And yet another rainy/cold week gone by... it's so amusing to hear everyone else complain about it :) I like it - in summer, it'll be warm (or rather: hot) long enough, I presume. Anyways, I imagined sunny, African weather so I could continue with this. Thank you very much, reviewers! Your feedback means everything to me!
Now onward to chapter three: they're there! Enjoy!
It was shortly after eleven pm local time when they arrived – of course, to them, it felt like it were five in the morning.
"Wow, this sure is a temperature change!"
Looking happy about it, Bakura took off his light jacket and tied it around his waist. As usual, he and his friend weren't all that tired, despite the time and the journey. "What do you think, Marik?"
"Very mild, indeed," the Egyptian replied contently, "And this is only nighttime we're talking about…"
"What; mild?! Hot is more like it!" Seto argued as he stretched thoroughly.
"You just had to wear black, didn't you?" Katsuya laughed.
"I'm definitely not wearing anything in addition to my boxers tonight," the tall brunet muttered as they proceeded to the passport control, pointedly ignoring some interjected recommendations from several others that he didn't even need to wear anything at all.
On the way to the control point, Noa tagged along with Bakura and Marik. He guessed that what they had done on the plane could be considered a taste of what they were like when they were "in action", and he was curious to see more of that in order to determine whether Seto's judgment of them being the "Psycho Duo" was justified or not. Of course, the two yamis were rather pleased with the interest that was being taken in their personalities.
"Of course your brother would call us that – we're not offended, though, surely not – but what else could be expected of him? He's a bore," Marik told him.
"A bore? That doesn't appear like an adequate expression to describe Seto," Noa frowned.
"It isn't? I think so – I take one look at his life and know that aside from the riches, I'd be the unhappiest being on the planet. Just look at how much he works…"
"Things would be different if more people were like us… different as in: better," Bakura explained, "You could make noise until the early hours of the morning, for example!"
"Yeah. And there would be no more alarms if you're carrying a Sennen item," Marik pointed out.
"No surprise there…" Noa laughed as they approached the passport control. As the other two readied their passports, he noticed their pictures. "Ooh, looks like a prison photo," he remarked. (1)
"Did you think I'd put on the same goofy smile everyone else has on theirs? Think again," Bakura snorted before grinning at his unsmiling, grim-looking photographed self.
"Seto isn't smiling on his either."
"Every time we see that guy smile, we wonder if he's malfunctioning." Marik's face fell until it perfectly resembled the one on his photograph as he gave his ID to the officer, but the moment he got the passport back, the evil grin returned – the same went for Bakura.
Noa decided to let that comment go unanswered. Instead, he said: "I wish my photo would look like that."
"Then why did you smile in the first place?"
"Seto bribed me."
"With what? Oh wait, dumb question: money, of course –"
"Nope. The game arcade."
Marik raised an eyebrow. "Huh? But the squirt told us that you guys have just about every one of those gaming thingies known to man!"
"Mokuba has grown, in case you haven't noticed. And besides: I was flat-out grounded from gaming when this was taken," the teal-haired Kaiba brother answered, closing his passport with a sigh.
"With good reason," Seto interrupted and put out his hand, "I'll take that again, if you don't mind."
"Go ahead… Seto, can't I get a picture like Bakura and Marik?" Noa asked as he handed back the passport.
The cerulean eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why? What do theirs look like? No, wait, I don't want to know –"
"Like this." Bakura pushed his passport under the CEO's nose.
"Where was this taken, in jail? A pretty good guess, if I say so myself – all you're missing is the slate with the numbers…"
"Very funny, Priest. No, this was taken where all other people get their photos taken as well."
"So it really does look like a prison photo. …Cool!" Marik grinned in the meantime, looking at his picture again.
"Do you believe me now?" Seto asked.
Noa cheerfully shook his head. "No. In fact, I think they're kinda cool!"
"The kid's got taste," Bakura complimented as he gave Marik a high-five.
"Katsuya, brace yourself to get told that we might have to bail Noa out of juvenile hall someday," Seto said exasperatedly when he rejoined his partner on their way to the baggage carousel.
"Why? Because he's hanging out with Bakura and Marik?"
"Why else?"
"Hey, what's the worst that could happen?"
"Take that back right now."
"Oh, loosen up a bit! How are you gonna enjoy yourself if you keep worrying so much about what they might do? They've got their hikaris to look out for them."
Seto sighed when the blond linked pinkies with him. "Why is it that that doesn't reassure me…?"
"Never seen this before, Pharaoh?" Marik asked while they waited for their luggage.
"Of course I have!"
"Well, you look as if you haven't!"
"I bet he's wondering what goes on behind the scenes," Bakura guessed, pointing to where the suitcases and bags appeared and disappeared.
"Who doesn't?" Yami retorted defensively.
"If you're so curious, why don't you go sit on it and see for yourself?"
"That's not allowed," Mai told them.
Two exasperated sighs. "And there goes our lovely plan for leaving the Pharaoh behind…"
"When will you quit plotting against me all the time?!"
"When Kaiba wears a pink tutu and dances ballet," the other two yamis answered promptly.
Yami cast an only dimly hopeful look at Seto and wondered exactly how much he would be gambling with his life if he actually asked the brunet to do him that favor. Maybe if he promised him a duel in return… Yugi's darker half made a mental note to keep the question in mind until in about a week's time, if possible.
After all of them had finally retrieved their luggage, they set off to find their transportation to the hotel. In front of the airport, they spotted a man holding up a sign with Seto's name and the one of the travel agency on it. He was standing next to a rather small-looking van.
"You've got to be kidding me! Even Yugi is taller than that thing!" Seto exclaimed.
"Hey!" the short teen huffed, making a pause from sleepily rubbing his eyes.
"That's not funny, Kaiba!" Yami said angrily.
"Don't pardon me…"
"Jambo!" the black man greeted them with a wide smile that showed off his very white teeth.
"Wow, I wonder what toothpaste they use…" Mai sighed.
"What did he say?" Mokuba wondered.
"That means hello!" Anzu explained, having consulted her little book, and held out her hand to him. "Jambo!"
The man looked absolutely delighted to hear them using his native language (even if it only was a mere greeting), and if possible, his smile broadened even more as he shook her hand. In slightly broken English, he then told them that he would take them to the hotel and motioned to them to get into the van.
"This is what I call service!" Bakura grinned when he gladly let the driver stow away his suitcase.
"It says in here that they're very friendly people, so that could be expected," Anzu told him, waving her little book in front of his face.
"I vote for Mazaki to be our translator and personal guide otherwise," the albino promptly said.
With agreeing mutters, the gang got into the van. Being the tallest of them, Seto's head nearly touched the ceiling already then. It proved to be a major disadvantage quite soon after the van got onto the streets: although they did look like they were asphalted, they were quite bumpy. It wasn't long before one of those bumps caused Seto's head to make contact with the top of the van.
"Ow! God dammit!" he hissed.
"Nii-sama!" Mokuba playfully scolded, turning around and shaking his head at the elder.
"That from the guy who told me off for saying 'shit, screw it'," Noa agreed, though he looked amused.
"I'm just encouraging you not to use such language, or at least not so often! I never claimed to be a role model, either!" Seto replied grumpily, discreetly rubbing his head a bit.
"Jou, you're supposed to be comforting Seto!" Mokuba said to the blond, who was leaning against the window and about to nod off. Before the other could give an answer, Seto spoke up:
"Mokuba, do I look like I need that, like I'm crying or something? No, so –"
"Maybe not, but you are in pain!"
The CEO waved his hand dismissively and grimaced as yet another bump sent him straight up to the evilly low van top. He wondered about two things: first, how was he supposed to relax like this? Hopefully they wouldn't have to sit in a vehicle like this anytime soon again… And secondly, he figured that if this would go on like this all the way to the hotel and he didn't do something about it soon, he might be demented by the time they got there – which in turn would lead to the question whether he had somehow insured himself in case that happened…
Because it was so late, the ride was rather quiet, save for some snippets that could be heard from Anzu and Mai's conversation with the driver. Most of the others tried to at least nap despite the bumpy ride – as a safety measure, Seto made himself a bit small in his seat before leaning over and relying on Katsuya for support plus a live, substitute cushion. Otherwise, only Bakura and Marik were practically strengthening the effect of the bumps, enjoying the ride very much… (2)
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
It was roughly midnight when they arrived at the hotel, the "Two Fishes". Once there, they shook off their tiredness long enough that they could fill out the check-in forms, but they were too tired to truly get around to admiring the hotel lobby, where traditional wooden animal sculptures stood around. While the receptionist was getting their keys, Mokuba saw something that made him become wide awake again for a moment:
"Ooh, look, a cat!"
"Where?" Noa asked, briefly snapping out of his drowsiness too.
"On the chair!" The raven-haired teen rushed over to said chair, where a little black cat was sleeping. It blinked sleepily when Mokuba softly began to pet it.
"Aw, it's so cute…" Noa marveled, lightly scratching it beneath its chin. It began to purr.
"Noa, Mokuba, let's get going; Seto got the keys. The cat will probably be here tomorrow too. Hi there, little fella, by the way," Katsuya said, waving a bit at the cat, which just blinked at him.
"But…" Mokuba began. When a yawn cut him off, however, he nodded. "Okay." He petted the cat one last time, then he and Noa went back to the others as they set off to find their rooms.
"Aren't these keys charming? They even have wooden animals on them!" Anzu squealed, marveling at it.
"How much would you like it if they were alive, I wonder…?" Bakura muttered darkly. He had just remembered how it had actually been the brunette's fault that his scheme of psycho-terrorizing a little boy had gone to the dogs. The Eye on his Ring had only started to gleam ever so faintly when Ryou slapped the back of his hand.
"No Shadow Magic, Bakura! We've been through this before!"
"Hey, I want revenge!"
"Because of a little boy you'll probably never see again? Isn't there something that's worth more than that? Please, Kura…"
"Mustn't get soft, mustn't get soft…" Bakura muttered in vain, but as if by a will of its own, his arm laid itself around his hikari's waist, signaling that he was complying with the request – for this time.
Since it was dark and they were tired, the few attempts to get some first impressions of their surroundings were rather half-hearted. Basically, all they noticed were a lot of exotic plants and round, two-story hut-like buildings with white walls (the receptionist had called them "bungalows"). More details would be seen the next day… Eventually, they found out that they were never more than one bungalow apart from each other, so they remained relatively complete until they split up for good.
Of course, the whole Kaiba family stayed in the same place.
"See you tomorrow, guys. Sleep well," Katsuya said as he hugged Mokuba and Noa.
"You too, Jou. Thanks that we could come along."
"Remember that Seto booked this trip, though."
"But it was your idea, puppy," the brunet retorted, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Thanks to both of you, then, if that's what you want to hear," Noa suggested for a compromise, then the two younger teens hugged Seto as well before heading to their room.
Finally, they could check out the room. He had barely stepped inside when Katsuya stopped short and stared.
"Holy… this is a four-star-hotel?!"
In private, Seto admitted that he was surprised too. The bed was larger than he had expected it to be, and as if in a welcoming gesture, the sheets were strewn with little chocolate hearts. The room was simple, but very nice indeed – it even had air conditioning, he could feel that. (3)
'Well, living here for two weeks might be easier than I thought it would be – concerning the nights so far, at least…' he thought.
"Yay, chocolate! These people rock!" Katsuya cheered, and the way he went straight for the little hearts reminded Seto of a vulture that jumped at a deceased animal when the coast was clear. "Want one?" the blond asked, already having stuffed one into his mouth.
"No, thanks," Seto friendly refused, "I actually want to get some sleep now."
"So do I. Couldn't let this sweet stuff get away just like that, though." Katsuya gathered up the other hearts and dumped them onto his bedside table, then stripped himself of his shirt and jeans before gracelessly letting himself fall onto the sheets, where he stretched so thoroughly as if he were making some wild attempt to make himself taller just like that. "I don't care what anyone says: I'm gonna be lazy now and unpack tomorrow. The bags aren't gonna run away, I suppose…"
"You're right. We're in no hurry," Seto agreed as he lay down beside him.
For a moment, they were silent, then Katsuya grinned: "I know we haven't seen diddly-squat yet, but I wanna ask anyway: what's your first impression? Wish you'd still be in Japan, sitting in that office and slaving away?"
As an initial response, Seto took off his shirt and pants too. "Well, first I'll need to get used to this temperature, and tomorrow we'll have to go see exactly how it is here. Therefore, I can't really answer that question yet, save for one thing."
"And that is…?"
Seto hugged him and kissed his temple. "You're here, puppy, and that's all the reason I need to like it."
"You didn't even want to go at first," Katsuya mumbled, snuggling up closer and nuzzling Seto's neck.
"I changed my mind because of you."
"I love you so much, Seto…"
"And I love you too, Katsuya," the CEO whispered in return.
What was left to be done was a kiss, and that was exactly what happened before they fell asleep for the first time that vacation.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
For a very short moment, Seto wondered where he was when he woke up the next morning. It was very warm, and these weren't his satin sheets… Then he remembered. He was in Africa. On vacation, even. Noticing that the spot beside him was empty, he sat up rather quickly.
"Katsuya?"
It was then that he noticed the door was open. From outside, someone said happily:
"Hey, he's finally awake! Catch ya guys later, okay?"
"Right! See you in a bit, Jou!"
The voices of Mokuba and Noa drifted away as the two boys presumably ran off. A split second later, Katsuya bounded through the door, already properly dressed for beach vacation in swimming trunks and an airy shirt. A pair of sunglasses was perched on his head.
"Mornin', Seto! C'mon, I wanna go check this place out!"
"And…?"
The blond faltered. "What d'you mean, 'and'?"
"I know you well enough to claim that there is another reason for your impatience to go look around," Seto explained.
Catching on, Katsuya fidgeted a bit before adding: "…And I'm hungry."
Seto smirked. "I knew it. Just give me a few moments, and I'll be right with you."
"'Kay! I'll wait outside!" In a flash, the other was gone again, leaving Seto to decide on his own "vacation outfit".
A short while later, Seto left the room to find Katsuya waiting for him downstairs – but not alone. He was conversing with Yami and Yugi.
"Good morning, Kaiba!" Yugi said cheerfully.
"Someone must have had a good sleep –"
"Is that what you're gonna wear all day?" Katsuya interrupted, looking the brunet over skeptically.
"What's your point? Just because I'm not running around looking like you?"
"You look like you usually do on weekends, that's all…" 'Well, if he'll complain because it's too hot, I'll tell him that it's entirely his fault,' Katsuya decided. It was beyond his comprehension why Seto had chosen to wear long, dark grey linen pants and a cobalt blue T-shirt. Specifically the long pants almost bothered him.
"I do hope you have no plans for today, Yami," Seto said semi-cryptically as they walked off, deciding that sooner or later, they would find the dining place.
"I won't duel you, Kaiba," the Pharaoh answered firmly, seeing right through that comment.
"Why not? We don't need to save the world, we wouldn't even need to do anything responsible, in fact (of course, I will still work a bit in-between), so why the hell not?!"
"Because I don't want to. There's more to do than just duel. And it's bugging me that you keep pestering me…"
"And it bugs me that you keep avoiding me like that! What does a guy have to do to get a duel around here?" Seto burst out exasperatedly.
Katsuya and Yugi just sighed, shaking their heads at their better halves; although neither of the two was willing to admit it, their duel-bickering was part of the "kindergarten" that Seto frequently mentioned when he was around the gang.
Meanwhile, Yami had fallen into thoughtful silence, pondering his answer. Of course, he had something in mind – but hell was more likely to freeze over before Seto would comply with that request. Although… maybe he just needed to take a chance for once.
"You could dance ballet in a pink tutu," he suggested, trying to sound casual and as if he had just come up with that.
As one could probably guess, though, this made Seto raise a skeptic eyebrow. "What in the blazes makes you think I'd do that?" In the background, Yugi and Katsuya gaped open-mouthed, completely not having expected that. "Oh wait, I get it: it's some weird joke of yours. Perhaps your sense of humor is more twisted than I thought…"
'Oh darn, there goes my chance to get peace from Bakura and Marik!' Yami thought with a twinge of ruefulness, 'But if I'm completely honest, I must admit that I held close to no hopes that Kaiba would comply.'
Yugi's eyes became even wider when he realized (thanks to their special connection) that Yami had actually been serious, albeit not hopeful.
"That would be something worth making a movie out of," Katsuya said faintly, still goggling at Yami.
"It would go all the way to Broadway!" Yugi agreed in awe.
"Enough of the ballet already!" Joke or not, Seto didn't necessarily like the idea of people discussing that issue out in the open like that. Fortunately, he spotted a perfect opportunity to change the subject: "Look, pup, isn't that a breakfast buffet over there?"
"Where?" Thoughts of tutus and dancing were instantly banished from the blond's mind and replaced with food instead. "Oh yeah, there it is! Banzai!" With that battle cry, he made a beeline for it.
The other three sighed in unison – some things were destined never to change, and the mad dashes Katsuya made for food when being deprived of it were a perfect example for that. And truly nothing in the world could stop him then. Acting up to that principal, nobody made any attempts whatsoever to call him back or perform a similarly pointless action, and they entered the place at a leisurely pace instead.
"Nii-sama! Over here!" Mokuba's voice called out to them, and they looked in its direction to find that everyone else (save Bakura and Marik) was sitting at a large table and enjoying breakfast. As they proceeded to join them, they marveled at the buffets, which were richly decorated with exotic flowers, palm branches and even some more animal sculptures. There were lots and lots of fruit, bread, cereal, meat and such, and there also were cooks who made you an omelet exactly the way you wanted it. Katsuya was right there, and he was practically drooling because it smelled so good. At the table, recommendations were dealt out right and left:
"You gotta try the orange juice!"
"The pineapple's good too!"
"And these papayas are sheer poetry!"
Yami and Yugi were doing their best to listen to everyone at once, but Seto only took so much before he put an end to it:
"If you made a list, it would be easier to keep track of," he said sarcastically.
"We would, hon, but there's neither paper nor a pen around here," Mai retorted, playing right along.
"Speaking of keeping track of things… Kaiba, perhaps you should see to Jou," Malik remarked.
"Why?" Seto asked with a frown and turned around. Almost instantly, he balled his hands to fists, and no one would have been surprised if a small thunderstorm had appeared over his head…
At the buffet, Katsuya was still waiting for his omelet (he wanted so many things in it that it was bound to need much longer preparation time than an ordinary omelet). Beside him, with a glass of papaya juice in one hand, stood a blonde that perfectly matched the term "beach babe". Even a blind man could have "seen" that she was very interested in the young man who could barely take his eyes off the food – regardless of that, she kept batting her eyelashes flirtatiously at him.
The situation wasn't entirely new to Seto, yet he still hated it with an immense passion. Sometimes he wondered whether certain women either hadn't read that Katsuya wasn't a bachelor anymore or if they simply hoped to bewitch him enough with their looks and attitude until he went astray. There was one important feature about the blond that didn't accord with that plan, however: he was very faithful. Anzu had once said that that was a very distinctive feature of an Aquarius, but Seto didn't believe in astrology; he tended to associate that with the impression that his partner was more puppyish than the other was willing to admit. In any case, Katsuya hadn't shown any signs of impending betrayal ever since he had gotten together with Seto, even more so after their marriage – Hiroto and Ryuji occasionally claimed that that was a lie and that he merely wasn't showing it, but that couldn't explain why the brother of their adored Shizuka sooner or later always kindly pointed out that he was happily taken and therefore wouldn't let himself get involved with more than a friendly conversation. That was the point when some ladies would back off (thus escaping Seto's fury) while others would carry on relentlessly, as if they thought that Seto Kaiba couldn't possibly be that possessive of his family and (few) loved ones. But oh, how wrong they were…
"Say, handsome, how do you feel about going swimming afterwards? Just you and me. Perhaps in a nice little cove where hardly anyone comes by, I know there's one not too far away…"
By then at the latest, Katsuya realized what she really was aiming at, and he shook his head, making use of the English he had learned to answer her. "No, thanks. I'm already taken and don't want to put that at risk."
"Really? Who is the lady who won your heart, hmm?" she purred, moving a bit closer.
"Not –"
"Not a lady, last I checked," a cold voice answered.
The woman turned her attention away from Katsuya's face and noticed the tall man standing at his shoulder. The look she was given told her to stop right there if she knew what was good for her.
"Wait a moment…" she said thoughtfully, studying his face, "Aren't you…?" She paused, and with a look that could almost be described as a frown, she tried to think of the name that was at the tip of her tongue.
"Sorry that the omelet's taking so long; I think I wanted too many things in it…" Katsuya muttered in Japanese while the woman racked her brains.
"It's okay, pup; apparently, that is not the problem," Seto replied, glaring daggers at she who dared to make moves on his puppy.
"Oh, I give up, it must have slipped my mind!" the female finally exclaimed, "A bit of help, perhaps?"
Seto didn't answer, but Katsuya did: "He's Seto Kaiba."
Her blue eyes bulged. "What?! The Seto Kaiba?! Then… then you must be…" she stammered, looking back at the other man, "…Katsuya Jounouchi!"
"Katsuya Kaiba now, but yeah, that's me," he grinned.
Her next reply would determine how the situation would continue to develop – and she happened to make a bad decision: "That would be one hot threesome!"
To say that the look on Seto's face was livid upon hearing that would have been a dreadful understatement. No word known to man could have provided a near-accurate description of it. In a voice that was practically drenched with venom, he hissed:
"I advise you to never again mention something like that in my presence! Now, perhaps you would want to move to a different location in this hotel…" Preferably to the other end of it was what he meant, of course.
Anyone who had common sense knew that it was highly unwise to trifle with Seto Kaiba; luckily for the blonde, she did have that common sense and therefore understood the implied warning. Slowly, she backed off, but even as she walked away, she kept looking back as if wanting to make sure that it wasn't some kind of fantasy.
"Ooh, Kaiba must be giving her the evil eye," Malik whistled.
"It's so like his zodiac sign!" Anzu made a gesture to the heavens. "As a Scorpio, he is obsessive and jealous, after all…" (4)
The others thought about this for a moment before nodding in agreement: whenever they got together, Seto made it clear in sometimes more and sometimes less subtle ways how fond he was of his puppy. The same went for Mokuba and Noa too, and Bakura had once remarked that the CEO would probably still keep up that attitude even if he were paralyzed from the neck down or something.
A few minutes later, Seto and Katsuya returned, the latter carrying a plate with a mountain of an omelet on it.
"Are you gonna eat all of that?!" Yugi wondered. He knew that his friend had an incredible appetite, but this…
"Sure, Yugi! Piece of cake!" Katsuya grinned before digging in. When his mouth was full, he paused and added: "Or piece of omelet, in this case."
His friend sweatdropped with a grin.
"Is there any coffee around here?" Seto asked hopefully.
Just then, a waiter was walking by, and he offered to bring him a cup.
"Lord, please let it be good…" Seto muttered when he received the beverage shortly thereafter. Carefully, he took a sip.
"How is it, Nii-sama?" Mokuba asked. Recently, he had started to drink coffee too, but by far not as much as his brother, and he preferred it with some milk and sugar instead of plain black.
A small smile came up on Seto's face. "Breakfast is saved," he answered.
"Wait a moment; is that all you're having?" Mai asked incredulously.
"Yes. I don't assume that it's a problem, is it?"
"But what about a fruit or something?"
"I'm fine."
Mai sighed, and Anzu told her: "Let it be; he can't be convinced otherwise. Jou has tried to do the same thing plenty of times, but to no avail, as you see…"
After breakfast, they split up: Mai and Anzu made a beeline for the beach while Ryou and Malik went to go look for their yamis, who apparently hadn't caused any trouble yet, judging by the still relaxed atmosphere. Noa and Mokuba ran off on their own, saying something about the pool, though the teal-haired Kaiba brother hinted that he might not go swimming to its full extent because of his lenses. Yugi, Yami, Seto and Katsuya, however, decided to go look around a bit before deciding where they would settle to spend the day. For the sake of peacefulness, they went different ways, though…
The path Seto and Katsuya chose led them to the pool after a while. On the way there, they were quite taken with the drastic change in their environment. According to the blond, Anzu would ecstatically be taking countless pictures of the hibiscus flowers – aside from her interest in astrology, the girl also had a flower fetish, just like Mai did too. As they passed another woman who couldn't quite conceal her admiration for one, the other or even both of them, Seto lightly took Katsuya's hand in his own. The way things were looking, they would either have to make it quite clear from the start that they really belonged to each other, or he would have to be on a sharp lookout for lascivious females (or males, even).
"Hey Seto, look!" Katsuya suddenly exclaimed excitedly, pointing.
A peacock had just come out of the bushes and now lingered for a moment in the middle of the path. Even though its tail feathers weren't describing the infamous peacock's fan, it sill looked very beautiful. And just like it was claimed to be, it had a rather cocky look about it as it slowly turned its head – it almost seemed as if it were making sure that everything was okay and that it was still the superior one in its surroundings.
"I hope it will do the trick with its tail feathers!"
"Don't push it, Katsuya…"
To the shorter one's disappointment, however, the peacock simply stalked off without even moving said feathers even a bit. Seto laughed quietly at the way the other's face fell.
"We'll be here for two weeks, puppy, I'm sure that it will grace us with that sight sometime."
"Yeah, I hope you're right… until then, I'll keep my eyes peeled for the PP."
"PP?" Seto asked as they continued on their way.
"Peacock patrol, of course."
Seto chuckled amusedly and tightened his grip a bit on the hand he was holding.
It wasn't long before they met another animal: the pool had only just come into view when a brown-white cat made its appearance. Apparently, it was quite used to guests, for it purred as it rubbed up against Katsuya's legs.
"Hey there, little guy! How are ya?" he asked, kneeling down as he carefully petted it. The purring became even louder as the cat nuzzled his hand. It even let the human pick it up. "Aw… look, Seto, isn't it just cute?"
"Yes, it is…"
"Wanna hold it too?"
The brunet shook his head. "Save it. I'm more of a puppy person anyway."
"If you say so… but feel it, the fur's so soft!"
"As is a certain puppy's 'fur' too, if you ask me," Seto said quietly and shortly tousled the blond hair.
Katsuya laughed, and something about that moment made Seto want nothing more than to kiss him senselessly, without any restraints whatsoever – and maybe even go back to the room while they were at it… These thoughts made him realize that it would be a miracle if he could wait for the night to come.
"Nii-sama! Jou! Hey!" a voice called, and they looked to see Mokuba standing in the water. Noa was standing at the edge of the pool as if he wasn't sure if he should go in as well. When he saw what was in Katsuya's arms, though, the water was probably the last thing on his mind just then.
"Look, another cat! May I hold it? Can I, please?" he cried out, hurrying to them.
"Sure! They must be pretty used to people…"
The cat was handed over, and it was all Noa could do to not squeeze it tightly because he was so delighted.
"I wanna hold it too!" Mokuba chimed in after getting out of the pool.
"No way! You're wet, and it's a common fact that nearly all cats hate water!" Noa protested, backing off a few steps.
"It barely reached over my waist!"
"But your arms are wet!"
"That can be helped!" Mokuba ran off to where he had deposited his towel. He certainly wouldn't give up that easily.
"It's just a cat!" Seto sighed, "Why get into an argument about it?"
"We can't help it! We don't have any pets, so what else do you expect us to do?" Noa answered. "And don't you dare make the excuse that we already have a puppy, if you know what I mean…"
Katsuya started laughing again as he petted the now very happy cat in Noa's arms – that was meant in a joking way and not to put him down, after all. Seto half-frowned as he watched them; he certainly had caught onto what was implied in that answer. Mokuba had always wanted a pet, but aside from a hamster that hadn't lasted for long, Seto had always managed to talk it out of him or had forestalled that purchase by other means. After Noa had joined the family, however, Mokuba had regained new motivation to revive that issue – and especially after Seto and Katsuya had gotten together and the blond had acquired his pet name "puppy", the two younger teens had dropped quite a few hints that they "wanted a pet too".
"There, I'm dry now! C'mon, Noa, let me hold it too!" Mokuba pleaded, dropping his towel after returning.
The other Kaiba brother still looked a bit unwilling to comply, yet he carefully passed the animal to Mokuba. While Seto absent-mindedly watched them, still pondering about the attempted project "purchasing a pet", Katsuya already spotted something else that caught his interest.
"Awesome, a bar in the pool; in the water, even! And there's a pool table too! This place is the bomb!"
At the words "pool table", Seto allowed himself to focus again, and now he too saw said table. It was on the other side of the pool, and where it was situated in a partially closed bungalow, it looked like a really pleasant place to hang out in the evening; a game could be played without oneself being forced to be totally exposed to the slightly breezy weather of the evening (they had faintly noticed that upon their arrival the other night). Seto guessed that if that pool table had been located in the seclusion of the mansion back in Japan, he might have considered using it for different purposes other than simply playing a game – and his adventurous mate surely would be willing to give it a try as well… but maybe they would even get around to trying it out here if an opportunity would come along… These fantasies were really getting to him, and now he was fairly sure that the night was too far away, he would never be able to wait that long.
"Seto's getting that look again," Noa muttered to Mokuba as they petted the cat.
"Jou will be in for it sooner or later," the raven-haired teen giggled.
Maybe so, but currently, Katsuya's excitement made it impossible for him to stay long enough in one spot for the CEO's liking. "Right, this is nice and all, but I gotta go to the beach now! Are you coming too, Seto?"
Knowing that the phrase "go to the beach" actually meant "go into the water" in this case, Seto shook his head and made a shooing gesture with his hand.
"You go on ahead, Katsuya. I'll… um… hang out with Mokuba and Noa a bit."
"Sure! You guys take it a bit easy with the swimming, okay?"
"Speak for yourself!" Noa reminded him.
"Yeah; you had more to eat than the three of us put together!" Mokuba added.
"Don't worry, I won't drown…"
"Remind me to teach him not to say things like that," Seto sighed as the other ambled off towards the beach.
"He's just joking, Seto."
"I know, but still…"
"Nii-sama, you're supposed to relax! And Anzu and the others are there too! It's such a shame you didn't dress properly to swim," Mokuba remarked as he gave the cat back to Noa since he aimed to get back into the pool again.
"Would somebody be so kind to give me an explanation why you all act as if we'll only be here for three days or likewise short?! There are two weeks left!"
"He's right, Mokie. But hey, at least he isn't just pulling the old stunt of sitting at the laptop and working," Noa pointed out.
"Kid, I'm very tempted to give your hairdo a major makeover for that comment," Seto said in a playfully threatening tone of voice.
"Sorry, kitty, but I gotta split… hope I'll see you again sometime, though!" Noa hastily said to the cat before setting it down again. He dodged when the tallest Kaiba brother lunged at him and saved himself from another attack by jumping into the water. When he resurfaced in safety, he took his time to wipe at his eyes a bit and slowly open them, just to make sure that the water hadn't somehow stolen his lenses.
"Cowards," Seto smirked as he stood there at the edge of the pool with his arms crossed.
"Brother, shall we show him how cowardly we supposedly are?" Mokuba grinned deviously.
"Yeah; after all, we can't get grounded or anything…"
"You wouldn't –" Seto began, seeing the look on their faces, but unfortunately missing the opportunity to step back.
They would – and they did. Mokuba and Noa used their hands to create two big splashes of water, both of which were aimed at Seto. And they hit their target squarely. In a second, the brunet was drenched with pool water from the waist down (he really could consider himself lucky to stand so tall).
"Bull's eye!" Mokuba and Noa cheered and gave each other a high-five.
"You little devils…!" Seto didn't sound upset, yet he spoke somewhat too unnervingly calm for the other two.
"Sorry, Nii-sama, but you called us cowards, so you started it… Truce?" Mokuba proposed, offering a wet hand.
"You don't honestly expect me to believe that I can trust this after getting a free shower, do you?" Seto asked skeptically.
"You're offering truce to a guy who called us 'little', in case you have already forgotten," Noa huffed.
"…Oh yeah!" A wily expression made its appearance. "Seto, if you don't run now and don't want us to bombard you with water again, you had better think of something you could do to make up for calling us 'little'," Mokuba declared.
"If you have any suggestions that don't involve me getting into this pool as well, I'll gladly listen," Seto retorted.
The others thought for a moment, then Mokuba pointed at his (waterproof) digital watch. "You could throw this to the deep end, and we'll see who can retrieve it first!"
"That would look like playing fetch. Mokuba, you don't think that you're a dog, do you?"
"It's just a game! And no, I could be a seal or a dolphin or whatever! What matters is that it's fun!"
"Noa, I don't believe this game would go well with the fact that you're wearing lenses."
"True… Mokie, couldn't we just play a game of pool or something?"
"Sure, why not? Seto, is that okay?"
"Us two against you!" Noa added.
"You don't stand the ghost of a chance," Seto said confidently.
"We'll see about that!" his brothers answered and hurriedly got out of the pool, eager to prove themselves…
Feedback is very, very welcome, as usual!
I'll do my best to get back to this as often as I can, but we're about to have exemplary tests at school, and the stuff I have to learn is towering up sky-high right now. Just a little warning so you won't think that I've died or something ;)
(1) I confess: I took that phrase from "Angels in the Outfield" (disclaim) - it just seemed to be so fitting for that moment...
(2) Believe me: such rides are adventurous. And sometimes I think that our streets are bumpy -.-;;
(3) It's true; I remember that it felt like a five-star-hotel to me (I think - I've never been to a five-star one before, but certainly in worse four-star ones). Then again, those evaluations are rather relative, like everything is as well, according to Einstein...
(4) As usual for such things: assuming that my research wasn't faulty, of course.
If there is anything you wish "to see" (except very graphic stuff (wink)), feel free to tell me! I'd appreciate additional suggestions I can add to my own ideas so I can really show that I care about you readers! :)
P.S: Um, I know this first day will be quite detailed, so please don't get startled when I suddenly might do a slight leap in time (not next chapter, though)...