A/N: Sorry if this chapter seems sorta disconnected, but it took me forever to write this. Hello 4 am finish time~ A lot of this is an amalgam of rping I've done in the past few months with a friend of mine. Enjoy!


"Wh-what are you doing?"

The expressive brown eyes were staring straight at him, shocked. Yusei parted his lips for a moment as if to speak, but thought better of it, and the awkward silence settled in as Jaden's face got redder and redder.

"I… thought it would help," was the only thing Yusei could muster, and though it seemed to him to be a feeble attempt to justify himself, it was the truth. He could only sit there, calm as he could, while waiting uncertainly for Jaden's reaction. It was maddening, and the blood in his body was speeding toward his head.

As though likewise unsure of himself, Jaden broke his gaze and clutched his shirt, sitting stiffly. "I-it did help!" he said uncomfortably. "I just…"

Yusei waited as patiently as he could while the boy opposite him muttered things about how surprised he was, how he couldn't understand what was going on, and something about first times. The dark-haired duelist felt an impulse shoot up through his chest at these last words and, looking away and blushing madly, he admitted, "It was my first time too," in a simple effort to alleviate Jaden's discomfort.

Instead the boy's flustered state intensified twofold and he insisted on some sort of misunderstanding, but by this point Yusei's powerful skills of listening and understanding had shorted out, and he was working on the simple guidance of his intuition. His feverish mind lingered on one thing and one thing alone: that moment, of how full and satisfying those constantly smiling lips of Jaden's were. For once, Yusei wanted to throw himself completely and wholeheartedly into something that wasn't Duel Monsters, just for another chance to stop Jaden's nervous habit of sucking on his petal-soft lips when he was nervous or sad, to press his own dry lips to that warm pair again. But he had to make sure he wouldn't scare the poor boy.

"Jaden… could I ask you something?" He began, swallowing his growing feeling of anxiety. Jaden nodded vigorously and his caramel tresses flew wildly, his energy causing a tiny bit of Yusei's nervousness to leave him.

The dark-haired duelist smiled and asked, almost boldly, "Could I have your permission to try again?"

He hardly heard the boy's consent before he had his lips on the other's again, and this time it wasn't a mixture of pity and care, it was a newfound desire which flowed through Yusei's veins through his brain, his fingers, and all the way down to very tips of his toes. He was almost glowing with heat, an organic mechanism guiding his arms around Jaden and pulling the brown-haired boy practically into his lap.


Their lives passed liked honey, more sickeningly sweet than anything. Jack and Crow made it a point to be around even less often, whereas Jaden came three or four times every day, as if his schedule at Yusei's place was in an inverse relationship with the others'. Yusei didn't mind. He found himself grinning even more widely than he used to, and oftentimes he'd find himself sore from the sudden use of those previously underused muscles in his face. His productivity levels increased midday, if only to compensate for the time he whiled away in the company of his new companion in the comforting glow of dusk.

On certain days, they'd go out and enjoy the scenery or visit Yusei's friends. Jaden became fast friends with the twins, who took advantage of his excitability to get him to play games with them. Luca would give him little origami trinkets made out of old pieces of homework, which she gave to everybody because she had a mountain of them as a result of her newfound hobby. Lua, on the other hand, would beg to see Jaden's Elemental Hero deck and, once he had his hands on it, ogle at the various bright and colorful figures. It was obvious that the green-haired boy was impressed, because every time Jaden would return to the lower school to visit, he would be swamped by all of Lua's bright-eyed friends, all of them raving about how amazing his deck must be and how he could probably could've won the championship against Yusei and how he should try a riding duel sometime and other things that flew over Jaden's head.

In almost direct contrast to the rowdiness and noise of the kids, Yusei's other friend Aki was extremely distant with Jaden. She was the only one to whom Yusei had not introduced the brunette by his side as his "boyfriend", and she was the only one besides Jack who decidedly paid little notice to her friend's significant other. Occasionally, she'd give Jaden a look sharp enough to wither all the plants in her deck, then turn away as if he had never existed.

But even Aki cracked under Jaden's unbreakable good humor, and soon enough he had the girl smiling and even laughing at his antics. He asked her all about her experiences of learning to ride a D-wheel, and she gladly told him everything she learned, though the physics went in one ear and out the other.

"And one time Yusei was teaching me how to ride, and he drove backwards on his D-wheel! It was amazing," the new riding duelist said one day when Yusei was out salvaging for materials.

"Whoa, that's sweet!" Jaden eyes were sparkling. "Where can I get me one of these D-wheels?"

And so Aki told him all about D-wheel licenses, training, and testing. The brunette hung his head. "Aw man, that means more school." He wrapped his Slifer jacket more tightly around himself and pouted.

"If you'd like, Jaden, I could teach you…" A low voice interjected, and a very dusty and tired Yusei approached the two of them. Clouds of dirt flew off him as Jaden hugged him excitedly.

"Wow, thanks, Yusei!" the Slifer exclaimed, laughing.

Somehow, days later, Jaden managed to stay upright on a rental D-wheel while the constantly anxious Yusei drifted behind him. The turns were the hardest, as the Slifer hadn't quite yet mastered the concept of reducing his speed when turning and he ended up skidding and flying off his vehicle as his companion screamed his name, but the voice was so far and faint as Jaden rocketed toward the concrete.

When Yusei ran frantically up to where he lay, he was astonished to find Jaden lying on his back, a gigantic grin on his face. It seemed Jaden's immense luck applied to more than just dueling.

The Slifer laughed heartily. "That was awesome!"

"A-are you alright?"

"I may have a few bruises, but that's nothing." Jaden helped himself up and brushed himself off in front the shocked and flustered Yusei. He moved his limbs, checking them. "My wrist does kinda hurt…"

And hence he was dragged straight to Martha's, where it was confirmed that he had a sprained wrist and had to keep it bandaged and rested for a few weeks. Unfortunately, Jaden's luck seemed to backfire just a tiny bit, as this wrist was his right hand and thus he was limited in its movement. He could barely draw or hold a hand of cards without it pulsing with a dull pain. Yusei had to do ridiculous things for him, such as dress him in the morning (though his several attempts at pulling on his pants were entertaining to say the least). Sometimes he felt like Jaden was exaggerating his pain just a tiny bit, as was usually revealed as the truth when he caught his boyfriend digging – with both hands – through the fridge for last night's leftover Chinese takeout. It took Yusei a bit of time to get used to the extra burden of taking care of Jaden's daily needs, and even longer to get used to being an integral part of every personal need the Slifer had.

Being forced so close to the boy had its advantages. Yusei felt his comfort level around Jaden rise with every day. Soon he felt comfortable enough to give the unwitting boy a kiss, a hug, a cuddle whilst carefully avoiding the injured wrist. It was enough for him to look down into the younger duelist's bright brown eyes, watch the caramel strands splay out on the bedding, feel Jaden's warmth underneath his body. It would be dark and silent, the only noise escaping from Yusei's lips as he breathed three words into the boy's ear which made his entire body flush with pleasure and brought his lips up to the other's in a wordless agreement, a contract of heart, so as when Yusei woke before his lover the next day, he would spend a good few minutes gazing fondly at the adorable sleeping face and wonder at his good fortune. When Jaden awoke several hours later, he would spot the mechanic next to him checking the D-wheel stats and programs on his laptop, all the while waiting for the Slifer to finish his beauty sleep. Jaden would only smile widely at this fact and with a healthy blush remember the night before. Then he would decide that, if anything, Yusei needed a reply.

"I love you too."

But those words caught in his throat and choked him.

"Jaden?"

Then darkness. And a female-sounding voice. Claws. A sinister hiss.

You're mine.