New chapter! Thanks for all the reviews, guys! I love you all:hugs:

Warning: This chapter has some lemon, a.k.a. sexual content. It's just a little lemon, though, so I think you kiddies should be okay... Anyway, consider yourself warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

Chapter 4

Kaiba's office doors creaked slightly as I pushed them open and hesitantly stepped inside. The CEO sat at an enormous mahogany desk, staring pensively at a computer screen, and the monitor's blue glow lit up his pale features and made his cerulean eyes stand out even more brightly. He didn't look up when I came in.

I stood just inside the doors for a long moment, feeling more and more awkward with each passing second as Kaiba continued to watch his computer screen and ignore me. Eventually I shifted and coughed slightly, just to make sure that he knew I was there. Kaiba glanced up. "Well, what do you want, Yugi?" he drawled neutrally.

Slightly thrown off by his lack of reaction, I stood there a moment longer, just staring into his overly-bright blue eyes, before I finally replied. "I wanted to know why you saved me," I answered honestly.

Kaiba sighed and looked away, thoughtfully running his fingers through his thick brown hair. "Why? Not how?" he eventually asked, so low I could barely make out the words. He gave me a sidelong glance and I nodded silently, but Kaiba didn't answer right away. Instead, he rose from his seat, continuing to run his hands distractedly through his hair, and approached the thick plate-glass windows lining one wall of his office from floor to ceiling. He stared out over the city for what seemed like ages, still not speaking.

I frowned in confusion as I watched him. Kaiba seemed nervous - unlike I'd ever seen him act before. Could I have been right? Maybe… possibly… could he feel something for me? Or was it merely wishful thinking? But then, there had been that strange look in his eyes when he told me to stay inside…

Well, there was only one way to find out.

I sidled up to Kaiba as he stood there observing the city. Pretending to gaze out the windows as well, I watched him from the corner of my eye. He had finally stopped raking his hands through his hair, but the grooves from his fingers still lingered in the thick brown locks. He had his face slightly turned from me, so I couldn't see the expression in his eyes, but I could tell from the way his arms were tightly crossed across his chest, fingers buried in the folds of his white trench coat, that he was still uneasy. I took a deep breath and scooted slightly closer.

"Kaiba?"

"Hn," he grunted.

"Why did you save me?" I asked again.

"I couldn't just let you die," he answered stiffly.

"Why not?" I pressed hopefully. In my eagerness I stepped even closer to the slim brunet, carefully scanning his studiously neutral face - though he kept his eyes turned away.

"I'm not that heartless," he snapped. "Why do you even care about why I did it? I expected you to ask…"

Kaiba broke off suddenly, his neutral expression flickering into something else- though it was too quick for me to determine exactly what. He glanced sideways at me for a millisecond before staring straight ahead once more. I smiled. "How you knew?" I asked quietly.

His eyes flicked back to me for a quick second and he tightened the arms drawn across his chest.

"Kaiba." I moved even closer, to the point of invading his personal space, and touched his arm gently. "Kaiba, look at me."

I wouldn't even ask how he knew I was at that street corner, or that I was in danger. Frankly, I'd decided that I didn't really care. As my former priest, Seto had had visions, so maybe Kaiba could, too - but it didn't matter to me whether Kaiba had seen my gory, violent death in a dream, if he had security cameras installed all over the city, or if he merely had contacts who informed him of the shootout before it happened. I was more concerned with the fact that he cared enough to try to protect me.

Kaiba slowly lowered his arms and half-turned toward me, meeting my eyes with the same cautiously neutral expression he'd worn since I arrived. "Kaiba, I don't care how… I just wanted to know… to know…"

I lost whatever I'd been trying to say as I stood there, still gripping his arm, and stared into his cool blue eyes. He was so close… Suddenly I felt hot all over and the hand touching Kaiba's arm burned fiercely, but I couldn't let go. Instead, I inched even closer, tilting my chin up - as Kaiba's face somehow, miraculously, tilted down toward mine. Our lips met in a soft, slow union; a mere gentle pressure, but my skin burned even hotter with the added contact. A wave of dizziness swept through my limbs.

My legs wobbled and I clutched at Kaiba for support, wrapping both arms around his neck and melding my body to his chest. His tongue flicked at my teeth and I opened my mouth readily, sucking lightly on his tongue as soon as it slipped through my lips. Kaiba moaned and slid his hands to my face, lightly gripping my cheeks as the kiss grew more urgent - but then, while our tongues slid wildly past each other, his hands slipped lower and lower along my sides until they tugged frantically at my belt.

I gasped and broke the kiss, taking a step back. "Kaiba…" I began, eyeing his flushed face and mussed brown hair. His coat had somehow disappeared, and he stared at me, his eyes glazed over in a way that made my heart clench and heat pool in the pit of my stomach. Then suddenly he attacked me, catching my lips in another heated kiss, and any further thoughts of protest were swept from my mind. A strange haze descended over my eyes and I couldn't think – I could barely even breathe – and all I knew was Kaiba; his hands, that silky hair, those lust-clouded blue eyes, and his soft lips, kissing and caressing me until my skin burned and I cried out.

Through the haze I saw that I now lay on my back on a suede couch, somewhere in a corner of Kaiba's office. My coat and most of my other garments were strewn haphazardly along the floor, though somehow the red scarf remained inexplicably twined around my neck. And Kaiba was on top of me. He was still fully clothed, except for the white trench coat, though his tight black pants were unfastened; but when I tried to tug them down he leaned over me and just kept kissing and touching, raising goosebumps all over my body with every brush of his slender fingers, until all I could do was moan and shiver under him.

And then he was inside me.

I screamed, but Kaiba caught my lips in a reassuring kiss, muffling the sound, as he moved inside me. It hurt – it hurt so badly – but Kaiba's kiss comforted me, so I wrapped my arms around his neck and tried to respond; until eventually the pain lessened and I forgot it entirely, instead swept away by the waves of heat that grew stronger with every motion, tightening and intensifying every second. I screamed again, though this time from sheer bliss, as Kaiba's gentle hand touched me once more and the heat exploded in a sudden release that made white sparks shoot through my vision.

A few seconds later I felt Kaiba shudder with his own release, and he collapsed on top of me, breathless and shaking. He rested his head on my chest for a moment, closing his eyes, and wrapped his arms around my waist, his fingers kneading the skin of my bare back. I could feel the furious pounding of his heart against my chest and my own heart thumped harder at the sensation. How did Kaiba do this to me? Every touch, even every glimpse of him made me crazy; stirred up the most indescribable emotions, until even I couldn't predict how I would react.

I sighed softly and stroked his hair as he rested quietly against my chest. Closing my own eyes, I relaxed and propped my head on the sofa's armrest, murmuring his name under my breath. "Kaiba… Seto…"

He tensed. Then quickly he let go of me and backed away from the couch, fastening his pants and adjusting his belt, without looking me in the eyes. Kaiba turned and picked up his coat; then, slipping it on over his black clothes, rushed to the door of his office. "You should get dressed. I'll call you a cab," he muttered, and left.

With a sigh I turned over the last of the thick papyrus sheets. Seto hadn't come. I hadn't seen him outside of court for almost two weeks now, and once again I struggled through my scribes' reports without his economic genius to help me, spending long, lonely hours merely trying to understand the situations laid out in the careful hieroglyphs. A glance out the window at the black night told me it was well past midnight, as the moon had passed its peak in the sky and descended toward the eastern horizon. Yet, though my eyes burned with weariness and my limbs felt heavy, my heart twisted fearfully at the thought of sleep.

I would just dream of him again.

So, I decided to go for a walk in my gardens, hoping that the sight of the lush, exotic flowers would at least offer some rest to my anxious mind. I stalked at full speed past the guards (who bowed reverently as I approached), keeping up my frenzied pace until I reached the sanctuary of the gardens and sank drearily onto a stone bench overlooking a patch of lotus blossoms.

I scared him away. That was the only explanation for it; but I just couldn't help myself- I wanted him so badly… For a moment, though, a brief second, I had thought Seto would let me kiss him - would kiss me back. I knew he felt it; felt that tingle in the air whenever we were together that spoke of something stronger under the surface, more than just friendship.

Of course, that was probably why he never came around anymore.

My throat burned painfully and I buried my face in the palms of my hands, my long blonde bangs brushing against the backs of my fingers as I desperately rubbed my eyes to keep the tears away. I had known this would happen. Seto never really showed any interest in me beyond friendship, and I knew that if I ever offered anything more he would run. But I had anyway; keeping everything inside had just been too hard, and I couldn't pretend anymore.

I loved him.

With that thought, the tears flowed freely down my cheeks in spite of my efforts. I loved Seto… He was my best friend, my only friend; the only person proud and brave enough not to feel intimidated by me, since I was the pharaoh. He was brilliant, talented… and absolutely gorgeous. But he didn't want me - not like that.

I quit trying to stop the tears, instead wrapping my arms tightly around myself as wracking sobs shook my whole body and my breath burst in ragged gasps from my throat. Seto didn't want me. He wouldn't talk to me. We weren't even friends anymore. I had barely, barely even gotten to know him, barely gotten a tiny glimpse of life with him by my side before I drove him away…

The tears flowed slower now, my desperate sobs diminishing into intermittent, painful hiccups as I stared unseeingly at the patch of flowers at my feet. "Maybe I could talk to him," I murmured to no one. "Maybe… If I could just talk to him, it wouldn't be as hard."

A dull ache settled somewhere in my chest. But the hiccups stopped. Perhaps I could try being friends with Seto again- if I approached him, he surely wouldn't reject me (I hoped), and I would at least be able to see him, even if he could never love me. It wouldn't be enough - it would never be enough – but at least it would be something.

"Friends," I sighed, wiping the tear tracks from my wet face. "Friends."

A slight sound behind me drew my attention and I turned, still trying to compose myself - and gasped in shock at what I saw.

"Yami, are you alright in there?"

Yugi knocked harder on the bathroom door when I didn't answer, but I just ignored him and sank lower into the tepid water, submerging my head until only the tip of my nose stuck out over the water in the bathtub. I closed my eyes and tried to forget about everything; tried to feel the water against my skin instead of constantly replaying the sensation of soft touches…soft kisses…

The door shook in its hinges as Yugi kept pounding. "Yami, you've been in there over an hour! What are you doing?" Yugi called, ceasing his abuse of the door for a moment to rattle the locked doorknob.

"Taking a bath," I finally replied weakly, deciding that he wouldn't leave me alone until I answered him. I sat up and wrapped my arms around my knees, burying my face in the wet skin as tiny rivulets of water trickled from my damp hair along my back. The warm trails reminded me of warm fingers gently kneading my back…

I let out a choked sob.

"Yami, what's wrong? What happened to you?" Yugi cried in a high-pitched squeak.

"Nothing," I answered. I started to shake, so I plunged back into the lukewarm water to relax my shivering, aching muscles. It still hurt. I could still feel that burning soreness where he had been - the water wouldn't wash it away. Just like it wouldn't wash away his touch. Why could I still feel his hands on me? Why did my lips still tingle from the memory of his mouth?

At least his scent was gone. My skin was raw and red from using nearly an entire bar of soap, but I couldn't smell him on me anymore…

I sat up, feeling faintly sick, and pulled the stopper from the drain. Pulling my knees up to my chest once more, I sat shivering as I watched the murky, cool water sink down the drain until I was left cold and damp in the empty bathtub. Still I continued to sit, staring at the drain. I couldn't bring myself to move enough to reach for a towel. Yugi had resumed rattling the doorknob, and I heard something metal clinking as he shook the lock, but I ignored him, just staring at the drain instead.

And seeing Kaiba.

Why did he leave like that? What did I do? One moment he was holding me and kissing me as if he could never bear to let me go; and the next he was running away without even saying goodbye. I had gone into his office to get some answers, but I had come out with a lot more questions. And a lot more heartache.

I tugged my knees closer to my chest and buried my face in them once more as another muffled sob escaped my lips; but just then the door sprung open. Yugi had finally managed to pry open the lock. I glanced up, teary-eyed, as Yugi leapt into the room wearing a triumphant expression and brandishing a screwdriver; though as soon as he caught sight of me his face fell and his enormous violet eyes shone with concern.

"Yami, what happened?" he asked gently.

I buried my face back in my knees.

A moment later I felt a thick, fluffy towel wrap around me and I looked up once again to see Yugi kneeling beside the bathtub, watching me worriedly. "Yami, please tell me what's wrong. I just want to help," he murmured.

I gripped the corners of the towel, tugging it tightly against me as I looked away, unable to hold his gaze. Maybe it would help to talk to someone - maybe then I would feel something besides Kaiba's hands all over my body, and see something besides his lust-clouded cerulean eyes…

"I… He left," I answered slowly, still not looking at Yugi. "We had just…and I thought…but he just left…" Another sob lodged itself in my throat and tears pricked the backs of my eyes.

Yugi reached out and placed his hand gently over mine as I gripped the towel so tightly my knuckles whitened. "Yami, try to calm down. Who left?" he asked slowly.

"Kaiba," I spat bitterly, and the tears finally spilled from my eyes in hot angry trails. "I went to his office…and we… But afterwards he just ran out! The way he kissed me, though; I thought that maybe…"

Yugi yanked his hand away as suddenly as if I'd slapped him. "What! You and Kaiba?" he gasped, his eyes wide as saucers. "Yami, what…? Why?"

I turned and regarded him coolly, though tears kept sliding down my cheeks. "Because I think I'm in love with him," I answered.