A/N: Well, it seems I've been productive this week. I wrote a oneshot and finished this chapter, too... hmm, I'm proud. But I've got a few weeks vacation til summer term, so I've had lots of free time. Better for y'all, I suppose. Anyway, this is pretty much the end of the fic; after this all that's left is the epilogue, with some more about stars and tying up any loose ends, and that'll be the end of this uneventful little story. I must say I'm surprised at how popular it's turned out - almost 150 reviews for the first six chapters, a record for me - and I'm grateful to everyone who seems to like it, though I don't know why you do. Wouldn't you rather be reading a murder mystery or something?

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

Chapter 7

Monday morning. It had come at last. The weekend was over and Jiichan and Yugi would come through the door in a matter of hours. Yami lay on his back in bed, staring up at the ceiling as the minutes ticked away, drawing inevitably closer to the moment when his family would return and he would have to admit his failure. Perhaps if he just kept lying here, the morning would never come and he could pretend like that weekend had never happened. But Seto would probably be there at any moment, so unfortunately he had to get up if he was planning to greet the brunet.

Seto… No, even if it meant admitting he had failed with Jiichan's request to take care of the shop, Yami would never wish none of it had happened. Being with Seto was more than he could have ever hoped for; there was just something about him…

Yami pondered this as he crawled sluggishly out of bed and proceeded with his morning routine. True, he had only been "seeing" the CEO for about two days, but he honestly cared about Seto. Really cared about him. The only question was, how did Seto feel? Yami didn't want to rush things, but for some reason it was taking all of his willpower to keep from falling hard for his – former? – rival.

A sound at the bottom of the stairs startled Yami out of his reflections and he froze in the middle of brushing his teeth, toothbrush as well as a few white flecks of toothpaste escaping from the corner of his mouth. Were Jiichan and Yugi back already? He hadn't had time to mentally prepare for his confession yet! The spiky-haired teen quickly spit out his toothpaste and tossed the brush to the side of the sink before he rushed downstairs, forgetting to wipe the excess bit of paste from the corner of his mouth.

"Jiichan, there's something I need to tell you," he muttered under his breath. "No… Jiichan, I'm sorry but I have to be up front with you… No, no, no! I'll just say— Seto!"

The brunet straightened from where he had been leaning over the empty display case that had once contained the Blue Eyes. "Good morning, Yami," Seto greeted, flashing the other a breathtaking smile.

"Good morning," Yami replied with a half-smile of his own. "How did you get in here? I was sure I locked the door."

Seto shrugged. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine… Kaiba, did you pick the lock!"

"Did you relax last night? I hope you weren't up all night worrying after I told you not to."

Yami rolled his eyes, deciding to let Seto keep his secrets. Besides, if he had broken in to the game shop Yami wasn't sure if he really wanted to know about it. He sighed. "I tried not to think about it; I really did. But Seto, what am I going to say to them? They'll be so disappointed…"

"Hmm," Seto replied vaguely, leaning back over the display case. "Hey, what's this? There's something stuck to the outside…"

"What!" Yami's heart leapt and he rushed to Seto's side, hardly daring to breathe; and sure enough, he saw a card stuck to the underside of the case by a loose, dirty piece of tape. Carefully, Yami pried it loose and glanced at the picture on the front of the card.

The Blue Eyes White Dragon.

"It's… Seto, I can't believe it! It's the Blue Eyes!" Yami exclaimed, relief shooting through his veins like a deliciously warm drug loosed into his bloodstream. He clutched the card to his chest before throwing his arms around Seto in pure joy, peppering kisses all over the brunet's face. "You found it! I can't believe it!" he repeated. "Thank you so much! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank—"

Yami stopped. Something wasn't right. Seto was smiling; but there was something in his eyes… He glanced sharply at the brunet before turning back to examine the card more closely.

"Is something wrong?" Seto asked, his voice carefully level.

Yami didn't answer, instead staring at the card in his hands, his eyes widening in disbelief. "Seto Kaiba, you didn't," he breathed.

It wasn't the same card. The edges were a little more frayed, the color slightly washed out, showing that it had been often used, often touched, unlike the damaged card that had lain behind four walls of glass for the majority of the past few years. And this card, despite the layers of smudged, slightly dirty tape wrapped around it, was still perfectly intact. It seemed Kaiba hadn't had the heart to rip it, in the end.

Yami had to laugh at that, a tiny, quavering laugh, laced with awestruck disbelief. "Seto, did you really think I would fall for this?"

The taller teen just stared at him, something unreadable flickering in his cobalt eyes. "I knew I should have ripped the card; I just couldn't bear to do it," he mumbled, so low Yami could barely hear him.

His throat closed and unshed tears piled thickly behind wide scarlet eyes as Yami stared back at Seto. "No… you should never have given me this in the first place… I can't believe you would…" He broke off, rubbing his palm harshly across his face to hold back the sudden flood of emotion. How could Seto have done something like that, been willing to give up something that meant more to him than Yami could even imagine, just for him? What did that mean?

"Oh Seto… Oh, Seto…" The tears piled up thicker than ever and Yami threw his arms around Seto once again, burying his face in the other's chest before the liquid could escape his tightly clenched eyelids. "I can't accept this. Even if Jiichan wouldn't notice the difference, I can't. I couldn't bear it; it means too much to you."

The CEO returned the embrace, wrapping his arms around Yami's back and threading his fingers through the thick, spiky hair. "Not as much as you do."

Yami's heart stopped. His breath hitched and it seemed as if his blood had frozen in his veins as Seto drew him closer and lightly kissed his forehead. "I knew you wouldn't want to accept it; that's why I stuck it to the case," he said quietly. "But believe me; I want you to have it. I don't make offers I don't intend to keep and I wouldn't offer this lightly. It's the only way to replace your card, since I doubt Sugoroku would want my money."

The smaller teen pulled back just enough to look Seto in the eyes, his heart jumping again at the serious expression on the other's face. "Why are you trying to replace the card anyway? You don't have to do that."

"I already told you why." They stared at each other a moment, Yami's eyes growing wider by the second as he realized that Seto was serious about this. He was willing; no determined to do this for Yami; it was almost like… like Seto was… in love.

Yami shook his head, not letting himself dwell on the thought. "I can't. I'm sorry, Seto, but I can't accept this. Thank you for helping me; it means more than you know; but giving me your Blue Eyes isn't the answer. I would feel too guilty and you would only resent me in the end."

"I would never resent you!" Seto hissed fiercely, sliding his hands so that he gripped both of Yami's shoulders and propping his forehead atop Yami's. "Never."

The smaller male let out another quavering laugh. "You resented me for years, remember? I don't know what changed your mind but I don't want to go back to—"

Seto kissed him. Hard. The brunet cupped the back of the other's spiky head in one palm while his other arm wrapped around Yami's waist, drawing the smaller form flush against him as his lips moved fiercely in an attempt to convince the wild-haired male of what his words couldn't express. And Yami melted against him, sighing in bliss when the kiss deepened and twining his arms around the other's neck to lock him firmly in place. They kissed for a long minute, everything fading into the background but the simple contact until they finally broke apart and Yami settled into Seto's chest.

The brunet stroked the other's back gently. "Let me do this for you. Please."

Yami sighed. "I can't. I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry about? Just take the stupid card!"

"Don't raise your voice at me, Seto Kaiba."

"What does that have to do with anything? I'm trying to do something nice for you and you're being as stubborn as that stupid mutt!"

"Look who's calling who stubborn. And don't insult Jounouchi."

"Just take the card."

"No."

"Take it!"

"No!"

"Yami…"

"Kaiba."

"Yami."

"Kaiba."

"Yami!"

"Kai… Oh, Yugi! You're home!" The crimson-eyed teen had been so caught up in arguing with Seto that he didn't notice the smaller teen calling his name as he burst through the door to the game shop, red-faced and beaming excitedly.

"Yami, it's so good to see you, I had so much fun!" Yugi cried happily, running over and squeezing his taller look-alike in a tight hug. "I got sunburned, and Jiichan was eaten alive by mosquitoes, but it was so much fun! Oh, hello Kaiba," the energetic teen added as an afterthought.

"Hn."

"So, what did you do all weekend?" Yugi asked, turning back to Yami. "Was the shop busy?"

"Well, I…"

"Oh, Yami you should have seen it! It was so gorgeous out there, all the trees; and there were so many stars! I think I could see all two thousand of them," the violet-eyed teen sighed, interrupting the other before he could finish a sentence.

"Three thousand," Yami corrected automatically. Seto rolled his eyes.

Yugi, however, didn't pay attention, grinning widely and continuing with his monologue as if Yami hadn't spoken. "I shared a tent with Jou… One night he got stung by a wasp and he started screaming, convinced he'd been snake bitten. He woke up the whole camp, screaming for antivenin; the counselor came running… It was so funny."

"Sounds like something that idiot would do," Seto muttered. Yami glared at him.

"Er… Yugi; where's Jiichan?"

"Huh? Oh, he's still outside, getting the bags. He told me I could go ahead and come inside and greet you, and make sure you didn't burn the place down or anything while we were away." Yugi laughed cheerfully, Yami managing a few weak chuckles of his own. Seto just glared sourly, but since this was typical for him the violet-eyed teen didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

"Don't you think you should help him carry things inside?" Yami questioned, partly as an excuse to end the uncomfortable laughter.

"Oh… Yeah, you're probably right. It is taking him a while," Yugi murmured thoughtfully; then spun on a heel and dashed out the door once more. "Be right back!"

The crimson-eyed teen watched him go, letting out a loud sigh. "They're back earlier than I thought… Oh, Seto what am I going to do? And don't say take the card."

"Take the card."

"I said don't say that!"

"Yami, why won't you let me help you? Do you have to be so proud that you can't accept assistance from people that care about you and genuinely want to help? And… Dear God. I can't believe that I'm the one giving you this speech. You know what, never mind. I'd rather pretend that never came out of my mouth."

Yami laughed in spite of himself and reached over, twining their fingers together as Seto smirked. Only Seto could manage to cheer him up at a time like this. Though he still wasn't taking that stupid card. "I won't mention it if you won't," the smaller teen smugly reassured him, stretching to his tiptoes to plant a quick kiss on the brunet's lips, but Seto wrapped an arm around the other's back and held him there, prolonging the kiss for a few more seconds.

The door opened.

"Yami, do you think you could help Jiichan... Oh… uh…"

The ex-Pharaoh jerked away from Seto's lips, pushing the CEO a respectable distance away and wiping his mouth as he turned back to Yugi. "Yugi! It's not what it looks like!"

"It's not?" Yugi and Seto asked simultaneously, Yugi with a surprised smile and Seto with a smirk and a quirked eyebrow.

The violet-eyed teen snickered. "Looked to me like you were trying to suck Kaiba's face off."

"I was not! That was a perfectly innocent kiss, thank you!" Yami cried indignantly.

"Oh, so you admit that you were kissing Kaiba?"

"I… Well, that is… Er… Seto, tell Yugi what happened." The crimson-eyed teen glanced hopefully at the brunet.

"I apologize, Yugi. Apparently Yami can't keep his hands off me. He's telling the truth though; that one was an innocent kiss. But you should have seen him yesterday when he climbed in my lap and—"

Yami clapped his hand over Seto's mouth, his scarlet eyes wide with embarrassment. "Er… never mind."

Yugi was laughing even harder by this time, clutching his stomach as he fought back the snickers. Though the teen had obviously been surprised to see Yami together, it didn't seem to upset him – on the contrary, as far as Yami could tell Yugi was greatly entertained by the situation. Though Yami would have been happier if that entertainment wasn't at his expense. "So," Yugi asked, grinning madly and wiping his eyes as he gained control of his laughter, "you and Kaiba are a couple now?"

"Well… I don't know if you'd call us…" Yami began hesitantly, but Seto – whose lips were still firmly trapped beneath Yami's palm – nodded. The crimson-eyed teen froze, breaking off in the middle of his statement to stare in awe at the brunet. "We are? Do you mean that?"

Seto nodded once more, and Yami slowly lowered his hand, a brilliant smile breaking out over his thin cheeks. "Oh, Seto…" They stared at each other a moment, silence hanging thick in the air as the hint of an answering smile dawned on Seto's lips, until Yugi cleared his throat.

"You two aren't going to start kissing again, are you?"

"Kissing? What?" A new voice, breathless and panting, gasped from the doorway. "What are you boys doing in here? Can't you help an old man carry his bags?"

Jiichan had returned.

"Oh, sorry Jiichan," Yugi responded cheerfully. "I just got distracted. Did you know Yami and Kaiba are a couple now?"

"They are? Yami, since when did you prefer men?" The old man asked the question idly, not sounding too interested as he set his bags beside the door.

"Um… since always?" the ex-Pharaoh replied in a small voice, Seto snickering rudely beside him.

"Ah. Well, come on Yugi. There are still more bags in the car; we have to take in those leaf samples. I still don't see why you had to bring home part of every plant."

"It's for school, Jiichan! They want us to write a paper, and how can I do that if I don't have something to look at for my research?" the diminutive teen explained in frustration as he followed his grandfather outside once more.

"Well, you could always take pictures, you know." The door swung shut behind them.

Yami stared after them for a long moment, eventually letting out a low sigh. "Well, that went easier than I expected."

"Why, are you ashamed of me?" the CEO questioned teasingly.

"No, of course not; I just didn't expect to tell them this early, since we've only…" Yami turned to glance at the brunet, but trailed off when he realized the other was no longer standing beside him. Instead, Seto had moved over to the empty display case and set the taped-up Blue Eyes on top of it. He stared wistfully at the card for a moment before turning his back and meeting Yami's gaze as the ex-Pharaoh narrowed his eyes in frustration.

"What?"

"Seto Kaiba, you take that card back right now!" Yami ordered, crossing his arms across his chest.

"No, I think I'll leave it here, thanks."

"Kaiba! Take it back! It's not like it's going to fool anyone, anyway; it's on top of the locked case, for goodness' sake!"

"Well, tell the old man you opened it up so I could look at it and lost the key."

"I never had a key in the first place!"

"Well… tell him that I broke into it."

"Don't be stupid, Kaiba."

"Yami…"

"Seto!"

"Is something wrong?" Jiichan asked curiously through his breathless pants as he set yet another bag beside the door. Yugi followed directly behind him, shooting another teasing grin in Yami and Seto's direction.

"Lovers' tiff already?" the shorter teen teased.

Yami frowned, embarrassed, but took a deep breath. The opportunity had come. He had to tell Jiichan about the missing card, now, before Seto got any more adorable yet inconvenient ideas, or Jiichan noticed the empty case himself. It would be far better for Yami to be honest about everything; and it seemed that was the only option he had left. "Jiichan, I have to talk to you about something," the crimson-eyed teen said seriously.

"Oh, is this about you and Kaiba? Just ignore Yugi, he's only teasing. Do what makes you happy." The stocky old man leaned over and began rummaging through one of the sacks. "Now where's my glasses cleaner? These are all smudged… ah… there you are… So, how long have you two been together?"

Yami sighed. This conversation was not going the way he wanted. When had everyone in the world stopped listening to what he said? "Just since this weekend. And… and that's not all that happened, Jiichan, I…"

"Wow Yami, we go away for three days and you pick up Kaiba. I'd hate to see what happens if we left for a week."

"Hush, Yugi, don't tease him." Jiichan finished wiping off his glasses and stuck them back on his face with a sigh, glancing briefly at Yami's flustered face before looking over to Seto, who still stood beside the empty Blue Eyes' case, until finally the old man's eyes fell on the taped-up card atop the display. "Kaiba? What happened to your Blue Eyes? Why is it taped together like that, was it damaged?"

Seto's cerulean eyes widened slightly in surprise and he looked over at Yami, who was staring at Jiichan in shock. "How did you know that was Seto's card? You barely looked at it! And… and about the card from the display… I…"

Jiichan furrowed his brow. "Well of course it's Kaiba's card. Mine – oh dear, I forgot to tell you, didn't I? I'm sorry, Yami. I put in my safe deposit box at the bank before I left, for safekeeping. You can never be too careful, you know; I'd hate to see it stolen. Well, come along Yugi; let's get these bags back to your room. I still don't know why you needed this many leaves."

"I told you, Jiichan, it's for research!" The teen and his grandfather scooped up a few of the bags and disappeared upstairs, bickering good-naturedly the entire way.

Yami and Seto stared. They stared after the departing forms, then turned to stare at each other, the crimson-eyed teen stepping closer to Seto and laying a hand on his arm. "Can you believe…? It was… the entire time…" Yami let out a quavering laugh, still staring up into the brunet's shocked face. "Thank you, though. Thank you so much. It meant so much to me, you know; everything you've done… and that you don't want to hide our relationship… that's just so special… and I want you to know I'm grateful…"

The wild-haired teen bit his lip. Seto was still just looking at him, not a trace of emotion in his cobalt eyes. He seemed frozen. "Seto? Say something. Please?"

The brunet blinked. His eyes narrowed and he let out a low growl, making Yami step back in apprehension. "Seto?"

"I am going to kill him. I am going to KILL HIM!"

"Seto! No! He's just an old man! Wait! Seto!"