A/N: Just something random I wanted to get out of my system. Not very descriptively written (much more simplistic, I hope), differently written and done on the fly! I wanted it to be 1000 words or less, but it's over 3,000 instead ^^; aheh...

A/N: Er...implied smex

OoO

Plain and Simple

The setting sun painted the office windows with a warm shade. Brilliant threads of the glow it cast outlined Seto's form; it tugged at the ends of his hair, flowed over the pronounced shoulders of his sleeves and played with the tails of his coat. His day had been a rather short one in comparison to his usual grueling encounters. But his earlier hours of business were now whispers of the past and he would have nothing of it.

Long strides made quick work of a lavishly vast hallway to the only elevator on that floor. His. Only Mokuba and those with his personal authorization may have access to it. Once the doors parted, their metallic emboss gave reveal to the regal male Seto never expected to see. No matter how many times he had seen this man and beheld his astute divinity through his personality alone, Seto always seemed surprised to grasp him in his sights. He, Seto's only rival in life and gauntlet, was one of the very few who were allowed on this floor. The candidates were of a rarity matching his rival's own. He was in a sole category by himself and Seto was the only one who put him there.

"...Atem..." the businessman uttered flatly in disbelief. While he sounded dismayed or uninterested, his other could clearly tell exactly what emotions were attached to his name. One of them caused his wary expression to relax to a small, but inviting, smile, "Kaiba... I apologize for running into you as you were on your way home..."

"Forget it," Was the seamless reply, followed by heavy footfalls entering the elevator. The doors closed just as the hem of Seto's coat fluttered behind them. It was an inanimate object only following the the laws of physics, while perhaps not quite the laws of gravity; but it being a part of Seto's movements gave it life. That attitude of his transcended throughout his entire body and effected all that was around him. Atem included.

"First floor?" the exotic noble queried in a gentle tone that held a hidden inflection for only Seto to catch. Upon doing so, Seto peered over to Atem out the corner of an eye. A light, secretly curious, smile was presented to him. While it may have seemed like a mystery to others, to Seto it was very obvious when one fancied him. The unspoken declaration was even more apparently obvious when the signs and signals were brimming from one he held much respect for—and felt the same towards. Neither of them had outwardly confessed these feelings that they wished to bring forth in shameless candor. Their hesitation and withholding had nothing to do with them being of the same gender, but with the outcome of their interaction with their "friendship" at its mercy. They needed each other, whether they fully accepted that truth or not.

"Kaiba?" Atem called; a slender digit readied to punch in the correct button. With a bemused expression, Seto turned his head. He tossed his attention over to the vertical golden panel, glancing over the smooth shape of Atem's finger, and swiftly studied his options. His car was 4 levels below the first floor—and the current floor they were on was the 81st. Anyone could see that this would be a bit of a long ride—provided there were no interruptions to unnecessarily lengthen it further. Without verbally answering his rival, Seto leaned forward a tad to press the appropriate button. Then, he stepped back into the enclosure until he was able to lay against it. He folded his arms over his chest and tried to look elsewhere other than on Atem. Of course, that wasn't an easy task when such an individual was so very close and the rich tones of his vocals taunted Seto's restraint.

"Fourth floor basement?" Atem breathed in awe and humor, "And I thought having a second floor basement was odd enough."

"Haven't you seen that button before?" Seto snorted, accompanying his attitude with a frosty narrowed glare. But Atem was far too jubilant to notice it, or so he made it seem that way, "I haven't paid much mind to the others. My only concerns were with 81 and the first. Nothing more." Naturally, this entailed that Atem had paid more mind towards seeing Seto in his office or entering and leaving the building rather than anything else in it. Seto took note of this, but did not voice it.

"I haven't even seen you around that much since we broke even in our last duel. Mark my words, that will not happen between us again."

"I should hope not," Atem agreed with a faint smile. Just what was he so irritatingly delightful about?

"That's annoying," Seto groused.

"What is?"

"Your face."

"Wh-what? That's rather juvenile of you to say...!"

Seto rolled his eyes at the feeble comment and pushed away from the structure to face Atem directly. It certainly did not go unnoticed that his rival's vivid gaze was latched on to every strip of movement and each pattern of breath he made. There was a flicker of an emotion Seto had seen, and felt, many times that had ghosted over Atem's eyes. It was a sensation he wanted to delve deeper into exploration with, but did not know the best methods of going about doing so. "Let me put it another way for you to understand. Why do you keep smiling?"

"What?" Atem returned, quite perplexed. Had he really been smiling that much? He hadn't noticed. Yet, he tended to do a number of things in Kaiba's presence that he was usually unaware of. Uttering his name rather frequently was one of them. However, perhaps he couldn't really help it. Maybe, the unvoiced emotions he held towards the other were far too great.

"...I... I have?"

"Yep."

"How bad was it?"

"Radiant."

"...I see..." Atem trailed off softly, harboring a strong and somber expression. It was a look that Seto found too difficult to ignore. But before he lost track of time being absorbed in its complexity, he darted his eyes over to the panel and saw that they had just only passed the 75th floor. It was definitely going to be a long way down. And here he was, practically trapped in a floating box on a tether, with his "lifelong" rival. What were the odds? What had he done lately to be stricken with such an outcome? It only made matters worse that they were so physically close due to the confined space.

Too close.

Once he returned his view towards Atem, all manner of breathing ceased for Seto momentarily. The way those alluring crystals beckoned and implored his attention sent Seto's mind spiraling and his heart into astonishment. Atem was truly breathtaking and this glorious sight was only granted to him and him alone at this moment. Without realizing, his body dared closer and his arms lowered to his sides.

Atem was within an easy reach and it boggled Seto's mind from the contrast of how a perfect a target like his rival could be so simplistically obtained. But he wouldn't give in yet. Not yet. Seto needed to earn it; he needed to work for it. But it just so happened that Atem's silent seduction was dangerously ubiquitous between them. Neither one of them could ignore the things they were feeling at this moment.

Lips parted, then soon became sealed yet again. Breaths intermingled momentarily before again becoming subdued. They were so close to the other, any sudden jolt from the elevator would render them embarking much faster on their personal discovery than at their own pace and "patience". Yet, in a few more seconds, nothing else but the two of them would matter. In fact, it was occurring right now.

"...K...Kaiba...?" Atem barely muttered, his voice cracking. He wanted to say more. He wanted to ask why Seto was so near him. He wasn't certain of what to do or say. Once again, one of those constant habits of his broke forth and all he could really say was that name. A seed of nervousness branched in his stomach and tied itself into a taut knot. He felt as if he were at Seto's whim but it wasn't because he thought he had no volition to make. Atem wanted to be swayed by his other. He found those sharp eyes too lascivious to pull away from. Although somehow, he had done it. He looked briefly over at the digitally lit numbers that indicated the floor. 69. Of course. It just had to be a suggestive number like that, didn't it? Inwardly, he scolded himself for tearing away from Seto's gaze just to see that when he realized Seto had seen the same thing.

"Hmph," Seto shrugged, standing to full height. As he did, Atem felt a shard of himself become pilfered and discarded right under his nose. The warmth that had blossomed between them just mere seconds ago was now dispersed. Soft lips hesitated to birth a response that the heart was too cautious to have voiced. Why was it so difficult? What was so fearfully complicated about addressing someone you had cared about for years with 4 simple words?

"Seto, I love you."

Atem placed his attention elsewhere, but stole glances to Seto every so often. The CEO spoke nothing and faced nothing. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed.

Naturally, it was a little hard to have a response to something that was never actually spoken.

Floor 58. The atmosphere had made a turn for the discomforting and the awkward. Silence reigned over them. Whatever had been between them, no matter how miniscule a semblance, had been dismantled. The unease crept into Atem's heart and gave it a squeeze. In their idleness, he had allowed another opportunity to slither past him to be open with himself and Seto. While he needed to face this issue, telling Seto the love he felt for him in his heart was not the reason for his unexpected appearance that day. It was for a request. Contrary to the heavy feelings that stirred beneath his chest, his revelation did not pertain to his feelings for Seto. Instead, they bore relation to his identity, and to part of his reasoning for why he was the person he was. The purpose for it, its sole significance, stemmed from Seto borrowing a deck of his some time ago. Atem was told it was needed for replication for display in an upcoming project. Now, he needed it back. It almost seemed like a foolish reason to go through 81 floors for 42 pieces of shaped paper with pictures ad text on them. But as long as he was able to see Seto, his visit wouldn't have been deemed as wasted in any way.

"Do you have my deck on you, Kaiba?" he asked simply. The reserved male turned promptly in Atem's direction, responding more to the sound of his voice than the contents of it, "Hmm?"

"...My deck...You were borrowing it, remember? It's been a week now. Have you... finished what you intended on doing?" The questions were casual ones, but to Seto, they seemed negligible and distant. He wasn't focused on inquiries, but instead on the rich quality of the vocals behind them. He never could manage to get away from Atem. Seto always kept that deck with him; it had been secured and nearby within the same minute he had received it. While he kept his own deck in a vault, he kept Atem's a lot closer, against a safe of another sort-in a pocket, near his heart.

Having it under his temporary possession would always lead his mind to wander. He would never forget the day when his own deck was merged with Atem's to defeat an adversary. While Seto was one to not dwell on the events of the past, that significant feat had stricken deep volumes within him. Nothing he did could repay the debt he felt obliged to return to his noble rival. Nothing could equate to its significance and having this deck in his hands both cursed and relieved him. At times he would wonder, just what would his life be like if absent of his avatar of incite? What would the remainder of his days be without his muse; his thrill; his desire? If Atem was never there to aid him in rectifying his flaws, where would he, himself, be? How would his little brother be affected? Atem's deck was more to him than just a stack of cards blessed by the touch of the one he held a very high respect for. It was a reminder of what Seto was, is, and can become. If to conquer was to understand, Seto would always lose to Atem in subjects of challenge. If admiration was a starting point and duplication was impossible, at the very least, Seto would have a reason to stay in Atem's life as an important fragment of two pieces.

"Kaiba...?"

That stirring voice lured Seto out of his looping thoughts. With an unreadable expression, he turned his head to Atem, then took two steps closer to him. Not wanting to part with the deck yet, Seto hid his reluctance and handed Atem what he requested. But while he placed the item in Atem's palm, Seto did not remove his hold.

"Thank you..." Atem murmured, glancing to the hand and acknowledging the significance of the gesture. Then seamlessly, his smooth eyes crept back up to meet with Seto's. For some reason, they could not leave their silent study of that chiseled face. Whatever answers or subjects they were searching for didn't matter. Seto had already found his. Without realizing, Seto dipped his head and inched nearer. He needed to be close. He needed to understand Atem and his ways to the fullest. Only then could he best him and only then could he grant closure to his disquieted feelings.

"Kaiba...?" Atem uttered once more, his eyes fleeting between twin cobalt spinel in both anxiety and expectancy. By now, the negative space between them was rendered null from how close their bodies had become. Their eyes remained ensnared within the other's. There was an indescribable beauty in the way so much was spoken without the use of words. Emotions unfurled; the imaginary boxes that held their hesitant trappings were now becoming unraveled.

"...Kaiba..." Atem released breathlessly. His vision was transfixed and unwavering; his lips quavered just a tad before his tongue flashed out to nervously moisten them. He was thoroughly trapped now. If nothing were to interrupt them now, a kiss would be stolen from him, following after his heart. "Kaiba..." Again, the name tumbled from him, encased within a faint, but desperate, mewl. Seto acknowledged this with a reaction that pinned his rival where he stood. He placed his hand along Atem's arm and in a low, sonorous voice, he gave Atem what was bestowed to him on multiple occasions.

"...Atem..."

His name.

A sudden gasp emerged from the exotic male and the utterance of his beloved's name was the last word his mouth tasted before Seto claimed it with his own. This was what would have happened all the other times they had been caught or stranded alone by themselves without any friends, malicious alerts, or a little brother to dissuade the moment. Be it inside of a dueling arena, a virtual world, a cave, a corporate elevator or in a dream, it made no difference. Being close, lips upon each other and hand in hand, even if a deck was between them, is how they should be.

Something so simple was almost always overlooked with ease. But simple did not always equate to being of softer difficulties. Yet, matters of the heart tended to complicate things more than need-be. However, that was irrelevant now. Everything other than the two of them at this moment was rendered non-existent. Nothing needed to be spoken; only sensations and emotions were required to satiate them. Tenderly, Seto's hand slid down from Atem's arm to his hand, meeting palm to palm with him. Instinctively, their fingers entwined and everything else around them slipped away.

The sound of the cards slapping against the elevator floor as they fell, the light jolt of the enclosure as they reached the forth floor basement, and the sound of the doors opening did not exist. All but Seto and Atem became lies around them and they were the only absolutes. Still deeply within their kiss, Seto hoisted Atem up with one arm to allow the shorter to encircle his legs around Seto's waist as well as an arm around his neck. But that would only do for so long. Rather possessively, Seto brought Atem back against one of the walls of the elevator. His free hand skimmed over the panel's buttons until he was certain of a particular one without needing to look at it. The second he pressed it, the doors glided shut and the lights dimmed.

This was a personal elevator after all and was the only one with a "hidden" penthouse floor Seto only used for sleeping. However, it did not seem that he, nor Atem, would be getting much of any sleep tonight.

OoO

10:57 pm. Mokuba gave a sigh. So far, it seemed as if his big brother was working another late night. Done with his quick dinner of mac and cheese with gourmet chunks of beef, he hopped out of his chair and made a beeline for the living room phone. He practically sank as he plopped down into the plush invitation of the cushions and dialed his brother's cell number.

OoO

"AH! SETO! AH!" Atem exclaimed loudly, his throat growing rawer with each shallow inhale and ardent cry.

"..Atem...!" Seto all but whispered. His 4 poster bed practically vibrated across the carpet from the sheer power and carnal force emanating from atop it. Both bodies were glossed with sweat; the erotic dew painted the sheets with ardor and freedom. The air had thickened with their sensual exclamations, while the potency of their movements steamed the windows. In the midst of the exchange of their impassioned emotions, the resonance from Seto's cell phone was lost. Originally placed near the bed, it somehow got bumped to the carpet below. But between the throaty moans from Atem and the husky swears from Seto, neither of them seemed to be missing very much.

OoO

Met with Seto's voice mail, Mokuba rolled his eyes and hung up the phone. It looked as if his brother was going to be out pounding away extra hours of overtime, this night.

OoO

Ugh. I don't expect anyone to really get or like this stupid thing. I just wanted to write it...well last night I did. It flowed a lot better then, but today it was ehh...but I wanted to finish it. Almost the entire time writing it, I had the song Lillium on loop (the Elfen Lied opening theme). Now I'm tired of hearing it! It had to have looped at LEAST 80 times. At LEAST.

The implied smex was an added bonus, I guess. All I really wanted to focus on was the kiss. I didn't want it to be in an elevator, but I didn't want it to happen at Seto's home either...nor in the office, so elevator it was...( So Moon, if u ever wanted to write that story, you still can! But I ain't pressin it.)

I'm just glad this lil story done with and outta mah face!

Oh yeah oh yeah, the "second floor basement" bit is a Metal Gear (Solid) joke in this house. We hadn't heard of any place having a second floor basement except in Metal Gear games lol... WELL IT'S FUNNY TO HEAR SNAKE SAY IT, ALL RIGHT? lol

And a spinel is a blue-ish gem that can also be found in other hues. Lol When I first played Resident Evil 4, I had no idea what that item was. I looked up blue gems and low and behold...a wild spinel appeared.

-Mel