Work Text:
What came after leaving the chamber was all a blissful blur of excitement and hope for a future none of them had thought was possible. The heavy weight they'd all felt on thinking that the spirit of the puzzle, that Atem, would have to leave them was suddenly lifted from their tired shoulders. In place of the suffocating sorrow that they all anticipated feeling once completing the ceremonial duel, they all felt new life breathed into them all.
Especially that of Atem, he drew in his first real breath in several thousand years from his own body. And that breath was used to declare his undying love for him.
Ishizu had shepherded the ecstatic group back onto the boat, promising them all food and rest back at her mansion. And then she had chuckled behind her hand, declaring that she would have some paperwork to get started so that a seemingly once dead pharaoh could exist in the modern world. Yugi had barely even understood half of what she had been talking about, but it was fine because he trusted she would make it all happen. Especially once Kaiba had begrudgingly offered his services in exchange for promises from both Atem and Yugi to duel him at a later time. So he could be sure who his real rival was.
Agreeing to stay with Ishizu while they figured out the legalities of resurrection had been easy enough. And it was really nice that her place was big enough to house them all in separate rooms. It was almost like a well deserved vacation after all they'd been through.
Or a honeymoon…as Jounouchi had whispered to Yugi with a wink.
He and Atem had absently agreed to whatever was being asked, or whatever they were being told, not really hearing anything outside of their own heartbeats as they sat hand in hand as they waited for the boat to dock.
As excited as everyone else was to talk to Atem and find out what he wanted to do with his new chance on life, they seemed to recognize that maybe Atem and Yugi needed a little bit of time to themselves. After all, no one had missed hearing their love declarations in that chamber, much to Yugi's belated embarrassment afterwards.
He could have dealt without the winks and knowing looks from his friends (and his grandpa. Ra, that was awkward as fuck) as they were pushed off alone together, but Yugi wasn't about to pretend he didn't actually want to take advantage of it.
And he and Atem had managed to walk calmly down the hall, still hand in hand, as they waved to the others…right up until they reached the door.
It was large and ornate, almost reminiscent of the doors that had once led to the harem, Yugi couldn't help but notice. Given the slight darkening flush to Atem's cheeks, maybe he thought so too.
They both pushed inside and closed the door solidly behind them.
And they were alone.
Yugi felt his heart rate picking up as they both turned to look at one another. It wasn't that he was nervous, but more from the sudden thrill of knowing that he was no longer looking at a reflection of himself with a spirit behind it, but at Atem himself again.
Atem did not release his hand as he pulled Yugi into the room, staring at him like he still was a little afraid that by looking away he'd suddenly disappear again. Only Yugi had no intention of leaving him ever now that they both knew this could be their forever and more.
They both came to a stop right at the window that looked out over the desert, with the moon and stars already shimmering above. It reminded him of that first night on the balcony together…how sweet Atem had been. How perfect that day had been for them both. And reminded him of what they didn't quite get to share, despite wanting to more than either had the words to say.
The glow of the moon caressed over Atem's skin just like it had then, making him appear ethereal even in his flesh and blood body. Yugi felt his skin begin to tingle as the cool breeze licked over his skin and played with his hair, just like that night it had done the same, only he'd been dressed in silks and gold. Rather than a jacket and leather.
It seemed a little strange that Atem was dressed in his ancient garb, while Yugi wore his modern clothes. Another reminder of just how far their love had carried to bring them to this moment. This perfect moment.
"This feels like a dream to me," Yugi whispered, still in disbelief as he ran his hands up Atem's strong arms and came to rest on his jaw, tracing his thumbs over the face he remembered.
Atem's hand closed over his own, turning his face to press a kiss to Yugi's palm, "For me it feels so very real, and like everything since waking in the puzzle was a dream. Because now…I can touch you like this…" he said, curling his finger under Yugi's chin and tilting it up, "...and like this…" he said and pressed their lips together.
In all the times that they had kissed in the far past, it had always been with a bitterness that chased the sweet. Because Yugi always knew what was to come, and more than he could say, and each kiss felt like it was just a precursor to the goodbye they'd have to share. And Atem had felt that…even if he didn't quite understand why.
But there was no bitterness now as he delved in with all the fervor that he'd had building in him for what felt like forever. Atem was warm and solid, and everything about him felt real, despite the moment feeling like it was from the most precious of dreams.
When they separated with a soft wet pull between them, Yugi felt his lips curling into a smile.
"I always knew you were saying the most romantic things back then, you know?" Yugi said with a little laugh.
Atem's smile was as soft as the silk he wore as he stared down at Yugi, "Oh, did you? Even without understanding the words?"
Yugi nodded, "Mhm. Because you'd always have this intense look in your eyes when you said those things. Like nothing was more important than whatever you were saying to me. No one is that serious over small talk, or stuff they assume the other wouldn't understand. And…I recognized it from when you wore my face too. How sometimes you'd look at me like no one and nothing else mattered. It might have been my face and my eyes, but that look was all you."
"Because you were and still are the most important thing to me, beloved," Atem said, sweetly bumping their noses together and letting their lips glide over one another as he spoke, "You were my savior and light back then upon both of our first meetings, as much as you are now. How could I possibly look at anything else with more reverence than you?"
Those old, familiar wine-red eyes were sparkling under the stars as he spoke.
"See, that's what I was talking about. All romantic…and that's the look," Yugi giggled, leaning into Atem and feeling those arms encircle him reflexively. That hold felt just as safe as ever.
He felt Atem's deep chuckle in a vibration that seemed to thrum through Yugi's entire body as they pressed up flush against one another.
Atem buried his face into Yugi's tresses, breathing him in and holding him as close as they could now that they were in two separate bodies.
"How I've longed for this. How I've longed for you. I never thought I'd get the chance again to have this," he heard Atem whisper, his words just barely heard over the breeze whistling by the open window.
Yugi felt his eyes well with unshed tears, knowing that he also thought that they had missed their chance that one night back at the palace. Where they had laid together on cool sheets and built up a scorching heat between them, only to break apart before a fire was lit that they couldn't put out.
"Our story didn't end there. You may not have known it, but I did. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you that," Yugi said, regret heavy in his voice, "Afterwards I also wished it could have gone differently. But now that you're here…" he traced his hand down the side of Atem's face, "I can't regret anything if it brought us here."
Atem made a pained sound in his throat, and he gently tugged Yugi towards the bed behind them. He guided Yugi into sitting down on the edge, and then knelt down in front of him. He placed his hands that felt hot to the touch on Yugi's legs, peering up at him like he was some priceless treasure.
After seeing Atem as a pharaoh, seeing him kneeling like this felt all the more surreal. And feeling the heat of him there right between his legs…it felt sinfully perfect.
"That night…it has sat heavily in my mind since remembering how we were both left wanting what we thought we couldn't have. How it was my only regret looking back that at the time you didn't know how much I loved you, then and as your partner waiting. That I had kept my feelings as carefully guarded so that you didn't know how much you meant to me. If you had known that I loved you as Yami as well as Pharaoh, that maybe that night would have gone differently."
As he spoke his hands were running up and down Yugi's denim clad thighs, as if it was soothing to him, even if to Yugi it was making him feel like he was about to explode.
Yugi reached between them to place a hand on Atem's chest, right over where his new heart was beating, and made him meet his eyes, "I knew you loved me. Maybe not like that, but I knew you cared about me. I could feel it in the heart we shared."
Atem's eyes gleamed under the moonlight as tears gathered but didn't fall at his words. His hand joined Yugi's where it was, bringing them down so he could press his lips to their entwined fingers.
"That is because even when I had forgotten you, I remembered what I felt for you. Just as I said, my heart remembered you, even if my mind did not. And with the new life that I've been granted, I will spend all of it making sure that you always know just how much I love you, so that neither of us can ever forget. You've held my heart for me for three thousand years…all I want now is to hold yours."
"Three thousand years and forgetting your entire life, but in all that you didn't forget that you loved me. I doubt either of us will be forgetting anytime soon," Yugi breathed, and saw how Atem's eyes crinkle up in mirth, his smile as adoring as it had always been when he looked at Yugi.
"Never. You are written into my soul as much as you are my heart."
If this was at all like the things that Atem had said to him as Pharaoh, then Yugi was dying to go back and have him translate it all. He never thought he'd be one for the sappy stuff after all those cheesy romance movies Anzu had them watch when it was her turn on movie night, but maybe if Atem was the one writing the scripts Yugi would be more on board. It felt like his heart would explode from how full it felt hearing Atem's words.
"My love…" he whispered, pressing another kiss to their hands, "My heart…" he said next, leaning up higher and pressing a kiss to Yugi's neck, "My beloved…" a kiss to his jaw, "My aibou…" and a kiss to his lips, "My little mystery…would you let me show you how much I love you? Not just tell you?"
Yugi's stomach did a somersault as his heart leapt up into his throat where Atem's hand lingered over his pulse.
"I mean, yeah. Oh wow, yes! But…we can wait too if you want to take this slow. We do have the rest of our lives I guess," Yugi said, trying to shrug easily despite the growing desperation that was bubbling inside of him like a shaken can of soda.
Atem's look was anything but patient though as he suddenly stood up and leaned Yugi back into the mattress. It was as heated as the desert sands as he stared down at him, "I think we've waited long enough, darling."
"Shit, yeah. You're right," Yugi said, and his arms shot up to wrap around Atem's neck just as he ducked down to collide their lips together in a searing kiss.
It was like that night had never ended, it had only paused until this very moment when they could pick right back up again.
Atem was on top of him just like before, their hips rutting together to create that glorious friction that had Yugi weak and trembling in seconds.
Both of them gasped when they felt their arousals pressed together through the fabrics they wore.
Suddenly it didn't matter what millennia their clothes were from, or how flattering they might look on Atem's amazing body, they were in the fucking way.
"Off, off, off!" Yugi grumbled. Maybe he would have been able to undress Atem faster if Ramy and Mia had let Yugi learn how to dress (and undress) himself. The belts alone…shit.
Atem laughed as Yugi began to furiously tug at the silks, yanking at them until the other took mercy on him and helped undo the belt and then eased the rest over his head.
At least Atem knew how modern clothes worked, because he wasted no time in skillfully ridding Yugi of his clothes in record time. If only Yugi could learn how to dress that fast getting ready for school.
They were both grinning madly at each other once they were finally bare.
Well, mostly.
"Anything else?" Atem asked with amusement when he saw Yugi eyeing the jewelry still hanging from Atem's ears and covering his arms and legs.
"Leave the gold," Yugi said with a sly grin through innocently fluttered lashes.
Atem's returned smirk was smoldering as he tugged at Yugi’s collar with a crooked finger, "Only if you leave the leather."
"Deal!"
And just like that, Atem was covering him once more, hands mapping out every pane and curve of Yugi's body despite already knowing it better than anyone.
Yugi didn't feel the need to be shy or nervous, even if this was building to be his first time. Because there was no one else he trusted more. No one else who knew him so intimately. And no one else Yugi could ever see sharing himself with like this.
Atem already knew Yugi inside and out, and had lived in his body and his heart for years. This was just one more way they could tie themselves together.
Light, ivory skin met rich umber at last, making them both sigh with pleasured bliss. Every part of him that Atem touched burned on contact in the sweetest way, and tingled long after he'd moved on. Leaving Yugi's entire body singing with ecstasy.
Yugi's head flew back with a choked off groan when Atem rolled their hips and cocks together in an almost overwhelming sensation.
"Oh, oh, fuck," Yugi breathed, his eyes fluttering as Atem thrust against him again.
"Mmm, fuck indeed," Atem teased, leaning down and taking Yugi's mouth in a sinfully filthy and deep kiss.
"I have no regrets teaching you that word when you say it like that," Yugi gasped when Atem allowed him to breathe again.
Yugi swore he could feel the rumble of Atem's laugh down to his aching cock. And then he felt it along his neck where it felt like Atem was trying to consume him entirely with little nips of his teeth along the skin under his collar.
Not wanting to let Atem have all the nibbling fun, Yugi pulled at him until their faces aligned again, and bit at a plush bottom lip. He grinned and felt a shiver when Atem moaned loudly and began to thrust against him harder.
Then it was Yugi's turn to moan when he felt a warm hand close over his cock and stroke it firmly.
Yugi felt hot air ghost over the shell of his ear, and held his breath as Atem spoke into it.
"I can keep touching you like this tonight if you like. I can work you up and I will make you feel so good, beloved. Or…I can touch you like this…" fingers dipped further between his legs, making Yugi whimper and gasp, "...and make you see stars," Atem whispered into his ear.
Holy fucking shit. Was this man for real? Why did Yugi ever think it was a good idea to stop him last time again?
"Stars! I definitely want to see the stars," Yugi practically begged, his chest already heaving as the anticipation built.
Atem chuckled, kissing the corner of Yugi's jaw before pulling back.
"As my heart commands," he said with a smoldering glint in his eyes that completely reduced Yugi's insides to mush.
Yugi didn't know what kinds of guests Ishizu was entertaining that required her to have a nondescript vial tucked in the bedside drawer, but he wasn't about to dare question it as Atem deftly coated his fingers with it and crawled back over him.
Yugi's legs parted for him without words, welcoming him like he'd always welcomed Atem to his body. With no hesitation or fear.
"Nice and slow, darling. We don't want to hurt you," Atem said quietly, one hand working a finger into Yugi, while his other hand rubbed little circles into the inside of his thigh.
Yugi breathed out a shuddering breath, "You'd never hurt me."
"Never," he easily agreed, and kissed the inside of Yugi’s knee as he shifted another finger in.
He has Yugi breathe through the stretch as he probed deeper inside of him.
Atem's own gaze was heated and focused on the task, but Yugi couldn't take his eyes off of him. Taking in every inch of him and marveling over knowing he was truly here. That they had been so blessed that thousands of years of maneuvering, waiting, yearning, and dreaming, this moment was able to happen. That he was here in the flesh despite all the odds against them.
Yugi's mind was brought back from the past and into the present at the feel of a third finger working him open. He arched his back against the full feeling of it, his body starting to tremble with desperation as it began to understand just how much he needed to be filled like this. What pleasure he'd denied them both up until now.
He thrust his hips down into the feeling, "No more, I want you. Please," Yugi whimpered, not caring how he sounded.
Seeing how Atem's eyes widened and then seemed to burn like hot embers, he didn't mind how Yugi sounded either.
The fingers were hastily removed and suddenly Atem was crawling back over Yugi and cradling him close.
He covered Yugi like a blanket, warm and safe underneath. Despite how eager they both were to continue, they both paused to look into each other's eyes. Memorizing the moment and every feeling that came with it.
"I love you, Yugi," Atem said, brushing back the sweat-soaked bangs from his face so tenderly it brought tears to his eyes.
"I love you, too," Yugi replied, his voice thick with emotion.
They moved in tandem, one leaning down as the other arched up to meet in between for another kiss, just as Atem pressed inside of Yugi's body in one steady and strong thrust.
Yugi was instantly overcome with the feeling of having Atem within him, filling him up in an entirely new and completely incredible way.
A long moan fell from his lips as Atem pulled their mouths apart to gasp, feeling Yugi clenching around him.
"Oh, darling, you feel better than paradise ever could. You were worth waiting every second for," Atem said, followed by a throaty moan as he began to move
Yugi would have replied had he been able to work his mouth to do anything other than drop open in a silent cry of unfiltered pleasure. His hands flew up to grab onto Atem's shoulders, just holding on to anything as his body felt like the world was falling away under them. He felt the sweat on Atem's back, the flex of the muscles underneath, and it was all just another reminder of how real this was. How real Atem was.
The way that Atem was filling Yugi was driving him to madness with how good it all felt. Just how perfect this all was.
Atem's pants were puffing out over Yugi's cheek, getting harder when he began to move faster, rolling his hips in a breathtaking rhythm as he brought them both to pleasured bliss.
Yugi's eyes fluttered shut when it started to feel like it was all too much, and yet his body still wanted more. They were chasing after that perfect explosion of passion and pleasure, and Yugi was lost in the feeling of Atem on him, in him, and all around him.
As he felt them both drawing closer to completion, he felt Atem's head dip down next to his.
"Say it," Atem breathed through heavy pants, "Say my name like I've been waiting to hear for thousands of years."
The roughness of his voice was as glorious a friction as the drag of his cock inside of him.
"A-atem! Atem!" Yugi cried out with all the passion and love he felt as he clung on to him.
He heard Atem curse under his breath as his thrusts started to pick up a more hurried pace that
"Yes, oh, yes! Yugi, my darling. You're all I've ever wanted," Atem moaned into his ear.
"AH, oh, Atem! So good. You're so perfect," Yugi gasped as he felt every glorious inch of Atem delving in and out of him.
As he wrapped his arms around Atem's neck, his head thrown back in pleasure, Yugi couldn't help but realize that even as they reached completion now…it wouldn't be the last time. For the first time ever in all the time knowing Atem's soul, they didn't have a fated end. There was no cruel destiny to take Atem to the afterlife, and there was no displaced timeline for Yugi to leave. They had the eternity that they had thought would always be denied to them.
They have the rest of their lives together. And then an afterlife to share huddled over the precious game sets that Atem had made for them, like he had somehow always known that eternity was theirs to have.
This was just the start of them sharing their eternal paradise.
And just as promised, Yugi saw stars as his body reached the precipice of molten pleasure and he finally crested into his release between them. He felt Atem pour out his own deep inside of him, and heard the deep and broken cry that escaped him.
He fell on top of Yugi, and instantly they both wrapped each other up in their arms as they fought to catch their breath, exchanging lazy kisses in between drags of air. The breeze filtering in from the window cooling their heated skin.
When the heat simmered down and they started to feel the cold, Yugi rolled them until he could lay on top of Atem's chest, admiring and touching what he'd always been too shy to before. Atem pulled the sheets over them both with one arm, refusing to let go of Yugi with the other. He felt his lover shiver under the tracing of his fingers, and loved that Yugi could give him such a reaction. He couldn't wait to see what else he could do to make Atem's new body react like this with all the time they had now.
Atem sighed heavily, like a big content lion, as he settled them both back against the pillows and pulled Yugi back with him.
Tucking his head under Atem's chin, Yugi draped an arm over his chest to hold him back just as firmly.
"Was it all you ever dreamed of?" Yugi couldn't help but ask.
He felt and heard Atem's answering chuckle, along with the kiss pressed to his temple, "My dreams could never have compared to the real thing. You have and always will continue to amaze and surprise me, beloved."
Yugi's grin was wide enough that he bet Atem could feel it where his face was pressed against bare skin. A giddy feeling ran through him, his mind reeling with all the ways he wanted to amaze and surprise him.
But it also got his mind thinking about other things that until today, he'd pushed away to try and protect himself. Things he thought would hurt too much to even dare to dream of. Or things he just straight up didn't think could ever be possible for them.
It also raised one more burning question that he just couldn't hold back despite the tenderness of the moment.
Because Yugi just had to know.
……
"Hey, Atem?"
"Hm?"
"Now that you're alive and death hasn't parted us anymore, I wanted to ask a question."
"Of course, darling, what is it?"
……
"Are we still married?"