Author's Note: Rated T because dragons are more physical with their emotions. So, this story's sort of different from the others. This is sort of semi-alternate reality. …Okay, it's totally alternate reality. Because Seto and Joey have dragon wings, tails, and horns. They've still got human bodies, but dragon appendages. Yeah, they're pretty awesome.

Good heavens! I didn't realize it would get this long! Perhaps I'll make a series along these lines at some point. ^.^;

V is for Vulnerability

Seto frowned and crossed his arms, leaning his head in the doorway as he watched his new mate cry. He knew that the black dragon hadn't wanted to mate with him, but he just hadn't been able to control himself; he'd been so beautiful and Seto had desired a mate for so long that he'd just… lost control. And now his mate would probably never want to see him again.

Stepping into the room, he winced slightly as the blond looked up at him, then immediately sobbed and covered his head with his wings. He'd probably never have a chance to prove to his mate that he was the ideal sire. He couldn't show him that he was good at providing food and shelter, that he could protect him and any eggs they might have. He wanted so badly to prove that he was good enough for him—the best, really—but the black dragon wouldn't let him.

After a moment of hesitation, Seto made his way over to the bed and gently touched the blond's shoulder. "…Joey?"

"Just get away!" the blond shrieked angrily, not even coming out of the protective shell of his wings as he lashed his tail around.

The white dragon let out a roar as the poison barb on the end sliced through the skin on his chest and shrank back, lifting a hand to the cut immediately. It burned. He'd been injured before, but it had never burned like this before. Hopefully it would heal in the few days it normally took for his wounds to heal. He wasn't sure he could go to Yami and Yugi and ask for help in good conscious and tell them that he'd gotten the injury from his mate that oh-by-the-way he'd claimed against his will.

Seto turned to give him one last, sad stare before leaving the room. He really was an idiot sometimes, thinking that he could claim a mate and easily deal with any problems that may occur afterward.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Joey winced as his stomach rumbled and sat up, sniffling and rubbing at his eyes. It was weird; he was sort of used to Seto coming in and leaving food for him. He hadn't left food for a while now. …Was he punishing him for slapping him with his tail? He hadn't really hit him that hard, considering all he'd done.

Barging into his den when he wasn't wanted. Claiming him when he didn't want to be claimed. Bringing him to his own den—castle, actually, it had been a gift from the humans for his help apparently. But the point was that Joey didn't want any of it. Just because the white dragon had been desired by most of the others didn't mean that he wanted him.

Walking over to the door, he checked the knob to see if it was locked; it wasn't. Perhaps Seto wasn't as bad as he thought. He opened the door and stepped outside, looking around nervously, before he began down the hall to where he sensed his… his mate was. He felt a flare of anger at the thought. He hadn't wanted to be Seto's mate. What a greedy bastard!

Joey snarled and kicked open the door to what he assumed was his mate's room. He was right. The room contained a large bed draped with deep blue curtains and covered with thick blankets of gray and blue, and many large book cases. There was an armoire against one of the walls and a few comfy looking armchairs.

And his mate was lying on the bed.

Growling, he stomped up to him, ready to shake him awake and demand food—it was his job as sire to provide it, after all—but found himself coming to a horrified stop when he found the brunet was awake. He was panting weakly, sweaty brow furrowed and eyes glazed with fever. He didn't even seem to realize that there was anyone else in the room, and—

Joey felt himself growing sick. The slap he had dealt the other dragon had cut him, and he'd planned on it; he wasn't going to lie about trying to hurt the man he believed had trapped him. He hadn't realized that Seto had never been exposed to a dragon's poison before. Now he was sick, and he looked miserable—

Wait. He should be glad that the white dragon was suffering! It was his fault all of this had happened, anyway! Forcing him to mate against his will—then touching him when he obviously wanted to be alone! He should have seen this coming—

He shrank back as the brunet suddenly lurched toward the edge of the bed, a loud groan escaping his lips in distress as he slipped over the edge and slid to the ground. He landed in a pathetic heap, then began making his slow way toward the window. Crawling.

He'd heard that white dragons were too proud to crawl anywhere. And he wasn't just crawling; he was worming his way over the floor, sometimes too weak to carry his weight with his arms.

Joey brought his hands up to his chest nervously, watching as the once proud, strong dragon got to the window and struggled to open it. Once it was open, however, and he'd managed to crawl halfway out the window, he couldn't move anymore. He had no more energy to do so. …He… he should help him. But it wasn't really his fault, was it?

But then the brunet was slipping out the window, wings just barely spreading enough to catch an updraft so he could soar out instead of having to flap. He… he should follow him. Just to make sure Seto didn't suddenly feel too weak and plummet to his death.

.-.-.-.-.-.

He'd come to Yami and Yugi. Joey hadn't been aware that he'd even known them, but he decided that it was lucky he did; Yugi was good at healing, so he could probably help him with his fever pretty quickly. …But…

Peering into the cave, Joey was surprised to find that the dragons had rushed to his mate's aid, looking worried. Then Yami was laying him down on a bed of hay, and Yugi was rushing about gathering herbs to help with the pain and lower his fever. Perhaps… perhaps he hadn't been entirely fair with Seto. Yami and Yugi were very good judges of character, after all, and they seemed to know him personally.

.-.-.-.-.-.

Seto leaned in the entrance of Yami and Yugi's den and panted weakly. He still had a little bit of a fever, and he probably shouldn't be straining himself like this, but he needed to get back to his mate. He'd neglected his duties as a sire, and he probably wasn't winning any points with him by just going missing and leaving him to fend for himself. Yami and Yugi would probably be very upset with him for leaving when he wasn't entirely healthy, but he needed to go.

Luckily, his window was still open. He didn't think he had the strength to open the front doors, which were bigger than he wanted to deal with anyway. He grunted as he smacked into the sill, then groaned. He must have been a truly hilarious sight just then, hanging halfway out of his window. He was sure a few of his enemies would have laughed their asses off.

Struggling frantically, he managed to wriggle his way into his room and flopped onto the floor in a pathetic pile of limbs. "Ow." He sighed, then bit his bottom lip; maybe he'd stay there for a few minutes and catch his breath.

Seto jumped as he felt someone grab his arm and looked up quickly, ready to lash his tail around and smack the offender away, but he stopped in confusion when he found his mate looking down at him in concern. "…Joey…?"

"…I…" Joey blushed and looked away quickly. "…You were gone and I—I was hungry."

The brunet frowned in concern and struggled to his feet. "Ah, then I'll go get you something—"

"No, that's okay! Ya look a little tired, and I can wait!" the black dragon exclaimed, trying to lead him to his bed. "I don't mind—"

"What sort of sire would I be to just take a nap when my mate is hungry," Seto sighed, frowning, and was satisfied when the blond looked up at him in surprise. He managed a small, tired smile for him. "I'll sleep once I've gotten you something to eat."

The black dragon bowed his head, sighing in frustration, then looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "I don't want ya t' get me somethin' t' eat! I want ya t' take a nap! Okay?!" When the brunet showed no signs of relenting, he stomped his foot angrily. "Why d'ya hafta be so stubborn!? You're gonna kill yourself goin' on like this! Ya stupid jerk, just—just claimin' mates and then keelin' over 'cause you're workin' so hard t' please 'em that ya neglect yourself even if they've shown they want nothin' t' do with ya!"

The white dragon sighed and leaned down to press a kiss to the blond's forehead, startling him mid-rant. "At least I'll die peacefully, knowing I took care of my mate until my last breath. What you do with my body afterward is your business. Throw me in a ditch, cremate me, do what you will. At least, in my mind, I'll have the illusion that I was a good mate, even if you wanted nothing to do with me the entire time."

Joey scowled and began hitting him angrily. "Ya stupid jerk, stop sayin' things like that!" When he realized that the brunet wasn't going to hit back—and wasn't even going to defend himself against his punches—he sobbed and leaned forward to bury his face in the white dragon's chest. "Why d'ya hafta keep doin' such nice things for me?! I'm tryin' my best t' make ya miserable and ya won't even acknowledge it-!"

"…Would you like me to leave again, then?" Seto asked quietly. "Because if it will make you happy, I'll leave."

"…You'd leave, just t' make me happy?" The blond frowned. "I don't understand. Why-?"

"I know I hurt you. I just want you to be happy," the white dragon responded. "I had no right to claim you like that. I want to make up for hurting you."

"…Why do ya make hatin' ya so hard?!"the smaller dragon whined, hiding his face in his chest again. "I… I can do it when you're not lookin' at me like that! B-but when ya look at me like that, I just can't!"

The brunet tilted his head sadly. "…Should I not look at you then? I can try. It's just… you're so beautiful, I can't take my eyes off of you."

Joey sobbed and hit his chest weakly. "Stop sayin' such nice things! I can't-!"

Seto knew he was taking a chance that could end with his being slapped away, but he couldn't help himself. Dipping his head, he pressed his lips to the blond's in a hesitant kiss.

He wanted to hate him. He wanted to beat him off, slap him away with his tail. But he'd said such sweet things and he'd obviously meant what he said, and he was so exhausted of being angry. Seto had proved he was at least trying to be a good sire, which was all that mattered, really. He'd give him a chance to be a real mate.

The brunet began to purr as the black dragon kissed him back and pulled him into a closer kiss. Joey mewled and backed away, but didn't break the kiss, leading the larger man away from the window and over to the bed. Then, he allowed himself to fall backward in one final test.

Seto immediately broke the kiss as he tumbled on top of him, brows furrowing together in confusion. "…I don't understand. You didn't want this. Why now?"

Joey pulled at him weakly. "Please, Seto. Make love to me."

"…You don't love me, Joey. I can't." He struggled to sit up, but all of this on top of the flight home and struggle inside had weakened him.

That was good enough for now. Helping the brunet sit up, the black dragon smiled sweetly and turned to push him back down on the bed. Despite still feeling a little teary, he was happy. "Just sleep now. I doubt you'd be able to make it to the food anyway, let alone prepare it for me."

Seto rumbled in disapproval but really didn't have a choice; he was truly too weak to fight now. "You're making me into a bad sire."

"You're being a bad sire by not listenin' t' your dame," the blond replied, though the scolding was light by far. "Now sleep."

"…Fine. But I won't like it."

"I never asked ya to."