This was a story I wrote for a friend but gave to her on Seto's birthday. She's a big Prideshipping fan.

Disclaimer: I don't own YGO!

What Kind of Love Are We?

The first time Seto kissed him, Yami was so surprised that as soon as the kiss ended, he turned tail and fled. Running quickly away from the brunette, his only thought to distance himself from the other teen, it was a moment before Yami realized that he wasn't running anymore. In his shock, Yami had retreated to his soul room and Yuugi had automatically taken over for him. And they were slowing down; Yuugi had stopped running as well.

"Yami?" he asked, rapping lightly on his spirit's door.

"Yes Yuugi?" He opened the door and smiled down upon his other half. "What is it?"

"Why were we running? What were we running from?"

Yami sighed and shook his head. "Nothing. Just felt like running, that's all."

Yuugi didn't believe him. "But why did-" Before Yuugi could finish his question, however, Yami quickly pushed him into his respective soul room and immediately took over their body, just to be surprised by a pair of deep cerulean eyes.

Yami gasped and took a step back. "K-kaiba! How can I help you?"

Seto smirked down on the former Pharaoh. "You left so quickly, Yami. I never got a chance to finish what we had started."

"'We'?" Yami questioned. "You mean-"

Yami was suddenly aware of the wall pressing into his back, and the leering, lecherous way Seto Kaiba was leaning his tall frame towards him. Seto shortened the distance between the two, his mouth hovering centimeters above Yami's as he whispered, "I wanted to taste you, Yami, but you left too quickly. Hopefully I will get that opportunity now."

Yami stared his ruby eyes into Seto's meaningfully. "And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Well," Seto replied slowly, "it means this," and he concluded his remark with a soft kiss on Yami's lips.

Yami was wise enough not to open his mouth in surprise and invite Seto to deepen the lip lock, but he didn't pull back either, and in the weeks following the encounter he would wonder whether he had been wise at all. As it was, Seto was patient for only so long, and soon Yami was surprised by a probing, questioning tongue on his lips, requesting entrance. At that point, Yami decided that thinking and being kissed was just too much and that multitasking only went so far. Throwing caution to the wind, Yami's eyelids slid shut and his hands found their way to Seto's neck, in the same motion pulling Seto closer and allowing him the exploration of his mouth. It was only then that Yami felt the presence of hands at his waist, and realizing with a start that they were Seto's hands.

Just as Yami's tongue went to meet Seto's in a playful game, he was startled by a loud and resounding shout of "YAMI!" ringing in his head, causing the spirit to pull back from Seto, very effectively ending the kiss.

/Hikari/ Yami asked in confusion.

/We have to go to the grocery store still and get jii-chan his milk/ Yuugi replied.

Yami gasped as he remembered the reason for their venture and immediately began running to the store, leaving a confounded and disgruntled brunette behind.

"So I'll see you on Thursday, okay?" Yuugi called to Téa.

Téa smiled. "Seven, right?"

"Seven's good. See you then Téa! Love ya!"

"Love you too Yuugi!"

Yami was waiting for Yuugi as he turned away from the door and entered the living room. "Hikari, what is love?"

Yuugi blinked at the question, then laughed as he took a seat beside the projection of the spirit. "I don't know what love is!" he replied with a grin.

"But you love Téa."

"Well, yeah…"

"Then you must know what love is."

Yuugi sighed. "Love…love is kinda hard to describe."

"Then try your best."

Yuugi shrugged. "Here goes then," he remarked before answering Yami's inquiry. "Love is…love is when you care about someone, really care about them."

"I care about you, so that means …that I love you? But how is that?" Yami interrupted.

"There are different kinds of love- paternal or maternal love, which is parents' love. There's brotherly love, platonic love…romantic love. There can be love for an object or a pet. There's love of nature, love of science, or math, or whatever is your interest. There's a whole bunch of love!" he concluded, throwing his hands up in the air.

"What kind of love are we?" Yami asked.

"Brotherly love, I guess…"

Yami nodded sagely. "And you and Téa are romantic love?"

Yuugi blushed and nodded. "I suppose so," he replied modestly.

Yami tilted his head towards Yuugi. "Tell me more about romantic love. How can you tell what is romantic love and what isn't?"

Yuugi shrugged. "I guess, when you're willing to risk your life for the other person, that's romantic love."

"So you have to risk both lives to discover romantic love?" Yami was confused.

"Love itself is a risk, Yami."

"Why is that?"

Yuugi leaned back into the couch and brought his legs into himself, resting his chin on his knees. "When you love someone, you're trusting them with your emotions; trusting that they won't hurt you. But sometimes you can get hurt; sometimes you can trust the wrong person."

"So love is trust?" Yami clarified.

"In part," Yuugi replied with a slight nod of his head. "But love is also other things. Like in romantic love, trust is important, but so is passion. Without passion, the love sort of fades. It can still be nice, but somewhat boring."

"So love is lust?"

"Love includes lust, but that doesn't usually dominate love. A relationship made up completely by lust is simply passion without the trust or intimacy."

"Isn't intimacy the same thing as lust?" Yami inquired.

Yuugi shook his head. "Intimacy usually is a comfortable existence with another person. If you can share innermost secrets with a person, that's intimacy. It doesn't always have to be physical contact. Like right now, you and I are being intimate." Yami still looked bewildered, so Yuugi expanded. "Romantic love usually consists of three things- trust, passion, and intimacy. If any of the three outweigh the other two so much, often it is not romantic love anymore. If the trust is most prominent, what you most likely have is platonic love. There needs to be a balance of all three in order to have romantic love." 1

"Always?"

Yuugi nodded firmly. "Always. Otherwise the relationship won't work out."

It had started out as a "friendly" game of cards and manifested into a very different game altogether. And the worst part was that Yami was losing. Badly. In fact, he was down to his last two articles of clothing- a man thong (it just so happened to be the same week he lost a bet to Joey…), and his blood red boxers. And smirking across the table was a fully clothed Seto Kaiba.

"Well, Yami, it seems we have finally found a game that you can't win," he remarked, amused and quite smug.

Yami glared playfully across the table at his opponent. "Mark my words, Kaiba; I will get you out of that trench coat of yours," he threatened.

Seto smirked wider as he retaliated with a comment of his own. "Someone seems eager to get me out of my clothes."

"I could say the same about you, Kaiba, when you suggested this rotten game half an hour ago."

"I didn't know you were going to lose so badly! Though I admit, the view is nice."

Yami quirked a skeptical eyebrow at the other teen. "I'm freezing- though I'm sure you're happy to see anything, even if it is covered in goose bumps."

They had been doing this for quite some time now- not the card games, but the playful flirting between each other. It was obvious to both of them the attraction between each other, and so they had turned it into their new competition. They weren't rivals so much now, and both had agreed to lock up their Duel decks. How the winner of their new game would be determined, they weren't quite sure, for this was a game that neither knew the rules to, but they were more than willing to find out.

Seto made a sudden movement, and Yami glanced at his shoulders in amazement, then snuggled into the coat draped generously around him. Seto had been doing that lately - surprising Yami with gentle words or kind actions, such as giving Yami his trench coat. Yami smiled contently. He liked the new Seto Kaiba.

"Now we're even," Seto suddenly remarked, and Yami found himself counting the articles of the brunette's clothing. Shirt, belt, pants, shoes, socks…was Seto a boxers or briefs kind of guy? Yami blushed and mentally berated himself for actually wondering that.

But six hands at least to win…and then what? Yami shook his head at that thought.

"You don't want to play the next hand? In that case-"

Yami looked up. "What? No, I want to play this hand."

Seto nodded. "Thought so."

Five hands later

Hmm, so he is a boxers guy! Yami thought as he won yet another hand and Seto was forced to relinquish his pants. "Well, I think I've finally mastered this game. What do you think, Kaiba?"

"I think it's time I got my coat back. I'm freezing!"

Yami smirked and grabbed onto the front of the coat. "Nope, I'm keeping this."

Seto glared at the former Pharaoh. "You will give me my coat back Yami."

Yami shook his head playfully. "No, I don't think so."

"Don't make me come over there and take it off you."

"I'm sure you'd like that."

"You bet I would."

Yami stood up from the table, grinning wickedly. "Then come and get me first," he taunted, then teasingly bolted from the room.

"Hey!" Yami heard Seto shout behind him before the brunette emerged from the room to search for him.

"I thought you really wanted your coat back," Yami called from the stairs. A few seconds later Seto was at the bottom of the stairwell, then taking three steps at a time. Yami scrambled up the remaining stairs and ran down the hallway. He had reached a dead end when he heard Seto behind him.

"Ah ha! I've got you trapped now Yami," he remarked with a triumphant smirk.

"Not yet you don't," Yami replied, disappearing behind one of the many (many, many, many) doors. It just so happened to be a bedroom, covered in blue. Yami's eyes fell upon the blue covered bed, and then dived under the covers. 2

A moment later, Seto entered the room. "I wonder where Yami went with my coat…Hmm, where could he be?" Yami heard Seto walk around the room, muttering to himself. "Is he in the closet? No…then maybe behind the dresser! Not there…in the bathroom…no luck. Perhaps in the laundry bin? Only dirty socks there…then he must be …in the bed!"

Yami was suddenly flattened by Seto, who had leapt onto the bed. Yami pulled the covers off his head and smirked at the man on top of him. "Was I really that hard to find?"

"Oh, yes Yami, very hard to find. Now, my coat, if you please."

"I thought you wanted to take it off me."

"You told me to catch you; then I would get my coat."

Yami shook his head. "If you want it, get it. I told you to catch me."

Yami was taken aback as he felt cold hands creep beneath the coat and slide around his waist. "Seto, your hands are cold," Yami whispered.

Seto blinked down at Yami. "You just called me Seto."

"I did?"

Seto nodded. "It sounds nice when you say it. I never liked my name more."

Really? "In that case, Seto," Yami paused for emphasis, "would you mind taking your cold hands off me?"

"It's cold in here Yami; if I have cold hands it's because I don't have my trench coat back."

"It's warm under the covers," Yami told him. "You could join me under the covers and then you wouldn't need your coat." 3

Seto didn't reply, but Yami felt him shift off him and a moment later felt the presence of Seto's cold body beside him. Yami turned to look at the brunette. "It's much warmer, don't you think?"

In answer, Yami felt two (still slightly cold) hands go back around his waist, pulling Yami's body flush against his own. Yami looked into Seto's eyes in surprise. "Seto, what-?"

Seto silenced Yami's question with a demanding kiss. Yami gasped into the kiss and Seto's tongue began to taste Yami. Coaxed into playing with him, Seto and Yami battled for dominance over a kiss one wanted and the other willingly accepted. After an intense few seconds, Seto's lips moved to Yami's jaw line, nibbling and kissing his way to Yami's earlobe.

"Seto, please, we can't! Please just stop," Yami whispered, his hands pressing feebly against Seto's chest.

Seto pulled away from Yami's ear, gazing into Yami's eyes questioning. "Do you really want that?"

"Y-yes, please stop before anything happens," Yami repeated.

Seto's eyes narrowed at the spirit. "Are you afraid of something happening, or that you'll actually enjoy whatever happens?"

Yami moved away from Seto, turning over onto his other side. "I just think it's going too fast, that's all. I don't want to do anything we'll regret later on."

Yami started when Seto slipped his arm over Yami's hip, pulling him to his chest possessively. "I don't want to regret not doing something, whether this is the right time or not. You're here, I'm here, the bed's here; all that's missing is your consent. So are you willing to let your inhibitions go?"

Yami sighed. "This is just too fast…"

Some Time Later…4

Yami rested his head against Seto's chest, exhausted. "I still think this all went too quickly…"

Seto placed his chin on top of Yami's hair. "Go to sleep, Yami."

However, Yami still wanted to talk. "Seto, what-"

"Sleep, Yami. We can always talk in the morning."

Yami sighed in resignation. 'But Seto, what kind of love are we?'

"And that cloud is most definitely a cheeseburger!"

Yuugi laughed. "Joey, every cloud looks like food to you."

Yuugi and Joey were laying side by side in the park, looking at the clouds. As it was nearing lunchtime, the clouds had increasingly appeared more and more like food to the voracious blonde.

Joey laughed as well. "But they really do look like food Yuuge! I can't help that that cloud looks like a sundae, and that one like a root beer float! They just do; I'm not doing anything but looking at them!"

Yuugi shook his head. "What about that one?" he questioned, pointing to the cloud above them. "Is that one a slice of pizza?"

"Don't be ridiculous Yuugi!" Joey exclaimed. "That cloud looks like a heart; everyone knows that!"

Yuugi sat up suddenly at his friend's words.

"Yuugi? What is it?" Joey asked, concerned, as he sat up beside the other teen.

Turning, Yami gazed at Joey contemplatively before speaking. "Joey, what is love?"

"What do you mean Yuugi?" Joey was worried. Why would his friend ask him something like that? Didn't he have Téa? Didn't he know what love was?

"I'm not Yuugi," Yami said quietly and Joey gasped.

"Oh that's right! You're the spirit of the Puzzle, right? The guy who comes out when you and Yuugi duel? But why do you want to know what love is?"

Yami sighed. "When I was Pharaoh of Egypt three thousand years ago, I never got the opportunity to know what love was. Even if I hadn't been sealed in the Puzzle when I was, do you think I would have gotten the chance to marry someone I loved? But now, in this age, I don't have to worry about those things. And I see my hikari with Téa, and I see you and Mai, and I realize that I don't know what love is, that I've never known." 5

Joey's gaze wondered back up to the clouds, pondering Yami's words. The former spirit began to wonder whether Joey would answer his question when the blonde began to speak. "I remember that there used to be this guy called Valentine who, during a time in the Roman Era when young men and women weren't allowed to marry, would marry young couples in secret. Strange guy, because he ended up getting killed for doing that, but now he has his very own holiday!" Joey paused to laugh at the irony he found in that, then continued his story. "Y'know, I would say that Saint Valentine was in love with love."

"What?" Yami interrupted. "What do you mean, Joey?"

Bringing his eyes back to his friend, Joey smiled. "Well, he was willing to go against the government and marry young fools who probably would end up divorcing each other later on anyway, but he didn't care about that. Valentine believed that love shouldn't be banned; he believed that nothing was more important than love."

"And how does that answer my question?" Yami wondered, confused by Joey's anecdote.

"Love is precious- worth dying for."

Yami nodded. That's what Yuugi had said. But was love really that valuable? Worthy even of death? How was that possible? "Surely there must be more to love than that?"

Joey shook his head. "Nah, not really buddy. If love is strong enough, you'll do anything for it- even give your own life. You remember Battle City, right?"

"Of course." Yami gasped. "Yes, I do remember! You were willing to fight Marik at no matter the cost, just to bring Mai back! That's how powerful love is?"

Joey laughed. "Love does strange things to people, Yami. Makes 'em crazy. When you fall in love, you'll see what I mean."

Ever since they had slept together, Yami had found himself avoiding Seto. Their 'game' of flirtatious acts and suggestive words had all but been forgotten since they had shared a bed, and Yami didn't know how to act around the brunette anymore. Seto didn't try to contact Yami either and Yami wondered whether what they had done had even affected him.

As it was, Seto and Yami never got any opportunity to contact the other in the following weeks even had they wished to. There remained three weeks left in school, and Yuugi required all their time studying for finals, as was Seto, so Yami was forced to remain in his soul room as a kind of hibernation. It was the price he paid for being the darker half of a teenager.

Yami was vexed that Seto hadn't even spoken with his hikari in an attempt to speak to him. Did Seto care? Why didn't he call? Was it just a one time thing- did Yami mean that little to him? An ongoing circle of questions spun around in Yami's head as he tirelessly paced the many corridors of his mind.

Yami was concerned. Seto didn't care for him…and Yami cared all too much.

"Bakura, have you ever been in love?"

"Can't say I have. Why?"

Yami sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing. No reason."

Ryou quirked an eyebrow at the former Pharaoh. "You expect me to believe that?"

Yami looked up at the white haired teen. "No," he replied simply.

"So why did you ask?" Bakura repeated. When Yami didn't answer, Bakura smiled softly. "Who is it? Kaiba perhaps?"

Yami looked up in surprise. "How'd you- I mean, what would make you say that?"

Bakura shrugged and laughed softly. "Lucky guess, that's all. So, what is the problem? I assume there's a problem, yes?"

Yami slumped in his seat. "I don't think he cares about me."

"And why should he?" Bakura asked inquisitively.

Yami glanced up sharply. "Well what am I supposed to expect after we slept together?" he said.

"Didn't he call?"

"…No."

"Ah, I see."

"I guess I'm being foolish."

"Maybe he thinks you don't care about him."

Yami turned confused eyes to his companion. "I slept with him, didn't I?"

Bakura shrugged. "So? He slept with you, didn't he?" Bakura's hair shook wildly about his head. "Just because you had sex doesn't mean a thing."

"Well, what's love to you Bakura?"

Bakura smiled. "I have never been in love, and ever since Amane's death I've really only had otousan. But you guys…all of you have been the closest friends I've ever had and I love all of you. You were all worth dying for…twice." He laughed. "Love is the strongest possible bond between two people, invincible against everything, even death."

Why did death always come into the equation? Yami cried to himself. Is this some kind of omen or something? 6

Bakura laughed at Yami's pained expression. "Don't worry. Most tests of love do not usually entail trials of death."

Yami sighed in relief.

"Only most of them do."

The traffic was heavy as Yami made his way back to the game shop. He had just ended his visit with Bakura at his apartment and had much to ponder. Why did it seem that no matter who he asked, love always meant "more than death"? Why did death always play a part in everything?

Yami turned at the crosswalk and began to cross the street, lost in thought. Would he be willing to die for Seto? Did his love go that deep? Would Seto be willing to risk his life for Yami? Yami didn't know. Given the opportunity-

"YAMI!"

Wait a second…What was that sound? Yami turned at the sudden screeching of tires and opened his mouth in a silent scream as he took in the wildly swerving car headed straight at him! Yami willed himself to move, but his legs were frozen in place and the car was coming closer every second.

Yami closed his eyes to the impending impact and so was surprised when he was pushed aside at the last moment, landing roughly on the sidewalk on the other side of the street, but otherwise intact. But who had saved him?

Opening his eyes cautiously, Yami gasped at the sight of Seto Kaiba lying on top of him. The position was slightly familiar, only this time it was Seto screaming instead of the other way around.

"What were you thinking?" the brunette was yelling at the spirit, shaking him by his shoulders. "You could have gotten yourself killed you idiot!"

Yami smiled up at his savior. "You saved me?"

"Saved you from your own stupidity, yes!" Seto finally stood up, helping Yami to stand as well, only to resume shouting animadversions at Yami. "Don't do that to me ever again, do you understand? I nearly had a heart attack!"

Yami blushed softly. "You care about me Seto?"

Seto blinked, then replied in a more gentle tone. "Of course I do."

"You never called."

Seto simply stared at Yami during a momentary silence which Seto broke with boisterous laughter. "If that's the case! I thought you didn't care about me!"

Yami shook his head. "I…I think I love you Seto."

Seto brought his hand beneath Yami's chin, lifting his head up so their eyes connected. "What makes you say that?"

Yami fumbled for words to answer Seto's query, retelling him what Yuugi had told him, Joey's story, and Bakura's insight. Finally Yami simply shook his head at it all. "No, that's not why I love you…this is," and he leaned up towards Seto to place a tentative kiss on the other's lips.

Seto smiled as the former Pharaoh pulled back. "Good reason."

Yami still wasn't sure though, and stepped back from the brunette. "How do you feel about me?"

Seto closed the space Yami had put between them. "I risked my life to save yours, didn't I?" Yami grinned, as Seto pulled him into another kiss. "Of course I love you Yami."

Yami was about to answer when Yuugi spoke up from his soul room. "Yami, jii-san's milk!"

'How much milk does he drink?' Yami thought as he waved a quick goodbye to Seto, running down the street to the grocery store. Seto simply smirked and walked down the street slowly. 'He'll be back.'

Owari

Notes/Concerns

1 Why does this whole conversation sound like ninth grade health class? groan I'm not supposed to actually remember this stuff! At least I didn't mention the triangles…

2 Well Yami isn't eager to get into bed! Okay, so that could be called cheating to get them in bed together, but whatever…

3 Yami's not obvious…nope, not at all. Jeez, talk about being subtle! Yami: Do you think I said that on purpose! Me: Well, yeah! Yami: …and you call yourself the author!

4 Just too lazy to actually write it out, so use your imagination…I know, evil…if I get the chance, I might write that scene out in more detail, but for now, that's how it's staying.

5 I know it's either 3000 or 5000 years; I think 3000 is the correct one- seeing as I hear 5000 in the dub, and we know how bad they screwed the story up…

6 And Yami proceeds to ruin the rest of the story…

So…fidgets nervously what did you think? Admittedly, that was my first SetoYami ever. I've always paired Yami with Yuugi or Yami Bakura or Joey before…so I hope you liked! I know…quite long. And if you want me to write the scene I didn't, just let me know… Rowan

Please review!