Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-Oh!.

I hope you're all enjoying the long-awaited Chapter 8 installment of Wake in the Clouds! I know, sheesh, took long enough.

I'm working on developing other multi-chapter stories, but this was an idea that I've been working on for a while now.

Warning, lemon.

Warning, LEMON.

WARNING, LEMON.

This is my first lemon I've ever published, and I'm not talking about the yellow tart fruit wedges in your ice water.

I found this as a major challenge. It was actually fairly difficult to not turn this into an erotica porno story, believe it or not. I wanted to center it around the intimacy between Téa and the pharaoh after a bunch of catastrophe has happened and his walls are stronger than ever. His metaphorical walls, mind you.

I can't actually mark where the lemon starts because, not only is it not consolidated into one single scene, but I feel like lemon warnings in the middle of the story distract from the story. Please heed above warning.

Enjoy.

Amorous Fears

He's guilty, he's lonely, and he's terrified. To the broken former king, there was nearly nothing else to feel.

The guilt pierced him the most. It was a shadow, following him and meeting him at every corner in which he tried to flee. The horrors of his blunder leeched onto his memory like a hungry parasite, willfully draining his will to go on. The visage of Yugi's innocent stare, imagining the young boy's fate as the worst of fates, of his fragile body being torn apart by the Beast, cut the pharaoh in the tenderest of places. His regal countenance was betrayed by his irrationalized judgments, selfishly sending Yugi to such a horrific doom. Did Yugi even realize what terrifying journey he would be torn into when he made that decision to lieu himself as a sacrifice instead of the guilty holder of the Seal of Orichalcos? Instead of the one who deserved such an abject punishment? Could someone so dark-hearted ever be absolved of his transgressions?

The loneliness usually came immediately after the episodes of guilt and self-hatred. Yami's voice calling out to anything that resembled Yugi in his mind was only answered with a taunting, sneering echo of his own, his ricocheting voice twisting into a distorted, wicked voice that he didn't recognize. A knife had carved a hole in his heart, his own knife by his own hand. Acrid venom leaked from the invisible wounds on his spirit. The Seal that dwelled within him shrouded him in hallucinations; among which provided his mirror image to him so he could watch himself slowly dying, his heart blackening as a smoker's lungs would. It left him hollow, broken, alone.

The terror that he was facing, that very moment, would likely have been a terror you wouldn't expect. Yami, the evil former king of Egypt, realized that what frightened him most was himself. He feared his lack of abilities to make the choices he felt were right and logically sound. He feared this strange sensation that bubbled within him and sent debilitating heat through every inch of his body. He feared this girl, one of his closest friends, Téa.

She sat before him, within the comfort and privacy of their tent in the middle of the wilderness, sliding off her camisole to reveal pert breasts tucked neatly in an ebony satin bra. But all Yami could do was stare into her eyes, shaking pathetically, wanting to scamper into the opposite wall and hide. But it wasn't Téa, her advances, or even her affectionate gaze on him that scared him the most; it was the reaction he wanted to give her, his relinquishing his resolve and giving in to his primal desires that he desperately and genuinely feared to come to fruition. It was incredibly foreign; it was overwhelming; it wasn't right.

But it was, somehow.

"It's okay to feel scared," the soothing voice of the topless brunette wafted into his ears like a fresh vanilla scent, "It's okay to be lonely, afraid, needing company. You don't have to keep your walls up. I've given my trust in you, and now it's time you give me the same courtesy."

With that last sentiment to linger in Yami's ears, the next thing he felt was a gentle, suggestive hand gripping on the inside of his thigh, and his body was instantly swarmed with arousal. It sent the pharaoh into a distressing pattern of losing his control, of the situation, and of himself. His weakening grip on reality was forcibly broken, and it felt as heavenly as it felt wicked.

Yami's uncontrolled ragged breathing escaped his open mouth in little desperate spurts, and Téa slowly slid her hand up further, never breaking her eye contact with him. She managed to elicit a hoarse moan from the man shivering under her touch. She had to make him feel his helplessness, and be able to share it with her; he needed to release this burden he held onto so fervently. She leaned over to him, her eager breasts massaging his chest as she kissed him tenderly on the lips. Yami hardly reacted, but could not bring himself to stop her; her lips were like velvet pillows, so soft and enticing. She took his silent consent with her to his ear, nipping at the lobe so lovingly and delicate.

"Be vulnerable with me, Pharaoh," she whispered into his ear, feeling his uneven short breaths against her body. "Let me see you in your state of weakness. Share this moment with me, for it may be the only moment we'll ever have." Her lips trailed down to his neck, where she planted small, sweet, fleeting kisses. Light moaning slipped out of the seduced pharaoh's mouth, and his body trembled violently as Téa caught his tender spot beneath his jaw line with her supple lips. It was nothing less than exquisite torture.

The lustful desires soon became too much – especially when Téa's hand settled in his groin and had begun massaging him in places that sent him into dizzying spells. Yami relieved himself of his jacket and tossed it into a near corner of the tent. He brought one hand to rub her back, and the other rose to her chest to run smoothly over her bra and the flesh beneath it, squeezing her breast ever so gently. Téa's mouth was back up to his lobe again, delivering subdued breaths and sweet moans into his ear. His hand on her back wandered all over, eventually landing on her hip. Her lips went to caress his, exchanging hidden secrets of love and freedom as the pharaoh had found the will to return her kisses. He was shy, hesitant, but he found himself slowly, but surely, giving in.

But that feeling of terror did not leave him, and it came back with a burning vengeance.

After an especially long liplock, Yami backed away from her, away from the fire, away from the beautiful and kind young woman who fought so hard to decimate his walls. His slender form was riddled with shakes and trembles. He crawled backwards until his back hit the canvas wall of the tent.

"No… I… I can't…"

Fraught with neglected emotions and banked desires, his face still flushed a bright red, the former king began to weep. His attempts of inhaling were overcome by his sobbing, and warm tears leaked from his eyes in abundance. He brought his knees into his chest and sought obscurity in his folded arms.

Téa remained where she was, watching Yami shed his tears in silence. Her eyes cried for him, she was so scared for him. He had lost his best friend – his partner, his vessel – over a faulty decision in a card game manipulated by centuries-old twisted magic. The horrors bestowed on him with the introduction of the Seal of Orichalcos into his heart she could never imagine. It kept him helpless, hating himself, unable to fight. The last thing she wanted to do was force herself on him, recreating that cornering feeling of despair that reduced him to a broken heap of anguish.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, after some time of the pharaoh's weeping settling down. "I didn't mean to scare or hurt you. I was just trying to help."

Silence was Téa's response. She accepted it, reaching for her camisole when a croaking voice stopped her.

"Téa… I cannot let myself be enticed into sin again."

The words stung like hornets on fire, but Téa could only nod and wipe the tear tracks from her face. Yami was gazing intently at her, the remains of his tears dripping from his jaw line. It was confirmed, then, that she had majorly overstepped her bounds. She had never felt this awful in her life.

"Pharaoh… this is not sinning. Wanting to connect with another person is not sinning. Love is not a sin."

"Love? Téa, I have proven to be evil. My heart is black from anger and hate. I am not sure that I am even capable of such a thing as love."

Téa shook her head determinedly. "No, no, no, you're not evil. You're kind, brave, loyal, and above all… you are a just man. You're everything that I admire and more." She crawled over to him, relieved that he didn't react as she got closer. "Everyone makes mistakes… and you intend to correct yours. We're all going to get Yugi back. That alone proves you're good. Evil does not repent."

The pharaoh merely stared at her with fixed violet eyes as she brought herself closer to him. "I can't hurt you, Téa. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. Besides, this is not my body to… use that way."

There was a moment of frustration that halted Téa's movements; with effort, she threw it behind her. "Pharaoh, don't you know how much you're hurting me already? Making me watch you hide from the world, listen to you belittle yourself, see you deny yourself any and all delights of life? Feeling you reject my love… that is what's hurting the most right now. You need love, and right now that's the only gift I can give you. You, not Yugi." Her hand lifted to grasp his own, causing him to stare at it curiously, avoiding her eyes.

"Do you love me?" he pointedly asked.

There it was, the pressing question. She had shown it, fairly obviously, a few times already. But he was going to make her say it, in layman's terms. That's who he was. An honest, straightforward answer was the only answer he'd fully accept. She couldn't help but respect that, though the prospect of the admission itself pricked her being with nerves.

"For a while now," Téa replied sheepishly. Yami kept his eyes downward.

"I think I've known for a while, as well. But it is beyond me how such a radiant being as you could love someone so dark."

"We don't choose who we love, Yami. Our hearts do. And like I said, loving someone is not a sin. It is a gift. It is a gift that I can give to you exclusively, with all my heart."

Yami looked incredulously at her. After all he'd done, the people he'd hurt, the lives he'd endangered, the venomous words of the Seal's influence marking his lips, she still loved him. That sort of self confidence and determination was something to be admired.

"My heart tells me to love you. But my heart is also tainted by evil and darkness. I wish not to hurt you, Téa. You're far too precious to me."

"But don't you see, Pharaoh? You need light to combat the darkness. And where does light come from?"

The answer was right there, on the tip of his tongue. It was splayed out in front of him in the form of a young woman he never realized how much he truly cared for. She was showing him the way to salvation, persistent with her unwavering faith in him, and he'd been a fool to reject her efforts, especially when his heart wanted it just as much. With every connect of their eyes, the cold, black veil of toxic darkness in him began to dissolve, and the light she restored brought warmth to his soul that he hadn't felt in weeks.

No other words were exchanged; only tense silence thickened the air of the tent. A conduit of loving and warm energies merged violet eyes with royal blue, exchanging an admission of love that was held captive for so long. In a rush of affectionate desperation, their lips collided to create rather sloppy, needy kisses that tasted just right. Fingers tangled in hair, lips danced to the beat of freedom, bodies reinvigorating life and desire in the other.

Back on the blanket by the fire, with both pairs of pants thrown somewhere, Yami was pushed gently on his back by Téa, who was beginning a low, twisting grind against his lower body. His hands held her hips, and her hands anchored themselves on the floor on either side of his head. Their faces remained close; their eyes transfixed on each other. They exchanged pleasured moans with every one of her thrusts. The sensations filled him with such gratification it nearly felt like sin, but he yearned for it nonetheless. The tightness in his boxers became increasingly constricting, torturing him so…

Suddenly Téa was forcibly rolled onto her back, with Yami on top. She yelped in surprise, bringing a chortle out of the pharaoh. He pulled off his tank, damp from sweat, and threw it towards where he had discarded his jacket earlier. The small fire illuminated the glisten on his arms and chest, and Téa marveled at how his toned, muscular body glowed in the firelight. She had never seen him without a shirt before, and even in her wildest imagination she couldn't have pictured him more attractive than that moment of him towering over her so provocatively like that. Her womanhood throbbed just by looking at him.

His hands smoothed their way up her belly to her bra, to which he, with slight difficulty, undid the front closure. With her full breasts liberated, her blush pink nipples were free to erect to their fullest extent. She felt them stiffen even more as the pharaoh's nimble fingers ran over them, each one in turn, before caressing her breasts lovingly with both of his strong hands. The feeling sent a wave of heat to her toes and back, and her fuchsia-laced silk panties were soaking up the wetness flowing from her womanhood.

With her eyes closed, Téa did not see Yami's lips approaching her neck until she felt long, sultry kisses below her jaw line, as she had done to him before. It tickled and pleasured all at once, her body laden with goosebumps. She could feel his erection through his boxers probing her thigh, occasionally rubbing over her panties.

"It seems you've created a monster in me," Yami whispered in her ear, as she had also done to him. His low, velvety voice wrapped her body in the most sensuous warmth. His hands continued to fondle her, ever so soothingly.

"Don't stop," was all she could say.

Kisses trailed down her neck, to her chest, then to the crevice between her breasts. A gasp and a whimper pushed from Téa's throat as the pharaoh took the hardened bud between his teeth and then fully encased it in his mouth. Her body superseded her control, undulating beneath him in response, her back arching and pushing her chest greedily against him, when Yami forcefully pinned her upper arms to the floor. His tongue flicked her relentlessly in his mouth, while rolling the other nipple in his fingers, resisting against her involuntary jerks. He rubbed his erection directly between her parted thighs, awakening her clitoris with the contact.

Just when Téa felt like she could climax right then and there, Yami pulled his mouth away, slipping two fingers beneath her panties and inside her waiting folds. Her hips bucked beneath his hand, but he kept her within his control, maneuvering his fingers inside her that kept her squirming and whimpering without release.

"Take me," moaned Téa, as his thumb pressed lightly against her clitoris. "Ahhh… Pharaoh… please…"

The pharaoh only smirked at her, teasing her with his eyes, and lowered his head to plant a chaste kiss to her lips. "Can I tell you something, first?"

With a puzzled expression on her face, Téa nodded.

"Despite the evil that I've encountered, the terror the Seal has instilled in me, facing the possibility of never seeing Yugi again, and the guilt that has threatened to tear my soul apart, this… exchange with you… was something I feared above all of that. You scare me more than the worst fate the Seal could condemn me to.

Thank you for teaching me to not be afraid. Thank you for the heart of gold that you have gifted me, for I will treasure it always. You knew what I needed… and you didn't stop until I was ready to receive it. You are a one-of-a-kind savior, one I am grateful for."

A joyful grin stretched the lips of the girl under him, her eyes and fair skin glowing from the light the fire provided. Her cheeks held a rosy blush; her chest heaved from her exasperated breathing. "I will always love you, Yami. Please remember this the next time you face peril, when you feel doubt or fear, I'm here with you."

It was then that his heart was filled, spilling over with love and hope he thought he'd never be able to feel again. Unable to hold himself back any longer, his primal needs beckoning him, Yami pulled off his boxers to reveal himself, capturing her curious gaze at his impressive length. He only gave her a moment to look, before his fingers curled over the edges of her panties and pulled them down her parted thighs, her wetness sticking to the base of her underwear briefly before coming off completely.

With one last look at her face, confirming her consent, the pharaoh slid inside her, feeling her body tense from the tight fit. But she was ready for him, and he entered her fully. As neither had made love before, both took a moment to savor it, struggling for breath in tandem, their hearts pounding restlessly. Téa obligingly wrapped her muscled, dancer's legs around his waist, and they moved to a dance of their own, making the sweetest love of their lives by the crackling fire. It was an intimacy of a physical, mental, and spiritual force. Their eyes never left each other's, gazing lovingly at each other with their mouths parted from their panting.

The release came far too quickly for him, but it was difficult to last long when Téa's tight, slick womanhood gripped him at almost every thrust. His energy leaving him in a rush, Yami collapsed onto Téa, and she caught him with her swollen breasts and her loving arms. Their bodies were slick with sweat, and the crisp mountain air cooled them. Slipping himself out of her, he rolled beside her on his back, gasping for air.

"The light is stronger now," he simply said. And, with a coy smile, he added, "then again, I'm sure a lot of people say that after making love."

Giggling, Téa rolled to her side and placed her head on his shoulder. "I will give you as much light as you need. But you must stay strong."

Holding her with his arm, the pharaoh was soon succumbing to a heavy drowsiness that beckoned his mind to rest. "I will. I guess you were right. Love is the greatest, strongest source of light there could be. You knew that."

The lovely brunette beside him could only mutter a "mmhmm" before her eyes closed, sleepiness overcoming her as well. With the long day ahead of them, adequate rest was more essential now than ever.

Far after Téa drifted to sleep, he whispered, "I love you", and placed one last kiss on her forehead. His mind carried him away to solace in his unconscious mind, the easiest and most peaceful sleep he had in much too long.

END