The office had been abuzz with quite a flurry of activity all day and late into the night now. Atem had come in some time around two P.M. He'd decided that it was a little too nice of a day to just be spending dueling outside. He'd of course meant to spend it with friends, but they'd seemed busy. He couldn't fault them on it; he knew they had their own lives to attend to as well. His drop out of dueling that day had been unexpected as well, so it was really no one's fault. Even though Kaiba wasn't known for going outside on nice days, he didn't think it could hurt to just see the other.
He'd been told to stay quiet or leave. Kaiba seemed very busy today. Seeing as how he'd stopped in nearly ten hours ago, there wasn't a truer statement in the world at present moment. He'd waited anyway because he had nothing better to do. There had at least been one of his puzzle books slipped underneath one of the couch cushions. He hadn't remembered the exact time he'd stashed it, but he was grateful for it then.
Atem had settled along the couch, just lying down, facing Seto as the brunet worked busily at his desk. Pages were slowly filled up as he worked through the book. It wasn't a truly terrible way to spend his day all things considered. It just hadn't been what he thought he would have been doing.
Every so often though, his eyes peered along the top of the book to take stock of what Seto was doing at any given moment. The CEO had been on an endless line of phone calls all while his fingers worked hurriedly across his keyboard. From time to time Atem would see the man smirk, and it would spur his own hidden smile. It wasn't a gracious or somehow welcoming smirk; Atem knew what this look was.
Kaiba was beating someone. He had been all day. Every time Kaiba's smirk grew more malicious, Atem found his own smile widening. It was a morbid sort of fascination and interest, even more so when one considered that Kaiba's maliciousness was making Atem happy. He didn't dwell on it long enough. His eyes continued to drop back down to the endless numbers strung across the page for him to figure out. But he was always drawn back to his rival as the man laughed harshly or grinned again.
Finally the phone was placed down, a few more times keystrokes sounded in the air before silence moved between them. Atem looked over the book again to see Kaiba trying to hide a yawn with the back of his hand. It wasn't an action he was used to seeing Seto perform.
"What was all that about?" He finally chose to ask. Even if he would have understood the business jargon in the hurried talking of his significant other he chose not to listen to it. It wasn't his call to listen to.
Seto smirked again. "Taking down a rival company."
Ah, Atem had thought as much. The book was raised to cover a smile. "You did well?"
"Of course. They're finished." The tinge of cold venom touched those blue eyes.
The King of Games was drawn to it instantly, used to seeing things like this on the dueling field. It was just as interesting to witness it when he wasn't on the receiving end of it all. "That's good." He said for lack of anything else better to say. 'Congratulations' would have sounded so odd for some reason. The book was raised as he penciled in a few more numbers.
Kaiba finally took stock of his rival. He couldn't remember the exact time the man had come in, but he knew it was a long time ago. Sometimes the witless devotion the other man put himself through was rather annoying and served to throw this CEO off. But now he almost found it... endearing. Atem had been there when he'd said the final words and cut that company off its last legs for good. He was never one for celebrating these moments, they weren't far and few between, but just having the other there meant something. It was a weird feeling.
Atem mirrored the movement of hiding a yawn, though less skillfully than Kaiba had. The brunet watched him for a few minutes. Eventually the computer screen blacked out, resting itself for just a moment. While the company never slept and there was always work to do...
"Come on." He said, standing up and removing himself from the desk.
Atem looked up from his book, puzzled. "Where?"
"Home." A jacket was slipped on his shoulders as he stopped by the couch to throw a glance down at Atem.
The situation confused him greatly. Usually he had to beg and argue for hours to get Kaiba away from that desk. What was going on? Still, he stood, not one to squander an opportunity. "How come?"
"You're tired and if I leave you to fall asleep on my couch you'll distract me." It wasn't a lie. It wasn't quite the truth either. There was a severe feeling of success. Atem might have thought he hid it, but that smile that he'd given Seto when the verdict had been delivered made this feel like an accomplishment. Not just another day at work.
The shorter of the two stretched, slipping the book back underneath the cushion of the couch. They walked in silence down to the car. The wait for the driver wasn't long, Seto seeming to not want to drive for whatever reason. He decided not to question.
When they slipped into the backseat and the drive begun, Atem suddenly felt the tiredness that his mind had hid from him while working on solving riddles. It crept into each and every muscle, dragging his eyes downward so quick. Tentatively his body sagged from the weight of delayed sleep, coming to stop as his head hit Seto's shoulder. His eyes had closed all the way.
Blue eyes in turn were quite open, looking down at the other. It was a look of disdain at first, completely instinctual as if someone might have been looking at them. Slowly it faded into something impassive. The only people who would have been able to read the nearly-happy expression in his eyes were Mokuba, who was not present, and Atem, who seemed to be sleeping pretty deeply. So he allowed it, he allowed himself to feel it.
"Moron." His arm crept around Atem's shoulder to hold him close for the rest of the ride home.