The Ten Things

The Ten Things

Chapter 13
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Yuugi sat at his desk staring at the luminescent screen of his laptop. A blank word document was open, the cursor blinking rapidly. After working all day, Yuugi found little desire to relax. The need to work on his novel outnumbered any desire he felt towards getting any rest. Due to this, he sat in the dark in the middle, staring at a blank word document. All the while, Atemu lay sound asleep on his side in Yuugi's bed.

Yuugi could not help but roll his eyes. The Egyptian's bedroom was back in working order. Yet, he refused to sleep in his room. With Yuugi in his life again, he wanted to share the same room as his lover. Yuugi didn't mind this, but he did miss that extra space in his bed and even his bedroom. It was a small price to pay in order to keep the elder man content.

Yuugi yawned, pulling off his glasses in the process. His eyes burned from the bright light reflected off the computer screen. Tiredly, he rubbed his eyes, unaware of the prying eyes observing his every movement.

Atemu turned on his side, watching Yuugi carefully. He narrowed his eyes, taking in the man's stubbornness of staying up late. His eyes spied the clock, finding the hour of one thirty amongst them. He bit back a groan, realizing that the petite man needed to rest. After all, Sugoroku was returning sometime that day.

Giving in, the elder of the two got up, and padded across the room in search of Yuugi. Once he found him, he tapped his foot insistently.

Dulled amethyst eyes looked up, vision blurred without the assistance of glasses. Yuugi stopped messing with his eyes, turning his attention on the tall blur in front of him. He made a movement for his glasses, only to have them handed to him.

"Thanks, it's a good thing I don't have to kill you."

Atemu crossed his arms, tapping his foot again. "Drop the sarcasm. Why are you still awake?"

Yuugi shrugged his shoulders, scratching his head while yawning softly. "I should be asking you the same thing. Why are you up at this ungodly hour?"

"Yuugi, don't test my patience this late in the night. Why are you still awake? You worked all day."

Yuugi frowned, turning his attention away from his lover. "I haven't been able to work on my novel. I wanted to get a little bit of work done on it."

"And?"

"And? What do you mean and?"

"Yuugi, just answer my question. I have known you since childhood. I know you better than anyone else in this city." He leaned on the desk and glanced at his lover with worry. "What's bothering you?"

"I find myself speechless and unable to express what I'm feeling right now."

"Say what now?"

Yuugi groaned, pulling himself away from his desk. "I'm having weird feelings right now, okay?"

Atemu observed Yuugi cautiously, taking in his every movement. "Weird feelings, you say? What type of weird feelings, partner?"

A blush crept onto the smaller man's face as he ducked his head away. His bangs fell into his face, camouflaging it from the elder.

"I'm frustrated." He mumbled.

Brows rose in curiosity as the small teen spoke. "What did you say?"

"I'm frustrated."

Yuugi gazed out the large window above his desk, using it as a distraction. He wanted to die at this moment.

"Why are you frustrated?" Atemu asked his mindset upon gaining the answers to his questions. He stood in front of Yuugi, curiosity growing with the moment.

"I keep having fantasies, alright? They keep me up at night."

"You have fantasies? What type of fantasies do you have?"

Yuugi raked a hand through his unruly mane of hair. His blush grew wider and darker across his pale face. He sought out different things hoping to find a way out of this interrogation.

"These fantasies are nothing of interest, Yami. I keep having fantasies regarding uh… novel…. Oh yeah! My novel! That's right!"

Atemu rolled his eyes unconvinced. He shook his head at Yuugi's futile attempts of distraction. Two could play at this game.

"I already see through your well thought out lie there, Yuugi. Why not simply tell me about this fantasy that keeps you up?"

"Because…."

"Because, why? That isn't an answer, partner."

"…"

Atemu blinked, tilting his head to the side.

"Didn't catch that, little one."

"I keep having sexual fantasies about us, alright?" Yuugi yelled in frustration. His face flushed darker if possible and he crossed his arms, a small pout adorning his cherubic face.

All the while, Atemu simply smirked, his eyes glittering in lust and excitement. This surprised the Egyptian. Yuugi was never easy to coerce into bed. When they had made love in the past, it had been through Yuugi's own luring. Gaining the privilege to bed this little fire cracker of his was high on his list of things. However, the need to get into Yuugi's permanent good graces was the first thing to do. With time, he would eventually gain that.

"You're sexually frustrated? Since when have you been sexually frustrated, little one?"

Yuugi wanted to die at this moment. Hearing the teasing tone of his lover was not helping this matter at all. Groaning, the smaller man turned away from Atemu, gazing at the wall with little interest. Ignoring the Egyptian would certainly prove his point of anger.

However, with the late hour upon the duo, Atemu's ability of reading Yuugi's emotions was off. The taller of the two blinked, tilting his head to the side.

"Why are you ignoring me like that?"

"Because you pissed me off. That is why I'm ignoring you, Atemu."

"Yuugi, come here." Atemu attempted to coax Yuugi into his arms as he held them open for an embrace. Yet, his attempts proved futile with Yuugi remaining impassive.

"No, go to bed in your own room."

A sigh escaped talented lips. "Partner, come here. I want to apologize to you properly."

Yuugi rolled his eyes mouthing to the gods above why he had such a weakness for that baritone voice. Turning away from the wall, Yuugi gazed from his position at the desk, meeting soft crimson eyes.

"Well, I'm waiting, oh mighty one."

Atemu ignored the comment, stepping into Yuugi's line of vision. He bent down and picked up his boyfriend, carrying him over to the bed. He dumped the small man onto the bed, smirking as Yuugi glared at him playfully.

"What the hell was that for?"

The Egyptian held up his hands defensively. "You need to relax and get some rest, little one. I figured we could finish our conversation here."

"Fine." He crossed his arms expectantly, gazing at his lover with a small frown. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I know you, Yuugi. There is more to your thoughts and desires than just sexual fantasies about us."

Yuugi blinked and shrugged his shoulders. "No, there really isn't. I simply want to work on my novel. Do you know how long it has been since I've written anything?"

"No I don't. I'm sure it's been a while though considering the events that have derailed our routines these past couple of months."

"How did this go from talking about sexual frustration to working on my novel, Yami?"

Atemu smirked at Yuugi, sitting on the edge of their shared bed.

"I thought we were talking about the last time you worked on that novel, were we not?"

"Smartass." Yuugi pouted briefly, sighing in defeat. "But seriously, it's been a while since I've worked on my novel. I cannot help but have issues with working on it considering the content of it."

"What do you mean by that?"

"There is a sex scene in the chapter I'm working on. However, I find myself frustrated with it as it has about the same issues as we do with our own relationship."

Atemu raised a brow, motioning for the smaller man to elaborate. "Care to explain that?"

Yuugi fiddled with his industrial piercing, twirling the bar between his fingers. "Well you and I have been awkward with one another. We don't have that chemistry that we used to have. The dependency on intimacy is not as important as it used to be." He paused and blushed. "There was a point in time where you could not keep your hands off me."

"Yuugi… Our relationship has changed. Nevertheless, it has for the better. We've known each other for a long time. We are comfortable with one another. Even though it has been six years I am sticking by my promise to you."

Yuugi looked at his lover in confusion. He blinked, brows knitted. "What promise?"

The elder chuckled, running his hand down Yuugi's back. The smaller man shuddered at the gesture. This caused Atemu to wink seductively at his lover.

"Have you forgotten already, little one? I promised you that we would take this slow. I am not giving in yet. I'm waiting for the right time."

"Right time?"

He got into the bed, pulling Yuugi under the covers with him. He kissed the young man's brow.

"When you are ready for that next step in our relationship Yuugi. I need to know that you're ready for it."

"But what if I'm ready now?" The question sounded pathetically sad. Yuugi was frustrated sexually and now confused.

"You'll know when you're ready, Yuugi. It's too early for us to get into the physical part of it yet. I'm waiting for your fears to ease."

At that, Yuugi decided to drop the questioning. At the mentioning of fears, he automatically knew what the elder man meant.

Yuugi simply nodded and got comfortable with Atemu, falling into a listless sleep thinking of the reasoning behind Atemu's refusal.

Atemu was waiting for Yuugi's acceptance of their love and the commitment in this relationship.

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Yuugi awoke to the sounds of birds chirping and light pouring into his bedroom. Annoyed, he turned on his side, reaching out for the warmth of his lover. However, the movement was futile as there was nothing there.

Groaning, Yuugi opened his eyes, taking in the bright light. He pouted, finding that only he occupied their bed. Frustrated, he got out of bed, walking over to his adjoined bathroom.

Once finished with his daily ritual, he headed downstairs, ready to give his "pillow" a talking to. Although his anger subsided and turned to curiosity at the sound of movement in the kitchen.

No one messed around in the kitchen except himself and Sugoroku. Atemu was banned from touching the stove after an incident that neither spoke of.

"I wonder who is in the kitchen." He said, walking into the kitchen.

Yuugi walked into the kitchen, doing a double take at the appearance of his beloved grandfather.

The old man puttered around the kitchen, making a pot of coffee. The man's grandson smiled widely, running across the tiled floor and wrapping his arms around his grandfather's hefty midsection.

Sugoroku jumped, startled. He looked down and saw the familiar tricolor hair. He smiled and ruffled Yuugi's unruly hair.

"It's good to see you too, Yuugi." He smiled and pulled away from the smaller man and looked at him happily.

"So how are you and Yami doing? He seemed quite happy when he picked me up from the airport this morning."

Yuugi flushed at that, frowning when he realized he had forgotten his promise.

"Shit….I'm sorry. I cannot believe I forgot to pick you up."

The elder man waved off his grandson, smiling. "Yami explained that you were up all night working on that novel. He picked me up instead." He walked over to the counter picking up a pot of coffee.

"Any coffee, Yuugi?"

"No thanks. I think my nerves are bad enough without the caffeine fix."

"Suit yourself." He poured himself a large cup of coffee, taking it over to the kitchen table. Yuugi followed suit, sitting adjacent to his only living relative.

Sugoroku observed the smaller man's actions carefully, considering his words. After a moment he spoke.

"What have I missed since I returned?" He asked, gazing at Yuugi's right hand, seeing the promise ring.

Noticing this, Yuugi gazed down and shrugged his shoulders. "It's not what you think, Grandpa. It's a promise ring."

Sugoroku smiled, taking a sip of his coffee. He set the mug down and clasped his hands together. "So, does this mean that you're finally getting over your commitment issues?"

Yuugi's choked back his surprise, eyes widening at the question asked. "How did you know about my fear?"

The old man chuckled, mirth twinkling in his aged plum eyes. "My boy, you forget who had raised you since birth." He took another sip of his coffee, finishing it off. Abandoning the empty mug, the elder Mutou sighed, raising a brow at Yuugi. "Yami always talks to me when he is worried. He's been this way since his father disowned him ages ago."

Yuugi nodded sadly. Atemu had certainly dealt with a bad hand in the game of life just as he had. Things were changing for the better.

"So you know about my fear of commitment?"

"Yes, I've known for a while, Yuugi. You are easy to read. You wear your heart on your sleeve, my boy." He smiled faintly. "Besides, no one can read you as well as I can."

"True." Yuugi replied, chewing on his bottom lip. "I think it all goes back to the fear of love. You know after seeing mom and dad divorced it was hard for me to believe in love. Yami proved to me that it's possible." He ended his statement, wiping at his eyes. He hesitated before continuing. Sugoroku saw this and motioned for the younger man to elaborate.

"I lost my belief in love. I do not know what it feels like to love someone in romantic way. It's been so long since I've felt good about a relationship."

Sugoroku frowned and rested his wrinkled hand on top of Yuugi's own.

"My boy, love is hard to express in words. It's a feeling that is often indescribable. You will know it when you feel it."

"But what if I've already had these feelings? How do you know?"

"Yuugi, you're asking for an answer but love is complicated. Love is different for everyone. In my case, I felt tremendous happiness whenever I thought of your grandmother. I would feel warm and happy deep down. You will be able to admit that this is the person you want to spend your remaining days with."

Yuugi sat silently, listening to his grandfather. Love was hard to describe despite the clues his grandfather gave him. He did not know the extent of his feelings. He felt as if there was something holding him back. Yet, he knew one thing was true. He cared a lot about Yami and could not imagine his life without Yami.

'Could I love Yami?' Yuugi thought.

Sugoroku fell silent once he saw the dazed expression gracing Yuugi's face. He waved a hand in front of the young man's face. After a few minutes, Yuugi jumped, startled. He apologized to the elder man and ran upstairs to his bedroom.

He needed to do a bit of thinking. There was something he needed to decide and soon. After all, he could not wait forever to figure this out.
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Sorry for the wait. I try and update faster but I'm back in college again and I've had to deal with some family stuff. This chapter is dedicated to my uncle who has just suffered from two massive strokes this past week. Hang in there.