Silhouette

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.
Silhouette
Part four of Shades
By Ykarzel

In love your choice is never right
There is no dark against light
Everything you do or say
Is just another shade of grey

Give in when it’s hard to fight
So easy to block out what’s right
Silhouette conscious to learn
That maybe you were wrong this turn

 
WARNING: Contains Yaoi content. That means boys being kissie with boys.


Dedicated to Nkoah, Solitaire, and Xpyne.

Ryou opened the door before Joey had a chance to knock. He put a finger to his mouth, telling the blonde to be quiet.

"Bakura is still asleep," he whispered. "I have a plan."

"Ryou-" Joey started.

"No, shh, this will work."

The hikari reached over to the table and picked up a glass light bulb. Painted on it was unmistakably Joey’s face. Ryou really had a lot of artistic talent when he cared to use it. "I need you to take this down to the basement. Unless I have to, I’m not supposed to go past the first few steps, but nobody has said you can’t, yet. Be careful, there will probably be glass all over the floor. If you look around, you should find another bulb like this, with my face on it. Put this with it. Hurry, before he wakes up."

Ryou pushed Joey towards the basement door before he could even begin to object. The hikari waited impatiently at the top, carefully monitoring his link with his yami to make sure the spirit wasn’t on his way downstairs.

Joey returned with a very disturbed look on his face. "Ryou, that’s, that is just a little, upsetting to see."

Ryou shrugged, taking his love’s hand and leading him to the kitchen. "I wouldn’t know, haven’t seen it." There was coffee waiting for them on the table. Or rather waiting for Ryou. The teen insisted he couldn’t make it through the day without his morning caffeine surge. Rather then let Ryou sit, Joey pulled his small body into his lap and nuzzled his back while the white haired boy sipped his steaming mug.

"So what did you do on your first day of summer, Honey?" Ryou asked, ignoring Joey’s hands resting on his hyper sensitive sides.

"I sat at home and thought about how I couldn’t be here with you. And why do you insist on calling me that?"

"Because," Ryou answered, setting his mug down on the table and turning in Joey’s lap so that they were facing each other. "It suits you. Besides, I need a pet name for you. If the whole world called you Joseph, I could call you Joey, but they don’t."

"You could call me Joe."

"Ew, dear me, no."

"Yeah, I don’t blame you," Joey answered with a shrug.

"I would call you puppy, but it seems to remind you very much of Seto, so I refrain from it. And ‘honey’ fits you. Fits your eyes, and you hair, and your personality."

Joey huffed, but allowed Ryou to kiss his scowl away. "Well then, I’m calling you sugar."

Ryou’s eyes widened comically. "Why?"

"It fits you. Fits your eyes, and your hair, and your personality."

"My eyes are brown!"

Joey shrugged. "There’s brown sugar."

Ryou eventually finished his coffee. However, Joey made no move to let the smaller teen off his lap. He really seemed to like Ryou there. "So, honey, what are we going to do today?" Ryou asked as he snuggled against Joey’s very firm chest. He always felt very inferior when confronted with that firm chest.

"Can’t we just stay here? I wanna spend quality time with you."

The last month had not been easy on Joey. It was agreed that Yami and Yugi were allowed to know about their new relationship, being Joey’s best friends, (and Seto and Mokuba, as they already knew) but until they had everything worked out with Bakura, it wasn’t to be expressed. Therefore, school and all public areas were tough, and once they reached Ryou’s home, Joey had to worry about the pale haired spirit that was out for his blood for stealing his hikari. Joey had flat out refused Ryou the right to ever step inside his home.

"I guess…" Ryou said hesitantly. He didn’t know what kind of mood Bakura was going to be in when he woke. However, Ryou had reserved yesterday, the first day of vacation, to spend complete one on one time with his yami. Therefore, Bakura couldn’t be in too bad of a spot.

"He’s not gonna eat me is he?" Ryou shook his head, crawling off Joey and leading them to the family room couch.

The two laid together, limbs intertwined and breathing slow, enjoying the simple presence of each other. "Ry?"

"Hmm?" came the younger’s reply, very glad Joey had already forgotten his new pet name.

"You and Bakura have sex, don’t you?"

Ryou jerked into a full upright position, staring with a dumbfounded expression at Joey. That was the last question he’d expected. "Well, um, yes, why?"

Joey shrugged, casting his eyes downward. "Just curious. So how is this light bulb thing supposed to work?"

Ryou noted the drastic subject change, but decided to let it slide for a moment. "Well, before Bakura and I got together, I knew he loved me. I just knew that he did, but wouldn’t admit it to himself. Then he started the light bulb habit. So I painted a light bulb with my face. I told him if he ever got really mad at me, he could break it. The catch was I told him if he ever broke it to let me know so I could make him another."

"I don’t get it," Joey said after Ryou paused for a moment.

"He could never bring himself to break it. Because he could never say to my face that he hated me so much that he killed something with my likeness on it. Something that I had worked hard on just for him. He couldn’t do that do me, and not being able to do that to me made him realize how much he loved me."

"So what did he do?"

Ryou smiled. "I was in my room. We’d just had another fight. He opened the door and climbed into bed with me. I turned around to look at him, and met his eyes. It was the first time I’d ever seen him that vulnerable."

"Then what?" Joey prompted when Ryou paused.

"He kissed me, and mentally, he asked if he could have me. And I told him yes, mind, body, heart, and soul, that I was his." Ryou stopped and blushed.

"And then you let him take you?" Joey asked softly, causing Ryoublusblush deeper and nod.

"All because of that light bulb," he finished with a shrug. But Joey wasn’t listening, he was thinking on something hard. Ryou would have given a nickel to know what, but he felt it wasn’t his place to ask.

"But what if he breaks mine?"

"He won’t, because he loves you."

Joey muttered under his breath. Ryou raised an eyebrow at him. Joey shifted uncomfortably. "What is it Joey?" Bright amber eyes looked up at him with fear.

"It’s just, Ryou, what if he doesn’t love me?"

"He does!" Ryou cried, seemingly distraught that Joey would dare to speak such a sentence.

"You always say that!" Joey cried, jumping to his feet. "But what kind of proof do I have? What if you’re wrong?"

"He just needs time, Joey," Ryou pleaded. He didn’t know how to make Joey understand. He could feel Bakura, and to him, Bakura’s actions made sense. But Joey couldn’t feel it. There was no way for Joey to understand the way he did.

Joey let his arms fall to his sides, and stared at Ryou. "Ryou, I love him," he stated brokenly. "I can’t help it. And the more I’m with you, the more I love you, and the more I love him. Seeing him walk through the house ignoring my presence is killing me. And I should be able to hate him for it, but I can’t. And it’s killing me. All I want to do is run away from him, but I can’t because I’m here for you. I don’t know what to do anymore, I don’t know how much longer I can deal with this."

Ryou was staring at the floor, not looking up at Joey. At first, the blonde didn’t know why, but then he felt the eyes boring into his back. He whipped around to look into Bakura’s guarded eyes as the spirit stood halfway down the stairs.

Joey waited with bated breath, hoping against hope that Bakura would say something, anything. He walked the rest of the way down, stopping at the stairs. Joey cast his eyes down. All he wanted was a sign, some sort of sign that Bakura cared, even the littlest bit.

The yami crossed the room, walking around Joey and ignoring him just as if he was a piece of furniture that he had grown too accustom to for him to notice. He was making his way to the kitchen before toiceoice of his hikari stopped him in his tracks.

"Kura, don’t you dare!"

Bakura whipped around, so fast he must have known that Ryou was going to stop him. "Dare what Ryou?" he hissed, an unidentifiable emotion burning hotly in his normally cold eyes.

"Walk away from him like that!" the normally quiet, calm hikari screamed. He just couldn’t take it anymore. He was being torn in half by the pair of them.

"Why the hell not?" the tomb robber asked through clenched teeth.

"If you won’t admit how you feel, Kura, then I will."

"You wouldn’t." It wasn’t a question, Bakura stated it as if it were the undeniable truth.

"I would and I will," Ryou declared coldly, anger growing inside him. "What you are doing to him is not right. I love him and I won’t allow this to go on any longer."

"Ry, what are you talking about?" Joey asked cautiously. He’d never seen Ryou this, well this pissed. seemseemed that under his calm exterior, Ryou had a temper too. He probably should have expected it, everybody had a point where it became too much. And Ryou told him often of the shouting matches he and his yami would have, Joey had just never witnessed one.

Ryou turned away from his yami to face Joey, the hot anger fading from his face and eyes. "I’m going to use the ring to allow you to feel Bakura’s heart."

Joey stood silent for a moment. "Is that," he paused to glance at Bakura’s enraged face, "right?" He wasn’t sure which side he wanted to be on here. But he defely ely didn’t want to be in-between them.

"No," the spirit spat. Joey’s heart jumped. It was the first time Bakura had spoken directly to him in a month or so.

"Nether is what you’re doing, Kura, so it’s your choice," Ryou replied with an equal amount of spit in his voice.

Bakura whirled around to face the Joey. He had never really noticed that Bakura was taller then him until that moment. He could really give Tristan a run for his money. Dark, cold eyes burned into his. "This," hissed Bakura, "is all your fault."

Joey pressed his lips together and didn’t let any other emotion show. He wouldn’t, couldn’t, show weakness to Bakura. Ryou could get away with it, but he doubted he could. "Stop!" Ryou cried. There was a note of hysteria in his voice. He walked over to Joey, and placed the cord of the ring over his neck. "I’ve never done this before," he whispered softly to his blonde love.

"I trust you." The fact that it might be wrong didn’t bother Joey now. He wanted this. Needed to know. Needed something, anything.

Ryou leaned forward and pressed his lips to Joey’s softly. To the blonde, it was just like out of the movies. There was a flash of, well, something that wasn’t quite light, wasn’t quite visible but would have been light if it was. Suddenly he was experiencing emotions that weren’t his own, like his had faded to the back of his mind or heart, and these were brighter, easier to feel. But somehow he knew these weren’t Bakura’s feelings. These were Ryou’s.

He could feel the overwhelming love for himself, the equal, yet there was no really amount to either, love for Bakura. And the pain of seeing the two people he loved most fight. But Ryou’s emotions were fading too, being replaced by yet another’s. Bakura’s.

There was fear. There was an overwhelming amount of fear. It wasn’t what Joey had expected to find in Bakura’s heart. Fear of losing. There was also pain of having lost so much already, and his love for Ryou, which was fighting the fear with all it had. His own heart was like a war within himself. Joey searched frantically for emotions that involved himself. He fouore ore then he really wanted.

There was love for him, yes, but it wasn’t battling the fear like Ryou’s. It was helping it.

He fell out of it with a gasp that broke the lingering kiss he and Ryou shared. He took a step back, his eyes flying to land on Bakura. He couldn’t keep the pity out of them. So much lose. And that was obviously the last thing that Bakura wanted to see. The spirit glared at him still, and Joey was unsure what to do. How could he make Bakura understand that he wasn’t going to steal Ryou? What else could he do?

"Kura, I-" he was cut off by Bakura’s sudden movement. The yami launched himself across the room, and reached Joey a breath, grabbing him by the shirt collar before either the blonde or Ryou had a chance to react. Bakura stood between them, a silhouette, darkness blocking the light from his view. And he could only handle the dark when the light was there.

"I don’t know what you felt, saw, or whatever. And maybe it was even true. Maybe, like Ryou says, I do love you. But that doesn’t help the fact that I hate you. And nothing gives you the right to call me that."

He flung the shocked boy away from him and fled the room. Joey landed with a hard thump on the floor. Ryou was unable to recover in time to stop him. Bakura reached the basement, and was gone.

Joey remained on the floor for a long moment. He stood up slowly, conscious of Ryou’s eyes on him. He kept his face down and brushed himself off. "Maybe, Ryou, I should just go…"

Ryou knew that he didn’t mean to go home. "Joey, please. I need you. Stay here. It’ll work out. That was progress. He loves you, you felt it. As soon as he gets past everything else, it’ll work out." Ryou’s eyes pleaded. He’d lose part of himself if Joey left him.

Joey sat back down on the couch, Ryou sitting beside him. Joey reached out and pulled the smaller teen into his lap. He held him close, breathing in the scent of his hair. "I need you too."

:-* -_-’ *-:
(Y/C/C: Hikari Ykarzel: Isn’t that just too cute???? It’s Ryou in the middle of them! I’m so off.)

Yugi sighed as he fell down on the couch. He allowed Yami to pull him into his lap. "Something wrong, Aibou?"

"Nah, Yami, just bored."

"Hmm, I can help that," he said, starting to nibble on the back of his hikari’s neck.

Yugi giggled slightly. "Come on Yami, knock it off…"

Yami pulled away, concerned. Yugi didn’t usually resist him unless there was a good reason to. He turned Yugi around so they were facing. "Is something wrong?" he asked again.

"It’s just, what are we going to do today?" Yami failed to see how a question could be what was wrong, but allowed it anyway.

Yami shrugged. "I thought, we’d just stay here."

"That’s fine, but what are we going to do tomorrow, or the next day, or all summer?" His normally bright eyes were dulled. "Joey spends all his time with Ryou anymore, and Tea’s gone for the next month, and Tristan’s always working, and Seto still thinks were pests."

Yami stared at his light. Something was seriously wrong, and even more so because he agreed with Yugi. They were, bored, with each other. Not that they no longer loved each other, he loved Yugi so very much, and Yugi loved him. But their relationship had been at this level for half a year now. And there was nothing, new. Their bond was always completely open, and Yami knew his light so well by now he could practically predict his movements.

"Aibou, we have to talk."

:-* -_-’ *-:

Bakura stormed down the cement steps. He reached the floor and heard pieces of glass crush under his shoes. He grabbed the nearest light bulb and hurled it against a bare, cement wall. Three more followed it, shattering before the pieces of the previous had time to reach the floor.

Rage sated for the moment, he moved across the room to the small wooden chair that was placed there. He opened the worn out shoe box, wanting to see his hikari’s face, and found more then a single light bulb inside.

He nearly dropped the box in shock. When had Ryou painted that? When had that gotten down here? Ryou wouldn’t have come down unless it was severely important. "Joey," he hissed, drawing the conclusion. He picked both light bulbs up, holding one in each hand.

After a moment, he gently laid Ryou’s back down in its cardboard bed. Joey’s, however, he held tight, and stood.

All he had to do was throw it. And then he would be gone, it would just be Ryou and Bakura, just lit ust used to be. Just the two of them. And Ryou would stop spending so much time with him. And he wouldn’t be able to steal Ryou’s love. Ryou didn’t need him. Al>he<>he would ever do is leave. There was no bond to tie him to them. All he had to do was throw it. That would prove he didn’t love him. Ryou would give up, and chose Bakura. Right?

Bakura’s heart nearly stopped. ‘What, what if he chooses Joey over me?’

Fear ripped through him, and he lashed out, pitching the bulb away from him. His lungs failed him as he watched it rip through the air and collide with the cement wall. Something inside him broke as the bulb shattered, falling to many colored pieces that hit the floor with soft tings.

Bakura gaped, and backed away slowly from the wall, older bits of glass crunching under his feet. He felt, absolutely dreadful. Turning, he bolted from the basement and up the stairs. He was about to run into the family room, when he remembered that Ryou and Joey would be in there. Panicking, he fled to his soul room.

As soon as Bakura returned to his mind Ryou was able to feel Bakura’s panicky fear. He pulled away from Joey, concerned, when he felt the spirit block and lock himself into his own room, completely cutting himself off from Ryou.

"Something’s wrong." The words fell from his lips like instinct, he hadn’t really meant to say them. He climbed out of Joey’s lap and started towards the basement door.

"Ry?" Joey questioned, jumping from his own seat and following.

Ryou took the stairs two steps at a time. The fact that he wasn’t "allowed" down here didn’t even cross his mind. Something had gone very wrong. He could hear Joey behind him.

He haulted when he reached the floor, looking around to find what had caused his yami to react in such a peculiar way. His eyes traveled across the glass scattered across the floor, fearing, but somehow knowing, what he was looking for.

His saw it, an area with multicolored pieces. He crossed over to it slowly, kneeling down beside them. Sharp glass dug into his knees, not enough to pierce but enough to feel through his jeans, but if he noticed he didn’t care. "He, he broke it," he stated, shocked. Joey looked over his shoulder. "I, I can’t believe- I never thought-" He cut off at the sound of foot steps. He turned just in time to see Joey’s retreating back reach the top of the stairs.

"Joey, wait!" He got up and started to follow, but heard the front door slam just as he reached the ground floor. In the hallway he was caught. He stared and the closed front door, then at the closed door of Bakura’s soul room. He didn’t know which to go after. Undecided, he just collapsed.

:-* -_-’ *-:
(Y/C/C: Hikari Ykarzel: It’s really not very appropriate here, is it?)

He ran. He just blocked everything out of his mind and ran. It was just like the many mornings he had just walked. He had know idea where exactly he was going, but it didn’t matter, as long as he was moving. He could not think when he was moving.

He stopped suddenly, finding himself at the entrance to the old park. Stopping made his mind turn back on. He remembered back a month. Ryou’s words coming back to haunt him. "I’m sure he feels the same way as me… it’s not that he doesn’t love you… he just hasn’t admitted it to even himself… we’ll work it out.. he’ll come around.. give him time, love." Shaking his head and growling, he started running again, running away from the words, the thoughts, the memories, the pain. Not paying attention to where he was going, he collided with something firm.

He found himself staring up into a pair of shocked ice blue eyes. He took a step back, recognition suddenly dawning. "Kaiba, what- what are you doing here?" There was no conscious thought behind the words, they had just been what came out of his mouth. His mind had shut down as soon as he placed those cold eyes with a face. Shut down to protect himself, hide his weakness.

Seto brushed off his shirt where Joey had collided with him. "Looking for my brother, if you need to know, mutt."

"Don’t call me that!" Joey shouted, making Seto take a step back, surprised it had upset the blonde so quickly. Once again, he wasn’t thinking. He couldn’t think. He just, reacted.

"Joey," he asked slowly, "is everything alright?" Those words sounded awkward coming from Seto. But despite how he acted, he really didn’t hate Joey, even if he didn’t particularly care for him, and the blonde knew that. And he knew Yugi’s best friend well enough to know something was seriously wrong.

"I just hate being called that! You’re such a mean, stuck up, pain in the ass, and the only person you give a rat’s ass about is your brother. He’s the only one that cares anything for you, and only because he has to, he’s family."

Seto clenched his teeth together. "You’re lucky, mutt, that I’m feeling merciful. I’m not going to pound you into next week, only because you’re obviously distraught."

Joey raised a fist as if to punch. "I hate-" he cut off, his arm stopping still, as Seto watched. That word. His mind was suddenly buzzing with that word. Joey’s arm fell limply to his side. "me," he muttered.

Seto waited, unsure what Joey was going to do, and unsure what he should do. "He hates me," Joey repeated, swaying slightly, his legs not acting as they should. He couldn’t think past it. Watery amber eyes looked up, catching Seto off guard. "Do you hate me too?"

"Joey, I- you, no," he finished lamely, feeling stupid. He didn’t like Joey, for various reasons, but there were a lot of people in this world he liked less. In fact, if he actually stopped to think about it, Joey had to be in his top twenty favorite people. Well, top thirty at least. The blonde collapsed against him, and Seto resisted the temptation to throw him off. He didn’t like, touching.

"I don’t even like you and you don’t hate me!" Seto tried not to be insulted. He was unsure what to do with his hands as Joey leaned against him. "I love him. I love him and he hates me!"

Oh, Seto’s mind stated, suddenly understanding what was wrong. He instantly set their differences aside, going into ‘big brother’ mode out of instinct. "Come on, Joey," he said, leading the blonde towards a bench. He couldn’t hold the teen’s dead weight much longer.

The shorter boy collapsed onto the wooden support, Seto sitting beside him. "I’m assuming it’s Bakura?" Seto couldn’t see Ryou hating anybody. And he heard enough from Mokuba about the boy’s suspicions that the yami wasn’t as happy with this relationship as the hikari.

"He’s afraid I’m going to steal Ryou from him. I can’t help it that I love them both. Why doesn’t anybody understand?"

"I do," Seto said sadly. "It’s alright, I understand, and so does Yugi, and Yami, and Ryou. Bakura just needs some time."

"Time!" Joey exclaimed, and Seto wondered if he had any idea who he was talking to. "It’s been a month now. Do you have any idea how hard it is to watch somebody you love act like you don’t exist?" He broke, tears spilling from his eyes and Seto just let him rant. It seemed to be what the boy needed. He also refrained from stating that he knew exactly what that felt like. "I just want him to love me. That’s all. Or even just to have him around while I’m there. Anything. I want him to show me that he loves me."

Seto was, well, in a word, lost, as Joey’s words ended and he just resorted to tears. He was still pretty sure that the blonde didn’t know who he was crying on, or really hadn’t given it any thought, because he knew that under normal circumstances, Joey wouldn’t show this kind of weakness in front of him. He’d never show this kind of weakness in front of anybody, but Joey hadn’t been trained to be strong the way he had.

Well, they couldn’t stay here. He hadn’t found his brother, but Mokuba wasn’t necessarily here, and he really didn’t need him right now. He’d just wanted his opinion on something. It could wait until the younger Kaiba came home. But Seto did not want to be found on a bench holding a crying boy that he supposedly hated in public. He had an image to protect.

"I’m going to take you to Yugi’s, alright Joey?"

The blonde nodded, and Seto wasn’t really sure if it was an answer to his question or not, nor did he particularly care. He gathered the smaller teen up in his arms, trying to ignore how heavy he actually was, and started for the car. He was glad that for once, he’d opted to drive himself.

He allowed Joey to sit in the passenger’s seat. He’d stopped crying, which made Seto much more comfortable. People showing their emotions were not his strong point. People were not his strong point. He seemed to have a better grip on what was going on, also, as he refused to look Seto in the eye, and managed to put on his own seat belt.

The drive from the old park to the game shop took only a total of three minutes. Joey climbed out of the car without any urging, and actually took the lead, bypassing the front entrance and heading for the back. Seto followed behind him, silent. Part of him wanted to leave, now that the teen was in much more responsible hands, but another part of him kept him there, and he feared little of it had to do with Joey.

:-* -_-’ *-:

Yugi’s violet eyes widened in surprise. "Talk about what, Yami?" he asked, though he knew already, and Yami knew that he knew, and Yugi knew that Yami knew he knew. Between them, life was like that. Always knowing, but sometimes pretending you didn’t just to have something to talk about.

"About how-" he was cut off by a very loud and hard knock on the back door.

Yugi jumped from his seat. "Only Joey knocks like that," he reasoned, as Yami got up to follow him. The fact that they were interrupted didn’t delay the conversation. They had already had it. It just, was, and that was it. Neither of them were particularly happy about the answer, but they weren’t all that upset over it either. When the hikari opened the door, he was met by not only Joey, but also the tall, calm presence of Seto Kaiba.

"Joey, Kaiba?" he inquired, clearly surprised to see the two on his doorstep at the same time, and Seto on his doorstep at all.

Closing his eyes, blinking away the tears he had stopped, Joey walked right past Yugi, because Yami had his arms open and waiting. The spirit knew pain when he saw it. He enveloped the blonde in his arms, growling softly. "What did that son of a bitch tomb robber do to you know?"

Yugi glanced at Joey worriedly, then looked back to Seto. "Kaiba, come in please. Tell us what happened."

Seto hesitated, but entered against his better judgment. "What happened?" Yugi asked, as Yami led Joey out of the room. He watched his best friend sadly, hurting to know that somebody else was hurting, in the way that Yugi always did.

"He ran into me at the old park, literally. I was just looking for Mokuba. I called him a mutt, and he got very upset, and I knew something was wrong. Then he started going on about how someone he loved, I’m assuming Bakura, hated him."

Yugi let out a sigh, and fell to a chair, motioning for Seto to take one too. The brunette did so with a inward sigh, not willing to admit how much carrying Joey that short distance had tired him. "Thanks for bringing him here. If he ran out, Ryou’s gonna be a mess. I don’t know how he can take being in the middle of those two."

Seto leaned his head onto his hand, seemingly interested. "It’s not going well then?" He couldn’t help but smirk. It was kind of satisfying to see the mutt struggle with both of them, though he knew it was very cold hearted, he allowed himself the guilty pleasure for a moment, before calling on the mental picture of a broken Joey crying to banish the feeling. He really couldn’t wish that on anybody. But it was just nice to know that everything was perfect in all their perfect little lives.

Yugi shrugged. "I think over all it’s going to work out eventually, but, no, it’s not. It took Ryou three years to break Bakura down enough to admit that he loved his own hikari. It’s not really that he doesn’t love Joey, it’s that he sees Joey as a threat." Yugi didn’t often share his friends personal lives with their rivals, but as he told yami earlier, he was desperate for a friend. And he had wanted Seto as a friend for a long time.

"He’s afraid Joey will steal Ryou from him?"

Yugi nodded, getting lost in Seto’s icy blues. "And therefore, he’s putting Ryou in the middle, making him divide his attention between the two. It’s not easy on any of them." He paused, guilty that he had sat there and gave that all away. Not that he was really worried that Seto would ever use the information against them. He wasn’t evil. "I really shouldn’t be involving you."

The taller teen shrugged. "I’m already involved to a point, but mostly just nosy." He smirked. "Besides, this could all be very useful latter on when I want to get under the mutts fur."

Yugi tried to glare at him, but couldn’t really find it in him, and just ended up smiling anyway. He understood that Seto never really meant it, and mostly so did Joey. It was all a some kind of twisted game to them. "Ass," he accused, resorting to names, though the effect was lessened by the grin he couldn’t erase.

Seto’s eyes left Yugi’s to rest on the window sill. "Why did Ryou and Bakura feel the need to have a third party?" Something thick and hidden lay under his seemingly mild tone.

Yugi sighed. "Unfortunately," he said, sitting back and glaring at a spot in midair in a very un-Yugi like way, "I can explain that to you." He wasn’t too sour about it, but still, he didn’t have to like it right away.

"Trouble in paradise?" Seto asked mildly, trying not to let any kind of unwanted emotion sneak into his voice. However, he took no guilty pleasure from this.

Yugi shrugged. "I just understand. I mean, Yami really would be enough for me, for the rest of my life. I love him very very much. I don’t really need anybody else, I guess. But the fact remains that we love each other with the parts of us that are apart, but the parts of us that are one person, have the ability to love another."

Yugi flashed a sudden grin. "But I suppose it’s okay. We’ll never have any of these problems because Yami hasn’t got any trouble admitting his feelings, and I can be pushed into it. As long as we fall for the same person, it’ll work out. We were really just about to talk about it before you arrived. Not that we really needed to."

Some sort of comment seemed in order, but Seto, unused to talking to somebody about their own life, was at a loss. Yugi seemed to understand, however, and cut him a break by changing the subject.

"So you lost Mokuba?" he asked, grinning to show Seto that he was kidding. He knew that if Seto had really lost Mokuba, he wouldn’t have given Joey the time of day. He wouldn’t have given the almighty himself the time of day.

Seto allowed himself to smile. It wasn’t quite a real smile, but it was better then his normal smirk. And that was when he realized that he could have already left, but he pushed the thought aside. "He ran off today, I wanted his opinion on something at the office, but I couldn’t find him. It’s probably just as well though. I’m attempting to drag him into my work again."

Yugi looked concerned. "Maybe you shouldn’t work so hard."

Seto shrugged. "I can’t help it. I use Mokuba mostly so that I can have a user’s opinion on everything that I do. I often have what he calls ‘creator’s love’. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the creation of things that it’s amazing in my eyes. Because everything is right and works, to me it’s perfection, but it could be the worst product that ever entered the market." He shrugged again. "Mokuba’s one of the few people who I can trust to tell me a project I’ve worked on for months is a piece of shit."

Yugi’s eyes brightened. "You could always ask me," he said, smiling in the way that made him who he was. He chuckled at himself. "I may be older then Mokuba, but I don’t look it and I sure don’t act it. I’m one of your biggest costumers. If you don’t wanna bug him, come bug me if you want to. I won’t mind. That is, if you trust me," he added as an afterthought.

Seto snorted softly. "Who couldn’t trust you? My biggest rival and I know you wouldn’t lie to me." It was understood that he was referring to Yugi and Yami as a whole. Whenever the topic of rivalry or duel monsters came up, Yami and Yugi were to be seen as one, because that was something they did as one.

"Don’t flatter me Seto, I’m not your biggest rival, I’m your only rival."

Seto just stared at him, and just as the joke was about to crash and die, laughed. Yugi’s entire day was made, knowing that he, had been able to make Seto laugh. Maybe he would gain a new friend.

The wheels in Seto’s head, wheels that were much too big for a boy his age, were quickly turning. "Yugi," he started, surprising the said boy slightly with the tone. Seto almost sounded like they sat and talked like this everyday. Was that what a single laugh could do? It sounded like they were, maybe, friends. "I know I really have no right to ask this, but, would you like to come work for me?"

Violet eyes stared at him, totally confused. "What?"

Seto had to look away from him, emotions battling common sense, not sure which was which, and knowing that he was either making the best decision of his life, or the worst. "You’d be doing exactly what you just said. Just basically, helping me. It wouldn’t be paper work, or building or anything, just working with the products. Just for the summer, if you want. I’d pay you well, and I’d understand that you have the shop to look after and Yami to be with first. You wouldn’t have to show up every day…" Seto trailed off.

"So let me get this straight. You want me to come into Kaiba Corp when ever I please, try out all your new stuff before anybody else on the planet, tell you what I think, and get paid for it?"

Seto nodded, looking all too serious. If he realized that Yugi was trying to be funny, he didn’t show it. Yugi was pretty sure he didn’t realize it. "Only if you want to. I would understand if you didn’t want to work with me. I wouldn’t."

Yugi’s eyes widened comically. "Want to? I’d love to. It would be perfect. Yami can stay home and watch over the shop with grandpa, and we could spend some time away from each other, not to mention that has to be the coolest job ever."

"So you’ll do it?" Seto asked, almost a little too eagerly. He made himself sit back in his chair to keep from jumping out of it, fisted his hands in his lap to keep them still.

Yugi hesitated a moment. "Will I be working with just you, or all kinds of people?"

The question took Seto off guard. Which answer would Yugi want? He could make it either. Hell, he could do whatever he damn pleased. He was the CEO. "Well, I mean, probably just me, but you-"

Yugi cut him off with a sigh of relief. "Good. I don’t think I really fit in with the business man type of people, and I would feel totally out of place if you weren’t there. I’ll talk to Yami more later, but as far as I know, I’d totally love to."

//Love to what, my light?//

Yugi jumped. /Oh, God, Yami, I’m so sorry. I got so caught up talking to Seto I forgot about Joey. Is he alright, is everything okay?/ Now the worry returned with full force, and he fought the urge to run in and demand of Joey if he was alright.

//I’m still attempting to get the whole story out of him, but he’s getting better. Now, love to what?// His tone made it apparent that at the moment, Joey was too overcome by tears to talk, and that left Yami with a few moments to avert his attention to his lighter half.

Yugi sent the whole idea to Yami in one big burst. It took the spirit several moments to interpret it. //Well,// he responded, //that’s certainly interesting.//

/Do you mind, can I go?/

//It’s not my decision, Aibou, but I think it might be good, for both of us. Hold that thought though, Joey’s talking.//

"Yugi!"

Yugi snapped back into reality with a shake, and Seto, who had been the cause of that shake, sat back down in his seat with a thump. He hadn’t known what to make of it when the smaller boy just stopped responding to anything. Yugi blushed. "I’m sorry, Kaiba. Yami and I were talking. If I’m too attentive to him, I can’t process what’s going on around me."

"Oh," the brunette replied, not exactly sure how to respond to that.

"But Yami agrees that it’s a good idea." Yugi flashed his million dollar smile. "I’ll be happy to come work for you. When do I start?" He sounded excited, which Seto ’t r’t really understand. Why would Yugi want to spend time away from Yami? And with him instead? There was so much to their bond he didn’t understand.

"Um, as soon as you can, I guess."

Yugi looked thoughtful. "I’ve got to teach Yami how to run the register, but I could probably have everything ready by next week, is that good?" Seto nodded. An odd look crossed his face and Yugi jumped out of his seat as if burned. "Excuse me a moment, I have to call Ryou and make sure he knows we have his Joey safe and sound." Or as if he had just remembered something very important he had forgotten to do.

He grabbed the phone off the wall and fell back into his chair, dialing a number he knew from memory. He twisted the cord around his finger with his free hand. It rang three times before a very quite voice came on.

"Hello?" Yugi, being who he was, would have known just from that word that something was seriously wrong with his friend.

"Hey, Ryou," Yugi answered, his voice automatically falling into the comforting friend tone. Seto was almost surprised at the change. He would never be that good with people. "Joey’s over here. He ran into Kaiba at the park, and he brought him here."

"Oh," came Ryou’s soft reply. He doubted much would surprise him in his state. Yugi could have told him that Yami had lost his mind and the sky had turned green and his reply would have been about as enthusiastic. "Is he okay?" It was what Ryou asked, but all he wanted to really know was ‘Is he coming back to me?’

"He’s getting there. How about you, are you alright?"

There was silence on the other line for a moment. "No, Yugi, I’m really not."

Yugi nodded, thought Ryou couldn’t see it. "I know. Do worry, when he calms down we’ll bring Joey back over so you can try to work it out."

"Thanks. I’m going to go then." Ryou didn’t want to voice the fear that Joey might not want to come back to work it all out.

"It’ll work out, Ryou. I promise."

He could hear Ryou smile slightly in his voice. Real or forced he had no way of knowing. "Thanks Yugi, I think you’re right. I’ll talk to you later."

"Bye Ryou."

He jumped to hang the phone back up. He flashed Seto a quick smile to insure the other dueler that he hadn’t forgotten that he was there. "Koi!"

There was no mental response, instead the spirit of the puzzle walked into the kitchen, his bare feet making soft noises on the tiled floor. Yugi was slightly aware of Seto behind him growing suddenly stiff. "Yes Aibou?" The shortest teen jumped out of his chair again, and over to his yami.

Seto watched as they stared into each other’s eyes. ‘They’re talking,’ he realized with a start. What would it be like to be bonded to somebody like that? He didn’t think he’d like it. He had too many thoughts he liked to keep to himself.

Yami’s eyes flew away from his hikari’s to land on Seto. The normally collected teen felt his breath hitch. He couldn’t help but be intimidated a little by Yami. The ancient pharaoh was the only one to ever best him, in anything. At least, that’s the way he understood it to be, but the whole yami and hikari business was very confusing to him. True that he and Yugi were combined when they dueled, but Seto didn’t doubt that Yami would beat him on his own. Not that he thought Yugi couldn’t beat him on his own, he would be very surprised if the little hikari didn’t kick his ass, but it was impossible to be intimidated by those huge violet eyes and that sweet smile.

Yami’s ruby eyes left sapphire to land back in amethyst. //All right,// Yami replied, finishing their silent conversation, in which he had informed Yugi what he had gotten out of Joey. //Hold still for a breath.//

Surprising the lighter teen, Yami bent slightly, capturing his love’s lips in a soft, tender kiss. Yugi pulled away after only a short moment, very conscious of the audience, even though a embarrassed glance at Seto proved the older teen was averting his gaze. /What was that for?/

//I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.//

Yugi made a sound of exasperation, rolling his eyes and stepping away from his darker self, though smiling all the same. "You’re so possessive," he stated, walkout out of the room.

Seto found himself alone with his only rival, or perhaps his only superior. He forced himself to look up at the ruby eyed spirit. But Yami ignored his presence.

:-* -_-’ *-:

Yugi spotted his best friend curled up on the couch. He was glad to see that the blonde was no longer crying. Yugi crawled up onto the couch, then right over into Joey’s lap, ignoring the surprised look.

"I was talking to Ryou a while back," Yugi said softly, staring at Joey’s chest. "I remember him telling me that when you were upset, instead of wanting to be held, you seem to want something to hold on to." He looked up and smiled softly, and Joey understood suddenly.

Thanking whatever god had decided he deserved a best friend like Yugi, he wrapped the boy is ars arms and held him close. "Thanks, Yug."

Yugi smiled, hugging Joey back. "I know you’re tired of hearing it, Joey. But it’ll work out. And until it does, Yami and I will always be here. No matter if you need to be held, someone to hold, or someone to beat the shit out of Bakura. We’ll help you no matter what."

Joey chuckled into Yugi’s hair. "You always know what to say to cheer me up."

Yugi shrugged. "It’s in the job description."

:-* -_-’ *-:

Hand in hand, Joey and Yugi walked back into the kitchen to find Yami and Seto both sitting at the table, neither looking at the other or speaking.

"Well, they didn’t kill each other," Joey stated, his normal grin returning. It really took a lot to get Joey down, and a lot more to keep him there. Seto looked up at him, and the blonde quickly had to avert his eyes, ashamed of the weakness he’d shown. Out of all the people in the planet, why Kaiba. But on the other hand, there was nobody else he trusted more to keep his little episodsecrsecret. Simply because Seto Kaiba wouldn’t want them to know that he’d helped Joey. Well, a secret from everybody but Mokuba.

Seto stood up. "I should really be going. Yugi, this has my personal number on it," he said, setting a card down on the table. "Give me a call next week. And mutt?" Joey looked up, a defensive glare already in place. Seto smirked, but his tone didn’t match it. "I hope it works out." And he meant it, really he did. No, really.

With that, he left the small kitchen, leaving behind a very shocked Joey and Yami, and a grinning Yugi.

:-* -_-’ *-:

Joey sat in the back of the car beside Yugi, while Yami drove up front. He wasn’t really sure how this was going to work, but when it came to Bakura, Joey trusted Ryou. He didn’t have any other choice but to trust Ryou. In his heart, he knew there really wasn’t anything he could do. Even if Bakura hated him, he couldn’t leave Ryou. He couldn’t not go back.

The car slowed to a stop. Yugi looked up at Joey. "Do you want us to come in with you?"

"Nah, it’s okay," he answered, climbing out. "Thanks for everything, guys. I might stop by later tonight." Yugi nodded as he pulled the door shut.

Joey opened the front door quietly. First thing was to find Ryou. He already knew where he would be. He took the steps up to the attic two at a time. There he found his white haired angel, curled up on the spare mattress on the floor. He quietly walked over and laid down beside him.

Ryou turned over, pressing against Joey and clutching his shirt tightly. "I didn’t know if you’d come back." His voice was raspy from too many sobs, and his face grubby from too many tears. But to Joey, he’d never looked or sounded more beautiful.

"Oh, Ry," he said, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "I love you too much to leave, no matter what happens. I promise."

"I wouldn’t blame you," he stated softly, his words slightly muffled by Joey’s body. And he wouldn’t. Not after what Bakura had done. But he wouldn’t blame Bakura for it either.

"Which is part of why I wouldn’t do it." Joey held him tighter, stroking the back of his head and trying to be comforting. But how close he was holding Ryou, he felt he was being comforted more then he was being comforting. Though he hated his position in this love triangle, he couldn’t imagine that Ryou’s was any fun either. Or Bakura’s, for that matter. This whole thing was ripping them apart.

"Where is he?" he asked. His decision was made now. For Ryou, and for himself. And for Bakura. He was going to do this.

Ryou pulled away. He wetted his lips and swallowed before answering. "He was in the basement again, but I don’t know now."

Joey reached down to the foot of the mattress and grabbed one of the blankets from the pile that had accumulated there over time. He wrapped it around Ryou, taking extra care that his feet were covered, as he knew that Ryou’s feet chilled easily. Leaning down, be caught the smaller teen’s lips in a long, soft kiss. Pulling back he whispered softly, his breath caressing Ryou’s face.

"I’m going to go talk to him. I’m going to make it all okay. Just go to sleep for a while, alright sugar?" he smiled, hoping to cheer him up.

Ryou smiled back weakly. "Okay honey." Joey waited until he fell into a fitful sleep before he left.

:-* -_-’ *-:

Joey noticed, as he walked slowly down the steps, that it was starting to get very dark outside. His mind did a quick run over, trying to remember if anybody would miss him if he didn’t come home tonight. Finding the answer to be negative, he paused on the second floor.

Ryou’s bedroom door was closed. Bakura was in there, he knew it.

He stared out the hall window for a long time, watching the objects on the horizon become dark silhouettes in front of the setting sun. He considered what he was about to try to do. Would it work? Was it worth it? Was he ready for this? He really wasn’t sure of the answer to any of those questions. All he knew was that things couldn’t go on like this anymore. If only for Ryou, he had to go through with it.

He turned the door knob slowly. Light washed out from the room, blinding him momentarily. He spotted Bakura, stretched out on the bed on his back.

"The attic," he said shortly, obviously thinking that Joey was looking for Ryou. And as sad as it was, it made Joey’s heart jump again that he was being addressed directly.

"He’s asleep," Joey answered, locking the door behind him, then leaning against it for support. He needed all the support he could get.

Bakura was silent, ignoring Joey’s presence in the room. Taking a very deep breath, Joey walked forward, toward the bed. He paused beside it and fell to his knees. This earned him a glance out of the corner of Bakura’s eyes, but nothing more then that.

After another silent moment, Joey climbed up on the bed, lying beside the spirit. To further ignore the other, Bakura let his eyes fall closed. Joey had never done anything like this before, and he wasn’t quite sure how to react, so he planned to wait until he went away.

While the former tomb robber ignored him, Joey studied everything about him. Bakura was beautiful, really. Though Joey could never imagine telling it to his face, no matter if they worked things out or not, it was true. His entire body was firm, tight muscles covered in milky skin. He was almost like lightning; beautiful, but deadly powerful. Joey propped himself up on an elbow while his eyes traveled up to Bakura’s face. His normally sharp features were softened slightly when his eyes were closed. Long, black lashes rested on the palest ivory cheek bones. His lips were the lightest rose color.

Joey took a deep breath, and leaned foreword, softly pressing his lips to Bakura’s. There was a breath of silence, and Bakura’s eyes flew open. He let out a growl in the back of his throat, opening his mouth to clamp his teeth down on Joey’s bottom lip, while grabbing the blonde’s shoulders and flipping them over. Bakura had Joey completely pinned, and there was no doubt in his mind now that the spirit was much stronger then him.

"What the fuck do you think you’re doing?" the yami hissed though clenched teeth, their faces hardly an inch away.

Joey’s tongue popped out to wipe the blood Bakura had drawn from his lip. Then, propelling his neck forward slightly, he kissed his other love once more. Bakura pulled his face back, and using Joey’s shoulders, jerked the blonde’s head back down to the pillow.

"What are you doing?" he repeated.

Joey blushed, turning his head sideways and looking away from those dark eyes. "I- not not sure." He smiled slightly. "But it was worth it." Even if he never got to kiss those light rose colored lips again he’d never forget those two daring attempts.

"I could kill you in an instant," Bakura stated, eyes hard and teeth still clenched in anger that was just hardy held in reserve.

Joey nodded, still not looking up. "I know," he replied easily. "But I figure if you do, I don’t want to be around anyway." There was completely silence for a moment. Joey swallowed once, before closing his eyes and spitting it out. "I’ve been trying to figure out, how to prove that I mean it. How to show you that you can trust me. This is all I could come up with."

"And what might that be?" Bakura asked, leashed fury clipping every word.

Joey took another breath to calm himself, his heart was racing. He felt his face heat, but he opened his eyes, and looked straight up at Bakura. "I- I want," he paused and swallowed, nerves taking over. "To give myself to you," he finished, watching Bakura’s eyes for a reaction.

Bakura’s eyes narrowed. The idea was preposterous. "What if I don’t want you? I hate you, didn’t I prove that yet?" But that was a lie, in a way. He hadn’t thrown the light buo pro prove that he hated Joey. He’d thrown it because for one split second- he pushed the thought aside, refusing to revisit that horrid moment.

Angry tears built in Joey’s eyes, but he blinked them away and glared right back at the spirit. "Look Bakura, I’m really trying here, but you’re going to have to meet me half way!"

Bakura blinked, taken aback that Joey would talk to him that way. But the blonde wasn’t done yet. "I know you don’t hate me. Ryou tells me everyday, and I’ve seen it. That stupid light bulb doesn’t mean anything. The truth is you’re afraid of me. You’re afraid to love because you don’t want to lose. You’re afraid that I’ll replace you. And I keep trying to show you I won’t do that, but you just won’t look past your fear. It’s ripping Ryou apart, it’s ripping me apart, and hell Bakura, you too. So we’re going to solve it right now. Either kiss me, or kill me. At this point, I’m up for either." His face was fearful yet defiant. He was being serious. Deadly serious.

Bakura just stared. He wanted to be angry, he wanted to be so pissed he could break the brat’s nose and go fume in his soul room. But he couldn’t. Because it was true. Every thing he said was the absolute truth.

There was a moment of doubt. Did he want this? Wasn’t this everything he had spent the past month fighting? Yes, but he was tired of fighting it. The blonde had proved and continued to prove that he wasn’t going to go anywhere. If only for Ryou, he was going to stick around. And Bakura kind of admired that.

Leaning down, he ced hed his lips to Joey’s, forcing his tongue into the teen’s mouth.

See Part Two for the rest