Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Sins of the Flesh	By : NihilEtNemo Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 10611 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1--01-
- 2--02-
- 3--03-
- 4--04-
- 5--05-
- 6--06-
- 7--07-
- 8--08-
- 9--09-
- 10--10-
- 11--11-
- 12--12-
- 13--13-
- 14--14-
- 15--15-
- 16--16-
- 17--17-
- 18--18-
- 7
- 8
- 9
TOT: Yay! You like me! =P Wow, though... the Holy Hand Grenade didn't give it away? ^^
DemonicStreak: I'm glad you were able to mull your way through all the chapters... I am working n a few oneshots, but I'lltell you *almost* - not quite - all I write is uke!Seto...
Sins
of the Flesh
- 08 -

Bakura was satisfied to see Seto�s speechless, mildly
shocked expression when he walked into the room and found, not a single rose,
but a veritable bouquet of them. Twenty-four red ones, and in the center a single
white one. Bakura hadn�t been able to resist being in the room to see this one.

Seto�s slightly wide eyes flicked over toward Bakura;
the yami smirked slightly. Seto shook his head and calmly moved the flowers to
the floor and sat down, oblivious to the envious glares of every female in the
room. Ryou smiled at his yami to show him that he�d done well, but Bakura
didn�t need that confirmation; Seto�s slight smile as he moved the flowers had
been enough.

�Mister Kaiba,� the teacher said casually, �I know
this may be rather much to ask, but do you suppose your love life could wait
until after class? I don�t have anything against you having an admirer, but
it�s becoming a distraction to the class.�

�I don�t exactly have the control over it,� he said. �That
would be up to the admirer.� He didn�t glance at Bakura, but the latter
frowned. He wasn�t sure if that meant that Seto wanted him to stop, or not� Was
he getting annoyed with getting them in the middle of class, or did he think it
was amusing that the rest of the school was getting frustrated? Somehow, he
knew that if he asked Seto would just say something like �figure it out for
yourself� or some shit like that� Of course, when else was he going to give
them to him? It wasn�t like they had any contact outside of school�

Which he realized he had better change. There was no
way Seto was going to take him seriously if this was just a schoolyard romance�
Okay, decided. No more flowers in school. Time to get serious.

Okay, how was he going to do this?

Seto carried the bouquet that Bakura had left for him
into the house, and set it on the entryway table for a moment while he tossed
his bag on the floor, then just looked at them. They needed water� where should
he put them? In his room? He didn�t spend that much time there, and he wanted
to see them all the time� he couldn�t exactly carry them with him� Maybe he
should just spend more time in his room. That was it.

With a furtive glance to make sure Mokuba wasn�t going
to glomp him and ruin the flowers � also to make sure he didn�t see them,
because that would just be embarrassing � he swiftly carried them back to his
room and set them in the middle of his dresser, admiring the way they looked
even fuller with their reflection in the mirror behind them. He carried a glass
of water back from his bathroom and poured it, humming quietly, into the tall
vase, then set it down and allowed himself to fall back on his bed and laced
his fingers behind his head, looking at them. He was still humming, as he slid
off the shoes he had forgotten to leave downstairs and pulled his legs up onto
the bed, sitting up and curling them under him as he reached for his homework�
which he had left downstairs. Dangit. Fine; his homework could wait
until tomorrow. He picked up a notebook instead from his bedside table and
began to sketch absently on the lined paper.

��Once upon a December��,� he sang very quietly to
himself as he came to the only part of the song he actually knew. Mokuba liked
to hear him sing� he said he sounded good. Seto himself just thought that he
still sounded like a girl. Well, nobody else was here to hear him, so screw
them all. He liked singing, damn it, and he would damn well sing Disney songs
if he wanted to.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, brushing it
from his face as he frowned at his sketch. It wasn�t right. The bouquet was a
little lopsided� The real bouquet was perfect. This really wouldn�t do. He
viciously grabbed and eraser and started over.

With a sigh, he turned the page after completing only
a fairly rudimentary sketch and started drawing just at random. The humming
faded away as he concentrated on it, and a rose slowly formed under his pencil
tip. He shaded the petals carefully and individually, pleased with how it was
turning out. Each of the thorns got its own shadow� He really liked roses. He
wondered if Bakura knew that, or it he only gave him the most romantic flower
he could think of�

But the more he looked at the picture, the less complete
it seemed. He grabbed the pencil and brought the picture close, and his fingers
started drawing before he could decide what it needed. Dark droplets appeared
on the delicate petals, running down the stem� A single drop hung suspended
from a long thorn. He colored them all in with morbid intensity, highlighting
them dimly�

He quickly folded the cover back over and shoved the
notebook back under his alarm clock on the table, dropping his pencil beside
it, then unfolded from the bed and grabbed the vase, throwing open the balcony
doors and flinging the roses out into empty space, watching with dark eyes as a
few separated from the arrangement and hung in the air as the vase tumbled in
seeming slow motion toward the Earth. Damn Bakura� Damn him to hell�

He slammed the door shut once more as he heard the
delicate vase shatter into a million tiny shards. Bakura had ruined roses for
him too� He loved roses, but he couldn�t even think of them without
thinking of Bakura now� and he couldn�t think of Bakura without thinking of�

Retreating once more to his bed, he put his arms
around his legs and buried his face in his knees.

Bakura sat on the edge of the roof of the apartment
building where he lived with Ryou, absently swinging his feet above the
eight-story drop while he looked upward at the stars. What could he do? He
wanted to convince Seto to, at the least, like him� preferably marry him� and
to do that he had to make an effort to know him outside of school� And how
should he do that?

Seto probably wouldn�t appreciate him dropping by his
work. Or home. Did he ever go anywhere besides work and home? He didn�t think
so� if he did nobody knew where. Well, maybe that was the solution. Make him go
somewhere else. In short, something like a date. But not a date. No, he doubted
that he�d appreciate being asked out on a date, either. So� make it a date, but
not seem like a date. Yeah, that sounded easy� Not.

Well, what did Seto like to do? Read. Um� Well, that
seemed to be about it, that wasn�t work or school related. He had to like other
things. Well� what did normal girls like? Pretty things� like what? Flowers.
Maybe he liked flowers, all that naturey shit�

Bakura actually snorted aloud. Yeah, big scary Kaiba
liked flowers� Then he cut it off and looked thoughtful, remembering the
paperweight he�d found in his office. The one with a rose in it. And he did
seem to like the roses� Wow. Big scary Kaiba did like flowers�

Okay. Having come to this conclusion, what the hell
could he do with it? Where was there some nature he could convince him to go
see with him? Well, there was the park� Too lame. Well� there was all that
undeveloped land outside of town� not that Kaiba couldn�t go see whenever the
hell he felt like� Damn it. How the hell could you give a rich, spoiled bastard
anything he didn�t already have?

This was too hard. He gave up and went back inside.

Seto sighed as he finished throwing up for the
morning. Around the time school got out, it would return � whoo hoo. At least
it was regular.

He�d actually lost weight � he wasn�t eating any more
than usual, and he was throwing up almost everything he did, not to mention the
fact that he was still doing all his normal exercise and training, or more,
since every time he had to get rid of the tension that built up when he�d been
thinking about his situation too long he beat up a punching bag for half an
hour or so � but his pants still didn�t fit quite right anymore� This was going
to suck in a couple months� by the end of school, for sure. But he wasn�t going
to drop out; he shouldn�t really be showing yet by May. P.E. would be a
problem� he may just excuse himself� After all, they wouldn�t dare fail the
best student the school had ever had and keep him from graduating simply
because he skipped a quarter credit of P.E.� would they?

He sighed again and stepped into the shower. He was
going to have to figure this out� Or his life was going to get needlessly
complicated, needlessly soon�

Bakura stepped lightly alongside Seto as he walked him
home from school again. �What�s up?� he asked casually.

�Oh, the usual,� Seto said blandly. �Trying to
disguise my morning sickness at school and wondering what I�m going to do if I
start showing early. Thinking that I may have to drop out and never get my high
school diploma because there�s too much of a risk of people finding out.�

He frowned. �Sorry,� he said.

�Why?� Seto asked. �It�s not your fault I�m � Oh,
wait, it is.�

He frowned significantly. �What�s with your attitude
today? I haven�t done anything wrong to deserve this crap right now.�

�It�s holdover from the major wrong you did me. I�ve
decided to ration it out and make your life a living hell forever.�

Something was wrong with him today� sure, he usually
had an attitude, but it actually hurt today. Like he was actually saying it to
be mean, and not just be himself. It looked like he still didn�t really accept
his apology, too� Damn it, he�d thought he�d been making some progress. Guess
not. Not if he was acting like this. All� PMS-y and shit� He really hadn�t done
anything to deserve this, though, not recently.

�Hey, listen,� he said, trying to smooth over Seto�s
attitude and make it better between them for the moment. Seto could be pissy on
his own time. �You wanna come with me, instead of going straight home?�

�Where?�

Bakura shrugged as though he didn�t really know. Of
course, he had a plan. A damn good plan, and if Seto screwed it up� �Just take
a walk.�

�Why not?� Seto said. �After all, I have no reason not
to be alone with you� Oh, wait.�

It was a colossal effort on Bakura�s part that held
back the growl the tried to rip itself from his throat. �Again, I�m sorry. I
won�t do anything. Promise.�

Seto looked at him semi-sideways, then finally
shrugged. �I guess.�

�Great!� Bakura lightly touched his arm to guide him
away from his normal path, and frowned a little when he flinched instinctively.
How many times was he going to have to apologize? Apparently, at least once
more. �And I am sorry.�

�Stop fucking saying that! The more you say it, the
less I believe you. You know, the first time, it actually meant something
because it was hard for you, but now it�s just getting on my nerves,� Seto said
crossly, completely out of the blue. �You know what? Screw you. I�m going
home.� He pulled away from Bakura and stalked away.

Bakura just stood there for a moment, staring after
him. �What he hell?� he asked quietly, but didn�t dare yell it after Seto� he�d
probably have come back and beat him up.

Seto slammed the door as he came inside, then kicked
his shoes into the wall, stalking up the stairs and slamming his own door shut
when he got inside. He threw his bag into he corner, hearing a pencil break
with a satisfying crunch that only pissed him off further. Falling onto the bed
and crossing his arms, staring at the ceiling, he ground his teeth and dug his
short fingernails into his arms. What the hell right did Bakura have? To keep
after him like that, keep pressuring him, keep� apologizing to him? If he
didn�t want to forgive him, he shouldn�t have to, and Bakura had no right to
make him feel bad about it!

He was being unreasonable. He knew he was being
unreasonable, and he didn�t give a shit. Fucking Bakura�

The door swung open, and Mokuba bounced in. �Hey,
nee-chan!� he said brightly. �How was-�

�Go. Away,� Seto told him though clenched teeth. He
didn�t want to yell at Mokuba, but if he said another word�

Mokuba fell silent and shut the door with a hurt
expression on his face. Seto knew he should feel bad about that, but it only
channeled into more anger, directed at nothing in particular. Bakura was a good
focal point for his irritation�

Fucking Bakura.

He silently shut the door behind him and gently sat on
Mokuba�s bed. �I�m sorry,� he said quietly.

Mokuba stood on his knees on the bed and put his arms
around Seto�s shoulders, hugging him. �It�s okay. I know you weren�t really mad
at me.�

Seto nodded. �You�re right, it wasn�t at you. I didn�t
mean to snap at you like that. Actually, I didn�t really have any reason to be
mad at all. Every little thing was just irritating me, and you were far too
perky for me to deal with.�

Mokuba grinned. �You might not have noticed, but you
get like that sometimes. About once a month.�

Seto made a face and pushed Mokuba away, making him
sit down while the boy laughed.

�Aren�t you supposed to be a nice, innocent little
twelve year old?� he asked, smiling a little. �Since when do little kids make
ambiguous statements about something like that?�

Mokuba smiled. �There�s no such thing as an innocent
twelve-year-old, Seto,� he said. �I�m not a little kid.�

Seto smiled a little, wishing that weren�t true, and
ruffled his hair a little as he stood up. �I know,� he said. �I can indulge in
a little wishful thinking, though��

His little brother sat up and offered him another
smile as he left the room, and he sighed. He really should apologize to Bakura
too� as far as he could tell, there hadn�t been any ulterior motive � he had
just been doing something nice. A small wave of anxiety rolled through him at
the thought of taking him up on it, going somewhere that wasn�t on their normal
route and where no one would know where he was, alone with Bakura, but he
crushed it. He actually believed his apology, and he was certain that Bakura
wouldn�t go to these lengths just to get him alone to rape him again. Almost
certain. He didn�t think that Bakura wanted to rape him again�

He sighed again as he collapsed on his bed. He didn�t
know who he was trying to fool� he was still scared of him. He didn�t want to
admit to being afraid of anything, but Bakura scared him, and with good reason.
If he could, he would probably just avoid him for the rest of his life, but
Bakura was determined to make that impossible, so he had to take the only other
option he had left � because living in fear was not something that he even
considered. He had to face his fear, and while it didn�t have to be as drastic
as his stepfather, he had to stop being afraid�

Seto took a deep breath as he stopped in the hallway
beside Bakura�s locker.

�I�m sorry,� he said without looking. �Maybe today
instead��

Bakura looked at him, shocked, as he walked away.
Well, at least he wasn�t being a bitch anymore� He still wasn�t back to normal,
though. He was� apologizing. He was almost being nice.

�It�s a da- plan,� Bakura said, passing Seto�s locker,
correcting himself. Seto didn�t reply, but he thought he saw a small nod.
Great! Whatever was up with him yesterday, it was over � he was getting his opportunity
to not be a jerk to him.

He�d had been all prepared to be nice and completely
unlike himself yesterday, and then Seto had gone and ruined at. Now he had to
build himself up to it again. Did he have any idea how hard that was going to
be during school? Damn Seto�s stupid little whims� He was far too damn moody
for Bakura�s tastes.

Then again, he was still chasing him, despite his
irrational moodiness, despite his insane stuffiness, and despite his
insufferable attitude. Maybe he was just to his tastes after all. A bit of a
challenge, somewhat rough around the edges, and something no one ever thought
he�d be able to get. Huh. He sounded like he was talking about his reasons for
robbing tombs� Well, the prize was at least as great. And less people were
likely to be out for his blood for this.

His eyes followed Seto as he came into the room and
took his seat in the back. He didn�t seem any different than normal today� Of
course, he hadn�t yesterday, either. Look where that went.

Seto met his eyes and he saw nothing very encouraging
there. Nothing much at all, really; he was guarded again, just like always.
Well, not quite always. Usually, though, either they were guarded, or he was
crying. He wondered what they would look like, just� happy.

And if that wasn�t a load of fluffy crap that rubbed
off from his hikari, he really didn�t know what it was. Since when did he care
about �happy eyes�?

�Eyes front, Mister Bakura,� the teacher said. He
almost told her off so that he could keep staring at Seto, but then he
remembered that he was being nice to impress Kaiba, and he didn�t. He also
remembered that he wanted to not have detention tonight � he had a date, after
all. Instead, then, he just obediently turned around and looked at the board.

Was it just his imagination, or did Seto look a little
disappointed?

�Where are we going?� Seto asked before Bakura could
say anything, not looking at him as he fell into step at his side.

�Somewhere,� Bakura said cryptically with a slight
smirk. He expected it to make Seto get a little pissed at him, or at least
scowl. Instead, he almost smiled a little, to Bakura�s pleasant surprise.

They kept walking toward Seto�s mansion in comfortable
silence, though, and were only a couple blocks away when Bakura went to turn
them off. Seto resisted, and he frowned.

�Have you changed your fucking mind again?� he growled
in exasperation.

Seto shot him a superior glare. �Could you blame me if
I had?� He was about to retort, but Seto didn�t pause. �But no, I only want to
drop off my bag.�

�Oh. Fine, let�s go.� His carefully constructed
nice-guy fa�ade was wilting under Seto�s acidic presence, but he clung to the
last threads of it with all his might.

�I�d planned on.� And now that his own niceness was
fading, Seto�s appeared to be as well. It appeared that Seto was one of those
who gave only as good as he got � which was really going to be a drag, if he
ever did convince him� because he sure as hell wasn�t going to be able to be
nice all the time.

Seto walked purposefully forward, and held open the
gate. Bakura leaned against the fence, with every intention of waiting there,
but Seto held it open and looked back at him. He realized that Seto was waiting
for him and casually sauntered in, hoping that he didn�t look like he felt as
stupid as he did. Why in the hell would Seto want him to come in, though? He
never had before�

Still they didn�t say anything up to the mansion, and
Seto opened the door for him once again. He took the invitation with great
aplomb, and Seto kicked of his shoes by the door. Bakura hardly noticed as he
walked forward, looking around. There was a nice runner down the short hallway
they were in, a few pictures on the walls, tables with little odds and ends on
them�

�Shoes. Off.�

Bakura looked back at Seto, surprised out of his
reverie. �Huh?�

�I said, take your shoes off.� He pointed to a rug by
the door where several sets of footgear already resided. �I don�t want you to
get the place dirtier than you have to.� He picked his bag from the floor and
walked forward, past Bakura without a glance. After a moment, the thief rushed
to get his shoes off and follow, not really caring to think about how he
normally would snort in the person�s face and go outside to get some mud on his
shoes before coming back in.

He caught up to him on the stairs and fell into step
beside him. �This place is a lot smaller than it looks from the outside.�

�No, it�s not. Nothing can actually be smaller than it
looks, just smaller than you perceive it to be. It has a lot of rooms you can�t
see.�

Bakura rolled his eyes and had nothing to say to that.
Arguing about science and the wording of common phrases was not what he was
here to do, especially since he couldn�t win.

�Any of these rooms I can�t see very special?�

�No.�

Well. Seto was not being a very gracious host. He�d
agreed to go with him, and then he�d invited him inside, and now he was being
kind of a jerk. At least he wasn�t being a total jerk, he supposed, only a
little short tempered, but it was still kind of a put-off.

A nondescript doorway in the end of a long hall was
pushed open to reveal a rather plain room. Seto dropped his bag by the bed
(plain old queen size, blue covers) and went to the closet (a walk-in, and into
which he walked). Bakura wandered around. Plain wooden dresser with a mirror. A
nice attached bathroom. Table beside the bed, with a lamp, alarm clock, and a
notebook and pencil. He wandered over to a window, pulled back the curtains,
and was surprised to see not a window but French doors to the balcony.

�Nice room. Nice stuff all over your house.�

�Don�t get any ideas,� Seto said from the depths of
the closet. It took him moment to
realize he meant for him not to steal anything.

�It�s not that nice.�

�It should be; I spent about a million dollars
redecorating.�

Bakura looked once more around the nice but quite
plain room. �Not in here, you didn�t.� Seto said nothing, and he took that as
an agreement. He sat back against the head of the bed and pulled the notebook
from beneath the clock. �I expected a lot more flowers.�

�Flowers? Why?�

He flipped through the notebook, looking at the
sketches and drawings. �I thought you liked flowers. You keep all the ones I
give you. You have that paperweight in your office. Also, sometimes I�m not
sure if you�re wearing cologne, or perfume. Kind of flowery.�

Seto stepped out of the closet, looking a little
strange, and laid down an outfit. �You�re more perceptive than a lot of
people,� he said quietly, and took the notebook just as he was looking at the
sketch of the bouquet he�d given him.

�You�re pretty good at drawing,� he said, looking up
at Seto without moving his head. It was an understatement, but he figured Seto
already knew this.

�Get out,� Seto said without acknowledging the
compliment.

Bakura sat up scowling. �What the hell?� he said
crossly. He was kicking him out already? For what? Complimenting him?
Seriously, if he cancelled one more fucking time�

�I�m changing,� Seto said. Oh� that actually made
sense. The way he�d said it, though�

He sat back with a smirk. �What if I don�t want to?�

�Fine.� Bakura blinked, thinking that Seto was going
to change in front of him. Not like he�d argue. Instead, he picked up his
clothes and went into the bathroom, shutting the door firmly. Bakura thought he
heard a lock click.

It seemed to take a while for him to change, and
nearly ten minutes went by while Bakura wandered around the room snooping
again. Then the door opened and Seto stepped out, school uniform disposed of,
dressed instead I white from head to toe, high collared and long sleeved, with
a voluminous trench coat or the same. The effect was striking� somehow,
however, it also managed to give the effect of a large white dress� a wedding
dress, perhaps.

�I would have left, you know,� Bakura said before Seto
had a chance to speak. He had to make that clear.

�I didn�t feel like fighting,� Seto told him, not even
looking at him. Bakura blinked; since when did Seto not feel like fighting? He
was about the most combative person he�d ever met, save perhaps Jou.

�So, are we going or not?� Seto asked, finally looking
at him. He nodded and held the door open silently, and Seto wordlessly stepped
out. Bakura followed him, bemused, down the stairs and back to the front door,
not a word passed between them. He held the door open for Seto and didn�t
receive so much as a glance in return, and rolled his own eyes as he shut the
door behind him.

�Don�t you lock it?� he asked, catching up.

�No,� Seto said. �Why bother? If they can get past the
rest of the security, a locked door is not going to stop them. Plus, there�s an
alarm.�

Bakura smirked. �I bet I could.�

�Locked door wouldn�t stop you, either, would it?�

�Wouldn�t even slow me down.�

�My point.�

Bakura acceded; Seto was apparently right. Careful not
to touch him � he had no desire to see him flinch again � he steered them
toward the park. Seto apparently had no problem going that direction and didn�t
resist at all.

�So�� Bakura said, to pass the time as they walked;
he�d had enough of comfortable silence. �What did you do with that last
bouquet?�

Seto seemed to almost tense a little. �What?�

�Well, since you keep them all, I was just wondering.
They should still be alive, if you really did keep them� Of course, Ryou hangs
flowers up to dry, for some un-godly-known reason. I didn�t see them anywhere�
So what did you do with them?�

Seto didn�t look at him, staring straight ahead as he
walked. �I threw them off the balcony.�

Bakura stopped and grabbed his arm, pulling him
around, relishing the flinch he saw this time. �What? Why the hell?�

Seto finally met his eyes and pulled his arm away,
drawing back from him. Bakura let him go, thinking of the brief expression of
fear that he hadn�t quite been able to cover up fast enough as he flinched.

�I threw them off the balcony,� Seto said. �Because I
was pissed off. You can probably still find little pieces of glass on the patio
below from the vase.�

Bakura felt a furious scowl cross his face. �You were
pissed, so you decided to take it out on my flowers?�

�It was you I was pissed at,� Seto said evenly.

�I didn�t do anything to piss you off, you asshole!�

That was some sort of final straw. Seto turned back,
refusing to look at him again. �I�m going home.�

�Seto-!� He tried to grab his arm again, but Seto
pulled it away and looked back at him, warily, keeping away from him. He looked
like he expected Bakura to hurt him, possibly pull him into another alley.

�No! Leave me alone!� His voice was full of emotion,
not entirely identifiable, but a foreign sound for him.

Bakura looked around, relieved to see that they were
alone. �Seto, damn it, I�m trying � don�t run like this.� He grabbed his arm as
he tried to back away again.

�Let go of me!� He yanked his arm backward, only
barely being able to pull it from his grasp. �Leave me alone!�

�Seto, stop it.� He held his hands up as Seto backed
away again to assure him that he wasn�t going to grab him. �I didn�t mean
anything � just don�t run away from me. Please. We were doing so well. I didn�t
mean anything.�

He seemed less than assured and backed away more.
�Don�t touch me,� he said coldly, losing some of the unbridled emotion in his
voice, not turning his back to him.

�I won�t touch you,� he promised, stepping forward
carefully. He took it as a good sign when Seto didn�t back up any further. �I�m
sorry I grabbed you; I just didn�t want you to run away.�

�I wasn�t �running away�!�

�Yes, you were. You�re always running away from me.�
Seto just glared at him, but couldn�t deny it. Bakura took another step closer,
and he tensed up slightly, but didn�t bolt. Like a wild animal, Bakura
reflected; you just had to be sure not to spook him.

�Can we go now?� he asked reasonably. If he sounded
reasonable enough, Seto would feel stupid or childish for refusing, and he
wouldn�t be able to.

Seto didn�t answer at first, then nodded and allowed
Bakura to approach him. He didn�t touch him � he didn�t want to discomfort him
any further � but just calmly gestured onward. Seto hesitated, and Bakura
understood that he didn�t want him at his back. Very well; he went ahead of
him, only a couple steps, and looked back. Seto followed slowly.

Crisis averted.

He allowed Seto to get beside him, but didn�t let
himself fall behind and freak him out. He carefully didn�t say anything about
the flowers again � though, whether that was to keep Seto calm or to keep
himself from getting angry, he wasn�t at all certain. What the hell did he do
to make him mad enough to toss the roses � especially when he really seemed to
like roses?

Seto glanced at him as they approached the park,
questioning. Bakura didn�t let anything show on his face and kept walking, and
Seto followed almost hesitantly.

Without touching him, Bakura led him through the bare
trees, Seto looked around quickly, obviously wondering what they were doing
here. The sunlight sparkled off the couple inches of snow that sat mostly
undisturbed on the grass, shining into their eyes.

�Is this where we were going?� Seto asked finally.

�More or less,� Bakura told him. �Was I wrong � are
you going to tell me you hate the park and all this nature?�

�No�� Seto admitted. �But I prefer it in the spring.�

�When all the flowers are blooming.� Bakura grinned a
little as he looked back at Seto, finding the faint blush that adorned his high
cheeks very cute.

�Unfortunately,� he went on, �I can�t make the flowers
bloom for you, but come with me.� Blankly, Seto followed him, and he smiled.

He stepped off the path and waited to make sure that
Seto would follow him, wasn�t too anal about his precious thousand dollar boots
getting wet or something. He apparently wasn�t, as he did follow.

�I have to be careful,� Bakura said casually. �If your
hair gets any snow in it, I�ll lose you.�

Seto just blinked at him. Apparently, he wasn�t in the
mood for anything approaching humor.

�Never mind,� the spirit told him, and led him across
the pristine snow toward a large cluster of trees. Seto followed easily enough.

Pushing his way through the tree branches, sifting the
snow to the ground, he walked straight into the trees. He heard Seto�s
footsteps crunching the snow behind him and was relieved to know that he wasn�t
taking the opportunity to sneak away and hide at home.

He held the last of the snowy evergreen branches aside
for Seto, who still had to duck a little to avoid one above him. He
straightened up as he stepped from the trees and his eyes widened just a
little.

They were in a small clearing in the middle of the
tiny wooded area. There was a large, snow-covered rock in the clearing, not
centered but closer to the trees where Seto was, nearly completely round,
almost a seat-shaped boulder. It was placed near a small but swiftly running
brook that bubbled cheerfully along, cutting diagonally across the area. It was
already picturesque now, but in the spring and summer, Seto could envision the
grass and flowers that would exist where only snow sat now. All the trees around,
a few scattered evergreens but mostly naked deciduous, would be full and
verdant�

Bakura smiled when he saw Seto�s tiny smile, more a
brightening of his eyes than any movement of his cold-reddened lips. He counted
that as a success; he�d known Seto would love this place. He couldn�t possibly
be mad at him now, could he?

Seto wordlessly moved and brushed some snow from the
rock, sitting on it and looking calmly at the little stream. He didn�t seem to
be quite right here in the present, which didn�t look like a bad thing. He
leaned against a tree, content just to watch Seto as he looked around. Seto
looked content just to be here.

�How did you find this place?� Seto asked finally,
glancing only briefly at him then back to the dark water.

He shrugged, even though Seto wouldn�t see it.
�Wandering around, thinking.� Actually, he had spent days searching the park to
find someplace special to take him. �You like it, I assume?�

Seto nodded slightly. �It�s nice.�

Well, it was hardly an effusive outpouring if love and
desire, but it was a start. Seto was neither yelling nor crying, and he wasn�t
running away; the entire situation could be entirely chalked up in the
�victory� column. If he ignored the incident as they walked here, anyway.

Judging Seto to be relaxed enough, he walked over and
sat lightly on the rounded top of the rock. Seto didn�t notice him there, and
he was able to sit there nearby and observe him. As he was, relaxed, with that
peacefully thoughtful expression on his face, Bakura could look at him and see
how beautiful he might have been once, if not for his stepfather�s sadism. He
really wasn�t much into girls � they tended to annoy him � but he could
definitely get it up for that�

Of course, Seto was more than likely not open to being
called �beautiful�, which when he thought about it was actually a relief. He
wouldn�t want to hear anything that mushy coming from himself anyway.

�You should stop glaring more often,� he said instead,
startling Seto into looking at him. �Your eyes are a lot prettier when they
aren�t narrowed in anger.�

The brunet flushed
and looked away. It complimented his pale cheeks beau- er, nicely, Bakura
noticed.

�I have to go,� he
said, standing up and brushing snow from his coat, drawing Bakura�s eyes
inevitably to his very nice ass. �Mokuba should be home soon.�

Bakura knew for a
fact that Mokuba wouldn�t even be out of school for another half an hour, but
he let it go; at least Seto was making up an excuse instead of trying to drive
him away, or getting mad and telling him that he didn�t want to be there
anymore. He was uncomfortable and wanted to go home, but he was being
extraordinarily nice about it.

�All right,� he said
amiably, and jumped off the rock. �I�ll see you at school.�

�I have a business meeting,�
Seto said. �I won�t be there.� It sounded like an excuse to avoid him to
Bakura, but he acknowledged that Seto did have a company to run, and
said nothing about it. He might even be telling the truth.

�Whenever you decide
to show up, then,� he said, unconcerned. He would see Seto again�
whether he wanted it or not. Eventually, he�d want it.

Seto nodded a little
jerkily and walked purposefully back the way they had come, following their
footsteps so that he couldn�t possibly get lost. Bakura waited to give him time
to escape, then meandered joyfully toward home.

He could have
skipped, if that wasn�t too far beneath the Thief King. He was getting Seto
like him, tra la la la! Plan was progressing nicely�

�Ryou!� he yelled as
he stepped into the apartment. �I need money!�

His hikari appeared
in the doorway of the kitchen. �For what?� he asked quietly, wiping his hands
on a towel. �And how much?�

He grinned. �The
next phase of my plan. I found the perfect place� And a lot. A hell of a lot.�

Ryou smiled. �That�s
very sweet, yami� You know I don�t have anything like the kind of money you
need, though��

�No problem, I�ve
got other resources. Be back later!�

Ryou smiled to
himself and shook his head. Bakura was so full of energy� He was resigned to his
yami�s unlawful habits, in fact he rarely even noticed them anymore, and really
it was sweet what he was doing for Seto.

Seto took a deep
breath and shut his eyes as he opened his locker, trying to calm his stomach.
It seemed like his morning sickness was getting worse� shouldn�t it be getting
better by now?

He grabbed the book
for his first class, then gasped in surprise as something small and heavy
toppled from the top of it and landed on his foot. He knelt in confusion and
picked up a small box, covered in black velvet. His book was forgotten on the
floor as he stood again, looking at it with a frown. Bakura�s newest ploy?

He cracked the lid
and gasped again, unable to stop the staring. The biggest rocks he had ever
seen�

He was able to
regain his mind and shut the lid on the earrings, hiding them from his view.
Bakura had gotten him those? They were absolutely gorgeous� and huge. Two, two
and a half carats, at least. Insanely huge� How much had they cost?

Of course, they�d probably
cost Bakura absolutely nothing. If he had, on some whim, actually bought them,
it hadn�t been any of his own money that did it. Still, though�

Also of course, they
were absolutely useless. When the hell did Bakura expect him to wear them? He
didn�t even have his ears pierced, and, on the off chance he did, why would he
get him something so obviously� girly? No man would ever wear something like
that.

They were just so gorgeous,
though!

He scooped up his
book, the box safely tucked into his pocket, his hand refusing to leave it.
Thus it was that his appearance was perhaps more overly casual than he would
have normally liked as he walked into class and strolled past Bakura�s desk,
the near-albino watching him closely.

�We have to talk
about this later,� he said nonchalantly, not even pausing as he passed. A
glance at him as he sat showed Bakura looking a him, seeming a little
concerned. He offered a very tiny smile to put his mind at ease, and the yami
turned around in his seat, obviously relieved.

�Let�s talk,� Bakura
said. Seto looked up from his seat under a tree, tearing his gaze away from the
glittering stones within the box he held. A glance at his slim watch told him
that lunch still had a half an hour of life left, and he nodded, closing the
box with a snap and secreting it away again.

Bakura sat beside
him. �You haven�t decked me,� he observed.

�I haven�t,� Seto
agreed. �You do realize that was just about the most pointless thing I�ve ever
been given, though, don�t you?�

�Probably. For a
rich little bastard, you don�t splurge a lot. Especially on yourself, it looks
like.�

Seto still didn�t
look at Bakura. The other hadn�t yet looked at him yet either, since he had sat
down. �Why should I? I have everything I need. The less I spend, the more money
Mokuba will have later.�

Bakura shook his
head. �Being noble is a waste of time. Besides, I don�t even think could spend enough to put your fortune in
any danger.�

�Probably not. Not
that you�d spend my money any more than you spend your own.�

Bakura looked at him
finally, affronted. �What�s that supposed to mean?�

�Face it,� Seto
said, pulling the box out again and just looking at it. �The most beautiful
gift in the world loses most of its meaningfulness when the buyer didn�t spend
anything that meant anything to him on it.�

The thief snorted.
�Kaiba, if I got you only what I could afford, you�d be getting Cracker-Jack
rings for the rest of your life.�

�The fact remains.�

Bakura smiled and
took the box from him, flipping it open to look at the sunlight reflecting from
the gigantic diamond studs. The way Seto�s eyes were immediately and hopelessly
caught but them did not go unnoticed. �Anyway, they should mean more than if I
just spent �money� on them. I risked going to prison to get you these.�

�Yeah, right.� Seto
took the earrings back and leaned against the tree, inspecting them
comfortably. �Like you ever thought you�d get caught.�

�No, not really. I
didn�t say how big of a risk I took.� He was sure he saw Seto smiling a little,
though whether it was because of the diamonds or because of what he said was
hard to say. �And I don�t see you actually complaining.�

�Of course not,�
Seto said, and stood up, shutting the box and hiding it again. �Who in their
right mind would refuse diamonds?�

�Who indeed?� He
stood up. �Especially huge eggs like those.�

�They really are
useless, though,� Seto went on, walking toward the building.

�Really?� Bakura
said, almost as though he knew something Seto didn�t.

The insinuation was
overlooked utterly. �Completely useless. Even if I could wear earrings � which
I can�t,� he touched one un-pierced ear, �I can guarantee that I wouldn�t ever
wear those. Ever.�

�Who knows,� the spirit
said evenly, opening the door for Seto. �You might change your mind.�

�When in the world
do you ever expect me to wear those?�

Bakura just smiled a
little and vanished into the crowd of students.

Seto smiled and set
the box on his dresser, backing up to sit on the edge of his bed, leaning back
on his arms and staring at the exposed earrings. All right, even if Bakura
hadn�t spent any real money on it, he still wasn�t at all inclined to refuse
them. They were absolutely gorgeous�

He was actually a
bit� sad� that he couldn�t wear them. He really wanted to, no doubt about it.
It had very little with any trouble Bakura may have gone to for them; he just
wanted to show off the diamonds. His diamonds.

�Nee-chan?�

Seto jerked to his
feet and grabbed up the box, slamming it shut and hiding it behind his back as
Mokuba opened the door, turning around quickly to lean against the dresser.
�Yes?�

His brother paused.
�What were you doing?�

He could feel his
body trying to blush, and was glad that it was destined not to happen; he just
didn�t blush. �Nothing,� he said, perhaps a bit too quickly.

�What do you have
behind your back?�

Mentally cursing
Mokuba�s perceptiveness, he pulled the top drawer open a little and tried to
shove the box inside of it. �Nothing.�

Mokuba�s grey eyes
narrowed. �Then show me.�

�Really, Mokuba, I
don�t have anything.� He finally got it in and pushed the drawer shut again,
and showed Mokuba his hands. �See?�

Mokuba seemed less
than satisfied. �I guess��

�What did you want?�
Seto asked to divert Mokuba�s attention. He was going to figure it out soon if he kept thinking about
it.

�What? Oh, I was
going to tell you that I�m going to Alex�s house, to stay the night. I�ll be
back tomorrow.�

�All right.� He was
finally able to step away from the dresser and ruffled Mokuba�s hair just a
little. �Have fun.�

The boy smiled. �I
will. See you tomorrow!� He ran off to do� whatever he had to do.

Seto sighed and fell
back onto his bed. What was he doing getting all starry-eyed over a couple
pieces of jewelry anyway?

With a smile, he
stood up and retrieved the box, and lay on his bed just looking at the
earrings.
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Sins of the Flesh