This had only been Atem's second panel, second convention altogether. He still hadn't really rendered a verdict on whether or not he liked them. The people were nice enough, though there were a few crazies but that could have been said of any group of people anywhere in the world. He wasn't sure that he liked seeing people dressed up as him or his friends, mocking up duels and making catchphrases. Autographing things was fun but grew tiresome after a while. Being pushed out into the crowd of the masses wasn't that fun either. There were quite a few times security had to pull him out of the midst of the grabbing fingers of fangirls and boys. It was definitely worse than just walking the streets of Domino. Aside that there was no actual dueling here. It felt like his purpose for being there at all was moot.
Then came the panels. His second one now. They were a lot quieter, a lot more secluded. Taking some of the other famous duelists with him to a table on a stage to answer questions. The fans here seemed a little more polite, a little more sane than the ones that grabbed and screamed and pulled. Atem had been told to try and answer all questions to the best of his ability. If anything became too personal the fan who had opened a pathway to that dialogue would be escorted out, always. Thankfully there had only been one or two brief times with encounters like that. Leaving questions open in the air, stalling, 'eh, um, uh,' and 'I don't know' were generally not acceptable answers, he'd been told.
It left him in a bit of a lurch when halfway through this panel a fan had stood up and asked something a little strange.
"Do you associate any monsters with a sort of smell or taste or feeling?"
He wasn't quite sure how to answer that. Generally it would have been no. He could have said the Black Magician and Magician Girl reminded him of the smell of the desert, but no one needed to know that- or why, or needed to be able to question why. He didn't want that to follow. On the tip of his tongue was so ready the sound 'um'. It wasn't the typical sound for him. He was usually very precise and prompt in his meaning. This was a little too much, however. It left the room uncomfortably silent. It left him feeling awkward as his eyes glanced around the room in a hurried fashion, trying to pick up something. Anything.
Down across the table Kujaku Mai was smiling at him. Her violet eyes caught his. The answer came.
"I guess I've always sort of associated the Harpy Lady and her sisters with the smell of perfume."
The room grew with hushed murmurs; some confused, some giggly. Mai's own eyes widened. The fan cleared his throat.
"Why?"
That was a hard thing to answer as well. The real reason was because perfume was how Mai used to cheat back in the old days- the very old days. Duelist Kingdom. Atem could faintly remember her strategy against his best friend Jonouchi. The perfumes. They...
"We're friends. We hang out. I guess I've just thought of the perfume she wears and mixed it in with her signature cards." It could have been the truth. It was a very convincing lie, said without hesitation and a sure grin. There was no way he was going to out the lady right on stage as a cheater. Aside that she was reformed now. She was a good duelist on her own merits. It didn't need to be said. He would never do that to her.
She didn't seem to know how to react to such a thing at first; quickly recovering by hiding a light smirk behind her hand. "Well, well." She said into her own microphone.
Atem rolled his shoulders in a light shrug as the audience seemed to react rather well to the teasing between them. It would be sure to spur on hopeful dreams of a relationship. It was just enough. The microphone was handed over to the next person, the spotlight taken off him as a question was directed towards Jonouchi instead. He was glad to have a moment to breathe.
Back stage a pair of ice blue eyes narrowed, arms folding over a broad chest tightly.
The Q&A went on for another three and a half hours. It barely felt like it though, the mood generally light and happy between the duelists and their fans. There didn't seem to be any more questions that had Atem pausing like that one had. In fact, he'd forgotten all about it by now. It wasn't that big of a deal, although he was sure he was going to be teased for a while to come because of it. He started imagining himself saying the phrase 'We're just friends' a lot over the coming months.
He didn't have any time at all to catch up to his friends as it seemed they were all retreating home for the night. It was probably a good idea that he did too. Instead he found himself stepping inside a sleek black limousine outside the back entrance to the convention center. Kaiba Seto sat all the way on the furthest seat, eyes forward, in a tense mood it seemed. It didn't take a lot for Atem to tell when the other was in a bad mood. He'd slowly learned over the years in their relationship his different moods and how to react best to them.
"What's the matter?" Just because he'd learned doesn't mean he would stick to it. He often liked to dive right into a problem and poke at it until Kaiba talked. Otherwise things like this would drag on for days and he hated that more than anything.
Kaiba did not look at him. "I've just had enough of your cheerleading squad to last me a life time."
It sounded like the truth. The CEO didn't like being near his friends or his fans when he could help it. Despite the fact that he had been wanted on stage to answer questions he didn't go. Kaiba didn't do things like that. That didn't mean that he had left completely, though. He had been back stage the entire time. Listening. Watching.
Atem settled next to the other, hands in his lap. "Are you going back to work?"
"Where else?"
The banter felt normal and yet Atem knew it wasn't. Something was off about the exchange. He just couldn't put his finger on it. "Drop me off at my apartment." A command. Not a request or a suggestion. He was telling Kaiba to do it. He didn't want to be stuck in the office all night when Kaiba was in whatever mood he was in. If he had some sort of inkling as to what was wrong he would have followed the other and prodded at him at Kaiba Corporation. Left without clues it was a pointless endeavor.
Seto seemed to silently agree with him in this fact somehow. "Fine."
The rest of the car ride was spent in uneasy silence. Atem was watching out one window, keeping Kaiba in his peripherals. Kaiba was solely just staring ahead, arms across his chest; quiet, steely eyed, menacing. Once the car pulled up to the curb he waited. Usually Isono would open the door, but that wasn't the reason for his pause. He gave an uncertain glance over at the brunet. "I'll-" There was a quiet hum in the space of the limo that cut Atem off from his sentence. He reached into his pant's pocket, shifting slightly off the seat to wedge his hand inside the form fitting leather to get the phone that was ringing silently.
Kaiba's gaze finally shifted over, and quickly. Atem flipped the screen of the phone open, read whatever it was, and then smiled to himself. Seto's eyes narrowed further. "You'll what? Don't dismiss me for some petty text message." He was being shortchanged, that was obviously the reason for his ire. No predisposed anger that was lingering around from the panel at the convention. Never. What was there to be angry about?
A few words were typed in stilted fashion on the keypad. It was obvious the other really hadn't gotten the hang of using this messaging system just yet. It only took him a minute or so before the phone was closed. "Sorry." He amended, looking over at Kaiba. The other didn't seem to amused. When had he ever? "I was going to say I'll see you tomorrow."
"Going to?" What had changed in the span of sixty seconds?
A solemn nod. The door on his side finally opened. "You seem angry for some reason I don't understand and Mai just asked if we could hang out tomorrow. So I'll see you the day after."
A tiny muscle below the brunet's left eye twitched. His hands dug into his arms tightly as his jaw set. "You will come to the office tomorrow."
Atem's eyebrow raised in question. "Why so suddenly?"
"You will. That is all."
His lips pursed to the side in a thin line. This was very dissatisfactory. He still couldn't pin down what was making Kaiba act like this, even if it seemed all par for the course. There was a foul feeling about it. A dark cloud, almost. It was making him anxious. "We'll see." He turned to get out.
Kaiba's hand shot out, gripping the smaller's arm very tightly. "No. You will come to my office tomorrow. That is not up for discussion." His voice was chilled and spoken with a slight growl.
"Let go of me." Atem commanded sternly, reaching over to try and work those fingers off his arm. There was no doubt he'd have a bruise with the way Kaiba was handling him. Once Kaiba released him (because he wasn't about to completely fool himself into thinking he'd had the strength to overpower the CEO) he shifted and stepped out of the car. "We'll see." He said again before turning away, giving Isono a nod and disappearing up the walkway and into the complex.
There was no reason Atem should have gone to Kaiba with that behavior. He should have let the man stew and come to a realization that what he had done was unacceptable (as if that would really ever happen). He shouldn't have given in to being treated so roughly, for little to no reason, either. Sometimes he spurred this sort of behavior on with taunts and teasing and prodding. He'd done nothing this time, that he could think of, that had asked for this behavior towards him. So why? Why was Seto being so weird?
Obviously the only way to find out was to go against his better judgment. It was how he wound up at Kaiba Corporation. It was why he currently found himself standing in front of his rival's desk, arms crossed, and staring at the other. Kaiba had yet to look up from his computer. Atem was losing his patience.
"If you have something to say then say it. Otherwise I'm leaving."
One ultimatum was all it took for Kaiba to look up finally and stand from his desk. He reached over to one of the drawers, pulling from it his Duel Disk. It was attached calmly to his arm, his deck inserted. He then reached his arm forward, pointing dramatically at Atem very suddenly after all those eased and quiet actions. "I challenge you to a duel!"
It left Atem blinking once or twice in confusion before a slight tilt of his head. His arms dropped. "What?" That didn't make sense at all. If Kaiba had wanted a duel last night he would have easily challenged him on the street. Waiting? Brooding? That didn't fit in with the man's usual motives and behavior.
"You heard me. Now are you going to back out like a coward?" A devilish smirk formed on his lips.
It was exactly the right taunt and Kaiba knew it. "Absolutely not!" His hands clenched at his sides.
"Hn. That's what I thought. Here." Another drawer was opened; a Duel Disk tossed to the other duelist. He of course hadn't been planning on dueling today and hadn't brought one with him. Kaiba was prepared for this though.
Atem caught it, the confused look returning. Yes. Seto had seemed to plan out every step of this. Why? His eyes narrowed in suspicion. He'd known all along something not right was going on. This was only making in ten times worse. Before he thought to question it however, he placed the disk on the desk. His phone was produced from his pocket. "Hold on."
"I will not!" Kaiba growled loudly. "Is what you're doing more important than your title? Your honor as a duelist?"
Quick as it had come out the phone was put back in his pocket and the Duel Disk was attached to his arm. "I had to tell Mai to wait." Not that it was any of Seto's business, but these were very carefully chosen words. Something had not been right ever since last night. And since nothing out of the ordinary had happened aside Mai's name popping up a few times this must have been enough to trigger something.
Nothing but another smirk appeared. It was not the ideal reaction. "Good. Now."
Atem scrutinized it, though. Time around him seemed to stop completely as his mind worked, sorting through what small pieces of evidence he had come into contact with. This was centered around Mai. There had been the text in the car but it had persisted since before then. Kaiba had been in a sour mood since he'd gotten in the car. Was it... could it possibly have been the perfume remark? Kaiba hadn't known Mai's tactics in Duelist Kingdom. The comment might have been misconstrued, at it had been meant to by the masses, by the ridiculously smart CEO. Then the text about spending the day together in the car. The way he'd been grabbed and suddenly told to come to the office. Kaiba was...
"You're jealous." The world started spinning again as Atem finally diagnosed the situation for what it was. He even found himself grinning at such a notion.
"Don't be preposterous. Now let's duel." He stepped out from behind the desk.
The grin didn't seem to last long now that he'd worked out the reason for all of this. "I refuse to duel you."
"Excuse me?" Kaiba had not been expecting that.
"Bringing your envy as a reason for a duel is disrespecting the game as a whole. You either want to duel me for the game or not at all. Not to preoccupy my time." His words were concise and clear. He was not leaving room for Seto to misconstrue him and try to twist this in whatever way he wanted.
It angered the other. "What do I have to be jealous about, coward? You're the one backing out from a duel." He clucked his disapproval.
This was hard not to rise to for the bait that it was. "You're the one mocking the game. And I'm done with it. Mai is waiting for me." Atem turned to leave finally.
A hand reached out to grab his shoulder tightly. "She is not worth your time!" Not like he was. Why had Atem picked her over him? It was something that didn't make sense to him. It upset him.
Obviously so as Atem turned to him, even directed to by that grip on him, and glared. "You don't have a say in that."
"Yes I do. She is a low ranking duelist and she is not worth your time. Duel me or forfeit your title." He was putting it all out there. He would not give Atem a chance to go to her now.
The other shrugged out of his grip, stance tense now as he was firing up for quite an argument. "You don't decide who is worth my time and who isn't! She is my friend! And I'm not sullying the game with your envy over this!"
Kaiba scowled. "Friendship is just another pathetic waste of time. If you walk out of this a coward we-" This was a place he didn't want to go to. He did not want to be here.
"We what?" Atem thankfully cut him off. "Is friendship just as pathetic as this relationship we have going on?"
Silence filled the office as blue eyes widened slightly before they narrowed forcibly. And yet he did not have an answer. How could he say no and not look weak at the same time? Saying yes, just the thought of it, made a painful feeling grow in his chest. He was lost. And the worse it got the thicker the tension in the room became as he watched Atem glare up a storm at him. But one of them had to be level headed. As usual the smaller would step up to that challenge first.
"Admit your jealousy."
"Ridiculous."
It would get neither of them anywhere. Kaiba was too stubborn, too proud to say what it was. Jealousy. Atem's eyes left his with a sigh as his head tilted down. He reached a hand up to his face, fingers rubbing dully at his temples. This was a headache he hadn't planned for. His eyes closed for just a moment. It was then that he noticed it.
"You..." The hand dropped as he stepped closer. Kaiba tensed as he did so but stayed where he was. "You're wearing new cologne." Now at that Atem smiled. Just a little.
Kaiba glared. It had an upsetting affect to his status now- even a faint dust of pink rising to that normally proud facade. "What does that have to do with anything?" He tried to make sure he sounded as angry as he had been a few minutes ago. It didn't really work.
"That remark about the perfume really upset you." Not a question. He'd known it to be fact for all of ten minutes now. That was enough time as far as he was concerned.
Seto managed to tense even more. He was getting caught. Why was Atem so damn good at calling him out on every single thing? "I couldn't care less why you think of her winged harlots as smelling like flowers or whatever it is she bathes in!"
There was so much to pick apart in that statement. Kaiba really had over thought all of this and it was shining through in his stance, his face, his eyes, his words and the thought process that had brought him to say all of it. Atem's head tilted to the side with another deep breath, smile still on his lips. "I like this one. It's different." Seto must have bought something out of his natural selection just to ... impress? The thought was slightly endearing. In fact, all of this nonsense and jealousy was, if one was crazy enough to look at it like that. Atem might have been.
Blue eyes finally left crimson as the other looked away awkwardly. "I ... did not know you noticed such a thing." What could he really say? All of this was awkward. Too awkward. He didn't like being on this side of the fence when it came to this thing going on between them. Submitting to jealousy like he had, letting it enrage him as it had...
"I do." Atem said soundly, stepping forward and placing a hand on the brunet's chest. It was a good way to draw those eyes back to his own. "Hers smells like vanilla and lavender." Kaiba tensed beneath him, another surge of undoubted jealousy that Atem would bother to notice. That he had been close enough to her to notice. "But I've always liked yours better."
One tug of the man's tie was all it took to bring their lips together. Seto's hands went to his shoulders, pulling him that much closer, nearly crushing him close. The kiss grew aggressive in an instant. It left the shorter breathless, just as Kaiba had intended. "Of course you do." He whispered in Atem's ear before leaning to attack his neck with his teeth. It was just the sort of reassuring thing Seto had needed after an entire night of brooding. An entire night of pulling up Atem's cell phone records to see how many messages between him and that girl had been passed back and forth. An entire night of being in a jealousy induced rage over everything and setting up a day that would ruin Mai's and make Atem spend it with him. While this had not exactly how he'd intended for things to go, he'd still won in the end.
Of course he had. He was Kaiba Seto. Whatever he wanted he got. Always. That had never changed. And if it was something like Atem's time and attention he would damn well have it. He had planned to remind Atem of why he was worthy of the man's attention in a way that Mai could never be. A duel would have been the perfect way to show him that. Having the King of Games face down on his desk screaming his name, however, was somehow a much more beautiful testament to just how much Kaiba could accomplish. It was enough to sate him and calm his nerves at the same time, once it was over.
It left the CEO back to his work, typing busily at his laptop and stealing glances at the other. Atem still in the office, dozing on the couch. With how rough Kaiba had been it had been too much for him to stay on his feet minutes after. He usually fell asleep after their activities anyway but this was especially bad. Maybe somewhere in the back of his mind he'd reminded himself never to raise Kaiba's hackles with the issue of jealousy again. As he was falling asleep he was quite sure he wouldn't be able to walk right for at least a week. As it was he had fallen completely out of it, using his arm as a pillow despite the ones for use on the couch, curled slightly into himself.
The afternoon had turned into late evening now. Seto was satisfied with how much work he'd accomplished when he was in a much better mood. That mood, however, was about to be ruined.
The doors to his office opened quietly, a tall and curvy frame walking in without any care as to whether or not she'd been invited. A violet gaze was cast around the office, lingering on Kaiba who was staring back before moving to the sleeping Game King on the couch. She frowned softly for a moment before her eyes zeroed in to a particularly dark looking hickey on that pale neck. A delicate eyebrow arched before she looked back at Kaiba. Even she put it together faster than Atem had. She always had a sense for these sorts of things.
She strolled further into the office, stopping near the couch. "I was wondering why he'd failed to show up without notice." Atem could be forgetful at times but he was never carelessly cruel. He always stuck by his word. When he said he was delayed at Kaiba Corporation she'd only had an inkling as to what was going on.
Kaiba narrowed his eyes. "Get out of my office. I don't recall ever allowing you in here." Seeing this woman in here now was the last thing he needed.
Mai smirked lightly. "Give him a message for me, will you?" She asked nice enough, a sweet and sultry tone filling the air.
"Get out." Kaiba repeated, yet made no move to stand just yet.
Slowly she reached out, her manicured fingers brushing down along Atem's arm. He stirred in his sleep. "Hm." Mai mused with a light and airy response.
Immediately Kaiba was out of his seat, hands slamming down on the desk as his eyes narrowed. "Do not put your hands on him." The tone in which he spoke could nearly be marked as one of the darkest and coldest in the history of his life.
Mai didn't pay any notice to Kaiba. "He must be really out of it." She reached over to brush the backs of her fingers against his cheek.
It set Kaiba to snarling. "I will end your career as a duelist."
"Come on Kaiba is that really all you've got?" She shot back with a smirk, finally looking at him. She had not yet removed her hand from Atem's face.
Those blue eyes narrowed dangerously as he leaned forward over the desk. "You do not want to push me further than that."He warned, the tone returning.
Truth be told she was scared. Frightened even. Kaiba was a scary person- a terrifying person with power. She knew his threats could be backed up easily. She could be out of a job for the rest of her life. Hell, if the rumors were true, she could just as easily lose her life too. Yet she persisted. Seeing this kind of unadjusted jealousy from the normally stoic CEO was such a beautifully sweet sight for some reason. It was terrible of her, but she just couldn't help antagonizing the situation for just a second longer. Her hand brushed against Atem's blond bangs as she watched Kaiba. "Tell him I'll see him tomorrow."
"Get. Out."
She turned finally, raising a hand in the air in a lackluster wave. "See you around, Kaiba." A soft chuckle as the doors closed behind her.
Kaiba was near trembling with rage. It went through his mind at that moment to make every call necessary to put Mai out for good. Instead he circled the desk and moved over to the couch. His hand cradled Atem's neck as he pulled the other upward lightly. It was enough to wake him up now.
"Wh-"
Immediately he was cut off by a very domineering and angry kiss from Kaiba. He didn't have any time to respond and was too sleepy to fight back through most of it. When the other finally pulled back he had to catch his breath. "What's the matter Seto?"
"Stop talking." He had an itch to reclaim all of Atem again. And he would. After that dealing with Mai would come. Right then, Atem first.