･ Soleil Boulangerie ･

by prettiugli

A small, popular bakery opens up across from the university that Yami attends. Seto Kaiba wants to pursue his baking hobby and has worked very hard to land a position at that bakery. He'll be damned if anyone recognizes him, so he decides to change his appearance a bit. Miraculously, Yami doesn't seem to recognize him. [AU, Prideshipping, smut, COMPLETED]

7. throwing fragments of love at you

Chapter 7

---

Yami stepped into the game shop and to his surprise, he saw a light in the doorway leading into the kitchen. He quickly glanced at the store clock and realized it was 6:30 AM.

I have to go to class in a few hours! Yami realized. He hurried into the house and saw Yugi eating breakfast sleepily at the kitchen counter.

"Aibou," Yami said hesitantly. "You're up early, good morning."

Yugi yawned widely, "'Morning! I have a project meet-up, so we can head out together today!"

Yami nodded and sat himself down next to Yugi along the kitchen counter.

"What were you doing out there?" Yugi asked blearily.

"Oh I..." Yami stopped for a moment, debating if he should tell Yugi about what he had just witnessed. Then he remembered, the phone!

"Kaiba gave me a phone..." Yami said slowly, trying not to sound excited.

Yugi was now wide-awake. "He..WHAT?! Let me see?!"

Yami reached into his pocket and and placed his shiny new device onto the marble counter.

"Woooww!" Yugi exclaimed, picking it up excitedly and examining it carefully. "Is this carbon fiber?!"

Yami tried to suppress a look of pride. "Yes, it's quite nice, although, I'm not quite sure what he's thinking."

Yugi nodded in agreement, "Did he say why he was giving this to you? Maybe he wants something in return?"

Yami furrowed his brow, suddenly feeling very tired from the lack of sleep, "He said to report any issues the phone may have, while in use."

"That's it?" Yugi asked incredulously.

Yami nodded, feeling anxious, "Should I give it back?"

"Nah," Yugi grinned, "Kaiba's fucking loaded. He's got a million of these. Don't take it too personally that he gave you one."

Yami felt a lump swell up in this throat, making it painful to swallow, "Right."

"So, how will you report the issues?" Yugi asked curiously. "Can you just text him, or do you have to make a trip over to see Kaiba in-person?"

Yami paused, feeling a wave of confusion wash over him, "I don't know!"

Yugi laughed and reached out to squeeze Yami's hand reassuringly, "Well I have Mokuba's number, don't worry." Yami tensed at the warmth of Yugi's hand on his. Yugi noticed this and appeared concerned.

Yami looked down at the counter, avoiding eye contact, "There was also..something else that happened."

"I'm listening." Yugi said gently.

Yami felt himself sweat, "I saw...I saw Kaiba..touching himself."

Yugi blinked and leaned forward, refusing to believe what he was hearing, "You saw what?!"

"I saw him touching himself." Yami repeated robotically. "As I was leaving, he was-"

"Oh my god!" Yugi exclaimed aghast, and turning pale. "In front of you?! Why?! And how does that even happen?!"

"He didn't know I was there," Yami said hastily, "I was leaving, and wanted to thank him again, so I headed back up and accidentally caught a glimpse of him in a private moment. Nothing to it, Yugi, please don't worry."

Yugi was opening and closing his mouth like a gulping goldfish gasping for air, "A-And he didn't ..SEE you, right?!" he croaked.

"He did not." Yami said calmly. Yugi bent over his breakfast, feeling stressed.

"Aibou, please, it's really fine..." Yami said desperately, not expecting Yugi to take the news this badly.

"Am I okay, are YOU okay?!" Yugi interjected. "Just don't mention anything to him about this, and we won't be murdered by his security detail."

Yami swallowed nervously and nodded, "I understand, Yugi."

"Good." Yugi sniffed and he bent his head over his bowl, slowly eating his breakfast in silence.

"I'm going to take quick shower, come get me when you're ready to head to campus." Yami said casually, and he headed up the stairs.

---

Kaiba's eyes shot open when he heard a soft knock on his door. He sat up quickly and realized he had fallen asleep on the bed.

"Seto?" Mokuba's voice drifted through a crack in the doorway.

Kaiba quickly composed himself, "Come in Mokuba."

Mokuba slowly opened the door and took a few steps into the room. "Why are you still here Seto? Are you sick?"

Kaiba furrowed his brown, confused, "I'm feeling fine."

"But Seto, I'm about to head to school, it's 7:30AM right now." Mokuba said, looking concerned.

Kaiba felt his blood run cold, he was an hour late for his shift at the bakery.

"I'm gonna go now Seto," Mokuba said, backing away slowly, "I'll see you later!" He quickly shut the door behind him and sprinted down the stairs.

Kaiba leaped out of bed and ran into the bathroom, fraught with anxiety and distress. He stepped into the shower and clumsily plopped black hair dye onto his palms. Hastily drying himself after the rinse, he stabbed himself in the eye several times, while unsuccessfully attempting to apply the brown contact lenses in a panic. Kaiba looked up at the mirror and forced himself to breathe. A pale, dark haired, brown-eyed reflection stared back at him.

Rushing out of the bathroom, Kaiba fervently threw on the last set of casual clothes his secretary had purchased for him and hurried out the door. Running out into the driveway where a car was waiting, he threw himself in the backseat, panting and breathless.

"Good morning Mr. Kai-," the driver stiffed with surprise. "Um..sir, please exit this vehicle peacefully or I shall call security to forcefully remove you."

"I am Kaiba." Kaiba growled furiously, "Drive towards the university campus. Now."

The driver began to visibly sweat, "Sir, may I see some identification?"

Kaiba was about to pop a vein. "Are you fucking serious?! If the car doesn't start this minute..", Kaiba threatened, "You. Are. Fired."

The driver trembled in his seat, "P-Please wait while I confirm.." He fumbled around for his cell phone and began making a call.

Unbelievable! Kaiba fumed, looking at the time, he was now close to 2 hours late for his shift. He made a mental note to schedule the same driver for these exploits at all times.

The driver finished the call and slowly turned around in his seat to face Kaiba, "Sir..I-I am so sorry, I d-didn't realize.."

"Just. drive." Kaiba groaned, rubbing his temples as he felt his head throb with anger and exhaustion.

The terrified driver obeyed, and they sped towards their destination.

---

Yami rhythmically tapped his pen against his notepad as he sat in class, his eyes mindlessly following the professor walking back and forth across the podium. He looked down at his notepad and realized he hadn't actually written anything down, other than a few long scratches of ink running across the page where he had fallen asleep while the pen was touching the paper. Yami shook his head slightly and willed himself to stay awake, the images from Kaiba's office visit swam to the surface of his mind.

Why was Kaiba so aroused? Yami thought furtively, Did I interrupt him in the middle of...talking with a woman? Yami swallowed nervously. Surely, a young, rich bachelor like Seto Kaiba would have thousands of women courting him.

Almost instinctively, Yami reached into his pocket and wrapped his fingers tightly around his new phone. To his surprise, it buzzed reassuringly. He pulled it out and tapped the screen; it was a text from Yugi, "Do you want to grab lunch?" it read.

"Yes!" Yami wrote back quickly. And then on an afterthought, he wrote, "Do you think Kaiba has a girlfriend?"

His phone buzzed as Yugi responded, "Omg, Yami, are you STILL thinking about that?! I'll bet he currently has, or has had, tons of girlfriends! He's famous. And rich. Why else do you think Joey and Tristan try to follow him around so much during dueling events?"

Yami felt his breath constrict in his throat as he remembered witnessing crowds of screaming women pushing against separation barriers at several duels where Kaiba was involved. The text on the screen started to blur as he felt his eyes water slightly. The phone hummed again as Yugi said, "Seriously Yami, just don't worry about it. He's not our friend, really, so...it's none of our business."

The phone vibrated for a third time as Yugi wrote, "See you for lunch, text you details later! Joey and Anzu might come too!"

Yami realized he was getting dirty looks from neighboring classmates and he looked apologetically back at them as he tucked his phone away. He faced the podium and tried to pay attention for the remainder of class.

---

Kaiba sprinted into the alleyway towards the back entrance of the bakery. He grabbed the handle and yanked forcefully, but it was locked. Cursing under his breath, he hurried around the building towards the entrance, feeling his pulse rise in panic.

I've never been 2 hours late for anything! Kaiba screamed at himself angrily, Today is the day I get fired from a low wage position!

He grabbed the chrome gold handles of the bakery doors and swung them open. Jason, the bakery's manager, was bent over the cash register screen, mumbling intently, barely visible from behind a large stack of boxes sitting on the white marble counter.

Kaiba stood before him, breathless, his feelings of dread mounting higher and higher the longer he went unnoticed.

Jason finally spoke, not looking at Kaiba, and frowning fixedly at the register screen. "So. New hire, you decided to show up today, huh?"

Kaiba nodded silently and tensed, bracing himself for the worst.

"Well," The manager said gravely, "Normally you would be fired, but we're extremely short-handed, and I believe in second chances, so, grab an apron and redeem yourself. "

Reeling from shock, Kaiba carefully walked past the long marble counter and pushed aside a few boxes, accessing the kitchen door.

"Wait." Jason said sternly, "How exactly are you planning on redeeming yourself today? I'd like to know."

Kaiba paused and gave the manager a meaningful look, "I'll gladly set up registers and whip up something for you to sample during our break."

Jason nodded, appearing satisfied. Kaiba hurried into the kitchen and grabbed the neatly folded mint-green apron that was waiting for him on the counter. He quickly did a lap around the kitchen, looking for ingredients he could use to make his apology pastries. Kaiba grabbed butter from the refrigerator and set it out to thaw at room temperature. Next, he managed to hunt down a bag of sugar, honey, and flour, which he arranged purposefully around the bowl of thawing butter. He checked his watch and made a mental note to check the progress of the butter in an hour, and headed back out towards the front.

Jason was still squinting shrewdly at the register monitors, "Okay this baby is giving me some t-r-ouble."

Kaiba leaned over the manager's shoulder and glanced at the screen. It seemed like a simple program installation. "Sir," Kaiba said stiffly, "If you don't mind, I'd like to take it from here."

"Be my guest!" Jason said with a flourishing gesture. "I am so done with this. I spent the entire morning trying to get this damn thing to work. I'm going to blow off some steam with some box-opening." He walked off in a frustrated huff and disappeared behind the large mounds of cardboard.

Kaiba leaned down and began expertly integrating the built-in program for the register. He felt his phone hum in his apron pocket and he absently silenced it. He tried to shove it into his back pocket, but realized his company phone already occupying it. Kaiba made sure to fully shut off his company phone and placed his personal phone before him on the white marble counter. He quietly suppressed a yawn as he watched the program load slowly on the screen.

"Hey!" Jason yelled, "None of that! I saw that yawn!"

Kaiba lowered his head trying to appear apologetic, "The program is taking a while to load."

"Then grab a screwdriver, help me out here." Jason said loudly. Kaiba obliged and stepped out from around the counter to join him in the mass of cardboard boxes.

Time passed quickly as the two men worked together swiftly and the cafe portion of the bakery was coming together quite nicely. Soon, all the boxes were gone, and a messy stack of cardboard sat messily in the center of the room. Jason sat back on his heels and wiped his brow, "Well, seems like we made a lot of progress! I'll take my break first!"

Kaiba suddenly leapt to his feet, "Shit! I left butter out on the counter!"

"Oh!" Jason said, pulling off his apron and throwing it over his shoulder, "Yea, go check on that. I'll be back in 20 minutes. Today it's just you and me again."

Kaiba wasn't listening. He ran into the kitchen and was relieved to see the butter had thawed to his liking. He gathered milk and eggs from the refrigerator and began expertly whisking the ingredients together. Kaiba paused for a moment, contemplating his next actions. He turned around and rummaged in the cabinet behind him, looking for inspiration. He spotted a sad box of English black tea, half-opened and forgotten.

Feeling a rare spark of excitement, Kaiba hastily grabbed the tea packets and threw them in a bowl with hot water. He placed them in the microwave and as he waited for the tea bags to boil, he whipped up a basic vanilla meringue and emptied the cream cleanly into a piping bag.

Kaiba set the piping bag full of frosting the refrigerator, and returned with milk. He then methodically poured the milk and the black tea into his prepped batter, mixing assiduously. He skillfully poured them into a large cupcake mold, and in one fluid motion, slid them into the oven. Kaiba stepped back and wiped his hands on a towel, feeling extremely pleased with himself. He reached around for his phone to set a personal timer for the oven, but realized he had left it at the front.

Kaiba rushed back out and grabbed his phone, quickly setting an alarm for 12 minutes. He heard a soft knock on the glass and he glanced up, alarmed. He saw a slender, spiky-haired figure peering in. Kaiba felt his stomach leap upwards and his pulse started to race. It was Yami, it had to be.

Stay in character, Kaiba reminded himself firmly as he stepped around the large pile of cardboard debris, and approached the spiky-haired figure, grinning.

Yami felt excited and surprised to see Hiro's smiling at him through the glass. He waved enthusiastically.

Kaiba waved back lightly, pushed the door open, squinting as he stepped outside into the bright sunshine. Yami looked up at Hiro, appreciating his height, and admiring his black hair in contrast with the sun.

"How are you doing?" Yami asked, smiling up at Hiro, trying to contain his delight.

Kaiba felt strangely light, dazzled by Yami's smile, "I'm doing well, how was your class? You seem to always be available this time in the morning."

"I am," Yami agreed, "And what time are you available? Would you like to join me for lunch?"

Kaiba felt himself shake slightly, "Lunch? I'm not...sure." he said slowly, suddenly feeling agitated. Was this a date?

Yami tried to hide his disappointment, "I see. May I have your contact information? Perhaps you could let me know if you could join us later."

Kaiba pulled the corners of his mouth up into a smile, he was ready for this, "Yes, here." He reached into his apron pocket and pulled out his personal phone. Yami happily tapped Hiro's number into his phone and smiled up at him again, "Thank you!"

Kaiba nodded towards Yami's phone, "Nice, is that new?"

Yami felt himself blush, "It is, it was gift."

Kaiba liked that reaction. "A gift? From who?" he prodded, trying to gain insight on what Yami thought of it.

"Yes, well, I don't think it was supposed to be a gift. And I suppose this person isn't really my friend. I'm not sure." Yami rambled, trying to sort out his own confusion.

Kaiba frowned, bothered by this response, "You don't consider this person your friend, and yet you accepted such an expensive gift?"

"No!" Yami cried, "I do consider him a friend! I don't think he feels the same way...about.. me." He stared at his shoes, his voice trailed off lamely as despair started to overwhelm him.

Kaiba raised his eyebrows in amusement, "Well I'm sure he considers you as...," Kaiba paused and swallowed, realizing what he was about to say. "A friend." he finished.

Yami shook his head sullenly, "You don't understand. There is a gap, a distance, between us. I cannot close it."

Kaiba glared at Yami in frustration, "What are you talking about? What gap."

Yami looked up at him and Kaiba realized his eyes were slightly wet, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Tell me." Kaiba insisted, and the alarm on his phone started buzzing violently in his pocket. He ignored it.

"Yami." Kaiba said in the most gentle manner he could muster, placing a warm hand on Yami's shoulder, "You can tell me."

Yami looked away pointedly and stepped back away from his reach, "Your phone is ringing."

Kaiba felt like exploding, "Stay here, I'll be right back." He turned his heel and furiously made his way back into the kitchen.

What the hell is he talking about, Kaiba fumed as he removed a tray of beautiful light brown cupcakes from the oven. He shut the door with a force, causing hot air to blast him in the face. He blinked and suddenly there was a sharp stinging in his eye.

"Fuckk!" He yelled in pain as one of his contacts slid out of place. Kaiba leaned his head back and let his eyes water as he blinked several times, allowing the contact to settle. He took a few deep breaths and tried to calm himself down. He grabbed the piping bag from the refrigerator and began viciously piping the cupcakes.

Kaiba felt the anger settle down into a small pit in his chest as he squeezed the piping bag, repeatedly swirling frosting onto the cakes, one after another. There was calm in the rhythmic actions. Before long, a fresh set of softly swirled cupcakes laid gleaming before him and Kaiba stepped back to admire his work. You would never have guessed these were made in a fit of rage. He heard the door behind him click, and Jason strode in surely, "Hey there!"

Kaiba nodded at him and made his way over to the sink, washing his hands silently.

"Wow!" The manager exclaimed, hovering delightedly over the cupcakes, "You made these just now?! Classic, vanilla cupcakes?"

Kaiba dried his hands on a nearby towel, "Black milk tea cupcakes, help yourself." he said, feeling apprehensive as he watched Jason eagerly picked one up and take a large bite.

"Oh wow." Jason said with his mouth full, "Oh wow oh wow," He repeated again as he took another large bite enthusiastically. Kaiba felt a small twinge of pride swell up inside him, but it was quickly extinguished and replaced with dread when Jason said, "Hey, your..uh, boyfriend is waiting outside for you."

"R-Right," Kaiba choked, "I thought he would've left already."

Jason grinned while he wiped frosting from the corners of his mouth, "You playin' dumb? He knows this is around the time of your break, bring him one of these! Don't be long!"

"I've only been here for about two hours...and I was late. I still get my scheduled break?" Kaiba asked incredulously.

"We worked pretty fast today!" Jason exclaimed, "And these are delicious, so I think you deserve your break."

"Thank you." Kaiba mumbled as he hastily untied his apron and grabbed the tray of cupcakes from the stainless steel counter, heading out the back door.

"20 minutes!" Jason yelled as the door closed. Kaiba swung around to say something but the door slammed shut too quickly. Right, Kaiba thought viciously as he set an alarm on his phone, I'll be sure to return on time, this time.

He stepped out from the dark alleyway and squinted as the light from the sun washed over him. Kaiba spotted Yami sitting on his usual bench across the street, under the trees. Taking a deep breath, he waited at the crossing, reminding himself not to do anything stupid.

Yami saw a tall, dark haired figure standing across the street. He leaned forward and gripped the edge of the bench tightly. He felt guilty but wasn't sure why. This is wrong, Yami concluded. I am physically attracted to this stranger I've only just met, but the person I really wish to pursue is out of my reach.

Hiro was getting closer with each step. Yami gritted his teeth and looked up at the tree leaves swaying gently in the breeze. I should just be honest and attempt to clear any misunderstandings, Yami resolved. A long shadow fell across the ground before him and Yami looked up at Hiro, who was standing apprehensively before him, holding a tray of beautifully iced cupcakes.

Yami blinked in surprise, "Wow, those are.."

"For you," Kaiba interjected, "Try one?"

"Of course, thank you," Yami stammered nervously, gently picking a cupcake up from the tray. He stared at it in his hand, admiring the delicate swirl of frosting. "These are still warm!" Yami exclaimed happily. Kaiba sat down carefully beside Yami, balancing the tray on his lap, watching Yami stare at the pastry.

"Go ahead, eat it while they're still fresh, " Kaiba urged.

"I can't," Yami said playfully, "It's too pretty. Let me send a photo of this to Yugi!" And he pulled out his phone to snap photos of the pastry. Kaiba resisted the urge to severely roll his eyes, but was glad to see Yami enjoying the new phone so enthusiastically. Then he almost forgot to stay in character and ask, "Who's Yugi, again?"

Yami laughed heartily, "My twin, have you forgotten? You've met him briefly, twice!" He delicately bit into the cupcake and enjoyed the soft, milky flavor, warmly spreading through his mouth. There was a slightly bittersweet aftertaste, which surprised him, "What flavor are these?"

"Black milk tea cupcakes." Kaiba said simply, carefully watching Yami's face for a reaction.

"These are delicious and unique, I love the slight aftertaste of tea." Yami said seriously, gazing directly into Hiro's light brown eyes. Kaiba felt electrified, and looked away quickly, trying to quell his emotions.

"Glad you like them," Kaiba responded quietly, looking out across campus. A large group of people began walking by, it seemed like a class had just gotten out. He watched them intently, trying to pass the time as naturally as possible.

Yami's phone buzzed as Yugi responded to the photo, "Where did you get that?" he wrote.

"Hiro, from the bakery." Yami replied, tapping the screen quickly.

Kaiba glanced over at Yami, gleefully engrossed in his phone. "Seems like you're really enjoying your new phone." Kaiba said, feeling satisfied with himself.

"I.." Yami started, and then set his phone down carefully, "Yes, and, I want to apologize for my vagueness in our conversation earlier."

Damn right, Kaiba thought ferociously, you better fucking explain yourself. He softened his eyes and smiled at Yami, "I'm ready to listen."

Yami took a deep breath, "This phone was given to me by Seto Kaiba." He paused waiting for a reaction from Hiro.

Kaiba hesitated, then faked a gasp, "The Seto Kaiba? So you and your group of friends, you guys are like, what, famous?"

Yami looked imploringly into Hiro's soft brown eyes, "He's famous, and we've merely been dragged along for the ride. At least, that's how I feel." Yami looked down at his knees, gracefully sliding one leg over the other, "Do you see now? What I meant when I said there was a gap between him and I?"

Kaiba felt unnerved at this new information, this was making him feel extremely uncomfortable, "Well, if he gave this phone to you in person, that must mean something, right?" he asked tentatively.

Yami shook his head mutely, "No. It doesn't mean anything. I am merely just someone else in his eyes. He and I barely know each other. If anything, he believes I am my twin brother, Yugi. He refuses to acknowledge the differences between me and Yugi. He doesn't address me by my name, and furthermore, millions of women fawn over him because he is desirable." Yami felt tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes, and he mentally slapped himself. He forced himself to look out at the crowds of congregating students, willing himself not to show any emotion.

Kaiba felt strained, "You're upset because he confuses you with your twin, and that's understandable." He said, attempting to repress the feelings of guilt swelling up inside him.

Yami blinked and blinked, "Yes. And I've been a struggling to gain my own identity, one separate from Yugi, and it's been extremely difficult. I want a life of my own, and I wish to portray that towards Seto Kaiba. I haven't been very successful. "

"Why Seto Kaiba?" Kaiba responded, desperately trying to steer the conversation into safer waters.

"Because, I find him..desirable, but I think its best for everyone if I give up." Yami said quietly.

Kaiba felt as though he'd been hit with a heavy object, "Wait..., Wait, what?"

Yami turned around to face Hiro with glistening eyes, "I would like to get to know you better, Hiro, and you can disregard my previous statement." Yami attempted to laugh. "I'm silly, it's just a silly celebrity crush."

He likes me?! When? How?! Kaiba screamed mentally, attempting to keep his facial expressions neutral.

"How is it the 'best for everyone' for you to give up?" Kaiba said numbly, "How long has this been going on?"

"He's not well liked by any of my friends, and," Yami tilted his head, thinking, "I've had my eye on him for years."

YEARS?! Kaiba seethed internally, and somehow I get to find out about this, now, dressed as a complete stranger. Should I tell him? Kaiba debated frantically, Can I just tell him who I am, now? Time to do some damage control.

"If you've liked him for years, surely there was a time you could've let him know how you feel." Kaiba said, not quite believing the sentences coming out of his mouth. I've never considered seriously dating a man before, he contemplated privately. He always imagined he'd end up with a woman one way or another.

"Hiro," Yami said, looking Kaiba full in the face, "There was never a time I could do that. Even now, I cannot approach him under the correct circumstances. Please, if what I said doesn't deter you, I wish to continue our...friendship. Can we do that?" Yami gazed beseechingly towards Kaiba. Yami's eyes were hypnotizing, Kaiba felt himself sway slightly under the pressure.

"I..-" Kaiba opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted with a loud squeals from a group of female students passing by.

"Ohmigosh, where did you get those?!" A slender brunette pointed at the tray resting on his lap. "Oh my god those are so cute, may we have one?" her friend added, tucking her hair seductively behind her ear. Kaiba felt his grip tighten on the sides of the tray. He stole a glance over at Yami, who was sitting still as a statue, shocked at the interruption.

Kaiba smirked and stood fluidly, holding the tray before him, "Please do. Tell all your friends, we're opening next week!"

The girls giggled delightfully as more people began gathering around them at the sight of free food. The slender brunette casually linked her arm though Kaiba's and threw her head back, "Free cupcakes!" she yelled shrilly, "The bakery is opening next week people!"

The group cheered appreciatively while Kaiba stood rigidly, holding the pan of cupcakes as people were actively photographing and sharing them. Kaiba felt vicious satisfaction as people crowded around, asking questions about the bakery.

Yami crossed his legs irritably, watching as the crowd of people thinned, the group of girls remained, hanging onto Hiro's every word about when to add milk to the mixture. He glared at the brunette and sulked.

I can't win, Yami thought ferociously. There are clear, predictable strategies to win a duel, but when it comes to people...Yami shook his head in defeat and moodily checked his phone. There were no messages. He looked back up and realized the group of girls had left, and only the brunette remained. Yami caught strings of their conversation from a distance.

"...party! Want to come? Text me.." She flirted, swinging around on Kaiba's arm gleefully.

Kaiba recoiled hastily, tucking the empty cupcake tray under his free arm, "No thank you. I have plans. All week. I'm busy all the time."
He stole another glance over at Yami who was looking murderously over at them from the bench.

I think I've made my point clear enough, Kaiba thought smugly. He shook the girl off his arm and said viciously, "I like men. Please let go of me."

"Oh..." she said nonplussed, "Well, do you like..me? You look compatible with women as well!"

Kaiba felt a migraine coming on. "Please," He said through gritted teeth, "I have to get back to work."

The girl threw him a glassy-eyed look, "When do you get off work?"

Kaiba wanted to kill something. Yami looked like he was about to leave, and Kaiba started to panic. Suddenly an idea struck him.

"Hey." He said, looking down at the girl on his arm, "I want to show you something. Come and see?"

"Oooo yes!" She squealed excitedly, gripping onto his arm even tighter, "I'm here, what is it?"

Kaiba smirked mischievously, "Follow me." And he led the girl over to the bench where Yami was sitting with his arms and legs tightly crossed, wearing his classic scowl.

"We're here." Kaiba announced, standing as close to Yami as he could manage.

The girl appeared confused, "What?"

"Yami, look at me," Kaiba commanded.

Yami complied despondently, tilting his head to look up at Hiro.

Kaiba seized this moment to boldly reached out, cupping Yami's face between his palms and brought his lips directly down onto his, gently, slowly melting into the welcoming wetness of Yami's mouth. Startled, Yami froze, and felt Hiro's lips wonderfully engulf his, and he opened his mouth slightly, feeling the tip of Hiro's tongue hungrily graze the roof of his mouth.

He doesn't taste like coffee today, Yami noted privately, opening his eyes slightly, enjoying the sight of Hiro's face against his, feeling his dark bangs brush against his forehead, sending shivers down his legs.

"Oh, my god. Ew." The girl said, disgusted, and she marched off indignantly.

Fiercely satisfied and extremely pent up from his earlier frustrations, Kaiba pulled Yami in closer towards him, threading his fingers through his spiky hair, greedily exploring his mouth with his tongue. He pulled away slightly and playfully bit Yami's lower lip, and then pushed his lips harder back onto his, never wanting to stop or pull away. Yami was lost, swimming in pleasure and he felt his neck straining upwards, as Hiro was pulling him higher into him. He couldn't breathe, his body was gushing with warmth. He couldn't breathe...he couldn't breathe.

Yami gasped as he pulled away from Hiro, breathless and stunned at the sudden show of affection. Kaiba was dismayed at the rapid loss of contact and struggled to compose himself, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away," Kaiba lied, unable to find the right words to convey his feelings.

"That's...that's quite alright." Yami panted, feeling his lips swell and tingle painfully with need.

Kaiba bent forward again and gently kissed Yami's forehead lightly, trailing his lips lightly down the bridge of Yami's nose. Yami shivered and opened his mouth again slightly, expecting another kiss, but Kaiba straightened up and turned to leave, "I need to head back. I have a few hours left on my shift, I'll message you."

"Oh, I see." Yami said simply, feeling numb. Kaiba resolutely turned around and headed back towards the bakery, quickly checking his phone, relieved to see he hadn't violated his break time limit.

He entered though the back door leading into the kitchen, thankful that it had been kept unlocked. He placed the empty cupcake tray in one of the large industrial sinks and grabbed his apron from the kitchen counter. He tied it on hastily and hurried out to the front where Jason was sweeping up cardboard debris off the floor.

"Welcome back," Jason said, glancing at the clock, "And on time too, what a surprise!"

Kaiba felt his face heat up, "Sir." He said respectfully.

"Here's a broom," The manager said blithely, handing him a spare brush and pan, "And no need to call me "sir", that feels weird considering how we're close in age. Call me Jason."

Kaiba took the broom and pan from Jason and began sweeping.

"So, not trying to be nosy...", Jason began, "But you and your boyfriend sure seem to love smooching on that bench there."

Kaiba wanted to die. Embarrassed, he began sweeping more vigorously, "I'm sorry you had to witness that." he mumbled under his breath.

"Nah, nah," Jason waved dismissively, "I don't care about that stuff, I don't mind. I'm kinda curious how you two met, considering how he's kind of a mini-celebrity!"

Kaiba felt his blood run cold, "What do you mean he's a mini-celebrity?"

"You don't know?!" Jason asked incredulously, "He's Yugi Motou, duelist extraordinaire, do you keep up with pop culture? Hmm maybe I shouldn't be the one to tell you this, if you didn't know," Jason said guiltily.

Kaiba brushed a pile of debris into his pan and emptied it in an adjacent garbage bag, his mind frantically scrambling. "Well..we..met, online." Kaiba said lamely.

"Classic." Jason grinned, "He's a looker. Hang onto him!"

"What?" Kaiba said, feeling slightly suspicious.

"Oh don't worry, no competition here," Jason laughed heartily, "I'm just saying he's pretty attractive, for a guy. Y'know, big eyes, nice hair..all that.." Jason eyed Hiro playfully, "I like women, it's my niece you gotta worry about. She's a huge fan of Yugi's."

Kaiba felt his mouth fall open in surprise, "Oh? She likes him?"

"Oh yea," Jason said, dumping a large pile of debris off his pan and into the garbage, "She's got a poster of him and everything, likes watching him play, I don't think she actually cares much about what the cards do. Didn't know Yugi was gay, I guess I shouldn't be the one to tell her."

Kaiba felt his mind spiraling, "Well, that's not Yugi."

Jason wiped his brow and looked at Hiro with a strange expression, "Kid, I'm sorry if he told you otherwise, but that's who he is. I feel bad for bringing it up, I thought you'd know."

I understand why Yami feels offended when he's mistaken for Yugi, Kaiba glowered privately.

"But speaking of my niece, she'll be coming in and helping out! So it'll be us three, she'll be on the registers, you're on baking duty, and I'll run back and forth, help out wherever I'm needed. I run a tight ship. " Jason said excitedly.

Kaiba nodded, continuing to sweep in silence. He felt his phone buzz in his apron pocket. He pulled it out and checked the screen, pleased to see it was a message from Yami, "Lunch at 2:30, can you make it?"

Kaiba glanced at the clock and realized time and flown by really fast, his shift was almost over.

"Garbage time!" Jason sang, "Grab those bags and throw it out! I'm going to refresh with some water." He turned and headed back into the kitchen.

Kaiba quickly replied to the text, "I can make it. Location?" He stowed the phone back in his apron and dragged 3 large bags of garbage out through the back door, passing by Jason who was scrolling through his phone, sipping water while sitting on the steel counters.

Kaiba flung the garbage over the edge of the dumpster and headed back inside, his phone buzzed again. "'Wait for me out front, I'll come get you :)" Yami replied. Kaiba felt his chest tingle with warmth as he shoved his phone back into his pocket and headed back inside to finish his shift.

---

Yami slung his bag over his shoulder and hurried across campus. He heard a yell from behind him, "Yamiii!" He turned around, surprised to see it was Joey and Anzu.

"Hey, " Yami said lightly, "You caught me just as I was heading to our meeting spot with Yugi."

"We'll go together!" Joey exclaimed, throwing an arm around his shoulder roughly, making him lose balance. Yami stumbled forward slightly and stayed silent, contemplating how to casually invite Hiro to their lunch outing.

They spotted Yugi talking to a group of people, they waved at him from a distance, "We're here Yugi!" Anzu called, waving him over.

Yugi flashed a thumbs-up and headed towards them. Yami felt his stomach dip down with nervousness. "Yami!" Yugi exclaimed happily, giving him a meaningful hug.

"Aibou," Yami said slowly, "Hiro is joining us for lunch, would that be alright?" He glanced around the group and Anzu nodded whereas Joey looked confused. "Who?" he said loudly.

"The tall, dark-haired bakery guy, right? No problem! I'm driving." Anzu said happily.

"Alright!" Yugi said, looking at Yami carefully, "How do you want to do this?"

Yami felt himself blush lightly, "I asked him to wait at the front of the bakery."

"Nice, we can just drive by and pick him up real quick!" Anzu exclaimed, pulling the keys out of her purse.

"I'll walk to the bakery and meet you there," Yami said quickly, hoping to catch a few private moments with Hiro.

"Gotcha." Yugi said casually, "Let's go!"

Yami watched as the trio parted ways with him and headed towards the parking lot. He adjusted the strap on his bag and rushed in the opposite direction, "I'm on my way." Yami texted, half-running at the same time.

Kaiba stood expectantly by the edge of the crossing, glancing around, and saw a slender spiky haired figure walking swiftly towards him. His heart leapt up to his throat and he felt a strange feeling consuming him.

Why am I entertaining this? What the hell am I doing? Kaiba berated himself, unsure of why he continued to respond to Yami against his will.

Yami ran up beside Hiro, bent over, panting slightly, "I'm glad.." Yami managed to get out, between breaths.

Something possessed Kaiba to reach out and lightly brush the spiky blond bangs out of Yami's face. Yami felt his breath catch as he felt Hiro's long, slender fingers brush across his forehead, sending a shiver through his body. Almost instinctively, Yami reached out and daringly wrapped his arms around Hiro's slender waist, pulling him into an embrace.

Kaiba was astonished at the sudden warmth, and he gently placed his hands steadily on Yami's back, feeling Yami's heart pounding loudly against his chest.

Oh, Kaiba thought astounded, What is this? A hug?

"Are you alright?" Kaiba asked, tentatively, looking down at the mass of spiky hair pressed up against his chest.

Yami said nothing and gripped the fabric of Hiro's shirt tighter, feeling his chest hurt from the pounding of his heart.

Kaiba took this as a good sign and enveloped Yami in his arms tightly, burying his face into the nape of his neck, feeling his spiky hair tickle his nose. Yami felt the air leave his lungs as Hiro pulled him into a crushing embrace, his breath tickled his ear as Hiro bent his head down and nuzzled his face into Yami's neck.

Yami laughed a little, "Ahhaha that tickles, Hiro!" he cried, squirming around in Hiro's arms, enjoying the strength of his embrace.

Kaiba released Yami, feeling somewhat dizzy, unsure if it was from exhaustion or hunger. They stood there for a few moments, looking at each other.

A car pulled up on the curbside and a familiar voice shouted, "Get in! We're hungry!"

Yami smiled warmly and walked towards the car, leaving Kaiba standing there in a daze. Kaiba quickly snapped out of it and walked up to the open car door, the blissful feeling slipping away the closer he got towards the car.

To his surprise, the passenger seat was empty; Joey, Yugi and Yami crowded happily together in the back seat. "Sit!" Anzi insisted, "I figured you didn't want to smush in the back because you're so tall, " She laughed lightheartedly. Kaiba's chest constricted, he felt touched, it was a thoughtful gesture. He ducked his head and climbed into the car, shutting the door firmly.

"Ayyeee let's go eat some meat!" Joey yelled from behind him. Kaiba didn't even flinch; he was starving and couldn't agree more.

Anzu pursed her lips, "Joey, the guest always gets to choose. You can't always dictate where we get to eat." Yugi groaned, "Please Anzu can we just go?"

"No." She said firmly, and looked at Hiro, "Well?" She asked expectantly. Kaiba felt himself stiffen with surprise, not accustomed to preferential treatment from the group. "Ah, oh..uhm, meat, would be great." Kaiba stumbled on his words, trying his best to sound clueless.

"Fuck yea, eat it, Anzu." Joey cried, leaning forward in his seat. Kaiba felt a laugh inadvertently escape his throat, and instantly felt terrified, worried it may have sounded rude, but laughter was echoing around the car.

"Meat it is." Anzu said as she floored the gas, and they took off.

Kaiba felt surreal, what was going on?! There was a pleasant atmosphere in the car, a deliciously warm breeze whipped around the car, blowing reassuringly through his hair, laughter from the backseat floated around him, and the sun shone warmly from behind scattered clouds. He leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath, feeling himself relax.

This is so nice, Kaiba thought deliriously, or maybe I'm just exhausted which is why I'm being more tolerant.

To his slight disappointment, the car ride ended sooner than he would've liked. They pulled up in front of a large burger establishment. Yugi and Joey leaped enthusiastically out of the car and ran inside, not waiting for anyone else.

"Wow, you losers! Way to wait for your DRIVER! You're all walking home!" Anzu yelled, slamming her door shut and rushing out of the car, forgetting to lock the doors.

Kaiba sat in his seat, stunned at the sudden shift in attitude. Were they always this murderous when food was involved? Kaiba mused as he stepped out the car, making sure to press the 'lock' button on his side of the door.

"Oh, you've got it?" Yami asked, surprised, "Thank you for doing that, I'm usually the one who takes care of it."

Kaiba shrugged, "No problem, let's go inside, I'm starving."
Yami leaned playfully against the car, "Me too, but, not for food, if you get what I'm saying."

Kaiba blinked several times, unable to process what was happening before him.

"I'm saying I want...something other than food, in..my..mouth." Yami said, leaning seductively against Hiro.

Kaiba felt Yami's weight press into him and he threw caution to the wind. He snaked his arms around Yami's slender hips and pressed his lips against the soft curves of Yami's collarbone. He felt Yami gasp slightly and Kaiba felt himself losing self control. Kaiba gently grazed his teeth against Yami's skin and felt Yami quiver. That encouraged Kaiba to trail his lips up Yami's neck and he flicked his tongue out softly, licking the curve of Yami's jawbone.

"No," Yami whispered faintly, "Come up here..."

Gladly, Kaiba thought blurrily, roughly kissing him, and forcefully pressing Yami up against the car door. Yami felt a sharp pain as his lower back bumped against the curvature of the car door handle. Yami felt a pleasurable, warm, hardness pressing into his waist. Excited, Yami boldly trailed his fingers around Hiro's body, to lightly brush against the erection that was fighting to escape from under Hiro's belt.

Kaiba felt his entire body shudder violently with pleasure as Yami's slender fingers trailed over his boner. Oh god..., Kaiba groaned internally, but he forced himself to remember that they were in a public area. He peeled himself off of Yami and took a few steps backwards, gasping for breath. This was a dangerous situation. It seemed the more time he spent with Yami, the easier it was to start, and the harder it was to stop.

"Hey, come back here," Yami insisted, approaching Hiro eagerly with his arms outstretched.

"No," Kaiba gasped, feeling a cold sweat run down his back, "No more, please. Not here. I don't think I'll be able to stop as easily."

Yami was taken aback by the sudden honesty, "Of course..and," He looked up shyly at Hiro, blushing deeply, "...And I feel the same way."

Kaiba took a long, shaky breath, as blood pounded through his head, leaving a light ringing in his ears. "Let's go eat." He said quietly, and they headed inside.

The group was already seated with their full orders, energetically devouring their heavy portions of burgers and fries.

"What took you guys so long?" Yugi asked, in between bites, "The line was taking forever so we ordered for you guys, hope that's okay!"

"We were checking the doors on the car and...just talking." Yami said quickly, glancing surreptitiously at Hiro for confirmation on this lie. Kaiba was so hungry, he didn't care who said what. He sat down at the empty seat beside Yugi, grabbed the nearest burger he could reach and unwrapped it fervently, not caring if he was about to eat the shittiest burger in the world.

"Wait wait!" Joey cried, shoving a large orange bottle at him, "You gotta add this sauce in there, bro, it's worth it, trust me."

"Fine," Kaiba snapped, forgetting for a moment who he was supposed to be. He grabbed the bottle, peeled the bun off his burger and callously drenched the meat with the bright orange sauce. He reconstructed his burger and took a large bite, expecting the worst. But, it was surprisingly delicious! The meat was evenly seasoned, all the wet ingredients were fresh, and the sauce kicked in with a sweet, round spice at the end of his pallet.

"Oh, wow," Kaiba groaned appreciatively, "What's in this sauce?"

"Right?" Yugi nodded responsively, "Wish we could buy it, but its their 'secret house sauce', so it's not for sale."

"I see," Kaiba said, taking excessively large bites of his burger and finishing it off readily reaching for a second one.

"You'll like this one," Yami said, handing him a burger in a purple wrapper, "This one has a double-layered fried beef patty."

Kaiba couldn't believe his ears, and eagerly accepted the burger from Yami, "Thank you." He said, his stomach grumbling loudly.

"Eat up!" Anzu encouraged, "We've yet to try the whole menu!"

Kaiba repeated the ritual of drizzling his burger with orange sauce and enthusiastically took another large bite, trying to discern the ingredients of the mysterious condiment. Aside from the heavy beef flavor, Kaiba managed to pinpoint a few key flavors, a sharp spice, a deep sweetness, and a dull zest. He quickly pulled out his phone to take note of the flavors as quickly as he could remember them.

"Whatcha doin'," Joey asked, his mouth full of fries, "Touching your phone while eating is gross, man."

"Agree," Hiro nodded, "You'll thank me later, I promise." He shoved his phone back in his pocket and resumed eating. He glanced over at Yami who was delicately eating fries off the tray, apparently lost in thought.

"Hey Hiro," Yugi said suddenly.

"Hm?" Kaiba responded, startled, and he tried to swallow his food as quickly as possible to prepare himself for the onslaught of personal questions.

"Your cupcakes earlier this morning looked really nice! Just wanted to tell you that." Yugi said happily, "It's either that, or Yami's phone camera is really high quality."

Anzu laughed, "It's probably both! Man I could use a new phone..." She pulled out her phone and set it on the counter for everyone to see. The entire screen was cracked and the edges were chipped, missing bits of paint and plastic.

Kaiba unwittingly choked on his food, and coughed. Yami thumped him on the back, and handed him water.

Anzu looked offended, "What, it's not that bad is it?"

Kaiba had never seen such a sad looking piece of garbage before. "Does that still work?!" He asked skeptically, slowly sipping his water, "Yes, you do need a new one!"

Joey and Yugi laughed at him.
"What." Hiro said defensively.

"It's on it's last legs but yea, she still works!" Anzu chirped, caressing the phone lovingly. "She's been through a lot with me."

"Ask Kaiba for a new one." Hiro said coolly, starting on his third burger. "Wheel-..Joey please pass the mystery sauce." Kaiba caught himself just in time.

"Ask Kaiba for...a new one?!" Anzu said shrilly, "Where did that come from?!"

Oh shiiit, Kaiba thought, and he realized Yami probably didn't tell anyone, aside from Yugi, about the new phone from Seto Kaiba.

Yami shot Hiro a frantic look, and Kaiba tried his best to look apologetic. "I'm sorry," he started, looking directly at Yami, "I didn't realize it was such a sensitive..topic."

"What's going on?!" Anzu demanded, "Explain!"

"Yami, received a new phone from Kaiba yesterday." Yugi said delicately.

Joey started coughing and sputtering into his food, "Wh-what.." he choked, "Since when was that d-bag known for his generosity!?"

Kaiba felt himself grind his teeth inadvertently.

"Exactly." Anzu nodded gravely, "I bet it comes with a price. What were his conditions, Yami? I can't believe you did that! That's dangerous you know!"

"What's wrong with keeping a free phone from a billionaire?" Hiro asked casually, dreading the response.

"Because," Anzu said seriously, looking directly into Hiro's dark brown eyes, "Things don't work that way with Seto Kaiba. It's always a give-and-take with that guy. The words 'favor' and 'generosity' are not in his personal dictionary. Before you know it, he'll come knocking on your door asking for something in return."

Am I really like that? Kaiba thought faintly.

Yami was turning redder by the second, "Anzu is right, I shouldn't have accepted this expensive phone, and even you said this to me earlier today too, Hiro!" Yami cried, his eyes tearing up.

Oh god what have I done, Kaiba panned, I just turned this fairly decent lunch into a shitfest.

Yugi, sensing an imminent break-down, attempted to calm the group by saying, "Okay don't worry guys, it's not that big of a deal. Yami, if you're going to see Kaiba to return the phone, we'll all go with you."

"Yea. We're all going." Anzu nodded in agreement. "Strength in numbers. He can't bully you if we're all there."

Joey made gurgling noises of discontent as he sucked on his straw loudly. Yami hung his head and leaned back moodily in his seat.

Kaiba felt the food coming up his stomach, burning his esophagus. Oh fuck, oh shit, Kaiba thought frantically. I've just created more problems than I can solve.

He put his burger down, having lost his appetite, "When will you guys be going?"

"No offense, Hiro, but we'd rather you stay out of this." Yugi said gently, "We have a bit of a...history with Seto Kaiba, so the less strangers that show up, the better. Please understand."

Kaiba felt slightly taken aback, "No, of course, I don't want to get involved," he said quickly and he glanced at Yami who was still sitting silently with his head hanging.

"Yami!" Yugi said with surprising sternness, "When would you like to return the phone?"

Yami didn't move. "Yami?" Anzu asked, looking extremely concerned. Kaiba felt his guilt mounting higher and higher as the minutes ticked by.

"Tonight. We'll go tonight." Yami said, deadpanned.

"How will we know he's even going to be there?! How will we know he's not on some business trip in France or something?" Joey said desperately, trying to get out of it.

"I'll ask Mokuba." Yugi said resolutely, pulling out his phone, which, Kaiba noticed, was also an older model.

"He's not going to like that we're gonna gang up on his biiiig brothhherrr," Joey said in a mocking voice.

"He'll understand that this is a serious matter, and that it won't happen again," Anzu said sadly.

Yugi groaned and started tapping on his phone, muttering. "This would be so much easier if we were actually friends with Kaiba."

"Yea, because the world works that way," Anzu said sarcastically.

Kaiba found it was getting more and more difficult to breathe.

"Is be-friending Seto Kaiba difficult?" Hiro asked, trying to save face.

Joey scoffed, "Pulling teeth would be easier than makin' friends with that guy. He's spit in our faces more times than I can count. He's self-serving and won't help us out unless there's something in it for him."

Kaiba felt his thoughts reeling, recounting all the moments he and Wheeler had thrown punches at each other.

"I'm sorry," Yami whispered softly from beside Hiro.

Kaiba felt an enormous bubble of guilt and sorrow sink like a rock in his stomach. He had no idea his actions caused this much distress.

"What! No! This is NOT your fault!" Anzu cried.

"Yea, it really isn't Yami." Yugi said distractedly, texting Mokuba.

"Bro, don't take me seriously but, this is totally your fault. And I totally would've taken a free phone from Kaiba." Joey grumbled.

Kaiba was suddenly struck with a golden idea, but it would take some stealth to carry it out.

"Joey, do you have a favorite color?" Hiro asked.

"What? Oh, it's green." Joey responded glumly, "Why?"

"No reason," Kaiba said desperately, "Just trying to get to know you better, and any topic concerning Seto Kaiba is depressing."

"Mmhmm you can say that again," Anzu said, "And my favorite color is piiink, not that anyone cares," she sang.

"What about Tristan, and Valentine, and you, Yugi?" Kaiba pressed.

"Blue, white, black...", Anzu listed carelessly, "Serenity likes brown, what a weirdo."

Kaiba committed all of these to memory and said, "Thanks."

Yami glanced at Hiro suspiciously, "And you can suddenly remember everyone else's name, but somehow, earlier today, you didn't know who Yugi was?"

Kaiba was ready for this. "Matching names to faces is much easier than just hearing about the names," he countered, lying with ease. "I remembered Anzu the moment I saw her."

Anzu beamed, and replied, "I'm the same way!"

Kaiba smiled genuinely at her. Thanks for backing up my lie, he thought secretly.

"Okay, confirmed." Yugi said emptily, "Mokuba says Kaiba will be back sometime past dinner, so in a few more hours, we'll grab the gang, and storm the fortress that is Kaiba Corp."

A gloom settled over the table as the group moodily picked at the remnants of their food. Kaiba couldn't' take it anymore, he felt like throwing up.

"I've got to go, I have a project that's due," Kaiba said, lying steadily. "Thank you so much for the food, here, let me pay you back."

"Nope." Anzu insisted, shaking her head vigorously, "First timers never pay. This is Joey's tab, because the DICKtator always pays."

"Gurlgh." Joey mumbled, "And I'm not even gonna argue. Today and tomorrow are gonna suck because of our Kaiba visit, I already know it."

"Oh," Kaiba said. He got up to leave, and made a mental note to repay Joey, as his debts towards the Yugi-gang were accruing.

"I'll drop you off at wherever you need to be," Anzu offered. "We're all done eating here, right gang?"

Joey and Yugi nodded glumly, Yami remained motionless. "Okay!" Anzu said, attempting to sound cheerful, and the group headed out towards the car.

The car ride back was distressing, as a suffocating silence blanketed the car, a giant contrast to their earlier car ride. Kaiba was feeling more unnerved by the second. He felt as though he were sitting on a million fire ants. He felt like apologizing, but he didn't quite know how to.

"A left turn here, please." Hiro said quietly, and Anzu quietly complied. She pulled up directly in front of his student apartment and he slowly climbed out of the passenger seat.

"Thank you. Really." Hiro said sincerely, leaning in through the open window, his black hair ruffling in the light breeze.

"Next time, it won't be like this." Yugi promised with a small smile. "Please join us again, maybe tomorrow, okay?"

Hiro nodded, and leaned back out of the car window and watched as they drove out of sight.

Sighing heavily, he pulled out his company phone from his back pocket and powered it on. He had a dozen missed calls, mostly from Mokuba, and a few texts from his secretary.

He called Mokuba back, bracing himself. "Hey big brother," Mokuba said, sounding serious.

"Hey Mokuba," Kaiba responded, in what he hoped was a light-hearted tone.

"Trouble big bro, the Yugi-gang wants to pay you a visit tonight after dinner. Please make time, okay? This is really important."

Kaiba felt annoyed, "What is this about Mokuba? You can tell me."

"A-actually I'm not sure if I can, Seto, I don't think it's my place." Mokuba stammered.

Kaiba felt himself lose his temper, Why is everyone tip-toeing around me like I'm was some kind of bomb?!

"Mokuba, I know this is about a stupid phone. What is the real problem here?" he snapped.

"I don't know!" Mokuba yelled, "And you had to go and do something stupid like give Yami a phone. Why would you do that?! Everyone wants to know why, including me!"

"Because, I felt like it." Kaiba said through clenched teeth, "Is that so hard to believe?!"

"Actually, yea! It IS hard to believe, Seto!" Mokuba shouted, "You never just give stuff away for free, especially to someone like Yami!"

"What do you mean 'especially to someone like Yami'." He growled ferociously at his brother.

"Well," Mokuba hesitated, "You're always calling him Yugi, actually now that I think about it, did you get them confused?! You know you gave a phone to YAMI right? NOT Yugi?!"

Kaiba hung up the phone in a rage. Of course I know who the fuck I gave it to, he fumed and he shot a furious text at his driver to pick him up.

---

The driver pulled into large expansive driveway of the Kaiba mansion.

"Sir, we have arrived," announced the driver.

"Thank you." Kaiba said absentmindedly, texting Mokuba.

The driver sat in stunned silence, and decided he had misheard something. Seto Kaiba never said please or thank you, to anyone about anything.

"Where are you right now?" Kaiba wrote to Mokuba. He couldn't have Mokuba seeing him walk into the house looking like a complete stranger.

"In the lounge, I'm playing a video game, why?" Mokuba responded after a few minutes.

"Just checking to see if you're home," Kaiba replied and tucked his phone away in his brown leather bag. He stepped gracefully out of the car and walked into the mansion, lost in thought. Kaiba entered his room, made sure to softly close the door behind him, and he leaned against it, feeling extremely exhausted from the day's events.

No time to think about it too much, Kaiba thought, time to make amends.

He dialed his secretary and she picked up after a few rings, "Mr. Kaiba!" She said, sounding alert. "How may I be of service?"

"I need at least 20 of the newest phones brought to my residence, by tonight, and please prepare a wide array of colors." Kaiba said, rubbing his temples tiredly.

"O-of course," The secretary stammered, unsure if she misheard him, did Seto Kaiba just include the word 'please' in a sentence? "Anything else, Mr. Kaiba?" she asked politely.

"Yes, one more thing if it's not too much trouble," Kaiba added, racking his brain for the name of the burger establishment he had just dined at, "Call the BurgerBee's establishment and purchase a $1,000 gift card. Please have it delivered to my residence, along with the phones. "

"Y-yes, r-right away!" The secretary sputtered. She most definitely had not misheard him. Seto Kaiba was being a polite human being on the phone. She hung up as quickly as possible, dismissing it as a rouge incident.

Kaiba threw the company phone across the floor in disgust, and stood up. He fished the apartment keys and personal phone out of his pockets carefully placed them onto his desk. Kaiba took one last look at himself in the mirror, carefully removed his brown contacts, and stepped reluctantly into the shower.

---

Yami laid on his back, staring at the ceiling absentmindedly, his new phone laying on his chest.

He decided to use the phone to it's fullest while still having it in his possession. He sent a text to Hiro, saying, "I'm upset." And left it at that, waiting for a response.

Kaiba was in the shower, and didn't hear his phone buzz on his desk.

Mokuba ran up the stairs, after seeing the second car had returned in the driveway. "Seto!" he called, peering into the room, "I'm hungry, Seto, what's for dinner?" He heard the water running and decided to come back later. Just has he turned to leave, Mokuba spotted a phone buzzing on Seto's desk and walked over to it curiously. It was a text from an unlabeled number, it read, "I'm upset."

A million thoughts and possibilities ran through Mokuba's head. He picked up the phone and quickly figured out Seto's password, it wasn't hard.

"Why are you upset?" Mokuba typed at the mysterious number.

"Oh, you know why." The sender responded cryptically.

"Okay," Mokuba wrote. "How can I make it right?"

The phone was silent for a long minute. While waiting for a response, Mokuba scrolled up and saw the previous messages included, "See you soon, for lunch at 2:30." as the first text.
Intrigued, Mokuba sat down on the floor, staring at the phone, eagerly waiting for a response.

Seto has a secret friend! Mokuba thought furtively. Maybe it's a new girlfriend!

The phone buzzed as the unknown sender wrote, "Send me a photo of you right now :) That would make me feel better."

Oh my god! Mokuba gasped to himself, Seto has a girlfriend!

He heard the water shut off and Mokuba frantically began deleting the messages he had sent, feeling a little guilty. He left the last text at, "I'm upset", and hoped that Seto wouldn't respond until much later. Mokuba set the phone quietly down on the desk and slowly tip-toed out of the room.

Kaiba stepped out of the shower and stepped into a set of athletic wear which he rarely wore, but tonight, he found himself in dull spirits, and in the mood for comfortable clothing.

He picked up his phone from his desk and was pleased to see a text from Yami, but his spirits fell when the text read, "I'm upset."

He quickly responded with, "I'm sorry, I wish I could help. I'll make it up to you tomorrow!"

Mokuba knocked on the door, "Seto?" he said timidly.

"Hey there kiddo," Kaiba said, setting the phone down on the desk and walking over to the door to embrace his younger brother. Mokuba was surprised by the hug, "Seto, I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"

Kaiba shut the lights off in his study, "There's some spaghetti in the fridge. I brought it back from a conference. It's pretty good, let's go eat some of that."

Excited, Mokuba grabbed Kaiba's hand and led him down the stairs, "Yay! And then you'll help me through this really hard section in my video game? I can't seem to beat this level without help."

"Yes, we can do that." Kaiba said warmly, scooping Mokuba up in his arms and carrying him down the remaining flight of stairs.

---

The phone buzzed on Yami's chest. He checked it excitedly, expecting a sexy photograph from Hiro, but instead it was text, reading "I'm sorry, I wish I could help. I'll make it up to you tomorrow!"

Frustrated and confused, Yami responded with a playful, "You better make it up to me tomorrow then!" And turned over on his side, feeling depressed. He heard Yugi enter the room and he shut his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

"Yami." Yugi whispered softly, "Yami, it's time for us to go. Wake up."

Yami slowly opened his eyes and sat up reluctantly. "Yea, I'm ready."

"And you might want to delete everything on it before you hand it over to Kaiba," Yugi added solemnly. "It's only polite."

Yami felt the pit of dread rise from his stomach and into his chest, "I-I don't want to do that."

"Then I'll do it." Yugi said, holding his hand out.

"No," Yami shook his head, "I'll do it. Thank you Aibou."

Yugi sighed and pulled Yami into a tight hug. "This sucks, I know. C'mon, everyone is waiting downstairs."

Yami followed Yugi down the stairs silently and exited the game shop where the gang was waiting, sitting by their cars and motorcycles, looking grave.

"Well, let's do this." Tristan yawned. "Honestly, not the best night ever, but not the worst night ever." Yami wordlessly got into the passenger seat of Anzu's vehicle and they sped off into the night, towards the towering buildings in the city.

---

"Seto, behind you!" Mokuba exclaimed, wildly pressing the game control buttons, "Look out!"

"I got it," Kaiba said excitedly, keenly fighting his way around a creature on the screen.

The doorbell rang and echoed throughout the monstrous house. "Oh!" Mokuba cried, "It's.."

"I know." Kaiba sighed and stood up resolutely as Mokuba paused the game. "Let's welcome them in."

Mokuba looked up at Seto with a confused look, Nii-san sure is using some strange words today, he thought.

Kaiba waved the butler away from the doorway. Mokuba was further intrigued by this behavior. "Why are we opening the door ourselves?" he whispered up at Seto anxiously.

"Don't worry about this Mokuba. I'll take care of this, come here." Kaiba scooped his younger brother up in his arms and quietly turned the doorknob gently and pulled the door open. Before him stood the Yugi-gang, strangely well-dressed, and all wearing frowns. He felt Mokuba's arms tighten around his neck.

Kaiba did his best to appear confused, "What are you all doing here this time of night?"

Unsurprisingly, Yugi spoke up first, "May we come in, Kaiba? There's a serious matter we need to discuss."

Kaiba felt himself slip back into his old personality, and he snorted haughtily, "Does it need to be with all of you?" His eyes landed on Joey who was glaring at him like a bloodhound, and at Tristan who was cracking his knuckles threateningly, and at Yami, who seem to be looking past him like he didn't exist. Anzu was glowering at him with a deep hatred, and suddenly Kaiba felt very afraid. The warm, friendly encounters from that afternoon disappeared in a flash. He set Mokuba back down on his feet and said firmly, "Go to your room kiddo."

"But..!" Mokuba protested, but then stopped when he realized there was an uneasy silence between the Yugi-gang and Seto. He trudged upstairs to his room and closed the door loudly.

"Now, may we come in?" Yugi asked again, unsmiling and stern.

Kaiba sighed and relented. "Come in. We'll talk upstairs in the privacy of my study."

"Ooo we're going up to his fancy 'study'" Joey said mockingly. Kaiba felt himself clench his fists on impulse, but the flare of anger he usually experienced, following one of Wheeler's snide comments, seemed to be delayed.

"Shut. Up. Joey." Anzu muttered.

"No." Joey said, his voice echoing loudly throughout the enormous house. "I'm not gonna shuddup."

The group followed Kaiba up the grand staircase and they waited for him to whirl around in his usual Kaiba fashion and start a row with Joey, but all was quiet. Kaiba continued ascending the stairs calmly as if he'd heard nothing. Put-off by the strange behavior, the group continued following Kaiba up the grand staircase.

He pulled open the wide double oak doors to his study and propped them open. "Enter." He stated. Unnerved, the gang filed into the study and Kaiba tried to make eye contact with Yami as he walked by, but Yami was looking past everything, almost as if he wasn't there.

Trying to quell his uneasiness at what he was about to do, Kaiba shut the doors quietly behind him with a flourish and strode confidently to the front of the room, facing the group.

"I would like to speak first, if you don't mind, Kaiba." Yugi said softly.

Kaiba fought with himself internally before complying, "Go ahead." He said stiffly.

"We were amazed and...well, suspicious when Yami started using a new phone, which he got, from you." Yugi said pointedly. "And we're here to return it. No strings attached."

Kaiba crossed his arms firmly across his chest, "What do you mean by that?" he asked coldly.

"It means he doesn't want it." Duke said loudly, speaking for the first time, startling Kaiba.

"Well," Kaiba said, clenching and un-clenching his fists, "I'd like to hear that from him personally."

"Here it from who?" Yugi challenged him, "Why don't you say his name?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaiba saw Joey elbow Yami. Yami remained motionless, and Kaiba noticed Yami's eyes watering at the corners. Oh no, Kaiba realized as he recognized this all too familiar look, he's about to cry.

Kaiba took a deep breath and put on his detached businessman act, "Look, Look, guys. I know, his name is Yami. Honestly, you all take me so seriously sometimes, it makes me laugh!" Kaiba threw his arms out flamboyantly and laughed loudly, attempting to throw them off guard. Well it seem like it was working, they were all looking at him like he had gone insane.

"Are we not supposed to take you seriously?" Anzu said, looking strangely at him.

Kaiba forced himself to continue laughing loudly, like it was joke only he could understand.

"Stop laughing and just tell us what you want to say, you jerk!" Mai said angrily.

Kaiba instantly sobered up, and the sudden change in character unnerved the Yugi-gang even further.

"Okay, you got me." Kaiba said, and he walked over to one of his large cabinets and pulled out a large, heavy box. He set it down carefully on his desk and lifted the lid with a grand gesture. The Yugi-gang was still staring at him like he was a lunatic.

Kaiba slowly unpacked the box, taking out stacks of new mobile phones, still in their white ribbon-topped boxes, each marked with a unique colored sticker. He arranged them together magnificently into a neat pyramid on his desk and threw the empty box aside. To his immense satisfaction, he saw Yami's eyes widen considerably. Having seen these before, he knew what was in the boxes.

"What is this." Tristan snapped, "Why aren't you talking, man. Dude, say something."

"Yami knows what it is." Kaiba said softly in amusement. Yami was shocked to hear his name come from Kaiba's mouth.

The group turned towards Yami, surprised. "If this is a game, it isn't funny." Yugi insisted.

"They're phones." Yami whispered, barely audible, the group became instantly silent.

"Hon, speak up, I didn't hear you," Mai said, frowning.

Yami looked at Kaiba pointedly, "What is the meaning of this Kaiba?"

Kaiba grinned widely, "This is, exactly, what it looks like. Help yourselves." He said, feeling a strange, surreal parallel between this experience, and to his experience as Hiro, offering plates of cupcakes.

The group stood there silently and blinked at him. Kaiba stared back at them, wondering if he hadn't made himself clear.

"I said.." Kaiba started.

"We heard you," Joey interrupted. "We just tryna figure out what the catch is."

Kaiba felt despair slowly creeping up on him, perhaps it was too late to mend relations with the Yugi-gang. "There is, no catch. These are all my gifts, to you." he said slowly. "Please. You'd be doing me a huge favor, taking these off my hands."

"Oh so its about doing YOU a favor now?" Tristan said loudly.

"Gifts?" Serenity echoed incredulously.

Kaiba turned his back on the group, unable to face them as his emotions began to amplify. "Please." he repeated, staring out at the city lights until they started to burn afterimages in his vision. In that moment, Kaiba was secretly wishing he could just unobtrusively transform into Hiro, beginning to realize how difficult it was to interact with group as himself, as Seto Kaiba.

"Guys," Anzu whispered, "I think he's being serious."

"What do you mean?" Yugi whispered back, "He just said not to take him so seriously."

"Think about it for a second," Anzu breathed, "He said, 'please'"

"Oh my god you're right!" Serenity said, at a normal volume.

"Shhh!" Joey hissed, "Great, now maybe we can just grab'em and run."

Kaiba whirled around, startling the group. "If you want to grab them and run, you may end up with a color you despise, Wheeler, be my guest."

Joey opened and closed his mouth stupidly. "Wut. They come in COLORS?!"

Yami's interest was also piqued, this option was not presented to him earlier, why the sudden change?

"Yes. What color do you want?" Kaiba asked, fully knowing the answer.

"Green?" Joey said tentatively. Kaiba expertly lifted out an elegant, ribbon-topped box with a green sticker from the large stack on his desk and placed it on the corner of his desk, closest to Joey.

He was shaking his head in disbelief. "Bro, are you seeing this right now?" He said, addressing Tristan.

"Yeup." Tristan said, not taking his eyes off Kaiba. "I am watching him. Quick, grab it, it might be a trap."

Joey crashed forwards onto the desk, clumsily grabbed the box, then retreated back to safety.

"Oh my god!" Mai exclaimed, "Can you not?!"

Everyone crowded around Joey and the sleek, white ribbon topped box. "Open it!" Serenity urged. "It might be empty." she said, throwing a Kaiba a dirty look. Unfazed, Kaiba stood his ground, feeling relieved as the group's hostile mood seemed to be melting.

The group ooo-ed and aah-ed at the sleek phone, which was an exact replica of the one Yami had, but was tinted with a dark, forest green.

"Holy shit, holy shit." Joey chanted, holding the phone before him like a precious object. Yami stood, frozen in place, shocked. Did this mean he could keep his phone? The group was now chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

Yami's gaze drifted over towards Kaiba, who was staring right at him. Surprised, his mouth dropped open, and Kaiba quickly winked playfully at him. Yami's heart skipped a beat. Was he seeing things?!

Kaiba tore his eyes away from Yami and noticed Mai Valentine looking longingly at the stack of boxes on his desk. He gestured towards her and motioned for her to grab one. She stared at him, wide-eyed, almost looking terrified.

Sighing, Kaiba stepped out from behind his desk and handed her the topmost box, which happened to be white.

She grasped it between her beautifully manicured hands and looked at him, "Seto Kaiba, you are an enigma. I can't figure you out." Kaiba smiled gently at her, "All the better."

Yami watched this exchange apprehensively. Kaiba sure was turning on the charm tonight, something about him seemed...different.

It was getting rowdy in Kaiba's study as Joey, Tristan and Duke were now loudly taking ugly selfies with the phone, while Anzu screamed at them to delete the ugly one they took of her.

Serenity grabbed Mai by the arm excitedly, "What! That's so pretty!"

"Girl get your own," Mai scoffed. "There's a whole pile."

Serenity timidly approached the desk while chaos ensued behind her. She smiled angelically at Kaiba, "May I have one as well?"

"Here you go." Kaiba grabbed a brown stickered ribbon-topped box and placed it in her hands. She looked at it curiously, "How did you know?"

"What?" Kaiba said absentmindedly, watching Yugi whispering with Yami at the back of the group.

"That my favorite color is brown." Serenity said suspiciously.

"Oh, pf." Kaiba scoffed, trying to play it off casually, "I just grabbed a random one from the stack."

"No," Serenity continued, "This is the ONLY brown one. Who told you?" She demanded. "Are you having us followed?"

Kaiba began to panic slightly, "Please," he hissed, "Keep your voice down."

"So you are having us followed?" Serenity repeated shrilly.

"No!" Kaiba said in a strained whisper, "All I had to do was ask Anzu."

"What?" she looked surprised suddenly, "So, you planned this?!"

"Yes...!... No!" Kaiba said, frustrated, he looked over and realized Yugi and Yami had stopped their whispering.

Serenity followed his gaze and looked at him knowingly. "I think we need to talk, just you and me, Seto Kaiba."

"No, I disagree." Kaiba growled.

"You will agree," Serenity insisted coldly, "Or I'll tell everyone you're having us followed. Which I know is completely false, but it's my word against yours."

I'm being blackmailed by Wheeler's baby sister, Kaiba raged, nothing good comes of generosity.

Anzu approached the desk breathlessly, "Give, me one." She panted, "I need, revenge."

Kaiba grabbed two boxes and allowed her to choose, knowing full well she would pick the pink one.

"Thaaank youu Kaiba!" Anzu drawled, and she headed back towards the Yugi-gang with her new addition.

Serenity stood there, still looking suspicious. "Why did you hand her two boxes, if you knew her favorite color?"

"Don't overthink it," Kaiba said, clenching his teeth. "I like giving people a choice."

"Since whennnnnn?" Serenity said, raising her eyebrows.

Kaiba decided that the best course of action would be to ignore all further engagements with Wheeler's little sister. She walked away after she saw Yugi approaching the desk.

"Kaiba." Yugi said firmly. "May I have your word that, if I take one of these phones from your desk, I won't owe you anything?"

Kaiba nodded and looked directly into Yugi's eyes, they were much softer, and larger, than Yami's. His little round face pulled into an expression of worry, made it hard for Kaiba to take him seriously.

"And," Yugi continued, "I won't be charged for this phone, at a later date?"

The group fell silent as they heard Yugi speaking.

Kaiba scoffed. "As if I need to charge you for anything. I have enough money already."

"Good." Mai said foxily, "Then I can just bill you when my monthly charge comes in."

"Sure." Kaiba said casually, examining his nails, realizing they were becoming chipped from all his manual labor at the bakery.

There was a long silence. Kaiba looked up and was met with shocked faces. "What." he said flatly.

"Are you...joking?" Duke said warily.

Kaiba smiled devilishly, "Send me your bill and you'll see just how much I like to joke."

"Whoa. Whoa." Yugi reeled, "What is going on. Are you OKAY? Like, in your head, did you hit your head?"

"No," Kaiba said, willing himself to remain calm in the face of insults, "I may be a bit sleep deprived, but I am 100% aware of what I am doing."

"There's gotta be a catch," Joey said, aghast. "Who are you, and what have you done with the Seto Kaiba we know and hate?"

"He's still here." Kaiba said with steely eyed look, "You don't know him, and you can keep hating him if that helps you sleep better at night."

"Okay we're going to..leave now." Yugi said, backing away from the desk, "I think something may have happened, and you might regret this tomorrow, or next week, so we're gonna go, before you change your mind."

Kaiba leaned against the desk, too tired to argue, "Whatever." he said shortly. "See yourselves out." he said coldly.

The gang shuffled quietly out through the doors; Kaiba exited his study and out onto the adjacent balcony.

Mokuba peeked out of his room and realized the gang was leaving. He rushed out of his room and ran towards them, "Guys! Wait! Tell me what happened!" He cried.

The group exchanged significant looks. Yugi bent down and patted Mokuba on the shoulder, "Your brother is acting kinda weird, he's giving away stuff for free and asking nothing in return. You might want to keep an eye on him in the coming weeks."

"I know!" Mokuba exclaimed, "He's changed a lot in literally 3 days! He even played a video game with me today!"

Yami shook his head confused, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"I think," Mokuba whispered excitedly, "He's got a girlfriend and that's what's making him happy."

Yami felt his stomach drop through the floor, as Yugi gave him a meaningful look.

"What?!" Mai exclaimed, "Who knew?! Also, how do you know this mystery female is the source of his generosity?"

"I saw some texts on his phone from her, " Mokuba said slyly, "Just don't tell him I saw."

"Gross," Joey commented.

"You wish you had a girlfriend," Mai said spitefully.

"And he's been going out a lot!" Mokuba continued.

"Going out where?" Yami asked, feeling numb.

"I dunno," Mokuba shrugged, "Out, like on dates I guess, he wore some different clothes too. I saw them in his room today."

"Does this happen often?" Yami pressed, his mouth going dry.

"Why is this so important to you?" Yugi asked suddenly, "You've been asking this a lot since..."

Yami blinked and looked at the floor, "I'm just curious, that's all."

"Let's leave!" Serenity hissed, "Its like 12AM right now, I have class tomorrow!"

"Right, right," Anzu agreed. They said goodbye to Mokuba and headed out the door.

Kaiba watched them sullenly from the balcony. Their voices fading as they climbed into their vehicles and sped away from his property, Kaiba looked up at the dark night sky, wishing to be anyone other than himself in that moment.

---

Kaiba laid awake in bed, waiting for his alarm to ring. He rolled over and checked his phone. There was one message, a missed call, from the bakery manager, Jason. Kaiba sat up abruptly, and read the text,

"Hiro,
Don't come in,
there's nothing left to unpack now. Store is clean and set-up done.
All that's left is paperwork.
Come back next week, ready to bake.
- J"

He deleted it and laid back onto his bed, contemplating sleeping in. He sat up again, realizing his casual wardrobe was wearing thin. Kaiba opened the text message thread he had with Yami on his personal phone. After contemplating for a long while, he wrote, "Come shopping with me today?" and left it at that. He rolled around then decided to get up once and for all.

He stepped into the bathroom and ruffled his light brown hair in the mirror. He grabbed the hair dye from the shelf and plopped it onto his hands, massaging it in thoroughly. He rinsed quickly and put in a fresh set of light brown contact lenses. Kaiba made sure to tuck a tiny bottle of eye drops in his pocket, remembering the painful disaster from the other day.

His phone hummed, Kaiba checked it, his excitement mounting, "It's a date! And I don't have class on these days, you can remember that." Yami replied sassily.

Kaiba found himself grinning stupidly at his phone and he replied with, "I'll pick you up in 30 minutes?"

Yami stared at his phone. Hiro sure was sounding very bold this morning. "Do you remember where I live?" Yami texted back playfully.

Kaiba mentally slapped himself and wrote, "I actually don't remember where you live. Tell me your address please."

Yami smiled, and typed, "If you tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

Kaiba felt feverish with excitement at the playful attitude he was receiving from Yami, "How about I just show you?"

"Deal," Yami wrote back enthusiastically, and quickly sent him the address to the Kame Game Shop. He leapt out of bed and got dressed.

"Mmggmh." Yugi grumbled, "What time is it? Why are you up so early? You don't have class today.."

"I'm hanging out with Hiro today! See you later okay?" Yami said animatedly, and he ran down the stairs briskly and stood by the entrance of the shop, waiting.

Meanwhile, Kaiba walked anxiously through his garage, desperately trying to find a suitable car to drive. He opted with the cheapest sport car he owned, and decided to just roll with the consequences of questions if they ever arose.

He sped off his property towards the Kame Game Shop, feeling strangely elated.

Yami leaned against the doorway of the game shop, not sure what to look for. He saw a tall figure walking towards him from across the street in the morning fog.

Yami rushed towards the tall silhouette, and to his delight, Hiro's gentle, smiling face greeted him warmly. Yami reached his hand out towards Hiro to wave, but instead, Hiro grabbed his arm and he was pulled into a strong and warm embrace.

Yami closed his eyes contentedly, inhaling the strange, sweet, musky scent that was uniquely his. "How's your morning going?" Hiro asked, smiling a little.

"Great, now that you're here," Yami laughed. Kaiba felt his spirits soar. This was what he wanted. This was how he wanted to be treated by Yami.

"I parked around the corner so as not to disturb the neighbors. Come on." he gestured around the block.

Yami tilted his head curiously, "Why the distance?"

"Because I needed a little morning walk!" Hiro replied enthusiastically, laughing. Yami was dazzled by the overwhelming cheerfulness he was displaying and he gladly fell into step with Hiro.

Kaiba pressed the keys as they turned the corner, Yami saw a pair of headlights glow softly, from a slender, white american sports car with a solid black stripe running through the middle.

"Wow." Yami said, genuinely impressed, "I like this car!"

"I do too," Hiro responded happily, "It was a gift,"

"Really!" Yami commented, further confirming his suspicions that Hiro came from a rich family who enjoyed spoiling him.

A gift to myself, Kaiba thought privately, as Yami climbed carefully into the passenger seat.

"Want to know what makes this car really special?" Kaiba asked devilishly.

Yami shook his head, nonplussed, "What?"

"This," Kaiba said, leaning over and pressing his lips lightly against Yami's, catching him off-guard. Yami's eyes shot open wide, as he stared at Hiro's pale face, enticingly close to his. Yami softly touched Hiro's cheek, feeling apprehensive. Kaiba closed his eyes, giving into the lovely feeling of Yami's hands on his face.

Yami pushed his forehead agaisnt Hiro's and threaded his hands through his lustrous black hair, tugging and pulling at it seductively as Hiro lightly spread kisses around his neck and ears.

Hungry for more, Kaiba pressed himself across the divide of the car, straining to feel more of Yami's warmth. Yami noticed this and smiled mischievously, "Can we start with your place?" he said.

Kaiba was confused, his head was buzzing with pleasure, making it difficult for him to think clearly, "My place?"

"I want a tour of your place, Hiro." Yami enunciated. Kaiba nodded silently and was secretly glad that he had furnished the apartment properly a few days ago.

They sped down the highway and Yami felt a strange familiar feeling settle over him as he watched Hiro expertly maneuver the car. The similarities Hiro shared with Seto Kaiba were uncanny; the slender fingers that gripped the clutch, the love for flashy sports cars, they were similar in height and share affinity for baking.

But there are key differences that makes them separate people, Yami thought ferociously. Kaiba enjoys showing off, and just being a condescending asshole in general, but Hiro on the other hand...Yami gazed up at Hiro, and Hiro looked back at him, smiling gently, shaking the dark hair out from around his eyes.

Hiro smiles a lot more, Yami noted, and he parked around the corner as opposed to just driving by loudly, waking the neighbors with the roaring engine. There's the difference, Yami concluded. Hiro is a thoughtful, humble, hardworking student, whereas Seto Kaiba was a thoughtless, callous, braggart, with whom my friends could barely tolerate.

Yami leaned back into his seat, still feeling a sense of unease. The level of attraction he felt towards Hiro was an un-explainable, raw hunger. It was scary. He wasn't sure if visiting Hiro's apartment was an entirely innocent request.

They pulled past the university, garnering appreciative and jealous looks from students crossing the streets. Yami chose to comment on this to gauge Hiro's reaction. "Your car is getting a lot of attention, " he said casually.

"Is it?" Kaiba said, throwing another dazzling smile towards Yami, "I didn't really notice, I've been trying to sneak glances at you while we've been driving."

Yami felt himself grow hot all over. "Please, you don't mean that."

Kaiba smirked privately, enjoying Yami's reaction thoroughly. I love how responsive he is when his guard is down, Kaiba mused.

They parked behind the student apartments and Kaiba led Yami around to the front of the building. "We're here!" Kaiba said enthusiastically.

Yami glanced up, the building seemed pretty standard, and well maintained. Pretty luxurious for a student actually. "Lead the way," Yami said keenly.

Kaiba walked deliberately down the hallway, towards his room. Having Yami follow him without suspecting him of anything was a strangely exhilarating freeing. He unlocked the door to is apartment and held it open for Yami. "Please enter." he said, looking at Yami intently.

"Don't mind if I do," Yami responded excitedly.

He stepped inside and was met with a beautiful light, shining in from large windows panning across the entire unit. A large TV, desk and wardrobe were aligned purposefully together underneath the windows. A large bed sat agaisnt the adjacent wall, neatly made, with sheets splashed in bold, geometric, monochrome with print. A row of metal bar stools were propped up agaisnt a long kitchen island, gleaming in the morning light.

"It's beautiful!" Yami exclaimed. It seemed so simple, but there was luxury intoned subtly on the bedding, the chairs, and the desk

Kaiba felt himself beam with pride, not bad for a 3 hour decor job.

"It's really just the lighting doing all the work," he responded humbly.

"I really like it!" Yami said, throwing himself down with a -pof- onto the bedding.

"I'm glad you do!" Kaiba said, feeling strangely ecstatic as he saw Yami laying defenselessly on his bed.

Yami kicked off his shoes and pulled his legs up onto the large bed, "There's not much here, but it looks very comfortable!"

Kaiba stood at the edge of the bed numbly, not quite believing what he was seeing. There was a a Yami, sitting on his bed, talking with him in a courteous manner, was any of this real?

"Hiro, what's wrong?" Yami said concernedly, looking up at him through his spiky blond bangs.

Does this mean it's okay? Kaiba choked on his own thoughts, trying to suppress the monster of lust that was roaring through his body, Can I really...

Yami crawled over to the edge of the bed to where he was standing rigidly, "Hiro?"

Kaiba reached out and pulled Yami's face close to his, his thumbs sweeping lovingly beneath Yami's soft cheeks, "Can I kiss you, and just never stop?" he murmured, grazing his lips agaisnt Yami's slender nose.

Yami felt himself shiver slightly, and said nothing, gazing deeply into Hiro's soft brown eyes.

Yami swallowed dryly, "Why?"

Kaiba frowned, "Why else? I feel like it. I like you. I want to, you want to, don't you?" he implored.

"No," Yami gasped, "I mean, ..I feel like..something is different about you."

Kaiba was getting impatient, "Of course there is something different about me, we just met, a few days ago. " Kaiba's self control was slipping by the second. He wanted to touch Yami everywhere, he wanted to feel the warmth of his skin on his mouth.

He could just be pushed down, right now...I'm stronger, and bigger...Kaiba was seriously losing it.

Yami trailed his hand down the front of Hiro's shirt and reached up to brush the black hair out of his eyes, "I'll do this with you, but we stop, when I say we stop." He looked up into Hiro's deep brown eyes, "Agree?"

Kaiba nodded mutely, unable to hold himself back any longer. He leaned his weight down onto Yami's thin frame and pressed his lips passionately agaisnt his, breathing in his scent. He felt Yami wildly tug at his hair, and that alone made him so hard. Kaiba ground his hips violently agaisnt Yami and Yami felt himself shake with pleasure.

Kaiba then shoved his tongue into Yami's waiting, open mouth, and felt Yami's tongue entangle with his erotically. Yami felt his hands travel down Hiro's muscular torso and land gently on his belt, where a large bulge was pressed up firmly against the fabric. He grabbed at it playfully and Kaiba groaned, shaking with pleasure.

Kaiba slid his palms adoringly down Yami's slender abdomen and became even more aroused when Yami peeled his shirt off and laid back wantonly. Kaiba was alight with desire and he leaned down to deliver a flurry of butterfly kisses all over Yami's chest and abs. Yami sighed and closed his eyes sensually, losing himself in the feeling. Kaiba flicked his tongue in and out of Yami's bellybutton suggestively, and Yami sat up suddenly, looking at Kaiba with lust in his eyes.

Kaiba slowly undid one of Yami's belts without breaking eye contact. Yami's breaths increased with each clink of the belt, and Kaiba felt drunk with excitement at what he was about to do next. He undid the second belt and seductively reached his hand into Yami's pants, wrapping his hands firmly around Yami's hot member. Yami gasped light, short breaths, shuddering uncontrollably at the foreign, delicious feeling.

Kaiba couldn't help but smirk and whisper, "I'm only touching you through the cloth, now imagine this is skin..."

Yami blinked beseechingly him, begging him silently to continue. Kaiba carefully slid Yami's penis out of his underwear and gazed at it triumphantly.

Yami was shivering uncontrollably, "Wh-what?" He stammered, feeling suddenly very self conscious.

"Oh...nothing." Kaiba said, trying to hide his glee, "Lift your hips up for me a little?"

"H-how?" Yami asked nervously.

"Like this," Kaiba said, smirking confidently, gently leaning Yami back and lifting his thighs up agaisnt his own shoulders. He bent his head down and came nose-to-head with Yami's shaft, and said seriously, "Grab my head and push me around however you like it."

"Wh-what?!" Yami exclaimed, but before he could even think further, Kaiba brought his head forcefully down between his legs and enveloped his entire dick into his hot, wet mouth. Yami's eyes shot wide open as his vision turned white, and then green, his ears ringing.

Kaiba began to slowly bob his head up and down, his tongue powerfully swirling around the head of his penis, sending giant shock waves of pleasure, causing intense mini-orgasms to rock Yami's body violently. Yami dug his fingers deep into Kaiba's dark hair as he writhed with pleasure. Kaiba smiled and hummed lightly, enjoying the immense power he was currently given over Yami's tantalizing body. The hums sent enthralling heated waves of ecstasy shooting through his arms and legs; Yami felt extremely hot and cold all over as his entire body tensed up, preparing for another large orgasm. In frantic desperation, Yami buried his fingers into Hiro's long black hair and pressed his head down harder onto his erection.

Kaiba felt Yami's fingers in his hair, pulling him, encouraging him to open his mouth and to slide the head of Yami's shaft tightly into the back of his throat. Yami felt his body convulse brutally and clench powerfully as he felt himself melt and explode from the inside out. Wave after violent wave of pleasure followed his explosive orgasm, and Kaiba jerked his head back acutely, as his mouth was flooded with Yami's hot semen.

Yami fell back onto the bed, a sweaty half-naked mess, feeling lost, electrified, and just slightly confused.

Kaiba looked up at Yami satisfyingly, cum dripping splendidly from the corners of his mouth and down his neck, "So, did you like that?"

Yami struggled to sit up, still weak with pleasure, "I-I think I died and came back to life," Yami joked faintly. "I'm sorry I made such a mess..." he glanced around at the mussed up bedding and then at Hiro's bulging erection, still sitting in his pants.

"Let me..?" Yami asked tentatively. Kaiba leaned forward into Yami's reach, "It's really alright if you can't.."

"No," Yami said firmly, "I want to return the favor."

Kaiba shook slightly with anticipation. He watched as Yami slowly undid his front hesitantly and came nose-to-head with his rather, large and thick shaft. Slightly shaken at the size, Yami took one hand and firmly grasped the shaft and with the other hand, he placed lightly on Kaiba's balls.

Aghast, Kaiba swayed intensely at the feeling, it was nothing like he had imagined. Yami looked up at Hiro for a reaction and was astounded to see him completely wanton and lustful, staring at him through half-open, glazed eyes, waiting for his next move. Yami leaned forward and cautiously kissed Hiro's shaft, and licked it from base to tip, without breaking eye contact.

Kaiba trembled with need as he started leaking a bit at the tip. Yami gladly licked it up entrancingly, before rolling his tongue rhythmically over the head of his penis. Kaiba groaned and threw his head back, panting, struggling to keep himself contained. Yami tightly gripped Hiro's shaft and forcefully brought his head down, deep into his throat, all the way upon his length, and Yami slowly slid his mouth upwards, tortuously. Yami lifted his head and looked up at Hiro, his lips wet with saliva, "Am I doing it right?" Yami asked tentatively.

"Yes, don't stop." Kaiba begged, abandoning all pretense.

"Push my head, and do it to me how you like it," Yami said, titling his head curiously. "Don't worry, I can take it."

Kaiba wasted no time and passionately grasped a handful of the tri-colored hair and savagely thrust into Yami's open mouth. Yami grunted with surprise and pleasure when he felt the tip of Hiro's shaft hit the roof of his mouth erotically. Kaiba trembled with self-indulgence and he continued pounding fiercely into Yami's hot, dense mouth.

He trembled with vicious satisfaction, as he deliberately pushed Yami's head down onto his dick, over and over again, with reckless abandon. Kaiba felt his muscles taut with lust, as pleasure surged up from his core. Burning the image of Yami obediently taking his cock deep into his mouth, Kaiba let himself pleasurably spasm into an impassioned climax, and he came hard inside Yami's mouth. It caught Yami off guard and he jerked his head back forcefully, coughing violently.

"I'm so sorry!" Kaiba cried, distressed. "Was I too rough?!"

Yami was still coughing and it took a while for him to steady himself, but when he did, he smiled weakly back at Hiro and laughed a little, "I was surprised at how rough you were, but I actually really enjoyed that," Yami said, elegantly wiping cum away from his bottom lip. Entranced by the erotic movement, Kaiba leaned himself closer towards Yami and kissed his lips firmly, tasting himself on Yami's mouth.

Yami pulled back in surprise, "That's dirty! Don't do that!"

Kaiba laughed earnestly and gently brushed Yami's bangs out of his face, "Let's clean up, I'll help you, you stay here." He got up and grabbed a wet towel and dry paper napkins from the kitchen and handed them to Yami. "Unless you'd prefer a shower" Kaiba said suggestively.

"Actually," Yami said, "If you don't mind, I would like to use your shower." And with that, he marched right in, leaving Kaiba standing there, half-naked, holding a wad of towels.

Yami turned the hot water on and stood underneath it, feeling warm and composed. It was strange, sex with a stranger isn't supposed to feel this familiar, is it? Yami mused uncertainly. He quickly got clean, and dressed himself readily, chalking it up to physical compatibility.

Yami stepped out and saw Hiro standing by the window looking pensive, perhaps he was wondering the same thing.

"Oh good you're done, it's my turn," Hiro smiled lightly and walked past Yami, into the bathroom, shutting the door gently. Kaiba turned the water on and stepped underneath it, careful not to let the water touch his dyed hair.

I'm so fucked, Kaiba thought dismally, This is so fucked up. What am I doing? What do I hope to accomplish by fucking around with Yami?

Kaiba sighed as he watched the water run down his body. How can I tell him who I am now? He will hate me, because Hiro is a constant lie. Anything good we have will disappear, just like everything else I touch.

He stepped out of the shower and examined his appearance; no dye was running and his contacts were still in place. He wiped his face on a towel guiltily, wondering if he should ever tell Yami about himself. Hiro could just disappear...but how? Kaiba wondered. He was beginning to think Yami was right, that there was never a correct circumstance under which they would be able to confess their feelings towards each together safely, out of the eye of the public.

He stepped out of the a bathroom quickly and saw that Yami was nowhere to be found.
"Yami?" he called out nervously.

"Over here!" Yami responded, his head buried in the refrigerator.

Kaiba rushed over to the kitchen and pulled Yami away from the fridge, "What are you doing? there's nothing in there!"

"Why is your fridge completely empty?!" Yami asked incredulously, "What do you eat?"

"I eat out," Kaiba said, lying steadily, "And I throw everything out of my fridge every week. Its how I keep things clean."

Yami nodded knowingly, "Aren't you a neat freak."

Kaiba sniffed proudly, "I am, thank you for the compliment."

Yami laughed happily and leaned agaisnt Hiro's tall frame, "Well I am starving, so let's grab some breakfast?"

Kaiba smiled down at Yami who was hanging onto his arm endearingly, "I know a good place." And led him out through the building towards his vehicle.

---

Uglifish's Note

I had a whole trove of content, just waiting to be posted! Your reviews and love are always appreciated! And if you're curious about the recipe Kaiba used, here is the link!
black-tea-cupcakes

Lel,
UF