Title: There's Only Us
Author: starlight2005
Rating: T to M (to be safe)
Warning: sex
Pairing: Seto/Yami
Summary: He needs to get away but he can't because Yami's still out there, and he can't let Yami die. Because it's Yami and Seto can't imagine living the remainder of his life just thinking about and remembering Yami's laugh, his voice, his face... when he can save him.
A/N: I distinctly remember promising an update for any of my currently unfinished works and unfortunately right now, I don't have one yet. I was supposed to upload one today, for real. Unfortunately someone decides it's funny to have my USB infected with a virus, which left me with no choice but to reformat it. Darn it. So anyway, I don't know if you've heard but the Philippines—Metro Manila, to be exact (where I coincidentally live)-- was struck by a typhoon last Saturday. As of today, 240+ have already died and more remain missing. The number of people in evacuation centers has reached hundreds of thousands and everywhere you look, there's mud and upturned cars. Really devastating for a metro.
I figured I needed to vent out what I'm feeling because well, there's nothing else to do but hope that everyone's safe. So, here's a one-shot. I hope it's okay. Leave me reviews, okay? Gosh, my hand hurts so much from the writing. By the time, it's past 2 AM when I wrote this story so any errors are really my fault. Sorry.
There's Only Us
Yami was wearing wearing a comfortable red long sleeves shirt and worn out denim jeans. There was a pair of sunglasses—his favorite—on top of his hair and a blacl cotton jacket was wrapped aroud his waist. There was a smile on his face, bright and excited, as he reached for his plane ticket. It was a sunny Saturday morning and at the airport, the buzz of activity, for someone who wasn't accustomed to it, was overwhelming and very loud. Unbearable. At his complaints, Yami had laughed, a rich and genuine sound of amusement slipping from his mouth that's sweet song in his ears. Goodbye was brief and casual between them because Yami was only going to be gone for three days maximum and their kiss was short and chaste. They were going to see each other soon.
"See you later, Seto," Yami had said with a small, gentle smile as his flight was announced and he had to go. Why he insisted on boarding a commercial plane and be subjected to the schedule of people he hardly knew, escaped Seto but he let Yami be. At the end of the trip, Yami would still come back home: happy, protected. Safe. Right?
Seto Kaiba was wrong.
A day after Yami left for the trip he had been planning for months, Seto receives news of a potentially destructive typhoon headed for the city where Yami was staying at. Ten minutes after that, he found himself in a conversation with his boyfriend, frantically telling Yami to be safe and to keep the line open at all times when the line was cut off.
That was four days ago and Seto worries. The anticipation gradually eats him and frustrated, he flungs the glass of water he's holding at the wall. Winces at the sound of the glass shattering but otherwise, he doesn't care. No matter how destroyed the glass is, however, he finds that the action does not ease any of the emotions he's drowning in. It's been days, him pacing in a suite in a hotel where his boyfriend is supposedly staying (if Yami were here, that is), since the rescue operation started and there's absolutely no clue as to the exact location of Yami. Yet. Damn it.
Eventually the anxiety dies down and the guilt seeps in. He should have insisted on the private plane. Should have gone with Yami. At least then the chances are better. Should have found something to do. Should be doing something, not wasting time in a room where the options are minimal and he's practically useless. The anger makes itself known. Stupid photography seminar. Stupid weather. Stupid-- Seto sighs and gives up finding things that are mediocre. That are meant to be mad at because this one is no one's fault. He downs another shot of brandy—the only liquor that the hotel can readily provide at the moment-- before he decides that no amount of pleading from local government officials can actually persuade him to stay inside, where it's safe; to stop looking for his boyfriend. None. Okay?
"Mr. Kaiba, I understand your dilemma but I cannot allow you to wade through the flood. It's highly dangerous and the chances of you finding your loved one is very small. Please stay in the hotel," the mayor tries to reason with him (again). Logically it makes sense. It does. But he knows he has to go. Feels that now, Yami's safety is completely up to him. Seto glances at the people around him—majority are drenched with rain and frightened, hungry. He sees soldiers stoically doing their job, distributing food without thought and judgment, and volunteers sympathetic to the plight of the rescued. He looks at the truck of donations. Those aren't enough. He watches another famly pleading the mayor to rescue their son who was trapped on his roof. Watches the mayor shake his head and miserably confess that there aren't enough boats to save people.
Your son is a casualty, the mayor doesn't say but Seto heard it anyway. The inevitability angers him, turns his desperation into renewed vigor. Determination. Because he refuses to let Yami die, like some unfortunate soul—he isn't.
In an instant, Seto knows that the city isn't used to calamities like this. Has no experience at all and can only react—poorly--rather than prevent. He feels sad by it but he walks away. Roland on the other line immediately as he orders for Yami's last phonecall to be tracked as best as humanely possible, with all resources exhausted. Hopefully it works. Meanwhile locally, he prepares the things he's going to need: life vests, extra blankets and dry clothes, lamps and flashlights, food in case they do get stranded. He doesn't forget about the evacuation site and orders food to be delivered for them, is willing to pay double the price but Seto is surprised to learn that every food establishment in the city and the cities nearby has ran out of food. This is bad, he knows.
What's worse is that there's still no trace of Yami and the sutie is slowly becoming an extravangantly designed cafe for him. He feels every nerve in his body coming back to life, his heart racing when he hears about the water continuously rising along with the casualties. Soon it's going to be dark. God, he needs to get to Yami fast. Where is he?
The sound of his phone ringing is relieving. Music to his ears, even. Roland must better have good news...
"Mr. Mutou's four kilometers souty of the hotel you're staying at, sir. It's terribly flooded--"
"I got it."
Seto runs towards his car with the stuff he prepared. Rushes to a speedboat he bought an hour ago, starts a\it and heads due south.
He only has an hour before the sun sets...
Please be safe.
~*~*~*~*~
The first time Seto met Yami again was two years after high school. Yami worked part-time as a barista in a nearby coffee shop and studied Photography in the university. Seto was at that time blindly yearning for coffee, had just left his first and only class for the day and stumbled inside the coffee shop as soon as Yami opened the door. They had fallen to the floor, limbs entangled with Seto on top of a flushed, otherwise surprised Yami Mutou.
Two weeks into the semester, he began to stay in the coffee shop, had become a patron much to the former pharaoh's amusement. He found out that he liked Yami's laugh, liked that tender gaze directed at him more than the glares that he used to receive during their card game days. A week later, he found out that someone was courting Yami and he definitely abhorred the guy. Scared said guy, in fact, when Seto found out that he was only going to mess around with Yami. Unacceptable. He and Yami fought after that, with Yami being righteously angry for being treated like some naïve damsel in distress, which he assured Seto he wasn't. There were insults thrown at each other—for how could it be Seto Kaiba and Yami Mutou if there was no insulting?-- angry looks and disappointed frowns. Then it stopped when Seto apologized for crossing the line and promptly walked out, feeling defeated and down. Which was confusing, come to think about it. After that, there were lots of avoidance and no more staying at the shop.
Until at 5 p.m., someone knocked on Seto's door. Seto's eyes widened as that someone turned out to be Yami. A contrite-looking Yami.
"I'm an inconsiderate idiot. You were only looking out for me," Yami had said guiltily. "I'm sorry I didn't realize that."
I was jealous, Seto didn't say. He simple nodded, opened the door wider and let the other man in. The state of his room was by no means neat or organized. He was still a college student, after all, and by speaking out loud, Yami chuckled. They didn't need to clarify anything. They were alright and that was all that mattered.
A month before the semester ended, they were already close friends and were hanging out in a nearby student-friendly bar because Yami felt the need to expose Seto to these things and dragged him there. (Also because Seto suspected he had a love for local bands.)
Sometime during that night, Yami seemingly got drunk and Seto realized that a drunk Yami was a tactile Yami. He laughed as the other man blinked in confusion. When Yami leaned in and caressed his face, pouting adorably, Seto stiffened. Froze when Yami got even closer, his free hand falling to Seto's chest as he pulled Seto down for a kiss.
Yami nibbled on his lower lip, coaxing him to respond as he closed the distance between them. At the back of his head, Seto remembered that they were in a bar. In a rather far-back part of a bar. And Yami was kissing him. He kissed back just as the former pharaoh started to pull away. It would have been a sight, two college students making out in the farthest booth but frankly, Seto didn't care. His hands found themselves cradling Yami's face and he pushed Yami forward so that he was trapped between the booth and Seto. Just as the other man was about to pull back in surprise—an instantaneous reaction, mind you-- Seto caught his mouth, dragging him into a deeper kiss as he swiped Yami's lips with his tongue first before teasing Yami's own tongue to play. He smiled into it when Yami gasped, eyes reflexively opening to meet Seto's own.
Their make-out session ended when Yami yawned suddenly and smiled sheepishly, letting his head rest on Seto's shoulder as the brunet asked for the bill and paid it. All the while Seto's mind raced, wondered if Yami even kenw what happened. Wondered if he would remember come morning.
"Stop thinking so hard," the former pharaoh admonished. "I'm not drunk. I really wanted to kiss you."
At Seto Kaiba's stunned stare, Yami threw his head back and laughed. Dropped a kiss on Seto's cheek before standing up.
"Yes, Kaiba," Yami assured him, using his surname teasingly. "I like you. That's why I kissed you."
It took Seto a couple of embarrassing seconds before the words started to make sense and he shook his head. This was insane. He wrapped an arm around Yami's shoulder, pulled him close and kissed him. When he pulled back, smug grin plastered on his boyish face, Yami was blushing and swaying on his feet.
"Good," he answered, "because I like you too."
They started dating after that.
~*~*~*~*~
It takes him two hours to reach the place Roland gave him. By then it's already dark and the air, chilly. He curses because even with the lamps and flashlight he brought, he still can't see a damn thing. Aside from him shouting Yami's name, the painful wild beating of his heart and the mad rush of flood water that promises cold and sure doom, everything is silent. He hears no response and he slowly loses hope when after several tens of minutes no one still answered. Starts thinking that he's too late.
But Seto Kaiba really doesn't know how to give up. Instead, he drives around every makeshift island that he can see, continues to call Yami's name. Twenty minutes later, there's no sign of Yami and he slumps forward in exhaustion. The current is gaining speed and it indicates that he needs to get away. Fast. Yet he falters. Finds that he can't because Yami's still out here. Is in danger, probably freezing. Dying. He can't because it's Yami and Seto can't imagine living the remainder of his life only thinking about and missing horribly Yami's laugh, his voice, his kisses... he can't.
So instead of turning back, he propells the boat forward, distinctly aware that it's beginning to be difficult—steering in the waters. He shouts until his voice is hoarse and his throat hurts from the strain. It's started raining again and he wishes for the nth time that he went with Yami or convinced him to stay. Either or. It's getting harder and harder to drive, his hands are trembling in the cold and he starts shivering, himself.
Resignation is close and for some reason, his mind tells him to head east. Head straight to where he doesn't see roofs anymore but water. This is a mistake, he immediately reprimands and then he hears it.
That soft, barely audible voice, singing a tune he'd recognize anywhere. Seto's relief is visible in his long exhale of air and brief closing of eyes before he pushes the lever that makes the boat travel faster.
"Yami!"
He's never so glad to hear himself utter Yami's name as this, and Yami's response is the best he's ever heard in days. He reaches for Yami and instantly envelopes him in a tight hug. He's never letting go and from the looks of it, Yami isn't going to, either. He feels Yami bury his face in Seto's chest, holding in the fear that courses through his veins and Seto lets him. Is simply glad that the former pharaoh is safe with him. He leaves a kiss on Yami's forehead before grabbing a blanket to wrap around his boyfriend's trembling frame.
"I thought I was going to die," Yami admits later while they head back. Seto doesn't stop driving but he responds.
"I thought I was never going to find you," he confessed, reciprocating the act. He takes the chance to look at Yami, who sits still, eyes wide with surprise and curiosity on his pale face. But Seto shakes his head, smiles, "But I couldn't stop looking for you. I couldn't just let you go and die."
I wouldn't live without you, he refuses to say because although it's true, it also sounds like a line stolen from an American song.
They reach the evacuation center an hour and a half later now that Seto knows the route, surprising many. Not that they really cared. Seto donates the speedboat while Yami is checked by the volunteer doctor. Standard procedure. As CEO, he promises to help out. He won't mind and finds that the people here have lost so much. Properties, opportunities, businesses. The least he and Yami can do is help them find their loved ones. Other than that, there's nothing else to do but hope that others will be as fortunate as them and find those whom they have lost.
As soon as it's alright to go, they board the first plane out and head home.
~*~*~*~*~
The first time they had sex wasn't when either of them was drunk or intoxicated in any way. It was Yami's birthday and they had been dating for six months already. There was a party in the dormitory and several people, whether invited or not, were there to celebrate. Yami didn't seem to mind. Seto, thoughhad problems with the way his boyfriend was being eyed like a piece of meat.
At 11 p.m., Yami cornered him, offered him some punch and kissed him hard in front of everybody. Seto stared at him, speechless. Yami smirked.
"I'm yours so stop being jealous and come with me," Yami teased, reaching for his hand. Seto had no choice but to follow.
The dormitory was farthest from the university and took about 15-20 minutes to get there. But it had its benefits as well. Behind the building was a trail leading to a secluded part of the forest. It had a great view of the nightsky and most often than not, it was empty. Private. Seto wondered when Yami found this place, when he even found the time but Yami shook his head, smiling. It was a story for another time.
"I thought we needed some time away and alone from the chaos," Yami explained. He laid down, gazes at Seto who leans down and kisses him.
"Happy birthday," Seto greeted, grasping Yami's chilled hand and kissing his fingers, all the while maintaining eye contact with a blushing Yami.
"Thank you," the former pharaoh replied, pulling him close. "I want you," he whispered huskily before kissing Seto's jaw.
Seto gently pushed him on his back and began working on the buttons of his shirt, alternating nips with kisses as he quietly followed Yami's indirect order. Later on, they were entwined with each other, limb to limb, chest to chest, Seto deep inside Yami, moaning and release shaky breaths as he whispered Seto's name over and over...
When Yami reached his climax, Seto thrust harder and claimed his bruised lips for a kiss, stifling Yami's shout. Soon he came, as well, and fell on Yami's quivering frame, both sweat-soaked and panting, out of breath. Yami turned to face him, slowly dozing off as Seto wrapped his arms protectively around him.
"Love you, Seto," Yami muttered, eyes closing as he fell asleep.
Seto watched him, smiling before reaching for the cloth and cleaned them up. He pulled the extra blanket over them afterwards and followed Yami in his slumber.
END
A/N: So, what do you think?