Disclaimer:I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

A/n: Someone mentioned my line breaks were a bit confusing last time, so I've centered them. That should make it look a little nicer. I do get tired of manually putting the lines back in on ffnet though; thus the reason for my lazy shortcuts.

Chapter 2

"Seto, I want you," Yami breathed, gazing up at the brunet above him through half-lidded eyes and shifting his hips meaningfully against the other's.

Seto smiled again and gave Yami another soft kiss on the lips – then sat back and moved away. "I want you, too," he replied, "but it would probably be best to take things slow. I don't want to rush you into anything."

Yami lay there in silence for a moment, no immediate compulsions in the emptiness that filled his mind, until suddenly his mouth opened again. "Very well. I know the day you make love to me will be the most precious day of my life."

The other blinked but smiled wider and let out a low chuckle, holding open his arms for Yami to crawl into them and curl up in his lap, dropping intermittent kisses along Seto's jaw line. After a few minutes Seto sighed. "Not that I want you to go," he said grudgingly, "but I still have a lot of work to finish. Tomorrow's Sunday… I'll pick you up, early, and we can spend the whole day together."

"That sounds wonderful," Yami replied automatically. "It's a date."

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"I swear, Malik, your lines get stupider every second," Bakura grumbled, rolling his eyes. The two were headed toward Bakura's apartment – which he shared with his other half, Ryou – to regroup and decide what to do with their prank on Yami.

"Shut up! It was romantic. Besides, Kaiba loved it."

"Yeah, whatever. Those two are a couple of idiots anyhow. Leave it to the Pharaoh and Kaiba to ruin everything. They quit before it even got close to being interesting because Kaiba had to be romantic," Bakura sneered.

"Romance is nice sometimes," Malik mumbled under his breath as they entered the apartment, but if the other heard he made no sign, merely grabbing Malik's wrist and dragging him down onto the sofa beside him.

"I got all worked up, too, watching those two on the couch." Bakura leered at Malik and nodded toward his crotch. "How about it, Blondie? Care to fix my 'problem?'"

And so Malik gave him a half-smile and crawled into the other's lap, straddling Bakura and grinding against him until he moaned, his pale hands sliding under Malik's purple midriff top and tweaking his nipples. The blond sighed, his violet eyes slipping closed in pleasure even as his heart ached. This was why Bakura would never love him; he made it far too easy for the white-haired teen, always let Bakura enjoy his body though doing so was breaking his heart.

This wasn't the first time they'd fooled around – not the second or third either – though Malik had never let it get any farther than this grinding and touching, these mock-affectionate caresses that let Malik pretend like they meant something more, that felt better and more horrible than anything the blond had ever experienced. Touches that he wouldn't trade for the world.

Bakura's hands slid below Malik's waistband and he bit his lip to keep from yelling. Yami didn't know how lucky he was; Malik would have given anything for Bakura to feel about him the way Kaiba did for Yami. And the stupid Pharaoh didn't even appreciate it.

"Kura," Malik gasped, "let's stop this joke on the Pharaoh. It's not turning out like I planned at all."

Bakura's sharp teeth bit down at the junction of the blond's neck and collarbone and he sucked on it for a moment before he answered. "No. We need to wait it out until they have sex. Then we can sit back and watch them suffer."

"But…" Malik moaned as the other male's tongue returned to his neck. "But Kaiba really… he really loves him."

"That just makes it more fun. Mmm, Blondie, you smell good today."

Malik squeezed his eyes shut tight and buried his fingers in the other's long white hair. "Bakura… Oh, Kura…"

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"Yami, is that you? You were gone a long time; did you remember to get milk?"

The spiky-haired ex-Pharaoh glanced briefly at his smaller look-alike before walking past him and heading up the stairs to his room. He felt the overwhelming desire to stay there and not talk to anyone until Seto came to pick him up the next morning.

Yugi followed him. "Yami, are you alright? Yami?"

The other didn't answer, instead shutting his bedroom door and sitting down on the bed, though he didn't object when Yugi sat beside him. "Yami…? You're starting to scare me."

Yugi's eyes were very wide. Yami noticed this. And something, very small, in the very back of his mind, told him this wasn't a good thing at all. He spoke, though the words seemed stuck at the back of his throat and his lips wouldn't move quite right. "Ai…bou…"

The smaller teen reached out and took his hand, sucking in a deep breath before asking calmly, "Yami, what happened at the store?"

Yami regarded him thoughtfully. Yugi's eyes were still very big. He looked frightened. That was a bad thing, definitely. The tiny spot in the back of Yami's mind gave a painful twinge and suddenly it was easier to speak, though by the time he'd said the words he had already forgotten what they meant. "Shadow… Shadow Magic."

Yugi's violet eyes grew impossibly larger and his hand traveled to the heavy chain around his neck which held the Sennen Puzzle. "Shadow Magic? From who? Do you need the Puzzle?"

The pain was gone and the emptiness slowly returning to Yami's mind. He shook his head. "Yours."

"But… Yami, what's going on? Are you in trouble?"

He felt blank. This bothered him a little, since it seemed like there was something important he should say. But no… he shouldn't be saying anything at all; after all he had something important he had to do. "I'm waiting for Seto."

"Huh?"

"I'm waiting for Seto. I love him. He loves me too, did you know?"

"What… Wait, Seto Kaiba?"

"We're going on a date tomorrow. So I have to wait for him." And Yami lay down on the bed, curling up and closing his eyes to sleep until the morning brought his love back to him.

Yugi's wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare was the last thing he saw.

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Malik woke the next morning with a massive headache. He blinked drowsily a few times, looking around in confusion at his surroundings until he remembered he'd spent the night on Bakura's sofa. (Alone, unfortunately; though honestly even if the other had offered Malik couldn't have borne sleeping next to Bakura all night… or waking up beside him the next morning.)

The blond sat up and groaned, pushing the fleece blanket covering him to the floor and adjusting the waistband on the pair of baggy cotton pajama pants he'd borrowed from Ryou as he rose, intent on a much needed trip to the bathroom. But before Malik could take a step his head throbbed viciously and he sank back down onto the couch, rubbing his temples.

"Are you… Mmm… Sorry, are you alright?" a voice asked, pausing in the middle to yawn. Malik glanced up without raising his head to see Ryou stumble into the living room, rubbing his eyes.

"Headache," he muttered briefly.

"Oh. Well would you like some aspirin?" the other replied, sounding more awake now.

"Yeah, thanks," Malik mumbled, hearing Ryou's footsteps retreat as the Egyptian went back to massaging his temples. He didn't even notice the other presence in the room until the cushion beside him sank, causing Malik's body to tilt until his thigh rested against the other person's leg. Not bothering to open his eyes – which had slipped closed at some point during his vain quest for relief from the pounding inside his skull – Malik greeted him. "Hey Bakura."

"Headache, huh?"

"It takes a lot of energy to keep control of someone's mind for so long, especially a mind as strong as the Pharaoh's. I tried to keep the commands simple but it's still difficult."

"I see."

Malik finally opened his eyes and glanced at Bakura, only to see the other staring back at him under half-lidded eyes, his slim, pale figure clad only in boxers and sprawled lazily on the couch, both his arms stretched out along the back of the sofa. "Are we going to follow the Pharaoh and Kaiba today?" Malik questioned.

The white-haired male didn't answer right away – just kept staring levelly at Malik through those half-open, chocolate-brown eyes. When he finally spoke, all he said was, "You've never been here in the morning before." Then he reached out and pulled the blond toward him, burying his nose in Malik's hair. "God, Blondie, how do you smell so good?"

Malik suddenly felt as if he had swallowed a thousand butterflies, with the way his insides were squirming and turning flips. Bakura had almost sounded… well, romantic. But Bakura was never romantic, never even really friendly. Probably the closest way to describe his and Malik's relationship would be reluctant allies who occasionally fool around – but this…

He shouldn't get his hopes up. The thief was probably just after a little bit of early morning action.

"Ugh, Bakura, can't you keep your hands to yourself for five minutes?" Ryou had reappeared in the doorway, holding a glass of water and aspirin and wrinkling his nose in disgust at his taller look-alike.

"Morning, Ryou. Hey, you're sexy; you want to join us?"

Bakura moved away from him and Malik sighed. He really should have known.

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At precisely 7:28 in the morning, Yami's eyes shot open and he climbed out of bed, the desire to get ready for Seto buzzing in his mind. He went through his morning routine simply enough, only hesitating when he opened his closet. Seto hadn't said where they would go, so what should he wear? In the end he went the safe route and chose his usual attire, black boots and pants, black sleeveless shirt and buckled collar. Add a few armbands and a couple of belts with large silver buckles, as well as a large dose of eyeliner around his blood-colored eyes, and Yami was dressed for any occasion. As usual.

He then moved downstairs to sit by the door and wait for Seto. Yugi was there, saying something, but this morning Yami didn't pay attention. The buzzing in his mind was too strong – he needed to wait for Seto. He had to.

Twenty minutes later, at exactly 8:52, there was a knock on the door and Yami had answered it before Yugi could even climb to his feet. He opened the door, smiling brightly, and immediately climbed onto his tiptoes and wrapped his arms around the other's neck, pulling Seto down for a vigorous kiss in greeting.

The sound of Yugi's bewildered spluttering at the sight faded as Yami broke away from Seto with a smile and pulled the door shut behind him. "So, where are we going?" he asked, taking the brunet's hand in his.

But Seto was frowning, staring at the closed door. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm sure it's nothing important. Let's go!" Yami tugged on his hand in an attempt to pull the other toward the sleek silver Jaguar parked on the curb, but the brunet only followed a few steps before stopping again, his frown deepening.

"Don't you care?"

The smaller male laughed. "Well sure, but I'm eager to get started with our date. Aren't you?"

"Yes of course, but…" Seto paused, staring intently into Yami's eyes for a moment before continuing slowly. "You're always so stupidly overprotective of him… I thought you would want to…" He shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go."

Seto walked Yami to the car and held the door open for him. Then the two drove away in silence as Yami stared straight ahead through the spotless windshield, thinking about absolutely nothing at all.

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Bakura slapped Malik on the back of the head. "Idiot! Kaiba's starting to suspect! You've got to act more like the Pharaoh!"

The blond rubbed his head – which still hurt a little, even after the aspirin, and Bakura's abuse certainly didn't help any – and glared at the white-haired teen. "Ow. How am I supposed to know how the Pharaoh acts? I'm doing the best I can!"

"Well you should've known better than to blow off Yugi. He fawns all over that little shrimp, even Kaiba knows that."

Malik huffed. "So I forgot one minor detail. I don't see you doing any better."

"Give me the Rod and I'll show you."

"Like I'm falling for that!" Malik crossed his arms across his chest – taking the Sennen Rod with them – and glared at Bakura. The two had retreated to Bakura's bedroom and locked the door, the white-haired male telling Ryou that he and Malik had 'business' to attend to and not to bother him. There was no telling what Ryou thought about this, though the way he raised his eyebrow at the pair of them when a still half-naked Bakura dragged the blond into his bedroom gave Malik a pretty good idea.

Actually, as pathetic as it sounded, Malik didn't mind if people thought he was sleeping with Bakura. It made him feel like he belonged to the former tomb robber, at least a little bit, and Malik was desperate enough to settle for anything he could get as far as Bakura was concerned.

Being reminded of it sure did tick him off, though.

"Blondie, I can't see!" Bakura whined.

"I don't care. Shut up." Malik glared at the other long and hard, sure to make his annoyance known. "Quit snapping at me and you better not hit me again or I'm calling this whole thing off."

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "Quit screwing up and I'll quit snapping at you."

Malik let out a low hiss and didn't respond, simply staring at Bakura until the other finally sighed. "Fine. Sorry. Now dammit let me see!"

"If we'd followed them like I wanted to you'd be able to see just fine," Malik answered loftily, but moved the Sennen Rod so Bakura could touch it. He wrapped his hand around Malik's and the blond's stomach fluttered at the touch before he sighed and turned his attention back to the Pharaoh.

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"This is nice," Yami commented, glancing around at his surroundings. Seto had taken him to a park, mostly secluded at this time of morning, and the two walked hand-in-hand until they reached a pond with various benches placed around the perimeter.

They chose a bench and Yami immediately crawled up into Seto's lap and placed the brunet's arms around himself, burying his face in Seto's neck and kissing it for a bit until he heard a promising-sounding sigh. "I'm… glad you like it," Seto said. "I thought we could go for lunch later."

"Mmm," Yami assented, his trail of kisses progressing steadily upward along the other's jaw.

Seto's breath hitched and Yami could feel the brunet shifting uncomfortably beneath him, so he squirmed, smirking to himself when Seto stifled a low moan. "Al…alright, let's slow down now," the brunet said with some difficulty, pushing Yami back and attempting to get the smaller male off his lap.

Instead, Yami lunged forward and planted a kiss directly on Seto's lips, wrapping his arms around Seto's neck when he felt the other protest, until the brunet melted into the embrace, the kiss steadily growing more heated until Seto slid his hands under Yami's shirt. But the moment his hands came into contact with Yami's skin Seto seemed to snap back into awareness and he broke the kiss. "I mean it. We need to stop," he gasped, gently lifting Yami and settling him onto the bench beside him.

"Why?" Yami panted, gazing up at the other through wide crimson eyes. "You love me, don't you?"

"I said it, didn't I?" Seto replied, rather peevishly. "But that doesn't mean we have to paw all over each other all the time."

The spiky-haired male smirked up at Seto and began tracing the curve of the brunet's arm with the tip of one long, slender finger. "It's fun, though," he purred.

"Yami…" Seto sighed and lifted his arm, draping it across Yami's shoulders and allowing the smaller male to curl up against his side.

"Don't you want to be with me, Seto?" Yami murmured.

"Yes."

Yami waited for the other to make a move, but he never did. Instead the pair remained in the same position, seated on the bench and staring out at the pond, Yami curled against Seto while the brunet's fingers lightly stroked his back.

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Meanwhile, closed up in a dark bedroom somewhere on the other side of the city, Malik sighed.

A/N: Ah but Malik's quite the drama queen, isn't he? There was a lot of him and Bakura in this chapter, but don't worry, Seto and Yami are still our main players.

Projected length for this story is five chapters, just so you guys know. And I must say, I'm thrilled at the response it's gotten so far; it's nice to know I'm still loved even though I haven't posted anything in awhile, lol. Thanks for reviewing!