*opens chest*

~dun,dun,dun,dun!~

You got a new chapter! Your face is beaming!

Enjoy! ;3

"Hey Nii-sama."

The said person paused in the assault he'd been raining down on the keyboard of his laptop.

"What is it?" he responded to the young boy with ebony hair and grey eyes that requested his attention from across the room.

"You know what we should do?" the boy answered the question with one of his own.

"For the last time, we're not putting a zoo in the amusement park, Mokuba." The young boy shook his head fiercely.

"No, not that! It's something different this time!" he assured.

"What, then?"

Mokuba hunched over in the large bed he was lounging about on that belonged to his older brother, setting his elbows down onto the soft, blue blanket laying beneath him and pushing his legs out from under him to lay completely down on his stomach.

"We should all hang out again. Like go to the arcade or something." he proposed, resting his head into both of his hands.

Kaiba returned to the onslaught of typing onto his keyboard before asking, "When you say 'we', who are you referring to exactly?"

"Me, you, and Yami of course." Mokuba confirmed.

"Why would we go to the arcade when we already own nearly every game that's there?" Kaiba questioned.

There was a short pause, then Mokuba suggested, "Well fine; we don't have to go there per se. But we should hang out!" Kaiba remained quiet as he finished up the few sentences he was typing. When he finished, he hit "send", then turned in his chair to face his younger sibling completely.

"Come on, Nii-sama! It'll be fun!" Mokuba continued once he had his brother's full attention. He sat back up and said, "All you ever do is work, work, work, come home, then work, work, work some more. You should give yourself a break and have some fun!" Kaiba raised his brow at the boy, finding his explanation to be quite exaggerated. "Pleeaasse?" he begged.

Kaiba sighed lightly. "I… suppose we could." he said, surprisingly giving in easily, finding the idea of spending a bit of time with Yami not to be too bad of a suggestion. It had been a while since he'd last done so; back in January actually. He did see the runt pretty often since Mokuba liked to hang out with him so much, but not for long enough to get more than a few sentences in.

"Great!" Mokuba cheered loudly, breaking Kaiba from his thoughts. "Let's hang out this Sunday!"

"I have a meeting this Sunday."

…

"Next Sunday then!" he corrected through clenched teeth, obviously annoyed at Kaiba's work schedule.

"Fine." Kaiba agreed, finding nothing wrong with the date.

"Ehehehe…" he heard come from Mokuba as the boy hopped off of the bed and began to exit the room.

"…'Heh, heh'? What exactly is so funny?" Kaiba asked before Mokuba had the chance to leave.

"Nothing, nothing." The boy insisted, fanning his hand as if the action would blow the matter away.

Kaiba thought about going after him once he'd left to get a real answer out of him, but in the end just decided to let it go, whatever it was.

Shrugging off his brother's odd behavior, Kaiba went back to what he'd been doing. Despite his best effort to focus on the pdf displayed on his laptop's screen with a layout for a new attraction to Kaibaland that was in the final stages of completion, he found his mind slowly drift off to other matters. Matters that involved a spikey-headed, crimson-eyed punk to be exact.

Kaiba ran his slim fingers through the chestnut brown treads of hair on his head as he closed out the document and shut down his device, finding the designs to be acceptable. He slammed the laptop close and grabbed the tan folder on his desk, opening it and removing its contents.

He wondered if that gathering Mokuba was so certain about having with Yami would be a good time for Kaiba to finally learn more about the short teen. He was certainly curious about him. Then again, thinking about it more he pondered if outright asking Yami about his life would seem weird. Maybe he could find a way to casually find things out. But how?

'Why am I even thinking about this? Why do I even care?' Kaiba thought to himself.

'Because you like him.' he answered his own question. He pressed his lips together and shook his head, wanting nothing more than the fact that he had admitted it yet again to go away. However, shaking his head did nothing to rid him of those feelings, no matter how much he wanted them to disperse.

Redirecting his thoughts for the time being, Kaiba violently flipped through the pages of a new script he'd been given the previous day. It was for the season finale of "Kaibaman", meaning it was full of absolute drama, drama, drama. He rolled his eyes, finding many of the lines to be absolutely cheesy, even for Kaibaman, a.k.a, the king of cheese.

'I'll be glad when this damn season is over. That means I'll get four months to take a break from this garbage. And four months to look for a new screenwriter too, because I've had just about enough of this shit.' Kaiba thought venomously.

Scanning through the lines he'd already memorized, Kaiba found himself near the end of the episode when Kaibaman and Maiden with Eyes of Blue had finally defeated Nightshroud "for good", which everyone knew was just a load of bull. He was reading diligently through the lines when he was unexpectedly caught off guard with a particular line that he was actually expected to say.

'Maiden, I was finally able to find you. I was afraid that I had been too late…(shakes head in resolution) But it doesn't matter now. I found you, and the evil has finally been vanquished. (looks at maiden longingly) Through everything we've been through together in the past, you've always seemed to show me the way. And now, I hope that we can continue making it through every obstacle thrown our way in the future. Together. (there is pause) Maiden…I love you.'

Kaiba blinked. Uncertain, he reread the short monologue, just to be sure.

He frowned heavily, throwing the clipped together stack of papers down onto his desk disgustedly as if they contained a graphic image of someone's severe case of toenail fungus. At first he just felt downright repulsed that he was expected to sputter out such nonsense.

Then, suddenly and all at once with absolutely no warning, he felt it hit him like a fucking freight train.

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to react to it at first.

The feeling began to engulf his entire being; it was nearly drowning him as he felt it enter through his every fiber and consume his body and soul.

It seemed like it had come out of nowhere. But thinking about it, it really shouldn't have surprised him like it did. After so many months of denying its existence, it was only logical that it was a bit overwhelming when he finally realized that it was there.

That "it" that he was referring to was love.

Kaiba leaned back in his chair to try and calm down his currently throbbing heart. Did he…love Yami?

"Nonononono." he voiced aloud, immediately denying the notion. He couldn't have such feelings toward the teen.

It was absurd.

Preposterous.

Impossible.

He was a boy.

And he certainly hadn't known him long enough to develop such an emotion.

Kaiba grabbed the script that he'd thrown down and placed it back into the folder that he'd gotten it out of.

'It's probably for the best if I take a break for now.' he decided. With that, he went back to business, getting a head start on tomorrow's work and completely refusing to think about Yami for the rest of the night.

xxxXxxx

"Mokuba…"

Kaiba tapped his foot threateningly at his brother, who shifted in the spot he was standing in in response.

A little over a week had passed since the two had planned to meet with Yami and hang out for a bit, and here Mokuba was, backing out at the last second. The boy had claimed that one of his friends was having a birthday party and that he just had to attend since he had promised the boy that he would. Truthfully, Kaiba wasn't buying the excuse.

"I'm sorry Nii-sama. But I mean, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't go?"

"The same kind who cancels on something that was planned nearly two weeks prior." Kaiba countered coolly.

"I'm SORRY. I…forgot."

Kaiba narrowed his eyes into a glare and stepped closer to the boy with his arms folded over his chest, forcing him to look up from his small stature.

"Why do I get the feeling you're lying to me, Mokuba Kaiba?" He questioned in an authoritative tone. Mokuba looked off to the side and simply shrugged as his answer, clearly unable to formulate a good comeback. Kaiba sighed, then backed away, but kept his arms crossed. "Fine. I will allow this to slide. For now." he warned. Mokuba grinned at this, obviously not bothered by whatever Kaiba meant by saying "for now". "I guess we'll just do this another time." Kaiba suggested.

"No!" Mokuba asserted quickly. "Ah, I mean…" He cleared his throat, then continued, "I already told Yami where to be and when, and since he doesn't have a phone we can't call him to tell him that we're going to reschedule. SO, you're going to have to go anyway to let him know I can't make it. And while you're at it, you two may as well have some fun without me." Mokuba sent Kaiba a sly look, causing him to frown knowingly.

"Mokuba, for the last time-"

"Oh! Would you look at the time!" Mokuba said suddenly, not even bothering to look at the clock on the wall. He quickly darted across the room and shoved his feet into a pair of shoes at the front door, saying, "I better get going now! I wouldn't want to be late!" He turned to Kaiba with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You should get going soon too, Nii-sama. You wouldn't want to keep Yami waiting! Have fuunn!~"

With that, he left without giving Kaiba the chance to yell or say bye back or anything. Kaiba glared angrily at the door as if to blame it for what had just taken place. With a sigh, Kaiba left as well not long after his brother. He could feel his heart's pounding grow heavier the more he thought about the two of them being together alone. Especially after the revelation he'd come to several days before. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up without the "it" he had discovered existed for Yami started to surface.

It was to no surprise of his when Kaiba saw Yami already waiting at the Domino City Plaza. It was already nearly a half hour after the time they'd all agreed on when Kaiba got there after all. This was partly due to the fact that Kaiba had been dawdling around a bit on his way there; something he never did very often.

Kaiba felt a mid-spring breeze brush by him as he ambled closer to the center of the plaza, whereupon he had no trouble detecting the presence of Yami as his wild hair style stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the average manner of his passersby. When he was about eight feet away, Yami finally noticed him heading his way and smirked impishly, evidently about to say some kind of smart-ass remark.

"As punctual as ever I see." the teen stated sarcastically after waiting for Kaiba to get closer, wanting to insure that his comment was heard.

"Hn." Kaiba said, having nothing better to say in regards to his tardiness.

"Where's Mokuba?" Yami questioned, realizing that the raven-haired boy was nowhere to be seen at the moment.

It was at this time that Kaiba took the liberty of explaining the sorry excuse that Mokuba had used earlier that morning before booking it out the door.

"Ah, I see…" Yami noted with a look of both confusion and amusement. He seemed to lightly chuckle to himself, which made Kaiba have to look away and frown harder to keep from doing the same, then looked back up, continuing with, "Well I suppose we'll just have to make do without him."

Kaiba sighed internally, wondering just how exactly he was to get out of this predicament. He wasn't sure he would be able to make it through the day without doing something he regretted, especially if Yami was going to keep smiling handsomely like that.

"But before we do anything," Yami began, "You mind if we stop by the library? I have some books I need to return."

Only then did Kaiba notice the few books Yami was currently gripping against his side. He raised an eyebrow, wondering if Yami was the type to read often or not.

"Sorry. I forgot that they were due today and I didn't want to be late getting here." Yami added with a sheepish smile gracing his rounded face. "Then again, I honestly probably could have and still have been here before you."

"Oh shut up."

The two said nothing on their way to the library, which Kaiba was thankful for. They merely enjoyed one another's company without the long period of silence seeming awkward, and in about ten minutes they arrived to their destination. The amount of time it took to get to the building seemed rather short to Kaiba though, seeing as how they walked the entire way. Being driven would've caused too much attention since the only vehicles that he owned were very expensive looking ones. Kaiba silently rolled his eyes. Sometimes being rich was really inconvenient. Sometimes. Maybe one day he'd invest in a much less luxurious-looking car.

Once inside the establishment, Yami quickly took off on his own to return his few books. Kaiba scanned the large room he stood in carefully, quite pleased with the wide array of books before him and the peaceful mood that encompassed the area. He breathed in and out deeply, then went up one of the staircases on either side of the room, deciding that he wouldn't mind taking a look at what kind of books lay in wait there. When he got to the top, he wandered along the perfectly lined up bookcases, inspecting each slowly. He veered off to the left down the first row he saw that didn't have anyone in it.

Quickly scanning the shelves, Kaiba grabbed the first book that stood out and flipped through it a bit after removing his sunglasses, deciding to take a quick look at it. The Tower of London was its title. It must have been written a while ago too, Kaiba deducted, due to the way it was worded.

"Boo!"

Kaiba was ripped from his passive reading when a sudden exclamation was driven into his ear, causing him to blink and immediately turn his attention to the source of the disturbance. A grinning Yami was what he found, who was clearly satisfied with the reaction he got out of Kaiba.

"What are you reading?" Yami asked after a few moments, taking a peek at the page Kaiba had been on. Noticing how close they were, Kaiba found it nearly impossible to formulate any kind of answer since the only words he could think of were "personal space" at that moment in time. So instead, he just shut the book closed, placed it back in its place and stepped a good few inches away from the teen.

"Are you ready to go?" Kaiba forced the words out after overcoming his previous incapability to speak.

"Almost. I was actually looking for another book." Yami answered, glancing around the bookcase. Kaiba watched as he ran his finger from left to right, then up a bit. "It should be around here somewhere…" he trailed off when he couldn't make his arm go any higher up. For a while, he just stood there with his right arm frozen in place above his spikey head.

Quickly realizing what the problem was, Kaiba patronized, "What's the matter? Too short to reach?", finding the idea comical since he never had the issue. Yami quickly whipped his head around at Kaiba, flashing him a glare. The teen removed his gaze from the brunette and looked around a little as he lowered his hand from the spot it had been stationary in. He hopped over to the book shelf next to the one that contained the book he desired to get a hold of and grabbed a short metal stool from the ground, placing it where he had been standing. Stepping briefly onto the stool, he grabbed a thick, black book and quickly sprang back down.

"No." was Yami's delayed retort once he had the book in his hands. Kaiba rolled his eyes, then glanced down at the book, reading Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead on the cover written in golden letters.

"What do you need that for? School?" Kaiba asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

"No." Yami repeated. "I just happen to find these sorts of things interesting."

"What 'sorts of things'? Things about dead people?"

"…Put bluntly, yes. I suppose you could say that. I like to learn things about the past. More precisely, about the ancient past." Kaiba raised his brow. Yami sure was a weirdo, that was for sure.

"I don't see why, but whatever. I for one have no interest in such things. I'm only interested in the future." Kaiba voiced, perching his sunglasses back onto the bridge of his nose.

"Well, the past is sort of like a gateway to the future if you think about it. I guarantee you'll find something that happened in the past that is bound to happen again. Mankind is predictable once you know how they acted in the past. It's important to learn about it." Yami explained as they made their way back down the staircase.

"I don't really think going through the trouble of learning what has already happened is going to change much of anything. Mankind is predictable, but also avaricious and corrupt, and tenacious in terms of that fact."

Yami shrugged.

"I suppose so. I don't know; my opinion is probably a bit biased since my father, mother, and my grandfather are all archeologists. I pretty much grew up being spoon fed history."

"Hn."

Kaiba was quite satisfied that he'd been able to learn something about the boy so easily, and was soon craving more. Regardless of this he remained silent, deciding that he'd asked enough questions.

The two left the library, Yami with his book and Kaiba with his newfound information. They wandered around a bit through the city, passing a few stores along the way.

"So where to now?" Yami asked with a smile, causing "it" to begin seeping into Kaiba again. The brunette didn't say anything and stared straight ahead, refusing to look back at Yami. There was a long pause as Yami waited patiently for an answer, but when he didn't get one, he took the liberty of suggesting somewhere. "How about…the museum?" He could see the teen shake his head from his peripheral. "No wait…he said he doesn't like learning about the past…" he said very quietly, probably to himself. Kaiba was a bit surprised that he'd taken that fact into consideration and felt a light fluttering in his stomach. "I know." Yami stopped walking and looked straight at Kaiba, causing him to be forced to do the same. "Why don't we go to Kaibaland? There are still a lot of rides I haven't been on, believe it or not."

Kaiba half lidded his eyes, though he was aware that Yami couldn't see him do it through the sunglasses he was wearing.

"Why would I want to go there, of all people?" he asked.

"Well, I mean, who better an escort there than one of the people who designed the place? Besides, you can consider it like an evaluation of the park to see if everything is like it's supposed to be." Yami suggested.

…

"You just want to get in for free again don't you?" Kaiba inquired, crossing his arms over his chest with an eyebrow raised in suspicion. Yami didn't bother hiding his laughter, which indicated that Kaiba's guess had been spot on. He sighed. "I don't think it would be a very good idea to go there. I'm one-hundred percent sure I would be recognized there. Do you know how much of a headache it would be to deal with so many children at once?"

Yami tapped his index finger against his chin as he thought about Kaiba's statement. A wide smirk rapidly formed on his face.

"Then I guess we'll just have to find you a better disguise." he proposed. Kaiba frowned heavier, not particularly liking where this was going. Nonetheless, he allowed Yami to lead him down the street in the opposite direction that they had been headed and into a large clothing store.

Oh my, what's Yami up to?

Whatever it is, I want in on it!

Please review and thanks for reading!