Chapter Text
There was no one in the world Yami trusted more than his partner and best friend Yugi Mutou.
Yami needed to remind himself of this fact constantly in the months leading up to Yugi’s wedding to Anzu.
Oh, Yami approved of the marriage. He loved Anzu. He loved Yugi and Anzu together. He didn’t even mind that Yugi and Anzu’s wedding would be in Las Vegas to accommodate Anzu’s performances at the Nevada Ballet.
What strained Yami’s trust in Yugi to its maximum was when Yugi had said, “You know, I’d love you to organize my bachelor’s party, aibou!”
Yami couldn’t think of a worse candidate to organize a bachelor party than himself: a former ancient spirit from the dark ages of egypt who hadn’t been a member of the 20th century for more than five years. A week of internet searches after Yugi’s request had left him scarred for life. Not to mention all those brochures Jounouchi decided to slip him.
Yet somehow, Yami had managed to book a bar, finalize a guest list and make sure there was PG-13 entertainment (it was Yugi he was throwing the bachelor’s party for, not Duke). All without ordering himself a new sarcophagus.
All he needed to do, Yami told himself as he took a seat in the spacious booth, was survive the night. And crowd control.
“No strippers, right, Jounouchi?” Yami reminded his friend. “You didn’t contact any of the people on those brochures…?”
Jounouchi cackled. “I solemnly swear that I did not contact any of the people on the brochures. Relax, Yami! Like I would try anything after that talking-to you gave me last month.”
“What brochures?” Yugi asked, eyes wide.
“Don’t ask.” Yami had burned them and scattered the ashes to the wind.
“Oh, okay,” Yugi beamed. “I’m so excited for tonight! Thanks for organizing this, Yami. It means more than I can say that you did all of this for me.”
Suddenly Yami’s stress lightened. He felt the corners of his mouth lift despite himself.
“By the way,” Yugi said, turning to Jounouchi. “Just so you know. Seto is coming.”
The stress came crashing back along with a bucketful of panic. “Sorry, what?”
“So behave, will you?” Yugi continued.
“Relax, Yug’! It’s your night! I’m not going to make a fuss,” Jounouchi said, waving his arms. “Besides, I know you two are friends. Sort of.”
Yami, unlike Jounouchi, had not yet processed this information. “Can we rewind to the part where Kaiba’s coming?”
“Did I not tell you?” Yugi asked, surprised. “I thought I’d mentioned it. I invited him to the wedding.”
That was not enough for Yami. The wedding made a certain amount of sense; Yugi and Kaiba had shared - well, they’d shared experiences, if not friendship. They’d all shared experiences. But this wasn’t the wedding. “And you invited him to the bachelor party?”
“Sure!”
Yami figured out what wasn’t clicking. “And he said yes?”
“Of course he did,” Yugi replied. “We’ve worked together a lot, the last couple years. And we get along better than we used to. Hey!” Yugi said, on a new track. “Maybe you two can catch up. You haven’t seen him for what, four years? Five?”
Five years, three months and twenty days, Yami corrected. The exact number of days since he’d won the Ceremonial Duel in Egypt, and chosen to stay in this life. The exact number of days since he’d separated from Yugi and acquired a body of his own.
Not that Yami was counting.
Somehow, Yami doubted they were going to “catch up” over drinks at Yugi’s bachelor party. He and Kaiba had never been great at small talk.
It wasn’t, Yami reminded himself, that he’d been avoiding Kaiba since Egypt. Avoidance was a very strong word. It would imply that Kaiba was making overtures, that Kaiba was around. But it wasn’t like Yami had made overtures either. And it was true that Yami had deliberately… avoided… going to places where Kaiba might show up.
So maybe he’d been avoiding Kaiba.
This was going to be a disaster.
“Did I hear something about elephants when I was walking in?” Honda asked as he slid in the seat next to Jounouchi's.
“There’s an elephant show in a couple of hours,” Yugi confirmed. “Also a fireworks show and acrobatics? The bar’s got this performance space on the other side of the dance arena. We’ll have to move to see them, though.”
“Vegas, dude! I love it! I can’t believe Anzu gets to work here.” Jounouchi chimed in. “ I won like, fifty dollars at the slots.”
Yami glanced at the slot machines, which flanked the dance floor on two sides. The bar was approximately the size of a football stadium: to get to the booth, they’d passed through craps tables, a couple blackjack dealers, a raging dance party (“a dance arena,” the bar billed it), and around a miniature pool. Yami suspected a hotel/casino wasn’t Yugi’s first choice of locale for a wedding but Anzu’s job made a Vegas wedding a priority. Wrangling a position in a corps de ballet had been difficult enough, she’d explained to Yami, without immediately requesting time off in the middle of performance season for a destination wedding.
Yami grinned. Anzu could probably have requested a shotgun wedding during intermission and Yugi would have agreed. It was the “who” that mattered to his best friend. Not the “when.” Not even the “how.”
The smile slipped off Yami’s face when he spotted Kaiba making his way towards their table. His heart chose that moment to jump to an uncomfortably athletic pace.
The advantage of controlling the guest list, Yami thought, was that he was supposed to be prepared for this. He was supposed to have time to prepare for this. But perhaps there was no good way to prepare for seeing Kaiba, his former rival, never-quite friend, again.
Yami had expected him to be wearing one of his extravagant dueling outfits, a coat fanning out behind him in a blaze of white. But the CEO of KaibaCorp was dressed casually, in slim-fitting black pants and a black-button down shirt rolled up to his elbows. Instead of his usual briefcase, he carried a shoulder bag. He might have passed for a student, or a young professional.
“Yugi,” Kaiba said, reaching the table. “Sorry I’m late.”
Kaiba exchanged polite hello’s with Jounouchi and Honda, then looked to Yami. One eyebrow quirked ever-so-slightly up. “Yami. Good to see you.”
Yami’s voice was remarkably level, despite his heartbeat. “Likewise.”
Kaiba nodded and turned back to Yugi.
Well. That was anti-climatic.
It seemed that Kaiba didn’t intend to make things awkward. That was good. That was very good, Yami thought, his eyes not leaving Kaiba’s face as the man took a seat and started talking to Yugi.
If the lack of awkwardness is so good, Yami asked himself, why did he feel so disappointed? Yami hardly wanted Kaiba to confront him about the… avoidance. Or anything else.
He’d forgotten exactly how blue Kaiba’s eyes were in the last five years. They were the exact blue of the sky as it transitioned from sunset to night. The blue of the deepest-fathomed ocean. And as impenetrable as ever.
He shook his head. Focus, Yami. Bachelor party. Wedding. Not the time for emotional upheaval. Not the time to think about Kaiba's eyes. Why was he -
His reverie was interrupted by the arrival of - thanks be to all the Gods - the waitress. Alcohol. That was the solution. Everything was better with alcohol.
Yami had intended to pace himself - he went out drinking rarely - but the turmoil of yawning feelings re-awakened by Kaiba’s appearance changed his mind. “Whiskey, please,” he ordered, when the waitress pointed at him. “Neat.”
Yugi, who knew Yami’s drinking habits as well as anyone, raised both eyebrows from the other side of the table. Yami raised an eyebrow right back.
“Hey,” the waitress said, looking back and forth between Yugi and Yami. Yami braced himself, knowing what was coming. “Oh my god. Are you two twins?”
“Actually,” Honda said, throwing his arm around Yugi and flashing a smile. “Yugi’s my twin. Can’t you see the resemblance? The spiky hair… the eyes… the voice?!”
“They’re fraternal twins,” Yami added.
The waitress looked between the three of them with uncertain eyes, clearly wondering if she was being made fun of. “Seriously, though, you two look exactly - ”
Kaiba cleared his throat. “I’ll have an old fashioned.”
“Oh right!” She jotted down his order, distracted from Yami and Yugi’s appearance. Yami felt his shoulders relax fractionally. He and Yugi caught plenty of intrusive comment from strangers when they were out in public together; Yami loathed dealing with them.
“And I’ll have a beer,” Jounouchi added. “What do you have?”
“Oooh, me too!” Honda said, leaning forward to listen to the waitress rattle off the bar’s options.
“Looks like we got here right on time,” Duke said, appearing with the last stragglers - Mako and Bakura - just as Jounouchi and Honda got their orders in. “Could I get a cosmo and two martinis?”
“Are you seriously ordering for us? I don’t even like martinis,” Mako complained.
“Those are all for me, Mako,” Duke said.
“How much are you planning to drink, Duke?” Yugi asked, laughing. “I’d like you to be awake and alive for the wedding tomorrow.”
“I’ll be alive!” Duke defended himself. “Mako promised to throw some fish on me tomorrow morning if I don’t wake up. Besides, I drink three martinis a night just as a start. That’s how you get the party started, right, Yugi?”
“My parties tend to involve a lot more dungeons and a lot less alcohol,” Yugi replied.
Duke grinned. “Dungeons! Now we’re talking.”
“He’s not talking about those kind of dungeons, Duke. Get your mind out of the gutter.” Gods, was Yami going to have to keep half the party on a leash?
“What kind of dungeons - ”
“Dungeons with 20-sided dice, Devlin. And a couple dragons. Those kind.” Kaiba interjected.
Yami couldn't resist. "You own a gaming store, Duke! You invented a dice-based game."
"That doesn't mean I'm some kind of expert - "
Yami rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Across the table, Kaiba caught his eye and half-smiled. For a moment, it was like nothing had changed.
Except for Yami's racing pulse.
“Bloody Mary, please,” Mako said. “Bakura, what are you getting?”
“I’m getting a mimosa,” Bakura announced.
“Seriously, Bakura, a mimosa?” Jounouchi asked. “This isn’t brunch. It’s a bachelor party.”
‘I will not be shamed for my taste in alcoholic beverages,” Bakura said, taking a seat next to Yami, who scooted over to let the latecomers grab places near him.
“It barely qualifies as alcohol”
“It has more alcohol than whatever beer you and Honda got!”
“Anway,” Yugi cut into the argument. “This isn’t much of a bachelor party. Yami hasn’t arranged for any naked ladies in cakes or strippers or confetti. Right?”
Yami winked at his best friend. “Confetti? Never without your permission.”
“There aren’t even party hats,” Yugi added, smiling. “Drink whatever you want, Bakura.”
Bakura nodded. “It’s a delicious beverage. I shall enjoy every sip.”
“Did someone say party hats?” Mai Kujaku asked, draping herself over the top of Yugi’s chair. She grinned at the group’s startled expressions’ and dropped a conical hat on top of Yugi’s head. “Only brought one, sorry.”
Yami, who knew the exact guest list - except, apparently, for the addition of Kaiba - was only surprised that Mai was less than an hour late.
“What?” Mai said. “Close your mouth, Jounouchi.” She emerged from behind Yugi’s chair, wearing a fitted tuxedo and an undone black bow-tie, and dropped a present into Yugi’s lap. “Did you expect me to go to Anzu’s bachelorette party?”
“Well. Yeah. Kind of,” Jounouchi said.
“I asked her first,” Yugi replied.
“Exactly. Don’t be a sexist,” Mai said. “Yugi and I are closer friends than Anzu and I ever were, and she’s doing some kind of spa night anyways. Do I seem like I would enjoy a spa?” She paused a moment to let them contemplate the question. “No. I do not enjoy steam and getting mud put on my face. I’m here for the alcohol, the naked women, and for one of my closest friend’s last nights of freedom. Yugi, let me know if I can pay for a lap dance.”
“For the last time, Mai, this isn’t a strip club,” Yami said, amused. “Just buy him a drink, will you?”
Mai sighed. “I am underappreciated in my time.”
The waitress returned with the drinks, for which Yami was grateful.
“Pabst blue ribbon?” Bakura asked Jounouchi. “And you’re making fun of what I’m drinking?”
“Hey! It’s the drink of the people! I am feeling what the people are feeling, Bakura! The people in America!”
Yugi gasped. “Don’t say “in america”! You’re going to bring the wrath of Bandit Keith down on us.”
“I didn’t!”
“You know how he is,” Yami said. “That man is uncanny. You just say his name or his catchphrase, and he shows up - ”
Yugi leaned back in his seat. “I’m just saying, if he shows up at my wedding, Jounouchi invoked him. You all saw it.”
“You should open that,” Mai said, changing the subject and pointing to the present she’d unceremoniously dumped on Yugi’s lap.
“Are we doing bachelor party presents?” Mako asked. “I only got a wedding present. It’s dishes. I got you a set of dishes.”
“Are there fishes on it?”
“Oh, you’re so clever. Are there dice on your dishes, Devlin?
“I think some people are just overeager,” Yami said “Or double-dipping. Don’t worry about it, Mako.”
Yugi, meanwhile, was pulling something out of Mai’s box. Yami caught a glimpse of metal and bright pink fur before Yugi hastily stuffed it back in, crimson-faced. “Mai! What the hell!”
“What! It’s a bachelor’s-day gift!”
“In some cases, the gift-givers may just be fans of public humiliation,” Kaiba commented. Yami snorted. “Were those novelty handcuffs?”
Yugi glared at him.
“I ask only out of curiosity,” Kaiba said. “My curiosity is as pure and innocent as the driven snow.
“What am I supposed to do with these?” Yugi asked.
Mai raised an eyebrow. “Yugi, do you really want me to explain what you’re supposed to do with them?”
“Yeah, you see Yugi, one of the partners puts on the handcuffs- ”
“And so you have to decide whether you prefer to be tied up or to tie someone else up,” Tritan added. “I think you can also switch.”
“I mean, roles in relationships are so fluid nowadays,” Mai added. “Whose to say that the handcuffer won’t be the handcuffee the next day?”
"Good point, Kujaku. People are so quick to make assumptions based on gender or physical appearance," Kaiba said.
“I can’t believe any of you people are my friends,” Yugi moaned, dropping his head in his hands.
“Generally, you use them during sex, but I suppose you could use them during everyday activities,” Jounouchi continued.
“Cooking, baking”
“Gardening, driving, writing,” Mako added.
“Laundry.”
Yugi glared at the entire table, then drained his margarita. “I need way more alcohol. How many more presents do I have to deal with?”
They weren’t - thank the Gods - all that bad. Bakura gave Yugi an album filled with photos of the gang, with an emphasis on photos of Yugi and Anzu in the early years, before they’d started dated. Yami had gotten Yugi a gift that embarrassed him, but that he knew would delight the recipient: a custom-made Polymerization card with artists’ rendering of Anzu and Yugi replacing the images of the monsters.
‘This is terrible!” Mai said when she saw it, and the usual suspects made terrible jokes when Yugi passed it around, but Yami had seen Yugi’s face light up when he opened the card. That was all that mattered.
“The artwork is good,” was Kaiba’s only comment when he saw it. “It’s not Pegasus’s, is it?"
Yami was surprised Kaiba could tell. “No. I found an independent painter. She does fanart of duel monsters.”
“It’s beautiful work,” Kaiba said. ‘The transition between the card and the art is seamless. If I didn’t know it was an independent production, I would think it was professional.”
Yami felt blood rising in his cheeks and looked away quickly. He’d forgotten what it was like to get Kaiba’s approval. Even in their duels, in their fights, over the years of their rivalry, Yami knew he’d sought it as doggedly as he’d sought any physical victory. But if victory was possible, approval proved much more illusive.
What was it about Kaiba that made three words from him matter more than an entire conversation from his closest friends?
“Polymerization is good wordplay,” Yugi commented. “There aren’t a lot of word jokes you can make with duel monsters and romance - ”
“Or sex,” Duke interrupted.
“Is that all you think about?” Yugi asked.
“What about “Card Ejector?”” Mai asked. “Ejector? Get it?”
Everyone groaned.
“Get out,” Yami said.
“Absolutely not,” Mai replied, sipping her cognac. “Get on my level.”
Honda raised his hand. “What about “Pot of Greed”?”
Duke scratched his head. “I’m not seeing it.”
“Well, what if I filled your pot of greed… with seed?”
He paused. “Get it? Seed? As in, semen?”
Kaiba rolled his eyes straight up to the ceiling.
“Get. Out,” Yami repeated.
“Sword breaker. The sword is the penis,” Bakura said.
“Violent feminism,” Mai said. “I’ll accept it.”
“Swords of - ” Kaiba paused and took a sip of his drink for dramatic effect. “Revealing light.”
Yugi burst out laughing. “Okay, that wasn’t terrible.”
“I told you guys we were going to the strip club eventually,” Mai said. "Revealing. That's terrible."
Kaiba cut his eyes at Yami. “Well, Yami? Do I need to get out?”
Yami took a breath to control his heartbeat. Those eyes - that tone of voice - in any other circumstance, if it weren’t Kaiba, if it weren’t a man, if it weren’t a man he had known for five years and had fought with for longer, he would have sworn Kaiba was flirting with him.
“Borderline. Watch yourself.”
Then, unable to resist a jab: “I didn’t know you had a sense of humor.”
“Oh, it’s hidden right behind my good mood and camaraderie.”
That got a laugh out of nearly everyone, after which Yugi jumped up and said “mind CRUSH!”
Yami threw a napkin at him.