Disclaimer: Just own the words, not the folks.
In Our Hearts
'Mokuba, are you free for dinner?'
That's all Seto had said before he showed up that evening. Though he'd sounded a little bit off at the time, Mokuba had wanted to believe that it was just the static on the cell phone. Now, watching his brother mechanically making his way through the meal they're sharing with Noah, he's certain that something is very, very wrong.
"Well, I've got a lot more work to do," Noah announces, standing. "Moku, I'll leave you and Seto to your visit. I'll be back for coffee in a little while."
Mokuba smiles gratefully at his boyfriend as he heads out of the dining room.
The instant Noah is out of eyeshot, Seto's chopsticks clatter to the table, startling his brother; the calm façade gone in an instant
"Seto?" Mokuba gawks at his brother's clenched jaw and fists and heavy breathing. He's suddenly even more concerned because he hasn't seen his brother this mad since that fight they had about Yami.
'It has to be Yami again,' he sighs to himself.
"What has he done now?" Mokuba wonders aloud.
"Nothing," Seto forces through clenched teeth. "He's done nothing 'now.' It's what he did 'then' and what he'll do later that…that…This was a mistake, Mokuba. I should have never let him back in my life. You were right all along."
A few months ago, Mokuba would have been very glad to hear Seto's resolve about that very decision. But knowing how happy Seto has been of late with Yami, such a statement had to have been made under extreme duress. And knowing his brother's habit of pushing things out of his mind until they don't exist, while they subconsciously eat away at him, he already knows that he'll have to press Seto for the reason.
"Okay what did he do 'then' that has you so mad?" Mokuba prompts, ignoring his brother's assertion about being 'right.'
"It doesn't matter, Mokuba," Seto dismisses, suddenly standing. "I need to go now and…settle things with Yami. I…I may need to stay here for a while," Seto stammers, "That's if Mr. Kaiba doesn't mind."
"Please stop calling him that," Mokuba groans. "He's just Noah. It makes him think you don't like him when you call him 'Mr. Kaiba.' And of course he wouldn't mind if you stayed here. But why would you need to?"
"Do you think I could stay in that place with Yami after I break things off?" he scoffs angrily. "What else could I do but move out?"
"You're not breaking up with Yami, Seto," Mokuba declares, nudging his brother in the direction of the sitting room where he and Noah have talked out many of their own issues.
Pushing the taller man onto the comfortable, leather couch, Mokuba flops down beside him; ready for an extended session of '20 questions.'
'Though with Seto it can sometimes be '120 questions,' he muses to himself.
"So what did he do that has you so mad?" Mokuba prods again.
"I really shouldn't be surprised," Seto murmurs. Not for the first time since his conversation with Mr. Crawford, he wonders if Yami had other lovers even when they first lived together. That thought alone practically consumed him on his way to the mansion.
'The mansion.' The idea falls so casually now. When Mokuba first moved in with his CEO lover, Seto had been hard-pressed to visit his brother in such opulent surroundings. But now…a slight smirk falls on his lips momentarily.
'At least Mokuba is happy,' he nods to himself. 'That's enough. It will be enough.'
"Shouldn't be surprised about what?" his little brother's voice intrudes on his melancholy.
"He is an artist after all. And he needs to explore the world to grow his talent," Seto replies, echoing Mr. Crawford's statement from the limo ride. "I should have simply accepted that in the beginning."
Mokuba suddenly sees red. Hoping he's wrong about what his brother's saying in his own backward way, he asks the question directly.
"Did Yami cheat on you, Seto?"
The pause preceding his brother's answer sends his rage up another notch.
"I don't know," Seto confesses quietly. "I've never thought so before, but Yami confirmed what Mr. Crawford told me about the others in Germany and the blond in the photos, so I thought that maybe…" He trails off, his mind taking the tangent even farther than it had before.
What if Yami has been sleeping with his patron all this time as well?
Mokuba's rage shifts to a different target, as realization hits.
Mr. Crawford was the asshole who had tried to break his brother and Yami up and throw Seto out of the loft. What's his role in this mess?
"What did 'Mr. Crawford' say, Seto?" Mokuba inquires, his distaste for the man evident in the way he says his name.
"He told me that Yami had been with five others in Germany and that the one featured in his gallery photos was coming next week to see Yami and the pictures. Yami confirmed that he'd had five lovers while in Germany and that the blond was one of them, but he didn't know anything about him coming here," Seto responds, not looking up from his hands.
'Something smells a little fishy about this whole thing,' the raven-haired man thinks narrowing his eyes. And he's certain that if his brother weren't consumed by anxiety, he'd see it too.
"What else did he say?" Mokuba prompts.
'Hasn't he already left you once because you weren't enough for him?' Mr. Crawford's voice echoes in Seto's head.
"He simply pointed out that Yami's left me to explore the world before and that he'll probably do so again. And he's right. I've always known that the novelty of being with me would eventually wear off. I don't fit in his world. I never have and I never will."
At the utter dejection in his brother's voice, Mokuba realizes that Mr. Crawford has inadvertently touched on one of his brother's deepest fears; abandonment because of his solitary personality.
It only fuels his rage at the silver-haired menace. He'd like nothing better than to retaliate on his brother's behalf, but he knows that Seto needs to see the other's manipulation for himself.
"Did Mr. Crawford say why he told you those things?" Mokuba questions seriously.
"What do you mean, Mokuba?" Seto frowns in confusion.
"I mean, didn't you tell me that Mr. Crawford wanted Yami to break up with you and throw you out of the loft? And that Yami even considered moving into my old apartment rather than part from you? Why would he suddenly be trying to "help" you? And wouldn't telling you such things be the opposite of helpful?"
Seto blinks slowly as his mind rapidly digests Mokuba's words and draws a conclusion nearly identical to Mokuba's; he'd been cruelly manipulated by Yami's patron.
"That bastard," he growls once the realization hits.
He'd obviously given Yami's patron a distinct advantage when he'd dismissed the concept of the other as a vicious man capable of doing anything to get what he wants.
"Mokuba, I need to use your phone. I left my cell in the car," he declares, grabbing the cordless phone from the table next to the sofa.
Mokuba smiles as his brother dials the familiar number, knowing that Mr. Crawford has just made very a serious enemy.
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Yami doesn't question Seto calling him from Noah and Mokuba's house, and telling him to grab a cab and come over.
He doesn't ask why they were all sitting in the living room with grim faces when he arrived.
He doesn't even pause when his love insisted that he explain to Noah what happened between him and Seto and with Mr. Crawford after Seto destroyed his painting.
But for Seto to say what he's just said about Mr. Crawford…
"No. I can't believe he'd do that," he shakes his head in denial.
Mr. Crawford had been his patron, friend and mentor for years before he met any of the people in this room. True, he's been a bit over-zealous about Yami's career recently, and they recently had a huge fight, but everything is alright between them now. Mr. Crawford said so himself just a few weeks ago! Why would Seto and Mokuba think…? No it was impossible. . .And to give Noah such a terrible impression of his patron…
"You must have misunderstood his intentions, Seto. Mr. Crawford would never mean to hurt me that way," he contends.
His brunet love understands Yami's need to cling to his positive belief about the silver-haired demon, but to further his plan of Yami becoming independent of his patron, the artist needs to accept the truth. Sliding closer to his love, Seto takes Yami's warm, bronzed hands into his own.
"Then how did I know about Katsuya, Yami?" he intones.
"I…I must have told you myself," Yami blurts, still not wanting to believe in such a betrayal and manipulation.
Seto pauses before asking a question he's held in his heart for months.
"Did he ever tell you that I called looking for you?" Seto poses in a low even whisper.
"What?" Jerking his head upward, Yami stares blankly at his lover's face.
"After you left me – probably a few days before you left for Germany – I called him to see if he knew where you were. He told me he didn't. He even asked if he should have you call if he saw you. Did he ever tell you that?"
Eyes wide with shock, Yami thinks back to the weeks before Germany when he'd lived with Mr. Crawford. The man had never, ever mentioned Seto calling. With this knowledge, comes the sudden realization that Seto must be telling him the truth about Mr. Crawford's recent actions.
"He…I…You have to know that I didn't…I'm sorry, Seto," Yami stammers, falling into his love's arms.
"I know you didn't have anything to do with what happened, Yami," Seto soothes the lightly trembling man. "But with this latest attempt to separate us, you do understand that you're going to need to sever all ties with him permanently, right?"
A tightening of the arms around his waist and a quick nod against his chest is the swift reply.
"Then we'll accept your generous offer, Noah," Seto bows as much as he's able to with Yami in his arms. "We can move in right away?"
"Offer? Move in? What's going on, Seto?" Yami looks up in confusion.
"You'll see," blue eyes smile lightly at him.