Disclaimer: I don't own YuGiOh!
Seto Kaiba sat at the desk in his bedroom, staring outside at the pouring rain. His laptop lay forgotten in front of him, as he had been trying to get some work done when his mind began to wander. The events of the past couple of days certainly had taken a toll on his normally brutal work schedule, but it had definitely been worthwhile.
Kaiba had taken some pretty big steps, after all. Picking up that phone and dialing Yugi's number had been one of the hardest things he'd had to do in his young life thus far. Slowly shedding his hard exterior to reveal the sensitive man inside was a painful task, but Kaiba was determined to finish what he had started. And besides, having people his own age to be around was rather nice for a change.
A small knock sounded on his door just before it slowly creaked open. "Big brother?" Mokuba called in meekly as a horrendously loud thunderclap was heard over them. "Are you busy?"
Smiling warmly at his younger brother, his very reason for living, Kaiba opened his arms to him. "I'm never too busy for you, you know that."
Mokuba scrambled into his big brother's lap and was received in a loving hug. This was a side of Kaiba that nobody ever saw, the side that was caring, giving, and considerate.
Mokuba needn't say any words for Kaiba to understand how frightened the young boy was of the storm. Mokuba had often ended up sleeping in his bed during rough weather, Kaiba being the only parent around to protect the child from his fears.
Kaiba picked the small form up and carried him to his bed. Placing Mokuba gently against the pillows and covering him with the blanket, Kaiba sat down next to his brother and stroked his hair soothingly. Thinking once again about how much his life seemed to be improving, he was pleased when he heard Mokuba's light snoring. And Kaiba soon drifted off into sleep himself, unaware or uncaring of the raging storm outside.
* * * * * * * * * *
Back at Yugi's house, however, things were much less serene. Yugi was sitting against his bed, knees hugged into his chest and eyes squeezed firmly shut. His fists were balled up so tightly that his small knuckles were a deathly shade of white and a small whimpering could be heard escaping from his throat.
Joey sat across from him, holding the flashlight they'd dug out when the power failed, a devious grin spread widely across his eerily illuminated features as he spoke in a low, devilish voice.
"No, Joey, stop, that's enough! I don't want to hear any more!" Yugi shouted, springing onto his bed and pulling the covers up to his chin.
Joey laughed at how much his small friend looked like a child all tucked in and eyes wide with fright. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. Well, so much for the ghost stories, huh?"
Yugi nodded solemnly, looking around his bedroom for anything out of the ordinary. Lightning flashed, lighting up the shadows momentarily and revealing things that weren't really there. "I wish we could turn the radio on or something. This storm is starting to creep me out."
"I'm just glad it didn't hit while we were swimming! That would have been terrible." Joey looked at the window, wanting to see how bad the storm had gotten, but Yugi had pulled the shades down, blocking his view. "You know, I'm beginning to wonder if it will ever stop raining. It's really bringing me down, man."
"Mm hmm," Yugi murmured under the blankets. Joey could tell he was drifting off to sleep already.
Climbing into his sleeping bag on the floor, Joey pondered the day's events. He couldn't believe how much he actually enjoyed Kaiba's company. Although he would never admit it to anyone, he always felt a connection with the other boy. After all, they say there's a thin line between love and hate. Not that he loved Kaiba; he just didn't hate him, either.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Once again on the other side of town, Kaiba was tossing restlessly in his sleep. In his dream, he was being touched tenderly in a way he had never experienced in waking life.
"Seto," a voice quietly escaped from supple pink lips as a gentle hand brushed softly against his cheek. Closing his eyes, he relished the feeling of smooth skin against his own. When his lids rose back up, he was staring directly into honey brown eyes that were flashing with emotion. Reaching his own hand up to run it through silky golden hair, he leaned in closer to the delectable looking lips that were still whispering his name so beautifully.
Sitting up abruptly, Kaiba instinctively reached up to feel his own lips. Unable to shake the vision that still hung in his mind, he flopped carefully back against his pillows, turning his head to look at his still sleeping brother. Rolling his gaze over to the window, he knew that the thoughts he was having about a certain blond puppy dog were wrong, but somehow they just felt so right. But he wasn't about to jeopardize his new friendships over some silly emotions, so he decided to ignore his feelings. At least for the time being.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The sound of metal slamming surrounded Kaiba as he strolled down the hall toward his locker. He was in a very annoyed mood this morning, for once agreeing that Mondays were detestable. Normally Mondays were just another day, but this Monday signaled the end of the first weekend Kaiba could remember actually enjoying. As he approached he could see a shocking head of multi-colored hair, which could belong only to one boy, standing in front of it.
"Hi, Kaiba. Have you seen Joey this morning?" Yugi asked, stepping aside so the taller boy could work the combination lock.
"Puppy slipped his leash?" Kaiba asked, flinching at the accidental slip of an insult.
"At least the dogcatchers didn't find me," Joey said as he sauntered up, hearing Kaiba's last remark. "Sorry I didn't meet you this morning, Yugi, Janie called and offered me a ride to school." Joey winked at the other two boys.
"Who's Janie?" Yugi asked.
"She's the cute brunette in our first hour." Joey turned toward his locker just as Kaiba turned away and walked briskly down the hall.
"Hey, Kaiba, where you going?" Yugi called to him.
"I have some work to do. I'll see you guys later," Kaiba responded without turning around.
"That was weird," Yugi said, looking back at Joey.
Joey patted Yugi on the shoulder as they headed for class. "Yeah, well, Kaiba's weird. I mean, he does hang out with you now, right? It's like a requirement to have a screw loose to be friends with Yugi Mutou." Joey playfully dodged a small fist as he jogged ahead to class, completely unaware as piercing blue eyes followed his movements from down the hall.