Atem snored himself awake on a lazy saturday morning. He stretched out on his bed and sighed happily, turning on his side and nuzzling his nose into his pillow.

His phone buzzed and he groaned, already knowing who the text was from.

He grabbed his phone and looked at the new message. He sighed as he read it, trying not to cringe at the picture attached.

Aibouuu: Atem, we really messed up. That picture of us is everywhere! We're trending… image

..

…..

Aibouuu: It's been weeks, and Te'a and I aren't even together anymore. People are treating me like a playboy!

..

Aibouuu: Joey isn't talking to me either.

Atem composed his reply carefully. He wondered if he should feel bad but he was relieved that him and Yugi could be themselves around each other again.

Atem: Why isn't Joey speaking to you?

…

…

…

..

Aibouuu: He feels as if I haven't been invested in the game shop. And it's not like he's wrong but, he confronted me about it right after Te'a and I got back from dinner and I wasn't really...you know in a headspace to understand him.

…

..

…

Aibouuu: I've been trying to apologize to him but he hasn't come to work. Have you heard from him at all?

Atem sat up in his bed and sighed. He had hoped that things would have calmed down by now, considering it's been two weeks.

He had quite the time recovering after passing out on the beach, but he was back to normal within a couple of days.

He walked out of his bedroom in just his boxers, making a sharp right down the hall to Salem's room. He knocked loudly, impatiently tapping his foot.

"Come in…" Salem's voice sounded on the other side of the door.

Atem barged in and was shocked to see Salem fully dressed sitting at her desk in the corner of the room.

He approached her slowly and sat on her already made bed.

"Why do you have a home office if you're just going to use the computer in your room?" Atem asked, crossing his arms over his bare chest.

Salem shrugged, her blush pink leather jacket rustling with her movement. She turned to look at Atem and chuckled,

"You should be getting ready. We have a meeting at Kaiba Corp in an hour." She said standing up from her desk.

Atem glanced at the desktop screen and saw that she was editing the video her and Kaiba filmed during the vacation-gone-wrong. He was still upset about it, but he had a feeling Salem was only interested in one person.

"Aibou asked me if I've heard from Joey recently. What should I say?" Atem asked, getting up from Salem's bed and following her downstairs.

Salem sighed as she walked into the kitchen,

"Tell him the truth. Joey has left his employment at the Game Shop to work for me at the spa."

Atem sighed and sat at the kitchen island, rubbing at his temples.

"Did you really have to hire him? It's awkward whenever I see him taking the dirty towels and sheets to the laundry room." He said, opening his messages and typing out his reply to Yugi.

Salem smirked as she poured her coffee, being extra careful not to spill on her new white bodycon dress.

"Well maybe you can diffuse things, habibi. You have a shift today after our meeting. Maybe you should talk to Joey before you start."

Atem's phone buzzed violently, startling both him and Salem.

Aibouuu: WHAT?!

Aibouuu: He can't just quit without notice, Atem!

Aibouuu: And Who the fuck does Salem think she is, stealing my employee?!

Atem's eyes widened as he read Yugi's messages.

"Oh he's really mad…"

Atem sighed and showed his phone to Salem, hoping there was some way that she could soften the blow.

She read the messages carefully and chuckled.

"Honestly. Joseph came to me after we got back from Enoshima and said that he didn't feel valued at the game shop. He saw how I valued my employees and asked for a job. He was more than qualified for custodial work, Atem." She said, sipping the dark liquid from her pink floral mug.

She flipped her long curly hair and set her mug down, staring at Atem seriously.

"Yugi, can't leave his employees alone constantly so he can runaway with you. He only manages the game shop, he doesn't own it. His presence there is mandatory. I own my own business and it operates like a well oiled machine when I'm not present, which is most of the time. As a good company should." She said putting her hand on her hip.

Atem rolled his eyes and decided it best not to respond to Yugi right away. He would get in touch when he had a solution.

"You sound just like Kaiba." Atem said, getting up to go get dressed.

"Speaking of, he sent me a message asking me to lunch after the meeting...What should I say?" She asked, taking another calm sip of her coffee.

Atem sighed,

"Better you than me at this point. I still haven't spoken to him since that moment on the beach…" He said, walking up the stairs and to his room.

Once he was back in his room, he got dressed in a white dress shirt, beige slacks, and a linen lavender blazer. He took a pair of patent leather penny loafers out of his closet and carried his shoes downstairs.

"OoooooOO! Habibi, you look amazing! Very springtime!" Salem teased, wiggling her hips at Atem playfully.

"I have a high profile client at the spa today. Do you happen to know who it is?" Atem asked, slipping on his shoes near the door.

Salem shook her head,

"I can't divulge that information, Atem. But, I can say it's not Kaiba or Mokuba." She said with a laugh.

Salem went up to Atem and adjusted his lapels,

"Seriously, Atem. You look very nice. A CEO in the making. Regardless of you friend drama, you've come so far. I'm proud of you." She said cupping his cheek with her soft hand.

Atem smiled and looked into Salem's big gorgeous eyes, trying his best to stop his own eyes from welling up with tears.

Salem slipped on her white pumps, the back of the heel covered in crystals, and smiled at Atem.

"Let's get going." She said, grabbing her keys off of the kitchen island.

Kaiba was tapping his foot impatiently as Mokuba paced back and forth. The Kaiba brothers were waiting in their conference room with their marketing team, waiting for Salem and Atem to show up.

"Mr. Kaiba, please, the meeting doesn't start for another couple of minutes, please have a seat." One of the team members said to Mokuba, who was making everyone nervous with his pacing.

"How can I stay still? With Seto outing himself to the entire world, and Atem and Yugi making out in public, how can I stay still?" Mokuba seethed, taking off his blue blazer and draping it over his swivel chair.

Kaiba rolled his eyes as everyone in the room turned to look at him. He glared at his employees,

"What."

The marketing team members shifted in their chairs, each member clearing their throats wondering which one of them would be the one to tell Kaiba their plan.

Finally, an older gentleman spoke up, dabbing the sweat on his forehead with a handkerchief from his inner coat pocket.

"Mr. Kaiba, the team thinks it's best if we keep your...er, preference discrete. We already have a statement prepared-"

"Seto isn't going to lie about who he is!" Mokuba exclaimed, ruffling his short raven hair.

"Mokuba, please calm yourself. As for your statement, I don't think that's necessary. Salem and I filmed a video a couple of weeks ago and it's shows our...natural chemistry. I'll have her post it and everyone will forget about my "proclamation" to Atem." Kaiba explained, staring out the large floor to ceiling windows.

"Seto...Are you sure that's a good idea? Salem's a good person. She could probably talk to Atem about-"

"About what Mokuba? Atem's made his decision and if he's serious about it, he won't mind if Salem starts to spend more time at the Kaiba mansion. Her daily vlogs have over a million views, as per her contract, she now needs to produce at a more consistent capacity." Kaiba started, walking to the head of the conference table.

"Yeah, so?" Mokuba asked, confused.

"So, since you're won't be going to your lessons for the summer, you'll work closely with her to make sure she can attract a younger audience. Vlogs, makeup tutorials, all of it. Any videos where her and Atem are doing anything related to our new product will be filmed and marketed by our team." Kaiba reasoned, taking his seat.

Mokuba looked his brother, concerned. He was happy to spend more time with Salem, but he didn't like that Seto wanted to use her as his "beard".

He took his seat next to Kaiba and sighed.

"Fine, Seto. I don't know how you'll convince her to do any of this." Mokuba said, opening his laptop.

"She's agreed to lunch with me after the meeting, and I don't need to convince her. It's her job." Kaiba finished, just in time for Salem and Atem to enter the conference room.

"Atem, Salem! Good to see you! Please have a seat." Mokuba said, putting on a happy face.

Atem smiled weakly and avoided Kaiba's gaze,

"Good morning." He said, sitting down next to Salem but as far away from Kaiba as possible.

"Good morning, everyone." Salem said, dazzling the room with a toothy smile.

The male members of the marketing team swooned silently, as the female members rolled their eyes.

"Shall we get started?" Kaiba asked, his low voice grumbling in his chest.

Everyone nodded and they began, Atem realizing that this side of the beauty industry was the most boring thing he's ever had the displeasure of sitting through.

The meeting wrapped up, and as the marketing team was leaving, Mokuba walked up to Atem and pulled him aside.

"How is Yugi?" Mokuba asked in a hushed voice.

Atem chuckled,

"He's stressed. Salem isn't helping that's for sure." He said with shrug.

Mokuba smirked,

"I mean, she can do what she wants. I don't really think she gives a shit." He said, gazing at Salem, who was chatting with one of the female team members.

Atem furrowed his brow.

"Um, what does that mean? She shouldn't get involved and-"

"Atem, with your friends, it's impossible not to get involved. She's done a lot for you, why wouldn't she extend the same kindness to Joey?" Mokuba interrupted.

Atem blinked,

"How do you-"

"Atem, I'm a Kaiba, nothing happens in this city without me or Seto knowing about it. Plus, Yugi's been slacking in his duties at the game shop which has been leaving Joey to clean up the mess. Wouldn't you be upset if Salem ran off with Seto on some vague getaway to escape her problems?" Mokuba babbled, gesturing with his right hand.

Atem scoffed,

"Salem would never-What does this have to do with anything?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Mokuba stepped closer to Atem, the young Kaiba towering over him.

Atem wondered when Mokuba had gotten so tall. He definitely wasn't this tall a month ago.

Mokuba grabbed Atem's elbow, nodded at the corner of the room.

Atem looked over and saw Kaiba and Salem...flirting?

No?

No.

He looked back at Mokuba who was wearing a serious expression.

"It's strictly professional. Don't let my brother make you think otherwise. Also, it's probably best if you stay on DL for the next week or so. At least until that picture stops circulating." Mokuba said, escorting Atem to the door.

Atem glared at Mokuba and then looked over at Salem and Kaiba, the tall brunette running his hand down Salem's arm. The ex pharaoh's blood boiled as he made a motion march back into the office.

Mokuba blocked Atem's way and guided him completely outside of the conference room.

"Like I said, it's completely professional." Mokuba said through clenched teeth.

Atem sighed and shook his head,

"Why?"

Mokuba raised an eyebrow,

"Why do you think? Your love triangle was getting tiresome." He lead Atem to the elevator and pushed the down button.

Atem stared at his feet.

He didn't know how to feel about Kaiba Corp. using his friend in this way. But, he supposed Salem could take care of herself.

Atem walked into the elevator wordlessly, watching Mokuba getting in after him.

The young Kaiba sighed and looked into Atem's eyes,

"It'll be alright, Atem. Salem's smart and Seto is going to be forthright with her. She won't be doing anything she didn't already agree to."

Atem huffed and crossed his arms,

"She's not going to say yes to being Seto Kaiba's buffer."

"She will if she wants her line to launch." Mokuba threatened, keeping his eyes on the elevator numbers above them.

"What?" Atem growled, shoving Mokuba into the cold metal wall.

Mokuba chuckled and pushed Atem off of him,

"Cool it. Like I said, Salem's smart, she'll make the right choice." He said, as the elevator dinged.

"Have a good day at work, Atem. And remember, stay out of the media." Mokuba said lowly as Atem stepped out of the elevator, the metal doors closing slowly behind him.

He turned and stared at the elevator in shock.

"What the fuck just happened?"

Atem was organizing his station when the receptionist alerted him that his client had arrived. He put his jacket on the hook behind the door, and followed her to the waiting area.

He casually walked in the waiting area and froze when he saw who was sitting in the plush white chairs.

"ATEEEEMMMM! How ARRRREEE YOU?" Pegasus yelled, standing and throwing his arms around the frightened ex king.

Atem pulled away from Pegasus and adjusted his shirt,

"Pegasus..Haha, what the hell you doing here?" He said with a fake chuckle.

Pegasus threw Atem a wink and pulled on his flouncy shirt cuff.

"Well, I am the creator of Duel Monsters, AAAAAND you and your beautiful companion areeee going to launch a cosmetics line with the feature product being based on my creation. I figured I would come to Salem's lovely spa and get a treatment from the King himself." He said in a singsong voice.

Atem groaned internally and put on a fake smile,

"Right. Of course. Right this way." He said leading the flamboyant Ceo to his private room.

Pegasus took a seat in the facial chair and smirked at Atem, looking the ex pharaoh up and down.

"My, my don't you look nice. All gussied up for your meeting with Kaiba-boy, eh?" Pegasus said with a chuckle.

Atem breathed through his nose, looking up at where the ceiling met with the wall to try and control his rage. He brought out the cleanser and hot towel, keeping silent.

Pegasus sighed happily as Atem pressed the towel into Pegasus' skin gently.

Atem shivered with disgust as he expertly moved the warm cloth along the silver haired CEO's skin. He threw the dirty towel in the basket by the door and uncapped the cleanser, wafting it under Pegasus' nose.

"Mmmmmn, I think that'll be just fine…" Pegasus purred, closing his eyes as Atem began working the cleanser into his skin.

He massaged Pegasus' face in little circles, working on the temples and then tapping his fingers lightly down the hinge of his jaw.

His gaze wandered as he mechanically went through the motions of the facial. His eyes landed on the crotch of Pegasus' red slacks.

"Shit. Shit." Atem thought nervously, clearing his throat and moving onto the face mask.

He had hoped he had imagined what he saw but was too scared to look again.

Atem pulled a rolling stool up to the facial chair and squirted massage oil into his hand. He repressed a gag as he took Pegasus' hand in his, massaging the brown eyed man's palm and fingers.

He kept his eyes down on his work, willing the mask on Pegasus' face to dry faster. He still had to give Pegasus' a full face of makeup and he was dreading every moment.

He scooted his stool over the Pegasus' other hand, catching a glimpse of the twitching tent between the CEO's legs.

He shakily finished Pegasus' other hand and stood from the stool, reaching for another hot towel to wipe off the mask.

As he finished removing the mint green colored clay from his skin, Atem realized the CEO was watching his every move. He cleared his throat and put the towel in the basket, pouring some toner on a cotton pad, passing it along Pegasus' face in upward motions.

He grabbed the moisturizer next and squirted a small amount on his fingertips, swallowing bile as Pegasus let out a light moan as he applied the cream.

He walked over to his small sink and washed his hands, dreading the next step of the process.

He arranged several products according to what the CEO specified in his appointment notes and studied the older man's features.

Hmmm.

"A shimmer highlight would look great on his cheek bones, and give a little more glam to the everyday glam Pegasus is going for…"

"Alright Pegasus, I think I know what you're going for so if you like, I'll get started." Atem said professionally, dropping some foundation onto the back of his hand, dipping the beauty blender in the liquid.

"Beat me up, King." Pegasus said with a chuckle

"That's not...Okay, then." Atem depanned, beating the foundation into his skin.

He applied concealer, highlight, contour, and baking powder. He filled in Pegasus' eyebrows as the baking powder set the concealer in the middle of his forehead, underneath his eyes, under his jawline, and the middle of his chin.

He brushed the baking powder off and began applying natural colored eyeshadow on Pegasus' lids, giving the CEO a more sultry and inviting look.

He applied a brown mascara to just the top of Pegasus' lashes to create the illusion of fuller lashes while he kept the color subtle, instead of harsh black. He then applied the new shimmer highlighter to Pegasus' cheek bones, making a mental note to put it on his tray for after the appointment.

He brushed a tinted lip balm over Pegasus' lips, his hand flinching as a pink tongue tried to caress his finger.

"Sorry, reflex." Pegasus sighed, gesturing for the ex king to continue.

Lastly, he sprayed a setting mist all over Pegasus face, using a hand fan to help the mist dry faster.

He silently rejoiced and grabbed a hand mirror, knowing Pegasus was going gush over his new everyday glam look.

He proudly handed Pegasus the mirror, feeling superior as the silver haired CEO gasped and squealed as he gazed at his reflection in the mirror.

"My, my, Atem! I knew you were talented but you've turned this tired face into a work of art!" He said standing up and pulling a reluctant Atem into a crushing hug.

Atem gasped for air as he writhed out of Pegasus' grip and rubbed his arm.

"I'm glad you like it. What do you have for the rest of the day?" Atem asked, regretting asking questions immediately.

Pegasus gasped and guffawed,

"Did Salem not tell you? You're supposed to entertain me for the rest of the evening!" He said, taking out his phone showing Atem the email.

Atem felt the floor dip around him as the silver haired CEO pulled him out of the private room and into the lobby.

As Pegasus, purchased everything in sight, Atem sent a frantic text to Salem. When he received no response, he sent a message to Yugi.

His phone chimed immediately.

Aibouuu: Wow Salem's on a role, isn't she? Did you ever find out about Joey?

Atem sighed.

Unhelpful.

He rubbed at his forehead as a blonde blur moved in his peripherie. His head snapped up and hecleared his throat,

"Joey." He said, catching the attention of the busy blonde.

Joey adjusted his apron and rubbed the back of his head,

"Oh um, hiya, hangin' out with Pegasus tonight." He muttered, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Unfortunately. Hey, um, I'm sorry about a of couple weeks ago…" Atem started, hoping to at least get Joey to stop ignoring Yugi.

Joey scoffed,

"Yeah. Uh, Thanks. You're not really the person who owes me an apology…" He crossed his arms.

Atem sighed,

"I had a feeling. Listen, he can't apologize if you won't hear him out. I know he wants to talk to you about it. Just text him." He reasoned, knowing that this wouldn't end if Joey stayed the stubborn child he was.

Joey breathed in through his nose and ran his fingers through his hair,

"Fine. I'll text him when my shift is over. You're done in your room right?"

"Yea-"

"Good." He cut in, taking his basket and brushing passed Atem and into the backrooms.

Atem sighed and walked over to Pegasus, who had full gift bags full of products.

"Let's go, HONEY!" Pegasus yelled, clapping his hands twice and putting on his sunglasses, his bags of cosmetics hanging off of his arms.

The CEO stormed out of the spa and into his town car, having the chauffeur honk at Atem to hurry up.

Atem looked at the receptionist, who gave him a pitiful shrug.

Great.

"Guess I'm going on a date with Pegasus…"

HellooooooOOO, Lovely People! Yes, I lied and ended up posting anyway…..because I'm now jobless soo….Happy Birthday weekend to me I guess..

ANYWAY, I'm hoping to post a chapter of L'appel Du Vide this weekend too but don't hold me to that.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS- I'm looking for someone to draw my OC, Salem Wolf, in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Style, if you're interested send me PM on AO3, , tumblr, or discord and we can discuss things.

Hope you all have a lovely day or whatever day!

Bye :)