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Atem loved being back in the real world, but figuring out the mundane rituals that made up the building blocks of life were… confusing. So much had changed since his days as pharaoh. So much conflicted with what he knew from his former life. In some ways, he felt he no longer knew how to live.
He recalled a lot about modern hygiene from his time sharing Yugi's body–not that he had been too involved in that. He always tried to give his partner privacy when he could, but now he wished he had paid a little bit more attention.
He knew people no longer used ash powder to clean their teeth. At first the thick, icy paste had a pungent spice that overwhelmed him, but after he got used to the tingling and intense flavor, he had to admit, it was a marked improvement over the gritty, burnt aftertaste he remembered.
It was still normal to take a bath every day–thank the gods. He didn't know how he'd function without his nightly bath.
Bathing in the Nile, with the other members of his court, wasn't all that different from the bath house Yugi took him to, though the heat of the water shocked him. Yugi claimed his baths at home were always that warm–a wholly alien sensation for him. Wasn't the big appeal of bathing soaking in the cool water after a blistering day in the sun?
His baths at the palace were a little warmer than the fresh flowing Nile stream, but not by much. At first the idea of bathing in the heat was unappealing–suffocating–like being boiled alive, but he soon saw the appeal. Domino didn't have nearly as much heat exposure as Egypt, and when autumn days left him cold and shivering, the thought of a warm bath was… nice. He could get used to it.
The state of his skin was another matter. He didn't have to worry about that kind of thing in the afterlife. Everyday he woke up to a glowing complexion with no effort, but being back on earth confined him to the reality of acne and dry patches; the entire affair caused him more anxiety than he cared to admit.
In his own time, they used avocados and aloe vera to cure that itchy dryness–or baths of goat's milk and honey; seed oil to protect from the sun and rose infused almond oil in the evening to soothe the skin after exposure. Apparently, none of that was considered normal now.
When he asked Yugi how he was meant to clean his face the answer was less than helpful.
"I guess just use soap, like in the bath?"
He tried, and it left his face feeling even more tight and uncomfortable. He missed his oils…
Upon their return from A'Aru, Kaiba handed Atem a phone, with his number already programmed inside, for emergencies. He used it a total of one time, to ask Kaiba if he wanted to join his friends for his back from the dead celebration. Kaiba bluntly declined, not even bothering to come up with an excuse. Atem didn't relish the idea of trying to reach out to him again anytime soon, but…
Kaiba had such beautiful skin. He had to do something with it, right? In Egypt, skin care had been a luxury of the wealthy, not something the average person worried about–at least not to the same degree. Kaiba was the wealthiest person he knew, probably the wealthiest person most people knew of. He must have some recommendations.
Atem scrolled through the list of numbers in his phone. He only had eight contacts, and Kaiba's was the only one with a picture. He wasn't even sure how Kaiba did that, but Atem liked it.
His thumb hesitated over the Call button for only a moment.
"Yes?"
"Hello, Kaiba. I need your expert advice."
"I'm listening."
"I don't know what to use to clean my face."
"Ask Yugi," came the kurt reply, in a less than thrilled tone.
"I did. He said use soap. It was awful."
He just heard laughter on the other end–Kaiba's over the top, boisterous laugh that he only seemed to use when things were truly not funny.
"I suppose there was a time when I just used soap."
"What do you use now? Oil?"
"What? No. Just face soap. Day and night. With sunscreen or cream after."
"Sunscreen? I've never even heard of that."
"You're supposed to use it every morning."
"I don't think Yugi has ever used it," he whispered conspiratorially, not wanting his partner to overhear his personal habits being discussed with Kaiba. "He must not know. Someone should tell him!"
"I'm sure he knows. He just doesn't care. It's considered preventative. The main consequence of not using it is early signs of aging, like ten years from now. That's probably not a big concern for him."
"Where do I get it?" Atem asked, now determined to have some.
"I don't know. Wherever you get your normal toiletries. Or just buy it online."
"Online? Like the Google?"
"Yes, the Google." Kaiba laughed. Atem still could not see what was funny.
"And it will be there?"
"Everything is on the internet."
Everything is on the internet.
Such a simple statement for such a dangerous concept.
He knew Yugi had used it before. He was meant to type in questions? He wasn't quite sure how it worked, so he tested it with something basic, something he thought he knew the answer to…
How to brush your teeth.
Only to discover he should be brushing his teeth in the morning as well as at night. He couldn't think why, since there would be nothing new caught in his teeth after sleeping, but the internet knew the answer.
Brushing first thing in the morning fights harmful bacteria and coats your enamel with a protective barrier that will help protect against acids in your morning meal.
He tried out a few other questions and the results amazed him.
Yugi used the internet as a resource when he had been stuck on his schoolwork. He once used it to help him figure out which game shops were distributing the duel disk prior to battle city. But Atem had no idea what a valuable resource it would turn out to be. So much so, it surprised him that Kaiba was the first person to suggest he use it. Perhaps other people didn't need it as desperately as he did.
You could literally ask it anything. And it had answers.
It took him about ten minutes to figure out different sources could have conflicting information. He soon realized he needed to click on several links and decide the best answer from the amalgamation of information. Even so, it was still an incredible resource.
He soon forgot about his hunt for sunscreen and ended up in a completely different direction.
It reminded him of the desert viper that would bury into the sand. That's how he felt. Buried deep beneath the desert with no idea where he was going or when he would surface. One link led him to all the new duel monster cards that had been released since his departure to the afterlife. He found several player reactions for how the newer cards compared to older ones with similar abilities. Each new discovery led to more questions, until he realized he had been researching for almost six hours.
It wasn't until he went to brush his teeth that night, and discovered a little painful lump on his chin, he remembered his true reason for turning to the internet in the first place.
He googled face wash only to find hundreds of results. The search for sunscreen and cream resulted in hundreds more. How was he supposed to pick?
"What do you want?"
"Hello, Kaiba. I googled it."
"Congratulations."
"I need help."
"Ask Yugi."
"I need your help. How do I pick one?"
"You just do."
"What sunscreen do you use?"
He heard a frustrated sigh.
"Not all products work the same for everyone. Your skin is a lot darker than mine. You'll need to find a sunscreen formulated for dark skin."
"...how do I do that?"
"Google it."
Oh course. It was so simple.
Kaiba hung up, apparently deciding the conversation was over and didn't feel the need to extend the courtesy of saying goodbye.
Atem knew that wasn't normal. Everyone said goodbye. He recognized it for the slight that it was, which tempted him to call Kaiba back–but he thought better of it. If he called Kaiba just to yell at him, he might not be inclined to answer next time.
It didn't matter. He didn't need Kaiba. He had the internet.
If he could find people's opinions on different Duel Monster cards, then there would be opinions about sunscreen. For dark skin. With dry patches and a pimple.
This time when he went down the internet viper hole it was in pursuit of skin care.
There was so much to learn, so much he didn't know. It wasn't just face wash, sunscreen, and cream as Kaiba suggested. There were toners, essences, eye creams, masks and pimple treatments. He needed all of that.
Apparently oil was primarily used to remove make-up these days.
Gods, makeup . He needed that too.
That would require a whole different trail of research. He'd stick to the essentials for now. Just kohl–or eyeliner as it seemed to be called. He contemplated if he should stick to using a brush, the way he knew, or try the marker style that looked more convenient.
Kohl was important. He would try both.
By the time he collected a whole list of products he wanted to buy, he stumbled upon a page written by an esthetician– more research told him that was someone who made it their life's work to study the skin.
Apparently all the products he picked out were the wrong products and he had to start over from scratch. He decided an expert's opinion should be valued over random consumers. He always thought fragrance was a good thing. He had used fragranced oils for years, but apparently it was bad.
At least he felt some degree of confidence in his selections this time around.
There was also body care to consider. At the palace, he had servants that would remove all his body hair with some kind of sugar substance. He found a video on sugaring for hair removal, but the process of making it looked complicated. The idea of attempting it alone intimidated him. There were apparently several other forms of hair removal, some that looked easier, and some that looked even more complicated–and painful.
A day later he had a list of the things he wanted to try.
He knew he could get Yugi's help for this part… but Kaiba's abrupt dismissal from the previous night still irritated him. He wouldn't tolerate being brushed off.
"What do you need now?"
"I picked out all my products. How do I buy them?"
"Gimme a second."
He heard a lot more noise on Kaiba's side than last time–other people chatting in the background, the clatter of glass. It sounded like he might be out at a crowded restaurant.
"I'm sorry, gentleman, this call is important. Figure out the details and then send me your proposal."
"Oh, so my call is important?" he teased.
The voices on the other end got quieter as Kaiba, no doubt, made his way outside.
"Don't flatter yourself. I was looking for an excuse to leave."
"I guess that means you're free now."
"It's a 20 minute drive back to the manor. You have that long. Less if you annoy me."
"Ok fine. How do I buy the things on my list?"
"Did you put them in your cart?"
"I don't know what that means."
"Did you find a site that has them for sale or did you just find them on random sites and write them down."
"I wrote them down."
"You need to find an online store that sells them all or you'll end up paying shipping for each item."
Atem wasn't sure what paying shipping meant but he could tell, given kaiba's tone, that it wasn't desirable.
"Do that and call me back when you've added them to your cart. Actually, don't. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
Atem wanted to purchase a total of 21 items. Finding a store that sold them all had been difficult. In the end he found a site with most of his products. He had to drop two that weren't on it, but supplemented them with four more things that he definitely needed to try.
By the time he called back, Kaiba's 20 minute limit had more than expired. Atem tried anyway but got no answer. That's fine.
He would call him tomorrow.
"Are you busy?"
"I'm always busy."
"I put them in my cart. What do I do now?"
"Click Checkout. You'll need a credit card. Do you have one?"
"I don't know."
"...Do you need my credit card number?"
"No, I think Yugi has one. It just said autofill, and it put in a bunch of numbers for me."
Atem was pleased that he didn't have to struggle through filling it all out himself.
"Ugh, it says it's going to be three weeks for it to arrive–wait there's an option for one day delivery!"
"Great. Is that all you needed? I'm very busy."
"Actually, I was looking at the new batch of cards they just released."
They talked for 45 minutes about summoning mechanics. Apparently, Kaiba was not that busy after all.
"I think my credit card number was stolen!"
Atem rushed in from the living room to see who had robbed his partner.
"There's a bunch of purchases I don't recognize. Like WEGO. I've definitely never shopped there."
"Oh, no, that was me."
"What? How?"
"Your card number was saved on the computer. I used it to buy a few things."
"This is not a few things! Okay, that one looks like it was for clothes… but you spent ¥153,887.25 at a store called SkinBeautiful?"
"I needed face wash."
"That's twice what a duel disk costs! Is this where all that stuff in the bathroom came from? You made it sound like Kaiba bought it for you."
"I said he helped me buy it."
"On my card! Did you open all of it? Maybe it can be returned."
"I did."
"Of course."
"I may have also…bought some more makeup last night."
"Do I even wanna know how much that was?
"I didn't look."
"Well, let's see what the damage is... It couldn't have been much right? Like you just bought some eyeliner?"
"Eyeliner, blush, black nail polish…and a eyeshadow palette, with every color."
"Why do you even need eyeshadow?" Yugi squeaked, pitch going hysterical again, apparently having found the amount.
"I don't know. I wore it in Egypt."
"You were also adorned in solid gold. That doesn't mean you need to do that here. Who exactly are you trying to impress?" He sounded angry.
Yugi had never yelled at him before. Not ever. Some part of him wanted to rage back in indignation. How dare he. Atem was Pharaoh. He would not tolerate being scolded like a child
…but…. this wasn't Egypt, and he wasn't a pharaoh here. He wouldn't pick a fight just because he was embarrassed with his own ignorance, especially when he was obviously in the wrong.
"I'm so sorry, Yugi. What can I do?"
Yugi looked contrite for a moment, only for his brow to soften.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't expect you to understand the nuances of… capitalism. Or how a credit card works. I guess as king you were used to having whatever you wanted, huh?"
"I guess." He had never thought about it.
"This must be a big step down." Yugi sounded worried, as if he thought Atem might regret his decision to come back
"No! Of course not."
Yugi's expression told him that he didn't believe that.
"With all your technology, in a lot of ways, the average person lives better than a king would then. Sometimes it's just hard for me to wrap my head around the value of things. I've heard other people talk about how much one thing costs compared to another, and it's just all foreign to me. We didn't have credit cards in ancient Egypt."
"I don't think it's an ancient Egypt thing. I think it's more of a king…thing. I'm sure the average citizen in Egypt couldn't afford fine oils and fancy eyeshadow any more than they could afford gold bangles and earrings.
"Explain it to me then. I want to know the value of things."
"Ok, well…you have to work for money, and the money that you earn goes to pay for things."
"I understand that."
"The amount you spent… on everything would be like… a month's worth of shifts at the game shop. Maybe less if we can return the makeup."
Atem wanted to argue that he'd work the extra time… if he could keep the makeup, but he didn't want to push his luck.
They wore a good amount of makeup in Egypt, the higher a person's status the more they wore. That didn't seem to be the case here, particularly when it came to men. He had been Pharaoh and even he thought some of the done up faces he saw online were a lot. He had mostly been curious when he made the purchase, but he could make do with the koh–eyeliner he already had.
"You know, I do have some black nail polish…" Yugi said, as if presenting him with a peace offering. "If you want, I can help you try it out. It can get a little messy, doing your left hand by yourself."
"Yeah, I'd like that."
He imagined working a shift at the shop would be easy enough. It wasn't. Apparently you couldn't leave during a shift; he felt like a prisoner–trapped within the confines of the game shop walls. When he disappeared for just a moment to grab a snack, Yugi's grandfather had scolded him for abandoning the store.
He realized after the first week that watching the shop was really just a dull exercise in killing time. It always seemed to be uneventful.
Until he ran into the rudest, snot nosed brat he'd ever met. The boy came in and started mocking Duel Monsters and several of the cards on display. Then he went after the Dark Magician's stupid hat. Atem wouldn't allow for such disrespect. Once upon a time, he would have been tempted to show him to respect the cards using his shadow powers.
When he tried to gently suggest that he have more respect, the child just mimicked him in a mocking voice. Atem never wanted to punch someone more, but he didn't think Yugi would like that. Yugi hadn't loved walking in to see a twelve year old crying from the verbal lashing Atem gave him either, but he would've liked the other alternatives less.
The next person that came in screamed at him for not having the card she wanted, and then called him an idiot when he tried to suggest a–frankly better–alternative.
After another week of that kind of treatment, Atem grew to appreciate dull.
Now, he dreaded each new customer. They were like face down cards. Impossible to tell what kind of person they would reveal themselves to be, until the card flipped and they opened their mouths.
Like in a duel, Atem prepared for the worst.
He braced himself when another child came in alone. He looked about the same age as the first one.
"Excuse me, can you help me?"
"What do you need?" He sounded weary, even to his own ears.
"All my friends play Duel Monsters. I have a deck, but I never win. I don't know if it's my deck or if… I'm just no good."
Atem's heart melted a little at that. Most people that came in had a good idea about what they needed. They all acted like experts, even when it was painfully obvious they had no idea what they were talking about.
This kid was so earnest about needing help, and it had been a slow day. Atem helped him pick out some booster packs and then had him open them so Atem could show him how the new cards could enhance his deck. He pointed out the different combos and strategies he could use. He also mentioned a few specialty cards the child could purchase to enhance the flow of his revamped deck–all within the price range he indicated.
Of course, there were some rarer cards that would've taken his deck to the next level… but Atem had a new appreciation for staying within a budget.
The child left so happy, and Atem found the entire experience incredibly gratifying.
His new little friend even came back a few days later. This time he brought a whole group of kids, eager for him to help them with their decks. Apparently the boy now won almost every duel, and they all wanted to know his secret.
A few days later even more kids showed up. Yugi's grandpa was thrilled by the new influx of customers, and even suggested creating some kind of consultation service, for a small fee. Atem hadn't liked the idea of charging for advice, but when lines started to form–and gratitude eventually turned to entitlement–he agreed that some kind of compensation made sense for the extra effort.
Going forward they would set up half hour sessions, the proceeds of each one would go straight to his skin care fund. His favorite face cream already ran a little low, and it was the most expensive product in his collection. Four private consultations would cover the cost of it.
He was getting quite good at balancing the value of cost, effort, and time.
Atem indulged in a nice hot soak in the tub after a long day at the shop. Frankly, he couldn't even imagine going back to tepid baths. He allowed his eyes to slip closed and nearly drifted off when he heard the harsh buzz of his phone against the bathroom floor.
Kaiba was calling.
He never called. It was always Atem calling him.
"Hello, Kaiba."
"I want you to come over tomorrow."
"Why?"
"To duel, of course. Meet me at the manor at six."
"I can't. I have to work a shift at the game shop till eight. Saturday's our busiest day," he said sullenly.
"Get Yugi to cover."
"I can't."
He debated whether he should tell him why he was obligated to work, but… Kaiba started this journey with him. He may as well know the truth.
"I suppose you should've put my card down after all." Kaiba responded in smug amusement after having heard the whole story.
"I don't relish the thought of owing you money either."
"I wouldn't have cared. If I pay off your debt to Yugi will he let you come over at six?"
"I don't know if I'm comfortable with that."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, it feels kind of like the Duel Monsters equivalent of prostitution."
Kaiba laughed–way longer than Atem thought necessary. Still, it was a… nice sound. His laughs always had a kind of manic quality to them, but this one lost its mocking edge. It was more carefree, like Atem's comment genuinely tickled him.
"Besides, it's my last shift before I pay back what I spent. I want to see it through.
"Alright, fine. I'll have Isano pick you up at eight."
"I'm usually hungry after a shift."
"Then I'll pick you up…and we'll grab dinner first."
"Like a date?"
A long silence followed the question. That was fine. Atem could wait.
"Sure. Whatever. Be ready to leave at five after."
He felt genuinely giddy at the prospect of sharing a meal with Kaiba, not to mention the subsequent duel… and wherever that would lead them.
After Saturday he would've worked off ¥240,853.25. It was funny how face wash was the excuse he needed to reach out to Kaiba. Who knows how long they would've avoided contact without it. If this whole ordeal was the catalyst that ultimately brought them together, it was worth every yen.
And his skin would be fucking glowing at dinner. He reached for the bottle of his Intensive Revitalizing Mask sitting on the edge of the tub. He hadn't actually opened it yet, but what Yugi didn't know wouldn't hurt him.