To paraphrase Louise Rosenblatt, "a story's just ink on a page until a reader comes along to give it life." This in my way of saying, I'd really like to know what you think, and appreciate all reviews.

CHAPTER 14: STAR CROSSED LOVERS

ROMANTIC CLICHÉ #4 – STAR CROSSED LOVERS: Just utter those three little words and – from Romeo and Juliet to Sylvester and Tweety Bird (gulp) – dozens of couples spring to mind. And then there are those other couples, the ones that make you think that Shakespeare had a point when he wrote that, "The fault… is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

MORAL: Sometimes characters don't need a cosmic realignment. Sometimes all they need to do is get out of their own way.

Kaiba lay in bed, eyes still shut, sleepily enjoying the feeling of warmth seeping through him, the unaccustomed feeling of security. As he relaxed into the surrounding softness, a long buried memory floated to the surface: this was what it had felt like lying in bed as a child when his parents had still been alive, when the house had been asleep, when he'd been safe.

Kaiba's eyes snapped open. Of course he was uncomfortably warm. Somehow, during the night, he'd gotten entangled with Yami's body; it was like sleeping next to a space heater. Kaiba groaned. There was no "somehow" about it. Now that Kaiba was fully awake, he could remember with crystalline clarity pulling Yami into his arms just before he fell asleep, as if Yami was a teddy bear and Kaiba himself the most overgrown infant ever.

Seto Kaiba did not cuddle. Ever. And yet, here was the proof: Yami was not only still in his arms, but Kaiba had enjoyed having him there so much, he had stayed asleep and nightmare-free for the entire night. He'd woken up feeling rested.

Kaiba groaned again. He began working on detaching himself without waking Yami up. He finally managed to untangle his arms and legs. Yami stirred and grabbed a pillow, apparently satisfied with using an inanimate object as a substitute. Kaiba supposed there as a lesson in there somewhere. He glanced at the clock. At least it was still early, he could get into work without upsetting his usual Saturday morning schedule, regardless of how much else in his life had just been disturbed beyond repair.

Kaiba got out of bed. He was sticky; his skin itched with dried sweat, another reminder of how thoroughly he'd lost himself last night. He glanced back at the bed before heading for the bathroom. Yami was still there. Kaiba frowned, thinking that this was exactly why people had office sex or hotel sex or sex anywhere but in their homes. It was cleaner; it didn't leave you with a body in your bed and no idea what to do next.

Last night he should have just said his two lines of dialogue and been in and out before Yami had known what had hit him. Easy. Clean.

Except he hadn't.

Kaiba prided himself on his control and his superior sense of strategy. Yet, at critical moments in his life, he often failed to think ahead. This had been one of them. There were dozens of places he could have taken Yami after he'd decided to set fire to his desk. By the time they'd left his office, his choices had seemed to shrink to one. Kaiba hadn't considered how he'd feel the morning after… but even if he had, he wouldn't have expected a contented confusion to be at the top of the list.

Kaiba had expected to feel he'd finally beaten Yami; he'd expected to feel like he'd come out on top for once... it had literally been true the night before. He should have known better. Yami was tougher than that or he would never have been Kaiba's rival in the first place.

From the moment Yami had walked into his office, nothing had gone according to plan. Kaiba had thought he'd been ready for Yami. He'd known the score. He was alone because there'd never been anyone else to rely on. It was the first lesson he'd learned, the one that had made him Seto Kaiba. He wasn't going to throw that away for a pair of crimson eyes, no matter how soulfully they gazed into his, no matter how much he'd wanted to fall into them and disappear.

Kaiba got in the shower and started shampooing his hair, determined to get something in his life back under his control, even if it was only his morning routine. But the feel of his own hands reminded him of Yami touching his body last night, as gentle as a spring rain's caress, as fierce as a summer torrent. Kaiba had had his rival all to himself, in a way he'd never imagined in all those months he'd chased after Yugi's shadow begging for a duel. This was the Yami that Kaiba had wanted ever since that day in the Egyptian sands, a Yami that was ready to meet his future, a Yami that was ready to match Kaiba step for step, taunt for taunt, touch by touch. And Yami had responded, had needed Kaiba as badly, had seen Kaiba as clearly, had focused on Kaiba alone.

Kaiba felt… happy. It was a word he hadn't applied to himself in so long that it felt strange whispering it, even in the privacy of his shower, with a door locked between him and the rest of the world. He loved Mokuba, was proud of him, shared in his reflected joy. Kaiba often felt satisfaction in his (or Kaiba Corporation's) accomplishments. This was different, an emotion outside of his blood tie and his promises, an emotion that had no reason to exist, but that was there nonetheless. Here in his watery confessional, Kaiba could even admit he'd liked holding Yami in his arms afterwards, breathing in his scent, his skin warmed by the heat of Yami's body. That had been a matter of affection, not sex. And except for Mokuba, affection – although more easily recognized – had had as little place in his life as happiness.

Kaiba got out of the shower, dried himself off, and returned to his bedroom. Yami was still there. Kaiba turned to his closet, pulled out clothes and got dressed, avoiding glancing backwards towards the bed. By the time he'd put on his shirt and pants, he'd managed to accept, at least to himself, that despite all logic, the night didn't feel like a monumental mistake. Kaiba knotted his tie and glanced at his rival, fondly this time, only to realize he was being watched by a pair of crimson eyes. They narrowed to a glare.

Yami had been asleep when Kaiba had left the bed. It had taken a while for the sounds of the shower running and of someone getting dressed to get through to Yami. The noises were familiar, but they didn't sound like the ones Yugi usually made. The difference was jarring enough to get Yami to open his eyes. His first blurred thought was that the bed was larger and the sheets softer than he'd remembered. Then he realized that he was sprawled across Kaiba's bed, hugging one of his pillows. He pushed the pillow away, dug an elbow into the bed and propped his head up, not quite ready to admit he was awake. His eyes focused as he stared at Kaiba, already in a gray dress shirt and navy slacks. Kaiba's hair was damp. As Yami watched, Kaiba finished knotting his tie and turned to look at the bed.

"Interesting pajamas," Yami commented.

"I didn't expect you to wake up before I left," Kaiba replied.

"Obviously. Coward."

Kaiba's lips tightened. He glared back at Yami. "I go to work on Saturday mornings. I told you that at your farce of a welcome home party."

Yami sat up. "You're trying to sneak out of your own bedroom at…" Yami glanced at the clock on the nightstand, "...5:30 in the morning rather than face me."

Kaiba considered reaching for his coat and sweeping out of the room, but that would give weight to Yami's accusation. Kaiba swallowed at the sight of Yami. The sheets had pooled around his lap, revealing his bared chest. "I'm facing you now. You're short, but you're hardly invisible."

Yami threw aside the sheets and got out of bed. He planted his feet shoulder length apart and pointed his finger at Kaiba. "I refuse to allow you to degrade either of us. You are going to stand here and act like a reasonable facsimile of a decent human being. Am I making myself clear?"

Kaiba swallowed again. Yami was naked and angry. He was magnificent. "Crystal clear. I go to work on Saturday mornings. I have to do that so I can spend the rest of the weekend with Mokuba, barring emergencies. I'm not changing, regardless of what happened last night."

Kaiba leaned back, arms crossed at his chest. Anyone who had ever seen him duel would have recognized the posture. In the arena, it was intimidating. Seen here, in his bedroom, he looked unexpectedly young.

"And I'm not asking you to ignore your responsibilities – especially to Mokuba," Yami replied.

Kaiba stared back, eyes now focused on Yami's face.

"But you are not going to pretend that I don't exist, not after trying so hard to make me accept this world and my place in it." Yami swept his hand from left shoulder to right thigh. "Not after convincing me that this body is real."

Kaiba drew in a breath as he studied every perfect inch. Hauling Yami back into the rumpled sheets suddenly seemed like a good idea. Kaiba swallowed and held his ground. "I'm not."

"Good. But every time you pretend that you are the cold-blooded jerk you need to show the world, you diminish yourself. I'm disappointed in you. And I'm not going to let you run from anything. You are going to find a solution and I am going to stand here and watch you do it."

Kaiba stared at Yami, proud of his refusal to back down, to be brushed aside by anyone, even Kaiba himself. Yami was right. Nothing had changed, Kaiba hadn't morphed into someone else, hadn't turned into the weakling of his childhood nightmares. He was still Seto Kaiba. Yami was still his rival. Kaiba was going to respect that bond.

"You have two choices," Kaiba said, managing to make it sound like an ultimatum. "I can leave word with a driver and have the limousine take you home whenever you like. Or... " he paused. "I leave at 11:00 anyway, just to make sure I'm home by noon. You could get back into bed, I could head out of the office at 10:30 and you could have breakfast with me and Mokuba before I drop you back off at the game shop."

Yami moved forwards and grabbed the ends of Kaiba's gold-flecked blue tie. He pulled Kaiba down to his level for a long, open-mouthed kiss. Yami let go of Kaiba's tie, walked to his closet, grabbed a coat and threw it to Kaiba. Kaiba caught it one-handed. The coat was woven silk: navy blue with gold and silver threads. It was the one Kaiba would have picked.

Yami walked back to bed, a slight swagger in his movements. "I accept the second option. I don't need to be back until 1:00 PM." He climbed back into bed and pulled the covers up.

Kaiba nodded. He started to leave, then abruptly reversed direction, leaned down, kissed the top of Yami's head and strode out the door without looking back. It slammed shut behind him. Yami smiled without bothering to open his eyes and snuggled deeper under the covers. Last night hadn't been a game. But this morning felt like winning.

Mokuba came downstairs. schoolbooks in hand, a couple of hours later. He stopped short as he entered the living room. Yami was on the couch, video controller in hand. Mokuba looked at the silent images on the monitor.

Yami paused his game. "I kept the sound off. I didn't want to wake you."

"Oh…" Mokuba said, "You're still here? I mean… you stayed over?"

Yami nodded. "I hope you don't mind," he said, unsure of what – if anything – Kaiba had said to his brother.

Mokuba shrugged. "It's not like we don't have the room." Mokuba grimaced. He had a million questions, and here he was, stunned into acting like finding Yami in his house was normal. He dropped his books on the couch next to Yami, trying to think of something to say. "You hungry or something?" Mokuba stopped short. The last time he'd offered Yami food in this house, he'd poisoned it. "Uh… it's on the level, but I get it if you don't want to… I mean..."

Yami put down the controller. For a fleeting moment Yami wished he was back in the Puzzle so Yugi could deal with the situation, but this was his responsibility. "It's okay. I've always understood you were trying to help your brother. I've never held a grudge."

"I know. It's just… my brother's never invited anyone over. But you like him, don't you?"

"Very much."

"Nisama doesn't like many people." Mokuba flushed. "Okay, I guess that was the understatement of the year."

"You don't have to worry about him – or about me."

"I'm not worried. Not exactly. I just want him to be happy. It's the one thing he's never been good at. I'm glad you're friends, now."

Another awkward silence settled on the room. Mokuba glanced at Yami. His shirt was rumpled. It looked like he'd slept in it, which made as much sense as anything else had this morning. "You want to borrow a clean shirt?"

Yami looked down and pulled at his shirt as if that would make it look less wrinkled. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Yami followed Mokuba back to his bedroom. From the posters advertising every Kaiba Corporation release to the clutter of yesterday's clothes on the floor, to the pile of video games, western comics and manga on the desk, chairs and bed, a greater contrast to Kaiba's room would have been hard to imagine. Mokuba kicked his clothes aside. "No one's been in to clean up yet." He gestured towards the dresser. "Help yourself."

Yami pulled the top drawer open. It was filled with shirts. It was bewildering.

"Go ahead. Take anything you like."

"What do I like?" Yami murmured to himself. There were the expected striped shirts. He couldn't imagine wearing them. They looked too young. He dug deeper into the drawer. There were white T-Shirts, identical to Yugi's, and a black one like the shirt he'd worn on the journey back from Egypt. He hesitated, then pushed them aside too. It was strange, deciding which one he liked. There was a royal blue one, but it matched his pants and jacket too closely and a purple one that clashed too badly. He pulled out a stonewashed T-shirt and stroked it gently. The dye had left a pattern of blues and grays that faded to white. It reminded him of sunlight skimming over the Nile in the glimpses he'd caught in the Memory World, of rain streaking down his windows at home. "This one. I like this one. Thank you."

Mokuba shrugged again. "Keep it if you want. It's no big deal."

Yami nodded. He didn't know how to explain what a big deal it was.

They returned to the living room. "So about food…" Mokuba asked, his voice light and casual now.

"I told your brother I'd wait and we'd all eat breakfast together. How does that sound?"

"Great!" Mokuba said, smiling.

Yami picked up the video game console. "Do you want to join me?"

Mokuba shook his head. "I have work to do, just like Nisama. That way, if I get my homework done on time, we have the next two days together. Nisama finishes his job on time. I have to live up to my responsibilities too."

Yami nodded. It was hard knowing what to say in the face of Mokuba's devotion, sometimes. Yami went back to his game. Mokuba opened his book. There was something comfortable about it, Yami realized. It felt like sitting in the Mutou house, with Sugoroku reviewing his accounts while Yugi grumbled his way through his assignments.

After a while, Mokuba threw his books down with a smile and grabbed the controller next to Yami. "Done! Now I'm ready to kick your ass."

"In your dreams!" Yami replied, moving over.

The first thing Kaiba heard when he entered the mansion was Mokuba and Yami's laughter. He stopped for a moment, listening to the sound before heading towards it. He wondered what, if anything, Yami had told Mokuba.

"Anyone want breakfast?" he asked as he entered the room.

The food was familiar to Yami from his time in the states during DOMA. Mokuba raced to the table, shoveled an enormous quantity of bacon and eggs onto his plate and focused on getting it in his mouth as quickly as possible. After his first gulps, in the brief intervals between swallowing, he peppered his brother with suggestions for their weekend. In contrast, Kaiba picked at his own, noticeably smaller plate, toying with a piece of bacon or a forkful of eggs. He downed his black coffee and accepted a refill as if it was a newly discovered food group.

After another bout of suggestions and questions, Kaiba set his coffee cup down, pushed his half-eaten plate aside and said, "I have to drive Yami home. As soon as I get back, the weekend is ours. just like always."

Kaiba had picked the blue-gray car again. Yami smiled, remembering Kaiba saying it was his favorite.

They'd barely left the estate when Kaiba glanced at Yami and asked, "Did you say anything to Mokuba?" His voice was deceptively casual.

"Of course not! Do you really think I'd take that decision out of your hands? That I'd show so little respect for you?"

Kaiba's lips thinned. "No," he admitted.

"Then why insult me?"

Kaiba's hands tightened on the wheel. He focused completely on the road for the first time. Yami waited.

"I wanted to hear you say it," he mumbled.

Yami hid a smile. He should be used by now to Kaiba's totally backwards ways of asking for reassurance. "And of course, you had to pick the most contentious way possible. It's unworthy of you."

Kaiba snorted. "Big talk for someone who needed a 12 year old to help him dress."

"I picked this shirt out myself!" Yami shot back, a note of pride in his voice.

Kaiba glanced at Yami. He was glad Yami had chosen a shirt Mokuba never wore. "It's a good thing you're little enough to fit into children's sizes."

"You like being taller than everyone else just a bit too much," Yami complained. "It's not an accomplishment. Even you couldn't will yourself into growing taller."

"Are you so sure I didn't?"

Yami had to admit that Kaiba's smirk was attractive.

After a pause and another glance, Kaiba confessed, "It suits you."

"I've never picked out clothes before."

"Another first?" Kaiba asked. He grinned when Yami ducked his head. "A shirt… a puzzle… a chess game. It all begins with a first step. Just make sure you stay the course."

Yami nodded, reassured by Kaiba's words, by the understanding so roughly expressed. He chuckled as he thought of something, "Mokuba and Sugoroku both said the same thing about my staying over – that you have no shortage of bedrooms."

"Just as well you didn't tell Yugi's grandfather the truth. I'd hate to be responsible for giving the old man a second heart attack."

"That's not funny," Yami said severely.

Kaiba didn't bother replying. So Yami hadn't said anything to the man he considered part of his family. Kaiba wasn't sure how to feel about that. On one hand, he supposed he was relieved. On the other…

They arrived in front of the game shop before Kaiba managed to untangle his thoughts. Yami hesitated before getting out. He put his hand on Kaiba's arm and let it rest there a moment. He drew in a breath then let it out. "Kaiba… I should have said it again this morning… I want you to know… last night was special to me."

Kaiba nodded. "It was," he agreed as Yami got out of the car.

He watched as Yami entered the building and the door shut behind him, then headed home. Kaiba pulled into his driveway, turned off the car and sat for a moment. Yami hadn't mentioned seeing Kaiba again.

Knowledge was power and Kaiba suddenly realized how little he had. He added it up in his head. He knew that Yami had labeled last night as special. But he didn't know if Yami felt that the same was true of Kaiba himself. He knew that Yami had been looking for a new experience. But he didn't know if Yami wanted a repeat now that he'd had it. He knew that Yami had demanded to be treated respectfully. But he didn't know if Yami desired anything more. And Kaiba didn't know why it mattered, or why he cared when it wasn't like he'd wanted to become entangled with Yami in the first place. Most of all, for once, Kaiba didn't know the next move.

Kaiba leaned his head on his hands on the steering wheel for a moment, eyes closed. He'd been wondering what to tell his brother. By now Mokuba would have checked the mansion's security, would have found the deleted footage, would have realized that there had been something to hide. But Mokuba would accept Kaiba's silence. And Kaiba couldn't say anything about Yami, not now, not when he was suddenly unsure that there was anything to say at all.

Yugi pounced the moment Yami came in the room. "So tell… what was it like staying over at Kaiba's? Does Kaiba have his own private arcade? Or movie theatre?"

"I don't know," Yami answered.

"Huh? What did you do then all night, then?" Yugi stared in surprise as Yami blushed deep red. Yugi remembered Yami telling him that he was attracted to Kaiba – and that Kaiba felt the same. Yami hadn't said anything more, and that had been a few days ago...

"Yami? Wait a minute… you guys just slept right? Like in separate beds?"

Yami shook his head, the movement almost to slight to be noticed; his eyes were fixed on the floor. Yugi wouldn't have thought that Yami could turn a deeper red, but he managed. Yugi's jaw dropped.

After a moment of silence, Yami risked a glance at Yugi's face. Yugi's mouth was still open, his eyes impossibly wide, even for him.

"Wow! You mean you actually? For real? What was it like? Forget I asked that!" Yugi squeaked, the sentences tumbling over each other. His face was almost as neon as Yami's.

"It was unexpected," Yami said

"You mean it just kinda happened?"

"No, I mean the experience itself was like nothing I'd expected." Yami shook his head. "I'm not making much sense, am I?"

"So you're like a couple, now… or something? Uh… I guess… congratulations?" Yugi said, his scrunched up face and tone making the last word into a question.

"I hadn't thought about it. I don't know what to feel or what it means… and I'm pretty sure that Kaiba doesn't either. He's such a private person." Yami paused. "Please don't say anything. I just couldn't keep it a secret. Not from you."

"Of course I won't say anything, not if you don't want me to. I mean I get you not wanting to tell grandpa, but…" He paused, thinking of Jounouchi's probable reaction to this bit of news, not to mention Anzu's. "Okay, I get it, period. But that must be rough for you. Are you sure you want to keep it quiet?"

Yami nodded. "Yes. I need to figure out things for myself, first."

"What's to figure out? If you love someone, it's all simple. It's like everything suddenly makes sense. If it was me and Anzu, I'd be waving banners and setting off fireworks. Well, not about… you know… doing it – that wouldn't be right, and she'd kill me, anyway, if she found out. But I'd sure want the whole world to know we were together. And the next morning… even if I tried to keep it secret, everyone could probably tell the moment they looked at the smile on my face."

Yami nodded. It had been simple, waking up in Kaiba's bed. Now he was back home answering Yugi's questions and everything was suddenly as complicated as Kaiba himself. Yami couldn't even find a name to give this jumble of emotions, this longing to see Kaiba again, this need to make sure everything was okay – much less as simple a name as "love."

But Yugi was right. It should be effortless. Yami should feel joy and nothing else. And he shouldn't feel any of the things he actually did instead: confused and off balance and anxious. He shouldn't feel like he was going to burst from this secret bubble of happiness welling up inside … and then be afraid to look at it too closely – much less release it to the world – for fear it would pop, leaving him with nothing.

"I know. You're right," he said to Yugi.

"I'm sorry," Yugi replied.

"Why?"

"Because it was your first time. It should be special."

Yami shook his head, unsure what to say. Kaiba was aggressive and stubborn and contradictory, but so was life and Yami realized that the two would remain entwined in his mind, that embracing one meant accepting the other, and that was part of where his confusion lay. And while Yami couldn't disagree with Yugi, even in his thoughts, he also knew that Kaiba was special. There'd been an honesty, an openness to Kaiba last night; it had been dangerously seductive.

Yami had caught glimpses of Kaiba's heart again and again, before he'd hidden it each time behind his anger and bitterness, an alchemy that turned gold into baser metals. But those flashes had remained, taunting Yami in their brevity... at Duelists Kingdom, at Battle City... when Kaiba's arrogance and affectations had vanished, revealing, beneath even his fearsome determination, an adolescent on the edge of adulthood, with all the confused vulnerability natural to that state. This was the Kaiba that Yami had seen, had held, had kissed last night, the Kaiba who had retained an unexpected innocence. There had been a sweetness in the way he'd enfolded Yami in his arms, afterwards. Yami found himself smiling as he remembered.

"Yami… are you okay?" Yugi asked.

Yami looked up, startled to realize that he'd lost track of his surroundings, as if he'd truly been transported back in time. "Last night was special," he insisted.

"I don't understand," Yugi said.

"Neither do I."

Yugi looked at him for a moment, then changed the subject. "So are you still hanging out with us this weekend?"

"Of course."

"But… what about Kaiba?"

"I don't know. We didn't make any plans." When he was with Kaiba, everything felt so natural. He'd just assumed they would see each other. Now Yami remembered that Kaiba had tried to sneak out of his bedroom to avoid facing him this morning, that he'd been silent for most of the day, that the main thing he'd wanted was the reassurance that Mokuba knew nothing about them. "I'll stop by his office on Monday." Maybe if he followed his usual routine everything would go back to normal.

"Yami!"

Yami sighed. He'd clearly given the wrong answer again, but he wasn't sure what the right one was.

Yugi shook his head. "Never mind. I've got no business giving you advice anyway, not when I haven't worked up the nerve to ask Anzu out, much less anything more. I even know she's finally starting to see me. I just have to pick the right moment."

"Think about it as a game. It's just a different application of the same strategies you've already mastered," Yami suggested.

"A game?" Yugi said, frowning.

"Of course. That should make it easier," Yami answered, blithely unaware that nothing could be farther from his own turbulent feelings for Kaiba than his calm announcement.

"But… but… it's not a game. Playing with Anzu's feelings… that's just wrong."

"You want to win."

"No, I don't. Not unless she thinks it's a victory too. I just want her to be happy. That's what love is. And acting like people are pawns… this isn't like you, Yami."

"Maybe it is. How would I know?" Yami paused. It was still hard talking about his fears with Yugi. But he agreed with Kaiba: he'd taken the first step towards being honest with Yugi, he was going to stay this course. "I don't remember my past. And when you first put together the Puzzle… I didn't care about anything but winning and punishing the losers in my shadow games. Maybe, when you take all of this away..." Yami waved his hand around the room, "all that will be left is a hateful, angry ghost."

"That's not true, Yami. You have to know that!"

"Can you honestly say you know what I was like?"

"Yes! Even back then, you were trying to protect me and my friends. If that vengeful spirit was who you are, why would you have cared what I think? Why would you have wanted to keep me safe?"

Yami smiled, comforted by Yugi's vehemence. "You're right. But I don't know why I keep getting so angry when all I should feel is grateful."

Yami was always amazed at how serious and determined Yugi's soft face could look, when he felt the occasion warranted it. "But you haven't gotten that mad. At least not around me. And anyway, you can be angry. Even when I'm not. That's okay, too."

"It makes me feel too much like my old self. For the most part I've succeeded in beating my anger back every time it crosses my path. Well, except with Kaiba. But that's different. He knows."

"Knows what?"

"What it's like to cling to anger as if it was a life raft… how hard it is to let it go and set out on your own, trusting there'll be a shore to receive you before your strength gives out."

"But you're not alone, Yami. You have friends. We'll help you reach that shore, whatever it takes."

Yami smiled and nodded.

Yugi grinned back. "I don't know, though… fighting with Kaiba… well, that has all the appeal of lighting a match in a gasoline factory."

"Yes, it does," Yami said with satisfaction. He was confident that Yugi had failed to recognize just how attractive a picture that was.

.

Thanks to Bnomiko for betaing this chapter.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I could easily see Yami – and especially Kaiba – being a lot more confused and hesitant in the morning. But at the same time I didn't want it to be as simple as one step forward, two steps back, because last night has changed things for both of them, and neither of them wants to take it back or pretend it didn't happen, even while they're hesitant about moving forward, and uncertain what such a move would involve. So I guess it's one step forward, one step sideways.

And I also guess it's Yugi's turn to give really bad advice with the best of intentions. If there's anything more ironic than Yugi stating with absolute certainty how someone should feel the morning after, it's Yami assuming that Yugi knows best and that his own feelings are at fault for not matching Yugi's idealistic babble. But Yami is as awkward outside of a duel or mission as he is confident and commanding in one, and he's used to deferring to Yugi when it comes to emotions. So I can see Yugi's assured proclamations of what love is outweighing Yami's own confused impressions.

And I have to admit I like the image of Yami getting so annoyed by Kaiba that he sweeps out of bed to yell at him, sublimely oblivious to the fact he's naked - and somehow manages to look commanding instead of ridiculous.

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