Chicken - Fic (Oldish)
Title: Chicken.
Author: tsumi_amethyst.
Pairing/Fandom: Yugi x Yami, Yu-Gi-Oh! Hints of Honda x Otogi and Ryou x Bakura.
Summary: Finally, Yugi has found a game that Yami loses, but how come the loss leaves him bitterly disappointed...
Author’s Note: Contains yaoi. If you don’t like it, don’t waste my time and yours by leaving abusive flames, it only stands as a testament to your immaturity and inability to heed a fair warning, after all. This is very short, it just came to me one evening... Enjoy! Cross-posted to deviantart (lagunaz-moombaz), ff.net and any YGO yaoi comm I can find ^^.
As was tradition on a Friday night, six bodies crammed themselves into Ryou’s cosy living room, each clutching a bottle of alcohol, chatting amongst themselves. They had each reached the stage of merriment whereby you are so overcome with weariness, that they lacked the energy to do anything that involved movement. Yugi lazily observed his friends discussing their plans for the upcoming holidays, the alcohol warming his body, eyes half-lidded as it lulled him towards sleep.
In contrast, however, Katsuya Jonouchi was doing anything but sitting still or being quiet. He was standing with one hand on his hip, while his other loosely held his recently emptied beer bottle. His face felt rather hot, and he wondered briefly why he was having trouble focusing on standing still, when he remembered - vaguely - the amount of alcohol he had consumed. Though he did not feel nauseous, he appreciated that Ryou would forbid him from consuming anymore until he showed the signs of sobriety. To do that, he realised, as if coming to this conclusion had been the most taxing deliberation of his life, he would need to keep himself occupied.
And there was no way he would be doing this alone.
“Hey, guys!” Jonouchi yelled, effectively silencing his friends. He looked around the room - Partially to jog his memory as to who was there, and partially for what he considered to be ‘dramatic effect’ (nobody told him that, in actual fact, he looked like a huge berk when he did this). Though it took a moment for the visual stimuli to make any sort of sense to him, Jonouchi saw the faces of Ryou, Yugi, Bakura, Yami, Honda and Otogi staring at him with barely concealed exasperation.
“I’m bored, and I wanna play a game to pass the time,” He explained, half-expecting his audience to turn back to their conversations. He staggered slightly when they murmured in agreement with his proposal. “Alright then!”
“What are we going to play, Jonouchi?” Yugi asked, eyes shining at the prospect of playing a game. The evening had begun to get tedious for him the moment Otogi decided to rather loudly question the small teenager about his love-life. Though he coldly told Otogi that he was not with somebody, the dice-wielding, handsome gamer pushed the issue, until Yugi firmly yet politely reminded Otogi that his love-life was of no concern to him, unless, of course, he was making an offer of some sort. The smirks and giggles this extracted from the listeners instantly made Otogi withdraw with a scowl, outwitted despite the comeback being simple enough. Yugi sat, silently seething, while his Yami regarded him cautiously through their spiritual connection.
Unbeknownst to the pharaoh, only a tiny portion of the duellist’s fury was derived from the embarrassment that, he knew, teenagers felt when confronted publicly about their (distinct lack of, in Yugi’s case) love-life. The remainder of it was down to the frustration he felt at having a special someone in mind, yet having no means with which a closer relationship could be formed. Irritably, he had opened another bottle of beer and begun to take long swigs, until Jonouchi’s drunken proposal distracted him from his brooding.
Jonouchi stood, swaying, for another moment, and propped himself against the wall to steady himself, accepting the glass of water being pushed into his hands by Ryou - ‘When did he move?’ Jonouchi wondered to himself, amazed - And thought for a moment.
Yet as was customary with the blonde, he simply shouted out the first idea that came to his head.
“Gay chicken!”
Otogi’s eyebrows shot up right to the bottom of his bandana: Ryou’s mouth fell open in shock: Honda burst into a loud fit of laughter: Yugi blushed: Bakura rolled his eyes at the ‘childish’ nature of the game, but seemed to be gleeful: Yami was simply confused. He turned to his hikari, keeping his voice quiet, the exchange private.
“What is this ‘gay chicken’ game, aibou?” He asked seriously, surprised to see the blush on Yugi’s cheeks darken. “What sort of game is this?”
Yugi fought to suppress his blush, though the mental images that had come, unbidden to him upon Jonouchi’s proposal and Yami’s innocent question were making this difficult. Before he could even begin to form a coherent response, devoid of stuttering and false starts, Bakura cut in, clearly having heard the question. Not one to waste an opportunity to publicly humiliate Yami, he rose his voice deliberately above its usual level to attract as much attention as possible.
“You mean you don’t know?” Bakura laughed, mockingly, attracting the attention of the others intentionally, “You disappoint me, Pharaoh!”
Yami raised an eyebrow, ignoring the abruptly stunted laughter of Honda, and how everyone’s eyes seemed to be on him out of curiosity. It made him feel like a delicate Egyptian artefact on display at a Museum exhibition; yet under Bakura’s mocking gaze, he did not allow his discomfort to show. He simply waited for a response, to which Bakura threw his hands in the air, partly from exasperation.
“It’s quite simple, really,” He began with a smirk, as if he had found that having this knowledge gave him some sort of upper hand against the Pharaoh, “Two people play at a time. They sit facing one another and lean in towards one another, as if to give them a kiss-”He paused at this point, savouring the sudden look of understanding, coupled with a faint reddening of Yami’s cheeks, “-The first one to pull away is the ‘chicken’ and loses the game. The one to not pull away, therefore, is the winner.” He threw a quick glance around the room. “Because there’s so many of us, I suggest a small tournament of sorts.” He grinned once more at Yami’s expression. “Come now, Pharaoh - Surely this was a game you once played with Seth in Egypt?”
“There was nothing of the sort in Egypt!” Yami retorted, his insistence in the matter suspicious; yet when Bakura challenged Yami’s ignorance, Ryou cut in, tugging his yami’s arm pointedly.
“The tournament idea is splendid.” He held in the hand which was not restraining Bakura a sheet of paper and a pen. “We’ll draw the names at random from a hat to decide who ‘plays’ who, so to speak,” He looked around at everyone, “That is, if everyone’s up for it?”
It took some convincing to get Honda to join in, but after a few minutes of persuasion and accusations about the teen’s manhood, he agreed to join in. The group huddled in the small living room, watching with anticipation - or, in Honda’s case, apprehension - as Ryou shook the hat containing their names and drew the first. He unfolded the scrap and chuckled.
“Otogi.”
The teen in question grinned as Honda and a slightly more sober Jonouchi jeered. The dice obsessed beauty looked at ease as Ryou pulled out another name from the hat.
“Honda.”
The jeering stopped instantly, and the grin on Honda’s face fell faster than a lead balloon. He looked uneasily at the dark-haired boy he would be ‘playing’ with, irritation visible as Jonouchi continued with his ridiculing. He swatted at the blonde and prayed that he got Bakura when it was his turn to play. Nervously he scooted closer to Otogi, stopping when he was right in front of him. The blood was pounding so loudly in his ears that it seemed as if he was hearing the excited giggles and quiet whirring of a video camera from the end of a very long tunnel.
“Okay, go for it, guys!” Ryou sang cheerfully, enjoying the torture he was having Honda endure; in truth, he hadn’t pulled the teen’s name from the hat at all - he was just in the mood for some spontaneous match-making. He glanced slyly at Bakura, who said nothing and did not return the gaze, but watched the scene before them with a knowing smile, secretly proud of his usually honest hikari.
Otogi puckered his lips in jest as Honda swallowed anxiously, the brunette blushing instantly. Nevertheless, he steeled himself and began to lean in, Otogi mirroring his actions. Honda’s blush only intensified as the distance between them shortened, his hearing still not quite as it should be - He could only very slightly tell what Jonouchi’s running commentary was saying (“Aww yeah, they’re getting closer and closer, folks - Can you feel the tension? One of them’s gonna crack, but which one will it be?”). He resented the fact that Otogi seemed perfectly comfortable in this situation while he was flustered, Otogi’s pleasant smile coaxing him further and further in as they continued to edge slowly towards one another. Their lips were now no less than eight inches apart, and Honda was gradually becoming unnerved by the way Otogi was looking at him, those emerald eyes never once leaving his own...
Then, without warning Otogi lurched forward, and the surprised Honda jumped backwards, crying out. As he took in the smug look on Otogi’s face, however, he realised how he had been tricked and groaned aloud, questioning aloud the justice of their ‘game’. With a sigh, Honda conceded defeat and allowed himself to relax, hearing returning to normal as his blush diminished.
“Alright then, Honda loses that round. Otogi, you’ll get to play again with whoever wins the next few games.” Ryou assured him, and drew the next names - Bakura and Yami. He managed a weak “Oh dear,” before ducking to one side so he could laugh until it hurt.
Bakura’s face instantly twisted into one of disgust, his eyes narrowed as he considered the equally repulsed pharaoh. Much to the amusement of everyone else, neither seemed to be in too much of a hurry to reach the other, with Bakura downright refusing to move for Yami at all, until a look from Ryou and, most probably, some mental communication moved him onward, though not without the obligatory curses and eye rolling.
They settled in front of one another, Bakura’s face now really manipulated into a look of disgust at what he may be risking with playing this game. Ryou announced the beginning of the game, and for a moment, neither of the yami’s moved. Then, grudgingly, slowly, they began to move. Bakura seemed to have developed a twitch in an eyebrow, and Yami’s lips were moving as if murmuring a prayer to any God that was listening to get him out of the thief’s general vicinity.
They eventually got closer than Otogi and Honda had when they were playing their game, and both yami’s were desperately fighting with their pride. Bakura was stubborn, and therefore unwilling to lose a game, and especially not when his opponent was his long-standing nemesis; yet Yami was the renowned King of Games, and had a reputation to uphold (though, he thought to himself wryly, it’s unlikely anyone would admit to losing the acclaimed title at a game of gay chicken). His mind ran through the possible ways to avoid his lips touching those of the thief king’s, but found none as the white-haired teen approached. Without even thinking, he tilted his head to one side, as if accepting the inevitable, and to his surprise, Bakura retreated, scowling and shaking his head.
“I can’t do it! I’m not kissing the pharaoh!” He wiped his face, as if simply by being near Yami had given him some sort of disease. He stalked back to Ryou’s side, sulking quietly as his hikari looked at the remaining ‘contestants’ - Yugi and Jonouchi.
Yugi beat Jonouchi, though only via default - The blonde raced to the bathroom as soon as the game began, unable to keep up with his drinking. Ryou rolled his eyes as the sounds of retching came through the open bathroom door, though was thankful that this time he had at least made it to the bathroom before spewing. Yet the games continued, with Ryou ‘beating’ Otogi, who was in turn ‘beaten’ by Yami, though this was mainly to the fact that all Bakura kept saying throughout their ‘game’ was dark threats about how he would disown his hikari if he went any closer to the pharaoh. With an exaggerated pout and a look of minor irritation at having his fun ruined by a thousand-year feud, Ryou turned his cheek away and stalked back to Bakura’s side, testing the thief’s temperament by playfully blowing Yami a kiss. Thus Yami and Yugi were the last to play this game.
Yugi felt his chest swell with a harsh mix of excitement and nervousness as he approached the Pharaoh, trying to keep his smile and blush in check. If he looked over-enthusiastic at the prospect of getting close with Yami, he may evoke revulsion and abandonment in his alter-ego, though judging from the indifferent look on Yami’s face, he looked fairly comfortable.
Yugi settled himself down just as Jonouchi emerged from the bathroom, his hair and face dripping with the cold water he had cruelly submerged himself in to sober him up. He grinned and was amazed at just how well his crudely shaped plan was working out; he truly had not expected things to turn out this way at all, though this was the preferred route. He tried to contain himself, much like Yugi, yet his look of glee qualified as the dozy look of a man who’d simply drunk too much.
Facing one another, Yami offered a small grin to his aibou, missing the way Yugi nervously smiled back in his alcohol haze. He mentally spoke to the short teen, oblivious to the hasty bets that were being made on the outcome of this ‘game.’
‘Just remember, I’m the King of Games, aibou,’ Yami reminded him, confidence radiating through their spiritual link, ‘and I never lose.’
Yugi raised an eyebrow and made a noise that suggested indignation, though it was obviously faked. ‘Sorry, Yami. But I’m not going down without a fight!’
Their talk, so similar to how they taunted an opponent before a duel made Yami chuckle, and this time spoke aloud, “Confident, aren’t we?”
Ryou, who had been closely watching the silent exchange between his friends, smiled and took one final swig of his drink, finally able to see the logic behind Jonouchi’s behaviour. He saw how the blond didn’t really seem drunk anymore, and gave him a conspiratorial wink when he looked Ryou’s way. Grinning in response, Jonouchi’s attention returned to his anxious friend, hoping that this would work for him.
“Ready, you two?” Ryou asked, smiling. “Any last words? Dirty pre-game talk?”
Yugi laughed, wishing it had alleviated his nerves somewhat. “Already got that over with. I’m ready.”
Yami nodded at Ryou, indicating that he too was ready. The British teen gave another long look at the pair before exclaiming “Go!”
Yugi looked back to Yami, who was already shortening the distance between them. His crimson eyes burned into his own, his confidence all the more poignant as Yugi felt his hearing diminish, the sounds of his friends around him replaced by a quiet buzzing noise, and the sound of his beating heart. He swallowed nervously, approaching his partner as his fists clenched at his sides, fighting to keep them there rather than on Yami’s shoulders, or draped around his neck. The nerves from earlier doubled, the sensation intensifying to an almost painful degree in the bottom of his stomach, and he felt almost taunted by the self-assured look in the pharaoh’s eyes, as if they dared him to come closer.
Now only inches apart, Yugi could almost smell the spirit’s personal aroma, a tantalising blend of Egyptian spices and the faintest trace of sweat, and he fought the urge to gasp at how it overpowered him. His eyes locked on Yami’s lips, how his tongue ran along the lower lip, as if preparing for what was now inevitable. Without thinking, Yugi closed his eyes and leaned his head to one side...
And when he found himself almost toppling over, his lips finding nothing but thin air, his eyes snapped open, and his hearing returned in a heated rush as he steadied himself, disappointment replacing his sense of hope yet increasing his yearning for Yami’s mouth on his as he saw the pharaoh slightly to his left, clearly surprised at how he had allowed himself to be ‘psyched out’, as Jonouchi was saying. He had distanced himself further away than when they had started their ‘game,’ and that ached Yugi’s heart. He felt the eyes of his all-knowing, sympathetic friends on him, and he summoned a bright smile, and made a joke about how Yami was hardly the king of games now he had lost a simple game of gay chicken.
Yami grinned, laughing aloud, as he commented that it was unlikely the general public would want to know of how he lost his title, but that now he needed to make a trip to the bathroom to scrub away his shame at losing to his aibou. He clapped a companion-like hand on Yugi’s shoulder before he left, leaving Yugi exposed in front of his friends, his lower lip trembling though he fought to contain his hurt.
“... Yugi?”
The teen looked into Jonouchi’s eyes, concerned, sad, and sorry for suggesting this in the first place, and Yugi couldn’t help himself. He threw himself into the blonds waiting arms and sobbed against his chest, wallowing in his sorrows, resenting the injustice of his broadcasted rejection, lamenting at how he even thought he could attract the attention of his yami in that way, weeping at his humiliation and the crushing knowledge that Yami could feel all that he was experiencing right now, and yet he wasn’t rushing to his side, assuring him that things would be okay. All Jonouchi did was rub his back slowly, completely at a loss for words - though the occasional apology slipped passed his lips, the guilt of Yugi’s pain resting on him. Ryou patted and stroked Yugi’s hair soothingly, not sure of what else he could do.
With a loud sniff Yugi retreated from Jonouchi’s chest, his hands hiding his tear-stained cheeks as he rubbed irritably at them, small hiccups breaking the uncomfortable silence every now and then. The teen felt his misery swell and threaten to explode again, but didn’t for the sake of the evening, despite the cheerful atmosphere having long since been extinguished.
He did not move nor make any outward movement that acknowledged Bakura’s presence, but the thief knelt in front of the duellist all the same and held him at arm’s length, his large hands resting on Yugi’s slender, slouched shoulders.
“If you want me to talk, mind crush or fight him... I will,” He vowed quietly. Yugi managed a pitiful laugh, unsure of what Bakura’s true intentions really were.
He scrabbled frantically, however, at his arms, trying to get him to stay, to have him shielded from view for another minute longer, when the bathroom door opened, and Yami stepped out, slowly surveying the scene with an open-mouth, before his gaze rested on his aibou. He took in the forlorn expression, the tracks that his tears had left on his flushed cheeks, and felt a cold dread slink into his stomach, realisation striking him as the silence of the room only accentuated and confirmed what was going on.
Unable to look at his partner, even though understanding and shock mingled in his features, Yugi pulled Bakura back to him, and hid his face in his t-shirt.