Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Winding Road	By : lostintheheartland Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 5139 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or make any profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
***

“Man, no wonder Americans are fat.” Ryou dropped down on the couch. “If they eat like they need cranes to lift them.”

Jou rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Not all Americans are fat. And that was a holiday meal, something special.”

Yugi moaned in miserable ecstasy. “I can’t move an inch. And we have pies left.”

“I’d like to know why I’m so tired.” Bakura frowned through a smothered yawn.

“Turkey has something in it, I think.” Marik mumbled sleepily.

“I’ve heard that too.” Anzu snuggled her dozing daughter into her shoulder. Vic stumbled into the room dragging a huge beanbag chair. With a massive sigh he flopped onto it.

Atemu sank to the floor and rested his head against Yugi’s leg. “It’s effective, whatever is in the turkey. If we’d have known about it in my time as pharaoh we would have made sure that the invading armies had an abundant supply – then attacked just after meal time.”

There were weak, sleepy chuckles all around. A sharp clearing of someone’s throat made several heads lift tiredly. Kaiba Seto glared at all of them from the doorway. “I cooked all day and am tired. You all set the table and stuffed your faces. I call cook’s privilege. I’m done for the day. The rest of you handle clean up and storage.”

Jou looked at him blearily, “Wha...? Don’tcha have servants or something?”

“I gave them a four day weekend. Get moving.” He glared at them. When none of them so much as budged his glare became glacial. “If you don’t get moving not only will you not get pie, but I will feed the kids real chocolate covered coffee beans, then retire to my room – locking the door.”

That brought Jou and Anzu up in a rush. Genuine horror and fear twisted their features. “You wouldn’t.”

Yugi looked up lethargically. “What’s wrong? So they get a little hyper. It’s not...”

Anzu looked at him like he was insane. “A little...” She choked to a stop. “Let’s go Jounouchi.”

Ryou rolled off the couch and stood up, swaying unsteadily. “I’ll help.” Giving his other half a sweet smile that sent a shudder of fear through those watching he invited “You too?”

Bakura was already on his feet. “Yeah, yeah.” He stumbled back into the dining room and sighed. “Don’t know what the big deal is.” He waved his hand and a hoard of shadows descended on the remains of the feast before anyone could explain the time honored tradition of left over turkey soup and cold turkey sandwiches for days. Or perhaps they didn’t want to.

In less than a minute every particle of organic material had been devoured by his pets, leaving the dishes, cutlery, serving plates, trays, napkins and table cloth completely clean and void of even traces of bacteria.

Anzu stared in shock and Bakura shrugged and sauntered into the kitchen. His pets, slower, and looking somehow fatter, fell on the dishes, pots, pans, stove, counters, tables and even the floors. By the time they were finished the room was sparkling clean and disinfected and his pets moved with the slowness of molasses as they slunk back into the shadows on the walls. Bakura made a mental note to let them go hungry for a few days. They needed to burn off that excess food.

Thanks to the meticulous cleaning by the shadows all that was left was to put everything away, a ten minute job. Gratefully finished they trudged back to the main room. The annoyance and touches of mischief lit Jou’s eyes when he saw them all sprawled out napping would have warned several people. Gesturing he called Anzu and Bakura back to the kitchen. Bakura saw the deviltry in his golden eyes and a matching spark flared in his. “What’s the plan.”

“I’m feeling wide awake. I feel like dancing.” He sent them telling glances. “I happened to have a disk of a decade of club dances in the house stereo system. I thought it would be fun to teach Vic.”

“Club dances?” Anzu looked dubious.

“Yeah, you know, Para Para stuff. Macarena, Caramelldansen, Ike Ike, stuff like that.” He grinned evilly. “Very loud and energetic.”

Bakura snorted but his the mischief in his eyes became deeper. “They’ll jump like scared cats.”

“That’s the idea.”

Anzu grinned as the plan fell into place. “You remember that stuff?”

“Been a while but I’m sure we can handle it. Besides it’s on DVD. Turn on the tube and cute girls teach you what to do.”

“I don’t think cute girls will do it with this crowd, but it sounds like fun anyway.” Anzu grinned wickedly. “Count me in.”

Jou nodded and as a group they went back to the room. Gently, quietly Jou and Anzu woke the kids. No point in scaring them.

Seto woke from his very satisfied doze when a resounding thrum shook sofa he was sprawled on. Heart pounding, adrenalin pumping, he jumped to his feet ready to do battle. It took a second for him to recognize the sound – a deep bass drum played at deafening levels. With a growl that was drowned out by the addition of dance music he looked around to find the culprit, determined to end the deafening roar and strangle the perpetrator. His intentions changed though when his glance fell on Anzu and the kids. They’d cleared away the beanbag and were standing together, Anzu leading them in a para para, one he recognized as Ike Ike. The kids, who’d been heavy-eyed and pouty just a little while before were laughing and dancing. Genmi was Anzu’s daughter, moving with ease, grace and rhythm. Vic was definitely Jou’s son though. His arms and leg moved in wild abandon, his body jerking to the beat. It was a priceless image. Without thinking he pulled out his cell phone and took a few pictures. Anzu glanced over at him and smiled “C’mon Kaiba get over here. Everyone, move back the furniture. Let’s dance!”

With just a thought, the flicker of light and shadows the furniture was shoved back against the wall, blocking the doors but who cared? The floor was clear for dancing. With a smile, he stood back and snapped pictures of everyone attempting to para para.

His smile died when the opening to the Macarena came on. The song and the dance were very bittersweet to him. He wondered briefly if they were to Jou as well. Only one way to find out. Moving into position beside the blond he picked up the beat, following the rhythm easily. Timing his move perfectly on the third jump, he rotated opposite to where he was supposed to go. His move landed him perfectly in Jou’s arms, just as it had done years ago, on prom night.

The blond’s reaction was the same, for just a second there was confusion, then wariness. Just as Seto hadn’t that night, he didn’t give him a chance to pull away. With a look that spoke volumes if Jou knew the language, he pulled their bodies together for the hip grind the dance required. He saw the shock, genuine and bone deep bloom in Jou’s eyes exactly as it had that other night. And then he saw what he believed he’d seen then too. The flare of curiosity and desire. It drew him now just as it had at the prom. Eagerly he bent forward to capture Jou’s lips in a kiss.

Instead of accepting though, Seto found himself holding thin air and Jou was several steps away, answering his cell phone with one hand while the other fiddled with the remote, turning down the volume. In the sudden silence his voice was clearly audible. “What? Mai wh...? Why? Calm down...? Okay yeah, of course. Shit, of course I’ll...” Jou shoved the chair out of the way as he ran from the room and up the stairs.

“Well.” Bakura blew the hair out of his eyes. “That was a kill joy.”

Vic moved close to Seto, gripping his hand tight. “Is that Mom on the phone.”

“I think so Vic. I think that’s why Dad left the room.”

“Okay... okay.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “So... you like my dad huh?”

“Of course. He’s your Dad isn’t he?”

The boy shook his head. “No that’s not what I mean. You like-like him. You were gonna kiss him.”

“Hnnn.” Seto didn’t confirm or deny it.

“That’s okay.” He grinned cheekily.

Genmi pouted “I wanted to see them kiss. Mom says it’s like the world is on fire around them.”

“Huh? How would she know?”

“They kissed at prom. It was on the DVD. Besides they were voted the ‘prom’s hottest couple.’”

Vic went goggle-eyed. “Really?” He turned to Ryou. “You brought a movie of my dad when he was a teenager. Is it the prom?”

“It’s several clips, but yes the prom kiss is on there. I cut out the pieces where your dad wasn’t on camera. I didn’t want to waste the disk space.”

“Cool can we watch it?”

Ryou smiled and looked up at Kaiba. The man was pale, his eyes reflective with the shutters he was using to hide his emotions. But the very severity of his shields told all of his friends how badly the brunet was hurting. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea. It’s...” Ryou started to demur.

“Play it.” Seto’s voice has harsh, grating. Maybe if he saw it again he would understand how Jou could leave him, not once but twice for a lying, cheating, slut. Maybe he’d see what he’d missed both times.

Ryou nodded and retrieved the disk he’d left on the hall table. When the opening scenes began everyone froze. It was them, all of them, years ago. Memories, regrets, and nostalgia filled the air with poignancy. Vic was oblivious to the underlying emotions swirling around. All he saw was his dad, younger, louder, but still his dad, standing in an arena surrounded by screaming fans and calling monsters to fight for him. “Seto, Seto it’s Dad, and the Red-eyes dragon. And look, it’s Mom too. Wow she looks almost the same. Dad... Dad looks like a kid.”

“We were all younger then.” Ryou answered for Seto. A quick glance at the brunet told him that Kaiba wasn’t even aware of their presence. His attention was focused completely on the two people dueling on the screen.

As the Thousand Dragon took out Mai’s life points the scene shifted to another stadium, another duel. This time Mai was cheering for Jou from the side lines. Even Seto could see the way the Jounouchi’s gaze would linger and warm on her. And this time he was in the picture as well. Taunting, sneering, and icily degrading. As Mai threw herself into Jou’s victoriously waving arms Seto could see himself walking away alone. He focused on Jou, on his expressions when she was near hoping to glimpse when, why, how, the blonde woman had stolen Jou’s heart. He couldn’t see it, not at all. Surprise at sudden embraces, embarrassment, fondness and affection. He saw all those, but not love or even lust.

The video clips continued, some of tournaments, some at autograph signings, and some just simple clips of Jou and the tachi hanging around. In several Mai was prominent, hanging on Jou, in others she was absent. There was a long period, probably over a year when she didn’t appear at all, then prom and she was back in a dress was in surprisingly good taste. It managed to be sexy without being slutty. There were several shots of them dancing or sitting at a table talking. It was obvious the professional who’d taken the recording had been in love with the blond on blonde beauty. And still Seto didn’t see love for Mai on Jou’s face.

Seto knew exactly when he would appear, when things would change. They were both dancing with their dates, exchanging their usual rhetoric and insults. Then the music switched from a slow song to the distinctive opening call of the Macarena. Of course Jou, being Jou, threw back his head and laughed, swinging into the dance with enthusiasm more than talent. Seto saw his younger self watching Jou and was appalled at the visible hunger on his face. He’d thought he’d had more control. He saw the determination and desire that filled his own expression and knew, even without the memory flooding his mind that he would have done anything to capture that joy for himself. He still would...

The scene was similar to what had played out earlier in this room. They danced side-by-side, obviously trying to outdo the other. Then on the third turn Seto turned into Jou’s arms. And that’s when he saw it – what he’d never seen on Jounouchi’s face when he looked at Mai. Awareness, curiosity, sexual spark, and a wariness that was rooted inside those things. Jou had wanted him – wanted him still if the expression in his eyes earlier were any indication. As he kissed Jou passionately on screen, in the now Seto could feel the hesitation and the reluctant curiosity and arousal. He hadn’t been wrong all those years ago and he wasn’t wrong today.

Jou had wanted him then and still did now. The only question in his mind was why he denied it – even to himself. He couldn’t regret that kiss, or dragging Jou out of the prom and into the back of his limo. And he could see clearly for the first time that Jou had come willingly, gripping his hand tightly and following, pushing through the crush to follow as closely as possible.

The clip on screen shifted, time lapsed. The camera showed a lapse of over an hour from the time Seto and Jou left. Jou was caught by the camera entering through the side door. He was pounced on immediately by Mai. She held out a bottle and smiled sweetly. He spoke to her urgently and she nodded, pressing the bottle into his hands. Jou took a massive swig, downing the entire thing in two deep gulps. They spoke for a few minutes more and then Jou stood abruptly, swaying slightly. With a quick word to Mai he dashed to the back of the room out of sight of the cameras. Another few minutes passed and Jou came back. He was stumbling a bit and looked horrible, swaying and obviously distressed.

As Seto himself came within camera range he saw Jou sway and stumble, falling into Mai. Seto saw his younger self turn to ice, spin around and stalk away. He wanted to cry out, wanted to stop that foolish act of pride. He couldn’t, he knew that, but it burned to know he’d ran away instead of seeing what was going on. It had been the last time he’d seen Jou in person. The next time he’d seen him was on the news as the NASCAR rookie of the year.

***

Jou snarled as he slipped his cell phone back into his pocket. Two in the morning and a fucking confession, signed if Jou and Mai could witness it. Fucking figures. Furious at the disruption of his plans for the weekend he stomped back to the main room to tell everyone about the change. At the door he froze. They were watching some kind of movie about ... him? What the fuck? Before he could interrupt Vic giggled “He’s gonna lose to that guy isn’t he?”

“Don’t count your Father out quite yet Vic.” Atemu grinned at the boy.

“I won’t. Hey Ryou thanks for making this for me. I really missed him. This will help when he’s got to be gone.”

That made sense. They were helping Vic. With a grin he leaned against the door frame to watch his exploits. Some things he’d forgotten and seeing them on the screen made his breath catch. Had he really been that loud? And had he really eaten like that? No wonder Kaiba used to give him shit. A quick glance at his host made his eyes widen. The tall brunet was focused on the screen with absolute concentration. His expression was empty, his eyes completely blank. What the hell was going on with that?

The sounds of music and chattering from the television brought his gaze back. He recognized the décor from pictures of course. Prom. The prom he’d never attended. Yet as he watched, he and Mai strode into the room. Mai in a dress he remembered as hanging on the back of Mai’s door – she’d never had the opportunity to dress is how she explained it later. They’d been too anxious. And his suit – not a traditional suit but one made for a party, special made just for him by a good friend. Leather, so dark it looked black until the light hit it perfectly, then it changed to a deep brown. The pants were tight and low, cupping his body as close as a lover. And the jacket fit like a glove, tight across his body, perfectly matching his trousers. A black silk shirt under it had given the illusion of a solid piece. The dark color was relieved only by his golden hair and a thick gold chain. When he saw it he realized exactly what he was seeing.

Mai had lied. They did go to the prom that night. Why she did or why he couldn’t remember was anyone’s guess. If he continued to watch he knew he’d probably find the answer though. Standing straight, his body rigid, he waited as the scenes changed.

He didn’t have long to wait. A slow dance where Mai seemed to be trying to get him interested in more than a dance ended with the opening technobeat of the Macarena. He could see his younger self’s nerves and anxiousness to get away from the advances as he swung into the opening moves. He was surprised when Kaiba started to dance next to him, skillfully outperforming him at the simple dance. Of course Kaiba hadn’t been nervous but still. Then it happened – Kaiba deliberately turned into him while dancing, exactly as he had earlier, grabbing him and welding them together for that sexual bump and grind. On screen he didn’t pull away as he had earlier when his phone gave it’s emergency shrill that he’d heard in a lull in the music.

Instead, on screen, Kaiba and he started to kiss... kiss deeply, as if starved for each other. A quick glance at Kaiba told him that the brunet was still completely focused on the screen, but wasn’t surprised. Then they were holding hands, cleaving through the hoards of their questioning friends and disappearing into the night.

There was a time lapse, more than an hour and Jou saw himself push through the door. His hair was a mess, his top two buttons undone, his necklace was missing, and he could clearly see a dark red mark appearing on his neck. A mark Mai apologized sweetly for. He swallowed hard because a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach made him want to puke. He watched Mai swing up to him and hand him a bottle of water, saw his own urgency, his pleading look, and her insistence that he drink. He could almost here her telling him to calm down, drink something, he’ll feel better. He downed the water in record time – even for him at that age – and they sat to talk. When he jumped up and dashed off, horror clawed through him. He knew that look – he’d been sick enough to know when he was going to need a bathroom.

Vic’s voice brought him out of his abstraction. “Dad looks bad. He looked like I felt after eating the green mushrooms.” The boy looked around curiously “I think you have to wait for mushrooms to be ripe before you eat them because the green ones make you sick.”

Jou’s attention left the screen to focus on his son. What was there was past, but Vic was present and future. Green mushrooms? There was only one type he knew that were green - Deathcaps. In their early years Mai had been proud of her knowledge of the fungi, taking long walks during her pregnancy, showing Jou the different types. Many were poisonous and Deathcaps were by far the most deadly. She’d warned Jou repeatedly about them and always – always left any she was in doubt about strictly alone. The greens were easy to tell. The hard ones were brown. Mai had brought green Deathcaps into the house with Vic there?

He caught his breath as he remembered Vic’s story about the mushrooms from earlier. About him being so hungry, about her going out and leaving them on the counter. She’d not only brought them into the house, she’d left them out on the counter knowing Vic was hungry. Knowing... knowing... he’d probably eat them.

The picture clicked in his head and horror filled him. Without anyone knowing what he’d seen and heard he activated his Udjat and stepped through the portal to home.

Atemu gave an involuntary gasp of pain and shock. Yugi looked at him in concern. “Okay?”

“Jou... left.”

Vic looked up from the clips of his dad’s early wins at NASCAR. He shrugged “He’ll be back. Mom probably needed something. He always goes to her when she calls.”

Completely oblivious to the devastation he’d just caused his dear ‘Kissietoe’ he turned back to the video.

Ryou stood next to Seto “You going after him?”

“Don’t be stupid. Of course not. He’s made his choice.”

The white-haired man gestured to the screen. “Like he did last time? You’re going to let her steal him again?”

Glaring but unable to argue Seto pulled out his Udjat, keyed in a fix on Jou and hit the button, disappearing in just a second. Atemu blinked and glanced at Yugi. “He must be really pissed. He’s using his own energy.”

Genmi glanced at her mother wide-eyes. “Mom?” She whispered fearfully.

Vic glanced over at her. “Don’t be stupid, they are not ghosts. They have gifts, like you can dance, they can do other stuff. They’re not gonna hurt anyone.”

Anzu smiled at her little girl reassuringly and patted her shoulder. “He’s right Gen. They just are special.”

“Oh... okay. So what else can you guys do?”

Atemu smiled at the little girl. She was terrified, but trying to adapt. Time to pull a cute bunny out of his hat.

“I do magic tricks. Why don’t I turn off the television and I do a magic show. When you want you can help me. Deal?”

The girl looked again at her mother, then nodded slightly. “Okay.”

Vic jumped to his feet. “Me! I volunteer.”

“Okay first though...” Atemu reached up to his ear and pulled out a long pink scarf. “I needed to get that out of your ear. You might not have heard me.” Sometimes controlling the natural world, to include creating anything around him was very handy.

Six confused bunnies, four anxious puppies, innumerable scarves and smoke balls later and two exhausted children were carried to the beanbag bedroom to sleep.

Anzu was still hesitant. “Are you sure Kaiba won’t mind that we stay?”

Atemu rolled his eyes. “He won’t care. This house is big and empty. He loves having us stay over for company.” He deliberately didn’t so much as glance at Mokuba, the brother who’d abandoned their friend.

“Okay if you’re sure.” She smiled. “We planned on staying overnight at Mokuba’s so our bags are in his car.”

Atemu smiled and without so much as a blink moved the bags into the beanbag room. “When you go to bed we’ll move Vic up to his room. Your bags are already inside.”

“Thanks.” She smiled and shook her head slightly. “That magic stuff comes in handy.”

“Yes it does.” He agreed. Gesturing to the sofa he changed the subject. “Sit down now Anzu. It’s time for us to talk.”

She visibly started, then lifted her chin. “Yes, yes it is.”

Atemu smiled at her, proud of the strong woman she’d become. “Yugi and I are together. You wouldn’t let him explain... and you accused him of cheating on you. We will start there. From my understanding you both agreed to see other people. You hadn’t spoken in months at the time we returned. According to a good friend you were living with someone else at the time. There was no cheating involved. You had moved on, Yugi did the same.”

Dark color burned up Anzu’s cheeks. “I have never ‘lived’ with any man. And I did call Yugi, several times. He never returned my calls. I was working my ass off in my internship and a couple of our friends, Honda Hiroto and Otogi Ryugi were having difficulties. I needed help with them and Yugi abandoned me.”

“Diffi... Anzu. Otogi was the one who told me you were living with some guy; a lawyer at the firm you were interning at.” Yugi butted in.

“Do you wonder why you don’t see them at all? Why they weren’t at the reunion?” She lowered her head slightly. “Honda and Otogi are lovers. Honda was studying law to become a police officer and interning at the same office as I was. Otogi was running his business. Honda was too busy to attend one of Otogi’s parties. Instead he and I stayed late to finish work on a case. Afterwards we went out to get a bite to eat. When Honda tried to get back into their home Otogi had changed the locks. He accused us of all sorts of things. Honda camped out on my couch for about six weeks trying to work it out.”

She broke off abruptly and Bakura smirked cruelly. He’d already put two-and-two together. “He didn’t stay on your couch did he?”

She burned dark red but lifted her head proudly. “We finished our internship and went out for celebratory drinks. Otogi was already at the bar. He was with someone else, all over him. It was obvious they were sexually involved. Honda was devastated. We took a bottle back to my place to celebrate. We both woke up the next morning hung over and naked.” She looked down at her hands. “I don’t remember what happened that night, who started it, or whatever, but it was obvious we had sex. We agreed to pretend it never happened. Later Otogi came around to see Honda. Honda agreed to never see me or anyone around me if Otogi took him back.” She clenched her fists and shrugged. “I haven’t seen or spoke to Honda since.”

“So Honda doesn’t know he has a daughter.” Atemu asked softly.

“No. And he never will. Not from me. We agreed... and he promised Otogi.” She shrugged “I did talk to Otogi, asked him to let up on the restriction. I told him I was pregnant. He went crazy. I was afraid of him for a few minutes. Then he... he told me he’d make sure I paid for stealing a part of Honda.”

“So Otogi called me with that lie to cause you pain?” Yugi’s eyes were wide and distressed.

“Probably.” She looked away. “He succeeded.”

“But... if you were pregnant... and you came back to Yugi, were you going to tell him?”
Malik questioned.

“I was going to ask him to take us in, to give us his name even if we didn’t deserve it.”

“You didn’t think he’d turn you away?” This from Ryou.

“He was my best friend, my first boyfriend and lover, and we had a bond I believed nothing could break.” She smiled wearily. “We were in love with the same man. Someone we believed dead.” Tears she’d held back for years began to fall. First Yugi, followed by Atemu wrapped her in arms that accepted and forgave.

***

Catti Send all the smexy bishi's you want. I'll love them all! Awww... and I love you too.

Mulle - just good stuff - well some bad stuff but mostly good waffy stuff from now on. Don't get to excited about the end. This is more a prequel than anything else. There is a whole other story after this. Winding Road to Home Fires Burning.

Home Fires Burning answers the questions about Pegasus's daughter, you learn more about Vic and why he calls death by name, and a whole host of other things that are vaguely mentioned but not brought into forefront... But as a hint - Elemental souls... created/saved/made... Vic. That would make Vic a newly born/reborn elemental soul... the only one to be born of other elemental souls...

Oh the fun of that...

Glomp fuzzles to everyone reading!!!
- 6
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Winding Road