YAMI'S BRUISE

Seto would sometime roam his eyes over Yami's head to read what the other boy was having in his mind. You see, it's easy to misunderstood the Mutous. It's probably their bold appearance; or maybe because they both like wearing leather; or maybe because Yugi always seemed open yet secretive and Yami always carries himself with such confidence – all of those, made people think they would be promiscuous and untamed. Of course with Yugi, you'd dismiss these thoughts once you talked to him (the kid is tangibly timid and naïve) – but with Yami and his bold personality, you'd find rumors tailing around. It does not matter if no one ever caught him doing something indecent; people would always thought he had gone adventurous with a couple of girls, especially with that Gardner girl. Oh boy, if only they knew which Mutou the Gardner girl was truly dating.

Then again, now that Seto thought of it, he kind of expected Yami to hardcore seduce him right after they officially dated. He was prepared to have Yami tackle him to the ground in a surprise-attack after his confession and Seto had planned to resist; because Seto would rather have the pace of the relationship under his terms. If Yami wanted to challenge that, Seto would face him head on.

But that did not happen.

For a while, Seto still had himself warily watching the back of Yami's head and wondered when the other boy would seduce him. Yet, after a number hints and moves toward that boy, Seto realized that maybe… Yami was not the untamable fire people made him to be.

It took a while for Seto to piece it together. He was even suspicious that Yami was planning something after the numerous sweet gesture he directed toward Seto. Yami would call him in the middle of the night because he wants to listen to Seto's breath while they fell asleep; Yami would slip the word 'cute' when he saw Seto – a compliment that Seto had never expected from anyone considering he sees himself as 'cool' than 'cute - ;and there were the moments Yami insists hey hold hands. He admitted that Yami's innocent gestures affected him more than he liked them to; in fact, he adores Yami's treatments, he'll gave the other boy that. But back then Seto was convinced Yami planned to lower his guard before pulling a move; thus brushing it off as a trap.

Then came that day when they sat in Seto's study to build their deck. It was less than two weeks before another tournament and there was tension between them. They had been spending time sitting a distance away from one another while they both had their decks in hand. Hey, they might like one another, but they wouldn't be all buddy-buddy on a competition.

Till that day, they had yet to show their full deck to the other. They wanted too, but they expected the other to take the first step. Pride gets in the way sometimes; and it was obvious from the glare Yami sent to Seto from behind his cards as though saying, "I'm your boyfriend; how could you not show you deck to me?" And Seto would stare back as if to say, "I'm avenging my loss; boyfriend or not".

The message was clear; they were rivals first and lovers second.

Yami was pulling a frown from the seat right across to Seto. Seto himself sat on the seat behind the desk; skimming through his cards and switching a couple of traps with another card. And then, in the middle of scouring through his cards, Yami perked up and said rather spontaneously, "See this. It's cute," while offeeing a card to Seto.

The silence that came after was instant. Yami looked surprised at his own reaction; to think that he would be the first to open his card to Seto was a bit embarrassing. Seto was surprised too. He expected himself to scoff if one of them ever expose their deck; but Yami's gesture made his heart flutter instead. And that was weird; Seto Kaiba does not do that puppy love cliché.

The card Yami pulled up was a fusion card called Dark Magician Girl The Dragon Knight. It has the picture of Dark Magician Girl; a card that was somehow dubbed Yami's signature monster even though he had only used it once in the last tournament; on a dragon. Obviously, it's a fusion between the prior and any dragon monster card.

Yami pulled a face that he rarely showed on others; pursed lips, one winked eye and an arched eyebrow; as he put his words together. "Cute huh?"

"What makes you think it's cute?" Seto replied flatly.

Yami seemed disappointed. He returned the card to his deck and huffed, "Well I just thought it portrays us".

Sure, Seto has been known to use dragon based deck. The card had a picture of Dark Magician Girl riding a dragon; which Seto took as a teasing material. "I bet you wouldn't mind riding my blue eyes". Sure, they have yet to discuss sex, which Seto had thought of a lot lately. Of course in gay relationships, one would be expected to switch roles in bed. However, Seto was really shooting for Yami to give up the top position first.

Yami shrugged as he skimmed through his cards. "That would be awesome," he answered absently. Seto snapped back to Yami. Really?

The shorter teen noticed Seto's bewildered look and felt even more awkward. "What?" The shorter asked. When Seto kept his silence, Yami sputtered to defend his opinion, "It's big and regal!"

If Yami was trying to be a tease, then he had used the wrong expression (though, admittedly, the exclaim had been 100% on the point). Seto thought the day they will start hinting about sex would be the day Yami stopped acting like a hopeless romantic and started uncovering his wilder persona. But here he was, looking all confused and embarrassed. So Seto curiously (and hopefully) pressed on, "You think it's big and regal?"

"Well, yeah. I mean it looks good on the duel disk, but on the arena it looks majestic".

"… you're talking about my card".

Yami glanced sideways before looking back at his boyfriend, "What else should we be talking about?"

'Oh, I don't know, you allowing my dick inside your ass?' Was what Seto wanted to say. But Yami pulled that innocent gaze so tremendously that Seto almost believed he honestly had no idea what they were talking about. It made Seto feel uncool somehow, because he really was losing it!

"Fine," Seto huffed, if that's the game you want to play. Yami had the gal to look confused.

A couple of days went by and Seto noted that the rivalry was getting stronger between them. It has gotten to the point where they avoid talking about spare times as to not bring up the fact that they would be training and build a better deck to defeat one another. They skipped phone calls and, worse, kissing.

Along with the rise of competitiveness between them; Seto also felt the rise of sexual tension from his end. The distance between them was making him a bit frustrated. They had only dated for a month, sure; but Seto was used to a relationship where kisses are casual and romancing was skipped for the sex. They called his past relationship a mistake, but Seto wouldn't take it back nor regret it. He likes sex; it's almost a passion for him – beside winning and duel monsters that is.

Even then, he could still be a gentleman and play along with Yami's push-and-pull game. Seto felt stupid that he hadn't properly frenched the other boy; he hadn't even necked Yami yet (and the other boy's neck was Seto's favorite part of his body)! Their make-out session was always cut short somehow, mostly by Yami; and Seto was convinced the guy was building this tension purposefully to make Seto lose his cool.

The only reason Seto doubted his own suspicion was that incident at the school rooftop. He and Yami were meeting after lunch as usual when Yami brought up gym class earlier that day. "Everyone noted that I have two holes on my lower back – like, right on top of my butt," the guy shared, "Tristan laughed and made fun of it. I'm sure Joey will make fun of it soon too".

Seto turned to his boyfriend and pulled his cancer stick out of his mouth. His brows met. "You mean you have dimples on your behind".

Yami shrugged in the dismissive manner Seto often caught him whenever Seto tried to drop an innuendo. "I guess you could say that. They do look like dimples," the shorter guy admitted.

Seto landed his gaze on top of Yami's forehead. He wondered if kissing it would transfer Yami's thoughts into his mind; for right now, he was curious if Yami was trying to egg him on or if this was all a casual discussion. Seto was attracted to those dimples – or Apollo dimples, as known popularly. He had a collection of shots taken on both men and women's back, all with these dimples on their body, in his laptop. Simply put, if Yami was flirting, then he had made a huge move against Seto.

"But it's kind of weird to think you can have dimples down there," Yami continued, "Or anywhere else but your face, right?"

"It's not weird," Seto took a slow drag from his cigarette, "The attraction of those dimples has been acknowledged since the days of Michelangelo. It's a trait considered to be," he paused, "sensual".

Something flashed in Yami's eyes for a split second; something heated; but it's gone by the next second. "I guess," Yami agreed after staring at Seto for a long minute.

Seto took one last drag from his cigarette. He then scrunched the cigarette butt to the ground. "You know, they said that people with those dimples reach orgasm easier," Seto told the other.

"Are you saying I'm early?" Yami half grunted and eyed Seto head on. They both were merely an inch away now, nose almost touching.

"I'm saying it could ease taking it in the back," Seto noted, "It would be less painful for you, probably". If Yami got angered because Seto practically told him to bottom first, then let him be. He's the one to bring up the dimples.

Instead of anger, all Yami said was, "Taking what in the back?"

Really? He still wants to play this game, Seto thought. Whatever, Seto was sick of playing dumb. If Yami thought Seto would give up topping for their first time with this trick, he was mistaken.

Seto zeroed into the side of Yami's neck and nuzzled, only to have Yami struggling and, surprise surprise, cackling. "Cut it out! That tickles!" The tricolor haired teen exclaimed before having a fit of laughter.

Seto stopped to have a good look at the other. Who the fuck would laugh in the middle of petting? The only kind who would giggle in situations like this are...

Virgins.

Was it possible, Seto wondered, for the Yami Mutou people speculated as a flirt to actually be a virgin?

Seto found himself observing the top of his lover's head more often to read what he's thinking. The moment Yami seemed to drop a hint, Seto would hesitate; calculating if it was meant to be innocent or a provocation. He now realized that Yami had always put a stop before their intimate contact became too intense. Their kisses were short and touches were kept at a minimum. All these times, Seto thought Yami's restraint was a trick. But it may not be restraint at all.

It might be… cluelessness.

If that was the case, then maybe Seto shouldn't have kissed the guy when he asked him out. Not that Yami protested, but his kisses felt rather vanilla for Seto's liking.

Seto watches on as Yami craned his head to the right and massaged the back of his neck. It was three days before they would leave the town for the tournament, and here they were; sitting on the rooftop after school. They just discussed about preparations for their travel and had settled that Yami should spend the night over at Seto's place before their leave.

Something instantly came up to Seto's mind; one of them of worrying if Yami'd find out about the deck Seto especially built to defeat him once he spend the night over; the other being if spending the night over would mean making out on Seto's bed; then came the question if Yami even knew how to do those stuff. So Seto shoot the question.

"Let me ask you something," Seto started, only continuing once he was sure he had his boyfriend's attention, "Have you ever dated that Gardner girl?"

Yami was in the middle of texting. His face animatedly changed from concentration, to disgust, to confusion. He answered slowly, not taking his eyes off the phone, "…no. That's like… dating Aibou. Do we seem like we are?"

God, no. "People think you guys are". And they are betting if they'd be wild enough to steal your attention, was what Seto wanted to add, buy didn't.

"Obviously they knew nothing," Yami hissed at his phone; fingers kept its wild rhythmic tapping on his mobile. In exchange, he missed the heavy gaze Seto grazed the side of his head.

"I take it you've never dated anyone before me," Seto said again. Yami took a couple of seconds too long to pause. When he did, his head turned toward his boyfriend slowly. "Yes," when he caught on to Seto's strange look, he added, "What?"

"You're a virgin".

They both stared for a full ten seconds – all the while, Seto's heart sped up to a mile a minute. There's something empowering in forcing the older Mutou to reveal his V card. The moment Yami bent down his head, looking more unsure than ever, Seto felt like he had stripped the guy out of his confidence.

"I am," was the short answer, followed with a glance toward Seto's way. There's vulnerability in that stare that made Seto's pride soar. It could be the idea that he's the one with more knowledge between them; or maybe it was the idea that he had heard a dirty little secret; but most likely it was because Yami Mutou was untouched, and his innocence is now in Seto's hands.

"And you?" Yami continued. His tone was laced with accusation. At this point, you'd knew Yami recognized the gap between him and his boyfriend; and it was a gap that made him feel isolated and inadequate. "For someone so young, you sure seem experienced," he told Seto. The fact that Seto acted so calm unsettle the shorter even more.

"How do you define 'experienced'?" Seto asked distractedly.

"You tongued my lips and stuff".

"That's called trying to properly kiss you, moron," Seto growled.

"So you are experienced," it was a question.

Seto shrugged, "Maybe I am".

Yami was then looking at his lover like he had seen a ghost. They were of the same age; but now it felt as though Seto was way older. "And now you're scared of me," Seto was the one to accuse now. Yami scowled.

"I'm not scared of you!" Yami growled, only to glue himself closer to the wall he's leaning to when Seto suddenly shortened the distance between their faces. The shorter eyed between Seto's lips and blue eyes. He gulped, but forced himself to repeat his conviction, "I'm not".

Seto teased him with a doubtful look before pecking the other boy on the lips. When he finally left the other's lips alone, he stared hotly at Yami's eyes and smirked mockingly. "Prove it".

"You're getting cocky for something as silly as virginity," Yami rebuked.

"And you're strangely defensive for something as innocent as a kiss," Seto countered and shorten their distance once again to provoke the other, "We haven't even french-ed yet".

Silence.

"Let me tongue you," Seto whispered softly.

Yami tch-ed, "Fine".

"Do not push me away this time," Seto warned. Yami said nothing, but he didn't evade the brunette. So Seto slowly landed a hand on the side of the other's arm and leaned for a soft kiss. When he let go, it was to look at Yami in the eye, "Good?"

He didn't wait for an answer and instead let four of his right hand fingers touched the side of Yami's face while the thumb was used to part Yami's lips. He leaned closer, mouth open and ready to taste the other. He licked the roof of Yami's mouth; tasting the embarassment and temptation in Yami. He pulled out of the crevice for a second, only to return with full fervor. He let his arms roam around until he maintain a secure hold around the smaller body; so that Yami understood just how strong his desire truly is. And Seto felt a desperate hand clenching the front of his school uniform. Seto left Yami's lips once in a while, just so that Yami could breathe and calm down.

Then Seto's cold fingers grazed Yami's left ears and massaged it. Yami leaned away a bit for he felt a bit too tingly all over and Seto's ticklish rubbing on his ear didn't help him calm down. Seto gave the other's lips one last kiss before he took a good look on the other's flushed face and plunged to nuzzle the right side of the neck he had long adored. He took a long sniff at it and lapped his tongue on the warm skin. The brunette was not discouraged when he felt Yami tensed up and a hand was gripping Seto's hand so tightly it hurts.

Seto gave a bite on the spot right under the ear and sucked lightly. Yami flinched and Seto knew he heard a sharp gasp. Seto felt like leaning all his weights on the other; for the sensation of pinning the untouchable Yami Mutou and making him react however Seto wanted were so thrilling.

Seto finally let go after making sure the neck was thoroughly kissed. He smirked cockily at Yami's way and felt like tapping playfully at the other's red face. "If only you could have a look at your face," the brunette chuckled at Yami. "My hand, if you don't mind," Seto added and tugged lightly on his right hand that was still stuck under Yami's death grip. Yami let it go absently.

Seto chuckled once more. Virgins, he thought affectionately. So Yami truly was the typical goody-two-shoes from a small town; the type who'd focus on school and not think much of anything else. It's hard to believe those types really exist for Seto had long fooled people with the same front. Having a real one by his side was rather... endearing.

Seto decided he'd have another smoke while he waited for Yami to collect himself. Poor boy seemed a bit lost. Seto hoped he atleast gets the drift that Seto could take care of his virginity nicely - as long as Yami hands it to him of course.

At least Seto was gentleman enough to send Yami home. Tanaka sent the tricolor haired teen a worried gaze when the latter forgot to answer his greeting. "He's tired," Seto explained; smirking proudly at the bruise he made under Yami's right ear.

TBC.

Doesn't feel like it came out right. What do you think?