"Kaiba…" Yugi Moto's voice echoed through Seto Kaiba's head as he lay back on his expansive bed. "Would you ever want to be our friend?" His face was now in Kaiba's mind eye, smiling sweetly, shoulders almost touching his ears, his hair covering half of his peach and rose face. He reached out, offering his hand to maybe help Kaiba stand. Suddenly, Kaiba's attention drifted behind Yugi's striking hair to his friends, Jounouchi and Honda. Just the faintest whisper had been able to reach his ears, but as he played it back, the meaning struck home, ringing harshly through his mind.
"Man…" Jounouchi had said, angling himself away, "I dunno what Yuge sees in that guy…"
"Damn…" Kaiba let his own thoughts wash over his internal movie theatre. "Why does this affect me so much…?" He sat up, forcing himself away from his train of thought. "Screw it. I'm going out."
Without alerting his brother, who was probably playing videogames, Kaiba walked aimlessly around town, stopping to gaze at nothing in particular, until coming to a very familiar building.
"Somehow…" he thought to himself distastefully, "I ended up at this person's house," this person being Maximillion Pegasus. "Well," he continued, turning to walk away, "There's no way I'm going in—"
"Oh, is that you, Kaiba-boy?! You simply must come in!" a loud voice announced over a speaker that came from the front yard's general direction. Kaiba glanced back with only his eyes, in no way intending to go in.
"Long time, no see, Kaiba-boy! How is Mokuba-kun doing?" Pegasus stood before him, beaming in his read suit, holding a glass of red wine, and grinning from ear to ear. His face was slightly flushed from his drink. Kaiba refused to say anything, and in response, Pegasus continued into monologue, "Or could it be…" he asked, gently, gazing over his wine glass, "that you're still angry about that?" His Millennium Eye glinted playfully from under his silver hair. "'Course, it's always hard to tell with you!" he continued cheerfully, sipping his wine. Kaiba snorted.
Let's just dig into what you're feeling, shall we? Max thought to himself giddily, his wine-hazy mind reveling in making Kaiba squirm. What's going on in that cute little head of yours? His eye now flashed into Kaiba's mind, looking into his immediate thoughts. The closest one was of Kaiba comforting Mokuba, both crouching and holding onto each other. Apparently, Kaiba had been remembering the trauma of the soul cards Max had used on them. Oh, has Mokuba-kun grown a little? Still cute, though!
Wandering through his mind, Max then came upon Kaiba's beloved blue-eyes white dragon. Giving it an alcohol-smelling peck on the snout, the dragon recoiled from the sharp smell. Hello, Blue-Eyes. Max thought towards it. You smell like alcohol… It complained back, to which Max laughed.
A flash which indicated a new thought caught Max's attention, and he turned from harassing the dragon to investigate the thought. Fun! He thought to himself fleetingly. Once he came upon the thought, though, he paused in surprise.
Sitting with his legs pulled back and to the side, was Yugi Moto, gazing through heavy lids… Isn't that Yugi-boy? Max thought quickly, before looking at the complete thought. Where's the Millennium Puzzle? Yugi then closed his eyes, eyebrows raising, and leaning into another figure, who was facing away. It wasn't hard for Max to see whose brown hair and broad shoulders it belonged to, though. Uhm…?
As their lips connected, Max's mind-self, being invisible to human thoughts, went into a shock of such degree that he dropped his beloved wine, shattering the glass. And then he was back looking at Kaiba, who he had just searched his mind. His instincts kicked in and told him to set down his glass. As he did so, he brought his other hand up to his forehead, hiding his face, and shaking. At first, it was an almost unnoticeable quivering, but soon it turned into full body movements, his shoulders jerking up and down. But when he pulled his hand away, Max was laughing, to the point where he couldn't stop. He doubled over, holding one hand to his stomach to help his sides from splitting completely to pieces.
"So, Kaiba-boy," he shouted through fits of giggles, "You swing that way!" to which Kaiba responded with an exclamation of question.
"Wha-? What's that supposed to mean?!" Kaiba's normally wide shoulders now were equally close to his ears, his surprise forcing up most of his torso and lowering his head.
Really… Max thought, disbelieving Kaiba's outburst. "On a different note, I haven't gotten to talk to Yugi-boy lately. How is he?" Max started to spin his devious and camp web around Kaiba, trapping him into submission. "I've heard that he's been very close with those two boys in his group lately. Especially, that Katsuya-whomever. Not that that's any of my business."
"Jounouchi?" Kaiba asked, looking not so much at Max but past him, a twinge of something rising in his gut. He couldn't be sure what to call that uncomfortable lump that settled just under his stomach.
Took the bait~ Max thought, again happily drawing Kaiba into his trap. "Indeed, I hear that even though they've been friends for only a short while, their 'friendship' is rapidly progressing. Honda, too."
"Friendship"? Kaiba wondered for a moment. Why in quotations? Then another thought dawned on him. He couldn't mean… As his mind reeled, he brought up an image of Yugi, trying to get away from two faceless males, who looked too-close-for-comfort-ly like his friends, Yugi's shirt ripped and hands reaching out to grab and restrain him. That kind of "friendship"?! He thought, panicky. Like, sex friends?!
Oh, my! Max thought excitedly as he watched Kaiba unravel before him. What kinky things are you thinking about? How fun!
"And apparently," Max continued, relentless, "everyone in his group of friends is in on it. And very happy with it." While Max wasn't lying, his playing with words continued to convey the perfect wrong message.
Everyone?! Kaiba now paused in his panicking to quickly catalogue who might be in on it, as Max had said. In his head, Kaiba pulled up a short list of known friends of Yugi Moto, which continued to get longer…and longer…and longer! Yugi Moto was the kind of person who makes friends wherever he goes, no matter their qualities. He paused, no longer wanting to look at the long list, and focused instead on his self-loathing. He himself has been offered a chance to be Yugi's friend, and had rejected the offer. At this, Max's mind called out in a playful chide of That's what you get when you don't play nice!
"Are you bothered by that, Kaiba-boy?" Max's eyes now softened, to gaze almost fatherly at Kaiba, in a wise but wily manner.
What…? Kaiba thought absently, wondering what Max could possibly mean from a jibe like that. Like I'd tell you if it did…
"Because if you are…" Max continued, closing his eye, and resting his hips gently against the table he'd set his wine glass on, "I would gladly comfort you…" He opened the collar of his suit just the smallest amount, and assumed a somewhat submissive stance, as if he were preparing to be ravished. "If you catch my drift," he continued, tugging at the frilly cuff of his undershirt and popping the first button on his jacket.
"Are you coming onto me?" Kaiba asked blankly, completely oblivious to Max's offer. Max collapsed internally, fretting.
Honestly, Kaiba-boy… he thought distastefully. Unbuttoned my jacket for nothing…! "Perhaps I could assist you with something?" he said, trying to cover up the snub he'd received by switching to business talk.
"Why would I need your help with anything?" Kaiba asked, glancing sideways at Pegasus, distrusting any kind of assistance he was offering.
"You forget, my Millennium Eye doesn't just capture souls, Kaiba-boy." Though it is very useful in that respect as well, he whispered softly. He heard the snide comment Kaiba supplied to his pulling back his sterling hair; I'm not all that interested in your cursed golden eyeball. Max snorted softly, trying to ignore the youth. "It can delve into just about any mind. I've spent a good bit of time in Yugi-boy's mind as well."
Bastard, Kaiba thought, though he couldn't quite understand why he felt so irritated by all the magic mumbo-jumbo everyone had been spouting, other than it was ridiculous. But it wasn't the fact that Pegasus could see into someone's mind, it was that that mind had been Yugi's.
"Of course," Max continued, "his mind was rather…split." He paused for a moment, giving Kaiba a look, then a smirk. "But I'm sure you already know."
"Split?" What's that even supposed to mean…? Kaiba thought.
"Oh, so you don't know, Kaiba-boy?" Max paused to settle the cloth properly around the re-buttoned button, and then continued, "With the way you watch him, I figured you'd notice when the other Yugi-boy came out, Kaiba-boy."
And what's that supposed to mean? Kaiba thought irately.
"The taller one," Max began, painting a picture with his words, "with the fiery eyes," a pair of glowing orbs from the shadows formed in their minds, "and gold streaks," the outline of the Pharaoh with glowing red orbs floating in the shadows completed the picture with golden flashes of lightening in his hair.
Oh. Kaiba thought uninterestedly. Him. "What about him? He's just Yugi, isn't he?"
"How little you know, Kaiba-boy," Pegasus said, putting a hand to his forehead and shrugging with his other arm. "Then again, you have yet to even believe in the 'magic' surrounding the Millennium Items."
Kaiba had finally been fed up with being told about magic and having strange feelings he didn't understand in the presence of someone strange that he didn't understand. "Stop talking riddles," he said harshly, turning away and shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm tired of this. I'm going home."
"Are you sure you don't want to know about Yugi-boy's and that other Yugi-boy's relationship? Because I can tell you now that they are always together. Always."
Kaiba paused. He had already bitten when Pegasus had told him about Yugi's friends, but how much of that was true? And even if what he had been saying was true, about friends and another Yugi and magic mumbo-jumbo, what should it matter to him? If there really were two Yugis, it would make sense that they would always be together. But somehow…he felt left out.
He turned back to glare at Pegasus, his eyes narrowed. Pegasus noticeably tensed, and a rash of goose bumps crawled down his back.
This is stupid, Kaiba thought, looking at the uncomfortable man across from him. Why should it matter? Yugi is my opponent. My rival. Kaiba let his hand fall from his pocket. Even if there is another Yugi...It would make sense that they'd always be together… The hand that lay limply at his side clenched into a white-knuckled fist. So why does this affect me so much?!
He glanced sideways at Pegasus, eying him with suspicion. Dammit! What is he playing at?
"My, what a frightful face you're wearing, Kaiba-boy!" He whispered to himself, Did I go too far?
Kaiba closed the space between them in mere seconds, grabbing Max's collar harshly and pulling him up, forcing his proud chin to faintly touch Kaiba's knuckles.
"Shut up!" Kaiba raged, his eyes twitching in anger and frustration. His shoulders stood still next to his ears as his chest heaved.
You're at the end of your rope, Kaiba-boy, Pegasus thought, amused, his chin lifted centimeters from Kaiba's fist. Allow me to break you. His Millennium Eye glowed, and his hair flowed around his face, though there was no draft.
I can see your mind, Kaiba-boy…I understand you better than you even know yourself. I can see what you feel…for Yugi-boy. Max drifted and sifted through Kaiba's thoughts until he found the thought that Kaiba had lamented earlier that day. Even if you don't know what you feel…
"Nng…" Kaiba grunted softly, his eye twitching open. Ugh, my head hurts…
"Looks like my mind was a bit too much for yours." How careless of me~ Pegasus was sitting on the edge of a wide bed, in a large bedroom.
"Pegasus!" Kaiba pushed his elbows back to support himself. He immediately fell back, his vision blurred by the blood rushing to his throbbing head. He brought his hands up to put pressure on his forehead, when he heard a clink. He looked down at his hands, and saw that each wrist was bound in a leather band connected to chains, three links separating his wrists from each other. "Did you drug me?" He looked at Pegasus with a murderous stare, his ice eyes glazing over in rage.
"No, I just messed with your head a little," Pegasus offered back playfully, stroking his Millennium Eye with his index finger.
"What all this?" Kaiba asked, his eyes continuing to glaze over, the blue ice turning to white snow.
"Just some toys," Pegasus said with an innocent smile.
"And I thought you had some sick fetishes before." Kaiba said, putting down his hands in a huff, assuming an uncaring pose while still bound. He looked at the rest of him with just his eyes and saw that his feet were also attached to chains, though his ankles could move on their own.
He doesn't even seem to care… Pegasus thought uncertainly. "You're not exactly one to talk, Kaiba-boy. I've picked up some very interesting information from your fevered mind." Pegasus continued on nervously, but not letting on his apprehension, he let a light blush colour his cheeks. "I must say, Kaiba-boy, I never pegged you for the type to date jail-bait."
Jail bait? Kaiba glanced at Pegasus, not sure what he was getting at again.
"You're, what, 19 this year, Kaiba-boy? And Yugi-boy is 16 now, isn't he?" Pegasus continued, leading into his trap, when Kaiba interrupted his intentions.
"Are you planning our birthday parties or what? Would you get to the point?" His head was turned away, but his eyes were trained to look at Pegasus's hair, keeping watch over the man.
"Would you like me to? You could have a Blue Eyes theme~" Pegasus let the distraction play out. The longer he could play with Kaiba, the more fun he'd have in the end. "I'll give you a discount if you want."
That does sound kinda fun… "Shut up," Kaiba said, turning away to hide his excitement at the idea of having a party based around his beloved Blue Eyes. He'd pondered in before, but hadn't had time to plan for his own birthday.
"Fine, I'll be straight forward here." Pegasus's face turned strangely serious, his eyes focusing, his voice losing its playfulness. "There are some things I don't need my Millennium Eye for…" He grasped a leather cord attached to a leather collar that Kaiba hadn't noticed was around his neck. "I have enough intuition and common sense to more than make up for it…" He tugged on the cord, pulling Kaiba's face closer to his own. Kaiba's eyes widened a little, and Max leaned in closer, his breath brushing Kaiba's eyelashes.
He leaned in until Kaiba started to squirm just a little, and then Max settled in to a light peck on Kaiba's lips, effectively freezing Kaiba into staring wide-eyed into Max's closed eye and Millennium Item.
"Not to mention, my 'gaydar' comes in handy." Max pulled back into another submissive pose, still holding loosely to the leather cord. Kaiba was still staring blankly on, until Max leaned in close again. "What's wrong?" he asked, blowing into Kaiba's half-opened mouth. He finally melted enough to squirm away, hitting his shoulder blades against the bed's headboard.
"What the hell was that?!" A kiss?!
"It was my way of telling you I'm GAY~" Max returned, showering his speech in gaudy glitter.
Like I really had to have you "tell" me to know… Kaiba closed into himself a bit, still scooting away from the strange silver haired man.
"But I can tell some things from my…preference. Like the way you swing, Kaiba-boy." Though I didn't notice 'til I used my eye…he muttered to himself.
"I-" Kaiba was interrupted, cut off by a short, playful noise.
"Ah-ah. Even if you deny it, you have to remember I can see into your mind. Even if you don't believe it, I have an uncanny guess." Pegasus's jibe settled into a very serious expression, facing away from Seto, not looking at him while asking in a deadpan tone, "You love Yugi, don't you?"
Seto stopped completely, not offering an immediate snub, but instead mulling it over for a moment.
"Y…" Pegasus moved his eye to glance at Seto. "Yes…" He had pulled himself together in his own form of submission.
Oh, crap. Did I actually break him? Pegasus started sweating slightly, worrying if all the fun might have been broken out of his toy.
"I mean, I don't know! I think about him, and it just…annoys me! Is it because he's my rival, or…?" He turned away, disgusted with himself. "Ugh, why am I even telling you this?"
"Wouldn't you prefer to get it off your chest?" Pegasus offered, the playful tone in his voice returning to the slightest degree. "Listen, Kaiba-boy, it doesn't make you any worse or better for liking a man. That doesn't determine who you are." He pushed himself back into a leaning position on his back hand, his other coming to a rest on his collar. "I mean, look how successful I am!" I'd like to thank all the little toons~ Kaiba coughed in response. Max ignored him. "But you know, Kaiba-boy, it's lucky I found out first."
"Oh yeah? And why is that, nut case?"
"Becauuuuuuuuuuuuse… I know all about the inside of Yugi-boy's mind. I can tell you what to do~" Not to mention, what other big company director would be as accepting as me? Think what the press would say… Max blanched at the thought of either of them being found out; it would ruin both of their businesses, being so closely tied despite having shaky relations.
"What to do for what?" asked Seto, skeptic of any help Pegasus might be offering.
"Win Yugi-boy's heart, of course~!" Pegasus seemed to be lost in a fit of entertained ecstasy, while Seto simply spat at the idea in shock.
"Why would I want to do that?!" Seto asked, blushing furiously.
"Well, you did just say you loved him…" Pegasus was brought down from his rainbows and hearts, back down to the insecure heart of the teenage boy in front of him.
"I also said-" Kaiba started, crawling onto his knees, using his hands to support his front as his bottom lifted from the bed covers. Pegasus interrupted him, pretending not to notice.
"Hm, there's also the problem with that getting in the way…" He looked away from Seto as he said this, trying to completely ignore him.
"Listen to me!"
"You listen first, Kaiba-boy." Max poked Seto's collarbone, freezing him yet again. "While your Kaiba Corp. spies can dig and dig for info on Yugi, that's all you'll ever get; you'll never actually understand him; you'll only know about him." He brought a hand to his forehead, his face serene, only his body language indicating his distress. "My 'intuition' aside, I can tell you how his head works."
"Like what?" Seto was still skeptic, but figured the worst he could get was a lie.
"Well, like that he likes sweets, but he'll give them to others to appear more manly, and because he is a kind person." Pegasus smiled, seeming to enjoy the light that surrounded Yugi, reveling in the perfect tone "hikari" set to him.
Seto simply backed into his mind, taking in the information that'd been provided. All I was able to gather was that he would stop and stare into the window of a local cake shop… His mind's eye conjured up a flash of striking hair reflected back by a glass pane marked with the word PASTRIES in dainty, lilac script. It would be so much easier if we were in the same environment, like when we were in school… Or if he'd come work at Kaiba Corp… Stay in my office as my secretary… Seto suddenly realized he was heading into a spiral of self-destruction. Pegasus had been reading his entire internal monologue, and watched as Yugi was dressed in more and more risqué outfits. Oh my! A waitress…?
"So, Kaiba-boy… I'll offer again." He paused for affect. "Would you like my assistance?" They stared at each other's unyielding eyes for a solid half minute, before Seto sighed and spoke.
"It's going to cost something, isn't it?"
"But of course, Kaiba-boy! You can't get something for nothing!" He added the last part lovingly, the hearts dancing vividly through his words.
"And the price?" Seto raised his gaze to look pointedly at Max's Eye.
"Well…" Max paused. "It could either be your Blue Eyes…"
"Go to hell." Seto said immediately. Max laughed to himself.
"Orrrrrrr… We could play a game to decide~" His eye glinted at the idea, and Seto simply stared on, already anticipating a challenge and strategizing how to overcome it.
"Fine."
End of Chapter 1