The Perfect Anniversary

by West Pharaoh

The past two days have been hard on Seto; he forgot his own anniversary, he's almost certain Bakura wants to kill him, and Yugi is a manipulative little jerk. Can he salvage the day and save his relationship, or will everything crash and burn around his head? Puppyshipping, mentions of puzzleshipping and tendershipping, brief allusion to bronze.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

Seto Kaiba let out a soft sigh, soaking up the warmth of his sheets, the feel of his boyfriend against his chest as they huddled together under the blankets. It was snowing outside—there was no doubt about it, but the two of them were quite comfortable. In fact he was half asleep, lightly dozing as he rested his head on top of Joey's.

There was a soft rustling, and Joey shifted against his bare chest. "Wha' time izzit?" The blonde muttered, sinking deeper against Seto, if that was even possible.

"Too early." Was the quiet response, even though Seto knew very well that he had to go to work at 8 o'clock exactly. From his inner alarm clock, he would have to say that it was…what, 6:30? 7 at the latest? Whatever, he didn't care. He just wrapped his arms tighter around Joey's bare chest—they were like a mold, meant to fit together, sappy as the thought was. Seto cherished moments like these—when the two of them could just cuddle up together and forget the world around them.

Somehow the blonde managed to wriggle out from his grip. "Thas' not the right attitude. By the way, you need ta get us a new clock. This one's broken. So's my wristwatch, actually." He groaned, throwing off the blankets and stretching his arms up into the air—normally Seto was happy to watch this action, as it did interesting things to Joey's body, but he had just been exposed to the frigid morning chill, and was burrowing back underneath the blankets. Which Joey had just thrown off of him. Annoyingly.

Seto let out an intelligible mutter.

"Besides," The Brooklyn teen continued, and Seto heard him slide off the bed. "You're not the only one who has work ya know."

Of course Seto had offered to set Joey for life—if the blond had asked, he would've been the new owner of a small fortune. But he was a hard, honest worker, and felt as though he had to claw his way to wealth instead of accepting money he hadn't earned.

(But really, if Joey ever did get into monetary issues, Seto would bail him out, pride or no.)

With a low groan Seto rolled off the bed, curling slightly when he impacted with the ground. Luckily he was still wearing his flannel pajama bottoms, but as was his habit his top half was unclothed. So now he was freezing. Joey was in a similar ensemble, but at least he had had the good sense not to get into too much contact with the floor.

'Ice-cold, emotionless, arrogant to the point of insanity.' Oh, if only they could see the mighty Seto Kaiba now. Mornings were a bitch.

Joey grinned and scooped Seto up from the floor, who froze. "Unhand me, dog."

"Are ya awake?" Said dog grinned widely, his charming, boyish grin nearly melting Seto into a puddle of goo. He managed to keep his composure, and instead lunged up and caught Joey's lips, simultaneously following his desires and getting himself out of the embarrassing position.

Seto landed lightly on the floor, smirking widely. "I am now."

"…jerk." Joey was blushing slightly—it was a mystery how even after two years of dating, the little things—stolen kisses, cuddling up on the couch—could make the blonde blush. It was just one of the things Seto loved about his little dog. He was interrupted from his musings by another kiss, this one deeper and more passionate than the last, which he returned just long enough to suck all the air out of him. When they broke apart again, Joey spoke, slightly breathless, never dropping his eyes—they were always on Seto, like they should be. "I'm going ta make breakfast—any preferences?"

The smirk widened. "You in an apron." A pause. "And nothing else."

This time the blush spread all the way up from Joey's neck and towards the tips of his ears. Seto let out a low, throaty chuckle, and walked away, intent on taking a shower, completely ignoring the little red circle on the calendar…

~0~

You do know what tomorrow is, right?

Seto glanced discretely at his phone, furrowing his eyebrows. It was highly unusual for Yugi to text him, especially during work. Not that he was busy at the moment, but still. No,he texted back smartly, but I'm sure you're going to tell me.

There was a two minute break, where the brunette scrawled another thing out on the papers on his desk, before the response came. You bastard. Did you seriously forget? Seto blinked in surprise—Yugi almost never swore at him. The man was extremely passive—except when it came to his friends. Which meant that this probably had something to do with Joey. He tilted his head back, looking towards the ceiling. He'd remembered Joey's birthday, and Christmas, and Valentine's Day, which was more than Seto had done for anyone in his life besides Mokuba…

Nope. Not ringing any bells.

Again there was that small pause, and Seto observed another business offer. Someone looking to produce a rip-off of Duel Monsters. This wouldn't even get off the ground. He glanced at his phone wearily when Yugi texted back, before slowly picking it up to see the response.

Guess whose anniversary it is tomorrow, idiot.

As if on cue, his phone buzzed with another message, almost like an ominous omen that covered up Yugi's words. Joey's number popped up on the screen, and when Seto opened the message, it read, Hey babe ! I made the reservations at that fancy place you asked me to. Don't die of boredom at work, seeya at lunch break! Love ya!

Seto's mouth slackened slightly, and his eyes widened in shock—that's right, it had been on the calendar for two weeks, and he had literally forced Joey to call that nice Sushi restaurant downtown for reservations, and—

It was tomorrow.

And he'd completely forgotten a present.

He jumped from his seat and practically ran from his office, ignoring his secretary's confused shouts, before diving into the elevator and desperately slamming his fist on the ground floor button. The ride seemed to take forever—damn him for building such a huge building—but when he got to the first level he smoothed his jacket and sauntered towards the front desk—it was inappropriate for the highly respectable boss of a company to run.

The woman there looked up with a bored expression—then did a double take as she realized who it was. "Mr. Kaiba!" She stammered, hastily straightening her messy desk. "I didn't—I—"

"Cancel any appointments for me today right now." He demanded, slamming his hand down on the counter unthinkingly. "I am going to be busy for the rest of the day. Turn everyone away." As an afterthought he added, "Unless it's Mokuba." Then he turned on his heels and practically ran from the building, leaving the bemused woman in his wake.

…well, that was smart.

Now what? He hadn't even considered what he was going to get for Joey…he paused in front of the doors, suddenly thoughtful. Seto could always get Joey what he usually got him—a package of Duel Monsters, some roses and something else sappy that would appeal to his blond boyfriend's romantic side—but it didn't feel…right. It was their anniversary; their second, to be specific. It had to be perfect.

And since Seto Kaiba was a multi-billionaire fresh-out-of-teen year old man with a god complex, he went with his first instinct.

Break into Yugi Mutou's apartment and hope it gave him a few ideas.

~0~

Granted the idea wasn't unfounded; after all, if Joey wasn't working, relaxing by himself or with Seto, he was no doubt hanging with Yugi at the shorter man's apartment. Most boyfriends might be a little affronted if their significant other spent so much time with another man, but somehow Seto Kaiba had befriended the two most chick-like guys in the entire universe (Atem just so happened to agree with him). They were more like a pair of girls, gossiping with each other and other feminine crap rather than making out, so Seto had never and would never see Yugi as a threat to their relationship.

Besides, sometimes the little brat helped him out. Especially with situations like this—even if it was unintentional.

The point was that Yugi's apartment was like a second home to Joey. And there was bound to be something that could get the creative juices flowing!

Okay, so maybe Seto's first reaction shouldn't have been to break into the man's house, but right now he was just a bit desperate. Not that Joey would get mad at him—no, Joey would smile tightly and say, 'Nah, it's all cool. There's always next time.' But because the blonde wouldn't get mad, he'd just get incredibly mopey and sad, and would spend another three days watching chick flicks with Yugi again. Dear God, he never wanted to repeat that unfortunate experience.

Plus, Joey would give Seto the kicked puppy look when he thought he wasn't looking. If there was one thing the brunette couldn't stand, though he would never admit it, it was the kicked puppy look—it made his heart ache fiercely, and an unfamiliar emotion stab his heart. Guilt.

Resolve strengthened, Seto dropped soundlessly to the carpet, leaving the window cracked open slightly in case he needed to escape. Yugi had installed a security system, yes, but Seto was the one who had designed it. He could reasonably certain he could get in and out without anyone noticing, since Atem was in Egypt on some archaeology business, and Yugi was teaching.

He padded around inside the apartment for a couple minutes, aimlessly searching for something that would give him a burst of inspiration, something that would make Joey's eyes light up with joy and wonder…before dropping onto the couch with a sigh. What am I supposed to do now? He thought, running a hand through his short brown hair, this was completely useless.

Then his eyes caught on a small piece of paper sitting on the little coffee table in front of him—he usually didn't go through other people's stuff, but Yugi was a neat freak (the complete opposite of his little mutt, who was an absolute slob), and wouldn't leave something like this lying around. Seto glanced around nervously, before realizing how ridiculous that was and picked up the little square.

Dear Seto,

He jumped, staring in shock.

If you're reading this, it means you're an ass who forgot his own anniversary. Trust me; you're not going to find anything all that useful around the house. For the love of God, don't get him another deck of Duel Monsters, please. Anyway, Joey's been complaining a lot about 'so little time'. Hope that helps.

Yugi

P.S. Please close the window on your way out.

Seto's first thoughts were, I have written proof that Yugi Motou is actually a female. Because for God's sake, only someone with a woman's intuition could've guessed his actions so thoroughly. An unsettled feeling roiled in the pit of his stomach—maybe Atem had been on to something when he said that there was more to Yugi than met the eye.

…whatever. It wasn't like he was a tiny bit freaked out or anything. Instead, he focused on the obvious hint Yugi had left him—so little time. So little time to what? Time to…that's it! Seto Kaiba's mind instantly focused on the material gain related to that word—time. Just that morning hadn't Joey been complaining about time?

Seto smirked and crumpled the paper against his chest—he knew what he had to do.

"Bakura?"

The white-haired man looked up and immediately ducked his head beneath the counter. "Nope, no one's here! Go away!" Was the low growl.

Seto got up on his tiptoes and lifted himself slightly over the edge so he could see where the man was crouching—he was obviously some sort of employee, or as Seto suspected, he was pretending to be. Bakura wasn't wearing his usual ensemble, instead dressed in a neatly pressed uniform.

Inwardly amused, Seto settled back against the counter. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here, asshole." The whitette hissed through clenched teeth, still ducked below the counter. He noticed Seto's incredulous look, and immediately became indignant. "If it were up to me, I wouldn't be here! It's just—"

"Hey Bakura, do you mind if you—oh, hey Seto." Ryou blinked in surprise when he noticed the Kaiba, hands curled almost cutely around a clipboard. "Can we help you with something?" He looked around, suddenly confused. "Have you seen Bakura? His shift isn't up. I do hope he isn't raiding the display again…"

Seto was just about to give away the yami's hiding place when Bakura practically jumped to his feet, a somewhat desperate, somewhat annoyed expression on his face. "I'm right here!"

Ryou's smile could have outshone the sun. Seto glanced at Bakura out of the corner of his eye to check the whitette's reaction, and wasn't disappointed. Bakura looked slightly dreamy for a second at the sight, before rearing himself in. Seto shook his head—the idiot was clueless. Bakura probably didn't even realize that he was madly in love with Ryou.

"Oh, there you are! You're doing very well." The British man said encouragingly. "Anyway, what can we do for you, Seto?"

There was an unpleasant mental bump as Seto crashed back to earth, suddenly remembering why he was there in the first place. He drew himself up importantly. "I need to look at your wares. Your nice ones." He reiterated. Nothing of poor quality for his precious little mutt—no, his dog was getting a diamond studded collar.

Hm. That wasn't actually a bad idea…

Ryou and Bakura shared a meaningful glance—Seto was a rich customer, and if they got him to buy what was in stock…the money signs practically glowed in the tomb robber's eyes, while his light turned and spoke. "I'll see what I can find." Then he turned tail, Bakura's eyes watching him like a hawk. As soon as the shorter male disappeared into the store, the tomb robber sighed and practically collapsed against the counter.

Seto gave him an odd look. "What are you waiting for?"

Before he could stop himself, Bakura blurted out. "Is it that obvious?" Then he managed to regain his cool and bristled. "It's none of your business." But even he seemed to realize that it was too late.

"It's obvious you're head over heels for him." The CEO rolled his eyes, deciding to ignore his attitude. Really, he was being generous all over the place today. "What's stopping you?"

For a second it looked as though the tomb robber was going to snap at him and deny everything, but then thought better of it. His eyes darted around nervously as he said, "He doesn't like me."

(Yes, he was having a relationship talk with Bakura the tomb robber—what was this world coming to?)

Seto stared unabashedly—okay, this took obliviousness to a whole new level. He was just about to comment on this, when the kindly looking Ryou returned, carrying a bundle of cases in his slender arms. "This was all I could find—did you two get along okay?" He smiled brightly at the pair, both of which reacted with varying levels of nervousness.

"So," Seto said abruptly. "What do you have for me?"

Ten minutes later, and Seto was very satisfied with his choice. It was expensive, yes, but only the best for Joey. He was about to turn and leave, when Ryou stopped him.

"Oh, Seto. I forgot to mention. Atem left me a message to give to you—I can't make heads or tails of it, but he said you'd understand." The British man smiled and cleared his throat, before doing his best imitation of the Pharaoh's deep voice. "Remember, Seto, that I am Yugi's yami." He shrugged, staring at Seto curiously, who had paled. "Do you…?"

Oh, the Pharaoh, subtle as ever. He was essentially threatening Seto—Joey is Yugi's best friend. If you hurt Joey, it'll hurt Yugi. And I am Yugi's 3000 year old protector/boyfriend who can kick your ass all the way to Egypt.

There was now more at stake here than he'd originally thought. Not only would Joey probably cry and break both their hearts, but Atem would come and beat the crap out of him, too. As quickly as he could he schooled his features, ignoring Ryou's smirk—oh, he understood, the little limey.

Seto looked down at the case in his hands, before holding it up to eye level. "How much for an inscription on this?"

The whitette smiled sweetly and took the little box back, before naming his price. "It'll cost you extra if you want a rush job."

Seto sighed, and reached back into his mostly empty wallet.

Bakura, who had been watching the exchange with detached interest, perked up. This…inscription must be pretty important to Seto if he was willing to pay that much for a rush job. Plus, right after Ryou gave him that message….his fists clenched. They must be up to something. And whatever it was…

He would find out. Or stop whatever it was from happening in the first place.

Just as Seto was about to leave, he turned around and looked Bakura dead in the eyes. "You're an idiot. Of course he does." And then he swept out of the room, and it felt like a tornado had just left, even though nothing had been touched.

~0~

He was going to be late for his lunch date with Joey if he didn't hurry up. And while the blonde wasn't a stickler on time, Seto hated to be tardy for anything. The Café was two blocks down, though, so if he hurried he'd be able to make it with plenty of time to spare.

Then, of course, his phone rang. With a sigh, Seto picked the device out of his pocket and glanced at the caller ID. The number was one he didn't recognize, so with great trepidation he flipped open the phone and put it next to his ear. "Hello?"

"Kaiba." Okay, what the hell.

"Marik?" Seto asked incredulously, unconsciously slowing his pace. "Why the hell are you calling me? I don't even like you!"

"Look, can we put our differences aside for one once? It's for the greater good." There was a note of urgency in the yami's voice, which had Seto a bit more suspicious than he already had been.

"How did you even get this number?"

"It doesn't matter. Can you do me a favor or not?"

Seto rubbed his forehead. "No, of course not."

"But Yugi sent me!" Marik wailed, which made Seto pause. If Yugi had told Marik to call him, then maybe the fate of the world was at stake.

"…okay, I'm listening."

"So, Malik and I are going on our first date tomorrow night…" This didn't sound earth shattering. "And I was supposed to reserve a table at this really snooty place a week ago, but I kept forgetting. I called in a few minutes ago, and there were no more tables left! I didn't know what else to do!" It sounded as though the yami was going to break down into hysterical tears.

Seto sighed. "And…Yugi told you to call me?"

"He said that it might be better if you talked to them." Again, there was that note of sniveling desperation.

"I'll…see what I can do." Oh, Yugi was going to owe him a lot of favors for this. Wait a minute—no he didn't. After all, Yugi had done him a favor with Joey, so neither of them owed each other anything. Which was just how it should be. "What is this place called?"

Marik sounded very relieved. "It's that sushi restaurant, that really froufrou one. There's only one in town, you should know it."

Seto stopped in his tracks. That was the same place he and Joey were going tomorrow night. God, if they sat anywhere near each other… "I'll call you tomorrow."

He hung up the phone and sighed again, before glancing at the time, eyes widening in horror. He had only one minute—and he was still a block away. He picked up the pace again, quickly making it to the café. Seto looked at his phone again, and smirked. Just on time.

"Hey babe." Seto nearly tensed when he felt two arms wrap around his waist, but instantly relaxed when he heard the voice. He melted into Joey's arms, feeling any tension in him draining out instantly. "What were ya runnin' for?"

"Couldn't wait." He responded gruffly, turning around and forcing Joey's lips onto his, feeling the surprise—and then the tentative return of the somewhat needy kiss. Seto wasn't one to show affections publicly.

"Someone's in a mood today." Joey opened the door to the café, letting Seto walk inside first. "Somethin' wrong?"

Seto knew he definitely couldn't tell Joey what he'd been doing. He inwardly debated what he should say, before stating, "It's been…stressful." It wasn't technically a lie.

Joey smiled sympathetically, which made Seto's heart twinge with guilt for stretching the truth. "They're overworkin' ya over there. At least tomorra' you'll get a break, right?"

The brunette managed to smile weakly. Somehow, he doubted it.

~0~

The next morning

Once again, Seto awoke warm and comfortable, his long lean arms wrapped around his boyfriend. This time, though, they were both completely naked, legs tangled up under the covers as they laid there. For a second Seto simply stayed in that position, face pressed against his lover's neck as he breathed in the scent, eyelashes butterflying against the warm skin, before propping himself up on one arm to examine his mutt's face.

Joey was still asleep, his expression peaceful and relaxed in the muted morning light. He had a half smile on his beautiful tan face, obviously having had a good night. Seto smirked—he could attest to that.

The supposedly sleeping dog let out a groan, and turned slightly, obviously in the process of waking up. The smirk widened—maybe he could help in some way. He sensually leaned down and began to nibble on Joey's ear, feeling the body pressed against his tense up immediately.

"Mrghfff." Joey twisted until his face was pressed against Seto's chest, and pushed him away half-heartedly. "Bad dog. Too early."

"I'm not the dog here." The CEO pressed his nose into Joey's hair, and the blonde buried his head into the crook of Seto's neck. There was a comfortable pause, before he whispered "Good morning. Here's to two years."

Joey lifted his head and grinned lazily in Seto's direction, causing his icy heart to thaw a little at the sight. "Mornin', babe. Happy anniversary."

Then he reluctantly pushed himself up, stretching and groaning in complaint (Seto licked his lips suggestively, causing the dog to blush and slump back down again). "Urgh…I still have ta go to work. That sucks." Joey clambered out of bed, muttering unhappily all the way. Seto was perfectly happy to let him continue on like this, as long as the blond didn't go out of sight—he was getting a great view at the moment.

Wait a minute. Seto blinked, and unfocused his gaze from Joey's ass. I need to pick up that gift as soon as Joey leaves. He began to scowl. Which means seeing Bakura again. God, and he'd been having such a great morning, too.

His train of thought crashed abruptly when he found himself deep in a lip-lock with his boyfriend. When they broke apart, Seto raised his eyebrows in confusion.

"You looked unhappy. I thought I'd cheer ya up." Joey smirked at him, though there was the underlying bit of concern, the silent question—are you okay?

He forced his scowl to soften, inwardly wincing. If Joey had noticed, the stress must have been showing on his face. "Thanks, mutt. Now get out of here."

The blonde hesitated just a second, obviously indecisive whether or not he should go, especially since his brunette counterpart was obviously edgy about something. It was their anniversary—they were supposed to be happy!

Seto noticed this. "Joey…" He reached out and took Joey's hand, stroking the knuckles with his thumb, trying to soothe his worried lover. "I love you." It wasn't a phrase he said often. "Now get to work, before you're late." To put the icing on the cake, he smiled a tiny smile—not a smirk, but a true, honest grin.

This seemed to placate the worried dog—his expression melted, and he nodded. "Seeya babe. Love ya' too." Then he turned around and walked out of the bedroom. Seto listened gloomily to the front door of the apartment slamming, his face immediately falling again. With a sigh, he forced himself into a sitting position.

He had an appointment with Bakura after all. He couldn't be late.

~0~

Seto approached the counter, sleep still ghosting the back of his mind. In one hand he held a cup of coffee (read: ambrosia), and the other was buried deep into his dark blue pockets. It was around 8:30 in the morning—much too early for the CEO to be doing anything but slumping over his desk, trying not to fall asleep all over his paperwork.

Dimly he noticed Bakura sitting in front of him behind the desk, sharpening his fingernails with a knife. Normally he might be a bit concerned about this, but his sense of self-preservation was still catching some z's.

Lucky bastard.

"I'm here." Seto muttered into his coffee, ignoring the snicker from the whitette in front of him.

"Well obviously." Bakura grinned in amusement at Seto's half-conscious state, and slid the knife back into its sheath on his thigh. There was something different about him—his posture was a bit more malicious than usual, voice a bit more sultry. "Your order is right back here. Please follow me."

In the back of Seto's dazed mind, he realized that this was not proper procedure. Finally he seemed to notice the odd behavior from the yami, and he slowly lowered the coffee cup. He blinked owlishly at the glint in Bakura's eyes, the evil smirk on his face, the knife barely concealed behind the white apron. "I don't think you're allowed to keep weapons in here." He said carefully.

Bakura simply grinned and gestured for Seto to follow him. "Who's going to stop me? Now come on, your order is back here. It's ready for you."

Now alarm bells were ringing. This seemed like a poorly concealed ploy to get him alone. "I think I'll wait right here. Where's Ryou?" Seto looked around for the man—he was usually able to calm Bakura down, and this situation was quickly headed downhill. Where are the other customers? When his head swiveled back around to look at the current problem, he took a step back.

Bakura had somehow managed to get over the counter in the five seconds Seto's eyes hadn't been on him. The whitette now also had the knife in one hand again, and the other was—quite ominously—in his pocket. He was practically stalking towards the brunette. "Not here." His smirk widened. "Unlucky for you. And don't you want your order?"

Seto decided to drop all pretense of a friendly conversation, instinctively moving into a tensed, defensive position. "What do you want?"

Bakura decided that enough was enough as well. He lunged at Seto, the knife whistling just inches from his stomach as the brunette dodged. "What are you and the Pharaoh planning?" He spat, following pursuing his retreating figure, swiping with the knife again. "Tell me!"

Seto batted away the strike with on arm, getting inside Bakura's guard and slamming his hand against the other's throat. The whitette backed away, coughing. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't lie to me!" Bakura snarled, massaging his throat. "That message from Pharaoh! The money you threw into that thing! It's obvious that you two are up to something!"

Seto's eyes widened in surprise—of course Bakura would think that. He was a psychopath who was hellbent on revenge…he would automatically assume that anything the Pharaoh said was some sort of plan against him! "It's not! We're not planning anything!"

Bakura simply growled and lunged at him again; Seto slithered around him, stumbling slightly when he nearly tripped over something. His eyes snapped to the ground, and—a little gold box, embossed with the name of a company.

That's mine!

While Bakura was still distracted, Seto lunged forwards and scooped up the little case that must have fallen out of the whitette's pocket (that's where that other hand had been!). However while he'd been picking up his precious anniversary present, Bakura had not been idle. The whitette managed to score a slash down Seto's arm before the CEO managed to dance away, hand clutched protectively to his chest, little case nestled safely inside.

The two of them stopped where they were, both a little worse for wear, panting deeply. Seto's eyes snapped from the exit, which was behind Bakura, to said man, to the glinting steel blade in the man's hand. Cautiously Seto slipped his empty hand into his pocket, curling his fingers around what was inside. Bakura's hawk like gaze snapped to the bulging pocket—and Seto moved.

He hurled the smoke grenade at Bakura's face, darting away as the whitette stumbled back. As smoke filled the air, Seto skillfully weaved throughout the displays, quickly making his way to the exit. He exited the store just as the smoke alarms went off—and smoothed out his jacket and began walking casually away. Still, though, he kept one eye out for anything suspicious—that had been too easy. No doubt Bakura was somewhere, waiting for him.

~0~

That night

Seto folded his hands over his elegantly crossed knees, feeling ridiculously pleased with himself. Everything was going smoothly—well, except for Bakura and Marik, but they were…well, they hadn't exactly been part of his original plans.

Bakura had attacked periodically throughout the day, twice before the lunch break with Joey, and three times afterwards—including during his phone conversation with the fancy sushi restaurant. Which, incidentally, was really truly booked and not even Seto Kaiba could make a difference. Marik had sounded heartbroken, but hey. It wasn't Seto's problem.

Anyway, it had been rather annoying—but now that Seto was back in the apartment, he was relatively certain that Bakura wouldn't try to attack. After all, he did have a state of the art security system. Even the tomb robber wasn't that crazy.

Now he was just waiting for Joey to get home so they could go to the restaurant together—Seto sighed quietly and glanced over at the case on the bedside table. He was beginning to have second thoughts about the present—it was beautiful, but…was it what Joey wanted? Besides, he could have sworn that Yugi had been hinting at something a little deeper in the message…

No. He shook his head firmly No going back.

Seto sighed again, and checked his phone for the time. Yeah, Joey should be here soon…then he froze.

What was that noise?

He glanced around nervously—he could have sworn he just heard someone snickering…but that was impossible. The alarms hadn't gone off, had they? He subtly checked his phone, which was connected to the security systems. No alarm, everything was…

Wait.

One of the alarms had been deactivated…

With a sudden surge of horror, Seto Kaiba looked up.

"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Bakura the Tomb Robber dropped from the ceiling, landing square on top of the CEO, knife extending to cut Seto's throat. The brunette only barely managed to dodge, feeling his heart leap into his mouth as the steel blade scythed just centimeters from his pumping jugular.

"Are you insane?!" Seto shouted, throwing himself over the back of the chair he'd been sitting in. Bakura's knife buried itself where his stomach had been a second later, lodging deep into the fabric.

"Tell me!" Was the harsh response, and then a ripping noise as Bakura slashed downwards in frustration.

Seto scrambled up and launched himself into the air, grabbing hold of the chandelier with his fingertips and kicking his attacker square in the face. A second later the light fixture crashed to the ground, but it had done its job. "You stay away from me! You stay away from my apartment! I am not planning anything with the Pharaoh—"

Blinded with anger, Bakura let out a primal scream of rage and tackled Seto's middle, knife heading for his shoulder. The brunette managed to twist out of the way, but because of this the blade accidentally lodged into the hardwood floor. Bakura abandoned his previous weapon and instead grabbed onto Seto's hair, bringing his lips to the brunette's ear. "Tell me, now!"

~0~

Joey hummed happily to himself, striding down the hallway to his and Seto's apartment. It was their anniversary, and he was absolutely certain it was going to be perfect. Everything was planned—even though Joey really would rather have had a nice dinner at home, he was perfectly happy with the place Seto had insisted upon. Plus Joey had the best present ever. Nothing could possibly go wrong!

He began fumbling for his keys, juggling his load in his hands as he approached their home. He really hoped Seto didn't think the flowers would be too girly, but Joey thought it was sweet. Plus, they went nicely with the silver picture frame Joey had gotten (there wasn't much he could afford, but he did what he could). A smile spread across his face—he couldn't wait to see his boyfriend! Just the thought made him blush.

Wait. What was that noise? Coming from their apartment—Joey stopped, cocking his head as he listened.

There was…a thump, and then a hushed shout—Seto was in trouble!

As quickly as he could, Joey pushed the key into the lock and threw open the door, stepping inside the apartment, expecting to see something horrible—Seto about to be murdered, sick…whatever it was, Joey was determined to save him!

And then he saw. Seto was lying on the ground, glaring up at Bakura, who was whispering furiously in the brunette's ear—and Joey's eyes traveled around the room, to his favorite (mutilated) plush chair, to the knife (buried) in the floor, to the chandelier (in pieces) everywhere…his eyes landed back on the squabbling pair. Something clicked in his head.

Brooklyn. Fucking. Rage.

Joey walked forwards and lifted Bakura right off of his boyfriend, and tossed him against the wall. The whitette blinked in shock, not really injured—just surprised. He stared at Joey as though he was an apparition, and Joey glared right back—the bastard had obviously had a hand in ruining his apartment. He would deal with him—right after he and his boyfriend had a chat.

Joey turned slowly, and his eyes narrowed as his gaze caught Seto's. The CEO looked very surprised about something. Oh, Joey hoped he was surprised. Joey hoped he was fucking terrified. "Having fun?"

Seto gulped. "Joey, I'm—"

"I come home, intendin' t' have a nice anniversary, and what do I find?" Seto flinched at Joey's harsh words. His Brooklyn accent was bleeding through more than ever, making his voice almost unrecognizable. "You and Mr. Tomb Robber fightin' like a buncha five-year olds!" Tears were beginning to prick his eyes. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn' walk out right now!"

There was a dead silence.

Joey shook his head in frustration, despair running through him like liquid ice. "I'm calling Yug'."

"Wait, Joey! I…" Seto grabbed onto the blonde's wrist. "It's…"

"My fault."

They turned to look at Bakura, who was staring at the duo with a sudden look of understanding on his face. "Kaiba wasn't…He…" The whitette looked away uncomfortably. "I'm calling Ryou." Then he walked towards the door of the apartment, shutting the door very quietly behind him.

It felt as though there was an elephant in the room—Joey had calmed down a little bit more, and was now just confused and emotionally unstable, and Seto was a little surprised that Bakura had done anything for him, but was still worried about what Joey would say.

Finally, after several seconds of struggling with himself, the blond said, "Explain."

So Seto did. He brought out the beautiful watch he had bought for his beloved, and explained everything he had done to get it. Joey's face was unreadable as the traced the crystalline face with his fingertips, and Seto watched him as he told him about him forgetting their anniversary, about Bakura, about the periodic attacks…

After he finished, there was dead silence, the heavy kind that followed an important confession; Seto nervously watched his mutt's unreadable face, waiting for the verdict.

A noise bubbled up from the base of Joey's throat, one that Seto at first didn't recognize. The noise got louder and lengthened, and suddenly the CEO realized what it was.

Joey was laughing. He laughed and laughed and laughed, and then he leaned forwards, grabbed Seto's head and hugged it to his shaking chest, and laughed some more. Seto smiled unsurely, silently wondering whether or not this was a good thing.

Finally Joey stopped, rubbing the tears out of his eyes. "You really did a number on our apartment, didn't you."

Seto nodded wordlessly, cracking a small smile when he realized that Joey wasn't actually mad at him anymore.

Joey pulled the brunette into a bruising kiss; it was long and deep, and full of forgiveness and love. "How about we have dinner here tonight." He whispered after they broke apart.

Seto smirked, and pulled Joey into another kiss. He was just fine with that.

~0~

"I can't believe you, Bakura!"

The Tomb Robber looked away, keeping his face shadowed. "I'm sorry."

Ryou's hands tightened and untightened furiously on the steering wheel. They were sitting in the car in front of the house they owned—Ryou had had a whole car ride to stew. Now it was all bubbling over. "You could have asked me! No, instead you go attacking our friend and…did you even think?"

Bakura shook his head. "Not really." He said casually, trying not to sound too miserable.

"Bakura, I love you, but I don't want to do this again!" Ryou was fuming as much as the Brit could, his face screwed up—he looked rather cute, Bakura mused. And then the words caught up with him.

"What?" The Tomb Robber asked in a hushed tone, almost completely forgetting about the previous conversation.

Ryou seemed to realize what he had just said and blushed, immediately clamming up, sharp words dying on his tongue. "Nothing." He muttered, turning to get out of the car.

Bakura slammed his hand down on the lock button. "You are not going anywhere. Now what did you say?"

"I don't want to do this again." Ryou said nervously and reached for the unlock button, flinching when Bakura's hands wrapped around his wrists. The entire time his eyes were carefully averted.

Almost desperate, Bakura growled, "Did you really mean what you said?" He paused, before getting out, "That you love me?" (The word 'love' felt like a disease on his tongue, but he needed to know.)

Ryou slammed his eyes shut. "I…"

"Please!" Bakura practically begged.

Finally, Ryou couldn't take it any longer. His eyes flew open again, burning with a sudden golden fire, and he raised his head up defiantly. "Yes! Yes, fine, I do!" The Tomb Robber recoiled at his hikari's ferocity, eyes wide. "So what are you going to do about it? Laugh at me? Go ahead!"

The Tomb Robber stared at him, shocked, before letting out a bark of laughter. He dropped Ryou's wrists, and instead placed his hand over his eyes, the other wrapping around his stomach. The British teen looked embarrassed, light pink blush spread across his pale skin, but he didn't back down, simply watched and waited.

Finally, Bakura stopped his quiet, deep laughter. "I…" He reached forwards, grabbing Ryou's chin roughly, ignoring the whitette's squeak of surprise. He pulled Ryou's face to his, and pressed their lips together, smirking widely when his hikari abruptly tensed in surprise. "I love you too." He growled into the harsh kiss, their teeth scraping together as he spoke.

Suddenly, Ryou seemed to have completely forgotten what he'd originally been talking about. Instead he relaxed, and returned the kiss from his secret crush of four years.

It couldn't have been very important.

~0~

Guess what! Someone canceled. Everything's okay with Marik and I again. Lucky!

Hey, thanks Yug'. Apartment's trashed, but we'll be alright. We're staying home tonight, so if you need anything, just gimme a call!

I finally admitted, and…Bakura kissed me! I'm so happy!

Yugi smiled at his phone, scrolling through all of his text messages, not bothering to respond to them. He was curled up on the couch in his and Atem's living room, and had been sitting there for quite some time. Actually, he hadn't moved from this very spot since maybe an hour ago, when he' gotten home from work.

He'd been much too nervous—after all, Marik had been freaking out to him about the whole restaurant fiasco (it was really lucky that Seto and Joey had decided to stay home, otherwise Marik would have screwed up his first date), Ryou had been waffling over whether or not he should tell Bakura about his secret crush (Yugi had been this close to pulling out his hair over the whole thing—it was obvious the two were totally in love!), and Seto had completely forgotten about his own anniversary and was struggling to pull things together…

But everything had turned out okay. It was unusual, but Yugi wasn't complaining—as long as his friends were happy. He sighed happily and leaned back, staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the feeling bubbling up in his chest.

His friends were all out with their respective others. They were all happy, and…not with him. Even Atem was in Egypt. He couldn't help it, but…Yugi was suddenly very lonely. He couldn't even text his friends, because they were all enjoying their dates.

The smile fell from his face.

Yugi hated spending nights alone, but that was all he seemed to do. When Atem was away, Joey, Ryou, and Malik tried to keep him company—they always came over and watched movies with him, or played games or simply talked, but…they always had to go home sometimes. And then he would be left alone in that achingly empty house, without anyone else. Usually helping his friends with their crazy love lives could alleviate some of the feeling, but tonight…

There was no one to help.

He shook his head. He was being very selfish. He couldn't expect his friends to drop what they were doing and come spend time with him, no matter how lonely he was. And Atem was in Egypt, studying his past, the archaeology—having a great time! He should be happy that they were happy.

Yugi bit his lip, trying to fight off his sadness with pain. It didn't seem to help.

Suddenly, his cellphone rang. He instantly lunged for it, glad for the distraction. He didn't even bother to check the ID before picking it up. "Hello?" He asked eagerly.

"Hey aibou."

Yugi nearly dropped the phone in his shock, and a wide smile spread across his face. "A-Atem!"

"How are you?" The smooth, rich voice flowed over the other end, and Yugi practically melted into his blankets, a wide, relaxed smile on his pale face.

"Pretty good. The house is empty without you." He twisted the folds of the blankets in his small hands. "How about you?"

"Missing you, of course." Though the tone was light, there was a note of longing in Atem's honeyed voice.

Yugi smiled a bittersweet smile. So he wasn't the only one. "Yeah. Me too."

There was a brief pause.

"By the way." Atem said suddenly, startling Yugi slightly. "I got something for you. Why don't you go check the front to see if it's there?"

Confused, he untangled himself from the blankets and stretched his legs out, limping slowly towards the front. Ah, my foot's asleep. He winced, before opening up the front door—

And squeaking loudly when he was swept into the air, bridal style. His eyes caught onto crimson, and he found himself staring into the loving gaze of his boyfriend. "Atem!" Yugi cried happily, throwing his arms around the tanned man's neck, breathing in the scent of desert wind and incense.

Atem pressed his lips against Yugi's, smiling into the chaste kiss. "Hello there aibou."

Yugi laughed, kicking his feet happily. Now everything was perfect.

Hey there. So you may be wondering, hey who is this bitch? Yeah, it's West's beta, IceEckos12. So now you may be wondering, why the frig is this bitch posting on West's account? The answer: I actually wrote this for her birthday, and I'm too cowardly to post it on my account because my Hetalia fans will murder me. Yeah, originally this was just going to be a puppy shot, but then Yugi got involved, and Bakura, and...yeah. It kind of just evolved from there.

I couldn't help it with the puzzle at the end there. And Marik and Malik just kind of...wiggled in. It totally wasn't my fault.

West is a puppy fanatic. Just sayin'.

My teeth just rotted from all the cotton-candy fluff that happened in this shot...it's pretty tame. But I figured since West reads enough hard-core yaoi, she could use a bit of a break.

*awkward pause*...yeeeeah, I think that's pretty much it. Peace out, dudes.

IceEckos12