A/N: Sorry if you were hoping for another update of Puzzled Feelings; this has been begging to get made and it's just a one-shot. Enjoy!
Inspiration: Blank Space – Taylor Swift and Nobody Love – Tori Kelly
It was no secret to those who knew him that Yami had fallen fast and hard for Kaiba. He'd had a thing for duelists since before sharing Yugi's body, and now that he had his own it was hard for him to stay away from them. At first he had tried Duke Devlin, pessimistic creator of Dungeon Dice Monsters whose drive and competition sometimes got the better of him, as when they had first met. While there was passion there, and this quality kept Yami intrigued, there was only so much Dungeon Dice Monsters that Yami could play and Duke was only a mediocre duelist when it came to Duel Monsters. They soon drifted apart.
Yami thought about Pegasus, he was clearly gay and was the creator of Duel Monsters after all, but he had trouble seeing him as a duelist after Duelist Kingdom. The guy was just relying on his Millennium Eye to get an advantage, and really didn't seem to deserve the respect that other duelists did. It didn't prevent Yami from spending a few kinky nights in the castle though, despite Pegasus' insistence on calling him "Yami-boy".
Then there was the Harpy Lady herself, Mai Valentine. While it was clear she had a thing for Joey, Yami had managed to get her one of the times that Joey's hot head had got the better of him and they were on a break. When they made up after a few months, Yami wasn't too disappointed; she just wasn't the challenge that he was looking for.
Neither was Joey for that matter, at least not after the first time he managed to convince the blonde to fool around with him. As a duelist he had seemingly unlimited potential, but Yami soon became bored as his learning curve leveled out. He was sick of the hyper protective rage that defined the boy, and it ended between them almost as soon as it began.
If you asked any of them about Yami now, they'd all say what he was looking for was insane. Who would be able to continually challenge the King of Games? Yugi was out of the question, he played the game to protect and lacked Yami's competitive spirit. Besides, it would be like dating his younger brother, something Yami was definitely uncomfortable with. Still it was only Yugi who had won a duel against him.
That's what led him back to Kaiba. Technically, if Anubis hadn't interrupted and prevented Kaiba from making his own moves, he would have been the victor that duel. It was too bad that it seemed Kaiba had lost the card that nearly afforded him the victory after that match. Still, Kaiba had always pushed Yami's buttons in all the right ways while they were dueling, and Yami sincerely enjoyed their duels; he always had to fight for his victory in ways he didn't with other duelists. Kaiba had a rare drive, never giving up on the game, consistently challenging Yami no matter the number of losses. He'd just take in the data, try to come up with a new strategy, and try again.
The challenge would be getting past Kaiba's strong defenses. Though they had partnered to achieve similar goals on multiple occasions, it was always met with strong resistance from the CEO, who was very used to being self-reliant. The potential for disaster was high, but so was the potential for immense pleasure. It was a high stakes game and Yami was ready to play.
When it was Yami who initiated the next duel, Kaiba was slightly surprised, but not displeased. He never backed down from a challenge, and he knew that this time he could take the duelist on. He prepped his deck and met at the proposed location. As he arrived he noticed there was something different about his rival this time around., but couldn't quite put a finger on it
He stepped to the middle to shuffle Yami's deck and Yami's hand brushed his own, a subtle flicker of arousal crossing his opponent's face. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought Yami was doing it on purpose. When Yami took the cards back with a wink, Kaiba's heart shuffled uncomfortably.
"What are you playing at?" he asked, sure it was some sort of diversion tactic.
"I think it's time I changed the rules of our game," Yami stated, adding sensually, "No one challenges me like you do."
Kaiba's breath caught in his throat. He had known the other liked strong duelists, but hadn't expected him to look outside the friendship brigade that was constantly following him around. Neither had he expected the other to be so forward.
"So what do you say?" Yami continued flirtatiously, "Shall we play?"
Without too much hesitation or consideration as to which game he was agreeing to, Kaiba smirked, "Let's duel!"
The duel itself seemed to progress normally. Insults were traded, traps were laid, both duelists fighting with everything they had. The game felt even more high stakes than normal to Kaiba, like there was something he had to prove. Yami's flirtation was gone in favor of the familiar posturing and Kaiba relaxed, the familiar feeling of dueling with his rival returning.
"And now, it's time to summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon" Kaiba leered, as his proud monster entered the field. "Say goodbye to your monster-Blue Eyes, attack!"
Yami's life points dropped correspondingly, he was running dangerously low and Kaiba could almost taste victory. But the duel still wasn't over yet. Kaiba wasn't surprised when the next turn Yami summoned Kuriboh in defense mode, or when the next Blue Eyes attack was met with multiply, adding a large number of Kuribohs to the field to protect his rival's life points. Nor was he surprised when those Kuribohs were sacrificed to summon an Egyptian God: Obelisk the Tormentor.
When Kaiba pulled his Polymerization card, he was quite pleased. He fused his Blue Eyes on the field with the two Blue Eyes in his hand. "Time to meet my ultimate monster! Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, attack his Obelisk now!" Was he going to do it? Was he going to win? A grin of triumph was soon replaced with a scowl as Yugi's trap card was revealed: De-fusion. He set a trap card to wait.
Yami attacked with Obelisk, Blue Eyes roared in protest before disappearing. Kaiba lost 1000 life points, coming down to nearly Yami's level. Whoever got the next attack through would win. Yami's empty hand prevented him from setting anymore traps, so he merely waited.
Kaiba needed something that could break through the defenses. Drawing his card he saw it, Stop Defense. He smirked. "When I'm about to lose I draw the card I need" He moved a final Kuriboh to attack mode. "Blue Eyes White Dragon! Attack!" With no trap cards left, Yami had nothing left to protect himself.
"Oh no!" replied Yami, using his signature sign of dismay. "I lost."
Despite knowing he could do it, it still surprised Kaiba that it had been done. Still, the victory was not nearly as satisfying as he had thought it would be; he still wanted to duel and didn't quite know why. "Don't think that just because I finally won that this will be our last duel, Moto," Kaiba finally settled on threatening.
Yami was both surprised and pleased at Kaiba's finishing words. He exited the dueling platform, approaching Kaiba with smooth, even strides. Seductively he questioned, "Shall we play more? I'm enjoying our game today."
Kaiba shrugged, not backing down. "Sure."
He turned to head back to the dueling platform, when he felt a hand on his wrist. Spinning back around, he nearly collided with Yami, whose smirk suggested had a different game in mind this time. Not to be outdone, he pulled on the offending arm, forcing Yami closer to him. "So this is the game you chose to play," he said gruffly. He met Yami's eyes with a piercing gaze, just as serious about winning this match.
Neither backed down, each invading more and more of the other's personal space until they were engaged in a rough kiss, fighting heatedly for dominance. After several minutes the kiss had deepened, the two having forgotten the pretext of the game for the electrifying passion they found in each other. What was once a frantic battle turned into a calm, deep pool, each man savoring every moment they had in it.
Never in a million years would Kaiba have predicted this outcome, but he wasn't going to deny what he could touch and feel were real. He had no idea whether the urges were completely new or pent up repressions he had ignored for the majority of his adult life. Whichever it was didn't matter as the walls he had built around himself all these years crashed as though hit by a strong earthquake. He didn't seem to notice or care as every defense crumbled before the other man. No, there was certainly no turning back now.
Yami was having a similar response, having never felt nearly as complete with anyone else before. He was startled by Kaiba's willingness, but certainly not displeased. When they finally came up for air, there was a tenderness about them one would never have expected, as if they both knew how utterly vulnerable to the other they were. Kaiba reach out and softly held Yami's cheek in his hand, running his thumb along the bone. Yami relaxed into his embrace, sighing contentedly.
As Kaiba traced Yami's cheekbone, he slowly became aware of the implications of his actions. Without having said a word, he felt utterly exposed, susceptible to the tiniest of wounds in a way he hadn't been since before he and Mokuba had found themselves orphaned. He knew that he should be scared, that he should pick up his defenses, go back to 'hating' the rival, but he couldn't. There was too much in that kiss for him to let go. And so that is how he found himself languidly kissing Yami again, melting into the former Pharaoh, trailing fingers ... caressing … Yami's hands sought purchase in Seto's hair and pulled them closer yet … they both panted a little as the kiss was once again broken, holding each other tightly, as if to never let go. No, there certainly was no getting away from this now.