Title: Games That People Play - Ch. 5: Endgame
Author: bnomiko
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): Seto + Yami, Yugi + Anzu, Mai + Jou, Malik + Bakura
Spoilers: none… post-Orichalcos Doom arc
Warnings: swearing
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.
Summary: Direct sequel to "The Boys of Summer." Malik picks a romantic spot to end the evening at.
Status: 5 / 5
Archived at: http://www.phenixsol.com/Miko/FF/

This is a SHONEN-AI fic (male + male romantic relationship). If you are offended by homosexual relationships, please do not read this. Flames will be disregarded.

• See Chapter 1

* * *

Games that People Play

Ch. 5: Endgame

* * *

"So does anyone know where we're going?" Yugi asked. Not that he hadn't enjoyed playing miniature golf with everyone, but he was hoping that there wouldn't be a lot more walking around, for the sake of Anzu's sore feet.

Seto snorted and looked over at a smug Malik. "Ask the asshole."

"Hey, we won fair and square," the tombkeeper protested. "Not my fault you have a short temper and an inability to control your swing."

Seto's hand clenched. "Would you like to see how well I can control my swing?"

Yami sighed and fiddled with the lapel of Seto's jacket. Baby, relax. I'm sure Malik and Bakura chose some place appropriate to close out the evening. Even if you don't trust Malik's judgement, Bakura can be trusted.

Hn. The brunette CEO stole a glance at Bakura, then shifted his attention to the lights and landmarks outside the car, trying to orient himself. Whatever.

Meanwhile, Mai realized that the limo was passing through her neighborhood, which meant that Malik and Bakura had chosen a location nearby, since they also lived in the area. "Well, at least I know where we are, but I'm not sure where… ah ha, I got it! Fountain Park!" The small park was popular with couples since it featured four different fountains, along with a koi pond and meandering paths through trees and lush flowerbeds. She only hoped it wasn't crowded this particular evening.

Bakura smiled sheepishly. "That's right."

"Isn't that a hot spot for lovers?" Jou asked. "I really can't see Malik in a place like that."

Malik frowned. "For your information, Pup, Ryou and I happened to end our first date there, so excuse me for picking something with some sentimental value for us, okay?" And we shared our first kiss there as well, but you don't need to know that.

"Aww, that's cute!" Anzu said dreamily.

"More like sappy. And don't call me Pup!" Jou whined.

"Why not? Mai's been calling you that all evening."

"Yeah, and you ain't Mai!"

Bakura lightly poked his boyfriend in the arm. "Malik."

"Oh, fine!" the tanned teen grumbled, folding his arms across his chest as the limo turned down a narrow road before rolling to a stop in the parking lot behind the park.

* * *

The four couples decided to split up and each go to a different fountain to get some privacy. Luckily, the park was nearly deserted since it there was only about half an hour before closing time. Malik quickly called dibs on the Iris Fountain and promptly dragged Bakura off down the main pathway. Mai chose the Bird Fountain and led Jou off with a smile and a wink. Yami and Seto, with briefcase in tow, decided on the Atrium Fountain since Yami wanted to see the koi pond surrounding it, which meant Yugi and Anzu would be heading over to the Pop Jet Fountain by default.

Malik and Bakura were the first to reach their destination, since the Iris Fountain was closest to the entrance of the park. The large fountain, which had a sort of abstract floral design emanating from the jet platform, was programmed to shoot streams of water in various wave and aerial patterns. Malik bypassed the low concrete benches that circled the water feature, ignored an amorous couple making out and another pair that were walking away from the area, and sat down on the stone edge of the fountain itself.

"Ryou, grab a seat." Malik patted a spot on his right.

Bakura frowned at his boyfriend. "We might get our suits wet if the jets start shooting water in the air."

Malik pouted slightly. "Now that sounds like something that Kaiba would say. Come on, live a little. You didn't complain when we had our first kiss here. You remember that?" The Egyptian stood up and peeled off his coat, leaving him in his white shirt and black suspenders. "Here, I'll even give you my jacket so your nice suit won't get ruined, okay?"

The white-haired teen hesitantly accepted the long lavender jacket, his fingers slowly closing around the fabric. "Oh, thanks. You really didn’t have to."

"Heh. I wanted to… what kind of boyfriend do you think I am? But uh, if you're really grateful… how about a kiss?" Malik shut his eyes and puckered his lips.

Bakura's brown eyes warmed up with affection, and he leaned in to give Malik his reward. As their lips met, Bakura couldn't help but sigh in pleasure. Malik was always acting like a smartass around their friends, but when they were alone, he was as sweet as he was silly. And the pale teen just loved knowing that he was the one that brought out that side of Malik Ishtar.

* * *

Hand in hand, Mai and Jou took their time walking over to the Bird Fountain, which happened to be completely deserted. Jou wasn't sure if he should count his lucky stars or be mortified. Or maybe both. Because he was trying to garner up the courage to kiss Mai, and while he definitely didn't need an audience around to mock his ineptitude, he figured Mai would be less likely to slap the hell out of him if there were possible witnesses around.

At least he remembered to offer her his… no, Seto's jacket since she hadn't brought one along, which was a step in the right direction.

They circled around the fountain slowly, the honeyed glow of lights under the water and around the base of the bronze crane atop the fountain lending a romantic mood to the tile-floored clearing. Jou was running over every possible scenario and trying to decide when to make his move, completely unaware Mai's attempts at getting his attention.

"Katsuya!" No response at all. Geez, is he listening to a thing I'm saying? "PUP!!"

Man, I'm so nervous. Should I try to be suave and pull her into my arms? Or should I take it slow? But maybe if I take too long she'll think I'm being indecisive! How do they do it in the movies? Jou's eyes crossed as he realized that movies depicted first kisses in a huge variety of ways. Argh, that's no help at all! And it sure would help if I'd actually *kissed* a girl before. I guess practicing with a pillow doesn't count, does it?

Mai sighed and decided to take things to the next level. Imitating Seto's voice the best she could, she barked out, "Hey, MUTT!!!"

Jou suddenly stopped and his head whipped back and forth. "Kaiba? That's weird."

The blonde woman sighed again, this time much more dramatically. "Earth to Katsuya… that was me." She tapped her foot on the ground.

"Huh?" Rats… say something, dummy. "Can I kiss you?" DOH! Not that!

Mai's lips twitched as she tried to keep from laughing. She didn't want to discourage her nervous mess of a date, but at the same time, the entire situation seemed so… surreal. Mai almost expected a hidden camera crew to pop out of the bushes and scream, "You've been caught on candid camera!" But seeing the look on Jou's face, she realized she'd been thinking about it for too long, and her would-be boyfriend was literally shrinking in distress. Hmm… boyfriend, huh? I might be able to work with that. So Mai took a step forward, grabbed Jou by his borrowed tie, and yanked hard until the confused teen found himself pressed against her curvaceous body.

Wow, she's taller than me with heels on, Jou's brain randomly informed him. "Uhhh…" was all Jou got out before Mai's mouth descended on his, and then he found himself being… kissed! Ohhhhh… thank you God! Mai's lips were warm and soft, smelling slightly of violets, and she was a thousand times better than Jou had ever dreamt of in all his wildest fantasies.

* * *

"Oh, this is rather cute," Anzu said when she and Yugi finally found the Jet Pop Fountain. It wasn't a fountain in the traditional sense of the word… more like a large, circular platform of roughly finished stone with several jets embedded into it which shot out grape-sized globules of water at random intervals. And it was obviously built with children in mind; a small playground sat nearby, and whimsical bronze frogs placed throughout the clearing spat out a steady trickle of water into cleverly hidden drainage holes shaped like lily pads.

Yugi scratched his head. Not quite what I was hoping… no wonder everyone else was so eager to chose a location and run off. But as he watched Anzu put her purse down on a wooden bench and unabashedly kick off her shoes off, then run out to the middle of the platform to catch a marble of water, maybe it really wasn't that bad after all.

"Come on, Yugi! This is fun!"

The short duelist gave the brunette a lopsided smile. Anzu wasn't usually so… playful. "Anzu, you're going to get wet!" And I'm not sure if suits and water mix.

"I think that's the idea." She squealed as a blob of water shot up the back of her skirt.

"But your dress…"

"It's not a big deal. Seriously." She crooked her finger and beckoned to him.

Yugi frowned a bit, but removed his jacket and dropped it off next to Anzu's things. He picked his way carefully between jets until he was right next to his date. "So…"

Beaming, Anzu reached out and touched Yugi's nose with a wet finger, leaving a few droplets of water on it. Yugi wrinkled his nose. "So you remember that time when Jou, Honda, you and I went running through the formal pond in front of KaibaLand and Kaiba and Mokuba got all bent out of shape about it?"

"Yeah, I remember." The spiky-haired teen couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"So don't be like Kaiba. Well, pre-Yami Kaiba. I think nowadays he'd skip naked through that same pond if that's what Yami wanted." She giggled at the thought. "Yugi, I know this has probably been a little nerve-wracking for you since it's officially our first date, but we've gone out to do things together plenty of times, so what's the big difference? I mean, we're still friends, right? So just be yourself, like you were on the golf course."

Yugi blushed and let out the breath he had been holding in. "I guess you're right. I just wanted this night to, you know, be special."

"It is special." Anzu took a step forward and kissed Yugi lightly on the cheek, causing his blush to spread across the bridge of his nose and down his neck. "We went to a movie in handcuffs, ate at an overpriced French restaurant that even my parents would be hesitant to go to, watched Yami lose at mini golf for the first time in recorded history, and now we're playing in a fountain."

"Yeah, I guess we are…" Yugi purposely put his foot near one of the jets and shivered as a burst of cold water soaked a portion of his pants. "Remind me again, this is supposed to be fun?"

"Well… I wish the water wasn't cold," Anzu admitted, cupping her hands around another marble of water. "But you're smiling now, for real. So I don't mind." And she dumped the handful of water right over Yugi's head.

"Eeep! Anzu!!"

* * *

I like that one even better, Yami said softly, gesturing at a boldly mottled black and white fish as it made a small splash and disappeared into the dark recesses of the water once again. His other hand continued to stroke Seto's hair. The two were relaxing on the small concrete "island" in the center of the rectangular koi pond, listening to the soothing trickling of water down the concentric steps of the Atrium Fountain. Yami sat with his back against one of the columns which formed the atrium, with Seto's head in his lap as he worked his fingers through soft brown hair.

Hnn, Seto murmured, not even bothering to open his eyes as he lay sprawled on his back. He was on the verge of falling asleep despite the fact that the ground was cold and hard, even with the large beach towel he had laid out. Even though they hadn't ended up at the beach like he had originally planned, the park wasn't so bad. Malik could have done a lot worse. At least Yami's thigh worked out as a warm, familiar pillow. And at least they were alone, since the only other people who were at the pond had left a good twenty minutes earlier and the several dozen fish keeping them company didn't care about anything above their watery world.

The ex-spirit smiled sleepily down at his lover. Seto was always gorgeous to look at, but there was something special about seeing that unguarded look on his face. It was the only time Seto really looked his age, and Yami treasured it every time he saw it, which thankfully was now averaging out to at least once a day. Baaa~by?

… huhmmmm? If Seto was any more relaxed, he'd be a puddle of goo. And Yami would go down with him.

Okay, perhaps it was cheating to take advantage of the fact that the young CEO practically zoned out every time Yami ran his fingers through Seto's hair, or whenever he lightly trailed his fingers over Seto's sensitive back. But Yami liked having that effect on him. Seto was always so tightly wound with the ridiculous workload he burdened himself with; he deserved to unwind a bit at the end of the day. Placing two fingers lightly on his boyfriend's neck, right below the ear, Yami traced the curve of Seto's jaw until he could feel the fluttering of the pulse beneath his fingertips. The crimson-eyed teen concentrated on that rhythm and tried to will his heart to beat in time with Seto's. "I love you," Yami breathed, knowing that Seto wasn't really awake enough to register it.

Of course, all moments worth savoring were moments that would invariably be interrupted, so Yami really wasn't surprised when he heard the sound of several sets of footsteps, along with Jou's version of a whisper. "They're not having sex, are they?" Seto's mouth unconsciously began tugging down around the corners into a frown.

There was a pair of smacking sounds and Yami chuckled under his breath, his body shaking just hard enough to wake Seto up fully. It sounded like both Mai and Yugi had given Jou their opinions on his last comment. Seto grumbled a little at being rudely awakened, but sat up and straightened his hair and clothing before the six others came hopping up the broken stone pathway that skipped across the surface of the pond.

"Not that we wanted to interrupt whatever the two of you had planned," Malik began, eyeing the towel and briefcase, "but… Ryou, quit that."

Bakura stopped poking his boyfriend in the ribs. "The park will be closing in a few minutes."

Yami nodded and stood up, stretching a little. "Who said we were planning anything?" he asked Malik innocently, a spark of mischief flashing in his eyes. "And what happened to you, Aibou?"

Yugi and Anzu exchanged glances, then both smiled sheepishly at Yami. "We were sort of… goofing around," Anzu finally responded, tugging Yugi's jacket around her shoulders a bit more.

"In a fountain?" Seto rose to his feet, taking the towel with him. He balled it up and tossed it to Yugi. "I'm not going to have you two dripping water in my car."

Jou made a face. "Man, I hope that's not used. You know… used." He made little quote marks in the air, along with gagging noises. Mai laughed and pinched him.

Yugi nearly dropped the towel. "Jou, that's so gross!" Please don't let him be right…

"It's not a used towel!" Seto snapped. Everyone shut up for a moment to see if he'd reveal any other details, but the tall brunette just crossed his arms and glowered at the others.

"Wow, you can really fit a lot of stuff in that giganormous briefcase, huh?" Mai asked. "I should invest in one."

Jou choked. "For what?"

"Stuff." She giggled as Jou's jaw dropped, his face reddening like a tomato. "A girl's got to be prepared for anything, you know."

One of Seto's eyebrows rose. "In most places that would be considered beastia… ow!" He turned and glared at his boyfriend. "Oh come on, let me say it!"

"Um… NO." Yami smirked at Seto, then said, "I think we better start heading out. Sounds like the fountain just shut off."

"All right." Seto took another look at the group, then shrugged off his jacket, throwing it over Yami's shoulders like a cape as they began walking back to the parking lot.

Huh? What was that for? I'm not cold.

I know. But everyone else did it.

Yami quirked a smile. Other than the fact that I'm NOT a girl… since when do you care what everyone else thinks?

I don't. But he refused to take the blazer back.

* * *

Malik and Bakura got dropped off first since their apartment was so close by, then after that the limo stopped by Mai's place. Jou got out to walk his date to the door and was gone for a good five minutes, then returned with his borrowed jacket and a huge, goofy grin on his face with what appeared to be rose pink lipstick spattering his cheek and mouth.

Anzu blinked at her love struck friend, then whispered, "Jou, you might want to…" She gestured at his lips.

"I want to marry her," the blonde absently said, sighing.

Everyone gawked at him. "But… that was your first date!" Yugi reminded Jou, his voice scaling up in surprise.

"So?"

"So… maybe you should wait until… until… a second date?"

Seto mentally slapped his forehead. Thank you for calling Yugi Mutou's Relationship Hotline… how may I ruin your life?

Kai-baby!

He just told him to wait till the second date. Like one more date's going to be the deciding factor? Can you imagine Mai and… ugh, I think I want to barf. Doggy style. Oh my frickin' God…

You're the one who wanted to get her the vibrator and stuff, Yami reminded his boyfriend. Isn't this what you wanted to have happen?

I wanted them to date, not mate. And what would they name their unfortunate offspring? Fido, Rover and Spot?

Yami laughed loudly at that, attracting the attention of the other three teens. I would hope not. But if they really do hook up, Seto, I hope they remember who it was that set them up in the first place.

Oh hell no. No one's blaming me for any of this. That matchmaking crap is what Yugi, Noa and Mokuba like to do with their copious amounts of free time.

And I'm grateful for their interference. But I don't think we're half-bad at it. I mean, we got Yugi to ask Anzu out, and Jou to ask Mai out. Maybe it's something that KaibaCorp should branch out into.

HA! KC Dating Service? Next you'll say I should open up a chain of strip clubs.

What!!? Yami gave the young billionaire a mental whap. What do strippers have to do with this?!

Jealous? It's not like I'd let anyone work *my* pole, you know. Seto subtly bumped his crotch against Yami.

Ra, you're just full of smarmy comments tonight. The former Pharaoh wiggled on his boyfriend's lap, barely registering the fact that the limo was coming to a stop in front of Anzu's house. You must want me to kick your butt.

There's other, better uses for my butt, you know.

"Hey, I'll be right back," Yugi called out, climbing out of the car behind Anzu.

"Okay!" Yami replied. Really? Are you volunteering your ass for duty?

Yugi shut the door after he got out, then accompanied Anzu up the walkway. At least the lights were off, so her parents weren't waiting up. Yugi took a deep breath. "So… I hope you had a good time tonight?"

Anzu smiled and reached out to push back slightly damp bangs. "It was a lot of fun. But I think Jou and Mai had the right idea… our next date should be solo. And I'll wear better shoes." She bent down a little and kissed him again on the cheek.

I really, really, really hope her parents are asleep. Before Anzu had a chance to pull back completely, Yugi turned his head and leaned forward to lightly touch his lips to Anzu's. And Anzu reciprocated right away, like she had been waiting all evening for that moment.

So it wasn't really Yugi's first time lip locking with a girl, but he didn't count that one time where Rebecca had thrown herself at him. And that really wasn't even much of a kiss, since he had managed to turn his head away just enough so that her smooch had landed off-center. But he couldn't help wondering if all girls tasted sweet like sugar, cause Anzu certainly did. Not that he had any complaints about that. In fact, even as he was reluctantly pulling away to catch his breath, he wanted to do it again.

"Thanks," Anzu said, a bit breathless herself. She lightly pressed her lips together. "Have a good night, Yugi."

Yugi stared dumbly at her as she handed him his coat. "I… yeah, you too." Wow, no wonder Yami and Kaiba are sucking face all the time. Amongst other things. "I'll call you tomorrow." He couldn't help but suck on his lower lip a bit. Yep, still sugary.

"Okay!" With a wave and a bright smile, the aspiring dancer opened the front door, stepped inside, and disappeared from view.

Yugi practically floated back to the limo, where Jou immediately congratulated him. "High five, Yug. We both got lucky tonight!" Yugi cheerfully slapped hands with his friend, then sat back to enjoy his high as the limo headed back to the Kame Game Shop.

Seto rolled his eyes and pulled himself from the private conversation he was having with Yami. "That's lucky? Wait till you actually get laid." Yami snickered and buried his face against Seto's neck.

"Well, not all of us think with our dicks, Rich Boy."

Seto snorted. "That's right, some of us have brains." Jou frowned slightly, but he was really in too good of a mood to be brought down by that.

Yami slid off Seto's lap and looked at his other half. "So did you land a second date, Aibou?"

"Uh… I told her I'd call her tomorrow. I… what?"

Yami had begun laughing. "You should have 'accidentally' left your jacket with her."

"She's not Kaiba," Yugi said pointedly.

"Obviously," Seto drawled.

"Speakin' of jackets…" Jou was half-tempted to just throw the blazer at the tall brunette, but it had been nice of Seto let him borrow it in the first place, so he folded it and put it down on the leather seat between him and Yami. He did the same with the tie after Yami helped him loosen the knot. Geez, feels good to be able to breathe again. "Thanks... for letting me borrow those."

Seto nodded once, then drew a mildly protesting Yami back into his lap. What?

Kai-baby, my ass hurts from sitting on your bony legs.

Hn! Bony legs? If you think your butt hurts now, wait until I give you the spanking you deserve.

Right now? Yami squirmed, smugly satisfied with the rise he was getting out of his lover.

Nah. Don't want to give those two a free show. Besides, we're pulling up to the game shop. Seto leisurely nipped at Yami's neck.

Mmm...

"Ahem." Yugi gave the pair an amused look. "Well, thanks for uh… everything."

Yami turned his head slightly and smiled at the violet-eyed teen. "Call me and let me know what happens, Yugi."

"I will."

Jou rolled his eyes and began shoving Yugi out the door. "Hurry up, Yug, before they break out the shit in the briefcase!"

Yugi just laughed. "Okay, good night!"

"Good night, Aibou!" Wave or something, Baby.

Nibble, nibble. Whatever.

SETO.

Seto grumbled and pulled away long enough to give a proper wave to the two other duelists right before they shut the door. And then it was right back to kissing Yami's throat. Now, where was I…

* * *

~ OWARI ~

• Re: Fountain Park: Totally fictional park (I just got tired of calling everything Domino this and Domino that). The four fountains are very loosely modeled after the four named fountains at Fashion Island in California (I borrowed the names, and the descriptions of the Iris and Bird Fountains are somewhat accurate, but I modified the Jet Pop and Atrium Fountains to suit the scenes).
• Re: scented kisses. I dunno why, but I imagine Mai using something like Guerlain lipstick. Everything Guerlain makes smells strongly of violets. And for Anzu… I wanted her to taste like sugar, so I figured she'd be wearing a flavored lipgloss. So there ya go… I'm not making up imaginary scented / flavored kisses here.
• So there's your token Yugi and Anzu tidbit. While I actually like the pairing, they're kinda boring. Okay, make that mega boring. *snooze* Jou and Mai are a lot more fun. At least I tried.
• I need to stop writing so late at night… that scene with Seto and Yami at the koi pond wasn't supposed to get so mushy. *gags* But I guess it's okay; if I wrote it, then it's something my subconscious wanted to see. And I guess they deserved a sweet moment before *drum roll* my next arc - mwahahah!

September 20, 2005