[As Atem hits the showers, washing a night's worth of dark games, gambling games, sampling modern beer, and taking care of his people and his lion off of his skin and out of his hair, he considers the question of showing how he feels, so that the people he loves know, even when he doesn't have snakes...and not taking something that's meant to help and making it uncomfortable.
He can walk that line, of course he can, and not that the feeling he got from Ryou was discomfort, exactly, but...
He turns the shower water a little colder.
Atem thinks about other things, too, as he steps out into the bathroom, drying his hair with the towel. He thinks about how both Ryou and Tybolt have him in a more predictable rhythm than he used to have. The lion has to be fed and walked, and rest's become something to look forward to instead of a frustrating necessity. Even if Atem's out most of the night, it's nice to spend days in the same place, talking about what's going on, what he's seen.
He'll need to pick a time to ask Ryou for advice on getting Yugi to consume a soul. He's got until mid-month, Atem figures, before the meter's in the red. Another week left, before...
He shakes his head. Nope. Not going to think about that, not now. It's pushed aside, as Atem pulls on what he usually sleeps in, which is a compromise between Yugi-brain full pajamas and recently-restored-memory-brain why would you sleep in more than you had to. An undershirt and boxers is the most comfortable halfway point for him right now. Let's see, what else -- brush teeth, comb hair out so it dries right, this routine's gotten easier the longer he's done it but gosh it was a pain the first few months -- and he'll pick up Tybolt's empty puzzle tray and wash it out in the sink, give the good smart boy a nice little scritch on his cute little head, then head back into his room, ruffling his still-damp hair back into place with one hand. He'll drop his dirty clothes into a hamper, then head over to the bed to hang the Millennium Puzzle on the headboard, where it usually lives when Atem's asleep.
He's calm, he thinks. Cooled off from a shower and cleaning blood out of a cat toy. It'll be fine, he won't make a nuisance of himself if he isn't wanted -- he'll be able to approach with a level head.]
passes u 400 words of domestic garbage
He can walk that line, of course he can, and not that the feeling he got from Ryou was discomfort, exactly, but...
He turns the shower water a little colder.
Atem thinks about other things, too, as he steps out into the bathroom, drying his hair with the towel. He thinks about how both Ryou and Tybolt have him in a more predictable rhythm than he used to have. The lion has to be fed and walked, and rest's become something to look forward to instead of a frustrating necessity. Even if Atem's out most of the night, it's nice to spend days in the same place, talking about what's going on, what he's seen.
He'll need to pick a time to ask Ryou for advice on getting Yugi to consume a soul. He's got until mid-month, Atem figures, before the meter's in the red. Another week left, before...
He shakes his head. Nope. Not going to think about that, not now. It's pushed aside, as Atem pulls on what he usually sleeps in, which is a compromise between Yugi-brain full pajamas and recently-restored-memory-brain why would you sleep in more than you had to. An undershirt and boxers is the most comfortable halfway point for him right now. Let's see, what else -- brush teeth, comb hair out so it dries right, this routine's gotten easier the longer he's done it but gosh it was a pain the first few months -- and he'll pick up Tybolt's empty puzzle tray and wash it out in the sink, give the good smart boy a nice little scritch on his cute little head, then head back into his room, ruffling his still-damp hair back into place with one hand. He'll drop his dirty clothes into a hamper, then head over to the bed to hang the Millennium Puzzle on the headboard, where it usually lives when Atem's asleep.
He's calm, he thinks. Cooled off from a shower and cleaning blood out of a cat toy. It'll be fine, he won't make a nuisance of himself if he isn't wanted -- he'll be able to approach with a level head.]