"YES!"

Noooo

"YES, YES, YESS! A million times, YES!"

No, no, no, please no

"You absolutely did the right thing Yugi, I promise you, you are not going to regret this."

Pretty sure I already do

"UGH! The only thing is I don't know what to get first! The tux or the flowers…."

"Mana—."

"Wait, what am I talking about? Of course the tux, the flowers always have to match, that's just common knowledge, I can't believe I even asked."

"Mana!..."

"Of course, then again we could pick the flowers and then pick the tux if the flowers are mono-tone—Hey, Do you have any dress shoes at home?"

"This isn't prom Mana; I just want to get it off my chest." Yugi muttered, carefully prying the arms intent on depriving him of all the oxygen in his body away from his constricted torso. Mana merely pouted before putting her hands back onto the steering wheel—much too the smaller's relief.

To say that he had made a mistake as to confide in the self-proclaimed "Devil's Matchmaker"—A nickname of which Yugi thoroughly endorsed, was much bigger than an understatement. He might as well have tied his own noose.

However, it wasn't something he could feel justified to pity himself for, seeing as this was his absolute last resort. He'd exhausted all other means; dropping subtle hints such as giving him surprise, lingering hugs in the morning before work that managed to shock both Yami and himself and usually ended in awkward farewells. He tried to just simply spill his guts to the other man if not to be embraced, then to simply get it off his chest but it was much harder than it looked...

Much harder.

Quivering, bare feet pattered across the kitchen tile with anxious, carrying the rest of the shaken boy's just as nervous appendages from point A to point B as he steadily began to fall apart. He hadn't slept in days; the realization both excited and repulsed him. It wasn't like he disproved the idea of being with Yami, because he was certainly growing to love his new little habit of undressing the other with his eyes when he occasionally offered to do the dishes, laundy, ect. , but it came with so many unwanted feelings…Sure, imagining someone in their tighty whities was one thing, but the constant, painfully obvious and increasingly shameful arousal was beginning to take a toll on his heavily guarded morals of decency when it came to bodily contact. Yugi was strong on the inside, even though lately he'd been about as sensitive as a pregnant pup, he had walls.

Yami was just an expert at tearing them down.

With a silent shutter as his emotions began to make tiny explosions in his stomach, he clenched the warm saucer of freshly made pancakes. His emotions were definitely at an all time high for his body to be reacting to the stress of infatuation in such an undesired, physical manor. Then again of course, he should have been used to the squeamish feeling by now, since he stayed up into the wee hours of the morning firming his own resolve on the thoughts—Mostly dreams of telling Yami just how crazy, and frustrated, and exhausted, and stressed, and loved, and just so beautifully imperfect he made him feel….

Ooooh hell.

"Was pacing a normal ritual in your house?" Yugi turned his head, seeing Yami leaning against the door jam, black suit and all, moving his fingers in a sort of pseudo dance across the fabric of his tie as he preformed all the nagging twists and turns that such an article of clothing demanded to be worn. It was like watching a stripper perform backwards…course…he didn't know how many strippers wore ties but they should definitely start.

"I…m-made you uh, this." He sputtered pathetically, holding up the abundant platter with slight upset at his inability to speak correctly. Unfortunately, this had become somewhat of a vicious circle. He would give himself a stern knock in the head, ask himself why the hell he couldn't just grow a set, convince himself to just lay out with it, and unfortunately after all was said and done he found himself right back where he started after being an epic waste of Yami's time. Each time he'd even try something special to break the ice whether it be hugs ending in an incredibly awkward silence between both, small, suspicious, and spontaneous instances where he chose to subtly bring up the topic of their blooming friendship, and complimentary breakfasts that apparently reduced Yugi to a thick, messy puddle of infatuation.

Yami continued to stare closely at the smaller's nervous, diverted eyes, his own remaining unreadable under eloquently arched brows. "I thought you told me to start cooking my own meals." He chuckled amusedly, taking the saucer from Yugi's notably clammy hands. "Should I be sleeping with one eye open?" the elder murmured, promptly taking a moth-full of syrup-soaked pancake rather unceremoniously as his other hand seemed to fumble with an assorted bundle of jam packed file folders.

Yugi frowned and let his gaze wander a bit further up to Yami's chin, ultimately attempting to feign any sort of attentiveness to try and convince both himself and Yami that this conversation was going to happen regardless of nerves and distractions. "Oh please, if I wanted to kill you I would've done it last night when you fell asleep at your desk," He muttered in a subtle tone of innocence "and by the way, your room is like two doors away from the living room, you can put down your damn laptop and you know, actually utilize this neat invention called a bed."

Yami chuckled, wiping any bit of lingering food remnants from his palms, "So then, mind telling me the occasion?" He hummed, placing the napkin back on the plate, "First hugs, now breakfast at 5:30 in the morning? Am I to be aware of a fatal illness?" He mused, chasing Yugi's repeatedly darting eyes that seemed intent on avoiding any sort of eye contact with his own.

"Oh please," he muttered with a slight role of the eyes, but quickly corrected himself as his lips tightened. What was he doing? This was defeating the purpose of his whole 'plan' anyway. It seemed Yami wasn't the only one who treasured pride of humility. Strange…He hadn't been like this before he met Yami…

Oh, wait.

"Yami, wait no." He sputtered, accidentally brushing against the elder's tense shoulder, causing him to look up at his tiny chef. "I didn't—I need…There's something I thought—knew you should be aware of…" He finished lamely, voice trailing off as his face turned scarlet beneath the messy, unkempt bangs that hid his face. 'Aware of'? That's nice Yugi, great if you're trying to inform him that there's a pack of carnivorous mice in his basement throwing smack downs on a regular nightly basis. 'Yami, I think you should be aware of the fact that I'm completely smitten by every word that comes out of your mouth, and I'm seriously considering jumping you in your sleep.'

That sounds just about right.

Yami stared blankly before taking a long, drawn out sigh. "Yugi, did you wash one of my suits again?" He practically groaned, setting down his fork before wiping his fingers clean of syrup, raising his voice before Yugi could even think to make another sound, "Because I told you, you may be great at the whole housekeeping job you've taken upon yourself, and don't get me wrong because I'm extremely grateful, but we both know laundry is not your strong suit." Yugi opened his mouth, but was swiftly cut off as the elder continued, "I'm not so busy that I can't take my suits to the dry cleaners, little one." He rolled his eyes slightly.

Yugi held in his breath, willfully ignoring Yami's restrained insults as he gripped the other's shoulder like a lifeline. Yami flinched slightly at this, but remained silent as the smaller began to produce his ramblings. "No…I—

Bzzzzt…Bzzzzt…

Both men straightened, Yami turning his head toward his phone blinking and vibrating against the wooden table as Yugi cursed inwardly. Just how many times could the universe make it impossible to communicate three words? Here he was, prepared to give himself up, while not physically but spiritually for this hot, exhausted mess of a man and the sworn to God PMSing universe decided it was 'Fuck with Yugi Day'. Of course, then again that was pretty much an all-year-round sort of thing.

With yet another drawn out sigh and a fit of acerbic disposition, frustrated hands grappled for the phone, callously flinging it open with a single flick of the thumb, "Kaiba, what could you possibly want, I clock in at 6:00, that's in fifteen minutes, so please, before you say whatever you are going to say to me it better be fucking important." Yami muttered begrudgingly, running his hands through his post-dampened hair. Yugi flinched slightly at this, folding his hands tightly together as he stared at the ground in both slight surprise and undirected pity. Despite only being re-acquainted with the other for almost a year now, Yugi knew Yami for plenty of years, and he knew while Yami may have been set off easily by particular things such as secretly keeping death threat letters in your kitchen drawers without prior notice, but it took a lot for the man to break under stress. He clenched his teeth slightly. Kaiba was merely using Yami as a tool in this investigation, like a pencil, and he just continued to sharpen that pencil over and over, clearly unaware of the blatant fact he was getting far too close to the stub.

"Ah…I see, well send her my best wishes, it must be very important to leave so suddenly." The elder muttered jadedly into the cellular device, the anger obviously gone as it was replaced by a wave of exhaustion. Rubbing his temples he continued, "Yea, I can clock out at twelve," he yawned, lifting his left arm up to read the wrist watch as he contemplated clearly unaware of the gaping Yugi beside him. "Alright, be there in fifteen." He grumbled almost inaudibly, letting the phone fall shut as he massaged the side of his head in a fetal attempt to calm his raging nerves.

Oh hell no, Kaiba was not going to be his downfall. Not this time. "Yami, please this is really important I have to—

"I'm sorry Yugi," The elder muttered quickly, standing from his seat as he pushed upon the surface of the table to keep himself upright and prevent from drowning in his own exhaustion, "There's supposed to be this huge storm and apparently Misawa is backed up all the way into the next town over so I've really got to move before Kaiba whips my ass." He grimaced slightly, carelessly sweeping the gourmet breakfast down into the dark, forgotten shoot that was the garbage disposal as Yugi looked onward in despair. Damn it…Those pancakes were perfect. Ass Hat.

"But Yami, please I—

"If it's really that important Yugi call me when I get to work." He offered a halfhearted smile, hurriedly plucking his shoulder bag from the ground as he began his rushed trek toward the door.

Yugi shook his head frantically, willfully summoning the final amounts of quivering breath from his bursting lungs, "No Yami, I don't think you understand, I need to tell you that I love!—

…But as he lifted his shuddering face from the edge of his toes he was met with a cold stone silence, the echo of the door slamming nearly hard enough to burst from its hinges recoiling into the empty atmosphere of the lonely kitchen as the only company of the equally lonesome, brokenhearted boy left behind.

"…you…"

Okay, as thoroughly ashamed as he was to admit it, after about five, twenty, thirty or so failed attempts at expressing any sort of affection toward his frustrating roommate, he decided to look toward a higher power. An all knowing power, always at the touch of one's fingertips if only asked; the universal bosom of the earth.

The internet.

However, as brilliantly simple as this plan may have seemed, it only brought along further complications of his tedious problems that were already becoming far too frustrating for the small hot head to handle. He knew that if he did not get closure on this matter soon it would take merely the metaphorical poke of life's bitchy needle to set him off.

However, it had not all been in vain seeing as how Yugi still had the vigilant mind-set of an Honors Graduate, he had compiled an extensive list of eight possible directions this confession could potentially go, and he had but a shadow of a doubt south may have been the general outcome.

Quit being a sniveling bitch and tell him

Well that was the problem, now wasn't it?

Drop hints. Guys totally love taking the initiative in a relationship, it's part of their dominant instincts. However, sometimes they just need that reassuring push!

Okay, totally ignoring that completely sexist remark, seeing as it certainly didn't apply to Yugi, this was both entirely uncomfortable and completely unnecessary. The method was certainly no longer desirable as he learned when he first began this vigorous chase.

Look for signs. If they're showing signs that they may be interested in you, jump in. Unlike women, men often don't unconsciously flirt with women/men unless there's some sort of lingering attractions there.

Yes, well, while Yami did seem entirely flirtatious at any time of the day the male had observably created a habit of it amongst his peers. In short, Yami flirted with anyone within a five mile radius and was certainly something of the office whore. So unless Yami had plans to bed everyone in the office, grocery stores, and the general civilian population this was an incredibly misleading piece of advice.

Make him jealous! Guys definitely respond to that kind of stuff.

…With who? He could hardly think of any one individual he knew that might create any semblance of believability that he may actually be on the verge of a serious relationship with. There was Mana…surely she would understand his feelings and try to help him…then again he was already openly gay amongst everyone beside Yami, so such actions may seem largely suspicious.

Tell him over some sort of cellular device or the internet. It may seem cheap but it's a lot harder to see their disgusted face when you tell them…

Gee, thanks. What a positive outlook.

Ask a friend to tell them for you. My boyfriend did that for me and despite what it sounds like it was really cute how shy he was!

No, it seemed too much like running away…and Yugi never ran from a challenge.

Make him work for it! If there's any indicator that a man is going to stick with you no matter what, he'll man up and come to you first.

Why did everyone make the average man to be some sort of solid, invincible statue made for the sole purpose of pleasuring their lover?...Of course, Yugi had never been the average man so…

Hun, if there's one thing a man responds to the most its seduction. I remember this one guy I liked in college and he was my roommate's cousin, so he visited the dorms often. Well, one day when my roommate informed me she was leaving on vacation for Brazil she evidently hadn't informed her cousin. So, promptly after her leave he arrived once more only to find me bare naked spread out across the sheets with a come hither look in my eyes. Oh yea, I definitely don't regret that night ;).

…Yugi sat there mortified, quickly shoving the list away into the bottom oak drawer with a heavy flush assaulting the surface of his suddenly heated skin. He may have been suffering a shortage on dignity, but that was certainly a depth he had absolutely no future plans in sinking to.

But as he felt his feet shuffling unwillingly toward his roommate's door, every piece of advice he'd absorbed in the past hour, in the past week, it all disappeared, leaving a numbing throughout his tense mind. Three words Yugi…you're a man Yugi…

…and Yami could already be yours.

With his new-found strength, he found himself easily flinging the cursed door that no longer separated him from the one thing he wanted the most.

"Yami, I-!

…Oh God…

There before him, stood what he could have sworn was a glorious, naked god. Their alluring, tan skin above rippling muscles dampened with beads of sweat and water. The water from his soaked, golden, sun-like bangs dribbling off from the tips as it slowly traveled down the man's muscular chin, accentuating his thin, sworn to God edible lips. They continued to travel down the gorgeous male's defined chest; a tight, meaty piece of pure sex. The man's abdominal muscles moved up and down at a slightly rapid pace, obviously trying to cool itself down from its hot environment. His eyes traveled to the other's firm midriff, abruptly brought back as a calloused hand tightened around the unbearably thin white towel separating Yugi's hormonal-induced gaze from the man's exceptionally naked body.

Oh my God.

With an incredible surge of adrenaline, he ripped his sinful eyes away from that equally sinful body, letting a high pitched shriek crack the heavy, awkward silence as he grappled feverishly for the door handle with suddenly sweat ridden palms as he realized just who's body his eyes had been shamelessly ogling, though molesting sounded far more accurate, like the man was a melting Hershey bar.

Ohhh, that's exactly what he was.

The loud echo of the door slamming was immediate, abruptly followed by both the continual frantic shrieks of the flustered onlooker who had in his mind, just subconsciously committed an entirely inappropriate act of voyeurism , and a few thick, low chuckles from the other end of the door. "I'm sorry," the chuckles died down, the mirth in his low, amused voice making itself apparent through the elder man's voice, "Had I known you wished to join me in my morning shower I would have asked." Yugi boiled with a mixture of utter embarrassment, disturbing arousal, and copious amounts of red rage.

"Shut up you pervert!" He squeaked, covering his flushed cheeks in an attempt to hide them. But from whom, he wasn't sure.

"Me!?" Yami's laughter howled on, only becoming louder as Yugi's mortified squeals continued.

"Hello, Domino Police Station, How may I help you?" The kind woman operating the phone line greeted, the happy jingling of her high pitched scratchy voice only serving to further the dismay of the worn out boy on the other end of the phone line. He grit his teeth in an effort to not lash out on the poor, innocent, far to fucking happy for her own good, woman. "May I please speak to Yami Sennon?" he ground out as kindly as he could, the frustration from prior circumstances clearly marring the boy's usually soft voice.

The other end was silent for a moment, before the happy chipper of the phone operator rang through once more, "Sure! Just wait one moment as we redirect the phone call to Mr. Sennon's line, thank you for your patience." The woman sang in what Yugi could only describe as the most ungodly tone of happiness at seven in the morning. Huh, they must have fired Barbie and replaced him with an equally, if not more annoying and eccentric morning person. Yay.

Somewhere in the back of his head, he reminded himself that not but a few months ago he knew exactly what it was like to wake up at 6 a.m. sharp with a smile plastered on his face, a clean, freshly showered body, and a belly full of eggs, toast, and pancakes. Yami was seriously starting to become a bad influence.

The tasteless waiting music droned on further, evoking a hushed groan and a heavy sigh from the increasingly impatient, clearly perturbed male. This was clearly one of his last resort scenarios; he'd be the first to admit anyone confessing over the phone obviously had some sort inferiority complex and found it to be an incredibly offensive method. Yami hadn't given him a choice! What was he supposed to do, wait until he was fifty!? It was either that or wait for this stupid case to be over, and he had a feeling it'd definitely be longer than twenty, thirty years before any major breakthrough was made judging by the ever more agitated mood Yami carried with him lately.

"Y'ello." The man's voice answered, causing Yugi to jump slightly from his lounging, lazy position slung over the arm of the couch as he frantically scrambled upright. This was it, what was he supposed to say!? Was it as simple as 'I love you'? Should he explain? Wait, explain what!? He couldn't even understand it!

Yugi bit his lip, taking an unsteady breath as he calmed down and willed himself to jump in for the umpteenth time. "Listen you inconsiderate, self-centered, crooked son of a bitch," He growled. Well, that was a new approach, "For the past two weeks I've been trying to get your attention but apparently you see fit to push me aside. So yes, before you ask, I am pissed. Look, I'm sorry if every other aspect of your life outshines the fact that I desire your audience for a mere 5 minutes, but you have forced me into seemingly unnecessary means because there is no way in hell I'm going to sit there pretending you're oblivious to the fact that I'm completely and entirely and absolutely in love with you! That's right, you heard me, L.O.V.E.! And I don't give one ounce of shit if you don't feel the same! Because after these two, long, torturous weeks I've finally got it off my chest and there's no way on this God-given PLANET you can pretend you've never heard the words come out of my mouth!" He practically screamed into the cell phone, panting riotously as he came down from his adrenaline-induced meltdown ever so slowly, giving both himself and Yami a minute to let the confession turned rant sink in for a moment.

"…Gee, I hate to tell ya this Yug' but I'm kinda bangin' ya sista." The dissimilar, yet far from anonymous voice responded, halfway caught between borderline shock and mischievous mirth.

Yugi's eyes widened, choking on whatever bit of saliva left in his dry mouth. "Joey!?" He cried, feeling the shame creep up to his face in the form of a large, scarlet patch of reddening skin engulf his shuddering face.

…."Wait, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH MY SISTER!?"

And with each and every attempt he was snatched from the threshold of reprieve and dropped ass-first into a pit of regret, shame, and a whooole lot of cake and ice-cream accompanied by a self piteous marathon of sappy, tedious Twilight movies. This achieved nothing but a decrease in self-esteem due to the endless nights of junk food and a new-found despise for the main female protagonist. Well, look at you just got everything laid out right in front of you, don't cha, and if that doesn't work out, you have one of the most hottest men alive to fall back on. Lucky Bitch.

Yugi took a deep breath, unfortunately, blaming a fictional, romantically confused, slutty half vampire wasn't going to solve his current predicament. However much he wished it would have. People in the movies just didn't get it. The confession itself wasn't as easy as those who looked on made it out to be. It was like telling someone to walk a tight rope from point A to point B over a flaming pit of boiling lava. 'You might die, but at least you tried! Right?' Yugi snorted, 'Yea, no thank you I think I'll just stay on my little island of regret and loneliness.'

Mana hummed silently in thought, the light turning green as she turned the steering wheel left. "Well, good thing they built the new mall a few blocks from Amone Café, I've been dying to go but what with the important things in life," She gave a theatrical sigh—to which the boy next to her rolled his eyes, "sadly I don't have time to do anything anymore." She pouted, tapping her manicured fingers against the leather cover of her steering wheel as her gaze continued to peruse the densely packed parking lot for an opening.

Yugi gave a dry laugh, "Important things?...Oh, you mean like skipping out on year –end in the office because Mahaad was taking his class to the Caribbean Islands to demonstrate the relationship between crime rate and population density?" he raised a brow, crossing his arms above his chest as he threw his female companion a look of strong disapproval.

Mana made a strange face, a strange face that with almost a year of familiarity between the two Yugi knew to be the "Are you insane?" look. Either that or it was the "Holy shit I shouldn't have eaten that taco I'm going to regret that in a few hours." look. He laughed inwardly; he was spending wayyy to much time with women. Especially women who were more interested in his love life than theirs, which, unfortunately was just about every woman he'd had the…pleasure of running into in the course of his adult years.

"Uh…" Mana began with a strangled snort, "Yea? I don't know about yours, but in my dictionary the Caribbean means beaches. One may usually associate beaches with hot, half naked, gloriously tanned men running around drenched in water and sweat—

"Yea, Mana, I got the picture." Yugi grimaced, making a face as he stared out the window. Bodies didn't really appeal to him like they did others…Well, okay, what with the whole shower fiasco that statement was certainly questionable, but Yami was different. He was the exception.

…to just about any rule Yugi Mutou ever had.

"Unfortunately, no matter how damned hard I tried he wouldn't take his shirt off!" The woman beside him whined, "Do you know what it is like to be around someone 24/7 and not be able to lay a finger on them?" Mana whined like a child, lower lip jutted out as Yugi choked on whatever bit of saliva still wandering around his arid throat.

…"No Mana, I have absolutely no idea how you feel." He growled sarcastically, His agitation from the past few weeks being further fed by his female companion's increasingly astounding stupidity. He wasn't usually like this with the woman, usually he was more relaxed; drawn back into himself as Mana was capable of far more frightening things than people thought her to be, and while he was slowly beginning to become used to the girl's antics now was not the time nor place. Honestly, he hadn't even asked for the whole fiasco, he merely came to the female's house for a boost in moral support, not a tedious tour of endless shoe stores and Victoria's Secret outlets, which he assured himself would most likely happen, disguised as a 'heartfelt' method to boost both his self-confidence and his potential lover's approval rating. Which, to be honest, Yugi scoffed to. Gay man or straight man, although Yugi had no idea which of these two Yami was, they both had one thing in common and that was obviously their gender. Males never cared what others or themselves wore, or at least the ones disproving the typical stereotype, it had always been that way and suddenly finding out you're a homosexual didn't do much to alter born-tastes. Or, rather lack thereof.

Mana made a face, obviously settling for the empty parking space that seemed almost a mile away from their desired destination, "Good, glad we're on the same page." She beamed, taking her foot off the gas pedal as she took the keys from the ignition.

Yugi groaned and let his head fall against the window one last time, honestly between Yami, Mana, himself, and Joey's over-driven sexual hormones throwing themselves in his sister's general direction he wasn't sure what was going to kill him first.

Mana rolled her eyes at her friend's poorly concealed irritation as she quickly slid out of the car, "Are you coming, or am I going to have to pick your outfit out for you?" she giggled slightly, the excitement vaguely reminding the smaller of an excited kitten eager to reach the strand of yarn hanging from its ball. However flattering this may have seemed given the implication may have been that Mana was merely eager to assist her best friend with his love life, the younger was simply unimpressed, knowing all too well as soon as they stepped foot in the multi-purpose building he would find himself suddenly alone and abandoned like an island in a sea of people in favor of Mana's over exaggerated tastes in expensive fashions.

Yugi 's eyes lit up in a mixture of both genuine delight and increasingly over used sarcasm, "Really? That was an option? Oh, then never mind, you know more about this stuff than I do anyway I'll just stay here then." He smiled, the seriousness in his voice unsurprisingly surpassing any hint of repartee.

The woman in front of him huffed, crossing her arms beneath her breasts as she narrowed her eyes clearly frustrated at the younger male before a sudden sultry smirk found its way onto her previously perturbed expression, "Okay, if you're sure. I mean you're right, it's probably for the best, wouldn't want to be a man caught in a Victoria's Secret. I heard they had some killer dresses on sale that totally scream you."

…

"So where to first?" Yugi sputtered as he quickly scrambled out of his respective car door.

Mana wore a self-gratified smirk, much to the smaller's chagrin, as the clicking of her heels against the paved walk-way began again, "Well, since the suit will probably be the hardest thing to pick out we should probably go to the tailor's before anything else," she muttered as though the mission at hand had been nothing more than second nature acting on itself—however, this was more of an observation rather than an educated guess. "Then we can get the flowers and have lunch!" The woman grinned, obviously more excited about the whole ordeal than the actual subject of the trip.

"—And then you can run off and window shop as you please?" Yugi grumbled, sending a knowing yet playful look over to his female counterpart.

Mana grinned, plopping her car keys into the handbag hanging from her shoulder as she let out an exaggerated snort, "Window shop? Sweetie, please, that phrase isn't just exiled from the dictionary of a fashionesta, it's like the forbidden books of the bible." Mana spoke matter-of-factly with a haughty grin. "See, I have this little friend who likes to hang out in my wallet in case I need him~" She sang, slipping a thin, intricate piece of plastic between both her middle and index fingers as she waved it conservatively in the air. "This baby has a way with words when mama's broke."

Yugi raised a brow, a slight giggle forcing its way out of his tightly sealed lips as he attempted to prevent laughing at the poor, quite literally he may add, woman beside him, "That baby's going to get you in a whole lot of trouble if you're not careful." He gave his two cents in a warning tone, but his companion merely shrugged, placing her credit card back into the leather confines of her self-boasted designer handbag.

"…So about that shower incident you were talking about."

"Mana, no, this really is embarrassing." Yugi whined beneath his breath as he attempted to smooth out the ruffles of the suit that constantly persisted with each move he made. Honestly, they tried the mediums but those were far too large on the boy. The smalls they'd found fit his body perfectly but the pant legs were always too short. He huffed, taking his anger out in a passive aggressive manor as ripped the baggy jacket of the suit off and threw it onto the bench of the constricted dressing room.

'How difficult could it be to find a suit your size Yugi?' 'You have a cute body, I'm sure we'll find one just right for you!' Yea right, Yugi thought sourly as he plopped down onto bench to pick up the previously abused jacket, running his fingers against the expensive fabric, I'd have better luck finding Waldo in Africa.

"Yugi, wait!" Mana panted, clearly out of breath from doing God knows what before tossing one last suit over the top of the stall. "This is the last one I could find in the smalls, you know what they say—

"Eighth time is a charm?" he chuckled, admittedly he was agitated beyond belief but stopping the inevitable when it came to circumstances involving Mana's hyperactive need to assist in 'anything for the better and good of romance!' was like stepping in front of a car and asking it to please run you over. Upon further contemplation of this strangely perfect metaphor he decided the latter sounded slightly more merciful. The death seemed much quicker and less painful.

Yugi let out a long and dreadful sigh as his betraying eyes let themselves wander to the offending piece of male formality lying limp against the carpet beneath them like a poorly tossed around ragdoll. A very expensive poorly tossed around ragdoll but according to Mana's credit card verses 'incentive' theory price tags were merely numbers to scare one away from true happiness—to which Yugi thought, 'bull', the only thing his universe required for the true happiness was a pair of comfortable sweatpants, a large bowl of vanilla ice cream along with various other sweets, and a DVR chalked full of Dr. Who re-runs.

And, maybe there was room for a gloriously half naked Yami to spoon feed him said decadents.

The troubled young-adult shook his head as he gradually began to feel a sudden tension pull at him from beneath his waist back into the reality of his situation, and not without a shameful crimson dusting itself upon his twitching cheeks. There were times, he thought, this occurrence may have been an unpleasant interruption in his everyday life, perhaps even appalling given the target of whom his hormones had been maniacally trying to reach out and grab between his thighs and never let go of was the man who'd previously made his life a living hell. But, as time went on and Yami gradually became softer day by day, yet the elder would under no circumstances admit this fact by observation, and Yugi's body began to give in to his latent sexual stages of puberty the situation had become somewhat of the norm for him. His mind was generally a lot more tainted now with the thought of Yami constantly invading it.

Surprise, surprise.

Yugi opened his eyes as his thoughts were now however, consumed with an entirely different thought, causing a smile to tug upon the lax corner of his lips. It was funny, now that he really took time to think about it…those times where Yami made fun of him and teased him back in high school seemed almost like…

"Yugi? Hello!" Mana pounded on the quaking stainless steel door separating the both of them, "I am a twenty three year old woman Yugi and I can change faster than you, hustle it you slug!" she hissed in a way that remarkably Yugi thought may have resembled somewhat of a choking snake, but nevertheless covering up a hint of amusement and eccentricity.

Yugi rolled his eyes before quickly diving for the silken suit, as while Mana may have been one of the most considerable forces of stress and anxiety humanity could ever rival with he did respect her wishes and well intentions.

He glanced at the price tag as he lifted it from the ground.

And the fact that her credit card company still had the nerve to cover the woman.

His gaze traveled down to the neck of the small tux. The way it hung loosely like Yami's had after a long day of work when he'd plop down onto the couch exhausted like he'd just ran an errand from hell and back. The way he'd gaze up at the smaller boy tiredly as he continuously scolded the other for working himself dry night after night and chuckle like despite the shit of a day he'd endured looking up and seeing Yugi's face just made every drop of blood sweat and tears worth it…The cuffs of the jacket were rolled up slightly and pinned in a specific fashion; the way Yami wore them before a rare occurrence of him taking up Yugi's usual role of cleaning up after the both of them to do the dishes. The way Yugi would put his hands onto his hips and huff indifferently as he observed the man from behind, letting his thoughts wander to the less intelligent parts of his mind. The purple tie dangling from the white silk under shirt beneath the tuxedo sparkled and shined, reminding him vaguely of the twinkle the usually lingered in the elder man's eyes when Yugi was in his presence…

Yugi…how could he not realize all those times…what he felt between them now had been there all along…

He vaguely registered it as his body commenced into autopilot, stripping his body of clothes as he handled the new ones with gentle care, letting his thought process consume him during the entire dressing session. It wasn't an odd occurrence that his thoughts tended to evade him in favor of his former boss.

He just wished he'd be able to speak them.

"Yugi, darling, you look absolutely delicious!" Mana squealed, abruptly derailing the male's train of thought at the intruding female voice that had yet to give him an ounce of peace throughout the entire day. Yugi gave an equally flamboyant yelp before his head snapped over to the overly eccentric woman praising herself for her incredible tastes.

"Mana! You don't just barge in like that; I could have still been getting dressed!" He growled, cheeks once again sporting a crisp apple red as he held his arms in front of himself defensively.

His female companion rolled her eyes, releasing a silent groan of disapproval, "Oh sweetie, pipe down will you? We're all girls in here." She muttered, plucking the forgotten suit from earlier off the bench as her hands made haste at hanging them back up neatly on the fancy metal hangers. To this, Yugi gave the other a warning look. Mana knowing he was gay and the role he usually played in said relationships was bound to bring him a few playful slurs, and he had come to terms with this fact before he even thought to confirm the other's suspicions of his sexuality. However, Yugi knew the other was merely joking and let it slip past his defenses.

She glanced over at his irritated expression, sighing as she slipped the hanger onto the silver hook above the dressing room door, "Jeez," she began dramatically as she gave a few careful pats on the expensive fabric to smooth it out once more, "It's a good thing we're doing this. With any luck things will go good tonight and you'll finally get laid." She giggled in such a manner that sent shivers of something resembling terror down Yugi's spine. Or it was just the words reawakening his previously ridden arousal. Either one really.

Yugi scowled to cover up the flustered look that over took his features, turning his head sharply allowing his tousled bangs to hide the evidence of mental indecency that still clung to his cheeks. "I'm not doing this to get…laid." He clarified, clearing his throat as he tried to get a hold of himself once more. Though, yet again, to say he was surprised the direction their topic had quickly taken would definitely be false. Somehow it seemed any practical conversation that circulated between the two, or rather, everyone in Yami's team, it had seemed to take a turn for the worse and somehow sex was suddenly involved. Kyeh, now that he thought about it the jokes seemed to take less and less of an effect on his level of discomfort the more he was exposed.

"Relationships aren't all about sex, and if hypothetically tonight does work out—

"When it does, Yugi." His friend corrected carefully, crossing her arms beneath her bosom as she stared down at herself proclaimed BFF. "I cannot believe you! First rule about confessions! Always be confident in the cause!" she flicked a piece of hair out of her face as Yugi continued to stare blankly at the woman, by now just learning to tune her obnoxious pep talks out.

—I don't plan on jumping the man on our first night as an item. I want at least three dates before the topic even comes up." He finished, continuing to struggle with the damned tie that vaguely in his eyes resembled a tight, venomous boa constrictor.

Mana eyes developed a slightly sinister glint, with a smile that, according to Yugi's incredible knowledge of the female dictionary conveyed something of a 'you go, baby!' sort of expression. "Subscribing to the three date principle? I like it." She added sassily, however letting a snort of her nostrils once she looked back at her companion only to witness his pathetic attempts at fastening the tie around the collar of his suit.

"Sweetie, here, let me." She chuckled, walking over to the poor boy who upon hearing this overly welcomed interruption had since ceased his fruitless efforts to allow the Egyptian woman a go. The only thing ties were good for was taking them off. And that's only when Yami was taking them off.

"What are you going to do with yourself, sweetie?" she repeated the endearment in a mocking tone as she as if by second nature performed the irritating task for her friend. Yugi looked away, muttering a few nasty comments but reluctantly staying still until the task was completed.

Yugi's eyes wandered to the mirror absentmindedly as the woman continued her work, but everything around him seemed to disappear. What was he doing?...He looked like a penguin, what with the color combination of the suit and his small complexion that was. His hair was messy; not nearly groomed enough to have any real qualities of sophistication the suit required to look, well, decent. His eyes seemed more grey than the usually calm amethyst they held and had bags beneath them that marred his angelic features. When putting himself beside Yami in his head he had without a shadow of a doubt been sure that the man beside him would've looked ten times better in the exact same suit, his body filling in the tux in such a way the fabric would cling to him in all the right places. On Yugi however, none of his usual curves shown through the articles and sank beneath the heavy weight of the extra fabric. He never had any qualms with being a generally smaller man throughout his life before, because let's face it, in high school he had much more vicious slurs directed at him and being 'tiny' was certainly not one the one that sent him crying home to his grandfather. He did find that upon exiting high school over the next few years his muscles had seemed to emerge in a subtle fashion, giving him a lesser effect of femininity and childish youth, but he was by no means up to Yami or Kaiba's league.

He smiled slightly. And somehow, none of this really mattered to him.

"Yugi!" Mana interrupted with a slight squeal, tearing the other man's attention from his reflection and back to his female friend, however he immediately regretted this as soon as he felt a sudden pinch grip his yet again reddening cheeks. "Yugi! You handsome devil." She giggled, releasing his cheek before patting his petite chest, "Yami's going to be all over you," and much to Yugi's embarrassment, released a slow and sensual whistle causing the smaller's body to tense slightly at the thought of that same exact whistle coming from Yami's approval.

Yugi shook his head yet again to put a lid on his over insistent hormones affecting him in far too many ways than he would've liked. His blush darkened as he glanced down at his ensemble, to which he found nothing extraordinary, but after careful consideration that Mana was in fact an expert at both men's and women's fashion he decided against demeaning himself further. "You really think…?" He questioned softly yet curiously.

Mana rolled her eyes once more at Yugi's sudden display of pathological shyness, even if he hadn't really wanted to admit it, when it came to matters involving a certain crimson eyed detective the man was just about as put together as a teenage girl groveling after a broken crush. "Definitely," the woman nodded vigorously before s slow and suggestive smirk replaced her friendly, reassuringly soft smile. "In fact, I think if you really want to stick to the whole sex can wait thing I'd probably be careful around that horny little beast. He's just going to want to eat you up~" she giggled, to which Yugi turned a horrified shade of red.

"Can we please just get this thing so I can change?" he muttered as he grit his teeth together and pulled at the collar of the suit in order to allow himself more room to breathe. Honestly, this thing felt like more of a death trap than a tool for seduction. Now he knew how women felt.

His female shopping partner sighed in an over dramatic, exasperated manner with a slight pout on her face that Yugi had to strongly resist the urge of sticking his own tongue out at. "Fiiiineee, you are just no fun." She grumbled, nevertheless throwing the towel in after which Yugi mentally rejoiced as he immediately began practically tearing the tight pieces of barbaric fabric from his limbs, not even giving heed to the apparent fact his ex-coworker was very much still in the same room. He hardly cared, this suit was for one purpose and one purpose only, and that was to look halfway decent and kept together when he presented his feelings to his, hopefully, to be lover. That way, when things went terribly wrong and he had absolutely no pride left at least his appearance may have shown a kept shred of dignity. Or, maybe it was the fact he simply wished to appear desirable in front of the man he himself desired. Honestly, at that point, he wasn't even sure why he was doing this.

"Change out of that while I go pay, okay sweetie?" her expression softened, obviously noticing the pale shade of which the boy's nervous complexion revealed. Along with the fact that he was practically shaking and his expression resembled somewhat of a cat about to be thrown into a tub of soapy water. She put her hand carefully on the side of his cheek to which Yugi quickly snapped out of his previous nervous inner ramblings before feeling the other's soft lips touch his forehead in a motherly caress. "You are going to be just fine love, alright?" her voice lowered to an almost whisper. A voice so soft and tender one could say it might be reserved for a precious only son or grandchild. Yugi closed his eyes as he felt his friend's calm aura pulse through him and gently cradle his heart, It was times like these he remembered why most of his friends were women.

"How can you be so sure…" his voice cracked, overflowing with emotion he hadn't even known had ever been there. Not this much. Not just for Yami.

Mana made a small noise in the back of her throat, a noise somewhat resembling a dry chuckle or an amused sigh before resting her chin on top of the shaken male's head and wrapping her feminine arms around his shoulders to pull him close into her chest in further acts of comfort. "How can I not? You're the only thing he talks about at work you know…" she giggled in a slightly louder register but for the most part the air around them was completely silent and thoughtful. It was something Yugi needed far more than he thought; given that for the past few weeks his time had been spent in nothing but silence. This silence was different though…

Yugi gave a slight huff after a few moments of consideration, "Like what, my habit of stuffing my face with ice cream or how much of a dapper I put on his immature antics?" He muttered into her chest, sinking further in as he felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment at the thought. Never in his life had he considered his own flaws being anything close to Yami's…but there was no use in running from it now. Both of them. They were so different, but at the same time…

They were more alike than they knew.

"Oh honey…" her voice became lower than before, if that was even possible, before slowly letting her grip on the other boy loosen, "I don't think you understand. He's been talking about you way before you came back to Domino."

Yugi's eyes shot open, his mind becoming incredibly numb but before he could even question his female companion her comforting arms had disappeared and the security that her soft chest cradling his head provided had been pulled out from under him like a rug and he felt a wave of shock hit his body like a tsunami.

"Wha—

"Well," Mana began again, hastily and suspiciously forgetting the conversation at hand all together before plucking the tag off of the suit currently halfway on the shell-shocked boy behind her. "I'm going to go pay for this. You get changed real quick so we can get those flowers." She chanted in a faintly suggestive manner; magically back to her old, giddy self as he practically skipped out of the dressing room as if she were the one in love. Yugi however, was only vaguely aware of her exit before he snapped out of his little trance, left with more questions than answers as usual…

The exhausted, worn out male quickly returned back to his old, irritated state as he glanced down at the loose purple tie hanging loosely above his fingertips, intertwined between the gaps like liquid violet sinking through the cracks of his fingers. Its fine threads formed tightly together as though they were nonexistent in the product of this gradient like fabric. The glimmer was glossy and intense enough to blind a man if put in the right position or angled like so for the sun's reflection to assist it in its gleam. It felt silky to the touch, like if at any time the fabric might merely dissipate into a frothy liquid and drip to the ground, yet it was solid enough to look as though the thread had been crafted from the jewels of amethyst itself. Now that the smaller thought about it, however constrictive, and bitchy, and absolutely undesirable the article was, it was still a very nice tie. It could still be worn like any other, and maybe it was a good thing it held so tightly to ones neck. Otherwise it might fall off, right? It might fall off and disappear, never to be seen again, and if the price for making sure the expensive piece of clothing was safely kept maybe its flaws could be looked past.

Wary, uncertain amethyst eyes wandered up to their own reflection, noting the similarities his own eyes held with this…newly appreciated article of clothing.

Perhaps…this is what Yami saw when he looked at Yugi…

He held his head as it tipped down, lips trembling as emotion continued to bursts throughout his body, practically tearing him apart. Maybe this was what he saw when he looked at Yami…

After a few moments, considering the boy had to sit down for a moment and let his body become less tense before he even tried to do anything requiring movement, he finally rid himself of the suit quickly, stuffing it untidily into his arms without even bothering to hang it back up as he saw no need to. He quickly walked over to Mana whom he found leaning against the marble counter thoroughly observing her nails in an obviously bored fashion meant to make the other guilty for taking so long. However this tactic the boy was immune to by now. Especially when it was Mana.

"Alright. Did you pay for it?" Yugi muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes at the elder female's antics. Honestly, if he had a nickel for every time the obnoxious woman grated on his nerves he would've bought the suit himself.

Mana looked up from picking at her manicured nails, neglecting to answer Yugi's question once again as she stared simply at the white wall submerged in posters of very spiffy, expensively dressed males. "Yugi, why does it take you so long to change?" she wondered aloud in a seemingly innocent voice, however these words merely caused the smaller to simply roll his eyes and take that as a 'yes' before grabbing one of the department store's paper bags to shove the what he had assumed was a paid for suit.

"I mean, honestly, it takes Joey less time when he's in office bathrooms after having burger world, and believe me, one time the whole forensics' department was lined up outside." She hummed matter-of-factly. Yugi almost physically gagged as he tightly gripped the bag in his hand, making a quick mental note to store that in the please forget you ever heard this and another reason I sincerely wish I never met you department of his already heavily trafficked brain. He peeked over nervously at the group of workers and customers alike glancing over at them, some with disgusted expressions and even fewer with slightly amused looks. He groaned silently and snatched the hand previously being ogled by her wandering eyes, "Come on sweetie, let's not disturb the peace." He grumbled mockingly as he dragged the other out into the open field of the mall.

Mana laughed, throwing her head back, previous testy attitude long forgotten as she was dragged loosely out of the male's department store, "Oh, sweetie, don't even try, it only works with me~" she giggled, catching up with her male companion grinning playfully. At this, Yugi rolled his eyes, a slow smile creeping up on his face before he stuck his tongue out at the other.

He couldn't believe it, but everything he had gone through that day had made him happy. Even if he had still been a bit shaken. And he meant everything. Every thought about Yami, Mana, his friends. He was home…regardless of how this confession went, this place beside the ones he loved was his. That's when another realization hit him.

Looking back on that very first day he'd met Yami, Mana, Joey, Tristan, Marik…he'd changed so much. That dorky, awkward boy from high school seemed to disappear into the distance the further he bravely and blindly followed these new people in his life. It was change. It was good…

Yami chuckled, "Still as feisty as ever I see." Yugi swiveled around, utterly peeved at Yami's bi-polar reactions and his secretive motives. At any moment Yugi was going to walk up to him, rip the gun from his hands and shoot the man point blank. The only thing holding him back was the alluring smile painted on the other's face; it was still as tempting as ever.'What if I smack that smile right off his face?'Yugi thought mischievously.

Instead of grabbing Yami and throwing him into the nearest body of water, he simply walked forward, complying with Yami's insistence. Though, not without extending his elbow to impale Yami's gut on the way in. Sweet Satisfaction. That's exactly the blissful feeling that swam over his body as he glanced at the man holding the door, now slightly bending over with a grunt. Contrary to popular belief, violence solved everything, at least when it came to Yugi Motou's arrogant idiot of a boss.

"No!" Yugi shouted, he didn't care if everyone in the office was staring at him, he had absolutely all he could take, if he had to listen to one more of Joey's unbelievably lame jokes he was going to grab someone and choke them, preferably Joey. "Just—let's get out of here." He growled, walking straight past a smirking Yami and toward the long missed door that would lead him to the most heavenly place on earth; anywhere but here.

"Yea! You haven't gotten a word out yet alright! I believe the last time you even bothered to talk to me was when you dropped me off at my apartment last week!" Yugi blushed at the memory, when Yami had compared him to a porcupine, he honestly thought that maybe Yami had finally grown up…of course, there were a lot of these moments, but it seemed that Yami had always failed his expectations every god damned time.

…Yea…

"Yo! Hello!?" Mana's piercing voice drew him from his own nostalgic thoughts practically slicing through him like the newly sharpened edge of a blade. Of course, this wasn't just because he had been in a deep place of thought; the female's voice had simply always been that way.

"Sorry…I was thinking…" he muttered beneath his breath, looking up at the mall ceiling in hopes of being able to sink back into his own thoughts by staring at the colorful array of large origami creatures hanging from the skyline windows. Unfortunately, he had no such luck.

His ex-coworker released an unimpressed guffaw at her friend's usual antics, "You sure do that a lot. You know, I'm actually starting to think you're ignoring me." She hummed in disapproval as her eyes to had wandered, but not to the places Yugi's own had latched onto, as her interests were far more expensive.

Yugi let out a strangled laugh, "Hm. Yes. Imagine that." He muttered, but his attention was quickly stolen from the pretentious woman's actions as they crossed the exit of the mall, a seemingly homemade sign splashed in groups of harmonious pastel shades that gave one an impression of feminism and a sort of gentle touch that hung atop the upper lip of the opening. Yugi had assumed this was meant to be their destination as the sign quite obviously read 'Mname's Flower Field.' But as he turned back to catch the female's interest once more her own was on something much grander than a cozy, modest outdoor flower nursery.

"Oh…My God…" The Egyptian beside him squealed, her eyes suddenly resembling that of a 5 year old child's when they saw something pretty or shiny. Yugi felt a growing pit of despair settle itself in his stomach, whenever Mana started any sentence ever with 'Oh my God' It usually was not followed up by good news. 'Oh my God, Yugi, sweetie, your fashion sense is so broken' 'Oh my God, you are totally going to be my bridesmaid when Mahaad and I get married!' 'Oh my God, you see those shorts!? Oh they would look so cute on you!' As it stood now, the man would've rather run as fast as he could as soon as hearing those words come out of her loose mouth, but it seemed his feet were far slower than the rate at which the woman seemed to create words. "It's so gorgeous!" she wailed, practically throwing herself upon the store's glass windows of which displayed a full collection of quite fearsome looking armed technology. Yugi took a deep breath through his nostrils. Oh yea, he forgot to tell you didn't he?

Mana had quite the fetish for artillery.

Now, given this hadn't really come to a surprise to him seeing as prior to finding this little fact out he was already aware that Mana had been taking both an Armed Conflicts class and the secondary course for Guns and Amo 101, of which was taught by the infamously sexy Mahaad, so the fact that she had interest in this gorgeous outlet was not really much of anything to worry about. Well, okay, that was a lie. What with the way the strange girl would constantly stroke her gun on the days during his job he was half frightened she might crack and start pumping everyone in the office full of lead and half worried the woman might do so to herself. However, upon weeks of becoming used to her strange interest in weaponry he got past his little drama scenario attack.

"Yuuuugiii" she whined, practically scratching the glass with her nails like a kitten against the store windows, her yearning gaze aimed at the variety of weaponry laying out in a perfect, harmonious display. "I have to have one of these! Please! Just one!" she cried, clinging to the glass yet again as Yugi could've sworn he saw a tiny amount of drool escape her pursed lips.

Said man simply shook his head. He'd seen Mana in action during the course of his old job, thank you, he did not need to relive the woman's reaction around artillery when that was clearly one of the only perks of being off the job he reaped. "Uh uh, I am NOT going in that room with you." He could've sworn he felt a shiver run down his spine as he glanced inside, the store had been dimly lit and the walls painted black, grey, and green for the full effect of some war-zoned area. No way in hell.

His nearly purring friend's face fell, but she quickly mended this as she made a mad dash for the faintly lit door, "Okay, suit yourself!" she practically sang as she skipped into the outlet with happiness that Yugi couldn't even begin to fathom one might have experienced walking into a store full of dangerous weapons and collectibles. He honestly wished he could say his jaw had dropped and he felt abandoned, and maybe even slightly betrayed, but unfortunately the only thing he felt was the vibration of the slamming glass door behind her and an irritancy one might rival with the gods.

Yea, good luck explaining to your credit card company why you couldn't pay off your bill.

With that thought, a final sigh, and an oddly more cheerful inner aura he proceeded over to the flower shop. At least flowers weren't going to cost him half a thousand dollars to purchase, so he wouldn't really need Mana for this one anyway. Besides, knowing his obnoxious ex-coworker she'd probably be picking the flowers out for him. Then again, it wasn't like he was going to be doing anything special on an outrageous scale, his simple plan, romantic or not, had basically been to buy a dozen roses. It seemed unoriginal and dull, but Yugi wasn't exactly the romantic type, and the only movies he'd usually ever watched with such connotations had only been a handful. Just because he was gay didn't mean he sat around on his ass all day watching soap operas and chick flicks.

However, he would give up the fact that lately what with his depression of which he'd just shaken off that day the amount of sappy movies and self hate they created were certainly on the rise.

"Welcome to Mname's Field of Flowers sir, might I interest you in a flyer? We're having a June sale this summer." The woman at the automatic door outside smiled, practically slapping the man as soon as he felt the fresh, warm air hit his face with a bundle of matching pastel survey forms and info letters. The poor boy had to bite his lip to keep from snapping at the poor lady merely doing her job as he shook his head vigorously and quickly sidestepped the insistent saleswoman, waving his hands in a 'do not want' fashion as he hoped she'd get the picture. Eventually she left him alone when another patron walked in behind him, giving her a new batch of customers to inconvenience. Another thing he disliked about malls. He wasn't very fond of anyone in the sales department.

Upon further, up close observation the annual store did not seem too shabby. The colors along with fragrances were both vivacious, loud, and yet oddly calming as a breeze rushed past the outdoor outlet, tousling the flowers as though they were colorful strands of vibrant hairs. The atmosphere seemed to have caught this disease as well, the air around him surprisingly calming his very soul down as much as his previous musings had. No Mana. No suits. No stress. He could already tell this little errand was going to be quite enjoyable, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to savor every moment of it before Mana came stumbling back in with her new vicious collection of quite terrifying weaponry and frightened the general populace.

He ran his fingers across the heads of the flowers below, allowing the silky feel of the wild plants to sooth him further as his heart fluttered slightly at the soft caress of the cool petals against his heated skin. He closed his eyes as he let the silky tresses of his hair caress his cheeks as yet another breeze rolled by causing him to smile gently at the peace of which the air brought him. Lately although he'd had plenty of alone time, none of it was quite so peaceful and warming as it had been at that point. Honestly, there was only one another place he'd rather be in right then and there…-

"Yugi Mutou?" A mature female voice pulled him out of his musings. Well, so much for that.

The serine male's eyes were quickly stolen from the sight of the various products of the nurturing mother nature and brought upon the body of a foreign figure he'd never had the pleasure of meeting before, he didn't believe. He almost laughed before further taking in the woman's appearances, that was another thing that changed. He was always quite adamant on avoiding new acquaintances unless it was absolutely required of him in either some form of job related situation or legal. He had no desire to let other people in, as it were, the people currently in his heart, while their condition had been being his coworkers, were certainly no acceptation to this rule but despite this seemed to force their way in and now it seemed he wasn't quite as…sensitive.

The inferably adult female seemed to have a professional air about her, especially the formal way in which she spoke his name, not even he did that unless he was addressing one of his teachers or bosses. Well, okay, save Yami but that wasn't exactly headline news. This was not to mention the fact that her thin lips seemed to settle into a natural frown as if she'd been born dull and serious, certainly not aided by the fact she wore dark shades that masked the inner soul's true emotion. Her skin had been tanned from what he guessed genetics and family history, however from her accent he was easily able to determine the other had an Egyptian ethnicity, and being around Mana and Marik on a practically daily basis this was not a hard conclusion to come to.

His lips parted slightly in curiosity as he continued observing the quite inflexible looking stranger. "I'm sorry," he paused, taking time to look back up at the other's face out of his old respectful habits, "Have we met?" His voice however did not hold the same curiosity as his expressions, as the other half of him was actually not surprised at all, it seemed having such close ties to the station and it's workers certainly set him up for new strangers to meet and decide he didn't like at all. Yep, that pretty much summed it up.

Her face had practically cracked at that very moment, like the shell of her outer grim stature had shattered outward to reveal a more kind and gentle aura. "Ishizu Ishtar," she formally introduced herself, holding her hand out as an invitation for the other to disclose and proceed with their one-sidedly awkward confrontation. Yugi gladly shook it, feeling a slight twinge of comfort in the fact that some things never change, "I work at the station." She nodded slightly, quickly taking her hand from the others as if she'd in actuality been a military rather than police officer. However, this was to be expected as military experience was something to be desired in respective departments of their field.

The shorter acquaintance nodded curtly, taking his hand back in a more smooth manner that after about a year with Yami he'd picked up on. He had to remember, there was a time where he'd been just like this Ishizu Ishtar woman.

"Oh...Well I guess you know my name already then," he offered a slight smile to the Egyptian officer, "how exactly is that, actually?" he asked in a more interested yet slightly cautious manner. He had to admit their circumstances were meeting were…suspicious, even though the taller seemed like the perfect embodiment of what an officer ought to be, but he had to be sure he wouldn't be disclosing information to some sort of stalker or dare he say it a nosy reporter trying to divulge information from him about the case—which would be a very stupid thing to do as Yami hadn't even trusted him with any bit of info, and that was saying a lot as he was their sole witness.

The woman to the front of him chuckled, adjusting her sunglasses before putting opening the left flap of her coat to reveal a genuine golden patch as if subconsciously receiving Yugi's slightly doubtful uncertainties.

"How can I not? Everyone at the station knows you, Yugi." The woman said in such a delightful tone the boy could've almost said it hadn't fit her previous and lingering bleak aura, however with the professional looking sun glasses sitting atop her nose he couldn't really take a fair shake.

"Me?"...the boy repeated this time legitimately bemused at both the direction of the conversation and the reason for the woman's appearance in the first place.

The woman nodded, slightly entertained at the younger's bewilderment, "Ever since that whole attempted murder incident you've been the talk of the station." She paused, looking the smaller up and down as if inspecting him as he'd done to the female countless times during the conversation, "That, and you're all Mr. Sennon seems to talk about." The officer chuckled in a manner that reminded the male of a slightly amused mother doting over their son's romantic life. "It is quite adorable."

The small boy stiffened slightly, feeling the face of his palms begin to sweat immediately upon eye contact, shifting his own eyes to anywhere but at the Egyptian woman. Heh, no wonder people always inquired as to whether both he and his ex-boss had been an 'item'. Had he always been this flustered at the mention of the elder in such a light?

"So I'm told…" He continued to tred carefully, this time not for reasons of suspicion but as he found out earlier that day bringing up Yami had brought some unwanted pre-confession jitters into light that he struggled fervently to suffocate until the time came. Unfortunately, this mystery woman was not helping with this blatant fact but he would have to keep his hormones in check around this new acquaintance. "and…how exactly do you know him?"

Ishizu smiled gently at the boy's ineffectual attempts to smother the increasingly darkening blush spreading across his cheeks, "Ah, I am from the Forensics Department, therefore we often work together during certain cases as far as conveying information relevant to each case goes." She offered a reassuring smile, attempting to keep the conversation professional, much to Yugi's undying gratitude.

"I see…like, the mystery killings?" he nodded slightly, mind now completely submersed in a new batch of thoughts at the new subject. Yugi had been asking the elder a plethora of questions about the case ever since they became roommates but the other seemed far too reluctant to talk about it, never actually revealing anything about the case. To which, Yugi would admit he was slightly miffed about, he was the one who got stuck with a knife, he deserved to know more than anyone what was going on in terms of progress.

The officer in front of him, however, did not share his curiosity or enthusiasm, opting for a more wary and quite uncomfortable impression as she herself noticeably flinched at the topic, "Ah…" she began, releasing a light chuckle, but nevertheless it was not one of humor, "You must mean the 'Mad Man' case." She nodded, stepping forward to stand beside the curious boy now beside her as she opted to gently finger the silky flowers behind them, "Yes, well, unfortunately the case has gotten quite cold as of late. There haven't been many killings lately so the department is considering letting it go." She smiled sadly, plucking a dry, shriveled peddle from one of the more withering roses, "Well, our department anyway. Mr. Kaiba's department is still holding fast."

Yugi's calm expression contorted somewhat into something resembling frustration or slight resentment at this new piece of information. Oh, yes, he had plenty of reasons to be angry, alright. In the first place, this was more than likely the answer to his question he'd been pestering Yami about before that little…bathroom incident. It was difficult to understand how the different departments of a police station worked, but working there for about half a year or more Yugi knew a few things and one of them was that the different departments were meant to work together. If one department had a fallout with the rest and decided to become stubborn and lazy the rest of them would suffer, forcing them to work into overtime in efforts to compensate for the lack of work force behind any given case. Now, if what this Ishizu woman was implying was indeed how it seemed, Kaiba's department was alone in this, certainly explaining why the other man looked like he hadn't eaten or slept in weeks upon arrival home. This wasn't to mention the fact that the creep was still out there and they were just…letting this woman get away with it. What if she went after Mai? Or Ethan? Or Yami? What if she went after more people? Just because a killer stopped didn't mean they were hunky-dory and people could move on.

Yugi clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, surely this officer didn't agree…she seemed like a reasonable person…But before he could open his mouth her smile was plastered back on as if a change of heart had occurred unknowingly to the anger-induced male.

"Do not worry, little one, I can reassure you while under my department it is necessary I keep to my given tasks I make sure Mr. Sennon takes time out of his schedule to take care of the bare necessities." She offered a more gentle, kind smile, seemingly relieved to be off the subject matter, no doubt the stress it caused the entire station.

At this Yugi let his rage slowly deflate. At least he was aware that while Kaiba probably didn't give two shits if he was working his employees to death this officer went out of her way to at least make up for the little things his love was simply forgetting to take care of.

Subconsciously he released a dry laugh, ignoring the inquisitive look plastered on the Egyptian's face at his strange reaction. He remembered a time where he more than likely would've been in Yami's place during high school, and he in Yugi's. Well, perhaps not as caring and careful as the smaller would've been on the subject, but nevertheless it seemed roles had reversed. Now he could somewhat understand the other's reasoning for simply refusing to let the former workaholic even lay eyes on any sort of form or file, for if he had he probably wouldn't have slept until the job was done. He knew this, because at that exact point in time he would've done the very same to Yami if it would've prevented the current happenings of his work habits.

The tanned woman quietly cleared her throat, though a small interruption in the force of his own thoughts, it was enough to bring him out of his inner sanctum to notice the female had become quite uncomfortable with the awkward air that now seemingly lingered after their previous discussion. The smaller faintly smiled, silently reassuring the other he was alright for the most part.

Taking the hint, the officer nodded, glancing down at the men's department store bag hanging all the way down to the male's hip questioningly before her lips parted slightly in an almost dawning manner, "Ah, are you preparing for the Corporate Ball this summer?" her tone held a slight, almost undetected hint of giddiness that again he would say did not match the Egyptian, but as far as he could tell, she did not seem to be as cold and distant as his first impression instinctively informed him.

Yugi tilted his head slightly, lips twisted awkwardly in curiosity, "Corporate Ball?" he repeated.

The woman looked slightly shocked, her own head tilting in an expression equally questioning as the male's. "Yami hasn't told you?"

At this, Yugi forced down an inevitable snort of amusement—though some might say un-amusement. 'Yami hasn't told you', when did Yami ever tell him anything? Though the fact used to infuriate him the first, what, 9, 10 months of their…whatever the hell they'd managed to maintain between them, he simply learned to let the elder do what he wished and get along with his own business. Yami was a big boy, he knew what he was doing...for the most part.

Yugi shook his head with somewhat of a smile still lingering on his lips at the thought, "I'm afraid I've never heard of a…Corporate Ball before."

Ishizu smiled in understanding, "It's simply a formal celebration to reward the employees for the hard work they've put in for the year. There are costume contests, Employee Of The Month awards, and ballroom dancing. It's pretty much like a Mardi Gras celebration only a little bit more down scale I suppose." She explained, still fingering the dead petal as a few more pieces constantly flaked off, "It doesn't surprise me however that Yami hasn't told you this," she looked up from the petal and offered a slightly sympathetic smile, "I'm sure what with the work he's been buried in he's probably planning on skipping out in favor of the case." Her smile immediately dropped, looking almost sour with a certain disposition that made the smaller both uncomfortable and equally considerate.

Yugi flinched slightly at the sudden change of aura, immediately feeling her previous cold and piercing impression effect his body language. There was obviously some tension in the office about this subject. He made a mental note to ask Yami about it later and promptly made another one telling himself to be prepared for Yami to spout some ridiculous bull crap and try to change the subject by complimenting his ass. Heh, what do you know, maybe this confession wouldn't be so hard after all, they did resemble somewhat of a married couple, though one seemed to be much more childish than the other, which Yugi would immediately tell you was certainly not himself.

The smaller nodded in silent agreement, "Yami probably wouldn't let me go anyway, he doesn't even know I'm out right now," He chuckled somewhat, inwardly thanking the gods that Mana was a master at lying, or, as she liked to call it, 'tactful persuasion'.

The Egyptian woman chuckled, though while the thick atmosphere was ever present, it was quickly smothered by her sudden ease, "You must forgive his…over protective tendencies…" she gave a light smile, though it was short lived as she looked back down at the petal in her hands that dangerously threatened to be carried away with the increasingly evident, rapid winds, "If you had been a cop for the amount of time Yami and I have, and seen the things we have seen, you might find yourself wary at times as well." Her voice had lowered into a whisper, clutching the petal in her hands tightly as if it were a secret she wished not to blow away and find another, before swiftly crushing it in her hands and letting the dried out, lifeless pieces rain down onto the concrete below them. "Sometimes, you'll find that experience can whether a person down until they're withered and nothing is left." She smiled gently, looking back up at the boy gazing at her inquisitively with slight wonder in somewhat of a lingering trance, "Yami is more delicate than you think."

Yet another long, uncomfortable silence settled between the two, Ishizu now sitting down on the solid brick barriers that separated the dirt and flowers from concrete and Yugi…well…

He was so sure he was going to fall over at that very moment and join her. Yami...delicate…impossible…

…right?

The shade-wearing officer crossed her legs as a smile slowly returned to her features once more, "Anyway, I'm sure Yami would not mind your coming. It is a party full of cops." She chuckled faintly.

Yugi swallowed, still feeling his throat continue to choke down any supply of air that that requested to be released, finding himself choking on the very substance he needed at the current moment if he didn't want to pass out from air loss, "I suppose…I'll think about it…"

Upon noticing the smaller's discomfort, the woman decided quickly for a change in topic, "So, if that is not why you're here, who are the flowers for?" She inquired in a most devious expression that Yugi could've almost sworn to God was Mana if he had not been looking directly at the officer herself. Considering his history with Egyptian friends and acquaintances he was beginning to wonder if all their people were this…eccentric.

"Who…what?" The boy quickly snapped out of whatever trance he'd been consumed by, noting the quite obvious expression of amusement written all over his female friend's features.

Ishizu released an amused chuckle, crossing her arms beneath her bosoms as she raised a single, thin, regal looking eyebrow at the now flustered mess of a man before her, "Well, you don't see too many men perusing the flower store for no reason." She hummed, quickly plucking a rose from the garden before gently brushing it across her face as if it were the feather of an angel's wings, letting the soft petals caress her caramel like skin as her eyelids fluttered shut, rendering her body into an almost comatose-like state. Her voice grew softer, "Finding one in a rose garden is especially…peculiar…" she finished, the last of her words riddled in a slight yet controlled suggestive tone.

Yugi's face lit up at the suggestion, however correct it might be, as he was caught red handed in his attempts to…woo the elder. Though, wooing did not seem like the correct word, he simply saw it as attempts at communication gone wrong by Mana's mischievous hands. Damn, now that he thought about it, it would be pretty disappointing if Yami turned him down; a five hundred dollar suit a couple of beautiful, wasted flowers down the drain. However, Mana seemed to have a certain confidence in her plan that the smaller lacked, most likely because simply throwing him in fancy suit and tie with a bunch of cliché roses was not going to help the fact he would still have to face the other and tell him the three most important words he will ever say in his life ever.

"I'm sure Yami will love whatever you pick," the tanned woman offered the smaller the same reassuring look he had done for her earlier, to which he merely responded with a nervous look, a look that told all of a boy caught in the act. He smiled, rubbing the back of his head slightly as he turned to look back at the beautiful garden as he had done so before the officer's interruption long ago, "That obvious, huh." It was not a question, to either of their ears.

The woman gave a small laugh, "I'm sure Yami will love whatever you pick, as long as it comes from the heart." She nodded gently, motioning to the various amounts of flower gardens and store-bought bouquets alike surrounding them. To this, the boy sighed, taking a seat next to the elder on the brick wall.

"Well, I was just going to get him roses…"he muttered silently, reaching down to a rose of his own as he caressed the area where stem met flower. He closed his eyes, it was actually quite relaxing here. "I mean…roses are supposed to represent love and passion, right?" he hummed softly, wincing when he felt the thorn prick his skin as his finger delved too far into the thick, barbed stem of the supposed flower of 'love'.

Ishizu chuckled softly, gently laying the rose she had previously plucked from the dirt back into the box structured garden to lay it amongst the rest of its companions. "Perhaps, but love is not always so simple." She smiled simply, uncrossing her long, feminine legs before lifting herself up from the brick wall to face the smaller completely, "I get the feeling however that the type of…feeling would like to convey are actually much stronger than what a rose represents."

Yugi shook his head, not really understanding at all where this was going, and why the other was suddenly being so kind to him in the first place. She seemed extremely…bouncy, for lack of a better word; she certainly didn't stay on one emotion for too long. "Stronger…?"

The woman simply nodded in understanding at the smaller's utmost bewilderment before taking long strides over to an unused, wooden trailer filled to the brim with flowers practically breaking through the individual, rotting pieces of wood as if they had been there a long time, probably for the effect of the almost westernized theme the outdoor outlet was going for, he presumed. "For example, Larkspurs," she began, poising her palm beneath the head of a beautiful, untouched looking indigo flower with the stem held between the cracks of her fingers as one might hold a wine glass, "In many ways they represent a different, more deeper form of love. Their meaning is a deep, mental attraction to another and an open heart that is only open for the sole purpose of receiving their love completely." She woman closed her eyes and smiled as the breeze tickled the small hairs on the back of her neck. It was obvious this was more of a sentimental conversation to the Egyptian as opposed to the ignorant male beside her.

Yugi nodded in awe at the sudden serene state the woman had managed to maintain throughout the conversation, "That…sounds perfect…" he whispered, closing his eyes as he rethought the situation with Yami. It seemed ideal, for while he'd always figured roses had more of a…sexual connotation he obviously was not ready for that, so the whole mental attraction thing seemed like the better bet. Sure, yes, okay, he was attracted to Yami's body, yes. However, he was slowly beginning to realize the bodily attraction he felt with the elder was not merely lust, it was just a necessary step in the relationship. The open heart aspect also seemed to match his feelings for his ex-boss in ways he honestly could not understand. His heart had been closed for years to many, but fortunately or unfortunately, he had yet to choose which one, the elder had practically pride it open by force, perhaps unknowingly even. He didn't know how to describe it, but it felt…warm, and dangerous. Definitely dangerous, because no matter how many times he told himself he could get hurt that gaping hole still continued to linger, begging to be filled by only one force in particular.

Love.

"Where did you learn all this…?" he slowly blinked, dragging himself back into the world of reality for the umpteenth time that day, and counting.

The officer merely released what seemed an amused noise from the confines of her throat as she gently released the dainty larkspur, allowing it to flow naturally as it had before, "You could say my fiancé can be a lot like your own…interest…sometimes…;a strong romantic, that is."

The smaller blinked, feeling his heart begin to pound slightly in a silent, though not very peaceful, rally against the words coming from the female's mouth. Now this was definitely a feeling he knew all to well. The feeling that constantly grew upon and infested his heart and soul at every glance; every loving word that scratched against his ears like nails to a chalkboard; every heartfelt sounding kiss. He was jealous. She'd long found the happiness that he was practically busting his chops in searching for. "Your fiancé?" he muttered lightly before shaking his head. It was only a fleeting jealousy he realized, when he laid eyes on the woman's truly stunning, heartfelt looking smile. It was then he could find no heart to be jealous of the fact that she had seemed really, truly happy.

The woman nodded quietly, "I met him in America on a global case," she admitted, but suddenly her smile had turned all to suggestive, yet again throwing the smaller man for a loop, "Not nearly as…sentimental as your circumstances. You two were practically high school sweet hearts as far as I'm concerned." She chuckled, to which Yugi choked. She was obviously tripping on something.

Yugi gave the woman an un-amused and slightly perturbed expression, "I don't hardly think so." He muttered.

Ishizu merely gave a small chortle, caught between amusement and something else Yugi couldn't seem to identify, "I should get going, though this was a lovely conversation, I'm afraid my fiancé awaits me in the food court." She sighed, obviously having already had enough of her fiancé despite how much he apparently loved him, "I'm very sorry for interrupting but I couldn't resist saying hello to the famous Yugi Mutou." She winked, obviously informing the smaller with her body language of something along the lines, Yugi guessed, meant 'I know something you don't' which totally wasn't surprising to the smaller considering it seemed he knew jack shit about everything and anything he did lately. No thanks to everyone around him being unwittingly cryptic about the very same anything and everything.

Yugi nodded quickly in understanding, lifting himself up from the brick structure as well before reaching his hand out for the female officer to shake as their atmosphere had once again returned to one of professionals. "No…uh, thank you. I think I might use that idea of yours," He smiled gratefully.

The Egyptian woman merely chuckled, seemingly fond of the boy she had met and had but known for a mere half hour. "It gives me pleasure to help the man responsible for turning one of our best officers into the man he is today," her voice was soft, but knowing. The combination of both her tone and the words of which she spoke them with threw him for yet another loop. What was she talking about? What was anyone talking about? Yugi hadn't done anything to Yami…Sure, Yami had done some stuff to Yugi in his teenage years but the boy made it a point to never talk to the stuck up bully during the 4 years of his high school career, and the man hadn't changed from what he could tell at all during their unsteady friendship established nearly a year ago. What could he have possibly done to contribute to the persona of Yami Sennon…?...In fact he should actually take that as an insult, the implications being he turned Yami into the rich, pompous, arrogant ass he was today.

The smaller simply wore an expression of both complete and utter bewilderment and a slight tinge of irritation, shaking his head as he pursed his lips, readying them on command to release the demands that he know what she meant before a loud ring broke the barriers of their conversation.

The younger gave the female officer an apologetic look as his phone began to go off. The woman simply shook her head and gave the male a satisfied smile before pulling her purse strap further up her shoulder and simply brushing any stray hairs from her face, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mutou." Both nodded, before the female took off from the direction she had initially came.

The young man sighed, grumbling as soon as he laid eyes on the oh so familiar caller ID beckoning him back into the she-devil's grasp. A silent groan ripped its way through his slightly parted, scowling lips as his fingers worked to hastily pull the cursed device open. Honestly, he almost wished the woman would've just simply latched her ovaries onto the poor bastard unlucky enough to both be the object of her obsessive affections and teacher and never let go. At least then she'd have someone other than him to bother twenty-four/seven. Despite these quite nasty thoughts, unfortunately the boy figured he would have to answer some time, for the eccentric woman would more than likely find him anyhow.

"Hello. You have reached the phone number of Yugi Mutou, he isn't here right now because he's busy actually spending his time productively and not endangering the whole human species by adding to his disturbingly impressive arsenal, please leave your name, number, and a brief message after the beep." He replied smoothly, whilst letting his own fingers carefully caress both the incredibly silky petals and surprisingly smooth stem of the flower Ishizu had previously gestured to that held the beauty in place and allowed for it to dance in the wind like a single, stiff leg supported a torso. He took a deep breath and let it leave him without a moment's thought, letting a an almost sad however relieved smile linger on his features. The woman had been both incredibly kind to the boy's situation, and not to mention direly needed. It was a blessing to know that while he stayed at home and worried his head off for the man who seemed to over-take his thoughts on a daily basis there was at least someone on the inside taking decent care of him. And that, incredibly sentimental advice to an equally incredibly clueless man on flowers and romance alike or not, was worth any sort of acquaintanceship they held at the current moment.

The feminine voice on the other end of the phone released something caught between amusement and irritation, "Where are you? I've been waiting outside the artillery store for like ten minutes! How long does it take for you to grab a couple of roses and hit it!?" she audibly pouted in frustration at her smaller friend's increasingly nerve grating habit of 'wasting time', or as the smaller would rather call it, 'enjoying the fresh air while he could profusely'.

Yugi sighed and shook his head, smiling down at the meaningful flower in his grasp, "I don't think I'm going to buy roses Mana…"

The woman on the other line gave an undignified cross between a shriek and a huff, "Yugi Mutou, you are NOT backing out of this, I swear to God you are going to buy a fucking bouquet of roses and you are going to ask that man out on a date, do you hear me young man!?" Yugi simply rolled his eyes in good humor at his female friend's sudden boldness on her misdirected assumptions, "Mana, I didn't mean that. I mean, there are plenty of flowers here, why limit myself to just roses?"

The voice on the phone was silent, before a long, drawn out, and quite possibly stressed yet relieved sigh resonated into his ear, "Alright, fine, pick whatever you want, but I've got a lesson with Mahaad in like twenty minutes! And believe me, when you're late it he's not very lenient on punishment," she paused, giggling pathetically, to which Yugi merely fought down an exasperated groan and shook his head, at her own sexual innuendo, "and not in the good way!" she sang suggestively.

The younger simply shook his head, "Whatever, just let me buy these flowers and I'll meet you in the parking lot, alright?" he muttered into the phone, quickly making his way to the themed, wooden desk propped against the wall where the assortments of labeled bouquets laid.

The woman agreed promptly before the younger choose to swiftly shut his phone, wanting to cut off their communication and prolong any more of the torture the devilish officer was sure to throw upon him as soon as he got into the car. However, this was the last thing on his mind as he lowered his head to once more gaze upon the unique flowers once again, not being able to help it as a smile rose to his lips, causing both of his cheeks to mirror each other in an impressive assortments of different reds and pinks alike.

My heart is open for you…Yami Sennon…

Yugi let his head fall back against the wall, the guttural thud of skull against dry wall the only thing resonating throughout the dim, vacant hallway. Tired eyes glanced up at the old fashioned clock above head, faintly contemplating whether or not he should simply walk home himself and forget the whole ordeal. However tempting this thought seemed, though, he simply bit his lip and shifted, opting for a more comfortable position than the one he'd been sitting in for approximately two hours awaiting his ex-boss outside the meeting room he had been in for the better part of the day according to Mana.

The hands seemed to tick slower than he'd ever remembered in all his years of high school, and every lonely night he'd had awaiting his self-appointed protector's return. It was as if the hands themselves were torturing him, moving only when the exhausted eyes of an equally exhausted man closed and seeming to freeze upon eye contact. At any moment, he could've sworn he'd started nodding off the to rhythm of the silent, yet deafening ticks filling the cold, still air around him with every agonizing second that passed.

The plastic wrap around the fresh larkspurs, once smooth and orderly now crinkled and covered in the sweat of his nervous palms that clutched tight onto the plastic covered stems in his grasp. The unkempt hair Mana had made sure to quickly comb through and make perfect for his big moment was now disorganized and ratted from the many times he would comb or clutch tightly to the strands as to not go utterly crazy from the both the unrealistic silence and the way the fabric of his new suit would grate against his skin and cause him to sweat from lack of air the uncomfortable black death trap provided him with. All in all, he was pretty damn uncomfortable, and mind blowing post-confession make-out or not, none of it was actually worth the shit he was currently sitting through to simply convey strong feelings.

He half choked on a groan that pushed against the back of his throat, but what with the fact he hadn't eaten or drunken anything sense breakfast his throat was far too dry to allow anything past it. No matter how many times he told himself this, he couldn't bring himself to stand and simply leave it behind—take a short nap and await his arrival home. Sure, the man would be tired as usual but how was it going to be any different by the time he stepped out of that office? Hell, he was probably practically jumping through hoops for these business monkeys at the very moment.

But despite all this, something inside him seemed to push through his stomach every time his muscles twitched to raise himself and walk out. It was almost like a burning desire…and no, not the one he'd been getting in his loins all day, this one seemed determined yet slightly unnerved. He'd never done anything as…bold as this in his life time. When he had an emotion, yes he certainly felt it, but hardly ever did he talk about it. He found that he disliked crying or sitting around for hours letting any sort of feeling, whether it be love, hate, or immense sadness spill out in front of someone only to embarrass one's self. This wasn't to mention the fact he grew up as somewhat of a kiss ass all his life. Of course, none of this really applied any more, seeing as that fateful day he had stepped into that police station for his first day on the job his book of rules had been completely re-written. It was a whole new ball game, and he found himself quite liking it.

A faint snap shattered his thoughts. His head immediately rose from its slackened position against the wall, however his excitement dissipated when he'd found it was merely the sound of one of his flowers snapping under the immense pressure his grip had put upon the delicate life forms. He simply frowned and placed it on the ground beside him, allowing the crinkled plastic and his palms to breath better.

He released a lengthy breath of air from his nostrils as he vaguely wondered if he, with the exception of the men in the room beside him partaking in their usual business wars, was the only one in the station at this time of night. Mana had to leave as soon as she dropped the male off as she was already quite late with her lessons and wished Yugi the best of luck, to which Yugi mutually returned. Joey was probably off somewhere, either sleeping or goofing around with his sister, a thought he'd only recently come to terms to yet was still quite touchy. Surprisingly he did not have enough time to get to know the rest of the people on his former team on a personal level, so he had no idea to where they would be off to.

He practically growled beneath his breath, sending a harsh glance over at the wooden door beside him for the umpteenth time that night. Just how long could a couple of greedy business men argue anyway? He scoffed silently, this was exactly why he absolutely refused to apply for any sort of corporation, he'd actually had no idea the police station was so involved with the business aspects. If he had it his way, he simply would've become a curator in a museum or a professor in a college for the young Egyptologists of Japan. At some point he had slightly grazed the idea of becoming an archaeologist in Egypt just as his grandfather had been, but this idea flew out the window promptly after both the vigorous financial and political power struggle had blown up into ridiculous proportions and decided against this alternative in favor of keeping himself out of conflict and in one piece.

Yugi began to absentmindedly play with any loose threads he could find on the large sleeves practically encasing both of his hands and worried his lip between his teeth as the voices raised, signaling a quite fierce argument in the midst. Jeez, any onlooker might've thought it was a fight to the death. In actuality the meetings he'd witnessed in his entire career at the station were no different. He'd seen meetings that could've rivaled the amount of violence equal to that of a game of hockey. It was pretty sad for a bunch of grown men in ridiculously expensive suits participating in a 'practical debate'.

He allowed these thoughts to slip from his fingers, just as the thread continually had as he repeatedly stroked it between his fingers. He began to idly wonder just how long it might take, as opposed to the tedious waiting session he was currently suffering through, to simply barge in, grab Yami by either side of his face and crush their lips together, easily conveying every feeling and thought he'd ever had over the past few weeks. A bright red tinge spread across his cheeks and a wry smile took the place of a frustrated grimace, If only it were as simple in practice as it were in context.

…But why not…?...What was keeping him from doing just that? Who was to say that as soon as his roommate walked out of that room he wouldn't merely put him aside in favor of sleep, or further rigorous hours of tedious paper work? Who was to say it wasn't going to end all the same for him? He had the upper hand in initiative…all he had to do was open that damn door and let it all out. It was that close.

The male shook his head vigorously, aggressively uprooting the outrageous seeds of doubt and audacity from his mind as the more rational side began take over. Of course, there were many reasons why one did not simply barge into a meeting room and profess their love in a room full of a bunch of former superiors. Most of which being implied, such as embarrassing the object of his affections in front of a bunch of powerful people in his workforce, or making a very professional situation suddenly extremely personal. Either of these seemed just about right and rational, the things he would usually contemplate.

So why…why did it sound so tempting?

…But why not…?

His quivering knees began to bend, causing his hands to clutch tightly to the thin carpet bellow him, his mind and body at a standstill of disagreement. His head was throbbing…or was that just his heart pumping so loudly he could feel it reverberating through his bones and up his skull? He clamped his eyes shut as he felt bile rise up through his throat at the lingering thoughts of simply strolling into what was more than likely by the sounds of it one of the most important meetings of the year and more than likely stuttering his love in front of everyone only to humiliate both himself and his ex-boss.

Now that he thought about it…perhaps he could simply request a moment of Yami's time? Though, He would more than likely still be considerably upset at the boy for not awaiting his return and instead interrupting business for pleasure. This thought was even if he accepted the male's feelings… he couldn't even imagine what would happen if he was shot down.

These thoughts however were rendered irrelevant to his body, for when he opened his eyes he'd found himself standing in front of the large, double door entrance, half broken flowers in hand and a finger hooked beneath the collar of his shirt as he fruitlessly attempted to vent the sudden heat coursing through his body and increasing the levels of sweat he was already vigorously giving off. He glanced up at the clock once more, giving both himself and the men inside one last moment to decide if they were coming out any time soon. By the sounds of the voices in the room, he decided not as sweaty, slippery hands grasped the silver handles with considerable doubt and unease.

In all the times he'd ever readied himself for this moment, in all the times he'd ever done anything really he'd never felt as anxious and completely emotionally haywire than he did at that moment. His body literally felt as if it were turning inside out and his heart was under the merciless clamp of something tight and constricting. The limbs of which moved of their own accord seemed to belong not to him, but of another force he had no idea of. It was as if he were a puppet and someone was reading his heart; obeying its orders and gradually moving him toward what could certainly, very well be a disaster waiting to happen.

Grip growing tighter on the handles, he closed his eyes yet again and grit his teeth as the dark tendrils of doubt from his mind aggressively groped and clung to conscious. What am I doing…Just how much do I really love the man behind this door…?...Who am I to think I can just waltz in there and believe he'll actually take me into his arms…?

Large, violet orbs filled to the brim with shock shot open…When had he grown so insecure of himself? Sure, in all his years of schooling he'd only ever been picked on, or bullied, but this was nothing. He'd both grown accustomed to it and had worse things to worry about than a couple of snide comments about his looks or his tendency to be a brainiac, especially after his parent's deaths. Other than the fact that some tended to get under his skin quite successfully, Yami for the most part, it never drove him to the point of self doubt before.

Then the answer hit him…He'd been this way for a while. He'd just never let himself believe it...

So it really was true then, love really was a force strong enough to bring even the strongest to their knees.

He took in a sharp breath, allowing himself to clear his mind of these weighing thoughts and steadying himself once again. The force of his thoughts was enough to knock him out at this point, but one thing was for certain, he couldn't very well go on with this if he was lying on the floor passed out like an idiot.

With a gentle, yet slightly shaky grip, he gently pushed upon the silver handles beneath his hands and allowed both doors to gently creak open, allowing any last second thoughts to fade into the distance as all but a few eyes turned directly toward him.

"Yes, but you're overlooking the fact that our department is already using far too many resources—" A man Yugi recognized as Yusei, one of the station's more modest employees paused only a few moments after his colleges as he too turned his attention toward the unwelcome visitor shifting awkwardly in the door jam.

While every set of eyes trained on the image of the male standing out like a sore thumb between the threshold of the entryway, his own focused on one set in particular. A set, unlike the others, while withholding shock were the widest and most startled of all; a set of ruby red eyes, usually fiery and smug, now frozen and gleaming with while troubled, unreadable emotion.

"Y-Yugi…" Their owner practically choked—to which Yugi held in a snicker, trying not to let his sudden smugness of the fact the other looked utterly dumbstruck show on his kept together mask hiding the various emotions swimming through his body. However, he did best he could to grit his teeth push this thought aside, as to do what he was going to do next was going to require a clean and cleared thought capacity. He couldn't do that if he was being a complete ass.

"Yami—

"Mr. Mutou, what exactly is it you think you're doing here? This is a closed meeting." Kaiba growled, his cold azure eyes narrowed at the smaller's flinching form. Oh good, the only good reason for him leaving the station at his ass once again and at one of the most inconvenient of times. Of course, then again he really had no right to be surprised seeing as the meeting was made up of pretty much every important figure working at the station. Big surprise the boss himself would be the one dictating the whole affair.

"Kaiba," Yami warned sternly, to which the brunette shot back an equally agitated glare, notably uncomfortable with one of his subordinates having the audacity to scold him like a child in the naked eye of the public. Once again Yugi valiantly fought down a look of smug indifference to his former superior's discomfort. It really was like being in a cage full of monkeys, and he had to say it kind of made him feel good about his generally sizable ratio of both common sense and wit compared to the quite offended looking clowns around him.

This amused thought process however ended promptly after the same stern look Yami was providing his step brother with was redirected toward himself, though this look was slightly altered, holding something resembling both reprieve and equally subtle wariness. "Yugi, as I'm sure you can plainly see, we are in a very important meeting…" he murmured, visibly both shocked and if Yugi hadn't known better, slightly intrigued as he observed the boy's uncharacteristically fancy attire he was currently sporting...no doubt completely taken aback by the image of a boy who looked practically like a boy just about ready to take his date out to prom, only slightly more shabby if one considered both the astounding amount of wrinkles in the suit he'd managed to create in a mere two hours and the way his hair looked as though he'd just miraculously lived through a tropical hurricane rather than fresh out of the shower that morning.

The younger male immediately paled from the sudden onslaught of introversion the elder had inflicted upon him simply by observing his questionable ensemble as if he'd walked into the room wearing a pair of lacy pink underwear rather than a suit and tie. This thought only furthered the physical symptoms of humiliation he was currently enduring; such as the heavy pink hue clinging mercilessly to his cheeks. Well, if he wasn't having second thoughts before when Kaiba started looking at him as if he were a who about to sing Christmas carols to the Grinch, he was certainly having them now.

He bit his lip, firmly shaking his head as to remove these doubtful thoughts clouding his mind. Uh, yeah, no, he was certainly not giving up now, especially since he'd gone so far as to interrupt what may very well have been a national meeting…judging by the plethora of both confused and unfamiliar faces peering at him from behind more agitated and quite unpleasantly all too familiar ones.

"Yea…I know…" he hesitated slightly, clearing his throat awkwardly as he tried best to ignore the persistent stares directed toward his unnerved posture. "…but there's something really important you need to know…" he trailed off, opting to simply stare the object of the entire situation itself in the eye rather than acknowledging the many others around them.

Yami sighed in a manner reserved for a predictable situation, "Well, can't it wait until an hour or so? This is really important." He insisted, throwing a side glance back at the incredibly irritated Kaiba beside him in hopes the man would manage not to blow up before the meeting officially adjourned.

Yugi flinched at this, playing nervously with the cuffs of his suit, "No…" he paused, gritting his teeth silently at how pathetic he suddenly sounded. "No. Actually, it can't." his violet eyes narrowed, hardening with a new confidence, remembering to keep his gaze only on the one thing in that room that mattered…the one reason he needed said confidence in the first place…

The one reason he could find the strength to summon it.

The elder shook his head feverishly, almost as if he were genuinely concerned for the other's safety what with the steaming man beside him, "Yugi…Y—

"No, you—don't you dare 'Yugi' me, alright?" The shorter snapped, immediately cutting the other off mid protest and likely gaining a few shocked expressions replacing once outraged and or curious ones. "I've been through hell and back for you today…No, for the past two, three weeks. So now that we're here and you're not going anywhere, Yami Sennon….There's a conversation to be had between us…a conversation I believe has been neglected for some time now, and at both our faults." His hand clutched tightly to the fabric of the linen suit above his chest, stopping only briefly to ensure his heart would not explode through his chest in the middle of his improvised confession. Only willing himself to speak once more when he had pushed his relentless anxiety far from his soul so that not a trace of fear could be seen within his eyes.

"…and by conversation I mean you're going to sit there and listen to every word that leaves my mouth like your life depends on it…because I know mine does…" his voice lowered into a whisper, practically daring anyone to look him in the eye and speak against his words now while they had the chance.

Kaiba took this opportunity, immediately raising himself to his feet to put a stop to this unceremonious interruption in the entire fabric of their self insisted professional atmosphere. His mouth, open and ready to unleash his own authority and give the smaller a thorough tongue lashing however was immediately silenced as the strong, bony hand of his employee shot up and clutched the taller's shoulder. He glanced up at the other and slowly shook his head, silently willing his little charge to continue. However upset he may have been inside he could not deny he felt he might want to hear this.

Yugi, taking advantage of the utterly flabbergasted expression and body language the practical tyrant had been reduced to, allowed his hand to fall from his chest as he balled them in to tight fist. His eyes hardened further, permitting the courage he'd been summoning all day to finally release itself as he felt an almost foreign force over take his will.

"In the past two weeks, I've been struggling to come to terms with the most…daunting realization of my life since I figured out my sexuality…" he trailed off, observing a flicker of something…completely unreadable in the crimson eyes of which studied him carefully, seeming to take both the situation and the young lad's words into careful thought and consideration.

"…and I am…SO sorry if this is such a huge inconvenience for you and your silly friends but you have no idea how absolutely DEVASTATING this past week has been for me." He growled beneath his breath, fists tightening as he sensed something inside of him that felt as though it were going to burst at any second. Something that lay dormant in him for quite a while…

…something he knew he could not hold back any longer…

"Look at me, Yami! I'm a complete mess!" He choked, halfway caught between nearly a scream and a sob as whatever it was within him began to ooze out and drown his body in the feelings he'd contained for such a long time, "Lately I can't even speak correctly! It's a miracle I'm even here like this! Talking to you like this!" he emphasized, frantically waving his arms in the air to further emphasize his point.

Yugi took a deep breath, fighting valiantly to keep the oncoming onslaught of tears from the utter intensity of the emotion he was currently enduring at bay. He was already making enough of a fool out of himself in front of the entirety of Domino's law department at then some; he certainly wasn't going to allow himself to slip up now when he hadn't even gotten to his point quite yet.

He choked slightly, clamping eyes shut as something fierce pumped through his heart, pushing him further over the edge, "Every morning…I wake up with this…this drive. A drive to compete against life itself…sometimes, even to live, but most of all…the drive to complete, the drive to chase my challenges. To look them in the eye without hesitation or fear…" he proclaimed boldly, letting his gaze drop down to the bouquet of flowers in hand as he raised it gently up toward his nose and allowed the sweet scent to carry him back to fleeting memories, "I thought I'd always been this strong. I thought this drive had been beaten into me from day one by every crude word about my very existence I had to endure every time I simply showed my face in public. For every person to leave my life so early…but now, I realize…"

"…that drive…it was always yours to begin with…wasn't it…?" his voice lowered to a mere whisper, clutching the violet larkspurs tighter, "From the day I walked into that school as soon as you saw me it suddenly seemed to become your life's mission to never miss a single opportunity to ever so rudely take advantage of my diminutive height and dangle my lunch above my head—out of reach. To relentlessly poke and prod me about my personal life as if you were purposefully mocking me…." He smiled wryly, observing the other's completely frozen form as he slowly approached the man's place at the immediate right side of the head of the table, "…You wanted me to fight back…you wanted me to show you who I was inside. You wantedto teach me how to survive…didn't you…" His voice lowered, the question coming out as more of an observation or fact rather than a question…He hadn't known how long it'd been since he realized this…hell…he hadn't even known he realized it until now…however…it seemed there were a lot of things he was just now realizing…

The elder's eyes seemed to freely widen in response, filled to the brim with that same emotion he just could not seem to identify…Perhaps…perhaps it was this same emotion within him he knew not the intensity of before that continued to cause these mass explosions within every inch of his body to such a degree he could've sworn throughout this confident stance he withheld he could feel his very limbs shaking with its power. He may not have been able to give this feeling a name, but one thing was for sure, it was the only force besides Yami's own pushing him to carry out this bold deed.

There was one thing he saw in the other male's eyes for sure, however…and that was something the boy had said, though he would be willing to bet it'd be every word had struck a chord within him. It was just enough proof his musings were correct. After all, his expertise in reading the soul through their famously metaphorical windows had been a particular specialty he had to thank for even being accepted into the station as an officer and re-awakening their delicate relationship, whether it be as foes or lovers, in the first place.

"Ever since then, it's been implanted in my brain…" he began again, his voice now hushed into a soft whisper, making sure their eye contact held steady, "I've always been afraid of change…and I was too stupid to even realize the virus that is my arch-enemy from high school had already reached maximum infection…Just look at me now Yami…Look at you! You can't even step away from your job for one God damned minute to even see it!" he cried, slamming the bouquet of now wrinkled flowers onto the hollow table before them, causing both himself a few others around him to jump slightly, "That was me six, seven, eight years ago…that was me before you..."

A weighted silence followed, so heavy one might think it could drop and crush every single man and woman within the tense atmosphere to death. Though, this fact alone did not deter the boy, nor did it in any way pull him back down from the high he was currently experiencing. The high that was currently enabling him to do what he once thought was not possible to do in front of someone as crude and rash as the man he loved before him.

"…Look at how prideful I've become…because of you…" he continued, voice cracking as that flood of emotion began to overload his circuits, slowly yet surely consuming his body, "It got to the point where I couldn't even admit to myself the one thing everyone but myself could plainly see…" He clutched the table beside them as his knees began to shake, fighting off the tears that threatened to spill from the threshold of his wavering eyes. His heart throbbed so hard he could feel his vision pounding as well, or was that just the tears beginning to slowly pour down his face?...He didn't know. He didn't know any of this. He didn't know what was happening. Did this always happen when one was in love…?

…That was just it…this…this pounding within his body…it was not merely infatuation pushing him into the depths of danger, throwing him into a pit of anxiety and desire…It was his heart…his heart was pounding against his body. These explosions…it was his heart…his heart was trying to break free from his body.

It was trying to break free to Yami…

Throwing caution to the wind, he tightly secured his eyelids shut as he braced himself for the hot, salty tears mercilessly flowing down his cheeks and pooling down at the tips of his quivering lips, disappearing only after traveling past his trembling chin. They were not tears of happiness…they were not tears of sadness…it was his life. It was his life spilling out before him. Before them. Before everyone.

His proof to the world that Yugi Mutou was undeniably, insatiably, absolutely in love with Yami Sennon.

The emotionally pressed boy began sniffing, attempting to at least clear all evidence of tears from his shaky voice. A steady, tanned hand came out to hold the boy in comfort, but it was reprehensibly slapped away immediately upon contact with the flushed, soaking wet skin of his face. It was at this moment Kaiba decided to interject immediately, pushing the boy aside and stepping in front of his step brother, enraged glare and all.

"Now you listen here, Mr. Mutou," he growled, ignoring the pleas of the desperate college behind him, begging the other to simply sit down and forget about the whole ordeal, which being Seto Kaiba he certainly could not do, "It is one thing to come marching in here and interrupting an important meeting with Japan's leading military officer, but it is another when you begin laying hands on my staff in such a violent manner." His normally icy cold voice seemed to turn up a few notches, and if one might have been mistaken, they might've even said it was almost fiery, queuing a very heated conversation.

Yugi merely ignored his accusations, choosing only to gaze at the man behind the furious, scolding official in front of him as a few more tears escaped the corners of his eyes, though not at the expense of the frightening man before him…more at the relief he was suddenly beginning to graze upon as he finally allowed the words to leave his mouth…

"There's this fine line between love and hate…and I went over it—You pushed me, rather…so that I'd fall…In love…"

"…with you…"

A light chorus of audible gasps stole the atmosphere in a rather theatrical way. Even Seto Kaiba looked just about as flabbergasted as anyone, Hell, he should've been…even Yugi was surprised, though not by his own words…by the fact those words seemed to slip out so easily…as if they'd been of second nature. However, the man was none too concerned of scandalized looks of those around him. One face was all he cared about, and that was the one staring back at him with an unchanging expression. He was still quiet shell-shocked, but he had been ever since his charge's arrival…Don't misunderstand, his face betrayed emotion.

He just couldn't seem to figure out what, and with being as good as he was with interpreting emotion, it was beginning to grate on his anxiety. Especially what with the level of importance his confession had just been.

He bit his lip and shook his head, plowing forward despite every bone in his body that told him to stop, "…and honestly…right now I just feel like a complete hot mess and I have no idea what I'm even doing because I try—I try to spit it out but every time I look into your eyes and you look back at mine I can't even…move!" he cried in his own frustration, clenching his hands in and out of fists as he actively attempted to rid of the newly pumped adrenaline racing within and throughout his raging heart.

A long winded silence blew through the air around them, carrying away the tension…the stress…the people in which the situation did not concern. None of them were there…Just him…and Yami. Just everything they'd gone through. Every memory they'd made, every word they'd said, every laugh, every scream, every curse, every God damned thing he'd ever endured in his life with the man across from him all the sudden became far too real to him. Every glance…every touch…it was all so precious…

…and at that very moment…he made a promise to himself…that he would never…ever…underestimate nor take for granted even the very breath they shared together…Because if this was what it was like to feel such intense emotion…

…he never wanted this to end.

He sniffed silently, blinking away the relentless tears that clung to his skin, drowning out even the sounds of his own thoughts. For once, he chose to focus on his heart rather than his clouded, foolish mind. He let out a wry chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief, "Can you believe it…Can you believe that I even tried to tell myself even if you turned me down I'd be happy to just get it off my chest?" an almost genuine smile worked its way onto his pitiable, tear ridden features, throwing all caution to the wind and despite his pathetic form, despite his all together unattractive tantrum he was currently sobbing out, looking the elder straight in the eye and standing tall.

"Now…standing here…as cheesy as it sounds…even with all that weight off my chest," he paused, putting the very same hand from before delicately over his chest, clutching the material above tightly in his grasp.

"…I still wouldn't be able to breathe…"

He choked on his tears, biting down on the urge to rather immaturely throw himself at the elder and clutch on tightly; afraid the man may leave him at any moment…if he…

Yugi bit his lip as his confident gaze began to falter the longer his desperate pleas and heart felt confession continued to go unanswered as the silence ensued. That was it…that was all he had. His knees began to quake once again as the adrenaline that had once fueled his inner riot ran its course, going back from whence it came, and whence it came Yugi had not the slightest clue as he'd never been able to summon such powerful courage in his entire lifetime. Not even in his wildest dreams. Now he was simply left standing silently within the middle of the meeting, his heart once again giving way to his mind and setting his conscious right with the rest of reality, allowing harsh sense of gravity to push and pull on the boy's suddenly unstable, shaken body.

His violet eyes closed, releasing an equally shaky breath, valiantly attempting to fight himself on the matter. He shouldn't have regrets…he knew better than anything if he simply allowed the situation to boil over it would have come out one way or the other, as he was never too good at hiding anything, really. However…he couldn't even begin to fathom what it may feel like to be rejected by the elder. By his first love, by the man who promised to protect him, by the man he was quite literally stuck with until, well, what seemed like very well might be forever if what the woman he had met earlier that day had said was true.

He swallowed hard, resisting the urge to simply walk out as that would be entirely contradictory to the passion he had just showed in his earlier outburst. He had to say something…anything…but before he could get a word out he felt a hesitant hand grip his arm.

"My humblest apologies to all of you, please excuse us," The baritone voice he had been longing to hear finally spoke, The man the tentative and discomfited voice belonged to quickly pulling the half startled half frightened Yugi along toward the gaping double doors from where the male had previously burst in through. The smaller released a startled yelp as the doors promptly closed behind them and he was shoved roughly up against a wall.

"You do know you just embarrassed me in front of the entirety of Japan's Law Enforcement, right?" The elder growled, slamming his hands down on either side of the shorter's form against the wall, effectively pinning the poor, frightened male against the vertical dry wall, glowering down at the other as one would when chastising their rebellious child. Though, to compare the situation to that of child and parent may have been slightly disproportional, given the irony of their situation.

Yugi's eyes practically popped out of their sockets they widened to such a degree. He felt his insides churn and begin to perform flips and summersaults, causing bile to rise up and burn his throat as he clenched his mouth tightly shut, resisting the ever potent urge to throw up.

"Y-Yami I…" he released a struggling sound from his throat, caught halfway between a whimper, much to his chagrin, and a silent gasp as the other male's seemingly livid eyes sharpened further.

"The head of the Police Administration Bureau, Traffic Bureau, Imperial Guard…" he droned, although in not a particularly light manner as he was not in the mood for simple play. "Oh! Yes, did I forget to mention the head of the Navy is here as well?" he exclaimed in a dry sarcastic manner, causing the smaller to flinch slightly at the harshness in the other's words.

"Yami…" he struggled, clamping his eyes shut while fighting off the tears he had stopped but mere minutes ago now threatening their return, "I'm…so sorry, please, I just—

"The hell took you so long…?" The darkness the smaller had created in favor of facing the elder's rejection and greatest fear of his entire day suddenly gone as soon as it came. His violet eyes opening in shock before his head shot up, looking into previously angered—though now newly amused rubies that sparkled with a renewed mirth and a sense of slight amusement at the shorter male's gawking position. Now it was his own turn to stare at the elder with the same complete and utter astonishment he had brought upon the other male not long ago in the meeting room.

Though, this view accompanied by his own jumbled and racing thoughts did not grace him for long, as the darkness returned…but this time…his eyes were not closed…something was blocking his vision, coming closer. He choked as he felt a pleasantly silky surface brush against his slightly shock-induced parted lips, creating a tingling sensation that ran past the area of contact infecting his entire body…It was…first and foremost utterly indescribable…but whatever it was…he knew somewhere within him he had wanted for a very long time…

…

…He was being kissed…

Yami was kissing him.

The younger drew a particularly huge breath of air, gasping quite dramatically into their intimate exchange as the realization rang through him like the vibration of a bell being rung. His heart, once beating erratically and off beat had now slowed to an almost nonexistent pace…everything seeming to freeze in the moment as he felt those lips wrap around his own, applying a pressure the young male had never thought could seem so…satisfying…so…tempting…and sweet…How could a meager body part, necessary for the everyday functions of life taste so damn glorious? It was not a taste he could name…there was no reference of which he knew of that could match the sensations crashing upon him like waves he could put a name to, no delicacy ever to grace his taste buds that rivaled that of the man's full, wet, irresistible lips. He found it to a slightly pleasant surprise that the kiss had been nothing the millions of books or poems he had read ever described. There were no fireworks, there was no way to describe it…nothing one might have even the slightest grasp on to merely think about, let alone describe in a piece of literature. The presence of the other's touch in such an intimate form caused his brain to work into over drive, effectively causing it to crash and all logical form of thought along with it.

No…there were certainly no fireworks he could think of off the top of his head, but there was certainly tiny explosions going off within his body. His legs became weak, wobbling slightly as the elder, not deterred by the smaller's lack of response, on the contrary seeming increasingly adamant, pushed further into their lip lock, bringing their bodies closer together as to gain more access to the smaller's quivering lips and conveniently making it further difficult in the case the male might pull back, which had not gone unnoticed by said male.

Shaky hands reached out to grasp tentatively onto the fabric above the elder's forearms, his fingers twisting up into the ebony material. He allowed his eyes to roll to the back of his head, his eye lids fluttering shut, pushing back up into the man's embrace to amplify the intensity of their exchange. It wasn't hard, nor too soft. It was…like second nature, like his lips had been made for the very purpose of fitting against Yami's in a heated, passionate lock. The man's lips seemed softer than they appeared, and although they were much thinner than the smaller's they were akin to nirvana.

If he believed that it was indescribable before…with both of their lips dancing together…that was his last thought to leave his mind as mentioned organ began to shut down under the pleasure of their kiss. His grasp on the elder's arms tightened however and the smaller male released a startled gasp when he felt a wet tongue brush repeatedly against the boy's swelling lips, not per say asking for permission, but more of along the lines of desperately pleading. At this, Yugi released an embarrassingly wanton groan that escaped from the darkest corners of his throat before subconsciously opening his lips to accommodate the other's frantic, wet organ.

Their kiss became wet and messy, something the younger had never thought he would prefer in something as supposedly 'pure' as a kiss. He found however, he did not mind the minor inconvenience. His knees buckled more furiously as the elder's tongue pressed against his own softly, pushing it gently into playing with his own as the incredibly inexperienced and diffident boy beneath his grasp was no doubt tentative to initiate.

In truth, Yugi's tongue was quite stiff and awkward as the dance of two tongues was not one he was familiar with. However, the longer his love's stroked the underside of his own mischievously the more his own began to move, lapping over the elders and giving him silent permission to do as he wished. At this, Yami, much to Yugi's startled surprise, released a low growl, his rough hands groping at the smaller's waist to bring their bodies closer together in the heat of their passionate make-out, causing the younger to release an undignified squeak of surprise only momentarily interrupting their exchange before he once again put his tongue to better use and allowed it to move keenly against the other's.

His own hands found their way around the taller's neck, also contributing to the efficiency, though it was still quite messy, of their passionate contact. The pleasure was absolutely incredible, something the smaller never even thought he could fathom…but alas, his lungs were beginning to burst as much as he wanted simply to meld their lips together for eternity he found the thought of passing out to be rather unpleasant.

Shifting his hands so they laid on the taller's chest, he gently pushed, signaling his want to yield their passion if only for the sake of both his lungs and impaired brain. The elder silently obeyed this wish, withdrawing his tongue and ever so slowly removing his lips from the smaller's incredibly swollen, glistening ones.

Yugi panted, pushing himself up further against the wall if only to support himself as his body shook with both the intensity of his recent mind-blowing experience, and the fact he felt as though he could fall into cardiac arrest at any given moment from all of the revelations and surprises alike he'd been hit with that day.

"You knew…" he panted harshly, hands still locked tightly around the taller's neck as he fought to stay upright. It was more a statement rather than a question, as he did not have the strength to care much for speaking when he could hardly breathe as it was. Yami had quite literally taken his breath away.

The elder released a weak chuckle, seemingly just as much out of breathe as the boy he held in a now gentler grasp against the wall, "Love, must you really feign surprise around me," garnet eyes sparkling with heavy mirth fluttered closed, their owner resting his lukewarm forehead against the other's, smiling lazily, his cocky attitude back and ready to bite the smaller in the ass for ever thinking he'd change at least a little bit, "How could I not? What with all of the painfully obvious erections you've been sporting around me as of late, my Dear." He smirked, causing the smaller to turn a quite unbecoming shade of scarlet.

Well, to say he was incredibly surprised may have been somewhat of a false statement, as he was beginning to realize just as he could read others easily, he himself was quite an open book if his latest experiences had anything to add to the matter. This was not to mention the fact that his…sexual desires had become increasingly rampant over the past week, causing his genitalia too simply, and quite literally, jump at the idea of contact in the presence of the man above him. It was, to say quite embarrassing to find out the other had known all along and his feeble attempts to hide this sexual riot his body was embracing had not gone un observed by the very man who'd been the object of the entire issue in the first place.

This being said, the smaller really only had the dignity to fight off the red hue that threatened overtake his features quite in vain as it were. He found his face had already lit up like a Christmas tree as soon as the man's words left his lips. At that point he wanted nothing more than to pack up and move out as now that the cat was out of the bag, or, at least now that he'd given the other full confirmation of his musings he felt as though his arousal was the dirtiest of sin.

Yami chuckled at his unofficial lover's uneasy expression, "Though," he began, his eyes now clearly open as he stared into unnerved, wavering amethyst eyes, "I suppose I must give you credit. One can only withstand the heat for so long before they begin to fall." he hummed softly, allowing one of his hands to loosen up on its grip upon the smaller's boney hips, resting the coarse appendage upon his porcelain face as he softly wiped the tear stains due to his previous melt down from the reddened cheeks of the flustered male before him.

Yugi scoffed, not allowing the indecency of the situation in front of him to allow the other to simply get what he wanted from him, "Oh, please, the 'heat' had nothing to do with this, you narcissistic—

"Stud?"

"Sex god?"

"Pervert!" Yugi growled, finishing his interrupted sentence with something that if Yami hadn't mistaken himself, might've actually sounded slightly playful.

The taller released a hearty laugh, their foreheads still connected before bringing the other hand up so that both caressed the boy's face on either side, "Since when did my little Yugi Mutou become so bold, anyway?" he purred, switching the topic as he attempted yet again to get the smaller to show that adorable, irresistible red face of his again. It wasn't that he hadn't seen it numerous times before, and at the elder's expense to add. He just had never been allowed the privilege to observe its beauty as closely as he had now, and he'd be damned if he wasn't going to take advantage of that opportunity the first chance he was given.

Yugi made a face, knowing full well he was referring to his earlier stunt in the meeting room, forgetting all and any sense of doubt he'd once had before their mind-blowing assault on each other's lips and allowing a slow, gentle smile to creep onto his features, "Since when did big, bad, Yami Sennon become such a softie?" he challenged, idly playing with the hair on the nape of the elder's neck.

Said man's eyes narrowed playfully yet quite curiously at the silent taunt, "Softie?" he repeated, tilting his head slightly.

It was the shorter's turn to chuckle breathlessly at the elder male's slightly taken aback expression, "I was half expecting you to pull out your gun when you shoved me up against this wall."

At this, Yami's eyes immediately softened, his hands stopping in their tracks, halting the sweet caresses and soft touches he was littering upon the younger's flushed skin. It was clear Yugi's accusation had definitely struck something within him, "…Yugi..I would never—

Yugi giggled, holding a thin index finger to the elder's slightly parted lips, shaking his head fondly at his love, "Yami…relax…It's an exaggeration…" he assured softly, resting a gentle hand upon the other's stiffened shoulder. He resisted the urge seal this reassurance with a kiss, deciding against it as he did not want to ruin the incredibly tender, sentimental moment they shared by simply losing himself to the lust of another kiss.

"You really have become a softie," he mused silently, using his other hand to draw gently over the other's jaw line, liking his newfound upper hand in their unofficial challenge.

Yami, however, would not have any of this. He allowed the smaller to idly draw odd patterns on the lower half of his face before a slow, sultry, quite familiar smirk made itself known on the elder's curled, thin lips, "Softie…you say…" he hummed lowly, releasing the shorter's face before wrapping strong, muscular arms tightly around the other male's thin waist, reveling in the new-found, slightly shocked expression the little one was sporting. He released a breathy chuckle, bringing their bodies close together once more. Though due to height difference they did not match up evenly, he made sure every one of their appendages came in contact with one another. Every single one.

"Well then..." the taller lowered his head so that his lips just barely touched the shell of smaller's, breath so close the smaller had to bite back a gasp, allowing a whimper to escape as he felt the pleasure centers near that area grow sensitive and alert, "Perhaps I should administer some punishment to change your mind." Yugi gasped as the familiar hand once again gripped his chin, this time his grip being a bit more forceful as he silenced the smaller's whimpers, roughly bringing the soft, still quite swollen lips toward his own again.

This time, the kiss was certainly rough. Though, this fact Yugi did not mind as he wholeheartedly returned it, hands this time groping wildly at the larger man's shoulders as they provided much more support, support in which he dearly needed lest he felt the floor pull out from under him as it nearly had before.

Yami smirked into the kiss, feeling the smaller male frantically clinging to his broad shoulders for support before briskly shoving him further into the wall as to aid with his balance crisis and make it easier for him to take advantage of the young one's vulnerable position. His own hands began to wander as the shorter was currently distracted with winning their tongue war, finding a quite comfortable place upon the cheeks of his buttocks in the process. His eyes opened only slightly as he felt the soft cheeks beneath his palms, giving them a gentle squeeze and startling the boy beneath his grip quite deliberately. His smirk only grew however when he felt the other release what was more than likely meant to be a growl of disdain accidentally coming out as a pleasured moan.

The shorter gasped as the hands continued to work on his backside, causing his face to light up once again at the indecency of the other's quite daring audacity. Any words however to halt the other's movements were choked out by the time they reached the tip of his tongue however by the pleasurable friction his actions were creating. He could've sworn his eyes rolled to the back of his head when he felt a leg wedge between his own, only increasingly the pressure and heat his crotch was currently enduring.

Eventually the grip upon his bottom ceased, surprisingly much too both the smaller's relief and chagrin. However, all thoughts of pleasure and want ceased as soon as he felt hands begin to work to undo his tie.

He gasped into the kiss, this time from shock rather than any form of pleasure, quickly shoving the elder off in a frenzy of alarm and anxiety. It was only then he realized just how far he allowed the other male to go in terms of inappropriate contact at such an…early stage in their relationship…If one could call it that really as there really had been no official acceptance of his voiced feelings at all, simply an unspoken agreement toward both participants in their lewd exchanges. Nonetheless…he was simply shocked the other would make a move so bold in such a setting in the first place. They were in fact, still right outside the room no doubt still filled with quite baffled and offended officials still trying to wrap their head around the recent happenings as he did not yet hear the usually vulgar shouts of a violent debate.

His breath shook, vigorously shaking his head as he grasped the hand still tightly clenched the plum material of his tie, his mind going into over drive yet again as he silently tried to convince the other to release his article of clothing, for as of then he was still far to shaken to form intellectual words.

Yami tilted his head slightly at the smaller's sudden shutdown in both movement and verbal conveyance. However, upon noting the male's shaky grasp upon his own resting upon the tie his eyes soften at the other's ridiculously heightened nerves. Of course, the notion he would perform such an act in (practically) his own companies hallway was indeed quite foolish and as some would say a sure sign of some problematic paranoia, though the shorter was probably more wary of what was going to happen after they left, and did not want to leave the elder with the impression that any of that was going to happen any time soon. He shook his head, releasing an unintelligent sigh before liberating the article from his nimble fingers as to assure the boy he got his message loud and clear.

"Yugi…relax…" he muttered silently, backing off slightly as he gave Yugi at the very least further wiggle room and distance enough for the two to practically communicate, "I know you dislike ties. You no longer have to try and impress me and I prefer you feel comfortable when we kiss," he explained truthfully, observing as the male's form slowly became less tense, taking the man's word in with careful consideration.

His signature smirk however did not take long to break through his comforting gaze, "Besides, if you wish to continue I would think you'd need all the air you can get…" he muttered lowly, though careful not to let his lust drip through the words as he softly caressed the other's sides in a consoling manner, his movement certainly contradictory to his words.

At this, Yugi fortunately or unfortunately could not find the will to be angered at. In fact, it brought a fond smile to his face. Though it was certainly not a grin, or even a smile of happiness. The hand previously grasping the one that had been clamped onto his tie slowly began to stroke the material as he remembered the thoughts that lingered in his mind upon the first time he laid eyes on the item…Why would he want to rid of such a precious piece of clothing?...Something that would stick with him no matter what…something that would hold tightly no matter what he did or where he was…just so long as he never let it go. Just so long as he didn't choose to take it off it would be there, close to his heart. Even if it did hurt him sometimes. Even if it was clingy. Even if it was flashy or gaudy. It was his tie now. It was his responsibility to keep it safe now and never let it out of his sight…Who cares what anyone thought—at the station, or even his own grandfather? Who cares what he himself thought? He loved that tie, and he was proud to say it to.

"You know what…" Yugi whispered, carefully stroking the silky material beneath his fingertips as he looked up at the expecting gaze of his lover.

"…I think I'm beginning to like this one…"

Yami gave the boy below him a perplexed look, however the awkward confession had been forgotten upon feeling the smaller's lips descend upon his own for the third time.

He didn't know it…but maybe he had liked it all along…

So, that was quite a bitch to write.

BUT ANYWHO I FINISHED IT JUST LIKE I PROMISED I WOULD ON TUMBLR BY TONIGHT

OMFG DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I WENT THROUGH TO WRITE THIS DAMN CHAPTER. IT IS AS OF RIGHT NOW LIKE 26,000 WORDS LONG. My fingers are sore and I believe my index is developing a quite uncomfortable cramp. I mean, I know I shouldn't be complaining because I kind of chose to make it that long.

BUT I SWEAR I DON'T DO THIS ON PURPOSE GUYS, REALLY I DON'T.

Uh, but anyway. Don't leave yet I have some really important announcements.

First order of business, I have decided to swallow my pride and may in fact be asking someone to begin beta-ing this story because omfg I just finished a 26k word story and now I have to read it aloud to critique all the grammar and shit. Yay.

I've simply realized I can't be held responsible for my own shitty grammar. With that being said, if any of you would like to beta this story be my guest! I'm sorry if you're expecting something in return though…I'm kind of a broke bitch…

…But I could probably pay you in filthy, smutty one-shots on your birthday ;D!

Do not be worried either if more than one of you wants to apply, I have many stories I'm thinking of publishing soon so maybe when the time comes and I find you like the story I may ask you ^u^

Secondly, if this chapter hits the 100 review mark (as it is the 10th chapter and it is a big mile stone for CTC) This story will officially be an M rated one by the next update.

*winkwink*

So that means 13 reviews guys! I know you can do it.

SO REMEMBER TO LEAVE A REVIEW GUYS. YOU DON'T HAVE TO WRITE MOUNTAINOUS PARAGRAPHS, though it's nice to see them, a sentence or even a few words will suffice! Guys, I swear I don't bite, and I respond to them all!

This brings me to my third point that I will no longer be responding on an update. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking when I decided responding on them would be EFFICIANT but it is not. So therefore, I will from now on be responding personally, which I feel is a whole lot better as if you do review me something personal the whole entire world will not see it. (unlesstheystalkthereviews)

FOURTHLY, I know what I said in the last chapter, and I am completely and utterly sorry to those who added me on facebook (especially Akuzeku) I kind of left the account for reasons I don't prefer to talk about. So, I'm on tumblr every hour of the day, like, I'm not even kidding. I changed my URL it is JadenEffinYuki. When you add me though please make sure to send me a message telling me who you are. Not because of safety reasons, just because I want to know who you are if you've read my stories.

SERIOUSLY my life is on there. Go ahead, add me! I know one of you already has…However I know not the alias you are hiding under but I assure you, I will find you my love c;

*DEEP BREATH* AAAAND ANOTHER THING, DIARY OF AN ORPHAN IS CLEARLY ON HIATUS IF SOME OF YOU HAVE NOT NOTICED SINCE IT HASN'T BEEN UPDATED IN LIKE TWO YEARS

I kind of started it when I was noob…and every time I go back to read it I just cringe because its so awful, I don't even KNOW why I still keep getting reviews telling me to continue because omfg that story is so embarrassing

So, I'm giving you guys 3 options to choose from. Something you should put in your review.

One, I completely scrap it

Two, I scrap it but I create a remake. I already have a few ideas in mind and granted it will not be entirely the same, but it will still be the same premise

Three, I continue (But it's going to take aloooot of convincing for me to do that. Honestly guys the story is so embarrassing to me.)

Duct tape is currently still being written, but that's not really a serious story for me, it was kind of just a fun side project (it is not abandoned though)

Last but not least, pretty soon I am going to be releasing a story called Beau Cul, Ma Juliet which will be a pirate AU. Don't worry! It may sound cheesy but I assure you it is quite a humorous erotica if I do say so myself.

Sorry for the wait, my lovelies, Please leave a review! Your porn depends on it.