A/N: Blah I don't feel like writing one. You guys never read these things anyway.

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

Chapter 6

"Do you think he really has it, Seto?" Yami questioned breathlessly as they climbed the slightly chipped stone steps that led to Otogi's door. "I don't understand why he wouldn't be on the camping trip with Yugi and the others, unless he had business with his dice game of course…"

"Which he probably did," Seto put in sourly. He was still in a less than charitable mood after having his fun cut short – twice – that morning.

Yami sighed, rolling his eyes at the brunet, and knocked firmly on the door, his anxious demeanor slipping away to be replaced by a determined stance as the door creaked open. The crimson-eyed teen took a deep breath, ready to face off against the raven-haired dice master and demand he reveal the whereabouts of the stolen card – only for his jaw to close again with a snap.

It wasn't Otogi at the door. Definitely not Otogi. Instead, a lusty blonde stood before them, clad only in a male's button-up shirt that hung to the juncture of her thigh and hipbone and revealed most of her cleavage. "Yeah? What do you want?" she muttered sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Mai?" Yami gasped, and Seto let out an amused-sounding grunt.

"Looks like the dice-loser actually got some action."

"Seto!"

"Yami? What are you doing here? And Kaiba, too. You know, Yami and I were just talking about you the other day," the blonde mumbled, still sounding half-asleep. She rubbed her eyes once more and blinked at them blearily.

"You were, were you?" Seto drawled, glancing devilishly at Yami and scooting closer to the spiky-haired teen.

"Now is not the time, Kaiba," he muttered. "Mai, is Otogi here? I need to speak with him."

"Sure, why? Is something wrong?" she asked curiously.

"I'd rather speak with him alone. It's private," he answered testily.

Mai blinked in surprise at his tone and crossed her arms across her chest, eyeing him suspiciously. "Oh really? Then why is Kaiba here?"

Seto mimicked the gesture, arms crossed across his chest in his typical proud fashion as he glared back at her. "That's none of your business. Why don't you just go find your little boyfriend and put some clothes on?" he snapped.

The blonde recoiled, visibly affronted, her violet eyes snapping furiously at Seto. "Now listen here, Kaiba," she snarled, "Where do you get off insulting—"

"What's going on out here?" A new voice cut into Mai's vicious tirade and Otogi stepped into view, wrapping an arm around the blonde's shoulders. He was shirtless, clad only in a pair of fire-engine red boxer shorts, and his thick dark hair hung in curly wisps around his face where it had fallen loose from its typical ponytail. "Yami? Kaiba? What did you say to my girlfriend?" he asked in confusion, observing the furious scowl on her face.

"I'm sorry, Otogi, Kaiba just—"

"GIRLFRIEND?" A shocked cry came from the bottom of the stairs, and the four of them whirled in surprise. Malik and Bakura stood at the foot of the stairs, the platinum-haired Egyptian wide-eyed and frozen in shock while Bakura, cursing, tried to tug him away.

"Shut up Malik!" he hissed, but when he realized the attention of the group was focused on him he gave up, standing up straight and scowling imperiously.

Malik, meanwhile, had gone teary-eyed, and he pointed a shaky finger at Otogi, who still stood with an arm draped around Mai. "You… you like girls?" he asked incredulously. "GIRLS?"

The raven-haired teen raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, why shouldn't I?"

"And why exactly do you care?" Bakura added, narrowing his eyes menacingly.

"Aren't you with Bakura?" Yami questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Bakura and Malik are together? Wait, why did he think I was gay?" Otogi asked, seeming to grow more and more confused by the second. "Did you all think I was gay?"

"I kinda did, at first," Mai admitted, grinning.

"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?" Yami instinctively scooted closer to Seto, making the two at the door blink in surprise and a triumphant grin to spread over Mai's face.

"I knew there was something going on with you two!" she crowed.

Otogi just gaped. "Wait, you two are gay too? And Mai, you thought I was gay? Why does everyone think I'm gay?"

"Would you stop saying the word 'gay'? It's getting annoying," Seto snapped. "Though it's obvious you don't have much of a vocabulary any—"

Yami elbowed him in the ribs. "Well, I wouldn't call it 'gay,' precisely," he said, shooting Seto a warning glance. "I only like Seto. We're not like those two…" He turned, glancing toward the two psychopaths, only to find them making out passionately at the foot of the stairs.

Yami blinked. Seto snorted. Otogi made a face.

Mai cheered. "Now this is my kind of morning!"

"What are they doing here anyway? Yami, I'm beginning to think they really don't have anything better to do than torment you," Seto sighed.

"Unless you count what they're doing right now," Mai put in, snickering.

"We… ah! …followed you, what do you think?" Malik answered breathlessly as he and Bakura tore apart long enough for the white-haired thief to transfer his lips to the other's neck and slide his fingers under Malik's shirt. "I wanted to see when you finally confronted Otogi about that… oh Kura… that card. You sure were at Kaiba's house a long time, though… ah! Right there!"

"Can you two do that somewhere other than my front steps?" Otogi sighed.

"Jiichan's card! Otogi, do you…"

"You were at my house?" Seto snarled. "How did you get past the guards?"

"Kura and I can get past anything. We just—"

"Don't you ever shut up?" Bakura tore his lips away from Malik's neck, glaring menacingly into the Egyptian's deep violet eyes.

"Yes," he answered breathlessly, and proceeded to wrap his arms around the other's neck and stick his tongue down Bakura's throat.

"Ugh! How could people think I'm like that?" Otogi muttered crossly.

"Well I think it's hot," Mai countered.

"Otogi, do you know where Jiichan's Blue Eyes…"

"They were at my house! I pay thousands of dollars for the most advanced security system available, not to mention a full security team on staff, watching the grounds twenty-four hours a day, and those two idiots can get past without even trying! I knew I should have designed the security system myself!" Seto's eyes narrowed to mere slits and he stomped down the stairs, wrenching the two thieves apart. "You'd better tell me exactly how you got onto the grounds!"

"Seto," Yami sighed, shaking his head dismissively, and turned back to Otogi and Mai. "Anyway, the reason I'm here is because Malik said…"

"You think gay guys are hot?" the dark-haired teen asked disbelievingly. "Is that why you liked me? Because you thought I was gay? Because I'm not, you know. I'm not!"

The blonde shrugged. "The most appealing things are the things you can't have. And I know you're not gay, sweetie. At least, not completely…"

"Not completely! What does that mean?" Otogi shrieked.

"Sweetie, you know I love you, but you do have this… flamboyant quality. And you wear makeup."

"I do NOT! Just a little eyeliner!"

"Ryuuji Otogi, you wear more eye makeup than I do," Mai groaned. "And you spent twice as much time fixing your hair."

"So I like to look nice! Lots of straight guys do! They're called metrosexuals!"

"Among other things," Mai muttered dryly.

"Excuse me, Otogi, but I really need to talk to you about…"

"Why should I tell you anything, Kaiba? Now let go of me right now!" Bakura shouted, drawing their attention back to the three teens at the foot of the steps. Malik noticed Otogi's attention on him and sighed dramatically.

"It's such a shame," the Egyptian muttered, shaking his head.

"I thought you liked Bakura," Otogi snapped.

"I thought you liked men," Malik retorted.

"I said let go of me Kaiba!" Bakura struggled fiercely but Seto held tight to his collar.

"Why should I?"

"It really is a shame, though," Malik continued. "That those looks should go to waste for something like that." He glanced briefly in Mai's direction, shaking his head.

"HEY!" Mai, Otogi, and Bakura shouted simultaneously.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mai snarled.

"You're still pining after him when you have me?" Bakura asked in disbelief, momentarily forgetting that Seto still held him by the collar.

"I'M NOT GAY!" Otogi shouted. The others ignored him.

Malik shrugged. "Sorry Bakura. You're very talented – and I do mean very talented," he paused and Bakura smirked, "but I'm not one to pass up a good piece of eye candy when I see it."

"EYE CANDY? You… you slut!" Otogi shrieked hysterically as Mai burst into hearty laughter.

With a sudden jerk, Bakura broke away from Seto's death-grip, the white-haired thief's narrow eyes glinting menacingly. "So. The real reason you wanted to make up that story about the Pharaoh's little card was so you could spy on dice-boy. Was that it? Were you hoping for something to happen?"

The Egyptian just shrugged once more. "How many times do we get to annoy the Pharaoh and get some action in the meantime?"

"I'll show you action," Bakura snarled, and pounced on the other, knocking them both to the ground and pinning Malik's hands over his head while attacking his lips in a fierce, bruising kiss. The tanned blonde didn't even bother with an indignant grunt before he arched his back and let out a muffled moan, surrendering immediately to Bakura's advances.

"Made up…? Does that mean Otogi never really had the card after all?" Yami questioned softly. "I should have known." He turned back to the raven-haired teen, but Otogi was busy arguing with Mai. Again.

"What are you laughing about? Do you find it funny that some homosexual psychopath thinks of your boyfriend as a sex object?"

"Yes!" Mai snorted, bursting into fresh peals of laughter.

"Mai! Stop laughing! It's not funny!" he insisted. She merely laughed harder, clutching her stomach as her body shook with helpless sniggers.

Yami sighed. "He doesn't have it, Seto. Let's just go back to the game shop… maybe I lost it there somewhere… Seto?"

"Get off him! I was asking you a question, Bakura! You'd better tell me how you got past my security, right now!"

"That does it. I'm going home," Yami muttered.

"You might as well give it up, Yami, the card's not there," Seto sighed. He leaned back on his elbows against the counter, watching the spiky-haired teen continue to dig frantically through piles of cards on display. "Just tell the old man the truth when he comes home."

The other paused and met Seto's gaze, his scarlet eyes wide and anxious. "I can't! I can't let him and Yugi down; I promised them I'd take care of everything! Please, just help me look some more."

"But we've been looking for hours. It's not here. Someone must have taken it; otherwise you'd have found it by now."

"Maybe…" Yami sighed, burying his face in his palms. "But I can still hope…" The smaller teen shuddered slightly, his fingers slipping from his face to run distractedly through long, spiky locks, and Seto felt a wave of compassion sweep through him. He propelled himself up from his lazy sprawl against the counter and approached Yami, laying a comforting hand atop the other's shoulder. Yami shot him a tiny, grateful smile and wrapped his arms around the taller teen, burying his face in Seto's chest.

"It's not your fault, Yami. Things like this happen; there was nothing you could do about it," the brunet murmured, his voice sounding strange in his ears. Had he actually said that? Seto knew that if it had been him, if he had lost something that important, he would never forgive himself for it. He would never be that irresponsible – a mistake like that could easily cost him his brother, his company, or his life. Yet, if by some small chance he did make such a mistake, Seto would hold himself accountable for it. He wouldn't bother with trying to make excuses.

So why was he doing it for Yami? He and the slim, crimson-eyed male in his arms were a lot alike, apparently. Yami hadn't ceased to blame himself since the moment that worthless Blue Eyes card had disappeared, and he had done everything in his power to hunt it down, to fix things, and probably would have driven himself insane with worry if Seto hadn't distracted him. Seto wasn't sure why he had felt compelled to help Yami to feel better about the situation; there was really no excuse for Yami to have let the card get stolen – the game shop didn't even have a video surveillance system; it was just begging for a robbery.

But… but… Seto just couldn't bring himself to blame Yami, or even lecture him. Instead, he simply held the other in his arms, listening to the soft, rhythmic breaths against his throat and whispering soothing nonsense into dark, spiky hair. "It'll be alright, Yami. Don't worry, we'll figure it out."

"How? How, Seto? It's gone; I looked everywhere! And Malik and Bakura didn't take it… Otogi doesn't have it… and there aren't even any clues. I don't know what happened! I have to fix it but I just don't know how!"

"Calm down," Seto ordered shortly, interrupting the increasingly hysterical tirade and tightening his grip on the other. "Just relax."

Yami sighed, seeming to melt into the brunet's arms as Seto dropped a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I don't know what to do," he mumbled.

"Shh," Seto soothed. He propped his chin atop the shorter teen's head and they stood in silence for a long moment, Yami's barely controlled pants mingled with Seto's quiet breaths the only sounds cutting into the silence. What could they do? The card obviously wasn't still in the game shop; Yami had spent the last three hours digging through every single card in the store and frantically searching every inch of the place to see if it had somehow slipped into some sort of crevice; and he had probably done the same thing before he and Seto went searching for the thieves in the first place. It just wasn't there. Plus, it wasn't like they could replace the card. The only other person in the world besides Sugoroku with a Blue Eyes White Dragon was Seto himself.

Yami sighed once again and burrowed further into Seto's chest, planting a soft kiss against the exact spot at the juncture of his neck and collarbone that sent shock waves racing along each of the brunet's nerve endings. "Thank you for helping me, Seto, even though it didn't work. It meant a lot to me," he murmured, and gave Seto another nerve-burning little kiss.

Seto's eyes fell shut and he held the other even tighter. Oh, how was it possible to feel this way? To go against everything he had ever been, all he had ever known, for this slim figure in his arms? He had changed because of Yami, for Yami, had worked so hard to rework his life because of his rival's haunting words across a dueling field so long ago. He had ignored his mind and given in to foolish instincts just to feel those perfect lips against his; had given up a weekend with his brother, his only family, to keep the worry from those scarlet eyes.

Would he do even more?

Yami's lips moved higher on his neck, pink tongue darting out and tracing the skin, asking for the chaste little kisses to become something more.

Of course he would.

Seto pulled away gently, cupping the other's chin in his palm and lifting Yami's face so their eyes met. "I need you to promise me something. I want you to stay here tonight, relax, and don't worry about anything. I mean it. I'll take care of everything, I promise."

"Seto…"

"Trust me."

"I… I don't know what you could do…"

"I'll be back first thing in the morning. Everything will be fine, you'll see." He tugged the sweet face a little closer and planted a kiss atop the other's lips before releasing him and sweeping briskly out the door, leaving the wild-haired teen blinking in confusion in his wake.