Ch. 1 – Proposition

Silence filled the halls of the nearly-empty castle. The fortress is never empty for a decent number of attendants and servants are needed to keep it in its top shape. But to Pegasus his home felt empty. To make it worse he had secluded himself in one of his private quarters. The room was used for his painting sessions. It was located in one of the higher sections of the castle. A single window let in light to reveal a room filled with a variety of furniture, most upholstered in shades of yellows and reds. Though, this room was not as tidy as the rest of his home. Scattered about the room were paintings, both finished and unfinished. Only a few hung on the walls while most were grouped against the wall next to the door. Their life-less gazes surrounded the artist. But Pegasus paid little attention to them.

Sitting on the sofa, the furniture in the center of the room, Pegasus stared upon his most recent project that rested on the easel. And even though the painting is incomplete anyone who'd ever lay eyes upon it would recognize the face of Seto Kaiba. It was his first and only portrait of the young CEO. Pegasus took a sip of his red wine. His lips curled into a smile as he recalled the carefully planned events that led to the painting before him. It started, of course, with a card game.

"If you put up the card I need, I'll wager these," Kaiba said as he held his three prized Blue-Eyes before Pegasus.

Silly Kaiba Boy. His pride was always his weakness.

"You'd risk your precious Blue-Eyes White Dragons just for a chance to trounce little Yugi?"

Pegasus made a mental note to thank Yugi, the boy who unintentionally pushed Kaiba to such desperation as to return back to this island.

"And what would make you believe that I'd want your Blue-Eyes, when I can think of something more rewarding to me."

Pegasus tried not to laugh when Kaiba looked shocked, and somewhat embarrassed, after Pegasus proposed his idea.

"Fine, have it your way, Pegasus," Kaiba said, "Doesn't matter anyways since you'll be handing over the card I need once I defeat you."

"My, my, seems you're even more desperate than I thought," Pegasus said, not expecting Kaiba to still go through with the challenge.

"Kaiba my dear and devious friend let the games begin!"

Kaiba, so young and naïve as to make the same mistake twice. Though this time his little brother was not in need of rescuing. Foolish pride.

"No! No, damnit! I was so close!"

Kaiba stared at his deck, scattered all over his side of the card field. Defeated once again in a match against the creator of Duel Monsters.

"That's too bad, Kaiba Boy," Pegasus said cheerfully as he cleared his own cards from the field, "Couldn't defeat me even after I lost the Millennium Eye."

"What do you want from me, Pegasus?" Kaiba snapped.

"Now, now, don't tell me you've forgotten the grounds of our wager already. If I was to win you would spend some quality time with me."

The young brunette did not forget, though he wished he had. He put his deck away and turned his back, as if to leave, before speaking again, "How long?"

Pegasus laughed, "I wouldn't keep you for more than a few days."

"Days?" Kaiba quickly turned back around to face Pegasus once again, "Are you mad? I have a company to run and you want to keep me hostage for a few days?"

That was a complete joke. This would not be the first time Kaiba left Kaiba Corp unattended for days at a time. The two men knew that the company was the last thing on either of their minds.

"Well, Kaiba Boy," Pegasus walked towards the younger man.

It was possible that he got too close for Kaiba stepped backed a little when Pegasus spoke again, "This will go a lot smoother, and quicker, if you cooperate."

The look on the brunette's face told Pegasus that he was beginning to regret having ever agreed to Pegasus's terms of victory.

The duel played over and over again in Kaiba's mind, trying to find where he made a mistake. He would swear mentally at his unsuccessful review, and then proceed to start over once again.

"My dear Kaiba Boy," Pegasus's voice broke his trance, "You haven't touched your dinner."

Kaiba looked up to see Pegasus staring at him from across the table. The dining table was much too large for just two people. But they sat across from each other at the center. Kaiba knew better that the other man wanted another excuse to stare at him. As if he hadn't done enough gazing upon the younger man a moment ago.

"You must be hungry after sitting still for me," Pegasus smiled.

Just then the brunette's stomach growled, as if to agree with the other man.

'Traitor! Stupid stomach,' Kaiba yelled at himself mentally.

"How do I know you didn't taint my food," he finally spoke.

Pegasus giggled in amusement.

"You're so paranoid, Kaiba Boy. Now why would I ever do such a thing? After all, you're the one who came to me on your own motive."

"It's rather difficult to trust a man who for some reason wants my portrait," Kaiba said, still refusing to touch his food.

"Ouch! Have you no appreciation for the arts? But if you're that worried," Pegasus said.

He then grabbed Kaiba's untouched plate, pulled it towards himself, and pushed his half-eaten one towards Kaiba. Pegasus then took a bite of the chicken to prove that he didn't poison the food. But Kaiba wasn't letting his guard down that easily. His two drinks still sat untouched before him. One glass was filled with Pegasus's favorite red wine. In the other wine glass was what the young CEO guessed to be water. Obviously Pegasus didn't expect him to touch the wine. And much to the older man's surprise, Kaiba takes the wine-filled glass and empties it in a single swing. The young man never fancied himself in drinking and coughs from the burn of the alcohol.

"You're supposed to sip wine, Kaiba Boy," Pegasus says once he's done staring in surprise, "And it's not wise to drink on an empty stomach."

Kaiba glared at Pegasus as he mentally swore for the thousandth time that day. Dinning on the leftovers on Pegasus's plate was all he could do to stop himself from using his utensils as weapons in his frustration.