Ch. 1

The warm water surrounded Yugi's body as the small champion relaxed in the bathtub. He opened his eyes slightly, the once sparkle of happiness gone from his beautiful amythest depths. He winced as pain shot through his side. Tea had gone all out on him tonight. The young college student looked down at his abused body. Bruises upon bruises littered his baby soft skin. Scars from glass shards and nails scarred his beautiful complex. He had gotten thinner and paler through the years after Atem left. All the courage the ancient pharaoh had taught him through their years together had disappeared from his mind. After Yugi had defeated the ancient pharaoh and Atem had left, Tea and forced poor little Yugi into a relationship. Yugi, thinking Tea would be the perfect girlfriend for him, found he was wrong when after only one month of being together, Tea had changed dramastically. She became abusive and, to make it simple, a bitch.

Flashback:

"It's all your fault!" Tea screamed, hurtling a vase at the young college student. "It's all your faut the only man I ever loved is gone!"

"Tea! Please, stop!" Yugi cried, ducking away from the flying vase. "It was for his own good! He didn't belong here! He belonged with his friends!"

"We were his friends! You weren't thinking about us! You were thinking about yourself! You little piece of shit!" The short haired girl picked up a piece of the glass from the broken vase and threw it at Yugi.

Yugi moved his head, the piece of glass barely brushing his cheek and causing a small scratch. "Tea! Please! You don't understand!"
"I loved Atem! I loved him with all my heart, and you sent him away!" The woman cried, angry tears of hate and sorrow flowing down her cheeks.

The two 'love birds' were standing in her apartment. It had started out as a peaceful study night, until they read something on Ancient Egypt and Tea completly broke down.

"I hate you! I hate you Yugi!"

"Tea...!"

"Get out! We're over!"

Yugi's eyes welled up with tears and he grabbed his jacket and rushed out of the apartment and into the rain. His leg hurt from Tea knocking him down and stomping on his leg earlier in the night. Once he was around the corner away from the apartment complex, he stopped and leaned against the wall. Tears flowed down his cheeks from the pain of his body and the pain in his heart. The rain pelted down on his face and hands like ice cicles, mixing with the tears on his face. 'Atem... I need your help.' He thought with woe as he slowly slid down the wall, his clothes getting soaking wet from the rain.

Meanwhile:

Kaiba sighed with frustration. He couldn't get any work done. He couldn't think, not with this strange feeling in his gut. The CEO leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his messy brown hair. He closed his eyes, trying to will the feeling away. After ten minutes of trying to relax, Seto Kaiba finally gave up and called up his cheuffer, deciding on going for a ride and see if he could find out what the feeling was. Grabbing his jacket and umbrella, he walked out of his office and rode the elevator down to the lobby of Kaiba Corp.

"Going home, Mr. Kaiba?" The front desk secretary asked.

"Maybe. Right now I think I just need some fresh air. I called my cheuffer. I might be back later. If I'm not back by midnight, lock my office doors and make sure the building gets locked." Kaiba ordered.

"Yes, Sir." The secretary nodded.

After a while, Kaiba sat in the back of his limo reading a book and listening the rain. When the limo suddenly swerved, Kaiba pushed the button to make the window between him and the driver go down. "What the hell are you doing?!" He yelled.

"I-I'm sorry sir. But... a young man suddenly walked in front of the limo."

"What?"

"I think it's... Mr. Motou sir."

"Yugi...?" Seto blinked and grabbed his umbrella and climbed out of the limo.

Yugi blinked. 'Seto?' He thought. He waited as Kaiba walked up to him.

"Yugi... what the hell are you doing walking out in the street?!" He yelled. "Are you trying to get killed?!"

Yugi looked down sadly. "Gomen." He whispered.

Kaiba blinked. "Yugi... is something wrong?" He asked gently.

Yugi shrugged slightly.

"Yugi... talk to me."

'Maybe he will believe me.' Yugi thought. "Tea-"

"Yugi!" Kaiba yelled when Yugi suddenly started falling forward. He held out his arms and dropped his umbrella in order to catch the smaller boy. "Yugi... Yugi! ... Dammit." He picked up the smaller boy bridal style and brought him into his limo. "Drive me to the mansion."

"Yes sir."

As soon as they got to Kaiba Mansion, Kaiba immediately took Yugi to his room and began taking the wet clothes off his small friend. Mokuba, seeing Kaiba's limo in the driveway, poked his head in.

"Nii-sama?"

Kaiba looked over his shoulder at the door. "Mokuba, do me a favor and call for a doctor. I found Yugi out in the rain. His clothes are soaked and he seems to be running a fever."

"Okay." The younger Kaiba hurried down stairs and called for a doctor. Seto stared down sadly at Yugi, who was shivering from the cold wetness on his skin. He sat on the edge of the bed, cupping Yugi's cheek in the palm of his head. He sighed when Yugi whimpered softly.

A doctor soon came and told them Yugi only has a high fever and should rest and drink plenty of liquids. Seto nodded and showed the doctor out and then walked back up to his room to watch over the young champion. As Kaiba stared down at Yugi, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened. He would have to ask the smaller male once he woke up.

'Whatever it is that happened... that bitch will pay for what she did.' Seto thought. He sighed. "I better get back to work. Mokuba, stay with Yugi and let me know when he wakes up."

"Okay, Nii-sama."

With that, Seto stood up and walked to the door and across the hall to his office.

Later:

That was five hours ago and Little Yugi still hadn't woken up. The CEO of Kaiba Corp. sighed with worry. He couldn't get any work done with a certain tri-colored haired teen sleeping not-so-peacefully in his bed. Saving his document, shutting his laptop down, and then shutting it, he stood up and stretched. Hearing and feeling a pop, Seto grunted and slipped his coat off and threw it over the back of his leather seat. Seto strolled out of his office and across the hall and then walked into his room. He saw Mokuba sitting in a chair reading a book and averted his eyes to the lone figure laying in his bed. He let out another sigh.

Mokuba looked up. "Was that a sigh I heard?"

Seto grinned.

"You're worried about Yugi-chan aren't you?"

"So what if I am? He's my... friend." Hearing a giggle, Seto looked at his little brother and raised an eyebrow. "You can go to bed Mokuba. I'm done working for the night."

"Okay!" Mokuba hopped off the chair and hugged his brother and went off to his room.

Seto walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge, staring down at Yugi's flushed cheeks and vaguely tear stained face. He frowned deeply, noticing the fading bruise under Yugi's right eye. He lifted a hand and brushed his thumb over that spot, pulling his hand away slightly when Yugi whimpered and turned his face away from the CEO's hand. 'Is he... being abused?' The taller male thought. 'If that bitch has laid a hand on Yugi... she is going to pay for it severly!' He accidentally let out a soft growl.

"M-mm?" A strangeled moan slipped out of Yugi's throat and brought the CEO back to the present.

"Yugi?" Seto whispered, watching as Yugi's eyes slowly opened, blinking frequently to clear his blurred vision.

"S-Seto?"

"Hey... are you alright?"

"I-I think so. What happened?" Yugi asked.

"My limo almost ran you over. What were you running from?"

Yugi's eyes dimmed more. He remained silent.

"Yugi... please... tell me what happened? What are all those scars and bruises on your body?"

Yugi's face flushed more. He looked at Seto wide eyed. "What were you doing looking at my body?!"

"I was taking your wet clothes off! I didn't want you to catch pneumonia!" Seto yelled back, standing up.

Yugi blinked. "Oh." He said softly.

Seto sighed and sat back down. "Anyways... answer my questions."

The demanding tone in Seto's voice told Yugi that he better answer or there would be hell to pay. He sighed .

"Are you being abused?"

Yugi nodded.

"By Tea?"

Another nod.

"She was in love with Atem wasn't she?"

A very short nod.

"And she blames you?"

A sigh.

"Yugi..." Seto whispered, laying next to Yugi and holding him close as the tears began to flow again. He stroked the smaller boy's hair comfortingly and cooed softly to the trembling body in his arms. Yugi had a tight grip on Seto's shirt and his face was buried in Seto's shoulder. "Shh. It's alright. You're safe with me. I won't let her hurt you ever again." Soon, the smaller male began to cough. The CEO sighed. "Come on, you need to take a bath to make that fever go down." He sat up, pulling Yugi with him and picked him up bridal style again.

Yugi wrapped his arms around the taller boy's neck, feeling dizzy. He let out a soft whimper. Seto soothed him with soft cooes. Once in the bathroom, he sat Yugi down on the edge of the tub and turned the taps.

"Er..."

Both men blushed.

"D-do you... think... you can...?"

Yugi inturrupted him quickly. "Yes! Yes... I can... bathe myself."

"Alright." Seto stood up. "The towels are in the cupboard and I'll bring you another shirt to slip in, if that's alright."

Yugi nodded. "I'd rather sleep in a shirt than pants."

Seto smiled. 'A new thing about Yugi for me to know.' He turned and walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Present:

Seto lay on the bed in his pajama pants, staring up at the canopy with his hands under his head. He felt very tired suddenly. He hadn't felt like this in a long time. His eyes slowly closed as he listened to the sounds of Yugi in the bathroom. The soft splashing of water, the movement of the smaller boy's body. It all made him feel so calm and content. Soon, he found himself asleep and dreaming.

Yugi soon came out and walked over to the bed. He looked down and tilted his head at the sight he saw. Seto had a gentle look on his face. His eyebrows weren't so deep and his lips weren't so thin. His muscles weren't tight and he looked peaceful. Yugi smiled warmly, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached over and stroked a lock of hair from the taller male's forehead. The backs of his fingers slid down Seto's cheek softly. The champion's heart started beating a little faster as his hand continued to stroke downward to Seto's neck, shoulder and soon his collar bone. Yugi blushed lightly, his body heat rising more than it should be. His index finger stroked down in the dip between Seto's collar bones, jumping when Seto's breathing stopped for a moment.

Seto's eyes opened slowly and he looked into Yugi's amythest ones. He smiled lightly. "Ready for bed?" His voice was soft and sleepy.

Yugi smiled back and nodded, crawling under the blankets with the CEO and curled up against him. Seto blinked before relaxing and taking a deep breath.

"You should smile more."

Seto blinked and looked down at Yugi. He stayed silent, intent on not replying to Yugi's statement. When he felt Yugi's deep breath, he let out a sigh. "Maybe... I should smile more. If only for you."

"Gone?! Where did he go?!" Joey yelled, staring at Tea.

"I don't know and I don't care." Tea replied, crossing her arms over her chest and turning away from Joey and Tristan.

"What do you mean 'you don't care'?!" Tristan hollered. "He's your boyfriend isn't he?!"

"Not anymore. I broke up with him." Tea shrugged.

"What?! Why?!" The two boys cried simultaneously.

"Because he sent my love away."

"You mean... Atem?" Joey asked.

The girl nodded.

"Why you..." Tristan narrowed his eyes.

"Calm down T. We need to go find Yugi." Joey said, his teeth gritting together as he stared with seething eyes at their friend, who had suddenly changed from a loving girl to a careless bitch.

Tristan nodded and followed Joey out of Tea's apartment and into the still pouring rain. Tea watched them leave with emotionless eyes. She sighed, locking her front door and heading to the back of the apartment to her bedroom and laying on her side on the bed. Slowly, tears slid down her cheeks.