I Give My Heart To You

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yugioh or the characters therein.

WARNINGS*** This story contains Yaoi (men having sex with men) as well as shouenen-ai (male/ male relationships). It also contains male/ female sex and relationships with references to female/ female sex and relationships, (a little something for everyone) swearing, violence, references to rape, guns and all sorts of other facts of life people find offensive. If you are offended by any of these things or simply do not like to read about it then leave now; you have been warned and read at your own risk.

CHAPTER WARNING**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS AN ACCIDENT INVOLVING FIRE**

“Indicates normal speech of course”
{Yugi’s thoughts either to himself or Yami
{{Yami’s thought’s either to himself or Yugi}}
[Ryou’s thoughts to himself or Bakura]
[[Bakura’s thoughts to himself or to Ryou]]
Dream sequences

*Person on the other end of the phone*
‘Thoughts of persons without a yami’

MY HEART I GIVE TO YOU
By Terra
Chapter 22

“And you should have seen the look on those guys’ faces, Joey. It was great! Seto had them quaking in their shoes. And Amara, she sat there looking over what they thought was the contract, and ever so often she would point something out to him, and he would give them his patented Kaiba glare,” Mokuba was grinning from ear to ear as he recounted the story of yesterday afternoon’s meeting over breakfast.

“Bet they crumbled fast. I’ve been on the receiving of that glare enough times to know,” the blond didn’t even pause in devouring his waffles.

Mokuba laughed. “Yeah but the best part was when Seto flat out asked them why his copies of the contract were different from theirs and only in certain places which would give them control over production and rights to the prototype. They turned whiter than snow. He asked if they thought he was too stupid to have a good interpreter or just too stupid to understand English. And I swear when he told them he was smart enough to have both, that fat guy nearly shit his pants.”

Joey couldn’t help but laugh along with the boy.

Amara walked into the kitchen with Kira on her hip. “It sounds like you guys are having a good time in here,” she sat the baby in her highchair and began to prepare her breakfast. “Care to fill me in on the joke?”

“Mokuba was telling me about your playing translator/interpreter yesterday,” Joey grinned.

Amara smiled, spooning puréed bananas into Kira’s mouth.

“So...what’s your side of the story, ‘Mara?”

She shrugged. “I was bored, and started reading a proposal lying on Seto’s desk. It just seemed odd to me Seto would give controlling interest over production to a smaller company that was going to go bankrupt in less than six months anyway. So I asked him about it.”

“Good thing she did too,” Seto walked in. “I would have lost a fortune off of the production alone, and they would have exclusive rights to the prototypes in any court they went to.”

The slight pinking of Amara’s cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. Seto kissed her and Kira on the top of their heads before taking a seat at the table. “Pup, I have the date for your custody hearing.”

Joey dropped his fork on his plate with a clink, almost afraid to ask. “Yeah?”

“It’s today at five,” Seto handed him a printout of the e-mail he had received late last night.

The blond read through it quickly. “Are you going to be there?” he asked hopefully, stuffing the paper in his pocket.

Seto shook his head. “I’m sorry, Joey. I think it would be better if I wasn’t. I don’t want your father’s attorneys to claim I am influencing you or your mother in any way against him.”

Joey pushed his plate away. “I’d feel better about this whole thing if you were.”

Amara placed a hand on his arm. “It’ll be fine. All you and your mother have to do is show up and possibly make a short statement. Easy as pie,” she smiled, encouragingly.

“I hope you’re right, ‘Mara,” Joey stood up. “I’m going to catch a ride to school with Tris, so I’ll see you guys later tonight,” he walked out of the room, humming softly to himself.

“I gotta go too,” Mokuba jumped up. “I promised Chris and Erik they could ride with me in the limo to school today.”

Amarachedched the boy race from the room while she wiped the last of breakfast from Kira’s face. “Do you think there will be any reason for Joey’s mother NOT to be awarded custody?”

Kira held her arms out to her daddy, squealing to get his attention. With a small smile, he picked her up before answering. “I doubt it. All they have to do is show up and present the doctor’s report on Joey’s beating,” Seto removed Kira’s finger from his ear. “And I have instructed their attorneys to do exactly that.”

Amara nodded absently. “Any luck with the employment agencies?”

Seto tapped Kira’s nose with the tip of his tie. “They will send a list of qualified applicants to me today, and I will schedule interviews from there. It would be a good idea for you to be present as well.”

“Okay, I think Kira should be with us, she’s a good judge of character,” Amara watched as Kira happily stuck the end of the silk tie in her mouth, sucking loudly. Seto loosened the tightening knot, but otherwise made no move to remove the cloth from Kira’s mouth. “Do you need me to be at the hearing for the suit about the crib?”

“Not at the one scheduled next week, but later on it may be necessary. You are the primary witness to the accident.”

She nodded again. “You know, in all the excitement, I never asked you if you liked the remodeling done to your office.”

Seto was silent a moment, wiggling his fingers Kira had a death grip on.do, do, actually. It feels more...relaxed now, brighter,” he looked up to catch Amara’s gaze. “Have the same designer do the upper floor of the mansion, and let her take any necessary photos for her portfolio.”

“Good, I’m glad you like the changes,” Amara smiled, watching Seto feed a small piece of toast to Kira, who was more content to suck on his fingers. “Ryou offered to take me shopping for uniforms after school today and get me set up for next Monday. Is there anything specific I need to pick up for any of the classes I’m taking?”

“No. I have all the necessary items in the mansion’s office. I’ll get them out for you tonight.”

Amara gentle pulled Seto’s tie from Kira’s iron grip and picked up the baby. “You sure you don’t need me to play secretary for you today?” she grinned. “Since you up and fired the other one yesterday.”

“She left the building for the day simply because you were there to fill in for her. I do not accept that kind of incompetence from anyone,” Seto took off his now ruined tie and draped it over Kira’s head, making the baby squeal in delight. “I’m having Jeremy fill in for her until I can find a suitable replacement.”

“Seto...do you have a problem with having a male secretary?”

He stopped in the doorway and blinked at her. “Why would you ask that?”

“From what I’ve seen of Jeremy, he’s got more ability than Ms. I’m Too Sexy For My Job ever thought of having. You just need to give him some time to adjust to the way you like things to be done and the position.”

The edge of Seto’s mouth turned up slightly. “You have a good point. I’ll bring it up to him after this morning’s meeting, before I go to school,” he leaned in to cup the back of Amara’s head, kissing her softly. “I’ll not be late coming home.”

Amara pushed the door closed and looked down at her daughter. “Princess, you need a cheaper chew toy other than your daddy’s two hundred dollar ties.”

Kira grunted at herher,her, chewing contentedly on the sopping wet silk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Joey walked through the door of the Kaiba mansion in a bit of a daze. He was having a hard time believing what had just happened at the custody hearing. Amarokedoked up from her book when he plopped down beside her on the sofa.

“Hey, blondie. S’up?”

“Umm, not much,” he blinked at her.

“Something wrong?”

“Not really...no.”

“How did the hearing go?”

“Good...good... it went real good.”

Amara frowned slightly; Joey was acting weird, even for Joey. “Okay, spill it, blondie.”

He looked at her for three seconds then cracked a huge grin. “My mom won. She got custody of me, and it only took twenty minutes, ‘Mara. He didn’t even bother to show up.”

Amara’s grin rivaled Joey’s. “Really?”

He nodded rapidly. Amara launched across the sofa squealing, and hugged him hard. Their combined laughter rang throughout the mansion.

A tiny smile crossed Seto’s face, hearing the sounds coming from the living room. He was glad he had called the attorneys to find out the results of Joey’s hearing. The blond was in for a huge surprise. After a quick talk with Tessa, he joined the pair in the living room.

“I take it from all the yapping, puppy, things went well.”

Joey’s grin never wavered. “Yeah, man! I’m free of him now!” The blond couldn’t help himself; he jumped over the back of the sofa and grabbed his friend in a bone crushing hug. “It never would have happened if not for you, Seto,” he sniffed.

Seto returned the hug. “It’s the least I could do for you, Joey,” he murmured.

The doorbell rang, and with a wink to Seto, Amara went to go answer it. The tall brunet moved over slightly to block Joey’s view of the entrance.

“Okay, let’s celebrate!” Amara called out, walking back in with an arm around Yami’s and O’s s’s shoulders. Everyone else followed behind the trio, all grinning from ear to ear.

Joey stared, his mouth hanging open. “What’s going on guys?”

“It’s a celebration for you Joey!” Yugi bounded over, latching onto his best friend.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say guys.”

“Don’t say anything, Joey. Just celebrate!” Mokuba turned on the stereo and party music began thumping through the speakers.

Tessa and Andrew brought in platters and bowls of food and drinks and the party was soon in full swing.

After about an hour of dancing, laughing, and dueling, Joey needed a break. He made his wver ver to Seto, where the billionaire sat watching Amara dancing with Bakura. The white haired yami was giving the little red head a hard run for her money.

“She’s something else,” he commented, cracking open a can of soda.

Seto nodded, his gaze never leaving the laughing girl.

“I-I want to thank you again, Seto. You’ve done a lot for me...You didn’t really have to either, you know?”

Seto turned his head and looked the blond straight in the eye. “Joey, you helped me when I asked you to, and you had no reason to do so, considering the manner in which I treated you and your friends. I wouldn’t be a very good...friend if I turned my back on you when you needed help.”

Joey saw a depth of emotion in Seto’s azure eyes he was certain hadn’t been there since the man‘s early childhood. “Yeah. It just means a lot to me...and I wanted you to know that.”

He nodded. “It’s far from over, puppy. Now we get started on having you declared a legal adult.”

Joey looked down, toying with his soda can. “You think that’ll be hard?”

“Shouldn’t be, if your mother cooperates. It is basically filing the paperwork and seeing the judge to explain the reasons for the request,” Seto took a sip from his drink. “The hard part will be abiding by the conditions and restrictions set by the court.”

“Like you having to go to school to keep Mokuba?”

Seto nodded. “And when the time comes, I will gladly help you find an apartment and an adequate job.”

Joey looked up through his bangs at the CEO. “You don’t know how much this all means to me, Seto.”

“You’re wrong, pup. I really do,” he smiled at the blond. “It means as much to you as your help did to me.”

Tristan walked up and tossed an arm loosely around Joey’s shoulders. “Hey man, looks like you’re on your way.”

Joey grinned, leaning into the brunet. “Yeah, feels pretty damn good too.”

Tristan pressed a kiss to the top of Joey’s messy blond hair then turned to Seto. “Can I use your mechanic’s tools before I go? My bike is sputtering, like it’s not getting enough gas, or cutting out, like it’s not getting a good spark, or something, and I need to figure out what it is, so I can get the right parts. My boss is backed up at work because of the quake, and I can’t find the time to do it there.”

“Doesn’t your dad have a complete tool set?” Joey asked.

Tristan rolled his eyes. “It’d be easier to get Bakura to give up sex than get my father to let me use his tools.”

“Of course Tristan, just ask Andrew for the keys to the locker whenever you’re ready.”

He nodded then ran his hand across the back of Joey’s neck. “Want to go dance, babe?”

The blond grinned, pulling Tristan away from the sofa.

Seto watched the pair dancing. He felt as if he had learned a startling piece of information about the athletic brunet. “I guess no one has the perfect life,” he muttered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bakura and Ryou walked outside to say goodnight to Amara, who happened to be standing in the driveway, saying goodnight to Yami and Yugi. The party had broken up by general consensus ten minutes ago. Mokuba and Joey were helping Tessa and Andrew clean up the room, and Tristan was in the mechanic’s corner of the garage, working on his bike.

Bakura put one arm around her shoulders, the other already draped possessively around Ryou’s waist. “Little sister...”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. He was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream from the garage. The five turned as one to see a flickering light coming through the open door and a grey-ish black smoke trailing out. The screaming didn’t stop.

They raced to the garage and for a brief second were paralyzed with fear.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tristan opened the tool locker and took out a pair of pliers, a screwdriver, and an empty gas can. He set the tools beside his bike in easy reach and began the task of troubleshooting the problem. First, he loosened the gas line to drain the tank. He thought nothing of the small amount of fuel that sprayed onto his hands and the bike motor right before the rubber hose came free. It happened everyday at work, and he simply made a mental note to clean it up.

Once the tank had finished draining, he replaced the hose on the tank and tightened the clamp. In the muted light of the garage, he didn’t notice the small crack running along the hose from the open end to slightly above the clamp. He quickly refilled the tank, tightening the gas cap.

There had been no water in the gas, and the fuel line was clear of any blockages. The problem had to be electrical. Tristan grinned; the electrical system was his specialty.

He caught a faint whiff of gas but brushed it off to the gas can he had used and the fuel that sprayed on his hands when he had earlier removed the hose.

Now it was only a simple matter to check the voltage going to the coil to see if it needed to be replaced. He reached up to turn the key just enough to send power through the electrical system. He flipped the switch to the run position, and that was when all hell broke loose.

As his thumb moved the switch, Tristan noticed a drop of gas fall from the cracked hose onto the motor. The defective coil sparked erratically, sending an arch of electricity to the frame of the bike, igniting the small puddle of fuel. A flame flared from the pool, catching the fuel dampened gas line on fire as well. The rubber hose melted rapidly, and burning fuel sprayed over the brunet and his clothing.

Tristan screamed as his hands was engulfed in flames. He smelled the stench of burning hair and fell to the ground, his screams intensifying.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“GET THE EXTINGUISHER!” Amara screamed. She ran to the tool locker and snatched a fire retardant blanket from the bottom shelf of the first aid locker. “Bakura! Help me!”

The white haired spirit helped her put the flames out on the screaming brunet, while Yami extinguished the flames on the floor and bike.

“Go get Seto!” Bakura yelled at the two stunned lights.

Tristan’s screams had reduced to whimpers of pain. Amara looked at his blackened hands. They were red under the sooty stains but didn’t appear to be blistered. She eased his scorched hair to one side to get a better look at his face.

She looked at Bakura; the yami had tears sliding down his face. Seto burst out the door, shouting into his cell phone, Joey hot on his heels. Yami ran to the blond and clamped a hand over his mouth the keep him from voicing his fears.

“Hold it together, Joey or leave. Tristan needs us to be strong. We can fall apart later.”

Joey nodded mutely and moved closer to his injured friend. He sat behind Tristan and laid the injured brunet back against him. “I’m here buddy. You’re going to be fine.”

Amara was proud of the fact Joey’s voice was calm even when tears streamed down his face.

Seto held the cell phone out to Bakura. “Hold this while I flush his eyes. Yami, you and Joey hold his arms; this is probably going to hurt like hell.”

Tristan gritted his teeth but didn’t scream as his eyes were flushed. Yugi and Ryou were holding each other crying softly. Amara looked up as the sound of an approaching siren grew louder.

“Mokuba, you and Andrew go open the gates please,” she caught Andrew’s attention and motioned for him to take the boy.

The look on Seto’s face was grave when he had finished flushing Tristan’s eyes. He said nothing and began to cut away the unburned clothing from Tristan’s arms where they were injured.

Flashing red lights pierced the darkness as the ambulance came up the drive. Seto went to meet them and inform the attendants of the medical care he had given Tristan for his injuries.

Everyone stepped back; Bakura and Yami gently but firmly pulling Joey from his friend. They caught bits and pieces of what had happened as Tristan talked with some difficulty to the medics. After what seemed an eternity, the brunet was loaded into the back of the ambulance, and Joey demanded to ride with him.

Before the emergency vehicle was passed the gates of the estate, everyone had piled into the limo; Bakura and Ryou riding on his bike. They reached the hospital mere seconds behind the ambulance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had seemed like hours had passed to the worried teens sitting in the hospital emergency room waiting area. There were empty coffee cups, snack wrappers, and soda cans scattered about among the piles of damp tissues used to for drying tears.

Bakura sat, eyes red rimmed, in a chair with an emotionally exhausted Ryou sound asleep on his lap. He leaned his cheek against his light’s soft hair, gazing into space. Ever so often, he would blink, as unshed tears built up.

Yugi was leaning on Yami’s chest, with the former Pharaoh sitting in the floor, leaning against Bakura’s legs. The little duelist would sniff occasionally and rub at his red cheeks. Yami rubbed Yugi’s back comfortingly, sharing their sorrow.

Otogi sat a tray of fresh coffees on a nearby table and sat beside Joey. He slipped his hand between the blond’s, giving him something to hold onto. Amara sat on the other side of Joey, resting her head on his shoulder. Her cell phone lay in her lap, having called the mansion and game shop to tell everyone the lack of news.

Seto came in through the emergency doors, and the glare on his face spoke volumes.

“Still no luck, dragon?” she asked.

He shook his head. “I left another message on every answering machine and voice mail I got. You’d think parents would be more reachable.”

“Sometimes they don’t want to face the fact that things like this can happen,” Amara sighed. “Did you try Tristan’s sister?”

“There was no listing for her. I’ll give it another hour and try again. We need them to give consent for medical treatment.”

“So what do we do now?” they turned to Joey. “Just wait?”

“It’s all we can do pup.”

“But what if Tristan needs surgery or something? What do we do? Just let him suffer all because his dumb ass parents are off doing stupid shit?”

Joey was close to snapping. Seto knelt in front of him, gripping his shoulders, forcing the blond to focus on him. “Joey, I can and will take all responsibility to make sure Tristan gets the care he needs.”

Joey blinked several times then nodded as fresh tears began to slide down his face. Seto’s heart ached at the frightened look on the blond’s face; he pulled him into a tight hug, wanting to promise everything would be fine, but not wanting to lie to him either.

“Are you the ones responsible for Mr. Taylor?”

Everyone looked up at the doctor dressed in hospital green.

“For the moment we are, his parents are unavailable and I will assume all responsibility for his care.”

“And you are....”

“Seto Kaiba.”

The doctor blinked then hastily consulted his clipboard. “Um.....yes, Mr. Kaiba.”

“Stop the ass kissing mortal and tell us how he is,” Bakura growled quietly, Ryou still asleep on his lap.

The doctor cast a worried eye from Seto to Bakura and back.

“You heard the man.”

He cleared his throat. “Well, this information should only be given out to family members but considering the situation here I will make an exception. Mr. Taylor has first degree and second degree burns on his hands and first degree burns on his forearms. He also has first degree burns on his face and his upper respiratory system has severe irritation from smoke inhalation ....”

“Slow down,” Joey interrupted. “Back it up, you know all this stuff doc, but we need some explanations. How serious are these burns?”

Seto gave the doctor a look which clearly stated he had better answer the question to the blond’s satisfaction.

“The burns on his arms and face will heal with no lasting effects. They are not severe enough to require prolonged hospitalization or anything more than treatment for possible infection. The damage to his hair is purely cosmetic. The burns on his hands are more severe, there may be some scarring and he may require physical therapy to regain his full range of motion.”

“Doctor, Tristan was on fire,” Amara gave him a hard look. “How can he not have burns more severe than that?”

“Mr. Taylor is a VERY lucky young man. The fire on him was mainly fuel burning, and his clothing provided added protection. If any one thing about the accident had been different, I would be telling you a much different tale right now.”

Everyone was quiet, letting what the doctor had said sink in.

“W-what about h-his throat?” Yugi’s voice shook badly.

“We will keep him on oxygen and have put him on a monitor in case of swelling. His upper respiratory track will be sensitive for several days but should completely heal. He should refrain from excessive talking until then.”

“Why do I get the feeling there is something more you aren’t telling us?”

“Miss, you are correct. I am most concerned about his eyes.”

There was an audible gasp from the gathered teens. “How bad is his eyes?” Otogi asked.

“That has yet to be determined,” the doctor sighed. “His eyelids have first degree burns, but his eyes themselves have been injured from the heat. The soft tissue is swollen and the extent of the damage cannot be determined until it goes down.”

Yami cradled Yugi’s head against him. “How long will that take?” he asked.

“That varies on a case by case basis. We have several medications to help with pain and to prevent infection but the swelling will take some time to go down.”

“When can we see him, doctor?”

“We will move him to the ward within the hour and you can see him for a short time when he is settled.”

“Since I am assuming responsibility for all costs as well, I want him immediately moved to a private room.”

“I will inform the nurse, Mr. Kaiba,” he made a note on his chart. “I will inform you as soon as there is any further information.”

Seto watched the doctor leave. He felt an overwhelming urge to have the man not only fired but stripped of his medical license as well. He knew the man was doing his job, and had done it well; it wasn’t the doctor he was angry with. It was Tristan’s parents. It was late on a school night and they were nowhere to be found.

“I’m going to try to contact Tristan’s parents...again,” he said, heading for the doors.

Amara walked to a secluded corner of the waiting room and called the game shop and mansion to pass on what they had been told. Twenty minutes later they were gathered in a spacious room watching a sleeping Tristan.

Joey carefully touched the singed end of Tristan’s hair. “He’s going to be pissed about his fin,” the blond stopped himself from touching the bandages covering his face. “Please be okay baby.”

Amara wrapped her arms around the blond’s chest, resting her head on his shoulder. “He’ll be as fine as money can make him Joey,” she murmured. He laid his head against hers; saying nothing as he continued to stroke Tristan’s singed hair.

She took a quick glance around the room. Bakura and Yami were stretched out on the room’s large sofa, their lights cuddled against them. To see the four like that, no one would guess the two spirits had once been enemies. Seto was sprawled out in a chair dozing, with Otogi in the floor propped against his legs. If the circumstances hadn’t been so heartbreaking, Amara would have wished for a camera.

“You love him don’t you, Joey?” she asked softly.

“Yeah, ‘Mara I do.”

“No, Joey. I mean you LOVE him.”

Tear filled amber eyes turned to her. He never said a word, but simply nodded as they slid down his face.

Amara pulled him into a tight embrace and gently led him from the room. In the hallway, Joey gave in to his sorrow and fear, and cried on Amara’s shoulder. For several minutes, she held him, stroking his back reassuringly, and whispered soothingly to him.

“I need to get back in there, in case he wakes up,” he muttered.

“He’ll be fine; he has a room full of people with him, and you need some time for you.”

Joey sighed and leaned into her for support. “I love him, ‘Mara.”

“Tell him, Joey.”

“I can’t. He’ll think it’s because he’s hurt.” Amara’s heart broke at the sadness in Joey’s voice. “I waited too long.”

“It’s never too late, and I think you’re wrong about his reaction.”

“I just wasn’t sure, you know, until I saw him lying there on that garage floor in so much pain. And I couldn’t do anything to help him.”

“Joey, it’s not too late. Tell him, he’ll need all of us now, but you most of all. You two have been friends forever.”

“I don’t want to lose that,” he whispered.

“You won’t, but you do stand the chance to gain something more.”

Seto opened the door to Tristan’s room. “Amara, puppy, he’s waking up and asking for you.”

They rushed back in to find everyone awake and surrounding the bed. Yugi was holding Tristan’s bandaged hand gingerly between his own, lightly stroking the exposed tips of his fingers.

Joey moved slowly to the head of the bed. “Tristan?”

“Hey ba Tri Tristan’s voice was hoarse and low.

“Don’t talk; you’ll hurt your throat.”

Amara wiped the tears from Joey’s face before they fell on Tristan. He smiled gratefully at her.

“Love you, Joey,” Tristan fell back into a drugged sleep.

Seto gently placed a hand on Joey’s shoulder. The blond turned and buried his face in Seto’s chest, crying.

TBC

Reviews are greatly appreciated.

To Lady Elfskye: It’s a little short, but you you go I hope you liked it and if you kill me, no more chapters.

To Dragon Dreamer Yamidragon: Ok, no murders, you were warned.