Archive of Our Own ^beta

In which our lady of the story witnesses a shocking thing

It took a few moments of intense staring in order for Téa to be absolutely certain that she was, in fact, looking at the scene that she thought she saw; once she was certain, she wished passionately that she had been wrong, and that she could continue on with her day without the nauseas, sinking feeling in her stomach that had appeared.

How was she supposed to tell Yugi that she had just witnessed Atem passionately kissing some woman just outside of the train station, his hands tucked neatly into the back pockets of her jeans? Should she tell Yugi? That was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? They were best friends, she would want Yugi to tell her if he saw her boyfriend kissing someone else…wouldn’t she?

She watched as Atem and the woman broke the kiss, smiling at each other playfully, and shook her head in bewildered disgust. How dare that asshole cheat on Yugi!

Abruptly, she turned on her heel, and marched back down the street, deciding that her errands could be put off for the time being—she would go to Yugi’s apartment and…and then figure it out from there. If nothing else, she could hang out there until Atem decided to come home, and then glare at him, if not fly tackle him in the entry way and beat some answers out of him. For that matter, maybe she ought to call Joey and Tristan and recruit them to the cause!

Cheating bastard.

By the time she arrived at the apartment, she had worked herself into a quiet fury that had congealed into a hard knot in her stomach, the same thought going around and around in her head. Asshole! Cheating, lying asshole! This was followed by the image of Atem’s mouth locked firmly on that woman’s.

She knocked a little—maybe a lot—harder than she meant to, winced, and curled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her skin as she wrestled her brain back under her control. Calm down, Téa, you don’t need to go ballistic around Yugi.

The lock scraped slightly as it turned from the inside, and Yugi opened the door, his purple button down flecked with water. She was half-certain that it was one of Atem’s shirts, because it was a bit large in the shoulders and chest for Yugi. “Hey, Téa!” he smiled widely, “I didn’t think you’d be here for a few hours, yet. Come on in.” He stepped away from the door and headed back towards the kitchen, letting her step in, shut the door behind her and toe her shoes off. Her purse landed with a soft, rustling thud by them and she followed him into the kitchen.

She could smell something spicy and rich cooking, and the coffee pot gurgled away in its corner, heating water for tea. “What’re you making?” she asked, taking another appreciative sniff, “It smells good.”

“Spicy Bolognese. Recipe I found online,” he replied, finishing drying a plate. She had interrupted washing, it seemed. “It has to simmer forever, though. Want some tea or coffee? I think we have some cookies left, too, if Atem hasn’t eaten them all.”

Téa reflexively clenched her jaw, then forced herself to relax before Yugi saw. “Whichever you’re making. As long as there’s caffeine.”

“Uh-huh. How much have you had today?”

“Not enough.”

Yugi rolled his eyes, draped the towel over its hook, and started to putter around, pulling out a couple of tea cups, tea, little plates, the cookie tin; Téa pulled out one of the barstools and settled herself comfortably at the breakfast bar, leaning her elbows onto it.

Would she, could she, should she tell him?

She was momentarily distracted by the plate of cookies set by her. Shortbread half-dunked in dark chocolate. She snitched one and bit into it, humming quietly in pleased surprise as she tasted a faint, fresh bite of orange. Yugi grinned at her expression, “You can take the rest home, if you want.”

“I so won’t fight that.” Hmm, chocolate residue on fingers. Lick clean.

“Earl grey okay?”

“With milk.”

“Yep.”

She helped herself to another cookie as Yugi measured the tea and poured water over it, setting their cups on the bar along with the milk carton, then had a momentary debate with himself before digging a large jar of honey out of the cabinet. Téa was not completely sure, but she thought that it was still the same jar that Joey had purchased Yugi several months before. A semi-local beekeeper had been at the outdoor market, selling all things honey and beeswax. Yugi had sampled the honey and taken an intense liking to it (apparently wildflower honey tasted way better than regular?), and Joey made the executive decision that Yugi needed the biggest jar offered…because Joey liked it too and regularly helped himself to spoonfuls when he was over.

The tea had turned the water a deep mahogany color, so she fished the bag out, gave it a squeeze, and added a liberal splash of milk, turning the tea caramel. Similar to Atem’s skin tone. Her jaw clenched again, and her spoon seemed very loud when she tapped it on the cup rim.

“Téa?”

“Yeah?”

“Want to talk about it?”

Téa blinked and looked at him, “It?”

Yugi nodded, blowing lightly over his tea and taking a sip. “‘It’ being whatever is bugging you. You’re clenching.”

Dammit. Good going, Téa.

She chewed at her lip, worrying it with her teeth as she picked up her cup, using a few seconds to take an appreciative breath of the steam and think. Make something up? No, Yugi would see through that. Dodging was out of the question, too, because he’d nail that down and drag her back to his question.

Ugh. This sucks.

“I, uh…what do you think someone should do if they see their friend’s partner, uhm…being unfaithful? Should they tell their friend? Or just…keep quiet?”

Yugi blinked, and his brow furrowed as he frowned. “Well…I don’t know. I guess it depends, but generally I opt for trying to stay out of people’s private relationships.”

Téa nodded, picked up a cookie to dunk into her tea and nibble on. “Yeah…I guess I can see your point. I just…wouldn’t want to see them get hurt, and I think that by not telling them, then the situation would just be worse when it’s eventually found out. I…think I’d want someone to give me the heads up.”

“Okay…so…what brought this up?”

Well…he asked.

She took a drink of tea, set the cup down, and folded her hands together tightly, steeling herself. “I saw Atem kissing some woman in front of the train station today.”

Yugi stared at her for a few seconds in surprise, then his lips pursed. “Oh.”

…Oh?

“I’m really, really sorry, Yugi. I know you and him have a really good thing going, but you deserve someone who won’t do that to you, and I just…I thought you should know, so you didn’t find out some other way.” She swallowed a bit roughly, hastily took another sip of tea. “I’m sorry.”

Yugi was quiet, looking into his tea as he swirled it a few times in his cup and took a long drink. The cup clinked faintly as he set it back on his plate. “I know.”

It was Téa’s turn to blink.

“You…know? But…what?” She blinked again, then scowled, “How long has this been going on! He can’t treat you like that!”

Yugi hastily waved his hands, “No! No, no, no, no, it’s not like that, Téa, it was my idea!”

This made her pause, and blink again, confusion spreading on her face.

“Uhm…what.”

He sighed and ran a hand over his face, “I’m ace, Téa.”

“What?”

“Ah—sorry. Asexual. I’m asexual, and Atem is…most definitely not.”

She shook her head slowly, brow furrowed. What was going on? What had she missed? So Atem was cheating with Yugi’s consent? They had an open relationship? Had she taken the wrong turn at Albuquerque?

“I’m not following, Yugi. What do you mean, asexual? Like…like what we learned in biology?”

Yugi huffed a bit sharply before laughing quietly, shook his head. “No, not exactly. It just means that someone doesn’t experience sexual attraction, basically.”

 You’re with Atem, who people think is a God of Hotness made Mortal Flesh, and you’re not…sexually…attracted? What?

Her expression must have reflected her thought and clear confusion, because Yugi laughed again, and leaned against the counter. “I don’t experience that attraction, but I…can understand why most people see Atem like that, and why he sees other people that way. I can still appreciate that he is a very pretty man.”

“So…it’s like ‘oh, hey, he’s pretty and I like looking at him’?”

“Or her. But yeah. For me, anyway.”

“So…you and Atem…don’t…?”

Yugi flushed and ducked his head, squirmed a bit, “I’m not exactly comfortable talking about that.”

“Oh! Geez. Yeah, duh, my bad. I’m just…uhm. Trying to…figure this out, then. If he’s not cheating?”

Stupid. Your best friend tells you that they’re asexual, you don’t ask them about their sex life. Or…lack thereof one?

This was definitely not how she saw this conversation going.

He hesitated before sighing quietly. “I…like sex well enough, I guess. But it’s not a priority for me, and it’s not something that I am always willing to take part in. I don’t feel the urge that says ‘Oh, I really want to get naked and fuck this person’. Does that make sense?”

It is still so weird to hear him use that word!

“…Okay. I think…I think I follow. So you can…I don’t know, get horny?”

“Ergh.”

She grinned at his face. Yugi hated the word “horny” for some reason. “Sorry. You can get turned on?”

“Yeah. Arousal and attraction aren’t the same. Anyway, since sex isn’t really my thing, and Atem is all for it, I felt that I couldn’t meet all his needs, so…I suggested that he go ahead and find other partners.”

He paused as she frowned at that, and tilted his head a bit, “Why the frown?”

“It…just seems like he’s taking advantage or something. I don’t know.”

“He isn’t. He didn’t go for the idea at first—he balked and then we had a bit of an argument. But we talked about it again, eventually, and for a long time, and we came to an agreement.”

“…And…you’re really okay with it?”

“Yes. This way ensures that both our needs are met, and one of use doesn’t end up resenting the other.”

Téa drummed her fingers on the bar thoughtfully, mulling that over for a short while before nodding. “Okay. As long as you’re happy. And he’s being smart about it.”

Yugi smiled, and started to collect their dishes. “He is. Has to be. That was part of the agreement. He tells me when he has an interest in someone, and he uses protection. And we both get tested a few times a year. And I have veto power.”

She slid to her feet to help, putting away tea and the cookie tin. “Does he date them, then?”

“Hell, no. No dating, and no sleeping over.”

She grinned as the possessive streak reared its head, “You’re adorable when you get all feisty.”

“Silence, you,” he replied tartly, tossing the dish towel at her, which only made her laugh. He stuck his tongue out at her. “Now, if you’re satisfied that I am in no danger,” he continued, “Want to help make some noodles to go with this Bolognese? It made enough to feed an army.”

“Well, I dunno about avoiding danger because it is Atem, but I could go for noodle making attempts.”

“Pfft. You’re such a wench.”

“And yet, we’re still friends.”

“Get thee to a nunnery, woman. Grab the eggs.”

Téa gave him a salute with a smart click of her heels (“Yes, sir!”) and retrieved eggs from the fridge. The rest of her errands could be delayed for a few hours.

*-*-*-*

By mid-afternoon, Yugi had seen Téa off—generous helping of Bolognese going along with her—and had managed to get the flour cleaned up from the kitchen surfaces. Somehow it always managed to get nearly everywhere when he attempted pasta making, and he still would find missed spots for several days afterwards. He’d just settled comfortably on the couch with a bottle of fizzy water and found something interesting to watch on the television when he heard the sound of keys in the lock, and a moment later, Atem stepped inside.

“Hey, Até,” he said, peering over the back of the couch and smiling. “Good day?”

Atem dropped his wallet and keys on their little table by the door, toed off his shoes, “Very good. Though not as good as it smells in here, what did you make?”

“That spicy Bolognese we found online. Homemade noodles, too.”

“Ooh. I’m going to get fat.”

Yugi snorted in disbelief. Atem often said that when it came to food, and it had yet to happen—there was a suspicion among friends that he was part bird, the way his metabolism worked. He scooted over a bit to make more room for the other man as he joined him on the couch but was paused when Atem set a hand on his chest and leaned over to kiss him softly before flopping onto the couch by him, head resting on his stomach. “Your day okay?” he asked.

“Mmm,” Yugi ran his fingers through Atem’s hair, gently combing it back from his face and massaging his scalp. “Yeah. Got all those chores done I was putting off, and got that Internet issue figured out finally with the company.”

“Ugh. Finally. Thank you.”

“Sure. Téa stopped by, too.”

“Oh, yeah? She doing okay? Haven’t seen her in a bit…or any of them, actually. We should do a game night soon.”

“Okay with me. We had a discussion, though—she was thinking of hunting you down and doing something atrocious to you, I think.”

Atem blinked, a rather comic, confused expression passing his face, “What? Why, what’d I do?”

“She saw you today. With a lady friend.”

Atem’s face went a little pale and his lips pulled into a grimace, “Fuck. She thought—“

“Yep. It’s okay, though. I told her. About the arrangement, and all.”

“Are you okay?”

Yugi smiled warmly, “Yeah, I’m fine. It was kinda awkward but it was either explain, or she’d find a way to kill you. And I much prefer you alive.”

“I know you do,” Atem replied, unable to help the playful, somewhat pervy grin on his face, or to resist the eyebrow waggle. Yugi laughed and gently whapped him on the chest. “You are such a creep!”

“Only for you, gorgeous, only for you. Can I steal some of that?” Yugi passed him the water bottle, then took it back once Atem had taken a swig. “Food is done, if you’re hungry,” he said, “And we have a bottle of wine chilled.” The man sprawled in his lap made an appreciative sort of sound and nodded, “Could definitely eat. I’ll set the table if you grab the food.”

“You’ll have to let me up.”

“Only if I get to take you down, again, later.”

Yugi flushed slightly, but grinned, “Have to have dinner with me first.”

Atem grinned back, all silly, boyish charm, “Uhm, duh.” He heaved himself up into a sitting position, giving Yugi’s thigh an affectionate squeeze, and stole a quick kiss before getting to his feet. Yugi, admiring the way Atem’s jeans fit his backside, leaned forward and stood, giving the pretty picture a playful swat and squeeze as he did so. Atem looked back at him over his shoulder with a smirk, “Imma get’chu for that.”

Yugi widened his eyes guiltlessly, “Couldn’t resist. Go, table, set.”

“Yes, sir,” Atem all but purred, and led the way into the kitchen.