A note before we begin. There will be a number of OCs in this story. I tend to hate them myself, but since we are never given the head of any of Kaiba Corp.'s departments, I had to create them. I also know that no businessman at the level Kaiba is could survive without a PA. I will try to keep their roles as small as I can in the circumstances. Also, I would like to say that this is a gift fic for a friend. It was her plot bunny that started this whole thing. I bid you enjoy.
Seto Kaiba was a pragmatic man. Everything around him, with the exception of his brother, was thought of in terms of cost and gain. Would it be worth paying the maid a little more to not have to worry about the press learning about how he was almost always running on just two hours worth of sleep? Should he bring the side table next to his bed closer so he didn't have to reach as far to turn the alarm off? Was the headache that staging exhibition matches be worth the good publicity it would gain him and the money that would be sent to the charity? He barely nodded to his secretary as he walked towards his office, all these questions and more buzzing in the back of his head. He was pleased to find his PA standing next to his desk with a folder listing all of his appointments for the day and anything that had happened at the overseas branches.
"Kaiba-sama," the woman said biting one lip gloss covered lip as she handed him the folder. He sat his briefcase on the desk and turned to look at her. Over the years that he had known her he had come to understand that the habit only crept up when she was going to have to tell him something he would not like. He turned his full attention to her, the various debates in his mind halting. His gaze had the same affect that headlights would have on a deer. He had often been told that his gaze was unnerving at the best of times, but when it was solely focused on you it was downright frightening. Seto was proud of this fact. He would never admit to it, but he had spent time meeting his own ice blue gaze in the mirror in order to make sure it would have the desired affect.
"Out with it, Risa," he said opening the folder without looking away from her. He watched her take a deep breath and knew she was about to spit out whatever it was that had her instinctually worried to be within his grasp when the news was delivered.
"It's Slade Enterprises, sir," she said and Kaiba, who had removed his attention from her to the list of appointments, looked up at her sharply. "Mr. Slade's offering to sell with conditions." Seto became puzzled at the news, though it refused to show on his face. Slade was the head of the only other corporation involved in the manufacturing of Duel Disks. His company was the only one that grew the correct size diamonds used as a lens for the holographic projection of the cards. Kaiba had hated using them, but had been left with little choice seeing as they had patented their process. He had tried to buy the company from Slade several times, only to be turned down with the firm statement of it not being for sale. Why was he willing to sell now and why was Risa treating this like it was something that was going to put him in a bad mood for the next week?
"The conditions?" Seto asked as he noted that he had a four o'clock meeting with the man's lawyer. Rise clasped perfectly manicured hands in front of her as she closed her eyes in what Kaiba had come to know was her way of making sure she remembered every little detail. He put up with the quirk simply because it had always worked.
"He wants 120 million out the door," Risa began her list, Kaiba nodding at the fact that it was doable. He never liked parting with money but it was worth it to gain complete control over the manufacturing of the Duel Disks. "He wants guarantees that it will not affect any of the workers 401Ks or pensions. He wants you to make sure to continue to buy out the patent every seven years." So far everything was doable for him. He was planning on buying out the patent so that he would not have to worry about some two-bit company trying to sell a knock off of his product anyway. It was well known that Kaiba Corp. rivaled Apple in its pride over its products. There would be no such thing as a knock off. "And one more thing," Risa said her eyes opening so that she could look him in the face when she said it; "you have to marry his daughter."
Kaiba blinked once, twice at her words. Surely he couldn't have heard her right. Things like that had gone the way of the dinosaurs in the business world. Not only that, but Seto knew for a fact that his daughter was nothing more than a snot-nosed gold digger who would likely spend her entire trust fund on shoes. He had met her once when he had actively been trying to woe the company away from Slade. He had recognized the look in her eyes all too well. It was the look that Mokuba often gave things he wanted but knew he was going to have to play hardball to get crossed with the obsessive look he had seen in the eyes of fangirls. He had stayed far away from her after that. Rise clearly took his lack of comment; his face was always blank so she could never use that to go off of, as meaning he was enraged beyond words.
"I sent the faxed copy of the agreement to the legal department earlier, sir," she said meeting his gaze. "They should have some way around the condition before your nine o'clock with Shino." This was why Kaiba had hired her to begin with. She had a way of knowing exactly what needed to be done and doing it so that he often found people halfway to a solution by the time he knew there was a problem. He had enough to worry about without having to tell someone what needed to be seen to every second of every day.
"Good. I need you to stop by the school and give Mokuba his lunch. He left it on the counter again," Seto said looking through the rest of the contents of the folder. Risa nodded and bowed as she exited the office.
By eight he had the head of the legal department in his office and a copy of the contact in his hands. It appeared that they had found a way around the contract, but he didn't like it. Not one bit. He was almost tempted to give in and marry the girl. But his common sense told him that it would end with him conveniently dead and Mokuba disinherited. He rubbed his temples as the older man across from him went over the contract yet again.
"It very clearly states that you must marry his daughter, excepting a serious prior relationship, and then only that of one with same gender. He had to give you a way out legally with this kind of provision, and it's very clear he has quite the legal team working for him," Kotetsu said as he shook his head. Risa was leaning against the windowsill, her lips twisted into a frown as she thought.
"What about faking a relationship? I'm sure you could find someone who was willing to pretend to be Seto Kaiba's boyfriend. The contact only says the relationship has to go on while it is being signed. You could 'break-up' once all the technicalities are taken care of and you own the company. He can't say anything about it then," Risa suggested using one hand to push red bangs out of her eyes in frustration. Seto frowned in his chair as he leaned back. The same thought had occurred to him, but he had dismissed it for the same reasons his publicist looked like she had swallowed a frog.
"I'll tell you why we can't do that," the stern looking woman said her tone saying she was appalled at the very idea. "The amount of media fallout that is going to result from informing them that Japan's number one bachelor is homosexual is going to be like dropping a bomb on Hiroshima again. I know that the younger female population will eat it up and the male population is desensitized enough to not care, but the older generation, the one we do business with, will be very displeased. We can deal with that because of the fact that they would dare not say anything outright with the way the younger population is. However, any one we could find who would be willing to fake a relationship on this scale, with the media this involved, will turn to the media the second the gig is up. Then we have a scandal of biblical proportions on our hands, and a legitimate reason for them not to do business with us."
"What about someone you know, Kaiba-sama? They might be willing to do it without going to the media," Risa said not willing to let her idea die. So far it was the only one that showed any promise of working. Kaiba snorted at her suggestion, finding it be absurd. There were lots of people he knew, but very few he would even think of putting in a category as more than acquaintances. "What about one of those people Mokuba is always dragging over? They seem friendly enough towards you. I'm sure they'd be willing to help you out," Risa said as she saw Seto putting her idea to the wayside. It was a risk to bring up something that was clearly home life to Kaiba in this setting but things were getting desperate.
Seto steepled his fingers in front of his face as he thought. It was in his nature to look at every option before deciding on a course of action and even he had to admit that Risa's plan had merit. He began pulling up what he knew about each member of Yuugi-tachi. The mutt he threw out without having to think. There was only a façade of tolerance between the two. Honda was dating dog's sister if he remembered correctly, so he was out. Yuugi was still too much of a wide-eyed innocent and he would feel awful for having the media drag him through the mud like that. That left only one of them: Yami. Just thinking about him was enough to put Kaiba on edge. He had staunchly denied the spirit's existence until such point as said spirit had delivered one hell of a punch for one of his comments about the mutt. He had pretty much steered clear after that except for the times Mokuba forced him on a group outing. As far as he knew, Yami was working in Yuugi's grandfather's game shop and doing little else. Come to think of it, hadn't Mokuba mentioned something about Yami complaining that because he had no legal records of his existence he couldn't get a job or even enroll in school? A smirk graced his features and the three people in the room came to attention. They knew what that smirk meant.
"Risa, could you run by the Kame Game Shop and pick up a Yami Mutou for me?" Kaiba asked, his PA knowing it was an order and not a request. He turned to the head of his legal department and the man sighed. Whatever Kaiba was planning, it would likely cut into his afternoon tee-time.
Yami rarely if ever encountered something that he did not understand. He had made up countless games on the spot, figured out rules as he went along, etc. But being picked up by the woman he knew was Seto Kaiba's personal assistant without an explanation as to why, was one thing he could not wrap his mind around. The woman smiled at him as she looked up from where she was obsessively checking her mail on her blackberry next to him. He originally thought that she was a nice enough person, if a little odd. Any one who was willing to but up with Kaiba for more than twelve hours and be on call after that had to have something loose in her head. He returned the smile as the limo came to a smooth stop at one of the hidden entrances to Kaiba Corp. Yami raised an eyebrow as he got out, followed by the woman. Why hadn't they used the front entrance? Had he just willingly walked into the hands of a kidnapper? Not that they would stand a chance if they tried to make him stay.
"If you would follow me? The building is a bit of a labyrinth until you know your way around," Risa said as she both swiped her cardkey and pressed her thumb to the small pad next to it. The glass doors slid open and Yami once more wondered at Kaiba's paranoia. The building was built like he was expecting some kind of siege. He followed her, ignoring the startled looks he got from the various employees at both his hair and his clothes. Yami had largely picked up his fashion sense from his aibou, which explained why he was wearing a pair of leather pants that looked painted on and a fishnet shirt with the normal black sleeveless top over it, along with all the various belts, buckles, and cuffs he usually wore. He watched as Risa repeated the routine from the door to gain access to an elevator. The doors opened with a muted ding, and Yami stepped inside staring at the wall to wall mirrors.
"This is the only elevator that leads to Kaiba's business suite. I think you're the only person besides myself and Mokuba to see it," Risa told him and Yami blinked at her. Kaiba had a whole house in his office building? What the hell?
Seto sat at the table in the dining room of his suite, a bento sitting next to the lap top he was currently typing on. Like everything in his life the suite served a specific purpose. It was there for when he had to work late into the night and it would be better for him to crash there than waste the time driving home. It also served as a place to stay should something happen to the house. The suite's rooms were set up just like the ones in his home allowing for him to not have to look for things when he needed them.
He stood as he heard the telltale ding of the elevator reaching his floor. It seemed Risa had managed to convince Yami to come. Not that he had any doubt she would; she always found some way of carrying out his orders. He walked into the living room that the elevator was in and smirked as he saw Yami looking around the room like he had just entered the Twilight Zone. Risa caught his eye as she noticed him, a silent question being asked.
"Go ahead and take lunch, Risa," Kaiba said startling Yami who turned to look at where he was leaning against the doorway. The woman bowed before retreating back into the elevator. Seto looked at the diminutive teenager who was standing in the middle of his living room, arms crossed and glaring. Something about the look was reassuring. It was the look of someone who was not the least bit intimated by him. He gestured for the other to follow him back into the dining room. "Have you eaten?"
Yami glared at Kaiba's back at the question. It sounded almost like he expected him to be half starved or something. And, frankly, it didn't really matter whether or not he had eaten. He was not planning on staying any longer than it would take to find out why the other had gone through all the trouble of having him brought to his private suite of all things. It was in Yami's nature to be suspicious of the other. The last time they had had any kind of contact had been Yami defending his friend's honor. The two had stayed away from each other after that. Kaiba paused as they came to the dining room, looking over at Yami expectantly.
"I don't think it really matters, Kaiba-san. I'm not going to be here very long anyway," Yami said as he took the chair Kaiba had motioned for him to sit in.
"And here I thought that I should be nice. Goes to show where nice gets me," Kaiba said faking wounded as he sat across from Yami, but not back in his original spot. He knew that he would be too tempted to finish the authorization of overtime for both his legal department and his publicist. Yami resisted rolling his eyes at the other's behavior.
"Just get on with it. What did you bring me here for?" Yami said adopting the same air of boredom he often used when he was pharaoh and stuck having to listen to a particularly boring briefing. He noticed the change in Kaiba immediately. Kaiba had always oozed power and confidence, but it seemed to increase tenfold when he was dealing with things business related.
"A bit of business, actually," Kaiba said leaning back in his chair and studying Yami. Now was he last chance to back out of this entire thing and save himself from the potential humiliation he could suffer at the hands of the only person in existence who had managed to defeat him. It was not a pleasant feeling. "I hear that you are having difficulties procuring proper documentation." Yami narrowed his eyes in displeasure at what the other was saying. How could he know about that? And more importantly, why would he care?
"I fail to see how it concerns you, but yes, I am in a bit of a bind because of my lack of legal status in this country," Yami admitted wondering what the other was going to do with the information. He did not like the gleam in the other's eyes. It was the same one he often got when he had pulled a card that would start the change reaction of events that could lead to Yami's defeat.
"I could help you with that. I have several friends in the immigration department. It would be easy enough to get you a visa," Seto said putting his chin on his fist as he looked at the other. He knew he had Yami right where he wanted him. But, Yami was not stupid. He knew that Kaiba never offered anyone anything for free. He had gotten better with dealing with people, but there was no way his pragmatic side would ever truly go away.
"What do you want, Kaiba-san? There is no such thing as free," Yami said meeting the other's eyes. Seto almost seemed to contemplate what he was going to ask for. Had he not planed this the whole way out? That was unlike him, and Yami dismissed it a rouse.
"Very true," Kaiba acknowledged as he sat back in his chair again. "What I want Yami is fairly simple: you." Yami blinked at the statement. That was not what he had expected to hear. He had expected something along the lines of a public match with him loosing, or having him work as one of his game testers. But, Kaiba was still talking. "I want you to pretend to be engaged to me for the next three to six weeks. Everything will be provided, and you'll have to move into the house…" Kaiba seemed ready to go on at length, but Yami wanted to understand what all this was really about before he even thought of agreeing to anything the other was spouting.
"You want me to pretend to be your fiancé? I'm flattered that you thought of me and all, but why? I've never seen you having trouble finding dates for the various events, and you want me to pretend to have been having a longstanding relationship with you. I fail to see how this is beneficial to you at all," Yami said putting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands before leaning on them to look the other in the eyes. Kaiba merely smirked as Yami played right into his hands. While he wasn't Yuugi and wouldn't do anything for someone he thought of as a friend, he would be more willing to do it if he understood the motivations behind it.
"I am in the process of acquiring a company that I have sought after for years," Kaiba kept going as Yami looked ready to cut him off, "Most of the terms and conditions I can deal with. There is one; however, that has left me in a bit of a predicament. The owner of the company wants me to wed his daughter. As I'm sure you know, I have little interest in marriage and all that it entails, and he was kind enough to leave me with a loophole: I must be in a serious relationship with someone of the same gender. That is where you come in. All I ask is that you play your role to the best of your ability and tell no one that the whole thing was staged. Once the company is firmly in my hands we will 'break-up'," Kaiba sat waiting for Yami's reaction as he finished with his story. Yami stared at him as the information settled. This was rich. Someone had basically out maneuvered Seto Kaiba at his own game, leaving him with no one but his rival to save him. He couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face.
"That's quite the conundrum, Kaiba-san," Yami said as he made to stand and Kaiba stood with him. Yami had his pride, however. As tempting as the offer of becoming a legal citizen of the country was, he was not going to bring himself so low as to pose as Kaiba's lover so he could buy a damn company. "It's really too bad that I can't help you with it." Seto was stunned. Was Yami really turning him down? Had he messed up that bad in his explanation? He had been so sure that it would work. He was appealing to both Yami's need to help a friend out was in need and offering him proper compensation. Or was the idea of pretending to be his lover that horrible? Somehow that thought hurt him. He didn't have time to question it, though. Yami had left the room and was summoning the elevator. By the time he came to from his thoughts Yami had already stepped into the elevator.
Yami stepped out into the corridor that the elevator came to and realized the one mistake of his exit: he had no clue how to leave. He could just wander around until someone noticed him and showed him out. Deciding that this sounded like a reasonable course of action he started down the hall. Unfortunately, he happened to walk right by Risa's office. She was out in the hall in a second.
"Yami-sama!" the woman called and Yami turned around with a sigh. At the very least she could show him out faster than his current plan. She walked so that she was level with him. "How did things go with Kaiba-sama?" she asked. Yami wondered how much the other knew about Kaiba's purpose in having her bring him there. It could potentially be very embarrassing if the other was not already informed. While Yami remained firm in his turning down of the offer, he had no wish to embarrass the mad further. So he answered with a statement that could allude to anything.
"I told him no," Yami said as he began to follow her into yet another elevator that would take them to the ground floor. She showed no emotion either way at the news.
"Ah," Risa said as she absently played with a lock of hair. "That's a shame. I hear that woman is quite a piece of work. She had a fiancé up until recently, but he died. Funny thing was she was named the sole beneficiary of the will. Not even a mention of the man's ten year old sister. I heard that she had to be put in an orphanage because she had no money." Her tone was that of a person talking about some piece of trivial gossip she had managed to pick up randomly, but Yami realized what she was saying. She was suggesting that the same fate could be in store for Kaiba and Mokuba should he agree to the other's terms. "We're here," Risa said with a smile as they came out in the main lobby of Kaiba Corp. Yami made to step out of the elevator, but found he couldn't. This had to be the most ridiculous thing he had ever done, but no one deserved to end up like the people Risa had mentioned.
"Take me back up there, damn it," Yami said as he got back into the elevator. Due to the fact that she was pressing a button on the panel he failed to see the small smile on her face.
Yami made it back to the shop three hours later to find the three most common members of Yuugi-tachi there. He wondered what he was going to tell them. Risa had said she would be back after she went to pick up Mokuba, so he needed to only pack the essentials. He really didn't want to lie to everyone, but he knew that it would be considered a breach of contract if he did. The only exception to this was his aibou, and was because he couldn't hide anything from him if he wanted to.
"Hey, Yami! It's good to see you in one piece. I was afraid that I would have to take Kaiba Corp apart looking for you," Joey said with a grin as Yami walked into the small living room. Yami shook his head at the other. He likely wouldn't get past the security guards in the lobby.
"So what did Kaiba want?" Yuugi asked from where he was currently playing on the playstation with Honda. It looked like some sort of racing game. Yami took a deep breath. It was now or never.
"He asked me to move in," the silence after his statement was profound. It was short lived though, as Joey managed to find his voice.
"He what?!" Joey said at an unhealthy volume. Yami winced. He really didn't want to repeat it. He felt Yuugi's concern through the connection that they hadn't been able to completely sever.
Is it true? He asked tentatively as Joey continued to rant about the nerve of some people.
It's true. Yami offered. He watched as Yuugi bit his lip.
What did you say? There was a nervousness to the question that gripped Yami's heart and squeezed. He hated doing this to his aibou, but he couldn't tell him the truth with Joey and Honda there. So he worked around the question.
Help me get them out and I'll tell you what happened. Yuugi nodded and proceeded to tell the other two that his grandpa would be home with dinner soon and they should probably start their homework. With much ado they managed to get their guests out of the house. Yami made for the room that the two of them shared.
"So what happened?" Yuugi asked as he watched the darker version on himself pull out a duffel bag and proceed to fill it with his personal effects.
"Kaiba," Yami said as he grabbed his deck from its place on the dresser, "somehow managed to convince me to pretend to be his boyfriend for the next three to six weeks." He looked up from his task as Yuugi let out a squeak of shock. Surely, Yami wasn't serious?
"His boyfriend?" Yuugi repeated in disbelief. Yami nodded as he zipped the bag up.
"Don't worry. I'm getting something out of the deal too," Yami cursed as he heard the horn from Risa's car. She had offered to take it so that no one would wonder why there was a limo in the parking lot. "I'll visit. I promise," Yami said as he hugged his still dazed other. He dashed out the door and into the car, not liking the smirk on Mokuba's face.
The room they had given Yami was beyond anything he had seen since he was pharaoh. It consisted of a partial office, bedroom and bath. The office was beautifully done in soft blue, the furniture an unpractical white. The bookshelves had been carved to depict scenes of what Yami knew where Blue Eyes White Dragons doing various normal activities. The bedroom was a darker shade of blue, closer to the deep rich royal blue. The bed had to be custom made because he had never seen a king sized bed that large. The comforter was a shade lighter than the walls and from where it was folded he knew that the sheets were a soft silver color. He ran his hand down the comforter and had to bite back a sound of joy. They weren't silk like he had been expecting. They were Egyptian cotton. He put his duffel on the bed and walked into the bathroom. They entire thing was made of marble. It was a soft white color with blue tones marbled through it. Yami was amazed to find that it was all made from a single piece of marble; the cabinets under the his-and-her-sinks the only place where the marble had been cut apart. There was both shower and a bathtub, the latter looking closer to a Jacuzzi than anything he had seen. The towels that hung on silver hooks and bars were a shade of blue so light they looked white. Yami reached a hand out to see if the fluffy towels were as soft as they looked.
"I take it you like the room?" an amused voice came from behind him and, startled, he whipped around, the faint black glow of the shadows dancing on his hand. Seto was leaning against the bathroom door frame still in his dark blue suit from earlier in the day. His eyes flicked to the shadows on Yami's hand before dismissing them as unimportant. "Put those away."
"Osiris, Kaiba-san," Yami said as he let the shadows go back to where they belonged, "You scared me half to death."
"I find that hard to believe considering you're supposed to be 3,000 years dead," Seto said sarcasm dripping off the words. Yami rolled his eyes and walked past him and into the bedroom. "You never answered my question." Yami looked at him from the corner of his eye as he set about unpacking.
"It's more like rooms, and yes. It has been a long time since I was surrounded with this kind of luxury," Yami admitted as he turned to look for the wardrobe. He paused as his eyes found not one, but two white wardrobes sitting next to the closet. Yami moved his eyes from the wardrobes to the decidedly smirking Kaiba.
"Is something wrong?" Seto asked fake concern coating his voice. He should've known that Yami wouldn't understand just how far they were going to have to go with this farce. Kaiba employed a grand total of two maids, who were allowed to come and go through rooms as long as they were not locked. He never locked his room, leaving it open as an invitation to Mokuba should he ever need to see his nii-sama.
"Why are there two wardrobes in here, Kaiba-san?" Yami asked almost wincing as he noted that it was not the demand he had wanted it to be. It sounded far more nervous than anything else.
"I would have thought that obvious, Yami," Seto said as he pushed open the door to the walk-in closet showing that half of it was full of his various suits and jackets. "I have staff here at the house. While I would like to believe that they would never tell the media anything about what goes on behind these doors, I have to be realistic. There is a very high possibility that once the media is informed, one of them could turn traitor. I would rather not have things fall apart because I overlooked some small detail." Yami could see the logic in that statement even if the arrangements were far from ideal in his opinion.
"These are your rooms then?" Yami asked as he walked to one of the wardrobes to put his clothes away. He wondered how many people had ever been inside Seto Kaiba's personal rooms. He was relieved when he picked the right one and it was empty.
"Ah," Kaiba answered in the affirmative. Kaiba opened his own wardrobe to look for something that would be more comfortable around the house. Deciding on a pair of black slacks and a deep purple long sleeved shirt, he headed to the bathroom to change. He knew that doing so was silly. This was his room, and it wasn't like Yami hadn't seen everything he had before. But he did it anyway.
"Why are you even here?" Yami called to him seeing as the door was partially open. He was almost thankful that the other had decided to go in there to change. Close to 3,000 years in a puzzle led to a very frustrated spirit who had no complaints about gender and there was a reason that Kaiba was listed as one of the most wanted businessmen in the world in Forbes.
"I didn't have anymore appointments for the day and there wasn't anything pressing that I couldn't do from here. I also kind of owe Mokuba for dropping this on him," Seto said as he walked back into the room. Because Yami had been allowed to tell Yuugi the truth about the whole thing, Seto had demanded that he be allowed to tell his brother. So Mokuba knew about the whole arrangement. Yami blinked as Kaiba walked back in. He had never him in anything other than suits and his battle attire. It was odd to seem him in casual clothing. Not that the clothing took anything away from Seto's appearance.
"Speaking of," Yami began as he finished putting his things away minus what needed to go in the bathroom. He could do that before he went to bed. "He said something about grabbing dinner after I finished here." Kaiba nodded and motioned for Yami to follow him. The walk to the kitchen was quiet. Yami was not used to the quiet. Yuugi was always talking to someone, be it Yami or his grandfather. The TV was almost constantly left on, unless they were all gone. Even the walls on the game shop were thin so there was constantly noise from the street carried over. Then there was the fact that he spent along time in silence. He had been wrapped in it for a long time before Yuugi had put the puzzle together, and even then he had lived in silence except when he was needed by the other. So it was with relief that Yami saw Mokuba staring intently at the oven door.
"What ever are you doing, Mokuba?" Seto asked delighted in how the other turned around and practically tackle hugged him. It was rare that Kaiba was home for dinner on a weekday.
"Nii-sama! When did you get here? Why aren't you at work? Can we play Tekken after dinner?" Mokuba asked the second he released his hold on his brother.
"I got here about twenty minutes ago, and I left work because it could all be done from here. As for Tekken, your homework had better be finished," Seto answered with a small smile that only his brother ever seemed to be able to drag out of him. Yami watched the interaction with a warm smile. He knew that the brothers were close, but it was nice to see evidence of the fact that didn't involve one or the other being kidnapped. He was pulled from his musing as the timer on the oven went off and Mokuba proceeded to put on oven mitts a couple sizes too big to pull out a casserole of some kind.
"You cook, Mokuba-chan?" Yami asked as the kid put the dish on the stove. Mokuba pulled off the mitts and shook his head.
"Nah. The cook is usually gone before I get hungry so she always leaves something that would be simple to cook for me," Mokuba explained as he got dishes out.
"What do you want to drink? We have orange juice, tea, milk, water, and some apple juice left," Seto asked to no one in particular as he pulled the glasses out of the cabinet next to the sink. Yami sat at the bar as he saw Mokuba putting the silverware there.
"Water is fine," Yami said as he watched how the two of them moved. It was clear that this was fairly routine with how they never seemed be in the other's way. It also helped that the kitchen was one that any professional cook would envy.
"I'll take apple juice, nii-sama," Mokuba said as he began portioning out the casserole. Seto nodded absently as he poured the drinks. It was odd to have someone else to see to. Most of his meals were taken either next to his laptop or at a business dinner making meals like this a rare treat for his brother. He made a note to tell Risa to start scheduling some Mokuba time into his schedule. He was getting too busy to go without scheduling it. "Let's eat!" Mokuba said as they sat at the counter. He was naturally the first to dig in, gaining a smile from Yami. The kid was so much like Joey when he ate.
"Breathe, Mokuba," Kaiba said his voice sounding amused. At the rate he was inhaling food he was likely to choke or pass out from oxygen depravation. Yami chuckled a little as he watched. The casserole was good. It was some western thing with noodles, tuna and cheese.
"When are you planning to make the announcement, nii-sama?" Mokuba asked as he paused to take a drink. Seto frowned. He hated talking business when he was with Mokuba like this. Oddly it was Yami who answered.
"We aren't," Yami said getting an odd look from Mokuba. "Kaiba-san and I thought that we would work me into his charity dinner tomorrow night and wait until the media picked up on it before we made any kind of formal announcement. We want them to think that we had been hiding this for a while and that they were forcing it out of us to make it look more genuine." Mokuba nodded his head as he finished his plate and got up to get seconds.
"That makes sense," he said. "But Yami, you have to stop calling nii-sama Kaiba-san. You're lovers, remember?" Seto blinked as he realized that his brother had a point. Yami looked over at him clearly asking what Seto wanted to be called. He toyed briefly with the idea of having him add koi to the end of his name, but it seemed too odd for him to get his mind around.
"Just call me Seto, then," Kaiba said as he continued eating his meal. Yami nodded trying out the name in his mind. He almost frowned as he found it morphing into Seth. They looked too much the same with names so close to each other that his mind was trying to reconcile the two. He would have to be very careful about a slip of the tongue. He knew Kaiba would not appreciate being called by the long dead priest's name.
"Alright then, Seto," Yami said as Mokuba proceeded to fill up the gap in conversation with a rather detail description of what he had done that day.
Yami wandered back to the set of rooms he was going to be sharing with Kai...no Seto. He knew that the only way he would remember to call the other that would be if he started to call him that in his mind. It also didn't help that Mokuba had pretty much worn him out. That kid had more energy than a nuclear reactor, and he had been overjoyed when Yami agreed to play some videogames with him. Seto had left the two of them so that he could finish up his work. Yami was beginning to realize that he had gotten the short end of the stick. Any kind of work had to be better than entertaining that kid.
Yami pushed open the door to find Seto at the desk in the study, staring at something with a scowl. It immediately spiked Yami interest as he realized that Seto must not have heard him come in. What had distracted the other so completely? Quietly as he could, Yami walked so that he could see the screen. Unfortunately, Seto had a privacy screen on it.
"What are you doing, Yami?" Kaiba asked without shifting position. He had heard the other come in, but his mind was so deep in working to see how he could fix the problem he hadn't given any indication of it. He had to fight back a smirk as he saw Yami start in the reflection on the laptop. It was clear that he had thought he had escaped all forms of detection.
"I was trying to see what has you looking like you swallowed a bushel of lemons," Yami said defensively as he crossed his arms. He was pouting though he would never admit it. Kaiba shook his head as he turned to look at Yami behind him.
"You could've just asked," Seto pointed out laughter dancing in his eyes as he noticed the way Yami was pouting. He was acting just like an overgrown child. Clearly all that time that he spent with Mokuba had messed with his mind. Yami just sighed. Honestly, where was the fun in just asking?
"Fine. What's the problem?" Yami asked. Kaiba sighed as his momentary distraction was taken away from him. He needed to solve this so they could go into production before Christmas. He motioned Yami over so that he could see the screen of the laptop. On it was a complete rendering of the new Duel Disk model. It was smaller and thinner. A large KC took up the middle. It looked just fine to him. "I don't get it," he said frowning.
"Something's not right. I'm thinking it's the color, but everything I've tried with it makes it look worse," Kaiba explained as he leaned back in the chair in exasperation and ended up leaning partially on Yami due to the fact that the chair back was not very high. Yami ignored the touch, tapping his lips as he thought. The idea behind the currently model was clearly the same as most motorcycles: sleek and sexy. The motorcycle that Honda had been dreaming about came to mind. He couldn't remember the name or make, he hadn't really been paying attention at the time, but he remembered the color.
"Can you show me to color choices?" Yami asked chewing his bottom lip as he took his hands away from his mouth. Kaiba nodded and clicked the color palette button. Instantly the screen was filled with thousands of different colored squares. No wonder Seto had such a hard time trying to find the right color. Yami squinted at the little boxes as he looked for the color he wanted. "That one," Yami said pointing. He was careful not to touch the screen as he did it. He remembered how Bakura had reacted when he had done that to his computer. Seto clicked the box and instantly an almost black color filled the spaces. It wasn't truly black, Kaiba noticed. As he rotated the render, changing the light angle he noticed that it had a crimson color where the light hit it. It was perfect.
"Thanks," Kaiba said truly impressed. He had been messing with it for almost two hours without luck. Yami just nodded and yawned. A quick look at the clock on the computer confirmed that it was close to midnight. He needed to get to bed.
"I'm going to bed," Yami said turning in that direction. "Try to be quiet when you come in." Seto blinked at the request. It was odd to think he was going to be sharing his bed with another and that he would have to watch how much noise he made so that he didn't disturb the other.
"Alright," Kaiba said. "Oh, before I forget, Risa is going to pick you up around ten so she can make sure everything is set for the dinner and such." Yami stiffened at the words. Did Kaiba think that he was going to embarrass them? He had once been the king of one of the most advanced civilizations in history. He could survive a formal dinner without help.
"Do you think me incompetent, K-Seto?" Yami asked almost slipping in his anger. Kaiba blinked at him. He couldn't see how Yami had jumped to that conclusion.
"No," Kaiba said as Yami turned around to glare at him. "Do you own a suit? Dress shoes?" Kaiba asked dryly. Yami blinked and felt his anger defuse. He had forgotten about all of that. It made sense for Kiba to have Risa make sure he had the proper clothes and such. He could just image their faces if he showed up in leather and chains. If it wasn't for the fact that Kaiba would kill him for it, he would've gone that way for the shock factor.
"I apologize," Yami said as he headed back into the bedroom. Kaiba merely waved his hand in dismissal and went back to his work. Yami yawned as he pulled on the worn sweat pants that he used for sleepwear and grabbed his toiletries. He was in the process of brushing his teeth when he felt the soft brush of Yuugi on his consciousness.
Abiou? Yami questioned as he continued his actions like he wasn't talking to someone telepathically.
Hey, his voice sounded uneasy. Umm…What do you want me to tell Joey and the others? Joey was really worried when I told him that you had gone over to Kaiba-kun's. Yami thought about it for a second. He really hated that his light was going to have to lie for him, but a deal was a deal.
Tell them that Seto and I have been dating for the past three months and we decided to keep it a secret so that the media couldn't get a hold of it. Apologize to them for me keeping it a secret and tell them that Seto asked and I moved in. It fit the story that the two of them had concocted. That was really the best thing to do.
Alright, but they're not going to like it. Yuugi said and Yami could tell that the other was sleepy. Yami closed down the link after a brief good-bye and wiped his mouth on the hand towel provided. It really was as fluffy as it looked.