Disclaimer: I still don't own Yuugiou, y'know! :P

Rating: R. Violence. Language. Sexexexexex.

Summary: It always got like that, didn't it? Not being able to sleep without reliving what he did to you.. Mai hated it, and it was happening again. But, this time, she can't seem to wake up from the nightmares.

Author's Notes: Err.. Okay.. today's note.. um... I'm mean to Mai? Ah well, I luhv her anyway! :D kthxbye!

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Mai waited quietly for Seto to come back. She just sat there, staring at the door, and hoping he wuldn't be too angry upon returning. That was a false hope, though, and she knew it. Seto would either beat her, or completely ignore her.. But Mai was ready for that.

Ten minutes went by; then thirty; and then an hour. By now Mai was laying down again, staring up at the ceiling. It was getting cold, and Mai was about to get up to redress, when she heard the office door across the hallway slam. Clenching her eyes shut, Mai pulled the blankets up to her chin and continued to wait.

Seto's voice carried in from the doorway; it was strangely quiet, "I hope she dies, I really do." Mai could hear the sound of her husband shutting the bedroom door, and did not bother with replying.

"She's useless, and she was a complete mistake, anyway."

Still, Mai did not say a thing.

"Just a useless mistake," the bed shifted slightly under a new weight, before evening out as Seto moved closer - Mai could feel him breathing against the side of her neck, and she shivered. "Tell me again why you won't let me get rid of her," it wasn't a question, or an order; Seto didn't seem to even want Mai to answer, and she wasn't really going to, anyway.

"What took you so long? You weren't even in her room for more than five minutes.." asked Mai; half-opening her eyes. She felt Seto shrug, and shivered when he pulled the blanket down until it started at her waist, instead. There was a moment's silence - in which Seto started to rub one of his hands along Mai's abdomen lazily - before he responded:

"I had to go find something."

Mai bit her lip when Seto's hand trailed higher, fingers brushing along the undersides of her breasts, and supressed a bit of a shudder. Her voice coming out somewhat shakily, ".. find what?"

"Oh," and she could practically feel his smirk, "you'll find out sooner or later."

".. right. And, until then..?"

Seto sat up slightly - still rubbing his hand against Mai's abdomen - and rested most of his weight on his elbow; now that he was in Mai's line of vision, she was proved right about him having been smirking. He tilted his head to the side slightly - eyes looking somewhat cloudy. Seto lowered his voice to a near-growl, "What do you think?"

".. thought so."

He frowned, narrowing his eyes to the point of practically glaring at Mai, yet seemed to shrug off whatever had bothered him about what she said. Getting up and moving a bit, Seto straddled Mai with his thighs, and leaned over to bring his face close to hers - holding his weight up on his elbows. He grinned down at Mai, who just stared back up at him with a blank expression. Seto began to frown again, and leaned down more-- nose pressing against Mai's, and his voice coming out in a growl again, "What the hell is your problem tonight, Mai? First you stop me because the brat was awake - not like it even mattered, in the first place - and now you're just.. not fucking saying anything..."

Closing her eyes again, Mai whispered her reply, "First off.. it does matter that Rayne was awake. It was you yelling that woke her up in the first place.."

"No, it wasn't. She never sleeps, Mai. I swear to God that stupid kid never fucking

sleeps.."

"She does, too."

"Right.. whatever. Anyway. That doesn't explain your behavior right now."

She sighed, "Look.. I'm just not in the mood, okay? Not right now, at least. I just want to go to sleep.."

Seto raised an eyebrow, and smirked a bit. He held back a laugh, and shook his head slightly, "You of all people not in the mood? That's a laugh.."

"Ha ha; funny," Mai pushed on Seto's shoulders slightly, ".. get off."

"That's the point," he smirked.

Sighing again, Mai gave up on trying to push Seto away, and just shook her head; opening her eyes again and not saying anything else.

Smirk fading, Seto's frown returned, "You honestly don't want to fuck right now.."

"Bingo."

Seto narrowed his eyes, "That's a first.. and, besides, I'm not going to accept that at the moment." not giving Mai a chance to say anything to that, he closed what little distance remained and pressed his lips against his wife's; kissing her somewhat roughly. He went to deepen the kiss, but faltered slightly when he noticed that Mai wasn't kissing back. Pulling way, he just.. blinked. Slightly shocked. It wasn't unusual for Mai to not kiss back when she was angry with him, but Seto had honestly thought she was bluffing this time. ".. you're not lying."

Mai closed her eyes, "No. I'm not."

"I..."

"You what?"

"Goddamnit!"

Before Mai really knew what was happening, Seto had lifted himself off of her, and she was spun around to lay on her front instead. She mumbled something when Seto seated himself again, on her backside. "What the fuck, Seto?" he didn't answer, though, and there was a long silence that Mai was sure stretched on for about an hour, even if was only really a few minutes. The silence was broken by an annoyed snarl from Seto, and Mai felt something push against the small of her exposed back. Something cold, like metal. It took her mind a moment or two to process what, exactly, this might have been, and when it did she craned her neck around so quickly that she pulled a muscle, "Seto! No!"

"No to what?"

"That! Just don't do that!!" she pleaded. It wasn't any use, though, and Mai bit her lip and shoved her face into a pillow when she felt the cold steel begin to push into the flesh of her back.

---

"No," mumbled Mai, burying her face against her pillow and groaning painfully, "don't, Seto.. that hurts.."

Rayne watched her mother quietly, but she didn't bother to wake her up; knowing that, if she did, it would only make it worse. Nothing in their family ever made sense.. Somehow, waking Mai from the nightmare that Rayne knew was reliving what Seto had done always depressed her even more. Rayne thought it was Mai's own way of self-punishment. For what, though, she could only guess: maybe for letting herself fall into a life such as this, or for believing that she could change somebody who obviously couldn't be helped.

"What're you wr--- no! no, Seto.. stop.."

It would be a lot better if mama didn't talk in her sleep.. thought Rayne, sighing. She was on the verge of waking Mai up anyway, even if it was a guarantee that she'd start crying. Rayne hated it when her mother cried, because she didn't like having to take up the job of being the stronger one. Mama's supposed to be strong for me, not the other way around...

Mai winced, almost violently, and started to shake, "stop.."

"Mama," Rayne put a hand on mai's shoulder, shaking her a bit, "mama, wake up; you're having another nightmare." she shook her again, and when Mai didn't respond, she frowned. "Mama! Wake up, already... please?" Rayne moved her hand down, and gave her mother a sharp poke to the cut in her back.

"I-- ow!" jerking away from her daughter, Mai rolled to the side slightly, and right off of the bed. Luckily landing on her side. Opening her eyes, she just lay where she was, and didn't say anything when she saw Rayne peer off of the side of the bed, looking surprised.

"Sorry, mama! I didn't think it would hurt that much.. and I had to wake you up-- you were having a nightmare.." she sounded sincere in her apology, and looked like she honestly didn't know that it would've hurt.

Mai opened her mouth to tell Rayne that it was okay, but her expression flickered from slight-happiness, to anger, and then back again before just settling on a very nuetral, yet somewhat sad looking one. Waking as painfully as she did had been a very nice distraction from what she had been dreaming about in the first place. Biting her lip, Mai could feel the tears welling up already.

Shaking her head somewhat violently, Mai clenched her eyes shut; shuddering when the only thing she could find behind them were the piercing blue of her husband's eyes as he whispered about how what had been done was what she had deserved.

---

"A-are you.. d-done now.. Seto..? Please t-tell me that you're done.."

There was a moment's silence, and then Seto's voice-- sounding so distant, even though he had his mouth right next to Mai's ear: "I'm done."

"I-- g-good.. C-can.. we.. I.. what.. no.." she was shocked. So shocked, infact, that it was impossible to put words together; hell, she could barely even form a coherent thought at this point. Seto had done it. It had been the first time ever, in all of the years of torture, and it had been the first time Seto had cut her. She didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to think. She just didn't know, at all, what to do.

"Hm.." hummed Seto, while sucking slowly on the sensitive skin behind Mai's ear, ".. hm.."

"I-- wha..?"

"You're not perfect any more.."

".. wha..?" repeated Mai. For now, that seemed to be the only thing in her vocabulary that made sense.

"It's why I never, ever did this before, Mai.. I thought you knew that?"

".. wha?"

"You're perfect.. never wanted to ruin that.. but now.. Hm.. cut too deep.. it'll scar.."

Mai remained silent this time, shivering as Seto began to trail kisses down the side of her neck, before resting his chin on her shoulder.

"You're not perfect any mo--"

"Never.. was.." Mai managed to gasp out. Glad that her brain had begun to work again.

".. always were. Not any more, though.."

She gaped for a moment, before pushing her face against the pillow, and just mumbling into it, "Nobody's.. perfect.."

"Yes.. that's true. But only because you are not perfect any more.."

Mai groaned quietly, and just shook her head, turning away from Seto now that she was free to move as she wished. Wincing from the sharp pains in her back. Clenching her eyes shut, Mai tried to make herself go to sleep and ignore the rambling man behind her. He was going on.. and on.. and he wouldn't stop. Mai had a feeling that it was going to be that way for at least a few hours, and he probably wouldn't notice if she went to sleep..

---

"Mama?"

Nothing.

"Mama..?"

Again, nothing.

".. Mama.."

"Why won't you wake up..?"