Adina clapped happily when Noah arranged the rocks in a circle around the wood Mokuba had brought from inside the house, and Seth tensed, keeping his hand on her shoulder to keep her from lunging forward.

Atem and Seto were sitting on a large log in the distance, whispering to each other while occasionally sharing a tender kiss, and Seth felt like screaming. He'd been left to babysit Adina while Seto got to enjoy a romantic evening. Even when his brother was alive, he was always getting stuck with the worst, most boring duties.

"We're lighting it now!" Mokuba announced, holding up a box of matches while Ayame knelt and spread bunches of crumpled newspaper around the dried wood.

"YAY!" Adina cried, waving at her parents. "Papa! Daddy! Come quick! A fire is burning!"

"It's not burning yet," Noah corrected her hopefully, and he received a pouty glare from the princess.

"Fire is always burning," she replied staunchly.

Mahad bit the inside of his cheek and said nothing.

Atem and Seto approached the small wooden pile of logs and took a seat beside Adina. She wrapped herself around Atem's tanned arm and pointed excitedly at the box of matches in Mokuba's hand.

"Uncle Moki is gonna burn it now!" She cried, and Seth winced, giving her another pat on the edge of her fin.

Mokuba struck the match and gently placed it atop the stacks of crumpled newspaper, circling the log pile and tossing one more into the center. The papers at the bottom began to curl and turn black, sending curls of grey smoke into the air.

"Nothing's happeninggggg," Adina whined, and Kaiba gave her a soft smile.

"It has to catch. Be patient."

Noah dug through his mother's picnic bag and held a pack of marshmallows over his head triumphantly.

"Wanna eat these?" He asked, already tearing into the package, and Adina held her chubby hands out excitedly, staring at the tiny white puff that landed in the center of her palm.

"You can only have three," Kaiba said sourly, wondering if sweets were a good idea for her tiny body, and Atem gave him a startled look.

"Then how many am I allowed to have?" The king asked bossily, and Seth took this chance to chime in too. "Who says we have to ration these?"

Adina popped the tiny candy into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully, making a face after swallowing it with effort.

"Taste like…." She smacked her lips, trying to put her feelings into words.

Noah handed Adina a sharp, bamboo skewer and slid two marshmallows on the tip while the fire finally caught on and blazed merrily, sending up a few sparks, and Atem wrinkled his nose at the scent of smoke, his eyes watering.
A skewer was handed to him from Kaiba and he held it tightly, watching slender, pale fingers slip puffy candies onto the tip. Was this supposed to be enjoyable?

"Can I burn it now, Dad?" Noah asked Mokuba, and his father gave him a bright smile.

"Yeah, let's start," he said, inching his marshmallow-laden skewer closer to the fire and holding it just above the flame, aware that everyone was watching him closely.

After a few moments, he lifted it up and pinched the topmost one off the tip and handed it to his wife, who beamed and ducked her head down to bite it off his fingers, giggling while covering her mouth demurely.

"That's it?" Adina cried, sounding dismayed, and she leaned forward to wave her marshmallows closer to the flame. Uncle Seth's arm tightened around her chest, and she wiggled in his grasp, annoyed.

"Leggo, leggo!" She whined, and Kaiba snatched the skewer from her hand and held it above the flame for her, ignoring her fussing.

"I wanted to do it! Give it back!"

"Give it back to her," Atem nudged Kaiba's arm, amused that Kaiba was suddenly being so protective.

The skewer was handed back to the princess and she huffed, glaring at the brown marshmallow at the tip, annoyed at the color-change.

"You BURNED it!" She pouted, and Kaiba smiled kindly.

"Taste it first—"

She chomped it off the skewer with her tiny fangs and chewed loudly, her eyes wide with excitement when the candy melted and stuck to the tops of her teeth.

"Oo, it taysh good!" Adina celebrated, and Noah grinned at her.

"Want another? We have big ones! These are the small ones," he said, and Adina waved her arms happily, nearly stabbing Seth in the cheek with the point of the skewer as she cheered and nodded.

Mahad watched this scene with mild envy. What a heartwarming bonding session.

A giant, rounded puff was handed to him by a pale hand, and Mahad recoiled on instinct when he realized it was Seth, not Seto who was handing him something.

"Try one," Seth said encouragingly, hearing Mahad's thoughts leaking, and he wanted to show the warrior some compassion.

"I've had them before, thanks," Mahad replied gruffly, but the heartbroken looks from the children made him change his mind, so he begrudgingly accepted the candy from Seth.

Forcing a smile on a face, he popped the candy in his mouth and chewed, his ears ringing with the happy cheers from Adina and Noah. Great. Cute.

Kaiba caught a dark look from Seth and he nodded. He could hear Mahad's thoughts, and it seemed the warrior no longer wanted to be present. Atem was distracted, too busy accepting more blackened marshmallows from the tip of Adina's skewers to hear him.

"You can patrol the shore," Kaiba gave Mahad a nod, and he caught a grateful look from the warrior.

Without wasting another moment, Mahad pushed off the dry sand and rolled into an oncoming wave, disappearing with a stealthy splash.

"He was welcome to stay," Ayame mused, and Mokuba nodded in agreement.

Kaiba rose to his feet and dusted the sand off his pants, quickly making an excuse for Mahad while also excusing himself.

"He'd rather be working right now. We make him stick around too much. Bathroom. I'll be right back."

"Humans have bathroom places too?" Adina asked, her eyes wide, and Noah gave her an equally interested look.

"Yeah, duh. Where do you guys go bathroom?" Noah shot back, and Atem shook his head sternly at him, his heart pounding frantically.

"No bathroom talk when we're eating," he said firmly, and Seth bit back a laugh.

Kaiba stepped around Seth and Adina's fins to quietly make his way back to the beach house, hearing Noah's, "Awwww but why?!" whines filling the air.
Smiling to himself, he strode up the ramp, feeling lighter than he had in years.
A great weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Tonight was an enjoyable night with his family, all reunited at last.
This feeling was pure happiness and bliss, something he should grow accustomed to feeling.

Sliding the glass door aside, Kaiba saw a movement in the dark, and he realized with a jolt that it was Kemo, sitting silently by the kitchen entryway, like a stealthy bulldog.

"Holy shit. Make noise," Kaiba said irritably, patting the wall beside him and flipping on the lights. "You fucking scared me."

Kemo bowed his head silently and nodded, his thoughts very faint. Didn't know he could be frightened…

Warm, yellow light from the chandelier above flooded the room, and Kaiba gave the manservant an appraising look, appreciating that he was sitting at attention in the center of the house, on guard.

"Have you given my proposal some thought?" Kaiba asked, rolling his sleeves back to expose his pale wrists, his mind full of Mahad's directions and warnings about making a blood pact with a human.

Kemo nodded silently again and after a few heartbeats, answered, "Yes. And I accept."

Kaiba's eyelid twitched, beginning to wonder if Kemo was truly a man of few words or if he was still concealing himself.

"Okay. Any questions before you…sign?" Kaiba asked testily, rolling up his other sleeve and wondering if they should bleed over the sink instead of the floor. Or maybe they needed to step outside and do it over the sand, closer to the ocean.

"A few," the man replied stiffly, and Kaiba wasn't prepared for the flood of thoughts coming from him.

What if I don't ever want to quit? Quitting means death, right?
What if I hate it the moment it starts?
I need more details.
I'll find out when I start, or would that be too late?

"…I hear you," Kaiba said dryly, moving to sit on the couch, facing away from Kemo and crossing his legs, getting comfortable. "You want more details, so all I can say is that you will stop aging. Time will be frozen for you, right now. The moment you decide you want out, you'll age normally again. Or you'll die on the job. Detailed enough for you?"

There was a heavy silence.

"I understand," Kemo said seriously, and Kaiba nodded, waiting to hear more thoughts, but there were none.
That was either a good thing or a bad thing. Time to find out.

Kaiba stood and turned to face Kemo, who was still sitting stiffly in his seat, looking paler than usual.

"Roll up your sleeve, and follow me outside," Kaiba said, and without waiting to see if the man would obey, he strode out of the house and down the sandy ramp, hearing Kemo's thoughts flood in his mind once more.

Strange. I feel very strange about all of this, but it's not a bad feeling. This man can be trusted. He treats his family well. The contract won't be something I'll regret.

"Yeah, I fucking hope not," Kaiba muttered, now beginning to doubt himself, but he steeled himself forward, staring out over the dark horizon and breathing in the crisp, night air.
What if he fucked this up?
No, he wouldn't.
He was armed with information.
But…just in case….

Kaiba marched to the edge of the water and called out tentatively, "Mahad? I need you up here as a witness."

Kemo approached Kaiba from behind and stayed a respectful distance away, unsure of what to do with himself. To his surprise, a man rose out of the water and bobbed up and down on a distant wave.

"Your friend?" Kemo spoke before thinking, and he kicked himself mentally.

"More like royal advisor," Kaiba muttered, realizing Mahad's role went past "friend." If he was being honest with himself, Mahad was his underwater equivalent of his dearly departed Isono. Always silently there. Always dependable. Always doing the right thing without being told, and always just a tad annoying, but only because he cared.

I'm here, Mahad's voice rang deeply inside Kaiba's head, and he drew confidence from this briefly before turning to Kemo with a grimace.

His manservant's face was pale with shock, undoubtedly having heard Mahad's voice in his head for the first time.

"It's not any different from when I do it to you," Kaiba growled, flashing his wrist at Kemo. "Sleeves up. We're going to bleed."

"Wait…wait," Kemo held his hand up respectfully, and Kaiba could hear his pulse racing in the darkness. It was loud, frantic thumps, and Kaiba realized…Kemo was frightened.

"You still have questions? Ask them now," Kaiba demanded impatiently, and he folded his arms, trying not to tap his foot.

Kemo took several deep breaths and spoke in a rush, "is it true? What they say about you, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Yeah, I don't go out in public, so no. I don't know what they say," Kaiba said, unable to keep the sarcasm from leaking into his voice.

Kemo blinked and said, "you're immortal," without missing a beat, and Kaiba bit the inside of his cheek, wondering where this ridiculous rumor had spawned. On the internet no doubt.

"Sure. Yes," Kaiba replied testily. "And I want you to be around for Noah, and his kid, and the kid after that. He's already had a father figure die on him once. I won't let it happen again."

"Y-You consider me in that regard?" Kemo asked, bowing shakily, his thoughts leaking past his words.

Incredible! We barely talk. This is our first real conversation and I'm about to sign a life-changing contract. I thought I'd quit working for them when I hit my late-forties and settle down with my earnings, but this might be the chance of a lifetime.

"I don't think you're that great, but Noah might miss you when you're gone," Kaiba said sourly, not wanting him to have the wrong idea. "Seems like you need more time to think. Thanks for wasting my time. Mahad, you can go."

"No! I've decided!" Kemo said, blushing furiously, and Kaiba eyed the man suspiciously. So many new emotions he hadn't previously seen….

"I'm adding one more clause," Kaiba said spitefully, deciding to ignore Mahad's earlier warnings. "If you betray this family, you die instantly."

No! Mahad cried worriedly, swimming closer to shore, feeling drained and exasperated. Clauses like that could be misinterpreted!

"I will never betray you or your family," Kemo said earnestly, keeping his head lowered, and Kaiba hissed irritably. Why was it so hard for him to trust this man?! Was it the silence in his head?

"Fine," Kaiba said shortly, giving Kemo another appraising glare. "I won't add that clause in verbally but know that I'll kill you myself if you fuck up. Immortal doesn't mean invincible."

"I understand," Kemo replied robotically, and Mahad sighed, sagging into the sand underneath him. Royals…especially young royals, were so dangerous for this very reason.

"I can hear you!" Kaiba whirled around to shout at Mahad in the distance, and everyone on the beach turned their heads to stare.

"And…they're fighting," Seth muttered, rolling his eyes and patting Adina on her fin. "Look here, Princess! Pay them no mind. I roasted you another one!"

Mahad winced and palmed his face in agony, reminding himself to keep his thoughts private.

"Back to you," Kaiba said venomously, turning to face Kemo. "Roll up your sleeves with your palm facing up."

Kemo complied hastily, unbuttoning his suit sleeve and showing Kaiba his thick, muscular forearm.

"Repeat after me," Kaiba breathed, willing himself to remain calm and to count his own heartbeats. "I, Saruwatari, swear on my blood that I will remain loyal and steadfast in my duties to this family."

"I, Saruwatari," Kemo hesitated for a second but barreled forward, repeating after Kaiba. "…Swear on my blood that I will remain loyal and steadfast in my duties to this family."

"I will do what is asked of me regardless of my own safety. I will live to serve your family for as long as I am willing, on land and under the sea," Kaiba continued. "I will withstand any torture, threats, and blackmail, because it is my duty to protect what is sacred to me as a human, and the people I love."

Kemo blinked and nodded, his forearm wavering in the space between them as he recited what Kaiba said, word for word.

"I will do what is asked of me regardless of my own safety. I will live to serve your family for as long as I am willing, on land and under the sea. I will withstand any torture, threats, and blackmail, because it is my duty to protect what is sacred to me as a human, and the people I love," he finished, looking quite satisfied with himself.

"Now, my part," Kaiba held his breath and grabbed Kemo's arm, running his nail down the man's skin and hearing a startled hiss. A stream of dark blood trailed down Kemo's stubby fingers and dotted the sand below.

Acting fast, Kaiba raked his nails down his own arm and pinned his blood-soaked wrist down on Kemo's skin, feeling himself heat up instantly. The roaring of the waves quieted, and the silence was stifling.

Kaiba seized this chance to recite his part, firmly and clearly. "In return for your service, I give you the abilities of a merperson walking on land without the effects of shore illness while maintaining your human appearance for the duration of your entire life. You can speak our language and understand it perfectly. You will not age until you deem yourself unfit for service."

Kemo blinked rapidly, growing hot and cold all over. It was as if a fire had been lit under his heels and he was standing on hot coals. Holding his ground, he grit his teeth and shivered, wondering if something magical was happening.

Kaiba's eyes watered, and he tried to yank his arm back to end the pact, but his arm had grown heavy and had glued itself to Kemo's arm. A hot, searing fire was creeping over his body, consuming him steadily, nearly choking the air out of him the longer he stood there, connected to Kemo.

After a sharp gasp, Kaiba planted his feet apart and forcefully wrenched his hand away to stumbled back, his shoes flooding with icy ocean water when he stepped into an oncoming wave.

Kemo's knees weakened instantly and he hit the sand on all fours, gasping for air, his ears ringing with terror and disbelief.

Cursing to himself, Kaiba gripped his own arm and healed rapidly, wondering if he'd fucked up again or if he'd done it correctly. Mahad had left out the little detail about pain and feeling drained afterwards. That bastard.

You're welcome, Mahad's voice echoed smoothly in his ears, and turned around to curse at the merman but he'd disappeared underneath the water again with a splash.

"What did you do to me?" Kemo whispered, still bent over on all fours, unable to stand.

Before Kaiba could answer, a soft rush of footsteps came pattering towards them and Atem appeared at his side in a spray of sand.

"Seto! What happened? Are you making blood pacts?" The king gasped, eyeing the human who was cowering the distance. "Why are committing crimes the moment you surface?!"

"…Not a crime to make pacts with humans," Kaiba muttered, his blood boiling at his own weakness.

Atem left his side and rushed to help Kemo to his feet.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Atem asked keenly, feeling the burly man lean heavily on him, panting for air. "He's bleeding! Kaiba! I can't believe you!"

Kemo opened his mouth to say that he didn't need help, but the spiky-haired, foreign man had already grabbed his bleeding arm and clamped his palm tightly down on it while continuing to argue with Master Kaiba. The strange sounds of their language were no longer odd clicks and buzzing. He could understand what they were shouting about now.

"…You can't force humans into eternal servitude like this!" Atem breathed, on the brink of panic. "It's immoral!"

"I asked him, and he said it was fine!" Kaiba hissed, hating how this was becoming a fight.

"How so?" Atem raged. "Did you give him a moon cycle to think about it? From my count, he's barely had a day! I know you mentioned it to him when I left you two alone earlier today!"

"Ask him yourself," Kaiba said dully, his shoulders sagging with exhaustion. "I'm going for a swim."

"Don't you dare run away!" Atem cried, his incredulity rising at Kaiba's cowardice. "Undo the pact! Now!"

What is happening over there?! Seth's anxious thoughts pierced their minds, and Kemo winced, his confusion rising at all the new voices inside his head.

It's your brother! Atem turned to Seth for help and let go of Kemo's arm. He's bound this human here with eternal servitude without giving him time to think about it! Tell him it's immoral and it needs to be reversed!

Kemo flexed his forearm cautiously, marveling the clear, unmarked skin. It had healed.
The spiky-haired man's touch was healing.

"I'll reverse it if that's what he wants," Kaiba said tiredly, wading into the water and letting the icy water sting his calves. "Go back to the fire. You manage your people and I'll manage mine."

"Kaiba…" Atem softened and stuck to his side, giving him a serious look. "I know you don't want to experience the loss of another manservant, but is binding him here for generations really the best idea?"

"Yes," Kaiba answered instantly, and he received an exasperated headshake.

Kemo sat back on his heels and watched this scene with rising curiosity. It was nice to see this stranger boldly butting heads with Master Kaiba, and he was…winning?

Atem spared a look over his shoulder for the manservant before giving Kaiba's hand a squeeze, and he walked back across the beach to the dwindling campfire. He saw Adina yawn and lean her head sleepily on Seth's arm. Seth shifted uncomfortably, glancing back and forth between the dying fire and the water's edge.

"I'm not sleepy," Noah said stubbornly, crossing his arms and giving his mother an imploring look.

"We should be heading home. It's getting cold," she replied, patting his head lovingly. "Say goodbye to Adina. You'll see her again next week."

Noah nodded sleepily and rose up on his knees, edging closer to his cousin to give her a hug.

Adina wrapped her arms around Noah's slender shoulders and let go quickly, biting back another yawn.

"Night-Night story?" She asked, opening one eye to look at Atem, and Noah grinned boyishly, turning to his father to plead.

"Yes! Yes please? A bedtime story? Can we stay to hear it, please dad?"

"Sure, make it quick," Mokuba stood up to stretch lightly, glancing over his shoulder to see Seto standing on the far side of the beach. "Seto! Coming?"

He caught a quick nod from Seto as Seth spoke up, "I have a story. It's about a mysterious, magical pool of water that can give merpeople legs."

"BOoooRing!" Adina cried, hugging Atem's arm to her chest and burying her forehead into his side.

"I've never heard it before!" Noah protested, and Kaiba showed up behind him, looking haggard and stressed. "Uncle Seto! You tell a story!"

"Don't have any," Kaiba replied shortly, his patience thin from his stressful day. "Ask Seth, Mahad, or Atem."

There was an awkward silence before Seth broke it.

"Once upon a time…" he began, and Mahad rose out of the water behind them, rolling onto the beach and flipping his wet hair over his shoulder, his voice flooding their heads.

I will tell it. Allow me, Seth.

"...Of course," Seth nodded and begrudgingly let Mahad take over.

Mahad squared his shoulders back and began reciting.

It's not 'once upon a time.' There was a time, and it was approximately six-hundred-thousand millennia ago—

"BORING!" Adina shrieked, prying her eyes open giving Mahad a glare.

"I will tell it," Atem said hastily, patting her shoulder to calm her down, alarmed to discover her skin was starting to dry out. "Then you go right back to sleep, okay? And you will sleep like a good girl for the minimum four days. Understood?"

"'Kay," she grumbled, and Noah was amazed by this new information.

"She sleeps for days?" He cried, dismayed, and Atem gave the boy a soft smile.

"She's still an infant barely weaned from purified water. She should be sleeping for seven days, but…" Atem nuzzled his nose into the top of her hair. "…As you can see, she likes being awake. It's not good for her health."

"Seto used to stay awake for days," Seth muttered, and he caught a cold glare from his twin.

"Who's telling the story? Hurry up," Kaiba demanded, secretly itching to hear the tale as well.

"I will tell it," Atem said, his eyes flashing in the semi-darkness, lit up only by the waning embers of the fire in front of them. "Ready?"

Noah nodded energetically and crossed his legs, sitting beside Seth and feeling Seto kneel beside him in the sand to sit down too.

"There was a group of five Elders," Atem began, quite enjoying the attention and the silence. "They grew up together in a pod, learning together in school and growing to love each other dearly. They enjoyed moon bathing and were unaware of the existence of humans. The land was connected at this time, and this made it easier for them to find excellent wading pools."

Kaiba laced his fingers over his knees, listening intently. He had a feeling he knew where this would go.

"When the land broke apart, so did the five Elders," Atem said deeply, feeling Adina's head grow heavy against his arm, but Noah's eyes were wide, and bright. "Each preferred a different shore, and soon, they grew distant while encountering the existence of humans at war with each other on these separate shores. One day, we'll call her Elder Alpha, was spotted by a human, and they offered her riches for her fins."

"What?!" Noah cried, and Kaiba placed a hand on his shoulder to shut him up.

"Questions at the end," he said firmly, and Noah hugged his legs to his chest and chinned his knees, nodding.

"Of course, Elder Alpha had no intention of accepting this ridiculous offer," Atem said, pleased that Noah was enraptured. "She swam away and never returned to that shore again. Little did she know, her friends also encountered similar situations. Elder Beta was offered land and a human dwelling for his fins, and of course, he refused. Elder Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon were not so lucky. The humans who saw them wanted to steal their fins and tried to take them by force."

Noah drew in a sharp breath and tensed. Kaiba eyed Mokuba and Ayame cautiously, hearing their startled thoughts in the darkness over the dead fire.

Is this a suitable children's story? What the hell?! Seto's husband is just as iffy….

Eek! This is getting dark! Maybe we should head home now…!

"Now humans and merpeople were aware of each other, and it was hostile on three of the five shores," Atem continued, unfazed by the discomfort of his audience. "Humans built ships to explore different shores, and they crafted weapons from metal and stone. They set out to hunt the five Elders, unaware that there were cities of merpeople right past their beaches, and these colonies suffered great loss when they were discovered. These wars were bloody and lasted half-a-century. Many merpeople were captured and entire families perished on land. Some were memorialized in awful ways when humans preserved their fins in chemicals and displayed them in museums for all to see. "

Noah opened and closed his mouth silently, his chest tightening with anxiety.
This was a scary bedtime story.

Kaiba bit the inside of his cheek and realized Atem was tacking on the gore for effect. The merking had spun him these stories for sympathy at the edge of the makeshift pool in his basement many years ago, and he wasn't as impressionable as a child at the time.

"The Elders reunited in a panicked rush after all their years apart," Atem said smoothly. "They realized they had endangered their families and our entire species. They had to do something. Merpeople were being fished out of the ocean at an alarming rate. So, they joined hands and made a pact on their favorite shores where they once enjoyed peace. They blessed their years of immortality into the stones which surround the Chrysalis to this very day. They gave their lives to create the Pools so that merpeople stood a chance against humans on land. One must simply sit waist-deep in the blessed water and grow a pair of legs in times of danger."

Noah clapped a hand over his mouth and rocked back and forth in his seat.

"Of course, 'times of danger' means something different to every merperson," Atem said, attempting to insert another lesson into this story. "So, when making pacts, we must be very careful with the words we use. Throughout the years, it evolved into 'times of need' and we now have various Guardians keeping the Pools safe with pacts of their own so that these secret locations remain sacred and never lose their integrity. This keeps the sacrifice of the Five Elders pure, and the magic of the water remains undiluted."

Noah blinked rapidly, waiting for more. Even Kaiba held his breath, hanging onto Atem's every word, but Atem was finished.

The merking smiled handsomely in the dark and said simply, "the end."

Mokuba and Ayame let out simultaneous sighs of relief. The loud rush of waves sliding against the shore filled the air.

"Well! Great story, thanks," Mokuba said hastily, stepping forward to grab Noah by the arm to yank him to his feet, but his son twisted away stubbornly, gazing longingly into Atem's face.

"Wait! What happens if a human sits in the magical pool of water?" Noah cried, almost waking Adina up, and Kaiba hastily reached forward to lean her away from Atem's arm.

"I don't know. That has never happened before," Atem answered solemnly, giving Kaiba a nervous glance. "I think one must have mer-blood in them to form fins. I don't know entirely. I am not a Warrior who uses these Pools to walk on land every other week. You must ask Warrior Mahad for that."

"Th-That guy?" Noah wondered, pointing at the dark lump in the sand in the distance, and Mahad stiffened, shaking himself awake to sit at attention. Atem had told it the way King Solomon would spin tales about humans warring with merpeople. He had a different version, but then again, so did every merperson.

"What happens if…. I sat in it?" Noah asked fearfully, eyeing Seth and Seto. "I'm…related to you guys."

"Yeah, you'd probably turn into a fish," Kaiba grinned evilly, and Mokuba swept Noah off the ground and into his arms, sending sand cascading down his pant legs as Noah kicked and protested.

"Wh-What?! No way! No way, right Dad?"

"It's just a story," Mokuba said monotonously, giving Atem a plain smile. "Good night. Say good night, Noah. We'll see them tomorrow for breakfast."

"Good night…." Noah mumbled, locking his arms around Mokuba's neck and waving glumly at Seto.

Kaiba waved back heartily, and called back, "we won't be awake for breakfast. Try lunch!"

Ayame rose to her feet too and bowed hastily, holding out a jewelry box out with both hands.

"We got so caught up, I didn't get to give this to her when she was awake," she whispered, nodding at Adina who was asleep on Kaiba's shoulder. "Mokuba had it made recently. Hope she likes it! And there's one for you too, Seto."

"The hair accessory? Thank you," Kaiba said evenly, seeing her blush in the darkness as Atem stood and accepted it from her with both hands, bowing politely back to her.

"H-How'd you know?" She squeaked, and she shook her head at herself before straightening up and beaming. "Have a good night! See you all tomorrow."

"It'll be just us," Atem said, gesturing at Seto and himself. "Thank you for the gift."

She bobbed her head awkwardly and rushed away down the beach after Mokuba and Noah.

Seth eyed the box with mild envy and Kaiba noticed this. He opened it and saw two matching hair bands sitting in the velvet box with short, golden letters spelling out both their names on each elastic.

"Seto and Adina. How adorable," Seth said jealously, pushing himself away from the dry sand and back to the water's edge.

"It is cute," Kaiba agreed, snapping the box shut and hearing a faint thought from Mahad.

These royals…always being gifted hair accessories. I have yet to find something suitable for myself. I can't wear those ridiculous kelp ribbons Mana is always gifting me…

"Seth, I'll have one made for you so people can tell us apart. How's that?" Kaiba asked evenly, seeing his twin's eyes gleam in the darkness.

"You'd do that for me?" Seth cried, brightening instantly. "Yes, thank you! I'd like that!"

Atem beamed and gave Kaiba a gentle push towards the ocean's edge. "Let's give her to Mahad. Her skin is starting to dry out."

Kaiba nodded and hastily strode across the wet sand to gently set Adina in Mahad's arms, and he stepped back to watch the warrior disappear under a curling wave with the child tucked safely over his shoulder.

Seth gave his twin brother a sleepy salute and dove after Mahad, leaving Atem and Kaiba standing together on the beach, arm in arm.

After staring out over the horizon in pleasant silence, Kaiba turned to Atem and smiled.

"Sleepy?"

"Not in the slightest," Atem replied, his eyes gleaming with mischief. "How do you humans do it? Sleeping every night is such a waste of time."

Kaiba grinned and draped his arm around Atem's shoulder, steering him back towards the beach house, nuzzling his nose into the crook of his ear and whispering, "I had a surprise delivered for us in our bedroom."

Atem nodded enthusiastically and let Kaiba lead him up the sandy ramp back into the house, his heart pounding at the thought of what Kaiba had planned for the night.


Author's note:

fire bonding session went well! Chrysalis backstory revealed
Kaiba is gonna show atem a good time uwu D
im trying to hit all the bases
smex
tentacle to human smex
tentacle to tentacle smex
human to human smex
am I missing one?
No, right? I got them all I think D