WARNING: VOYEURISM. NO LEMON. Aten / Robbie Shouenen-ai.

Perfect Little Asset

Donny waited outside of the limousine with Jay and Kendall. Jay leaned against the black limousine, worry on his face. Karl had heard about his assignment and quickly left the office to give his lover a quick kiss and words of encouragement.

All of the men knew the Blekman Street area. It was downtown in a drug-ridden neighborhood.

The three men carried three guns each strapped to the inside of his jacket.

“Do you really think the kids are dead, Don?” Kendall asked.

Donny’s brown eyes darted towards the tall African-American in the black suit. “I honestly don’t know, Ken. I hope not.”

Jay shook his head. “Seto is going to be devastated if we find the bodies.”

Donny growled. “That’s enough, Jay! I don’t want to hear anymore! We’re going into dangerous territory here! You have to keep your eyes everywhere! If you think about the kids, you’re going to end up dead! You have to keep your mind on the mission! The Military teaches those lessons the hard way.”

Jay lowered his head. “Sorry, Don.”

“Mr. Kaiba’s safety is our main concern from the time I pull out of here until the time we come back. Kendall, you do not leave Seto’s side, understand?”

Kendall nodded. “Yes, Don.”

“Jay, you had better find a way to grow an eye on the back of your head! This area is ugly….extremely ugly. If you don’t keep an eye everywhere, you’re going to end up with a bullet in your brain!”

Jay swallowed hard. He had never seen Donny flustered. Donny had a soft spot for the kids. When he knew they were in danger, something snapped in him and nothing else mattered. He also figured a lot of it was sleep deprivation. The ex-military sniper had left the office only to search his designated area. He had not gone home to sleep.

Seto arrived in the parking garage. “Let’s go,” he snarled, placing a revolver of his own in his jacket.

****************************

Seto’s POV

Joey wanted to come. But this is risky enough just for me to go. If an emergency happened, I doubt that Joey would keep his wits about him. I had to leave him with Alex.

Alex will take good care of Joey. He took good care of Mokuba and I when our stepfather was alive. Alex was a great hugger and a terrific listener. Thanks to Alex, I didn’t bleed to death on several occasions after my stepfather put his hands on me.

I hope Hayden isn’t gone.

I don’t know what I would do if I lost him. I love Hayden very much and I care for him immensely.

My fists clenched as we drove on the highway downtown.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t call Ryou or Miranda about the call I received which told me where to pick up the bodies of our kids.

I’d rather have the bodies first before trying to explain to Ryou and Miranda that their boys were dead.

Poor Robbie. Poor little Aten.

They both had such promise.

I had to see it with my own eyes that the kids were dead. That is why I am going.

Please, gods, don’t let those boys be dead!

************************

Normal POV

Seto’s limousine arrived at 2910 Blekman Street. Donny and Kendall stepped out of the car and looked around at the dilapidated buildings. Women in short skirts and halter tops stood on every corner. Police sirens sounded and they scurried. With the cops’ disappearance, they returned to the streets to work.

Jay stepped out and opened Seto’s door. “It’s safe, sir.”

Seto looked up at the building they had to enter. “The streets look safer than the building!”

Kendall stood by Seto’s side as Jay jiggled the handle to the building.

Jay cautiously pulled his revolver and opened the door slowly. He crept inside, eyeballing the abandoned lobby. He searched for other people and explosives. When the lobby was secured, he signaled Donny and the others to enter.

“It looks clean,” Jay reported.

Seto looked around the lobby and found a single key hanging on a hook for the door they needed. Seto took the key in hand and followed Donny up the stairs.

Donny pointed his pistol in front of him, his body tensing at the sound of every footstep and creaking of wooden boards under their feet. Jay kept an eye behind them, sweat forming on his forehead.

They arrived on the required floor and unlocked the door. Donny stepped in first, pointing his gun ahead of him. He stood in the middle of the room, holding his breath, waiting for someone to fire on him.

He searched the room and found it clean.

He went into one of the rooms and found bloody clothes.

“Seto! I found something!”

Seto ran into the bedroom and his body trembled at the sight of the bloody clothing.

Seto picked up a pair of pants he knew belonged to Hayden.

“Hayden…..”

Donny picked up a plain green shirt, its chest area was splattered with blood. “Aten…”

Kendall held a white and blue striped shirt, it’s back was smeared with a bloody streak.

“Robbie…”

“HAYDEN! ATEN! ROBBIE!” Seto called out.

No response.

“There are no bodies here,” Kendall said, looking under the bed for a body.

Jay turned around. “That is peculiar.”

Donny narrowed his eyes. “No….it’s a trap!”

Seto turned to Donny. “I smell a rat.”

Jay went to the table by the bed. “Here’s a note! It reads, ‘The cat has caught its mouse.’ I wonder what that----.”

A loud snap and the shattering of glass stopped Jay. Jay fell to the floor, clutching his shoulder.

“It’s a trap!” Donny yelled. “Get up, Jay!”

Jay struggled to his feet and grabbed his revolver. “To the end, sweetheart,” he said, kissing his gun.

Donny drew his gun and turned to his boss. “Let me go first.”

Donny crept into the living room and found no one inside. He opened the door to the apartment and peeked his head out to see if it was clear. A bullet whipped across his face and landed in the wall beside him.

“Someone was expecting us, guys,” Donny said, cocking his pistol. “Kendall, when I get out there, you get Seto down the hallway. Get him to those stairs.”

Jay clutched his bleeding shoulder. “What about me?”

“You help Kendall. I can take care of myself.” Donny’s eyes scanned his boss and two comrades. “Ready?”

Donny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Let’s do it.”

Donny turned his head and arm around the corner and fired his pistol down the hallway. Kendall and Jay pulled Seto down the hallway, firing behind them to give Donny some cover.

Kendall burst the door open to the stairs and ran down. Seto looked up as he heard the door open and saw a hooded man with green eyes enter the stairwell.

A pistol aimed at him and Jay cocked his weapon.

“Seto! Look out!”

The man shot and Seto gave a shout of pain. Kendall grabbed Seto before he could fall.

Jay shot up at the green-eyed man, his own injury burning. The bullets missed their target, but did give Seto and Kendall a chance to get out of firing range.

Jay ran after them. “KENDALL! GET SETO OUT OF HERE! GET HIM TO THE CAR AND DRIVE AWAY!”

The green-eyed man shot at Jay, hitting him in his left arm.

Jay pointed his revolver up and shot at the man again as he fled.

Kendall helped a limping Seto outside. More shots were fired and Kendall threw

Seto roughly into the bullet-proof limousine.

Kendal saw one of the bullets pass him, then turn around on its own and hit him in the shoulder. He opened the limousine door and watched Jay emerge from the building, his arm, shoulder, and his side bleeding.

Jay crawled into the limousine. “Kendall! Go!”

“What about Donny?!”

“Seto has been hit!”

“I’m not leaving Donny behind! Jay, you bandage up Seto’s ankle!”

Kendall jumped out of the car and re-entered the building. Donny was making his way down, firing up at the green-eyed man.

“START THE CAR, KEN!” Donny cried out loudly.

Kendall ran outside into a hail of firepower. His neck bled as a bullet buried itself in.

Donny limped out of the building and threw himself inside.

Kendall started the car and pulled away quickly.

Kendall panted heavily, sweat pouring down his face. Behind the car, he heard gunfire and the screech of tires. They were being followed.

Jay covered his boss’ body with his body as the bullets slammed against the bullet-proof windows of the limousine.

“Swerve, Kenny! Don’t let them catch up to us!” Donny screamed as blood trickled down his forehead.

Kendall turned sharply to the right. Seto winced as his wounded ankle was trapped under the seat in front of him. He felt something warm drip onto him. Jay was bleeding from the corner of his mouth.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Kaiba. We’ll get you to the hospital,” Jay panted heavily, trying to keep himself conscious for his boss’ safety.

“Stay with us, Jay,” Seto said, taking Jay’s hand.

Jay closed his eyes.

“No! Jay! Don’t you dare close your eyes on me!” Seto ordered. ‘Karl would never forgive me if…..’

Jay opened his eyes. “Yes, sir.”

The limousine shuddered as the car caught up to them and slammed against them.

Donny growled. “Shit! They’re trying to run us off the road! Kenny, floor it!”

“It’s a residential area! What if we hit a kid?”

Donny gripped his shoulder in pain. “We have to risk it! Seto is in this car and I will be damned if he gets killed!” The limousine shuddered again. FLOOR IT, GOD DAMN IT!”

Kendall slammed his foot on the gas pedal as they crossed a busy intersection. Cars stopped short as they rushed through the intersection.

“They’re still next to us, Jay! Keep your head down!”

Seto could feel Jay shudder on top of him. “Jay, don’t you die on me, god damn it!”

Jay’s breathing became shallow. “I…..I won’t stop……until you are safe.”

The car’s impact shoved Donny against the door with his wounded arm.

“Shit! Kenny, get to the highway! I don’t want any innocent people hit by these bullets!”

Kendall turned the car sharply onto the interstate. Donny removed his revolver, blood continuing to trickle down his face, his clothing becoming saturated with blood.

He removed his pistol from his holster. He loaded “Betsy” and crawled into the back seat with Seto and Jay.

“Mr.Kaiba, are you okay?”

Seto looked up at the sniper. “Jay is hurt, Don. Badly.”

Donny put his fingers to Jay’s neck. “Fuck! Mr. Kaiba, I have to roll down this window to shoot out the back tires. Please keep your head down. Get as low to the floor as you can. This could get ugly.”

Seto nodded. “Do what you have to do, Donny.”

Donny put his finger to the window button. He knew that this was a daring move that opened him wide for a shot. He knew he might not make it out of this alive, but Seto had to be safe.

Donny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought about his wife and knew if a bullet hit him this close, it’d be over for him. ‘Alice…..I love you.’

He opened his eyes and pushed the button. The window rolled down slowly. Donny looked in the next car and he saw into the car beside them.

He saw Dominic in the back seat. “IT’S YOU!”

Dominic turned to the sniper and grinned, his canines sharpening. Donny saw Dominic raising a hand with a weapon pointed between his eyes.

Donny quickly took his pistol and shot out the back tires of the car. Dominic fired and Donny fell back as the car slammed into the limousine. Kendall turned the limo sharply to avoid the swerving car. The car slowed down and eventually came to a halt on the highway.

Kendall’s body quaked with the narrow escape. He wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

“Everybody okay back there? Mr. Kaiba?”

Seto was silent.

“Mr. Kaiba? We’re going to get you to the hospital!”

Donny crawled to the front seat, his shoulder sported a new bullet hole. “Seto…..is safe. Kendall…take us…..to…..Domin….o…..Hospal…”

******************************

Joey sat on Hayden’s bed, running his fingers over Hayden’s favorite toy car. He sighed sadly, remembering his son playing with it in the corner of the library.

The boy hid his toys there for fear of having them taken away. His uncle never bought toys for him.

Hayden had no time for toys. He was a sex slave at four years old.

Joey stood up and left the room. “I’ve tried so hard to be a good dad! I’m afraid I failed him.”

Joey stopped in front of Mokuba’s door when he heard Mokuba’s shocked gasp.

“YOU’RE WHAT?”

Jeanie’s cry could be heard inside of Mokuba’s room.

“I don’t believe it! But…we….you! How is this possible?”

Jeanie sniffled. “It is, Mokuba! ‘How is it possible?’ You were there, Mokuba! But it happened and we have to deal with it.”

Joey raised an eyebrow. ‘What is going on?’

“Mokuba, I know you are upset, we didn’t plan on this happening so soon.”

Mokuba sat beside Jeanie. “What do you want to do, Jeanie?”

“The question is, Mokuba Kaiba, what do you want? Do you want me to keep the baby?”

‘BABY! WHAT THE HELL??’ Joey’s voice resonated in his head.

“Jeanie, I love you. My brother is going to blow a fuse when he hears about this, but I want you and this baby. We can always get ourselves a nice house by the ocean…..plenty of privacy….kids playing the yard. We can make it our own little paradise!”

Jeanie laughed. “Well, knowing how your brother reacts to the thought of a woman naked, he might not be too comfortable with me as I grow into the big cow I will be!”

Mokuba and Jeanie chuckled. “Hey, princess, you will never be a big cow. You will be my best girl.”

“I love you, Mokuba Kaiba.”

The sounds of kissing came from the room.

“Jeanie….gods, girl….don’t get me started again or we’ll be having twins,” the younger Kaiba moaned.

Mokuba snickered. “Is that such a bad thing?”

Jeanie giggled. “I don’t know if I can take more than one of you, Mokuba.”

Joey was ready to open the door when the phone rang in the bedroom. Joey darted for the bedroom and almost knocked over Monique.

“Hello?”

[Puppy?]

“Seto! Do you have them? Are the kids alive? Are they alright? Did you find them? Where are you?”

[Joey, I need you to come to the Domino Hospital. Bring Karl.]

“Seto?......What happened?”

[Just bring Karl, Joey. We were ambushed. I’ll explain when you come. Bring Karl and tell him to arm himself to the teeth.]

“Seto?”

[Go on, Puppy. I love you. See you when you get here.]

Seto cut the connection and Joey ran to Mokuba’s room.

“Mokuba, I have to go to the hospital. Stay here with Jaimen.”

Joey ran to the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor.

“Alex, is Karl in?”

The old man nodded. “Yeah, he’s helping Joel with the wire taps.”

Joey ran to the ‘Public Relations Department’ and found Karl hovered over a circuit board.

Joel scratched his head. “Do you know anything about wire taps?”

Karl shrugged. “My expertise is knots….not technology. It’s the simple things that make life worth living, Joel.”

“Karl, you have to come to the Domino Hospital with me! Seto and his group were ambushed!”

The color drained from Karl’s face. “Oh no……..Jay.”

*************************************

Karl and Joey ran into the hospital’s front desk at the emergency ward.

“I’m Joey Wheeler! I understand my fiancé, Seto Kaiba, is in here.”

The nurse flipped through a file and cracked her bubble gum. “Oh, yes. There is a Kaiba here.”

Dr. Zira walked up to the nurse. “Hello, Joseph, come in.”

Zira buzzed Joey and Karl into the secured wing. “Seto was lucky, Joey. He took a bullet to the left ankle.”

Karl looked around nervously. “Where is Jay?”

Zira shifted his eyes away. “He is in surgery, Karl.”

Karl’s collected exterior crumbled. “No! Zira, tell me he’s going to be okay!”

Karl dashed off to the operating rooms.

“KARL,YOU CAN’T GO IN THERE!”

Karl stopped at a window and saw Jay on an operating table, surrounded by doctors.

“CLEAR!” the doctor cried out as the shock pads attempted to restart Jay’s heart.

Jay’s body jerked.

Karl’s hands rested on the glass. “Come on, Jay! Don’t leave me!”

The heart monitor’s line was still flat.

“Jay, come on, baby……fight it…”

Zira and Joey stood beside Karl. “We’re trying to resuscitate him, Karl. Donny and Kendall are still in surgery.”

Karl looked over at Zira. “Donny and Kendall were hurt, too?”

“Donny’s in a bad shape. That man’s had worse than this. I thought he was a goner when Yami made his gun backfire into his chest. But the man was back at work in no time.”

Karl banged on the glass. “JAYDEN! DON’T YOU DARE DIE ON ME! Don’t leave me…..please.”

Zira took Karl’s arm. “Don’t bang on the glass, Karl. You know better than that. Look, you can stay here if you want. I’m going to take Joey to see Seto.”

“Okay. I can’t leave Jayden.”

Zira lead Joey to the surgery recovery room. Seto was sitting up, eating lime-flavored Jell-o.

“Zira, I’m going to give the hospital money to at least buy better Jell-o cups. This isn’t Jell-o. It’s cardboard with sugar and food coloring.”

Joey wrapped his arms around Seto, kissing his lover on the cheeks. “Seto, I was so worried about you! What happened?”

Seto put down his Jell-o cup. “We arrived at Blekman street. We found clothes in one of the rooms upstairs. The next thing we knew, Jay was shot. We tried to leave the room and there were other gunmen. When we got into the stairwell, one of the gunmen shot me in the ankle. We barely escaped with our lives.”

“Jay isn’t looking so good right now.”

“Jay and Donny took the brunt of the beating. How are they, Zira?”

Zira shook his head. “We’re having a hard time stabilizing Jay. Donny lost a lot of blood. Kendall is nearly done.”

“You found clothes? No traces of the kids?”

Seto shook his head. “No. We didn’t find any bodies. It was a trap.”

“Were they the kids’ clothes?”

The CEO nodded. “Yes.”

“That means……..Hayden is still out there somewhere.”

Seto looked down. He thought otherwise. But he couldn’t tell Joey that he found bloody clothes. Joey wouldn’t be able to take it and he knew it.

“We’re going to keep you overnight for observation, Seto. You can go home tomorrow.”

Seto looked up. “Is Mako Tsunami able to talk yet?”

“Nope. He’s still mute for the most part. One of the nurses heard him moaning for his son last night.”

Seto sighed. “It’s time his son came to visit. I need to talk to Marik.”

“Umi’s probably missing his daddy,” Joey said.

“Dr. Zira!” a nurse shouted from the door. “We need you in Operating room 1-A!”

Dr. Zira ran out of the room.

Joey sat on Seto’s bed. “I’m glad you’re okay, Seto. I was worried about you.”

“Walking is going to be rough for a while, Pups. But nothing is going to stop me from looking for Hayden and those kids if they are still alive.”

Joey gripped Seto’s hand tightly. “Seto….I….I’m glad you weren’t killed.”

“It was…..an unsettling experience. I was afraid, Joey. You know it’s not easy for me to admit that. I was afraid I was going to die and leave you alone.”

Joey reached up and stroked Seto’s face. “Seto, you will always be a part of me.” Joey sat beside Seto in the bed and cradled Seto’s head and upper body in his arms.

The door opened and Kendall’s bed was wheeled in.

The tall dark-skinned man was unconscious and hooked up to a morphine drip.

The women stopped when they saw Joey and Seto cuddling on the hospital bed.

“If you stare at us one second more, you are fired,” Seto growled at the women.

The women left quickly.

Seto reached over and grabbed his cell phone.

[Ishtar-Itemri Residence. Marik here.]

“Marik, you will come to the Domino Hospital tonight. Bring Umi with you. The father is missing his son.”

[He’s not the only one, moneybags.]

“I have to talk to you.”

[What are you doing at the hospital?]

“Long story. I will tell you when you get here. Come and bring Umi with you.”

[Okay. After dinner. I have some…..colleagues….. coming over here tonight.]

“Bullshit. You have your lackeys coming over. I know the euphemisms, Rod-Boy, you can’t pull anything with me.”

[Whatever. I’ll be over tonight with the kid. Anything else?]

“Yes. Bring decent Jell-o over, will you? This stuff bites big, hairy ass.”

[I thought you enjoyed things biting your ass! I know I never complain when Itemri bites mine. I kinda like it.]

Seto groaned. “Too much information, Marik.”

The spirit chuckled. [Fine. Just to let you know, all we’ve got here is Sugar-Free Jell-o that we bought for Aten. See you tonight, Jell-o Boy.]

Seto rolled his eyes. “Marik is neverending.”

Joey chuckled. “Well, he’s always good for a laugh, Seto.”

“Sometimes he can be too creepy for his own damn good.”

********************************

Aten opened his eyes weakly. He shielded his eyes from the bright sun streaming in through the window.

“Aten? You awake?”

That voice…..

Familiar…..

“Aten?”

Aten looked above him. “Robbie?”

The figure smiled. “Yeah…it’s me.”

Aten looked on his arm. Another needle mark had turned red on his arm.

“What happened?”

Robbie rubbed his head. “Geeze….I don’t remember too much.” Robbie looked at his arm. Another needle mark turned red against his white skin. “Geeze…they gave us another shot.”

Aten sat up and winced at the pain in his legs. The swelling was not going down. “What time is it?”

Robbie looked out the window. “The last thing I remember was that it was nighttime. It was dark. Somebody hit me…..I don’t remember anything else though.”

Robbie looked down. “Hey! Where’s my shirt?!”

Aten turned and saw Robbie standing on the bed with no shirt on. Aten quickly looked down and saw that his own shirt had been removed. “Mine’s gone, too! I can’t be without my shirt! People might see my back and my pacemaker scar!”

Robbie looked at the scar by Aten’s shoulder. The dark-skinned boy’s ribs protruded from his sides. Aten walked to the mirror and turned around.

‘Ow…my bum hurts again….I wonder what happened. I don’t remember anything.’

Aten looked at the word ‘MINE’ carved into his back. It looked more prominent than ever against his Egyptian tanned skin. “I have to hide this! It’s a good thing my hair is long. It covers everything except the ‘E’.”

Robbie’s jaw dropped as he saw Aten’s back turned to the mirror. Aten’s long fingers dug into his white hair and played with it, trying to hide the word tattooed into his back by a sadistic grandfather.

Aten’s fingers slid dexterously through his long, soft white and blond hair.

Robbie wiped away some drool that was forming on the corners of his mouth as he watched his friend play with his long hair.

‘Oh gods….again? I just had one watching Aten sleep!’

Robbie crossed his legs and tried to distract himself. He looked out at the lighthouse in the distance. That didn’t help at all.

Aten faced the mirror and put his hands on his ribs. ‘I’m so skinny! How could he ever find me attractive?’

Robbie wiped the corners of his mouth again as he saw his friend’s pants hang off of his bony hips. Robbie looked down at himself. He was thin, but no where as skinny as Aten.

Aten turned and looked at Robbie shirtless. “You’ve got a bruise on your chest, Robbie!”

Robbie looked down. “Oh, yeah. So I do. You’ve got a bruise on your neck.”

Aten shuddered. “Oh yeah….one of the men started to strangle me. I kinda remember that. I must have blacked out.”

“Who was it?”

“He wore a mask. I couldn’t see his face or his hair. It was that Dominic guy. He always wears a mask. His fingers were long and thin….and….” Aten gave a shudder. “I don’t want to go into it.” Aten sat on the bed, feeling uncomfortable in his backside. ‘What the hell happened last night? I don’t remember a thing! I would have known if someone raped me….even if I wasn’t conscious…………right?’ Aten shuddered. ‘What if I wasn’t conscious and it happened? I would have felt it! Wouldn’t I? I don’t remember anything after I passed out! Ouch…’

Robbie sat beside him. His eyes shifted over to Aten quietly. “Did the guy hurt you, Aten?”

Aten lowered his head and shrugged. “I don’t remember.”

Robbie swung his legs back and forth. “Are you telling me the truth?”

Aten jumped off of the bed and wrapped his arms around himself. “Robbie, please….don’t ask me any questions. I don’t know what happened. The guy tried to strangle me. When I was waking up, I felt someone come into the room, hold me down, and shove a needle into my arm. The next thing I knew, all of my pain was gone. I don’t know what happened, Robbie! So, don’t ask me again because I don’t want to talk about it, Robbie!” Aten’s hair spiked and a growl emanated from his throat.

Robbie backed away, trembling. “Sorry! Sorry, Aten!” Robbie cowered by the headboard of the bed, shaking.

Aten snarled and advanced on his friend. “If I don’t want to talk about it, THAT is MY privilege! So back off, Soldier-Boy!”

Robbie’s jaw dropped and he backed away, falling off of the other side of the bed. He backed into the corner of the room, shivering.

“Okay! Okay! I’m sorry, Aten! Won’t happen again! Promise!”

Aten walked around the side of the bed, his eyes black as ash. “I don’t want to talk about it! You can’t make me!”

Tears came down Robbie’s face as he looked up at his yami friend.

“Aten?.....This isn’t you…..is it?”

The corner of Aten’s lip curled in disgust. “I am not Aten!” Robbie pressed himself against the wooden wall.

“Then, who are you?”

Aten’s nails sharpened and he grabbed Robbie’s hair, pulling him to his feet. The black eyes narrowed at Robbie. “Call me…..Yami Aten!”

Robbie’s body tensed and he sobbed. “Sorry, Yami Aten! I’m sorry! Don’t hurt me!”

Aten leaned forward against Robbie, pressing him against the wall. Aten’s grip loosened and Robbie wrapped his arms around his friend.

“Yami Aten?”

Aten let out a painful moan and released Robbie. Robbie sobbed as he felt Aten almost crumble to the floor.

“Yami Aten?”

Aten pressed against Robbie weakly and panted. “Robbie?...Why are you crying?”

Aten’s hair and his eyes appeared to be normal again.

Robbie fell to his knees in front of Aten. “I’m sorry, Aten!”

“Sorry about what? Robbie? Why are you crying?”

Robbie buried his face in Aten’s stomach. “You were yelling at me!”

Aten felt his heart sink. “Oh gods…..Robbie, I am so sorry!”

Robbie sobbed against his friend. “I didn’t mean it!”

Aten ran his fingers through Robbie’s slightly curly hair. “Robbie, I didn’t mean to go yami on you. It’s just….I didn’t want to talk about what happened. It brought up some….memories…that I didn’t want to remember. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Robbie wiped his teary eyes against the brown skin against him.

Aten kneeled in front of Robbie. “Robbie?” Aten cupped Robbie’s hands in his cheeks. “Whatever I say when I’m yami, I don’t really mean it. Okay?”

Robbie slowly nodded with a sniffle. “Okay.”

Aten wiped a tear from Robbie’s eye. Aten saw a renegade tear slip down Robbie’s pale-white cheek.

“My poor Robbie….” Aten leaned over and kissed where the teardrop had stopped on its descent. Robbie closed his eyes as a loving warmth flooded his veins. “Please accept my apologies, Robbie.”

Robbie nodded. “Apologies accepted, Aten.”

The two boys looked at each other for a moment, lost in the other’s eyes. For that moment, their critical situation had disappeared.

They had each other.

Nobody could take that away from them.

Robbie bit his lip. ‘Should I tell him how I feel?’

Aten looked into the icy eyes in front of him. ‘Should I show him how I feel?’

Aten shifted closer to Robbie until he was pressed up against his friend.

Both boys closed their eyes. Robbie leaned down slightly.

The boys pressed their lips together gently.

Robbie’s hands rose slowly to hold Aten’s shoulders lightly.

Aten’s hands slid down and snaked under Robbie’s arms. Aten pulled Robbie against him. The boy’s hands moved from Aten’s shoulders around to his back.

Aten gasped. “Robbie…..”

“Sorry, Aten. I…I don’t find anything wrong about your back.”

“It’s….it’s ugly.”

Robbie shook his head seriously. “I don’t think so.”

Aten looked up. “Really?”

Robbie nodded. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. There was something wrong with the bastard who did it.”

Aten nodded. “He was more of a bastard than you think, Robbie.”

Robbie brushed his fingertips against Aten’s cheek. “My poor Aten.”

Aten rested his head on Robbie’s shoulder, holding his friend against him. Robbie held onto his friend tightly, unaware that they were being watched.

**********************

Charlie kicked off his boots and rubbed his aching feet. “God damn Kaiba! My feet are killing me!”

Vinnie sat on the chair beside Charlie. “My back is fucking killing me! That prick was a good shot!”

Dominic narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, but I’m sure I got him with my gun.”

Charlie leaned forward and pressed a button on the secret panel built into the table. “Let’s see what our boys are up to.”

An image of Hayden on the bed appeared on the television.

“Hayden still looks spacey,” Dominic said.

Charlie grinned. “Yeah, he’ll be out for a little bit. Our boy worked late last night.”

“We need to clean him up, Charlie. Bloody sheets won’t look good to new customers.”

The man shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.” Charlie pressed a button and saw the next room.

“Hello!”

Aten and Robbie were kissing.

Vinnie’s nose curled when he focused on Aten’s back. “What a freak! He has something carved into his back.”

Dominic scowled. “I saw it when I removed his shirt. It says ‘MINE.’”

Charlie shook his head in dismay. “No one will pay for a kid with scars like that!”

“I saw a scar by his armpit. Pacemaker.”

Charlie groaned and removed his revolver. “That kid is better off to me dead rather using the food to keep him alive! Bad heart….pacemaker…scarred back….this kid is fucking worthless!”

Vinnie grabbed Charlie’s arm. “If he’s on his back, the clients won’t notice. That’s how the clients like them anyway.”

Charlie looked at the screen. “Truth. But it would only take one bullet to save me the trouble of keeping him alive. He’s dying already.”

Vinnie shrugged. “Then he makes a good kitchen bitch.”

Charlie bit his lip. “Focus on the boys.”

Vinnie made the hidden camera zoom in on the boys. Aten looked like a good kisser.

Charlie licked his predatorial lips. He wouldn’t mind kissing the Egyptian. Aten would taste so different from his nephew! Aten would probably taste exotic, just like his skin was so exotic.

Charlie grinned. “Save this on file. We can always put it with the other videos we collected. Let’s see how Seto Kaiba enjoys this.”

Vinnie turned. “Are you sure you’d rather spend the bullet? You could still get a lot of money for him.”

Charlie bit his lip in thought. “You’re right. We could still get a lot of money out of him. His eyes and his hair…and that skin tone…make him the perfect little asset.”

Charlie grinned as he watched the two boys kiss. “Boys, why don’t you go keep Hayden company? I have….alot of work to do around the couch. Vinnie, grab me a beer.”

Vinnie and Dominic left Charlie alone in the living room. Vinnie returned a moment later with a cold beer.

“You’re going to watch them?”

Charlie narrowed his eyes. “What’s wrong with that? Go away. I need some private time if you don’t mind.”

Vinnie shook his head as he left Charlie alone to his pleasure.