Atem walked the bedroom and stood awkwardly in the doorway, staring at the wide array of strange objects laid out neatly in a line atop the sheets.
Kaiba brushed past him and stood beside them, nearly bouncing on his heels in excitement as he pointed at the nearest dildo and said, "Which one do you like?"
Atem eased the door shut behind him and approached the bed anxiously, unsure what he was looking at. There were straps, chains, clamps, long cylindrical objects, heart-shaped objects, and thick, human-penis-shaped objects. Some had switches and others had wires leading to another device, and one even looked like it could light up from the inside because Atem could see tiny bulbs inside the clear plastic.
What in Suijin's name were these things?!
Kaiba smirked and leaned his hip against the edge of the bed, relishing in Atem's confusion.
"Well?" Kaiba prompted, reaching out to grab Atem's hand and feeling the mer-king tense in his grasp, his violet eyes wide with curiosity as he continued to stare at the toys.
"I don't like any of them," Atem announced shakily, throwing Kaiba a nervous side-glance. "They look painful."
"It's not," Kaiba protested, picking up the small dildo closest to him. "Look, it's not even sharp." He switched the vibrator on and Atem's look of deep unease made him put it back down.
Ah, fuck. Fine.
He set it on the nightstand and realized he'd killed his chances of being laid tonight. He'd accidentally frightened Atem with these sex toys too fast, too soon.
Atem ignored Kaiba's sulking thoughts and swept his arm across the bed in one swift motion, sending the toys tumbling to the ground around the bed as he climbed up and laid down on the soft pillows, snuggling his face happily into it.
The bed was glorious! Just as luxurious and soft as Mai had described!
"That's what you care about?" Kaiba cried, easing himself down beside Atem who was resolutely face down in the large pillows with his spiky hair splayed out on the pillow.
"Of course," Atem replied haughtily, turning his head to look at Kaiba with one eye, his ears burning. "I've never been in one. This one is nice. Are they all this soft?"
"Yeah, they're…adjustable," Kaiba answered stiffly, trying to fight the bubble of laughter threatening to burst from his chest. "Did you not sleep in a bed the last time you were up here?"
"No. We slept on the train as we traveled," Atem said plainly, and Kaiba paled in horror at this news.
They stared at each other in the semi-darkness before Kaiba moved first, leaning gently down over Atem's face to press a tight kiss against his cheek, inhaling his wonderfully exotic scent.
Atem shut his eyes and sighed happily, enjoying the way Kaiba's teeth bit the shell of his ear before he moved down past his neck, and pale hands snaked around his chest and began undressing him, helping him with the buttons down the front of his shirt.
Rolling over onto his side, Atem gazed nervously up at Kaiba who was straddling him comfortably, his long legs sinking down on either side of his hips.
"…I don't know…" Atem breathed, his heart thundering in his ears as he wondered if he was in for a nasty surprise regarding human-to-human lovemaking. "My parts are small…and even when it gets big, it doesn't feel good!"
"It doesn't feel good?" Kaiba repeated, shocked at Atem's admission. "So it didn't feel good when we were doing something earlier?" And he panicked briefly, wondering if Atem would want to try sex with a woman first before going any further here.
"I—…I-It felt good, but only for a moment," Atem said sheepishly, his ears burning as he looked away in embarrassment. "Was it supposed to feel like a fleeting…explosion?"
Kaiba sat back on his heels, running his tongue along the inside of his teeth, trying to gather his thoughts. Yes and no.
"I get it," Kaiba said simply, resting his hand on Atem's leg, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "You want it to feel the same way it does when we have fins. That's doable. As for the size, it really doesn't matter. You'll see—"
"I've seen!" Atem exclaimed, wriggling nervously underneath Kaiba and growing hot from the way the weight was leaning down enticingly against his stomach. "I've seen humans lovemaking on beaches before—"
Kaiba surged forward to capture Atem's lips and kissed him deeply, not giving him a chance to protest any further while he dragged his hands down Atem's slender hips and yanked his pants down to his knees, reaching forward to gently knead the softness between his legs.
Still uncertain, Atem watched apprehensively as Kaiba reached into his underwear to extract his semi-erect penis, and he had to look away, his ears burning.
It was so small.
It was so small and disgusting.
Kaiba heard this and lost his patience.
"Are you seriously going to stay hung up about the size?" Kaiba raged, his mood souring quickly. He understood how Atem felt.
This was how he'd felt when he'd seen his own mer-penis so he reminded himself to use a gentler tone.
"Look…" Kaiba hastily inched his pants off around his waist and Atem blinked rapidly, staring at the erection jutting up from Kaiba's body. Well…that was nice.
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Atem snapped, trying to inch out from underneath Kaiba's legs, and Kaiba tightened his legs around Atem's hips, leaning down to give the base of Atem's dick a playful poke with the tip of his own.
"There, look." Kaiba breathed, reaching down to grab Atem's stiffness and placing them horizontally beside each other, actually measuring, giving Atem a good angle. "Now stop being immature."
Atem's chest tightened almost painfully as he gazed down at himself, satisfied that his size had grown, but something else had caught his attention.
"What's this…?" Atem reached out to pinch his own foreskin, and Kaiba grit his teeth, the blood rushing loudly in his ears as he watched Atem tug the skin over the head of his dick and slide the wetness around enticingly.
Kaiba broke out into a sweat and his vision blurred.
W-Was he doing this on purpose?
"Everyone… has it…" Kaiba growled, reaching out to palm the head of Atem's dick to give him a squeeze and feeling him tense excitedly in response. "It feels good when you do this…"
Inching himself higher up along Atem's legs, Kaiba pressed the head of his arousal right beside Atem's leaking tip and gave him a sensual swirl. Atem bit back a gasp as a hot thread of pleasure streamed down his chest when Kaiba did it again, and he reached his hand out to touch himself, wrapping his hand around the base of his hardness to give himself a few up and down strokes, enjoying the wonderful tightness sitting low in his stomach.
Now this felt good. Familiar.
"It's not too bad," Atem panted, reaching out to grab Kaiba's erection and giving him a few fervid strokes too, enjoying the pink tinge spreading across his high cheekbones. Another question was bursting out of his chest, and Atem spoke before he could stop himself, "Do you want to put it inside? What about my hole?"
Kaiba blinked and slowly slid his hand down Atem's thigh and back up again, giving his balls a suggestive knead and seeing the king blush deeply again.
"What about it?" Kaiba said quietly, his skin burning with longing. He wanted to shove himself into Atem and finally show him what real, raw, human pleasure was.
But Atem was kind of ruining the mood with his questions.
"Does my hole look strange?" Atem asked predictably, and Kaiba bit the inside of his cheek, deciding to keep his lewd thoughts to himself.
"I don't know, I haven't seen it. I'll look and tell you," Kaiba said, a fighting its way up his chest. "Lift your legs and hold them open while I take a good look."
Atem nodded uncertainly and lifted his legs obediently, seeing Kaiba climb off the bed and hunt for something on the floor.
"W-Where are you going?" Atem panicked, lowering his leg, wondering if his hole was that repulsive. "Come back…."
"Found it," Kaiba said calmly, tossing the lube onto the mattress, his heart nearly stopping inside his chest at the sight of Atem splayed out before him with his tanned legs high in the air, flashing him a pretty pink hole.
He climbed back onto the bed with a growl and reached out to grab Atem's thighs, giving the flesh a passionate squeeze before he curled downwards to give Atem's dick a vicious suck, enjoying the excited shout ringing above him as Atem thumped his heels down onto his shoulders, twitching and jerking happily.
Patting the mattress blindly for the lube, Kaiba felt Atem buck roughly into his mouth just as his fingers closed around the tiny bottle. He uncapped it with one hand, pouring the liquid into his palm and slathering it up and down Atem's asscheek, his fingers slipping closer and closer to his hole, barely hearing the mer-king's stammers, "W-Wait…I feel like I'm going to…."
Kaiba jerked back frantically and slammed his hand down around the base of Atem's hardness, giving him a tight squeeze.
Atem curled his toes anxiously as the warm bubble of pleasure vanished, replaced by a stifling ache that made his legs weak. Wh-What was this feeling? It didn't feel like this when he had his fins….
"Try to hold out…. Just a bit more," Kaiba nodded, unsure if he could last any longer himself because the visuals were so incredibly stimulating, all his years of fantasizing Atem spread out like this couldn't compare to the reality happening now.
"It feels strange!" Atem insisted, shivering as Kaiba's fingers slipped up along the inside of his thigh and entered him in one swift motion. His hole reacted with a strong clench, and Kaiba grit his teeth, giving it an experimental thrust before adding a second one, feeling Atem stretch willingly and shiver again.
"Now?" Kaiba asked, his tongue swelling with lust as he started at Atem's dick slick with his own saliva, sitting against a beautiful, tanned abdomen.
"I…don't know," Atem replied defensively, his body slowly melting against his will. Everything just felt hot and hazy with no end in sight. How did Seto find this enjoyable? He could feel the fingers slipping around inside him, and it felt just like that—fingers moving around.
Was this it?
This was the exciting pleasure Kaiba wanted to show him?!
Kaiba let out a huff and lowered Atem's ass, prodding the head of his dick firmly against the base of Atem's balls, his voice shaking, "We're not stopping after this. Last chance to back out now…"
Confused, Atem nodded and shook his head. Sure, whatever. If he could be honest, this was getting quite boring….
Boring?! Kaiba reeled, and he pushed his doubt aside, glancing down at himself so he could slide evenly into Atem's hole, inch by inch, ignoring Atem's choking gasps, his ears ringing as he watched his as length was engulfed by a set of pretty, tanned ass cheeks.
Atem gripped the sheets and threw his head back onto the soft pillows, his body reacting violently to the pleasurable new feeling of being filled. This…definitely felt different from when he had fins. Instead of just his lower parts receiving pleasure, it was his entire body. Kaiba's hands slid up his stomach to give his chest a lewd grope, and his blue eyes were dark with lust as he rocked forward, sending another powerful jolt of mind-numbing fire through his body.
"W-Wait…wait!" Atem gasped, trying to gather his bearings, but so many new feelings were happening at once, he wasn't sure what to focus on first. Kaiba's breath was grazing his cheek, and then they were kissing, deeply, passionately, with tongue and teeth before Kaiba pulled away to drag his mouth down the side of his neck… while warm hands kept his legs spread and filled him repeatedly, so much that it made him open his mouth to gasp for air, but no sound was coming out of his throat, because every passionate thrust from Kaiba made his vision fade and come back again, sharper and clearer.
Kaiba grinned, trying to stave off the orgasm bubbling low in his stomach as he watched Atem twist and writhe excitedly underneath him, his violet eyes blissfully closed while his legs trembled. Cute.
"Had enough?" Kaiba asked calmly, reaching down to give the base of Atem's dick another spiteful squeeze, stifling him again. "Or…not?"
Atem shook his head, unable to answer as Kaiba rammed into him stiffly again, nearly rocking the entire bed with the force of his thrust, and Atem curled his toes excitedly, relaxing into the excited shivers that engulfed him as Kaiba pulled out slowly and leaned into him again at an agonizing pace, making sure he felt every jolt of heat, every warm thread of electricity snaking up and down his body. His breath hitched thinly in his chest as he tried to pry his eyes open, but to no avail. Kaiba's hands were once again dragging down his body to give his front a tight squeeze before he moved it up and down so fast that Atem was thrown off guard completely by the sudden blanket of ecstasy wrapping steadily around him, bringing him to the brink of something wonderful, something that made his lungs tight and his heart pound. A part of him was dimly aware that he was being filled and touched at the same time, and that was it, but he couldn't explain why it felt this…intense.
Kaiba let his breath out slowly, enjoying every moment, making sure to stamp every single one of Atem's lewd expressions into his memory as he let the orgasm he'd been holding to burst forth and consume him. He shoved himself as deep as he could go, briefly wondering if he was hurting Atem, but the hands that came clawing at the backs of his thighs, trying to pull him close while Atem gasped, "….m-more…" allowed him to throw caution to the wind as he gave the mer-king a few more rapid thrusts, his own legs shaking so much, he could barely stay up. Atem rolled over onto his side, still grabbing blindly at Kaiba's legs, wishing Kaiba would stay inside him longer, higher instead of pulling out every time, but he realized the wonderful euphoria only came when Kaiba crashed into him and connected their bodies.
His stomach and chest tightened and curled with excitement at different rates as Atem shuddered and came in a tremendous heave, riding out the violent shudders as Kaiba's hand continued to move up and down between his legs, causing his entire body to spasm the moment it became too sensitive.
Trembling and breathless, Atem went limp and sagged into the pillows, his heart thundering in his ears while he tried to catch his breath.
Kaiba had disappeared somewhere below him, and Atem struggled to lift his head, seeing Kaiba approaching him with an odd, cylindrical device. Opening his mouth to protest, Atem realized he was too slow when Kaiba tucked the toy firmly underneath his balls, sending a searing hot rush of pleasure over his entire body, causing him to curl his knees up to his chest to avoid the violent buzzing, but the heat followed him up to his throat, making it hard to breathe while his stomach curled and clenched with ecstasy.
Satisfied, Kaiba laid down beside Atem and closed his eyes, panting heavily as he slowly caught his breath, deeply enjoying Atem who was still shivering and shaking beside him.
Atem mustered up the last of his strength to push the toy away from his balls, and doubled over onto the mattress, his vision turning green and then white as his body convulsed in protest from the sudden change. Clear, slippery fluid gushed from the tip of his dick again, followed by a dull ache that settled deep inside him, making him feel horribly unfulfilled.
"Wow, look, you went twice. Congrats," Kaiba said devilishly, flashing Atem a bright grin. "You see what I mean when I said going twice was—" The air was crushed out of his lungs as Atem rolled on top of him and sat on his stomach, rubbing his asscheeks onto his semi-erect penis. Tanned hands were grabbing at his stiffness as Atem desperately tried to put Kaiba back inside, but his fingers kept slipping on the semen covering Kaiba's tip.
"H-Holy s-shit…st—I can't go again!" Kaiba gasped, curling forward, his arms and legs trembling with disbelief as Atem dove forward to kiss him furiously while still sliding his tender erection up and down along his asscrack.
Please…I'll die. Really, Kaiba pleaded silently, giving Atem's lower lip a gentle bite, and finally, Atem let up, sitting back to glare daggers at Kaiba while still panting heavily.
"Y-You did that…on purpose. What is that thing?" Atem asked furiously, eyeing the still-buzzing vibrator sitting dangerously close to the edge of the bed.
"A toy!" Kaiba choked, giving Atem's legs a pat. "There's more. We can try again later…!"
Disgruntled, Atem climbed off of Kaiba and collapsed onto the bed beside him, closing his eyes and hearing Kaiba let out a nervous laugh.
"Did you hate that?" Kaiba prompted, and Atem rolled over to give his shoulder a light kiss.
"No," Atem replied quietly, enjoying how his entire body felt like it was floating on a cloud. "It feels very different. I can see why the warriors enjoy having maidens on land."
"Please change your vocabulary," Kaiba pressed a hand over his eyes, his chest shaking with repressed laughter. Composing himself quickly, Kaiba rolled over onto his stomach and rested his cheek on Atem's chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart, enjoying his musky scent mixed in with the scent of their lovemaking.
"If you liked that, imagine how it would feel if…" Kaiba bit the tip of his tongue and told himself to shut up. No. Nope.
Bad idea.
Atem caught on and his eyes brightened with mischief. "You want to try it? Making love to you when you're in mer-form while I keep my human legs sounds dangerous but wonderful. I want to feel it."
Kaiba stared intently into Atem's face before he burst out laughing and threw his arms around the mer-king's slender shoulders, his heart racing.
"You're the worst king ever," Kaiba declared, raising his head to give Atem a smirk. "I love it."
"Yes, the only question is when." Atem mused, reaching out to drape his arm over Kaiba's shoulder, enjoying the softness of his skin, watching it glow in the moonlight coming in from the open window.
"I'll figure it out. We can set aside a day. I'll enter the Chrysalis first and meet you on the beach." Kaiba said simply, already mapping out the beach and wondering how much security was needed to clear one small section.
Atem nodded sleepily. The sounds of the waves lapping against the shore was so relaxing.
He felt close to the ocean even though he knew it was several yards away down the ramp. The large glass windows allowed him a full view of the night sky along with the beach every time he cracked his eyes open, and the bed was softer than any sand he'd been on.
Kaiba's head on his shoulder was warm, and reassuring.
He drifted off quickly, leaving Kaiba awake to stare lovingly into his face while his chest rose and fell softly, almost in sync with the waves rolling up and down along the sand. Pleased, Kaiba closed his eyes too and found that sleep came easily to him for the first time in decades.
The next morning, Kaiba woke up with a start when he felt the breeze ruffling his hair.
He sat up slowly, feeling his head rush with a slow pound of pain as he pinched and brow and saw Atem's tanned legs curled over his.
Was this a caffeine withdrawal headache? It sure felt like it.
The sun had barely risen, and a beautiful pale yellow was painted across the sky above the calm ocean waves.
He glanced at the nightstand and hissed in annoyance when there was no coffee waiting for him, and Isono's face hovered in the front of his mind briefly before he composed himself and eased out of bed, careful not to wake Atem.
It was painful every time he thought of Isono, but Kaiba learned that the heartache he felt in his chest was affection, and that it meant he would remember his manservant fondly for the rest of his long life as a merperson.
Dragging himself over to the shower, he made sure his long hair was tied back before he switched the nozzle onto the coldest setting out of habit and touched the water with his hand, shivering before he switched it back to a hot setting and stood underneath it, letting it cascade down his body.
Lifting his hand up to his face, Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the way beads of water were running off of his arm. Was he imagining things or was he reverting to mer-form so soon after soaking in the chrysalis just yesterday?
He shook his head and shut the water off, stepping out to get dressed and slowly planning his day. Lunch with Mokuba was the only thing in his itinerary, so there was a chance to show Atem around before they had to return.
Pleased with this thought, Kaiba walked out of the room and down the hall, surprised to see Kemo awake and sitting in the living room, still as a statue.
"Hey, make me a cup of coffee," Kaiba commanded, and the manservant turned to give him a stiff nod before getting up out of his seat. "And give me your phone. I need one for the day."
The phone was slid across the marble counter, and Kaiba snatched it up, glaring at Kemo.
"What's the password, you—" Kaiba bit his tongue, reminding himself to sound kinder. "Please tell me the—"
"58934," the man answered quietly, and he bent forward, back to dutifully grinding coffee beans.
There was an awkward silence, and Kaiba tapped it into the screen, taking the silence as Kemo's obedience. He scrolled through the contacts, searching for a familiar name before he hit 'dial' and walked out to the beach to take the call.
His feet sunk into the sand as the phone rang, and Kaiba peeled it away from his face to check the time.
6:30AM. Well, it wasn't too early, right?
Seto? Seth's voice echoed in his mind followed by an arm sticking out from behind the rock in the distance, and Kaiba hung up the phone, racing forward to greet his twin.
Making sure to take his shoes off and roll up his pant legs, Kaiba waded into the water and grit his teeth when the icy coldness stung his calves.
"Look at that, just like old times," Seth said blithely, riding a shallow wave to shore and beaching himself comfortably beside Seto's ankles. "I have something I need to discuss with you in private…" Seth's voice trailed off as he gazed out over the horizon and turned back to smile at his twin, admiring his long locks of brown hair.
"Yeah, same," Kaiba replied darkly, lifting his ponytail up to make sure he wasn't going to sit on it. "My hair is annoying the shit out of me. I'm cutting it."
"No!" Seth gasped, his face paling, and Kaiba rolled his eyes. This again.
"Yes, and I'm going to do it before Atem wakes up," Kaiba said, knowing he was going to receive pushback from the mer-king too. "…. If the hairdresser will fucking pick up the phone…"
"The person most disappointed with your decision will be Adina," Seth declared, his eyes sharpening. "Do not cut your hair. You are essentially discarding your royal status if you do."
"Are you fucking serious?" Kaiba raged, curling his fingertips into the wet sand with frustration. "Didn't you say royalty was defined by our kingdom and all that other shit? People already know who I am. I hate being mistaken for you. I'm cutting it. End of discussion."
"Then good luck finding someone who will cut it for you," Seth hissed back, his expression darkening as fast as Kaiba's mood. "Speaking of our kingdom, there's one small matter."
"Spit it out," Kaiba growled, upset that his twin didn't approve of his style change.
Seth gave him an exasperated look before he said, "our treasury is full."
"Oh, the horror," Kaiba said sarcastically, grabbing a fistful of sand and grinding his fingers through it. This was solid proof that nothing had changed about his situation. He may have achieved his initial goal of finding the chrysalis to be together with Atem, but here he was, back on land with two legs while Seth asked him to solve all their problems underwater.
"Well? A solution, please," Seth said kindly, raising a hand to pat Seto on the shoulder before he paused and retracted, reminding Seto didn't like being touched by wet hands because something about 'dry cleaning'.
"Build another bank or give it away," Kaiba intoned, wincing as the sun began to shine fully into his face. "Now I'm going back in—"
"Give it away to who?" Seth asked frantically, shaking his head. "You don't understand. These aren't the 'crap rubies' from our lipstick trades. It's the bulk of our currency!"
"Then invest it?!" Kaiba raised an eyebrow, wondering if this was even doable. "Small kingdoms need help, don't they? Give it to them, and they owe us favors and men for our army. Or haul it up here and I turn it into jewelry. Done. Now, can I leave?!"
Seth swallowed thinly and nodded giving his twin a pleading look. "Please, Seto, don't cut your hair."
"I won't, alright?" Kaiba snarled, his temper flaring with quick familiarity again as he stomped back to the ramp leading up to the house.
He was going to cut his hair, and he'd be damned if Atem woke up next to him calling him 'Seth'. That memory was hard to shake, and he wanted to prevent it from ever happening again.
He slid the glass door aside and saw Atem sitting at the counter, chatting happily with Kemo, who was holding a conversation with him, sounding the most human Kaiba had ever heard him.
"…Master Noah has named them 'Lili' and 'Bibi'," Kemo was saying, his cheeks oddly pink. "We've tried feeding them live fish, but we don't know if they ever come close enough to eat it."
"I'll talk to them," Atem said casually, beaming at the manservant. "They will appreciate the gifts."
Kaiba scowled and leaned against the doorframe, realizing immediately who they were talking about.
"You mean Dolphin Guardian Assholes A and B?" Kaiba suggested, and Atem shot him a sharp look.
"They saved Adina from a boat propeller. We owe them our lives," Atem said seriously and Kaiba nodded, deciding it was best not to argue, so he changed the subject quickly.
"Want to go out? I have something to show you," Kaiba said, his blue eyes gleaming excitedly. "Kemo, get the car."
"Please fetch the car," Atem added, and the manservant reddened visibly before hurrying away. Kaiba stared at Atem, his chest swirling with a strange tightness.
"He likes you," Kaiba said accusingly, and Atem shot back indignantly. "Why wouldn't he? I'm more charming and I have manners."
They had a brief staring contest before Kaiba relented first, and Atem piped up with another question.
"What's in the safe? I saw it in the closet," Atem asked as innocently as he could, but Kaiba could feel his skin prickling strangely. Oh shit…
"Also, Mokuba would like to know what's in the safe." Atem continued, examining his very human-like nails on his hand. "When you gave us a scare with your 'death', the safe was inaccessible. So, please, open it now if you have nothing to hide."
Unable to find the appropriate comeback, Kaiba merely nodded stiffly and walked into the bedroom, his heart thudding in his ears. He wasn't prepared for Atem to see it, but he knew Atem was kind and understanding so… it should be fine.
Atem stood apprehensively behind Seto as he pressed the pad of his finger against a scanner, and the lock clicked open with a heavy thunk!
Kaiba swung the small metal door open and stepped back, gesturing for Atem to take a look.
"Go ahead. There's nothing too important in there," Kaiba said, his heart skipping beats as he hoped that explanation would suffice.
Atem blinked curiously and stepped closer, staring at the folded piece of paper and two jewelry boxes inside. He picked the paper up first and unfolded it, hearing Seto's heart thumping so loudly beside him, so he reminded himself to keep his expression neutral at what he was about to see.
Mana and Mahad had warned him about the 'secrets warriors keep' on land, and perhaps this was one of them.
It was a letter written in neat, beautiful handwriting.
Kaiba held his breath, wondering if Atem was going to yell at him…or break up with him….
"I see. This is your Kisara," Atem said firmly, holding the letter up to the light and frowning. "…If she was a mermaid from Ilkos, she wouldn't have died on land. Someone must've come to collect her body. We—"
"What?!" Kaiba hissed, swaying on the spot as he wondered Seth knew about this. His twin must've known. He'd been gone for months, swimming from shore to shore trying to find her….
"And did he find her?" Atem asked sympathetically, folding the letter up and reaching for the ring box. "Merpeople who 'die' are put back into the pods so we can re-enter the circle of life. Let's put this letter under a long-wave light. There might be another message written by a medic from the colony that took her."
Shaking his head in disbelief, he watched Atem reach for the two jewelry boxes. The king's face was impassive as he gazed into them. One contained the wing-shaped earrings, and the other held Kisara's ring.
Kaiba held his breath and saw Atem unceremoniously slip Kisara's ring onto his finger and pocket his mother's earrings before closing the safe, his face still unusually blank.
It was as if he was intentionally hiding his emotions.
"Hey, are you upset?" Kaiba asked, feeling as if he was being punished. "I'm—We never did anything if that's what you want to know."
"Then why did you marry her?" Atem asked, still sounding eerily cheerful. "Was it just for her ring, as she stated in the letter? I find that hard to believe—"
"It's true," Kaiba hissed, moving to block Atem off in the hallway, straining to catch his eye, but the mer-king had his head lowered so much, all Kaiba could see was a spiky crop of blond bangs.
Panicking, Kaiba talked fast, eager to explain himself.
"I saw her, I saw the ring, and I immediately figured that the best way to get it was to marry her," he said through gritted teeth, his ears burning with shame, but he held his ground. "I had a feeling I couldn't even buy it off her because she said it was a family heirloom. Also, she loved Seth, and they two of them traveled together while I stayed here…to raise Noah."
"Well, thank you for finding the ring." Atem said stiffly, straightening up to look Kaiba in the eye, and Kaiba realized with a jolt that Atem was crying. His cheeks were wet.
Oh shit.
Oh shit.
"I'm…sorry," Kaiba said lamely, unsure if this would fix it, but to his surprise, Atem leaned forward to give him a fierce hug, nearly crushing the air out of him.
It's my mother's ring, Atem's voice rang clear in Kaiba's head, but the king was shaking with sobs while clinging onto him for support, and Kaiba stiffly lowered his hand to rest on Atem's shoulders, feeling conflicted but relieved.
"Well, then how the hell did she get it?" Kaiba asked, and Atem shook his head, managing a shrug.
After a long moment, Atem lifted his head up to gaze into Kaiba's face, his voice still shaking with emotion, "I-It was probably passed down from maiden to maiden on land. E-Everyone kept it safe…. It belongs to Adina, for when she becomes queen."
Speechless, Kaiba swallowed thinly and nodded, unable to put his emotions into words.
Small world?
Kemo appeared at the end of the hallway and bowed stiffly, his deep voice breaking the silence around them.
"Master Kaiba, the car is ready."
Kaiba nodded and felt Atem's arms tighten around his waist further, so he shot the manservant a thought, "give us a moment," and watched Kemo disappear out the door as silently as he came.
Then, Kaiba reached his arms down to pull Atem into a tighter embrace, enjoying the king's warmth against his chest.
It was nice to know his efforts really paid off in the end.
Author's note:
AWwwwwwwww
kaiba shows atem a good time ||human-style||
and some loose ends are tied up about kisara's "death"
now kaiba is off to show atem some wonderful land surprises!
