Keeping Secrets

Tuesday so here it is, enjoy, not far to go now!

Keeping Secrets continued….

By the end of the week neither had any dreams to haunt their nights. After the night of the marathon, they had gone back to sleeping alone. Yugi was back to eating properly and was well on the way to getting back his full strength. They were sitting in the dining room eating dinner together.

“The Doctor says I can go home,” said Yugi.

“And I can go back to work.”

“I’ve really liked being with you this week… Please tell me you’re not going to go back to being a prick again.”

Kaiba laughed, “Back with the swearing again?”

“I’m being serious.”

“I know… I hope not. Maybe I should hire you as my Officer In Charge Of Keeping Me From Being A Prick.”

“It’s called being a friend.”

“I don’t want to pay for any friends.”

“You can’t pay me to be your friend. I already was, only…”

“Only I never acknowledged the fact,” Kaiba said with a smile. “Until now.”

Yugi beamed at him.

“Still we’ll arrange something, some way to get together again.”

“Yeah, that’s a date…. Ah, I didn’t mean to say that… I mean, well you know what I mean.”

Kaiba smiled again, “You can take your foot out of your mouth I know what you meant.”

Yugi smiled shyly. That same warm feeling he had felt earlier in the week had returned. And he was very glad that Kaiba wanted to see him again.

They finished their meal in silence. Said good night and went to bed. In the morning life would be going back to normal.

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The next morning Yugi learned that Kaiba had left for his work before he had gotten up. It disappointed him, but Yami was waiting for him.

The former pharaoh had a big smile on his face. “You look so much better, Yugi.”

“I’m sleeping and eating better.”

“And all that while being forced to spend the week with Kaiba?”

“He’s okay, really and like the doctor said, there were some things we had to work out together. We both got better doing that. And I had a lot of fun.”

“Fun?”

“Yeah, fun. We both did. I learned a lot about him this week and I hope we can keep it up too. The only thing I didn’t do was get him to play Duel Monsters with me for fun, but I am going to try again. When I do then I’ll know that I’ve made a difference.”

“Only you could do something like that.”

“I know, let’s go home. I really want to sleep in my bed. I want to forget all about hospitals and doctors and what I did.”

“Now that sounds like the Yugi I know. Let’s go.”

Yami picked up Yugi’s small bag with his own, and went out to find the Kaiba Corp limo waiting to take them home.

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Life did go back to normal after that. Only once a week, Kaiba and Yugi met to do something together. Kaiba left it to Yugi to choose what they’d do, but he was paying for it and he didn’t care what it was they did together. Though most of the time Yugi found something small for them to do together, like watching more anime, or going to an arcade -- even if it were closed down for them, or going to a movie – with a crowd but disguised to take notice away from them.

Only Yami and Mokuba knew about this arrangement. The others were not told because they still held that Kaiba was not their friend and Yugi did not want to ruin it. He was enjoying himself and he was keeping Kaiba from being a prick, at least there Mokuba told him he was succeeding. This time they didn’t mind having a secret. It wasn’t really hurting anyone, he saw his other friends the rest of the time and they were just glad that he was happy again.

But then none of them were prepared for the next big shock in their lives.

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“Yugi!” said Yami walking into his room to see him looking very different.

“Ah, oh sorry Yami, I’ve dyed my hair and re-arranged it for the weekend. Seto and I are going to an Anime Convention and well, we are going to be dressing up too. You think I look a little like Goku?”

“Goku?”

“Oh sorry, you might not have seen it. It’s our favourite.”

“Hn.”

Before anything more could be said the telephone rang. Yugi picked it up. “Hello. Oh Mokuba, what’s up… what’s wrong?”

Yami stood watching his Hikari’s face fall.

“Oh Gods, we’ll be right there….. Okay we’ll be waiting.”

“What is it?”

“They caught the bastards that raped Seto. He went to identify them on his own… the idiot. Mokuba says he’s locked himself into his room and he’s worried. He’s sending the car for us.”

They waited for the car and when it came they climbed in.

After a short time, Yami asked, “Yugi, when did you fall in love with Kaiba?”

“What?”

“When did you fall in love with Kaiba? I know that you are.”

“Does it show that much?”

“Well to me it does.”

“I don’t know, some time when we were together at his place.”

“Does he know?”

“No, at least I don’t think so.”

“Do you want him to?”

“I –I don’t know.”

“You were in love with me once.”

Yugi’s eyes widened and his mouth fell open. “How did you know?”

“Yugi, you wear your emotions in your eyes, your face, your voice. When you care passionately about something, it’s easy to see. When the others did not want to have anything to do with Kaiba, even before all this happened, you still cared and called him your friend. Despite everything he did to you. If it weren’t for you I might have killed him back at Duelist Kingdom. I’ve told you over and over again that you are the kindest soul I’ve ever met. Even I might have slipped into the darkness if it weren’t for you. So might have he.”

“I’m not that important.”

“Gods, boy! Yes you are! You have saved me, Kaiba, even Joey and Tristan have credited you with saving them from a bad life. Can’t you see how important you are? Why would Kaiba have gone to all that trouble of getting the best for you when you almost died. And it wasn’t because he wanted to hide what happened to him, everyone already knew. He realised that he had hurt you and came to help you. That night at the hospital he was the first in to see you. He cares for you Yugi, as much as I do.”

Yugi had his eyes in his lap all through what Yami had said, and apart from a slight shiver when Yami said the last words, he stayed quiet the rest of the way.

The car pulled up at the front door and Yugi hurriedly got out to find Mokuba anxiously awaiting them. “He still won’t come out, it’s too quiet. I’m not used to him being so quiet after… Please Yugi, I know you can reach him this time, when I can’t.”

“I’ll do what I can,” said Yugi rushing off.

“Are you all right Mokuba?” asked Yami.

The boy unashamedly ran into his arms, crying. Yami got down on his knees to him, and soothed the boy. “Don’t worry, Yugi will reach him, like you said. It’s not because he doesn’t love you that he won’t come out to you. Yugi and he have shared this, Yugi understands.”

“I know Yami. It just scares me to see him like this. He was always the strong one, always protecting me. I don’t know how to help him in this apart from getting Yugi to him. Yugi loves him as much as I do, I know that.”

Yami smiled, “Yes, he does. That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

“Oh no, it’s been great these past few months. Yugi has gotten him to smile, I wanted that more than anything else. When we’re together now we have fun like in the old days. I don’t mind that my brother has fallen in love with another guy, as long as he’s happy, that’s all that matters.”

“Your brother… in love? How do you know that it’s mutual?”

“Haven’t you watched them together? They are so good for each other. Oh sorry, Yami, I guess you love Yugi as well.”

Yami crooked his eye brow as he got to his feet and they walked inside, “And which crystal ball have you been looking into.”

“I may be still a kid, but I grew up with Seto, and he’s not been much of one. I know he loves Yugi because he talks about him all the time. I know all about their plans because I hear about them after they make them. Seto doesn’t want me to feel left out. Those times he’s with Yugi he comes home so happy, it makes me happy. And as to you, you shared his body as well as his heart, probably from the beginning. I don’t know how all this is going to work out, but I don’t want anyone to be hurt by it all.”

“I know Yugi loves your brother, more than ever now. And no it doesn’t bother me. They are very much alike if you look at it. And Yugi is as much his Hikari as he is mine.”

They both went into the living room to wait. Both sure in their faith that Yugi would get Kaiba out of his room.

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“Kaiba… Kaiba? Please open the door and let me in.”

There was silence on the other side.

“Why are you letting this get to you again? Do you realise how much you are scaring Mokuba? They have caught them, they will get what they deserve… Please Kaiba… Seto…”

“Get what they deserve! I wish they were dead for what they did to me… to us!” The door opened and Yugi almost fell in.

Yugi stumbled but did not fall, “You’re letting your anger get control of you again.”

“And why shouldn’t I? What will they get, a few years in jail? That’s just a slap on the wrist for them. I should find some people to take them out, then they’d never hurt anyone else again.”

“Then you would be no worse than them,” shouted back Yugi.

“How dare you say that! You tried to take the cowards way out! At least I didn’t try to kill myself!”

Yugi looked up at him with more hurt in his eyes than he had ever seen, then he turned and fled.

“Oh shit, what have I done?” Kaiba stood there in shock. How could he have ever said that to Yugi.

But before he could go after him, he found himself looking at his brother and Yami. Mokuba looked sad, but Yami was furious. There was no doubting that they had heard what he had said.

“Bastard! How much more harm are you going to do to him.”

“I didn’t mean it… I was angry… Gods, I didn’t mean what I said.”

“I’ll find him, but you had better get your head straight if you ever want his love back,” said Yami rushing off.

Kaiba stood there with his brother, “That has got to be the worst thing I’ve ever heard you do, Seto.”

“I didn’t mean it… How could I do that to him? How could I have said that to him? I’ve hurt him again, only this time… How will he trust me again?”

“He loves you Seto, probably more than me, can’t you see that? I thought you did.”

Seto looked down at his brother, “What?”

“I thought you had fallen in love with him.”

“Love?”

“Yes, you dick head. L.O.V.E. As in wanting to be with him all the time you can. If you’re not careful your competition will win yet again.”

“Competition… Yami?”

Mokuba sighed heavily, “You can be really dense sometimes big brother.”

“Fucked up you mean.”

“Yeah, that too. Come on downstairs. You are not staying in here. Yugi came here to get you out of here and you are staying out until he gets back. Besides you have a trip to go on tomorrow and you are not going to get out of that.”

“When did you get to be so smart?”

“My brother’s a genius, don’t you know.”

Seto smiled and hugged his brother, “I love you Mokuba.”

“And I love you too, Seto. Let’s go. You’ve got some apologising to do.”

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tbc