Title: Taboo
Author: bnomiko
Rating: PG-13
Pairing(s): Main: Noa + Mokuba, Seto + Yami. Minor: Yamato + Kouya, Anzu + Yugi, Mai + Jou, Malik + Bakura
Spoilers: none
Warnings: swearing
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of Kazuki Takahashi. "Taboo" is from the musical Taboo, by Boy George. "On This Night of a Thousand Stars" is from the musical Evita, by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Stud Muffins Horse Treats are a product of Stud Muffins. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any of these characters.
Summary: The boys are going to prom, but there's a secret they're hiding from Yami and Seto.
Status: 1 / ?
Archived at: http://www.phenixsol.com/Miko/FF/

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

Setup for this fic:

* * *

Taboo

Prologue: On This Night of a Thousand Stars

* * *

Mokuba frowned at the mirror, tilting his chin up to get a better look at the mark at the base of his throat. Damn it. Another hickey... he was beginning to think that he was going to be stuck wearing turtlenecks for the rest of his life.

"It's not so bad... at least no one will see it unless they're looking for it," Noa commented from behind as he finished buttoning his shirt.

The younger teen gave the spot an experimental poke, then began buttoning up his own shirt as well. At least the banded collar of his tuxedo shirt easily hid the evidence of his late night activities. "You mean it's not so bad this time." He sighed. "Maybe I should start wearing a collar like Yami. I always wondered about that... I know Yugi started it, but Yami took it to the next step."

"I think it's some kinky sex thing, you know?"

Mokuba wrinkled his nose. "I don't want to think about Yugi plus 'kinky sex things.' Bad enough that Yami... I mean... arrrgh!"

Noa grinned and shrugged, then lazily drawled, "I bet Anzu secretly likes it. 'Oh Yugi, you look so cute in leather... ooh, you're soooo BAD...'"

"Eww! Stop it!" Mokuba made a face, though inwardly he admitted that his brother was probably right. Who knew what sort of things went on in their friends' relationships? He really was thankful he didn't know; it was bad enough that Seto and Yami made a huge spectacle of their lovemaking, visually and audibly, but to think of the members of Yugi-tachi naked... No thank you. I'll pass. At least he and Noa were exercising restraint and hadn't taken things that far themselves, though... That won't matter to Seto; he'll still kill us.

Noa watched Mokuba's expression carefully as he pulled on his vest. He understood the younger teen well enough to know what he was thinking and hell, that same worry regularly plagued his thoughts as well. Everything had been going well so far, but he knew sooner or later their luck would run out, and then what? What would Seto think of their clandestine relationship? A small part of him was sick of hiding the truth as if it were some awful, dirty thing, and if Seto couldn't deal with it, oh well. But his more reasonable side knew that that sort of attitude wouldn't fly with Mokuba, and he didn't want to do anything that would cause Mokuba more distress, and... he had to admit that he did care about Seto's approval as well. Because they were family, and that meant a lot to him.

Now Yami... Yami was a different matter. Noa was certain that Yami wasn't aware of what was going on either or else wouldn't he have gone straight to Seto and told him about it? As much as he liked Yami and considered him part of their family, it was obvious that the former Pharaoh's loyalties were to Seto first. Mokuba on the other hand thought Yami was beginning to put two and two together, claiming that he had noticed the older teen staring at his neck on several occassions, but he wasn't going to just come out and ask him what he knew about it, and neither was Noa. So that was just another headache to deal with.

"You know we can't just tell them," Mokuba said just as Noa was about to suggest the opposite thing. The green-haired teen sighed in frustration. "Noa, please... especially not today..."

Then when? Isn't it better to just come out and tell them sooner rather than later? Noa wondered, but he bit back that comment, settling for saying, "I just don't want to end up like Yamato and Kouya. I mean, they're resorting to taking freshmen... US... to prom, just so their parents won't find out they're lesbians." Is that going to be us three years from now? But he left the rest unsaid.

"I know," Mokuba responded, crestfallen.

Noa couldn't help but walk over and give his brother a hug, wrapping his arms around the other's shoulders from behind, though he found little relief from the contact. "We'll make it work somehow, no matter what," he said, though he wasn't sure if he believed that himself.

* * *

Seto had become very good about leaving work by 6:00 PM, especially on Fridays, but for once he had an extra reason to rush home. Prom. He still couldn't believe it. Was it normal for a pair of freshmen to get invites to prom from seniors? Seto had never gone to prom himself so he hadn't a clue, but it sure seemed that things were perhaps more serious between his brothers and their girlfriends than he had realized, and he wasn't sure if he approved, but... he really couldn't deny them permission to go. They had been so excited about it. Yami thought it sounded like fun. And the girls were all right he supposed, even if they were three years older than his brothers. Okay, so the age difference did concern him... a lot. Not that either one seemed like the starry-eyed gold digger type, but he couldn't imagine why the girls couldn't find dates their own age. They seemed bright enough and weren't unattractive, so why the interest in his little brothers?

Upon his insistence, he had first been introduced to Kouya and Yamato a little less than three months prior. So the girls had shown up on a Friday night at the mansion, meeting him and Yami and all of Yugi-tachi before heading out with Mokuba and Noa for a movie. And everyone liked them well enough. Mokuba's girlfriend, Kouya Sakagami, was the younger of the two; a soft-spoken and polite honors student with short black hair and glasses. In contrast, Noa's girlfriend Yamato Nakano was a lot more talkative and sharp with her wit, a softball player with blonde hair and a ready smile. They made quite the quartet, bubbling with the type of enthusiasm that only teens in puppy love seemed to be able to muster.

Teens with girlfriends today, and then they'll be grown up and married before I know it. Before I'm ready. Seto sighed, suddenly feeling much older, wondering if he'd ever be ready to see either one of his brothers grow up. The sight of the black limo parked under the porte-cochere, waiting in anticipation of the special evening, did nothing to settle his nerves as he finally arrived home with plenty of time to spare.

As the young CEO exited his vehicle, a mop of black hair bounced into view, putting a slight smile on his face. Mokuba used to regularly run out to greet him when he got home from work, but now his usual greeting came from Kuriboh, Yami's pet pony cum guard dog. Well, he *thought* of Kuriboh as Yami's pony, but the thing was oddly attached to him for some reason and would run up alongside the car as he left and came back from work, and then follow him around any other time he was outside. Not that the little guy didn't learn to like Yami and his constant supply of Stud Muffins, but his tiny horsey brain had decided that Seto was his favorite person in the whole universe, and everyone else was a chew toy to some degree or another. Like... Valon. And Jou. And thusly, Seto decided that he ought to be allowed to run loose all over the grounds, much to the chagrin of the security staff, housekeeper, mailman, gardeners...

The smile turned into a smirk, and Seto bent down to ruffle the pony's mane for a moment. "Sorry, I don't have time to play with you today."

Kuriboh answered with a snort and a toss of his head before turning and trotting away to go graze on the lawn.

Life's a lot simpler when all you think about is eating, shitting, and sleeping, Seto thought to himself as he watched the plump pony pick his way through the grass, but that wasn't realistic, and he didn't want to be as dumb as horse anyways. So with a deep breath, Seto straightened his back and headed up to the front door, hoping that Yami had the foresight to plan something to keep him distracted throughout the evening.

* * *

"You two look really good," Yami said, nodding in approval at Mokuba and Noa's matching ensembles: black cutaway tuxedo jackets and trousers, full back vests in a silver geometric print, and white banded collar shirts. It was an odd mix of traditional and modern pieces, something that only teenagers could get away with, but it looked almost appropriate on them. Part of Yami felt like a proud parent just looking at the two of them, though he was only a few years older than the two brothers himself. Undoubtedly, Seto had to feel the same way times a hundred, the ebb and flow of his emotions pounding steadily in the back of Yami's mind. "Getting nervous yet?"

"Nah, it's just prom," Noa answered loftily. "And not even our prom really..."

"They're seniors, so this is a big deal for them. And it's like a girl thing anyways, I think," Mokuba amended.

Yami had to chuckle at that. "It's just for girls, huh?" He tugged at the hem of the Mandarin collared tuxedo jacket he had chosen for himself for the evening.

The black-haired teen suddenly realized why the ex-spirit found that comment so entertaining. "Oh, don't get me wrong, Yami. I think it's great that you want to take Nii-sama out for the evening since he never... well, you know."

Seeing Yami's eyebrow arched in amusement, Noa laughed and pointed out, "I don't think Yami had the option of going to prom either."

Mokuba frowned. "I know that. But like I was saying... don't be surprised if Nii-sama complains throughout..."

"I know, Seto's a bundle of nerves. I can feel it, even though he doesn't want anyone to notice." Yami paused, watching as Noa reached over to smooth the back of Mokuba's jacket. It seemed so natural seeing the two of them together... he couldn't help but wonder if he was seeing things that weren't really there, or if in fact there was something to it. There just seemed to be too many coincidences for it all to be accidental. But... he wasn't going to broach the subject if Mokuba and Noa weren't ready or willing to talk about it first; if they were hiding something, he had the feeling that the main reason for that had just stepped through the front door. So he shut down that train of thought and told Mokuba and Noa, "It'll be fine. I'll take care of him. The two of you have a good time tonight. And Seto just got home, so let's go down and spring my surprise on him!"

* * *

Knowing that Yami was aware of his whereabouts, Seto lingered at the base of the stairs and waited for his boyfriend and brothers to come down to welcome him home. He knew Mokuba and Noa had to be dressed and ready to go since they had dinner reservations at 7:00, but he couldn't help but be a bit... dumbfounded when they finally came down. Sure, he had seen them in suits and much fancier tuxedos before, but this time... it was different. Special.

Mokuba shifted nervously on his feet, waiting for Seto to say something, but when he didn't make a sound, he finally filled the silence with, "Well... do we look okay?"

"Uh... yeah." Why hadn't he noticed before that they were both marginally taller than Yami already? "Yeah, you both look nice." And why was Yami in a tux of his own? "Yami...?"

Noa and Mokuba both glanced at the ex-spirit standing between them as he smiled reassuringly at his lover. I thought we could do something special this evening too since I never had a chance to go to a prom.

Hn. Me neither. But he hadn't thought he had missed anything until that moment. Then again... What did you have in mind?

Oh, you know... the usual prom stuff. Get dressed up, go to dinner, maybe have a whirl on the dance floor, and then make out in the back seat of the...

"Um, Nii-sama... are you all right?" Mokuba asked, a bit concerned at seeing Seto go from a lustful smirk to a deep frown in a millisecond.

The brunette tore his gaze away from his crimson-eyed lover and fixed it on his little brother instead. "You better NOT be planning to make out with your girlfriends in the back of the limo!"

"Of course not," Noa answered truthfully. He had no plans to make out with any girls, ever. "That'd be like... I dunno, making out in your bed or something. That's just nasty."

"Good. Wait; what is that supposed to mean?!"

Yami cleared his throat, then walked down the final few steps to claim Seto's arm, pulling him out of the way. "You boys better get going or else you'll be late. The limo's out front, and you have your tickets right? Oh, and the girl's corsages are in the..."

"No, wait," Seto protested. "What the fuck was that supposed to mean?"

"... fridge. Have a good time!" Yami called out cheerfully as he began tugging Seto up the stairs to their bedroom.

* * *

Oh, Seto was not happy. That much was evident as he grumbled endlessly while changing into the tuxedo Yami had purchased for him, black and Mandarin collared to match Yami's own, but with the jacket cut like a trench coat. But Yami smiled genially through all of his lover's complaining, knowing that the plans he made for that evening would help alleviate some of the stress Seto was under.

Suddenly Seto stopped fussing with his jacket and turned to look Yami squarely in the eyes. "Tell me I'm making a big deal out of nothing."

"Prom is a big deal." Seto sighed at that, so Yami quickly added, "But I meant for them, not for you... Kai-baby, I know they're growing up, but you know... you'll always be their big brother; they'll never outgrow that."

Seto's brows knitted as he considered his boyfriend's statement. Am I that obvious?

I just know you, that's all. Yami's eyes softened as he went and wrapped his arms around Seto's waist, resting his head on the brunette's chest to listen to the strong, wild beats of his heart as they gradually slowed to a more sedate pace. So are you still up for a "prom" of our own?

Dinner, dancing...

... and "dessert." Yami smirked broadly.

I'd like to say fuck the first two, and go straight on to the third, BUT... and Seto nearly laughed out loud at the look on Yami's face, all right, we'll do it your way. He gently disengaged Yami's arms from around his waist, then held his hand out to the shorter duelist. "Shall we?"

Yami happily took the proffered hand in his own as he and Seto headed out of the bedroom in anticipation of their own special evening.

* * *

TBC

Author's Notes:

March 8, 2006