Disclaimer: I’ve written it in 11 other chapters, I’m not doing it anymore. I’ll tell you when I DO own them.

THIS IS THE END, THE FINALE, IT’S OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the last chapter. It has to be. There’s nothing else I can do but drag out a dead horse and beat it with a stick. I wrote this once and I got completely stuck so I went back and wrote it again. And mucho thanks to TwilightHunter who tried to help me with it. This was my first YGO fic and everyone’s reviews meant a whole lot to me. This picture is my thanks to everyone who reviewed this story and I hope you enjoy it. I worked on this thing for a week and it’s probably the best picture I’ve ever done so I’m begging you  (down on her hands and knees) PLEASE look at it.
http://www.geocities.com/setonomusume/setoyami.jpg

 

Yami: I have to admit; even I’m impressed with that pic. Of course, it has me and Seto in it so it has to be great. Though I am still upset that you didn’t get this chapter out sooner.

 

Dai-na: oh, shut up, you were too hung over from the party to have enjoyed it until now, anyway.

 

Yami: And who was it who ordered Seto to pour alcohol down my throat.

 

Dai-na:………….. um, on with the story.

 

 

Rock candy

By: Dai-onna

 

 

Yugi could feel the blood leaving his face as he listened to what Ryou was telling him, grateful that Seto was at his side. If the taller boy hadn’t had a firm hand pressed against his back he was certain that he would have fallen over. As it was, he still couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. Joey was sick… maybe dying? Though he hadn’t spent as much time with the blonde lately as he used to, the boy was still his best friend and the news shook him greatly. By looking at the pale-haired boy who was explaining things to them, he could tell that Ryou was equally distraught and saw for the first time just how much the boy loved his friend.

Honda, Anzu and Mai’s expressions were ones of disbelief, not accepting the fact that something like this could happen to one of their friends. Honda slammed his fist down on a desk.

“Man, what are we doing here if Joey’s at the hospital. We should be there.” The brown –haired boy demanded. Yugi tried to soothe his friend.

“We can’t just leave, Honda , no matter how much we want to.” The boy wasn’t ready to calm down though.

“But what if something happens why we’re here? What if—we should be there!” He insisted, not wanting to acknowledge the possibilities out loud. A part of Yugi agreed with him but he was trying to be sensible.

Ryou spoke up again.

“I’ll know if something happens to him. My Yami will tell me.” He said before realizing the error of that statement. Sever sets of eyes went wide and Honda grew furious.

“You left him with that murderer??! What were you thinking?! He’d more likely to kill Joey himself!” Yugi nearly winced at the hurt he saw flash in Ryou’s eyes before it was quickly replaced by anger. Ryou’s chocolate eyes went dangerously dark and he grabbed Honda by the front of his shirt, pulling him close so that their faces were only inches apart. The other’s looked startled by the action and Honda went completely still.

“I would watch what you say if I were you. You made not be overly fond of my Yami, but I am and I don’t take too kindly to people insulting him.” He growled. Fear actually shimmered in the brown-haired boy’s eyes as Ryou released him. Yugi put a hand on Honda’s arm, trying to calm him.

“Honda, I don’t really trust Yami Bakura either but I do trust Ryou, and his judgment. He would never do anything to let Joey get hurt.” He said reasonably. Honda looked like he was about to object but then decided against it, apologizing to Ryou who then responded in kind. The pale-haired boy was more than a little startled at his own outburst and Yugi couldn’t help but laugh a little internally.

If only Yami Bakura could see him now. He though, amused.

He’d be so proud. His Yami’s sarcastic voice filled his mind. He was slightly comforted by the presence of his other in his mind.

Yami? Joey’s going to be okay, isn’t he?

I hope so, Aibou.

 

Tension weighed heavily on everybody throughout the class period and when it ended, Yugi cornered Ryou in the hallway, making sure that none of their friends were nearby.

“Ryou, does Yami Bakura love Joey?” The pale-haired boy was startled by the question and he easy acceptance of their relationship.

“Yes. Even if he wont admit it, my Yami loves him just as much as I do.” He said softly. It looked like he was about to say more but his eyes went wide and for a moment his face paled before all the color came back in a rush. Yugi figured that he was talking to his Yami and, judging by the look on his face, it was good news. He looked as if he were trying not to smile to brightly and tears were welling in his eyes as he turned his focus back on Yugi who was waiting expectantly.

Ryou gave him a relieved smile and told him that Joey was awake. He resisted the urge to let out a relieved sigh and he and Ryou both continued on to their next class. The day still went by slowly, though the news that Joey was getting better had eased things and it seemed like an eternity before they finally got to the hospital. They were greeted there by a pretty young doctor who whispered something to Ryou that made him laugh. He exchanged looks with Seto and his Yami, trying to see if they had any idea what she had told him. Yami gave him a secretive smile and said something along the lines of wanting to see Yami Bakura falling asleep, holding someone’s hand in his mind. He looked at his dark half slightly surprised then chuckled at the image the thought produced.

When they got to Joey’s room they were all slightly startled by what they saw. Joey was sitting up in bed with Bakura sitting on the opposite end and they were in the middle of a duel. They all watched silently, wanting to see what would happen. They seemed to be about even when Bakura played his Dark Necrophia and it all went down hill for Joey from there until the blonde threw his hand down on the bad in frustration. He put his deck aside and saw that Bakura was staring at him. Yugi saw the irritation in his eyes almost as clearly as he saw the intent in the fiend’s eyes.

“What do you want? You won, geez!” Yugi had to struggle not to snicker at his friend’s expression or at the look on Bakura’s face.

“Yes, I won. And now I want my prize.” The entire room seemed to freeze as Bakura leaned in and kissed Joey, who didn’t hesitate to return the embrace. Yugi smiled and moved closer to his Yami and Seto, who were both watching the display with some amusement.

Yami couldn’t resist interrupting.

“You know, for someone who’s supposed to be mortally ill, he sure looks pretty lively.” He said, a smirk present on his face. Yami Bakura growled, turning away from Joey, and both boys glared at him which only caused his smirk to widen. He looked over at Seto who was trying is damnedest not to laugh. The brunettes eyes were nearly sparkling as they exchanged a look of mischief.

“It figures, the inu can’t even get sick right.” Seto teased, calling the blonde by the nickname that he despised.

If the blonde was going to give him a retort he was cut off by Ryou flinging himself at him, kissing him just as deeply as his Yami had only minutes before. Yami blinked in surprise at seeing the pale-haired boy so forward. He couldn’t help but laugh. Joey pulled away from Ryou and glared at him which only made him want to laugh harder but when the blonde smirked, his laughter stopped cold and he grew wary.

“ Yeah, laugh all you want, Yami. But now that my relationship is out in the open, I have no particular reason to keep your little secret.” Yami’s eyes went wide and he could feel Yugi and Seto tense on either side of him. He was thankful for the death glare that Seto gave Joey and would have done the same if Tea hadn’t pounced on him, demanding to know what his ‘Secret’ was. He did his best to try and fend off her questions which only made her more persistent. He had to resist the urge to go hide in his soul room.

He had never been more thankful than when Yami Bakura ushered them out of the room, leaving Joey and Ryou in privacy as well as turning everyone’s attention back on the pale-haired fiend. Though not even Tea was dense enough to question him about his affairs. Truth be told, he was actually surprised at how much he seemed to care for the blonde. He hadn’t believed that the darker spirit was capable of such tender emotions. With a slight sigh he sank into one of the waiting room chairs and looked at Seto who satin a chair across from them. What he wouldn’t give to kiss Seto in front of everyone. The same way Ryou had kissed Joey.

Aibou, He thought Maybe it’s time we tell the others about our relationship with Seto. He said, connecting with his other mentally. There was a long pause as he waited for Yugi’s reply.

I think you’re right. We’ve put it off too long. He nodded slightly. He blinked a bit in surprise as   Yugi crossed the room to the chair where Seto sat and without a word, sat down in his lap, cuddling up to him.

Seto looked down at the boy in his lap in surprise, out of habit, bringing a hand up to hold him in place. Yugi wrapped his arms around his waist and looked up at him with eyes that pleaded with him not to be upset. He practically melted under the expression. With a soft sight he held the smaller boy close and placed his chin on top of his hair. His contentment lasted all of a few seconds however.

“What the hell is this?!” Tea’s voice rang out through the waiting room, startling the people that were passing by. Seto looked up at the girl with an expression of distaste and tightened his arms around Yugi, noticed the girl was staring at them in fury. He gave her an icy glare that had far braver people than this girl cowering before him. And sure enough she did take a couple steps back but either her anger had emboldened her or she was really stupid, because she didn’t back off. Yugi looked up at his friend from the safety of Seto’s arms, a hurt expression on his face that made Seto all the more angry.

“Why are you sitting in his lap?” She demanded angrily of Yugi, causing the other boy to flinch. Seto wanted to reach out and strangle the girl. And from the look on Yami’s face as he stood up, so did he.

Seto watched in satisfaction as Yami nearly growled at the girl, causing her to look at him in surprise. She really was stupid if she thought that she could yell at Yugi like that and not get Yami angry. Tea backed away from the fuming pharaoh, confused.

“Why shouldn’t he? He loves Seto, just like I do.” He told her, his voice dark. Seto took a sadistic delight in her small, choked gasp as her eyes widened and she went pale. Tears began to well in her eyes and she turned on Seto with a look of pure loathing.

“You bastard! How could you?” Seto raised an eyebrow curiously at her question.

“How could I what?” He intentionally made his voice sound bored just for the sole purpose of making her angrier. It worked too. He found that he was enjoying her distress far too much but he had been forced to put up with her for too long. Yugi and Yami were his and there was nothing that she could do about it.

“He was mine! How could you steal him from me?” He saw the hurt in Yugi’s eyes at her callously spoken words and glared at her.

“And which ‘he’ might that be? It’s ‘they’. There are two of them, Tea, and they go together. You can’t have one or the other.” He said coolly, his tone causing the angry girl to shiver. She returned his glare but it was ineffective on him.

“Shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about. Yami loved me. You tricked him somehow.” She insisted, growing hysterical.

::Crack!::

The entire room grew silent as Yugi’s hand connected with Tea’s cheek solidly. Both the boy and girl looked startled but Yugi’s expression melted into one of contempt.

“Be quiet for once in your life, Tea. Yami and I love Seto and we have for a long time. And Seto loved us back. Both of us. He was right. There is no one or the other with me and Yami. You can’t love one and not the other. You were always a good friend to me and Yami but never anything more.” His voice grew soft as he finished thinking and the sincerity in his words when he said that he loved Seto was so great that even through her anger and sorrow Tea could hear it. The brunette girl looked mortified at what had just happened and cradled her injured cheek gingerly before running from the building. There was a moment of tenuous silence that hung in the air before Mai stood and smiled at him.

“I’ll go talk to her.” She offered softly. She walked up to Yugi and placed a quick sisterly kiss on his cheek that caused the boy to flush. “Congratulations kid.” And with that she left, following in the direction in which Tea had run.

With a sigh Yugi sat back down in Seto’s lap and looked up at his love with a weak smile.

“Well, that went better than I expected.”

 

Yami smiled as he watched Yugi happily running the game shop while his grandfather took the day off. Joey had just been released from the hospital that morning after being held in observation in case he might relapse but the had granted him a clean bill of health telling him to take it easy for a while.

Joey had immediately gone over to Ryou’s house and he had a feeling that ‘taking it easy’ was not something that the blonde had in mind. He looked over at Yugi who seemed to be smiling so brightly that it had to hurt and he couldn’t help but smile himself. Not just because Yugi’s good moods were infectious but because in a few minutes they would be going to the Kaiba mansion to see Seto and Yami knew that the brunette had a surprise for his little light. They were both startled when the doors opened and a familiar face walked in. No one except Mai had heard from Tea since she ran out of the hospital two days ago and, as far as Yami was concerned that was fine. He didn’t want anyone causing his aibou anymore pain. But he knew that Yugi was still upset and didn’t like being at odds with his friend. So, for his Hikari’s sake he kept his mouth shut when she warily approached them. Her expression was downcast and she looked as if she didn’t know what to say.

When she finally looked up at them it became apparent that she’d been crying and he felt his anger soften a little. He’d never wanted to hurt her but it was something that couldn’t be avoided.

He looked over at Yugi who seemed wary of the girl and waited for her to say something. There was a long silence before she finally did so.

“I…I’m sorry Yugi. I’ve been unfair to you for a long time.” Yami blinked a little. That wasn’t exactly what he’d been expecting. Yugi too looked a little startled at the apology and smiled softly at her, easily giving her his forgiveness.

“It’s okay Tea, I understand.” He said. The brunette shook her head.

“No. It’s not okay. I was cruel to you and I had no right to say those things to Seto. I really am happy for you.” She admitted. She gave Yugi the best smile that she could manage, despite the fact that she was still hurting and Yugi hugged her, happy to still have his friend. Yami stood to the side, silently watching as they made up and talked, Yugi told her about how he and Seto had first gotten together and she laughed at the idea of him seducing the billionaire with Pixy Stix. It wasn’t long though before she left, giving Yami a apologetic look as she headed towards the door. He nodded at her and she left, leaving he and Yugi alone. He put the closed sign up on the door and told Yugi to get ready for going to Seto’s. If he was right than this was going to be the most memorable day of his light half’s life.

 

Yugi looked around the dimmed living room of the Kaiba mansion that was seemingly deserted. Upon arrival his Yami had gone back to his soul room saying that he didn’t need to be there and shut himself off from him. He’d been let into the house by Mokuba and led into the living room but he had yet to see a sign of Seto. Confused, he went over to the window and looked out, waiting for someone to show up. The sun had already set and the night sky was clear, showing the stars. He watched them as he thought of the last few days and how everything seemed to be happening all at once. He nearly jolted when arms came around him from behind and he didn’t have to turn to know whose they were. He smiled and leaned back against the taller boy, looking up at him to find his face expressionless. He frowned thoughtfully and raised and eyebrow in question.

“Look on the windowsill Yugi.” He said softly, his voice sounding slightly choked. Yugi’s brow furrowed and he looked down at the window to see something that had most definitely not been there before. He stood there staring at the small, velvet box for who knows how long before hesitantly reaching out to pick it up. He cradled the small box.

“Open it.” The words were whispered softly in his ear and they had a desperate edge to them. With shaking fingers he pried the box open and the breath caught in his throat as he saw the small, delicate ring. He extracted it and held it up, looking it over. It was two strands of white gold wrapped around what he had at first perceived to be sapphires but then he realized that the color wasn’t right. Blue diamonds? He knew how rare and precious the gems were and had never expected to actually see any. He stared at the ring in awe.

“Is this… Is this even legal?” He asked his voice small. He didn’t look back at the other boy, fearful that he would break down right there. Seto’s husky laughter filled his mind and he held still.

“I don’t really care. But if it isn’t, I’ll find a way to make it so.” The words were confident and true and they warmed him inside.

“And if I say no?” He felt Seto tense behind him and waited silently for his answer.

“Then I’ll keep asking you everyday for the rest of your life until you change your mind.” He laughed softly and turned in Seto’s arms a gentle smile on his face as he slipped the ring on his finger.

“Well then, I might as well just say yes then.” Seto’s eyes widened and before the brunette could recover from the shock he wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him soundly. Seto held still under his kiss for a moment before tightening his arms around Yugi’s petit form and kissed him back. And at that moment Yugi knew, no matter what happened, no matter what problems they had to overcome they would always be together.

And they would always be happy.

No matter what.

 

~~Owari~~