I Never Should Have Left

YRE: Look! It didn’t take as long to update! *dances… and is then shot*

Yami: =D;; Eh heh… Onward!

Disclaimer: YRE owns nothing of YGO, other wise it’d be dirty, dirty porno…

Warnings: Swears, Lime, uh… attempted prostitution. Oh, and be aware of the time jumping between the present & 2 years ago, although I’m pretty sure it’s obvious.

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The jolt of the train starting up roused him abruptly; heavy grind of metal-on-metal trembling audibly through the train cars with a steam-burst sigh. His eyes flicked sleepily between the window and the new arrival of people shuffling through the aisle, each of them searching for a last minute seat while the train car rumbled and roared with gaining speed. The sparse available spaces were snatched up quickly; even he had to eventually move his duffle when someone he didn’t bother to glance up at paused beside him hesitantly, silently asking for permission to sit beside the half-conscious figure.

“Arigato.”

The voice had a faint accent to it, something foreign, but prominently curved with the dialect people were bound to pick up when they spent too much time in the city. Particularly the slur and drop of the ends of words was a give away. He found such people to be a nuisance, especially since attitudes usually accompanied the butchering of the language, and he simply didn’t have the patience as of late to deal with such.

He nodded all the same though, barely giving the man more time than was necessary as he kept hidden beneath the shadows his sweatshirt’s hood provided, hugging his duffle against his chest as a makeshift pillow.

“…Um…”

Gods, this one wanted to start a conversation, fact proven as the person beside him cleared his throat and seemed to perk when the hooded figure tipped his head slightly as a sign of attention, although he wasn’t even facing the stranger.

“I don’t mean to bother you, but Domino is the next stop, yes?”

“Hai…”

“Thank you, again.”

He let it end with a casual shrug, allowing the silence to drape itself between them as the train picked up a speed they would maintain for the duration of the trip, which would be another handful of hours long considering the distance. Eventually the rock of the train tugged and dragged him toward drowsiness, a faint concern whispering in his mind that it would be unwise to risk missing his stop, but his fatigued body won the struggle as he sagged to one side when sleep claimed him.

Time passed unchecked, a shudder throughout the train making him just conscious enough to realize his makeshift pillow was exceptionally comfortable now, not that he minded as he buried his face into the warmth and hugged the limb in his grasp closer.

Wait.

His eyes snapped open widely immediately. Ignoring the speckle of bright colors his vision was cast with from the sudden intrusion of light, he glanced down at what he held.

Neither pillows nor duffle bags had limbs… particularly arms.

Blushing brightly, he hid his face in the shadows even more as he quickly withdrew his grip on his neighbor’s arm, muttering an embarrassed apology while looking away and focusing quite earnestly on the blurs outside the window. What would have led him to do such a thing? He could have sworn he had nodded off toward the window. To hell with it, he’d never see this guy ever again once they got off the train anyway.

“It’s alright, I didn’t mind.” The man beside him chuckled, a slightly pained echo in the voice as a breath was released. “…I had a boyfriend who did that whenever he slept beside me.” A thick chuckle and a broken, ragged sigh followed. “Haven’t thought about him in a long while…”

He wasn’t terribly interested, but figuring he couldn’t possibly nap comfortably anymore, he fingered the rim of his hood while rolling a shoulder, and here he had thought he was the only clingy one around. “…Hn… What was his name?” There was a slight tremor of tension in his neighbor’s body, one he was easily able to detect as he had always been keen to others’ body language. And oddly enough, even if he hadn’t bothered to look him in the face, this man had a familiar feel to him, but he kept from looking any further than the man’s scantly clad chest despite the nagging curiosity, after all, he was a taken man. “You don’t have to tell me, I’m just making conversa-”

“Malik.”

His fingers stopped their idle pattern on the worn material, eyes widening as his breath hitched, caught in the suddenly all-too dry confines of his throat.

“Funny thing, no one ever realized we were together. He would always call them blind idiots, which I eventually agreed to…” Slightly amused chuckles left the man, tittering off into a dying drone as bad memories slipped into place too quickly.

No. It couldn’t be…

“…I left him, and everyone else… I ran away, really. Never meant to, it just happened… Wouldn’t be surprised if they all hated me.” The tone of voice was wholly serious now, a rush of pained emotions noticeably riding up the man’s body as he seemed to withdraw into his seat without even moving. “I wonder if he’s even still around…”

That voice. His voice. It was –his- voice. But… The accent, when had he picked it up? Even with it, it shouldn’t have kept him from recognizing him. It was the tone. What had happened to that arrogant tone? The one always quick to remind everyone just who was in charge, it was gone. Replaced by pseudo politeness to hide something else, hurt perhaps? It didn’t matter; he would figure it out after he kicked his ass…

“…Y-Yami?...”

Daring to finally look up at the man’s face, even behind shadows it was clear that he was being overtaken by shock as his thoughts rambled back to him when the man beside him snapped his head around to face him fully in surprise.

“Who-”

“You bastard!”

The cry echoed in their train car in a ring, a few other passengers glancing up curiously, but the two were left alone only because of the sobbing that ensued. It was clear there was no rage evident, more a mix of relief and old heartache as he launched himself at the man beside him and wrapped his arms tightly around the startled figure.

“You… j-just left! Yuugi and the others… they shut me out! They didn’t believe I cared! You left me! Re damn you!”

Yami’s eyes widened, gently grabbing the other’s shoulders, he pulled them apart enough to cause the hood to slip from the other male’s face, red eyes blinking in almost numbing shock. “…Malik…”

“No fuck!” Angrily grabbing a fistful of the spirit’s hair, the Egyptian youth yanked Yami into a harsh, empty kiss, breaking it with a weak sob, and pressing his tear-stained face against the other’s neck. He still tasted and smelled the same to Malik. Deep beneath the layered alcohol and cigarettes that tainted the spirit’s body, despite Yami’s efforts to scrub all traces away, there still lingered the old taste of gold and smoke curls that were all too recognizable as the spirit’s being.

“Shh…” He tried to calm the teen down, automatically rocking Malik in his arms as comfortingly as he knew how, occasionally venturing to peek at the Egyptian’s face, trying to force himself to realize his past-lover really was there beside him. “Malik, stop crying, please?”

“I’m not crying!” Angry lavender suddenly matched Yami’s concerned glances, the teen looking all too like what the elder remembered, livid anger and old hurt flashing across Malik’s pale eyes. “And shut the fuck up! You have no right to tell me what to do! You left! You fucking left me!” Malik yanked free from the spirit’s grasp, trembling as he held himself tightly in an effort to calm his body’s shudders. “You left Yuugi a note… you told him you loved him.” The words were spat out venomously, enraged slits of drizzled lavender glaring at Yami. “And what about me? I’m the one you fucked! Not Yuugi ! I’m the one who cried in front of everyone when I heard you were gone! I’m the one who begged to sleep in your bed, only to be told to fuck off and get my screwed up ass away from Domino!” The Egyptian’s hands were shaking dangerously now, balled up and buried against his stomach as he rocked in the seat, giving in to another bout of sobs when his throat ached and memories resurfaced. “W-why?... You could have… Not even a damn phone call?”

Yami wasn’t quite sure what to do, the past two years he had spent his time wisely numbing himself from emotions, specifically despair and hurt. So how was he expected to comfort the youth beside him expressing those very feelings? But watching Malik futilely try to dry his eyes and nose did make something within the spirit ache, eventually enough so that he wrapped his arms around the trembling body again, and sighed in relief when the other didn’t try to break away.

The tears and sniffles died away slowly, Malik having shifted in his seat enough to manage clinging desperately to the exceptionally thin body holding him. Come to think of it, Yami’s face had seemed gaunter than what he remembered, hallowed even. Not just the circles beneath his eyes, but the very scarlet Malik had once admired more than he had ever admitted to was blank, wiped free of persistent arrogance and determination. As he looked up to confirm his memory, Malik ignored the weak smile he was given, noticing instead that the Pharaoh looked rather battered and worn.

Blond bangs hung listlessly around the sharply angled features, shadowing the already slightly pinched portions of Yami’s face. Old kohl and mascara marks were visible in patches around the dulled eyes, a bruise only just beginning to heal was visible beneath the faintly tanned skin. The rest of Yami’s hair was mussed into more ragged spikes than what Yuugi had accustomed him to, clearly in need of trimming and proper grooming too as the tips sagged. It was then that Malik slid back a bit, looking over what his past-lover wearing, and nearly gawking as he forgot his prior sobbing episode for the sake of being rather stunned at not noticing the scant amount of clothing the Pharaoh wore.

Yami, finally realizing that he was being inspected, nervously tried to divert the youth’s gaze back up and away from the thin leather and array of erotic decorations. “I-”

“Look like shit.” Malik’s eyes narrowed, suspicion clearly riddling his expression as he waved a hand over the spirit’s body, looking more closely as he spoke in a hiss. “Whore-shit at that. What the fuck did you run off and do exactly?”

Fingering the hem of his fishnet shirt, which barely covered his second to last rib, Yami averted the lavender eyes and spoke more collectively than he felt. “I’d rather forget about it and try to start off my return to Domino freshly.” With the attention brought upon him so heavily, the spirit was beginning to feel the weight of eyes staring at him. Imagined or not, the train car was packed, and Yami had spent the majority of the trip trying to ignore any long glances thrown his way, his confidence crumbling as the Egyptian youth beside him glowered.

“Fuck that. You either tell me what you did or I drag your ass to Jounouchi’s place.” Harshly grabbing the spirit’s wrist, Malik yanked Yami’s arm until it extended fully, pointing accusingly to the track marks that were clearly only a few hours old. “I bet he’ll be able to tell me what the hell these are from, eh? Or what, you were nervous about the trip so you decided to medicate yourself?”

Hissing at the tightening grip that accompanied his silence, Yami finally tried to yank free, a pained whimper escaping him when the youth pressed against several healing burn marks and scars hidden beneath some leather-bands wrapped around his arms.

“…What the hell happened to you?” Letting go when he noticed tears begin to prick the spirit’s eyes, Malik tipped his head against the Pharaoh’s shoulder, just as he had in the past whenever he would listen to Yami’s usually pointless rambles. Except this time, Malik was truly listening.

“Where should I start?” It was snorted out after a moment, rather coarsely too as Yami frowned to himself and tried to relax despite the anxiousness riddling his body and mind.

“Where ever you’d like, I just want to know what happened, at least some of it.”

That sounded sincere enough, and considering no one in the past two years had even bothered to listen to him, Yami hardly hesitated further as he tipped his head to rest against the mess of platinum situated at his shoulder. “I thought I could make it on my own. Not just because I was disillusioned, but because I really thought I had to succeed at something other than dueling.” A quiet sigh, slightly pained swallow, and an inhalation of Malik’s scent followed, the spirit’s deadened eyes sparking for a moment before he continued. “To make something of myself, I couldn’t just live under Yuugi’s care, especially with all the lies I had been giving him... I had to get out in the world and make up for everything.”

Malik watched as the spirit nestled against him, smiling slightly at the old contact as it nearly made up for all the time lost. Resting a hand on Yami’s arm, mostly to block the Pharaoh from scratching at the reddening marks further, the youth kept silent as he listened to the apparently now eager to speak man continue.

“I never anticipated this modern world to be so difficult though. Everywhere I went, they asked for forms to be filled out, interviews to be held, and other things I didn’t know how to handle… With what I did manage to earn from small tasks, I kept hidden where I could, and I spent most nights pressed up against the side of some building hoping I’d still have it all by morning.” He was whispering now, voice tired and gravelly as he swallowed and tried to keep his pseudo confidence in check.

It had hurt in the beginning, living each day alone and confused in a world where day-to-day life consisted of stabilization and duty. It had hurt so much throughout the years, knowing that it could all be mended and better if he had just confessed to Yuugi-tachi. And it hurt now, just before the end, just before he would arrive back to his place at his beloved Yuugi’s side…

Still chilled away from emotions, Yami consciously forced his thoughts to wander towards a less dangerous level of feeling and attachment, musing with the thought of whether his hikari had grown any in his absence instead.

“Eventually I ran out of simple jobs to do, no one wanted to look or listen to me, even when I pleaded for next to nothing for pay. I had no where to go, not that I could pay to get there, and for the first time, I knew what hunger was.” He cradled his own stomach, which caved inward more than it should before his flesh curved out again over his hips, then diving beneath the gloss of his leather waistband. “I don’t mean I needed food, that was hardly my concern as I ate what I found sparingly regardless, what I mean is… I…”

And how to put it into words was quite a trick, he didn’t know just how much more Malik was alright with hearing, and he didn’t know just how much more he was willing to tell. But damn it if it didn’t feel good to just pour his story out, wring out the dirty secrets in hopes of feeling at least a fraction cleaner. So with a shaky breath, although it was masked rather well as an irritated sigh, Yami pursed his lips, ready to indulge his past-lover with words he knew would remain between them. After all, while Malik was a lot of things, mostly manic with an unhealthy dose of possessiveness, he wasn’t one to blabber around things worth keeping.

“One day someone came up to me, some random guy I normally would have ignored because I knew I couldn’t trust him, but all he said was that he could help me… and I couldn’t stop myself from listening…”

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He didn’t trust him.

“I’ve seen ya ‘round, kid. Buggin’ the shops’n shit for work.”

Too much smile, that’s what this guy had, and he knew he couldn’t trust him.

“You ain’t gotta listen to me, but I can help ya.”

But he couldn’t stop himself from listening.

And so he stopped walking away with a frown, brow arched as he situated his hands on his hips and whirled around, defiant suspicion littering Yami’s face as he faced the greasy haired man before him. “How?”

The man’s shoulders shook with pent up laughter, that angled smile spread wide across his pointed face as he motioned with a cock of his head for the attractive youth to follow, lips widening at the clear disapproval shot his way. “Aw, come on, kid. I ain’t gonna hurt’cha. I wanna tell ya’bout a job I have for ya. Great pay, free housin’, an’ some treats added in for free if you do good in the business.”

A job.

This sleazy looking man was offering Yami a job. He hesitated, not just because of the way the man looked, but because of the way the man looked -at him-. “What kind of position would I have?”

The abrupt laughter made the scarlet-eyed youth jump within his own skin, eyes blinking widely as he watched the man bark further before approaching Yami and slinging an arm around narrow shoulders, forcibly guiding him towards a shady looking building. “Whatever position the customer tells ya to take…”

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Malik blinked a moment, wisely biting his tongue to keep from saying anything too harshly, but for Re’s sake, how could Yami have fallen for that? After everything he and the spirit had done sexually before Yami’s departure, surely the Pharaoh would have understood the innuendo. His lavender eyes fell shut for a moment, feeling the rise and fall of the spirit’s chest as well as the rumble of words that deep voice reverberated throughout both their bodies. It didn’t matter to him terribly anyway, so long as Yami was back, that was all that truly mattered, no?

Truth be told, Malik had obsessed over his Pharaoh’s departure more than could be deemed healthy, or sane for that matter. Of course he had never admitted to having feelings for Yami while they had been together, but not mentioning anything didn’t necessary mean he didn’t feel them.

At first he had believed it was his fault Yami had disappeared, blaming himself heavily for not securing their relationship deeper, but after several attempts to find comfort among Yuugi-tachi, all of who frowned upon his insistence that he missed Yami more than they gave him credit for, Malik eventually found distraction from his heartache through travel. True it wasn’t luxurious, much less relaxing travel, but the young Ishtar had dropped his studies and severed what little ties he had to Domino to follow in his lost lover’s steps. In the depths of his mind Malik had hoped he would run across Yami, indulging himself in fantasies of running away to Egypt together with a fairy tale ending of happiness and secured loyalty. After two years though, he found himself low on hope and energy. Sleepless nights and days without proper meals had taken their toll on his young body, rendering him useless in his infatuated dream of meeting up again with his ‘One and only’.

And how funny, really, that he would reach his goal just as he had given up and found himself on the last train to Domino, to gather what he had left before going back to Egypt. Of course he wouldn’t be going back to his homeland now. Obviously the Gods were rewarding him for his blind devotion, why else would the man he had dreamt about for the past two years suddenly wind up beside him and in his arms?

It felt nice, it felt right, it felt like it had all been worth it.

“Malik?”

He smiled to the way his name sounded coming from those lips, brushed with a mix of accents and hushed uncertainty. “Hm?”

“Ah… I thought you had fallen asleep on me for a moment.” A loose chuckle tumbled out, rolling throughout the spirit’s chest, low and beautiful in tone, just as Malik had remembered it.

Another indulgent smile quirked the Egyptian’s lips, nose brushing against the stretch of Yami’s neck now as Malik wrapped his arms around the slender waist and made the spirit draw ever closer, eventually feeling slightly hesitant arms wrap around him in return. They were complete now, back in each other’s embrace. This time Malik would make sure to keep them that way, regardless of what the others thought. “Go on, I’m listening…”

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“I’m not doing this!” Yami’s eyes flared dangerously at the assortment of men and women in the room, had he not been so far from the Puzzle, he would have tapped into the Item’s powers to render them all mindless.

“Come on, sweets.” A woman with more breasts than brains puckered her lips at the youth’s outburst, blond hair spilling over shoulders in cascades of dirty gold. “What are you fighting for? You have no where else to go, you said so yourself, and the pay’s great! Just by looking at you I know you’ll crank in more business than-”

“I am not selling my body!” He snapped, growl evident in his voice as he glared venomously at each of them, some of which merely winked back while trailing their trained gazes across his lithe body, making him swallow back the shivers at such displays. “Let me out of here! I want nothing to do with-” Yami’s eyes snapped wide open at the large hand that suddenly clasped over his mouth, a strangled intake of air from his nose accompanying the choked yelp as he was slammed harshly against a solid chest behind him.

Panic flooded his senses immediately, his fingers working feverishly to tear away the offending hand before his wrists were snatched by two other males from the room, holding his arms apart and leaving the youth vulnerable despite the frantic squirm of his hips and legs. Low chuckles filled the room, the hushed murmur of words between the others in the vicinity quieting as a needle was drawn out from someone’s pocket, the syringe filled and plunged within the spirit’s vein before he had a chance to realize what was happening. The room seemed to spin and blacken within moments of receiving the injection; Yami stumbling when released as he tried to make his way toward the now wide open doorway, only to find that he could not properly coordinate his feet. All too soon he found himself face down on the dirty floorboards, a hungry shudder flooding his veins before his eyes slipped shut to the cold and knowing laughter.

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“The drug normally wouldn’t have affected me that quickly, but I was weakened, and when I woke up, all I knew is that I was craving something, and they were more than willing to give me more so long as I joined their… choice of occupation.” Yami’s words came out dry, the spirit looking out the window with a blank expression as he rolled a shoulder, dismissing old thoughts and self-loathing.

“But… After just once?”

The boy’s puzzled expression drew the spirit back to the present, Yami blinking away darker thoughts for later musing as he shook his head and propped his chin on Malik’s shoulder. “I found out later that I had been out for several days, every time I would just begin to rouse, someone would inject me with more, making me pass out again. Of course I don’t recall any of it, but once they were certain my body was addicted, they let me wake up…”

And the rest was history. Aside from more than willingly taking further injections in exchange for thousand yen strip shows and lap dances, Yami eventually found himself bribed into giving blowjobs when the syringes grew larger. Then of course he was introduced to other drugs and the ever-brilliant mix of alcohols that allowed him to agree to rounds of sex, one after the other with just enough time in between to take something stronger, harsher, anything more to numb his thoughts and body again.

“I’m sorry…” Malik’s eyes misted with tears, shaky fingertips brushing over the spirit’s face as he traced the weathered curves sorrowfully. “I don’t mean to make you think back on any of it, I just-” The train jolted violently, the Egyptian youth finding himself sprawled in Yami’s lap with a yelp while the droning announcement above divulged them with the fact that the approaching station was none other than Domino’s.

Yami chuckled softly with a nervous smile he tried to hide as well as he could, helping the other sit up and then stand as they gathered their meager belongings, and filed down the aisle along with the others getting off at this stop. The butterflies in his stomach were intense, he was finally back and only a short time away from seeing his hikari once more, and suddenly Yami was feeling sick because of it.

Or perhaps his injected high was wearing off.

“Yami?”

Swallowing back the nauseous feeling, his dulled eyes glanced over a shoulder to watch the other get down, stepping onto the platform and shifting his exceptionally light backpack over a bit.

“I… does Yuugi know you’re here, I mean, back?”

“He’s not aware I’m here today, I thought I’d surprise him.” He smiled lightly, figuring it would be best not to tell the Egyptian youth that he had already spoken to his hikari about his return, especially since Malik seemed to be a little more attached to Yami than the spirit would have expected after all this time.

“Oh…” Malik tried to sound neutral on that fact, but he couldn’t help the smile that spread over his lips and glittered in his eyes immediately. This meant the spirit was free, as was he. “Come to my place, please? I insist!” He latched onto the Pharaoh’s free arm quickly, leaning against the slender body carefully while leading the puzzled spirit throughout the station until they were outside and hailing a cab. “You can wash up, rest, and borrow more, um, appropriate clothes.”

Ah, that was a good idea. Yami nodded his thanks to the youth, chuckling to the flush as he helped place their belongings within a cab’s trunk. It would be wise to keep this all from his hikari for a while. Although Yami now knew better than to dive himself into a sea of lies again, he did need the time to cleanse himself a final time before attempting to meet with Yuugi, explain his reasons, and reinstate himself as guardian.

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“Oh Re, excuse the mess!” Malik had all but flown through the door in an attempt to clean on the run, shoving random things in drawers and shoving the rest in a closet down the hall. “Marik can be such a fucking pig, I swear… Marik!? Are you here?! I’m back!” When silence answered them, the tanned youth breathed a sigh of relief and smiled crookedly at Yami, hurrying over to the spirit and guiding him into the modest apartment. “It’s Tuesday, ne? I think he mentioned that being one of the days he works… Ah well, come, the washroom is in here.”

Yami was quite dizzy as the boy led him down a twist of short hallways while babbling, his backpack dropped off somewhere along the way, before he found himself in a surprisingly spotless washroom. “Are you sure Marik lives here? Working and keeping things this clean just don’t seem like something he’d be capable of.”

Watching the Pharaoh glance around curiously, Malik laughed and wrapped his arms around Yami’s waist, resting his head on the curve of the other’s shoulder while watching them both in the mirror, bliss evident on the Egyptian’s face at the happy couple he saw. “Mm, he works at a bar, and considering I threatened to ruin his relationship with Bakura by blackmail if he ever left too much of a mess, it’s not too surprising that things are in pretty decent order.”

“Relationship?” Yami’s brow rose speculatively at the fact such a word existed between the other two yamis, a shake of his head accompanying the puzzled expression on his face, more aimed at Malik’s actions though.

“Yeah.” Dark hands slipped over the spirit’s frame silently, barely touching Yami’s existence while fingering off a handful of chains and belts. “When you left, everyone seemed to feel like pairing off permanently. Bakura was more into the loyalty thing than Marik, but you know how much Bakura wanted my idiot yami to begin with, so he finally got Marik to agree to fuck only him… and things have actually gotten somewhat deep between them. Although Marik’s prone to screwing someone on the side every once in a while, but Bakura doesn’t know…”

“Huh…” He felt a shudder trail over his body at the soft touches, Yami’s body reacting automatically despite his mental chastising and mostly full attention to what the youth was telling him. It was all too familiar, the closeness and teasing were actions he had dealt with more times than he could count, and his body was already heating up and pooling blood mechanically. In all honesty, Yami felt disgusted with himself at just how pathetically well-trained his body was to whoring him out, even unwillingly. “Um… when you say everyone, does that include Yuugi?”

“Mm…” Fingertips had by now slid beneath the spirit’s half-shirt, testing the faintly tanned skin with skittish touches and slow traces of quivering muscles. “Dunno, wasn’t allowed near him after a while…”

“Ah… I understand.” Not really, especially since he hadn’t even heard what Malik said once the youth had toyed with one of his nipples, rendering the spirit helpless to his body’s reflexes. It was a lost battle now; Yami slipped within himself and allowed his alias to guide his body along while he holed himself in his mind until it was safe once more.

The switch was made seamlessly, of course, a professional trick turned without anything more than a bat of an eyelash. Atemu was more than willing to fall into habit and make his customer squirm pleasantly, he got a kick and pay out of it, so what wasn’t there to enjoy? “Enough teasing, what would you like?” Malik shivered at the husky tone directed at him, a mewl wrung out when the spirit turned the tables and suddenly had his arms wrapped around the youth from behind, lips grazing the Egyptian’s ear with every word. “Go on, tell me… Unless you want me to improvise? Although that can become pricey if I get too inventive.” The sneer in Atemu’s voice didn’t even tip Malik off as to the literal meaning to the whole matter; instead he was too lost in his own glee at apparently having his lover back so willingly, the youth purring encouragement while circling his backside enticingly against the flush body behind him.

That was all the go ahead Atemu needed.

The Egyptian’s clothing was lost rather quickly, the loose articles hardly a challenge for the spirit to toss aside while praising every portion of Malik’s body with hands and mouth while guiding him toward the tub. A flick of his wrist brought forth a spew of water from the nozzle, a stopper already in place and allowing the tub to pool shallowly while Malik was somehow guided to enter and lie within while their lips met and locked. Tugging off his boots, Atemu grinned against the mouth desperately pressed against his own, lips parting and indulging the feverishly reacting youth with a taste of himself while he slid into the tub as well. He was still clothed, the water making it hard to move as he crawled atop the more deeply tanned body, but Atemu knew what he was doing, and he intended to pull this off well. After all, he could smell the deep pockets this one had, and nothing turned him on more than knowing he would be well-paid.

“Ngh… Re, please. I need you… I’ve needed you for so long.” Malik’s plea spilled out between their lips and pants of breath to fall on apparently deaf ears as the man above him merely smirked and harshly rubbed wet leather against the youth’s exposed arousal, the brushing and sound of swirling water sending shivers throughout Malik’s body as he moaned and bucked instinctively toward the torment. “G-gods… yes. More, please… I love you, I’ve missed you… More, please?…”

Loved him?

Yeah, he’d heard that before too.

Cradling the Egyptian’s prominent arousal in his palm, and stroking the swelling flesh with a raised brow and hungry grin, Atemu rolled a shoulder while straddling the youth’s legs, tone wholly serious despite the explicit, and apparently one-sided romantic, scene playing out. “Just a moment, you haven’t given me any advance.” Lowering his head so blond, uneven bangs tickled over dusky nipples enticingly, Atemu locked his eyes with half-dazed lavender, seductive smile masterfully curling his lips as he leaned in close enough for the both of them to taste each other’s breath, fingers closing over the stiff arousal in his hand. “And rules are rules, even for friends. Twenty-five percent advance per hour; I’ll let you know when the total’s liable to change so you can pull out… But if you’re good, maybe I’ll let you get away with an ‘I owe you’.”

He didn’t understand.

“…Wha’?”

With his world swirling in a mass of lust and clouded infatuation, Malik couldn’t make sense of what his lover was talking about, especially with that maddening smile spread across lips he wanted to do nothing more than kiss away at for eternity.

“You heard me.” The Pharaoh’s voice grew edgy, clear distaste at the waste of time riddling his face as he pulled back and frowned down at the youth while retracting his hands from further teasing. Atemu wasn’t doing this for his health, after all. “You want any more, or anything at all, then you have to fork over twenty-five percent prior to the session.”

Malik watched his lover cross his arms, a whimper at the loss of contact escaping him before he managed to sit up and bite back his gulps of air to blink questioningly at the spirit. “Session?” The Pharaoh was making this sound like-

“The literal, -fucking- session, Malik. Don’t act stupid.” Scarlet eyes narrowed impatiently at the youth’s slow reaction, and when the Egyptian made no move to reach for a wallet, Atemu growled and hoisted himself up, swearing under his breath at the waste of energy and time, not to mention his soaked leather he had planned on replacing with this round’s payment.

This was ridiculous.

The younger of the two looked as though he had been slapped, eyes wide in astonishment as he tried to figure out when he had even given any inclination to wanting to –pay- for sex from his lover. “What the fuck are you talking about?! I wasn’t going to pay you for sex! You’re my fucking boyfriend, for Re’s sake, not my personalize hooker! I would never-”

“Excuse me.” The spirit glowered, a finger dejecting what the youth had just said while Atemu wrestled to peel his wet clothing off himself. “We’re not together any more, it’s been two years of nothing, get over yourself, I don’t belong to anyone.” It was hissed out rather venomously; Atemu rounding on the Egyptian still sprawled in the tub. “And no, I’m not your personalized hooker; I fuck whoever has the pockets to afford me. So don’t get your bratty ass in my way and expect it to get kissed or screwed unless you dig up some cash for it.”

Tears pricked in the youth’s eyes, Malik swallowing down the sour feeling bubbling up his throat as he shook his head and fought back a sob. “You’re in Domino! You don’t have to do that any more!” The spirit belonged to him! It pained the Egyptian enough knowing that his object of infatuation had already done his lifetime’s share of adultery, but for the Pharaoh to willingly continue such a dirty trade when it wasn’t necessary? “Yami, what’s wrong with you?!”

At that the spirit stopped his fidgeting, scarlet falling dull as he stared away at nothing while cold fingertips paused between guiding wet pants downward. In an instant his proper state of mind had been replaced. Atemu, the demeaning portrayal of himself he had developed throughout his sexual encounters, receding back into the darker crevices of his mind, still fuming at the loss of business even while Yami’s hands fisted in disgust. He hadn’t even gone one day, one damn day without resorting to his habit, his now cheap thrill better acting as a dirty secret and sin. Yami hadn’t meant to resort to such, especially toward the youth who had been nothing but a much needed shoulder to lean on within the short span of time they had reacquainted with each other, but the signals had been clear, just misinterpreted to fit the spirit’s immediate and habitual terms. He truly didn’t believe in maintaining a relationship with Malik at least, it wasn’t possible after everything he had done and witnessed, to lead the youth on would be cruel and detrimental in the end, hopefully the Egyptian wouldn’t push the subject further as Yami didn’t wish to harm the boy’s feelings further.

“Y-Yami?”

Shutting his eyes to the quivering voice, Yami suddenly became aware of just how cold and vulnerable he was at the moment, clothes sticking to him in icy mats as he shivered in the middle of the washroom. His mind was beginning to swell with emotions, and having gone two years without expressing such, Yami released a ragged, and much tensed, breath instead. “…I’m very sorry, Malik. I didn’t mean to…” The sound of the water being shut off alerted him to the fact the youth was getting out of the tub, the soft placement of a hand on his forearm providing little more than further guilt for the spirit, more so when a kiss was pressed against his jaw.

“It’s alright… I shouldn’t have-”

“Malik. You have nothing to apologize for, but you have to realize…” He decided to cut the boy off before he poured his soul out in words and present Yami with further burden to crush the youth after Malik would offer himself as a friend and lover to count on. Yami knew Malik would be hoping to retain their relationship, as skimpy as it had been two years ago, apparently the young Egyptian wanted to repent and rebuild for something deeper. “We’re not together any more; I’m not what I was then. I came back for Yuugi, and he was the only reason I would have returned anyway…” Tears collected in the corner of lavender eyes, the spirit forcing himself to keep their gazes locked as he continued to break the younger’s heart. “I don’t love you, Malik. I never did, and I can’t see myself ever being able to. I’m sorry.”

Silence thudded around them for several moments, the roll of tears over Malik’s cheeks breaking the quiet when accompanied by a stifled hiccup and sorrowful smile. “…I… I guess this means… we’re officially broken up…” The young Egyptian choked on his forced laughter, pain evident in the twitching corners of his lips and eyes. In truth, Yami was surprised he wasn’t met with rage or pleading, apparently the younger was still unpredictable, although that didn’t lighten the spirit’s guilt by any means. “I guess… um… You should finish cleaning up, I’ll find you something to wear, and maybe I’ll get us something to eat before you’re done?” Malik hid the turmoil in his mind quite well; brushing away tears and freeing himself from the light embrace he had been given in apology with a wince. Excusing himself from the washroom before the spirit could try and console him further, if Yami even intended such that is, the young Egyptian fled to his bedroom, eyes squeezing shut as he closed the door and threw himself upon his bed.

Yami could hear the boy’s muffled sobs even from down the hall, the spirit closing his eyes regretfully and shutting the door to the washroom to further distance himself from the grief he had never meant to cause. Bathing himself while immersed in thoughts, the spirit was careful to cleanse himself thoroughly, utilizing his first time in a real washroom in two years to its fullest extent. Scrubbing his flesh painfully raw, it wasn’t until he accidentally nicked the edge of an infected needle mark and watched the soapy water redden faintly in result that Yami realized he was still a mess. Old sweat and dirt was gone, but his body was riddled with permanent or relatively new varying degrees of abuse, a fair share between self-inflicted and involuntarily received torment marring his once flawless skin. Draining the tub and drying himself off, the spirit realized Yuugi shouldn’t see him like this. But time to heal wasn’t available, and unless he had access to the Puzzle to return within it and reacquire a new body without his hikari noticing, Yami was at a loss for how to resolve this.

“That was a fucking long ride, and I have to piss, damn it! So shut up unless you want it in your mouth!”

The gravel-rough voice was unmistakable, as was the fact that the owner of that voice was striding straight toward the washroom, the very one Yami was currently trapped in while donning only a towel around his slim waist. Making the best of the five seconds he had in preparation, the spirit ruffled his hair up, poised himself with crossed arms, and raised a brow to the other yami that burst within the washroom.

“Holy, fucking mother of Re…”

“You should learn to knock, Bakura.” Yami couldn’t help but smirk at the utterly stunned expression on the thief’s face, casually motioning toward the toilet once the paler spirit seemed to grasp onto the fact he wasn’t seeing things. “I believe you had business to attend to?”

“Holy crap, Ku-Kura, you won’t believe this!” This voiced chimed out from further down the hall, and even if Yami hadn’t known who it was, the trickle of Arabic accent would have hinted at him rather blatantly. “Malik’s back! But what the fuck is he crying ab-… Oh shit.” Marik found himself silenced for once in his short existence when he reached the washroom to further divulge his lover with the news, violet eyes widening as he was immediately distracted by the wet and towel-clad Pharaoh in the Ishtar washroom.

Blinking between the still and silent pair, Yami looked as though he were calculating one thing or another to himself, the sudden casual smile that spread across his thin face unnerving the other yamis, although they would never admit to such.

“If you’re both done gawking, I’d like to ask for a favor…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

YRE: …You have no idea how much trouble this chapter gave me Oo;; I wrote it throughout November between research papers, so I think I was zapped for writing anything coherent, or decent for that matter XD *dies*

Thanks:

~ShadowRaven: Thank you very much ^^ Yeah, Yami’s a baka… Nah, he’s just trying to be human, although he took the wrong approach. Silly man he is. =D;; Sorry for the wait.

~Muzaki: XD Thank you! Wow, rabid bananas, eh? *feels special for providing such* Ah, if you eve do get around to such a picture, would you mind terribly if I saw it? ^.^ I have an addiction to fanart. And don’t worry about your review being odd XD The odder, the better! *hearts*

~BlueSeptember: Hurrah! *omgthud* I really thought you were gone XD *glomps* Thank you for sticking with me over my longer than necessary absence. Yes, I’ll be careful of Yuugi in his upcoming appearance, Yami will actually be quite surprised at Yuugi’s change, not that I’m gonna make the kid amazingly different, but as you said, Yuugi grows up and matures, and hopefully I’ll apply that properly. And of course I remembered you =D I may have a cruddy brain for remembering to update things, but I remember wonderfully nice people such as yourself quite easily ^^ Oh, and this will be Kaiba/Yami in the end XD I shall uphold my promise! Plus I think it’s the only pairing that would really work out… Yami’s, or rather, Atemu’s reference to ‘deep pockets making him horny’ (in his mind at least) is going to play out rather nicely once Seto comes into the picture =D;; Not that it’ll be a quick and painless happily-ever-after sort of thing, other wise it wouldn’t be as amusing to write, but I’ve got a hold on how this fic’ll continue now… I just hope I don’t forget it. Again, thank you for finding me again and for the review ^__^ *love*

~m0vi3ang3l: ^^ I’m glad you do. XD Yes, motivation is the only thing that keeps me writing, that and lots of free time, but considering I’m running slim on such, I have to rely more heavily on the motivation XDDD;; Much thanks for the review! *hearts*

YRE: =3 Alright, next chappy we find out Yami’s favor, Yuugi makes his official appearance, and then we go from there. If everything I want to write actually manages to get put into words, then it should be a decent progression for Yami =D A break for him, if you will, which even I think he deserves XD;;

Much thanks for reading, many more & cookies if you review ^__^ This fic’s now on my list of ones to actually finish before summer, but I won’t know if that’ll be possible until next term starts. I’ll keep my fingers crossed XD

~YRE