Fracture
By:
Setalina Muro

Summary: Startled and confused by the strange relationship between Pegasus and Shizuka, Seto Kaiba can't help but wonder where it is in her heart she found the path to overlook his past. Opticshipping One-shot

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any places, people and/or other things you are familiar with from the show or anything else. This plot, however, and all other plots posted under this user name, is mine.

A/N: Hmmm….I was feeling…bizarre, I suppose. I wanted a look at a relationship from the outside, wondering 'how the # did that happen????' (cough) okay. Perhaps a little personal things there…anyway.

I actually almost didn't put this one up. It seemed a bit…silly to me, I suppose. I had been thinking last two Friday s ago that I had wanted to write something ridiculously sweet. This doesn't completely fit the bill, but it's close. Enjoy.

Notes on the Story:

New Opticshipping fiction. Number six.

Fracture

He eyed the setting on her table with mild disdain.

"How can you read that?" he asked, gesturing at the book in her hand.

When she looked up, her eyes were still locked in the enchantment of the story. "Pardon?"

He sighed, exasperated. "That trash," he clarified. "In your hand. How can you read it?"

A soft smile touched her lips. "There's nothing wrong with a little romance, Kaiba-san."

"Is it even a story?" he scoffed. "Or just people copulating?"

She giggled, the sound soft and sweet, and turned back to her book, not answering him.

An annoyed scowl found his face as he returned to his work. The spreadsheet stared back at him, everything perfectly balanced. He had checked it three times already and left himself with nothing to do but stare around the library.

He was at college, an annoying necessity to keep his life running smoothly. But he had completed his assignments with ease, checked his stock (higher than it had been in years, in fact), and finagled his budget to allow development of a new RPG game.

Frankly, no matter how he pondered it, sitting here was still more entertaining than being back at Kaiba Corp.

There was no way around why it was he was still sitting there with nothing to do. Icy blue orbs fell to observing the auburn-haired girl again. She intrigued him for some reason. He was certain that she could be deemed attractive by any man's standards: her body was slim with modest curves and a small chest; eyes a warm, intelligent hazel; hair long and flowing auburn.

Even Seto Kaiba could appreciate the finer points of a woman's body, despite the fact he felt no attraction to them. He wondered about that sometimes; whether he had belated hormones or if desire had been beaten out of him when he was still young and subject to the abuse of his step-father.

But there was something that perplexed him about Kawai Shizuka, and he could not for the life of him decipher what it was.

She was utterly different than her mongrel of a brother, yet had similar traits. Loyalty, certainly, was something that had annoyed him with all of Mouto Yuugi's friends, as was compassion. But reflected in her they seemed admirable qualities. There was something about her kind, open demeanor that he couldn't crack. She couldn't really be as happy and carefree as she appeared. It was just against human nature.

Kaiba started as a familiar voice called him from his reverie. "Hello, Kaiba-boy. To think you'd be wasting your life in a public library! It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

Cobalt eyes narrowed with dislike as he turned to face the intruder. They fixed angrily on the man, who had appeared almost out of nowhere, possibly sneaking through the shadows like the snake he was. "What are you doing here, Pegasus?" he hissed angrily, biting out the name like a low oath.

"Visiting," the man replied with a grin and off-handed wave. Little had changed about him in the eight years it had been since Kaiba had last seen him. Still dressed in a familiar, foppish red suit, Pegasus Crawford stood proudly, one hand casually in his pocket. His face held what little change could be found. Though still half-hidden by a curtain of silver hair, the traces of bitterness had almost completely disappeared. It was a startling change.

He stood silent as Kaiba observed him. "Visiting whom, exactly?" the younger CEO queried.

A secretive smile flashed across Pegasus's face as he moved passed him. Kaiba's eyes followed his progress to the next table. Kaiba hadn't noticed Shizuka start at the new voice, but he watched as she stood to meet Pegasus, a shy smile on her face.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with mild surprise as he planted a kiss on her cheek.

"I have come to steal you away for the weekend," he replied with a flourish, taking up her hands and entwining their fingers.

Her eyes lit up. "Really?" She did a bizarre little dance into his arms, still bouncing with excitement as she hugged him. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, silly girl," Pegasus admonished playfully, wrapping his arms around her.

Kaiba watched, trapped between disgust and fascination, as the couple continued their banter.

Shizuka snuggled closer to Pegasus's chest. "You're amazing," she declared.

He pulled her back to gaze lovingly into her eyes. "As are you, my dear. And so much more." He leaned down toward her.

It was strange to watch them kiss. Admittedly, Kaiba had never watched two people caress in such a manner, so the very sight was foreign, but the participants perturbed him particularly. They hovered for a moment before the initial contact; the electricity hanging between them was almost palpable. Their lips fused together then, conforming to each other's shapes and fitting like two puzzle pieces as they turned. This was no innocent, hesitant first kiss. It embodied the couple's familiar passion and portrayed a certain sweetness in its embrace. Their bodies, too, seemed to react naturally to the situation. His hands were across her back, holding her closely against the length of his body. Her arms had wound around his neck, delicate fingers brushing through strands of silver. When they parted, it was slow and pondering, like a writer searching for the perfect word. The same electricity hung between them as they stared at each other. He brushed his lips against hers for another moment before pulling fully away.

"I'll have Crocketts bring the car around," Pegasus said softly.

"Alright," she replied. "I'll get my things together and meet you out there."

Pegasus nodded and pulled away from her, pausing by Kaiba's table to bid him farewell before he made for the door.

Shizuka gathered her things hastily, throwing them into her book bag fervently. As she adjusted the strap on her shoulder and began to walk, she heard a voice.

"I don't understand."

She turned, her eyes resting on Kaiba. "What was that, Kaiba-san?" she asked.

Kaiba watched her, confusion etched on his face. "I don't understand," he repeated. "What there is between you and Pegasus Crawford."

"We're seeing each other," Shizuka answered, perplexed as she turned to face him.

"No," Kaiba gave a dismissive wave of his hand. "That's not what I mean."

When it was evident he would elaborate no further, Shizuka spoke up. "Then what do you mean, Kaiba-san?" she asked.

"I just can't quite see you and Pegasus," he said again. "Don't you know what he's done?"

Shizuka appeared unmoved by his words.

"The Duelist Kingdom," he specified. "Hasn't your brother told you the stories?"

She averted her eyes then. "Jounouchi-kun…he doesn't approve of our relationship," she said, her tone portraying a hidden guilt. "He feels a little betrayed by my feelings for Pegasus. But Yuugi-kun told Jounouchi that he should trust my judgment. So now he only gets angry if he sees us together."

Kaiba felt a small prick of satisfaction as he watched the turmoil dart across her face. He had been right to think she was more than the optimistic, gay creature she emulated.

"But it doesn't bother you at all," he pressed. "The things that Pegasus Crawford has done?"

"You don't quite understand, Kaiba-san. He is a different man now."

Kaiba scoffed. "And how do you know he isn't acting? That it isn't a mask he wears when he romances you?"

Shizuka bit her lip. "I trust in my heart, Kaiba-san, that he cares for me. Certainly," she continued, "he is a man with hidden faces. He has a past and troubles that burdened both his heart and mind. But…" She glanced up and met his gaze. "Don't you as well, Kaiba-san?"

Kaiba started back, images floating through his mind suddenly: the Blue Eyes White Dragon cards in his deck, the virtual death he crafted for Yuugi all those years ago, the empty void of his soul card. He hunched forward, griping at his chest as if in pain.

"You wear a very different kind of mask, Kaiba-san," Shizuka continued in a softer voice. "While Pegasus hides his pain behind frivolity and jokes, you pretend you are made of ice, cold and unreachable. Tell me which of you is more in the wrong, Kaiba-san: the man seeking to be comforted and live, or the man hiding from the world?"

Silence descended between them. Kaiba was visibly shaken by her observations, but after a few minutes, he sat up straight again.

"You're more perceptive than I gave you credit for," he admitted quietly, crossing his arms over his chest.

She was, too. Her revelation had him drowning in memories that hadn't pestered him for ten years.

Shizuka gave him a low bow. "I need to go, Kaiba-san, but perhaps…?" she trailed off uncertainly.

He nodded once. "We'll speak again."

A smile alighted on her face. "Take care, Kaiba-san," she said, and moved toward the door again.

Kaiba suddenly felt pressured to not let her have the last word, but as he opened his mouth, she turned.

"Oh, and Kaiba-san?" she said, smiling.

"Yes?"

"The mask he wears for me," she stated. "It's winning."

"We'll see," he retorted, but she was already out the door, a gust of cool autumn wind lingering in her wake.

He watched as she crossed the browning lawn to meet with Pegasus. The older man welcomed her into his embrace, twirling her in a circle until her head fell back and she laughed with glee. Her feet came to rest on the ground again and he laid his head against hers and closed his eyes reminiscently. It was then that Kaiba saw it.

Clinging to the fragile young woman was a rebuilt man. Guilt and vindication had formed his life, crafting a calloused mask of hatred and despair. It had driven him to terrible things: kidnapping and corporate scandal. They had hidden the nobility of his true intentions; yet afterwards, even when the planned resurrection proved impossible and he had lost everything, he managed to survive, piecing together the shattered parts of his heart.

Shizuka was right; Pegasus's mask had fractured.

-The End-

A/N: And there you have it. Want to tell me you have an issue with Opticshipping? I can fight for my fan-pairing as surely as you can diss it. Besides that, Yamiko (Imperfect Paradise), proprietor and architect of the pairing, has named me "supreme lord and master" of it. (happiness). Please R&R.