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knifemonopoly) wrote2021-02-05 06:28 pm
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WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 *** PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1> If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message. | ||||
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You're not responsible for anything that's said, that's not said by you...
[There's a flicker of pain, just a drop in the full bucket of Ryou's emotions, a contributing sadness.]
It's easier to predict an enemy than a friend. And, when it goes wrong...you can only learn, and adjust.
[But, back to business...]
I like Lila. She's a good friend to have. But she's not what I'd call a reasonable person! She puts her difficulties on others, sometimes, and she's bold enough to not be embarrassed about it, or stop...
[And she's had a lot of difficulties. Like them all.]
So, don't worry too much about her. You did the right thing, talking back. You have as much right to be, how you want to be, as anyone else, and anyone who tells you otherwise is wrong.
[Hah...is he preaching Fog doctrine? He might be, by accident...but, if it's what Ryou needs to hear, then...]
Don't let what was said on the network get into your head. You should -- what was it Cairo said...? -- "Touch grass."
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Ryou's been listening to everything Atem says and he takes it on board, understands that Lila is only lashing out because she's...jealous? Of Ryou? That's almost stretching credulity, even if Ryou can touch things.
But he has to ask:]
What do you mean...touch grass? Does that mean...forget about this?
[He doesn't think he can. It's settled in his heart and soul like a poison, just like Gabriel Morgenstern had. He wants to tell Atem how exhausting it is, feeling like people just don't like him, over things he can't control.
But that, he doesn't say.]
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I know it's hard, with your energy low...but it won't be that way forever!
[It can't. This game wouldn't make any PC unplayable.]
There's a party being thrown by a friend of mine this weekend. Beat -- the one that's teaching me how to snowboard. Want to come?
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Don't let it be worse than it is. That's right.
Ryou draws in a long, deep breath, then exhales it slowly, softly from their mouth. He has to be calm.
(he is not calm. atem can probably feel how not calm he is)
He just has to bring it in. Close it all up and be okay. Just pull it in...don't think about how what was said hurt. It's not important. It's not the main focus.]
...A party. This weekend?
[Ryou has to think about it...but he can't think about it like this. So...
Slowly, reluctantly, he slips out of Atem and reconstitutes as a shadow. He's not solid right at the moment, just a black amalgamation with sad, half-lidded eyes. He doesn't go solid yet because he feels...selfish. All the other shades struggle with it, and he's just insulted so many of them. He doesn't deserve it.]
I won't be able to do much partying in my current state. Are you certain you want me to go?
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You've got time to decide...if the day comes and you're not up for it, I won't put the chain on your collar and make you!
But, if you get there, and you want a break before it's over...you can always rest in my heart.
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When you say things like that...it reminds me even more why I love you, Atem. Just about every thing you do...it makes me fond of you.
[Suddenly, he draws in a sharp breath, and the light of his eyes extinguishes as he squeezes them shut. Why does it still hurt? His most important person juts told him that he could possess him if he got tired. They just spent time together trying to forget terrible things...
So why does Ryou want to cry?
His eyes open again, sad little half-circles at best, and he looks over towards the other monster.]
...A-Atem, can you...do me a favor? Please?
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[Ryou wouldn't ask him for anything he wasn't willing to do. Atem's confident in that. The trust is absolute.]
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[He extends a hand out, allowing for just that part of him to grow solid, and he settles his fingers on one of Atem's thighs. Selfish, terrible. Even now, he's lording his powers over everyone else, isn't he?
But no. He wants those thoughts to go away.]
If you're okay with it...I just want to be calm.
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...Atem just nods. He doesn't mind using his bite as a sedative, he's done it twice before, and this time isn't different. Ryou needs out of his own head, and he's too weak to do anything strenuous. It's like massaging the knots out of someone's shoulder: comforting, romanric with the right person person, a skill he is fortunate enough to have.
So, he gestures with his hand, beckoning Ryou to move in.]
Come here. In close. I'll do it.
[He's got to fight down an involuntary response, though, formed from long habit, when Ryou asks to be bitten. Now's not the time, it's just a flicker, easy to tamp down. He's good. Don't worry.]
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Quietly he shifts, floats closer, and the darkness melts back, features become more defined as he forces himself back to the very solidity that he'd fought to maintain. Something...something he could do. Something he couldn't live without.
His tail loosely settles against Atem's shin, and he presses their foreheads together, his eyes closed. He couldn't be any closer if he tried at this point, and this...it's where he belongs.
Here with someone who cares about him.]
I love you.
[He does. And he would whether Atem bit him or not.]
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I love you, too.
[He slides a hand up Ryou's neck, brings the other around to an arm, to support.
Tendrils wrap around Ryou'd waist, in case his legs give out.
Then, Atem moves his face away from Ryou's, lets his mouth drift over Ryou's throat. It's familiar territory now, he knows every inch by feel, and he finds one of the usual places with unhurried gentleness. He opens his mouth, slow enough to be a caress, then bites down. Twin fangs break the skin with care, with only the violence that can't be avoided, prying their way into a vein, permitted instead of forced.
And, he drinks.]
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...He's too distraught to do it this time. He remains silent, letting the calming effect wash over him and mask the bad feelings with comfort.
Atem's observant enough, Ryou's sure of it. That's why he doesn't say anything, he just lets Atem continue, his body slowly relaxing. He does start to lean pretty hard after a few long moments, his eyes slipping shut.]
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...Atem stops.
He never wants to stop. But when he's feeding from a monster, it's not impossible to keep his mind, and Atem wants Ryou to stay alive, to not be weakened badly, more than he wants Ryou's blood, or even his heartbeat.
So, he pulls his teeth out of Ryou's neck as gently as he can, and holds him close and steady.]
Better?
[He asks, close by Ryou's jaw.]
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Wait.
Right. Atem asked him something. Does Ryou feel better? Hmm...he feels heavy, for certain. Heavier than usual, but ultimately, the warm, comforting calm that's washed over him is very much good.
No more vengeance. No more spite. Just the two of them, close and warm and loving.]
Mmm, yesssss...
[The s passes his lips with such laziness that he extends it, almost like a hiss, but without the venom usually associated with such a sound.]
I'm so...grateful for you...to be able to touch you. I don't care...if the others hate me.
[He murmurs the words quietly, like a secret.]
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[A hand strokes through Ryou's hair.]
Making yourself unhappy...that won't make what they're going through any easier.
[This is mostly true. It won't fix their intangibility and identity issues.
It might give them vicious satisfaction, in a vengeful sort of way, to make sure everyone is unhappy in the same way as they are...
...but Atem's not going to allow that. The other monsters don't get to take what Ryou does have, what he's sacrificed a frankly immense amount of potential power for, away. They don't get to destroy other people's scraps of happiness, found against the odds in a horror setting, because they're sad too.
The tendrils gently nudge Ryou upright, towards his bed.]
Leave it alone. Come to bed.
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[Ryou isn't angry anymore. He's just...sad. Sad for them? Sad that they all dumped their hatred on him? Sad that he's still weak and susceptible to terrible things?
...He's not sure. He's just sad. And worn out. But he does feel a little better, so when he's nudged, he straightens up slowly, raising a hand up to rub at the corner of one eye. Reluctantly, his tail unwinds from Atem so he can take a few exhausted steps back, then turn to his bed.
The laptop is still there.
His tail prickles and his gaze sharpens. The laptop starts to float, hovering off to the side only to flop unceremoniously on the ground with what's honestly a satisfying clatter.
Then, and only then, does he take a seat at the edge of his bed. The same hand that had rubbed at his face a second ago moves instead to cover the bite mark, to make sure it's not bleeding too badly.]
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Fuck that machine and everyone on it.
As he climbs onto the bed beside Ryou:]
Not your problem.
[Tendrils come out, to slide around Ryou's waist like an extra hand, to wind around one of his knees.]
You can't figure out being a shade for them. They've got to do that themselves. Just like you do.
[You can't meet anyone else's win condition for them, he remembers. That had been good advice.
When Ryou's hand comes away from his neck, Atem looks at it, sizes up how badly it's bleeding.]
Lie back. I'll clean the bite.
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They're all predators, to be fair. But Ryou's powers don't have a practical application--well, except for one.
One that upsets people and which he feels is wasted on him.
Not going to think about that though. Just going to lay back, behave for his boyfriend.]
I hope it's not too bad. Didn't mean to make you work...
[Or make him potentially leave. Noo, he wants to keep Atem close. Fingers lazily travel along the tendril around his waist, a vague indication that he wants to stay wrapped up in it.]
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[And Atem...well, what he does is, he climbs up so he's straddling Ryou's torso, a knee under each shoulder. He can reach the nightstand from here, where they keep minor first aid supplies, and it's easier to get to the bite at the same time.
His tendrils stay right where they are, and Atem reaches down to hook a finger in the collar and unbuckle it, so that none of the antiseptic he's about to apply gets on it and makes the leather smell.]
i am so sorry cw; flirting?
At any other point in time, Ryou might be able to remain objective, or maybe even make a snarky comment about how Atem had decided to reach over him.
But with the calm settled over him, placating him? Nah, this is very interesting to him. So while Atem had tried not to make it horny earlier, Ryou is...not doing that. Sorry, sir, but that's a tail winding around your thigh and the tuft of it teasing just under the hem of your shirt.
There's no art to any of it. But it is nice to have the collar taken off.
(Ryou Bakura this is not the time)
Ryou's free hand reaches up, and he very lazily runs a thumb across Atem's cheek.]
they're flirting,
Ah...ha ha. Don't get impatient! First aid is important.
[This is not scolding at all. It's purred, and Atem pushes his cheek, catlike, against Ryou's hand before returning to his work. Atem lays the collar aside and pulls out a clean cloth, swiping the antiseptic around the bite, doing his best to make it sting as little as possible.]
I'm not the kind of guy who'd bite you, and then just leave it alone...
[Unless, you know, they're doing something else, and Ryou doesn't want to stop and deal with it. Which, his wishes get respected.]
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[The tail tightens around Atem's leg as the antiseptic stings at his skin. Honestly, he's still such a baby, but the reaction doesn't last forever...because as much of a baby as he is, when he's feeling flirty, he tends to ignore a lot of his pain.
Or maybe, he uses it to cope. Who knows?
Either way, he isn't interested in stopping what he's doing over a bit of burning, so he decides where he wants his hands now would be at Atem's waist, tail tip still flicking up under the hem of his shirt. It glows yellow, even as it slips completely below the shirt and tickles along Atem's lower back.]
Kiss me...
[It's not an order. It's a request couched in his soft tone, almost to the point of whining.]
Let me feel you. All of you.
[Because he can. Because he would never give it up.]
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You're making it very hard to finish what I'm doing.
[He puts the cloth down on the nightstand, and leans over Ryou, one hand bracing himself against the bed. The other takes hold of Ryou's chin, playful and warm. It is very hard to resist requests when Ryou gets like this. But, if Atem doesn't, he'll get blood all over his pillow until the bleeding slows down...can he pull away from bumping their noses together long enough to get a plaster on?]
You know I can't deny you anything...
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Everyone on that post was terrible. He doesn't want to think about them, even though he knows he'll go back and read all of the other messages. Right now...he is interested in bracing one elbow against the bed and closing the distance between their lips. He's getting that kiss, even if he has to go the rest of the way for it, because whether he's trying to forget the network or not, they're allowed to be close like this, right? Atem wants to be close to him...just as much as Ryou wants to be close.]
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[He murmurs it against Ryou's mouth, pushing him back down onto the pillow. The tendril around Ryou's waist tightens, an affectionate squeeze, and his hand goes to Ryou's stomach, sliding lightly and unhurriedly up it to Ryou's chest.
They're going to kiss, for now. Atem doesn't have to worry about the bite mark. It'll heal, and it's not his job to override what Ryou's asking for, to do what Atem thinks is best...he respects Ryou enough to listen to him, to give what he wants weight.]
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