Yu-Gi-Oh! © Takahashi Kazuki and Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd.

The sleek Lexus roared down the highway at dusk, the driver deliberately ignoring all proper driving safety rules and etiquette that he had previously adhered to since first gaining his license. Horns blared, tires screeched, red lights flashed by, but tonight the CEO just couldn't bring himself to care. White-knuckled fingers gripped the steering wheel as he raced onward, no particular destination in mind. How could he be bothered by such arbitrary concepts as speed limits and destinations when his mind was in such an uproar? Recalling the cause of his agitated state, anguished sapphire eyes became blurred with tears of pain and anger. One hand unclenched from the wheel long enough to dash away the droplets of saline and as his vision cleared, he saw it. There, at the edge of his peripheral vision. A quiet stone bridge over the river. That's where he would do it.

The brunet wrenched the steering wheel to the left, not bothering to decelerate as he left the highway. He sped toward the bridge, the dissonance of the engine obscenely loud in the quiet, sleepy neighborhood he had intruded upon. While in other parts of the vast city the night had just begun, in this quiet corner the day was over and small children were being tucked into bed. The thought of where he should be, with the one he should be tucking into bed at this very moment, made his heart clench, but he kept driving. His resolve was firm. He just needed to accomplish this one thing, and then he could leave. It was catharsis… And a symbolic gesture. His mouth twisted grimly.

The Lexus skidded to a stop on the cobblestones of the bridge. A window was rolled down. And then, a lone plastic thermos was unceremoniously flung from the vehicle, arching over the dark waters of the river before plunging beneath the surface with a satisfying splash.

The engine of the Lexus hummed quietly on the deserted bridge, waiting patiently for the driver to compose himself. After a few long moments, the man slouched in the front seat straightened, wiped roughly at his eyes, and finger-combed his chestnut hair into order. He then very calmly shifted gears and just as calmly made a U-turn, got back on the highway, and headed home. He broke no speed limits. He ran no red lights. His countenance remained determinedly neutral. Any passerby happening to catch a glimpse of him as he drove would not have thought that anything out of the ordinary had occurred.

His younger brother, however, was far more perceptive.

"Seto?" The dark-haired adolescent heard the front door open and hit pause on his video game. He trotted to the foyer, socks sliding on the smooth marble. "Why're you back so soon? Did Jou like the…"

Mokuba shut up. His older brother had hurriedly ducked his head so that his heavy chestnut bangs would hide his eyes, but Mokuba had already seen the tell-tale –albeit minute– signs that his big brother had been crying. The teenager bit his lip. Then it hadn't gone well... But what could possibly have gone wrong? It was supposed to be so simple… Mokuba fidgeted with the hand-held game, wondering what to do. He had so many questions he wanted to ask… But he knew that Kaiba Seto would rather have his fingernails yanked out with rusty pliers than admit to being human.

"I see. Yes, of course you must stay home. No, it's fine. Rest. Remember to take liquids and eat regularly. No, junk food is unacceptable. And just for clarification, kibbles are similarly unacceptable. Go to a supermarket and purchase some real food. Yes, all right, that's fine. Goodbye, Katsuya. …Yes, I love you as well. I will stop by to see you when you have sufficiently recovered."

"Seto!" Mokuba bounced into his office, halfway through his first bag of gummy candies. "So when's Jou coming over?"

"Jou will not be joining us this evening." Seto returned the phone to its cradle.

"Whaaat? But I even took a bath!" He pointed to his squeaky-clean face emphatically.

"I'm sure Jou would have appreciated the effort. I appreciate it in his stead. I had taken to positioning myself upwind of you at breakfast for the last week."

"Har-har-har. But why isn't he coming? I wanted to play my new video game with him."

"He is ill."

"Aww, poor Jou! Are you gonna go over there?"

"No. I have no desire to catch whatever virus is plaguing his system, and then as an added bonus have you catch it from me, because then I would be forced into the role of your nursemaid. Being ill is very troublesome. Quarantine is the best solution for all involved."

"Setooo. Come on! You should bring him a get-well card! Or some soup! Yeah, chicken noodle soup!"

"Why? If he wants soup, he can make it himself. It does not take a background in neurosurgery to operate a can-opener."

"Cause it's a nice thing to do!" Mokuba explained, becoming exasperated. "It's what people do when someone they care about is sick! It shows you love them!"

At this declaration Seto blinked, at a loss. Then he nodded slowly, convinced. "All right. Then I shall phone a restaurant and order-"

"No, no, no, you have to make it yourself so that it's made with love. Come on, Seto, I'll show you."

Mokuba watched the silent figure of his brother standing in the foyer and wished Seto would tell him what had happened, what had gone wrong. He had fully expected him to call and say he was spending the night at Jou's! Mokuba had envisioned his big brother taking care of his sick boyfriend… Very Florence Nightingale. It would have been so romantic.

"Time for bed, Mokuba," was all Seto said, his voice quiet. Mokuba didn't even argue that it was only nine o'clock. He picked up his hand-held and trotted up the stairs to his room. After he had changed, brushed his teeth, and slipped between the covers, Seto came to bid him goodnight. Most days he came home long after Mokuba had gone to bed, and so Mokuba cherished these seemingly trivial exchanges between him and his big brother. His only family, although lately he had begun to include Jou in that category.

"Goodnight, Mokuba." Seto pulled the covers up to his chin and ruffled his hair affectionately. He then walked to the doorway, where he was silhouetted by the warm glow of the hall light.

"Night Seto. I love you." Cobalt eyes searched the gaze of sapphire. Seto turned away.

"…I love you as well." Seto closed the door.

Jounouchi Katsuya closed his front door and sighed, raking his long golden hair back out of his eyes. The look on Seto's face… Damn, that had made him feel like the world's biggest shit. He rubbed at his eyes and a small voice in his head wondered if it was too late to call him on his cell and apologize…

"Wellll?" A long, red-nailed hand inched along his shoulder before trailing down his bicep, the feather-light touches making his skin crawl agreeably.

…On second thought, it was probably way too late to apologize. He pulled the hand and its owner to his chest, snaking his hands around a trim waist and kissing his armful soundly. "So impatient," he grinned, and attacked her neck.

Mai smirked, violet eyes glinting with lust. Then she twisted her face into a pretty pout. "After that tasteless interruption, it's hard to say. I thought you said you called in sick to work," she teased.

"Yeah, and I did. I didn't expect him to actually come over. He's never done anything like that before…" Katsuya paused in his task of nipping Mai's jaw, considering.

No, he hadn't done something like that before. Ever. Kaiba Seto would never stoop to something as earthly as bringing a get-well gift round to a sick lover. That was just too common, too mundane, too beneath the likes of him, the oh-so-big-and-bad CEO who had never so much as asked Katsuya about his day, or called if he was going to be late to a date, or anything. Katsuya felt himself redden with anger, as had recently become the norm whenever his thoughts turned to Seto.

"I can see why," Mai cackled. "Did you see how ridiculous he looked standing there holding a thermos? The Great Kaiba. He couldn't have looked more out of place if he had been wearing a clown suit," she sniggered.

Katsuya gave a lop-sided smile. "Yeah…" It had been funny.

"Good thing he left pretty quickly, though. I was beginning to feel a bit chilly, the way he was glaring at me with those icy eyes… God, how can you stand it? Brrr! You'd better warm me up, hon…" She rubbed against him brazenly.

"Oh, I will…" He nuzzled her neck and licked along her jawline. One hand snaked around her waist while the other slithered down to grab a handful of her shapely backside.

Although his lips and hands remained happily busy, Katsuya's mind ticked away, unable to distance himself from what had just happened, what it meant, what impact it would have on their relationship, what their relationship had been like... Because it was true. And he couldn't stand it, couldn't stand any of it, how cold Seto was. He had known Seto was cold from back when they were still bickering like the idiots they were, but it had been a long time since then, they had grown older, grown together, and he was Seto's boyfriend and that should make a difference! How could you be such a cold, unfeeling robot to your own boyfriend, your lover? It hurt, damn it!

"So…" Mai slowly slid her leg up the back of his calf, teasing. "Are we going to finish what we started?" She purred.

Katsuya smirked and pressed her to him. She was soft, warm, and yielding, wrapping her arms around his neck and molding her body to fit his. This was the way it should be. Not cold, hard, angular, detached. She was actually affectionate. Sure, it was all fake, they didn't actually care for one another past this one particular act and its fantastic climax, but at least she tried, unlike a certain someone. A certain someone who never so much as asked him what was going on in his life, or complimented him, or offered to arrange a date, unless it was to one of his stupid business dinners that made Katsuya want to sob with boredom. I mean, come on, how un-romantic was that? It was horrible, like going out with a computer. A cold, methodical, rigid, unfeeling computer. He wanted flesh and blood. And a heart.

He had thought he was someone special to Seto, thought that maybe Seto treated him differently from everyone else. He thought that after all his hard work he had somehow managed to slowly but surely worm his way into the tiny inner circle of people important to Seto that had previously only consisted of Mokuba… Mokuba. Oh, Mokuba. Katsuya felt his first pangs of guilt, and paused in his mission of creating the hickey to end all hickey's on Mai's neck. What he had just done to Mokuba by doing what he had to Seto… Now he really felt like shit.

"Mmm… Why'd you stop?" She breathed against his lips, violet eyes at half-mast and eying him like a tasty piece of meat. "Time to move this to a more comfortable location?" She disentangled herself from him and sauntered over to the open doorway to his bedroom, where she stopped. She turned and looked back at him over her shoulder, striking a pose that was at once provocative and very, very erotic.

"Yeah. Coming." He shook his shaggy mane, willing all thoughts of a certain brunet beauty from his mind. With one simple action, one encounter that had lasted less than five minutes before Seto had took off in his car, he had ended their relationship more thoroughly than if he had sat down with Seto over coffee and asked to break up. And now they were over. And now Katsuya was free of him. No more obsessing over what was going on behind those impenetrable blue eyes. No more forced conversation that was barely acknowledged with a "Hn." No more trying to live up to standards that would make a Puritan feel unprincipled. No more thinking of Kaiba Seto whatsoever, ever. Katsuya had his whole life ahead of him, and he wasn't going to let a moment of it go to waste. He raked his eyes over Mai's body appreciatively and followed her into his bedroom, shutting the door soundly behind him.

Remember this is going to be about Seto and Katsuya so don't give up on me yet! Or Katsuya! He's not really a bad person! He just made a mistake and he's going to pay for it later… So stick around.

Setsuna