Title: The First Time

Author: Wintersslayer

Rating: Pg-13

Pairing: Seto/Yami, sorta Joey/Yami

Spoilers: None that I know of.

Warnings: Maybe some language. And please, LOOK at the pairings listed. If you don't like, then don't read.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.

Summary: AU- 10 years ago, Yami had a beautiful relationship with Seto that ended tragically with Seto's death. Now, shortly after his engagement to his long-time best friend Joey, Yami meets a man named Seth, who curiously looks a lot like Seto...

Status: 4 of ?

A/N: I'm alive, I'm alive. I write so many papers for classes, that I don't feel much like writing for my fic. But, after a little chat with Pysche, I suddenly got inspired to write today. So, here ya go! (Go and thank Pysche by leaving a nice long review for her! She has a cool story called Silver Lining.)

START OF CHAPTER

Chapter 4

The next two days passed by in a blurry haze for Yami. He couldn't concentrate during his classes, nor on the activities of his friends. When Joey had informed the group that Yami was coming with them, they immediately had asked what had happened with his plans with Kaiba. He had only mumbled something about Kaiba having important business to take care of, which probably wasn't a lie anyways. When they were alone, his brother had tried to get out of him the real reason, but the older Mutou was quite adamant about keeping quiet, which made Yugi rather suspicious that something was definitely wrong.

During the classes that they were in together, Kaiba took to ignoring Yami as he did the rest of the students, instead focusing solely on his novel. It was during classes especially when Yami realized how much he missed the other's company. He also missed their before-class meetings. On both Thursday and Friday morning, the tall brunet was already sitting in his seat, reading his novel, by the time he had rushed in, late as usual. Luckily for him though, the teacher didn't seem too upset. Then again, the teacher probably still feared losing his job.

By Saturday morning, as his and Yugi's grandpa was driving the group up to the cabin, Yami was beginning to wonder if he had made a mistake. Maybe he should have given Kaiba a chance to explain. Maybe it was that he didn't have a choice in working for Kaiba Corp. It would make sense then why he didn't like talking about his work or family- he'd needed to get away from both. Furthermore, being the adopted son of a wealthy businessman, Kaiba would definitely not like people "snooping" in his business. He was probably tired of everyone wanting to know everything about him. This would explain his sudden coldness when Yami blurted out that he knew about his adopted family and business. And with the whole game thing…well, he couldn't really completely trust what Joey's friends from the other school had said about Kaiba, now could he? They could be just trying to get back at him or something. With a sigh, Yami realized how much of a jerk he'd been, and decided immediately that on Monday he'd apologize to Seto. Hopefully, he would be forgiven and they could still become friends. And if he was really lucky, then they might become something even more…

Once they were all settled in, the friends spent the remaining morning and most of the afternoon playing games and laughing and joking together. Yami tried to act like he was having fun, but actually he couldn't keep his mind off of Seto and what he would say to him on Monday. By late afternoon, he grew weary of pretending and excused himself from the rest of the group to take a walk by himself. However, he didn't get very far when he heard Joey's voice calling out from behind him. He turned around just as his best friend caught up to him. "Hey Yami, where ya heading off to?"

He shrugged. "No where in particular. Just wanted to clear my mind."

Joey nodded. "Yeah, I noticed you've been kinda down these past few days." He knew that Yami had been thinking about Kaiba during all that time, which annoyed him greatly. He had thought that his little talk had gotten rid of Moneybags for sure. Apparently, his friend needed something else, or rather someone else, to think about for a change. "So I was thinking that some time this week me and you could hang out together, ya know, just the two of us."

Yami looked at his friend curiously. "Just the two of us?" he echoed.

"Yeah. We could grab something to eat, maybe catch a movie. We never do anything just the two of us. It'll be fun, I promise." He grinned his characteristic grin.

He had once been informed by his brother that Joey may have a slight crush on him. At the time, he had laughed it off as something from Yugi's imagination. But now, after what Joey had just said, maybe his brother wasn't imagining things after all. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Joey. But I was hoping that I could patch things up with Seto this week." He winced slightly as his friend's grin immediately faded. He spoke again quickly before Joey could speak. "I know you don't trust him. But I really haven't given him a fair chance, and I'd like to hear his side of things first before I give up on him completely." He paused briefly. "I really am sorry, Joey." He could see the disappointment in Joey's eyes as the other stared back at him silently. But was there something else in them as well? Was he detecting some…anger as well?

The blond narrowed his eyes. He couldn't believe that after all that he had told him, he still liked the guy. He friend was simply far too trusting sometimes. But what really ticked him off was that, given a choice, Yami had apparently chosen Moneybags over him. He took a deep breath, exhaling sharply, trying to keep his cool, but having a rather difficult time doing it. "So, you're saying that you'd rather be with him than with me?" He couldn't quite keep the anger and disappointment out of his voice.

Crimson eyes saddened at the look his friend was giving him. "I'm sorry, but I don't see you as anything more than a friend," he said quietly.

As Yami spoke, Joey's temper exploded, causing him to not pay attention to what the other was actually saying. "Tell me then, Yami," he spat out angrily, "why'd you chose him over me? Is it because he's rich and I'm not?" He shook his head. "I'd never thought that you were that type, but I guess you had me fooled all these years. So what, was I just something to pass the time with, before some rich guy came along that liked you? Were you just pretending to care about me, so I'd stick around and keep you company?" He breathed heavily in deep and uneven breaths.

Yami couldn't believe what his friend was saying. Never before had he seen him act this way towards him. He tried to explain. "I never pretended to care about you, Joey. I do care about you greatly, just not in the way that you want me to." He paused, trying to collect his thoughts. "You're my best friend. My best friend. I'd never do anything to hurt you." He looked at his friend with pleading eyes, pleading that he would understand.

Unfortunately, anger and jealously had clouded Joey's mind so much that he wasn't even listening to the other's words. "Fine then!" he shouted with as much anger as he could. "If Kaiba's all that you want, then Kaiba's all that you'll have. This friendship is OVER!" He spun around and started to stalk back towards the rest of the group.

Crimson eyes widened in shock, and he rushed after his friend. "Joey, wait!" He placed a hand on his shoulder. As soon as he did though, Joey angrily threw it off, then turned around abruptly and swung at him. His fist connected squarely with Yami's jaw, sending him sprawling onto the ground. For a long moment, they stared at each in silence. Yami quietly picked himself up off the ground, one hand on his sore jaw, his lip bleeding slightly, staring at his friend in disbelief.

It took that silent moment for Joey to realize what he'd just done. His eyes widened, the anger in them suddenly gone, and he reached out a hand towards Yami, stumbling over his apology. "Y-Yami, I…I'm…"

However, Yami slowly shook his head at him, then turned and bolted towards the woods. Joey was too stunned at his own actions to chase after him, and could only stare instead at his friend's retreating form.

Yami ran long and hard, tears blurring his vision, not really paying attention to where he was going. He just had to get away. How did things get so messed up so fast? First, he had messed things up with Seto- he was stupid to even think that he could be forgiven after all that he'd done. Then, he finds out that his best friend likes him, a fact that seemingly had messed up their long-time friendship. And he'd never thought in his whole life that Joey would ever raise a hand against him. But he did, so now he was forced to question their entire friendship. He guessed that he didn't know him as well as he thought he did. He didn't know that he liked him, didn't know that he had a temper, and didn't know that he could become so violent so fast. His world had just been turned upside down it seemed.

Night descended quickly, the chilly air closing in around Yami. He was walking now, arms wrapped around himself for warmth, gazing around at his dark surroundings. He had no idea where he was, and had been wandering around for what had seemed like hours. Had he really run off so far? Nothing around him seemed even remotely familiar, and he had been in these woods several times before. With a tired sigh he sat down on a fallen log, shivering slightly. He supposed he should wait till morning to find his way back, assuming that he didn't freeze to death over night. He had forgotten his scarf back at the cabin, so he turned up his jacket's collar in an attempt to ward off the cold from his neck. It didn't help much. He closed his eyes with another sigh. If he hadn't been so stupid and brash with his thoughts, he could be out on his date with Seto right now, instead of freezing in the middle of the woods. He imagined that they would attend some famous concert, the sweet sounds of the piano rising above all of the other instruments. Afterwards, they would take a walk in the park, and sit at the benches around the dragon's fountain, wrapped up in each other's arms. Then, Seto would tilt his chin up, and their lips would meet in a gentle first k---.

The sound of boots crunching on the snow snapped Yami out of his little fantasy, and he opened his eyes immediately. He glanced around, spotting a flickering, dim light behind him. As the light got brighter, the sounds got louder as well. He could also faintly hear a familiar voice calling out, "Yami! Can you hear me! Yami!" Crimson eyes widened in disbelief. It couldn't be him…

Suddenly, the light was shown directly into his eyes, causing him to bring up a hand to shield them, but still managing to temporarily blind him. When the light was removed, he brought his hand down, blinking rapidly. When his vision finally returned, he found himself staring at a rather familiar-looking trench coat, its dark color blending in with the night around him. Slowly, Yami raised his eyes until they finally met with a pair of rather concerned blue eyes. He couldn't believe he was here…

Relief flooded over Seto as he placed the flashlight on the ground and sat down on the log next to Yami. "Yami! Are you alright?" he asked, his voice filled with concern. While he and Mokuba had been playing a game of Duel Monsters in their cabin, Yami's friends had rushed by their window, and he overheard them exclaiming how Yami had been missing for several hours now after having gone into the woods by himself. He immediately had grabbed his trench coat and scarf, as well as a large flashlight, telling Mokuba to stay put as he rushed out of the cabin. As angry as he had been at Yami that day in his office, he still couldn't quite put the other out of his mind, though of course he didn't show it.

Yami stared at Seto with wide eyes. "Seto…what are you doing here?" he asked in a quiet voice, ignoring his question.

"My brother and I have a cabin up here. I had heard that you were missing, so I went looking for you." He paused, then repeated his question. "Are you alright?"

A small smile formed on his lips, the first real one in days it seemed. "I'm fine. My neck is a bit cold though." He laughed quietly, a bit embarrassed that he had said something that sounded so stupid.

However, Seto didn't seem to mind. He unwrapped the long, dark scarf from around his neck, and wrapped it around Yami's instead, making sure not to choke him with it. "There. Better now?" he asked with a slight smile.

"Much." Without thinking, Yami suddenly threw his arms around Seto's neck, hugging him tightly. A bit stunned, the other slowly brought his arms up around his waist, holding him loosely. The words starting tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop himself. "Seto, I'm so sorry for the way that I had acted that day. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, and I shouldn't have listened to what other people were saying. I'm sorry for not giving you a chance, and I really, really hope that I haven't messed things up between us for good. I really like you, Seto. More than I've liked anyone else before. Please, please say you'll forgive me. I don't want to lose you. I'm so, so sorry." Tears were falling freely down his cheeks now, leaving a cold, frozen trail.

Seto tightened his arms around the other, drawing him tight against his chest. "Shhh, don't cry Yami. Of course I forgive you." He paused slightly. "I guess…I jumped to conclusions a bit too hastily as well, and for that I am sorry." He wasn't used to apologizing to people- it was usually the other way around- so he felt a bit awkward saying one now. But it didn't really matter to him anyways. All that mattered to him at the moment was that Yami was safe.

The pair stayed wrapped up in each other's arms for the next several moments, till Seto cleared his throat gently. "We should get going," he said quietly. "Mokuba will probably be worried about me by now."

Yami nodded and pulled back a bit. "My friends are probably worried about me too."

They both stood up, Seto grabbing the flashlight with one hand as he did so. He draped his other arm around Yami's shoulders, holding him close. He felt the other wrap an arm around his waist. They walked in silence, till at last they came to a small clearing, showing a patch of the dark sky above them. The taller boy glanced up for a moment before continuing on. When the other gave him a curious look, he smiled slightly. "I was looking for the North Star," he paused to point it out with his flashlight, "to make sure that we are heading in the right direction."

"Is that how you found me? By looking at the stars?"

He shook his head. "Not really. I just…knew where to find you…" He couldn't really explain how he knew- he just did.

As the pair continued to walk, they began telling each other stories about their families. This time though, Seto did a bit more of the talking, telling Yami about how Gozaburo had adopted him and his brother, and how he despised working for him. He wanted Yami to know the real him, and not the person portrayed by the media. He had never been so open to anyone before, except maybe Mokuba, even telling Yami about how he wanted to change KaibaCorp into a technology-based company, maybe even into a game company. The other nodded and smiled encouragingly, saying it would be cool to see Duel Monsters come to life during a duel.

When Yami mentioned that some people from his old school were spreading rumors about him, Seto gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean? Before Domino High, I've always been privately tutored." He grimaced briefly at the memories of long, tedious hours of studying. "Though I would have preferred otherwise." He frowned a bit. Apparently, someone was going around spreading lies about him. He didn't like that at all. He'd have to find out who this person is. Though he didn't think that Yami would continue to listen to this person, this person still had much to answer for.

Now it was Yami's turn to be confused. Hadn't Joey said that he knew people from Seto's old school? But why would his friend lie to him like that? Then suddenly a thought hit him: had Joey been purposely trying to break him and Seto up? It would make sense, especially if Joey did like him and all. Yami just found it difficult to believe that his friend would do something like that.

Back at the Mutou's cabin, Yugi, Joey, Tea and Tristan met back up. None of them had been able to find Yami, and were growing more worried by the minute. Joey was especially feeling bad, knowing that it was his fault that he was missing in the first place. To make matters worse, while looking for him, he had come across another cabin, where he had apparently met Kaiba's younger brother. The short black-haired boy had been standing outside the open door, anxiously looking in the direction of the woods. When Joey had described Yami and asked if he had seen him, the boy brightened up some.

"Yami? That's the name of a guy Big Brother had gone out looking for! He seemed really worried about him when he found out that he was missing, which is strange."

"Big brother?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, his name is Seto, and he's the best brother ever!"

Joey suddenly felt a bit sick to his stomach. He just had to find Yami before Kaiba did. "Thanks for the help kid, but I gotta get back to looking for my bud. Later." He rushed off once more towards the woods, not seeing the boy waving bye to him.

Unfortunately though, he still had had no luck in finding Yami, and was now back at the cabin with the rest of their friends. It was getting late, and the friends decided that it might be best to wait till morning to continue searching for Yami. Tea hugged Yugi comfortingly, reassuring him several times that Yami would be alright. The freshman still looked worriedly towards the woods, wondering if his brother might be injured or something. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he saw in the distance two people walking towards the cabin. "Hey guys, look!" He pointed towards the pair.

As the pair got closer, Yugi recognized his brother's unmistakable hair style. "Yami!" He shouted happily, rushing towards his brother and giving him a huge hug. He let go of his brother, and noticed that he was wearing a dark blue scarf that was definitely not his. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at his brother's companion and nearly fell over in shock. Seto Kaiba! How had he found his brother, and what was he doing here in the first place? He watched in amazement as his brother tried to return the scarf, the other insisting that he keep it. With a small wave goodbye to Yami, the tall brunet started to head back towards his own cabin. By then, Joey, Tea and Tristan had joined them, all very eager to hear what had happened to Yami. However, Yugi noticed that something rather strange was going on between Yami and Joey. He noticed that the blond was trying to catch Yami's eye, but his brother was seemingly refusing to. Had something happened between them? He'd have to find out later.

As the friends walked into their warm cabin, Seto returned to his own to find his brother wearing a rather ridiculous smile. The older Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Now I know what Yami looks like finally." Seto had told him all about his meetings with him, and he was dying to find out what he looked like. "I saw you two heading out of the woods. So I take it that everything is okay between you guys?"

Seto frowned. "Yeah, everything is fine. But I think someone might have been purposely trying to break us apart, giving him reasons to doubt me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Yami mentioned something about people from my "old school" spreading rumors about me. I told him that before I started going to Domino High, I had always been privately tutored. He got this rather confused look on his face. So, I think that someone is going around spreading lies about me to him."

Mokuba nodded, then thought of something. "This blond-haired guy came by the cabin. He was looking for Yami too. When I told him that you were out looking for him as well, he got this panicky look in his eyes and rushed off. He seemed to be in even more of a hurry to find him."

"Did you catch his name?"

He shook his head.

The only one of Yami's friends that he knew of who had blond hair was that Wheeler boy. Could he be the one spreading lie about him to Yami? The kid was always glaring at him. He'd have to check into this.

The next morning, Joey walked out of the cabin, holding a leather jacket in one hand. Yami had apparently forgotten it when he decided to take a short walk, so he was planning on giving it to him and apologizing for yesterday. All last night, Yami had ignored him, refusing to even meet his gaze. He hadn't told their friends what had happened between them, which gave Joey some hope that Yami was willing to still be friends with him at least. He'd just have to avoid saying anything negative about Kaiba for a while. Which will be a very difficult task to do. But he had to, if he wanted to get back on to Yami's good side.

When he finally found Yami, brown eyes narrowed and he gripped the jacket in his hand even tighter. Kaiba had already found him, and was offering his trench coat to him. He saw him shake his head, then saw the brunet wrapping his arms around him! He really felt like storming over there and giving Moneybags a strong punch in the face, but he restrained himself, reminding himself that he must get back on Yami's good side, and punching Kaiba was definitely not the way to do that. With an angry growl, he turned and stormed back towards the cabin. He'd find some way to get rid of Kaiba for good…

Back in the city, as Yugi and Grandpa were inside the game shop getting dinner ready, Yami was unloading the car, smiling to himself as he did so. He still wore Seto's scarf wrapped around his neck, the brunet insisting that he keep it as a gift. He was really happy with how things were going with him. They seemed to have picked up right from where they left off. Seto had found him earlier this morning to say that he had to go back to the city with his brother for work, but he didn't want to leave without saying goodbye first. They had stood together for several moments, Seto's arms wrapped tightly around him. When he finally had to leave, he gave Yami a small goodbye kiss on the forehead. The boy hadn't stopped smiling since. Things were definitely going good.

"Yami?"

The low voice brought him out of his thoughts, and he turned around only to find Joey standing behind him, looking at him with concerned brown eyes. For a long moment they just stared at each other, till Yami finally broke the silence. "Did you want something, Joey?"

Joey shifted his stance a little, looking at the ground as he did so. "Uh…yeah. Look, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how I acted up at the mountains. I was just angry you know, let my temper get the best of me. I really am sorry for what I said…and for hitting you." He shifted some more uncomfortably.

Yami nodded. "Thank you for your apology." He still wasn't sure if he could trust Joey. He picked up the remaining bags. "Grandpa and Yugi are waiting for me. I'll…see you at school tomorrow. Night." He quickly walked past the blond and into the game shop, not looking back once.

Once the door was shut, Joey frowned and growled lowly. This was all that Kaiba's fault, driving a rift between him and his best friend. There was definitely some payback in his near future. He just had to figure what.

END OF CHAPTER

Yay, they are back together now! This was a fun chapter to write. I enjoyed writing it.

So was Joey hitting Yami a big surprise? That wasn't actually originally planned- just kinda happened. Thought it went well with the scene. Nice reason for Yami to go and get himself lost. ;)

Next chapter…Joey finds a way to end Seto and Yami's happiness. Though, it takes an unexpected turn. I think you all know what's gonna happen…

Thanks for reading, and please review! ;)