Chapter 39: Confrontations

There was a tense silence between them as Yami tried to control his anger and hurt, not wanting to lash out at Kaiba. "Why is he here?" Yami asked in a measures tone, struggling to keep his composure and almost failing.

"Gozaburo hired him," Kaiba told him, seriously regretting not looking into the matter further once he took over the brothel. "Who is he to you?"

Still reeling over everything that had just taken place, it threw him off balance enough to ask, "What difference does it make to you?"

It wasn't the answer that Kaiba had been expecting and he furrowed his eyebrows slightly as he replied, "I want to know."

The laugh that escaped past Yami's lips was bitter and starling to them both as the scarlet eyed teen demanded, "What, so I'm just supposed to tell you everything when you tell me nothing?"

"What are you talking about?" Kaiba asked, a dark tone creeping into his voice over the rebellion. This was not how the conversation was supposed to go; he wanted answers and Kaiba didn't feel like cutting through layers of bullshit to get to them.

"You don't tell me anything," Yami explained, the hurt once again making itself known. Even though Yami logically understood that it was probably for his own good, he still wanted to know. "I mean, I found out about Tanizaki from Gozaburo and a newspaper, damn it!"

"So?" Kaiba asked, bristling at the implication and missing the point in the process. "You didn't need to know about him."

Laughing incredulously, Yami shot back, "Oh, and you need to know about Bakura?"

"He's my employee," Kaiba replied, realizing too late that it was the wrong answer.

"Is that the only reason?" Yami hissed, his rage twisting painfully inside of him.

Holding back a sigh, Kaiba said, "That's not what I meant and you know it."

"No, I don't!"

"Why are you being this way?" Kaiba questioned as he reached out to pull Yami intro an embrace. It was surprisingly painful when Yami stepped out of the way to evade his touch, but Kaiba ignored his reaction to the slight.

"Why would you let him be with Jounouchi-kun?" Yami countered, refusing to answer any questions until he got some answers of his own. "Out of everyone here, why did you pick him?"

"Because he's new," Kaiba explained, hoping that replying would earn him a little cooperation for his efforts. "If he left because of the way the mutt treated him, it's not a loss to me. Plus, I trust Mai's opinion and was having her evaluate his performance from a female perspective."

It took a moment for the words to filter through his mind, but it made Yami realize, "From a female perspective? Does that mean you've fucked him?"

The hysterical note in Yami's voice and the panicked look in his eyes troubled Kaiba deeply and he didn't know how to handle the situation. He wasn't above lying, but he was reluctant to do so blatantly with Yami; vague replies were a different matter entirely since they served as clouded truths. Stalling for time , Kaiba tried an alternative route, "What difference does it make if I did?"

Not letting up, Yami continued throwing questions at Kaiba, "Or did he fuck you?"

Narrowing his eyes at Yami in displeasure, Kaiba watched as the teen started pacing back in forth in his upset. "Answer me and I'll tell you," Kaiba tried bartering, completely on edge by dealing with Yami in such a temperamental state.

"No, it doesn't fucking work like that!" Yami yelled at him, stopping his pacing long enough to glare at Kaiba. "You keep shutting me out and—"

"—and it's for your own protection," Kaiba interrupted, knowing it was as much for Yami's as his own.

"Protection," Yami sneered, the single word dripping with disgust. Even though he knew it was probably the trutth, he was too worked up to listen to reason.

"Yes," Kaiba confirmed as he closed the distance between them in an attempt to stop Yami's wild pacing.

The reply made Yami scoff, "More like covering your own ass."

Irritated by the brush off, Kaiba found himself lashing out in the cruelest way possible as he towered over Yami and demanded, "Is that what you call hiding the fact that I was handcuffed to a dead man while his murderer fucked me to remind me of just how powerful he was?"

The fight completely went out of Yami as he stared up at Kaiba with wide eyes, his breath caught in his throat as the knowledge slapped the reality into him. There were no words to articulate his reaction to the horror that was far worse than anything he had ever imagined and Yami couldn't even bring himself to whimper so much as Kaiba's name; he was too stunned to react at all. He didn't know whether to cry, or throw up, or find a way to bring Gozaburo to life just so he could kill him all over again.

"Do you really think you can handle knowing what happened that night?" Kaiba questioned in a sad voice as he reached out and brushed his fingers against Yami's cheek, wondering if it would be the last time he'd be allowed to do so. "Would you ever let me touch you again if you knew everything I've done?"

Even though Kaiba was trying to hide his pain behind carefully guarded eyes, Yami could see the fear in those brilliant blue eyes and it broke his heart. Throwing himself at Kaiba in a tight hug, Yami started to sob as it all caught up to him, "Seto, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—I didn't know—and I, I'm...oh, Seto—please—"

Hesitantly wrapping his arms around his near-hysterical lover, Kaiba whispered against Yami's neck, "I just want to protect you."

Even though Yami heard Kaiba, he was still too deep in shock to respond with anything other than fragmented apologies, "I'm sorry, I didn't know and—"

"That was kind of the point," Kaiba sarcastically interrupted, but he sounded more exhausted than weary as he tried not to remember that night. Why had he said that?

They held each other for some time until Yami calmed himself and Kaiba became more clearheaded about the issue, enough to feel remorseful about his outburst. Any further apologies were shushed into silence, so Yami just allowed himself to hold Kaiba and feel safe with him. He understood that Kaiba had suffered through terrible things—far worse than even his own imagination had provided for him—and yet Yami knew that it still probably wasn't anywhere close to his comprehension of terrible things. If Kaiba was willing to tell him that much, then how much worse were unspeakable horrors were left lurking in the unknown?

It put everything into perspective for Yami and he knew that on the scale of horrible things, Bakura ranked pretty low on that list in comparison. Even though it wouldn't make up for what he had provoked in Kaiba, he found himself suddenly volunteered the information that caused all the problems, "He's my ex."

"Your ex-boyfriend?" Kaiba questioned as he raised his eyebrows in shock. Suddenly having confirmation of how Yami had certain skills made sense, but the thought of it being with Bakura was disturbing to him on several levels.

Making a miserable sound of confirmation, Yami explained, "His dad worked with my parents on a dig, which is why he calls me Pharaoh."

"And not because you act like stuck up royalty whenever you get indignant?" Kaiba teased, trying to lighten the mood.

"That may have had something to do with it, too," Yami admitted with the slightest trace of a smirk that he hid against Kaiba's chest. It felt too easy to move on, but Yami knew that Kaiba needed it just as much as he did, to move past the unspeakable things that had happened in the past.

Kaiba was suddenly reminded of his last conversation with Gozaburo, when he threatened, "Do you really think you can escape from me? Even if I'm dead, you'll never be rid of me, boy." It suddenly clicked in his mind what Gozaburo had done and he swore softly as he closed his eyes against it.

"What?"

"He investigated all of you when you started coming here," Kaiba told Yami, feeling him stiffen in the hold at the information. "He must have found out about Bakura and hired him to use against you when we got back." The plan was so simplistic that Kaiba almost couldn't forgive himself for not seeing it sooner. It made perfect sense to him that Gozaburo would bring Bakura back with them and find a way to use the white haired teen against Yami. He suspected that Gozaburo would have ordered them to perform in the Viewing Room while Yami watched on in horror, Kaiba completely unaware of what was being done to his rival behind the two way glass.

Feeling sick to his stomach, Yami knew that was exactly the kind of thing Gozaburo would try to do. "I fucking hate him," Yami sighed. "Death is too good for that bastard."

"Yeah," Kaiba agreed, holding back a sigh.

"But why did you bring him back with you?" Yami asked in a hesitant voice, needing to know and yet not wanting to know all at the same time.

"Because he was skilled and I knew I'd need some new hires after firing as many people as I had to," Kaiba replied, wanting to drop the issue as quickly as possible and yet still feeling obligated to offer Yami that much information.

Yami's heart sunk when he heard Kaiba comment on Bakura's talent, causing him to meekly ask, "So does that mean...that you actually…with him…?"

"I'm sorry," Kaiba offered by way of answer, waiting for Yami to pull away from him in disgust.

It hurt to hear, but Yami saw it as Gozaburo's final act of cruelty rather than an act of betrayal by Kaiba. He knew that Kaiba wouldn't have been able to refuse any order by Gozaburo and it made perfect sense to him why the older man would do that to them, trying to drive Yami away from the brunette. "I...understand," Yami finally managed to say, trying not to feel the hurt and saying another curse toward the dead man who had caused so much harm in both life and death.

"If I had known, I never would have let him do that with Jounouchi," Kaiba told Yami, the closest thing to an apology he would ever offer toward the mutt.

The lack of derogatory address let Yami know just how terrible Kaiba felt and he shyly kissed the underside of the taller teen's chin in reassurance. "I know," Yami said with a small trace of a smile. "You're not that kind of person."

"Not when it comes to you," Kaiba replied, knowing all too well what kind of ruthless he could be when it came to other people. It was just further proof of Gozaburo's legacy, more evidence that he had been made into his image in a lot of respects.

"Are you going to fire him?"

"Wouldn't you rather me punish him first before having him permanently deported?" Kaiba asked, a slight sadistic gleam in his eyes. Part of him really did want to punish Bakura, both for his transgressions and Gozaburo's; it would be deeply satisfying in a way that was probably disturbing.

Not wanting to know how Kaiba was capable of ensuring the latter result, Yami shrugged and said, "I don't think that's really necessary," since he'd rather just be rid of Bakura forever.

"Depends on how badly he hurt you," Kaiba retorted.

Shrugging as he rested his head against Kaiba's chest once more, Yami explained, "He just wanted to take more from me than I was comfortable giving at the time. And when I refused him, he cheated on me with a guy named Marik that we went to school with."

"And Rishid?"

"He was Marik's boyfriend at the time."

Yami's objections to him being with so many people at the brothel made sense to Kaiba on a whole new level now and it made him feel a pang of remorse for unknowingly reminding him of his past hurt of being cheated on by Bakura. "You know I'll never betray you with another now that I'm free of that bastard," Kaiba reminded Yami, the words still feeling surreal to him in a way that he wondered if it would ever stop.

Looking up with a small smile, Yami agreed, "Yeah," and shyly raised himself up on tiptoes to kiss Kaiba. The show of initiative soothed away some of Kaiba's worries of rejection and he indulged himself in the moment.

"Will you come with me?" Kaiba asked on a whim when they parted, not ready to let Yami go quite yet.

"Anywhere," Yami told him with a smile, allowing his fingers to interlace with Kaiba's as he led the way out of his office.

"Now who's the one saying misleading things?" Kaiba teased as they went over to the elevator and he pressed the down button.

"Who said it was misleading?" Yami retorted with a daring kiss to hide his embarrassment. He wondered if he'd ever be able to say such things without having that reaction.

A/N: I feel really wrong for having this chapter end on a semi-sweet note, given all the revelations. Before anyone freaks out, no, Yami and Bakura never had sex. Bakura pushed for it, but Yami refused him, which is why Bakura went elsewhere for his needs. It was a subtle reference to his past as a thief in the Ancient Egypt Arc. Well, that and having Ryou's dad working as an archeologist, which gets a brief mention in the anime.

Gozaburo investigating Yami, Jounouchi, and Honda is mentioned in Chapter 09—and yes, I've been planning this since then. Sorry it's taken me 30 chapters to make that bit of information relevant!

NEXT CHAPTER:

"Let me show you how that first night should have gone," Kaiba implored as he started trailing kisses along Yami's neck. It was something that Kaiba had long contemplated ever since and now with everything that had occurred in his office, Kaiba felt a need to be closer to Yami, to reaffirm their connection in a way that a desk and chair would never allow.

Believe it or not, we're actually in the home stretch on this story. It's currently projected to end with Chapter 41 and I don't see that changing at this late point. I can hardly believe it, especially since it feels like there's still a lot left to explore with these Forbidden boys. But that's what potential sequels are for, I suppose.

The other news is that I've started a new story that's pure comedy. After so much heaviness here, I think it would be a nice change of pace. It's Kaiba and Yami, definitely M rated, in the comedy/romance categories, and it should be a lot of fun! Maybe I'll post it before I tackle the emotional L&F?

Regardless, the next to last update of Forbidden will go up Sunday, August 1st.

As always, thanks for your support! I can hardly believe I've been working on this story for almost a full year now...