Back at the hotel, as per the usual, a party was thrown for the skaters. Any of them could have chosen to go home, this rink wasn't in their home town, but they stayed behind to enjoy the rest of the night. Atem and Yuugi's friends had come out to watch the show, and there was no way they would have let the two slip off into the night. They needed to be congratulated, of course!
Jounouchi had shown up to the table with his girlfriend, Mai. His arms were thrown around Yuugi before giving the smaller a noogie. "You guys did really great!" The blonde exclaimed quite loudly.
"Now if only you two could teach this idiot to be that graceful." Mai teased with a wink.
It sent Jounouchi off into a bruised-pride tangent that left him yelling and huffing for a good ten minutes about how he was so, so graceful. In fact, if he wanted to, he could skate circles around the two. Atem smirked lightly and told him he'd like to see that, taking it as a challenge. Immediately the excuses poured in about how Jounouchi's legs hurt, or he was cold, or who knows what else. The group laughed it off and ordered a round of drinks. Eventually Honda and Shizuka showed up, apologizing for being late but they'd gotten lost on the way back from the rink. It was probably the truth, though Jounouchi eyed down the brunet and challenged him to a few shots.
The lights went lower as the hours passed by, everyone sustaining a good drunk feeling. But it was all harmless and fun in the end. Anzu even managed to wander over to their table, gushing about how well the two ice skaters did. She then went on to say how she'd been big fans of them for quite some time. A pad of paper was produced as she asked for their autographs. The lines were a little squigglier as usual, to which skaters both apologized profusely, but she just giggled it off and said her autograph would just be more special than everyone else's. She was then invited to sit down with them; an invitation she gladly accepted.
Despite the cheer of the evening, Atem was very far inside his mind. He'd never tied before. Was it really still considered winning? The brooding, dark eyed brunet at the end of the bar didn't seem to think so. Atem couldn't help but watch his rival, not even realizing he was being terribly open about it. The more he drank, the harder it became to cover for himself. He was left with a little solace though as Jounouchi and Mai headed for their rooms upstairs. Honda and Shizuka followed suit quickly.
A grin was given to his partner when he noticed Anzu rubbing up against him a few times, sending a few flirts his way. Yuugi seemed rather oblivious to it all, but with some elbow nudging from Atem, he really understood it. The blush on his face was worse than Anzu's. At first he tried to ignore her want to leave, as drunk as he was it was pretty hard. He didn't want to leave Atem there by himself. But Atem interjected, telling Yuugi that it was alright. He wanted his partner to go and have fun. Eventually Yuugi let it go, nodding to Anzu; both of them bowed and then waved as they drunkenly bumped the table and then left together.
It left Atem alone with his thoughts. One of the biggest ones being his question of where Yuugi and Anzu went off for the night. The two of them shared a room. Did that mean that if his skating partner had left to their room, he had to find lodging elsewhere? He certainly wouldn't want to disturb the two. Another shot was downed, barely feeling the burn of it at this point. Last call was shouted, leaving him only an hour to decide what he wanted to do with himself. First off he decided to pick up from the table and go over to the bar. But it wasn't long before his quiet drunken state was bothered.
"Friends abandoned you?" Kaiba's voice filtered through Atem's haze.
Crimson eyes glassed with intoxication turned to look at Seto. "It's not my place to disrupt their fun." He was immensely proud of himself for keeping his voice a calm, respectable level; no tremors or even hint that he was drunk.
But it was all too obvious for Kaiba. He'd been watching Atem, too, the entire night. He'd seen how many shots the shorter man had thrown back. Given his slim weight and his short height, it didn't take a genius to know that Atem was far out of it by now, even if he had a high tolerance. "But it is theirs to leave you without a care?" Perhaps he could get some satisfaction of his own hurting Atem tonight. He was feeling tipsy, definitely not enough to hurt himself or his reputation. He knew when to stop.
Atem's elbows came up onto the bar, his chin rested in his upturned palm. It felt good to have some place to put his head. He felt heavy. "It doesn't bother me." He responded tiredly.
Kaiba snorted, fingers closing in around the glass of whiskey he'd ordered and finishing it. "It will later. Your little shadow was flashing around his room key with that girl when they left." He could only assume they had some big room all to themselves. Yuugi had been drunk too, maybe even worse than Atem. It was no wonder he'd go to somewhere familiar, and somewhere that would also impress his makeshift date.
"Damn." Atem hissed to himself. He had hoped Yuugi would have had the sense to go back to Anzu's room. But in the end he wouldn't hold it against his partner. His hand raised in the air as he called for another shot that was filled instantly.
Blue eyes watched the shorter man curiously. Almost as if he were being challenged himself, he waved for another glass. Once it was filled he took a drink as Atem slid back his shot. "So," He said after blinking back the burn in his throat. "Nowhere to go tonight, then?"
Slender shoulders rose up in a nonchalant shrug. "I can just get another room at the front desk I guess." It wasn't like they were poor, far from it. It was just a hell of a hassle.
"How considerate of your partner to leave you like this." Kaiba snidely replied, the sarcasm almost as cold as his drink. But maybe there was something else in there. Did it really bother him that Yuugi had left Atem here stranded? ...No. Absolutely not. He took another drink from his glass to silence those thoughts, and the reoccurring vision of Atem's form in his arms as they spun around the ice. That had been popping up all too often tonight since the first time.
Atem turned to him, eyes narrowing. "You don't know him." He growled, too drunk to contain his anger.
It amused the brunet. "I know that you're going to have to bumble your way to the lobby where the press is waiting all because of him. They'll know how irresponsible you are; might even label you a drunken sob story for tying for the gold. How pathetic." He was being cruel, but having so much fun trying to dig into Atem's confidence.
He reached up to thread his fingers through his multi-colored hair, bangs sliding up and over before hiding his eyes. "Damn." He said again with a sigh. Kaiba's words hurt, but they were still the truth. The press weren't allowed back in the bars and anywhere near the rooms, so his friends would be safe. But if he really needed to go get another room... Another shot that had been poured without him asking was tossed back, even if that was the worst idea.
"You make your predicament worse." Seto observed, finishing off his glass yet again, and quickly. He didn't even realize it. He was just matching Atem.
"Shut up, Kaiba. I don't need your advice." Another angry respite.
It had the man smirking to himself. This was almost too easy. "No, perhaps what you need is a wake up call. Is this really what my rival amounts to? A drunk loner at the bar? Pathetic." He reiterated the word, hoping to drive something home. A refill of his glass went unnoticed, as did his own downing of it in one swoop. Or maybe he just didn't care. The swirl in his head was feeling better by the second.
"Are you any better?" He hissed before taking another shot. "Brooding about your losses like you do every time you lose- and you always do. At least I still always win." Another shot, matching Kaiba. The lead had been stolen.
This had Kaiba bristling in his chair, standing and making damn sure his spine was straight and he wasn't swaying as he approached Atem. A heavy hand fell to the skater's shoulder. "How dare you." He growled into Atem's ear, pulling him onto his feet.
"How dare I what? It's just the truth." He stumbled a little, only staying on his feet due to Kaiba's grip on his shoulder. "Any newspaper headline in the past ten years will say the same!" He fought back, pushing Kaiba away with as much strength as he could muster.
Kaiba fell back, but pulled Atem with him, staying on his feet despite having to take a few steps back. Both hands braced Atem's upper arms as the two glared at each other. All too easily and quickly he switched positions, throwing Atem up against the wall, and hard. "I won the gold tonight if you forgot." His stare was intense, though glazed, as he moved mere inches away from Atem's face.
"So did I. In the end you're only still matching what I'm capable of after ten years, not beating it." His eyes narrowed, hands clutching Kaiba's shirt in tight fists.
"You're going to get a wakeup call very soon if you keep that haughty arrogance." Seto warned, leaning in further, pushing his weight into Atem, maybe hoping to crush the little bug.
All too quickly he felt like he couldn't breathe. Kaiba was dominating him and he didn't like it. He'd been too drunk to realize the position he'd dropped himself into. If Kaiba really intended to hurt him here, the man might get away with it. His eyes widened, a moment of clarity breaking through his drunk mind, and he pushed Kaiba back.
Seto's hands were quick to pin Atem's above his head, fingers digging into those small wrists. "What are you so scared of all of a sudden?" Kaiba husked, not relenting.
"I'm not scared!" Came the protest as the drink filtered back in to fog his judgment.
Kaiba smirked, leaning down closer, his nose brushing against Atem's. He watched those crimson eyes for the signs of real emotion behind them. "That's good. I don't want a pathetic rival. I want a strong one." His own words had suddenly become slightly slurred, the few glasses of whiskey he'd just drank finally hitting him.
"I'm not pathetic." Atem gasped, feeling Seto's hands slide down his arms.
"Good." Kaiba growled in such a primal, animalistic way. That gasp from the smaller beneath him shook his core. It made him want. It made him need. Something he'd never felt before.
The bartender finally choosing to yell at them and telling them to get out broke the mood, but not for long. Soon Kaiba had that form pushed up against the elevator wall, their lips meeting in a bruising kiss. When their floor came, they only parted for a brief moment to find the right door, Atem having to be led since this was obviously not his room. Once the door was opened and shut, Atem was shoved against it again, a moan filling the otherwise silence of the room as Kaiba's hands found him.
Eventually they moved to the bed, clothes being shed, fingers wandering and drunken gazes lowering. This was a monumental first, and probably a big mistake. But neither of them could bring themselves to care. It felt so good. Atem's hips lifted, Kaiba's hips pushed forward. Eventually they dissolved into a frenzied movement together, Kaiba covering Atem's skin in bruises. Some part of his rational mind, knowing this was a terrible mistake he was making, still wanted to make sure when Atem realized it too, he'd remember. But Atem had the right idea, too. When he could reach Kaiba's shoulders and neck on thrusts upwards, his teeth were quick to sink into that pale skin.
It could have been hours or just a few minutes. Time ceased to exist. But once it was over the both of them were panting, resting in each other's arms, feeling sickly dizzy. Cerulean and crimson eyes closed at about the same time as breathing slowed. They passed out together, not aware of the consequences this would cause, not really caring. For just one moment, nothing else mattered.