A/N: the update is a day earlier than usual. I am on shift for twenty-four hours tomorrow, so if I don't update today, you would have to wait until late Wednesday evening for the update. And after the dose of angst in the past few chapters, if you're still around, then you deserve this chapter.
Which brings us to the warnings: lemon ahead towards the second half of the chapter. :P
Enjoy.
Bows of Promise
Chapter Thirteen
There was a general gloom settling over them.
Yami was acutely aware of it. He supposed that it should be expected. Not just that, embraced as well. People didn't speak of matters like what they just discussed and shared laughs and smiles after. There was a certain darkness expected to settle over them after it.
Seto had closed his eyes, turning his head towards the window to stare at the start of what promised to be one hell of a storm, little drops of water pattering against the glass. Yami joined him in staring out of the window, the rain calming him completely and the promise of stormy weather bringing him the usual joy he felt at such occurrences, unhindered by the glumness surrounding them. He had been told he was going to get tired of the rain and winters once he got used to them, but he really doubted that was going to happen.
He was still contemplating all the ways he liked the rain when Seto once more spoke.
Quiet, soft… full of regret and sadness that Yami did not want to hear. He always seemed to inspire such misery in the brunet, it made him cringe internally.
"I am so sorry all of this happened, Yami…" he was saying. Yami stared at him, contemplating why he needed to apologize at all. He was about to open his mouth to ask that, but Seto wasn't done. "I am so sorry that your first relationship had been so shitty. There's no wonder you have trust issues."
"I don't have trust issues," Yami protested. Seto raised an eyebrow at him and he scowled back, "Really… I was with other people after that!"
"Really?" Seto suspiciously asked.
Yami nodded. He then paused ever-so-slightly and started laughing.
"What?!" Seto asked, frowning, a worried expression in his eyes as he clearly thought Yami lost his mind. It made Yami laugh a bit more. "Seriously, are you alright?"
"You know how everyone is calling you a playboy in Domino?" Yami asked between giggles.
"Yeah?" Seto replied, raising an eyebrow questioningly. "What has that got to do with anything?"
Yami shook his head, a mischievous little grin quirking the left side of his lips as he said, "They will probably never guess that the more deserving of this title is me rather than you." Seto's eyebrows shot up, his blue eyes widening and Yami just laughed a bit at him. "You say you've slept with three people in your whole life… let's just say that I beat that number quite easily."
"You're joking, right?" Seto asked, incredulous.
The shock made his eyes look a lot more pretty than they were and Yami could feel his gaze turn fond at the beautiful sight before him.
"No, I'm not," he said, leaning forward to try and get closer and propping his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his crossed fingers. "None of them were very serious relationships. One night stands during my travels… once or twice, I met a beautiful woman or a handsome man at a club, exchanged numbers and we had… on-again, off-again sort of relationships, just to have an excuse to get in bed. The longest relationship I had was when I was in Luxembourg. Six months…" Seto was shaking his head in disbelief and he chuckled lightly at the shock shining clear in the blue eyes. His laughter faded gradually, a smile remaining on his lips while his eyes went distant very slightly while recalling, "His name was Cimon and he was a redhead with the softest hair you can imagine. He had a light beard and almost transparent eyes that he kept behind a huge pair of round glasses with silver rims."
Seto scowled heavily and it brought him out of his contemplative rant.
He narrowed his eyes, a naughty little smile spreading on his features as he added, "He was your height. He gave the best blowjobs and was very flexible in bed. I think that was why I kept him."
He made sure to say the last bit with a sly little smile on his face.
"You're a slut, do you know that?" Seto asked, unable to keep himself from making that comment, laughing and shaking his head in disbelief.
"Proudly aware of it."
"And you hid it so well, too, I thought you were a damn virgin! Hell… I am a virgin, compared to you!"
"Basically," Yami agreed cheerfully, raising the fork loaded with a bit of the now-cool brownies to his mouth.
"How many babies did you father?"
Yami almost choked with laughter that took him by surprise at the question. "Ever heard of condoms?" he asked, coughing slightly and trying very carefully to prevent the chocolate from entering his airway since he laughed at a very inopportune moment. "I may be a bit of a slut, but I am a careful slut!" he added in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
Seto laughed and Yami couldn't help but stare at the glorious sight. He let his eyes wander over that beloved neck, the very light-pink lips, almost indiscernible from the milky skin and the very tiny, downright endearing laughter lines next to the blue eyes, scrunched lightly with the amusement of their owner. He wanted to keep the memory of Seto laughing like this, the look of him, the sound…the feeling he gave him sitting there and laughing like that; he wanted it etched forever in his mind because he knew. He knew that this was one of those gorgeous sights that didn't exist everywhere in this ugly world they lived in. It was beautiful and he never ever wanted to get enough of it. Didn't think he ever could.
He didn't pull himself out of his appreciative trance fast enough because Seto had stopped laughing, drained all of his espresso, stared out of the window and made a comment that Yami didn't catch, which caused him to notice that he was still staring at him, lost in thought and wonder. A few seconds later, he registered that Seto had asked him something and that he was now being stared at as well. he blinked and smiled, sitting back in his seat, pleasantly asking, "Sorry, did you say something?"
Seto was silent for a few moments, just staring at him with the smile disappearing gradually off his features. And with it, the warmth Yami felt spreading through him slowly dissipated. He knew Seto was going back to the serious aspect of this conversation and he found his heart racing ever-so-slightly, anticipating the next question.
It wasn't a question, though. It was a quiet little statement.
"One-night stands don't count, Yami…"
Yami took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. He once again shifted his eyes to the storm gathering outside, watching the thin sheen of moisture that gathered on the interior of the glass of the café from the difference in temperature. It left beautiful rounded designs at the corners, the lights from outside shining on it like little stars, while the constant downpour of rain on the glass left little jagged lines, like little waves, on the outside.
"I know… I know they don't," he admitted softly.
Silence stayed with them for a long, long while. Yami gestured to their waiter and smiled when he arrived, apologizing for not finishing his brownie and asking him to have it packed so he can take it home. The young man asked if everything was alright and Yami nodded at him, lying and explaining that he had a big lunch and overestimated how much he could eat. Satisfied, the young man took their empty cups and the uneaten dessert and left.
"You are full of surprises, do you know that?" Seto asked him, seemingly out of the blue.
"Why is that?" he raised an eyebrow.
"You lied…so smoothly just now. You didn't even blink," Seto observed. Yami shrugged, about to explain it was a little white lie but Seto shook his head, "No…and not just that. You refused every one of my advances, yet here you are telling me that you've had countless encounters with men and women. You say you don't know what I want with you and yet here…you've told me everything about you, willingly, to try and make this work… I must say I am very confused and I don't know what to make of this."
Yami looked hard at him, "What do you want to make of this, Seto?"
"Does it really matter what I want in this situation, Yami?" Seto held his gaze fearlessly. Yami stared back into the blue eyes with the same boldness with his own crimson ones, needing more than that for explanation and ready to face what Seto was throwing at him. "I don't know what to make of this," he repeated, almost to himself.
Yami leaned forward in his seat. Once more, he crossed his fingers together in front of him and kept his eyes fixed on Seto. "I did not lie when I said that you make me want to take that leap of faith you spoke of, Seto." The blue eyes shifted to stare at a faraway spot on the other side of the café. Yami pressed on, "I broke up with Cimon over this. He pried. He asked questions just the same way you did. And I had known him for six months, shared a bed with him countless times already. He thought I didn't trust him." he paused. He smiled and reached out, seeking Seto's hand much like the brunet had sought his just half an hour or so ago. The blue eyes once more fixed on him and he rubbed the long, slender fingers gently, adding, "And he was right. I didn't trust him. I do, however, trust you."
"Do you really?"
"I would not have told you what I just did…I would not have shared with you the story behind the scar you will inevitably see on my arm, if I didn't trust you," Yami told him. "I guess a part of me instinctually trusted you without me consciously realizing it. Last time we sat here together, I had absolutely no idea why I was telling you something that only few other people who weren't family knew about me…"
The slender fingers he was rubbing wrapped around his own, giving them a gentle little squeeze. "I'm glad you told me…"
He grinned lightly at the quiet admission. "I waited for you to out me to people at the hospital, you know…" he confessed. The shock in Seto's eyes made his gaze waver. He looked at their joined hands, "When you didn't, I guess it was when I realized that I really can count on you…"
"I would never do that Yami…whatever you tell me in confidence, I will never betray."
"I know that," he sighed out.
The young waiter arrived with the brown paper bag containing the rest of his dessert. Yami smiled shakily up at him, making conscious effort not to pull his hand back. The kid made no outward reaction to their intertwined fingers, asking if they needed anything else and Yami told him they wanted the check. Promising to bring it right away, he left Yami to look back at Seto.
"I swear I am not giving you mixed signals on purpose…" he quietly told him.
"I didn't say that."
"I know you didn't…but it is what I am doing and I do not know what to do about it," Yami admitted. His other hand rubbed his forehead in frustration. "I have pushed you away at every chance I got… yet here I am admitting that I have slept with more people than anyone in Domino can imagine… I was just trying to be honest with you."
"Yami, I don't care. What's in the past is in the past," Seto told him dismissively. "I really don't care. I genuinely am sorry that the only serious relationship you had was with an asshole who didn't realize what a gem he had within his hands."
Compulsively, Yami let go of Seto's hand at the praise. His ears reddened and he felt himself getting flustered. It didn't help in any way that Seto did not allow him to withdraw. The moment Yami's hand left his, he reached forward, once more holding on to it tightly. Yami looked up at him.
"I do not care what shit people in your life have been telling you. I do not care that some screwed, stuck-up community fed you some bull about your skills at work getting measured by your rank in school. I do not care that that asshole got jealous of you outshining him. I do not care that no one you've met until now told you this, but I will no longer let you think that you are lacking, Yami. You aren't. And no matter how many times I will have to say it and prove it to you…it doesn't matter. I will make sure you believe it."
"Seto…" Yami breathed, cutting through the convinced tirade Seto had launched himself into.
"Let me," Seto whispered back, the determined look still in the blue eyes. His eyebrows were set in determination, lips pursed and a slight flush on his marble-like skin. There was no stopping him, Yami realized.
Against his will, a smile spread over his lips and he could feel his eyes softening. "I already am, you idiot."
Seto sat back at that, "Good… I hope you understand that, you can be so stupid sometimes."
The waiter arrived with their check at that moment. Yami took it, chuckling lightly to himself while he did so. Seto had moved forward to take a look at it and Yami casually slapped his hand away. He opened his wallet and placed a handful of bills in the leather check holder, leaving a generous tip for the kid who they sent back and forth from their table so many times.
"I feel so weird about you getting the check," Seto told him as they got up, wrapping his scarf once more around his neck to prepare for the chill outside.
"Why?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow, pocketing his wallet and his keys.
"I am usually the one paying," Seto explained.
"Why?" he asked again.
"Kisara and Shizuka weren't working when we dated… and Zigfried… well, I don't know, we just didn't usually care about such matters…"
"Yeah…billionaire issues and stuff," Yami grunted at him. "You little bourgeoisie shit."
Seto laughed, opening the door of the café for him. They stood under the cover of the little porch, silently watching the downpour with twin contemplative looks. Yami looked longingly at his car, which was just on the other side of the road, but the rain was so thick that he knew that even one second out there would get them soaked to the bone. And the road wouldn't take just a second to cross. They were definitely going to get thoroughly drenched in rain water.
"How will we do this?" Seto asked.
Yami turned to him, "You can't be serious."
Seto grinned, "I very much am… unless you want to wait until I call my limo and the driver gets here."
Yami opened his mouth to protest. He thought about calling the kid from inside to get them an umbrella. He quickly discarded the idea with the wind blowing so severely, for sure it would get ruined. He closed his mouth once again.
"My car. I will unlock it with the remote from here. Run like hell," he said in a business like tone, a determined look on his features and he dug out his car keys out of his pocket once more.
"Why can't we take my car!" Seto argued and Yami could feel the slight change in him as muscles he knew lurked beneath his clothes tightened ever-so-slightly to prepare for takeoff.
Yami pressed the unlock button on his car's remote, sighing, "Because I will never forgive myself for getting the leather of a goddamn Cadillac wet! So shut up and get inside my cheap car!"
Seto laughed and without a single hint of hesitation, rushed into the heavy showers. Yami stared at him in shock for a second, then pocketed his keys so they won't get wet and ran out after him, involuntarily letting out a shrill gasp at the cold water which, within what felt like a millisecond, soaked through all layers of his clothing and plastered his hair to his forehead. He sprinted over the other side of the road, laughing shrilly when a car screeched to a halt to avoid running him over; thankfully the guy –who yelled from behind the closed window of the car at him—had been driving slowly and Yami laughed, throwing an insincere apology at him.
He finally made it to the driver's side of the car. Seto had already opened the passenger's seat door and was inside. He didn't even realize that both of them had been laughing like maniacs until they were in the safety and dryness of the inside of his car. Softly, their laughter died down to chuckles, which slowly faded into twin goofy beams that they sent at each other and inevitably started laughing once again, trying to drip on the floor of the car and instead of getting any water on the gears or the dashboard or anything important.
"You're a child, Kaiba, do you know that?" Yami shook the wet strands of his hair out of his eyes, digging the keys that got wet anyway out of his pocket.
He revved the engine to life as Seto replied, "Lies…"
"Only children run in the rain," Yami said, putting the car into the proper gear and turning the wheel to drive out, away from the coffee shop.
"I'd like to tell you that you are no fun, but you and, recently, I know that that is not true," Seto mildly told him, a hand running through the wet strands of his hair, pushing them out of his face and combing all of it back to reveal his forehead. Yami glanced at him, taking his eyes a few seconds too long off the road to look at the new way in which Seto looked like a work of the Gods. There was no way this was a normal human. With his hair pulled back, away from his face, it was a new look that Yami hadn't seen on him. He looked breathtaking, the little drops hanging off his skin.
He wanted to lick each and every one of them off.
He looked ahead at the road, taking a right turn.
"Where are we going?" Seto asked, still oblivious to the effect that the simple act of combing his hair back had on Yami and continuing it innocently. He was also unwrapping the blue scarf and pulling it away.
Yami purposely stared ahead of him hiding a grin, replying smoothly, "My place. We'll catch a cold if we stay in these drenched clothes."
"I don't have a change of clothes," Seto pointed out.
Yami bit the inside of his lip a little, taking a long glance at him, pretending to look thoughtful before slickly shaking the protest off, saying, "I have your scrubs from when you came over that night. You can wear them until these dry out."
Seto took the bait, apparently. Satisfied with his work so far, Yami turned his attention to the short distance to his house and within just three minutes he parked the car under the covered parking area next to the house. He got out of the car and waited for Seto to do the same. He locked the car with the remote, grateful when he found it working and that the water didn't ruin it.
He opened the front door, getting inside and holding it open until Seto got in as well.
"I'm dripping all over your floor!" Seto complained.
"Well I'm dripping all over my floor. Don't worry about it, I'll mop it up later," Yami said, tugging on the sleeve of Seto's pullover, pulling him towards the master bedroom.
"We passed my bathroom," Seto jokingly pointed out.
Yami smiled. "We're going into my bathroom today," he said, not offering any other explanation other than that. He pointed to his room's door, "Just get in, I'll bring towels."
He paused next to the towel cupboard, opening it and taking his time getting two extra towels from the shelf. He delayed on purpose, reddening slightly when he recalled the last time he did this, how he flushed at imagining the towel contrasting with Seto's skin and bringing out his eye color. Things were different this time. Things were very different. Now he felt so much lighter. He had gotten a huge load off his chest. Never, with any other person he was together with before, did he tell them so much. He never felt this liberated, this open. It was heady; the fact that Seto knew it all. He knew everything…and he still wanted him.
Things were very different now.
Some things were still the same though. He still picked the blue set this time too along with one of the beige ones for himself. He was flushed this time as well, only he didn't try to get rid of it at all, or the interest in his nether regions.
He straightened, heading to his bedroom, finding the door ajar just like last time, a trail of water leading into the bathroom. He quietly made his way inside, leaning on the door's frame, watching the scene before him.
Just like last time, too…Seto stood shirtless before him. The blue scarf and his pullover were piled together in a wet mess on the ground in the corner. The sight was just as glorious as it had been last time, too. Just like he remembered, the smooth, endless plains of marble like skin stretched faultlessly over those ridiculously defined muscles.
Unlike last time, however, he allowed his gaze to linger on the perfect ivory on display before him. A dark part of him asked if he really wanted to go through with this? With Seto looking like Michelangelo's David, only alive and warm and so much more perfect and desirable than anything Yami ever set eyes on.
The warm smile was disappearing from his face, the light of mischief dimming, his resolve and courage to do this faltering ever-so-slightly at the niggling thought he had and was now growing like an ugly black miasma that was slowly controlling most of his thoughts on the matter.
He stared off into the far corner of the bathroom, his eyes leaving the magnificent sight before him as he wondered how Seto would react to the scar on his arm. How would he feel about the little scars littering his forehead and the back of his neck? No…how would he react to the fact that obviously he really was no match for the super-models he apparently used to date before him. Against his will, that little dark voice was slowly making him realize that this was a stupid idea.
He wasn't ready yet.
He should just leave now while he still could. Was he chickening out of this? Yes… and he had enough self-respect to admit that he wasn't going to go through with the plan he had when he brought Seto here.
He didn't realize Seto had moved closer until the brunet stood right in front of him. His eyes flickered as he forced himself to focus, forcing a smile as he looked up and pushing away from the door. He had to try and act normal. He had to try and do something to avoid Seto noticing the change in his mood. But before he could do more, Seto had grabbed one of the beige towels, unfolded it and placed it on Yami's head, fingers softly moving to massage his hair, transferring the wetness onto the terrycloth fabric. Yami blinked at the small smile Seto was giving him. He felt himself turning red again, silently handing the brunet his towels, while raising his other hand to take the job of drying his own hair.
He couldn't tear his eyes off Seto, who apparently had no problem continuing staring back at him as he too dried his hair. Silence hung over them for a very long time, except for the rasping sounds of the towels as they dried off and, from a far off distance, the rumble of the first thunder for the night.
"I wish I knew what you're thinking…" Seto finally broke it with that softly-spoken comment. Yami hummed questioningly, raising an eyebrow. He didn't understand. Seto took two steps towards him so that now he could feel the furnace-like heat the taller man emitted all around him. He blinked again as Seto leaned just a little bit closer, adding in the same soft voice, "Your eyes get so bright…and then that head of yours tells you something and the light just…fades. I wish I could just…" he paused. Yami swallowed convulsively, his heart skipping a beat and his entire senses on edge so much, that he could clearly hear the patter of rain outside very clearly. By now, Seto was so close, Yami could see each of the dark brown eyelashes, some of them stuck together with the wetness that still clung to them. There was a drop of water about to fall off one of the astray strands of chocolate-brown hair and Yami reached up to touch it, just as Seto breathed out, "make it stop."
Yami sucked in a shaky breath, letting it out gently, just as Seto placed his hand under his chin, tilting his head up so he could kiss him. Yami didn't know if this was planned or by accident, but the tender lips moving delicately against his effectively did exactly what Seto said he wanted to do. His raging thoughts shut down and the only thing he could think of was the synchrony with which their lips danced together. This time…this time, it was different. This time it wasn't stolen in front of an elevator, or drenched in the suffocating tendrils of uncertainty and claustrophobia. It wasn't meant to calm an angry tirade either.
This time it was inquisitive. Yami allowed Seto to pry open his lips, tilting his head to the side and closing his eyes, allowing himself to be lost in the sheer physicality of the touch. His tongue ran over the pink lips he fantasized over for months, meeting Seto's in a gentle battle of dominance, until the brunet's hand slid underneath the pullover Yami was wearing, cold hands making contact with his wet, warm skin, making him gasp and break away.
Confused suddenly at the way Seto was proving his train of thought for what seemed like two or three minutes wrong with this sudden, unexpected move, he was left once again blinking stupidly at what just happened. The hand he had raised to destroy the drop of water dangling from Seto's hair was now falling slightly, hovering uncertainly a few centimeters in front of his lips.
"What made you change your mind?" Seto asked him, hands still at the hem of his pullover.
"W…What?" Yami asked, still confused.
Seto tugged him closer, "You brought us here for a reason, Yami. I figured that out the moment you started driving here. Yet you stood there just a minute ago looking like you changed your mind…what made you change your mind?" Seto repeated, his voice soothingly level and Yami allowed him to pull him closer.
"I…" he started, not knowing what to say. His clever plan didn't go unnoticed, it was obvious and perhaps he wasn't giving Seto's observation skills enough credit. He sighed. "Never mind," he whispered, moving to step away.
Seto immediately tightened his hold on him. The hands on his pullover's hem moved towards his back and he found himself enveloped by impossibly broad shoulders and he found himself unable to breathe abruptly, the ivory skin he daydreamed of so close all of a sudden and his hands burned, wanting to touch and only his iron-like self control was preventing him from doing so. He froze.
"No…" Seto said. Yami cocked his head upwards to stare up at him. "You know that voice you heard in your head…the one that has been speaking to you for like…two or three minutes?" Yami blinked, wondering if he was that easy to read or if Seto really was that special. Maybe it was a bit of both. He nodded mutely in answer. "Tell it to shut the hell up… and answer me. What do you want right now, Yami? And before you answer, make sure to ask it to kindly shut its trap for a bit."
Yami wanted to giggle at that but didn't, knowing that this was serious. And that he needed to do exactly what Seto was telling him to. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying his hardest to push down the dark, depressing thoughts that dominated his mind for the moment. He had nothing to lose now. He had already revealed a lot more important things to Seto than a scar or what he thought was an unattractive body…
And so, when he opened his eyes again, he didn't answer verbally. Instead, he raised his hands, wrapping them around Seto's neck and pulling him closer for another kiss. Only this time, he truly unleashed everything he felt…was feeling for months now for the brunet into that single contact. Firmly and boldly, he pressed his lips against Seto's, forcing them open with his own tongue and plundering the moist cavern lying behind. He was starved…thirsty and there was only one way for him to be sated and he was determined to sate himself fully, not holding back and not letting any thoughts stop him.
He allowed his hands to wander. The self control was disappearing and he let his hands roam. He left one hand on the long neck he adored so much that he didn't want to abandon even for a few seconds, resting his thumb on the pulsing carotid that he could feel racing beneath his fingertips and he let his other hand slide down along the impossible length of the brunet's arm.
By then, Seto had pulled himself out of the initial surprise of his sudden action. He was kissing him back, battling him step by step for the control he lost over the act. And once Yami's traveling hand reached his wrist, he decided to pull back from their kiss, tugging on the hem of Yami's top and pulling it up to remove it.
Yami resolutely pushed away any uncertainties. He let the wet cloth drop along with the towel that had been on his hair still. He didn't have a lot of confidence right now but he sure as hell could pretend he had plenty. Without a moment's pause, he tugged on Seto's wrist, leading them out of the bathroom and into the warm bedroom.
His low confidence was rising and improving by the second, especially as Seto turned him around once they stood in the space between the bed and the bathroom's door, snaking a hand onto his neck and swooping down for another kiss. He was hyperaware of the brunet's change in body language and expression and at the slightest sign that he was disappointed, he planned on withdrawing. Seeing or feeling nothing of that sort, he could easily fall into the familiar, much welcome mood.
Sex was something he enjoyed. Immensely. Even rushed or with someone he had no attachment to except the physicality of the act, it was good. And he had held back as much as he could where Seto was concerned, preventing himself from showing attraction, from succumbing to the magnet-like pull the brunet had on him. he had tried schooling himself not to touch, to behave in order to keep up the professionalism of their relationship. He had been holding back with every ounce of willpower he had.
But now? now there was no need to hold back.
Yami's hands reached for the button and zipper on Seto's jeans, undoing them with expert motions and a lot of muscle memory. It had been quite a while since the last time he did this, but he sure could do it in one swift, smooth motion.
His hands rose up once more, leaving the jeans unbuttoned. His hands dragged over the white flesh on display before him. He bent his head to one side, letting Seto, who had released his lips, trail a hot path down his neck, while he gently allowed his hands to roam the broad, chiseled back. He kept it up for a few moments, taking his time—there was no need to rush— to explore with the tips of his fingers trailing down planes of beautifully-shaped muscles arching and bending quite artistically over the bones of Seto's frame. His fingers dug softly into the hard muscles beneath his fingers, however, as he moaned at the maddening sensation of Seto sucking on that exact just-right spot beneath his ear, sending tingles of delicious heat all over his body.
He hoped he hadn't left bruises on the delicate white skin as he deemed his hands warm enough, leaving the exploratory trek on Seto's back and allowing them to wander downwards, underneath the hem of the jeans and the underwear Seto still had hanging on his hips. With just the right pushes and tugs, he slipped both of them off, letting gravity do the rest of the work for him while he focused on pushing one of his still clothed legs between Seto's, feeling before even seeing the erection that had been struggling to break free ever since they kissed. He was pleased to hear the hitch in the brunet's breathing and decided he wanted to hear more than just that, so he placed his lips on the nearest part of Seto he could reach at his height; his clavicle, and sucked gently at it.
That inspired a quick gasp and Yami smiled mischievously to himself, allowing Seto to hurriedly undo his jeans as well, stepping back and helping him by pushing them off his own hips and letting them fall to the ground and stepping out of them.
He was just about to turn his attention back to the brunet when he found himself pushed back, away from the wet pile of clothes and towards the bed, where he was gently nudged back. He laid back on the bed, softly smiling when Seto wasted no time to spread his long, delicious body along his own. The heat of their naked forms together was intoxicating and Yami couldn't do anything except wrap himself around Seto, flipping them so he was on top and attaching himself to his delectable lips once again.
Seto wasn't offering any resistance, moving smoothly with his own moves, the lack of awkward bumps or misplaced motions making it all seem more like a dance than simple motions. It wasn't like anything Yami ever experienced before and he couldn't get enough.
He slipped his fingers into Seto's, dragging the brunet's hands upwards to press them against the fluffy pillows he was propped so lusciously against, his damp brown hair contrasting with the baby-blue sheets of his bed. He pressed himself against him, letting him know exactly how hard he was for him, especially as he nudged Seto's head to the side slightly, finally… finally exposing his neck to his eyes and his mouth and one of his hands which left Seto's tangled in one of his own and trailed down wrap delicately around the glorious structure before him.
Details. Details fascinated him beyond what could be considered normal. He followed the insertion of the muscle from the spot beneath Seto's ear, licking and nibbling on it gently, his hand unhurriedly stroking the pulse point fluttering beneath his fingers on the opposite side. He reveled in the vibrations he felt that the moan of approval bubbling out of Seto's chest made. Encouraged, he trailed downwards attentively, paying attention to dramatic slope of the muscle's main belly as it traveled down to the pair of perfect clavicles, making sure not to ignore the hollow dip between it and the brunet's Adam's apple which bobbed erotically under his lips as Seto swallowed back against the pleasant sensations he was receiving.
It was just so, so perfect, too… that every nook and cranny that Yami decided to nibble on or kiss or lick seemed to be hotwired to Seto's nether areas. While feasting his eyes on the glorious sight of Seto's beautiful features scrunching up in insane desire and listening to the lovely music of his groans, Yami could feel him getting impossibly harder and heavier and he smiled shamelessly, pulling back just a little to stare at this marvelous creature that landed in his bed after he made sure to leave a large hickey that looked better than any jewelry that could ever adorn any human's skin.
Slowly, the dark brown lashes parted, and half-hooded blue eyes stared up at him. Gently, he leaned forward, feeling his chest tighten unbearably and needing to let it out and not finding any other way to do so other than pressing a soft kiss to Seto's forehead. Slowly, Seto's fingers untangled themselves from his and rose up to touch his cheek. He pulled back, finding Seto smiling back at him. And a second later, the tenderness shining in that smile turned into mischief and without warning, he found their positions reversed with Seto straddling him and leaning over him.
"I hope you have plenty of lube and plenty of those condoms you love so much," he whispered hotly in his ear and Yami felt every hair on his body standing on end. "I am planning on taking you several times tonight… you've kept me waiting for too long and now it's time to pay the price." Yami leaned towards the left side of his large bed, opening the second drawer of his nightstand to reveal exactly what Seto asked for. He allowed the brunet to push him down on his front from where he had twisted to reach for the drawer, letting him nibble on the juncture between his neck and shoulder and letting out a shuddering breath at the sensation. "Good, there's quite a bit; you may need to restock once we're done, though," he muttered into his ear, the hot air making Yami's toes curl.
He couldn't resist the comeback, however. "Promises, promises, Kaiba… less talk, more action please!"
The evil little chuckle that came right next to his ear raised the fine hairs on the back of his neck. The long arm, finely muscled as if chiseled by an artist, reached for the drawer's contents. Yami wanted to turn around once Seto had grabbed hold of the lube and several packets of condoms, but the breath was knocked out of him when Seto tsk-ed lightly next his ear and pinned him down tightly by grabbing his arm and holding it tightly against the bed.
"Stay," came the command and he almost moaned at the guttural tone of voice that reverberated deep within him.
His resolve broke, however, when he felt Seto's lips at the back of his neck. Hot and moist, they worried the skin there. A shock of sensation rushed through him and he gasped with its intensity, his toes curling slightly. The warm lips didn't stop there. Downwards they traveled, trailing hot kisses all over his shoulder blades and his spine and he arched into the touch with a keening little groan that hitched in the back of his throat when Seto's hand snaked down beneath his body, wrapping around him and coaxing him into a dripping, writhing mess beneath him.
He was already so hard. He had been so ever since they kissed. And Seto's hand just knew how to play his body so well, that when he let go of him, to his mortification, he found himself groaning in complaint, his hips grinding against the sheets seeking release like some horny teenager.
"Shhhh…" it was another command. He couldn't do anything except obey. He had lost control of his body, it was completely Seto's and with the simple shush, his hips stilled even if he didn't want them to.
Seto didn't keep him waiting too long though. He could hear the very distinct sound of the bottle of Durex being opened, felt the powerful jerk Seto gave the bottle after turning it upside down and the sound of its contents being squeezed out. There was absolute stillness for a few moments, then one of Seto's arms snaked around his hips, powerfully pulling him up to his knees.
He moved with him, feeling his entire body flush with the heat of his arousal. A second later, he felt cold, slick fingers probing him and he forced himself to relax, knowing that the sooner he did so, the sooner he would feel Seto inside him and he wanted nothing more at the moment.
It had been a long while since he last did this. It always felt great, but right now…right now he just couldn't breathe, especially as Seto leaned closed to him again, latching his mouth onto the spot on the back of his neck that drove him wild just moments ago, his free hand rising to pin down his arm. He was so deliciously helpless in Seto's arms and he couldn't get enough of the sensation. Unguarded, a low moan of pleasure escaped him. Within seconds, however, the quiet sound turned into a gasp of shocked pleasure, as Seto's fingers curled downwards within him, brushing the soft hidden spot inside him that sent electric sensations rushing through his entire body and forced his hips to buck uncontrollably back against the sensations.
"Found it," came the triumphant little whisper and the hand holding his arm pinned once again traveled downwards to his aching, dripping member, stroking it in tandem with the brushing of Seto's fingers against his prostate.
"Oh God…" he gasped, grinding his hips in rhythm with Seto's motions. It felt so damn good! So good.
But it wasn't enough.
"Seto…please," he groaned out, looking over his shoulder. He met blue eyes that were no longer that color. The pupils were blown so wide, they were almost black now. they were heavy lidded with desire and Yami almost climaxed under the intensity of the gaze alone. The gorgeous arm was once again beside him, grabbing one of the condom packets and he could hear the crunching sound of the foil getting ripped open.
What seemed like ages later, Yami felt the familiar hands on his hips again, positioning him while something thick and warm settling against his entrance, giving him a second to relax before pushing in.
He clenched his eyes shut against the familiar burn, breathing out to try and chase it away as Seto slid into him surely and steadily. Not too fast, not too slow. Carefully yet assertively at the same time. By the time he was all the way in, Yami was breathless at the frankly overwhelming sensation. He could hear the echo of his loud, labored breathing reverberating in the room with the rainfall providing background music to their love making.
Seto was moving again, but this time he was leaning down so his broad chest was flush with his back. His head was spinning. The hot lips were at his ear once again, the slender hands reaching along his arm once again to cover his hand then clasp their fingers together. "Shhh…relax Yami. Breathe for me," he whispered in his ear.
He shuddered, trying to obey and using Seto's rising and falling chest as a guide to regulate his breathing.
Seto moved only when he was able to catch his breath again. He asked him if he was ready and Yami whimpered out a yes, after which Seto moved again.
He kept up the same approach, establishing a pace that wasn't brutal, yet wasn't exactly slow either. Yami bit his lip hard, his eyes sliding shut tightly against the stimulus, especially as Seto once again found that hidden spot beneath him, causing him to cry out as he hammered it with smooth, steady strokes that sent electric-like waves of pleasure all over his body.
Seto's arms wrapped around him, pulling him up with powerful arms. His hand settled, splayed out on his neck, his index finger reaching for his lower lip, releasing it from the punishing hold of his teeth. His eyes slid open and he could feel tears running down his face unbidden. Seto's other hand which was still tangled in his fingers brought their arms to rest around Yami's waist.
Never breaking the rhythm, Seto turned his head, tilting his own so he could place their lips together and kissed him. Yami moaned into his mouth, feeling instincts taking over. His body was no longer controlled by coherent thoughts. He surrendered to sensations, letting himself go and attuning himself to Seto's tempo.
They were both too desperate for one another. Soon, whatever synchrony between the movement of their hips together was lost. Yami found himself once again pinned torso down by Seto's firm hold as the brunet's hips ground down into his own with a now-punishing pace, all traces of gentleness gone. The lean, long fingers wrapped around him stroking in time with each downwards piston-like motion Seto made into him.
It was too much for him. The perfect angle Seto had that brought his prostate into direct contact with the head of his lover's member with every downward stroke, coupled with the hand on his own sex soon made heat pool unbearable in his pelvis and he clenched his eyes shut tightly against the feelings surging through him, climaxing with a loud shout, his fingers convulsively bunching in the sheets as he convulsed with the onslaught of delicious sensations.
Soon, he felt Seto freezing above him, a deep-throated growl leaving him as he drove into Yami's body powerfully once, twice, three times, before releasing a shuddering breath and collapsing on top of him.
Their gasping breaths mingled together in the silence of the room, drowning out any other sounds. A minute later, they were calmer, their bodies now separated after Seto withdrew from within him, removing the used condom, tying it securely and depositing it in the trash bin beside the bed. Yami could hear the sound of the rain again. Thunder was crashing in the distance just as he turned slightly beneath Seto, reaching up to place his hand on the side of his neck and lean in for a kiss.
In the semi darkness of the room that was lit only by the light coming from the open bathroom door, they lay tangled together, kissing softly. Yami closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of safety, satiety and sheer bliss rushing through him in a combination that he didn't think he ever felt before this very moment.
It seemed like an eternity later when Seto broke the silence.
"That…was lovely," he said.
Yami chuckled and opened his eyes.
"I didn't want it to end," he lazily said.
"Whoever said we're having one go tonight?" Seto asked with a confused frown, propping himself on his elbow.
Yami smirked, "Are you ready to go again?"
Seto raised an eyebrow, "I told you'd I'd put a dent in your condom supply. I very much intend to do just that."
And he did.
Yami sat on the edge of the bed at three in the morning, looking at his sleeping partner. He was tangled in the sheets in a way that couldn't be described as anything except artistic. He was lying on his stomach, his right arm under his head and the pillow beneath it and the left curled next to him and the left leg was bent slightly; what remained of the spooning position they had been asleep in before Yami got up. The covers were almost falling off his body, tangling in his legs and pooling at his hips, his entire stunning back bare to Yami's eyes, from the back of his neck to the top of his left buttock. The rest of it was hidden from view by the blankets. In the faint lights flooding the room from the window and the occasional flash of lightening, he could see the elaborate trail of hickeys that he had placed artistically on the long column of Seto's neck. It made him chuckle inwardly because Seto had tried marking him in the same manner, but Yami knew very well that his neck didn't have similar markings. No matter how much past lovers had tried to place hickeys on him, they never succeeded, for some reason.
He had been asleep as well, exhausted from the quite-frankly record number of orgasms he had during the night. They had been at it for over four hours straight and Seto's stamina outdid his own significantly. Apparently holding his breath under water for so long almost every day did wonders to his endurance, Yami thought. But he didn't do so badly himself, overall. The fact that he kept up for as long as Seto wanted until both of them didn't have it in them to do anything other than fall into exhausted sleep tangled in each other… yes, he did alright. He smiled affectionately, shaking his head and quietly nibbling on the apple he had gotten up, put some cotton pants on, and trudged to the kitchen to cut up so he could eat. He hadn't eaten anything proper since lunch yesterday and his hunger was making itself known.
He got up quietly, pulling the blankets carefully to cover Seto's back properly and then walked towards the window. He stood next to it, pulling back the curtain slightly to watch the rain that was still beating down on the glass and the lightening breaking through the sky every now and then. He ate his apple while letting his thoughts wander, contemplating the wisdom of entering a relationship and wondering why he wasn't planning on turning this into a one-night stand or one of those 'let's get together to get off some steam' relationships. Why was Seto so special? There must be something that he still did not catch up to about this entire situation and he was stressing himself thinking of what it might be. Something that was missing with everyone else. Something that only Seto was offering him from the list of possible candidates who could have had a serious relationship with him.
It was pathetic how much of a mess Bakura left him. The state of mistrust, the inability to read the emotions people were offering him. It made him a bit sorry for himself. He was even more frustrated because he just didn't even know how to teach himself to trust again, to be able to identify those who meant him well and those who just wanted something from him and then would leave him. He didn't think asking Seto would solve it, either. And he just couldn't live with the questions running through his mind; what more was Seto offering him?
He stood there, deciding to wait until he found an answer. He finished his apple and set the plate on the little table next to the window and continued looking at the stormy sky until Seto's voice broke his contemplative reverie.
"Yami…?" it was groggy and full of sleep. He wasn't fully awake yet, Yami could see as he turned towards the bed. "You 'kay?"
Yami smiled and headed towards the bed. "Yes, do not worry. Just got up to eat something."
The bleary blue eyes nor the sleepiness hid any of the evilness in the smirk Seto was trying to give him, "I'm surprised you could get up at all…much less walk around."
Yami laughed lightly, getting in bed again. "I'm sturdier than I look," he teased, snaking one hand underneath Seto's head, sliding his body into the curve of Seto's own, wrapping his other arm around the broad shoulders.
"Guess I have to do better next time then," Seto comment, pulling him closer and propping his head against the pillow and burying his face into Yami's neck.
Yami couldn't help the slight stiffening of his body at those words. Next time…
He forced himself to relax, knowing that Seto, for sure, could feel his taut frame. He reprimanded himself mentally, once again taking Seto's advice and slapping that horrible voice inside him that kept feeding him dark thoughts.
A few seconds later… he felt Seto pressing his lips against the spot under his ear and a second later, he stiffened again lightly when he realized that Seto was kissing the scar that stretched from behind his ear to the very top of his neck. Seto didn't relent though and the hand that was on the small of his back pulling him close moved up to his shoulder, pulling him closer tenderly. Slowly, with little circled drawn on his back, he relaxed again, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Softly and with a gentle whisper in his ear as if afraid any other living being might hear it other than him, Seto told him, "I love you."
And with a burst of epiphany, he realized that this was the answer to what he stood by the window contemplating. This was what Seto was offering that no one else was. He realized how silly he had been. Worrying about a couple of scars… something so vague, something so insignificant wasn't going to chase Seto away. This was what he subconsciously realized but his mind didn't catch up to. And this was exactly what he needed to hear to finally calm his racing heart and lull sleep back into his eyes.
He let Seto's warmth, scent and arms surround him and he drifted off.
tbc…
a/n: fckin finally, you two!