Hi guys. Well, since both Cat and Kim got a new chapter up, I thought I'd go ahead and do the same. Though I'm quite sad i had only 2 reviews last time...but it's ok. I hope you guys like this chapter better! It was more fun to write, I give it that!

Disclaimer: Yugioh and its characters are copyright of Kazuki Takahashi. I merely own this fanfic and my personal OC's.

~Four: Dark~

"Hey, watch it!"

"That's my line."

Drip.

"OW! That was my foot!"

"Then don't walk so fast!"

"Geez!"

The low rumbling of thunder could be heard outside.

"Kaiba, your mansion is like a friggin maze! How can it be so difficult to find the candles in this place?"

"I don't know where Roland left them last time the power went out."

"You ought to know! Be grateful it's just rain and not something worse, or we'd be screwed!"

"I'm trapped here in the dark with your big mouth, I hardly count myself grateful."

THWACK!

"OUCH!"

"Be grateful it's too dark for me to hit below the belt…literally." Seto grumbled some obscenities and the two continued to navigate down the dark hallway, seeking out candles or a flashlight. They could hear the rain pouring outside again and sighed a bit.

The power in the mansion had gone out well over half an hour ago and the two were stuck alone and practically blind.

Roland was probably with Adelinda and Mokuba, waiting out the storm somewhere and Kay silently cursed herself for bothering to come to the mansion to work with Seto on a Duel Monsters project between Industrial Illusions and Kaiba Corp.

"Damn it, Seto, that's the fifth time I've run into you! Can you please give me some sort of warning before you just stop?"

"Will you just shut up for a minute?" he grumbled before wriggling the door knob and opening it slowly. "I think this might be the storage room. Roland normally keeps batteries and other things of the sort in here, hopefully there's a flashlight."

"Well fan tucking fastic."

"Just be quiet and come on." The two of them groped the walls, desperately attempting to navigate the pitch black room and Kay heard a crashing sound and spun around in alarm.

"Seto?"

"Damn it!" came the slightly weak curse and she blinked, not daring to venture forward and risk injuring him and/or herself in the process.

"What happened?"

"Ran into a shelf…Jesus Christ that hurt!" She heard him shuffling as he stood back up, continuing to curse under his breath.

"This was a bad idea, Seto. We shouldn't have moved from the living room. At this rate, we'll kill ourselves before we even find a light source."

"Your optimism is almost too much to bear," Seto sighed sarcastically as he continued to feel along the shelves for anything useful.

Kay exhaled, feeling her cell phone in her pocket. The damn thing had died about ten minutes after the lights went out and she didn't carry a lighter or anything else that could help them out.

"Wait, I think found something." She waited a moment, listening to Seto moving in the dark and heard the sound of him striking a match before a small flame glowed before them.

The pitiful little light barely illuminated Seto's face, but it was certainly better than the absolute darkness.

"Now, perhaps we can get somewhere." Seto held the fire up to the shelves and scoured them before pausing.

"Did you find something?"

"Yes." He reached up and grabbed something before blowing out the already dwindling flame. Kay grunted slightly as her eyes were forced to readjust to the darkness before Seto turned on a flashlight and aimed it towards her.

"Well, that's certainly an improvement."

"But it looks like we're out of batteries so we'd better go back to the living room before this thing dies on us too."

"Hey, do you have any logs near the fireplace?" Kay asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Bring the matches, we can light up the logs and at least have a fire going for a while. I'm sure it'll be enough for the duration of the storm." Seto nodded briefly and pocketed the matches before the two ventured out into the hallway again.

The mansion had been creepy in the dark because there was no telling was around you. But to wander it with only a small beam of light as a measure of defense somehow felt even more unnerving. It was like something out of a bad horror movie.

Regardless, Kay couldn't help but step a little closer to Seto as they retraced their steps to the living room. The room wasn't a pitch black, but it was almost impossible to make out any of the shapes without the flashlight as the downpour continued mercilessly outside the windows, the occasional streak of lightning tearing the sky.

"Where is the firewood?"

"There should be one or two logs next to it in that black container. The rest is in the cellar."

"We'll just have to make do with what we have." Kay approached the shiny, black container that was shaped a little like a basket combined with a crescent moon and pulled the lid off. Sure enough, two logs lay inside and she lifted them carefully and tossed them in the cold bed of the fire. "Hand me the matches."

Seto obliged and she lit one before tossing it onto the wood, causing it to quickly enflame and cast a comforting, orange glow into the room. She sighed in relief and fell back onto the couch, thankful for the visibility again.

"I forget what visual creatures we are sometimes," she said. Seto merely nodded and took the seat next to her somewhat awkwardly and she kept her gaze on the fire crackling merrily in the hearth.

The only sound between them was their quiet breathing as the torrent continued and the fire sparked and popped.

"…hey Seto?"

"What is it now?"

"Why are you so rude to everyone?" she asked. Seto paused and stared at her and she merely shrugged. "I mean, I know you're not heartless. You are so sweet to Mokuba when nobody's really around, but why do you have such an attitude all the time? There's a difference between being professional and quiet to being an all-around jerk for no valid reason."

"I am not an all-around jerk," he grumbled and she gave him a sideways glance.

"Come on, Seto, it's just me here. I'm not going to go around blabbing to everyone if you let your guard down for a change."

"Tch," he said, looking away from her. She cocked her head a bit and scooted closer to him.

"Come on, Seto. Now's the time you can vent or do whatever without worrying about it."

"Why do you suddenly care?"

"I'm bored," she said with a slightly childish whine in her voice and Seto had to resist face palming at the response.

"Figures!"

"And I've always been curious…" she admitted. "You always seem so angry and unhappy with everything and I know you had a hard childhood, but it just doesn't seem to add up. You and Mokuba are well off now, so why do you keep feeling so miserable?" Seto furrowed his brows at the question, hearing the sincere concern in her voice which halted the snarky remark that had started to form inside of his throat.

Why indeed…?

"I…I suppose it's like a safeguard…" he finally mumbled.

"A safeguard?"

"Consider it like this…since Mokuba and I were kids, life was hard. We couldn't trust anyone but each other and had to fend for ourselves. I had to protect him, but I couldn't always do so. Some days I was so angry and frustrated I'd do terrible things and lash out at him…so I try not to let myself seem weak. Happiness…I feel it, naturally, but when you let others on to what makes you feel at ease, they can use it against you. Mokuba is the one person who does make me like that and that's why he's been the victim of kidnappings by my enemies in the past."

"That actually makes a lot of sense," she said quietly.

"I don't like the idea of the people around me getting tangled up with my problems. It's just been a part of my nature, which is why the idea of friendship and such irritate me because it only seems to cause more harm than good."

"Seto, you should know that's not true. Look at Yugi and the gang, they build on each other which make them stronger in the end."

"They're different…they always preach about it and they're like a rash you can't seem to get rid of. I never had something like they have, and I don't think I'd be able to develop relationships in that sense without trying to run." She paused and processed his words before moving closer to him and wrapping her arms around him.

"Is this ok?" she asked and she could feel him nod his head slightly and she didn't move. "You know…I get the feeling that everyone would love you if you let this side of you out a bit more."

"I have no interest in making the world love me. That's a childish notion."

"I guess."

"There's not guessing about what simply is." She made a face and pulled back slightly, looking at him before a particularly loud crash of thunder made her yelp and lose her balance, knocking them both into the couch cushions.

"S-sorry," she stammered in embarrassment and she propped herself up on her arms and he snickered a bit.

"Geez, you're such a klutz."

"Am not!" she protested with a pout.

"Yes you are. I'm surprised you haven't broken ever bone in your body yet." She lightly hit him on the head and lay down on top of him, sticking her tongue out.

"Just for that, I'm not letting you get up."

"You know you're not so heavy I can't push you off."

"You'd be willing to let my head crack open and kill me?" she asked, feigning shock and he rolled his eyes.

"That short drop won't kill you."

"It could!" she insisted.

"Yeah, yeah," he said slowly, his eyes half-lidded.

"So, tell me, if you don't want relationships with people because you're worried about them getting mixed up in your personal, drama-filled life…does that mean you never intend to try settling down, having a family?"

"It's not one of my top priorities," he admitted.

"And here I thought you liked me," she sighed dramatically and he poked her forehead.

"Some days I think I'm ready to kill you, you're so annoying."

"Ah! Hurtful!" He gripped the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair.

"Yes, well…the rest of the time I'm not allowed to say what I'd like to do." She smiled and bit and leaned closer.

"You can say what you want here. Nobody's around."

"Yes, I know," he said slowly, his breath ghosting her lips.

"I'm starting to miss the dark," she sighed.

"Why's that?"

"Because it's normally the only time you let me do this." She leaned down, pressing her lips to his and his free arm wound around her waist as he returned the kiss slowly.

The rain continued outside but neither of them noticed as the fire continued to die. They were lost in the world created from the quiet serenity of the darkness. The sweet, alluring shade that kept their deepest secrets from the rest of the world.

One-word…FLUFF! Yeah, I had a fluffy chapter in here. I couldn't resist. As for the story on Kay and Seto being in this secret relationhip...I didn't care enough to think of a backstory! So I'll leave it your -rainbow- Imaginaaaaaaaaaaaation.

So, there you have it folks. But, for the next chappie, can I please have more reviews? Reviews make me so happy! I like knowing what you all think, what can be improved, what was friggin amazing! I just enjoy reading them (so long as they aren't garbage-filled flames that irritate me to no end…)

Next word?

Solace