While You Sleep

Disclaimer: I don’t own Yu-Gi-Oh. It belongs to its respective owners. I make no profit from my fanfiction.
A/N: Okay, so I haven’t written any YGO in FOREVER. Nor have I watched it. Bare with me if the characters slip ooc from time to time, and thank you for reading!

Title: While You Sleep
Pairing (s): SetoxYugi (maybe even a little SetoxYugixYami action); JouxHonda (mentioned)
Summary: In the wake of some extreme extermination being done to the Card Shop (and Yugi’s home) he must stay somewhere else for a week. Extenuating circumstances lead him to Seto’s front doorstep.


“Bottom line, you’ll have to stay out of the shop and home for at least a week until the fumes naturally disperse. Be prepared to come home to lots of dead critters. There isn’t anything that can survive this stuff.” The roly-poly fumigator said with a half-grin to Yugi. He could almost smell those fumes that the man was talking about rolling off of him, but he managed to keep a straight face as to not offend him.

“Yugi, I’m sure you have a friend you can stay with, right?” the short young man was distracted from the fumigator to his grandfather, who was currently doing his best to pack up his most precious and rare cards to take with him and protect from the fumes that were soon going to coat everything in the shop and in their home.

“Yeah, Grandpa, no problem. At the very least I can stay with Anzu.” He said, though that was, and he meant this with every fiber of his being, a LAST resort. Staying in a park would be preferable to staying with his long time friend Anzu. She had been hounding him for years now to try and go out with him, but he would never accept her advances. She was just too needy for him to take her seriously in a romantic relationship. However, even now, he was worried that he just MIGHT have to sleep in the park for a week. Ever since his friends Jou and Honda announced to him that they were officially a couple, it felt a little strange to hang out with them if none of the rest of their friends were around. He felt like a massively large fifth wheel, and ever since that embarrassing encounter of walking in on them in the bathroom, he had made a personal vow to himself that he would try and give them all the privacy that he could.

He didn’t have a problem with their relationship, but he really didn’t want more images of that burned into his brain. They were his best friends! He didn’t want to lose that, or jeopardize it, so he was now doing his best to think of another option for his week long break from his home. As he made his trek down the sidewalk to school, he let out a soft breath. Who was left in his circle of friends that he could stay with? Ryou came to mind and he quickly squashed that down. Yami and Bakura didn’t get along so well. Or rather, they got along TOO well. They tended to make mischief when they got together. Not that a little mischief wouldn’t be welcome as of late, but really, he did not want things to start to spontaneously combust around him. Especially at Ryou’s house.

Letting out a soft sigh, his mind turned to Marik, and once more, he quickly shook his head. No way. He didn’t want to get into another ethics debate with Malik. It just wasn’t worth it. He’d have a headache in seconds. Otogi was out of the country on a tour to promote his dice game, so that was out of the question, and now, Yugi was out of options. He barely heard someone call out his name from behind him he was so lost in thought, but when he heard his name, he quickly turned, and almost was bowled over by one very cute and bright eyed Mokuba. “Yugi! Good morning!”

Why oh why did Mokuba have to have the energy of a bag of sugar? Especially this early in the morning? A Monday no less! “Good morning, Mokuba.” He finally said, after getting a hold on his footing. Mentally, he was damning his naturally good personality.

“How was your weekend, Yugi? Did you hear about the new tournament that’s going to be going on in a month? Are you going to participate? Of course you are, you always participate. Big brother is going to beat you this time around! He’s been working on strategies all summer! You’d better be prepared! Are you listening, Yugi?” this entire sentence was said in less than fifteen seconds and it had Yugi’s poor, unawake brain instantly spinning.

“Y..Yeah, sure, I was listening. I’ve heard about it.” ’No thanks to Jou…’ He had heard about it every single day since it was announced from his friend, who was entirely more enthusiastic about it than he was. Right now, he just wanted to go back to sleep, but that could wait until he got to class.

“So you’re going to participate, right? Seto says that if you don’t then he won’t either. He’s really looking forward to beating you!” the younger Kaiba heir said with even more gusto than before. Yugi could only sigh, while his alter self chuckled at the young child’s antics. //He’s entirely too enthusiastic this early in the morning, Yami. Make him stop. Please?// Yugi pleaded with his other self, as if his pleading would have any effect on the other spirit that shared his body with him.

//Sorry, but I find this entirely too amusing. Besides, the school is just ahead. You can deal with it until then.// Yami smiled to his counterpart gently.

//You’re no help!// Yugi pouted, earning himself another chuckle from the ancient pharaoh.

“Yugi? Don’t tell me you aren’t participating!?” Mokuba practically shouted into his ear, making the unalert boy jump.

“Wha…! No, no, I’ll be participating.” He replied, as he placed a hand over his ear in an attempt to rub some of the sound back out of it. ’As if Jou would let me do anything else…’ he muttered to himself, before he was once more drawn into the conversation with the violet eyed boy beside him, or risk losing all of his hearing permanently.

“That’s great to hear! Listen, I have to head to class now, but maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to you more at lunch, okay, Yugi?” he said finally, and said boy forced himself to smile and nod.

“See you later, Mokuba.” He replied, internally relaxing now for a moment as he watched the younger Kaiba skip away to whatever class he had first. He almost pitied the teacher that had to deal with Mokuba Kaiba this early in the morning on a Monday. Shaking his head of these thoughts, he decided to focus on his more important problem this early in the morning, and that was what he was going to do after school.

He didn’t get a few seconds further in his journey to his locker, before he was stopped again by a shout of, “Yug! Morning!” He almost wanted to turn around and snap at the rest of the world to leave him alone, but that just wasn’t his personality, and no matter how annoyed he was, he wouldn’t ever tell his best friend off. So, he did what he normally did, and he turned around to face his friend.

“Morning, Jou. How was your weekend?” he asked, as he shifted his backpack and lifted up his hand to his locker to put in the combination and get his books for first period.

“It was…eventful, to say the least.” He replied with a wolfish grin that had Yugi almost rolling his eyes…almost.

“Spare me the details, but suffice to say it was a good weekend for you.” He said, as he forced another soft smile onto his face.

“You damn skippy it was. Speaking of which…” he turned from Yugi just in time for Honda to come up to the two and slip his hand into Jou’s. Yugi hid another sigh, and he could feel his other self once more stir awake in the back of his subconscious. Even he had to take pity on his lighter self this morning. It had been a long night of studying and homework finishing before they could go to sleep, and morning just came entirely too early for either of them. That, and his lighter half was the one who had to deal with not only a bright, sun-shiny Mokuba, but a very much in love Jou, and his partner in crime, Honda. Yugi could feel Yami wrap around him lightly in his mind and for the first time this morning, he felt at ease. Yami always had this effect on him, and he was eternally grateful for his presence of mind this morning.

//Thanks, Yami.// he whispered mentally to his other half, as he returned the mental embrace.

//Anytime, my little hikari.// he replied softly, glad to see the anxiety that had been part of his lighter half’s mentality all morning ease a little bit at least. He knew when even he had been pushed past his daily reservoir of tolerance. It was surprising though to see that it had happened so early in the morning. Perhaps what his grandfather had said to him earlier in the morning was bothering his little light more than he was letting on. Yami decided that he might just have to take things into his own hands if this continued. He didn’t like to see Yugi so stressed.

“Morning, Honda.” Yugi said, as he finally fought his locker open so he could slip out his books for first period, and slide back in his backpack, which left his upper arm aching a little as it got used to not having the large weight hanging off of it.

“Morning, Yugi. Did you have a good weekend?” he replied, his attention shifting between Jou and his friend.

“As good as can be expected. There was entirely too much homework assigned on Friday. I only barely got it finished!” he said, his entire mood lifting a little bit as Yami kept up his contact with him. The darker half was more than happy to mentally embrace his lighter half if it meant that his mood could improve so quickly.

“Homework? There was homework?” Jou said, earning a look from both Honda and Yugi.

“YES!” they shouted out together before the sheepish looking boy looked to his boyfriend and gave him a one-of-a-kind puppy look, one that had the slightly taller boy’s resolve quickly broken.

“I take that as you want to copy my homework…” he replied, and at the eager nod and smile from his lover, he just sighed and smiled. “You owe me.” He said, before giving the other boy a chaste kiss on the lips before he pulled away. “I’ll catch you during third period. Don’t forget!” he shouted out, before he disappeared down the hallway towards his respective locker.

Yugi managed to keep a straight face during the conversation, though Yami didn’t miss the secret longing that his little light had at that moment. He knew that his other half often got lonely, and sometimes longed for a relationship of love like his friends were discovering on a daily basis, but he also knew that Yugi was a little unsure of taking any kind of step forward with anyone around him. The only one that never crossed the smaller boy’s mind was Anzu and for that, Yami had to thank the gods. The girl had not only gone after him at different times in the past, but when he had made it more than clear that he was not interested, she started going after Yugi. She had decided that if she couldn’t have the darker half, then she would be content with the lighter. Thankfully however, neither were interested in her in such a manner.

“Hey, Yug…you alright?” Jou asked, breaking the smaller boy free of his thoughts for a moment.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just got to get to class…” he was interrupted when the first warning bell rang, and with that, he gave the taller boy a smile. “See you at lunch!” with that, he was off, as he sprinted down the hallway towards his first period class, and left the thoughts that had been plaguing him far behind.

Jou watched his friend run down the hallway and away from him, but he couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong with the smaller boy. He rubbed the back of his head lightly, and fluffed up his hair a moment before he pushed it away as nothing. Perhaps Yugi was just having an off day. He was prone to have plenty of them himself, so with that thought firmly in mind, he turned and went the opposite direction towards his first class of the day.

The day passed in a blur, and before he knew it, the end of the day had arrived. With another sigh, uncommon for the normally bright and cheerful boy, Yugi stood from his desk and made his way back to his locker. At least today the teachers showed a little mercy and didn’t hand out any homework. As he walked, he noticed that there was a small scuffle going on ahead of him. “Say it one more time, Kaiba! I’ll knock you straight into next week!” a familiar voice yelled, and at that voice, Yugi just groaned.

Did he have to do this today of all days? He knew that his friend and Seto Kaiba weren’t friends by any stretch of the imagination, but couldn’t he just ignore the other boy for one day? Was that too much to ask? Apparently so, as he moved forward towards the growing crowd of students. All that recognized Yugi parted the way for him, knowing what the spiky-haired boy was going to do even before he did it. Once more, he was going in to be the mediator between the two before him. It wasn’t uncommon to see these particular students going at it, after all, it happened on nearly a daily basis, but as of yet, no punches had been thrown, and no one had been suspended because of it. That was only one of the things that Yugi had to be thankful for when it came to the constant clashes that happened between his friend, and Seto Kaiba.

As the last of the students in his way parted and moved apart, Yugi’s eyes widened as he saw Jou lunge for the CEO of Kaiba Corp. He was serious today! Before he could think, he rushed forward and jumped in front of Seto, not even taking a second to remind himself that this was Jou, and his friend was very powerful, and that, maybe, just maybe, this might hurt. By the time his brain caught up with the very obvious fear he was feeling, it was all over, and all Yugi could feel was an intense pain in his cheek and jaw, as he started to sink to the floor, his books falling helplessly to the floor beneath him from his arms.

The outrage that grew from the students around them was nothing compared to the shock and surprise that was on Seto Kaiba’s face. Yugi had rushed forward in front of him before he even had a second to react, but that was the least of his worries, as the small boy in front of him began to sink to the floor, his lip cut, and bleeding. Yami was about to break loose and teach Jou a lesson or two, and for a few moments, the area around Yugi was nothing less than chaos. “You stupid ass! I can’t believe you hit Yugi!” Anzu cried, as she moved forward to try and lean down by her sinking friend, but before she could even attempt to get close, Seto was down beside him first, his dark, and normally fierce eyes, just a little gentler as he inspected the damage that Yugi had taken.

“I could have handled it.” he said softly into Yugi’s ear as he reached up to tilt the smaller boy’s face away just a fraction so he could see the full extent of what had happened.

“You could’ve gotten hurt…” he replied off the top of his head, as he complied with the gentle hands that were shifting his face slightly. He had never known this truly gentle side to Seto, but he didn’t mind it, and it seemed, for the moment, that the fight had been broken up and that once more, no one would get into trouble. Seto’s eyes, for a moment, held shock and uncertainty, but then they shifted back to their normally stoic and dark appearance, as Jou shouted out his apologies and started to move forward to also console his friend and see what damage he had done. It seemed that the concerned demeanor of the usually cold and indifferent Seto went unnoticed by the populous as well, as they continued their outraged cries and rumor mongering at what had taken place. It wouldn’t take but fifteen minutes for the entire school to know what had occurred.

As a teachers yell entered the mix of voices, the crowd that had gathered quickly scattered towards their individual destinations, and Yugi tried to stand as he started to gather his books. He couldn’t help but wince as he shifted his head, and he was sure he tasted blood. He licked his lips and found that there was a cut on his bottom lip, and that the inside of his cheek was all cut up from impacting with his teeth. ’I did taste blood…’ he thought briefly, before he felt Yami’s concern filter through to him.

//Are you alright, Yugi?// He asked, his uneasiness more than evident. He was restless and more than ready to return something he liked to call divine retribution upon Jou for what had happened. The boy had been so focused on getting a brawl started with Seto Kaiba that his friend completely slipped his mind, the one friend who only had his best interest in mind and was there on a daily basis to stop the fist fights before they began and rescue his friend from numerous detentions and suspensions. It did nothing less than thoroughly piss the pharaoh off.

//I’m alright, Yami…it just hurts…a lot…// At that statement, Yugi winced once more as he reached up his hand to wipe at the residual tears that had gathered in his eyes. Seto, who had backed off lightly in the wake of the smaller boy’s friends surrounding him, didn’t miss those tears, and at them, he couldn’t help but feel irritated as he stood there, unsure of what he wanted to do. Yugi shouldn’t have gotten involved! He could have easily taken down the mutt of a boy in front of him, but he had an idea as to why Yugi jumped in, but he couldn’t help but want to feel that there was a different reason that the smaller boy entered the fray. His statement was even now echoing in his mind. ’You could have gotten hurt…’ Was the smaller boy in front of him worried about him? Was that why he jumped in to take a hit meant for him? After a moment he shook those thoughts away. No matter what the reason was, the boy acted of his own accord. He didn’t owe him a thing, and he didn’t need to hang around where he wasn’t wanted. As he turned to leave along with the rest of the students who were dispersing, he was stopped when he heard Yugi ask, “Are you alright, Seto?”

Before he had a chance to answer, Jou’s voice was heard again as he shouted out, “He’s fine now, but I’m going to get him for this Yug! You shouldn’t worry about moneybags over there!”

Before Jounouchi could stand and make good on his previously spoken words, Yugi stood and shifted to stand in front of Seto, between him and his friend. Stunned was too light of a word to describe the look in both Jou’s eyes and Seto’s, but before another word could be said, a teacher came up between them and quickly looked to the blossoming bruise upon Yugi’s cheek, and looked between the remaining spectators.

It seemed as if she were trying to silently decide who had done the damage and was either going to pick someone, or wait for someone to speak up and take responsibility. Silence filled the air around them before Seto reached out and placed his hand on Yugi’s shoulder. “You should see the nurse about that. And put some ice on it.” He said, his tone again, unusually soft as he locked eyes with the smaller boy.

More than a few sets of eyes launched to the taller boy’s face as they heard that gentle tone of voice come from the well-renowned CEO, but if they were going to react in some other way, it would have to wait, as Yugi was pulled along slightly towards the nurse’s office.

Jou, Honda, and Anzu went to follow but were stopped by the teacher. It seemed as if he was going to get that “divine retribution” that Yami so longed for in the way of a very intense interrogation.

Once Yugi and Seto got clear of most of the students, the taller boy finally allowed himself to speak the questions that were on his mind. “Why did you do that?” he asked, his tone trying to be indifferent, though he was truly curious.

“Because…you could have gotten hurt. You saw what one of his punches did to me…though…I guess I’m a bad example. I’m such a weakling compared to him.” He replied, as he tried to laugh it off, only to wince and hiss in pain. Instantly Seto’s eyes flew to the smaller boy’s face as he quickly looked to see if something more had happened or if there were possibly something he could do. At those thoughts, he froze and quickly looked ahead and away from Yugi. He didn’t need to do anything for this boy. He owed him nothing. ’Then why are you still looking after him?’ his inner mind voiced, a voice that his quickly shut up. He didn’t need to have a conversation with himself right now.

“I could have handled myself, Yugi. Though…your concern is noted.” He replied, his tone back to normal, as they neared the nurse’s station. He was sure that the only reason he was feeling anything different towards the boy before him was because of their history together. Yugi was the only one who had the abilities to defeat him on the dueling field, and for that, he was considered a worthy rival. He opened up the nurse’s station door, and Yugi nodded lightly before walking in, and instantly, it looked as if he were being attacked by the nurse on duty. Seto had to wonder if it were because Yugi were just too cute, and the fact that he was hurt made Mom-types come running to fix whatever was wrong. Even though they were both juniors, Yugi looked like he wasn’t above the sixth grade. Seto shook those thoughts away as he leaned back against the wall near the door, unsure of what he wanted to do…again. Should he see the smaller boy home? He glanced at his watch and noted that it was almost time for the junior high to let out, and almost time for Mokuba to find him, though he knew that if he didn’t, Mokuba knew the plan—call the limo and go on home without him. Oftentimes he worked late and they had set up a plan for those nights for Mokuba to get home safely.

As the head nurse fretted over Yugi’s cheek, Seto watched on quietly and stayed out of the way. He wasn’t about to just go home without showing some sort of gratification for the smaller boy’s action. He didn’t have to, but in this instance, he felt it would be alright…just this once.

Yugi held an ice pack to his cheek and tried to smile at the woman who was looking over the injury, but was failing miserably. He turned his head away from her and to his surprise, Seto was standing near the doorway, with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. He didn’t know why the older Kaiba was still around, to be honest. Yugi thought he would have been gone by now, but the fact that he wasn’t, made the smaller boy smile. Even though it hurt to smile, and he was sure that it wasn’t a particularly pretty sight, he couldn’t help it.

Seto really wasn’t as he appeared.

Yugi was glad to see it. Yami stayed in the background of his hikari’s mind, just watching the situation with observant eyes. Seto was slightly different today, than normal. ’However…’, Yami noted with interest, ’…he has been different for awhile. A steadily growing change as a person.’ He quickly pushed his thoughts aside as he continued his vigilant watch over his other half and the one he had taken a particularly vicious blow for. He still hadn’t gotten a chance to ask why he did it, but he had heard his lighter half’s talk with the tall, dark CEO. With a light smile, he faded back into the recesses of Yugi’s mind and let whatever would happen, happen.

After a few minutes, Yugi finally pried himself away from the head nurse and promised that he’d keep ice on his cheek until the swelling came down. He almost had to promise his very soul to the woman so she would let him leave, but when he finally got away, he relaxed. He briefly wondered what happened to Jou, but at the moment, he didn’t care. He’d find out later, he was sure. Right now, he was trying to decide which emotion to settle for, and anger sounded like a good one, but not in his current company. He tilted his head up to the quiet boy who had escorted him here to the nurse’s station before clearing his throat lightly to get his attention.

“Thank you for walking me down here, Seto.” He said, as he pressed the ice pack more fully over his cheek, which was most definitely a vibrant shade of purple right now.

At the sound of Yugi’s voice, the older Kaiba opened his eyes to see the shorter boy with a very massive ice pack over his cheek. Even though the pack was large, he could still see the small parts of his bruise visible, and he couldn’t help but move his hand up and gently push the pack away to see the damage once more. It was like a car crash, one just can’t stop looking, and to him, this was a personal reminder of how someone else took damage that was meant for him. It was a rarity. He was the one who usually took damage for another person, most of the time that other person was his brother. He could remember times in their youth when he had to protect his baby brother from others, and all he could see in Yugi’s face was his little brother. Would Mokuba have taken such a blow for him? He wasn’t sure, and it wasn’t something he wanted to think too firmly on. Now, whether it was his guilt, or his current train of thought, he wasn’t about to leave Yugi to walk back to the sharks he called his ‘friends’ by himself.

“You’re welcome.” He replied softly, before he glanced back down the hallway. “Where are you headed?” he asked, his tone still it’s cold, indifferent one. He wouldn’t show anyone around him any weakness, even if he had momentarily lost himself back when Yugi was initially hurt.

“I’m not sure, to be honest.” He replied quietly, and once more, Seto turned his head to the smaller boy beside him. There was a definite sadness and uncertainty in his stance and on his face, though the older Kaiba was unsure of why. His confusion couldn’t be plainer to see, and when Yugi looked up, he nearly blushed before he shook his head.

“The shop is closed down because of fumigation…I don’t know where I’m going to be staying for the week.” He explained, and recognition dawned on the taller boy.

“I thought you would naturally stay with that mutt friend of yours.” He said, his tone turning slightly colder at the mention of Jou.

Yugi winced lightly at that tone before he shook his head, earning another look that could only be identified as Kaiba’s confusion upon his face. The elder Kaiba was intrigued. Why wouldn’t Yugi be staying with his friends?

“And the other that always hands out with you? Honda?” he asked, a little amazed at how easy it seemed to talk with the smaller boy.

“No way…Jou and him will most likely be together, and I do not want to be a fifth wheel all week.” Yugi replied, shaking his head, before he winced again at the movement his mouth made.

“I see…and the girl you are always around?” Seto asked, immediately comprehending his last answer. He was more than aware of the relationship of Jou and Honda, and Yugi had a very valid point.

“Anzu? Oh hell no!” he replied quickly, his eyes actually taking on a bit of fear. Seto was surprised by his reaction, but he didn’t have to wait long for an explanation. “She has been after me for years, and I’m afraid that if I slept over at her house I would get molested in my sleep. There is no way I’m staying at Anzu’s.” he replied, as he shuddered a moment. The thought was truly terrifying. Seto nearly chuckled at the reaction he got, but he refrained.

“So you don’t have a place to stay?” he asked, wanting to confirm that the boy just wasn’t holding out on him on some place that he would be staying before he did anything else. Yugi shook his head before saying quietly, “I’d rather stay in an alley before I stayed with any of my friends.” As he said that however, his features seemed to fall further as he added, “…I never realized how hard this would be. We used to be so close and we could hang out with one another anytime of the week, and sometimes, during the summer? We would…we’d just switch houses and hang out all summer. It’s not that way anymore. Everything’s changed.”

Silence fell between the two a good minute or so before Kaiba finally put a word to what Yugi seemed to be saying. He was lonely. He had known that things were changing between the rag-tag group that seemed to be always presenting themselves as a thorn in his side, but to hear it straight from what he considered as the groups leader, made everything seem more real. He almost felt sorry for the smaller boy. He himself hadn’t been a ‘friend’ person, but he was certain that if he was, and he suddenly started to feel the loss of them, he might feel just as the boy beside him did. He lifted a hand to run through his hair, before he said softly, so that only Yugi could hear him, “You can stay at my place, if you want. We have more than enough room. And you’d have a ride to school everyday. You may not see me or Mokuba much, but at least it’s a dry place to sleep.” Inside he could hear his internal self drop silent with shock. Just what in the hell was he doing? He wasn’t sure, but at the moment, he’d just let his offer set there and see what happened. Who knew? This might turn out to not be such a bad thing.

Silence once more fell between the two, and Yugi, for a moment, was wondering if he were hearing things, but after a brief second, he quickly looked up to the taller boy and asked softly, “Are you sure? If you are…I wouldn’t mind that…I’d…like to take you up on your offer.”

Seto quickly looked down to the boy looking up at him and for a split second, sapphire eyes met amethyst and the world stopped. There wasn’t anything particularly emotional within their eyes, but for just a second…Yugi saw Seto in a new light. He wasn’t looking malicious, or mad, or irritated, he just looked…normal. It was something that had his heart skipping a beat. Seto was just amazed at how much the smaller boy trusted him right now. He could be a complete ass and tell him ‘no’ that it was just a horrible joke, but he didn’t think he could ever find it in himself to do that, not to the boy in front of him. He was an ass at times, but right now, he didn’t feel like being an ass to Yugi. For a second, he thought he saw something else in the other boy’s eyes, something that made him feel needed. For whatever reason, the trust he saw there was enough to get him to reply, “I’m sure. We’ll need to meet up with Mokuba soon, so…if you need to grab your stuff we better do it now.”

His tone was back to normal, and for that Yugi could only smile. He had seen something rare just a moment ago, and he was going to remember it for a long time to come. Yami was nearly giddy in the back of his hikari’s mind, just watching the interaction with intense interest. ’So there is another side to the stoic brat of Kaiba Corp. Leave it to Yugi to break him out of that shell he hides himself in…’ he thought to himself.

“Alright. Thank you again, Seto.” Yugi replied, his smile growing, but only a little as it hurt to do anything with his mouth right now. He walked down the hallway with the taller boy and as they rounded the corner to the junior’s lockers, he wasn’t surprised to find that only Anzu remained. She immediately ran to his side and started to go on about what happened with the teacher, and after a few seconds, Yugi just held up a hand in front of her. Instantly, her rambling ceased.

“Anzu, I don’t care right now. Just…tell me later. Tomorrow or something. I’m tired, and I just want to go home.” He said, earning a glance from Seto. The smaller boy didn’t mention that he would be going to his house, and for that, he could only smile inside a little bit. He didn’t want the world to know that he could be a kind person…at times.

“Oh! But your Grandpa said that they’re fumigating your house…” she interrupted. Yugi let out a very uncharacteristic sigh as he said, “I’ve got somewhere to go.” And with that, he moved around her and headed for his locker. He was tired of this day and wanted it to be over already. Seto could see that the normally happy boy was on edge and stressed, and for some reason, that really bothered him. He stayed quiet though as Yugi retrieved his backpack from his locker and a couple of books that he was working on for different projects in class. His eyes traveled back to Anzu, and he was surprised to see her looking at Yugi what could only be described as womanly lust. Even after he snapped at her, she was openly gawking at him and not even trying to hide her obvious want of the boy. He felt like walking up to her and slapping her for her impudence, but instead, he settled for one of his infamous glares. After a moment, she saw it and surprise ran across her features before she glared back. He just smirked. She thought that she was irreplaceable, did she? She was about to learn a very painful lesson, courtesy of one Seto Kaiba. But, Yugi’s needs came first, and it was more than obvious that this day had thoroughly worn the smaller boy out.

“I have everything, Seto. We can go whenever you’re ready.” Yugi’s voice broke through his thoughts as he turned his attention down to the smaller boy.

“Good…we can go now. I’m sure the limo is waiting out front for us. Mokuba should be there already.” He replied, as he got a nod from Yugi. Together, they walked out together and made their way towards the awaiting limo, and the few people that were still left at the school glanced briefly over the two before dismissing it. They hadn’t even reached the front gates, so it was possible that they would go their separate ways after getting to the gate. None of them were ready for the shock that they received when they saw the driver of said limo opening the side door and Yugi getting inside the limo, with Seto following behind.

It looked like the rumor mill wasn’t going to shut down for the day just yet.

Mokuba looked surprised when Yugi joined him and his brother for the ride home, and he couldn’t stop himself from exclaiming, “Yugi! Are we giving you a ride home? Are you coming home with us? What’s going on big brother?” again, all of this was said in seconds, and at that last question, Seto turned his head towards his younger brother and said in a much gentler tone than Yugi had ever heard from him before, “Yugi is going to stay with us while his house is being worked on. Make sure you help him out when you can, and tell the driver to wait for him after school.” He said, earning a small look from the one in question. Yugi was a little speechless as he looked from Seto to Mokuba and finally, he just pushed all of his swirling thoughts away. He’d think about all of it later, because right now, he was just tired.

Seto looked to Yugi with a little bit of worry hidden in his eyes as he watched the smaller boy’s eyes close and his body shifted back into the seat. He was almost afraid that something bad was happening before Mokuba began talking again, and for once, he didn’t envy Yugi. It seemed his younger brother had taken a personal interest in the duel monsters champion and was taking out all of his energy on the other boy.

Yugi was trying his best to keep into the conversation, but he could feel his own eyes drifting further closed, and just before he finally drifted off, the younger Kaiba announced that they were at his violin practice and that he’d see them later. Yugi couldn’t do anything but mentally praise the gods. Seto nodded and saw his brother off into the building, and by the time he came back, he saw that the smaller boy was curled up on the limo seat and was out like a light. He couldn’t help but smile at the scene he made, as he took his seat back beside the other boy and tilted his head so he could watch him sleep. A few minutes later, he blinked as he felt a decidedly warm hand on his lap and he looked down, unaware that he had been spacing out, to see that Yugi was now curled up closer to him, and his head was resting on his lap. If it had been anyone else other than Yugi or his brother, he would have pushed them off and told them to quit clinging to him, but he didn’t feel like doing that to the smaller boy, now sleeping on his lap. As a gentle expression came to his face, he just shook his head and placed his hand lightly into Yugi’s hair, letting the soft strands go through his fingers.

This definitely wasn’t as bad as he could have imagined.

In fifteen more minutes time, they had arrived at the Kaiba mansion, and Seto glanced down to the small boy still sleeping on his lap. He wasn’t sure what to do in this situation, so he did what he would have done if it would have been Mokuba asleep on his lap; he shifted in place and picked up the smaller boy in his arms and held him close so that he wouldn’t drop him.

“Shall I have a room prepared, Kaiba-sama?” a maid asked. He nodded, and in a flash, she disappeared up the stairs to get a bedroom ready. Yugi really wasn’t as heavy as he thought he would be. In fact, the boy was surprisingly light, not that Seto was really complaining, but it put into perspective that Yugi wasn’t a large person, and wasn’t exactly in a position to be able to defend himself if he got into a fight. Once more his mind was dragged to what happened earlier in the afternoon, and he held back a soft sigh. He never would have imagined that Yugi would take a hit for him. In the past, they never really showed one another any sort of courtesy or kindness, except when it came to Mokuba. He could always count on Yugi and his group of friends to alliance themselves with him and help rescue the younger Kaiba when he got into trouble, and for that, he was grateful, even if he never told them. However, for the boy in his arms to step into danger for him, was causing some strange thoughts and feelings to arise in the elder Kaiba.

In a couple minutes the maid had returned and she guided Seto up the stairs and to the bedroom she had gotten prepared. She was surprised that her master was carrying a small boy that wasn’t his brother, and not making one of the butlers carry him, but she wasn’t going to question it. It seemed like it would be in her best interest not to mention what he was doing, and not to ask a lot of meaningless questions. As they reached the top of the stairs, Seto was led to one of the bedrooms near his own master suite and he nodded his approval at the choice of room before he walked in and moved over near the bed. With gentleness he didn’t know he possessed, he set Yugi down on the bed and slowly removed his shoes, before he covered him up and watched him stir and then still as he went completely back into the land of dreams.

He stood there a moment and ran a hand through his hair once more before he shook his head. He had work to do and he couldn’t spend his whole afternoon just watching someone sleep, even if that someone had a very enrapturing sleeping face. He turned to leave the room and moved over to his study where his computer was set up. The rest of the afternoon was spent working on his latest creation, and for the time-being, Yugi slipped from his mind.


/chapter

A/N: So how is it so far? Let me know, please read and review!
A/N #2: And after writing this, I think you’ve all realized by now that this will be multi-chapter. I don’t know how many it will turn out to be, but I don’t plan on it being TOO long. Maybe five chapters? Maybe Ten? Could only be three or four, but I’ll update as soon as I can. ^_^

Kudos!
Sa-chan~