Title: The First Time

Author: Wintersslayer

Rating: Pg-13

Pairing: Seto/Yami, sorta Joey/Yami

Spoilers: None that I know of.

Warnings: Maybe some language. And please, LOOK at the pairings listed. If you don't like, then don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

Summary: AU- 10 years ago, Yami had a beautiful relationship with Seto that ended tragically with Seto's death. Now, shortly after his engagement to his long-time best friend Joey, Yami meets a man named Seth, who curiously looks a lot like Seto...

Status: 10 of ?

A/N: I'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to update! I just got really busy with work and stuff. But enough of my yapping. Enjoy the chapter!

START OF CHAPTER

Chapter 10

Yami stood staring at his younger brother. "Joey's…in the hospital? Why? What happened to him?"

Yugi sighed tiredly. "He hasn't been eating all week long, and now he's refusing the medications from the hospital as well. It's like he's lost the will to live…" he trailed off sadly.

The Duelist Champion's mind flashed back to the last conversation he had had with his ex-fiancé. Hadn't Joey said something about him being his reason for living? Could Joey not want to live because they were no longer together? Could he be the reason why Joey was lying in the hospital now?

All these questions and more raced through his mind as he rode with Yugi to the hospital. His brother had also informed him that the only person Joey wanted to see was him, that he kept saying his name over and over and over. This just seemed to confirm his suspicions that he was to blame for Joey's illness. The guilt was already starting to get to him…

Upon arriving at the hospital, Yami was greeted by a young girl with long brown hair. "Yami! Thank goodness you are here!" She embraced him tightly, her crying muffled somewhat by his shirt. When she pulled away a moment later, he could see that her eyes were red and blotchy from crying so much. "I'm so glad that you are here. It's been so terrible! Joey is already so weak…and he won't talk to anyone." She sniffed some more. "I know…I know that you two haven't been speaking to each other lately, but could you please go and talk to him? I…I think you're the only one he'll listen to at this point." She looked up at him hopefully, tears still glistening in her eyes.

Yami nodded in reply. "I'll do what I can to help, Serenity," he said quietly.

Joey's younger sister smiled weakly. "Thank you, Yami. I knew you still cared about him."

When he entered Joey's room, he was stunned at what he saw: his ex-fiancé was a pale white, and tubes were connected everywhere it seemed. His blond hair was matted to his forehead. "Joey…" he whispered, "what have you done to yourself?"

His whispers stirred the blond awake. He opened his eyes slightly, the dullness and lifelessness in them shocking Yami even more than his appearance did. Upon recognizing him, they widened a bit more. "Yami…" he said in a hoarse voice, "is that really you?"

Yami moved over to the bed, sitting down in the chair next to the bed. He took his ex-fiancé's hand in his. "Yes, it's me, Joey. I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere."

A small smile graced his lips as he drifted back off to sleep.

Over the next several days, Joey seemed to rapidly re-gain his strength and spirits. He was eating regularly now, as well as taking his medications. Yami stayed by his side the entire time. Yugi and their friends were no longer giving him the cold shoulder- he had to admit, it was nice having them talking to him again. Everything seemed to be going well, except for one thing…

While Joey was resting peacefully, Yami had headed out of the hospital, saying that he needed to take a walk, get some fresh air. While at the hospital, he had kept the star pendant that Seth had given him hidden underneath his shirt. As he walked, he took it out and nervously fingered its shape. This would not be easy…

Earlier that day, he had called Seth and asked him to meet him at the dragon fountain later. They had only been able to talk briefly each day since Yami had found out that Joey was in the hospital. He was thankful that Seth had been so understanding the past several days. However, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to understand his decision…he wasn't sure if he himself even understood it.

Winding his way around the familiar park's paths, he at last came to the dragon fountain. The CEO was already there, sitting on one of the benches and staring up at the dragon. Upon hearing Yami, he turned around and immediately rose from the bench, walking over to him. "Hey," he said softly. "I've missed you these past several days." He leaned forward and gently brushed his lips against Yami's. However, when he didn't respond, he immediately pulled back again, looking at him with a questioning gaze. He had a bad feeling about this…

Oh gods, this was going to be hard. Yami took a deep breath, reaching up to take off the star necklace. He gently took Seth's hand palm up, and placed the pendant in the middle of his palm. He then forced himself to look up into those hurt blue eyes. "I'm so sorry Seth," he said in barely a whisper, "but we can't be together any more."

Seth had noticed the engagement ring now back on Yami's finger when he had placed the pendant in his own hand. He immediately understood. "So you've chosen him then?" His voice was neutral, controlled.

Yami nodded sadly. "I'm sorry," he said again, "but I have no choice. If I don't, then Joey may end up killing himself, and I would never be able to forgive myself for allowing that to happen." He averted his gaze, closing his eyes as well.

Anger swelled up inside of the Dragon Master. "So you would throw away your own happiness because of that cowardly, conniving pathetic loser?" He was angry at that bastard for pulling a trick like this, angry at Yami for being too kind-hearted and falling for the trick, and angry at himself for not being able to do a damn thing about it.

Tears slipped past Yami's closed eyes, and down his cheeks, leaving a cold wet trail.

The sight of those tears seemed to vanquish the anger within Seth almost instantly. He gathered him into his arms, pulling him close against his chest. "Shhh…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset." He bent down to kiss away his tears. But this seemed to cause even more to flow.

"I love you Seth…" Yami murmured into his chest.

Blue eyes widened. He had wanted to hear those words for so long it seemed, but never did he think that it would come out like this. Yes, Yami did love him, and he loved Yami, and yet…they were unable to be together. Life could be unbearably cruel it seemed. However, Yami's confirmation of love gave him some hope for the future. He would find a way for them to be together; he would find a way to convince Yami that he needn't give up his life for a jerk like Wheeler. He was not going to give him up so easily. Yami's words seemed to ease the pain in his heart slightly. He closed his eyes and kissed the shorter man on his forehead. "Thank you, Yami... thank you."

A few days later, Joey was released from the hospital. Yami and Yugi threw him a small dinner party at their place with their friends. Afterwards, everyone was laughing and joking around like they had used to. Yami pretended to be having a good time, but deep down, he was incredibly sad. He and Seth hadn't seen or spoken to each other since that day at the fountain… However, he was determined to keep his true feelings quite hidden from everyone else, especially from his fiancé.

Joey was all smiles that night. He had Yami back with him, and finally, Seth Kaiba was out of the picture for good. There was no way that Yami would leave him now. His little trick at the hospital had worked just as he had planned it would. He knew Yami well, and knew that he would come running back to him as soon as he had heard that he was seriously ill. Yami was just that sort of person. However, he wanted to make sure that Yami kept as far away from Seth as possible, just to be on the safe side. So, he came up with another little plan.

"Hey guys, I got an announcement." Everyone quieted down. "Yami and I have been talking, and we've decided that after we marry, we want to move to the United States to start our own Duel Monsters School!" If Kaiba wanted to stay in Japan, then he and Yami would simply move to the States. That would ensure that they never had the chance to accidentally bump into each other or anything of the sort.

As everyone began to congratulate them, Yami could only stare at his fiancé in disbelief. He had never mentioned anything about going to the States, and they certainly had never agreed to anything of the sort. Inside, he was burning with anger towards his fiancé. However, on the outside, he merely smiled as Joey went on to describe what kind of school "they" wanted to start.

A little while later, everyone had finally left, including his fiancé, whom Yami was still quite upset with. When Joey had kissed him goodnight on the lips before he had left, Yami could not help but think how…cold his kiss was compared to the ones he had shared with Seth. The tall CEO was on his mind a lot these days- he just couldn't stop thinking about him, and about how much happier he had been with him. And then, thinking about Seth made him think about Seto as well, and how happy he had been back then. It seems that he had fallen in love with both of them. He had never lost his love for Seto, and the difference between Seth and Joey was that Seth was willing to accept that, whereas Joey did not. Perhaps that was why he would rather be with Seth than Joey, and why he could never love Joey.

The musical ring of his cell phone suddenly pulled Yami from his thoughts. He glanced at the screen and was surprised to see it was Seth calling. He quickly answered the call. "Seth?" he said a little too eagerly.

"Yami. Could you meet me at the dragon fountain in 15 minutes? We need to talk."

This sounded serious. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. We just need to talk. In person."

He hesitated. What if Joey or Yugi or one their friends saw them together? Then again, none of them even knew that he and Seth had met several times at the fountain before. "Al-alright. I'll see you then."

"Bye."

Yami quickly grabbed his coat and blue scarf. As expected, he saw Yugi downstairs, reading a book. He looked up just as he entered the room. "Yugi, I'm going to the fountain. I'll see you in a bit."

His brother eyed him warily, but nodded. "Okay then."

As soon as Yami had left the room, Yugi immediately picked up the phone and started dialing.

Yami all but ran to the park, ran through the many twists and paths that led to the dragon fountain. He wondered what Seth wanted. Would he try and convince him to leave Joey? Was he going to tell him that he had decided to return to the States after all, and that this would be their last goodbye? Yami felt a sharp pang in his chest as he thought about Seth leaving Japan for good.

He slowed down to a walk as he reached the entrance to the fountain. Standing near the fountain, he could see the tall form of Seth. Quenching the impulse to run up to him and throw his arms around him and kiss him senseless, he forced himself to take slow, even steps till he was standing next to him. For several long moments, neither of them spoke.

Yami heard the tinkling of a chain, and he glanced down in surprise as Seth slowly took out the diamond star pendant from his pocket, its long silver chain dangling from his hand.

The CEO's voice was very quiet. "Yami, the reason why I asked you to meet me here was because I wanted you to have this." He took the shorter man's hand in his, and gently put the pendant in his palm, firmly closing his fingers around it, keeping his own hands around his. "I understand if you don't want to wear it, but I still want you to keep it, because I had it especially made for you. Only you are meant to have it, and no one else."

"Seth…I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt warm lips against his as Seth gently kissed him. He had to control his desire to kiss him back.

When Seth pulled away, he brought his lips close to Yami's ear, even though they were the only ones there. "I hope that this star will guide you to what your heart truly desires." He pulled away, finally dropping his hands as well. "Can I give you a ride home?"

Yami shook his head, his thoughts still reeling from Seth's actions and from his words. "No, you'd better not. I don't want Yugi becoming suspicious."

He nodded. "Alright then. I'll follow behind you at a safe distance then. Don't worry," he added quickly, seeing the look on his face, "I won't be seen." He paused. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Thank you, Seth," he murmured, "for everything."

The two men parted, neither noticing a pair of angry brown eyes peering out from behind a tree.

Yami did indeed decide to wear the star pendant. However, he kept it hidden underneath his shirt, knowing the questions it would raise if certain people saw it.

The next night, Joey invited him out to dinner, and it was then that he wanted to talk about their supposed "plans" after they were married. However, every time he tried to bring up the subject, his fiancé either immediately changed the topic to something else entirely, or he ignored the question completely. He was definitely hiding something, some ulterior motive for wanting to move to the United States.

Joey sighed in relief as the pair finally exited the building. He was starting to get a little bit annoyed at Yami for continuously asking him questions about their future plans. He really wished he would just drop it already, and accept it as it is. But no- he had to be annoyingly stubborn like that sometimes. This night had not gone as he had hoped for. He had hoped to spend it talking about them so that Yami would forget about Kaiba, but instead he had been forced to spend it dodging questions. Things could not get much worse.

And yet they did.

Across the street, at some fancy restaurant, he noticed the person that he despised the most in the world exiting the restaurant with a bunch of other men in suits. Kaiba. He clenched his fists tightly, remembering last night when he had witnessed that jerk kissing his Yami. It was more than enough to make him want to storm across the street and give the CEO a strong punch in the face. However, Yami did not seem to have noticed him yet, and he would rather keep it that way.

The Duelist Champion however did notice that Joey was rather silent all of a sudden. It appeared that he was giving someone the death glare across the street. He glanced across the street and drew a quick breath, a hand going instinctively to cover the star pendant, though of course it was already covered by his shirt and then by his jacket.

Joey heard the gasp and knew that Yami must have seen Kaiba. He whirled around on his fiancé, his brown eyes flashing dangerously. "What the hell were you doing last night with Kaiba?" he blurted out without thinking.

Crimson eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't play games. Yugi had called to tell me that you were going to that stupid fountain of yours after dinner last night. So, I decided to follow you. And imagine my surprise to find you meeting him, and then kissing him!" He was breathing heavily now, his breath coming out in quick puffs in the cold air.

The shock wore off and was quickly replaced by anger, both at his brother and at Joey. "So you were spying on me then?" He crossed his arms over his chest.

As usual, his question was ignored. "I cannot wait till we leave this place AND that bastard for good! The sooner we leave the better!"

Crimson eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare call him that again, Joey," he said in a dangerously quiet voice. His fiancé was going too far by insulting Seth.

"I'm out of here. Yami, you better come to your senses soon and realize just exactly who you belong to."

"Or you'll do what?" Yami asked in a quiet, challenging voice.

"Or somebody might get hurt." He had gotten rid of one Kaiba before- he could certainly find away to get rid of another. He left Yami standing speechless on the sidewalk and headed to his car.

Across the street, Seth bid his Board of Directors and potential future investors good night. He despised having to go to these pointless dinner meetings. Out of the corner of his eye he had noticed Yami and Wheeler in what appeared to be an argument. The blond had been making wild gestures, while Yami had stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Now, he saw that he was standing alone, apparently having been left, gazing down at the sidewalk. With a quick glance at both directions, Seth crossed the street and quickly walked over to him. "Yami?"

At the sound of Seth's voice, Yami snapped his head up. Not being able to control himself this time, he threw his arms around the tall brunet. He immediately felt strong arms wrap around him in response, and he buried his face in the smooth material of his trench coat. After a few moments, Seth spoke quietly. "Come on. I'll give you a ride home."

With one arm still around his shoulders, they walked back across the street, where Seth handed a man a small piece of paper. The man nodded, and quickly ran off towards the small parking lot to the side of the restaurant. Yami glanced up at Seth in surprise. "Where's your limo tonight?"

Seth shrugged. "He has the night off. I thought I'd drive myself tonight."

He gave him another curious glance. "Since when did you have a car?

"Since yesterday. Mokuba and I figured that if we were going to be in Japan for a while, we might as well get a car, so that we wouldn't have to rely on our drivers all the time." He smirked slightly. "You would have gotten to ride in it last night."

Yami smiled slightly in return. Just these few moments with Seth already seemed to have lifted his spirits considerably. Less than a minute later, he saw a sleek dark Porsche pulling out onto the street and up towards them. The man got out of the driver's seat and walked back over to them. Seth handed him his tip, then opened the passenger side door for Yami. He quickly went around the car and slid into the driver's seat.

During the ride to the game shop, Yami told Seth about Joey's plans to move to the United States, about his refusal to talk about them, about his and Joey's argument, and how Joey had seen them last night. Seth was definitely not happy about being spied on at the fountain- he was going to have to be more aware of his surroundings next time, which could sometimes be rather difficult when he was around Yami. And he only needed one guess as to why Wheeler wanted to move out of the country- he wanted to keep Yami as far away from him as possible. Like moving to the States could keep him away from the man he loved…

All too soon, they had arrived at the small game shop. Yami did not really want to get out of the car. He would rather stay here with Seth. With a sigh, he turned towards the CEO and smiled at him. "Thank you for the ride home, Seth."

He smiled in return. "Any time." His smile faded slowly. "Yami, why are you doing this to yourself? Why do you allow Wheeler to treat you like he does, like your thoughts and feelings don't matter? You shouldn't be with someone who does not respect you."

Yami sighed. It was just like Seth to be so concerned about him. "You know why, Seth. I don't want to be the cause for putting him in the hospital again."

Seth scowled. "You didn't put him into the hospital, Yami. He did. Can't you see it's just some pathetic trick to get you to go back to him?" He paused to keep his anger in check. "Regardless of your reasons for going back to him, it still does not give him the right to treat you the way he does."

The Duelist Champion opened his mouth to reply, but no words came out. After a few moments of silence, he finally managed to find his voice again. "I…I should go. Thanks again, Seth. Good night."

"Good night, Yami."

He noticed the change in Seth's voice, that it was much quieter than it was before, less angry and frustrated. However, he decided not to comment on it, and instead opened the door and got out. With a wave good-bye, he closed the door and headed up towards the game shop. He didn't hear the car drive off until he was just about to close the front door.

The next morning, Joey was already at the game shop by the time Yami had woken up and dressed. The blond apologized profusely for his actions the previous night, stating that he didn't mean a word of what he had said, that he was just upset over seeing Yami and Seth together, and that he did not want to lose him again. Yugi assured Joey that Yami understood, that of course he was forgiven, and that all was fine between the two of them. Yami did not even have to say a word. He sighed silently as the two began a much more cheerful discussion. He gazed out the window, thinking about Seth's words from the night before. Unconsciously, a hand drifted up to brush against the star pendant underneath his shirt. Perhaps he had been right…perhaps Joey really was just getting himself sick to make him come back to him. He had never thought that Joey was actually capable of doing something that drastic, that…deceitful. But then again, over the years he had learned a lot of surprising things about his fiancé that he wished he didn't know.

He glanced over at where his fiancé and his brother were still talking animatedly to each other. If only those two would get together. Then, that would leave him free to be with the one he truly loves….

END OF CHAPTER

EEPS! dodgers daggers flying through the air Please don't kill me! Remember, I like writing happy endings. And it definitely would NOT be a happy ending if Yami and Joey ended up together. shudders

Ok…next chapter, Seth FINALLY finds out a bit about the Kaiba's past in Domino City. It's gonna cause lots of confusion on everybody's part…

Thanks for reading and please review! 