Author's Note: My first Yu-Gi-Oh fic. I don't know why I did this . . . just a thought that I figured I'd expand. There's really no point to this xD Just a drabble.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, and I most likely never will.

Slowly but surely, Yugi Motou was losing his mind.

Alone in his room with nothing but games upon games that the young teen had already finished to keep him company, the silence that had been dragging on for the past twenty-four hours was finally grating on his last nerve.

The remote to his television had been taken, his computer was gone, as was his cell phone, and Yugi wouldn't have been surprised if his mother had set up a camera outside his room to make sure he didn't leave without her noticing. "So, this is what a grounding feels like." Yugi mused as he stared up at the ceiling, lying back on his bed with his right leg dangling off the edge.

It was the first time in Yugi's seventeen years of life that he'd ever been grounded, and while the results of his actions weren't exactly pleasant, Yugi couldn't bring himself to regret them.

See, the whole reason for this entire mess was Yugi's sexuality.

But that's not the whole story.

Yugi had guessed that something was different from a fairly young age. Yugi had once thought he'd had a crush on his friend Anzu, but as he grew older he realized that nothing would come of it. When all his male friends began to take an interest in girls, he was the odd one out, and he no longer felt comfortable showering in the men's locker room after track practice, afraid that his eyes may wander where they shouldn't. When Yugi turned fifteen his questions simply became unavoidable, so Yugi had gone to the only person he could trust with his doubts.

Yami Atemu had been Yugi's best friend since they were young boys; their mothers were old friends that had simply wanted their sons to have the kind of relationship they had. Yami was a few months older than Yugi, and while they had often been mistaken for brothers with their similar appearances, anyone who took the time to look would notice the obvious differences between the two boys. While Yugi was quiet and soft-spoken, Yami was loud and had no problems speaking his mind. When Yugi was bullied in grade school, Yami had enlisted the help of Anzu and together they sabotaged the bullies' desks and glued them to their chairs.

As luck would have it, Honda and Jou were now two of Yugi's best friends.

As they grew older, Yugi met Malik and Ryou, and Yami became friends with Marik and Bakura—which had shocked Yugi to no end since the three had adamantly hated one another ever since Yami had turned the two in for stealing extra cookies during snack time in kindergarten—but even with the new friends they'd made, they still never forgot about one another, and refused to let their friendship die out.

Over the course of their friendship, Yami had played a major roll in helping Yugi come out of his shell, and whenever Yugi had a problem, he usually went straight to Yami, and vice versa. But this particular issue had proven to be problematic, for it was Yami that Yugi had found himself to be overly interested in. Yami had always been popular with the girls, fawned over for his baritone voice and exotic eye color, and Yugi, like three-fourths of the female population at their high school, hadn't been able to resist his friend's charm. It hadn't helped that Yami knew him better than anyone and treated Yugi as if he were some precious jewel, always looking out for him and ready to jump to his side should any girls and guys alike try something with him. Even before Yugi confirmed he was gay, guys had been not so subtly trying to date him, and while Yugi had puzzled over what his reactions towards their advances could mean, Yami made sure those boys never so much as looked at him ever again.

There was no way around it. Yugi was in love with Yami, or was starting to fall for him. Both options had terrified the teenager, but when he thought about his friend's smile, or his laugh, or the look he got in his eyes whenever his attention was focused solely on Yugi . . .

Yes, the boy had fallen. Hard.

The amethyst-eyed boy had had some doubts about telling his best friend such a life-altering secret, and Yugi could still recall how terrified he'd been as a fifteen-year-old sitting in Yami's bedroom, watching as Yami's ruby eyes darkened with every word Yugi spoke. He would never forget what Yami had said after he'd finished speaking.

"I know you well enough to see when you're afraid, Yugi. It's insulting that you would even come here at all if you were just going to fear my judgment."

"I didn't—I'm not—"

"You are. You're afraid of me."

"I'd never be afraid of you, Yami. Not ever."

"Prove it then."

So, Yugi had done the only thing that came to mind at the time. He'd kissed him. Yugi had kissed his best friend. It had been impulsive, rash, and completely and utterly stupid, and when Yugi pulled away, an apology had been practically forcing itself out of his mouth before Yami had caught his lips in a second kiss, one so mind-numbing that an apology was the last thing on Yugi's mind.

Their relationship hadn't really changed all that much, actually, and Yugi was still surprised how he hadn't noticed that Yami liked him as more than a friend long before he went to his house to confess that he was gay. They'd always been rather hands-on with one another, sitting together at the movies and still having sleepovers even when no one else was able to attend. The benefits of their unique friendship, as Yami had put it, made it so no one would be suspicious of all the time they were sure to spend together now that they were a couple.

But Yugi had always been a terrible liar, and when it came to his mother and grandfather, telling the truth had been the only option.

It wasn't really his grandfather that worried Yugi so much as his mother. Gina Motou was a kind-hearted woman that only wanted the best for her only child, but sometimes she went overboard in her attempts to ensure that Yugi had a bright future. She'd always loved Yami like a second son, so Yugi wasn't too worried that she'd disapprove of his choice in partner. It was just the simple fact that Yugi wasn't sure how his mother felt about homosexuality. She'd never spoken about it with him, and Yugi had never been inclined to ask, so he'd headed into deep water the day he decided to tell his family about his newfound relationship with his best friend. Yami had been there the entire time, holding his hand and practically daring his parents and Yugi's mom and grandpa to dare find something wrong with their relationship.

Yami's parents had always been easy-going and didn't really have an issue with their relationship as long as they were safe, Sugoroku had given them the response Yugi had expected, something similar to the cliché, "As long as you're happy," spiel, and for a while, Gina hadn't said a word. Yami had tried to convince Yugi beforehand that Gina only wanted to see Yugi happy and would allow them to continue to explore their new-found feelings for one another, but Yugi wouldn't be satisfied until his mother had confirmed Yami's theory herself. In the end, his mother had openly admitted that while she did have an issue with Yugi's sexuality, she would try to be as understanding as possible and gave the two boys her blessing, no matter how reluctant it had sounded.

It was all Yugi and Yami could ask for, really.

For two years the two of them had continued as they were, only now with much more contact. Mouth to mouth contact, to be exact. Yugi still remembered their friends' reactions when they'd walked in on Yugi giving Yami his present for his sixteenth birthday. Shock had been the most prominent reaction, followed quickly by anger that they hadn't been informed of their relationship sooner, and then Marik had not so discreetly handed Bakura ten dollars with a scowl on his face. Yugi honestly hadn't been expecting their friends to take it so lightly, especially Anzu since she'd had a crush on Yami for years before that day, but that was just the kind of friends they were. They accepted everything without question and loved them for who they were no matter their sexual orientation.

Everything was fine—perfect, actually—until the day Yami and Yugi decided to take their relationship to the next level, and inadvertently discovered that Yami had a damn near insatiable sex drive. It was something that shocked Yugi—who knew practically everything about Yami—but he couldn't say he was opposed to Yami's enthusiastic groping. He'd had no problem with it whatsoever until his mother had walked in on the two of them the day before.

Yugi had thought about what they must've looked like to her multiple times since he'd been locked up in his room, and each scenario made him cringe. Gina's jaw had dropped when she'd walked into her son's room to check if he and Yami had finished their homework only to find Yugi pinned to his bed by his slightly taller and shirtless boyfriend, who was kissing Yugi with abandon as he furiously worked to get the amethyst-eyed boy's shirt off as well. Gina had sent Yami packing without even giving him a chance to put his shirt back on before calling his parents and then proceeding to ground Yugi and take away any means to communicate with Yami or any of his friends away for the next two weeks.

Getting caught had initially been mortifying, and still was a day later, but Yugi was certain he wouldn't be so depressed if it wasn't Halloween. Being cut off from his friends was bad enough, but it was a standing tradition that Yugi, Yami, and all their friends go to Seto Kaiba's party every year on Halloween. Kaiba was essentially the richest guy in town and usually invited their entire grade to his mansion for reasons Yugi had yet to figure out, and Yugi had only started going because Yami, Marik, Bakura, Honda, and Jounouchi thought it would be fun to crash it when they were seventh graders. He, Ryou, Malik, and Anzu had only tagged along to make sure the boys hadn't gotten into any trouble with Kaiba's bodyguards. The party hadn't gotten crashed that year and they'd actually had a good time, so as long as no one managed to piss Kaiba off—mainly Jounouchi—they were welcome to join in the festivities. But this year, Yugi wouldn't be along for the ride.

Ryou and Malik had stopped by earlier to see him, probably hoping that Yami was the only one banned from seeing Yugi for the time being, but his mother had sent them away with no remorse. Yugi had waved to them from his window as they walked down the sidewalk and proceeded to watch as the familiar heads of white and sandy-blonde hair faded in the distance. Even now, Yugi could hear his grandpa opening the door as trick-or-treaters rang the doorbell every few minutes or so and even managed a smile as the hearty sound of Sugoroku's laughter drifted through the air-vents. Just hearing his grandpa's voice was enough to make Yugi momentarily forget his troubles and pretend that his mom wasn't completely furious with him.

The two of them had had a talk about celibacy when Yugi was a freshman, and even if Yami and Yugi hadn't officially gone all the way yet, Gina was convinced that's what would've happened if she hadn't stopped them the other day. Yugi liked to think he had more self-control than that, and Yami would never do anything that Yugi wasn't comfortable with, but getting his mother to understand that had proved to be an impossible challenge.

"I gave you two the benefit of the doubt, Yugi, and you went and betrayed my trust."

"But, Mom, we weren't doing anything that bad! I've talked with Yami and we both agree that we're not ready to have sex yet. Why won't you believe me when I say we're going to wait?"

"It's hard to think anything different when I walked in on you two practically dry-humping on your bed, Yugi!"

That comment had made Yugi's blood boil, and the two had gotten into a shouting match before Sugoroku intervened and directed Gina downstairs while Yugi locked himself in his room. It wasn't like he was going anywhere anyway.

Yugi sighed as he recalled the fight, throwing his left arm over his eyes. He loved his mother, he really did, but sometimes he didn't feel as if she knew him at all. Locking him in his room wasn't going to teach Yugi anything. He was an active teenager and somewhat of a star athlete after his four years of running track. He was used to moving around and doing something, and sitting prisoner in his room was absolute torture. He'd finished all his homework, flipped through his multiple stacks of manga at least five times, and had grown bored watching the kids walk up and down the streets in the dim lighting outside. Next time Yami comes over, I'm not going to forget to lock the door.

"Yugi!" Amethyst eyes popped open in irritation when a knock sounded at his door. "Yugi, I'm going out with Amelia. I'll be back around eleven. Grandpa's staying here though, so don't try anything funny!"

"I'll be fine, Mom!" Yugi called, sitting up in his bed to glare at her shadow underneath the door. He wondered just why his mom and Yami's were going out together. They may have been friends, but the two of them hardly went out on holidays, instead choosing to stay with their families. "I'm not going to try anything. I'd like to keep whatever freedoms I may have left."

"Don't get smart with me, young man."

"Maybe I wouldn't be so upset if I had something to do."

"Play with one of those puzzles Grandpa always buys you. What about the golden one he brought you from Egypt?"

Yugi had to blink away tears as his gaze settled on the golden puzzle sitting on his desk. His grandpa had said it was an ancient Egyptian artifact from the tomb of a Pharaoh that he'd discovered on one of his digs in Egypt. He said it was okay that he'd taken it, but Yugi couldn't help but think that his grandpa had simply brought it across the ocean without actually asking permission, but that didn't mean he refused the gift. "I only work on that one with Yami, Mom."

Silence greeted his words for a few moments before the sound of his mother's heels against the stairs sounded, signaling her retreat. Yugi scowled, rubbing away a tear with the heel of his palm and stood, walking over to his desk and carefully placing the incomplete puzzle and the loose pieces inside the golden box it came with, shoving the box into his drawer and slamming it shut. Yugi was in no mood to continue thinking about how much he missed Yami. He desperately needed something to take his mind off things.

When he saw his mother's car pull out of the driveway, Yugi threw open his door and stomped down the stairs, determined to find something to do during this dark time in his life. "Yugi? What are you doing out of your room?"

"Sorry, Grandpa, but I couldn't stay in there anymore." Yugi sighed, following his grandpa's voice to find the old man in the kitchen, watching the news on the small television set on the counter. The elder Motou watched his grandson carefully as the seventeen-year-old sat down at the table with a large sigh, dropping his head on the wooden surface with a loud thunk. "I was losing my mind."

"I expected you to come down once Gina left." Sugoroku commented, focusing on the television once more. "Your rebellious streak has been making itself known as of late."

Irritated amethyst eyes looked up at the old man underneath a fringe of blonde. "I'm not being rebellious. As a matter of fact, I haven't broken any of Mom's rules. This whole grounding thing is ridiculous!"

"I thought she caught you and Yami doing things you shouldn't have in your room the other day?"

"She freaked because Yami wasn't wearing a shirt. It's not like he walks around with a shirt on during the summer anyway, and she's seen him practically half-naked before. She changed his diapers, for Pete's sakes!"

"It's not summer, Yugi, and I'm sure what the two of you were doing wasn't as innocent as you say."

Yugi opened his mouth to make a sharp retort, but thought better of it at the last moment. His grandfather always knew what he was talking about, and Yugi trusted his judgment. If he couldn't go to Yami for advice, then Yugi always went to his grandpa. "Well, I guess not." Yugi conceded reluctantly. "But I mean . . . we wouldn't have done it, you know."

"I know."

"But why can't Mom see that?"

"She's just being a mother." Sugoroku said firmly, fixing Yugi with a stern stare. "I may understand that you and Yami are hormonal boys hyped up on testosterone, but your mother still sees you as a little boy who cries when you get separated from her at the store."

"Okay, okay, I see your point." There was no point in adding that Yugi still had a minor heart attack when he turned around to find his mom gone when they went to the store.

"Just try to see things from her perspective. Think about what you might do if you have a son or daughter someday and you walked in to find him or her underneath some shirtless boy." Sugoroku suggested just as the doorbell rang, and instead of making a move to answer it himself, he gestured for Yugi to get it.

"I'd have to stop Yami from committing a murder." Yugi muttered under his breath as he got up from the table and walked down the hall towards the front door, grabbing the bowl of candy from the small table next to the staircase as he passed.

Yugi opened the door quickly just to speed up the process so he could go back to trying to find something to keep him occupied, and he started to stick the bowl of candy out only to come up short. Sheepish ruby eyes looked down at Yugi through blonde bangs, and the scent of cologne that wafted through the open door was almost enough to pull a pleasurable sigh from Yugi. But all he could do was stare. "Trick-or-Treat?" Yami offered with a shrug of his shoulders, sticking his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans, kicking at the leaves on the porch with his boots.

Blinking, Yugi glanced over his shoulder to where his grandpa was still in the kitchen. Sugoroku was still leaning against the counter, eyes glued firmly to the TV screen. A small smile appeared on Yugi's face as he turned back to Yami, who smirked in return. Placing the candy back on the table, Yugi grabbed Yami's arm and yanked him into the home, shutting the door behind him before pulling his boyfriend up the stairs towards his bedroom.

"You're an idiot." Yugi laughed breathlessly once the door was shut, and Yami wasted no time in pulling the shorter boy into his arms, burying his face in the hollow of Yugi's neck and shoulder. Yugi responded by wrapping his arms around Yami's neck and refusing to let go.

"Maybe." Was the muffled reply. "But if this is what I get for being an idiot then I'm okay with that."

Yugi laughed, pulling Yami's head away from his neck to place a firm kiss on his lips, ready to reacquaint himself with the taste and feel of his boyfriend after nearly twenty-four-hours apart. Yami pressed closer, molding Yugi to his body in a way that made Yugi feel utterly safe and protected, maybe even a little dominated, but that was fine with him. When Yami began to nibble on his bottom lip, however, Yugi pulled away. "What are you doing here?" Yugi questioned, running his fingers through Yami's hair as the older boy regained his bearings. Obviously their brief separation had been tough on Yami as well. "Didn't your parents ground you too?"

"Yeah. Took away my cell phone and my car."

"Then how did you get here?"

"I walked."

"You walked?" Yugi echoed, eyes wide. "Yami, you live at least twenty minutes away."

Yami grinned, running his hand down Yugi's arm and then back up again, twining their fingers together. "I think it was worth the journey. I had to fight off a few zombies and mummies to get here though."

"My hero." Yugi teased, giggling when Yami began to gently nudge him further into the room, towards the bed. "But I still don't get it. How'd you sneak away? Won't your dad notice you left?"

"Nah, give my old man a beer and he's set for the rest of the night. As for my mom, well, she's partly the reason why I'm here."

"Amelia?" Yugi questioned. "What does she have to do with it?"

Yami's mood instantly sobered, and he paused in his journey towards Yugi's bed, his ruby eyes flashing. "It's my fault we're in this mess."

"Yami—"

"Gina probably won't leave us alone together for months after this, and if my mom wants to stay friends with her she'll have to do the same. School will probably be the only time we'll have alone together." Yugi didn't like the sound of that. They'd tried making out in a janitor's closet one time just to see what all the fuss was about, but it had been the most unromantic thing ever. Mop water and faulty light bulbs didn't necessarily set the mood well. "If I hadn't distracted you and insisted we do other things, you wouldn't be grounded and things would be normal."

Yugi wanted to reassure Yami that none of this was completely his fault, that he'd had just as much say in what they'd done the other day as Yami had, but Yugi knew Yami well enough to know that when the older boy set his mind on something, whether it be his guilt or a new form of foreplay, no one was going to change his mind. "Your mom." Yugi repeated instead. "What does Amelia have to do with this?"

A smirk appeared on Yami's handsome face. "She said she was going to get Gina out of the way for the night so I could come over to apologize and make sure you weren't completely lonely on Halloween."

Yugi's jaw dropped, and Yami began to laugh, kissing all over Yugi's face as if he couldn't get enough of the younger teen. Yugi had thought it odd that his mother had gone out with Amelia on tonight of all nights, but he'd never imagined that Yami's mother had actually conspired with her son to get Gina out of the home. But then again, Yami had to have gotten his mischievousness from somewhere. "Thank her for me." Yugi said quietly, glancing up at Yami from under his eyelashes as he grabbed the collar of the other's jacket to gently tug him towards the bed. Yami's ruby eyes darkened in response. "'Cause if my mom finds out, I'll be grounded 'till I'm thirty."

"Damn." Yami murmured in Yugi's ear, chuckling when the younger gasped at the sensual feel of his boyfriend's warm breath on his skin. "That'll be our better years wasted. I'll have to take to climbing in through your window just to see you."

Yugi grunted as the backs of his knees came into contact with his bed, and the two of them crashed down on it together in a tangle of arms and legs. The younger boy was aware of how flustered he was becoming, how the tight prickles of sexual arousal were starting to spur to life in his groin, and he could barely contain himself when he arched against Yami's body, pressing their lower halves together and forcing a short growl from Yami's throat. Yugi couldn't help but want to finish what they'd started yesterday, and from the hardness he could feel pressing against his thigh, Yami felt the same. "Pops gave me this." Yami said suddenly, fishing around in the back pocket of his jeans and pulling out a packet that Yugi had only seen once when Malik had managed to steal one from Bakura a few months back.

Yugi blushed, momentarily stilling. "Yami—"

"I meant what I said when I told you I thought we should wait." Yami said, tossing the condom onto the bed beside Yugi, cupping Yugi's cheeks in his hands. "But if yesterday taught us anything, it's that we're not as in control of our desires as we thought we were. We have to be careful, Yugi."

"But—But why do we need condoms? I mean, it's not like either of us is going to get pregnant."

"Yugi, you know I fooled around when we were sophomores, before we got together. I'm certain I don't have anything, but I'm just being cautious until I know for sure."

"What, the girls at the football games were chock full of diseases or something?"

Yami rolled his eyes, getting back at Yugi for his comment by crushing their lower halves together once again, tearing a whimper out of Yugi's throat. "Hush. You can't blame me for wanting to do things right with you."

"If you want to do things right, then shut up and keep doing what you were doing."

"With pleasure." Yami practically purred, capturing Yugi's lips in a slow, sensual kiss that almost made Yugi forget about the uncomfortable squirming in his gut. Yugi gladly opened his mouth when Yami's tongue began to probe once more. The smaller boy arched into the kiss as Yami slipped his cold fingertips underneath the fabric of Yugi's shirt, flattening his palm against his chest and sliding it down to his navel. Yugi was still amazed how Yami could play his body like an instrument, always knowing just how to pull a sound from him and where his sensitive spots were. But after all the times they'd done this together, Yugi wasn't surprised that Yami knew his body like the back of his hand, like how Yugi knew that if he bent his knee and shifted it just so—

The groan that left Yami's mouth was absolutely delicious, and Yugi would've gladly continued on if Yami hadn't pulled away. "You know," Yami said, slightly breathless as he stared down at Yugi with ruby eyes practically filled to the brim with emotion, "I didn't come over here just to take advantage of you."

"Then what did you come here for?" Yugi demanded, irked that Yami was doing this to him. His erection was starting to hurt, dammit!

"Seto's party, or did you forget? Everyone wants you there, Yugi."

"But I'm grounded."

"Do you care?"

Yugi hardly had to think about that one. "Not really. And if we get home before my mom does then she'll never know."

Yami nodded, moving off of Yugi slowly. "Exactly."

"Figures you would start something we can't finish." Yugi grumped as the two of them set to work on straightening their clothing. Sugoroku may have turned a blind eye to Yami's presence in the home, but they weren't sure how he'd react if he knew they'd essentially repeated their earlier mistake, just not as fiercely.

"Well, I'm assuming the two of us need some quality time with our hands." Yami laughed heartily as Yugi pushed his shoulder, blushing a red that nearly matched his boyfriend's eyes. "We'll have to get used to it now that our rules have changed. And the walk to Seto's in the cool air may help out us a bit."

"And besides," Yami added as he started to leave the room, glancing over his shoulder at Yugi with a small smirk on his face, "who says we can't finish?"

And as Yami left the room with his hands in his pockets, Yugi backtracked to snag the condom from his bed and stuffed it in his jacket pocket.

Just in case.

FIN