Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

Chapter 1

Malik had sometimes heard that love was simply a way to make miserable people even more miserable than they already were, and lately he had begun to believe it. He supposed it was his own fault, for falling in love with someone who couldn't possibly do anything but make him miserable… but still. He couldn't help it. The blond ex-Tomb Keeper had, without his consent or control, fallen for the sadistic Tomb Robber, Bakura, and was now suffering the exquisite torture of impossible, unrequited love.

Not that he had confessed of course; nor did he ever plan to. Malik knew it would never work – and that Bakura would never return his feelings – so why should he bother? Instead he planned to sit, mope, and wallow in his misery.

Unless, perhaps, he could drag someone down with him.

Now there was a thought. Love might be misery, but misery was petty and vindictive, or however the saying went. If he could make someone else suffer, Malik might feel a little bit better about his own pathetic plight. Plus it sounded like something Bakura would do, and wouldn't he be impressed if he ever found out? He would get that wicked gleam in his dark eyes, and grin just so, and tell Malik how wonderfully clever he was, and how incredibly gorgeous and sexy…

Well, a guy could always hope.

This goal in mind, Malik fingered the ever-useful Sennen Rod at his belt and sat back to consider his plan.

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"Yugi, I'm going to the store. Do you need anything?"

The shorter, tri-color-haired duelist stuck his head out from around the corner where he'd been sorting boxes of the latest cards and arranging them for display. "Um, I think we may be out of milk." His head disappeared back around the doorway. "But, uh, I'm not sure… Ooh, this card is cool. Wonder if Jiichan'll let me have it…"

Yami laughed quietly and shook his head, slipping on a matching black jacket over his usual sleeveless top before walking out the door. "I'll get some. See you later, Aibou."

"Bye Yami! Ooh look at this one…"

Automatically reaching to adjust the familiar weight of the Puzzle around his neck, Yami tugged the jacket tighter against his chest when he remembered it wasn't there. Ever since he had been able to physically manifest himself outside of Yugi, the Sennen Puzzle – and its power – had largely remained with his partner, where Yami readily admitted it belonged, though he missed its presence more than he could say.

Shrugging off his thoughts, Yami proceeded to the grocery store, passing an outdoor café on the way where a familiar blond head leaned over a coffee cup, staring into its depths as if it held all the world's secrets. As Yami passed him the blond looked up, his violet eyes meeting Yami's crimson, and smiled faintly at the ex-Pharaoh. "Malik," Yami acknowledged, nodding and waving at the teen. Malik nodded in return and the spiky-haired teen continued on his way, humming under his breath and never noticing the way Malik's faint smile grew into an enormous, wicked smirk.

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Perfect! He was just perfect! Causing trouble for the Pharaoh would not only assuage Malik's own misery, it would put Bakura on his good side as well. Though Bakura might be a little disappointed that he wasn't the one behind Yami's misery, he could at least admire the work of his former co-conspirator and take pleasure in the fact that Yami was suffering. But what could Malik do? He could use the Rod, of course; a little mind control was always fun… but how? What was the absolute worst, nastiest thing he could do?

What would Bakura do?

Bakura… of course! Malik was suffering because of his love life, so why not mess with the Pharaoh's? Yes. That was perfect. That was exactly what he would do. Since Malik had to deal with the pain of rejection, Yami should have to be rejected as well. Malik could control his mind – fairly easily, in fact, since he didn't wear the Sennen Puzzle anymore – and send Yami off to confess to someone who would break his heart and throw it in the gutter. Malik's pain would seem like a paper cut, compared to what he had in store for the Pharaoh.

(Of course, since Yami would be under the Rod's control at the time, it wouldn't really be unrequited love, but it was as close as Malik could get at the moment. Besides, it would still be incredibly embarrassing for the Pharaoh and give Malik bragging rights for at least a year. This was a really good prank, after all.)

Now the only question that remained was who to send the Pharaoh to. Who – besides Bakura, since Malik definitely didn't want to risk that, even for the sake of humiliating the Pharaoh – would be rude enough, spiteful and conceited enough, to laugh in Yami's face and send him running off in tears after professing his undying love and devotion?

Malik pondered for a moment, sipping his coffee and leaning back in his chair, when he noticed the top of a clover-shaped glass skyscraper from the corner of his eye. The KaibaCorp building… that was it!

Malik grinned. Before the end of the day, Yami would be confessing his love to none other than Seto Kaiba.

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"Let's see, Aibou wanted milk…" Muttering to himself, Yami spotted the glass and grey-painted concrete walls of the supermarket just ahead of him. However, just before he reached the parking lot he suddenly froze, a dreamy sort of warmth spreading through his limbs. He was momentarily confused before the emotion vanished, replaced with a vague sensation of emptiness and the desire to turn around and walk in the opposite direction.

So Yami obeyed, spinning on one heel and briskly trotting down the street in the direction from which he had come. He passed Malik again, this time lounging against a streetlight with one hand in the pocket of his black leather pants and the other grasping the Sennen Rod at his waist. The thought struck Yami that this was rather odd, but he didn't pause to consider it or even take time to respond to the blond Egyptian's smile; it was too important for Yami to keep walking, to keep moving in this direction until he reached his destination.

He had something very important to do.

But for the life of him, he had no idea what it was.

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Malik watched Yami hurry past him, barely casting a glance in Malik's direction, and burst out laughing. This was entirely too easy! Why had he never tried to mind-control the Pharaoh before? (Well, of course it probably wouldn't have worked anyway, when the other was sharing Yugi's body and still had the Sennen Puzzle. Plus this afternoon he had caught Yami unawares. But anyway.)

The blond wiped tears of laughter from his cheeks and made to follow Yami when a voice stopped him. The most beautiful, lovely, seductive voice in the world – as far as Malik was concerned, anyhow. "Only crazy people stand in the middle of the street and laugh at nothing, you know."

Malik whirled to face the speaker, his eyes lighting up when he saw the white-haired teen, clad in a high-collared black trenchcoat over jeans and a striped t-shirt and tucking something shiny in his pocket. "Bakura!" the blond cried joyfully before quickly composing himself. "Hmph. You're crazier than I am. Anyway, I'm not laughing at nothing."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Blondie, I don't think anyone is crazier than you."

Malik grinned and stuck out his tongue. "Don't you want to hear the details of my evil plan?"

The other looked doubtful, but just then a shrill cry rang out from across the street, "Help! I've been robbed!"

Bakura slung an arm around Malik's shoulders, practically shoving him forward in the direction Yami had gone. "Let's walk. You can tell me all about it."

"HELP! POLICE!"

Malik shot Bakura a look and the white-haired male grinned sheepishly. "Let's walk a little faster."

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Yami continued his journey across the city as quickly as possible, the invisible urging in his mind compelling him forward faster and faster until suddenly – it was gone. The spiky-haired male looked around himself – slowly, as if his feet were the only part of him capable of rapid movement – and took in his surroundings. A few people were milling about, none of them seeming overly interested in a leather-clad teen standing motionless in the middle of the sidewalk, and the KaibaCorp building lay just ahead.

Something inside Yami twinged. He shouldn't be here… Kaiba didn't like him; it would be best to leave the CEO to—

But wait. No, this was his destination. The realization washed over him in a warm, dreamy rush. Yes, he was exactly where he was supposed to be; he needed to talk to Kaiba now. Yami's feet started moving again, a bit reluctantly at first but quickly gaining momentum as he strode confidently into KaibaCorp's main lobby and stopped at the receptionist's desk.

"Good afternoon. I need to speak with Seto Kaiba, please," he greeted, smiling.

The mousy-haired woman looked up, adjusting her designer glasses before she replied. "Do you have an appointment?"

Yami just stared at her blankly. That was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to talk to Kaiba now. He was… the faint twinge, the sense that something was wrong, came back to him… prickling at the back of his mind…

"Omigod, Yugi Mutou! You're Yugi Mutou, aren't you? I'm such a fan of yours! Oh, wow. Can I have an autograph?" The receptionist's entire demeanor changed, her face lighting up in excitement when she recognized him, and she pushed a scrap of paper and a pen across the desk, which Yami signed automatically, still trying to figure it out. Something was off… something wasn't right…

"Well, I'm sure he won't mind you dropping by. Go on up; his is the only office on the top floor. I'll buzz ahead and let him know you're coming."

Yami nodded, granting the woman another smile before heading for the elevators, his foot tapping impatiently on the carpet during the excruciating wait for Kaiba's floor. He was so close now; he had almost, almost accomplished what he needed to do – what he had to do.

Of course, Yami still didn't really know what that was.

The elevator stopped, finally, and Yami almost ran to the half-open door he knew led to Seto's office. He gave two brisk knocks on the wood, shoving the door open and stepping inside as soon as he heard the curt "Come in."

Kaiba sat behind his desk, staring at his computer screen. He wore a business suit – grey, with a tie the exact same shade of blue as his eyes – and his chestnut hair was neatly combed, perfectly trimmed so that it framed his face and fell over his forehead in the most attractive way possible. He looked good, professional, exactly the way the CEO of a multinational corporation should.

Yami stared at him blankly.

Finally, Kaiba looked up, raising an eyebrow at the vacant, slightly confused expression on his rival's face. "Yami? What do you want?" When no answer was forthcoming the CEO stood and approached the other, waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you just going to stand there? Because I have better things to do than—"

"I love you!" Yami blurted.

They both stared.

Yami blinked. There was something wrong; he didn't know why he said that, he didn't… but that warm, dreamy feeling was spreading all over him again, stronger than ever, making his toes and fingers tingle and his mouth open again all on its own. "I love you, Seto; I always have. You're brilliant, and wonderful, and gorgeous, and I couldn't go one more second without letting you know that. I want nothing more in the world than for you to throw me down on that couch and have your wicked way with me."

Seto's eyes were enormous, his mouth half-open as he gaped at Yami in disbelief. And just like that, the warmth was gone, the dreamy feeling vanishing as if it had never been and leaving Yami with the full horror of what he had just said. He turned white as a sheet, suddenly feeling faint as he stared at the other's awestruck expression. "Kaiba, I…"

But Seto shook his head, his jaw clicking shut only for his lips to spread into a massive smile. "I think that can be arranged."

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"'Have your wicked way with me?'" Bakura snickered.

Malik shoved him, pushing Bakura's hand from where it had been grasping the Sennen Rod, the two teens sharing a vision of Yami's "confession" to Seto. "Shut up! It was supposed to be cheesy. But crap! Kaiba ruined it. Why didn't he humiliate the Pharaoh?"

Bakura grinned, showing the sharp tips of his canines as he replied, "Ah, but what's more humiliating than being violated by someone you don't really like? I say you take back control and let Kaiba have his 'wicked way' with his precious pharaoh," Bakura rolled his eyes, "and then leave the Pharaoh to suffer."

An answering grin spread over Malik's cheeks as the blond shook his head in mock exasperation. "Oh, Bakura. You do have the most abominable ideas."

The other scooted closer to Malik as the Egyptian closed his eyes and tightened his grip on the Rod, preparing to take over Yami's mind once more, and pressed his lips lightly against Malik's ear, his hot breath tickling the hairs at the nape of Malik's neck and sending shivers down his spine. "Besides," Bakura murmured, "it'll definitely be fun to watch."

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"Kaiba, I'm sorry I… what?" Yami stuttered, unable to believe what he'd just heard – let alone what he just said. What was going on, anyway?

Seto laughed, his brilliant blue eyes seeming to sparkle as he answered, "I said, that can be arranged. I should have figured you would go for shock value when you finally admitted how you felt about me. Though honestly, knowing you, I expected you to manipulate me into admitting my feelings first."

Yami just stared at him. What the…? Was Kaiba on crack? "Kaiba, what are you saying?" he asked, taking a step backward.

The other followed, lifting a hand to cup Yami's chin in his palm. "You can call me Seto, you know."

Yami raised his arm to bat the hand away – but suddenly that empty feeling came back, a warm buzz with a stronger desire to move than he had ever felt before, the urge to stretch up on his tiptoes and tilt his face just so until…

With a slight jolt of shock Yami realized that he and Kaiba were kissing, that he had wrapped his arms around the brunet's neck and tugged him down to meet his lips and oh god was that Kaiba's tongue? His tongue and his teeth and just his mouth, and again Yami felt that something was wrong about this but it felt so good, so good that he pulled tighter on the CEO's neck, until Seto let out a groan of protest.

But instead of letting go Yami gave a little hop and wrapped his legs around Seto's waist, forcing the other to stumble back a few steps and grab the smaller male's rear to keep him from falling. Yami gasped when he felt those hands cupping his rear, teasingly kneading the flesh as Seto smirked into their still unbroken kiss. Then they were moving, backward, slowly, a few small steps at a time as the brunet tried to balance both their weights – while still making out with Yami and feeling him up – until they fell backward onto the black leather couch at the back of Seto's office.

Yami straddled Seto's legs, kissing him languidly for a few moments until the CEO switched their positions, flipping Yami over so that he lay on top of the smaller male, kissing him all over his neck and running his hands along Yami's torso. Eventually he paused, just for a moment, letting out a long sigh and burying his face in the crook of Yami's neck and shoulder.

"Love you… God, Yami, I love you so much…"

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Bakura chuckled, his mouth still resting somewhere near Malik's chin – and causing the blond to shiver from suppressed pleasure. "Well what do you know, Blondie? This is turning out even better than I thought."