I posted a few fics on AO3 that I forgot to post here, and this is one of them. Oops.

This is based on a tumblr post I saw with some Rivalshipping headcanons and I was inspired to turn them into a fic. Hooray?

Enjoy!

Nobody knew.

Well, not at first, at least.

It wasn't just at Seto's behest that they kept things under wraps for a while-Yuugi, too, preferred their relationship between them, and only them, until they figured things out.

And there were definitely a lot of things to figure out, in the beginning.

Seto was not an easy person to love. Yuugi knew this, even before they became romantically involved. Back in Duelist Kingdom, when Seto arrived on the island the first night of the tournament, Yuugi had asked him a very important question.

"Why are you like this, Kaiba-kun?"

Turns out, the answer was a lot more complicated than Yuugi ever anticipated. But despite all of Seto's baggage that he carried from his childhood, all of his flaws, Yuugi still cared deeply for him. He'd spent years trying to chisel the ice around Seto's heart-first as friends, now as lovers. Once some of that ice had been cracked and melted, a very damaged but loving heart emerged. And while Seto wasn't exactly a cuddly teddy bear who wore his heart on his sleeve, he was warmer, kinder.

But you'd never hear him admit it. He still had to protect himself, at least a little.

Apparently, so did Mokuba.

Yuugi hadn't planned on the younger Kaiba finding out as soon as he did, but the game master wasn't surprised. Mokuba could be every bit as cunning and shrewd as his older brother, when given the chance. Doubly so with matters involving Seto. His protectiveness over Seto rivaled, perhaps even surpassed, Seto's protectiveness over him.

"My brother may seem like he was it together, but he's an absolute mess," Mokuba told Yuugi frankly, crossing his arms. He was smiling, but his grey eyes certainly weren't. "And if you leave him an even bigger mess at the end of this, you've got another thing coming."

Yuugi smiled in that sweet, sheepish way of his and shrugged his shoulders. "I would never hurt your brother, Mokuba. You know that."

That statement should have eased Mokuba's anxieties, right? But the smile dropped slightly at the corners of Mokuba's mouth. "My brother isn't an easy person to love," he said, echoing the thoughts Yuugi had since the beginning. "He's not good with emotions, even with me. Are you sure you want to take that on, Yuugi? Can I trust you not to hurt him?"

Yuugi's smile also faded, his expression serious, yet still soft. "Of course you can. Or, if you can't trust me, trust your brother. Trust his judgment. We wouldn't be together if he didn't trust me with his feelings, y'know?"

Mokuba conceded shortly after that, but still warned Yuugi that he was being watched. But Yuugi was fine with that-he knew where Mokuba's intentions came from, and he couldn't fault him for the undying love he had for his brother.

The next person to find out was Anzu, but not by happenstance, as had been the case with Mokuba. No, Yuugi had told her himself, mostly because she would be the most understanding and least judgmental of all his friends. And he wasn't wrong.

She was still wary in the beginning, wondering if Yuugi was kidding with her at first. Once she realized how serious he was with his confession, though, she eased up, but still remained cautious.

"I may not understand it now," she admitted, "but if he makes you happy, then I'm happy for you." Her smile was genuine, and Yuugi was grateful for that.

"Hey," she said after a few moments of quietude, "why don't we all have lunch together sometime? You, me, and Kaiba."

Yuugi smiled. "I'll see if Kaiba-kun can take a little time away from work for that."

To be honest, Yuugi thought it would have taken a lot more coercing to get Seto to agree to lunch with Anzu. After all, the CEO wasn't exactly the most social of people-business functions notwithstanding. So when Yuugi proposed the idea to him one night in bed, he expected, well...not instant agreement.

"What? Seto asked as Yuugi kept staring at him.

"N-nothing, I just…," Yuugi chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't expect such a quick answer."

Seto didn't reply, just kept typing out emails on his laptop. There was an unmistakable flush of pink dusting his cheeks, though. Yuugi snuggled into Seto's side, closing his eyes as he listened to the clicking of each keystroke.

So, they went to lunch.

Anzu tried to suggest somewhere inexpensive and offered to pay for the three of them, since it was her idea and all, but Seto steamrolled over that decision, insisting that he foot the bill and suggesting a much nicer cafe in downtown Domino. Neither Anzu nor Yuugi argued with the CEO, knowing that resistance would be futile. All in all, though, lunch went well, and Anzu had no trouble treating Seto as Yuugi's boyfriend rather than treating him as Seto Kaiba, wealthy CEO and owner of KaibaCorp. It was...nice.

Yuugi was so glad that Anzu got to see a softer side of Seto, and it was a relief to not be required to keep up appearances in front of her. He had no qualms about holding Seto's hand in her presence, or sneaking little nose nuzzles in between bites of food. Seto acted embarrassed, of course, but wasn't adverse to the Yuugi's displays of affection.

"You two are cute," she said as she took a sip of her latte. "I...never would have expected it." She smiled warmly at the pair, and even stone-cold Kaiba cracked a tiny smile at her.

"Does anyone else know? About the two of you, I mean," she asked a little further into lunch.

Seto's blue eyes looked down at the table, while Yuugi's violet eyes made direct contact with Anzu. "Not yet," he said. "We...wanted to keep things quiet for a while, you know? Until we figure things out, at least." Yuugi reached for Seto's hand, and even though Seto was still staring at the table, he took his boyfriend's hand willingly and gave an affectionate squeeze.

"It...would also be better to keep our relationship out of the public eye for a while," the CEO finally said. "I don't particularly like dealing with the press, and I know they'll blow this out of proportion as much as they can, given the status of both myself and Yuugi."

Anzu nodded understandingly. "Makes sense," she said. "Just know that I support you both, always."

And so things stayed relatively quiet for a little while after, with Yuugi breaking the news to his friends slowly. Next to find out was Otogi, at a business function held by KaibaCorp. As CEO of his own business, the raven-haired dice master was obliged to attend. He caught Yuugi and Seto sneaking a kiss by the open bar, and questioned Yuugi about it later.

"So...you and Kaiba are an item now?" Otogi asked, sipping at his champagne.

Yuugi sputtered on his own drink, and couldn't fight the blush creeping onto his face. "W-who told you?"

Otogi cracked a sly grin and patted his short friend on the shoulder. "Relax, no one told me. I saw you two kissing earlier."

"O-oh…"

"If you're worried about letting the cat out of the bag, I won't tell anyone. I swear it," Otogi said. He raised his flute and downed the rest of his champagne, as if toasting was his way of promising to keep his mouth shut.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Yuugi said, smiling, sipping at his drink.

While Otogi kept his promise pretty well, he did end up telling a couple people.

Ryou sent Yuugi a long, heartfelt text of congratulations for the two of them, and had even sent a bouquet of flowers and a gift basket to Seto's office at the KaibaCorp building. When Seto returned home that evening, flowers and basket in tow, with a confused look on his face, Yuugi couldn't help but laugh and kiss the CEO silly.

Honda was the other person Otogi let it slip to, and Yuugi received a very frantic phone call shortly after.

"Is there somethin' you wanna tell me?" Honda asked directly, tone serious.

Yuugi swallowed, his grip tightening on his cell phone. "Uh…"

"C'mon, dude, I know you and Kaiba are a thing. But what really concerns me is why you didn't tell me," Honda said. He sounded hurt, which tugged at Yuugi's heartstrings.

"I'm sorry, Honda-kun. We wanted things to stay quiet for a little while," Yuugi said, continuing on to explain his and Seto's reasons for staying discreet about their relationship. Over the course of the conversation, Honda lightened up considerably. He was still a little upset at being left out of the loop, but understood why Yuugi and Seto had made their decisions.

His next question hit Yuugi like a Burst Stream, though.

"Does Jounouchi know?"

"...Not exactly."

"Yuugi, you've got to tell him," Honda insisted. "I mean, I know he's probably not gonna react all that well, seeing how much he hates Kaiba and all...but he deserves to know."

"I know, Honda-kun. I'll tell him."

He'd planned on waiting just a little longer to tell Jounouchi about his relationship, but after that phone conversation with Honda, guilt was starting to eat at Yuugi. But, before he did anything, he went to Seto first.

"I'm gonna break the news to Jounouchi-kun tomorrow," he said over dinner.

Seto didn't give any sign that he'd heard Yuugi say anything, but Yuugi could feel nervousness radiating off his boyfriend. When Seto set his chopsticks down, Yuugi placed his hand atop Seto's.

"He'll be okay with it. Maybe not at first, but he'll be fine. We'll be fine. Okay?"

Seto nodded minutely. "I just...don't want to cause trouble between you and your friends," he said carefully. Yuugi wished Seto would understand that they weren't just his friends, but they all considered Seto their friend, too, and had done so for years. Even if the brunet didn't see that, or want to admit it.

"Don't worry about that. They're your friends too, Seto-kun."

Yuugi considered it a small victory that Seto cracked a tiny smile, even if he had nothing to say in return.

So, with Seto's blessing, so to speak, Yuugi made lunch plans with Jounouchi.

Which was easier said than done, since the guy was so busy anymore. Jounouchi was working really hard to make it as a pro duelist, taking every chance he had to participate in local tournaments, and even some abroad. But being the kind of person that he was, he still tried to make time for his friends-they even had a weekly game night every Thursday at the Kame Game Shop.

But as soon as Yuugi called him up, Jou canceled whatever plans he had and went to lunch with Yuugi that same day.

"You didn't have to do that on account of little ol' me," Yuugi chided after they ordered their meals.

"Don't sweat it," Jou said with his trademark grin, leaning back in his chair. "You said it was really important. What are friends for?"

Yuugi chuckled. "I really appreciate it, Jounouchi-kun." He grew silent after that, trying to muster up the courage to tell Jou what he came here to tell him.

"So, what's the big news?" the blond asked, leaning forward with his elbows on the table and his attention solely on Yuugi.

"W-well…" Yuugi stuttered. He swallowed hard. "Seto and I...we're dating…"

Jou froze, giving Yuugi a deer-in-headlights look. "...What?"

Giving a quick nod, Yuugi's gaze fell. He felt ashamed-not because of dating Seto, but because he waited so long to tell one of his best friends.

"You kiddin' me?" Jounouchi asked, after the shock faded somewhat. "You and Kaiba? Since when?"

Inhaling a deep breath, Yuugi muttered, "Uh...about three months now, I think?"

"Yuugi…" Jou then barked out a laugh. "Oh my god, you're serious. You're really serious."

"I'm sorry, Jounouchi-kun. I wanted to tell you sooner, but we just wanted to keep things low-key for a while and-"

Jou held up his hand, stopping Yuugi's nervous explanation. "Yuugi, stop, I get it. I mean. Does he make you happy?"

A wistful smile involuntarily appeared on Yuugi's lips. "Yeah. Yeah, he does," he said sincerely.

"Good. Then do whatever makes you happy, bud," Jou replied with a thumbs-up. "But, if he ever makes you unhappy, I'll kick his ass, you hear?"

That made Yuugi laugh. Typical Jounouchi. It was reminiscent of how Mokuba threatened him in the beginning.

"Is he coming to game night on Thursday?" Jou asked.

Yuugi shrugged. "Well, I haven't asked him or anything…"

"Invite him," Jou said firmly. "And I'll be on my best behavior, swear." He raised his hand to make it official. "But you better tell him to watch it, too, or I might punch his lights out."

Again, Yuugi laughed. "I'll make sure he stays in line."

Yuugi couldn't have asked for better friends, he thought as he refilled some of the snack trays for game night. The group's loud chatter and laughter could be heard all the way in the kitchen, and the game master couldn't help but smile. He made Seto promise not to rile anyone up, and he'd done a good job at being civil with everyone. In turn, all his friends welcomed Seto with open arms, like they wanted to do all those years ago when Seto was still callous and cold to all of them.

Ryou had brought one of his tabletop games to play tonight-a mystery horror game that involved strategy and quick thinking. Yuugi knew Seto was a genius, and had seen it in his dueling numerous times, but it was another thing entirely seeing him use that genius to participate in a game that required teamwork to win. It warmed Yuugi's heart that Seto was finally learning that he wasn't alone, that he didn't have to shoulder everything by himself. Yuugi was right there with him. And Yuugi's- their- friends were right behind them as well.

"Need some help?" a voice said from behind.

Yuugi turned around, already smiling. "They let you escape for a minute?" he asked Seto, reaching up to caress his face. He was glad for the growth spurt he'd had a few years ago; otherwise, Seto would have had to bend down for him to reach.

"Jou's taking forever on his turn," Seto said, rolling his eyes. Yuugi laughed. Well, it was a start. Jou and Seto would probably annoy each other until the end of time, but if they could get along well enough, Yuugi was happy.

"Here, help me with these…" Yuugi said, motioning to the meat and cracker trays. Seto obliged, but not before stealing a quick kiss from his loving boyfriend.

They brought the snacks to the main room, where everyone was yelling at Jounouchi to hurry up with his turn. Honda even got violent and chucked a monster token right at Jou's head, which Yuugi and Seto walked into.

"HEY! WATCH IT, HONDA, OR WE'RE SKIPPING YOUR TURN!" Jou yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Honda, who shrugged.

"We should skip your next three turns, since this one is taking you so long!" the brunet clapped back, causing everyone to laugh and nod in agreement.

"I don't think that's how the rules work…" Seto said quietly into Yuugi's ear.

"Jounouchi-kun never abides by the rules," Yuugi joked, then gave Seto a quick peck on the lips.

"Get a room, you two," Otogi said from across the table, drawing the group's attention to the couple. Seto's face turned beet red, and Yuugi blushed but laughed. '

This was nice, having everything out in the open. While time was needed in the beginning to keep things between the two of them, it was liberating to be able to kiss or hold hands or lay a head on one another's shoulder without worrying about their friends thought. All of them were supportive, if a little skeptical at first. But they knew how happy Yuugi made Seto, and vice versa, so they warmed up to their relationship quickly.

When they decided to go public, the KaibaCorp PR team could handle all the nonsense. But for now, without the need for discretion among their closest friends, Yuugi and Seto had all that they wanted.