• 1-Late Night Meetings

Title: Late Night Meeting

Author: Kris Ice

Rating: R or NC-17

Pairing(s): Rafael/Strings, Yami/Bakura

Original Characters: a bartender

Type: yaoi

Status: one-shot

Spoilers: some for the DOOM Arc

Disclaimer: I don’t own Yugioh or any characters associated with it. I don't own either song. I don't know who sings the first one (One Card Short), but the second one (Scandalous) is by Prince (or whatever he calls himself these days). I also alter the lyrics to the second one.

Summary: Yami goes wandering late at night looking for something and finds an old friend who leads him to a place he discovers what he’s been looking for.

"Get in."

The sudden order jarred him from his thoughts causing the tricolor haired man to turn. Yami expected another indecent proposal from on eof the men that traveled this darker part of town looking for an easy lay. He wasn’t sure what pulled him to this side of town. He was probably itching for a fight. He snarled as he turned; ready to lash out at the unwelcome distraction. He’d promised Yugi he wouldn’tl anl anyone on these late night walks, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t snap their sanity.

The face in the window was the last he would have expected to see. The tall blonde raised an eyebrow. "Well? Are you going to stand there all night?"

Yami blinked, walking around the black sports car, climbing into the passenger side. "What are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same question," the driver responded. "I’m going to work. What’s your excuse?"

"Work?" The shorter man blinked. "Since when do you work around here?"

Rafael shrugged. "We moved back not too long ago. We got an offer from a friend we met to work in a night club he was opening here."

"How is everyone?"

"Amelda’s calmed down some. He’s been quiet. I think he’s a bit lost now that he no longer hates Kaiba."

"And Varon?"

The blonde man smiled wryly. "He’s doing very well. I think tway way of life suits him. He was going to try and get a hold of Mai as soon as things have settled down." He smirked over at his passenger. "And I don’t think he would object to seeing your blonde friend again."

Yami chuckled. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed that they were pulling into an alley.

"All the workers go in through the back door," Rafael explained, catching the look.

A few minutes later, the tall blonde was leading the mshorshorter man through the kitchen into the main room of the club. "You’re early," the bartender called.

The taller man shrugged. "I thought I’d take care of a few things before I started my shift."

The dark haired man behind the counter nodded before turning away to serve a customer.

The interior of the club was decorated in a gothic style with the lights down low. An empty stage took up the far corner. The curtain was dropped, but a glimmer of light could be seen leaking from under the thick fabric.

"Come on," Rafael said, leading Yami to a small black table in the opposite corner from the stage. It was far enough away that it was a bit quieter. Noticing Yami looking around for the sound system, he smiled. "The sound system is hidden back stage and uses the big speakers hanging up there near the stage and the small ones located in each corner of the room."

"Why did you bring me here?" the shorter man asked, looking around the crowded club.

The tall blonde shrugged. "It was safer then letting you walk the streets." He paused, looking away for a moment. "I was told that I had you to thank for my life."

Yami shrugged. "I owed you for what you had done to help Seto and I."

Rafael studied the young man across from him for a moment. He was short and slight with wild tricolor hair, but the delicate looking boy held an ancient power that seemed to be capable of anything. "How did you do it? I had shattered my soul."

"Your body wasn’t dead," Yami said, a faint smile on his face. "And it is possible to save a soul if even a small part remains. That fragment, if fed energy and kept safe, will regrow into a full soul." He shrugged. "I found a small fragment of your soul and took care of it until it was strong enough to return to your body."

"I …" the taller man paused, unsure of what he was going to say. "Thank you for everything."

Yami smiled. "I owed you."

Rafael shook his head. "It was partly my fault you were in that situation to begin with. Helping you was all that I could think of to repay you. Besides, I had to do something to stop Dartz."

Yami started to reply when a familiar face in the crowd caused him to stiffen and his eyes to narrow.

His table partner raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of demeanor before looking to see what had caught the younger man’s eye. His other eyebrow rose when he recognized a familiar pale face. Rafael had found the bald young man with hoops in his cheek and nose in an alley way. Something in the young man’s dead eyes had touched something in the tall blonde so he had taken him home. "You know him?"

Yami nodded slowly. "A few years ago, he was being mind controlled by a madman and tried to beat me in a duel. I was barely able to defeat him." He looked back at the other man at the table. "What is he doing here?"

"I’ve been working with him for a while, drawing him out of his shell. He does alright with simple orders, even though he doesn’t talk. The owner of the place lets him work here by cleaning off the tables."

Something in the tone of the older man’s voice told Yami to let it go. "So what do you do here?"

"I’m a security guard. Unfortunately, tonight’s my night to be stuck watching the monitors." He glanced up at the clock, frowning. "I’d better check in. Feel free to order anything as long as it’s non-alcoholic. I believe your other is still a minor."

"I don’t have that much money on me."

Rafael dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand. "Don’t worry, it’s on me." He held up a hand when Yami started to protest. "Just think of it as my way of repaying you."

"You don’t owe me anything," Yami protested as the other man stood.

The tall blonde smiled. "You gave me my life. I think I owe you a lot. Rest, relax. If you’re still here after my shift I’ll give you a walk home."

"Thanks," Yami responded before the other moved out of earshot. He turned back to look for that familiar pale face, but didn’t see the former mind puppet anywhere. When a waiter came by, he ordered a Coke and glanced at the clock. It wasn’t really all that late yet so he didn’t have to worry about getting home. He sat back and relaxed, listening to the music.

Suddenly, a deep song began, pulling him from his thoughts. It wasn’t the music that caught his attention though it was the lyrics.

He blinked, startled. The song seemed almost as if it was written for him. Before he realized it, he found himself out on the floor, dancing. He didn’t know much about modern dancing, but he found it surprisingly easy to give himself over to the beat.

He closed his eyes, remembering past duels, remembering the times he’d killed his opponents, how he had felt only satisfaction at the victories, but now they left him feeling hollow.

His lithe body moved through the dancers with ease, ignoring the dark, hungry looks that followed him. His mind turned to Yugi’s best friend. He didn’t know if it was Yugi’s feelings influencing his own, but he had started hungering for the blonde. He was too late though. It didn't take much to know that the blonde would never look at him that way. It was always that way when it came to matters of the heart. He could win any game but that one.

He hadn’t told Yugi why he was so restless, so frustrated. His constant pacing in his soul room had started disturbing the young boy’s sleep. He had told Yugi that he was used to walking when he couldn’t rest. It wasn’t like he could leave the room to go pace considering he only existed within the puzzle and Yugi’s head. They had come to an agreement about it. Yugi would let Yami use his body to go for walks at night as long as his Grandpa never found out and Yami didn’t kill anyone. Yami sighed, letting the music pull him in further to its embrace. Just once, he wanted to be the one who got the one he wanted instead of the one left in the dark. True, there was Yugi there for him and whoever he ended up with would have to beroveroved by the boy since whoever it was would have to accept the two of them as a package deal. Yami had been so sure that Jou would be willing.

He was sure he had covered all the bases, that he had completely enthralled blonblonde. But once he started paying closer attention to the way Jou acted around Yugi and him, he realized that the boy would never see them as anything but his best friend. As for the others he had tried for, that had been many years ago. There hadn’t been too many; he’d had to be careful that no word got back to his father. After all, he was supposed to be seducing the women of the court, not the men. Even then, he had been far too cautious with some, they had moved on before he could make his move. Others simply agreed to get close to him, and a very few told him no.

He writhed, ignoring the brave souls who touched him, moved against him. His senses didn’t register them as a friend or foe so they weren’t important. Images of the people who had come to mean something to him in this lifetime filled his mind. If he didn’t think Seto Kaiba would laugh in his face, he’d try seducing the tall brunette. He just needed one more chance, one more try, and he was sure he wouldn’t be lonely. Of course, he couldn’t just think of himself. There was still Yugi to consider.

He was the King of Games, and what was love but another game? One that he was determined to uer.uer. He could out think any opponent. He simply had to start applying that to his potential mates. What was that phrase that Yugi used? All’s fair in love and war?