A/N: sorry for the delay…omg, I totally forgot yesterday :O

Leave Out All The Rest

Chapter Eleven

The cursor on the screen kept blinking, after the phrase: "Dear Mr. Archer", which had nothing else after it to fill the email he had been trying to type out for the past hour and a half.

He took a glance sideways. Yami was sitting on the ground, some books spread out in front of him on the coffee table. He had taken the opportunity that he could now completely focus while doing a task that needed his attention and decided to look over some of what they had been doing in school over the past few months. His mere presence in the room with Seto made the brunet lose as much focus and attentiveness as Yami gained.

It was the day right after that small encounter of theirs in the Mansion's garden. Yami had drawn away from him a few minutes after he stopped crying completely. He muttered a small thank you and turned around, walking with calm, steady steps towards the door through which he entered the garden. Next time Seto saw him, was when he checked on him at midnight, seeing him peacefully asleep in his room for the first time in a little over a week and a half.

Today morning, Yami had dealt with him as calmly and gracefully as possible. Sure, he had avoided his eyes for the first few hours after he woke up at eight in the morning, but after that, things became a bit more natural and less awkward. Téa had dropped by at around 01:30PM, completely breaking the tiny slithers of icy tension between them that persisted. She was so happy Yami was now almost completely clean, she gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek.

Of course, Seto daydreamed about calling Michael to tell him his girlfriend was raping another male…

But he pushed that aside when Téa moved away quickly, seeing the faraway look of sadistic happiness on his face. She gave him a long, thoughtful look, before her face broke into another huge smile of happiness, and a knowing look appeared on her face. Seto had to admit he was more than a little worried about the fact that her eyes and Mokuba's met fleetingly and they exchanged this evil, evil and mischievous look.

Téa left at a little bit after three, but Seto wasn't sure when, exactly, since he had been on the phone with a member of his Board of Directors, and got off only at 3:45. By that time, Yami had taken out his books and was sitting down calmly in his office, looking over some of the difficult Integration sums they had been doing in school.

It had been an hour exactly, since he walked into his office once again. the goddamn email to Mr. Archer just refused to occupy most of his attention, which seemed quite happy to be completely directed at how exactly he was going to ask Yami out…

"I need a cup of coffee," he announced finally, head making a thudding sound against the wood of his desk as he exasperatedly banged it against the hard surface.

The slight pain from the action made a good distraction, especially as Yami looked up at him in concern, asking, "Erm…are you okay?"

"Fine, fine…just fine," he reassured, waving his hand dismissively as he half-swayed out of the office.

He stood in front of the coffee-maker in the kitchen staring at it in silence, with so much concentration, as if expecting it to turn into some sort of matchmaker, telling him what to say or do without making a fool out of himself.

"He knows…"

He almost jumped a mile in the air when Mokuba's amused, giggly voice was heard from behind him. He raised a hand to his heart, trying to prevent it from penetrating his ribcage and muscles to come out through his chest, and whirled around, to see his brother with the cookie jar in one hand, while the other hand disappeared inside it.

He was just about to tell Mokuba not to eat the cookies, when he paused, thinking of what Mokuba just said, "Knows what? I mean…" he paused, amending his statement, since he didn't want to seem too obvious to his younger brother, "Who are you talking about?"

Mokuba giggled evilly, "The one you were thinking of right now…" Seto wanted to tell him that he had been thinking of the coffee-maker, but he kept quiet and stared in horror, when Mokuba resumed, "He knows that you're gonna ask him out. Go ahead and do it, he won't turn you down…"

"Well, I don't know, but…" Seto started, distractedly arranging toothpicks to build a tiny tower, before he paused once again and snapped, "Hey! What are you talking about?!" he was feeling so overly self-conscious, his face was burning. Dammit, he thought, trying to will down his blush.

Mokuba sighed in exasperation.

Seto carefully stared at him, wondering what he did wrong now!

"Seto…" Mokuba whined. Seto looked at him some more, face blank. "I am talking about Yami. You two are obviously an item; it's clear as sunlight, okay? Ah, ah, ah! Let me finish," he said the last part, raising a chocolate-stained finger, and wiggling it at Seto, who stared at the chocolate-smeared appendage with an apprehensive, incredulous look instead of protesting like he had been planning. Mokuba resumed, once again burying his hand in the cookie jar and taking out another one of the sweet treats, "So, when you were on the phone, Téa and I told Yami that you are going to ask him out soon and that he should say yes at once. Since you're a nice guy and he's a nice guy, you two are a match from heaven, get me?"

Seto just continued to stare at him, shocked that Téa and his oh-so-innocent brother actually spoke to Yami about him like that…he wasn't so sure what shocked him more. The fact that the girl and his brother actually discussed such a thing with Yami, or the fact that he was so easily read like an open book and that his top-secret plan to ask Yami out was not so secret after all and that both figured it out without so much as a blink of an eye…

"No? You didn't get me? Aww! Seto! I'll repeat…"

"NO!" Seto quickly said, before lowering his voice, hissing out, "I want you not to talk about this anymore to Yami! Just…Just…" he gesticulated wildly, not finding the correct words, before settling onto saying in a hushed yell, "My private life! No meddling! Not you, not Téa, no one. Get me?"

Mokuba gave him a huge grin, the corners of his mouth completely stained with chocolate, as he nodded happily and turned around to leave. However, just as Seto was about to breathe a sigh of relief that he was finally by himself to his thoughts again, he called out, "Oh by the way…he seemed as though Christmas arrived early for him when we told him…"

Seto sighed in exasperation. Sweet, amazing Mokuba. Only he knew how to make him jumpy as well as happy at the same time…

Of course, he could have asked his sweet brother for a subtle way to ask Yami out, but…he thought he would rather stay here alone to think of a way by himself. Since his own 'subtle' and Mokuba's 'subtle' were two entirely different worlds.

Five minutes later, he was walking back inside his home office once again. His footsteps were hesitant, and he felt the mug of coffee almost slipping out of his hand with how sweaty his palms were. However, the moment he walked into the room, he blinked and a sudden, serious expression overtook his features, when he saw Yami uncomfortably shifting, a hand resting on his midsection, his breathing heavy and his face slightly damp with pain…

It took him a little less than a few moments to find himself at Yami's side, sinking to the ground beside him, asking in concern, "Hey…what's wrong?"

Yami blinked and seemed as though he became aware that he wasn't alone, just at that moment. He gave Seto a small, weak smile, which seemed almost like a cringe than a smile, and breathed out, "Fine…just a small cramp, I guess…"

Seto was sure he wasn't aware of what his body was doing at that moment, because suddenly, his arm had gone around Yami's shoulders, pulling him closer and his free hand was tangling its fingers with Yami's hand, while his lips were brushing against the soft, silky strands of multicolored hair, making shushing little sounds when the lithe body he held shuddered slightly with pain.

After a while, Yami's body relaxed, but he did not pull away from him. In fact, he seemed to relax even more when he realized that Seto was holding him so gently. And Seto did not stop holding the small hand in his, neither did he stop brushing his lips against Yami's soft hair. It was an oddly comfortable position. Seto found himself feeling like he had spent an entire day running, and lifting heavy stuff and going up and down the stairs, and then finally, he laid down in bed…it was exactly the same feeling, holding Yami and leaning against him and feeling him leaning against him like that.

"Sorry…" Yami mumbled suddenly after a few minutes.

"'S okay," Seto replied, making no move at all to get out of this comfortable position.

"Seems it is not completely over yet," Yami whispered, head moving slightly, tilting upwards. Seto stared down a little, not wanting to miss a second of observing Yami's relaxed, calm features from this close angle. He could see every little detail, starting with the beautiful, prominent, brown-colored mole in the center of Yami's right cheek, to the twinkling, mesmerizing crimson orbs which were shining with luster that gave them just what they had needed just a month ago, and finally, ending with the long, dark eyelashes that brushed one another with grace as Yami blinked while staring at him. The moment was magical, enhanced when Yami whispered, "Stay a bit longer…the pain may come back…"

And so, Seto stayed, smiling gently and closing his eyes, his arm pulling Yami even closer to his body.

Actually, both of them stayed like that for so long, that they eventually fell asleep that way. When Seto opened his eyes once more, he was vaguely aware that the office was darker, bathed in the pleasant, warm orange colors of the sunset. He was also aware that Yami's hand had left his and was instead, running through the soft strands of his hair, to slide all the way out of them, to touch his face with gentle, ethereal touches that made him shiver deliciously.

However, a second or two later, the movement completely stopped.

"Don't stop," he whispered, knowing that Yami was aware that he was very much awake right now.

Yami stiffened slightly in his hold, before unwinding again after a little bit. "Sorry I woke you," he whispered back to him.

Seto laughed quietly, "Why are we whispering?"

Yami giggled a little as well, answering in the same hushed voice, "I have no idea…"

Seto smiled, and leaned his head down a little bit, so that his mouth was right beside Yami's ear. "I need to ask you something," he murmured quietly to Yami.

Yami moved away a little bit, staring at him with a small grin. He moved up a little, so he could also whisper in Seto's ear, "What?"

And he once again moved back, staring at Seto expectantly.

Seto just kept staring at him from that angle, the sun's last rays falling onto his face from the left, where the window was, casting shadows on one side of his smiling features, while lighting up the other side. It hypnotized Seto to see the orange-yellow shades falling on Yami's face like that, bringing out the tan color of his skin and the exotic, dark shade of his eyes. He couldn't help but smile widely, feeling that he was the bravest person on Earth.

He leaned closer, his hand rising to the side of his face, beside his mouth, as whispered into Yami's ear slowly, "Would you like…to go out for dinner with me tonight…?"

Yami stayed completely still, as he sat there, his hands wrapped around Seto's wrists, as though he wanted them to stay there forever, or as though he wanted to hold onto Seto forever. Seto pulled back so slightly, so he could catch a glimpse of Yami's expressions, wondering if he did the right thing asking Yami that. Was it too soon to be asking him out? Were Mokuba and Téa wrong?

It was a little too late to be wondering about those questions, so he was eternally grateful when Yami leaned closer to him, whispering beside his ear, "I'd love to…"

Seto watched Yami from across the table, a small smile lifting the corners of his lips slightly. Yami was reading over the many different dishes in the menu, hmm-ing and making other sounds while doing so, the task taking too much time. Seto had already decided what he wanted to order about…ten minutes ago, but Yami seemed to be taking his own sweet time.

"I think I'll take…" Yami suddenly started, making Seto stare at him in anticipation, awaiting the 'big decision' to be voiced, but then paused, mumbling, "Oh wait, no…I don't like that dish's sauce…"

Seto started laughing, making Yami shoot a mock affronted glare at him. It went on for a few more minutes, until Yami eventually ended up ordering the same thing Seto ordered, the delicious sounding Bekri Meze that was a specialty of the Greek restaurant they had gone to.

Seto continued to stare in amusement at Yami, marveling how he seemed nothing like the unruly rascal he knew just one or two months ago. Yami now sat across the table from him, with the grace befitting one of the sons of a royal family, sipping little by little from the glass of Mavrodafni, which he immediately recognized as though he was a pro at identifying wines and their different types and varieties.

"You're really…" Seto started, making Yami blink and raise an eyebrow questioningly. He paused, not finding the correct word at the moment. He was surprised. He couldn't say that this completely new person sitting before him was the exact same person he had called an irritating, spoilt brat, just a few weeks ago. He couldn't find the term, so he settled onto saying, "Unexpected…"

It was partially the truth. Who could have expected that Yami Motou, Domino High's psychotic druggie, could make Seto Kaiba, Head Boy, school's golden student and its brightest, fall head over heels for him. Yes, Yami was unexpected alright.

In response to his words, Yami started chuckling, took a sip out of his drink, before asking, "Why?" Seto stared at him for a bit longer, shrugging when he couldn't answer. "You didn't expect me to know how to even speak to that waiter, didn't you?" Yami asked once again, giving him a small, serene smile.

Seto wanted to say no, that that wasn't it and nothing like it…but like that, he would be lying, so he nodded thoughtfully for a bit, before muttering, "Yeah…Yes, actually…"

He was expecting that Yami explained why exactly he seemed so experienced, being at a public place like that. However, Yami giggled, saying instead, "Yeah, I know. I surprised myself right now as well…"

Seto kept staring at him for a while longer, before laughing, shaking his head at how bizarre Yami acted sometimes. He watched, as Yami lifted the glass once more to his lips to take a small sip from it. His eyes drifted down from the pair of wine-colored lips that were an uncomfortable source of distraction right now, down Yami's right shoulder and down his arm. There, he found Yami's other hand setting down the glass of wine, before moving to the arm he was just watching, to absentmindedly scratch back and forth on it from above the simple, golden button-up shirt he was wearing.

Seto found himself staring at Yami's arm distractedly, imagining the myriad of scars that lay beneath the fabric and wondering how many new ones were made since the last time he saw them. He was overwhelmed by a feeling of sudden depression. Yami managed to win gloriously against his addiction…but what about other things? What about his addiction to self-harm? What about that monster waiting for him back at home? What happens when the remaining ten days they had together came to an end?

"Stop thinking…I can practically hear you talking to yourself from here…"

He blinked, looking up at Yami, who had pulled his right arm away from the table, and placed it on his lap. Seto stared at his features for a bit, studying the slightly embarrassed, awkward look there and he realized that his companion for dinner tonight caught him staring at his arm.

He didn't tear his gaze away. He kept staring at Yami, asking after a little while, "Did it make you feel better…?"

Yami looked down at his arm. Seto wanted to tell him that perhaps he could pass and not answer if he didn't feel like it. But he wanted to know the answer even more than he wanted Yami to avoid those painful topics tonight. He really, really wanted an answer.

Thankfully, Yami did not ignore him, or ask him to change the topic, or told him that it wasn't any of his business. He smiled a little and looked at him, shrugging, "No…" he answered. Seto stared at him some more, so he explained, "It was painful…and very disgusting. I felt like a butcher most of the time, except that it was my own blood staining my hands. And the smell of blood, after a while… I got used to it and that was the most disgusting part of it all. And by the smell of blood, I mean the heavy one when you have so much of it around. Not the sharp, coppery smell, but the heavy one that makes you gag… it was always as though I have slaughtered a lamb in my room, or my bathroom… so…" he paused for a while, staring absently at the corner of the table. Seto waited for him to finish. "So no, it never really helped me…"

Seto gave a curt, understanding, little nod, and before he knew what he was doing he had reached for Yami's hand that he had placed on the table once again, and held it, giving it a gentle little squeeze.

Yami smiled reassuringly at him, "I stopped…" Seto gave him a confused, little look, so he added, "I haven't…I haven't done it," the crimson eyes glanced fleetingly at its owner's arm, before looking up into his once again, Yami resuming, "Since the first night I spent with you and Mokuba…"

Seto's face broke into a huge, delighted grin, "That is wonderful, Yami…"

Yami gave him another small smile, humming in approval. "Can we…talk about something else?" he whispered.

Seto leaned back in his chair a bit, before pressing a bit further, "You'll have to talk about it sooner or later, Yami…you can't keep changing the subject forever."

"Perhaps you're right…" Yami agreed, shifting his suddenly shiny crimson eyes away, so he could stare at the corner of their table once again. He paused for a while, adding when the silence became too heavy, "But I don't want to ruin this…"

"Ruin it for me? Or ruin it for yourself? Because if you are afraid of spoiling the night for me when you talk about this, then I should ask you not to worry," Seto nodded.

Yami looked up at him, silently asking him to just let this go. But Seto wanted to prove a point here that what was going on with Yami shaped him into the person sitting there with him. The person that Seto asked out in the first place. Yami had no idea about that, as he asked, "Don't you…" he paused, the words stopping at his lips for a second, in which he looked away from Seto's eyes, mumbling, "I just told you…how…disgusting these…" he vaguely pointed to his arm, up and down, "are. You've seen it all, anyway, haven't you? Aren't you the least bit…put off?"

"No, not really," Seto negated, shaking his head. Yami frowned in confusion, once again raising his head to meet his eyes. Seto took the chance to add, "Stop thinking of it like it's your fault…what's happening to you right now. It's not your fault. You have absolutely no reason to feel that you put people off. Because that is the only thing that may put me off about you."

Yami kept looking at him for a while, even as the waiter came along at that moment and placed their orders in front of them, wishing them a good meal.

Yami recovered just in time to politely offer his thanks in the form of a slight nod, before turning to Seto once again, who picked up his fork, mumbling cheerfully, "Looks delicious, doesn't it?"

Yami blinked and looked down at his food, for once feeling that the big, empty void inside his stomach that prevented him from enjoying any food at all, no matter how much he loved it, was gone. He felt a smile spreading on his features, as he picked up his fork, starting to eat happily, feeling as though a huge load was taken off his shoulders.

Seto stealthily looked at him, as he ate the fancy dish with a delighted look on his face, which suddenly seemed brighter than ever. The smile on his features was contagious and soon, Seto, too, smiled and asked, "Do you like it?"

Yami nodded, chewing on the forkful he had just placed in his mouth. "I ate it once at a…" he said once he swallowed, but suddenly, he stopped.

Seto looked up at him in askance, worry making itself clear on his features when he saw how pale Yami's face became and how the smile lighting up his face, disappeared. "It's okay…you can tell me…" he said quietly. "If you want to," he added as an afterthought.

Yami dazedly stared elsewhere for a while and Seto suddenly recognized the look. The one Yami usually put on whenever he was walking through the corridors of the school and whenever he seemed to shut the whole world out and lock himself up behind walls he spent too much time building up around himself.

But suddenly, that look disappeared and Yami looked up at him, a tight, pained smile adorning his face, as he said, "It was a…bad day…"

At that, Seto decided that pressing matters anymore than that would be plain rudeness. So he gave Yami a little smile, once again reached to the other side of their table and caught the small hand that was clenching and unclenching in worry, giving it a small squeeze. "Well, then I am glad you picked this dish this time…so you'll have a hopefully good memory to block out the bad one…"

Yami smiled once again, this time his face lighting up even brighter than last time.

They never noticed the two men sitting in a table that was a few meters away from theirs. Both were staring at them both in amusement, exchanging little comments with a mean expression on their faces, especially as they pointed at Yami and stared at him in a way which, if he had seen it, would have made Seto kill them with his bare hands right on the spot.

As the remainder of the three weeks Yami was spending at the Kaiba Mansion passed, Seto's anxiety grew more and more. Sure, everything was going fantastically for both of them. Yami trusted him more than ever now, managing to speak more than just a few times about a few incidents that happened with his father. Seto made sure to let him know each and every time that none of what happened was his fault, because that seemed to be Yami's main idea regarding every single thing happening to him.

But in spite of the slow, but steady, development of their relationship –Seto couldn't believe he was using such a term!—it did not make the anxiety that grew with every passing day, any lesser. The time for Yami to go back to the hellhole he called home was drawing nearer. He could see that Yami, too, was getting more and more nervous. Whenever he tried speaking to him of going to the police now, when he had the chance and before he got hurt at all anymore, Yami shake his head, mumbling in response that they had no evidence against his father right now.

Seto didn't want to know what that meant and tried avoiding asking Yami that. Instead, he tried to gather as much backup forces as possible to try and convince Yami to report this to the authorities when he was still away from harm's way. Téa, Mr. Anderson, the doctor and even the Principal himself tried getting him to do so.

The latter's visit to the Mansion had been…amusing, to witness, at least from Seto's point of view. It was a surprise to open the door to find the older man standing before them with a friendly, optimistic smile on his face. Seto had invited him in, asking to what he owed the pleasure of this visit. He was certain that the answer would be that the older man came to check on Yami. He was right.

It was quite comical, to drag Yami out of his hiding place in his office, to push him towards the living room, where Mr. Paul was seated, waiting to see them both. Seto stood back, as Yami and the Principal stared at one another carefully, as though waiting for the other to bite. Seto tried not to laugh as he watched them, knowing that both of them never really were on friendly terms with one another—especially not after Yami caused chaos in the cafeteria and Mr. Paul suspended him from school for three days…

Eventually, Yami's docile appearance and the way he mumbled a small, somewhat cute 'hello', Mr. Paul unwound from the stiffness that was causing the tension and asked Yami how he was doing and whether he was better now or not. Seto resisted the urge to burst out laughing again, at how awkward the whole situation was. Yami was uncomfortable, thinking that any moment, Mr. Paul would be calling his secretary to tell her to call his dad to tell him he wasn't away at some foreign exchange trip. Mr. Paul stared at Yami as though he was the proof to Darwin's theory of the so-called human evolution…

But they were civil to one another, something that Seto wasn't so sure it would be the case. Eventually, Mr. Paul opened the topic of going to the police, with Yami, and Yami, once again, refused, muttering in quiet tones that he had a plan…a plan which he did not want to share with anyone just yet.

After a while of trying to get Yami to change his mind, Mr. Paul nodded, saying a few words that made Yami stare up in shock and disbelief at him. "Alright son…I trust you are more than capable of handling this. I just hope you're not killing yourself needlessly," he said, absolute faith in his age-wrinkled eyes.

Seto had shifted his gaze between the two, seeing Yami look down at his feet as he sat at the edge of the couch, looking like a little boy told to sit that way, by his parents. He didn't look up to meet the Principal's eyes, making the older man stare at him persistently for a few seconds before getting up.

Dutifully, Yami got up along with him, but still didn't look up to meet his gaze. At that moment, Mr. Paul walked towards Yami, leaning a bit closer, making Yami flinch in alarm, even if he stayed still. The older man waited until Yami was sure he didn't have anything funny on his mind, before saying something to him in a low voice that did not reach Seto's ears.

But he knew it must have been something that Yami did not usually hear from other people. He knew that the moment he saw the way Yami's features smooth over from the tight, uncomfortable look they had and a smile lit up his face as he mumbled, "I am not doing it anymore, anyway…" and he looked at Seto from over the older man's shoulder, adding, "Kaiba's a…nice guy. Even if he doesn't look like it…he's a nice guy."

Seto had blinked and his arms, previously crossed over his chest, uncrossed and he stared incredulously as Mr. Paul turned to look suspiciously at him, mumbling to Yami, "Really? Never thought I'd hear someone say that. Usually the students who come complaining call him…err…let's omit stating the exact terms, shall we?"

Seto raised an eyebrow, arms once again rising to get crossed in front of his chest, this time in a more challenging stance than before.

Yami stared at him for a while longer, before adding, addressing the Principal, "Okay, let's not tell anyone that he's a nice guy…he does have an image he has to keep up, doesn't he?"

"Indeed," was the last thing Mr. Paul said to Yami, as he headed for the front doors.

Of course, after he said goodbye to the older man, promising to do what he could to try and convince Yami to do as they told him, Seto had to slowly suffer Yami nicknaming him 'nice guy', all day long.

He failed in his task and it was the night right before he took Yami to the airport where his father would be waiting to pick him up. Yami was packing his stuff into the suitcase he had with him, listening as Seto tried for the millionth time this week to convince him to at least give the authorities a call. He looked so calm, but Seto didn't know what was going on with him on the inside.

"I told you…I have to have some evidence when I speak to someone. You have no idea how deep my dad's relations go. He will bribe the police if he had to," Yami evenly told him, folding a pair of his pants and placing them neatly in the suitcase. "I'll once again be called crazy and nothing will happen. Not that I mind being called crazy, since it has some truth behin…"

Mid-rant, Seto had gotten up and before Yami could finish, he interrupted him by wrapping his arms around him, stilling his movements and stopping his words. Yami froze for a second in his arms, Seto waiting patiently until he relaxed, before giving him a small kiss on the side of his head, mumbling, "I don't want you to get hurt again… you can do this without having to get hurt again…I'll back you up. If he has influence, then so do I…"

Yami turned in his arms and shook his head, interrupting him, "It's our word…against his… and trust me, we won't be able to get anything at all done if we don't have evidence to give to the police. I spent over three weeks here, Seto and any physical injuries vanished and if I still had any, he could very possibly deny he gave them to me, since, as the school's official records say, I had been out of town for the past few weeks."

Seto could see the logic behind Yami's words, even if he did not like it one bit.

"I don't want you hurting anymore…" he mumbled, placing his cheek on Yami's hair.

"If I don't do this…then I most probably will never get away from him," Yami replied quietly.

Perhaps Yami was right. No, actually…he was absolutely right. But it still did not make the knots forming sickeningly at the pit of Seto's stomach unwind.

Something about the way his father greeted him at the airport made him even more nervous and tipsy than he already was. Something wasn't quite right. But he didn't ask; he didn't want to know. He quietly accepted the 'fatherly' hug and kiss the monster gave him, taking his suitcase and dragging it behind him with one hand while the other hand dragged Yami along with him.

Yami stayed silent most of the ride home, answering questions like "how was it?" and "did you have fun?" and such, with monosyllabic answers. He had smiled nervously when his father had stared at him for more than ten seconds, before commenting that he looked…different. Of course he looked different; he didn't look like a drug addict anymore and his features were more laid back and relaxed…of course he looked different.

Walking into his house felt like walking through the doors of a prison after getting a life sentence. He didn't know if he was ever going to get out… especially as he heard no sounds at all, except the sounds he and his father were making, which mean that the latter gave the staff the day off…which immediately meant that he was at this psycho's mercy, till God knows when.

But nothing happened after his father closed the door. The worst thing was just that he wrapped his arms around Yami –in a way that Yami was disgusted to find out that it was a mocking version of the way Seto held him just last night—and mumbled that he missed him while nibbling on the skin right below his ear in which he was whispering those words, making him infinitely uncomfortable.

"I'm here now," he replied, hoping he would be released soon so he could flee to the sanctuary of his room.

His wish was granted and he grabbed the opportunity to go upstairs to his room, where he unpacked, taking as much time as he could.

However, after he closed the suitcase, placing it once again in the corner of his walk-in closet, he came out to the room once again, to find the door getting locked with the key, his father's piercing crimson eyes glaring with cold fury at him in a way that made him shiver in fear.

He stood frozen on the spot, watching as the older man got closer, until he stood only a foot away from him, making him stare up to meet those crimson eyes, feigning bravery he did not feel at all.

"Two of my friends came to visit me a few days ago," conversationally, his father said, a hand rising to slowly trail a finger down his face, stopping at his chin, where strong, firm fingers got hooked beneath it, lifting it up a bit more.

Yami tried not to move and stayed silent. This was going to be so bad, although he never expected it to be so soon. He didn't know what he had to do with his father's friends coming over to visit…except that maybe they got angry because their favorite fuck-toy wasn't around as entertainment. He didn't think that that could earn him a beating…maybe it could. He didn't know.

However, with what his father said next, he knew that if he survived a few minutes into the near future, he should be mentioned in history books as one of the luckiest people who used to be amongst the living…

"They said they saw you with the Kaiba kid at one of the restaurants downtown Domino…"

A/N: thank you for reading ^_^

Hathor…