Rebirth
by Ceresi

Rating: R

WARNING: There are spoilers for the HP books in here. I know, it's crazy. Also, slash, and one racy little R scene. ALSO. This is still, for all intents and purposes, a rough draft. I've had it betaed and edited it several times myself, but I'm working on a sequal, and some changes might be necessary.

Want more notes? See Chapter One

***

Mokuba and Daisuke rifled through Mokuba's deck, their desks pressed together. The teacher eyed them, but they'd already turned in their assignment.

Daisuke grabbed Mokuba's elbow. "Naw, a Blue Eyes?"

"Yeah, Seto gave it to me."

Daisuke stared at him. "He gave you a Blue Eyes?" he asked. "Just - just gave it to you."

Mokuba shrugged. "He doesn't duel much anymore," he said. "He wasn't using it."

"Still!"

"It's not that big a deal," Mokuba said defensively. "He's an idiot. I can't stand him."

Daisuke looked startled. "I thought you guys were really close," he said uncertainly. "I mean . . ."

"No." Daisuke was clearly relieved; Mokuba wondered why Seto made him so nervous. "I used to worship him, but he's . . . impossible now."

"Probably arrogant," Daisuke said sympathetically. "All that money."

Mokuba snorted. "You're telling me," he said.

Daisuke shook his head ruefully, staring at the Blue Eyes with awe for a moment longer, before moving on. Mokuba relished the way they agreed with each other, the warmth of Daisuke's hand on Mokuba's arm. He didn't move away for the rest of the class.

~

When Mokuba darted past, Seto was in his study. A moment later, he appeared in the doorway to his bedroom.

"You're late," he said.

"Don't start on me," Mokuba mumbled. He glanced over his shoulder as he flopped stomach first on the bed -- Seto was filling the door, his arms crossed over his chest, eyes frosty chips of blue.

Mokuba peeped out the window and resisted the urge to squirm against his bedspread. Beneath his untucked shirt and halfway un-buttoned jeans, he was painfully aroused. Did Daisuke have to make-out with him for twenty minutes before dropping him off at home? The little demon.

Seto left without saying another word. Mokuba was too distracted to wonder about his easy victory, concentrating instead on when Seto was back in his study. He shut the door as soon it was safe, grabbed some clothes and darted into the bathroom. A shower should help. A cold one.

His spare cell phone (hidden beneath the cabinet) already had a texmessage on it. Mokuba read it and changed his mind -- maybe a warm shower would be better. A nice, long, warm shower . . .

~

"I think I just won."

"I think you did, too."

Tristan and Ryou stared at the computer screen with equal expressions of pure confusion. Mai entered the room, rolled her eyes extravagantly, and went back out.

"I thought you said you reeked at this game!" Tristan finally said.

Ryou scratched his head, pushing his hair from his eyes. "I do reek at this game," he said. "I must've gotten lucky."

Tristan looked dispirited. "I'm just bad at everything."

Ryou patted him on the shoulder, tilting his head so he could peer into Tristan's face. "You're not bad at everything," he reassured. "Perhaps the little aliens are cheating."

Tristan gave him a very sardonic look. Mai picked that moment to re-enter the room and found them about a foot apart from each other, gazing into each other's eyes, with Ryou's hand on Tristan's back. She cleared her throat, and torment might have followed, but her cell phone rang.

Tristan and Ryou eavesdropped blatantly. By the time she hung up, Ryou was restarting the game for another round and Tristan was frowning at her. "Was that Kaiba?"

"Yeah." Mai winced as squeaky alien voices blared from the speakers. Glaring daggers, she scanned the room and asked loudly, "Have either of you seen my blue shirt?"

Tristan shrugged. Ryou asked, "The tiny strappy silk one that I didn't much like?"

"Yes," Mai said suspiciously.

"I haven't seen it," Ryou said composedly. "Are you ready, Tristan?"

Tristan was still frowning at Mai. "What did Kaiba want?"

"To take his stress out on me," Mai said snappishly. "What did you do with my shirt, Ryou?"

"Nothing," he said calmly. "Tristan?"

"Everything's all right, isn't it?" Tristan asked Mai. "There hasn't been another attack?"

Silence filled the room. The squeaky aliens finally stopped singing -- the silence was somehow louder than their voices had been.

"No," Mai said at last. "He didn't mention anything. I'm sure it's all fine . . ."

"There was something on the news earlier," Tristan said uneasily. "About some girl . . . Ami something . . . she was injured in an attempted assassination attempt. They didn't say who the attempt was on. I just thought . . . ." He shrugged. Joey loved Seto -- he supposed he was allowed to worry.

Ryou was watching Tristan with large, almost hopeful eyes. When Tristan looked over at him, he beamed. "Ready?"

"Sure." Tristan rubbed his hands together, pushing his thoughts aside. Kaiba could take care of himself -- they deserved a break after everything they'd been through lately. "I'm totally going to win this time."

Mai rolled her eyes again and tossed a throw pillow at Ryou's head. "What did you do with my shirt, you dolt?"

"I didn't do anything," Ryou said, fighting back a smile.

Tristan waited till Mai left and leaned in towards Ryou. "If she finds out I turned it purple . . ."

"Hush," Ryou ordered, smiling. "I'll protect you. And it's your move."