Chapter 6
It was only when Kaiba stepped through the front door of his home that he finally reflected on what had just taken place in the car. Where had any of that come from? Everything he did was with purpose, intent and strategy backing it up, but tonight all of that had gone out of the window.
Sighing, he removed his coat, glancing around at the darkened hallway suddenly remembering how empty the house seemed without Mokuba there. Although, perhaps it was for the best on this strange night. He knew how discerning he could be and no doubt he would have questions on how the night went. Or even on how the night had come about. It wasn't something Kaiba felt like sharing.
Deciding to make a cup of coffee before returning to his home office for a few hours, the tall man made his way to the kitchen, finally flicking on the lights inside; he was content to let the hallways sit in darkness.
He sat at the counter, allowing the scent to settle his mind, attempting to reflect on what had happened with precision and calm.
Yugi had kissed him. His ex-rival had all but demanded to know if they were on a date, then kissed him. And he had then kissed him in return. Had he finally gone mad?
Groaning and running a hand through his hair, the CEO thought back. Were there signs in the past that this was coming? Granted, he didn't interact with Yugi as much as he had with the Pharaoh. So, who knows? And if he were being honest with himself, Kaiba had never really found himself interested in anyone, but if he had, he would have thought that person would have a character similar to Atem, not Yugi. Someone fierce, challenging and a lot like himself. Whether they were male or female wasn't an issue. He had never shown any true inclination to either, and yet here was. Some part of him had clearly decided that soft spoken, agreeable and unflinchingly kind Yugi Moto was worthy of at least a little part of him. Although, hadn't Yugi always been the only other that Kaiba considered worthy of anything, besides himself and Mokuba of course. Yugi meaning both the namesake and the Pharaoh.
"Ugh, what have I gotten myself into?" Kaiba said aloud, voice echoing in the empty room.
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Across town, Yugi was also reflecting on the night in question, his heart still hammering in his chest as he brought a mug of tea to his bedroom – avoiding his grandfather in the process. Closing the door and setting the hot beverage down, he let out a nervous breath, throwing his jacket onto his bed. He had wanted to be as confident as he could manage in the car, but now that he was alone the internal panic was bubbling to the surface. Shrugging out of his waistcoat he folded it over the back of his desk chair, gripping the chair's back hard.
He had kissed Kaiba. Twice. And Kaiba – the Seto Kaiba – had kissed him back, rather hard too.
Heat formed in his cheeks and Yugi allowed himself a small laugh at his fortune. He had known his own hopes for tonight, deep down, but didn't dare assume that Kaiba shared them. That's why he had been so clear in his last question to the other man. But Kaiba had confirmed it. Where did that leave them now?
Sitting down and sipping his jasmine tea, Yugi suddenly grew worried that the CEO would regret what had occurred. Kaiba didn't deal well with things he was uncomfortable with. Granted, neither did Yugi, but he knew that if he felt it necessary, Kaiba would cut him out of his life entirely if he wished to erase this evening.
The King of Games truly hoped that wouldn't be the case. Time would tell and more importantly, no matter how he himself felt about it, Yugi would let Kaiba pull back if that was what he felt to be right for him. The blue-eyed man had so much stress in his life already. Yugi would not add to it.
A heavy sigh left him at the possibility of that path.
He hadn't even really perceived his attraction to Kaiba before now. In fact, Yugi had only ever had one crush before. Naturally – obviously – this had been on Téa. But the years had softened it back into a firm friendship. His inclination toward Kaiba was completely different to that. It had formed from simply wishing to see the man more, spend time in his company – enjoy his company in a way they hadn't had a chance to in the past.
God, would Kaiba actually let him get to know him like that? As far as Yugi was aware, the man didn't really do relationships. For heaven's sake, trying to get him to admit to friendship was near impossible, never mind pushing for anything else.
Glancing up at the photos framing the wall in front of his desk, Yugi bit his lip and laughed softly, catching sight of a group picture from Battle City. Sitting centre frame was Atem himself, albeit when he was in control of Yugi's body, but the features were very clearly the Pharaoh's and it warmed Yugi to see this picture every day.
"Pharaoh, if you were here I have no doubt that you'd know exactly the right thing to say. Though, I don't know how you would have felt if I tried to pursue Kaiba while we still shared a body…"
Smiling at his own silliness, Yugi suddenly felt better. Looking at the surprisingly soft expression on his partner's face in the photo, Yugi was filled with reassurance. Everything would work out in the end. Even if this didn't pan out as he hoped, he'd find his way. He had Atem's confidence and surety buried in him somewhere. It would shine through when needed.
"He asked about you this evening," Yugi continued, speaking fondly, hoping that in some way his words would reach the intended recipient. "I think, in his own way, he's trying to get to know you. At least little pieces of you. I doubt he ever would have allowed himself to ask you face-to-face but talking to me doesn't seem to cost him any amount of pride. And likewise, I find you in Kaiba too. You're both stubborn, confident to the extreme and deeply reserved."
Resting his cheek on one palm, Yugi suddenly rolled his eyes.
"He criticised my preference for wearing a collar. Honestly, I hope he wasn't getting at something. I'd be mortified. And no, I didn't tell him that those accessories came more from your personal taste than my own. At least they did once upon a time, I find myself more drawn to them now too. Granted, you always had far more style than I could ever manage, and we looked very much the same. How you managed it… I would say that it was the bonus of being an Egyptian King, but I think it was just you. You had such a natural flair for, well, everything. My hair even looked better when you were in control!"
Yugi's smile gave way to a more sombre expression all of a sudden. Years did nothing to lessen the loss of Atem, but Yugi held their mutual memories so close that he refused to give over completely to sadness. Their time together was a happy one and he would hold true to that for the rest of his life, even if every now and again he couldn't hold back the melancholy.
A beep pulled Yugi from his thoughts and he jumped, turning to glance at the abandoned jacket on the bed, before retrieving the phone from within. Sitting back in place, he woke the screen, the flash indicating a message.
'Have you had much time to explore the puzzle game?'
Yugi blinked at Kaiba's words. Before breaking into a grin.
Glancing at them once more, he turned back to the photograph.
"For such a direct man, Kaiba sure knows how to use one subject to avoid another? He's always used games to suss out his opponent's state of mind – and this is no different!"
Yugi knew the CEO would not bring up any portion of what had happened tonight in conversation, so this was the man trying to figure out Yugi's intentions without allowing any embarrassment to fall upon himself.
'Not as much time as I would like, but I'm enjoying it so far.'
Yugi read over the message carefully before sending it.
Setting aside his phone, he stood up. He really did need to solve that puzzle of Kaiba's, because no matter the subtext of that message, the other was likely to ask about it regardless.
Once changed into comfortable clothes, Yugi stayed up well into the night working on the game. He hadn't lied, he really was enjoying this too.
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The next day, halfway around the world, Mokuba awoke with a grumble at the sound of his alarm. Why on earth was it set? It was Saturday! Punching the snooze button, he rolled over onto his back, stretching and yawning his way into the waking world. Damn it, he was immediately beyond going back to sleep. And it was only 7am.
"Typical," he muttered, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
Pulling his phone to him from under his pillow, he checked his messages.
"Huh, nothing from Seto. That's odd."
Chewing on his lip, Mokuba glanced at the clock again, deciding that it might be safe to call the elder Kaiba. It was 4pm in Japan? That should be a quiet enough time if his brother was working on a Saturday. And it was his brother, of course he'd be working.
Rolling his eyes fondly, Mokuba dialled and hit the call button.
It took far more rings than usual before his brother picked up.
"Mokuba," came the sturdy tone.
"Hey! How's it going?"
There was pause. "Isn't this a tad early for you on a Saturday, little brother?" The voice was mocking and Mokuba childishly stuck out his tongue, even if the one it was aimed at would never see the action.
"My alarm went off. Guess I forgot that it was the weekend when I set it last night."
"You're not working yourself too hard are you?" Kaiba's voice was deadly serious, but Mokuba snickered.
"That's a rather rich question coming from you, Seto! But no, I'm doing just fine. I'm studying enough, but not overdoing it. I'm fairly confident about the exams starting next week."
"I'm glad to hear it. I have full confidence in you."
This time, the younger brother beamed and thanked him, before switching the conversation away from himself.
"So, anything interesting happen since I left? Have you seen Yugi at all? His friends were leaving after me, right?"
The long pause was enough of a warning sign as Mokuba could have hoped for. It was unusual for his brother to falter at any question, let alone such a simple one.
"Seto?" he probed.
"Listen Mokuba, Roland has just stepped into the office. I'll have to let you go. I'll call you tomorrow."
Mokuba gaped as he heard a click, signalling that his brother had hung up on him. Pulling the phone away from his ear he frowned down at it. Something strange was definitely going on.
"You're not getting off that easily, Seto."
Grinning, Mokuba immediately searched for Yugi's number in his contacts.
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Yugi was busy carrying boxes up the stairs from the storage room onto the shop floor, dropping the last one with a heavy sigh of relief. Dusting off his hands, he moved to unpack one when his phone began to ring in his pocket. Luckily there were no customers in, so Yugi had no qualms about answering.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Yugi!"
"Mokuba, hi!"
Nerves suddenly shot up his spine. As much as Yugi was delighted to hear from Mokuba, receiving a call from Kaiba's younger brother less than a day after he had gone on a date with said brother immediately signalled trouble. Swallowing hard, Yugi attempted to keep his tone light when he asked how Mokuba felt to be back in the UK. But it was clear the other hadn't called to talk about himself, as the subject of his brother's odd response on the phone moments earlier came up almost immediately.
Yugi laughed lightly to disguise his panic. He wasn't a good liar and Mokuba was more perceptive than most.
Making ten million excuses in a single breath, Yugi apologised and declared he had to go, as there was a customer just after entering the shop.
However, the fact that Mokuba hadn't heard the bell over the door in the background coupled with how similar Yugi's reaction had been to his brother's told Mokuba that something really huge was going on.
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A week had passed and thankfully Mokuba's mind was preoccupied with exams, so Kaiba didn't have to keep coming up with excuses for his behaviour last weekend each time they spoke on the phone. It was lunchtime on Friday and Kaiba's schedule was rather hectic later in the afternoon, so he permitted himself to sit back in his office chair and take a breather.
Hunger was something he was not immune to unfortunately and he knew he would have to eat something soon. Sick of the four walls around him, he stood, intending to grab his coat and step out for half an hour. However, he stopped at the blinking light that now winked at him from his mobile phone on the desk. It had been set on silent for the last hour during his conference call with Industrial Illusions.
He grabbed it and opened the message immediately.
It was from Yugi. An inconsequential message – one of many that they had traded over the past few days. But unusually, he found he didn't mind the light conversation that interrupted his daily schedule.
'Joey called me last night with some news. I think you'll find it entertaining…'
Kaiba's brow raised.
His response was as to-the-point and acerbic as it always was where the blonde was concerned.
'I doubt anything Wheeler has to say would interest me. You should know better by now.'
Yugi clearly didn't shy from the biting tone, for his reply was equally swift.
'Oh, really? Well then perhaps you don't want to hear how one of your fangirls has basically been harassing him ever since she found out that Joey knows you?'
Kaiba couldn't help the uncontrolled smirk that formed on his lips as soon as he finished reading. Yugi's not-so-innocent tone made it all the more amusing. Kaiba was not known to be tolerant of inappropriate fans himself, but they were welcome to cause untold bother to Joey Wheeler.
'Who knew the insane fans would ever be of use to me?'
And suddenly his day had improved.
Kaiba was still smirking when he picked up his coat and entered the elevator. Peering down at his phone, it suddenly occurred to him that Yugi had shared this with him for no reason other than to entertain him. It was an odd thought. And entertainment that came at the slight expense of his friend even?
He found himself dialling Yugi's number.
"Care to divulge the full story to me in person, over lunch?"
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"She's been following him around in between classes, asking questions. Joey said he can barely eat his lunch in peace. She's an economics student."
Yugi's laughter was light and fresh. Kaiba hid most of his smirk behind his coffee cup.
They were back where they had met only weeks previous. Like that day, Fodges & Higgis was a state of calm, the café's visitors each content at their tables, reading or enjoying quiet conversation. The two duellists who sat in the window seat were no different.
Yugi took a bite of his carrot cake, the cream cheese frosting coating his fork.
"Although, I have to admit it is rather terrifying. The adoration those fans have for you Kaiba. She even asked what breakfast cereal you ate."
Kaiba was nonplussed, glad that Joey knew so little of him. Who knew what the blonde would tell the world if they asked?
"I had enough of that nonsense when Vivian Wong was half stalking me during the KC Grand Championship. Although, apparently I wasn't the only one?"
Yugi blushed immediately, raising his hands in surrender.
"She was intense alright. Don't get me wrong, I was flattered, but equally scared. At least you have a security team. Oh, I meant to tell you! I completed the puzzle game, both the physical and holographic puzzles."
Kaiba was taken aback. Even for the most skilled of gamers, that puzzle should have presented more of a challenge.
"That was much faster than I anticipated."
Yugi smiled. "Puzzles are kind of my specialty. But I really loved it. I wrote up some notes on the experience, I can email them over to you later if you like? But I can absolutely say that Gramps would love to stock them when they hit the market, if that's still agreeable to you?"
"That's perfect, Yugi. And yes, I will provide ample stock for your grandfather. I'm hoping its release will be in the first half of this year. I look forward to reading your thoughts on the solving methods."
Draining his cup, Kaiba was surprised to feel regret upon glancing at his watch. He was due back to the office in fifteen minutes. Yugi noticed their lunch coming to a close and took the final bite of his cake, pushing the plate to the side. He was anxious at how short today's encounter had been, but understood that the taller man had a tight schedule to keep. He even looked tired, which was somewhat unusual for the CEO despite his hectic lifestyle.
"Busy afternoon?" Yugi asked.
"Yes, I'm booked solid between 2.15pm and 6.30pm. One of our distribution managers missed a rather important conference call earlier this week. I'm meeting with him personally later today."
The sheer threat in Kaiba's voice was rather alarming and Yugi silently wished the poor guy good luck.
"I'm covering the shop until 6pm today, but…"
Yugi hesitated. A busy Kaiba was not one willing to offer up his time easily. However, the man had suggested lunch, so perhaps he would be more agreeable than Yugi was assuming.
"If I dropped by your office after 6.30pm with dinner, would you be free to spend some time?"
Kaiba looked at Yugi strangely then, as if trying to figure out something in his eyes.
"You wish to come to the office and have dinner with me there?"
Yugi nodded. "Do you like Korean barbeque?"
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