Yu-Gi-Oh is the property of Konami and Kazuki Takahashi, and this work is only a very appreciative celebration, from which we hope to derive no profit of any kind.
Had there ever been such an uncomfortable dinner? Yami knew what role he was supposed to play: He was supposed to be the upstanding older son of the household, sitting here with his mother, his father, his little brother, and his good friend. They were eating some kind of fowl with potatoes, and drinking fancy wine. Maybe an outsider would have said he was doing a pretty good job of it too, but he knew he wasn't. A real brother wouldn't have just sat there staring across the table at his younger brother, the way he was doing tonight. A real younger brother, for that matter, wouldn't have stared back, with the smitten (but a little bit terrified) look Yuugi was wearing. - For that matter, a real friend, which is what Pegasus was supposed to be, wouldn't have been looking daggers at both of them the way he was doing, would he? Yami, wasn't dumb; he knew his partner in crime had been itching to get him aside and talk to him all afternoon. He knew what he wanted to say, too, and after all the older man had done for him, he felt like a naughty schoolboy, avoiding him, and ignoring his instructions this way. But this was one schoolboy who was going to play truant a while longer. An afternoon with Yuugi didn't even begin to be long enough, and they still had a whole night together ahead of them. He was going to enjoy tonight, Yami told himself, let the consequences be what they would. And afterward, well afterward was soon enough to start worrying about the future.
Across the table, Yuugi just picked at his food. His fork stabbed at the slice of meat and the potatoes on his plate, but not very much went to his mouth. "You're tired dear," his mother worried a little bit. "Did you over-exert yourself at the castle?" But she didn't give him too much attention; her focus seemed to be more on Pegasus. Likewise, the Earl seemed very interested in Yami's hapless partner in crime tonight, and he kept badgering at him with a lot of arcane Scottish history details, and talking about "after the ladies are excused," and how it would be just them then, and they could have "a good, long talk." Preoccupied as he was, Yami couldn't help laughing a little to himself, at the thought of poor Pegasus, helpless and cornered by both Jardine parents, after Yuugi and "Donald" left the table.
And finally the interminable meal was over, and they did leave the table. Just as quickly, Pegasus bobbed up, putting out his hand with a look toward Yami. "If I might have a word," he said, but the Earl interrupted.
"Let them go," he said. "We don't want our time together turning into the children's hour anyhow." - Yami didn't have to look back at his partner, to know what kind of obscenities Pegasus was mouthing under his breath as his last chance to talk slipped away. He didn't care anyway, all his attention was on Yuugi.
"We're going upstairs for a while, Mother," - Yuugi could barely keep his own gaze from Yami's, but fortunately, the Countess seemed oblivious. "I ...ah, want Donald's help with my Geometry assignment." He immediately colored crimson-red, making the lie painfully obvious, but no one reacted; really, Yami thought, it was a good thing for them, that all the adults in the family seemed to be so busy flirting with Pegasus.
"Yes," he said, his conman's skill serving him in love, as it always had in money. "I'm going to see how much I can remember from my own schooldays." Then he all but scooted his "little brother" up to Donald's room in a hurry. Even Yami's stomach was starting to twist a little now. Was this really going to happen? Was he going to... be more to Yuugi than just his brother? - His so-called brother? - Donald was dead, and he'd taken his place, but this wasn't taking a brother's place he was doing tonight, this was something else. And same-sex coupling wasn't looked upon kindly in Britain; what was he leading his innocent little "brother" into?
"Yuugi," - Barely inside the room, Yami shut the door behind them, and turned to his "brother". He touched Yuugi's shoulders gently, like you would a treasure, and stared into his violet eyes. "I can't begin to say what this time with you means to me." His voice was soft, and he felt tears starting as he spoke. "I never thought," he said, "I never thought I'd meet anyone like you. And now that I have, I'm going to do all in my power to see we're never parted again." He bent, pressing his lips to Yuugi's, cutting off (he was sure) a lot of protestations about how they'd been brothers since they'd been born, and would continue to be brothers the rest of their lives.
He felt Yuugi's sharp intake of breath, felt him start to pull away right before their lips met. What he was doing to him was wrong, wrong. - No, it was the lie that had been wrong. If he'd come to Yuugi in his own identity, he'd have had a chance to win him, he'd have been doing this right. Now the beauty of their first night together was always going to be tainted. Yami felt the tension in his "brother's" body; he knew the mental struggle it represented. And then he felt Yuugi's body relax in his arms. Their lips met, and it wasn't just him kissing Yuugi, it was Yuugi leaning up to kiss him as well.
There was no room or time to talk, no room to think even. It was just their bodies pressed together finally, both of them clinging to each other like they would never let go. Yami ran his tongue along Yuugi's lower lip, gently coaxing his mouth open, then he caught his breath, moaning a little as their kiss deepened. If only it could always be like this. If only this was all there was, just the two of them meeting, and recognizing their attraction for each other, and surrendering to it, with no lies, and no rules about what men were and were not supposed to do with each other. He'd always ignored those rules before, and been content to share Pegasus' comfortable life outside the law. But those rules could hurt Yuugi. - What kind of risk was he putting him in just by sharing this night with him?
"Donald." Yuugi's soft whisper brushed his face like a caress. There was that too, wasn't there? There was his lie that he was Yuugi's dead brother. By god, Yami told himself, he was going to find a way to tell him the truth, consequences be damned. …But not tonight.
"Shh," he whispered. "No names. Let's just be happy together, no matter what happens tomorrow."
"No names." Yuugi looked up at him, and the love in his eyes was so strong, Yami felt weak in the knees.. "It's just you and me, just two souls. - Oh, I want this, Don... I mean, my love."
My love. Had there ever been more beautiful words? Gently, Yami led Yuugi across the room, to sit down on his bed. The gaslight wasn't lit; the only light in the room came from the fireplace, and the warm flicker of it turned Yuugi's hair to gold, leaving his face in shadow. My love," Yami told him, "my beautiful, innocent, trusting little Yuugi." Tears wanted to come into his eyes as he looked down at those violet eyes, and that loving smile. "You know what you're risking if we're caught, don't you?"
"Yes." Yuugi's voice was soft, but it was firm. "I know, my love. And I'm not afraid." It was too much. No one had ever given Yami a gift like this. He fought back a sob and pressed Yuugi tighter than ever. For a moment, all he wanted to do was bask in the closeness of him, to breathe in his scent, and feel his hair brushing against his own face.
They didn't need more light. They were finding their way around each other by touch, hands stroking each other's hair, neck, ears, shoulders. Looking down, Yami saw that Yuugi's eyes were closed, an expression of rapture and perfect trust on his face that twisted his heart. "My love," he murmured between kisses, his thumb stroking Yuugi's swollen lips. "As long as I live, I will love and protect you. No harm will ever befall you," forgetting the lie he had been living and telling all this time, in his passion of tenderness. "I will stand by your side for the rest of my life."
"Don..." Yuugi caught himself easily, the word half-said, and smiled up at him. "My love, I want you to be with me for the rest of my life."
He pulled away, and for a moment Yami thought he'd done something wrong, or given himself away somehow. But Yuugi's smile was still just as warm as before, the only change was that now it was a little bit playful. "Undress for me, will you my love?" Were they so comfortable that he was making demands now? This is how I am with Pegasus.It flashed through Yami's mind, but he pushed the thought away. This wasn't the demand of a spoiled, petted plaything, but the same kind of affectionate teasing he and Yuugi had shared ever since he'd gotten here. He looked at him, and Yuugi smiled back. "I want a chance to admire you properly," he said. "You undressed so quickly the other night. And besides, you're really mine now. Do it for me, will you?"
"For you, anything." If there was discomfort, Yami ignored it. He undid the buttons on his own dress jacket, removing it and tossing it aside, and then, very quickly, doing the same thing with his shirt. Yuugi looked curiously at the light undershirt he wore underneath.
"No long underwear?" He giggled. "No wonder you're always cold."
Yami could have spun some lie about it's being too warm all the time in India for him to need the kind of heavy woolen undergarments everyone wore here, but he didn't. There were going to be no more lies between him and Yuugi. "You like it?" he said instead. "See, it's custom-tailored." Too late, he remembered that it was also monogrammed, as he sat down to let Yuugi stroke the fine cotton undershirt. He stood again, much more quickly. "I'm sure you'd rather see what's under it," he said.
"I feel like one of the girls in the Folies Bergeres," he said, mentioning the naughty nightclub he and Pegasus used to visit when they were in Paris. - He'd always headed straight to the back room and the card games waiting there, but his partner used to linger sometimes and watch the shows. "None of those girls can hold a candle to you," he used to say, the usual silver-tongued Pegasus. - Yami unbuttoned the shirt and pulled it over his head.
"Now the pants." – Yuugi's voice brought him back to the present. "I want to see everything." He colored a little. "I've never really had a chance to look at another man naked before."
He hadn't seen any other men naked, because most Englishmen were prudes, Yami thought, as he undid the buttons on his dress trousers. He'd never felt uncomfortable undressing himself; maybe that was his Middle-Eastern heritage coming out, or maybe it came from the time he'd spent living in Paris, where people were freer about nudity and their bodies. All he felt, as he dropped the trousers and stepped out of them, was pleasure at being able to give Yuugi what he wanted.
"You're beautiful," Yuugi whispered.
"Am I?" All those times Pegasus had called him "beautiful" - Pretty much every time they'd been together, he'd called him that; his partner was a flatterer in his private life, not just when he was on the con, Yami thought. - and it hadn't carried the weight of Yuugi's soft, whispered words. Maybe that was because of the pure, innocent admiration that shone out of Yuugi's violet eyes as he said it. "I want to be beautiful for you, my love," Yami said. He shivered a little, the room starting to get cold, as the room died down, but he remained standing, like a servant, waiting patiently, letting Yuugi look at him for as long as he wanted.
"You are beautiful," Yuugi repeated, and he stopped there. Yami, watching him, noticed as his eyes stopped traveling up and down his body, and focused, staring at just one particular place. "I... Are all men so big?" he asked, sounding a little nervous.
"You can touch me, you know." Yami's voice was nothing but a whisper. "I want to feel your touch."
"I don't know. I've never touched that...one of those..." Yuugi was still mostly dressed; no one would be shocked to see him run down the corridor and back to his room like that. And for a moment, it looked like that was just what he wanted to do. Then Yami saw him swallow. He saw his eyes move, as if by an act of determination, from his erect penis, back up to meet his eyes. "Be gentle with me, Don ...ah, my love," he said. "I never did this ...anything like this before. I don't even know what two men do together."
Yami felt a rush of tenderness and affection. He'd always been like a pet, with Pegasus, definitely the younger and more innocent of the two of them. He'd been a flirt and a plaything to the jaded sophisticates he and his partner had scammed over the years. What he'd never done before though, was to be firstwith someone. He'd never taught anyone about love. "They don't do anything more than you want to do, Yuugi." He dropped onto the bed and took him in his arms. At first Yuugi pulled back a little, with a nervousness that hadn't been there before. Yami took his time, stroking his hair, brushing kisses and murmuring little endearments in his ears, until he felt him relax.
"I'm sorry." Yuugi's cheek rested against his chest, and his voice was so soft that Yami could hardly hear him. "I said I would be with you tonight." He looked up at him. "This isn't what you meant, is it?"
"There aren't any rules." As if he knew anything about that, Yami thought, when he'd spent his entire life breaking the rules, or ignoring them whenever it was convenient for him. He stroked Yuugi's spiky, reddish blond hair away from his face and looked down at him, both their faces shadowed as the fire died down. "I don't want to be with some expert lover." -
"I'll bet you've been with a lot of them." Yuugi forced a laugh. "When you were in India..."
Oh, he'd been with a lot of them all right. And a more sophisticated young man might have figured out that the first on his list of past lovers was probably the so-called "good friend" he'd brought with him on his visit. But Yuugi was pure innocence, and he pictured the squads of his "brother's" past lovers sort of the way he did the huge tigers in India, that were like giant pussycats. How could he claim this boy for his own without destroying that innocence, Yami wondered? How, when he was who he was, a liar, and a cheat, here on false pretenses?
"I've never been with anyone like you," he told Yuugi, his voice warm. "I'm not going to make you do anything. It's enough that you wanted to be with me tonight." It wasn't, of course. Now that they were together, he craved the other's touch. He wanted Yuugi to trust him enough to touch him all over ...and his erection throbbed for the attention it was used to getting, the attention Pegasus would have already been giving it. "You should take off your trousers at least though," he said. "They're going to get wrinkled. And after that, if you want to keep on those long underwear you were talking about." His own laugh was the last vestige of Yami-the-conman, faked, when what he wanted was to yell, Touch me, Yuugi, let me feel your naked skin against mine!
"All right." Standing up, Yuugi removed the trousers, showing a pair of Jaeger's thickest woolen combinations just long enough for Yami to get a good look. Then, to his "brother's" surprise, he removed those as well, and jumped back in bed too fast for him to get a look at the bare pink skin underneath. "I know you're not going to hurt me," he said. "I trust you, my love."
"You're not going to regret it." Yami felt himself near tears again, at Yuugi's trust. He hugged him close, keeping his hands firmly above the waist to justify the trust he'd been given, and kissed him again.
Their bodies side by side, Yuugi looked up at his "brother". "What do we do now?" he asked.
"Just relax." Yami the older man's plaything was getting a good initiation into how to lead tonight. "I'll kiss you." - He suited action to words. - "I'll touch you." - His hand ran along Yuugi's chest, one finger just circling a sensitive nipple. - "If I do anything you don't like, tell me and I'll stop, I promise."
"Not yet. You - Ohh!" Yuugi caught his breath at the feel of Yami's teasing finger. "Oh, that feels good!"
A cynic would have said it was slow going. - Of course a cynic would have been off and away by now, pursuing other, easier conquests. Who wanted to coax a response out of an awkward, nervous virgin, when there were other partners to be had, partners who knew the score, and knew how to give pleasure as well as receive it? But every time a touch of his pleased Yuugi, and he gasped his pleasure, the sound caught at Yami's heart. It sent a rush of answering pleasure flooding through him, that was better than anything he'd ever felt with the sophisticated worldlings he'd been with before. Slowly his hands moved downward, touching sensitive skin, as he listened to Yuugi's breathing, becoming more and more erratic. He expected to be stopped any moment now, but Yuugi allowed him to continue, his eyes closed as passion grew, his chest heaving, and his body shivering from pleasure. To Yami's relief, there was no 'Donald' coming from Yuugi's lips, just soft "my love", over and over again.
He added his lips as his hands moved lower and lower, taking great pleasure in drawing ever louder and more delighted gasps from Yuugi. Kissing his skin, Yami kept touching, kept stroking, until he finally found the place that made Yuugi cry out loud. He made sure the experience was as amazing and wonderful as possible for the other, and he enjoyed hearing his cries, enjoyed his reactions, and when Yuugi finally lay back, painting and satisfied, he immediately took him in his arms.
"Is this... what men do together?" Yuugi asked, his voice as soft and low as a whisper, as he move to return the embrace, his arms sliding over Yami's skin.
"This is what men can do when they're together," Yami said, keeping his voice low as
well, brushing feather-light kisses on Yuugi's brow. "There's a lot more what they can do. I'll show you more another time."
"But you..." Leave it to Yuugi to still blush like a virgin; Yami could feel the heat on his cheeks.
"Shhh... " His own erection still throbbed against his leg, begging for attention, but in some deep way, Yami felt more felt satisfied than he ever had before with anyone. Yuugi's pleasure had been all the satisfaction he craved. The physical pleasure they'd shared had brought him and Yuugi closer. "Don't worry about it." He pressed a kiss into the sweaty hair that stuck to Yuugi's
forehead.
"I want us to have lots of other times together." Yuugi murmured, his voice a little drowsy. "And I want you to feel the same way you just made me feel."
"I know, and I want it too." Another kiss, and Yami pulled the blankets closer around them, enveloping their bodies. "Now rest, my love." He didn't need to say more; after that Yuugi feel asleep, safely tucked in his arms. As for Yami though, he lay awake. He knew what he had to do, what honor demanded that he do, but it wasn't going to be easy for him to do it.