þÿIt was a dark and stormy
night.
It was also, and more notably, the night of the annual
KaibaCorp Christmas party, which was held, (in spite of loud and
repeated protests from Seto Kaiba), in the ballroom of the Kaiba
estate.
And thus, a very miserable Seto found himself stationed
by the punch bowl, simultaneously looking imposing, nursing a cup of
punch, and wondering how soon he could escape to the quiet darkness
of his upstairs office.
'Let's see,' he thought, nodding to yet
another obsequious middle manager, 'I've greeted the executives, an
unreasonable number of employees, danced with a few of the drunker
ones, choked down a cup of nasty unspiked punch and a few crustless
sandwiches, made the mistake of standing briefly under the mistletoe,
and done the sappy yearly toast. I think I can safely
leave.'
Carefully he placed his punch glass on the table and edged
backward towards the double doors. He was so close, just a few more
steps, he could see the stairs--
"Kaiba, Merry
Christmas!"
"Hello Yuugi." What the hell was Yuugi
doing here? He wasn't on the payroll. No matter, a quick hello, and
perhaps he could still slip away. But no, there was the Mutt coming
towards him, holding a glass of champagne. Wonderful.
"Kaiba,
for an uptight jerk, you sure do know how to throw a party."
Kaiba
gritted his teeth, but said nothing. The last thing he wanted to do
was start an argument here, with people he swore he hadn't invited.
One black eye, and it'd be all over the papers by morning, and he'd
have to do something large and charitable to counteract it. No,
better to say little, and be as polite as possible.
Even though
the Mutt didn't deserve it.
Surreptitiously he moved his hand
towards his pocket. If he could reach his phone, he could force it to
ring, and make a graceful exit. Hey, it'd worked before-- more times
then he wanted to admit, actually.
"Hello Kaiba."
Wonderful. This got worse and worse.
"Tea." A rather
tipsy Tea. Hm-- she was cute drunk: slightly unsteady and very
clingy. He wondered briefly if the Mutt would have the sense to take
advantage of it.
"This champagne is good, Kaiba." she
simpered, leering at him.
"Thank you, Tea." Well, there
went his allotted thanks for the year.
"Kaiba dear, you're
standing under the mistletoe. I'm gonna have to kiss you." she
announced, hanging unto Joey.
Damn. "I'll let your friend
have that privilege." He wasn't going to kiss her in front of
the Mutt, even if she did look adorable, with her make-up smudged and
her dress rumpled.
"Nuh-uh. It has to be you. Otherwise my
Christmas wish won't work." Crap. Where did she come up with
this stuff?
Worse, he could see the Mutt bristling next to him.
He couldn't really blame him. As satisfying as it was from his point
of view, it couldn't be pleasant for Joey, watching his girlfriend
flirting unabashedly with another guy.
Where was that bloody cell
phone? And where was Mai? Why wasn't she bailing him out? Most likely
she was standing behind him, watching the whole thing and
smirking.
"What's your Christmas wish, Tea?" Maybe he
could stall for time.
"Come here, Kaiba dear; I'll whisper it
to you." Unhooking her arms form Joey's neck, she launched
herself at him. Kaiba stepped back, hitting the table, splashing
punch across the white cloth, and Yuugi stepped forward to steady
Tea, as Joey rolled his eyes in disgust.
"Boss." Mai
came striding towards them, linking her arm though Kaiba's, and
drawing him away from Tea. "There's a situation that requires
your attention." He sighed in relief, silently blessing the gods
of malfunctioning machinery.
"Hey, Kaiba, come back here, I
was gonna kiss you."
"My apologies, Tea. However, I must
take care of this situation. Perhaps your boyfriend would be willing
to oblige you."
"Oh, come here Tea." Joey growled,
reaching for her.
"But what about my Christmas wish?"
Tea mumbled petulantly.
"I'm sure it will work just as well
with Joey, as long as you both stand under the mistletoe." Mai
called back, leading Kaiba toward the stairs, past a wide-eyed Yuugi,
and a smirking Yami.
"What urgently requires my
attention, Mai?" Kaiba asked, shutting his office door and
reaching for his laptop.
"I do, Seto Kaiba." She
replied, locking the office door. "And I brought my own
mistletoe."
"Oh. OH."
"I can't have you
kissing strange women ..." Mai started.
"And Tea's as
strange as they get." they finished together, smirking.
And
then it was (mostly) quiet for quite some time. Outside, unnoticed
and unappreciated, the snow fell.
Mai very much liked
the way things were going. 'That was the wonderful thing about
geeks,' she thought. 'As soon as they saw the purpose behind a skill,
they kept working at it until they mastered it.'
And Kaiba
certainly was progressing nicely. She was glad she'd shelled out the
necessary cash for a couple sets of uncomfortable, lacy underwear--
the kind that looked best when draped artistically over a laptop.
And then (she wasn't quite sure what she had done wrong,) Kaiba
froze.
It was good, it was wonderful, and then it was too much
and she was on him and touching him and he couldn't breathe and she
was kissing him and Pegasus was watching and she was kissing him and
Pegasus was laughing and she was kissing him and-
Come here
darling, I might think you're not enjoying this.
Ah, ah, ah-- you
can't deny that you've wanted to see him like this--
Well, feast
your eyes, dearest, oh, go on, kiss him, won't you-- after all, it's
your big chance, probably the closest you'll ever get.
Such a
kiss, Mai dear-- why, you left a mark. Oh, go on, kiss him again.
Beautiful. Such a pretty, pretty picture.
Sit down,
Kaiba-boy. We wouldn't want your pretty feet to hurt.
All right
boys, I suppose you can have your fun now.
And it hurt it hurt
and it didn't stop why wouldn't it stop and he curled up and they
were touching him why wouldn't she help him and it hurt and he
counted twos and twos and powers of twos--
And then he gasped,
able to breathe again, and he could hear Mai talking--
"...
--It's ok, Seto. It's all right. Come on, Hon, come back to me. It's
ok, you're safe here, you can come back, Seto--"
And with a
deep, shuddering breath, he was back inside himself, realizing with
mingled shame and relief that his shirt, and Mai's dress, were neatly
buttoned again. Mai was sitting behind him, holding him, gently
rubbing his back.
"Hey, welcome back."
"Unh."
He noticed, somewhat gratefully, that she was still behind him. That
was good. He didn't want to have to look at her, to see the
disappointment and disgust he knew was in her eyes.
"Seto,
look at me." She was tugging gently on his shoulder, trying to
get him to turn around. Well, so much for not having to look at
her.
"Do I have to?" Why couldn't she do the humane
thing, and just leave him the hell alone?
"Yes."
When
he didn't move, she slid out from behind him, and sat on the floor,
looking up at him. "Seto, I'm sorry. I didn't mean
to--"
Embarrassed, angered, he spat: "Just get out; go
wave your bloody mistletoe in someone else's face. I bet Tea's drunk
enough to want you-- I don't have time for your idiotic Christmas
pity fuck. And I wouldn't want you even if I had the time to
spare."
Mai sighed, and there was a silence long enough for
her to count to ten. Twice.
"Kaiba--"
"You're
such a smart girl, Mai-- you're making progress already, see, you've
gone from "Seto" to "Kaiba". Now all you have to
do is find Tea. I'll give you a hint: she's not in
here."
"Seto--"
"Uh uh, you're slipping."
Damn it, why wouldn't she leave? He wanted her to hold him, wanted to
bury his face in her hair and sob, wanted her to rub his back, tell
him that it was going to be all right.
'Ah Seto-boy,' the
annoyingly persistent Pegasus-voice stuck inside his head whispered,
'better not chance it, after all, you've already proven you're not
man enough to make love to her; you're not even good enough for a
pity fuck. Pathetic. Oh well, Seto-boy, you'll always be man enough
to spread your legs and open your mouth. Tell me, do you like to take
it like a man?'
"Seto? Are you--"
"I'm fine. I
said I was fine. Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" He was
suddenly aware that he was yelling, and that Mai had, with a wry
smile, stood and gathered him into her arms. He gave in and buried
his face in her hair.
"Hush, love. It's going to be all
right."
Love? What? She didn't actually love him, did she?
'Of course not, Seto-boy, don't be stupid. She's just trying to
calm you down. Trying to manipulate you. Remember, you were so sure I
loved you. Tell me, really now, are you sure you want someone to love
you again? Merde, Seto-boy, you're even more of a masochist than I
thought.
"Listen Hon, it's all ok."
"How can you
say that?" He muttered, his voice muffled by her hair. "How
can it be 'all ok'?"
"Really Seto Kaiba! And I thought
you were supposed to be smart." She paused, running her fingers
through his hair, trying to calm him, trying to choose the right
words.
"I don't put up with you for the possibility of a
quick fuck. I've been down that road before, and, no matter how good
the sex is, it's never enough. I put up with you because I care about
you, because I believe that you are worth caring about, because I
believe you have great potential, because I want--" She stopped
suddenly, blushing, afraid she'd said too much. "Wait; let me
finish. I like to kiss you, hold you. I like it even more when you
kiss me. And if we never do any more than that, that's ok. I won't
leave because of that."
"You say that now."
"Yes,
and I'll continue to say it. Would you like it in
writing?"
"Yes."
"Where's a pen?"
"No,
it's ok. I just want to be alone."
"All right-- I'll
leave you alone. Good night Seto Kaiba, sleep well."
Mai
closed the door quietly behind her, and walked down the hall, looking
for a bathroom. She had a strong desire to slam her head against the
tile walls until everything Seto-related made sense. And she needed
to pee.
Locking the door behind her, she slid down the wall,
buried her face in her knees, and quietly sobbed.
'So hopeless,
everything is so fucking hopeless, no matter what I do I can't reach
him. Is it even worth it? Does he even want anyone around? Maybe I'm
just wasting my time, kidding myself, pretending that I'm making
progress.
What's with this stupid desire to save people? I never
had problems with it before. I mean, it's not as though I actually
care for him or anything. No, of course not. Damn lost
causes.'
Sniffling, she wiped her face on the soft beige towels.
She washed her face, reapplied her make-up, and carefully refolded
the towel so the make-up stains didn't show. She had just plastered a
cheerful smile on her face, and was preparing to go downstairs when
she heard voices outside.
Oh, just Yami and Yuugi, that ought to
be all right.
"Hey guys, what's going on?"
"Mai.
Did you manage to resolve the critical situation?" Mai blushed
slightly, sure that Yami wasn't referring to the fabricated computer
problems.
"It was resolved for the time being." There,
that ought to be safe enough.
"So, only a temporary solution.
That is a shame. I trust you will have to return later to work on
it?" Yami smirked at her, his eyes glittering.
"No, it
appears that my presence is not needed." Mai felt herself
tensing in spite of her best efforts to remain flippant.
"Not
at all?" Mai shook her head, and Yami laid a hand on her
shoulder. "I am sorry."
"What are you two talking
about?" Yuugi broke in, looking confused, "Yami, it's just
a stupid computer problem; Kaiba's used to them. What's the big deal,
it's not like Mai could help him fix it."
"How right you
are." said Mai, forcing a rather painful smile. "He's
probably grateful to escape the rest of the party. Where's Joey and
Tea?"
"They were downstairs. We're just up here 'cause
Mokuba wanted us to see his new computer game."
"Oh, how
was it?"
"Quite good, actually. I found myself most
intrigued by it." Yami said, as Yuugi rolled his eyes.
"What
are you guys doing here, anyway? It's not like you're actually stuck
working for KaibaCorp?"
"Oh, Mokuba invited us."
Yuugi explained, as the three of them walked back into the ballroom.
"He said he wanted someone he knew to be there, since Kaiba
always disappears and he's stuck there by himself."
Inside,
they found that the party had thinned out a bit in their absence,
with the remaining employees paying homage to the circle of
executives enthroned in the corner, the buffet table, the dance
floor, or the bartender.
"I want food." Yuugi chirped,
and ran off toward the buffet.
Yami turned to Mai, who was glumly
watching the dance floor. "Will you dance with me, Mai?"
"I--"
Oh, hell, what difference does it make? Seto doesn't want me around
anyway. "Yes, yes I will."
Two songs later, a
slightly breathless Mai looked over to see Yuugi and Joey chatting,
plates piled high with food. Tea sat in between them, sipping coffee,
propped up on Yuugi, and draped partly over Joey's lap. Joey gave
Yami a thumbs-up, and went back to his sandwich. Yami pulled Mai
closer, and murmured softly against her neck.
"You are very
beautiful, tonight."
"Thank you, Yami."
"If
my heart did not belong to another, I would be very jealous of
Kaiba." he said, tucking a curl back into her braid.
"Oh?"
"It
is good that you love Kaiba as deeply as you do. He is bound by fear
and pride, it will not be an easy talk to free him."
"Unfortunately,
I'm coming to understand that."
"In spite of everything,
they are both so innocent..." he mused. Mai followed his gaze
over to the three, still eating.
"You love him, don't
you?"
Yami sighed, leaning forward to rest his head against
hers. "How could I not love my light, my other half? But he is
still so young, so innocent. I will not take that from him, not for
my own selfish pleasure."
Mai ran her hands down the spirit's
back, trying to comfort him. "Be patient, Yami. He loves you, he
just doesn't realize it yet." Yami shuddered, and Mai realized
suddenly that he was close to tears.
"How can you say this?
How do you know?"
"Oh, Hon, it's obvious: his face
lights up whenever he sees you, his eyes shine. You're his whole
world."
"Really?" Yami asked eagerly, stopping
close to Mai as the song ended.
"Really." Mai said,
taking Yami by the hand and leading him off the dance floor. "I'm
starved, let's get some free food."
Mai sat alone,
picking at her third plate of free food, watching Joey and Tea kiss.
Yami had already made his excuses, and taken Yuugi home after Mokuba
went to bed.
She hated the end of parties, the half-drunk idiots
trying to con the bartender into one last drink before they staggered
home to sleep it off. The sad, half-eaten plates of food, the tired
businessmen trying to pick up a sucker for the night. What was the
damn point?
She reached up, plucking a half-wilted sprig of
mistletoe from the wreath above her, crumpling it between her fingers
and dropping it unto her plate, where it lay, broken, between the
whipped creme and goat cheese.
'I'm done, I've put in my
appearance; I'm going home.' She picked up her coat, and fumbled in
the pockets, looking for her purse and keys.
'Here's my keys, but
where's my purse? Must have left it in the bathroom. I hate these
miniature evening bags, how's a girl supposed to keep track of them?'
She clumped angrily up the stairs, and pushed open the door to the
bathroom. No purse. Lovely.
But wait-- she had stopped in the hall
to talk to Yami, hadn't she had it then? That's right, she'd set it
down on the hall table next to the extremely large and prickly holly
plant.
And there it was. She was knotting her scarf, when she
heard Joey and Tea coming up the stairs. She shrank back into a handy
doorway, trying to hide behind the holly plant. As soon as they
disappeared into one of the rooms she'd leave.
After a moment,
she peeked out from behind the plant. Lovely. It didn't look like
they'd make it to one of the rooms. She felt a sudden flare of
jealously. Damned if she was walking past them, alone. She reached
for the door handle behind her, cursing under her breath when she
found it locked. Sighing, she squinted through the holly again, just
in time to see Tea's bra go flying across the hall and land over the
head of a very staid statue. Mai stifled a giggle and dug in her
purse for her lock picks.
It took longer this time to open the
door, and she wondered briefly if Kaiba had installed better locks,
then dismissed the thought as pure paranoia.
She was tired, that's
all, and the light was bad.
Quietly, she opened the door.
One
moment she was blinking, trying to adjust to the sudden darkness, and
the next she was on the floor, with her hands held behind her back,
and a hand over her mouth.
She kicked, then bit down, drawing
blood. The hand across her mouth slipped for a moment in the
struggle, and she drew in breath, tried to scream, and managed to
gasp, "Seto, help me--".
There was a shocked pause, and
she was let go.
"Mai Valentine, what the fuck are you doing
in my bedroom?"
"Seto?"
There was the soft sound
of footsteps, and a lamp flared on, revealing Seto Kaiba, dressed in
pajamas, with a bruise forming across one cheek, a bloody hand, and a
very angry gleam in his eyes. "Especially since I'm quite sure I
locked the door."
"I was looking for someplace to hide."
Mai answered, trying not to stare at the mussed bed or the pajama
clad Seto.
"What does a Mai hide from, I wonder?"
"A
Joey and a Tea screwing on the floor outside."
"Mai, I
locked the door."
"Honestly, Kaiba, like that'll keep me
out." Mai rolled her eyes, and stuck out her tongue at him.
"The
salesman claimed those locks were nearly impossible to open."
Kaiba muttered, looking both angry and amused.
"I thought it
seemed a lot harder than the last time." Mai replied, picking up
the scattered picks, and placing them back in their pouch. "Sorry
about your hand."
"Eh, I've had worse." He opened
the door a bit and peered around the holly.
"Are they done
yet?"
"No." He shut the door, and locked it. "And
they probably won't be for quite a while. Who'd thought the Mutt
would have that much stamina."
Mai smirked. "Well, we
could always go out and join them."
"Don't be
disgusting."
"I suppose," said Mai, looking out the
icy window, "I could climb out the window, over the ice covered
roof, and rappel down the side of the house."
"I'll get
you a set of crampons." Kaiba said, digging in the
closet.
"Hey!"
"Have some coffee." Kaiba
said, waving a hand toward the pot, as he set a stack of blankets and
a robe on the bed.
"Thanks."
Mai took her mug of
coffee and sat on the edge of Kaiba's bed, running her hands idly
over the quilt, trying to decide if there were really dragons woven
into the navy silk, or if it was only her imagination. Kaiba noticed
her scrutiny, blushed slightly and commented. "I didn't choose
it. Mokuba picked it out last year for my birthday-- He thought I'd
like the dragons."
"It's pretty."
Kaiba sat
down at his desk, yawning, and opened his laptop. He was tired, but
he couldn't crawl back into bed, not with Mai sitting on it, and not
after the earlier fiasco in the office.
Bloody hell, why couldn't
he be like the Mutt, willing to mount his woman anywhere. He had Mai
sitting on his bed, late at night, with the door locked, and still he
couldn't manage to get laid.
"Seto, what do you want for
Christmas?"
To screw you senseless. "I can't think of
anything."
"Well, gee Seto," Mai said, putting her
empty cup next to the coffee pot, "You sure made my shopping a
whole lot easier." She stopped next to him, peering over his
shoulder. "You gonna be working for a while?"
"I
suppose." Surely he could find something to do.
"I'm
wiped, would you mind if I borrowed your bed for a quick nap? Wake me
up when the lovebirds are done, and I'll go home."
"Guh-"
Kaiba managed, momentarily speechless at the thought of Mai asleep in
his bed. Mai seemed to take that as a yes, picking up the robe, and
disappearing into the adjoining bathroom.
She returned a few
minutes later, damp, pink and steaming slightly, with a bit of lace
slip peeking through the top of the bathrobe.
"Hey Hon, I
left my dress hanging on the hook in the bath." She bent over
and kissed him quickly, "May I turn out the light?"
"Sure."
He heard rustling behind him, and, a moment later the light clicked
off.
When Mai woke again, the house was silent, and the
snow had stopped falling. Seto sat in the window seat, a blanket
wrapped around him, staring out at the snow-covered lawn and the
cloudy sky, tinted a pale peach from the surrounding street lights.
Quietly, Mai slid out of bed and walked over to him, touching his
shoulder.
"Seto." He turned towards her slowly, half
asleep.
"Yeah?"
"Come to bed, it's freezing."
"
'M ok."
"Come on, you need some sleep, and I need to go
home." Mai tugged on his arm, then led him over to the bed. She
tucked the quilt around him, smirking as he burrowed down, wrapping
himself in blankets until only a bit of brown hair was visible.
Mai
turned off the bathroom light, and walked across the room, tying her
scarf, (a warm but hideous, red, metallic monstrosity Tea had forced
on her as an early Christmas gift.) 'Only you, Mai Valentine,' she
thought ruefully, pulling on the equally ugly, matching gloves,
'could manage to sleep in a guy's bed and have absolutely nothing
happen.'
She was opening the door when she heard a quiet voice
behind her. "Mai."
She paused for a moment, sure she was
imagining--
"Please stay."
Surprised, she pulled off
her coat and gloves, laid them across a chair, and sat on the edge of
the bed. "Seto?"
He said nothing, but even through the
layers of blankets she could feel him trembling.
Folding her
dress, she laid it on top of the coat, dropping her scarf on top of
the pile, and kicking off her shoes. She padded across the floor in
her slip, and climbed into the warm cocoon of blankets.
She laid
her head on his shoulder, and he turned to look at her, brushing her
hair out of the way.
"How are you?"
"Sleepy."
Kaiba replied, yawning.
"Go back to sleep, then." Mai
said, leaning up to kiss him before snuggling back into his
arms.
'Romance novels always made this whole sleeping together
thing sound a lot more comfortable.' Mai thought, grouchily. Her nose
itched, and her neck hurt, but she was afraid to move, for fear of
disturbing Kaiba. Maybe if she shifted really slowly-- She squirmed a
bit, pulling a pillow closer. There, that was better. No, wait, now
her hair was stuck.
"Drat it." she muttered, raising
her head enough to tug her hair out from under his pillow.
Frustrated, she flipped over, facing Seto, one leg on top of him. Ok,
that worked. More comfortable now, she shut her eyes and tried to
sleep.
'I'm going to kill her.' Seto thought. It had been bad
enough before, with her hair in his mouth, and her bottom snuggled up
against him. But now-- Now she was facing him, one arm draped over
him, and her whole body pressed against his.
He sighed, and
wondered if he could get to the bathroom without waking her up. Two
minutes alone; he'd be fine. As soon as he was sure she was asleep--
it couldn't be much longer. "2" He thought grimly " 4,
8, 16, 32, 64 ..."
He slid out from under her, and crept
to the bathroom, shutting the door. He turned on the faucet to muffle
any noise, and biting down on a towel, proceeded.
Back in bed,
Mai smirked, wondering if she should pretend to be asleep when he
returned.
"Hey you." Mai purred in his ear, as he slid
back into bed. "You shouldn't be working this late."
"What
should I be doing?" He replied, turning to face her.
"This."
she said, kissing him.
"I can't." he said, embarrassed.
"I don't dare--"
"All right." Mai said,
releasing him. "It's your call."
Kaiba turned over,
staring at the wall, his face burning.
"Oh my Dragon Tamer,"
Mai murmured "Fret not, it's all right."
"Dragon
Tamer?"
"That's how I think of you, Seto. Standing on a
cliff over the sea, watching your dragons."
As soon as she
mentioned dragons, he started to calm. "I see you standing, the
wind blowing your coat, your hair. The sun setting, trailing bright
colors across the water."
She leaned over to look at his
face; his eyes were closed, and his breathing had slowed.
Interesting. Perhaps--
"Overhead are dragons, dozens of them,
flying above you, soaring through the clouds. You call to them, your
arms outstretched, and they turn towards you, listening.
The baby
ones land first, wings folding down, heads tilted up to you, chirping
as they nuzzle you, butting their heads against your hand, like cats,
eager to be petted, scratched behind their ears."
The
smallest one, a baby blue eyes, hatched only a few weeks ago, lands
on your shoulder, wrapping its' tail around your neck. Your feel its'
breath, hot against your face, its' pointed tongue licking you."
As Mai spoke, she reached up and draped her scarf around Kaiba's
neck, pausing as she did so to breathe against his face. He moaned
softly, and fisted his hands into the blankets. Very interesting.
Well, she'd continue, then.
"It licks your face, across your
lips," Mai said, matching actions to words, "And nibbles on
the tip of your ear."
Beneath her, Kaiba smiled, (the first
smile she'd seen in a very long time,) and reached towards her,
squeaking in surprise as his hand met the back of her metallic
gloves. He stroked her hands gently, as she continued.
"A
second blue eyes, this one a few months older, misjudges her landing
a bit, and plows into you, knocking you off your feet, unto your back
in the soft grass. You stare into the marbled sky, filled with
dragons, hearing--" Mai fumbled
frantically with the cds
stacked next to the bed.
"-- Uhm, hearing the sound of the
waves below you." Kaiba gasped, startled, as she triumphantly
hit play.
"The baby dragon on your shoulder digs its' claws
in deeper, trying to hang on, then gives up and slides down your
shirt, shredding it." Mai said, one hand raking down Kaiba's
chest, the other unbuttoning his pajama top. Kaiba bucked, arching
into her touch, panting.
"Annoyed, the baby dragon clambers
back unto you, tail wagging in delight. It nuzzles your chest, then
laps at it, liking the taste. Kaiba was keening, now, thrashing
against Mai as she sat across his legs.
"A few of the larger
dragons have landed, now, settling around you, protecting you. Your
Blue Eyes sidles up to you, and bends down, breathing fire-hot breath
across your chest. Her tongue circles, then dips lower. She
licks--"
"No!" Kaiba shot up, eyes still tightly
shut. "No, Blue Eyes, this isn't right, you can't--" He
sank back unto the bed, panting, hips thrusting upward,
helplessly.
"Hush." Mai said, wrapping a gloved hand
around him. "It's ok--"
"No. I can't. Blue Eyes,
don't, I won't see you reduced to this--"
"May I join
you then, my Dragon Tamer?" Mai whispered, taking off her
gloves, and leaning down to kiss him.
"... yes ..."
"I
walk towards you, and your dragons part to let me through. I lay next
to you, my head on your shoulder, your arm around me." Mai said,
curling next to him.
"Night is falling, and the dragons are
landing around us, settling down for for the night. Young
dragons snuggle up to their parents, basking in their warmth.
It's
growing colder now, a wet wind blowing in off of the ocean, but,
surrounded by your dragons, we are pleasantly warm and dry." She
paused for a moment, judging his reaction.
"I remove your
dress," said Kaiba, turning to face Mai. His eyes were scared,
but his voice was steady as he continued, matching his words to his
actions.
"and run my hands over you. You are beautiful in the
moonlight, Mai."
"As are you, my Dragon Tamer." Mai
lay naked, waiting, biting her lip, forcing herself to stay still,
passive,
"Say my name, please--"
"My Dragon
Tamer, my Seto, my love--"
And then he was on top of her,
frantically kissing, touching. "... Mai ..."
And she
wrapped her legs around him, and drew him closer.
And the dragons
were forgotten, and there was only the moonlight and the snow and the
two of them, twined together, sprawled across the bed.
Some
time later Mai opened her eyes to find that she was once again tucked
under Kaiba's arm.
Once again, she turned toward him, draping her
leg across him, pulling him closer. He opened his eyes and smiled at
her.
"Thank you."
"Merry Christmas." she
murmured, kissing him.
"That was my Christmas gift?" he
asked, nonplussed.
"No. But just think how practical it would
have been: the right size, inexpensive and useful."
He
started to argue, then saw the smile hovering at the corners of her
mouth. "Perhaps so. Certainly more useful than some gifts I've
received."
Mai was almost asleep, dreaming of Harpy
Ladies riding Blue eyed dragons, but in the early morning stillness,
she was almost sure she heard Kaiba whisper "My beautiful Harpy
Lady, I do love you."
Outside, the sun began to
rise.
The End.
