Just a handful of days had passed since Kaiba had vowed not only to Atem, but to himself, that he would bring these kids in. As well as in the meantime watch over Atem and make sure he got better. The man hadn't been so defiant, not as much as he had when they'd started, after that quiet moment in the office. He ate when food was offered, though he only picked at it, he took his medication, though had been staving from his pain killers still. He didn't move around a lot, just sat on the office couch, staring absently out the window while Kaiba worked. Kaiba had tried to ignore it at first, but he knew what Atem was doing. And it hurt.
So he'd moved them back to the mansion, for now. A temporary placement. He couldn't stay in Atem's apartment to watch him, and being able to stare out at the city and wonder where his attackers were was probably a worse thing for Atem to be doing. At home he had his office, so he could work from there while being sure to keep an eye on his lover.
Seto had been working quietly, managing coding between searching for those damn kids. His memory was good enough for him to recall what each one looked like, but that was almost useless information to him. They were normal looking kids, Duelists no less. There were thousands like them in this city alone. He wouldn't give up, but it was frustrating. To go back through all the tournament rosters was a tiring endeavor, but it was the only thing left to him.
He took a sip of his lukewarm coffee, sighing to himself as he clicked over another tournament. Atem participated in so many of them. He wasn't even halfway through with this task. A soft thump in the hallway caused him to look over the screen of his laptop. Someone shadowed passed the doorway before continuing to move down the hall. The staff should have headed home long ago, that only left Mokuba, but he wasn't home tonight- and Atem.
Kaiba stood from his laptop, leaving his office and going out into the hallway. Sure enough, Atem was walking, slightly slumped over, hand pressed against the wall to guide his steps.
"What are you doing out of your room?" Kaiba approached him carefully, tone not quite yet annoyed. He wouldn't admit it, but it was a nice break from the crushing guilt he had been facing at his computer.
The shorter man looked around, as if he couldn't place where that voice was coming from. He then looked over his shoulder and smiled at the brunet. "I think I got lost..." His tone was rather amused.
This confused Kaiba, the CEO stepping forward to place a hand on Atem's shoulder. Inspecting Atem's face closer, he smirked to himself. "You took your pain medication, didn't you?" So the mighty Game King had finally cracked.
"Your home is so big, just for you and- ..." His thoughts were running together, the only thing he was aware of was the slightly foggy feeling in his brain and the most amused emotion in the back of his mind. He blinked up at Seto. "It hurt. Really bad. I just thought it might not be so bad to take a few."
Kaiba would have to get a camera or something because this moment was almost too good to pass up. Atem was loopy on pain meds. How many other chances was he going to get to see his rival this way? "How many?" But first things first, he had to make sure that Atem hadn't taken a fist full of pills.
"Just three. Three is a safe number." He nodded to himself, like this was the most logical statement in the world.
Seto continued to smirk. Three was fine, three wouldn't kill him. Three was just enough to get him like this. So yes, three was a safe number, for the both of them. "Do you need help finding your room again?" His hand moved from Atem's shoulder to his back, trying to turn him in the right direction to said room.
But Atem bristled at this and stepped away. "I don't need help. I know where it is." Still as prideful as ever, even with this hilarious turn of events.
"Of course you do." Kaiba was having almost too much fun with this. "So go back there now."
The man looked down one end of the hallway. Then he looked down the other way. Then he looked back again. Confusion ran clear across his face as he seemed to be trying to make a decision. What way had he even come from? These hallways all looked the same! Most of the doors were closed, and he swore the same paintings hung on each wall of every hallway just to be more confusing. Where was his room? He didn't even know. "This way..." He breathed out and started heading to the right.
"Wrong." Kaiba remarked quietly, just watching for now.
Atem scowled at him and turned quickly to go in the other direction. He'd show that smug Kaiba. The turn was a little too quick, however, his feet getting caught up themselves. He was too slow in realizing that he was taking a dive for the carpet. His eyes had closed, waiting for the ground to find him, but when he opened them again he realized he was being carried by Kaiba. "Put me down." His voice was quiet, not really a protest in the slightest. In fact, his head had come to lay on Seto's shoulder.
Kaiba rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. "You're useless like this." As funny as it was, Atem wasn't up to usual standards. If he'd really been in a lot of pain, fine, Seto would excuse taking medication that was prescribed, but he wanted his rival back. He wasn't used to being allowed to carry Atem around with no fight. No fight... No fight in his rival. The very thought was displeasing.
He'd closed his eyes, enjoying Seto's comforting warmth. When he'd opened them again he recognized himself to be in the master bedroom, Kaiba placing him down on the bed. He shared this room with Seto now, not that the brunet ever slept. And if he was sleeping, it wasn't with him. He found a lot of his time alone, but it was better than being in Kaiba's office, taking up his time. Kaiba had probably been working just now, too. Was he working when he'd been attacked?
Had Kaiba been looking down on the city while he was lying in the alleyway bleeding?
"What did you just say?" Kaiba froze, a look of slight horror on his face that was quickly masked.
Atem hadn't even realized he'd spoken out loud. "Sorry for bothering you from your work. You can go back now." He laid his head back on the pillows.
Seto scowled. "That's not what you said."
"I don't remember."
It was alright either way; Kaiba really didn't want to hear that again. No, he hadn't been looking out at the city. The time of the attack he'd been working. Sitting in front of his computer, thinking about nothing more than getting his usual release work done. Atem hadn't even been on his mind. He hadn't even known that his rival, his lover no less, had been attacked. He had had no idea. All he'd felt was anger that Atem hadn't bothered to call him. He hadn't known.
He stayed standing stiffly, watching Atem for just another moment before turning on his heel. He did have work to get back to, and this lapse of Atem's mental capabilities, while amusing, had been witnessed enough.
"Yuugi didn't know either." Atem spoke again.
Kaiba stopped in the doorway, his hand reaching to lay against the frame, tightening slightly. "He was there when you woke up."
"He thought I was dueling someone when I was late. No one knew. No one was there."
The CEO wasn't quite sure what to say. Everyone was alone. That was the way the world worked. If you didn't have the strength to stand up on your own, you were a goner. ...Atem had almost died because of such a thing. "You got help. People were there."
"My title, that's all that matters. They had said Game King. That was the only reason those kids were after me. A title. I'm not a person, just a title. That's the way it was back then, too. That's all you cared about, too, when we met the first few times." Atem's voice had lapsed into a solemn subdued state as he rambled on, looking at the ceiling, almost completely gone at this point.
What could Kaiba really answer that with? Titles were important. Titles made a person. What was Atem after? What did he want him to say? Kaiba sure as hell had no idea.
"They would have killed me."
Kaiba found it hard to breathe just then. Atem had said that with such certainty. Had he thought he was going to die? His hand clenched harder into the wood of the door frame. "You're not dead, focus on that." His voice sounded harsh to his own ears. But what more could he say?
"They beat me up, they cut me open, they took my deck, they broke my Duel Disk and then my wrist." He continued droning on. "I couldn't stop them. And they would have killed me had those people not been there. All this time here spent trying to have a new life, it almost came to a close that night."
Why was Atem doing this? Why was he saying these things? What purpose did it serve except to make Kaiba feel worse?
"I would have died in that alleyway, alone."
Kaiba's chest constricted painfully. What would he have done if Atem had? By those kids that he'd led in Atem's direction? It would have been his fault.
"I would-"
Seto turned around storming back to the bed. He opened the side table drawer, taking that bottle of pain killers and putting it in his pocket. He was taking them away. No more. "You're better than this." He growled, his anger, his fear, his guilt all welled up inside. "You didn't die. You're not dead. Stop living in the past. It's over with. You have to look forward to getting your things back. You can't dwell on what they did."
Atem looked at him, uncertain at first. Then he smiled. "When I'm with you I don't feel so alone."
Kaiba closed his eyes and looked away. "That's because you're not, you idiot. Being with someone else is the exact opposite of being alone." Why was Atem doing this to him?
Crimson eyes just sort of stared for a while. So long a time in fact that Kaiba was beginning to think he'd zoned out. Then Atem's lips parted to speak. "Seto I l-"
Kaiba's hand came over Atem's mouth, muffling his words and stopping him completely. His heart jumped in his chest. He might have even paled. "Stop it. You're not in your right mind. Save that kind of garbage for when you are." He was sure Atem wouldn't say something like that when he was back to normal. And right now he really didn't want to hear it.
His hands came around Seto's wrist, pulling that hand from his mouth. But he nodded dully, still smiling. Some part of him knew what Kaiba just did was the best thing for the both of him. He needed to stop this. "Any luck with them yet?"
"I'm getting closer." He said, just leaving his hand in Atem's grip for now. It wasn't a lie; he was closer than when he started, even if he was nowhere near close at all.
Atem nodded, releasing Seto's hand. "Okay."
The brunet stood there for just a moment, maybe a little confused. Just okay? After all of that talk about being cut open, dying alone, and a narrowly avoided confession- things were just okay? "Are you alright?" Was there some force behind this, more than just the pain medication?
He smiled. "I will be."
Kaiba scoffed, looking away. "Good. Don't forget your goals. They're much better than dwelling on what has already happened." He couldn't offer much more than that. But for now, he hoped it was enough. He turned, ready to leave the room. He had to get back to work, for both their sakes.
"I will be..."
The answer came again, stopping Seto in his tracks in the doorway. He didn't look over his shoulder, nor did he respond. But there was a creeping feeling in his chest that Atem knew. It was impossible for him to have known. He scoffed to himself, knowing the guilt was getting the better of him. He didn't have time for this. He needed to keep going and find them. This needed to be over with.
