IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!! - This is the Yu-Gi-Oh! Yaoi portion of the Shipping List in order. Be forewarned. Some "pairings" will not be fluffy and cute. But they will all, hopefully, be believable. Rating's will vary.
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi
Author's Note: I think this one might disappoint some people because of the rating... Some of you might have been hoping for an M but Touzokou's hatred of the throne just wouldn't allow for that without heavy backstory between these two.
Rating: PG-T
Yu-Gi-Oh! Shipping List #44 - "The Mentality of Adolescence"
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Casteshipping (Pharaoh Atem x Doroboo Bakura)
Atem's lungs heaved in his chest. His heart pounded against his ribcage and a breathy laugh escaped his parted lips as he pressed himself against the wall of a building in the marketplace, a small fist holding together the cloak covering his colorful hair tightly.
Seth would be so mad when he caught him. But it was Seth's own fault that he was all alone now. If Seth had gone with him, like he'd asked, instead of being so uptight, he wouldn't be alone.
Atem turned his head this way and that, looking all around and taking everything in excitedly. He wasn't going to waste much time worrying about Seth. Now that he'd snuck out of the palace, Seth couldn't do anything about it but find him. He couldn't possibly tell anyone that he'd misplaced the twelve year old prince of all Egypt. It sounded entertaining when Atem thought of it that way.
Keeping a tight hold on his cloak, Atem proceeded to give himself the royal tour. Atem snickered at the joke in his head. All around him people were shouting out their wares and bargains. Atem's wide eyes took it all in with wonder. He wanted to experience things like normal people sometimes, but Atem wasn't stupid. He skirted the edge of the crowd and stayed in the shadows of buildings and tents. Bad things would happen if he were recognized, even if everyone there got on their knees and bowed to him, bad things would happen when word reached his father's ears.
Atem had gotten a few coins from one of the servants in exchange for a tiny jewel of his. The two were hardly equal but it was worth it to Atem because neither one really meant anything to him but the coins could be spent without suspicion on things he couldn't find in the palace.
Down the street a ways, Atem noticed a game stall and his eyes went wide with excitement. There were even people playing a dice game with astragali and gambling in front of the stall. Atem loved to play dice but he was never permitted to gamble. He was so excited he bounced on his feet as he watched but just as he was about to make his way over, a boy rounded the stall in front of him at breakneck speed. He was looking back over his shoulder and Atem was so startled that he couldn't get out of the way fast enough. The boy collided with him and they both fell together in a heap of tangled limbs on the packed earth below.
No sooner had they hit the ground than an irate stall keeper rounded the corner after the boy, shouting and waving his fist in the air. The boy wasted no time disentangling himself from Atem and stumbling on. Atem followed in a panic. If that shop keep got a hold of him, he would be punished by his father for sneaking away from the palace.
Atem was too concerned with his own problems to realize that he was actually following after the boy, probably a thief, who had collided with him. It hadn't escaped the boy, though. He reached back and grabbed hold of Atem's wrist, pulling him roughly around a sharp corner.
Atem gasped at the unexpected contact but before he could protest, the air was knocked from his lungs as his body collided harshly with the stone blocks of a squat building. The boy was in front of him, a hand covering his mouth, before Atem could even think. From the corner of his vision, Atem saw the shop keep run by their hiding place and when he'd gone, the boy slowly stepped away.
"If you scream, I'll cut out your tongue." the boy warned.
Atem nodded silently and the boy pulled his hand back, eyeing him sternly. It was Atem's first real glimpse of the boy. He, too, was wearing a cloak; the same tan color as Atem's but far more worn, and dirty. The tufts of hair that Atem could see were a light color. He couldn't tell exactly what the original color of his hair had been, for the shadows and the great amount of dust that had collected in it. One thing was clear. It had never been black. Atem pushed that thought aside. This boy's hair was no less distinct than his own. He didn't want the other to take an interest in who he might be, so it was safer that he take no interest himself.
The boy scrutinized him with narrowed, intense violet eyes. "What's a noble like you doing running from the shop keeps anyway?" he asked and Atem started. He tried to step back but found he was still trapped between the boy and the wall behind him.
"H…how did you…"
The boy rolled his eyes and grabbed Atem's wrist again, holding it up for him to see. "Your fingernails." he said, as if Atem was the dumbest person he had ever seen. "There's no dirt under 'em and they're manicured. Not to mention these pretty pampered hands have never seen a minute of work since you were born." He shook Atem's wrist in front of him as if to make his point.
Atem frowned and yanked his arm away. "That isn't true at all. My teacher once made me plant an entire row of lettuce in the gardens for my agricultural lesson."
The boy looked the tiniest bit amused at that. "I rest my case."
Atem flushed with embarrassment. "For your information, sneaking out into the marketplace on my own is punishable!"
The boy snorted, a grin pulling at the side of his face. "With what? No dinner before bed? No dessert?"
Atem's eyes narrowed further. He could tell when he was being made fun of.
"Bet you've never ever talked back to anybody before. Never sassed your daddy? Never took deserts before dinner? Never got kissed? Huh? No?" The boy broke into laughter and Atem's face burned red at knowing that laughter was at his expense.
"You're a stupid boy!" Atem shouted, fists balled at his sides. "You don't know anything! I can't sass my daddy because I don't see him long enough to sass him and I have too snuck deserts and you aren't that much older than me, you've never been kissed either!"
"I'm fifteen, course I been kissed! I'm a man! You're just a little kid. Don't compare yourself to me."
The boy turned his head to the side in a huff and Atem marveled up at him. Was it possible that he'd been too sheltered from the world? Could this street boy really be cooler than him? Could he have really done more in just those three extra years than the future prince of all Egypt? Atem had the sudden urge to stomp his foot on the ground but triumphantly resisted the urge. Taking things and sassing people was one thing, completely unfit behavior for someone with the blessing of the gods due to them. But kissing was something altogether different.
"I'm no little kid." Atem protested. "I could kiss anybody I wanted to…if I wanted to. It's just…I haven't found anybody worthy of kissing me yet." he nodded as an afterthought.
The boy raised one platinum eyebrow at him in clear disbelief. "Awful high and mighty aren't we? You couldn't even get a poor whore with an attitude like that. I sure hope you've got brothers and sisters to carry on that golden bloodline of yours cause I don't think you're likely to get any practice like that. Aaand if you don't have practice…well, nobody worth anything wants to waste time kissing a man with no practice in it." The boy shook his head sadly, clicking his tongue in pity.
Was he right? Atem had to wonder. The pharaoh was supposed to be perfect at everything he did. They didn't teach him these things in his lessons. How to plant lettuce?! What pharaoh on Earth needed to know how to plant lettuce?
"I suppose" the boy went on "since I'm so knowledgeable and you ain't…and since we can't have you venturing out into the harsh, grown-up world all unawares as you are, that I could give you a free lesson if you'd like. Unless, of course, you're afraid of kissin' a man like me, that is…"
Atem snorted in fury at the other boy. "I'm not afraid of you! I don't care if you have kissed before. You're probably really bad at it. And if I tried, I bet I'd be better than you at it the very first time!"
The boy looked unimpressed. "You know, it isn't really my life's goal to go around kissing little boys in the city. Having said that, you couldn't beat me at anything if your life depended on it."
"So prove it!" Atem challenged.
The boy eyed him for a moment and Atem changed his mind. He really needed to learn not to be so competitive all the time. He didn't really want to kiss a boy he'd just met in the marketplace but one thing had led to another and then…Atem swallowed. It was too late to change his mind.
The boy took a deep breath and reached forward, tilting his chin up with one hand. He tilted it slightly to the side until he was satisfied and Atem felt like an idiot and then leaned down and pressed his lips against the twelve year old's, pressing firmly.
It wasn't so bad as Atem had imagined but before he could analyze it further, the boy pulled back and Atem could just make out the faint hint of a blush on his cheeks.
"There's more to it but… that part's only allowed for us grown-ups, so…maybe when you grow up some more…"
The boy was backing away and Atem reached forward, grabbing onto his cloak.
"What…what is your life's goal?"
It wasn't like he wanted to find this boy again some day. It wasn't like he'd really enjoyed the kiss. But he couldn't ask the boy his name, so…
"I'm going to kill the man who murdered my parents."
The words were so deeply spoken, so dark, that Atem dropped the cloth from his hand in shock.
The boy turned back, and the darkness in his eyes made Atem gasp.
"Someday soon I'm going to be a thief and a killer. So strong that nobody can stop me. But you don't have to worry. It doesn't have anything to do with you. I'll even save that kiss, just for you."
The boy pulled his hood down, hiding his face in shadow and Atem watched as he disappeared from the alley. When he followed after and looked into the crowd, the boy was gone.
Atem wandered back to the games stall and crouched down to watch the dice game in progress. When the announcer called for betters Atem raised his arm and dug under his cloak for his small pouch of coins only to find it gone. For a moment, he searched for it frantically but it was obvious that he wasn't going to find it.
Atem scowled. That guy had even told him he was a thief. Atem didn't know whether he should be more disgusted with the thief or with himself. And then, as if on cue, Seth's voice rose above the rolling dice.
"There you are! Gambling in the street!"
Atem rolled his eyes.
"I can't believe you! How am I supposed to look out for you when you run off like this? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?"
Atem let Seth pull him to his feet and drag him along, muttering angrily to himself.
Some day he was going to see that boy again. He didn't care if he was a thief or a killer or whatever. He was going to punch that guy good. Atem's narrowed eyes burned into the back of Seth's head. That guy probably saw Seth wandering around and pointed him straight to the game stall too, the jerk.
Atem couldn't wait to see that guy again. Someday when they were both older. Wouldn't he be surprised he'd stolen from the prince of all Egypt? Atem grinned to himself as Seth pulled him along. That guy'd be real surprised to see him, then, wouldn't he?
Post whatevers: Next up is Seto x Seth x Jounouchi. As always, if you liked, please review. Ja!
