Beauty

First Things First: As always thanks for the support and reviews… and yes… such an
evil cliffhanger… but this is the chapter to end all chapters… you thought last
cliffhanger was bad… this one takes the cake… and no… don’t go scrolling down…
no peeking. Alright… this chapter was mostly written which was why I could pull
it out so quick… just keep in mind that it’s all about to go down… Hell, look
at the freaking title… Okay… enough stalling…

Disclaimer: Me no own Yugioh.

Song Notes: When Doves Cry by Prince, Outrageous by Britney
Spears, Milkshake by Kelis, Missing by Everything But the Girl and I
Wish I Wasn’t by Heather Headley


Chapter 19: Revelations


I’m home alone again
And you’re out hangin’ with your friends
So you say
Somehow I know it’s not quite that way

It’s getting pretty late
And you haven’t checked on me all day
When I called you didn’t answer
Now I’m feelin’ like you’re ignoring me

I wish that you were home
Holdin’ me tight in your arms
And I wish I could go back
To the day before we met
And skip my regret

I wish I wasn’t in love with you
So you couldn’t hurt me
It just ain’t fair the way you treat me
No, you don’t deserve me
Wasted my time thinkin’ ‘bout you
And you ain’t never gon’ change
I wish I wasn’t in love with you
So I wouldn’t feel this way

~I Wish I Wasn’t
Heather Headley


Bakura sat stiffly at the dinning room table, waiting for Yugi and his
grandfather to return from the kitchen. All Yugi had mentioned was that he
wanted to see his grandpa and wanted Bakura to accompany him. He hadn’t really
thought of the consequences of his actions or that this was a clear setup. If
Yugi had explained that he wanted him to meet his grandpa at least he could
have been better suited for it. He, not unlike Joey, had never had to meet
anyone’s parents before, and since Yugi’s grandpa was his parent it was
essentially the same thing.

He could only imagine what his boyfriend’s grandfather thought of him.
According to Yugi his grandfather had loved Joey from the moment he met him,
adoring the blond and thankful that Yugi had finally found himself a true,
genuine friend. As for Yami, Yugi said his grandfather had seen qualities in
Yami he didn’t like, and didn’t think he was a good match for his grandson,
even though Yami was the man in Yugi’s life for two years.

The history of Yami, Yugi, and Joey’s high school friendship was still a
mystery to Bakura, and when he had asked Tristan about it, he also had no idea
how things got messed up for them. Tristan never understood why Joey and Yugi
never started dating. In any case, Joey was the apple of Yugi’s grandpa’s eye.
And he wasn’t sure if he could impress him. What was it about Yami that he
didn’t like? Before Seto Kaiba showed up he was in love with Yugi, was he not?
Or wasn’t he? It couldn’t be about sex… they had never become intimate until a
year into their relationship. The situation made little sense but maybe one day
Yugi would tell him the complete story. Why it was Joey now hated Yami, why
Yugi and Yami ended things…where Seto came from… the entire twisted tale.

“Here, Kura, you like crab sushi, don’t you?” Yugi walked out and placed the
plate in front of Bakura and sat next to him. Yugi’s grandfather sat across
from his grandson. They were all on the floor in a traditional Japanese room.

“Crab sushi is such a pain to make, I hope you didn’t go through any trouble on
my account Mr. Moutou,” Bakura asked, picking up his chopsticks.

“Nonsense. When Yugi told me he was bringing you by for lunch I couldn’t
resist. I’m sure it’s not as good as anything you can make of course. Culinary
school, that’s quite impressive.”

“I was horrible at cooking when I was a child. But I liked spending time in the
kitchen, and eventually it just seemed like a natural fit.” Yugi’s grandfather
gave Bakura a smile.

“Well it is certainly nice to have a face to go with the name. Yugi’s mentioned
you a lot these last few months. How long have you known each other?”

“In January we’ll have known each other for nine months,” Bakura answered.

“And you met at that bar, right? Pyramid something?”

“Yes, Grandpa.” Yugi took a bite and smiled. “No one makes this quite like
you.”

“It really is delicious, Mr. Moutou,” Bakura put in.

“I’m glad you boys like it.” He took a bite. “So, Yugi, how is Joey?”

“He’s good Grandpa he went to his boyfriend’s parents house for the weekend.”

“Oh yes, the one who works at Kaiba Corp, right?” Yugi nodded. “It’s good to
see Joey happy, I worry about him sometimes. He doesn’t mean to but he wears
his heart on his sleeve. I guess that’s better than trying to hide things. Like
Yami did.”

“Not him again. That was eons ago, Grandpa. I’m completely over that
foolishness. Yami’s so self involved it’s amazing he has time for anyone else,”
Yugi decided.

“I never liked him. Even when you were in high school. There’s just something
about him. But I guess you were going through a stage in your life, you needed
to be with someone who was really good looking.” Yugi’s grandfather gave Bakura
a smile. “Not that your latest beau is hard on the eyes of course.”

Bakura lifted his eyebrows.

“Grandpa, don’t embarrass him. Then he won’t want to come back here,” Yugi
grumbled.

“It’s just you always seem to pick these guys that are nothing like you, Yugi.
Like you’re looking for an extra challenge. It’s hard enough trying to make a
relationship work as it is.”

“If it were up to you I’d be married to Joey with kids,” Yugi stated, with his
hands across his chest.

“I can’t help that I like Joey. He takes good care of you.”

“Bakura takes good care of me too. And I love him in a way I’ve never been able
to love Joey.” Yugi gave Bakura a firm smile. “I told you what happened when we
went to Tokyo.”

“Oh, this is the guy?” Yugi’s grandfather asked, reconsidering Bakura. He
reached over and squeezed a well-defined muscle through his tight fitting
ribbed sweater shirt.

“Grandpa! Don’t touch him… you’re going to make him rethink our relationship!”

“He doesn’t mind, do you, Bakura?” Yugi’s grandfather squeezed a bit harder,
clearly impressed. He withdrew his arm. “So you’re the bouncer then?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Why didn’t you say so before, Yugi. I thought you told me you and that guy
were having problems. I thought you said his name was Kura.”

“I call Bakura, Kura. It’s the nickname I use for him. It’s worked out now,
Grandpa. This is Bakura. I’ve told you about him plenty of times.”

“Well, Yugi, I’m sorry, I’m old. You have so many boyfriends it’s hard for me
to remember who is who.”

“I’ve only been telling you about Bakura for the last several months, Grandpa.”


“Bakura and Kura are the same guy. Okay, I’ve got it now.” He looked back at
Yugi’s boyfriend. “Nine months hum? Why didn’t you ask my grandson out before?
Yugi’s obviously crazy about you. I must hear some form of your name at least
three or four times every time he calls me.”

“Grandpa…stop being nosy. That’s not your business.”

“I’m just wondering. You’re obviously right for each other.”

“And how can you know that, Grandpa. Just a moment ago I thought you didn’t
like him.”

“I never said I didn’t like him. But now that I realize this is who I was
hoping it was I’m happy. Maybe if he didn’t go by so many aliases I wouldn’t
have gotten all mixed up.”

“Kura is a short form of Bakura. It’s not like I’m calling him Alfred or
Petey.”

“I had a bird named Petey, before you were born.”

“Grandpa! Please. Just stop. Enough.”

“I’m telling you I like him. What’s the problem? I like him a lot more than
Yami. And he’s good for you. Strong enough to deal with weirdos.”

“Please… don’t say anything else, Grandpa. It’s over.”

“Have you seen Bakura’s muscles? They’re nice. Well, I guess you have, you kids
today… not waiting to get married before you…”

“GRANDPA!”

“Listen, Bakura, Kura, whatever you’re calling yourself, you seem like a good
man, Yugi told me what happened in the subway. That’s obviously a sign of
character. And I can’t remember my Yugi ever talking about someone so much
since Yami, so I can only infer he’s in love with you. Just don’t hurt him. Or
I’ll break both your legs. Understand?”

“Oh for the love of the Buddha, just stop! Grandpa, don’ t threaten him.
Besides, if Bakura wanted to he could break your legs.”

“I don’t want anyone to hurt my special grandson, Yugi.”

“Grandpa!”

“It’s alright,” Bakura put in. He regarded the older man critically. “I won’t
hurt your grandson, Sir. You have my word. And I give you complete permission
to break both of my legs if I ever do. Intentionally or otherwise.” He flashed
a smile.

“See, he promises, Yugi.” Yugi rolled his eyes. “You’re a good man, Bakura. I
like you. Let’s just hope Yugi doesn’t screw this up, hum.” Bakura smirked. “On
that note, nine months, when can we be expecting a ring, huh?”

“I’m too young to get married, Grandpa. Don’t ask him that.”

“I just want to make sure you two are on the right track. So I’m thinking this
summer, you’ll have known each other for a good year and some change. More than
enough time to propose. Plus my grandson’s birthday is during the summer, which
really makes it special. Hopefully Yugi won’t mess things up before then.”

“I won’t, Grandpa. I won’t screw this up.” Yugi took Balura’s hand in his.
“However, you’re not exactly helping, Grandpa. Don’t scare him with demands for
marriage.”

“Is it so much to ask that I can die knowing my grandson is safe and taken care
of when I’m gone? I’m sorry I worry about you, Yugi, but you’ve always meant a
lot to me. More than your mother ever did. You’re the child I should have had.
You’re the only thing my daughter and her screw up husband ever did right in this
life. If anything were ever to happen to you… I don’t know what I’d do. I want
you to be loved, Yugi. I want you to be loved by someone you love, someone you
can grow old with. And hopefully it’s this fine gentleman sitting with us this
afternoon. He has a lot of fire inside him, I can see that. He’s passionate.
And passionate is good. And most importantly, he’s not that pre-Madonna Yami.”

“Grandpa…I…” Yugi looked for something to say. He wasn’t sure exactly what he
was looking for…anything…he was just… floored, was one word for it. “Grandpa…”

“Take care of him, okay, Son?” Bakura looked up at Yugi’s grandfather,
realizing the man was talking to him.

“I will, Sir.”

“Good. Then that’s settled. Now enough talk of this stuff. I swear, Yugi,
you’ve embarrassed this poor man quite enough for one sitting. Finish eating I
made a cheesecake for dessert.” Yugi opened his mouth to protest but could only
manage a smile. His grandpa was who he was. And hell if he didn’t love him for
it.

And the old man liked Bakura. Even Joey had never been asked to marry him
before. He didn’t understand how his grandfather could decide if he liked
someone or not so quickly, but he decided not to question it. He also decided
he was holding himself to his own inner pact.

He would not screw things up with Bakura.


-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


“Mind if I sit next to you, Joey?” Joey looked up at Tristan’s mother. He
scooted over on the bench he was sitting on. “It’ cold out here, Joey. What am
I going to do with you if you catch yourself a cold. I wouldn’t be a very good
mother.” She handed him a winter coat.

All Joey had been wearing was a sweater, but he was too upset to worry about
not being properly clothed when he came outside to think. He was sitting on a
secluded bench somewhere on the Taylor’s property, not sure what he was going
to do. This seemed like the ultimate betrayal, but he couldn’t help thinking
that maybe he was being silly, Tristan wasn’t Duke… but how could he act so
nonchalant about this? Didn’t he understand? Hadn’t he come to Tristan crying
telling him about Seto?

“Tristan didn’t want me to come talk to you, Joey,” Emily began simply. “He’s
still upset about that display last night.”

“He should not have acted that way towards you. You’re his mother. He was being
so silly.”

“Not really, Joey. I haven’t always been a good mother for him. Just because
you’re someone’s mother doesn’t mean you deserve your child’s love and respect.
It took a while for me to realize that. I’m far from perfect, Joey. I don’t
know if I gave you that impression, but Tristan and I have been through a lot
of rough spots before you came along.” Emily sighed. “Tristan and I have so
much in common, that’s probably why we bump heads. It’s easier for us to deny
that we’ve hurt the one’s we love. It’s easier to feign innocence. It’s easier
to make excuses.”

“You’re still better than any mother I’ve ever had. The grass is always greener
I guess.”

“I guess so. Tristan and I use to get into these terrible fights. One time he got
so mad at me he didn’t speak to me for a good week. Not as much as a good
morning. I didn’t do anything to demand he speak so we continued, both of us
too stubborn and upset to apologize first. It was truly ridiculous. I won’t lie
and tell you I don’t remember what the fight was about. I remember it clearly.
But as things progressed and we still refused to speak we both had to admit
there were a lot of underlying issues besides what was upsetting us at that
moment.”

“So what happened?”

“After my husband reminded me that I was the adult I walked into Tristan’s room
and told him I wanted him to tell me exactly why he was angry at me. All of it.
And I promised him I wouldn’t interrupt him until he was finished. He made his
points. I listened, tried to see the situation through his eyes. Then I
explained how I felt, why I was upset. We had never really spoken to each other
in such a way before. But it was therapeutic. Both of us were forced to see
each other’s thoughts, reexamine the issue. And I learned an important lesson
from all that.”

“Which was?”

“That spending seven days not speaking was one of the worst things we could
have ever done. You’re only given a short period of time in life. A
millisecond. To waste any of that time in anger is ridiculous. That was
probably one of the moments I really felt closest to Tristan. Imagine if
something had happened to him or I before we had patched things up.”

“So this is your way of telling me I should talk to him, right, Emily?” Joey
wondered, giving her a look.

“This is my way of telling you that if you leave things up to my son you
probably won’t resolve this issue during this century.” Joey gave her a look
and stood up. “He’s in the guest house, wearing a tread in my flooring with his
incessant pacing.”

“Okay.”

“You just have to keep in mind that no matter what else, my son can be a jerk
when he wants to be, Joey.” Joey nodded.

Tristan stopped walking when Joey entered the house. “Baby…I’m so sorry…really,
Baby…”

“Sit down, Tristan. So we can talk.” Tristan sat on the couch, Joey sitting
next to him.

“Go head, Baby.”

“Are you attracted to him, Tristan, just tell me, yes or no,” Joey asked,
softly.

“Yes, I’m attracted to him. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love you or I’m not
attracted to you, Baby.”

“This is why I never wanted a good looking boyfriend, Tristan. I know you’re
not him, but the way you’re acting…I feel like…it reminds me of my ex.”

“I can’t keep chasing a ghost, Baby. I already started this with a hand and
foot behind my back. He hurt you so much, and because of it you have all these
insecurities, Joey.”

“I’m not insecure. You told me when we first started this I’d always have your
honesty. You promised me that. And now I see just what your promises mean,
Tristan.”

“It wasn’t that I was trying to be dishonest. Baby, I just knew you wouldn’t
understand.”

“Am I some kind of infant, Tristan? That I’m incapable of understanding? Why
did you assume I’d have a problem understanding? Why don’t you try seeing it
from my point of view? Have you forgotten what went on between Seto and I?”

“No, I haven’t. I know he hurt you.”

“Then why would you become friends with him? Why would you hurt me like this?”

“It’s not black and white, Joey. I don’t consider myself a friend of his. He’s
my boss, we go to the gym together. And Monday he asked me to go play squash
with him. Just to change up our workout a bit. It was circumstance that thrust
us together.” Joey didn’t look at him. “You have a right to be angry at me. I
should have said something earlier. I just didn’t know how. It wasn’t like I
was never going to tell you, Baby.”

“He’s texting your phone, you’re not just working out anymore. You’re playing
squash, you’re going to juice bars. And don’t give me that shit that he’s your
boss and you can’t say no. You made a choice not to say no. I can’t imagine
your job was on the line when you made a date with him for Monday. I can’t
imagine he can fire you over missing him at the gym. You’ve talked a whole lot
of crap about how much I mean to you, but you forget all about that when you
decided that he was more important than I am.”

“None of what I said to you was crap, Joey. Is that what you thought it was?
Crap? What exactly do you think would happen between us? Do you think I’d start
cheating on you with him?”
“Of all the people to become friends with, Tristan. I don’t expect you to curse
him out and jeopardize your career because of what happened between Seto and I,
but by maintaining a relationship with him outside of work you’re telling him
that what he did to me was okay. And it’s not.”

“What happened between you and him was horrible, I make no denials of that. But
meeting him at the gym and working out with him for 80 minutes a week doesn’t
constitute a betrayal to me.”

“We’re not talking about how you feel, we’re talking about me, and my
feelings.”

“And that’s why I waited on telling you, because I knew that you wouldn’t
understand the situation.”

“Because I’m insecure, right? I’m sorry I’ve been hurt in the past, I’m sorry I
was with someone just as wonderful as you proclaim to be who fucked me over.
Maybe if you didn’t screw up every decent relationship you’ve ever been in and
let yourself fall in love you would understand what it’s like to be burned, to
feel pain.”

“You’re right, Baby, given your history with him becoming best friends with
Seto would be inappropriate. But that’s not the case. He talks about Yami
ninety percent of the time or work. He’s nothing more than an acquaintance. I
would never develop any level of emotional intimacy with him. I should have
asked you how you felt about the situation before I made it a regular thing. If
you want me to stop working out with him I can change some things up.”

“Then he’ll think I’m insecure, like you do.”

“Your ex was an idiot who threw away the best thing that ever came his way and
hurt you because he was a selfish asshole, Baby. Anyone would be worried about
their next relationship. I swear this was the first, and will be the last time
I receive a text message from Seto. I didn’t withhold this from you to be
malicious or devious, I just couldn’t see how you’d take this well, and I
didn’t want to upset you. But that’s no excuse for not saying anything. You’re
right, Joey, I was wrong, but I just want you to realize that I wasn’t up to anything
by keeping it to myself.” Joey looked into his eyes. “I’m sorry, Baby.”

“You promise you won’t keep anything like this from me anymore, even if you’re
afraid I couldn’t handle it?”

“Yes, Baby.”

“And I’ll try not to be blinded by anger and fury anytime something like this
comes up. I just have my thing about Seto. I’ve always had problems with him.”

“He’s difficult.”

“He’s a bastard. Well, to people anyway.” Joey sighed. “He donates tons to
children’s charities every year, a lot of it anonymously because he doesn’t
want the publicity for it. I guess he’s not evil incarnate. He’s just an
asshole.”

“It’s funny, when I called his cell phone to ask him about the message Yami
picked up for him and we chatted for a moment, less than a minute, and he said
how glad he was Seto and I were working at the gym together. Sort of like I was
keeping Seto out of trouble so he wouldn’t be with other guys.”

“You are. Despite my shit about Yami, no one deserves to have someone cheat on
them repeatedly. It’s funny, because I think Seto does truly love him, on some
level. I thought when Yami and Seto first got together it was just so Seto
could get back at Yugi, but there would be times Seto would look at Yami in a
way that made me think he could really actually be in love with him. Why would
you cheat…that’s the part I don’t understand. I don’t think I’d ever cheat. If
I meet someone else, Tristan, someone I really needed to be with I’d tell you.”

“You’re keeping your options open, Baby? Ready to trade me in for a newer
model?”

“A guy has to window shop. Seto just decides to try on the clothes on top of
it. There’s no need to cheat. Break up with the person. Don’t fuck around on
them every day and twice on Saturdays just to be spiteful.” Joey thought for a
moment. “Tris, why did he write love always?”

“Oh, it’s his signature, he said he only sends messages to his brother and
Yami. So it always comes up as Love Always Seto.”

“It’s not like you can’t disable your signature. How does he not realize that’s
what he’s sending out?”

“I agree, Baby. Perhaps he is trying to get in my pants.”

“I don’t know how that would work, you’d fight for dominance.”

“That’s true.”

“Bastard. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was Seto who cheated with my ex.”
Tristan quirked an eyebrow. “He has brown hair.”

“You think it was him?”

“He’s an asshole, but I don’t think he’s that bad. He was after Yami at the
time, he and my ex would have to have been doing it right under my nose.
Besides there’s more proof I was right all along.”

“Varon.”

“One of these days I should go see the fool and confront him. Just finally
having the proof it was Varon would give me piece of mind. In fact Bakura told
me the other day that he saw the two of them together at the Pyramid about the
time things between the fool and I were falling apart. Then there’s the mention
of a birthmark. I don’t know, I just want to know. You think it’s wrong to go
see him after all this time?”

“I think confirming who it was would ease your heart, Baby.”


-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


Seto entered the bedroom towel drying his hair, another towel draped around his
hips. Yami was on the opposite side of the room, in a fluffy white bathrobe. He
didn’t bother looking at Seto, but gave him a small, annoyed glance in the
largest mirror of their master bedroom suite. “Blow dry your hair, Dragon. It’s
going to be all frizzy looking and photographers from Ravenous magazine are
going to be here tonight.”

“And why are they coming to our New Years Eve party, Honey?” Seto was headed back
into the bathroom to find a hair dryer.

“It’s good publicity for the company, Dragon. Besides, this is going to be the
hottest party in Japan tonight. I bet we’ll make the cover.”

Seto pulled out the blow dryer and walked over to the mirror. “Can I share with
you?”

“Just don’t direct that air on me, I’m trying to decide on which color make up
best brings out my eyes.”

“They look like the same color, Yami.” Yami gave him a look.

“Shows how much you know, Seto. This is charcoal, and this is midnight, and
this is raven romance.”

“And this is me uninterested.” Yami narrowed his eyes.

“Why are you next to me. Find your own mirror. This one is mine.”

“I can’t stand next to my fiancé?” Yami shook his head no. “Do I have to blow
dry my hair?” Yami shook his head yes. “Can’t I do it later?”

“We only have two hours before the party starts, Dragon. Don’t you care?”

“You know I hate parties, I only let you throw them because they amuse you.”
Yami shot him a hard glare through the mirror. “Baby, you’ll look perfect no
matter how long you take to get ready.”

“It’s not about looking perfect. It just takes me a while to look the
way I want. You should try being more supportive.” Yami dabbed another color
eyeliner on his hand and admired it against his skin. “I don’t really think the
midnight matches that well with the rest of the ensemble.”

“You’re such a diva, you must know that.” Yami shrugged. “You always get so
wound up before a party.” Seto moved so he was standing behind him. He slipped
the robe off just enough so he could rub Yami’s shoulders. “Relax a little.”

“Seto…stop. I just put coco butter on my shoulders.” Yami shrugged off his
palms.

“I can’t touch you, is that it?”

“Touch me after the party. Why don’t you blow dry your hair, Dragon. And get
into your clothes.”

“I don’t like the outfit. I hate the way I look in brown.”

“It matches my outfit, Dragon.” Yami tried a fifth shade of eyeliner on the
back of his hand. “Don’t you want to match me, Dragon?”

“Not particularly.” Yami gave him a cold glare through the mirror. “Baby…”

“Blow dry your hair. And get dressed.”

“Kiss me.”

“I will after you dry your hair properly. I don’t want it dripping all over
me.” Seto made a face. “Stop acting like a child. We have a long night ahead of
us, Dragon.”

“Why can’t we spend a quiet New Years alone for once?”

“We’ll be alone after the party,” Yami answered. He was now trying the brown
shades on his skin.

“Will you let me kiss you at midnight, or are you going to be concerned I’ll
smudge your make up?”

“Of course you can kiss me at midnight. You can even kiss me after you blow dry
your hair.”

“Why do you always get like this when we have parties? Why do you have to be
such a little bitch?”

“I’m not a bitch.” Yami narrowed his eyes. “Go blow dry your hair in the
bathroom. You always manage to pick fights with me when I’m trying to get
ready.”

“You always manage to be a cold, standoffish asshole when you’re trying to get
ready.” Yami crossed his arms over his chest. “It’s true.”

“We have photographers and party guests and all kinds of things going on
tonight and you’re being a child, as usual. All I’m asking you to do is please,
get ready.”

“I don’t want to get ready.”

“Dragon! For Ra sakes. Please.”

“I just want to make love to you, i don’t want any of this crap. I don’t want
to pretend I like anyone else. I just want to be with you.” Yami sighed. “Is it
so much to want to be alone with my fiancé?”

“We’re not alone more because you work too damn much. That’s no fault of mine.
“ Yami rubbed his hand on Seto’s cheek. “Dragon, as soon as the party is over
at two am you can ravage me. The rest of the night. I promise, Dragon.”

“I want sex now.”

“We have to get ready. You’re wasting my time arguing about this with me.” Seto
put the blow dryer down. “I told you to blow dry your hair, Dragon. Go.”

“No. I want you.” Seto said noting else as he leaned over and captured Yami’s
lips. “Please, Honey.”

“Do you promise to blow dry your hair?” Seto nodded. Yami gave Seto a little
kiss on the neck and then dropped to his knees. “I’ll blow if you do, is that a
deal?”

“You’re a cock tease, you know that?” Yami gave his lover a sharp look. “It’s a
deal, Honey.” Yami let Seto’s towel drop to the floor as he got comfortable
kneeling in front of Seto. He gave Seto a little teasing kiss before he took
the entire length of his penis into his hot pert little mouth. “MMM…Baby…”

Yami didn’t reply verbally as he bobbed his head back and forth on Seto’s
length, bracing his hands on Seto’s thighs and just using his mouth the way his
fiancé liked it best. Seto slid his eyes shut and moaned, leaning against the
dresser as Yami continued his skillful ministrations. “Baby, I just love when
you do this for me…I love you so much, Baby…Yes…just like that…” As expected
Seto couldn’t hold on long before he shot off a rocket in his fiancé’s mouth.

Yami looked up at Seto with a mischievous little smirk. “Blow dry your hair, if
you want any hopes of getting more tonight.” Seto smiled and picked the blow
dryer back up and headed into the bathroom. Yami stood up and looked at himself
in the mirror, a small smile on his lips.


-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


I step off the train,
I'm walking down your street again,
And past your door,
But you don't live there any more.

It's years since you've been there.
Now you've disappeared
Somewhere like outer space,
You've found some better place,

And I miss you -
Like the deserts miss the rain
And I miss you-
Like the desserts miss the rain


Joey waded through the crowd, trying to figure out where Tristan and Yugi had
gotten to. He had offered to go get them something to drink. He had thought
that Yami’s birthday party had been over the top. This made his birthday look
like a small dinner for two. The entire downstairs of Seto’s mansion looked
like they were in Bali. There were water fountains all over the place that were
recycling red water. There were what looked like pots for plants shooting
bursts of fire into the air like some kind of amusement park show.

Exotic plants, exotic birds in cages. The music followed you no matter which
room you entered, pumping out of hidden speakers, all of it easy to dance to
with a Middle Eastern influence. Which was perfect since Yami had hired belly
dancers and fire breathers to stand on set up platforms and perform for the
masses. He had even gotten a snake charmer. This was certainly one New Years
Eve party no one in Domino would soon forget.

And the best part was Joey hadn’t run into either Seto or Yami and he had been
there for over two hours. The two looked gorgeous, walking around mingling with
their two hundred guests. He had to admit he was having a lot of fun, eating,
laughing…dancing. It was like he had woken up in an exotic dream world. If he
ever did run into Yami and Seto he would have to tell them that he was really
quite impressed.


Could you be dead?
You always were two steps ahead
Of everyone.
We'd walk behind while you would run.

I look up at your house,
And I can almost hear you shout
Down to me
Where I always used to be

And I miss you-
Like the deserts miss the rain
And I miss you-
Like the deserts miss the rain


Joey entered the ballroom and made his way through more people and found Yugi
and Tristan standing on the edge of a circle where Yami was in the center. He
was snaking his body, obviously drunk off the music and the deep rhythms. Of
course Yami’s parents were from Egypt so wining his body the way he was was in
his blood. Yami didn’t seem to notice anyone else in the room as his body
language told a very sexual, x-rated story.

The DJ was easing out of Missing and into another song, Yami oblivious.


Outrageous when i move my body
Outrageous when im at a party
Outrageous in my sexy jeans
Outrageous when im on the scene
Outrageous my sex drive
Outrageous my shopping spree
Outrageous we on a world tour


“He’s quite the exhibitionist, isn’t he, Joey?” Joey nodded, not looking at the
taller brunet who was now standing slightly behind him. “When music comes on he
loses himself.”

“I see that, Kaiba,” Joey returned.


Sexy as i wanna be
Got these fellas chasin me
it's bout time i hit the streets
All my girls still feelin me
'B' girl ain’t lost the beat
Jumped over drama and i landed on my feet
Gotta keep goin no stoppin me
And if you don’t like it then
Lalalalalalala


“Those for you and Tristan?” Seto asked, glancing at the cups in the blond’s
hands.

“Yes. And Yugi.” Seto took one so Joey didn’t have to fumble with the three
cups anymore. They walked to the other side where Tristan and Yugi were
standing, hypnotized by Yami.

“Here, Tristan.” Tristan looked up and took the cup from his boss.

“Thank you.” He took a sip. “I was wondering what happened to you, Baby,”
Tristan put in, regarding his boyfriend.

“It’s a zoo in here, I couldn’t found you guys.”

“Yami wanted to invite everyone to this silly party of his. I think it’s too
much, but this is what he wanted for New Years,” Seto decided.

“It’s lively. I’ve never been to a party like this,” Yugi mentioned. “You guys
went all out.”

“All of this was Yami’s doing. He thought up the idea and ran with it.” Almost
as if the center of attention could hear their conversation Yami walked over to
them.

“There you guys are, why aren’t you dancing. This is a party,” Yami smiled, he
was a bit sweaty now, but still just as sexy as he had been when the party had
first started.

“We will, we just didn’t want to impede on anything you were doing,” Yugi
mentioned.

“Nonsense. It’s no fun dancing alone. We use to have so much fun going club
hopping together, Aibou.” Yami took the cup from Yugi’s hands and handed it to
Seto. “Remember when we took those belly dancing lessons?” Yami ran his fingers
through his hair and rotated his hips seductively. “Come on, guys.”

Yami hit his hips against Tristan with a dark smile on his lips. Joey narrowed
his eyes at Tristan’s smile. Yami moved back, still winding his hands in his
hair, his hips still moving harshly. “Who wants to dance with me first?” He
smiled again. “Tristan?”

“Why don’t you dance with Seto?” Tristan asked, seeing the look on Joey’s face.


“Come on. Seto’s such a stiff. Dragon, hold Tristan’s cup. You dance with us
too, Yugi…” He pulled Yugi out so they had some more room. It wasn’t long
before Yugi and Yami were dancing together. “Yes, Aibou, just like that…”


My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they’re like it’s better than yours
Damn right, it’s better than yours
I could teach you, but I have to charge

My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard
And they’re like it’s better than yours
Damn right, it’s better than yours
I could teach you, but I have to charge


“Come on, Tristan…don’t be shy…” Yami insisted. Tristan took Joey’s hand who
was standing with his cup, and gripping it tightly. “Yes, Joey… you dance too,
don’t think I forgot my birthday when you were dancing with my dragon.” Seto
took Joey and Tristan’s cups and held them as the four of them danced.

Tristan got behind Joey and gave him a kiss on his neck, sending shivers down
his body. “You are always so sexy when you dance, Baby…have I told you that?”
Tristan whispered in Joey’s ear, huskily.

“Trying to get in my pants, Tristan?” Joey asked with a little smile.

“There’s not a moment I don’t think about getting in your pants, Baby.”

Yami spotted a security guard and he took the three cups from his fiancé and
handed them to him. “Get rid of these, please.” The man nodded. “Come,
Dragon…you’re not getting off the hook. If Joey can dance so can you.” Yami
slid his hands around the CEO’s waist. Seto made like he was going to protest
but gave Yami a kiss instead.


-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


Seto had successfully gotten all the party guests out of his mansion by a
quarter after two, only Joey, Yugi, and Tristan remained. Yami was chatting
away with them while he sat on his lap. Tristan had opted to be the designated
driver, so intoxication wasn’t an issue. Yami just said he hadn’t gotten to see
any of them for so long and wanted to catch up. The only thing Seto wanted was
for them to leave so he could fuck Yami properly. He was drunk and horny and
his patience with the small talk was wearing thin.

“So what is your New Years resolution, Aibou?” Yami inquired, taking a sip of a
mudslide.

“I want to be a better person, I decided I’m going to start therapy next week.”


“Really, Aibou? What for?” Joey rolled his eyes. Was Yami really that much of
an idiot or was it all an act? Part of the reason Yugi was going through so
much was Yami’s fault.

“Well, Tristan recommended the name of a psychologist and I think it will help
me get a better handle on my issues.”

“What issues would those be, Yugi?” Seto asked, lifting an eyebrow. Joey
narrowed his eyes. He took a hard sip of his cognac.

“Dragon, that’s really not our business.” Yami got up. “I need more milk, this
is too strong. My head is already spinning. I definitely had too much to
drink.” Yami walked over to a small bar and fixed his beverage. “I hope
everything works out for you, Aibou. You seemed so depressed the last time we
spoke.”

“I have been a bit melancholy this last month. I’m just now really trying to
get over it. But Tristan and Joey and Bakura have been angels and have been
helping me out. Group therapy is helping too.”

“What do you go to group therapy for?” Yami asked, looking up from the milk.
Yugi glanced at Tristan and Joey realizing what he had said. Yami didn’t know
about the rape, he hadn’t thought of telling Yami about it, and now he was
between a rock and hard place.

“Group therapy and a psychologist, Yugi? My my, I hope everything is okay,”
Seto thought, sounding antagonizing. Joey’s eyes narrowed further. He took
another hard sip of the cognac. “What problems are you hoping to work out?”

“I just know I can’t live my life the way I’ve been living. It’s time I start
taking responsibility for my actions.”

“Oh, you mean it’s time you stop sleeping around.” Joey’s hand slammed down on
the end table, liquor spilling out on his hands.

“Dragon, please…don’t say that sort of thing,” Yami insisted, making a face.
“Why don’t we change the subject.”

“You brought it up, Honey,” Seto mentioned.

“I don’t sleep around, Seto. And besides, you’re the last person to lecture
me,” Yugi decided not wanting to back down. This was his chance to stand up for
himself, and he wasn’t going to let himself be intimidated.

“Guys, please…let’s just stop, okay…everyone’s had too much to drink and we’re
all a bit on edge. Seto, please, apologize to Yugi for that comment.”

“I’m sorry you’re a slut, Yugi.”

“Don’t call him a slut, Kaiba!” Joey demanded standing up.

“Baby, let it go…he’s not worth it,” Tristan pleaded, seeing this situation now
getting further out of control. Images of Joey’s reaction when he saw Bakura at
the buffet that day played out in his mind. If things didn’t calm down right
now this was going to get messy.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Joey…did I upset you…my comment hit too close to home…”

“Takes a slut to know a slut you fucking bastard…”

“Is that why you wound up with Tristan? Yugi too much for you? It’s not every
guy who the navy considers a friendly port.”

“You son of a fucking bitch, say something else you fucking bastard, I swear to
god…”

“SETO…Stop… please… enough…Dragon…sit back down…” Seto shrugged Yami’s hands
off of him.

Yugi tugged at Joey’s arm. “Babe, it’s okay…let’s just go…it doesn’t matter…”

“The hell it doesn’t matter…”

“Baby, Yugi’s right…forget it…he’s had too much to drink and it makes him even
more of a bastard than he normally is…”

“I’m so fucking done with you, Seto. You, who’ve been around the block more
times than the fucking ice cream truck have the gall to pass judgment on Yugi?
You piece of shit!”

“You don’t want a piece of me, Mutt…I assure you… I’ll have you running out of
here with your tail between your legs so fast…”

“Go to hell!” By now Tristan had to restrain his boyfriend.

“Babe, please…let’s just go…it doesn’t matter…” Yugi begged. Joey sighed. He
couldn’t accomplish anything like this.

“We’re all just a bit wound up. Dragon, you owe Yugi an apology. You’re going
to be feeling pretty embarrassed tomorrow when you sober up and realize how
you’re behaving.”

“Joey, let’s just leave, Baby. Be the bigger man and walk away, alright?”
Tristan insisted.

“I’m fine. It’s done. Let’s just go home,” Joey stated, biting his lip to keep
from saying something else. He needed Tristan to release him. Tristan finally
did. The moment he did Joey lunged for the proud CEO.

In a flash Joey was on top of Seto, pounding him as hard as he could as they
landed on the floor with a pounding thud.

“STOP IT! JOEY. STOP!” Yugi shrieked. Seto and Joey went tumbling into
furniture. Yami ran to find security.

Tristan grabbed a kicking and screaming Joey off the brunet. Security ran into
the room and grabbed Joey roughly. Another guard was helping Seto to his feet.
“Please take Joey and his friends to their car, we’ll deal with this
ourselves,” Yami mentioned, speaking before his fiancé had the cops called.

“We can call the cops, Sir.”

“That won’t be necessary, thank you.” Seto shot Yami a deathly look then Joey,
before he pulled away from the security guard and stormed out of the room. Joey
pulled away from the security guard, wiping blood off his mouth. “Joey…listen…”

“Don’t say shit to me, Yami,” Joey spat, venom invading his voice. “Don’t make
excuses for him. It was about time someone beat the shit out of him. My only
regret is that I didn’t get to finish what I was doing.”

“Joey…” Yugi began.

“Maybe this will remind you that we’re no longer friends, Yami. You made your
choices, and I made mine.” Joey spun around on his heels. “Let’s go.” Tristan
and Yugi gave Yami one last look before they followed the fuming blond out of
the house.

They got into Tristan’s car in silence. Neither Tristan nor Yugi knew what to
say to Joey who was clearly agitated. Finally, Joey broke the silence and said
dryly, “I guess this means we’re not invited to the wedding.”

Yugi looked at Joey and smirked, then before he had a chance to really think

about it he burst out into a fit of laughter. Tristan made a face, not seeing
how this was in anyway funny, already wondering what Seto would do because of
his boyfriend’s actions.

Joey and Yugi found this funny? It was anything but funny. This was only going
to complicate things further. He was dreading seeing Seto in the office on
Friday. It was a Wednesday and tomorrow they were all off since it was New
Years day. But Friday it would be business as usual, and that meant seeing Seto
Kaiba at Kaiba Corp. This had to be one of the worst things Joey could have
done, even though he deserved every single punch the blond got in.

Tristan kept his feelings to himself as he drove back to their apartment.


-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


“I don’t understand how a steak is supposed to stop swelling,” Joey grumbled,
sitting on the couch with the frozen meat on his face.

“It works, Babe,” Yugi assured him. Tristan was in the shower and Yugi and Joey
were curled up on the couch. “You didn’t have to do that for me, Joey…it’s not
like what Seto said wasn’t true.”

“You’re not a slut, Yugi. And he has no right to talk about you. Besides, I did
it for you as much as I did it for me. I have no regrets, though I’m waiting
for the cops to show up with a warrant for my arrest.”

“I can’t believe you did that, Babe.”

“No one talks about you like that in front of me. No one. Bakura would have
done the same thing, I’m sure.”

“Defend me against scary men at the Pyramid and subway attackers yes. Punch
arrogant CEOs at their own houses, I’m not so sure about that. Tristan was able
to work his way out of you and Bakura going at it at that buffet. But it’s more
complicated this time.” Joey thought about what his best friend was saying.

“You don’t think Tristan could end up getting fired over this do you?”

“No, of course not, Babe,” Yugi answered, a little too quickly. Joey bit his
lip. He hadn’t even been thinking, all he wanted was to seek some small form of
revenge on Seto. He had hurt both Yugi and him and he was just so tired of it.
Tired of turning the other cheek. He didn’t regret what happened, but he still
worried about it. He was still somewhat drunk, and his head was spinning… he
didn’t know if he was even thinking straight.

Tristan came out of the bathroom, dressed in a t-shirt and boxer shorts. “How’s
your face, Baby…does it hurt?” Joey shook his head no. “Can I see, Joey?” Joey
lowered the meat product. “I see your swelling went down. You’ll be fine.”

“Tris, I…I’m sorry I put you in a bad situation…I just…”

“You were defending Yugi’s honor. Granted you probably shouldn’t have hit him
to do it, but what’s done is done, and we’ll deal with it. I’m behind you,
Baby. No matter what happens.” Tristan gave Joey a smile and sat on the easy
chair. Joey got up and sat on Tristan’s lap and kissed him.

“I’m just glad this night is over…no more drama. That needs to be my
resolution. No more drama,” Yugi decided. “I should call Bakura, see if he’s
gotten off work yet.”

“How can you hear yourself speak, there’s so much noise in this damn building
from all the people celebrating it’s ridiculous,” Joey grumbled.

“I still want to wish Kura a happy New Year. Maybe he can come by.” Yugi got up
just as the doorbell rang.

“That must be the police, Tristan do you know any good lawyers?” Joey wondered.

“Don’t say that, Babe,” Yugi said, a little worried. He walked over to the door
and looked out the peephole. Relieved he opened the door and stepped aside so
Yami could come inside.

“What are you doing here?” Joey asked, harsher than he meant to. “How’d you get
in our building?”

“I came by to talk to you, Joey.” Yami walked over to the couch and sat down.
“There are tons of people celebrating downstairs, and they have the door
propped open.” Joey shifted on top of Tristan’s lap and gave Yami a look. “You
can imagine how upset Seto was with the way things went tonight. I got him to
calm down though. He doesn’t think it’s necessary to get the authorities
involved.”

“But?” Joey asked, wanting Yami to get to the point.

“But Dragon wants you to apologize to him.”

“Not a chance in hell.”

“Babe! You hit Seto first. You didn’t have any right to put your hands on him,”
Yugi started.

“It doesn’t matter. Apologizing means Kaiba can go back to being an asshole
again.” Joey stood up. “Tell Seto he can shove it.”

Yami stood up and shook his head. “I came over here to help you, Joey. But you
spit in my face. I don’t get you. It’s like you want to provoke him some more.
You were completely out of line tonight, and I’m trying to make things right
between you two.”

“It will never be right between us. Your fiancé is a fucking bastard. And it’s
an insult to have him send you over here and expect me to pretend that all the
shit he’s done never happened.”

“What the hell is your problem, Joey? Yugi moved on. You need to. For Ra’s
sakes, that was over a year ago. Some people work things out and some don’t.
Yugi and I didn’t. I fell in love with Seto. I’m not going to feel bad about
it. That’s life, Joey. I think most of your anger towards me is because you’re
also bitter about what happened with you and your fiancé. You don’t want to see
me happy.”

“Are you fucking delusional, Yami? I don’t give two shits about you. If it
wasn’t for Yugi I would have all but stopped talking to you. I’m glad you’re
happy with your stupid piece of shit fiancé. You deserve him, he’s just as much
of a bastard as you are.”

“Don’t talk about Seto like that, Joey.”

“I’ll talk about the fucker any way I see fit. He’s a cheating, lying son of a
bitch and if you want to pretend you don’t see it that’s your business.”

“Seto would never cheat on me! Unlike your fiancé, Joey. Just because he left
you for someone else doesn’t mean Seto’s the same way. For someone who doesn’t
give two shits you sure are all in Seto and my business.”

“I left him. Don’t get it twisted. And at least I had enough pride to walk
away. What the hell are you holding on to? You can’t tell me you have no idea
he’s slept with half of town.”

“He never cheated on me! Does he look like your bastard fiancé?”

“Open your damn eyes, Yami…he fucks everyone.”

“Go to hell. You’re just jealous. And drunk. Of course your fiancé would fuck
around on you. Look at you…really Joey…you’re pathetic…”

“You’re engaged to a whore, Yami…nothing you say to me is going to change that.
He’s a fucking slut.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

“He is a whore.”

“You’re full of it. You didn’t even know what yours did, you bitch. There’s no
way you could possibly no what my fiancé does.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“And how is it you know, Joey? How could you know?”

“Because I slept with him too!”

“Oh god,” Yugi gasped. Tristan bit his lip and sunk his hands into his hair.
This had to be a dream, a very bad nightmare. He was going to wake up any
moment now… he was going to be in his bed and this would not be happening right
now.

“Excuse me!” Yami asked, eyes turning deep red. Joey suddenly realized what he
had said and he swallowed… what the hell was he doing… this had gone from
really bad to irreversibly worse. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“I said,” Joey lowered his voice and his head. “I said I slept with him too…”

“You’re a liar. I don’t believe you. You’re a fucking liar. I hope Seto sues
the shit out of you. I hope he bleeds you fucking dry.” Yami was trembling in
anger now… “Go to hell, Joey. Go to hell.” Yami left the apartment slamming the
door behind him.

“Oh gods, Baby…” Tristan started not sure what could possibly be said. Joey
could feel tears in his eyes. He couldn’t even explain why he had them. He
wasn’t sad… he just… all his emotions were coming out at once. He was drunk and
a mess and he had just blown everything out of the water. What the hell was he
doing with himself?

Joey sunk to the floor in an exasperated heap.


-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


Seto turned, regarding his fiancé for a moment, “Oh good, you’re home, Baby.”
His hand dabbed his swollen lip, as he turned back to look at himself in the
mirror. Yami put down his wallet on the dresser, his h
and was trembling too hard for him to keep a good hold on it. “How’d it go with
Joey?”

“Joey has no intentions of apologizing,” Yami answered sharply. The brunet
didn’t detect the hint of bitterness in his voice.

“So the mutt has pride. I respect that. Of course in this instance, he’ll pay
for being so smug.” Seto didn’t look at his boyfriend as he continued fussing
over his abused lip. “You think I should sue him?”

“I could care less what you do.” Yami watched intensely as Seto continued
playing with his mouth. “How is it?”

Seto shot Yami a look in the mirror. “It’ll be alright by tomorrow afternoon.
Damn rabid dog. He’s not invited to the wedding, I don’t care how long we’ve
known him. I never liked Joey, you know that. I try to be nice to him and this
what I get in return.”

“Nice to him…” Yami swallowed. “Seto, turn and look at me for a moment.” Seto
put down the washcloth that he had been using to wipe the blood off.

“What is it, Baby?” Seto turned to look at his fiancé. They met eyes. Yami saw
something in Seto’s he had never really been able to pinpoint until this very
moment. There were traces of arrogance. He could actually see the arrogance in
his fiancé’s eyes.

Yami’s eyes darkened, and with no other words he lifted his right hand and
slapped Seto so hard across the face his head snapped back.

“Fuck. Yami…what the fuck?” Seto held his burning cheek in disbelief and anger.
Yami could slowly feel his control slipping. He had imagined this moment the
entire ride home, knowing what he would say. But now that he was here in front
of Seto it was all falling apart. It had never been a question of not believing
Joey. Of course he did. The same way he knew that Joey was simply one of many.

“How much longer did you think I’d pretend you weren’t fucking around on me?
Bad enough you’ve been with every gym bunny in town, half your assistants,
every Tom, Dick, and Harry you came across, but now you’ve taken to fucking my
friends as well? Was it just Joey or did you sleep with Yugi too?”

Yami watched as Seto’s eyes darkened and he squished the washcloth in a deathly
grip with his right hand. “The answer to your question is yes, Seto. Yes, Joey
told me. Yes, I know about the others. I’ve known since it started. I kept
ignoring it, kept pretending I didn’t hear the snickers and the gossip and all
the rest of it. I kept thinking my love for you would be enough. That my
undying commitment to you would change you. But no, I wasn’t enough for you. I
wasn’t good enough for you…”

“Baby…it’s not you…it was never you…”

“Don’t give me your apologizes, don’t fucking patronize me.”

“I am sorry, Yami..”

“Did you think I didn’t know? That I wouldn’t find out? Or were you just to
arrogant to give a shit?” Seto’s eyes dropped. “You son of a bitch. Why would
you do this to me…why wasn’t I enough for you. Fuck, Seto…I would have died for
you. You were supposed to be my happily ever after. Why wasn’t my love enough?”
At that Yami could feel tears pouring out of his eyes. He could feel all the
hurt hit him with the force of a semi.

Yami had held it together for as long as he could and finally grabbed the
corner of the dresser for support. He felt light headed and physically ill. The
reality that he and Seto were having the conversation he had never dared think
about was affecting him. All the years of hurt and betrayal were all washing
over him at once, he was drowning in the emotions, he could barely stand to
stay in the room much longer, the thought that he had loved this man for so
long only to be hurt over and over again made him want to die.

“Baby, please…don’t cry…”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do, Seto! Fuck you…I hate you…I HATE YOU!” Yami
pounded his balled fists against Seto’s chest, tears streaming down his face.
What little strength he had left drained from him as Seto grabbed his wrists.
“Why would…why…” Seto stilled Yami’s hands and Yami yanked away only to walk
over to the bed and slump onto it, defeated by his anguish.

“Baby…I love you…I’ve always loved you, Yami…”

“Love should have brought you home! Seto…there were nights you’d come home late
and I knew you were with another man. I knew you were fucking some other guy
and I let you take me anyway. I gave myself to you knowing you had been with
someone else.” Yami crossed his arms over his chest, and hugged himself, trying
to find comfort as he rubbed his arms with his hands. He had to get through
this. “I put up with it….I just kept thinking one day you’d stop…one day you’d
see how much I was in love with you…”

“I know how much you love me, Yami. Baby, I didn’t do it to hurt you…I…I
couldn’t control myself…”

“Couldn’t control yourself?” Yami looked up eyes glowing brick red. “Couldn’t
control yourself? I should have fucking castrated you, that would have helped
you keep it in your pants! You piece of shit, I give you all of me. I tried to
be perfect for you, and it still wasn’t enough. I was just your little trophy,
wasn’t I? Some cute thing you could have on your arm at fundraiser dinners and
corporate functions. Your fucking whore!”

“I never thought of you as a whore, Yami. Never, not for one moment.”

“Who am I to complain, Seto? I have everything I could possibly want. I get to
be the sexy husband, accompanying you on world wind excursions to the Hamptons,
go to exclusive premieres and parties. There are so many zeros in the figure at
the end of my balance in my checking account I could buy a small country. And
all you asked for in return was that I spread my legs for you and smile for the
cameras. Fair trade I suppose. It’s my fault for thinking love and trust were
part of the arrangement. For forgetting I’m nothing more than a high price
escort to you.”

“It was never about any of that. I love you, from the bottom of my heart…”

“You have a real wonderful way of showing it, Fucker.”

“I had a problem. I know that.”

“A problem? Fucking around on me over and over again is a problem? You’re a
fucking asshole. What else could I possibly do for you? What else did you want
from me?”

“It wasn’t you, Yami…”

“Night after night…gods, Seto…you make me want to vomit. I don’t know who to be
more repulsed by. You or me. What the fuck is wrong with me? Why was I willing
to let you hurt me? Why didn’t I walk away? Fuck you for making me love you. I
gave up Yugi for you. Yugi loved me so damn much he tried to kill himself
because I left. And I chose you…I was some fucking prize to you…did you ever
love me at all, or was it all just a charade?”

“I did…I do…I do love you.”

“Don’t tell me you love me again! I don’t want to hear those words from your
fucking mouth ever again!”

“Baby…please…”

“No more “Babys”! It’s done. I’m done! I can’t live my life like this anymore!
I can’t keep being your slut. You know I was a virgin when we first got
together? I never let Yugi take me in the two years we were involved with each
other. There would be nights I’d stay up thinking what else I could possibly
do, or what I did to make you hurt me. I can’t be a victim anymore. I can’t
keep landing on my back for you.”

“It was more than just sex with us, Yami. I wanted more from you than just
sex.”

“You wanted my love and my commitment. And I gave it to you…I stood by your
side through everything. I was strong for you. There were times I wanted to walk
away, but I thought you needed me. I thought you wanted me.”

“I did. I do need you. There’s no me without you.”

“Why don’t you go promote one of your secretaries or personal trainers or dry
cleaner or whoever else you screwed to be your new fiancé?”

“I’ll die without you…”

“How many were there, Seto? Huh? How many people did you sleep with?” Seto
looked down. “More than five?” Seto didn’t answer. “More than ten?” Seto still
didn’t answer or look up. Yami broke down again, grabbing items off the nightstand
and hauling them everywhere blindly, his tears fogging his vision.

Seto dodged the flying objects and grabbed Yami’s wrists. He held Yami firmly,
Yami trying to get out of his grip. “I love you…Seto…fuck…I love you…I hate
myself for loving you…”

“Baby…please…you have no idea how sorry I am…” Seto sniffed, trying to contain
his own tears. “I can’t be away from you…I will crumble and die…I love you…I
just…I had a problem…I couldn’t stop myself…”

“I hate you…damn it…” Yami was clinging to Seto’s shirt, sobbing. “Why wasn’t I
good enough? What was it you wanted me to do? I would have done it…anything you
wanted I would have done it…”

“Your love for me is the only thing that keeps me sane, Yami…I never deserved
you…I knew I was risking throwing everything away but I couldn’t stop myself.
It’s not an excuse…I know that. I thought I could handle it. I couldn’t…”

“Sex addict, is that it? Just a cheap fuck, none of them meant anything to
you?” Yami was heaving he was crying so hard.

“Yes. You’re the only person who’s ever meant anything to me. Baby…every second
your hurting is killing me…I wish there was something I could do to take back
all the hurt…I never lied about loving you…I never stopped loving you for one
instant…”

“Did you enjoy it, Seto? Were they good?” Yami looked up into Seto’s eyes. “Did
they moan for you like I did…did they drop their pants for you and open their
legs obediently like I did?”

“Yami…Baby…”

“Did they scream your name and tell you what a big thick cock you have? Did they
swallow you?”

“Baby…please…don’t leave me…I don’t know what I’ll do without you…” Seto
blinked back tears. “I can’t do this alone…”

“You slept with man after man after man after man after man…you looked me in
the eye and lied to my face…and you have the audacity to ask me not to leave
you? You really have some kind of nerve.”

“There are no words…there is nothing I can say that will make what I did
alright…”

“Would you like us to kiss and make up, Seto? Are you going to buy me a ring
and a new car and other lavish gifts? Do you want me to go back to being your
whore again?” Yami stroked Seto’s cheek with his right hand. “This is what you
want, isn’t it, Seto? You want me to lie down and let you poison me with your
essence, right?”

“Yami…”

“You couldn’t wait for me to get home, right, Seto? Couldn’t wait for me to
slip off my clothes and let you slid inside of me right?” Yami ran his hand
down Seto’s chest. “You get to have your cake and eat it to. Sleep with whoever
you please and come home to your little fuck toy and fuck him too, hum?” Yami’s
hand ran further down.

“Please…”

“Are you going to beg me, Seto? Dragon, are you going to beg me to stay?
Profess your unending love to me?” Yami unbuttoned Seto’s pants and then zipped
them down. “Do you want me to call you dragon, Seto? Do you want me to go back
to being your trusting little trophy?” Yami’s hands snaked into Seto’s boxers.

“Don’t leave me…please…”

“Should we kiss and make up? Should I let you remind me who I am…and what you
want me for?” Yami’s eyes turned so dark they were nearly a deep crimson brown.
“Or should I finally be strong enough to tell you that I’ve had enough?” With
that Yami grabbed Seto’s limp penis and twisted like he was ringing out a
washcloth.

Seto’s scream of agony was piercing. He pulled away and collapsed onto the
floor, curling up into a ball, tears leaking from his tightly shut eyes. “Any
pain you’re now experiencing doesn’t begin to equal the amount of hurt and pain
I have carried, and will continue to carry.”

Yami kicked Seto’s body three times, as hard as he could, “I sacrificed myself
for you…I sold my soul for you.” Yami stopped his leg in mid kick, Seto’s
whimpering sounded like a wounded animal. Yami pooled all his strength to stop
himself from not inflicting any other injuries on the helpless man in front of
him. “I should slice up your dick into teeny tiny pieces, that way all your
lovers could have a piece of you as a souvenir.”

Yami slipped on his shoes. “When you wake up with a bruised penis, and you
start pissing blood I want you to think of me and all the men you betrayed me
with.”

“I…I…love you…Yami,” Seto chocked out, attempting to move, despite the
excruciating pain he was experiencing.

“Fuck you.” Yami stormed out of the room, not realizing until after he had
already started the car that he had left his wallet in the bedroom.


-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-


“Why is it that there’s like a ridiculous apartment party on the floor above
us, how are we supposed to get any sleep?” Joey grumbled. That’s all he wanted,
was sleep. Maybe if he was lucky he would never wake up again.

“It’ll die down soon, Babe. If not we can call the cops,” Yugi thought, making
himself a stiff drink. It had been quite a night and he agreed with Joey that
the only thing needed right now was sleep. “I was thinking, since Bakura had to
work tonight, maybe we could all go out tomorrow night. We could go to dinner
or something. What do you say?”

“Sounds good, Yugi,” Tristan decided, slumping on the couch. Nothing more could
be dealt with now, it was nearly 5 in the morning. No one wanted to talk about
Joey’s confession, right now everyone was still reeling from it.

That’s when the doorbell rang. “It’s a quarter to five, who the hell could that
be?” Joey grouched.

“I’ll get it,” Yugi offered, standing up. He opened their door and was standing
face to face with his former lover.

“Aibou…” Yami sputtered.

“Yami? What the hell happened to you?” Yami met Yugi’s eyes.

“I’m sorry I hurt you, Aibou. I’m sorry I left you to be with a monster.” Yami
dropped to his knees, the hurt and pain catching up with him again as he began
to sob.

“YAMI!” Yugi cried, watching his former lover lose it. Joey and Tristan walked
over to the door, also in shock. Tristan picked Yami up and carried him over to
the couch. He sat down with Yami, Yami refusing to let him go. “Yami, what the
hell happened?” Yugi demanded again.

“Joey, go get some water…Yugi go get some tissues.” Yami clung to Tristan as a
lifeline, burying his head in Tristan’s chest.

“Yami, please…tell us what happened, Yami…” Yugi rubbed Yami’s back. “Is this
about Seto?” Yami only sobbed harder.

Tristan and Joey exchanged a look. “Yami, listen…I’m so so sorry…I should never
have slept with Seto. I should never have told you the way I did. I was just
trying to hurt you, it was petty of me and childish.”

“I want to thank you, Joey…” Yami started, his voice wavering. He took some of
the tissues from Yugi’s hands and wiped his face. “If not for you I would have
married him. I would have kept pretending it was alright that he was fucking
around on me.”

“You knew?” Yugi asked, sitting next to where Tristan and Yami were. “If you
knew why did you stay with him?”

“Maybe I’m a masochist at heart, Aibou. Maybe I enjoy letting him hurt me.”

“How long did you suspect he was cheating?” Tristan wondered, helping Yami take
a sip of the water.

“A long time. The first time I thought something was going on, Seto was on a
business trip. I called his hotel room, instead of his cell phone and another
man picked up. After I demanded to know who it was he gave me some cock and
bull story that he was a personal assistant. Then a couple of months later I
asked Seto if I should get his personal assistant a present for secretary’s day
and he said he didn’t have a personal assistant, that he never had a personal
assistant.”

“Oh, Yami…I’m sorry…” Yugi began, unsure what to say.

“I confronted him when I got back home from your apartment. I told him I wasn’t
going to be his obedient slut anymore and to drive the point home I grabbed his
dick and twisted it as hard as I humanly could.” Joey, Yugi, and Tristan
simultaneously winced. “In my big dramatic exit I didn’t realize I left my
wallet in the bedroom. I couldn’t go back and now I don’t have anywhere to go.
I don’t have any of the keys to any of the other houses. I don’t have my credit
or debit cards to book a hotel room. There probably aren’t any vacancies. It’s
New Years.”

“You can stay with us, Yami. As long as you need to,” Yugi offered, handing
Yami more tissues.

Yami glanced at Joey who was perched on the floor. “Of course, Yami…you can
stay here,” Joey continued, already knowing this was going to be a bad idea.
Yami was in shock right now, but when the shock wore off and they were face to
face how would Yami react to him, knowing he had been one of the many guys to
sleep with his fiancé?

“You mentioned something about being an “obedient slut”, what did you mean by
that, Yami?” Tristan inquired, the psychologist in him getting the best of him.


“Seto’s always been possessive of me. I was one more thing he owned. You know
he has bodyguards follow me everywhere I go? He claimed it was for my safety,
that he didn’t want me to be kidnapped or something. He was so full of shit.
They’d report back to him, tell him where I went, who I spoke to. There would
be nights he’d come home from work asking me who so and so was, asking why I
was smiling at him. Accusing me of wanting to be with other people.”

“Sounds hauntingly familiar. My ex use to do the same thing. You were there at
Yugi’s birthday party when he flipped out and said I was flirting with some guy
at the bar,” Joey mentioned. “They get to be so paranoid that you’re doing
something because they’re feeling guilty for what they’re doing.”

“Seto and I fought about it constantly. The only way it seemed I could ever get
him to back off the issue was if I dropped my pants for him. Let him remind me
that I was his.” Yami shifted so that he was fully sitting on Tristan’s lap, to
Joey’s obvious chagrin. “He was always so charged, always so agitated.”

“I don’t understand…when he was accusing you of cheating why didn’t you accuse
him?” Yugi asked, alarmed.

“I didn’t want to lose him, Aibou. I loved him so much…I figured there was
something wrong with me, that I wasn’t doing enough for him. I did everything
he ever asked me to, willingly, hoping I’d be enough for him. But time and time
again he went looking for something on the side. I could never satisfy him, no
matter what I did.”

“Yami, Seto’s cheating has nothing to do with you as a sexual being. He cheated
on you because he enjoyed the thrill of the hunt. I can’t imagine that you are
unsatisfactory in the bedroom. Given the way you dance I can only imagine what
else you’re capable of. You’re drop dead gorgeous, you’re vivacious, you’re
intelligent, charming. Captivating. You walk into a room and command attention.
The fault is not yours, Yami,” Tristan insisted, rubbing Yami’s shoulders. Yami
looked at him and managed a weak smile.

Joey narrowed his eyes. There was a fine line between comforting Yami and
hitting on him. And Tristan was flirting with it.

“Oh gods, the night of my birthday party. Seto was absolutely livid. I’ve never
seen him so wound up.” Yami glanced at Yugi, everyone in the room replaying
Yugi’s little lap dance in their minds.

“I followed Seto out of the room, telling him it was all in fun. When we got to
the staircase Seto picked me up and carried me all the way up to our bedroom.
We fought fiercely, he kept yelling…I was such a mess I started crying, and
that seemed to only upset him more.”

“Please tell me that piece of shit didn’t hit you, Yami,” Joey asked, eyes
narrowing once again.

“He was never abusive with me. He knew I’d give him what he wanted, and I did.
We were upstairs for over an hour. When we were finished this side of him I had
never seen before came out. Clean yourself up, he said, we’ll finish
this later.” The memory made Yami physically shiver.

Yugi and Joey gave each other a look. Joey thought of Seto’s words to him when
they had finished. You can put your clothes back on now…

“Did he force himself on you?” Tristan asked, sternly. Yami shook his head no.

“He never forced me to do anything. The funny part is I enjoyed it; no matter
how angry he was with me he was always gentle and loving and sweet about the
sex. He was angry that night, furious, he took out some of his anger by
yelling, but he was never brutal or harsh with me. The entire time he kept
saying I could never leave him, that he needed me to be with him forever. That
it hurt him to see me with someone else. When it was over he was still upset
and that’s when he told me to clean myself up. Usually the sex fixed all our
problems. It didn’t that time.”

“Gods, Yami…you should have left him…you shouldn’t have stayed with that guy,”
Joey stated, thinking about how gentle and sweet Seto was with him. “You should
have walked away a long time ago.”

“He’s Seto Kaiba, you can’t just walk away. I wasn’t in the mood to have my
life turned upside down, subjected to a relentless media feeding frenzy at the
mention of our split. And part of me kept holding out hope that he’d change. As
far as I could tell, he hadn’t slept with anyone in months. I thought i was
getting through to him. I was obviously mistaken.” Yami looked at Joey for a
moment. “I don’t know how you were able to move on, after Duke hurt you. I
don’t think I’ll ever be okay again.”

Tristan narrowed his eyes. Duke? Duke who?

Author’s Endnotes: I know… this had to be the worst chapter yet. I told
you it was evil. And it was… I don’t even have a comment… not one…. Just stew
over this for a while. Joey… what are we going to do with you… Why did I let
the guy get drunk… oh for the love of god… you didn’t think Yami didn’t know about
Seto’s cheating did you? How could he have not… well anyway… enough of that…
I’ll update as soon as I can… here’s a little bit of a taste:

“I don’t know what to think of this situation, Tristan, it’s like suddenly
Yami’s back and he’s complicating everything.” Yugi sighed.

“How is he complicating everything?”

“He’s complicating things because he’s on the rebound and he’s been making
comments to me,” Yugi began.

“What kind of comments? And what about Bakura?”

“I don’t know.”