Yuugi was startled awake when he heard banging on the shop door.  Kaiba grumbled beside him, having been awakened in turn.

            “Aren’t you closed today?” He asked, irritated.

            “Yeah,” Yuugi whispered, as if the person at the door could hear him from outside, “I don’t know who that could be…”

            More banging ensued, and Kaiba lay in the dying light of dusk as he attempted to return to his nap.  It wasn’t until he heard voices that he realized there would be no more sleep.

            “Yuugi!” The voice of Jounouchi carried through the paper walls and even the closed door, “You asleep in there?”

           He heard other voices, likely Anzu and Honda, and memories came crashing back to him so quickly it almost made him sick.  Kaiba felt the bed shift, heard Yuugi curse under his breath, and watched him as he frantically clambered out of bed and pulled on his pants.

            “You could always ignore them,” he suggested, lying on his stomach. 

            “I completely forgot that we all arranged to have a little party tonight,” Yuugi whined, his entire posture apologetic.  Kaiba’s eyes widened from their half-lidded state.  He was in business mode.

            “This is important?”

            “We haven’t seen each other in person for a few months,” Yuugi sighed, pulling his shirt over his head, “And they’re really worried about me lately…I haven’t even had the energy to answer their calls most of the time.  I actually do want to see them, Kaiba-kun.”

            “Kaiba-kun?” He repeated, somewhat grudgingly, “So the moment your friends show up, you’re on p’s and q’s again.”

            Yuugi froze, seeming to have forgotten the din that was downstairs.

            “You’re my friend too, Kaiba,” the lavender-eyed man informed him, and he looked so sincere that Kaiba felt a little ashamed of himself.  “It’s just…if I call you by your name in front of them, they’ll wonder what happened.”

            “You want to keep this a secret, then?”

            “Not out of shame,” Yuugi assured him frantically, “I’ll tell them soon.  But I can’t deal with it right now…I can’t—“

            “I understand,” Kaiba cut him off before he could get any more choked up, speaking softly to soothe him.  Yuugi was evidently new to this whole depression thing.  Ah, well…he’d learn to work around it eventually.

            Yuugi nodded, then stiffened when the sound of the shop bell jingling penetrated the short silence that had ensued.

            “Yuugi?” Anzu called from downstairs, sounding worried, “Jounouchi found the spare key…are you okay in here?”

            “Oh god.  Oh god oh god oh god…” Yuugi started hyperventilating, and Kaiba realized he was going to have to take control of the situation.

            “Go downstairs and meet them,” he commanded, “Tell them you were sleeping with headphones on, if they get nosy.  I’ll get everything cleaned up.”

            “But how will I explain why you’re here?”

            “I’m here to fix the computer, remember?  Now get down there before someone comes into the room.”

            “Okay…okay,” Yuugi dashed out of the room and could be heard pattering down the hall, calling to his friends that he was fine.  He was barefoot, and his clothes were rumpled.  A practiced homosexual would probably be able to tell that someone had recently given his bum a jolly good rogering, but the friendship fairies probably wouldn’t know.

            Kaiba managed to make the room look normal within six seconds, fixing the bed to make it seem as if someone had slept on top of the blankets on their back and shoving his back of tricks underneath.  It was pitch dark now, and he heard voices downstairs, saw light filtering in under the door.  He grabbed his boots and put them on, knowing he wouldn’t have an opportunity to place them at the door now—better at this point to make Yuugi’s friends think he’d been too much of an asshole to take off his shoes in the house.  He stowed Yuugi’s sneakers beneath the bed as well, which was the only really viable option.  Then he stealthily opened the bedroom door and listened to ensure that no-one was in the hallway.  It seemed they were gathered in the living room, which was fortunately in the opposite direction of the office where the computer rested.

            He slipped into the room as quickly as he could without sacrificing silence, turned on the light, and hooked up the computer.  The thing was perfectly good to run for Yuugi’s purposes, in all honesty.  He’d just wanted a reason for the other man to need him to come back.  He’d probably end up replacing every damn part of the machine by the time this was over, which he didn’t really mind, but he felt a little bad for being dishonest.  Would it have been that bad just to tell Yuugi that—

            Kaiba was drawn from his thoughts when he heard someone walking down the hall toward him.  He continued about his business, booting the operating system and waiting for whoever it was to address him.  As the footsteps drew closer, he realized it was Jounouchi.  He recognized the walk.  Heavy, and a little lopsided due to the fact that one of his legs was approximately a quarter inch shorter than the other; but it was a sturdy walk.  If someone tried to knock Jounouchi over with a running tackle, they’d be in for a very interesting surprise.

            “Hey, asshole,” Jounouchi greeted from the doorway, “Yuugi told us you were in here.  You gonna join the party, or are you still too cool for us?”

            “Can’t I choose both?” Kaiba asked, smirking, and Jounouchi laughed.  At some point in time, they had started to respect one another—maybe it was after Dartz, or possibly even earlier than that.  Either way, even if they would never really be nice to each other, they had reached a kind of unspoken understanding that their teasing was just their way of communicating.  Kaiba somewhat uncomfortably knew, in the back of his mind, that it was his own behavior that made them unable to be civil.  He was like that to all of them…everyone.  He was nicer to Yuugi and his crew than he was to most.  But until recently, when he’d taken a chance on opening his doors for Yuugi himself, he’d been determined to keep the distance between other people and himself.

            “Come on,” Jounouchi urged, “We’re gonna let our hair down.  Play some stupid party games.  Catch up on stuff.  We wouldn’t be that upset if you joined us.”

            “Hmm,” Kaiba stood, adjusting his tight jeans.  He’d intended to join them at some point anyway, but in all possibility, it was better that he’d been invited—by Jounouchi, no less.

            He left the office, turning off the light as he did so; he approached the living room, but as he passed the guest bathroom on his way, he realized that Jounouchi was no longer following him.

            “What are you doing?” He queried, chest clenching as he worried that he had done something to alert the blond to what had happened only hours before his arrival.  Jounouchi pointed toward the bathroom and grinned his goofy grin.

            “I really need a piss,” he announced, but something about how he said it almost through his teeth was off.  Kaiba knew he suspected something.  All he could do now, though, was act normally and trust that there was nothing to be found, should Jounouchi choose to go searching.

            He entered the living room to see Yuugi smiling at something Honda was saying, but Anzu’s expression as she watched his cherubic face said that she’d noticed the same thing Kaiba had.

            He was faking it.

            He was pretending to be happier than he was because he didn’t want them to worry.  He knew that they were used to his easy smile and optimistic nature, and he was trying to synthesize it.  Perhaps flashing a fake smile when it was expected would be enough to sate Honda and Jounouchi—for a time—but Anzu, a woman, was more likely to fix problems than cover them up.  For the moment, though, it seemed that she wasn’t going to comment.  She was still watching very carefully, however, and Kaiba couldn’t help but admire her for it.  She cared about her friends as if they were her family—specifically, her sons, if their comparative maturity was any indication.  Anzu was a rare specimen of a woman who could give them room to make mistakes without watching them fall on their own swords.  Her warm eyes, however soft and sometimes vapid they may have seemed, missed very little when she was determined to address a problem.  Most notably, she kept quiet about just how much she actually did to contribute to the group.  She bolstered their confidence, nagged them at the risk of being ‘the bitch’ in order to spare the boys any possible loss of brolove, and gladly put herself in harm’s way for their sakes.

            Kaiba honestly didn’t know where she found the energy to do it all.

            He took a seat on the couch, half due to the fact that he wished to avoid the floor (where the others were sitting) and half because he wasn’t sure how close to Yuugi would be ‘too close’ right now.  Normally, he could gauge something like that.  Unfortunately, his personal feelings were making his judgment rather poor, and what may seem like acceptable proximity to him could scream ‘HOMOSEXUAL’ to Anzu or Honda—or possibly Jounouchi.

            Honda stared at him in shock for a couple of seconds before actually speaking.

            “Uh—Hey, Kaiba!  Damn, I didn’t think you’d actually want to hang out with us.  How’ve you been, man?”

            Kaiba resisted saying ‘um’ and kept his mouth shut, staring back at Honda with his best poker face.  He realized that he was probably creating social tension with his silence, but he didn’t know what to say and he wasn’t going to make himself appear indecisive.

            “All we’ve heard about you lately has been stuff in the tabloids,” Anzu added, and Kaiba was immediately grateful that she’d brought it up.  Now he had a subject to discuss—something not specifically personal—and he wouldn’t have to wrack his brains for conversation topics.

            …Had she done that on purpose?

            “My life is far less interesting than the news makes it sound,” he shrugged, and Honda laughed.

            “I figured as much.  Jounouchi and I had a bet going about those reports that you were ‘seen’ purchasing DMT.”

            Kaiba hadn’t seen that report.  He determined that he would be more discreet hereafter.

            “And on what side of the bet were you, Honda?”

            “Heh, I told Jounouchi there was no way, because taking drugs is kind of a ghetto thing, y’know?  He said that ‘rich people are the ones who can afford drugs’, but I mean…how many crime reports are there about rich people getting arrested for that kind of thing, really?

            There aren’t any reports because no one can catch us, Kaiba thought dryly, And those who are caught have the money to pay for silence. 

Perhaps Honda should have taken more stock in his friend’s words.  Regardless, it didn’t matter for now.  This evening still had a long time to run before its end, apparently, and he didn’t need to get himself worked up so early on.

“Where the hell is Jounouchi?” Honda asked, looking around the room, “He said he was going to get you.”

“He’s using the restroom,” Kaiba replied, though he was hardly convinced that taking a piss was what the blond was actually doing.

“Well, I wish he’d come back all ready,” Honda complained, and Kaiba took the excuse to stand.

“I’ll see if I can’t convince him to be more urgent,” he offered, leaving the room before anyone could argue.  When he entered the hallway, it was completely dark aside from the shaft of light entering from the cracked living room door.

The bathroom light wasn’t on.

Kaiba was grateful that he was wearing socks.  He silently padded across the hardwood floor.  He all ready knew where Jounouchi must be, and made a beeline for Yuugi’s room.  The door was almost-but-not-quite shut, which was not how Kaiba had left it.  He slowly pushed it open, and fortunately the hinges didn’t creak.  Jounouchi’s silhouette could be seen in the moonlight that streamed into the room from the skylight, rummaging around in Yuugi’s bedside table drawers.

“Jounouchi,” he addressed quietly, and the blond jumped, still bent over the drawer; his head turned, and they were facing each other now.  Their features were still obscured by darkness.

“Kaiba,” came the cautious reply.  Evidently, Jounouchi hadn’t found anything…yet.

“Are you going to join the party?” Kaiba asked, feeling less comfortable by the second.  Jounouchi was angry—he could tell from all the way across the room.  His rage was actually strong enough that Kaiba almost felt it weighing on him.

“Of course,” Jounouchi replied, evidently trying to sound calm.  He shut the drawer, and Kaiba made his way back to the living room, somehow afraid to be in the dark hallway with the blond.

Had he found anything?  No, of course not…if Jounouchi had found something, he would have all ready attacked.  No, he knew something was there to be found, and hadn’t been able to discover it.  How he hadn’t thought to look under the bed was beyond Kaiba.

He entered the living room, and saw that the guests assembled had laid party food on the coffee table.  Chips, biscuits, sodas, candy…all the crap that Kaiba wouldn’t eat to save his life.  He was feeling in the mood for nourishment, however.  He wished he’d brought some protein shakes with him.  He’d lost a considerable amount of ‘protein’ earlier…

Kaiba fought a smile as he sat on the couch, his body tingling with the memory of what he’d done just hours earlier.  He crossed his legs, realizing that his groin was tightening and grateful that his jeans were so tight that nothing would show. 

The last thing he’d expected was for Yuugi to look so…well, sexy.  He’d always found Yuugi cute, if nothing else, and his bright innocence was almost a visible light that drew Kaiba like a moth to a flame.  But that afternoon, when he’d been between Yuugi’s legs, even the slightly-too-tight condom hadn’t been enough to help his endurance.  Usually, he could go for a while—an hour, maybe two if he edged a couple of times.  But there was something Yuugi did to him.  Everything felt better than it should.  The short (but certainly developed) young man had smooth skin that made Kaiba’s fingers tingle at the touch, and large violet eyes that made him work not to lose himself in their depths.  When they’d been coupling, the knitting of Yuugi’s brows as he cried out in pleasure, and the pink flushing of sex darkened his skin, which in turn had shone from the sweat they’d been working up—

He clenched his fists, resisting a shudder.  His body was far too sensitive right now.  His odd physical makeup gave him heightened sensation anyway, but this was ridiculous.  Memory was a powerful thing for him, and he could practically feel and see everything as it had been earlier.  At the time, he’d been forced to close his eyes for long intervals just to keep himself from losing it too soon.  Now, he was staring at a knot in the hardwood floor so he wouldn’t end up with an indiscreet boner in the middle of a social engagement.  Gods help him, he couldn’t keep his mind away from that subject, though.  He’d worn a condom earlier for a few reasons, but if he was honest, he wanted nothing more than to cream in Yuugi’s tight ass—filling up that warm hole and watching his seed drip out would be enough mental imagery for a lifetime.

Unfortunately, he had been forced to use protection, if only out of conscience.  He knew Yuugi was probably clean, but he himself hadn’t been tested since he’d been with his last partner—

Wow, bad thought.  Boner destroyed.  Kaiba suddenly found it remarkably easy to focus on the situation at hand, which of course was the party.  Jounouchi seemed to have pushed his malcontent to the back of his mind and was acting like himself again.  He roughhoused with Honda, and immediately Kaiba found that he was entertaining a fantasy about the two of them having sex, but he brushed it away.  He really needed to stop doing that.

“Kaiba-kun,” Yuugi addressed, crawling toward him when his friends were distracted with each other.  Anzu was attempting to separate Jounouchi and Honda before they broke something.

“Yuugi-san,” he replied quietly, hoping that they wouldn’t be noticed speaking to each other for at least a few minutes.

“You’re aroused,” Yuugi smiled in a way Kaiba had never seen before.  He was being flirtatious.  Kaiba raised an eyebrow, his groin all ready gaining interest again at the tone of Yuugi’s voice and the almost sultry angle of his smile.

“How could you tell?”

“I’ve learned how it smells.”

Oh.  Oh god.  How was it possible for him to have butterflies and a boner at the same time?  How did Yuugi do this to him?  How did someone with such a low level of sexual confidence get him ready and wanting with just a few words?  How did the sight of fear in those large, violet eyes make him so willing to roll over and take it?  Not to give the wrong impression—he loved being the catcher.  He loved it.  He reveled in it.  But ever since the last time, he hadn’t been able to do it anymore.  Perhaps that had been the reason why he stopped chasing tail.  Combined with everything else, of course, he just hadn’t been able to really enjoy it.  The added element of fear, even when he was on top, made it ultimately impossible to enjoy the sex.  It was probably for the best.  He’d once slept with two different people in a week.  He was pretty sure that made him a slut, and he wasn’t particularly interested in building that kind of reputation.

He still didn’t know why he had been so willing to let Yuugi top.  Had it been out of pity?  No…he hadn’t felt pity.  He’d felt protective, certainly, from a maternal perspective.  He couldn’t fight the instinct to protect small, frightened-and-or-helpless creatures.  It was probably because of the ovaries.  That didn’t really seem like a good enough incentive, though, not for him.  He stared down into Yuugi’s shimmering eyes, the orbs as vibrant as always, but dulled from the loss of his optimism; it was almost as if he looked more aware of himself, like the depression had given him a new sense of observation.  After checking to ensure that Yuugi’s friends were still preoccupied, Kaiba affectionately brushed his hand against the other man’s soft cheek.  Yuugi’s eyes immediately sparkled in pleasure, a small smile lifting the pouting corners of his mouth.  He almost looked like himself again.  Almost.

Yuugi discreetly slid a hand over his inner thigh as a return gesture.  Were he anyone else, Kaiba would probably have jerked in surprise or thrown a hissy fit about having his personal space invaded without his wishes.  But this was Yuugi.  Yuugi wouldn’t hurt him—never intentionally—and could be trusted with his body.

Trusted?

Maybe that was the answer to the question that had been gnawing at him since that first night.  He trusted Yuugi.  He didn’t want to.  He didn’t want to trust anyone, at all.  But he wasn’t an idiot, either, and a person would have to be an idiot not to see that Yuugi was the least malicious, most compassionate, the sweetest person on the face of the planet.  Ah, but now he was doting.  He didn’t meant to, and he tried to avoid it, but it couldn’t be helped.  He was crushing—not without reason of course, considering the nature of Muto Yuugi; and Kaiba hadn’t forgotten, nor would ever forget, that Yuugi defeated the man who defeated him.  If nothing else, Yuugi deserved his respect, and having respect for someone who got him so hot and bothered would inevitably result in a crush.

…Or, maybe, more than a crush.  But that was something he definitely didn’t want to contemplate right now. 

Yuugi had returned to his friends by this time, and Kaiba was alone on the couch, observing the other four.  He considered joining the conversation, but he didn’t know what to say and didn’t want to spoil their fun.  He opted for staying in his seat on the couch, out of the way of the others as he watched them associate.  He honestly wasn’t sure how they were having fun.  They were all acting as if they’d had a beer or two, like the atmosphere and happiness was making them high.  Kaiba had never experienced a social high.  He had other things to use for that.  That said, he did feel quite lonely and abnormal.  Shouldn’t this type of thing be normal for a man his age?  He was twenty-three.  He should be able to have fun just talking with frie—people.

Kaiba was broken from his thoughts when the conversation paused, and Anzu cheerfully waved at him.

“Hey, Kaiba!  Come over here—we’re playing truth or dare!”

“Playing what?” Kaiba scoffed, trying to act as if he knew what she was talking about but disapproved.

“Truth or dare, dumbass,” Jounouchi rolled his eyes, “You know.  You spin a bottle, and whoever it lands on picks a truth question to answer or has to act on a dare.”

“Obviously,” the brunet sniffed, kneeling at the table anyway, “But the whole thing sounds ridiculous.”

“It’s fun if you aren’t playing with assholes,” Honda argued, “For instance, there’s a reason Otogi isn’t here.”

“Do not mention him in my presence, if you don’t mind,” Kaiba growled, “I still remember the way he treated Shizuka.”

Jounouchi scowled, equally upset about the mention of Otogi Ryuuji.  Kaiba and Shizuka had ‘dated’ just a few short years ago—it had been a good deal for Kaiba, who had needed a ‘girlfriend’ to get the press off his back, and found Shizuka good enough company.  Shizuka had something of a crush on him until she got to know him, which had been relatively expected.  She had been mature about their contract relationship, accepting of the fact that he was using her as a ‘beard’ so to speak.  He gave her money to enjoy herself, treated her with respect, and spent time with her outside of work—as it happened, Shizuka enjoyed martial arts films and first-person shooters; she let him drag her to press events so he’d be acting like a rich, attractive young man was expected to act, she made up lovely stories about what happened ‘in their private life’ to give magazines a fix…the two of them had found the game very amusing, honestly.  They had agreed to ‘break up’ after six months, with as little drama as possible so as to avoid having the press harass them for months afterward.  Jounouchi hadn’t been privy to the fact that the relationship was contrived.  He still held a grudge against Kaiba for breaking up with Shizuka—much to Kaiba’s surprise, Jounouchi had hoped the relationship would last.  In his own words, Kaiba was decent (despite being a huge dick) and had the money to give Shizuka security.  In fact, it had crossed Kaiba’s mind to take Shizuka as a wife.  He could probably have learned to love her, even if platonically.  But, little did Jounouchi know, Shizuka was a big fan of sexual intercourse, and Kaiba couldn’t give her that under the circumstances.  So, it wasn’t meant to be…

In all possibility, the reason Shizuka had dated Otogi for a month after the separation, rather than Honda, had been for sex.  Otogi was a playboy, and certainly more than willing to satisfy her needs.  But he’d also been a complete son of a bitch about their relationship.  He’d rubbed it in Honda’s face, tormented Jounouchi with it—tried to brag to Kaiba, even, which had resulted in much amusement for the brunet, but he’d reached his limit when the lot of them were at a con together.  Kaiba had just shut down the KaibaCorporation booth, and had been waved down by Yuugi and his friends.  Otogi had, of course, had his arm draped over Shizuka’s shoulder, which she seemed unhappy about, but apparently Otogi was really good in bed.  Otherwise, there was no reason whatsoever for her to put up with his constant bitchiness. 

Conversation had started relatively normally, until Kaiba asked after Shizuka’s well-being and received the response from Otogi that she was ‘still his ho’.  Jounouchi hadn’t had time to attack.  Kaiba had immediately put on his rageface and grabbed Otogi’s neck, throwing him to the ground before he even finished expelling the breath he’d been using to debase Shizuka.  Then there had been some shocked faces, and Kaiba allegedly shoved his knee into Ryuuji’s throat and threatened him until he apologized, but there hadn’t been any concrete evidence to that claim during the lawsuit.  Incidentally, Jounouchi had become even more adamant after that point that Kaiba and Shizuka should get back together, but they’d both refused frequently enough that the blond eventually just gave up.

Kaiba found that he’d been once again lost in his own memory.  It seemed he couldn’t stop it once the images began.  It was as if he was there all over again…the sights, smells, feelings, sounds…his brain synthesized reality to near perfection.  And his brain, having a strong power of association, always jumped from one thought to another at its own discretion.  Useful when brainstorming, but crippling during day-to-day tasks.

“We’re going to play a different kind of truth or dare,” Anzu announced, and the others listened warily, “Just so people can’t be boring about it, we’ll have each person flip a coin on their turn.  Heads will be truth, and tails will be dare.”

“Fair enough,” Jounouchi nodded, “Let’s just go clockwise instead of spinning a bottle.  Seems more fair.”

Kaiba grumbled internally, feeling that the lot of them were watering down the game too much.

“Let’s get started,” Honda demanded, “And just for kicks, let’s have Kaiba go first.”

This earned him a glare, and he shrugged.

“Glare all you want.  I’m interested to see what you’ll do.”

Kaiba rolled his eyes and flipped the coin that Jounouchi had magically produced.  It landed on the ‘heads’ side, much to his disdain.

“So many questions,” Jounouchi ginned, “So little opportunity.”

“Then I suppose you’d better choose wisely, bonko—Jounouchi,” Kaiba managed to stop just short of calling the other man a deadbeat, as he had often during their teen days.  It was a juvenile insult to begin with, but at present the opposite was especially true.  Jounouchi was working his way through school, receiving not a penny from his alcoholic stick in the mud of a father or his neglectful mother.

“Hmm,” Jounouchi rubbed his chin, obviously trying to think of something particularly evil.  Anzu sighed in irritation, while Honda grinned as if anticipating entertainment.  Kaiba himself was getting steeled for a battle, but Yuugi managed to intervene.

“I have a truth question,” he offered, and Kaiba met his eyes.  There was nothing in the room but them now, as it always was when they spoke to one another.  Well, he couldn’t say for Yuugi, but that was how things were in his world.

“What is it?”

“Would you ever give me up, let me down, run around and desert me?”

Jounouchi and Honda snorted and fell into bouts of laughter, and Anzu hid her mouth behind her hand, shoulders shaking as she chuckled.  Kaiba noticed these things, and it distracted him, but Yuugi looked more like he’d just asked for his hand in marriage rather than made a joke.  Then again, perhaps it had been a legitimate query disguised as a joke.  Either way, they only had eyes for each other right now, Yuugi’s amethyst orbs focused as his features tensed with the suspense.

“Never,” Kaiba replied, quietly enough that the others wouldn’t hear him over their own laughter, but loudly enough that Yuugi understood.  His eyes sparkled, and he smiled broadly.  He looked so genuinely happy that it made Kaiba feel warm in the gut.

Once the others had calmed down, they resumed the game.  Jounouchi seemed to notice that Yuugi’s demeanor had changed, that he was slightly leaning toward the tall man beside him, but he didn’t comment.

“If we’re going clockwise,” Kaiba hummed, “Then it’s Yuugi’s turn now.”

“Oh,” Yuugi seemed almost to have forgotten that he would be a victim of the game at some point, “I guess I’ll flip the coin, then.”

It landed on heads.

“Since you asked my truth question,” Kaiba felt his eyes widen in amusement as he resisted a smile, “I feel it’s only fair that I ask you yours.”

The others in the group seemed slightly put off, and a little wary, but he ignored them.  They weren’t clued in to the fact that he and Yuugi were closer now, and he had no intentions of explaining it to them.

“I guess that is fair.  Ask away, Kaiba-kun.”

It was only at that point that Kaiba realized they were staring at each other, practically having eye sex while under the scrutiny of Yuugi’s friends.  He allowed himself a quick glance around the circle and noticed that Jounouchi looked angry, Honda slightly uncomfortable, and Anzu like her pants were turning into Niagara Falls.  He tried to be a little less blatantly homosexual, forcing his face to go cold and leaning slightly away from Yuugi.

“Yuugi, have you ever pissed in the shower?”

Yuugi seemed extremely shocked and embarrassed by this question, though Jounouchi and Honda apparently found it hilarious.  Anzu looked outright disappointed.

“I—you—no, of course not!” Yuugi stammered, looking so terribly adorable that Kaiba wanted to grab him and cuddle him like a plush toy.

“I only ask because, while I am spending time here fixing your computer, I may need to use your shower.  I would not like to use it if you have treated it as a toilet.”

The shorter man was blushing too hard to speak, evidently.  He simply cleared his throat and tossed the coin at Jounouchi, muttering something about how it was ‘his turn’.  Kaiba felt a sense of self-satisfaction when Jounouchi threw him a deeply jealous glare.

Admittedly, he didn’t pay much (any) attention to the others’ dares.  They all landed dares; Jounouchi had to stand on his head, which turned out to be just sad to watch.  Honda had been required by Jounouchi (as revenge for laughing so hard at his expense) to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon.  Anzu had been dared to do ten push-ups, likely an attempt by her male friends to embarrass her.  They were foiled; as it turned out, she was gifted with upper-body strength.  During it all, Kaiba only fleetingly noticed their actions, and simply sat seiza wearing his expert poker face as he contemplated things.  He knew Jounouchi was angry and highly suspicious, and frankly, the fact that he and Yuugi kept almost-flirting wasn’t helping much.  Kaiba dreaded, and simultaneously anticipated, Jounouchi’s wrath.  Part of him wanted to put the blond down, prove his dominance, and assert himself as being closest to Yuugi.  The other, smaller part—likely the female bits—hoped that the confrontation wouldn’t occur.

It was his turn again, and he nearly hesitated before flipping the coin.  He doubted any dares these lot could invent would be particularly awful, but any and all truth questions were potentially detrimental to his image.  Not that he actually had to answer truthfully…

The coin landed on tails, and he looked around to see who would dare him.  Jounouchi looked him straight in the eye, and at that moment, Kaiba knew things were about to get very strained.

“Sing Kimigayo,” Jounouchi commanded, smirking, and Kaiba gave him the iciest glare he could muster.  Way back when—back during the couple of weeks in ninth grade when Kaiba had been actually attending high school with them—Kaiba had thought himself alone in the boy’s lavatory, and been singing quietly to himself.  It was just something he liked to do.  Car and shower karaoke were small hobbies of his.  That said, he knew he couldn’t sing for shit, and had been beyond mortified when Jounouchi had walked out of a bathroom stall, smirking at him.  At the time, Kaiba had feared that the blond would go running his mouth, telling everyone what he’d seen, but he evidently had not.  Now, however, he was putting Kaiba in a spot to perform his terrible, tone-deaf singing.  In front of Yuugi.

Well played.

“I wasn’t aware that you were interested in having your ears bleed, Jounouchi,” Kaiba grumbled, and Anzu scoffed.

“Oh, come on.  No one here has a good singing voice.  You should have heard the last karaoke we had together.  Jounouchi is the only one of us who’s even passable, and he isn’t that good.”

“Thanks, Anzu,” Jounouchi muttered, and his friend stuck her tongue out at him.  Kaiba sighed and stood, realizing that he wouldn’t be getting out of this one without breaking his personal principles.  Never refuse a challenge.  Never surrender.

He hummed quietly under his breath at first, trying to find a decent key to start, and then took a deep breath.  At least he knew all the lyrics to the National Anthem—he wouldn’t be embarrassing himself further by fumbling over the words…

“Kimigayo-wa;

Chi yoni—yachi yoni!

Sazare ishino, iwaoto naritte.

Kokeno musu mamade.”

Kaiba sat, cross-legged, staring vacantly at the people in front of him as they stared back with wide eyes.  No one spoke for a few seconds, and Kaiba had the burning impulse to flee the room, but Yuugi piped up.

“Kaiba-kun,” he murmured, “That was really beautiful.”

Even as Kaiba turned to gape at Yuugi, Anzu spoke as well.

“Yeah, I mean, you’re not Gackt or anything, but wow.  You can hold a tune better than I expected.”

“Um…I’m not a singer,” Kaiba muttered, feeling somehow embarrassed to know that his singing voice wasn’t as cringeworthy as he’d thought. 

“Well, that’s pretty obvious,” Jounouchi laughed, “But you aren’t garbage at it, either.”

This semi-backhanded compliment was unexpected, and Kaiba stared at Jounouchi in an attempt to see if he was being sarcastic.  He was not.

“I—ah—it’s Yuugi’s turn.  I need to use the restroom,” he excused himself, leaving the room faster than a speeding bullet and locking himself into the loo.  He had no clue at all why he was so embarrassed.  Then again, he’d never had a sincere compliment, either, aside from his little brother’s occasional words of awe and encouragement.  He waited for his face to cool before leaving the bathroom.  To his shock, he was immediately grabbed by another figure in the darkness, and forcibly led to Yuugi’s bedroom.  He wanted to believe that Yuugi was dragging him back to bed for an especially randy session, but he knew all ready that it was Jounouchi. 

He was tossed into the room, and Jounouchi stood behind him in the doorway, his legs shoulder-width apart.  He was in aggression mode.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Kaiba chose not to beat around the bush.  Jounouchi was walking toward him.  “You’ve been giving me nasty looks all night long.  And don’t think I’ve forgotten that you were snooping around in here earlier.  Just what is it you want from me?”

“I want you to stop fucking my friend, you pervert!  I found your hair on his pillow, and a condom in the bathroom trash, so don’t try to deny it!” Jounouchi shoved him with enough force that he stumbled back a pace.  Kaiba instinctively pushed back, harder, and almost expected a punch in return, but Jounouchi simply stood before him in the darkness, fists clenched at his sides.

“It’s not your business if Yuugi and I want to—“

“Do you really think I’m that stupid?” Jounouchi hissed, deliberately keeping his voice down to avoid alerting the others in the next room, “Yuugi trusts you.  He cares about you, and I know that you’re a son of a bitch.  I swear to god, if you pressured him into something—“

“Seriously?  I seem like that kind of person to you?” Kaiba gaped, more insulted than anything.  He had honestly thought that Jounouchi’s opinion of him was higher.  Perhaps it was—the blond shifted uncomfortably and shook his head.

“Maybe, maybe not.  I’ve seen you do terrible things, Kaiba, and heard of you doing worse.  Whatever it is you’re doing with Yuugi needs to stop.  Now.”

“Is it so hard for you to believe that we have a mutual attraction to one another?” Kaiba growled, growing increasingly less patient with Jounouchi’s insolent orders and accusations.

“Yes, it is.  Last time I checked, you only grudgingly accepted that Yuugi was more to you than an enemy.  What would you be thinking, in my shoes?”

Silence.  It was true—were their positions reversed, Kaiba would assume that Yuugi was being played for a fool, used to someone else’s advantage for pleasure or some kind of power trip.  Of course, Kaiba knew that it had been Atem, not Yuugi, who was his rival all that time, but if he’d wanted to be truly vengeful, bedding Yuugi would be a twisted form of payback.  With this realization, things from Jounouchi’s perspective suddenly became very, very clear.

“I don’t care why you’re doing it,” Jounouchi huffed, “Just stay away from him.  You don’t deserve him.”

Kaiba was about to counter that with indignation, but paused as a thought came to him.  He could feel the muscles in his face moving as his expression darkened.

“Do you like him?” He asked, quietly, and Jounouchi jerked back.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me!” Kaiba hissed, taking a step forward in an offensive gesture, “Do you like him, I asked!”

Jounouchi was still and silent, and his calm made Kaiba realize that the answer was no; but the other man was obviously contemplating something.

“What if I did?” He asked, almost thoughtfully, “What would you do?”

“I would fight for him.”

“Why?  Because you think he belongs to you?”

“No!” The CEO wanted badly to roar at his opponent, but something told him that alerting the others would be detrimental, “Because I—he’s important to me!”

That was about the best he could get himself to admit.  He hated himself for it, but he was blushing.  Fortunately, in the dark room, they were little more than silhouettes.

“He’s important to you…?” Jounouchi repeated quietly, his posture neutral again.  Then he nearly made Kaiba jump by grabbing his wrist, yanking him close so their bodies touched.

“What are you—“

“Are you sure he’s that important to you?” Jounouchi’s voice was almost predatory; he had one hand in Kaiba’s hair, the other on the small of his back so he couldn’t escape without making a ruckus.

“Stop it!  What the hell is wrong with you?” Kaiba tried to push his assailant away, to no avail.  Jounouchi was strong, and he was trying not to make too much noise.

“Nothing is wrong with me.  I just…I guess you could say I’ve wanted you for a long time.  It seems I’ve made my move a little late, but—“

“But nothing!” Kaiba managed to shove Jounouchi away, and he backed toward the bed as the blond advanced again, “I don’t know what’s got into you, Jounouchi, but you need to snap out of it.  I’m with Yuugi.  I’m not going to change my mind!”

The blond pushed him, standing on his feet at the same time so he was forced to sit at the edge of the bed.  Kaiba shoved his chest with a double-palmed strike, forcing him to stumble back.

“Get the hell away from—“

He was unable to finish; Jounouchi closed the distance between them and kissed him roughly, holding his shoulders so he couldn’t move very much.  Kaiba turned his head, his features contorted in disgust.

“What are you trying to do to me?” He demanded, “Yuugi is your best friend!  If nothing else, have some respect for his feelings!”

“He’ll forgive me,” Jounouchi insisted, “Hell, he doesn’t even have to know.  We can have a quick one later, and no one will be the wiser.”

Kaiba gaped, scandalized, before punching Jounouchi squarely in the jaw.  The blond fell to the ground with a thump, one hand on his face.  Kaiba stood and lifted him by his shirt front, their faces less than six inches apart as he growled.

“If you know what’s good for you, you will never try to make me cheat on him again. Ever.  I want you to stay out of my fucking business, and keep your goddamn libido away from me.”

With that, he shoved Jounouchi back to the floor and began to stalk out of the room, but he paused when he heard chuckling.  Looking back over his shoulder, he could see even in the low light that the blond was grinning.

“What are you so happy about?” Kaiba snapped, and Jounouchi continued to grin at him.

“I was wrong,” he announced, standing and brushing himself off, “You actually do care about him.  Don’t get me wrong—I still don’t like it, but at least I know you’re not just using him.”

Kaiba stared at the other man, trying to process what was said and not liking the conclusion he reached.

“You were testing me,” he stated in disbelief, and Jounouchi shrugged.

“It wasn’t like I could have just asked you.  I know you’re manipulative—“

Kaiba punched him in the face again, not as hard this time, but still enough to make him stumble back.

“Okay, I can accept that,” Jounouchi shrugged, and Kaiba turned on his heel to leave the room, feeling completely irate.  He stopped short when he saw Yuugi standing in the doorway.

“Um,” the short man murmured, “What…what are you doing?”

He wasn’t asking both of them.  He was asking Kaiba, specifically, and the tone of betrayal in his voice nearly broke his heart.

“Ah, I guess you heard all the thumping around,” Jounouchi grumbled, and Yuugi nodded.

“Anzu was worried that one of you fell in the dark, so I came to check, and I saw Kaiba—Kaiba-kun hit you…”

Kaiba stiffened, not sure how to handle the situation, but Jounouchi just cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head bashfully.

“Eh, Kaiba here was rummaging through your drawers for some reason,” Jounouchi lied, “And I saw him on my way out of the bathroom.  Um…I’ll be honest, I seriously thought he was a burglar, and I kinda…attacked him.”

“Oh,” Yuugi seemed horrified at the prospect, “But…why were you laughing?”

“I thought it was funny,” Jounouchi grinned, walking toward his friend, “Kaiba didn’t.”

“I can imagine,” Yuugi laughed, and Kaiba could tell that it was genuine, but he still felt guilt gnawing at his chest.  He hadn’t lied to Yuugi himself, but he hadn’t corrected Jounouchi, either…

“Are you guys coming back to the party, or are you gonna stay here and beat each other bloody?”

“We’ll join you,” Kaiba replied, following them out of the room and back down the hall.  He was on pins and needles for the rest of the evening though, on the verge of breaking into a cold sweat even after Yuugi’s friends had said their goodbyes sometime past midnight.  Then it was just Yuugi and himself, and Yuugi was apparently in the mood to cuddle.  Kaiba didn’t need to turn him down—it was Saturday, and he had a whole day free after this to spend with Yuugi, so staying another night wasn’t a problem.  It was the fact that he felt like he needed a shower that made him almost refuse.

They were lying on Yuugi’s bed now, and Kaiba was propped up against the pillows to let Yuugi rest close to him more comfortably.  It didn’t look like they were going to have sex tonight, but that was fine.  Much as the sex was mind-blowingly superlative, he genuinely felt like the king of everything when Yuugi was snuggling with him.  His amethyst eyes were shut, lips slightly parted as he rested; he wasn’t even sleeping yet, and all ready looked it.  He must have been tired out by the social engagement.  Kaiba had every intention of simply letting him fall into the bliss of unconsciousness, but after a few more minutes, he found that his chest was constricting so horribly that he couldn’t breathe.

“Yuugi,” he addressed, receiving a flirtatious ‘hmm?’ in response.  Dammit, that didn’t make him feel any better.  “Yuugi, Jounouchi lied to you.  And…I suppose I did as well, in a way.”

Yuugi’s amethyst eyes opened, and he lifted himself.  Leaning on one hand, he left the other on Kaiba’s chest, and stared up at him apprehensively.

“W-what do you mean?” He asked, sounding as if he feared the answer, “Did something happen?”

“Jounouchi knows we had sex,” Kaiba stated, “He was angry, and we argued about it…then he tried to seduce me.”

“Wait, what?” Yuugi blinked confusedly.  Kaiba realized that he wasn’t a fantastic storyteller.

“He wanted to test my loyalty to you, so he tried to seduce me.”

They stared at each other.

“And…what happened?”

That was a pertinent question.

“I punched him in the mouth, and he was happy about it.  That’s why he was laughing.”

“Oh…”

Kaiba had expected Yuugi to be hurt, and possibly angry, but instead he looked pleased.  He bit his bottom lip, something he often did when he felt flattered.

“Then…you really don’t want to…to have sex with anyone else?”

Kaiba’s eyes widened more than he knew they could.

“Wasn’t that obvious?” He queried, “If I failed to make it clear, then allow me to do so presently.  You’re the only person I’m with, Muto—period.”

You’re the only person I want to be with.  Someday, I’ll be brave enough to tell you.

Yuugi got embarrassed and hid his face in Kaiba’s chest, which was fine.  He didn’t know just how deeply his own feelings ran, or whether the other man would ever feel quite the same way, but the knowledge that Yuugi wanted him all to himself was enough for now.