend reached forward to touch his toes and squinted at Yami with a small chuckle.
"Morning."
"Hey." Yami replied. He stood up and cracked his back. "Sleep well?"
"As well as can be expected, I suppose." He smiled, ever polite even after sleeping upright against a hard bed frame all night. They examined the mess of a room together, opting to clean up the books later after some much needed teeth-brushing and food-eating. And bladder-relieving.
The bathroom closest to Yami's bedroom was quite small, so he let Ryou use it while he ventured down the hall to a toilet near Seto's room. Knowing his cousin, he had undoubtedly already been awake and working far before the sun was this high in the sky.
After brushing his teeth, Yami washed his face with warm water. He stared at his own reflection over the towel drying his face, taking in the dark circles under his eyes. They told a very truthful story of how late he really stayed up and how frantically he was trying to figure out who the yellow-scaled demon was working for.
The way Yami saw it they had three main problems to deal with.
1. Finding out who is attacking them (with sub-problems of why and how to defeat them)
2. Convincing the non-believers in their group that magic was very much real
3. Discovering their individual powers
He wasn't sure exactly how they would accomplish any of these yet. The books he'd gone through last night were not very helpful with these specific problems and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was probably too eager to accurately solve anything at the moment.
Ignoring his relentless thought process, Yami decided to get some breakfast. Or lunch. Whatever.
Unfortunately, his path out of the bathroom was blocked by another body sleepily staggering in from the hallway.
"Oh, joy. Just the face I want to see when I wake up." Yami glared down at Yuugi who was still too asleep to retort or even recognize that he was being spoken to. Instead, he rubbed his large eyes and looked innocently up at Yami; the look momentarily betrayed his usual hardened exterior and showed him to be the lost teenage boy he really was.
And, if only for a second, Yami thought that maybe that face really was what he wanted to see every morning.
But then Yuugi must have recognized who was in front of him because his eyes darkened and he pushed past Yami and grumbled about it being 'too early for this bullshit'.
"It's nearly noon, you fuckwad."
No. No he did not think anything remotely pleasant about that cherub face.
Yami narrowed his eyes at the closed bathroom door, stubbornly convincing himself that he had absolutely not had such a thought about Yuugi-freaking-Moto. Then he trudged heavily down the hallway which led to the kitchen, determined to avoid that little shit as well as he could. There were too many demons and nightmares to consider for him to be battling his own mind.
About halfway down the hall, arguing quietly whispered out of a room to Yami's right. Focusing on the scrap brought Yami out of his internal dilemma and slowed his voyage for food; the voices were low and dangerously hostile, especially for the pair that was speaking. As far as Yami knew, they had never fought over anything before.
"Kura, all I'm saying is to give him a chance to explain. There really is some interesting stuff and it all fits perf-"
"Ryou, enough! I'm not going to believe anything either of you say, so just quit while I still like you." Yami's jaw dropped at Bakura's words, unable to believe his friend was speaking in such a way to Ryou of all people. For anyone else, such a tone would be excusable but to Ryou – the first person he truly loved outside of their messed up little family – hearing Bakura speak almost hostilely was beyond shocking.
"I…Kura-"
"No! Just leave me alone already!"
Peeking into Bakura's bedroom, Yami saw Ryou with a slack jaw and tearful eyes. The look of pain and shock in those big doe-brown irises was enough to make even Yami's heart twitch. Ryou's lip quivered slightly and he brought his hand up to touch his own cheek just under his eye, as if preparing to catch possible falling tears. He looked with sorrow towards the bed where Yami assumed Bakura was sitting.
"Okay, Bakura. I'll go." Ryou's voice shook as he said goodbye. "Have fun in denial, love."
Quickly, Yami ducked behind a wall as Ryou scurried out of Bakura's room in thankfully the opposite direction of where Yami hid. There was no indication of where Ryou wanted to go, but he seemed most interested in getting away from the one who had just stuck a knife in his heart.
Although they had shared a friendly night and Yami was beyond appreciative for Ryou's certainty, Bakura was still his best friend. Yami had to first be sure of his friend's stability before he tried to comfort Ryou.
Yami glanced back around the wall to be sure the coast was clear before entering Bakura's room without knocking, as was their custom. His dearest friend was leaning against his headboard in a mournful position with his eyes closed. Like a child, Yami bounced onto the bed and propped himself up next to his friend. Not that he was happy at the moment, but usually annoying Bakura was the best way to cheer him up.
Sure it was ass-backwards, but that's just how Bakura worked.
"Go the fuck away, Yami."
"You were incredibly mean to Ryou just now."
"I'm mean to everyone."
"Not him."
With a groan Bakura punched Yami lightly on the shoulder, clearly despondent just by the lack of effort he put in to hurting the other. He was absolutely not in the mood to discuss this right now.
He was unable to even comprehend how exhausted he was. That creep last night held him by the neck and would have killed him if it weren't for Smoky the Bear barging in. Was he really supposed to be over it already?
God, why did Ryou have to talk? Why couldn't he have just walked in and hugged Bakura and sat there with him? Why did Bakura have to possess such a loose mouth with no filter?
"You're really so set against magic that you'd hurt Ryou? The only one to actually put up with you? The one you actually fe-"
"Stop."
Yami abruptly shut up. Bakura never spoke with such plea in his voice. He was already beating himself up enough over Ryou, he obviously didn't need Yami in his face as well. His own regretful heart was suffocating him, strangling him for making Ryou cry.
Bakura barely noticed that Yami left. He was focusing on the sound of heartbreak that had laced Ryou's voice. Or perhaps the sound came from his own chest.
Later on the day found Yuugi and Jou in dispute as well. Seto had heard of Bakura and Ryou's argument when he asked why the quieter white-haired boy was locked alone in Yami's bedroom reading those diaries all day. Now that Yuugi and Jou were quarrelling (for the first time he had ever been aware of), Seto had to wonder if there wasn't some kind of magic putting them all on edge.
Then again, why would a demon bother with magic for that when their hormones were already getting the job done perfectly?
"Yuugi, just stay! We are all going to be here and it is the safest place for us."
"No, Jou, please don't ask me. I want to go home."
Jou ground his teeth in frustration, growingly agitated by his friend's stubbornness. Yuugi absolutely refused to remain at the mansion with them, insisting on returning to the Game Shop where he would be alone and vulnerable. Or in Yuugi's words, safe and sound.
With is bags already packed and a cab waiting to drive him home, all Yuugi had to do was get passed his friend; a feat which proved much more difficult than he originally thought.
When they started to fight, Kaiba perched himself on the bottom of the stairs to watch and be sure Jou didn't overexert himself. Now he and Yami (attracted to a distressed Yuugi) were sitting there together, unsure of whether or not to intervene. Neither wanted Yuugi to leave, but they understood that the friends needed to work this out for themselves.
"Yuug, please."
"Jou, the meter is running. I have to go." Yuugi looked pleadingly up at Jou, silently asking him to understand. "I can't stay here."
Yami caught the small glance his way from Yuugi, but couldn't figure out if it was hateful or not. Jou, however, was blinded by his desire to keep his friend safe. Everyone was separating and that was exactly what horror movies taught you not to do.
"Bakura is locked up in his room and not remotely interested in talking to anyone. Ryou is locked in Yami's room all emotional. Marik and Malik are somewhere doing something and you know they won't join us until they've had their fill of each other. Then if you go home, I'll be here with Seto and Yami and that's it. We need you, pal. I need you." Yuugi sighed and pulled his jacket closer around him. "And before you say anything, no I cannot come with you."
"Jou, how can you just believe in all of this?" Jou's heart clenched at the shake in his friend's voice. "How can you? Magic isn't real. It can't be real."
"Yuug-"
"Jou, if magic is real - if I have powers, if we are all some kind of ultimate fighting machines then why-" he cut himself off to focus his eyes on Yami's, almost as if he were directing the question at him instead. "Why couldn't I save him? How can you stand there and tell me that all of a sudden you believe in magic when the real world took your sister from you? A real, human person was responsible for her death, just like one was responsible for Grandpa's and I was there and I couldn't help him."
He stared once again at Yami, tears falling now. The boy on the stairs felt as if he could see a miserable memory playing behind those amethyst globes; his heart twitched for the second time that day. A desire to protect Yuugi suddenly overwhelmed him, even as the smaller's eyes toughened and his stance straightened before he looked back to Jou.
"Yuug, we didn't know then. Even if we did, what could we have done? How would you have stopped some rando from getting drunk and driving?"
"I was there, Jou, I saw Grandpa get hit I could have-"
"No, Yuugi, you couldn't have." They all turned to look at Yami as he commented for the first time. He had no idea what had happened exactly on the night Yuugi's grandfather died, but he knew it was the opposite of natural causes. His own parents had been victim to a faulty break line, but Yuugi's grandfather was hurt by the unruly actions of one irresponsible human being.
Yuugi's response was cut short by yet another blare of the horn and a hostile scream from the driver. With one final longing look towards his best friend – and a confusing, pained glance at the boys on the stairs – Yuugi turned around and walked out the door.
With Jou's options running low, he made to chase after his friend. Yuugi was stubborn. He was fiery and proud and when he made up his mind about something, it was impossible to change it. At this point, Jou was always there to pull him back and make him see sense. Or at least keep him in one place until he calmed down enough to reason with himself.
But he could not get through the arm across his shoulders.
"Pup, you need rest. Let him go." He growled and pushed at Seto, though with his body still in bad condition his strength was severely depleted and his attempt was ineffective.
"I can't let him go. He needs someone to go with him; he thinks he's okay on his own but he's not." Jou fell heavy in Seto's arms, near tears from exhaustion and heartache. "He's so alone, all the time."
Seto looked back to Yami, silently requesting that he do something to help but found that his cousin was already hurrying out the door. He saw Yuugi close the trunk after placing his suitcase inside.
"Hey!" Yami jogged down the stairs, grateful that Yuugi heard him and stopped next to the door to look back and listen. "Wait, Yuugi don't go."
Yuugi snorted. "And why would you be interested in me staying?"
Yami's crimson eyes rolled as he reached the door, placing a strong arm on the car to keep Yuugi from opening it (and also "unintentionally" trapping the smaller boy under his body). Yuugi glared, flummoxed by Yami's actions, only to be met by an equally fierce look from Yami. Though admittedly the crimson orbs were less angry and more concerned.
"Your friend is in there near hysterics because on top of being almost killed by a demon, learning that magic is real, discovering that the kid he's had a crush on actually returns it, and being in a completely unfamiliar situation, his best friend just abandoned him." Yuugi's glare faltered slightly at the notion that he had harmed Jou in any way. But the closeness of Yami along with the reminder of exactly what brought them to Kaiba mansion reinforced his anger.
"Stop emphasizing your words!" Yuugi pushed at Yami's chest to no avail. "You know nothing about me; who are you to come out here and judge me like this?"
"I would never hurt my friend like you just did."
"And I would never be so blinded by fairytales! Fiction, Yami, non-reality. Jou got into a fight with Kaiba and it went too far. Kaiba brought him back here because he felt bad. That man was just a hallucination from all the weed."
"Only high amounts of that drug cause hallucinations and even if it were a hallucination, Yuugi-darling, we wouldn't all share it."
At this point, they had gotten incredibly close together. Yuugi could feel the anger flying off of Yami's heated skin despite the cold temperature outside. Yami's hand against the door fisted tightly. He was at the brink of his self-control and clearly wasn't going to get through to Yuugi if the cynical look in those eyes was anything to go by.
He banged his fist on the door twice to summon the driver, ever so slightly thrilled by the confusion in Yuugi's face. Adrenaline washed over him because of the anger and some kind of desire to protect. It was like the idea of Yuugi being alone and in danger – or even just alone and sad – was enough to boil his blood.
"I hope you realize that the meter has been running and you guys owe me quite a bit of money," said the irate driver. He was a man with one glass eye, a pot-belly, no hair on his head, and far too much everywhere else. "Where do you want to go already?"
"Bring the suitcase back up to the door; we will pay you double." With that, Yami grabbed Yuugi around his upper legs and slung him over his shoulder, completely inadvertently placing the smaller boy's perfect bum by his smirking face.
Yuugi squawked. "Notaro! Not- what the fuck are you doing?! Put me down. Now."
His protests were utterly ignored as Yami climbed back to the front door. He stormed into the living room, throwing a 'pay the man' at Seto on the way. Yuugi was now screaming, red in the face and angrier than all hell.
"I'm not putting you down until you shut up."
"I will not shut up, you douche! I'm not just some rag doll and you can't just pick people up whenever they do something you don't want them t- Ow!" Yuugi flinched when Yami pinched his leg in an effort to quiet down the ear-shattering volume.
He was so loud that the other teens in the house left their respective rooms to investigate. What they saw was Yuugi flailing his arms and legs, hitting and kicking Yami whose grip only seemed to tighten.
"What the fuck is he doing?" Malik whispered to Jou. The blonde shook his head and leaned against Seto, completely drained from information overload and physical pain. They all just stared at the two fighting central to their circle. No one said much, but they didn't look away either.
Which is why they all witnessed when Yami's body began to shimmer in much the same way as the demons had last night before it disappeared. They all came to attention, prepared to jump and save their friends; even Yuugi stopped screeching to calmly ask Yami what he was doing.
"You can't be alone," Yami's voice rasped out of his throat. His breathing was extremely labored and his tanned skin glistened with sweat. It seemed that the very air around him was shaking with might. "I will keep everyone safe. Even if you hate me."
Yuugi screamed once again as his body was lifted higher into the air. At the same time, he never left Yami's body. The others gasped and grabbed on to each other, staring up at Yuugi with wide eyes. He was about a foot above Seto's head and the arms around him had grown in size, warming his skin through his jeans. He sneezed when some of the fur under his face tickled his nose.
"Wait…fur?" Yuugi looked over his shoulder towards where Yami's hair had been and saw dark black fur instead. He covered his mouth quickly, trying to avoid screaming and startling the animal holding him.
"The fuck is with this weekend and bears!?" Bakura yelled. Despite their row earlier, he found himself standing with part of his body in front of Ryou. The six teens on the ground had nothing else to say; they only stared at their friend in complete shock. He roared in response to Bakura's snipe and sat down, placing Yuugi's body in front of him and covering it.
His mind was still functioning. That is to say, Yami was well aware of what he was doing and what was going on. He just couldn't control it at the moment; almost like his instincts to keep Yuugi safe from himself had completely taken over the second the other boy started to leave. The others were not a threat, but they could take Yuugi away from him and although his objection to that would normally cause alarm, at the moment he couldn't be bothered.
"Wait, you guys, remember what Yami said when we were drunk?" They looked at Malik expectantly, all keeping Yami in their peripheral vision. "His great-whatever was a shape shifter or something."
Yuugi felt tears cascading down his face and his hand which still covered his mouth. There was a bear holding him and his friends were acting as if everything was okay. He started to shake uncontrollably, scared and upset. Seto stood first, moving slowly towards the boy and bear on the floor. He held Jou's clinging hand behind him, but spoke without fear.
"Yami?" The bear snorted in response, cuddling Yuugi closer to his body defensively. "If we leave will you change back?"
Yami the Bear glared at Seto and shook his head. He wasn't going to let Yuugi go until he was sure he would stay with them.
Behind them, Bakura shivered when he felt warm, smooth fingers on his shoulder moving him out of the way. Ryou walked around him to stand next to Kaiba and look at Yami. He stared into his friend's animalistic red eyes for a moment before nodding and moving his gaze down to a still terrified, shaking Yuugi.
"Honey, he says that he will only turn back if you promise to stay." Yuugi's eyes widened as he quietly considered what Ryou was saying.
"It's not like I really have a choice, is it?" He laughed bitterly, desperate for normalcy. With one solemn nod, Yuugi resigned himself to staying at the mansion. "At least for one more night."
Yami accepted this answer, as he was sure he wasn't going to get any better answer at the moment. His body once again shimmered and Yuugi found himself sitting in Yami's lap awkwardly. He really missed his beautifully normal friends from school right about now.
Seeing Yami calmed down and human, the rest of the gang visibly relaxed, slouching into the couches and each other. Yuugi crawled away from Yami and into Ryou's open arms, hugging his friend close. Yami stared regretfully at the terrified boy, but was still grateful that he wouldn't be leaving.
Everyone felt even worse than they had this morning; all emotions and hysterics and terror and loneliness. They looked anywhere but at each other, unable to accept….well, anything that was happening. Instead, silence fell over them all like a cold blanket, burying their ability to speak or think about what was happening.
Well, for almost all of them.
"Hey guys. Remember that one time Yami turned in to Yogi Bear?"
"Shut up, Marik."
"They haven't stopped fighting since they woke up, sir."
"Thank you, Antoine. You are free to go."
The demon with the glass eye nodded to his master's back before departing as told. Dax smirked evilly as he cut his own finger to use his orange, slimy blood for the concoction before him. As the potion smoked and a familiar smell of rotting flesh filled his nostrils, he smiled in a terrifyingly happy way.
Those benders would be ruining each other's lives before any other powers unlocked, he would make sure of that.
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