A/N: My first story! I hope that the people who read this like it and review! I want to know what you guys think!

Warnings: Beware Kaiba's bad language. That is all.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any of the characters. Never have, never will.

"Darkness…"

"Why am I surrounded in darkness?"

The young former pharaoh opened his eyes. All he saw was the darkness on either side of him. Ahead of him. What had happened? He remembered nothing.

"Aibou?"

Nothing.

The pharaoh, the spirit also known as Yami no Yuugi, stared into the darkness, unsure of what to do. He started to panic. Where was he? He tried thinking about possible answers to his question. He vaguely remembered being engulfed by this same darkness, this same cold presence, twice before, all because someone had broken the Sennen Puzzle. But that couldn't have happened again. His other self, his hikari, wouldn't let it happen again.

He tried calling his other half, Yuugi, once more. "A-aibou? Can you hear me?"

Again, nothing but the silence and darkness answered his call.

"D-don't worry m-mou hitori no boku," Yuugi whispered to the shattered Sennen Puzzle, trying, and failing, to hold back his tears. "I swear I'll reassemble the puzzle as soon as possible. We'll see each other again. I promise."

All Yami no Yuugi saw was darkness, just like before. Nothing had changed over the course of day. At least, he thought a day had gone by. It was hard to tell the time in a place where a few seconds seemed like an eternity.

Yuugi sighed in frustration as he set down the unfinished Sennen Puzzle. He just didn't understand it. Why was it taking him so long to complete the puzzle? The last time someone had shattered the puzzle, it had taken him a couple of minutes to piece it back together, all because he had wanted to see his other self. This time was no different, so why was rebuilding the puzzle being so time-consuming?

Yuugi was lost in his thoughts, and he completely ignored the fact that someone was knocking on his door.

"Yuugi, can we come in?"

"I don't get it," he muttered. "Why is it taking me so long…?"

"YUUGI!"

Yuugi's head snapped up. He turned towards his door and said, "Come in, guys."

The door opened, and in walked Yuugi's three closest friends: Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda.

"Hi, Yuugi," Anzu greeted. "I take it that you're having a difficult time building the puzzle?"

Yuugi nodded. "Yup."

"Cheer up, pal!" Jounouchi said cheerfully. "You'll see the other you soon enough!"

Yuugi sighed. "I don't know, Jounouchi-kun…It's taking me an awfully long time to solve the puzzle…"

"Don't worry so much, Yuugi," Honda said. "Jou's right, the other you will be back in no time."

Yuugi gave his friends a small smile. He knew they were trying to make him feel better, but their reassurance did little to comfort him. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"We came to ask if you wanted to go to the arcade with us, Yuugi," Anzu said.

Yuugi looked down at the puzzle. "I don't know guys…"

"Don't worry, buddy!" Jounouchi said. "The puzzle will be fine!"

"But…"

"Yeah, come on, Yuugi!" Honda said. "We don't want you to stress yourself over the puzzle and the other you so much."

"Well, I guess…It wouldn't hurt to go out for a while…" Yuugi mused.

"Of course it won't! Come on!" Jounouchi eagerly tugged on Yuugi's arm.

"I'll be returning soon, mou hitori no boku," Yuugi said, taking one last look at the puzzle before he shut the door behind him.

"Yami…"

"Yami…wake up…"

"Idiot! Hurry up and awake!"

Yami's eyes snapped open. When had he fallen asleep? And who was calling him?

"Do you plan on staying here forever?"

Yami scanned the area, looking for the source of the voice. He had a vague idea of who it belonged to, but how could he have gotten into the puzzle? Was he dreaming?

"This isn't a dream. I'm right behind you."

Yami turned, but he saw nothing except the never-ending darkness stretching out behind him.

"Look closely, damn it. I'm right behind you."

Yami kept looking, and he was about to turn away until he saw…something moving in the darkness in front of him. A person suddenly emerged from the shadows, and Yami's eyes widened. It was him.

"Go, Yuugi!" Anzu cheered, as Yuugi managed to defeat Jounouchi yet again.

"Damn it!" Jounouchi swore, standing up and banging his fists against the console. He gave Yuugi a wry grin. "How can you be so good at these games, buddy?"

Yuugi blushed, though it wasn't the first time his talent at gaming had been acknowledged. "I don't know," he replied. "I don't practice or anything…"

"Whatever, the reason is, I'll become just as good as you, you'll see!" Jounouchi said excitedly, already thinking about the future possibilities of him winning the games all the time instead of losing. "Now, come at me again!"

"You bet!" Yuugi said, smiling.

"Why even bother?" Honda asked. "We all know he'll never be as good as you, Yuugi."

Jounouchi's face reddened and he lunged at Honda, fists at the ready. "You bastard! You'll pay for that!"

Yuugi gave a short laugh, and glanced at Anzu, silently asking her to help him break up the possible fight.

"Guys, stop," Anzu chided. "Nothing will come out of you two fighting."

"But he—" Jounouchi started to protest, until Anzu cut him off with a firm glance.

"Sorry, Jounouchi-kun, but I'm afraid you shouldn't be lashing out at Honda-kun like that," she reprimanded. Then she gave him an innocent smile. "After all, he was only telling the truth."

Jounouchi groaned.

He was clad in a billowing white trench coat, and a black turtleneck and pants that would've blended in with the shadows. Buckles were present around his arms and the rims of his boots. Brilliant blue eyes stared at Yami from underneath auburn-colored hair, and he wore one of the trademark smirks he only showed Yami when they dueled. It was him. Kaiba Seto. The last person Yami would've expected to see or dream about.

"So, are you planning on staying here forever?" Kaiba asked again.

Yami stared. "Kaiba, what are you doing here?"

The brunette shrugged. "I haven't the slightest clue, but I'm not here to answer your questions, I know that much. So how about you answer mine?"

"What?"

"Are you planning on staying here forever?" Kaiba questioned for the third time.

"I don't want to," Yami whispered. "But if aibou doesn't solve the puzzle, I…"

"So you're just going to leave your little group of cheerleaders and stay here? What the hell's wrong with you? And here I thought you actually cared about the Yuugi-tachi," the taller duelist drawled, his tone softer than his words.

"I do!" Yami said defensively. "It's just…"

"You can't get out of the puzzle on your own unless it's solved, right?" Kaiba said.

The star-haired duelist nodded miserably. Sometimes he really hated living inside the puzzle.

"The other you will solve it," Kaiba said, the certainty evident in his voice.

"You sound…sure," Yami commented.

"That's because I am sure, idiot. The other Yuugi, the runt whom I don't care much about, evidently cares too much about you to just leave you here trapped with no way to escape. You know, people do care about you. It doesn't matter that you're such a cocky bastard, they still care. And as for me, I wouldn't like you to stay here forever. I'd lose the only worthy rival I've ever had."

"I never would've guessed," Yami said sarcastically. "Thank you for all that much-needed obvious information."

"I don't give a damn if you're being sarcastic," Kaiba said. "I'm telling the truth."

"Yes, I know it's true," Yami replied. "I know people care about me, I know I'm the only worthy rival you've ever had. Care to say anything else?"

"You missed the part about being a cocky little bastard," Kaiba said, "and yes, I would like to say something else."

"And that is…?"

"You don't know everything," Kaiba answered softly, surprising Yami with the sudden change in demeanor.

"What do you mean by that?" Yami asked.

"I mean, you don't know how people care about you, how much they care about you, why you're such a cocky bastard, why you're the only worthy rival I've ever had…wait, you do know why…"

"And?" Yami asked, getting a feeling that the brunette wasn't done speaking yet.

"And who exactly cares about you," Kaiba finished.

"Of course I know who cares about me," Yami said defiantly.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes."

Kaiba smirked. "You're such a conceited little asshole, Yuugi."

"It's Yami, not Yuugi. And you're an egotistical megalomaniac."

"Yami. An egotistical megalomaniac? Sure, why not." Kaiba turned and began to walk away.

Yami watched as Kaiba continued walking, and he had the strangest urge to stop him. Acting out on impulse, he blurted, "Kaiba, please don't go."

Kaiba turned to face Yami, a smirk playing on his lips. "Why would you want an egotistical megalomaniac to be here with you?"

Yami looked down, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "I don't like being alone."

"Why is that?"

"I spent three thousand years locked up in the puzzle," Yami mumbled. "I was all alone. No one was there with me. How do you think being alone makes me feel?"

Kaiba began to slowly walk back. "How does it make you feel?"

"Scared," Yami muttered. "I feel so scared…"

"You shouldn't be."

"I know, but…" Yami stopped. He no longer felt the coldness of the shadows surrounding him. Instead, he felt the warmth of Kaiba's body pressed up against his. He felt himself blush slightly. Wait, why am I blushing? Yami thought. It's not like I…

"Don't be scared, Yami," Kaiba said soothingly, surprising Yami once more with the gentleness of his tone and words.

"I won't be scared," Yami mumbled. He positioned himself better and wrapped his arms around Kaiba. "I won't be as long as you're here." Wait, where the hell did that even come from? Yami wondered.

Kaiba blinked. Did Yami really want him to stay? He embraced Yami tightly. "I won't leave unless you want me too."

"Don't leave, Seto," Yami said quietly.

"Seto?"

"I'm sorry, Kaiba!" Yami said. "I didn't mean…it just kind of—"

"Shh, Yami it's okay," Kaiba said. "I don't mind."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's fine."

"How long are you staying?" Yami asked.

"As long as you want me to."

Yami closed his eyes. "Don't leave."

"I already said I wasn't," Kaiba said. "Calm down."

"Okay." Yami felt himself getting drowsy, since Kaiba had started to trace random patterns along his back, his hands moving in slow, soothing motions.

"Are you going to fall asleep on me?" Kaiba asked, feeling that Yami's body had relaxed against his own.

"Maybe," Yami said, stifling a yawn.

"Oh, hell no." Kaiba held Yami away from him. "You are not going to fall asleep on me."

"Seto, it's cold."

"No it's not, stop complaining."

"You don't think it's cold because you have your damn trench coat."

Kaiba sighed. After sliding his trench coat off his shoulders, he held it out to Yami. "Here."

Yami blinked. "Thanks," he said, though he made no movement to take the coat.

Kaiba glared. "Take it, damn it. You said you were cold."

"But I—"

Kaiba grabbed Yami's arm, pulling him close. "Take it."

"Seto, I—"

Leaning down, Kaiba said in a low voice, "I'm trying to be nice here. Take the damn coat or I'll make you take it."

Yami shivered, reaching out for the coat. "Okay, I took it. See?"

"Put it on."

Yami rolled his eyes. "Fine." Pulling on the coat, he turned to Kaiba and said, "It's too big for me. I feel ridiculous."

Kaiba smirked. "You look fine. Of course, I make it look better."

"Of course you do," Yami said, rolling his eyes. He then turned and smiled at Kaiba. "You know, you're actually pretty nice."

"Don't say that," Kaiba growled. "Didn't you say you were going to fall asleep?"

"Yeah." Yami stifled another yawn. "I'm tired."

"So annoying the hell out of me finally took its toll on you?"

Yami gave Kaiba another smile. "No, it's more like you annoying the hell out of me finally got me tired."

"Oh," Kaiba said, dramatically turning and walking away. "I suppose you want me to leave, then?"

"No!" Yami immediately ran and attached himself to Kaiba. "Don't leave me here alone. I won't fall asleep on you or annoy you, I swear."

Kaiba smirked. "I thought you'd say that." He gently pried Yami off of him, and pulled him into a proper embrace.

"Does this mean you're not leaving?" Yami asked. He tilted his head up in order to look at Kaiba properly.

"Yeah, I think I'll stay for a while," Kaiba said, leaning down to get a better look at Yami.

Yami stared. Kaiba's face was so close to his own…It would be easy to just pull him down a little more so that…Why the hell am I having these kinds of thoughts? Yami asked himself. It's not like…like…like I'm…starting to…fall for him? Yami shook his head slightly. No, that can't be…that's impossible. We're rivals, and nothing more. I can't be falling for him…I can't be…and I'm not…I already liked him…

Yami groaned at the sudden realization.

"Bye, guys!" Yuugi called out cheerfully. "I'll see you all tomorrow at school!"

"Bye, Yuugi!" they responded, and Yuugi shut the door to the Game Shop, letting out a sigh. He had managed to forget about the puzzle for a while, but now that he was back at home, he could think of nothing besides reconstructing the puzzle and letting the darker half of his soul roam around the world once more.

I can't like him…I can't…we're only rivals…he would never look at me like that…he thinks of me as only his rival and nothing more, not even a friend…I find that strangely disappointing for some reason…

"Yami, what's wrong?" Kaiba's voice suddenly snapped him back into reality.

"Nothing," Yami lied.

"That's a load of crap," Kaiba said. "Tell me what the hell's bothering you."

"Why would you care if something is bothering me?" Yami asked defiantly.

"So something is bothering you!"

Yami cursed himself. Shit, I can't take it back now.

"Speak," Kaiba said.

"Why do want to know?"

"Just tell me, damn it!"

"It doesn't concern you," Yami mumbled.

"Why won't you tell me?"

"Because—" Yami stopped, feelings Kaiba's hands cupping his face. He felt a slight blush creeping up his face as he looked at Kaiba.

"Stop being so damn stubborn and tell me," Kaiba said gently.

"There's nothing to say," Yami replied softly.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Kaiba said, lightly brushing Yami's face with his fingers.

"Why don't you say something first? Then I might talk."

"Actions speak louder than words, Yami."

Yami looked at Kaiba. "So you're going to—" Yami's words were cut short as Kaiba captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

A/N: Please tell me what you guys think! Hope you liked this chapter!