Chapter 3

Seto wasn't actually that bad. It had come as a great shock, but the blond was pleased to see that he'd been totally wrong about the older boy merely being a rapist pervert bastard who would soon regret having him as a mate. He was quiet, more of an introvert, and that explained his awkwardness; he was more at home in the library than in any other room, including his own bedroom. He'd also learned that he was almost lazy in his unflappable calm, eating raw foods or mooching off of his cousin and brother. It was actually sort of… heartwarming that he had only taken up cooking for him. In fact, the brunet was actually… starting to grow on him a little. But just a little.

Joey tilted his head, frowning, as he watched the brunet lugging a large bag of what sounded like gold or jewels toward the front door. "Seto…?"

Seto glanced at him momentarily before letting out a grunt and continuing toward the door. "Hmm?"

"…What are you doin'?"

"Mokuba has asked that I leave the remainder of his inheritance near the door so he may put it in his own den. He says his prospective mate is beginning to warm up to the idea of starting a family with him."

He didn't mention that Mokuba had found his respective Other, and was doing what he should have done for Joey, rather than raping him and stealing him away. Courting him probably would have made their mating so much better, rather than walking on eggshells all the time for fear of angering Joey into locking himself in his room. He wished… he wished he had Mokuba's self-control. He still felt badly for just taking Joey away from his home so carelessly.

"Oh. …Well, I guess I wish him luck with his prospective mate," Joey stated after a moment, frowning in confusion. "…You and Mokuba aren't very alike, are ya?"

Seto looked down at his feet as he gently set down the bag of riches. No, he supposed they weren't very alike. Whereas he had roughly and forcefully claimed his Other, Mokuba was slowly and charmingly courting his, drawing her in to wanting him naturally. Mokuba had always been more thoughtful about his decisions, had worked them through. Not that Seto didn't think carefully about what he wanted to do and the repercussions, but Mokuba always seemed to do it faster and without seeming like such an asshole.

Joey's tail twitched slightly. He had a feeling he'd just said the wrong thing again. "…Not that that's a bad thing! I mean, if you were exactly like each other, that would be sort of creepy!"

"…Had I introduced myself, would you have agreed to be my mate?" Seto asked quietly, not turning to look at him.

The blond looked away and frowned, wings twitching slightly in agitation. "…Probably not. I would have rather waited to find my Other."

Seto felt his heart twinge painfully. Why couldn't he see that he was his Other? "…I see."

He shouldn't even hope anymore. Joey would die thinking that he'd lost his chance at finding his Other Half, and forever resent him for it. Why couldn't he see that he'd never just claim someone like that without a good reason? He wasn't that thoughtless. And he couldn't just tell him; that went against everything he'd been taught about finding his Other. …Why couldn't he see…?

Joey frowned and took a step toward him in concern. "…Seto? Are ya okay?"

Seto ran his fingers over the piece of twine keeping the sack closed, then nodded slowly. "I'm fine. …Thanks for asking," he muttered, then turned to walk back up the steps. "Mokuba should be here any minute. I have another sack to get. If he gets here and I'm still gone, tell him I'll be right back."

The brunet left at a higher pace than he normally did, the blond noticed.

Joey crossed his arms thoughtfully, brows furrowing together as he puzzled over what he could have said to upset him. So the older boy still flinched whenever he touched him sometimes, and he apologized for the smallest touches he may have accidentally made himself, but he'd thought that they'd at least learned to tolerate each other by now. But… Seto didn't like to be in the same room with him very long. He got uncomfortable a lot. He wouldn't meet his eyes most of the time. And, when he thought Joey was asleep, he'd come into his room and watch him for a while.

Joey flinched a little as he remembered the night before, when he'd finally confronted him. Seto had literally fled the room when he'd turned to look at him; he hadn't even gotten a chance to open his mouth and ask why he always came to watch him! Seto hadn't known whether he was mad, or upset, or just curious—he just ran before anything could be said!

…Joey had to admit that he had sort of deserved it, though. He had a really bad temper sometimes, and his mate had been on the receiving end quite a few times recently. One of the most recent blow-ups had concerned the brunet's inability to be assertive like a good sire should be despite how angry it would make his dame anyway; he'd fled the room then, too, and hadn't been back for hours—only to show up in time to leave some supper out for him, then disappear back into his room.

The blankets he'd brought him had been placed back on his bed, and after peering in on him one night soon after, he found Seto still shivering beneath his two blankets again. On his uncomfortable mattress. In his cold, lonely room on the other side of the castle. With his repaired but still sort of leaky window.

The only explanation Joey could come up with was that he was still punishing himself for forcing himself on him. And boy, was he doing a hell of a job of punishing himself. Joey almost felt sorry for him, and knew that he'd never want the brunet mad at him—

"Who are you?"

Joey jumped and turned sharply, eyes wide as they landed on narrowed grey ones. He brought his tail around quickly in case he needed to protect himself and scowled. "Joey. Your brother's mate."

The younger boy blinked in surprise. "I wasn't aware that Seto was courting anyone. I didn't even know he was interested in getting a mate. He usually keeps to himself." Mokuba's eyes narrowed again as his silvery grey tail began lashing back and forth. "You're not just after our money, are you?"

"How dare you—" the blond began angrily, the barb on the end of his tail beginning to secrete a little poison in his ire. "I didn't even know about your stupid money, you jerk! And even if I did I wouldn't 've—"

"You wouldn't have what? Wouldn't have mated with him?"

"I didn't really have a—"

"Please… stop it."

At that, the two bickering dragons turned in confusion to find Seto coming back down the stairs with another bag. He looked tired.

Mokuba frowned in concern. "Big brother, are you alright?"

"…Just got over a flu bug. I'm fine," Seto sighed, walking over to place the sack beside the other. He decided it was in his mate's best interest if he didn't explain that his flu bug had actually been an injury involving his poison barb. "Don't pick fights with my mate. It wasn't about the money. And Joey, don't encourage him. He's young and looking for a fight; you're more mature than that."

"Hey!" The younger boy huffed angrily. "I wasn't looking for a fight—I was just trying to look out for you! I mean it's weird that I visit a few weeks ago and you tell me you don't want or need a mate, but then I come back today and you have one! It's not my fault!" He placed his hands on his hips and let out an angry rumble. "Jeez! Excuse me for caring! Why didn't you formally introduce us, anyway? Isn't that the traditional thing to do after you mate?"

The brunet dragged a hand through his hair and sighed quietly. "I know, I know. It's my fault; things were hectic after we mated, and then I got so sick… Joey had his hands full enough without the stress of meeting family. Just… I'm very tired, Mokuba. I need to rest if you expect me to come meet your potential mate tomorrow."

Mokuba frowned in concern. "If you can't come tomorrow, I can always ask her for a better time."

"No, I'll be fine," Seto replied softly. "I need to get out of the castle anyway."

"…Okay, if you're sure." The younger boy eyed him thoughtfully, then turned and grabbed the bags full of his inheritance. "If… Joey wants to come too, I suppose he can. I'm sure she'd like to meet him too."

"That will be up to him."

Mokuba rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah, whatever."

Seto watched him leave, then turned to look at his mate. "…Would you like to come, Joey?"

Joey frowned. It was the first time the brunet had ever asked him for something for himself, and he hadn't flinched, and he was looking him in the eye, and… and he had to tell him no. "I would like to, but… but I have somewhere else t' go tomorrow."

"…Oh." The brunet let his gaze drift away, then turned a small, sad smile back to him. "I understand. You must have had plans before I… And it would be unfair of me to ask you to break those plans. Will you be gone overnight, or is it just for the day?"

The younger boy shrugged uncomfortably. "I was hopin' t' maybe stay a few days."

"…I see. If I don't see you tomorrow, I hope you have fun," Seto stated, smile waning a little in what the blond could only describe as defeat. "And I'll expect you back in a few days. –There's a storm on the way, too. If it's storming out, could you stay there until it passes? I wouldn't want you to get hurt in a storm."

Joey felt guilt gnaw at his stomach as he watched the brunet walk away. He'd probably had to work himself up a lot to ask him that, and he'd seen his eyes glow with a little hope, like perhaps they could try to be real mates instead of a sire serving his dame. That hope had faded as soon as he'd said no, and he felt badly for that.

Hurrying after him, he caught the brunet's hand with both of his own and looked up at him, ignoring the flinch he caused. He needed to change the subject and make his mate content again. "Seto—I hafta ask—where didja get Mokuba's inheritance? I've wandered all over this castle and only found a spare gem or coin here and there."

Despite his want to not anger his dame, Seto snorted. "Of course you haven't. If I just left my treasure out anywhere, I'd get challenged for it all the time. And you know I can only get challenged if people actually see my treasure."

"Yeah, I guess. But where else wouldja—" The blond gasped as the older boy stopped in front of a wall and reached out to give one of the bricks a shove. "A secret passage? Are you serious!" He gasped again as the stones grated against each other before the brunet pushed it open further. "What the hell! Really?"

Seto took a step inside, then turned to look back at him and tilted his head, holding his hand out for him to take again. "Are you coming?"

"Ya mean I can come? You're actually showin' me?" Joey asked quickly, looking up at him in surprise.

The brunet frowned. "Of course. I would have had to show you anyway, at some point; if I die, you inherit everything." He paused before offering him a tentative smile. "Besides… I consider it partly yours, too."

The black dragon felt his heart thud in his chest painfully at the admission; some sires still considered the treasure they accumulated before mating to be solely theirs, and would only belong to the dame in the event of their deaths. That Seto actually now considered his hoard as their hoard was heartwarming; the brunet wasn't as much of a selfish bastard as he thought.

Seto's brows furrowed together in confusion. "…Joey?" He began to withdraw his hand, fearing he'd offended him, but was surprised when the blond reached out with both of his hands again, capturing it and holding it close as he stepped into the passageway as well. "…It's okay, you know. It's only dark for a few minutes."

Joey snuggled up against his arm, deciding not to explain that he wasn't afraid of the darkness that would close in as soon as he shut the door and was actually holding onto him because he'd said something that made him happy. He realized that Seto wasn't a bad person, but he was still afraid to make him think that he'd completely forgiven him. He shivered a little as the door grated shut, leaving them in complete darkness.

Then he felt his heart warm a little as he heard the brunet say, "I won't let you fall. Here..."

The blond whined in the back of his throat as he was maneuvered around so his back was pressed to the older boy's chest, stiffening as he remembered their forced mating. He only relaxed when the brunet rested one hand on his right shoulder and gently grabbed his left wrist with the other. "…S-Seto?"

"Put your hand against the wall." Seto directed his hand to the wall, marveling for a moment at how soft his skin was despite the hard muscles, then shook his head violently. He knew the blond would not approve of his last thoughts. "The floor is completely flat; as long as you have your hand on the wall, you won't have to worry about running into anything. You only start kicking gems and coins and tripping after you get some light back, so by then it's your own fault if you fall."

Joey began walking, his hand kept pressed to the wall as the brunet walked behind him carefully. "Have people ever tried t' challenge ya for your treasure before?"

"Of course. It started after the mourning period for my parents ended. Then I was so angry that people were challenging me for my inheritance because of their own greed that I thrashed them so soundly they didn't come back for months. By then, I'd hidden the treasure. That's why I had to fetch Mokuba's half of the inheritance myself."

The blond frowned. "How rich were your parents?"

Seto frowned as well. "I'm not really sure. I've never counted. I've never really cared, other than when I need money to buy meat for you from the humans. Even then, I have enough coins to last us for a few centuries."

"Why do ya have this castle, anyway? What did your parents do that the humans would just give it away?"

"…Um…"

Joey turned his head toward him inquisitively; he'd heard embarrassment. "What is it?"

"…They believed that my parents making love helped cure an epidemic."

The blond let out a shriek of laughter. "What?"

Seto felt his cheeks burning a little in embarrassment. "There was this deadly flu or something going around and wiping out humans, I guess. My parents were feeling adventurous and decided to make love next to a lake. I guess my dad accidentally sent some of his lightning at the lake when he came or something and killed whatever caused the epidemic in the lake, so… their sex saved the humans or something?"

"I don't believe it!" Joey covered his mouth with his free hand to try and stifle his giggles, as he didn't want to make the brunet feel bad, but… but the humans had believed that his parents having sex ended an epidemic!

"Yeah, well, the only reason I know that is from talking to older dragons. Usually, when my parents were laughing about it, I stuck my fingers in my ears and began singing."

The blond chuckled a little longer before forcing himself to calm down. "Singin', huh? Are ya any good?"

Seto frowned. "At singing?"

"Yeah."

"…I guess I'm okay. The mirrors never cracked or anything, and Mokuba says I'm good, but… I think that's just because he's too afraid he'll hurt my feelings." The brunet glanced upward as the darkness around became a little less dim. "Mm, we're getting close."

"Oh." Joey tilted his head a little, trying to imagine what the brunet's deep voice would sound like in song, only to gasp as he saw something sparkling in the distance. As a dragon, he was naturally drawn to pretty or shiny things; as a dragon from further south, he especially liked brightly colored gems, and he could only hope that Seto had a few and would let him keep them in his room.

As he neared the bright room filled with his mate's inheritance, he let out a delighted squeal when he saw all of the different jewels among all of the gold coins and bars and items. There were so many different colors, so many different shapes, so many common ones and so many rare ones—'Oh Ra I think I just came in my pants.'

Seto couldn't help a smile as the blond let out an excited 'mwee!' and dove onto a pile of treasure, purring and writhing happily as his shiny scales reflected the light onto the shiny coins and gems. Sitting down slowly, he merely watched as his dame wriggled around, coins jingling as his tail batted and wiggled as the reflections of gems turned the black scales of his wings red and green and blue, like dark stained glass. He was so pretty, wallowing around in his fortune.

The brunet had really held no feelings for his hoard—it had just sat there and existed for so long, after all—but now that he saw his mate so thrilled with it, making both the treasure and himself look more appealing, he held a new respect for both of them.

Joey squealed again as he found a deep red ruby about the size of an eye, and soon found a few more roughly the same size and color. Sliding through the treasure back to his mate, he cooed pleasantly. "Seto, can I have these? Can I, huh? I'll take care of 'em. Wouldja mind if I took 'em? Please?"

Seto sighed and smiled a little, nodding. "It's your treasure too. You have the right to take anything you want from here. –Just try not to take too much, or else word will get out and you might have some challenges for your treasure on your hands."

The blond purred and curled around a large golden statue, tail twitching like a pleased cat's. "Mm, thank you…"

The older boy frowned as soon as the black dragon began to doze. Joey had certainly warmed up to him once he'd seen all of the gold and jewels. Then again, he had only asked for a few rubies, relatively common and not worth as much as some of the other gems he had—which, seeing that the blond knew quite well about gems in general (what with his collection that he'd brought from the blond's den), was quite a small request.

…He was confused. Did that mean that money did affect what his mate thought of him, or was the blond just happy to see a lot of shiny things? …Well, as long as his mate was happy, he supposed. Or at least… not-unhappy.

.-.-.-.-.-.

"So he took you against your will, then went out of his way to make sure you were as happy as possible when he moved you to his castle, and then you poisoned him and realized he wasn't so bad. Is that why I'm being led to believe?" Serenity asked after a few moments, frowning.

Joey sighed and turned his head away. "Well it sounds worse when ya say it like that. …Ya should've seen him, Ren. He bent over backwards t' make sure I was comfortable and my room was decorated nicely, and he made sure my mattress was stuffed with bird down, and he's given me tons of thick blankets. He's got nothin' in his room except the bare necessities and his mattress is stuffed with hay. He's only got two blankets that really don't do any good, and he shivers most nights. I fixed his window, but there's still a lot of cold air gettin' in. …Every time I leave an extra blanket on his bed, I always find it back on my bed before I go t' sleep."

The red-haired girl frowned, her silvery black wings fluttering in agitation before tucking behind her gracefully. "I don't know what to tell you, Joey. I already don't like him, since he didn't even try to court you; personally, I think he deserves everything he gets."

"…He's not that bad, actually…" the older boy replied, sighing. "He takes care of me, feeds me, doesn't touch me. …I think he's afraid of me."

"Good. And he should apologize his ass off for raping you. And you should let him apologize for years to come!" Serenity retorted, tail lashing angrily. "You're so forgiving sometimes, Joey! Let him wallow in his guilt and take advantage of it a little! He deserves it!"

Joey frowned. "…I don't think I can do that, Serenity. You've never seen how he skulks around his own home, or how he doesn't seem t' know what t' do or where t' go because he's so afraid he'll piss me off. It's not a good feelin', knowin' that you're the reason someone is afraid t' even breathe too loud in his own castle."

"…I still think he deserves everything he gets from you," she replied, scowling, as she crossed her arms.

The blond sighed and sat down on her bed—not as comfy as his own, but still comfier than the one filled with hay that his mate slept on. "I dunno. It's his brother that really pisses me off. Just comin' in and accusin' me of matin' with him for his money! I didn't even know who he was!"

"Does he know that his beloved brother raped you?" she spat, flopping down next to him. "I'm sure that would make him shove his foot in his mouth!"

Joey frowned. "They really care about each other, Ren, and they don't have anyone else; Yami told me their parents were killed in an accident when they were small. I couldn't rip them apart like that. I mean, how would you feel if ya found out I raped someone?"

Serenity glared at him. "You would never do anything like that!"

"What if I did, Serenity? What if I did hurt someone like that? Would you still love me then?" he asked sharply. "Ya might hate me. I could never handle that, and we both have parents we can go to—not very good parents, but parents nonetheless. They have no one. The only family they have is Yami, and I know Yami would stop talkin' t' him if he ever found out. From what I've seen, he only interacts with his brother and Yami. I wouldn't wanna cut him off from the only people he has left."

She heaved a sigh and shook her head in disbelief. "You're too good for him, Joey. I hope he realizes that."

Joey smiled and lifted his hand to ruffle her hair. "Isn't it s'posed t' be me watchin' out for you?"

She shrugged flippantly. "Well, sometimes you're just too soft to hate someone properly."

.-.-.-.-.-.

Seto knew the moment he arrived and saw both Joey and Mokuba that the meeting would not end well. He looked from his brother, to his mate, to his brother's prospective mate, and saw looks of expectancy, surprise, and hatred, respectively. And then the girl had surged to her feet.

"You!"

"…Me…" he replied quietly, frowning, and took a step back as thunder rumbled in the distance.

"What sort of monster are you? Oh, wait—I know—You're a rapist monster!" she snarled, glaring at him.

Seto took another step back. "…I… I didn't mean…"

"How can you not mean to rape someone?"

Before the brunet could even try to defend himself, his brother stepped in, frowning and crossing his arms. "Serenity, I highly doubt my brother did something like that. He has no sex drive whatsoever. Actually, Yami and I agreed that he's basically asexual."

The older boy grunted in offense. "Excuse me?"

Serenity ignored his outburst and turned her fury on his brother. "Then you and Yami are morons, because obviously he raped my brother!"

"Serenity—" Mokuba sighed and let his arms fall to his sides.

"No, Mokuba. She's… she's right," Seto cut in quietly. "Joey didn't even know me, and I certainly didn't know him. And I know for a fact he didn't want it."

"Is your brother too godly in your eyes to have a fault?" Serenity snarled, gesturing wildly at the brunet. "How did you miss something that big—that your brother's a rapist! You know what, on second thought, it's probably because you're so much like him—and I have no interest in mating with a rapist." She crossed her arms and turned her back to him, thrusting her wings out in a universal signal of 'don't you come near me or I'll rip your eyes out.' "Our courtship ends here."

Mokuba mouthed at her wordlessly, horrified. All of his hard work—all of his gifts and conversations and time—had just gone down the drain! …All because of his brother.

Seto winced as his brother turned toward him sharply, face twisted into an angry snarl. "M-Mokuba, I—"

"You bastard. You stupid bastard! Do you know how hard I had to work to even get her to look at me! Do you know how hard I had to work to get her to agree to me courting her? I finally got her to agree to think about mating with me seriously and then you—you can't keep your dick in your pants and ruin everything!" He took a deep breath to try and calm himself even as angry tears filled his eyes, then roared, "I hate you!"

The brunet sighed in defeat and bowed his head; he knew there was no arguing with his brother when he was in this mood. "…Fine."

Joey blinked, appalled, then snarled and stood up as well; he couldn't take his mate's immediate submission in the face of an altercation anymore. "'Fine? Fine?' That's all you've got t' say?"

Seto took another step back, brows furrowing together in trepidation; not only were his brother and his mate's sister yelling at him, but now Joey was going to throw in his two cents? In the brief silence before he spoke, he heard the soft pitter-patter of the starting rain. "…What else would I say?"

"How about fightin' back, not actin' like a coward! Why the hell don't ya ever fight back? Sires aren't s'posed t' just take whatever crap people give 'em!" The blond let out a frustrated growl. "Maybe if ya learned how t' act like a proper sire, I'd like ya! Ra, it's no wonder I want nothin' t' do with ya!"

He'd thought… he'd thought they'd been doing okay. To hear that Joey still didn't like him, still didn't respect him as a sire other than that he carried out his duties, broke his heart; he'd been under the false impression that he'd been slowly earning the blond's trust, but he'd been wrong. He'd been completely wrong.

He could put up with an attack from his mate, or an attack from his brother, but he couldn't put up with both at the same time. He especially couldn't do it with a third party there to help them.

Turning, Seto began flapping his wings immediately, even before he cleared the mouth of the red-haired dragon's den. Leaping out into the heavy drizzle, he beat his wings frantically to get away from the harsh words and insults, to flee into the relative safety of a physical storm instead of an emotional one.

He had to focus on not being blown away and avoiding other flying objects. That meant he didn't have to think about what he'd just been told. His heart ached, though, and he felt a tight pain in his body from his chest to his gut. He couldn't win. He would never win. He was meant to be alone, even having found his Other. He should just send Joey away so he could fall in love with someone else before he learned that they were Others and forget he'd ever found him.

He might as well starve himself and die while he was at it. Mokuba knew that he'd raped his mate. That meant that Yami would know soon, too, and would either come and scold him, or would stop speaking to him altogether. He'd lost all respect from the only people he cared about. With no one to care about him, what was the point? He couldn't just sit in his library and read for the rest of his life.

Suddenly, any thoughts that he had were cleared from his mind, whether it was about flying and staying alive or his current family situation. All he was aware of was burning pain as his muscles twitched and spasmed. He tried to think, but none of his thoughts would come; he could feel them in the back of his mind, but couldn't get them far enough to the front to concentrate on them.

Then, his body slammed into something, and he was aware that he was plunging downward. His body smashed into something else, and he realized he was falling through the trees to the forest floor below. He didn't have a chance to right himself, however, and so he braced himself for each bash and buffet from the branches until he finally hit the ground with a crunch.

He could only lie there, still stunned, for the first few minutes. Then, finally, he realized that he must have been struck by the lightning from the building storm. He'd warned his mate to stay inside in case of a storm and had foolishly flown into one himself. On the other hand, when he remembered the events leading up to his epic stupidity, he felt himself completely justified; if he died, he wouldn't have to worry about the emotional pain that made his throat lock up and his eyes burn.

Finally, Seto rolled onto his side and let out a quiet whine as he felt something piercing his wing. Turning his head, he saw a broken branch stuck through his wing, and the angle was askew. He'd seriously hurt himself. Sitting up, he grasped the thicker side of the branch and yanked it out, whining again as some stubs from the twigs on it aggravated his wound further. He'd have to walk the rest of the way.

Tucking his injured wing back carefully, he swung his other wing up to shield his head from the rain. This turned out to be a mistake, as a sudden, strong gust of wind sent him head over heels into a mud puddle. "Ack!"

Seto sat up slowly and sighed, arms trembling a little as he pushed himself into a sitting position. 'What's the point, though?' What was the point of getting up? His brother hated him, and his cousin would probably hate him soon, too. His mate hated him, too, and would probably never change his opinion of him.

Didn't he realize that he couldn't risk angering him? He'd already raped him and made him hate him, so he couldn't make him angry anymore. He couldn't stand up for himself with him. He couldn't stand up to himself with Mokuba, either, because it really had been his fault that his Other no longer wanted him.

…If everyone he cared about hated him, why bother?

Arms giving out as that one heart-breaking thought finally registered, Seto whimpered as he fell back into the mud. There was no point anymore. If he was gone, Joey could go on his way and look for his Other (which he wouldn't find, but he supposed it served him right), Mokuba would have another chance with Serenity, Serenity wouldn't have to worry about her brother anymore, and he wouldn't have to worry about Yami and however he may choose to react.

Seto slid his good wing over his head, sighing, and made sure to keep it as close to the ground as possible so it wouldn't be thrown by one of the gusts of wind. Then, he laid his head on his arms and just listened to the storm as it passed over him, pretending that his cheeks were only moist from the rain he'd flown through.