Title: Food for Thought - Chapter 4.1: Gimme Caffeine and No One Gets Hurt
Author: bnomiko
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): Seto + Yami, Malik + Bakura
Spoilers: none... takes place post-Alcatraz Duel Tower
Warnings: none
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. Frappuccino, Tazo and venti are registered trademarks of Starbucks Corporation. Sugar in the Raw is a product of Cumberland Packing Corp. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.
Summary: Sequel of sorts to "Remember to Eat Your Fruits and Veggies" (but can easily stand alone). Yugi-tachi hit a coffee shop and dissect Seto and Yami's relationship.
Status: 4 / 5
Archived at: http://www.phenixsol.com/Miko/FF/

This is a SHONEN-AI fic (male + male romantic relationship). If you are offended by homosexual relationships, please do not read this. Flames will be disregarded.

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Author's Notes:

• Technically this isn't a full chapter. The storyline split in two at the end of Chapter 3, so there's two "half chapters" to cover both parts of the split. Both Chapters 4.1 and 4.2 cover events that are occurring simultaneously or near simultaneously, so keep that in mind as you are reading them.
• Setup for this fic:
• See Chapter 3 for setup on this fic.

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Food for Thought

Chapter 4.1: Gimme Caffeine and No One Gets Hurt

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"Okay... and I'm sending it right now," said Mokuba as he sent the text message to his brother's phone.

"So you guys have a curfew?" Jou had to ask. He wasn't going to get blamed for keeping the younger Kaibas out past their bedtime.

Noa snorted at the comment as Mokuba snapped, "We're not babies you know, and besides, tomorrow is Saturday."

"And we need to give Yami and Kaiba a few hours to sort things out, Jou," Yugi reminded his friend. "It's only a little past 8:00 PM right now."

Jou made a face. "Man... I must've had a long week at school then. I'm beat."

Mai just gave the blonde an amused smile. "Well, we are in a coffeehouse, Jounouchi."

"Mai's right. Jou, you need some caffeine. My treat," said Otogi with a chuckle, rising to his feet. "Anyone else want anything? Now's the time to holler." The ponytailed teen instantly got inundated with requests, and after a moment of chaos he decided to simply go around the table and write down the orders. Once he was done, he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, let me make sure I've got all this written down. Shizuka, tall hot chocolate. Honda, tall caffé mocha. Mai, tall iced caramel macchiato, er... no whipped cream. Jou, double espresso. Mokuba, tall mint mocha chip Frappuccino. Noa, tall caramel Frap, no whipped cream. Yugi, tall white chocolate mocha. Anzu, same as Mai but yes on the cream. Bakura and Malik, you're sharing a venti Tazo iced chai tea latte. And I'm getting a grande caffé latte." A bunch of heads nodded in confirmation, and Otogi left to place the order.

"So... speaking of Yami and Kaiba, what happened tonight?" asked Honda, and several pairs of eyes turned towards Mokuba and Noa. Mokuba squirmed a little, but he knew the question was coming and judging from the attentive looks, everyone wanted to know.

"Well, you guys know how my brother is. He doesn't feel comfortable flaunting his relationship with Yami..." Mokuba began to explain, but Mai cut him off.

"He acts like there isn't a relationship at all," the busty blonde sniffed. "I don't know how Yami puts up with it."

"Just because he doesn't show it doesn't mean it's not there. He just... I guess he got mad that Yami kissed him when everyone was watching."

"Okay, but Yami knew that would make Kaiba mad, so why'd he do it?" asked Jou.

"Probably because it sounded like he was about to say something really nasty," said Anzu, fixing the blonde teen with a look.

"What?"

"Oh come on Onii-san, you were making Kaiba mad," Shizuka admonished her brother. "He was really really mad when Yami stepped in." Jou flushed a little and shrugged as Otogi wandered back over to listen in on the conversation.

"That was quick," Honda commented, shifting away from Shizuka slightly after Otogi narrowed his eyes at him.

"I just gave them the sheet of paper," the green-eyed duelist began to explain, but the barista waved him back over. "Oops, I'll be right back... gotta pay for all of this."

Jou watched as Otogi walked away, then shifted in his seat. "Okay... maybe I shoulda kept my mouth shut. Sometimes I can't help myself... Kaiba just makes me feel so dumb. Always calling me Dog and Mutt and Chump."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Yugi began, turning to his friend, "but Kaiba hadn't called you any of those things for a while, right?"

"Yeah, guess so." Jou winced a little and didn't say anything for a moment. "I shoulda kept my mouth shut," he repeated softly, then added, "Kaiba was in an awfully bad mood tonight, even for him."

"Actually, this the only time I could remember him laughing. Even if it was at our expense, and a little creepy to boot," said Anzu, eyes narrowing slightly.

Bakura nodded and blushed faintly. "Yes, he did seem to be enjoying himself." Malik shrugged and didn't say a word.

"Well, he was in a bad mood earlier in the evening," said Noa slowly, thinking of how Seto had nearly snapped at him over his the music selection. "I think he had a headache; I saw him rubbing his head."

Anzu's eyes widened a little in sympathy. "Oh, well... if he didn't feel well, we would have understood. He didn't have to go through with the dinner. We could have gone out to eat instead."

Mokuba shook his head, shaggy hair swinging around his face. "Yes, he did, because he knows that Yami really looks forward to Friday night when all of you come over. Seto was willing to put up with his headache to make sure dinner went on as planned."

"Huh, guess he's not as bad as I thought," Jou muttered under his breath, deep in thought. Then he raised his head. "But it's just weird though, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" Shizuka asked softly.

"I mean, they've been together like eight, nine months now?"

"Nine," said Yugi.

"Right. And they're already acting like an old married couple. You know, with the bickering and stuff. I mean, last time when we came here, they were fighting over the difference between regular sugar and Sugar in the Raw. And before that... well, I mean they've been like that for a while. But maybe they've moved too fast, don't you see? So like maybe they're still together but now their relationship is rocky 'cause they went to fast, and now they're burning out?"

"Um, that doesn't really make sense, Jou..." Honda began, but he was cut off by Otogi.

"What did I miss?" the green-eyed game lover asked, two beverages in hand. Conversation stalled while Honda got up to help Otogi as the drinks slowly appeared on the counter, and the two ended up calling out drink orders as their friends keep their eyes and ears peeled for their particular order.

Once the drinks were handed out, along with straws, napkins and sweeteners, Otogi repeated his question. "So, what did I miss?"

"Nothing much. We're still talking about Yami and Kaiba," Jou said casually, sipping experimentally at his steaming hot coffee. He made a face as he burnt his tongue.

"Jou thinks their relationship is rocky because they moved too fast," explained Anzu. "And I think I agree, though you really didn't make any sense with the rest of that stuff, Jou. Yugi, didn't Yami move in with Kaiba after the third week?"

Yugi looked down at his mocha. "Um..." He looked at Noa and Mokuba, uncertain about how much they knew about the intricacies of the relationship, but Mokuba took the opportunity to jump in with his own details.

"Yami fell asleep on a sofa after their first date, but he must have left early in the morning because he was gone by the time we woke up. And he spent the night on their second date. Seto said nothing really happened but when I went to see why he didn't get up on time the next morning, I found them both in bed. Then when Seto went to drop him off after their third date, Yami only stopped by long enough to grab a toothbrush and a change of clothes and they came back together. Yami's been living with us since then."

"Too much information, kid," said Honda.

Mai nodded in agreement and added, "I can't believe they moved that quickly. I mean, it wasn't like they were strangers, but it does seem awfully reckless."

"Well, it does seem that way..." began Yugi, pausing to sip carefully at his drink, "but they're both just so intense that I think we're mistaking it for carelessness... it was probably like two tidal waves crashing into each other."

"Huh? I didn't tell you guys all that stuff so you'd think they were crazy," protested Mokuba, but Noa put a hand on his brother's arm to calm him a little.

"What Mokuba means is that Yami and Seto knew they were right for each other from the start. I don't think Nii-sama has ever shown any interest in anyone else for any reason; only Yami has ever held his interest."

Mokuba jumped back in. "You guys keep thinking of them as rivals. They're more than that... they're equals. That's why it works."

"I know, Mokuba. I guess I'm just not making it clear." Yugi sighed and put down his drink, turning to face the black-haired teen. "I approve, and so does Jii-chan. And I'm not surprised that they feel so strongly about each other. I think they are a good match. It's just a little scary watching them sometimes because they're so... it seems like when they are together, everything else ceases to exist for them. Even when they were only rivals, it was like that. And when I still shared a body with Yami, I could sense that attraction. And... it was a little unnerving to feel that way every time we saw Kaiba, or even when his name was mentioned."

Anzu blinked. "So you mean when Yami was still a spirit, you could feel that he wanted to be with Kaiba?"

"Err... more like his feelings influenced mine. So um... I sorta wanted to hang around Kaiba too."

"Whoa!" Jou and Honda blurted out simultaneously. Yugi reddened and tried to will himself to disappear into his chair.

"Well, I don't feel that way any more! Geez you guys..." He couldn't help but notice that Anzu was giving him the strangest look.

"That's because now you and Yami blocked your connection to one another, right?" Noa asked Yugi.

"Huh? Oh... well, we can't; not completely. It's not really a block. It's like trying shutting a door that doesn't shut all the way. Normally it's okay but sometimes there's a little spillover, especially when Yami gets upset. Like during dinner, I could feel his agitation. And then after Kaiba left, I could tell he was depressed. I think it kinda affected me too."

"So... do you feel anything now, Yug? I mean, not do you feel anything for Kaiba. I mean..." Mokuba looked at the blonde in wonderment. Jou blinked back at the younger teen, and shrugged. "I'm just worried about Yami, that's all."

"He seems pretty calm; I'm not reading anything from him right now. I guess they already worked things out." Yugi sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

"But... uh... when Yami... when Yami and Kaiba..."

Yugi blushed hotly. "If you're trying to ask if I feel anything when they're together and doing 'stuff,' NO, I don't! That was the first thing I asked Yami to work on blocking," the violet-eyed teen grumbled. There was a light smattering of laughter, and some of the tension drained from the group.

Then Anzu spoke up again. "Okay, slight topic change. I have to ask this since I've always wanted to know, and since they aren't here.... Have Yami and Kaiba ever said 'I love you' to each other?"

Yugi, Noa and Mokuba all exchanged glances while their friends took a moment to ponder the question. "I think I heard Yami say it once, and maybe it was by accident... but I don't think Seto heard him," Noa said slowly.

"Anzu, you said earlier you thought they were being romantic with their googly eyes," reminded Mai.

"Googly eyes?" Anzu giggled. "Well come on, I think we all can see that they love each other. But I'm just wondering if they've ever come out and said it?"

Honda suggested, "Maybe they say it all the time when none of us are there?"

"No way, not Kaiba. Maybe Yami does..." Jou started to say, but his voice dropped off when Mokuba gave him a disapproving look.

"Anzu, Honda, Jou... Nii-sama doesn't even use the "L" word with me. And is it really any of our business anyways?" The older teens looked a little guilty at the mild reprimand.

"Well, they say actions speak louder than words, right?" Bakura said softly, and he gently placed his hand on Malik's shoulder while passing him the chai tea latte. The two smiled at each other momentarily. Everyone turned and stared at them. They had been so quiet that the rest of Yugi-tachi had forgotten that the two were there.

Shizuka was the one to break the silence with "Awwww." Everyone else laughed, and the final bits of tension around the table dissipated.

Malik flushed a little at the attention. "Here, you can have the rest of it," he said, thrusting the remainder of the drink at Bakura.

"And you're already sharing drinks. I hope you two haven't already moved in together," Mai joked lightly.

"No! No, of course not!" said Bakura, now blushing brightly.

"You can take relationship advice from Yami and Kaiba," suggested Otogi, elbowing Malik lightly. The Egyptian teen groaned and Bakura made a lame attempt to hide behind his new boyfriend, causing everyone to laugh at their antics.

Still laughing, Mai leaned across the table to deviously grin at the pair. "Okay, now you have to tell us. Just how did the two of you get together?"

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TBC

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Additional Author's Notes (regarding how this chapter came up):

• Yes, Seto and Yami's relationship moved really fast. And yes, this is possible; however, I do NOT recommend that people rush into relationships in this manner! It's hard to build a meaningful, lasting relationship on such a small foundation. But since I write Seto and Yami to be so dynamically attracted to one another, I think their relationship would have progressed rapidly. And being as strong and intense as they are, I imagine they've had more than their share of speedbumps along the way. The little argument in Chapter 3 would be typical in their relationship.
• I hope I was able to adequately explain why Yugi was a bit agitated in Chapter 3. Yami's emotional spill-over was affecting him a little more than he may have realized at first.
• Hope I didn't disappoint anyone with cutting off the story just as Mai was trying to get Bakura and Malik to spill about their relationship. This story is centered around Yami and Seto, and I didn't want to take attention away from their relationship by building up Bakura and Malik too much. Besides, they just started dating at this point.

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May 21, 2005