(A Warning and a Meeting)
Seto was working at his computer when there was a timid knock on the door to his den. He looked over to the door to see Mokuba poking his head in. It was almost cute, and Seto smiled. "What is it?" he asked.
"Well," Mokuba started softly.
"Speak up," Seto commanded gently. "You shouldn't be nervous when you're asking for something." Mokuba stepped a little further into the office, standing straight.
"I was wondering if Yuugi could come over and play games with me," Mokuba said, and his voice was louder but his face betrayed him; he looked like he was facing a firing squad. Seto fought the urge to make a face; Mokuba was never nervous around him. Still, he had wanted to talk to Yuugi, and letting him come over would be the easiest way… He looked at Mokuba again; the boy's eyes were simply begging him to say yes, and Seto couldn't resist him.
"Fine." He turned back to his computer, and was surprised when the smaller form ran to him, wrapping his arm's around Seto's neck and kissing his cheek. Seto stiffened; his brother was so affectionate over something so trivial…
"Thanks, Seto," Mokuba said.
"Aren't you a little old for that?" Seto asked, not wanting Mokuba to linger so close; it was unnerving. "It's not like I gave you permission to do something life-defining. It's just a friend."
"Someone needs to hug you," Mokuba said, his tone firm, as he stepped away from his brother. "Otherwise you really would become the ice-cold asshole people think you are."
"Language," Seto said sternly, and Mokuba flushed.
"Sorry. Anyway, thanks." Mokuba ran out of the room. Once the door was closed Seto leaned back tiredly into his chair. How could such minimal interaction take so much out of him? Still, at least Mokuba had taken the initiative: not only did that make Seto proud, but it made his task of cornering Yuugi that much easier.
Seto found himself checking on Yuugi and Mokuba every half hour on the dot: every time he looked, they were sitting on the living room floor, exchanging meaningless banter and playing some loud video game. He was actually surprised; a part of him had expected to find them doing something… well, something more illicit. He checked his watch: it was 12:30. He cleared his throat and both boys looked at him in surprise; they must not have noticed he had been standing there.
"Hi!" Yuugi said brightly, waving slightly. He didn't look the least bit nervous or guilty, whereas Mokuba flashed his brother a weak smile, looking like he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Seto had to restrain the urge to smile. He didn't realize that his brother was so edgy about him knowing he had a relationship with Yuugi.
"Hello," he said coolly. "It's about lunchtime, if you two are hungry." At the mention of food Mokuba visibly brightened, his smile strengthening. Seto added, "I can get you something from the kitchen, if you like."
Mokuba nodded. "Thanks big brother!"
Seto cringed slightly at the innocent yet extremely blunt reminder that he was Mokuba's big brother. "What do you want?"
Mokuba bit his lower lip as he thought. "Maybe a sandwich or something. I don't care; go ahead and just pick something out, I trust your taste." Seto bit the inside of his cheek. Brother, trust… He wasn't used to feeling guilty about anything he did: the fact that he felt guilt irritated him beyond reason. It was his fault that he felt guilt, though; he had no right to be irritated.
"Okay. Yuugi, would you like to join me? I could show you around the house a little on the way to the kitchen." Mokuba's eyes widened slightly at Seto's offer, and even more when Yuugi amiably said, "Sure." Seto turned away from them, but in the corner of his eye caught Yuugi kiss Mokuba's cheek, saying something in a voice that Seto couldn't hear. He started to walk away and could hear Yuugi behind him.
"That was just an excuse to get me alone, wasn't it?" Yuugi asked once they were a good distance from the living room.
"Aren't you astute," Seto retorted stiffly. He had figured he was a better liar than that. Then again, if he counted the number of times he had come up short against Yuugi… He growled deep in his throat; he was not in a very good mood, and he had a feeling that the upcoming conversation wasn't going to help much. They continued walking in silence, Seto waiting to calm down a little before he spoke. His voice was slow and deliberate as he said, "I know."
"Know what?" Seto didn't know if Yuugi was playing innocent or trying to gauge exactly how much Seto knew; either way, the words added to Seto's irritation.
"About you and Mokuba," Seto snapped. He turned the corner into the kitchen. Yuugi followed, jumping up onto the counter, leaning forward onto his palms and kicking his legs slightly. Seto wanted to comment about how he didn't look much older than Mokuba when he did that, but instead he opened the refrigerator, searching the contents thoroughly.
Yuugi asked, "Is that all you have to say?"
"No," Seto said shortly. "I'm biding my time before I say anything too rash."
"Okay."
Seto tried to decide what to give Mokuba to eat, ignoring Yuugi. There were several sandwiches wrapped in plastic wrap in the door of the refrigerator; Seto didn't know what was in them, but they would do; Mokuba wasn't a very picky eater. He looked over his shoulder at Yuugi and held up a one of the tightly wrapped sandwiches. "Want one?"
"Sure." Despite all his resolve to be civilized, Seto tossed one to him somewhat violently. Yuugi lost his balance as he caught it and slipped off the counter. He managed to land without any major damage, but Seto did hear one of his knees hit the ground with a painful thud. "Sorry," he said, feeling slightly childish, but his tone didn't portray his remorse.
"Don't worry about it," Yuugi said, but his tone a little less good-natured. "I take that as you're upset with me?"
Seto got a bottle of water from the fridge and held it out to Yuugi; when he had planned out the conversation in his head, he hadn't intended on throwing lunch-food at him. Yuugi accepted the bottle and Seto got another one for Mokuba. Sandwich and water in hand, Seto looked down at Yuugi. Yuugi looked up at him, the usual friendly look on his face replaced with one of utmost seriousness as they stared each other down. "Mokuba's older now; he can make his own decisions… and his own mistakes." Yuugi frowned at Seto's last words, but Seto continued without letting him speak. "But if you should hurt my younger brother in any way, I can assure you that there will be hell to pay. Do you understand me?"
Seto had hoped that Yuugi would show some sign of fear at his words, but instead the spiky-haired teen stared at him with determination. "I have no intention of hurting Mokuba."
"Good." Seto turned on his heel and left, and he heard Yuugi's footfall on the floor behind him. The easiest part was done; it was no great task to threaten Yuugi… after all, he had done it several times before. The harder part would be talking to Mokuba. Well, might as well do it while he was on roll.
"Should I keep that little exchange a secret from Mokuba?" Yuugi asked. They were nearing the living room.
"Don't bother." Seto entered the living room, and found Mokuba sitting on the floor, looking concerned as he and Yuugi entered the room. Seto went over to him and kneeled down onto the ground, handing over the water and sandwich.
"Thanks," Mokuba said, taking the food happily. Seto continued to stare at Mokuba. "What is it?"
"I know that you're… with Yuugi," Seto said, masking his distaste for the sake of his younger brother. He saw Mokuba's smile melt away and his eyes widen. The younger boy opened his mouth to speak, but Seto quickly to a finger to his lips, silencing him. "That's fine. You're old enough. Just be careful with yourself." With that, Seto stood and briskly left the living room. Sure, it hadn't been what he wanted to say, but at least it was done.
--
Seto sat on the park bench, staring out at nothing as he mulled over the events of the day. He had left the house after telling Mokuba it was okay for him to be with Yuugi. He was sure he had handled that whole situation horribly; he didn't come off nearly as intimidating to Yuugi as he had hoped, and he had just left Mokuba before the boy could voice any questions or concerns that Seto knew he would have. He didn't want to have to continue assuring Mokuba that he was okay with it, because he wasn't. It may not have been his style, but this time it was easier to lie once and then avoid talking about it again.
So he had gone somewhere he knew Mokuba wouldn't think to find him: some random city park. It had been filled with children and families earlier, but by sunset it had cleared out, leaving Seto alone with his thoughts. A few hundred feet in front of Seto was a shallow pond: the moon and stars winked back at him from the ripples on the water's surface. He wasn't impressed by the image, idyllic as it was.
He heard footsteps behind him, walking towards where he was sitting; they were slow and light, not at all threatening. Seto didn't turn to see who was walking up behind him; he didn't particularly care. Besides, he had his suspicions, and when the person dropped down next to him on the bench, his suspicions were confirmed.
"Yuugi," he said blandly.
"Not quite." There was a slight difference in voice, a slightly gruffer tone. Seto might not have noticed under any other circumstances, but it seemed to stick out right then. And he remembered something Yuugi had been babbling about once…
Seto rolled his eyes. "Right, I forgot about the spirit Yuugi shares a body with." Seto mumbled something about MPD under his breath. Finally, after a long moment of silence, Seto asked bitterly, "So, is the ancient spirit sleeping with my little brother too?"
Rather than directly answer the question, Yami said, "Yuugi and Mokuba aren't sleeping together."
"Oh," Seto commented incredulously, "did he send you to speak on his behalf?"
"No," Yami said calmly. "It's just chance that we met here." He twiddled his thumbs, and then shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Seto was attempting to think again, but the constant motion from the slightly taller version of Yuugi beside him was distracting.
"Why are you so fidgety?" Seto finally asked, exasperation evident in his face.
"I'm not accustomed to being… out, if you will, when there's nothing important happening."
"Then why are you here at all?"
"Yuugi told me to get some fresh air, that I was too being too jittery for him to do anything."
Seto crossed his arms over his chest. "So what do they call you if you're not Yuugi?" Idle chitchat was better than having the person beside him acting as though he had ants in his pants.
"Yami."
Seto nodded. "And why would a spirit be jittery?" He spoke as though he didn't believe a word he was saying.
"Yuugi was on the phone with Mokuba."
Seto's mouth almost fell open. "On the phone? Didn't they just spend all day together?" Amazing…
Yami shrugged. "They like each other's company." Yami shifted in his seat again.
Seto chose to ignore that statement. "What about Yuugi being on the phone makes you so uncomfortable?"
"Because it feels like eavesdropping; I can't leave, and Yuugi isn't the greatest as both blocking me and doing something, so I end up listening to more than half of their conversations…"
"What sort of things do they say?"
Yami stared at Seto. "You're uncomfortable with their relationship."
"Of course I am; what brother wouldn't be?"
"Is it because Yuugi's a male? Or is it just because Mokuba spends more time away from home?"
Seto sat up straight, caught off-guard by how well Yami seemed to have pegged it. "I could give a damn less if Yuugi was an extraterrestrial transvestite, as long as he doesn't hurt Mokuba."
"So it's the latter." Yami gazed out onto the pond. He added softly, "It was bound to happen someday."
"I don't need your condolences; I'm perfectly aware of that," Seto snapped. There was silence before Yami stood.
"I'm sorry to have bothered you." He started walking away when Seto realized something; he knew it was a stupid, but he had to ask…
"If you're here, is Yuugi still on the phone with Mokuba?"
Yami looked at Seto as though that was the dumbest question he had ever heard. "One body can't be in two places at once." He turned and walked away, and Seto was left to his thoughts once more.
- author thoughts -
...I have no thoughts here; when I orinally planned the story, it was a one-shot that combined these first 3 parts into one. However, we can see that's didn't happen. ^^