Chapter 30: Temptation
Kaiba wasn't entirely sure how he had made it through the day without giving in to the need to pass out, but he had miraculously done so. His body felt unnaturally heavy and sluggish, but there was nothing that he could do about that for the time being. He never thought that he would be so grateful for it to be the last class of the day, but he was—even if Yami was already there and half asleep.
Taking a seat at his own desk, Kaiba did his best to appear unaffected, but it was impossible to hide how weary he felt. Whatever had happened between him and Yami earlier that morning had certainly taken its toll on him and he could see that the other wasn't fairing much better. Yami had his head down on the desk, his scarlet eyes closed to the glairing lights of the classroom and Kaiba had the strangest urge to disturb him. Refusing to act out on such a childish impulse, Kaiba continued to sit in silence and tune out the hushed discussions about Yami's unexpected return.
Once the teacher arrived, the classroom quieted down significantly as roll was called. Yami had managed to sit up properly, although it was unclear as to how awake he really was. The lesson began, but Kaiba couldn't find the energy to pay strict attention to such things. Instead he tried to remember if he had any pressing meetings later that afternoon that would prevent him from skipping work again. As much as the thought of missing another day displeased him, doing substandard work as a result of exhaustion displeased him more. His desire to go straight home and collapse into bed was ridiculous, but tempting nevertheless.
A subtle movement on the edge of Kaiba's peripheral perception caught his attention and he shifted his attention to the source. He immediately wished that he hadn't, but it was a bit late for that. The fact that he had to try and not pay attention to Yami was troublesome enough, but that fact that he was failing made it even worse. Any attempt at distracting himself just led to more problems of a different sort, especially when he remembered the incident from that morning that had left him feeling so listless. At least Yami still seemed unaware of the fact that he was the source of Kaiba's current frustration, but that was hardly something to be grateful for; he had no desire to be further embarrassed by his increasingly disturbing behavior.
Kaiba made a concentrated effort at staying focused on the lecture, but it failed to hold his attention. The fact that his teacher was currently losing to a precariously placed pen failed to amuse Kaiba since it meant that the same pen was defeating him as well. Although it wasn't so much the pen itself as it was the lips and tongue that were teasing it and making Kaiba think of all sots of things that he was better off not imagine like the way it would feel when—wait, had his, 'If's turned into, 'When's? How was that possible? Then again, was he really all that surprised anymore?
Leaning back in his chair to disguise a stretch, Kaiba was vaguely aware of the teacher announcing that everyone needed to break up into pairs, but he didn't bother to listen to the assignment. Kaiba never participated in such pointless exercises and besides, he was currently occupied with other thoughts that he really shouldn't be thinking. So much for his discipline and self control…
Thus it came as a shock to feel a desk hitting against his own, startling him from a tantalizing idea about what he could be doing to Yami that he was trying to convince himself to forget. Suddenly finding himself in close proximity to Yami was enough to stir him into a less than intelligent reaction of, "What are you doing?"
"He told us to break into pairs, so I did," Yami explained nonchalantly, but his eyes betrayed his mischievousness. "Or should I go find someone else to partner up with?"
It was only then that Kaiba became aware of just how many eyes were focused on them; they all seemed to be hoping that Yami would be rejected so that they could try to claim him as their partner. "You're such a pain in the ass," Kaiba muttered, but he made no attempt to force Yami away. If it meant not having to watch girls fight over who got to be with Yami, then it would be worth the annoyance.
"I don't think that you're in any position to say that," Yami teased with a perverse grin.
Ignoring the thinly veiled innuendo, Kaiba settled for a glare as he irritably ran his fingers through his hair. Instead of embarrassing himself any further by explicitly agreeing, Kaiba asked, "So what are we supposed to be doing?" It set off a round of groans from a few of the girls in the room and Kaiba had to restrain himself from smirking in victory.
"We're supposed to be discussing the chapter," Yami answered as he flipped a few pages back to the beginning of the section.
"Why?"
"Because he told us to?"
"Hn."
Turning to face Kaiba at a slightly more advantageous angle, Yami realized, "You weren't paying attention, were you?" Judging from the way he had noticed Kaiba looking at him earlier, Yami had a fair idea as to what exactly had distracted the other and it was too rich an opportunity to let go so easily. He was becoming entirely too frustrated by all of the interruptions that had gotten in their way and he was starting to feel affected by the excessive pent up sensations.
Becoming defensive, Kaiba told him dismissively, "There are far more productive uses of my time than relearning some useless history," disregarding the fact that he had been wasting time in a different manner.
Yami decided it would be better to act when Kaiba wasn't so guarded, so he let the matter drop momentarily in favor of looking over the text. Unaware that he was idly tapping his pen against his lips as he studied the book, Yami tried to get them back on task by asking, "So what were some of the reasons for the war?"
"The leaders were all a bunch of fucking idiots," Kaiba answered decisively, trying not to let his eyes wander.
The comment drew a genuine laugh from Yami, earning them more than a few looks from confused students who couldn't comprehend that Kaiba would have something that amusing to say. "Somehow I don't think that answer is in the book," Yami said after reigning in his mirth.
"That doesn't mean that it's not true," Kaiba countered with a shrug. He had been forced to study countless wars and the strategies used during battle and it was the singular conclusion he had drawn, but he didn't dwell on the subject.
Still chuckling, Yami wanted to know. "So can you be more specific, or is that the answer we're supposed to give?"
Kaiba didn't bother answering Yami's question since he knew that the teacher would never ask him anything. Even if he unwisely did so, Kaiba was more than capable of answering such an elementary question without the aid of such a misinformed textbook.
Realizing that Kaiba's earlier defensiveness had faded some, Yami decided to see how much further he could push him. Pretending to read the text, Yami could feel when Kaiba's gaze was drawn to him and he tried to hold back the grin that was threatening to form.
Kaiba's eyes continued to randomly stray toward Yami despite his resolve, which he tried to justify due to the circumstance of having him so close because of the assignment. He was instantly cursing himself when Yami looked up and noticed, giving Kaiba a knowing look as he playfully teased, "Am I distracting you?"
"From what?" Kaiba demanded, trying to maintain his unperturbed façade. When Kaiba received a laugh instead of a real answer, he made a noise of disdain, displeased with the fact that Yami didn't seem to believe him in the least. But Yami seemed content to drop the matter as he returned his gaze to the book, turning to the next page and skimming over the words.
Deciding it would be in his best interests to remind himself of their surroundings, Kaiba was satisfied that the rest of the class was currently ignoring them. The sound of quiet conversation accumulated into a level of noise that was more than sufficient at masking anything that Yami might have said, so at least that was one less thing that he had to concern himself with for now.
Any other thoughts that Kaiba might have had were chased away when he felt Yami's hand lightly resting on his thigh. The offending hand started to drift upward and Kaiba shifted uncomfortably in his seat at the contact as he quietly hissed, "What do you think you're doing?"
When Yami's hand dipped and began slowly trailing along Kaiba's inner thigh, he was torn between proving that he was unaffected by the movement or stopping it before he became affected by it. Yami was clearly enjoying every moment of his explorations and Kaiba realized that the devious look on the other's face could only mean things were going to escalate. Putting a stop to it before that could happen, he grabbed Yami's wrist and forced him to relinquish his position. Scowling when Yami started to snicker softly, Kaiba muttered, "Shut up," as he released his hold.
"I didn't say a word," Yami told him with an impish grin. His aibou had been right, though; it was probably a very good thing that he didn't share any other classes with Kaiba. After all, it would be a shame to end up expelled for indecent behavior since Arthur had gone through so much effort to get him the paperwork to make it possible.
He wasn't sure what exactly Yami was trying to do, but Kaiba still found himself wary of the other's intentions. Kaiba's response was interrupted when the teacher called the class back to attention. The scrapping sound of desks and chairs being dragged across the linoleum floor was torturous to Kaiba's ears, but it was mercifully short lived as everyone settled in to review their group discussions.
His mild irritation at Yami began to turn into a general annoyance as the other students began reciting the answers from the textbook back to the teacher. It wasn't worth his time, so he allowed the emotion to dissipate as he blankly stared ahead at the whiteboard that was covered in their teacher's barely legible print.
Kaiba was pretty sure that falling asleep with his eyes open wasn't a skill he possessed, but there were few other ways that he could explain how class ended so quickly while he was still conscious and present. The rush of students heading out to the halls in search of their freedom made Kaiba want to linger in the comparatively quiet classroom just a little longer. Without fully understanding why, Kaiba found that he was particularly sensitive to the endless noise today and he was less than willing to expend what little energy he had on fighting his way through the crowded corridor. Then again, that left him with the alternative of listening to girls fawning all over Yami and that wasn't much of an improvement.
Holding in a sigh, Kaiba started to pack up, still debating whether he should go to work or return home. As much as he wanted to skip, the workaholic inside of him was raging against missing a second day when there was nothing wrong with him. Well, nothing physically wrong with him; mentally was a completely different matter it would seem.
With the sounds slowly receding to a manageable level, Kaiba stood to leave, but was startled when he felt Yami's arms wrapping around his waist. He froze at the feeling of Yami's small body pressing against his back and somewhere his mind was processing how strange it felt to be held by another in such a manner. Kaiba allowed himself to relax only slightly when he realized that Yami had somehow managed to dismiss the obnoxious girls, leaving them alone in the room. "What?" he prompted, unsure about what he should do about the unfamiliar position.
"Tired," Yami said with a yawn before snuggling closer, making Kaiba experience an unknown emotion at the increased contact.
"And this is my problem how?" Kaiba asked, immediately regretting it as that morning's incident flashed through his mind. Stepping out of Yami's embrace, Kaiba turned to face him, unable to miss the slight pout the action earned him. "Am I ever going to get an explanation about what happened earlier?"
Gracefully hopping up to sit on top of his desk, Yami decided to ask a different and more pertinent question, "Will you ever be willing to accept the answer?"
Would he? Kaiba wasn't so sure, but he realized that he was quickly gaining too much evidence to continue his blatant denial of such supernatural nonsense. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to be so resistant, but the need was undeniably there; he was Kaiba Seto and no one else. "I don't know," Kaiba admitted, hating that it was becoming such a common answer for him.
"That's okay," Yami reassured him, causing Kaiba to balk at the attempt at pacifying him. Sensing that, Yami reached out for Kaiba's wrist in order to gently pull him closer. "I have an idea about what happened, but…"
Kaiba could hear Yami's hesitation and he instantly knew that he wouldn't like the answer, but that was hardly new. Speculation was more than anything else Kaiba had to go off of; besides, he was too tired to argue, shocking as it was. "Just say it," Kaiba told him with a slight frown, bracing himself for the worst.
"The Millennium Puzzle always belonged to the pharaoh," Yami started to explain, watching carefully for Kaiba's reactions. "My father was the first to command it and I received it upon my ascension to the throne."
"For someone who claims not to remember, you sure know a hell of a lot about what supposedly happened," Kaiba interjected, failing to see why he needed to know the history of such a gaudy trinket.
Ignoring the comment in favor of continuing his story, Yami picked up from where he left off, "Before I sealed myself in it, I entrusted it to my successor so that he could use it to protect our land, our people, just as myself and my father before me had done. That person was my high priest."
Kaiba should have seen it coming, but he still didn't like hearing it. "What does this have to do with me?"
"As pharaoh, Seto would have been capable of using the Millennium Puzzle's power," Yami said, knowing that the next part would likely incur Kaiba's wrath. "Bakura and myself can use the Millennium Items because we controlled them in our previous lives before our souls were bound inside of them. Because of that, Yuugi and Ryou can also use them to a far lesser degree, but you're different."
Holding back a sarcastic response, Kaiba remained silent as Yami cautiously continued. "Seto's soul wasn't sealed away in the Millennium Rod or the Millennium Puzzle, both of which he controlled at some point. His soul was allowed to reincarnate, so…"
Even though Yami trailed off, Kaiba had enough information to guess at what conclusion the other had reached. "So you believe that I used the—that thing," Kaiba started to say, still finding it distasteful to voice aloud, "because I'm that bastard's supposed reincarnation?"
Yami had been expecting a more venomous hatred than the irritated displeasure he heard in Kaiba's tone. "I think it's a possibility," Yami consented tactfully with a nod. "It might have been reacting to your desire to protect."
Kaiba wanted to scoff at such a notion, but he refrained from doing so. He knew better than anyone that he had acted purely out of rage at Bakura's words; Yami had never been in harm's way, so that part of the argument didn't fit quite as neatly. That wasn't to say that it wouldn't have been different if Yami had been threatened, but it did raise another question for Kaiba. "Why now?"
"I'm not really sure," Yami admitted with a frown, "nor do I understand what happened afterwards, other than the fact that the Millennium Puzzle was partially responsible."
"A conduit of sorts," Kaiba mused, still trying to figure everything out to his satisfaction. He supposed that it made sense if one bought into the ideas that Yami had put forth, but it still left him feeling uncomfortable on several levels. "Is that why you asked Yuugi for it?"
"I didn't know that would be the direct effect," Yami confessed, "but I had a feeling that something might happen."
Taking a deep breath, Kaiba wondered if he'd be able to bring himself to ask the next question out loud, knowing what it could mean. Most of his day had been spent between deliberating and remembering what had happened and there was something inside of him that demanded to know more, demanded to feel more of the shared sensation from the incident. Even though the magic aspect was a source of displeasure, the overall experience had left him yearning for more; he was undeniably curious and that rare emotion seemed to trump his discomfort over the whole general issue.
Still, it was difficult to go against so many years of conditioning; to simply give in to such a selfish desire was something he was not inclined to do so easily, and yet here he was contemplating it. Then again, what had resisting done for him other than drive him to the brink of collapse? It had merely proven that avoiding Yami made him weaker than allowing the other to stay close, which was a surprising discovery. So he had chosen to tentatively let Yami remain near him, although it made him exceedingly nervous. And yet Yami had asked for nothing beyond honesty and had shown a disturbing amount of patience with Kaiba's ridiculous emotional deficiencies. Kaiba sure as hell wouldn't have put up with it if the situation were reversed, so maybe there was more to Yami being a masochist than he had originally thought.
Even now, Yami was looking up at him with an unwavering gaze that was curious without being prying, concerned without being pitying. It unnerved him being watched so patiently by Yami, knowing that the other was waiting for him to reach a decision instead of trying to push him toward one. He was inherently uncomfortable with the knowledge that Yami had been the one to do the majority of the pursuing between them and Kaiba found it uncharacteristic of him to not be the aggressive participant. Whether it was out of fear of rejection or simple inexperience, Kaiba still didn't like it. He mentally resolved to assert his dominance, but in order to do so would mean committing himself to see things through to the end. His instincts were railing against his foolishness, but when had that stopped him of late?
"Borrow it."
Yami's eyes went wide at the quiet demand, hardly believing what he had just heard. He was further surprised when he felt Kaiba's lips against his, toying with the lower one before seeking permission for more. Eagerly granted, Yami wrapped his legs around Kaiba's waist in order to pull himself closer for better access, enjoying the cautiously enthusiastic kiss. It was only when he felt Yami's hands caressing his ass that Kaiba stopped to ask, "What do you think you're doing?"
The only answer Kaiba received was a not so subtle squeeze that had his body arching into Yami's with a small noise that was somewhere between surprise and enjoyment. Yami was challenging him with a kiss and Kaiba did his best to assert his dominance, getting thoroughly caught up in the act. They were forced to stop when the door was slid open, reminding the pair as to why they needed to start choosing better locations for their interactions.
Jounouchi froze at the sight in front of him, his greeting trapped in the back of his throat. He had thought that seeing Yami getting groped by Kaiba had been bad enough, but seeing the situation reversed made something inside of Jounouchi's brain break. There were just some things that were not meant to be seen and his best friend's hands on his enemy's ass were one of those things. "Man, can't you two get a room?" Jounouchi groaned, trying not to retch when Yami insisted on continuing to fondle Kaiba's ass.
Kaiba tried not to moan as Yami's fingers caressed their way up to a slightly more appropriate place on his lower back. "We have a room and you will remove yourself from it," Kaiba said coldly, trying not to feel mortified at the position he found himself in currently. Kaiba couldn't help but wonder if it was payback for what he had subjected Yami to the last time they were caught.
"Don't you own a hotel or something?" Jounouchi asked sarcastically, forced to make eye contact when Yami suddenly burst into laughter. Jounouchi didn't understand what was so funny, but he only got an apologetic look as a response. "Go do that kind of shit there instead of here. We don't need to see that!"
While the reminder of his various hotels brought some interesting ideas to the forefront of his mind, Kaiba decided that was a thought best indulged in later when there were no annoying intruders to interrupt. He made a mental note to ask Yami what he found so funny, but refocused his attention as he growled, "Then leave."
Relenting a little, Yami removed his hands from their possessive hold, but he still kept his legs wrapped around Kaiba's hips as he leaned back on the desk to see around his captive. "Did you want something, Jounouchi-kun?" Yami asked with a languid smile that caused his friend's cheeks to flush brightly.
"To quit walking on the two of you doing stuff," Jounouchi muttered, feeling incredibly awkward.
"There's an easy way to fix that," Kaiba told him, earning a snort from Jounouchi and an amused laugh from Honda who had arrived unnoticed.
Deciding to step in before things deteriorated any further between Jounouchi and Kaiba, Honda explained to Yami, "Jounouchi and I are heading to the arcade since Yuugi and Anzu are going on a date. We came to see if you wanted to go with us."
"Maybe next time," Yami declined, trying not to smirk at Kaiba's startled expression.
Before Jounouchi could antagonize Kaiba by saying something stupid, Honda started pulling his friend toward the door as he said, "Call us if you change your mind and want to meet up with us. We'll probably be in Ikebukuro."
"Thanks," Yami told him, stifling a laugh at Jounouchi's muttering. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Without another word, the two friends left the room and shut the door behind them, but Kaiba still wasn't pleased. Despite his irritation over the intrusion, he realized that, "You talked to him."
Even though it was a statement and not a question, Yami answered, "Yes," having finally got the chance to sit down with his friend. It had been far from smooth, but it had gone better than expected.
"That other guy," Kaiba started to say before Yami interjected.
"Honda."
"He doesn't seem to care."
Yami agreed, "I don't think he does," although he found it odd as well. Even after walking in on them last time, Honda had been rather unaffected by the whole thing. Yami wasn't entirely sure why Honda was so okay with everything, but he appreciated the support of his friend.
"Why did you turn them down?"
"Because I would rather be here with you," Yami stated in a matter of fact way.
Unable to comprehend, Kaiba asked incredulously, "Why? They're your friends."
"Yes, they are."
Having sat through too many friendship speeches for his own comfort, Kaiba found it hard to understand why it was acceptable to just blow them off like that. Sensing Kaiba's confusion, Yami smiled up at him in a reassuring manner as he insisted, "There's a place for you, too. Friends are important, but so is this."
"This," Kaiba repeated blandly, unsure if he actually wanted to understand. It gave him a weird feeling knowing that Yami was placing him in a place of priority and he didn't know what to do with it.
"So are you, Seto," Yami emphasized, hoping to get it through the stubborn teen's mind one day. "What's it going to take to convince you?"
When Kaiba said nothing in response, Yami leaned forward to kiss him gently, knowing that it would be awhile before he got an answer to his question. "So should we go somewhere else or should I go try and catch up with them?"
Kaiba's initial response would have been, "Do what you want," but he knew that it wasn't the right answer. It felt like a test and he'd be damned if he was going to fail it. "Come on," he finally forced himself to say as he stepped free of Yami. He tried not to feel the warmth that was brought to him by Yami's smile, but it was a difficult battle.
"Okay," Yami agreed, happily hopping off of the desk in order to collect his things.
The halls were emptier now, although a few stragglers could still be seen lingering in conversations. Together they made there way to the exit and Kaiba was relieved to Isono waiting for him next to the limo. Nodding in acknowledgement of the small bow he received from his employee, Kaiba slid into the backseat with Yami right behind him. Isono shut the door behind them and Kaiba found himself relaxing into the comforting leather. The familiar rumble of the smooth moving vehicle eased his agitated state and he was perfectly content to stay as he was for the duration of the trip.
Yami, however, was not. Impetuously deciding to straddle Kaiba's lap, Yami received a rather bored look for his efforts. "Where are we going?"
Since Kaiba hadn't given Isono explicit instructions about their destination, he assumed they were headed toward his house. Instead of answering Yami's question, he remembered what he had wanted to ask earlier, "What was so funnier earlier?"
Pausing for a moment to think about what Kaiba was referring, a perverse grin slowly made its way onto Yami's face. "Hotels," Yami cryptically replied, although he knew that Kaiba would want him to go into more detail.
"What about them?" Kaiba prompted, failing to see the humor.
"Love hotels," Yami clarified with emphasis, chuckling as his previous thoughts were once again playing out in his mind.
"Love hotels," Kaiba repeated with a raised eyebrow, only somewhat surprised that was where Yami's mind had ventured.
Yami managed to keep a straight face until he said, "Duel Monsters Themed Love Hotels," and then he started laughing again as Kaiba stared at him in disbelief.
"Do I even want to know where you came up with that particular idea?" Kaiba asked, seriously doubting whether or not he actually wanted to know.
Still chuckling, Yami started to explain, "You could have all sorts of rooms with different themes. People could rent costumes and play out their fantasies: the Dark Magician teaching the Dark Magician Girl lessons on different types of magic, or—"
"There's something wrong with you," Kaiba interrupted as he shook his head, determined to not let himself think about the potential theme rooms that would be profitable. He wouldn't want to go through the torture that came with getting licensing rights for the various characters from Pegasus, although listening to the research and development reporting their findings had the potential to be entertaining.
Ignoring the slight, Yami continued speaking as his mind randomly started coming up with different ideas. "You could have the Blue Eyes White Dragon's Lair…"
"No," Kaiba said firmly, refusing to let the symbol of his pride get turned into such a disgrace.
"Fuzzy Kuriboh handcuffs?" Yami suggested before dissolving into laughter once more.
That finally drew a chuckle from Kaiba and Yami's grin broadened in pleasure. Leaning forward and placing light kisses along Kaiba's neck, Yami continued, "You could market a whole line of adult toys…"
The suggestion made Kaiba seriously wonder about some of the things that happened in the Yuugi-tachi, but he dismissed the thought as he instinctively tilted his head slightly to give Yami better access. "You are aware that Duel Monsters is marketed toward children, correct?" Kaiba said sarcastically as his hands found purchase on Yami's hips, his fingers slipping under the untucked shirt to stroke the warm flesh underneath of it.
Yami's body moved into the touch as he progressed to Kaiba's ear, tracing the outline of it with his tongue. "And you are aware that it's usually the parents paying the money for the Duel Monsters accessories, right?" Yami countered, lightly bighting the earlobe he had been playing with.
Kaiba's hips rose off of the seat at the sharp pleasure and he resisted the urge to throw Yami onto the seat under him and escalate things. "It would seem that the teenage market is the most profitable," Kaiba informed him, a vague image of a demographics pie chart from a board meeting coming to mind. It was quickly chased away when Yami's attentions shifted to his other ear.
"And you don't think that they would want to play with the Dark Magician's Wand?" Yami teased as he pulled back slightly.
"You did not just say that."
"No?" Yami asked innocently as he pulled back a little to give Kaiba a deviant smirk.
Deciding to silence Yami before he ventured into even more tasteless territory, Kaiba engaged him in a rough kiss. He was barely aware of the nimble fingers that were making quick work of unbuttoning his jacket and shirt; he was too distracted by the gentle grinding of Yami's body against his.
Kaiba was quickly becoming aroused by Yami's ministrations and he found himself impatient for more. The trail of kisses down his chest was not enough and he was quick to help Yami as he blindly fumbled with Kaiba's belt. Realizing that Kaiba was fine with taking it off without his help, Yami slid off of his lap and into the space between the two seats.
The vibrations from the road felt weird, but it wasn't an entirely unpleasant sensation. Lightly groping Kaiba's rapidly hardening length, Yami smirked up at him as he teased, "Now I know why you have such a spacious backseat."
"Like I would let anyone else even think about doing this," Kaiba said dismissively, startled that his words resulted in Yami's reappearance in his lap.
Even though Yami knew that there had been no one else before him, it still pleased him to hear it said. He became almost possessive in his actions as he whispered, "Good," before capturing Kaiba in a searing kiss. When Kaiba arched into his touch, Yami made a small noise of pleasure as he continued letting his hands roam.
It was only when Yami paused for air that Kaiba realized where they were. "Stop," he commanded, although the breathless quality of his voice ruined the authoritative tone he had meant to convey.
"Why?" Yami demanded, realizing after the fact how borderline whiny that sounded.
"Because we're almost there," Kaiba explained as he started trying to rebutton his shirt.
"Oh," Yami said with a scowl before swearing and getting off of Kaiba's lap. It allowed Kaiba to awkwardly try and fasted his pants around his still rigid member, but Yami's attentions had turned to the outside surroundings. "We're near your house, right?"
Nodding as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, Kaiba confirmed, "Yes."
Yami's disposition was improved with that single word and he flashed Kaiba a pleased smile. For his part, Kaiba just hoped that he wasn't making a mistake. His staff should have left for the day and Mokuba would most likely be at Kaiba Land until later in the evening, so it should be fine. That left them plenty of uninterrupted time to finish what they had started and he was surprisingly eager to do so.
Minutes later they were pulling into the long drive way of Kaiba's mansion and getting out of the car. Giving a dismissive nod to Isono, the pair entered the house alone and Kaiba wasted no time in slamming Yami's back against the door. Their belongings fell to the floor unnoticed as they hungrily kissed, Yami's hands once again making quick work of Kaiba's buttons.
He was impressed by the way Yami managed to brace himself against the door by wrapping his legs around Kaiba's hips. Hooking his arms under Yami's thighs to help get him into a better position, Kaiba experimentally rolled his hips to see what would happen. It caused Yami to toss his head back against the door as his body matched the movement and he cried out when he felt Kaiba's lips on his neck. Kaiba felt the fingers entwining in his hair and he laughed smugly as he nipped at Yami's sensitive flesh, relishing the gasping moan it caused the other to utter.
Just as Yami was readying himself to retaliate, his body went stiff when he saw who was witnessing them from the top of the staircase. Before he could say anything, Kaiba turned his head back to look and he almost dropped Yami when he realized who had caught them. "Mokuba!"
The effect was vaguely comical to Mokuba as he watched his brother's face flush as he tried to figure out what to do next, but he knew that shock would quickly morph into something less amusing. Pushing his own embarrassment aside, Mokuba started descending down the stairs, not quite able to stop the grin that was forming. "Hi, Yami! Welcome home, nii-sama," he greeted them as he reached the bottom stair.
Gently tapping Kaiba's hands to get his attention, Yami was able to gracefully lower himself into a standing position. "Hey, Mokuba," Yami said, trying to sound as casual as possible. It was unsettling knowing that they had been caught in an even worse situation than before, but there was nothing Yami could really do about it other than hope for the best.
"Mokuba, I—"
Interrupting his older brother, Mokuba smiled brightly at him as he tried to reassure, "It's okay, nii-sama."
His younger brother's expression didn't seem forced, but Kaiba knew that Mokuba always wanted to please him to a fault. "No, Mokuba, I—"
He would never tell Kaiba, but Mokuba thought it was nice seeing his older brother being so passionate about something other than card games for once; that didn't mean he wanted to know that much about it, though. He'd seen enough of it already as it was. "It's really okay," Mokuba told him, trying to figure out a way to convince Kaiba that it was true. "I was leaving anyway."
"What?" Kaiba asked, still trying to come up with some sort of explanation for his younger brother.
"Jounouchi invited me to hang out at the arcade with them, so I came home to change. I was just getting ready to go meet up with him," Mokuba explained, noticing the way his brother's expression darkened at the name.
Subtly buttoning Kaiba's shirt back up, Yami received an appreciative look before Kaiba turned out to face his brother, fervently hoping that Mokuba didn't notice the softening erection he was still suffering from. Kaiba was completely puzzled by the fact that his brother genuinely didn't appear to be upset. "That's fine," Kaiba said, even though he disliked the thought of his younger brother associating with the likes of Jounouchi, "but—"
The doorbell rang and startled the trio from the awkward conversation. After receiving a nod from Kaiba, Yami opened the door and chose to stand behind it; there had been enough drama for one day in his opinion. Jounouchi's voice echoed loudly in the entrance way as he called out, "Yo, Mokuba! You ready?"
"Yeah," Mokuba replied, curious as to why Yami continued to stand behind the door and say nothing to his friend. "I'll meet you outside in a second?"
"Sure," Jounouchi said as he walked down the stairs to go over to where Honda was standing.
"I won't stay out too long," Mokuba promised, "and I'll call before I come back."
Kaiba didn't like the mischievous grin that Mokuba had and he gave his younger brother a warning look. "Fine," he said tersely, acquiescing to the fact that the current conditions weren't exactly conducive to the kind of discussion that they needed to have about everything.
"Have fun," he told his older brother, unable to hold back his snicker. Walking toward the door, Mokuba quickly sobered up when he realized that Yami would probably be facing Kaiba's wrath in his absence. Wondering if it would help or hurt Yami's situation, Mokuba shrugged and decided he might as well say it; if anyone could defuse his brother's anger, it would be Yami. He just didn't want to think about how Yami would manage to do so. "Well, at least this time I didn't have to sneak you in! I'll see you next time!" With that said, Mokuba waved and was out the door, shutting it behind him as he made his way over to his friends.
It took a moment for his younger brother's final words to sink and when they did, Kaiba looked expectantly at Yami for the answers he was determined to know. "Sneak you in?" Kaiba repeated, still not believing that he had heard his brother properly. "Care to explain that?"
A/N: Well, the good news is that this isn't the last chapter. Part of the delay was that I was struggling with where to cut things off; the chapter was well over 15,000 words and not close to done, so I decided that it needed to be split into pieces. So I'm going to stop estimating when the story ends and when I'm posting since I feel bad about constantly apologizing. Hopefully you can forgive this overly ambitious authoress. XD
Okay, the thing about the love hotels is that in Japan, they're quite the business empire. I was in a bookstore and they had a book that showed what some of the rooms looked like and I just had to look. They had a lot of theme rooms and the Hello Kitty room with fuzzy pink Hello Kitty handcuffs will forever traumatize me, thus the idea of Duel Monsters Love Hotels. Hopefully a few of you got some giggles out of it as well.
I wanted to have a little more of the playful banter between the guys since it had been awhile. It's a comedy after all, right?
Poor Jounouchi, I swear I don't mean to be so evil toward him. XD I don't know why I seem to make it so that he has all of this weird tension between everyone, but I promise he's not making a play for Mokuba. That would just be…odd.
FINAL CHAPTER: Honestly
Continues right where this chapter left off; the boys are determined to get their answers.
So next chapter in a week or two? I had some unforeseeable things happen these past two weeks, so I had very little time to work on this, sadly. Combined with writer's block and trying to figure out if I wanted to end this and do two follow up one shots or keep going and find a way to bridge this to those ideas…decisions, decisions. I'm having to build my boss a new website which is going to eat up a huge amount of time, so bear with me. Thanks again for all of the encouragement and hopefully it won't be long before the next chapter, ne?