Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Dead End Street ❯ chapter8 ( Chapter 8 )

Dead End Street

by Dragondreamer and Yami Dragon

Disclaimer: We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! DUH! If we did, the show wouldn't be fit for kids, that's for sure!

Warning: This story contains shouenen-ai (guy/guy relationships) and yaoi (guys having sex with guys). It also contains coarse language and violence. If you don't like it, or become offended by such things, what are you doing here? Haven't you figured out by now that all our writing contains this stuff?

WARNING: This chapter contains explicit yaoi (male/male sex). If you are offended by this sort of thing…GO AWAY!!

Note: /…/ Tristan's thoughts

[…] Seto's thoughts

~*~*~*~*~

DD: I have only one thing to say…LEMON!!

Bakura: Me? Tell me it's me!

YD: Yes.

Bakura: BOOYAH!

~*~*~*~*~

Tristan gazed with satisfaction at the throng of people milling around the club. It had only taken two weeks for the contractors to do the renovations and the place looked better than it ever had.

/So far, so good./ He walked behind the bar, grabbing a bottle of beer for Seto and, leaning across the wide counter, handed it to him with a kiss.

Seto smiled as he accepted it and turned back to look at the dance floor. Bakura was there with Joey and, although Seto couldn't hear him, the look on the white haired man's face, along with the slightly parted lips, let Seto know he was moaning as his lover ground into him in time with the music.

His grin widened as Yugi came bouncing up, climbing up onto a bar stool and grinning at Tristan as he was handed a glass of soda. "Yami wear you out, Yugi?"

"Not likely." Amethyst eyes sparkled.

"I can't keep up with him." Yami said, leaning against the bar. He motioned the bartender over and ordered a beer. "I'm going to be sore in the morning."

"Too much information, Yami." Seto said, slipping his arm around Tristan's waist as his husband came back from behind the bar. "Looking good, baby."

"No fights yet." Tristan snickered. "I think that's only because I moved Al in from the door. I've got to go get some more bourbon from the storeroom. Back in a few."

Tristan left his husband and his friends and went to the door next to the bar, unlocking it. He was just about to step in when he felt a hand on his back. Panic snapped through him, and he whirled around, fist pulled back to throw a punch.

"Tristan!" The young man, with brown hair and bright blue eyes, stepped back out of reach, throwing his hands up.

Brad's face flashed before his eyes and Tristan reacted, his fist flashing out, but missing the mark.

"Tristan! It's me…Adam!"

His vision cleared and he realized the man he had almost hit wasn't who he thought it was. "Gods! I'm sorry!"

"Are you…are you okay?" Concern clouded the azure eyes.

Tristan shook his head to clear it. "Adam?"

"Yeah," Adam reached out slowly, grasping Tristan's arm. "It's me. Are you alright?"

"I'm…okay. Gods…I'm so sorry." Tristan tried to smile at his former lover. "I thought you were somebody else."

"Someone you obviously wouldn't be happy to see."

Tristan avoided his eyes. "Is there something you need?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you…on your marriage."

Something struck Tristan then. Adam had called him by his name…and he had never told Adam his name. Adam saw the confusion on the other brunet's face and smiled.

"It was all over the papers." He said. "Imagine my shock when I saw it."

Tristan shook his head. "I don't get what you mean."

"Seto Kaiba." Adam smiled. "I have to admit, I was kinda flattered that you were comparing me to him."

"Adam…I…"

"It's okay." The other man interrupted. "I understood then and I understand now."

Tristan smiled, relieved. "Come on. I'll introduce you to him. I figure the least I can do is buy you a beer. Seems to me I never did the last time."

Adam smiled back, following Tristan back around the bar to where Seto was talking to Yami and Yugi.

"Amante," Tristan slid an arm around Seto's waist. "This is Adam."

Seto turned toward the man his husband was introducing, immediately taking in the similarities between them. A spike of jealousy shot through him, making his heart clench. "Hello."

Adam grinned impudently, seeing the look on Seto's face. "Nice to meet you, Seto."

Yugi cut a glance at his darker half, noticing the tension hovering around Seto. A quick, silent communication passed between them and Yugi hopped down off the barstool, holding out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Yugi!" A bright smile lit up the elfin features as Adam shook his hand. "This is my boyfriend, Yami."

"Hello." Adam's eyes met Yami's red ones, a look of interest apparent in the sapphire orbs.

Tristan frowned as he felt Seto tense. /He's not jealous, is he?/

Yami saw it too. "Would you like to dance, Adam?"

"Love to." Adam looked at Yugi, noticing how much he looked like Yami. "You too?"

"Sure!" Yugi smiled up at him and took his hand, dragging him toward the dance floor. "Maybe you won't tire out as easily as Yami does."

"Definitely not." Adam looked back over his shoulder, winking at Tristan.

A low growl came from Seto at the gesture and he tightened his grip on his husband possessively.

"What's the matter with you?" Tristan asked.

"You were with him, weren't you?" Seto said through clenched teeth. "Before we were together…you slept with him, didn't you?"

"Amante…" Tristan pulled away, shocked.

Seto grabbed Tristan by the arm. "Tell me the truth, Tristan."

"Look, don't do this here." Tristan yanked his arm from Seto's grip. "Come upstairs."

Seto pushed past Tristan and made his way to the door leading up to the office. [What the hell's the matter with me?! It never bothered me before. But…but I was never faced with one of Tristan's other lovers before either.]

He didn't say a word until he and Tristan were standing in the office, the door locked behind them.

"Who is he?" He kept his back to Tristan.

"He's the last guy I was with before we got together." Tristan answered honestly, reaching out and placing a hand on the other brunet's shoulder. "Amante, why are you jealous? I love you."

"I just…he…" Seto's hands clenched into fists. "He looks so much like me."

"He does. And so did the rest of them." Tristan stepped around in front of Seto, cupping his chin in his hand and tipping his face up to look into his eyes. "Don't you see? I was searching for something I thought I couldn't have. Every time I picked one of these guys up and slept with him, I was pretending it was you. That was the closest I thought I'd ever come to my dreams."

Seto bit his lip, searching Tristan's eyes. "Really?"

"Really." Tristan trailed his fingers down Seto's neck, grasping his collar and pulling him close. "Who ever would have thought my dreams would come true."

"Tristan…" Seto whispered as his mouth closed over his husband's.

They kissed deeply, their tongues tangling in an erotic dance that set their blood boiling. Tristan's hands went to the buttons of Seto's shirt. Just as he began to unbutton it, there was a knock on the door.

"Tristan? Hey, Tristan! There's no bourbon at the bar!"

Tristan pulled away from Seto with a sigh. "Be right there!"

Seto grinned, reaching to button his shirt back up. "Duty calls, love."

"You're not going to get away that easily, amante." Tristan retorted as he headed to the door. "We'll just have to pick this up after closing."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Seto laughed, coming up behind Tristan and putting his arms around him, kissing the back of his neck.

"Hmm…" Tristan leaned back against his husband. "You like it when I'm bad."

"Most definitely."

~*~*~*~*~

Joey opened his bedroom window and helped Bakura inside.

The white haired man's foot got caught on the windowsill and he fell to the floor, giggling madly.

"Shh!" Joey whispered loudly. "You're going to wake Dad."

Bakura snickered, pushing himself up off the floor and throwing himself at Joey. "We should have gone to Seto's."

"Right…seeing the two of them, they wouldn't have made it to the bedroom." Joey said, pulling his lover closer. "I hope they don't end up having sex on the stairs or something. That'd scar Mokuba for life."

"He can't be that innocent, living with them." Bakura replied, yanking Joey's shirt off. "Enough about them, ana sabi. I'm more interested in you right now."

Joey's hands went to the hem of Bakura's tank top and he pulled it over his head, sending his snowy locks dancing about his bare shoulders. "Did I see Yami and Yugi leaving with that guy Tristan introduced them too?"

Bakura shrugged, unbuttoning Joey's pants. "Don't know, don't care."

Joey hissed as Bakura reached inside, grasping his rapidly hardening arousal. "Gods…Bakura…"

Bakura took his lover's lips, kissing him hard as he squeezed his erection.

They were both a little drunk. Not passing out kind of drunk…just a pleasant state of intoxication that Bakura knew would only add to their lovemaking.

"Ana sabi…" Breaking the kiss, Bakura looked into his lover's eyes. "I want you."

"Yes…oh, gods, yes, love." Joey pressed himself against the other for a moment before disengaging Bakura's hand and going to his knees.

He unbuttoned Bakura's skin tight leather pants, helping the yami peel himself out of them and remove his boots and then immediately leaned in, taking his arousal into his mouth. He whimpered as he felt Bakura's hands sink into his hair and he drew hard on the length on silken flesh, tasting the evidence of his future release on his tongue.

Bakura sighed deeply, his fingers stroking through Joey's soft, gold hair. Just as his eyes were slipping closed, he noticed that outside the window, dawn was breaking.

"Joey…stop." He pulled the blond away.

"What?" Joey looked up with heavy-lidded eyes, his lips already swollen by Bakura's kisses.

"I can't stay. The sun's coming up." Bakura pushed Joey's hair out of his eyes, looking down at him, sadness evident in his own chocolate orbs. "Despite spending the night drinking, your father will be waking soon."

"No." Joey stood up and threw his arms around his lover, clinging to him. "No…please. Don't go."

"My love…I have to. I don't want your father finding us like this."

"I don't care!" Joey began to sob. "It's not fair, Bakura. All our friends get to go home together. I don't want you to go!"

"Oh, Joey…please…don't cry." Bakura felt his heart crack and he wrapped his arms tightly around the weeping man. "Please. You're breaking my heart. It's only for another week. One more week and then we can move into our apartment. Then we can be together."

"No." Joey pulled back, his eyes sparkling in the dim light. "I don't care if he finds us. What's he going to do? Kick me out? I don't care. Please, love…please don't leave me."

Once again, Bakura found himself being sucked in by those pleading golden eyes. He couldn't say no. "Okay. But the second I hear him, I'm going to have to go into the Ring."

Joey nodded, leaning down and pressing his lips to Bakura's again. He felt Bakura pushing his jeans down over his hips and he drew back, kicking them off along with his shoes as they fell around his ankles.

He led his lover over to the bed and lay down, reaching up and drawing the other down next to him. "Thank you, love."

Bakura sighed, laying his head against Joey's chest. "I don't really want to leave you, ana sabi. But if he finds us like this…I can't be held responsible for my actions if he lays his hands on you."

"He won't." Joey assured him, tangling his fingers in Bakura's snow white locks. "Look, my dad may be a drunken asshole, but he's not abusive."

"I know." Bakura lifted his head and began to press gentle kisses across Joey's chest. "Enough talk about him. I want to make love to you. We may not have much time."

Joey nodded his agreement, kissing the top of Bakura's head. "I love you."

"And I love you." Bakura whispered against the smooth, warm skin. "Forever, ana sabi."

"Forever." Joey responded softly, arching up as Bakura's lips closed over a nipple.

He so wanted to take his time, but Bakura knew they didn't have that luxury. No matter how much Joey's father drank, or who he had in his bed, he was always up early. And the last thing Bakura wanted was to have to kill someone with the hangover he could feel bearing down on him.

He reached over to the small table next to Joey's bed, snagging the bottle of hand cream they kept there. It certainly wouldn't do for the blond's father to find lube in his son's room.

Popping the cap off, Bakura poured some into his hand, reaching between Joey's legs as he continued to kiss his way down his lover's body.

Joey bit back a scream as he felt Bakura's fingers enter his body. It felt so good. Even the slight pain…because it meant that the unparalleled pleasure Bakura always made him feel was soon to follow.

Bakura was lost, watching Joey writhe. Seeing his golden treasure like this always made him lose track of what was going on around him. He was so beautiful.

"Now, Bakura. Please…now."

"Joey…" Bakura moaned, lifting the blond's legs over his shoulders and slowly pressing into him. "Ra…you're so tight."

"Bakura…my dark angel…gods, I love you." Joey lifted a hand, caressing Bakura's cheek. "Move, love. Please."

Bakura growled softly, bracing himself on his hands on either side of Joey's body. He began to move slowly, trying to draw it out. Joey wouldn't have it though. He began pushing up to meet Bakura's thrusts, a small, pleading whine coming from him.

"Oh, gods, `kura." Joey whimpered. "Please…do it. I want you…please…"

"Ana sabi…" Bakura wrapped his hand around Joey's erection, stroking him hard even as he increased the pace of his thrusts. Silently, he cursed the man lying on the other side of the thin wall. It was his fault it was this way…that he and Joey had to hurry, that they couldn't take their time to show their love for each other. "Come for me."

Joey moaned loudly, causing Bakura to lean down, crashing their lips together to silence him. Joey screamed into Bakura's mouth, climaxing violently, his whole body jerking.

Bakura felt more than heard Joey's cry of pleasure as he released deep inside his lover, his lips still sealed to the blond's. Struggling not to collapse, he withdrew from Joey's still twitching body and lay beside him, gathering him into his arms.

"I…l-love you." Joey sobbed against Bakura's chest.

"Shhh…I love you too." Bakura replied, stroking Joey's hair. It was always like this. When they finished making love, Joey would break down, knowing that Bakura would be leaving him. "It's alright."

"Please…stay." Joey buried his face in Bakura's neck, clinging to him. "Please? Just until I fall asleep?"

"Joey…"

"Please…don't leave me. Not yet."

"Okay." Bakura tipped Joey's face up and kissed him gently. "Until you fall asleep. Meet me at Seto's when you get up."

"I will." Joey whispered, kissing him back. He snuggled into his lover's arms and, laying his head on his chest, tumbled into a dreamless slumber.

"I love you, Joey." Bakura whispered.

He closed his eyes, thinking that he would rest just for a moment. It felt too good, holding Joey, to let go right now.

Without meaning to, he fell asleep.

~*~*~*~*~

Ryou glanced at the Ring, lying on the bedside table.

He shook his head, thinking to himself that he wasn't going to take it with him. The last thing he needed was Bakura to come raging from the Item if this visit with his father got out of hand.

He leaned over the bed, bending down and brushing his lips against Kendra's cheek. He looked at his sleeping lover for a long moment, watching as the tight tee shirt she was wearing rippled across her stomach.

"I'm going to make it better for you, my love." Ryou whispered. "I don't want our son growing up without any grandparents."

Slipping quietly from the room, he made his way through the mansion. As he passed Seto and Tristan's room, he could hear the distinct sounds of them making love. He smiled, thinking how lucky he and Kendra were to have them. If it wasn't for the two brunets they wouldn't have a home.

He made his way to the garage, taking the sky blue Ferrari that Seto had told him to use whenever he needed a car.

He pulled through the gates, his mind already playing out what he would say to his father.

He didn't notice the car following him.

~*~*~*~*~

Seto tipped Tristan's head up and kissed him deeply.

"Amante…ti amo." Tristan whispered, his sweat covered body limp against his husband's.

"I love you too, baby." Seto sighed as Tristan moved off him and immediately cuddled up against him, pillowing his head on his chest. "Gods…is it always going to be like that?"

"I sure as hell hope so." Tristan snickered.

"Tristan…" Seto looked up, his fingers tracing nonsensical patterns across Tristan's stomach. "About Adam…I'm sorry. I had no right to be jealous."

"Of course you do." Tristan replied, kissing Seto on the forehead. "Seto…it's only natural that you would be. I'm not upset with you. You don't think I am, do you?"

Seto kissed his lover's chest, laying his head back down. "No…not really."

"Well, from what I know of him…which isn't a lot…he's a pretty good guy. I don't think you have to worry about him hitting on me or anything. As a matter of fact, he seemed pretty interested in Yami."

Seto chuckled. "Yugi too. Gods, did you see them dancing together? I think Yugi was trying to climb into his clothes."

"The three of them left together." Tristan shook his head, grinning. "Amante? You don't think..?"

"I don't know." Seto shrugged. "Maybe. Yugi's not as sweet and innocent as he looks. And I know for a fact there's nothing innocent about Yami. Gods, when they were over yesterday, I walked in on them in the library. What he was doing to Yugi…that'll be burned into my brain forever."

"I don't want to know." Tristan yawned. "I tell you one thing; these late nights could very well be the death of me. I'm going to have to work out some sort of schedule. I don't want us working opposite hours. We'd never see each other."

"Yeah." Seto was silent for a moment before he spoke again. "Baby? Are we going to go away?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it IS customary for newlyweds to go on a honeymoon. I was just wondering if there was some place special you wanted to go."

"Well…I don't know. I just opened the club. And with what happened to Joey…" Tristan trailed off, his grip on his husband tightening.

"Shh, baby." Seto kissed Tristan's chest. "It's okay."

"It's just…I think…I think I had another flashback tonight."

"When?" Seto tried to keep the panic out of his voice.

"When Adam came up behind me. He scared me and when I turned around…I saw Brad." Tristan's voice dropped to a whisper. "I almost hit him. It scared the hell out of me, Seto."

"Love…" Seto pulled from Tristan's arms, sitting up and looking down into worried hazel eyes. "You have to talk to someone about this. Please."

"I don't know if I can. I keep hoping that if I ignore it, it'll go away."

"Tristan, that's not the way to deal with it. It's not going to go away." Seto reached out to touch Tristan's face, making the shorter brunet flinch. "See?"

Tristan bit his lip, looking away.

"Please…if you don't want to see a physiatrist or someone like that, talk to Dr. Cray." Seto said, laying back down and putting his arms around his lover. "Do it for my sake if you can't for your own. I'm worried about you, love. And what would you go through if Mokuba came up behind you and you ended up hitting him?"

"I don't even want to think about that." Tristan replied, burying his face in Seto's neck. "Okay. I'll talk to Dr. Cray. But…it's not going to be easy."

"Well, at least you won't have to go into too much detail about what happened. He already knows."

Tristan nodded, kissing Seto's neck. "I'll do it…for you. For both of us."

Seto moved back, slowly lifting his hand. Tristan took it in his own and placed it against his face, rubbing his cheek against Seto's palm. They stared into each other's eyes, perfect understanding between them.

"I'm here, baby."

"I know. Ti amo, amante."

"I love you too."

~*~*~*~*~

Ryou glanced in the review mirror, frowning at the grill of the car behind him.

"Gods, could you get any closer?" He grumbled.

He was on a straight stretch of road, so the other car could have easily passed him. It was about ten minutes between the suburb where Seto and Tristan lived and the city and this particular area was completely unpopulated, dense stands of trees running the length of the road.

"Back off, you bastard." Ryou growled, seeing the vehicle crowding his rear bumper.

Suddenly, the car behind him slammed into him.

"Shit!" Ryou gripped the steering wheel tightly, fighting to keep the car on the road.

The other car smashed into him again and the wheel was torn from his grasp, the Ferrari careening toward the shoulder of the road.

Ryou screamed as the car left the pavement, crashing through the trees. His last coherent thought was that the airbag didn't go off as the front end of his car came into brutal contact with a large tree and he was thrown forward.

Pain exploded in his skull as his forehead made contact with the steering wheel and everything went black.

~*~*~*~*~

Joseph Wheeler Sr. grinned to himself as he staggered from his bedroom.

He had heard the noises coming from his son's room and he couldn't help but feel proud of his boy. He wondered if the girl Joey had brought home had had as good a time as his son obviously had.

Throwing open Joey's bedroom door, he stood on the threshold, blinking. This couldn't be right. That white hair, so distinctively spiky…that pale skin. Gods! That was Bakura in his son's bed!

"What the FUCK is going on here!" He roared.

Joey bolted up in the bed, dumping Bakura to the floor. "DAD!"

The elder Wheeler strode across the room and grabbed his son by his golden hair, pulling him from the bed. "You faggot! No son of mine is going to go around fucking another guy!"

"Let go!" Joey struggled as he was dragged toward the door. "Bakura!"

"You're coming into my room now! Domina's in there and you're going to fuck her, boy!"

"Bakura!"

It had all happened so fast that Bakura didn't have a chance to react. Hearing his lover calling out to him brought him quickly to his senses. He reached toward the bed, his hand closing around the hilt of a knife stuck between the box-spring and mattress. He had put it there months ago, wanting Joey to have something to protect himself with…just in case. Now he was glad he had.

Yanking the knife out, he leapt to his feet, vaulting the bed and pushing his way past his lover and his father to block the doorway. The knife flashed up, the blade glinting in the light coming from the window.

The man stopped short, feeling the tip of the blade pressing under his chin.

"Let go of him now." Bakura snarled, twisting the dagger just enough to raise a small bead of blood.

Joey stumbled back as the grip on his hair was suddenly loosened and he back away, his eyes pleading with Bakura not to hurt his father.

Bakura raised his arm slightly, the blade cutting deeper into the older Wheeler's skin. "If you EVER lay a hand on him again, I'll kill you. Do you understand me?"

Bloodshot amber eyes narrowed on the white haired man. "You don't have the guts, fruit."

"Bakura! No!" Joey saw the murderous look in the spirit's eyes. "Please!"

"Only because you asked me, ana sabi." Bakura lowered the knife and stepped back into the hallway, his entire body tense.

Joey took a step toward his father, his hands clenched into fists. "You have no right. You're no father. I'll be with whoever I choose and there's nothing you can do about it."

"I thought I taught you better than that, boy."

"Taught me?" Joey laughed harshly, years of chafing under this man's uncaring attitude flowing to the surface. "What the hell have you taught me? If you had your way I'd be nothing but a drunk and a womanizer. All you taught me is how to avoid spending your emotions on the people that matter! You know what, Dad? I've had just about all I can take of you! I'm sick and tired of living here. And I'm sick of you drinking away MY money! I work hard for my paycheck and you sit there demanding room and board like some kind of slumlord! I'm gone!"

"Why you ungrateful little bastard..."

Bakura cleared his throat, lifting the knife and pointing it directly at the older man's chest as he took a step toward Joey, his hand pulled back to strike him. "I suggest you go back to your whore."

The senior Wheeler looked from the man with the knife to his son. "Get the fuck out."

"Are you deaf?!" Joey practically shouted. "I already said I'm leaving! You're useless, Dad! You're nothing but a pathetic, useless drunk! Get the hell away from me before I let Bakura stick that blade between your fucking eyes!"

Bakura stepped back as Joey's father pushed past him, fighting not to plunge the dagger into the retreating man's back. As soon as he heard the bedroom door slam, he turned back to Joey, seeing his lover pale and shaking.

He crossed the threshold back into the room, shutting the door and locking it behind him. He went to Joey and put his arms around him, surprised when the blond pulled away.

"Bastard." Joey growled. He wasn't shaking with fear…it was rage. And he was so angry, he couldn't see. "I can't believe him."

"Ana sabi." Bakura took Joey's chin between his fingers and forced his love to look at him. "Joey? Come on. It's over."

"Fucking asshole…"

"Joey! Look at me!"

Joey's vision cleared and he looked into worried chocolate eyes. "Bakura…"

"Shh." Bakura took Joey into his arms again. "It's okay."

Joey sighed, resting his head against the top of Bakura's. "Let's just get dressed and get the hell out of here." He hugged Bakura hard. "Here's hoping that Tris and Seto won't mind a couple of more houseguests for a while."

~*~*~*~*~

Aaron stroked his fingers through the long white hair, enjoying the softness of it.

His master would be so proud of him. No one had seen him force the car off the road. Not a person had been around to witness him pull the bleeding young man from the wrecked vehicle.

"Ryou…" He whispered, liking the sound of the name.

Master Pegasus had told him this one's name. Somehow it fit the form of the one lying bound on the cot of the dusty cabin where his master had told him to go once he had accomplished his task.

Aaron sat down on the cot, his fingers stroking the bloodied face. He brought his fingers to his lips and licked away the red ambrosia, a little moan escaping him.

He had to go to his master…tell him he had the young man. But first…

He reached out, slowly unbuttoning the pale green shirt and exposing the smooth expanse of the small man's chest.

"Pretty." Aaron trailed his fingers over the warm flesh. "Even prettier than the other one."

He stopped just as he was reaching for Ryou's belt. He really needed to go tell Master Pegasus. But…

"He'll understand. Won't he, Ryou?" Large hands undid the belt, shaking with anticipation. "He'll understand if I want to play for a while."

There was no response.

~*~*~*~*~

Tristan and Seto were woken by the sound of pounding on their bedroom door.

Before either of them had a chance to rise from the bed, the door burst open and Kendra ran in, her face soaked with tears and the Ring clutched in her hand.

"Kennie!" Seto sat up. "What's wrong?!"

"Ryou…oh gods…" Kendra threw herself at Seto, sobbing. "He's gone!"

"Kendra, calm down." Tristan placed a hand on her shoulder as Seto's arms went around her. "Maybe he just forgot to put the Ring on."

"No…no…he's gone!" The distraught woman burrowed into Seto's chest. "He…he went to see his father. I know he did! He s-said last night he was going to. I asked him not to go. Seto…please…I'm scared. What if his father…"

Seto met Tristan's eyes and the shorter brunet nodded, quickly rising from the bed and pulling some clothes on. He left the room to see if any of the staff had seen Ryou that morning.

When he returned, he paused in the doorway, the sight before him tearing at his heart. Seto was sitting up in the bed, Kendra in his lap. He had one arm around her, his other hand stroking her hair as he rocked her, a soft crooning noise coming from him that was almost lost under the sound of Kendra's crying.

"No one's seen him." Tristan said, sitting on the bed next to his husband. "And the Ferrari's gone."

"Last night…" Kendra's voice was muffled due to the fact her face was buried in Seto's neck. "He said last night he didn't want our baby growing up without grandparents. He said he wanted to talk to his father again. I didn't want him to. Seto…I begged him to leave it alone. His father won't see that we love each other. All he can see is that I'm pregnant and we're not married."

"Listen, hun, I'll tell you what…" Tristan laid a hand on her arm, claiming her attention. "Seto and I will go over to his father's house. You stay here in case he comes back. And call Bakura and Yugi. He may be with one of them. If he's not with his father, we'll keep looking until we find him."

"I begged him, Tristan. I don't WANT that man to be part of my child's life!"

"Kennie, please. You're not doing the baby any good by getting so upset." Seto placed a gentle hand on his friend's distended stomach, feeling the baby move. "Come on. Think of him. Okay?"

Kendra nodded, clinging to Seto and fighting to bring her tears under control. "O-okay."

"Come on, hun." Tristan drew Kendra up out of Seto's arms. "Let us get dressed and we'll go find Ryou."

Kendra let Tristan lead her to the door, stopping and turning to put her arms around him. "Please, Tristan…please bring Ryou home."

Tristan hugged her back, his eyes locking with Seto's. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was the same feeling he had when Joey had been attacked.

He only hoped they wouldn't find Ryou in a similar situation…or worse.

~*~*~*~*~

"We should have called a cab." Bakura grumbled, stepping behind Joey as a car passed them. "I didn't realize it would take us THIS long to walk to Seto's."

"I need to walk." Joey dropped back and took Bakura's hand in his. "Thank you, love. Thank you for helping me to finally stand up to him."

Bakura snorted. "That was a long time coming, ana sabi. And if you ask me, he got off easy."

Joey shook his head, peering up the road. "I'm glad it's over. I'm sick of taking his shit. I got sick of it before Mom walked out." Joey stopped suddenly. "Umm…Bakura? What's that?"

Bakura looked to where Joey was pointing. There were skid marks on the road and the trees were knocked down where they ended. He could just make out the rear end of the vehicle.

"That looks like…oh, shit…'kura, that looks like Seto's Ferrari." Joey dropped the bag he was carrying and broke into a run, Bakura at his heels.

His heart pounding, Bakura reached out to Ryou, only to feel nothing. His light obviously wasn't wearing the Ring. As they came up on the car Ryou always drove, he stopped short.

He could smell blood.

"Bakura…oh, gods." Joey's voice was a bare whisper as he stood by the open door of the car. He tried to stop Bakura as he lover came forward, not wanting him to see. "Love…no. Don't look."

Bakura growled, shoving Joey out of the way. A sick, desolate feeling swept through him as he looked into the empty car.

There was blood on the steering wheel.

He reached out to Ryou again, desperately trying to beat through the block that was jamming their link. Even without the Ring, he should be able to feel his other…but he couldn't.

It was as if Ryou was…dead.

Joey grabbed Bakura as he swayed and turned him around, putting his arms about him and holding onto him tightly.

Bakura buried his face in Joey's shirt and began to sob.

~*~*~*~*~

DD: I'm so sorry! *huggles Ryou*

Ryou: Am I dead?

Bakura: Better not be.

YD: I will not answer that question.

Yami: You made the Tomb Robber cry. You have my undying gratitude.

Tris: Yami…you're already dead.

Yami: Oh yeah!