Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Newton's Third ❯ Fire and Ice ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

NEWTON'S THIRD by Kiraya

Stream-of-consciousness, Yami's POV.

~*~*~

From the moment I first met Seto Kaiba, I admired him. Even though he was consumed by that unwholesome lust for power, I could sense his genius. What a brilliant mind he has...!

Even if I am a better duelist than he is, it's nice to know that there's someone out there who can give me a run for my money - what an odd expression! - in an honest duel.

I've never understood why he holds - held? Perhaps, someday - such a grudge against Yugi and myself for defeating him in our first match.

Oh, Yugi...! It hurts, not being able to tell my aibou. I can sense his confusion, his worry. He keeps nothing hidden from me, and he can't understand why I won't tell him what happened between Kaiba and myself today - besides what he saw, of course. Which he technically shouldn't know about, anyway...

But I won't come right out and break a promise. Even such an absurd one as that I made to Kaiba.

I knew Mokuba's death would hit him pretty hard. But I never expected him to break down like that. What could I do but hold him until his tears were gone...?

Yes, I could have just left him there. But only a cold-hearted bastard would do something like that - and cold-hearted bastard is one thing I most certainly am not.

(Gods, that sounded pompous.)

I was a bit surprised when he didn't immediately pull away, after he had cried himself out. Actually, I was almost glad he didn't; those few fleeting moments when he leaned against me gave me this extraordinary feeling of... something. I don't know. I can't even begin to describe it. Whatever it was, some crazy impulse made me hold him tighter.

I think I frightened him, with that. Ma'at knows I scared myself half to death.

What in the Afterworld was I thinking, anyway...?

~*~*~

I wasn't sure if he'd actually accept my offer of counsel. I was happy he called, though. It really does make grief easier to deal with, if you have someone to talk to.

And boy, does Kaiba need someone to talk to. I just know he'd go suicidal without help - Mokuba meant that much to him. And it would be quite a shame if he killed himself. The loss of such a brilliant mind - not to mention his looks - would be a terrible one.

What can I say? I've always found his appearance and form appealing - because of my highly refined aesthetic tastes, of course.

(Ooh, that was horrible. I've been so full of it, lately...)

Anyway, he invited me to the burial tomorrow - well, no, actually. Later today, seeing as it's nearly ten to four.

Bleh. I can't even think straight anymore. I'm going back to bed.

~*~*~

It started snowing this morning - wet, nasty, slushy stuff. (How I loathe this freezing climate!) Seto and I were the only ones at the cemetery. I guess he didn't want the kind of people who came to the viewing yesterday offering their sugar-coated false sympathy. (Not that they'd have come, anyway, with the weather as foul as it is.) It was a simple ceremony, really - nothing more than a few words spoken over the body before it was interred.

That was when it finally hit home, I think. That his brother was gone. He lost it again - and it was even worse than it had been the first time.

That same feeling crept over me again as he sobbed into my jacket. Except now... now I know what it was. What it is.

Gods help me, I can't deny it.

I've fallen in love with Seto Kaiba.

~*~*~

So. I've finally admitted it to myself. I don't know when my admiration changed form on me... but I do know it wasn't just an instantaneous thing. It's been growing, developing in a hidden corner of my being, for a long time - and it's only now come to light.

There's no possible way I can tell him, of course. He's going through some tough times, and he needs a friend - if I can even consider myself that - to help him. Not a lover, who'd just complicate things even more...

Me? Seto Kaiba's lover? Not in a thousand years. I mean, look at him - rich, handsome, intelligent... He could have his pick of anyone, male or female, he wanted; under what circumstances would he ever choose me? Especially considering our past.

But then again, who'd have thought he'd ask me, and only me, to his brother's burial, either...?

When he's recovered some, perhaps... although I have no idea how I'd go about pursuing a relationship with him, anyway. I guess that's one of the disadvantages of having been a pharaoh. For a sovereign, it's always encouraging or fending off others' advances, never the other way around. And in the rare cases when the ruler does pay court to someone... well, they're usually so flattered by his attentions that they don't even consider pushing him away.

We'll just have to wait and see.

If I can control myself. I only hope I'll be able to, for his sake.

~*~*~

To be continued.