Atem and Bakura get some more one-on-one time this chapter. What could wrong?
And yes, I realize this is chapter 69. No, I did not take advantage of that fact and make it smutty. Sorry.
"For fucks sake! You had one job! ONE!" Bakura shouted.
"It's not my fault! She snuck up on me!" Atem shouted back.
"Well go get the fucking flag back!"
"I'm trying! But I keep….dying…." Atem said unenthusiastically as his avatar fell to the ground yet again.
"Gods! Why did I get stuck with you as a teammate?! The Tomb Keeper grew up in a fucking cave and is doing better!"
Bakura quickly approached Kat's avatar from behind, getting ready to pummel her with a melee attack, when his fell over.
Another avatar appeared and picked up the weapon Bakura's had dropped.
"Check it out habibty, now I have a giant hammer," Marik said teasingly. He was seated in a way that Kat could sit on his lap while he wrapped his arms around her as the two of them played on a team together.
"Great! Now you can go around pounding the fuck out of people," Kat said with a laugh.
Marik leaned forward and nibbled the top edge of her ear, which he had discovered she loved. "I can pound the fuck out of you…" he said playfully.
Kat grabbed Marik's controller and tossed it aside, along with her own. "Match over! You guys win!" she shouted as she dragged her boyfriend up the stairs and to their room.
Bakura mock-gagged at their display.
"Gods, that's vomit-inducing to listen to," he said after the door had shut.
"I have to agree," Atem stated.
Bakura reached over and picked up the first player controller to exit them out of the match. "Wanna try co-op? We'll be going against regular enemies, not the pound-happy couple."
Atem shook his head. "No. I have no problem watching other people play these kinds of games, but I have little interest in them myself."
He sighed heavily, then began to head towards the stairs. He stopped at the bottom, looked up at the closed door, wrinkled his nose, then turned and walked through the kitchen door and out into the back yard where he stood for a moment before sitting on the patio swing. He found himself looking up at the star-filled sky, realizing that, like everything else he'd come across in this era, it looked nothing like what he remembered.
Atem continued to stare at the sky, and while his mind was free of thought, his heart was heavy with sadness and longing.
The moment was interrupted, and his view suddenly obstructed, when something soft landed over top of his face, completely blocking his view. He reached up and removed the object then stared down in confusion at it. It was the comforter from his bed.
"It's a bit cold out here. Kat would kill us both if you caught pneumonia," Bakura stated as he sat down beside Atem on the swing with a beer in hand.
The cold that Atem hadn't registered before quickly found its way seeping into him, and he quickly wrapped the blanket around his shoulders in an effort to get warm. He then glanced over at the elemental that sat casually sipping his drink.
"I think you're more worried that I'll die before you get the chance to kill me."
"That too," Bakura agreed as he took another swig.
"You're welcome, by the way."
Bakura halted in raising the bottle to his lips again, then lowered it as he continued to stare off into the sky.
"You probably think I'm stupid for being so attached to it. I've noticed that you haven't touched yours since the gathering."
Atem stared back into the sky. "I spent five millennia trapped inside of that thing. Honestly, if I never see it again, it will be too soon. It's obvious, though, that you feel differently about yours."
Both knew they were referring to their respective ancient relics.
"Do you ever wish that your death had been permanent?" Atem questioned.
Bakura hesitated before answering. "More than you can imagine…but Fate had something else in store for me, and when Fate scrambles shit up, you make an omelet."
Atem slowly brought his gaze down and over towards Bakura, his brow drawn in mass confusion. "I believe the saying is 'When life hands you lemons, you make lemonade'."
Bakura brought his gaze down as well and returned Atem's confused stare. "Who the fuck drinks lemonade in the fall? I want a fuckin omelet. It's pretty easy to make, actually. You just add a little butter or cream…personally, I prefer that buttery flavor…then a dash of salt and pepper, some cheddar…maybe add some bell peppers and mushrooms. Oh, and some bacon crumble for that something 'extra'. It just pulls the whole thing together."
Atem shook his head in amusement. "Leave it to you to start thinking with your stomach."
"My dinner consisted of a bottle of gin. This is my dessert," Bakura said while holding up the bottle in his hand.
"That's not my fault."
"Well…actually it kinda is. You pissed me off with what you said earlier."
"I didn't tell you to drown your attitude with gin."
"Would you have preferred that I drowned you? Because it was a very appealing alternative."
Atem wasn't sure how to answer without expressing the irritation that was slowly making its way forth, and he didn't want things to end up like earlier, so he opted to hold his tongue and look back to the stars.
Bakura had taken to doing the same, and after several long minutes had passed (and his bottle had been emptied), he spoke up.
"Do you ever miss being able to just…go away? Block out the noise and just…exist…but not?"
Atem understood fully what Bakura was asking, and he was certain that he was probably the only other person in the entire world that did.
"I would be lying if I said 'no'," he replied. "Being able to retreat inside the Puzzle…it was a godsend at times. I could listen in without having to interact, or I could just ignore everything completely if I chose. The magic would always alert me if my host were truly in need of me."
Bakura leaned back into the swing, letting his head hang back over the top edge as he closed his eyes.
"This is the closest I'll ever get to that level of peace and quiet," he stated.
Atem glanced over at him, confused yet again. "What do you mean?"
"The booze dulls magic, but enough of it also drowns out the voices of my element. It's nice to just listen to the silence."
Atem focused his hearing, trying to understand what 'silence' Bakura was referring to. Cars drove past at seemingly regular intervals, one of the neighbors could be heard shouting, dogs barked in the distance, and there were a myriad of other sounds that came along with residing in the suburbs of a city the size of Domino.
"You call this 'silence'?"
"Mmhm. If you could hear what I hear on a daily basis, you would understand. Imagine the sound of the magic that alerted you while in the relic. Now imagine it never shuts up."
"That would be irritating."
"Yes, it is."
Something occurred to Atem. "If alcohol dulls your magic, does that mean you can't transfigure?"
"Yup. It also means you are free to toss and turn away, because I won't hear it," Bakura stated with a cheerful grin.
"Are you going to try sleeping on the floor in the living area again?"
"You have a better suggestion? Preferably one that doesn't involve us sharing a bed?"
That was going to be Atem's suggestion. Bakura had sacrificed his own comfort the night before, and he felt it was only right to offer to do the same. Now he felt a bit stupid for even thinking about it.
"No," he replied sheepishly.
"You know…" Bakura said after a few moments, "our chess match the other day got hijacked by your ex."
"So? She proved that I was going to win anyway."
"No, she only proved that she thought she knew my moves. How about a rematch? Winner gets the bed, loser gets stuck on the pile of lump."
Atem looked over at Bakura, who was grinning like the devil he was.
"Think about it: Win or lose, you won't sleep anyway. Me, however, I'll either sleep in comfort, or I won't. Either way, I will sleep."
Atem groaned as he thought about what Bakura offered…and the truth of his words. Atem most likely wouldn't sleep. The thing he had to decide was did he want to not sleep in comfort, or on the floor.
"How about if I win the first match, we'll go the best two out of three? That way you can't accuse me of cheating," he counter-suggested.
Bakura's grin widened. "I like how you think you'll win at all."
"So is that a yes?"
"That's a yes. Hope you enjoy sleeping on the floor, because that's where you're gonna end up."
Awww...they're getting along :D
Don't worry. They still have time to fuck things up.
If anyone is interested in reading a Monarchshipping fic about Atem and Yami being farmers in the 1800's and adopting a child, please take the time to go read my new story 'The things we do for Love'. It's loosely based around the true story of how my great-great grandfather was adopted.