Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Stronger Than Before ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

Stronger Than Before

by Dragondreamer and Yami Dragon

Disclaimer: We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! If we did, Dragon would have Joey as her personal sex toy.

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, leave now! Don't bother flaming us, because we'll just laugh at you.

A/N: This sequel was inspired by the song Stronger Than Before by Chaka Khan. We don't own this song or any others that may appear in this story.

Also, it takes place five or six years after Friends & Lovers. Those of you who have read our stuff should now by now we don't pay much attention to time lines. *snicker*

Note: /…/ Tristan's thoughts

[…] Joey's thoughts

~*~*~*~*~

DD: Woohoo! *dances around*

Seto: What are you so excited about?

DD: I've been dying to write this sequel for ages!

Joey: You're going to torture me again, aren't you?

YD: *evil grin* Don't worry, you won't be alone.

Yugi: Better not be me!

YD & DD: *looking innocently at ceiling*

~*~*~*~*~

Prologue

~*~*~*~*~

Tristan ran a hand over his short, spiky hair and leaned back in his chair with a sigh.

/Jet lag is such a bitch./

Three days back from New York and he hadn't had more than twelve hours sleep. And he was still up to his eyeballs in paperwork. Who knew things could pile up so quickly in a week. It had been worth it though. The opening of the first Kaiba Land in the US had been a total success. The plans for one in California were in the last stages. If all went well, they'd move on to Canada and England within the next four years.

He lit a cigarette and wearily rubbed his forehead. He was so tired, he could hardly concentrate. He knew that taking the promotion as the head of the PR department was going to mean long hours, but after a year without a break it was starting to get to him.

If you had told him five years ago that stepping up and defending Yugi against a pain in the ass reporter would have landed him a job working for Seto, he would have laughed. But he had taken it when Seto offered, and it seemed he had a talent for it. Last year when Seto had fired the head of the department for leaking information to the press, he had offered the job to Tristan and he accepted.

/Maybe I should take that vacation Seto suggested. Joey's almost done school for the summer. Maybe we could go away for a couple of weeks./ He looked at the pile of papers and discs on his desk. /Yeah, right. Who am I kidding? How the hell does Seto do it?/

Tristan looked at the two framed pictures on his desk. One was of him and Joey taken on Joey's birthday last year. The other was of Seto, Yami and Yugi. It was taken on their wedding day two years ago. Who would have thought that a week long vacation in Switzerland would have ended up that way? He smiled remembering how they had met up with the minister in a bar at a ski lodge, gotten the man drunk and convinced him to perform the ceremony. Well, nothing anyone could do about it now. It was legal as soon as the guy had put his signature on the marriage certificate. Tristan chuckled.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

"Hey Tristan!' Mokuba strode into the room. "Did you see this morning's tabloid yet?"

Quickly approaching his sixteenth birthday, Mokuba Kaiba had grown a lot in the last few years. Almost as tall as Tristan, he'd rival his brother for height, and looks, one day. Unlike his brother however, he was outgoing and easy mannered. Waist length black hair tied loosely by a leather thong at the nape of his neck, white tee shirt and black leather pants tucked into black motorcycle boots, he had every girl at his school throwing themselves at him.

The teen waved his hand in front of his face. "You shouldn't be smoking in here you know."

Tristan jerked a thumb at the vent of the newly installed air exchange system. "Get off my back colt."

"I wish you'd stop calling me that!" Slate grey eyes narrowed in annoyance.

Tristan smirked at him. The rest of his body hadn't caught up with his height yet and Tristan had given him the nickname after observing that he was all legs, like a young horse.

Mokuba rolled his eyes and dropped the paper on Tristan's desk. Putting out his cigarette, he reached for it, shaking his head when he saw the picture. This one was of Yugi and Mokuba. They were sitting on a bench holding each other and Mokuba was kissing Yugi on the forehead. The caption read Family Affairs.

"Where the fuck does she get these?!"

"Got me." Mokuba replied. "It's old though. Take a look at the sign."

At the top of the picture there were some cut off red neon letters. Tristan frowned looking more closely. Yugi wasn't as tall as he is now and if you looked really carefully, you could see he was crying.

"This has to be three or four years old." Tristan said, trying to make out the letters.

"It was taken outside the emergency room the night Seto had his accident."

Tristan couldn't suppress the shudder as he remembered that night over three years ago. Seto had been coming home late from the office on his motorcycle. He had crested a steep hill and was just letting up on the gas when he saw an eighteen wheeler stopped in the middle of the road. He had no choice but to lay the bike down, resulting in him sliding under the truck and stopping just under the cab. He was lucky he wasn't traveling any faster, if he had been, he would have been killed. He had broken both arms, an ankle and ended up with a non-life threatening head injury. Yugi had totally broken down when a nurse brought them his helmet, which was sheared down to the metal core. He had run from the building, convinced Seto was going to die. Mokuba had gone after him. Even now, years later, the phone ringing in the middle of the night sent Tristan into a panic.

He propped his elbows on his desk and dropped his head into his hands with a frustrated sigh. /Damn. Seto's going to blow a gasket. If he's over protective of Mokuba, he's twice as bad with Yugi./

"What are we going to do?"

"We're not going to do anything. I'll take care of it."

"But Tristan..!"

"No Mokuba. This is not your job." Tristan looked sternly at the younger Kaiba. "You've still got a week in R&D. You don't come over to this department until next month."

"I don't know why I have to spend six months in every department." Mokuba pouted.

"If you don't know how it all works kiddo, you won't get the VP position when you turn nineteen, you know that."

"Yeah, I know…but that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

Tristan grinned. "Why aren't you in school anyway?"

"In-service."

"Oh, okay." He looked at his watch. "Well, it's almost lunch time. Why don't you go see your brother?"

"Sounds like a good idea. I'll see ya later." Mokuba waved at an already distracted Tristan and headed for the door, only to smack right in to Joey.

"Hey colt! No school today?"

Mokuba looked down at him, smirking. "Listen short stuff, watch your mouth. I'm bigger than you, remember?"

"Whatever. I can still whip your scrawny little ass." Joey threw his arm around Mokuba's shoulders, giving him a squeeze.

"Yeah, right." Mokuba squeezed him back, putting all his strength into it.

"Okay! I give!" Joey gasped as the teen let go. "Now get! Say hi to Seto for me."

"Later Joey."

Joey closed the door behind him and made his way over to Tristan's desk. He slipped up behind him and put his arms around his neck, leaning down to kiss him. "Hey babe."

"Oh. Hey Joey." Tristan didn't take his eyes off the paper. "How come you're not in class?"

"I'm done for the day. My last class was cancelled." He looked over Tristan's shoulder. "What's that all about?"

"Huh?" Tristan looked up and saw Joey motion towards the tabloid with his chin. "This bitch is making crucifying Seto her life's work."

Joey took the paper from him and started to read it.

Mokuba Kaiba and his brother-in-law Yugi Motou-Kaiba were seen recently in what could be called a compromising position. Often seen together, the two seem to be unusually close. This reporter has to wonder what Youth Services thinks the effect of Seto Kaiba's so called marriage is on his brother. And just who is Yami Kaiba? He appeared out of nowhere, a man without a past, looking suspiciously like his partner, Yugi. Yet they claim not to be related by blood.

Just what goes on behind the gates of the Kaiba Estate?

Mokuba Kaiba is a minor, yet Youth Services has nothing to say about his living arrangements. It seems that money really does talk…

Joey snorted in disgust and threw the paper back on the desk. "That woman is sick! How can she imply there's something going on between Yugi and Mokuba?!"

Tristan shrugged, halfway into a stack of documents that required his signature.

"Where did the picture come from?"

Tristan didn't look up. "Mokuba said it was taken at the hospital the night of Seto's accident."

"What?! That was three years ago! She said it was recent."

"She can say whatever she wants. That doesn't make it true." Tristan's eyes narrowed as he looked up at the blonde. "Why aren't you in class?"

"Tristan, I just told you it got cancelled. Weren't you listening?"

"Sorry." Tristan replied absently, attention already turned back to his paperwork.

Joey rolled his eyes. "Why don't we go get some lunch?"

"Can't. I've got too much to do."

"I've hardly seen you since you got back. Can't you take an hour to have lunch with me?"

"Not if I want to get this all cleared up today." Tristan replied testily.

"Tristan, please look at me when I'm talking to you." Joey said with a dangerous edge in his voice.

"What?" Tristan glanced up. "Joey, I'm really busy here!"

"Gods! You're not even listening to me!"

"Well, you can't just come in here and expect me to drop everything!"

"Forget it!" Joey stalked towards the door. "It's becoming pretty obvious to me where your priorities are." He ripped the door open and left, slamming it behind him.

"Damn it Joey..!"

Tristan slumped back in his chair. Joey had been complaining for months that Tristan had been spending too much time at the office, hardly coming home for dinner and working weekends.

/Shit. I didn't know he was this pissed off about it. I'm going to have to make it up to him./

He lit another cigarette and picked up his pen, putting the fight with his lover from his mind as he continued to wade through the mountain of work on his desk.

~*~*~*~*~

Bakura: Gods Tristan, you're such an ass!

Tristan: Whatever. *lights a cigarette*

DD: Put that thing out!

Tristan: You were the one who made me into a smoker.

YD: It's only for the story you bonehead!

Yami: At least he finally got a haircut.

Yugi: *snickers* Well, they were threatening it.

Joey: Aww man! Don't think I don't see where this is going.

DD: You'd deny us our fun?

Joey: *rolls eyes*

Ryou: Hope you all enjoyed the prologue. Please review!