Disclaimer: Fu fu fu, Yugioh ain't mine. Neither is Happy Bunny, in case you weren't sure.

A/N: W00t! This is the first time any of my stories has ever reached the double digits, chapter-wise! ...That's very sad, isn't it? (sweatdrop) I write short fics; I can't help it. But anyway, be proud of me :) Or be proud of yourself; it wouldn't have gotten this far without all you wonderful reviewers, after all. (sparkle, shine) Hmm... EVIL EDIT! Yes, that's right, another one. This one didn't exactly edit too well, either. It was hard to find a good break... And it doesn't help that I'm not really willing to put a lot of effort into mutilating my stories... (blush) Hope I didn't leave too much in. Though who in their right minds would actually be bothered, I don't know... (grin) There is a link in my bio for the full thing, naturally.

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Chapter Ten: Unpredictable

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Yami smiled, watching Malik sleep. This had become his second favorite pastime, next to the one thing that seemed to get Malik tired enough to sleep...

It was very fascinating watching him sleep, Yami mused. Malik was this close to swallowing a substantial piece of hair every time he inhaled. He looked so... sweet... too. Yami would have practically expected this guy to be able to smirk in his sleep, but no...

He sighed, and got up as quietly as he could. Well, as nice as this was, he needed to go fix something now that he finally had some spare time...

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Yuugi jumped at the knock on his door. "Yeah?" he asked hurriedly.

Yami came in. "Hi," he said cheerfully. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eyes, decided he had no chance whatsoever of lying to him, and shrugged. "Thinking, I guess."

Yami chuckled. "You're worried, right?" Yuugi's eyes went wide. "About Kaiba."

Yep, definitely no chance of lying there. Yuugi groaned. "I suppose so," he admitted. "It's just, he hasn't shown up for a few days; I know he does that all the time, but I think... I think he's pretty mad at us. Especially me."

Yami nodded sagely. "Yes, he probably is. Kaiba is not the type to accept charity. If I'd known about what you guys were planning, I would have advised against it. But anyway, I think if you're worried, you should go check up on him."

He blanched. "G-go see him? I don't know..." Then his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Hey, why didn't you know about what we were planning, anyway? Where were you? Come to think of it, you've been disappearing a lot lately..."

Yami sweatdropped. "Eh? Um, I, um..."

Yuugi grinned. "'Um?' Go on..."

"Er-"

"'Er?'"

"Uh..."

"'Uh?'"

"Do you have any idea how annoying that is!"

Yuugi grinned more. "Yeah, I do."

"...Brat... Look, it's kind of private, okay?"

To his surprise, Yuugi beamed. "Aw, I knew it! You and Malik are together, right?"

He choked. "You - what - how?"

He shrugged. "Oh, come on. Even jii-san has guessed by now. You're so noisy, Yami."

Yuugi had to dodge a flying pillow. "I am not! It's Malik who-"

Yuugi snickered. "You know it's true; you're bright red..." At Yami's murderous glare, he abruptly changed tactics. "Um, I think I'm going to take your advice on visiting Kaiba after all; bye now!"

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When he got to Kaiba's house, it took even longer than usual for him to come to the door. In fact, he didn't come at all. And when Yuugi checked the door, it was unlocked.

The house looked utterly unlived in. It was even dustier than usual, and while there was no electricity there were usually some battery-powered lights or candles. Now there was nothing.

Yuugi stood at the entrance to the living room, shocked. Was he so mad at them that...? No way. Kaiba wasn't the sort of person to freak out over something like that. Had something happened to him?

Then something caught his eye. A piece of paper, strikingly white compared to the surrounding dusty furniture, was sitting on the couch. He eagerly picked it up, hoping it might offer some clues.

It read: 'Yuugi, I've taken Mokuba and gone on a trip. I shouldn't be gone too long but I'll give you a call when I get back. Seto Kaiba.'

He frowned. Why the heck did he address it to him? Then the words registered. Where had he gone? The letter didn't say, and he couldn't think of anything. Thoughtfully, he put the note in his pocket and left.

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A week passed. Yuugi told the rest of the gang about the letter. They weren't too bothered; as Jou put it, 'No one really understands that Kaiba.' He tactfully avoided mentioning the fact that the letter was addressed only to him, deciding he was going to have to asked Kaiba about it when he got back.

The next Sunday, just as everyone was finishing eating dinner, the phone rang. As he had been doing lately, Yuugi pounced on the phone before his Grandpa could even get out of his chair.

"Moshi moshi?" he said, slightly out of breath from running the whole way from the dining room.

On the other end, someone chuckled. "Yuugi? It's Kaiba."

He grinned hugely. "Really! Finally! Where've you been?"

"Long story," he said mysteriously. "Could you come over? I'll tell you then; I could really use some help with all this crap..."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "'Crap?'" he echoed. "What are you talking about?"

He chuckled again, ignoring the question. "Can you come over or not?"

Yuugi sighed. That was Kaiba all right. "Sure; I'll be over as soon as I can."

"Good." And with that, he hung up.

As he did the same, Yuugi couldn't help but smile a little. Well, wherever he'd gone it seemed to have done him good. He couldn't remember ever hearing him sound so... no, not happy. Happy wasn't Seto Kaiba's style. But pleased, maybe?

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Yuugi managed to convince Yami to drive him on his motorcycle, though he refused to come inside. Yami and Kaiba didn't exactly get along that well, after all. He said he could give him a call from the nearest pay phone when he wanted to be picked up.

When Kaiba opened the door, Yuugi couldn't help but stare. Usually Kaiba wore fairly plain clothes, his only accessory being an ever-present navy blue trench coat. But today that had completely changed. He wore a trench coat, but it was white, and adorned with belts and metal studs. "Very fashionable," Yuugi commented, a bit surprised.

He just rolled his eyes, and dragged him inside.

Once they reached the living room, Yuugi was surprised yet again. "What's with all the boxes?" he asked.

"I bought myself a house," he said, smirking. "Mokuba's there right now supervising decorating or whatever; I came back here to get the last of our things."

Yuugi gaped. "You bought a house?" he demanded. "How?"

He lounged on the couch. "I took your advice. You're speaking to the president of Kaiba Corporation, Yuugi."

He sat down next to him, stunned. "I thought you said you didn't want anything to do with them!"

He shrugged. "I supposed I have you to thank," he said a little begrudgingly. "You made me see that if I was going to be so arrogant, I really needed to have something to be arrogant about."

Yuugi groaned, though secretly he was touched. Kaiba had completely changed his life around - because of him? "Oh, great. So now that you've got something to be arrogant about, you're only gonna get worse, right?" Then a thought stuck him, and he frowned. "So... Does this mean that you'll be moving really far away? I've heard about Kaiba Corp. Island; it's pretty far from here."

"Leave this disgusting compost heap of a town? I wouldn't dream of it. Actually, I burned Kaiba Corp. Island to the ground." As Yuugi's eyes widened, he smirked again. "I didn't need it any more, after all. I'm moving the headquarters here, and also, Kaiba Corp. isn't going to be making war weapons any more. We're making gaming technology."

Yuugi couldn't help but grin at that. "I love games! Wow, you sure have changed things..."

He nodded, looking a bit brooding for a moment. "Yeah... I decided that if I was going to be president, Kaiba Corp. would have to become completely unrecognizable..." Then he snapped out of it. "Well anyway, get to work. You said you'd help me pack, right?"

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An hour later, they had finished packing. Kaiba was hardly taking anything with him; all the furniture was unnecessary, for instance. Now they were sitting on the couch again, taking a break before Yuugi went home.

"Hey Kaiba?" Yuugi asked, remembering something.

He glanced up. "What?"

He hesitated. It seemed kind of stupid compared to everything that he'd learned in the last hour, but he just had to ask. "Um... Why did you address that note to me?"

He shrugged. "I knew you'd probably be the only one who cared enough to come looking for me," he said casually.

Yuugi blushed. That made him feel most peculiar. "Thank you," he muttered.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Stop looking like a girl," he snapped. Yuugi giggled, then he stood up.

"Well, I guess I should get home. Where's the nearest pay phone?"

Kaiba frowned slightly. "You don't need to use a pay phone; I have a cell phone. But... do you really want to go already?"

Yuugi blinked, then grinned. "Seto Kaiba! I do believe that you actually want to hang out!"

He scowled. "No, I d... Well, I mean... Do you want to stay?"

He giggled again, and sat back down. "Fine; Yami won't mind. So, what should we do?" Kaiba leaned back, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. Yuugi stared at him a moment, and found himself noticing for some reason that when the light hit his face like that... he was actually pretty good-looking. He was jealious. Suddenly, he snickered. Ah-ha, payback for calling him a girl!

"Hey, Kaiba? Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

He had been expecting him to get flustered, but the most he did was go completely still for a moment. Then he looked over at him out of the corner of his eyes. "Have you?"

Yuugi blanched. "I, um... No. Hey, I'm only fourteen!"

"You're that old? I hadn't realized..." Yuugi pouted, though Kaiba's grin suggested that he was teasing. "Neither have I..." He patted his pockets absentmindedly in search of cigarettes, and scowled lightly at not finding any. Then he suddenly said, "I have someone I like, though."

Was it your right arm that was supposed to hurt right before you had a heart attack? Or was it your left...? Yuugi stared, then nearly fell off the couch from laughing too hard.

Kaiba scowled. "Shut up, brat; it's not that funny..."

He grinned, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. He'd been called a brat twice tonight; he was on a roll. "Yes... yes it is!" he managed to get out. "Okay, okay sorry about that. Um... what's she like?"

He rolled his eyes. "Well... she's complicated. I used to think she was very naïve, but lately I've been getting a feeling that's not entirely true. She's... righteous? It can be annoying, but... I don't know... She's younger than me, though, by four whole years. That makes a lot of difference at this age; it means that she's a minor and I'm not."

Yuugi shook his head, disbelieving. Seto Kaiba, going for the young, naïve type? It was... mind-boggling. "Well, I wouldn't let that bother you," he said out loud. "If she's fourteen she's old enough to make her own choices. All that matters is that she likes you too, and I'm sure she will."

"I figured you'd say that," he said dryly. "I think I need a cigarette..." Yuugi glared at him, and he raised an eyebrow. "Okay, fine, be that way. But anyway, what makes you so sure she'll like me? I'm an ass; even my best friends say so."

Yuugi snickered. "Yeah, they do, don't they?" He just grinned innocently as Kaiba scowled at him again. "Oh, come on. Every naïve little girl love a tall, cold-hearted rich guy."

"Speaking from experience, I'm sure." He sighed. "Be serious, Yuugi."

He shrugged. "Sorry... Well, I'd give you some advice if I could, but like you said, I don't exactly have much experience... You should ask Ryou; he reads those shojo mangas." This actually got Kaiba to crack a smile. "The only piece of advice I can think of is, sweep her off her feet. I've heard they love that. Who is she, anyway? Someone you met while you were off taking over Kaiba Corp.?"

"No, I've known her longer than that."

"So what's her name?" he asked.

"...I'd rather not say."

Yuugi raised an eyebrow. "Hey, cool! Does that mean it's someone I know?"

"No!"

He giggled. "Oh, it is, it is! Who is it? Come on, tell me! Please?"

Kaiba groaned. "Absolutely not! Have you had sugar or something?"

He smirked evilly. "I'm going to mess up your hair if you don't tell me." Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I warned you!" And Yuugi tackled him. Unfortunately, the brief struggle that followed resulted in them both tumbling off the couch.

For a moment, they both froze. Kaiba knelt over Yuugi, pinning both his arms to the floor. Yuugi blushed. "Um, Kaiba, get off-" His voice trailed off. There was something in Kaiba's eyes just now... the strangest thing... He was just sitting there. Why the-

At which point Kaiba bent down just a little further, brushing his lips briefly but firmly across Yuugi's.

When he pulled away, Kaiba stared down at him. It was amazing that such a little, unimportant boy could make him so afraid. But at this moment, Yuugi held the power to crush him utterly. Perhaps it was because of the power he had over him that he'd finally felt a need to return to Kaiba Corp.; he thought it might be something like that, deep down. And he was so unpredictable... Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke.

"What was that for?"

Kaiba winced. He sounded borderline terrified. "You're the one I like, Yuugi," he said with difficulty, and got off him. After a moment, Yuugi stood.

"I-I'm sorry, but I have to go home now," he stuttered. "Yami must be worried, and I... I'm sorry..."

"If you were really sorry, then you'd-" They stared at each other for a moment, and then Kaiba laughed miserably. He rummaged in his pocket, and tossed his cell phone at Yuugi. "Go on, call home. Can't have you out looking for a phone booth at this time of night." It was as close to an appology as he felt he could come at present.

He caught it, and stared at it for a moment. Then, carefully, he set it down on the coffee table. Kaiba stared, but no explanation seemed to be forthcoming. Yuugi sat up with his back against the edge of the couch, hugging his knees to his chest, and the new CEO had no choice but to wait for his verdict.

How had this happened? Yuugi wondered. Why was he even still here? (Because if you leave things like this then you'll never talk to him again). He carefully pretended he hadn't thought that thought, and continued to panic. One minute he'd just been messing around, and then... he... ahhhhh... Okay, okay, going in to shock wasn't going to help anybody. He needed to figure out what to do.

'Oh, so if Kaiba likes underage girls, that's fine, but if he likes boys, that's bad?' a cynical little voice in the back of his head commented. Argh... But this was completely different! It sure is if he likes me, anyway! ...Okay, so maybe not. Damn. He would just be being hypocritical if he didn't at least think about it.

But it was impossible for him to have feelings for Kaiba, he tried to reason. He was old, and scary, and... intriguing... No! He was a murderer! Didn't that count for something?

He winced. But it never did before. His own brother had killed people too, after all, and he was his best friend.

He was scrambling for excuses, he realized. Any reason, however pathetic... But this one wasn't pathetic - people didn't tend to fall in love just like that. So he kissed him, and now he was going to fall head over heels for him? Wasn't going to happen. He would have had to already like him for that to work... He blanched.

What exactly had he felt about Seto Kaiba before the kiss, anyway? What if he did like him, after all? He cared about him, worried about him, liked being with him... But friends did that, too. What was the difference between love and friendship, when you got right down to it? Did he want to be with him... forever?

...Yes...

Then, Yuugi kissed Kaiba.

When he pulled away, Kaiba looked amazed. "I-I didn't expect that," he admitted.

Yuugi smiled. "Neither did I."

As they kissed, Kaiba pushed Yuugi onto his back again, and this time there was nothing accidental about it. Feeling him through his clothes, he decided that he liked what he found.

Yuugi moaned slightly as Kaiba began kissing down his neck, arching into the touch. This felt a little strange... but right. And oh so good. He had definitely made the right choice... Sometime during this he lost his vest, and Kaiba his coat. But when Kaiba started to take off the other's shirt, Yuugi tensed.

He immediately pulled away. "I'm going too fast, aren't I?" It was more of a statement than a question. He winced. Shit, he needed to get control of himself... It wasn't something he usually tried to do, after all.

Yuugi shook his head firmly. "No... I just need to catch my breath, that's all."

Kaiba rolled off him, giving him some room. They probably wouldn't get any farther tonight, he thought a little dully. He'd probably freaked Yuugi out more than he was letting on... But oh well, he thought suddenly. They had plenty of time - their whole lives -

Then Yuugi rolled over so he was on top of him. "Okay, I feel better now," he said a little sheepishly.

Kaiba eyed him quizzically. "Did you do that on purpose?"

He grinned. "Well, no, but it was kind of convenient how it worked out..."

Kaiba laughed, surprising himself. Then he stood up with no warning, Yuugi in his arms. The smaller boy gasped. "Making out on the couch is so cheap," he said, smirking. "I am a billionair now, you know; I have a reputation to uphold. This is what beds are for." And he carried him upstairs.

It was a sad little bedroom, really. The few decorations that had been there had already been taken down. The mattress was in good condition, considering, but there was no actual bed. He laughed again. "It's hardly better," he admitted, laying Yuugi down on top of the sheets. "But later, if you want to see me again, it'll be in a mansion..."

Yuugi laughed too. "Of course I'll want to see you again, silly!" And he leaned up and kissed him, gently slipping his tongue into Kaiba's mouth. He shivered, and after a moment he hesitantly started unbuttoning Yuugi's shirt. This time he didn't try to stop him.

Yuugi's chest was like alibaster, except for two rosy, pert nipples. Kaiba felt himself becoming a bit too warm, and mentally scolded himself for being such a pervert. Then Yuugi snickered. "What's the matter? You haven't even gotten my pants off!" he said, and giggled some more. Kaiba decided he was much to giggly, and kissed him again. He wondered if he was even taking this seriously; he better be. But nevertheless he eventually trailed kisses down his neck and to his pretty, pretty chest where he gently licked a nipple. Yuugi moaned, gripping his hair, so he suckled it. Then, shocking himself more than anything else he'd done that night, he stood up.

Yuugi gaped. "Kaiba-kun?"

He grimace, and turned around. "You shouldn't call me that. We shouldn't be doing this, you know."

Yuugi scoffed. "You did start it," he point it out. Argh.

"I know," he said, running long fingers through his hair. "But I don't think either of us realizes what we're doing. I'm a CEO now; I'm responsible for so much more than myself or Mokuba now..."

Yuugi sat up, and grabbed his sleeve. "What are you talking about? You're just making excuses!"

Kaiba ignored his hand. "Okay, do you want to know what's really bothering me?" he said coldly. "I think you're too young to fully understand what's happening. I don't want this to be a mistake, though I acknowledge that I may have already made one by starting this."

Yuugi stared. Kaiba had gone pale. "No... That's not right at all, Kaiba. I... Please..."

Kaiba felt like he was sufficating. "No." He had to get out of this house, before he drowned...

"Kaiba!" His hand was on the doorknob. He could just open it, run down the stairs... "Kaiba! You're an idiot!"

Well, that caught his attention. He half-turned, glaring automatically. Yuugi was flushed, as if saying that had been a bit difficult. "Well, you are. This isn't back then, you know!"

Kaiba tried to look incrediulous. "What...?" But it came out so fake that it was bairly worth the effort.

"You're not forcing me to do something I don't want to do!" He smiled. "Do I really need to actually tell you that I love you?"

Of course. Of course. What was he so scared of? There was nothing to worry about, any more, really. This was just happening so fast... He couldn't help but chuckle. Wasn't that supposed to be Yuugi's line? And yet he seemed to be the one totally in control. Mabye he could deal with that, then. He turned back to him...

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He still couldn't think of the words to say. But he supposed he'd figure it out eventually. He held Yuugi close, and without a single thought from either of them about whether Yami or Mokuba were worrying over their whereabouts right now, they fell asleep.

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Yami sweatdropped, and pulled Malik off the trashcan he was standing on by the back of his shirt. Until just now, anyway, he had been trying to peer in Kaiba's ground floor window.

He groaned, rubbing his rear. "Hey! What the heck was that for?"

Yami rolled his eyes. "I should never have told you Yuugi was coming out here. Would you like people trying to spy on us when we were, urm, you know...?" he demanded.

He grinned mischievously. "Actually, I could, urm, you know right here. On the sidewalk, under the street-light-"

Yami blanched. It had only taken a couple weeks for Malik to go from nervous to a frightening pervert. It seemed to fit his personality much better, actually. "I don't think so!" Then, as an afterthought he added, "Anyway, I'll bet they were just sitting on the couch talking. Like civilized people."

Malik looked a little embarrassed. "Actually, I didn't see anything... But hey, if they're not in the living room that means they could be in the bedroom!"

"Or they could be in the kitchen for all we know, dumbass."

Malik giggled. "On the counter, like that one time when everybody else was out..."

Yami whacked him on the head, blushing furiously.

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A/N: (giggle) Bad Malik! Bad! Hmm... Wow, did this chapter ever take a long time to write. I'm serious. I started it literally about a year ago. And no, this wasn't just because it was so mind-bogglingly long (even editted!). That's gotta be some kind of record. Just be glad I'm posting it after I've finished the whole story ;) Other than that... (deep thought)... Mem. Did you know 'mem' is actually a word? (nods sagely) It's the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (sweatdrop) No, I didn't actually know that until just now either. Er... (huge overly cheesy hopeful grin) Review onegai?