Title: Gifting

Series: Part 10 of Entangled. Takes place a few months after View from the Other Side with heavy references to Part 04, Aware. Also connects to Part 03, The Start of Summer.

Summary: A celebration of a Prideshipping anniversary, Kaiba style.

Pairings: Kaiba x Yami

Rating: Rated T for sexually implied scenes and language.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! does not and will never belong to me.

Feeling a bit smug as he watched Yami sleep, Kaiba's pride was gratified by his ability to exhaust his insatiable lover. He had just woken up himself and was lying on his side, enjoying the silence and peacefulness of the moment as he lightly trailed his fingers along Yami's skin and watched him respond even in the depths of dreams. Although he initially had reservations about how the night would go, it had been a great evening thus far, despite being annoyed at himself for backing away from what he had been planning for weeks.

It had taken Kaiba some time to come to terms with the idea, let alone accept his own plans to commemorate the event, but he felt it was too important for Yami to ignore entirely. The most embarrassing part thus far was the fact that Kaiba had needed Ogata as an intermediary to make it happen. He just couldn't risk the news getting leaked that the Kaiba Seto was having that commissioned and the press speculating why he was having such a thing made. While enduring Ogata's good natured ribbing on the matter was painful, Kaiba knew the alternative was far worse. The only real worry Kaiba had after that was Ogata potentially hinting at Yami what was going on and ruining the surprise, but the older man had displayed a rare show of restraint in the matter. Yes, it came at the cost of promising to divulge how it went with Yami, but Kaiba consoled himself that Ogata was bound to find out straight from the source anyway, so it wasn't technically an invasion of privacy. It was still annoying as hell to Kaiba, though.

Kaiba's original intent had been to give his gift to Yami when he first picked him but, but the rest of the Yuugi-tachi was there and he was dropping off Mokuba to spend the night, which complicated things. It felt like too private a thing to do with so many witnesses, so he decided to do it once they were alone, but Yami's appetite had proved too distracting for him to focus on anything else. Of course, then Sakaguchi had dropped by and the thought of the older man's reaction was too embarrassing for Kaiba to do anything but wait for a more opportune time to present itself. Deciding to wait until they returned to the mansion, even that backfired because Yami wasted no time in trying to divest their clothing as they headed to his bedroom. And now Yami was asleep.

However, the longer Kaiba contemplated what to do, the more he realized that now really was the perfect opportunity. It was appropriate, especially given what it symbolized. Decision made, Kaiba forced himself to get out of bed without disturbing Yami and walked over to where his pants had been discarded earlier. Crouching down to pull the small box out of his pocket that he had been indecisively carrying around all day, Kaiba returned to bed and sat down next to Yami once more.

Grateful for once that Yami was such a sound sleeper, Kaiba took the necklace out of the box and carefully managed to put it on without him waking. Spinning the chain clasp to the back, Kaiba looked down at the pendant as he straightened it and felt a sense of rightness, even if a small part of him was concerned about what Yami's reaction might be. Ever since the day they had experimented with the Millennium Puzzle, Kaiba had never been able to forget the ethereal bond between them or the sad expression on Yami's face afterward when he had to return the Puzzle to Yuugi. As much as Kaiba hated the damn thing, he couldn't deny that it was a crucial part of Yami, that it was still important to the former pharaoh on levels he couldn't even begin to comprehend. It was what led him to have a scale replica of the Millennium Puzzle made for Yami out of solid gold, exact down to the very last detail and line. The charm looked perfect against Yami's tan skin and Kaiba couldn't think of a more fitting tribute than that to commemorate a milestone he never thought he'd reach.

Knowing that Yami would probably sleep for at least another hour, Kaiba decided to check his email in the interim to take his mind off of the flutter of nervousness about what reaction he would get when the former pharaoh awoke and the flicker of irritation at his own reaction to the situation. Ignoring the fact that he was blushing slightly at his own sentimentalism, Kaiba kissed the slumbering teen's forehead where the glowing eye always appeared before going over to his desk.

Yami slowly returned to consciousness, content to linger in his sleepy haze for a bit. The day had been great, although Yami wasn't sure what was going on with Kaiba. Something was clearly amiss, but Yami wasn't sure what was going on since none of the telltale signs of work stress were present. Besides, it hadn't ruined their date, so Yami had let it go in favor of a wonderful evening. He loved it when the two of them could escape for a bit on their own, plus the visit to Sakaguchi's restaurant had been a fantastic perk to their evening out together.

More surprising still was Kaiba's behavior once they return to the mansion. The tension that Kaiba had been harboring under all night seemed to disappear once they were completely alone, leading to an even better night. Kaiba had worshipped every inch of his body and Yami started to stir just from the memory of those tender touches and loving kisses. Something had been different tonight, but Yami was at a loss as to what specifically had changed other than Kaiba's demeanor. Regardless, Yami had enjoyed himself and the treatment immensely and he looked forward to returning the favor since his body was sufficiently recovered from resting.

It was enough to bring Yami to full awareness and the quiet clicking of computer keys told Yami where Kaiba was. Rolling out of bed and running a hand through his hair with a yawn, Yami approached Kaiba from behind and leaned against the chair back as he asked, "What are you working on?"

Clicking the send button, Kaiba had to marvel at Yami's impeccable timing. Although there were still plenty of things Kaiba could work on, he had specifically cleared his schedule for the night and the morning after. "I was just checking on a few things, but I'm done now," Kaiba reassured Yami as he started exiting out of his programs and shutting down his computer for the remainder of the night.

"Even better," Yami purred, shocked at the easy victory. When he leaned forward to try and embrace Kaiba, Yami was distracted by the feeling of something jabbing him in the chest. Leaning back a bit to look at the chair, Yami was surprised to see nothing there that would have caused him to feel anything. Only then did Yami notice the miniature Millennium Puzzle necklace he was wearing, startled by its appearance. "…what?"

Assuming from the distracted and confused tone that Yami had discovered his present, Kaiba turned in his chair to face him with a small amount of trepidation. He was so far out of his element with this sort of thing, but when wasn't he when it came to Yami? Still, part of him continued to feel unsettled as Yami held it up for examination. Realizing that Yami probably needed some form of reference to understand, Kaiba wanted to wince at his own bluntness as he informed him, "I had it made for you."

"You—wait, you had it made for me?" Yami stuttered, looking at Kaiba in a mixture of awe and confusion. It would explain why it was rendered so perfectly, but Yami still didn't fully understand. Blaming it on his mind still being muddled from sleep, Yami struggled to comprehend it. "But…why?"

"Because I know that you miss it," Kaiba explained as he stood up and started walking toward his bed once more—anything to move away from the light on his desk that would betray the growing blush on his cheeks from his thoughts of how utterly precious Yami looked in that moment as he held the small Puzzle.

Misinterpreting Kaiba's direction, Yami went into the bathroom instead and turned on a light so he could see it better in a mirror. He rarely spoke of the Millennium Puzzle because he knew Kaiba's stance on the subject, so it was a mystery to Yami how the brunette could know what such a thing would mean to him. Rapidly searching his memory, the only thing Yami could think of was the day they had borrowed the Millennium Puzzle from Yuugi and his off-handed comment about how he never thought he would miss it. "But I said that months ago," Yami stated in a soft voice as he look at the necklace in the mirror's reflection. He couldn't believe that Kaiba had remembered such a small detail, let alone do something so thoughtful despite his discomfort when it came to the Millennium Puzzle.

Coming to stand behind Yami and wrap his arms around his rival, Kaiba appreciated the view he saw in the reflection. The pendant wasn't so large as to be garish, but it was still of a size to be noticeable since it sat just right on Yami's chest, looking for all the world as if it belonged there and nowhere else. More than that, the look of adoration in Yami's eyes was enough to allay most of Kaiba's concerns, even if he wondered if he would ever be completely comfortable with the degree of shared affection between them that seemed to be growing daily. "It suits you," Kaiba complimented him, kissing the side of Yami's neck and feeling the thin metal chain against his lips for the first time.

"Thank you," Yami said, but the words were so inadequate in conveying his gratitude. However, one thing was still confusing him and he had to know. "But…why—I mean, what made you…?"

Understanding Yami's awkward unasked question, Kaiba smirked a little as he met Yami's gaze in the mirror and replied, "I found it fitting to mark the occasion of the first time you invaded my dreams."

If Yami had been surprised before, he was downright stunned at that revelation. He never would have expected the brunette to remember such a thing, let alone celebrate it at all in such a way; Yami hadn't even dared to think that Kaiba would acknowledge the day they had officially gotten go together, let alone do so much for it. "You remembered," Yami whispered before turning around and throwing his arms around Kaiba with a choked noise. It was overwhelming to Yami and he held onto Kaiba tightly, very aware of the symbol pressed between them now. "I can't believe it, you actually remembered…"

"As if I could forget," Kaiba dryly replied, but he still held Yami close with a stray kiss on his temple. It was the night everything had changed in his life and it felt more appropriate to him since it was a day only they shared—not with Yuugi, not with the extended group, nothing but a moment between just him and Yami. Of course he would remember and it was a sign of how far they had come they he didn't get upset in righteous indignation at the assumption that he would forget or blatantly ignore the event.

"Thank you," Yami whispered one more time as he looked up into beautifully bright blue eyes that were focused on him and him alone. "For this, for tonight, just…for everything, for being you, and—"

The rushed words of gratitude were making Kaiba feel uncomfortable and he decided to stop it with a kiss; he didn't need to hear the words to know they were true. Yami went with the flow and showered Kaiba in a flurry of kisses as he tried to convey silently what he couldn't verbalize, amused that he was in that position for once. When they paused for breath, Kaiba rested his forehead against Yami's as he softly said, "You're welcome and…thanks," knowing he had plenty of stuff to be grateful for as well, even if he felt overly awkward for saying it out loud.

"Happy anniversary, Seto," Yami said, feeling somewhat hesitant to do so and yet unable to hold the words back.

When Kaiba hid his face against Yami's neck and mumbled something that almost sounded like, "Same to you," the former pharaoh smiled broadly with the depth of his affection. He loved getting to see that rare side of Kaiba and it warmed him to know what they had become together thus far.

They shared a meaningful look when they parted and Kaiba reached out to brush his fingers against the pendant that he had spent weeks deliberating over. Yami reached up and put his hand over Kaiba's as he reassured him, "It's perfect."

"Of course it is," Kaiba retorted with a smug laugh.

The response was just so utterly Kaiba that Yami couldn't help but say with a laugh, "I love you, you know that?"

It was only once the words were out of his mouth that Yami realized what he said and his eyes went wide as he froze at his slip. There was no way for him to take back what he said, nor did he want to; Yami meant it, but he feared Kaiba's response to a topic they had long dodged, worried that he might have just ruined an otherwise perfect evening.

Sensing Yami's distress, Kaiba knew better than to make a harsh, flippant comment in response—besides, he was in far too good of a mood to do so. Regardless of the name given to it, Kaiba knew that the word had no power over the feelings, even if he wasn't quite ready to verbally return the sentiment. "Yeah, I know," Kaiba stated, kissing Yami gently as he started leading him back toward the bedroom, somewhat amazed at his own reaction. "How could you not? I'm just that awesome."

It wasn't the first time Kaiba had used that line on him and it made him chuckle as his nervousness over his slip evaporated. Interlacing their fingers and allowing himself to be led over to the bed, Yami smiled up at Kaiba. He didn't need to hear the words from Kaiba to know that he felt the same way; Yami was okay with waiting as long as it took. For now it was enough to know through proof of Kaiba's actions how he felt.

A/N: Ah yes, my much alluded to "Gift Fic." I've been planning this one for over two years, so it's about time I finally got around to getting it written and posted, ne? And what better occasion is there than to celebrate your support of me for the last three years on this site by returning to the series that started it all?

I never would have imagined that I would have kept writing as long as I have—let alone as much as I have—and it's entirely thanks to your support and reviews. You guys have supported me through three continents, five countries, nineteen stories, and 670,451 words published on this site alone over the last three years! And that's not counting all the fragments and chunks of fics languishing on my hard drive that are just waiting for me to catch up to them! It really is staggering in so many ways and it just makes me want to keep writing and doing my best for everyone!

You have my word that I'll keep writing as long as there's interest, so here's to many more years and countless words! I will be wrapping up Anywhen, Anywhere soon with an epilogue and once Forbidden concludes, I will return to Entangled on a full-time basis. I know the delay in this series has worried some of you that I was abandoning it, but I fully intend to see this one all the way through.

Entangled Story 11: Lost & Found (hereby known as L&F) will be pretty damn epic, if I do say so myself—and I do. I'm projecting it to be well over the 100,000+ word mark (first time I've ever guessed it to be that length, which is frightening), so we're in for a major story that will be filled with all kinds of plot twists and character development—and knowing me, will probably be more than 200,000 words since I suck at guesstimating lengths. I've been planning it out since mid-2008 and I've been bridge building toward that since then, with countless hints dropped along the way through almost every single story since Another Lesson.

I sincerely hope that you'll support me through that, because it's going to be quite the undertaking, especially since I'll be working on my dissertation at the same time. But I'm excited for it and I hope that you'll enjoy it! I'll begin posting it once I finish up Forbidden, which should conclude sometime between 45-50 chapters.

Speaking of Forbidden, the update is still on course for Sunday, July 18th!

So thank you again for being such wonderful, loyal readers! I really am lucky and I look forward to many more years with you all!