Visiting Hours.
"I'm feeling fine, I don't see why you all have to continue coming here to bother me every five minutes." Seto muttered, glaring out of the window as Yugi and Ryou fussed over him and arranged the flowers Ryou had bought in a vase on the bedside table. Yami was perched on a table across the spacious, white private hospital room, watching his hikari fixing the curtains open with a smirk.
"I keep telling them that." Bakura mentioned from where he sat in a chair near Yami, enjoying ignoring the pharaoh, who barely noticed he was there anyway.
"We have to make sure you're alright, Kaiba, you're our friend!" Yugi insisted with a big smile, turning to the executive lying comfortably in the bed, who was struggling not to let his eyes linger too long on Yami and give anything away.
"Right." Seto replied in a voice that clearly stated what he thought of *that*. His mind was elsewhere, though. He was thinking of the light kiss Yami had pressed to his lips in that dark hole they'd been trapped in. The pharaoh hadn't mentioned anything about it since then, because every time they were together Yugi, Ryou and Bakura would always be there as well. He wondered if Yami had forgotten, or maybe it had meant nothing to him, and he'd only done it on the spur of the moment, thinking that he was going to die. He wished he knew what Yami was thinking, but the damned pharaoh was always so unreadable and cool, in any situation. There was undoubtedly something endlessly alluring about him, though. Over the past few weeks lying in the hospital bed, healing and regaining his strength, Seto had had a lot of time to think on the subject and he'd come to the conclusion that it must be Yami's eyes. So fierce and exotic, he was sure they were what attracted him to the spirit. Or possibly his perfect, soft skin. Or even that strength he had about him, even though he was so small and lithe. He had a presence that made him seem a lot more intimidating than he looked. Seto had worked for years to build up his icy facade, but Yami had one he could switch on and off in a second.
At that very moment, said pharaoh was perched on the table with his leather-clad legs crossed, his head turned to the side to stare out of the window at the trees in the garden of the expensive nursing home Seto had chosen to recuperate in. There was no way he wanted to be admitted to a public hospital to be crammed into some ward with a hundred other whining people. This place was nice and quiet, and not too far away from his mansion, so he didn't feel too far from Mokuba. The younger Kaiba brother had been in to visit every morning before school, and most afternoons as well. He always bought chocolate, which Seto had hidden under the bed. If Yugi and those other idiots ever found out he liked chocolate, he was sure he'd never live it down. Yami would probably mock him about it for the rest of his life. Although, he now knew that Yami was afraid of both the television and the telephone, so he had plenty of new material with which to make fun of his rival. It didn't seem worth it now, though, after everything they'd been through. What he really wanted was to know why Yami had kissed him, and if he ever planned on doing it again any time soon. Once he knew that, he could figure out whether he would *let* Yami kiss him again.
It wasn't so much that he'd been kissed by another male, it was just that it was *Yami*, and they had been enemies for so long, it was an established fact that they were supposed to hate each other. Though, now that he thought of it, Yami had saved his life and soul plenty of times, and he'd offered to end their enmity often enough. But Seto had refused every time. This time, however... He wasn't *exactly* sure how he would reply, should Yami ask him one last time.
* * *
That night, after visiting hours had ended and Yugi, Ryou, Yami and Bakura had left, Seto sat alone on his soft, white-sheeted bed, unable to sleep. Bakura had dragged Ryou and Yugi out of the building hours ago to take him over to the Ishtar's house to see his - for the most part insane - boyfriends, Malik and Marik. Malik seemed the more sane of the three, but that really wasn't saying much and Seto had his share of doubts about the wisdom of leaving them alone together for any prolonged period of time.
That was not the issue that kept him awake at such an hour - well past midnight - though.
What robbed him of his precious sleep was a simple look.
Just a glance, that was it. Yami had been the last to vacate Seto's private, not to mention extremely expensive, hospital room. As he'd left, Seto's eyes had been fixed on the pharaoh, his mind still in turmoil over a fleeting kiss in a dark prison on the verge of unconsciousness. He'd been watching Yami's back, just as he had been doing all day when he'd assumed Yami wasn't paying attention, trying to figure things out. But it seemed Yami was in control and alert as ever, because in the single moment as he left the room the pharaoh had turned his head slightly and fixed Seto with such an intense look that the CEO had been almost frozen to the spot. A ghost of a knowing smirk had been playing about Yami's lips in that instant, and Seto could tell without a doubt that Yami knew the CEO had been watching him all day. There was something deeper in that glance, though. Those crimson eyes had burned into Seto's like hot coals melting ice, holding in their exotic depths a promise of something yet to come. There would be more to what had been set in motion during the earthquake, Yami had promised. A single, solitary kiss would not suffice. From the knowing, amused look Yami had been wearing, Seto knew one thing above all else; Yami had more planned for him yet.
* * *
Seto slept peacefully in the soft hospital bed, unaware in his slumber of the ethereal figure outlined by the moonlight streaming in through the window. The curtains were still tied back where Yugi had fastened them, the silver-silhouetted apparition noted absently. He was the type to notice small details of the like, he always had been. Small details such as the soft fall of Seto's hair over his closed eyes, the elegant sweep of the sheets over his lithe form, the almost melodic whispers of his rythmic breathing echoing throughout the midnight shadows of the room.
The intruder's ruby eyes scanned the dark room once before he stepped in from the window and turned to close it behind him. Regular visiting hours had ended, hence the unusual method of entry, but this particular visitor gave such things as tresspassing little thought. He strode over to stand beside the bed, allowing himself a flicker of a smirk as he looked down at the sleeping young executive. A deluge of poetic words flooded his mind as he stared down at Seto; beautiful, entrancing, incandescent, perfect, irreplacable.
Yami - for that was the intruder's name - mused that 'irreplacable' was certainly right. It had been close, far too close. Mokuba hadn't been told, but that earthquake had almost cost Seto his life.
In spirit form and unseen by the doctors, Yami had followed Seto into the operating theatre once the ambulance had reached the hospital, watching closely as the fading executive was sedated and prepared for surgery. The pharaoh had kept his crimson eyes locked on the sharp blade of the scalpel as it had made the first incision across the golden skin of Seto's abdomen, blood welling up from the wound in beads. It had been a lengthy session in surgery before Seto had finally been moved to intensive care, his wounds patched and his leg set. His ribs had been bandaged and as he'd laid there in the bed, his body hooked up to countless machines, he'd certainly looked less than healthy to his invisible watcher. His skin had been pale, only serving to highlight the dark smudges beneath his eyes and the purple bruised patches that had made themselves known since the earthquake. He'd looked thinner than he did now, as well.
But all that had been weeks ago, Seto had awoken and been transferred to his private nursing home, and he'd had time enough that his wounds and broken bones were almost sufficiently healed for him to be released.
Yami lifted back the thin sheet covering the reincarnation of his former priest so that the scar from his operation was visible. It was a long line across his side, just below his ribs, and though the bandages had been removed the healing tissue was still a faint pinkish colour. The pharaoh traced the thin scar delicately with a finger, sliding his ruby eyes up over the last faint ghosts of healing bruises on Seto's bare, golden chest, up that delicious throat and over those perfectly kissable lips. The path of Yami's gaze finally ended at a pair of deep sapphire eyes that sparkled in the silver moonlight, returning the look silently.
"You choose now, of all times, to pay me a visit on my deathbed? I will never understand you." Seto said in a voice slightly husky from having just woken up. Yami gave an amused smirk and settled himself comfortably on the end of the bed, leaning casually back against the railing there.
"Deathbed?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow in enquiry. Seto shrugged one shoulder in dismissal, ignoring Yami's deep chuckle.
"Make yourself useful and pass me my chocolate." Seto mock-scowled, deciding that his need for the confection took precidence over the mocking he would undoubtedly have to endure.
"Chocolate?" Yami gave him a teasing look that spoke a thousand words, all of which Seto chose to ignore. "Where is it?"
"Under the bed. Mokuba brings it for me." Seto explained, stubbornly refusing to be embarrassed.
Yami climbed off the soft sheets and knelt on the floor to fetch Seto's horde of chocolate, finding that he enjoyed discovering the often arrogant, egotistical CEO's more human side.
"Milk, or dark?" Yami smirked.
"Dark." Seto replied, fairly certain he was being subtly made fun of by the pharaoh, who chose that moment to climb gracefully as a feline back onto the end of the bed and pass the executive a tray of the finest, most expensive dark chocolates money could buy. As a defiant gesture in the face of the endlessly amused air Yami was giving off, Seto took a chocolate from the box in an uncaring way and popped it into his mouth with half-lidded eyes showing his clear enjoyment of the treat.
Dark chocolate had always been his preferred type, not too sweet like the other kinds. He had a most unscientific theory that one could tell what a person was like by the type of chocolate they preferred. He guessed that Yugi, Ryou and probably Anzu liked white chocolate, which told Seto they were sweet and innocent. It was also Mokuba's first choice. Malik, Otogi, Mai and Jounouchi liked milk chocolate, which was creamy and a little less sweet than white. Lastly came dark chocolate, which was sensual, refined and mysterious. Seto guessed that this would be Yami's choice, as well as Marik and Bakura's.
To test his highly dubious yet amusing theory, Seto offered the tray to Yami.
"Hmm." Yami plucked a dark chocolate from the box and looked it over. Deeming it safe enough, he popped it into his mouth and allowed it to melt, slightly worried about the awakening chocoholic in him that demanded to be satiated. Who would have forseen that the great pharaoh Yami, king of games, would be found in the middle of the night sitting on a hospital bed sharing chocolates with his former priest and greatest rival, Seto Kaiba? How the mighty had fallen, Yami smirked to himself as he crawled forward on all fours to procure himself another sweet from the box Seto held on his lap.
Seto, watching Yami crawl towards him, took a chocolate from the box and held it out mockingly as one might tease a dog with its favourite treat. Smirking in the moonlight, Yami leant up with feline grace, his back arched slightly, and took the sweet with his soft lips, making sure to linger a little longer than entirely necessary with his lips touching Seto's fingers.
As an added aspect to his already cat-like pose, Yami purred in gratification, enjoying the surprised look that passed fleetingly over Seto's handsome face before it was quickly replaced by a smirk.
"Meow." Yami hissed, chuckling deeply. Seto quirked an eyebrow in amusement and held out another chocolate, giving Yami a questioning look.
"Perhaps," Yami murmured, "I would prefer something sweeter."
As this was said, the pharaoh stared pointedly at Seto's lips.
"Is that so?" Seto remarked as he moved the box of chocolates onto the nightstand beside the bed.
"It is." Yami moved forward a little more until he straddled Seto's lap and could feel the heat from the other's bare chest before him. "Would you refuse me?"
Seto seemed to think this over for a moment as he leant back comfortably against the headboard, a pillow cushioning his back.
"Since you asked so nicely..." The former priest finally conceded, allowing Yami to lean forward and brush their lips together, each feeling sparks of pleasure dance through them at the contact, however brief. It was magnetic, though, and in the next instant their lips met again in a more heated embrace, Yami's tongue asking entrance to meet with Seto's own and deepen the kiss. The CEO complied and parted his lips with a fluttering moan, feeling Yami's fingers playing over the bare skin of his chest.
Those nimble caresses of fingertips against smooth skin had Seto's formerly steady heartbeat racing with desire and excitement. He hadn't been sure he really wanted this, the spirit willing but the body bruised and aching from previous traumatic events. That delicate touch reassured him, though, and he knew as those fingers moved lower that this was what he craved.
The pharaoh broke the heated kiss and moved away only a few inches, watching with a lust-heavy gaze as Seto slowly opened his azure eyes.
"I want you. All of you." Yami whispered, his hand moving down to stroke the lithe muscles of Seto's flat stomach.
Seto gave a shaky breath and relaxed back against the headboard again, closing his eyes in pleasure and uncharacteristic submission.
"Then take me." He murmured, a ghost of a smile - or perhaps a smirk - gracing his lips. Yami, for all his rigid self-control, almost gave in to desire and complied to Seto's demand right then. Instead, he decided that they would have to settle for a compromise for the moment.
"No. Much as I am tempted, you are still healing." The pharaoh stated, watching Seto reopen mildly annoyed blue eyes and settle them on him.
"You know I'm stronger than that." He growled, hating anyone implying that he was weak in any way. Yami just gave a deep, amused laugh and bowed his head slightly in supplication. Angering Seto was the last thing he wanted.
"Forgive me," the pharaoh smirked. "But still, this is no place for me to do to you all that I have planned. When it is time, though, I assure you that I will have you screaming for me." Yami whispered huskily, leaning closer and enjoying the way Seto's breathing picked up at his words. "For now, though... perhaps this will help tide you over."
"Mmmmhh..." Seto moaned into the passionate kiss Yami pressed to his lips as the spirit's hand slipped down beneath the white sheets to encircle him firmly.
"Can you keep from crying out? I would not want to have to explain this if someone came to check on you." Yami warned.
Seto opened his eyes to glare briefly at the pharaoh for presuming he would be foolish enough to broadcast what they were doing to the whole building. Yami nodded in understanding and began to move his fist back and forth, wringing a choked gasp from Seto, whose eyes slid closed as his fists clenched in the sheets at his sides. He made an entrancing sight, Yami thought, all flushed and gasping as the pharaoh touched him in the darkness.
"Tell me," Yami purred, "am I the first to ever touch you this way?"
"Yes..." Seto choked out, his sapphire eyes fluttering open again to meet Yami's ruby gaze.
"Good." The pharaoh hissed, then leant in and captured Seto's lips in a possessive kiss, his free hand buried in the young CEO's dark brown hair.
"Ahh... Yami..." Seto breathed, clutching the sheets in a death grip to avoid crying out.
"Yes, Seto?" Yami smirked, enjoying what he could do to the blue-eyed young man with a simple touch. Seto was struggling to cling to his control, his entire body trembling deliciously and his golden skin shining with a thin sheen of sweat.
"Hard... Harder..." He groaned, biting back a sharp cry when Yami acquiesed and sped up the pace, moving to place feathery kisses along Seto's throat and his bare shoulders. Seto's breathing quickened, coming in heavy gasps and warning Yami that his blue eyed rival was almost at the edge. With a final sharp jerk, Seto tensed and shuddered, leaning to catch Yami's lips in a deep kiss to muffle the helpless moans of pleasure the pharaoh wrung from him. His vision flashed white for a moment and he fell back against the headboard, panting in release and barely aware of Yami slowly moving to clean up and straightening the blankets. It took him a while to regain his composure, but finally he opened his sapphire eyes and looked over at the pharaoh stood beside the bed, smirking.
"You've done that before." The CEO pointed out, an amused look in his eyes. Yami snagged a chocolate from the tray on the bedside table and shrugged.
"I *am* more than five thousand years old," he said, then leant down and gave Seto a long, chocolate-flavoured kiss. "I'll see you again when you're healed." Yami whispered, licking Seto's lips once before turning away and stalking over to the window.
Seto said nothing, watching as Yami left the same way he'd arrived. He continued to stare out of the window for a moment before giving a smirk of anticipation and laying back down, taking another chocolate from the box. Just a few more days for his bruises to heal...
TBC