Open P.O.V.
It was well past noon when Marik finally arrived at the hotel, dressed casually in loose linen and sunglasses perched on his head. His sharp violet eyes flicked over the group as he greeted them, but it didn't take long for him to notice something…off.
His gaze lingered on Yugi and Atem—Atem, who was standing a little too stiffly, and Yugi, who seemed intent on avoiding eye contact with everyone.
Casually, Marik strolled up to where Jounouchi and Honda were lounging near the hotel entrance, waiting for the group to gather. Keeping his voice low, he asked, "What's up with Yugi and the Pharaoh? They're acting weird."
Jounouchi barely held back a laugh, while Honda smirked, crossing his arms. "You noticed, huh?"
Marik arched a brow. "Kind of hard not to."
Honda grabbed Marik's arm, guiding him a few steps away from the others before murmuring, "Look, something's definitely up, but just… leave it alone, alright?"
Marik tilted his head. "Oh?"
Honda glanced back at the group, then leaned in slightly. "This morning, when Yugi came downstairs, he and Atem looked at each other and just froze—like deer in headlights. Then they turned red as hell and wouldn't look at each other." He shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but my guess? They slept together."
Marik's brows shot up. "You're kidding."
"Wish I was." Honda shook his head. "But look, they're both really embarrassed about it. If we keep pushing, it's just gonna make it worse. So let's not, yeah?"
Marik considered this for a moment before exhaling through his nose, nodding. "Fair enough."
Still, his gaze flickered back to where Atem and Yugi stood awkwardly near the others, keeping just a bit too much distance between them. Honda's guess made a little too much sense—normally they were really close.
Anzu had never been the type to sit back and let things fester—especially not when it came to her friends. And watching Yugi and Atem practically dance around each other all morning was driving her absolutely insane.
It wasn't just that they weren't talking. They weren't even existing in the same space if they could help it. If one moved left, the other subtly shifted right. If one entered a conversation, the other mysteriously found something very interesting to look at in the opposite direction. It was infuriating.
So naturally, she took it upon herself to fix it.
"Oh, come on," she said, throwing her hands up after lunch when Atem all but fled from a casual group conversation the second Yugi wandered too close. "Are you two seriously going to act like this all day?"
Atem, who had been pretending to admire the architecture of a completely unremarkable building, stiffened. "I don't know what you mean."
"You do know what she means," Jounouchi muttered, watching the whole thing unfold with growing amusement.
Anzu turned on Yugi next, who had suddenly taken a deep and abiding interest in his shoes. "Yugi."
"H-huh?"
"Talk to him."
Yugi's face went red so fast she was almost impressed.
"I—I do talk to him!" he protested weakly.
"Oh, really?" She put a hand on her hip, unimpressed. "Then look at him right now and say something."
Yugi's mouth opened. Then closed. Then opened again.
Atem, not faring much better, refused to turn around.
Anzu groaned. "You guys are impossible."
"You know, maybe they just don't wanna talk about it," Tristan said, trying to suppress a grin.
That, of course, caught Anzu's attention. "Talk about what?"
Yugi practically squeaked, while Atem, whose ears had gone red to match the rest of his face, muttered something about "needing air" before making a very hasty retreat.
Jounouchi let out a low whistle. "Well, that was suspicious."
Marik, watching the whole thing unfold with a smirk, elbowed Tristan. "I see what you meant earlier."
"Oh yeah." Tristan nodded sagely. "This is gonna be hilarious."
Atem P.O.V.
If anyone had held onto even a shred of hope that Yugi and Atem would act like functional human beings and talk about whatever the hell had happened between them, they were in for a world of disappointment.
Atem, for one, was doing everything in his power to avoid that conversation.
Which was why, instead of heading up to their shared room when the evening wound down, he lingered downstairs in the hotel's lounge. He stared blankly at an old book he wasn't actually reading, willing time to pass, waiting until he was absolutely certain Yugi had gone to sleep.
When the clock finally hit way too late o'clock, he made his way upstairs with the stealth of a trained assassin, carefully turning the doorknob so it wouldn't creak, stepping lightly over the threshold—
And nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Yugi sprawled across one of the beds, completely dead to the world.
He was still on top of the blankets, his breathing slow and even, one arm flung over his head. His shirt had ridden up just a little, exposing a sliver of skin above the waistband of his sleep pants. He looked soft. Peaceful. Completely unaware of the absolute hell Atem had been going through all day.
Atem swallowed hard and tore his eyes away.
This was ridiculous. He was being ridiculous.
With as little noise as possible, he made his way to his own bed, pulling the covers up to his chest and forcing himself to close his eyes.
He was not going to think about it.
He was not going to—
…
Atem's dreams, however, had very different plans.
—
When his eyes snapped open sometime in the early morning, his entire body was burning.
It took him a moment to come back to himself, to blink through the haze of heat and memory—the phantom sensation of hands on his skin, the low, breathless sounds in his ear, the overwhelming presence of Yugi pressed against him—
Atem's face went hot.
And then, without thinking, he moved.
The next thing he knew, he was in the bathroom with the shower running at full blast, cold water pounding down on him in a desperate attempt to shock his system back into something resembling sanity.
It wasn't helping.
With a heavy sigh, he pressed his forehead against the cool tile.
He was so screwed.