Carry On

Chapter Seven – Friendly Persuasion


Sunday eventually rolled around in the manner of a lazy cat turning over in the middle of a sunbeam. Yuugi was due to meet his friends at the beach in an hour, and in preparation he was spending his time applying enough gel to his hair to make it lay comparatively still against the harsh ocean wind. In no way was he going to take Jounouchi’s advice and wear a girly hair band, nor was he willing to tie his stunning hair back into a sissified ponytail. He looked funny in hats and probably wouldn’t be able to keep one on his head without tying it down with rope. And it was beyond annoying to be continuously pulling hair from his mouth every time he opened the orifice, and even worse to hear the laughter at his plight. No, it was the gel for him. His eyes wandered down to the jar in his hand, the sea green goop staring confidently back at him. That stiff, somewhat greasy, oil-inducing gel that would hold his hair down through shear force of will alone…

“Gyah!” Yuugi set the jar of goop back onto the bathroom sink and marched out into the living room, hands drawn tight at his sides. He looked around for his houseguest and, once finding him sitting on the floor in front of the loveseat, proceeded to voice his objections. “It’s not fair Até!”

Atemu looked up from the book he was reading and eyed Yuugi thoughtfully. That whine had been quite impressive.

“I mean, why do I have to be the one blessed with such unruly hair?” Yuugi marched over to Atemu and flopped ceremoniously beside him, throwing his head back onto the couch and covering his eyes with his arm. He didn’t move until he heard Atemu laugh, raising his arm just enough so he could peek at the other man and grin.

“Oh the trials you face,” Atemu said around a chuckle. He returned his attention to his book, though his amused smile remained.

Yuugi straightened himself and leaned over Atemu’s shoulder, sticking his nose as close to the book as he was able. “What’cha reading?” Atemu obliged and closed the book to expose the cover, keeping his finger between the pages he was reading to save his place. Yuugi nodded, scrunching his face. “I didn’t know you liked espionage.”

“If you’re going to read,” Atemu began, folding the corner of his page and closing the book now that he realized he wasn’t going to get anymore reading done so long as Yuugi was curious, “read something intelligent.” He frowned. “Or at least, something that tries to be intelligent. Something that makes you think, anyway.”

Yuugi laughed outright, trying to calm his amusement only when he received a pout for his efforts. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just that even you don’t sound like you like what you’re reading.” A devious expression slowly melted its way onto Yuugi’s face, and he reached forward and grabbed the book from Atemu’s hands and tossed it over the back of the couch. He ignored the rude comment that ensued from his actions. “There are better ways to waste your time.”

“Such as?” Atemu asked, forlornly following with his eyes the flight path his book had taken.

“You could come to the beach with us!”

Atemu didn’t look at Yuugi, choosing to stand and retrieve his abused book. “No thanks,” he said, humor underlying his tone. He bent behind the couch, leaving his hand as the only visible part of him on the back of the furniture, and so missed the calculating expression on the other man’s face. “Spending the day being scrutinized by a group of people whose first and only impression of me is my stomping away like a child does not sound like a good time. Besides,” he continued, standing and tossing the book in the air in victory, “I don’t like ocean water. It always makes my skin itch.”

“Aw, poor baby.” Yuugi snickered when Atemu stuck his tongue out at him and reclaimed his seat on the floor. Yuugi shifted himself around so he was facing his friend, propping his arm on the couch and balancing his head on his hand. He poked Atemu in the shoulder playfully, causing the other man to squirm until his back was facing Yuugi. “So you’re going to waste the day reading a book?”

“Yes.” Atemu glanced at Yuugi over his shoulder quickly, and the younger man flinched at the mischief evident in the expression. “I can still improve myself, so I’m going to take advantage of the opportunity.”

Yuugi stared blankly; then he broke out in laughter. “You’re terrible!” he said, slapping Atemu’s shoulder. “All high and mighty over a damn book.”

“What’re you going to do?” Atemu breathed in deeply and released it slowly, letting his body relax. He twisted his torso so he was facing Yuugi and, without thinking, leaned forward and brushed his nose affectingly against Yuugi’s in happiness. He didn’t realize what he’d done until he resumed his position of facing away from Yuugi, at which point his eyes widened and a light flush boldly fingered its way onto his cheeks. What the hell did he just do?! He pulled the book closer to his face and tried discreetly to hide behind its pages. He just couldn’t hold out another bloody half-hour for Yuugi to leave…

It took a moment for Yuugi to realize his mouth was hanging open and for him to close it. That… that had been unexpected. Though he wasn’t shy about demonstrating his fondness for Atemu, the other man had never initiated such contact between them. His grin pretty much explained his reaction to Atemu’s slip in personal etiquette. He noticed the other man pointedly not looking at him, his relaxation having been traded for a tense expectation. Quite suddenly, and happily in Yuugi’s opinion, the beach didn’t seem all that interesting anymore.

Smirking in a fashion only Yuugi could achieve, he quietly slid himself along the couch until his shirt was just brushing against Atemu’s back, and his legs followed the outline of the man’s in front of him. “Why Até,” he purred, folding the arm on the couch around Atemu’s shoulders and letting it drift upwards until the skin of his forearm was resting against the other man’s throat. He rested his free hand against Atemu’s bicep, his fingers curling lightly around the muscle. “I didn’t know you cared.” He laughed quietly, a soft, inviting sound, when Atemu muttered an obscenity under his breath. “Hey, it’s alright.” He pressed his nose behind Atemu’s ear and inhaled sharply, releasing his breath with an, “I like you too.”

Atemu groaned into his book, but didn’t resist when Yuugi reached over and guided it out of his hands. Though he had convinced himself that accepting Yuugi’s advances wouldn’t cause any more pain than was already occurring when he tried to decline him, making a move himself guaranteed future heartache that he just didn’t believe he was capable of handling. He was a fool if he thought the interest shown in him was anything more than temporary, no matter how sincere it felt. His heart was the dumbest part of him, and whenever it told him that emotions were real and that someone genuinely saw him as more than a toy he knew to run in the opposite direction. It was so difficult with Yuugi though, his patient persistence never crossing the line, always seeming to read exactly how far he could push Atemu without causing him to bolt. The longer he stayed around the younger man the harder it was becoming to resist the urge to give in and let Yuugi show him, if only once, what it was like to be adored. He needed to get out of the house before the inevitable breaking of his heart. He couldn’t bring himself to leave with the possibility of acceptance dangled in front of him like a carrot. The stress he placed upon himself was enough to make a grown man cry.

Yuugi was unaware of the turmoil Atemu was experiencing. All he knew was that, once again, Atemu was not pulling away from him, which told him that he was welcome to continue doing – heh, whatever came into his mind. Once he lowered the book to the floor he raised his hand and trailed his fingertips over the ridge of Atemu’s brows, feeling when the eyes closed, drawing his hand down over the dark cheek, following the increasingly rapid pulse in his neck. Nuzzling behind his ear, Yuugi began placing light kisses into Atemu’s hair, delaying his trek downwards until his hand was able to slip beneath the collar of Atemu’s shirt and pull it gently to the side, exposing his collarbone. Ghosting his finger over the protrusion once, Yuugi lowered his head and placed his open mouth on the exposed flesh. Lazily, he let his tongue fall to the skin as his lips roamed back and forth in cheerful exploration.

A short breath escaped Atemu’s throat as Yuugi enjoyed himself, an involuntary shudder pushing his body further into the couch and the man behind him when the arm across his throat lowered until a hand was holding on to the side of his chest, the palm occasionally brushing over his nipple as a result of his movements. The hand not holding onto him had found its way to the top of his thigh and was resting there heatedly, the warmth beginning to spread throughout the muscle. The hand started moving a few moments later; not much, but almost spasmodically, as though loosening and strengthening its grip or rubbing it up and down the length of the extremity would somehow dissipate the heat that was being collected. Atemu’s hand, the one attached to the arm currently pressed against the couch, gripped tightly the one on his chest as he tried to calm his breathing with long, forced breaths. He had hoped that the added physical contact would bring some sense back into his mind, but all it did was weigh him down with the comfort of feeling another human being holding onto him with gentle intentions.

Atemu was not disappointing Yuugi’s expectations of quiet pleasure. The older man was just not overtly vocal when it came to physical gratification or the release of emotional trauma. Yuugi’s moist mouth had laid a trail of wetness to cocoon the warm skin in a cool and slippery substance that reacted against the developing heat. He drew the hand that could not lie still against Atemu’s thigh teasingly over his stomach and tensed his muscles, which pulled Atemu enticingly back into his front. For a minute neither man moved; Atemu focusing his thoughts on calming himself and not succumbing to Yuugi’s seduction, Yuugi realizing how nice and… and how simple it felt to hold onto someone as kind as Até. It was one of those defining moments that does not leave an obvious impression of its presence. In the stillness that resulted, each man trapped in the inner workings of his own mind, all that could be heard was slightly ragged breathing and the shifting scratch of shirts and pants sliding past each other.

Yuugi’s adventurous mouth pulled itself back just enough so it was hovering over the skin, his increasingly sensitive lips trembling against the heat they could feel. This sentiment was new to Yuugi. At least, he thought it was. As much as he could think, anyway. He felt so calm, and warm, but not in the sexual manner in which he usually associated this heat. It was comfortable, and enveloping, and filled his muscles with a sensation of hunger that had nothing to do with food or… or anything, really. Just a nervous twitching that was surprisingly pleasant and didn’t appear to require any action to be soothed. An excited breath was exhaled and he felt Atemu’s small movements still. Raising his head slowly, Yuugi brought his face close to Atemu’s cheek, content to remain holding the man who invoked these beautiful feelings of serenity.

The weight of fingers on his face and the movement of the cheek beneath his caused Yuugi to open his eyes, and he found himself looking into a heavy chocolate gaze that was quiet, accepting, and full of an emotion he hadn’t seen before on Atemu’s features. He was captivated by the soft expression and he found his own eyes hooding in the instinctual reaction of arousal. The backs of the fingers on his cheek followed the protrusion of his cheekbone, idly rubbing along its length as Atemu’s eyes unfocused and lowered, unseeing in the midst of the seriousness that was slowly enveloping the encounter. Yuugi barely noticed that Atemu was leaning back into the couch and that he had turned enough to almost be facing Yuugi directly. He hissed quietly as the fingers on his face lowered to the underside of his jaw, then drew themselves lovingly beneath his chin, applying a gentle pressure that caused him to lift his head ever so slightly.

Atemu unconsciously folded his lips inward, wetting them lightly. He simply didn’t have the will to fight it anymore. He was friendless, he was homesick, and he hurt with a soul-wrenching pain of abandonment that he was desperate to get away from. What was the point in denying his attraction to Yuugi when all it caused him was further pain? True, he was going to pay the price later when Yuugi realized that he wasn’t interesting enough to keep around, but that moment was inevitable whether or not he gave in to his own desires and Yuugi achieved the intimacy he’d been working toward. To feel something not akin to self-loathing would be blissful enough to carry him through the years of loneliness that lay ahead of him. It was with these thoughts that Atemu used his fingers to hold the other man’s head still and leaned upward, allowing his eyes to slip shut as he encased Yuugi’s upper lip within his own and kissed it gently.

Yuugi’s breath caught in his throat at the contact, and it was all he could do not to hum loudly at the sensation of Atemu’s forwardness and ruin the moment. The sensation of Atemu kissing him was simply indescribable; it was beyond the pleasure of listening to Atemu snap at him over a bad joke, beyond the enjoyment of watching Atemu’s marvelous eyes close in pleasure when he unexpectedly held his hand, beyond the intensity of that evening when Yuugi had kissed Atemu properly for the first time in his room. The fingers under his chin stretched out and rested against the corner of his mouth, and Yuugi allowed himself to sigh into Atemu, leaning forward to increase the pressure on his lips and push the other man more fully against the couch so he could feel more of him. He leaned over Atemu’s chest, one arm behind his back and holding onto his waist while the other came to rest on the hollow of his neck, his fingers fluttering over the rapid pulse beneath the semi-rough skin. Yuugi had his hip pressed against Atemu’s, but there were no thoughts of straddling the older man or forcing the contact further than the situation rendered. He was simply enjoying himself too much to even think beyond the feel of Atemu’s mouth.

Yuugi was, however, not so far removed from reality that he didn’t entertain the thought of taking control. Not forcefully, of course, and he by no means wished for Atemu not to continue taking action, but the slow burning in his blood was respectfully demanding that he feel more of the delicious man beneath him. Yuugi smirked into the kiss, which caused Atemu to release his lip without drawing back, his mouth opening and closing while the energy of his lust began to infiltrate his mind and short-circuit his actions. Yuugi leaned forward, making sure their lips were pressed together and slipping over each other just so. “Finally,” he whispered. He was forced to pause at the jolt he felt when Atemu loosened in his grip on his shirt, effectively relaying his willingness to submit to Yuugi’s action. God damn, Yuugi thought, did this man know how to work his way beneath his skin. Recovering, Yuugi tilted his face so the edge of his tongue could trail over Atemu’s bottom lip with minimal effort, groaning with the shudder he felt race through Atemu.

“Finally,” he repeated in the same whisper, “I can give you the good-” he kissed Atemu’s open mouth intently “-and pleasurable kiss you deserve.” These last words were said quickly as Yuugi simply could not hold himself back any longer. The kiss he should have given Atemu initially on that fateful day was finally delivered.

Yuugi didn’t have to worry about coaxing Atemu to lean against him or about how to encourage the other man to open his mouth and invite him inside. He was still provided with the opportunity to nibble on the lips he held within his own, just barely involving his teeth and soothing the contact with the softest side of his tongue, drinking in the hitched breaths and the tightening of the hand around the collar of his shirt. Yuugi initiated his sweetest of French-kisses after feeling the inside of Atemu’s velvety lips, brushing the tip of his tongue softly against Atemu’s so they could taste the sweetness of each other. Each movement of his tongue was slow and languid; he wasn’t going to waste a single opportunity to feel and sample and savor the flavor of this man. The myth about having to pull away in order to breathe was broken with the length of time Yuugi maintained the contact of the kiss, breathing in deeply and suitably through his nose. It was times like these that Yuugi adored having an experienced partner - one that didn’t panic with the long duration of a kiss, rather feeding off it and using it to propel themselves into a heightened state of arousal. The one time Yuugi did pull away was because the intensity was so strong that he simply didn’t know what else to do. He could not have been happier when Atemu didn’t allow the break in the kiss to endure by following him the moment their lips broke contact and initiating the next kiss with more passion than the previous one. This kiss… this kiss was the most beautiful experience Yuugi had ever shared with anyone, and that included quite a few exploratory encounters.

“Até,” Yuugi breathed into his ear during a very brief respite. He moaned in response to Atemu’s pleading “Heba,” which was anything but weak and childish. “I’ve wanted you…” He kissed down along the susceptible tendon in his neck, ending the act with an open-mouthed suction that allowed him to fully taste the saltiness in the skin beneath his mouth. His mind far from logical thought, he wasn’t aware that he spoke his next notion out loud. “My friends were right about that…”

Atemu froze in the midst of nuzzling his head against Yuugi’s. It took a moment for the other man to realize that his partner was no longer participating or responding to his touches, and when he did he felt the lead weight of panic sink hard into his stomach. “Atemu?” he asked quickly. When he didn’t get an immediate response he raised his head to look Atemu in the eye. “Até?” he asked more desperately.

Atemu’s eyes were tightly closed and his head was turned away, his mouth open in a poorly concealed painful grimace. Yuugi felt real terror eat at his sanity as he tried to figure out what had happened. Everything had been going so well, it had felt so good, it had been right, he hadn’t forced it and Atemu had wanted it and what had he done wrong?!

He couldn’t bring himself to look at Yuugi, knowing that to do so would be his destruction. “Your friends are waiting for you.”

“My friends?” Yuugi shook his head in disbelief, finally beginning to realize exactly what he had said. “No-no-no. No! I don’t care! I’d rather be here.” He pushed his forehead into Atemu’s, trying to convey his honesty and convince himself that this wasn’t happening. “I always rather be here with you other than with the-”

“Don’t be foolish.” Realizing how harshly he had spoken, Atemu opened his eyes and smiled weakly, gently placing both hands on Yuugi’s shoulders and tenderly pushing him away. “Never disregard your friends. They are too difficult to come by.” He pushed at Yuugi again when the man refused to move. “Go on,” he said, trying valiantly not to let his voice crack with the tears he felt forming in his eyes. “Go.” When Yuugi eventually stood, his arm shaking where it supported his weight on the loveseat, Atemu quickly got to his feet and offered another weak smile, saying faintly, “I’ll be here when you get back.” He rushed himself past Yuugi as quickly as he dared and made it to the bathroom in time to lock himself and his emotions out of Yuugi’s sight.

Yuugi had seen the tears in Atemu’s eyes but hadn’t reacted fast enough to stop him from running into the bathroom. Memories of the evening of their first meeting surfaced violently in his mind and he ran to the bathroom in the dire hope of reaching the door before he heard that fateful sound of the shower running.

He was too late. Just like that night, Atemu had shut him out completely. Yuugi was left to jiggle the handle in futility, sinking to his knees as the reality of his actions enveloped him like quicksand. How could he have been so fucking stupid as to bring up the one thing that had ever caused tension between them?? And during a damn make-out session that Atemu had initiated! The pain of the wall that now stood between him and Atemu in the form of a bathroom door was almost too much for Yuugi to handle. He never knew it could hurt this much to have someone shut you out. How did people live with it?

He was in no mood to see his friends now, but he also didn’t believe he could handle staying in the house and listening to that godforsaken shower knowing what it symbolized. With only minutes to spare, Yuugi finally pulled himself off the floor, gathered his beach bag, and left his home.

---

For a Sunday afternoon there weren’t many people at the beach, though a feeling of a buzzing crowd still vibrated the air and saturated the sand. Premium space just beyond the reach of the surf had been claimed since early morning, and slowly the area behind the frontlines began to fill with an encroaching shuffle towards the concrete strand four hundred yards from the ocean. Beach umbrellas sprouted like tress and added vibrant color against the stark backdrop of bright sand and dark ocean blue.

Anzu, who had been able to acquire a position two rows back from the frontlines, had been the only one to think to bring a beach chair and had used this fact as proof that she deserved to be under the lone umbrella. Honda had protested feebly until he was distracted by the blonde lifeguard walking past him and he’d taken off in pursuit of a fantasy, leaving Anzu to put on her sunglasses and relax in her shaded oasis. Jounouchi was down at the surf failing to build sandcastles, much to the amusement of the children that had gathered around his infectious personality. He raised his hand and flashed a grin at Yuugi when he noticed his friend spreading out his beach towel next to Anzu.

“You made it!”

Yuugi half-smiled in acknowledgement. He placed an arm around Anzu’s shoulders and squeezed lightly in greeting. After she patted his hand he sat at the head of his towel and rummaged in his bag for his sunglasses. He found his Frisbee during the hunt and flipped it to Honda, who had returned from his exploits, and the man caught it enthusiastically and gathered Jounouchi for a game. They tried to interest Yuugi and Anzu in the fun, but when Yuugi declined Anzu decided against joining them to stay with her friend.

“How you doing?” Anzu tucked her hair behind both ears reflexively when the wind whipped at her skin. She didn’t like Yuugi’s noncommittal shrug or the way he purposefully didn’t make eye-contact with her. “Hey,” she said, laying her hand on top of his in an attempt to get his attention, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start fighting with you this pat week.”

“I know Anzu. It just didn’t help.” Yuugi patted he hand and scooted down on his towel to lie down. “Things are tough enough without the two of us going at it.”

Anzu sighed. “Agreed.” Oh, there was no doubt in her mind that things between her and Yuugi were fine, and that this had just been one of those inevitable bumps in the road that all friendships face. What bothered her was Yuugi’s constant mention of how tough things were and how even when talking to his friends about his problems he never actually put a name to what was frustrating him. Yuugi liked to appear simple and shallow, believing it allowed him a lot of maneuverability in his relationships. He believed that it protected him from all of the big hurts in the world. He’d never come outright and told her this, but he’d hinted enough to Anzu that he wasn’t as happy as he pretended to be with his choice of lifestyle.

“What can I do?” she asked gently. Yuugi turned his head away from her in thought, not dismissal. “What’s really bothering you?”

He was so not in the mood for insightful questioning. It had taken all his willpower to show up at the beach and maintain a blank exterior. The knowledge that Atemu was back at the home, hiding himself in a shower, was eating away at his nerves like acid on paper. He couldn’t fathom the courage it must have taken Atemu to expose his emotions like that, to finally let down his guard and openly welcome Yuugi’s advances. And to return them! Yuugi had noticed how difficult it was for Atemu to trust the intentions of others. While he always acted polite and cordial, his subtle and practiced sidestepping of both physical and emotional proximity had not gone unnoticed by Yuugi’s watchful eyes. He’d been amazed that Atemu had let him come so close so fast; even knowing it was his intention to eventually get him into bed.

“I’m not really sure,” Yuugi finally answered. When it appeared that Atemu was going to give in… wanted to give in to Yuugi’s seduction, what had he done? He’d sabotaged it royally. “It seems I don’t know what I want,” he muttered. What person in their right mind tried to destroy the one thing they had been seeking when it quite literally fell into their lap?

“Woo-hoo!” Jounouchi exclaimed when he suddenly appeared and dropped by Yuugi’s side, Honda taking a more dignified seat at the foot of Anzu’s chair. Jounouchi smacked Yuugi’s bent knee in salutation. “So man, how’s it going?”

“I’m fine.”

“Aw now,” Honda said through a cheeky grin, looking at each of his friends. “We all know that tone. Something interesting has happened.” He bent his knees and clasped his wrists together around his legs in his eagerness to begin the questioning. “I assume we all know who this is regarding correct? So we can skip that part. What happened?”

“Has the debonair Egyptian decided to cooperate?” Jounouchi chimed in.

Anzu worried her bottom lip. The boys didn’t seem to notice it, but Yuugi’s entire body had tensed and a frown continued to grow on his face while Honda and Jounouchi continued to talk about Atemu. “Guys?” she tried to intervene. “Maybe we should back off for a little while.”

Jounouchi looked at Anzu in surprise before waving off her concern. “It’s all in good fun. Yug knows that, don’t ya bud?” He misinterpreted Yuugi’s grunt for agreement. “No secrets between friends!”

“So what makes him squirm?” Honda persisted, artfully dodging Anzu’s attempts to quiet him. “Are his ears sensitive? Is he an ear man?”

“I doubt it. Unless he has earrings?” When Yuugi failed to respond – aside from rolling onto his stomach – Jounouchi assumed he was correct. “Maybe his neck?”

“I like necks myself,” Honda mused. “There’s all this skin to touch, and you have to get in close, so it can’t help but be an intimate thing.”

“Come on guys, leave it alone. You’re wasting precious ogling time.” Anzu gestured to the scantly clad patrons of the beach.

“Can’t tell me you ain’t curious?” Jounouchi asked.

Honda studied Anzu carefully before bursting into a grin. “You know something!” He had to pause while Jounouchi sputtered his indignation at not knowing all the details. “What,” he continued mischievously, narrowing his eyes, “were you there to see it?”

Anzu restrained her temper rather well. “Look, this was funny when we were all involved with it, but it’s obvious Yuugi doesn’t want to talk about him right now so can’t we give him that?!”

Honda leaned back with his hands raised in defense. “Whoa there, settle down Anzu.”

Jounouchi twisted his mouth in thought as he looked at Yuugi’s back. Maybe Anzu had a point. It was pretty weird that Yuugi hadn’t said more than two words to them. A foul mood radiated off his body in looping rings, noticeable when you stopped and paid attention. This didn’t curb his curiosity, but it did make him think he needed to tone down the excitement in his voice. When he thought about it, there’d really been only one other time he’d seen Yuugi this moody over someone and that had been when his friend had returned from his semester in Hawaii. Yuugi never did tell them why he’d been in the mild depression.

“Yug,” he asked softly. Yuugi sighed heavily and Jounouchi knew he’d interrupted whatever his friend had been thinking, though he was happy to know that he had his attention. “What happened? Did he say something?”

Yuugi removed his sunglasses and chewed on the end of the ear piece. “No,” he said, his voice breaking through Honda’s and Anzu’s argument. “It wasn’t anything he said.” There was no further elaboration, his gaze unfocused on the sand in front of him. As much as he had tried to twist the events, he couldn’t see any way to blame Atemu. This screw-up was entirely his fault.

“Then it was something he did,” Honda said. He began to laugh as an unbelievable thought emerged. “Don’t tell me he pushed you away?” He was too busy laughing to see Yuugi close his eyes at the accusation. “The man would have to be stupid to refuse you. Funny, I didn’t take him for a fool.”

“Excuse me?” Yuugi turned over and raised himself onto his elbows. The glare on his face was enough to freeze Honda’s amusement in his throat, the chilliness of the expression penetrating straight into the group’s core. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You… you mean, he did?” Honda gaped at Yuugi. “But no one turns you away Yuugi!”

“I’m sorry Yuugi,” Anzu said, but the lack of anger and disbelief in her voice was unable to overcome the brewing argument between the three men.

“You say that like it’s a damn failing of mine,” Yuugi said through gritted teeth. He could not take his friends pushing him today. He was already edgy, irritated, confused, hurt… hurt? Reexamining that thought made Yuugi realize that that was the source of most of his pain, but he didn’t understand why the severity was this severe. Yes, Atemu had shut him out, pushed him away, but he’d done it before, he’d survived it before, he didn’t - … why the hell did he care so much?

“No man,” Jounouchi said quickly. “He’s the failure. Doesn’t know a good thing when he sees it. Sounds like he’s taking advantage of your ‘free’ hospitality.”

Yuugi felt all emotion coil in his chest like a ball of twine. He had heard the quotations in Jounouchi’s voice and the implications left his mind numb. “My free hospitality?” he whispered.

“Yeah,” Honda said nonchalantly. “I mean, you find him, you bring him home and give him a place to stay while he gets over whatever it is he’s running from. Did he really think he’d get all that for free? He owes you.” There was uncertainty in his voice over the fact that Yuugi’s face was getting redder the longer he spoke. “We all paid you back,” he argued, motioning between himself and Jounouchi.

“He works for Seto,” Yuugi said to the shock of his friends. “He pays his way as he goes along.”

“That’s amazing,” Anzu said with a touch of admiration in her voice. “Did you help him get the job Yuugi?”

“No.” The reply was curt, directed towards Jounouchi and Honda. “That day you all gained up on me and asked me where he was? Well, that’s what he was out doing. He’s Seto’s personal business consultant.”

“I don’t believe it.” Jounouchi whistled. “I’ve never known anyone to pull the wool over Kaiba’s eyes.”

“You sure you aren’t the one being played here?” Honda asked. “Maybe he’s using sex as a lure to make you let him stay. If he can go toe-to-toe with Seto Kaiba he’d have no qualms standing against you.”

That was it. That was enough. That was more than enough and Yuugi didn’t understand why he’d stayed as long as he had. He needed to leave before he told Jounouchi and Honda to Fuck Off. Stoically he stood, shoving Jounouchi off his towel and throwing both it and his sunglasses in his beach bag before turning on his heel and marching back towards the bus station. It wasn’t as satisfying as a verbal send off, but it sent the same message. This was just a shitty day.

Anzu took the opportunity to slap both her friends as hard as she could, accentuating the attack with a hissed, “How could you two?!”

“What’d we do?” Jounouchi exclaimed, pointing a finger after Yuugi. “He’s the one acting all weird!”

“Aside from suggesting the only reason he brings people home and helps them is in return for sex?”

Working his jaw didn’t get Jounouchi’s voice functioning again, so Honda came to his rescue. “Get real, Anzu. Yuugi knew what we meant!” He took a painfully deep breath and attempted to release it slowly. “He’s acting like we attacked someone he really cares about.”

“You shouldn’t be attacking anyone.”

“Whatever.” Honda crossed his arms, unwilling to continue what he perceived to be a horrible farce.

“All of this is bullshit,” Jounouchi mumbled. “Yug’s been different ever sine he came back with that guy and I don’t like it. I doubt he does either.”

Anzu pulled at her sunglasses until they rested on the bridge of her nose, eyeing Jounouchi over the rims. There was a dangerous note in his voice that promised future action was going to be taken. She didn’t know her opinion of Atemu, her focus more on Yuugi at the moment, but it was pretty clear what Jounouchi and Honda thought of the man they had never met. Now wasn’t the time to mention the conversation she and Yuugi had had the previous week or the unexpected realization she had come to about her childhood friend. She just hoped that they all would take a few days to calm down before anyone did something rash.

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to be continued...