IMPORTANT A/N:
I got my chapters a
little messed up. The first date really should have been only one
chapter and I made it two, and now it's going to mess up my plans. So
for the purposes of ffnet I'm leaving Chapter 1 split up as two
parts (part 1 and part 2) and so this is now the second half of
Chapter 1 – sorry for the confusion.
Title: Shades of You and Me – Ch. 1
cont: Cherry Red
Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! is the creation of
Kazuki Takahashi. "Midnight Blue" is performed and recorded
by Lou Gramm. This is a not-for-profit fanwork and I do not own any
of these characters.
Summary: Chronologically, the first
fic in my "Life with Kai-baby and Yami-kins" AU. A
continuation of Yami and Seto's first date.
Status: 1.5
/ 4
Responses to questions posed by reviewers
thus far:
- Re: Significance of scents / Author's notes -
Author's notes are exactly that, just notes that explain what I was
thinking at the time. They aren't required reading / knowledge. I put
them at the end of the chapters to avoid spoiling the story early,
and don't mention them within the story because it would get
distracting (that's just my writing preference). So the fragrance
explaination was just for those readers who might be interested in
why I assigned the scents I did to Seto and Yami and has absolutely
nothing to do with Seto or Yami's thoughts.
- Re: Reviews - Wow,
I'm surprised so many people liked this fic. Frankly I thought it
sucked LOL. But I'm glad y'all like it and thanks for the reviews.
Shades of You and Me
Ch. 1: Cherry Red part 2
The rest of dinner passed in a similar fashion, and the next two hours were over and done in a blink of an eye.
By the time Kaiba picked up the tab and Mokuba called for the limo, Yami was rethinking his perspective on his dueling rival. He had always admired Kaiba's quick mind and even quicker wit, his willpower and pride, and of course, his handsome appearance. There was even something comforting about being in his presence. But beyond all of his bravado, Kaiba really seemed uncertain of himself, certainly nothing like the mindlessly angry lost soul he had first dueled two years prior, or the blustering rival he had faced after that. And that uncertainty tugged at Yami. It was easy and comfortable enough to trade repartees, but that wasn't what he wanted, was it? I wish I knew how to make him more comfortable around me, the way I feel when I'm with him. He only seems to enjoy himself when I'm baiting him, because I guess that's what he's come to expect from me.
As they stood side by side waiting for Fubeta to arrive, Kaiba also thought back on what he learned about Yami during the day. The ex-spirit was as fiery and competitive as ever and had a sense of humor just as wicked as his own. And when was the last time he had conversed with anyone worth talking to, besides Noa and Mokuba? Yami had always held his interest in that regard. And there really was no point in denying the physical attraction either. But he's only here because he was forced into it. Who knows why he agreed to do this? I bet all of Yugi-tachi are going to have a good laugh at my expense tomorrow.
Behind the pair, Mokuba, Noa and Yugi all stood together whispering quietly. Yami and Kaiba had finished dinner without making any escape attempts and were now standing together without any further prompting from them; they certainly didn't want to do anything to upset the situation. Yami even had Kaiba's jacket on still! But in the interests of keeping the date going a little longer, all three of them had to think of a new plan.
Once the limo arrived, all five piled in for the ride back to the game shop. Kaiba and Yami seemed comfortable enough in the silence that had descended over the group, but it was driving Mokuba and Yugi crazier and crazier as the miles passed.
I can't take it anymore! "So, uh… did you guys have a good time?" Mokuba asked hesitantly.
"It certainly wasn't the worst dinner I've ever had," Kaiba answered smoothly.
"But did you have a GOOD time?"
Yami smiled. Mokuba was so eager to get a response. "It was unexpected, but this turned out to be a very nice date. Except the thing with my arm. And although I don't condone the three of you acting behind our backs, I do appreciate the concern."
"Well someone had to break the stalemate," said Yugi, toying with the Sennen Puzzle hanging from his neck. And so now what?
Now what what?
What are you going to do with the rest of the evening?
Aibou, I thought we were going back home?
I'm going home. You don't really want to go home too, do you? The man of your dreams is sitting right next to you…
Yugi, he's hardly…
At least think about it, okay? Don't make me get the handcuffs from Mokuba. "So, Kaiba… if Yami wanted to um… hang around a bit longer, you'd be able to drop him off later, right?"
"Hn. Don't assume too much, Yugi. I only agreed to stay through the duration of dinner." What is this, another part of your bet? See how far Yami can get with me?
Yami's protective instincts kicked in and he glanced over at his date. "The asshole routine is getting a bit old, Kaiba. If you would like me to hang around a little bit longer, my answer would be yes. But I'm leaving that up to you."
"Spare me, Yami. You just want to get into my pants to…"
"Uh… Nii-sama, we're still here!" exclaimed Noa, blushing a little.
"I'm not trying to get into your pants. I am trying to get into your head. This isn't just physical anymore, I already…"
Then the intercom beeped. "Mr. Kaiba, we've arrived at the Kame Game Shop."
Moment of truth, Yami. Are you staying or going?
Yami mentally sighed. It's not my decision. I already stated my position. If Kaiba isn't interested, then that's that.
With a sigh of his own, Yugi turned to Kaiba and gave him his most earnest look. Ask him to stay with you a little longer! he willed his eyes to convey. It was at times like this that he wished he were a more imposing figure.
Fubeta stepped around and opened the door. No one moved. Mokuba looked from Yugi to Yami to his big brother. Seto, please… I know you don't want him to go. "Well, uh… even if Seto won't say it, I know he had a good time today. He just doesn't get to do this a lot, you know, with his schedule and all. And um…"
Yami smiled again. It was nice seeing what everyone was trying to do for them, but he had no intention of browbeating Kaiba into accepting anything. He began shrugging off the borrowed jacket. "I had a good time too. Thank you, Kaiba." He held the blazer out to his date, who took it wordlessly, then stared at it as if it held the secret to some great mystery. Perhaps it did.
"Seto…" Noa began to say.
Kaiba suddenly cleared his throat and addressed Yami without even looking at him. "If I ask you to… come over, for coffee…"
"My answer would be yes." The brunette stared at him with disbelief. "Just let me go grab a jacket and I'll be right back."
Kaiba shook his head. "You don't need it," he said, and thrust the blazer back into Yami's hands. Yami clutched at the fabric and grinned.
Yugi simply beamed at the little scene. "Well, good night then. I'll see you later you guys…" And Yami, don't feel like you have to come home tonight or anything on my account.
Aibou!
Once they returned to the mansion, Kaiba took Yami into the parlor and went to make some coffee. Noa and Mokuba were a bit reluctant to leave the two older teens to their own devices, but of course they knew nothing would be accomplished unless their brother took this next step on his own. That didn't stop them from giving some parting words of advice to Yami however.
"You already have his attention and his interest, Yami, so don't give up! I know Seto's difficult to deal with. He won't admit to it, but you're really making him think things over," said Noa in a hushed voice.
Mokuba added, "Remember, Nii-sama really isn't a bad person underneath all the crap he feeds you. He's just really confused right now, and maybe that's a good thing. He's so used to thinking of you as a rival that he doesn't realize that you're not trying to play him. But be careful. I do like you, Yami, but if you hurt Seto at all I'll never ever forgive you. This is NOT a game." He reiterated his point by shaking his finger right in Yami's face.
"I know. I'm doing my best. Kaiba is… infuriating at times. But I've always admired him and yes, in that way as well. And now that I know that he's at least open to the possibility… well, I think I'm willing to take my chances."
Then Kaiba walked in with two cups of coffee and a scowl. "Are you two still here? I told you both to go to bed."
"We were just saying good night to Yami, right Onii-chan? Good night!" The two younger brothers gave Yami a reassuring smile, and left the room.
"Hmm. Now that I think about it, we're rather fortunate, aren't we?" asked Yami, taking the proffered cup of coffee. "I have my aibou and you have your brothers, and they're all looking out for us. And thank you for inviting me in for coffee, Kaiba. I've only been here once in my own body, I think."
Kaiba ignored the first half of Yami's statement. "Will you stop thanking me already?" he snarled, folding himself into an armchair next to the sofa Yami was sitting on. "I only asked you to come here because I want to know the truth. What do you want from me, King of Games?"
Yami took a sip of his beverage and mulled his reply. "There's a time for games and a time for truth. You're comfortable around me when you think it's a game. And I do so enjoy matching wits with you. I admit I was playing with you a bit earlier on… I didn't think we would really get anywhere with this date, so I figured we could at least amuse ourselves to pass the time. And I know you didn't mind… you were enjoying yourself too. But I've been telling you the truth for most of the evening, and that's what's upsetting you. You want to believe me, but you can't. The truth is… I don't want anything from you, Kaiba, at least, nothing that you don't want to give me of your own will."
The brunette ground his teeth. So many questions flooded his head. He finally went with asking, "Why didn't you make a move sooner then?"
"Hmm. Being that I was unaware of your… preferences, I didn't think you would be receptive, and I didn't want to drive you away. I value our friendship, even if you don't consider me a friend."
"Hn. If I wanted to have friends…" Now it was the young CEO's turn to consider where he wanted to take things. The proverbial ball was in his court. He could simply send Yami home, or…
"If you wanted to have friends then…?" Yami prompted.
"I suppose… I could do worse than you."
Yami grinned and scooted over on the sofa. "Come here," he said, patting the seat closest to the armchair.
"Why?"
"Because technically we're still on a date I think, and I'd like you to sit next to me."
"You're not going to pull that 'fall asleep on my shoulder' shit again, are you?"
"No. And I'm sorry that upset you. I just wanted an excuse to touch you again… it was pretty lame, wasn't it?" But the taller duelist got up anyways and grudgingly moved over to the sofa. "I'm not trying to tame you, or break you, or whatever it is that you may fear. We will always be rivals. But that doesn't mean we can't be friends as well."
"But you're not just asking for my friendship, are you?" Kaiba practically sniffed at the word "friendship."
"Honestly? I'm not sure yet. What about you?"
Aw shit. He doesn't really want to know, does he? Kaiba wasn't sure how he felt, but he sure as hell wasn't going to admit it. I can just tell him I don't care and kick him out, or I could just refuse to answer, or I could change the topic… "So, uh… see any good movies lately?" he asked lamely. Why did I say that? Could I be any more obvious? Stupid, stupid, stupid…
Yami turned his head and looked Kaiba straight in the eye. "If you aren't sure, there's nothing wrong with just saying it. It's not a weakness, Kaiba."
"Hn."
The younger duelist smirked. "Well, Yugi rented 'Interview with the Vampire' last night. That was interesting. Though I think I paid less attention to the storyline than to the fact that the male leads were all very attractive."
"Wait… huh?" He's letting me switch subjects?
"'Interview with the Vampire.' Have you seen it?"
"No… I don't have time to watch movies. I only… well, if Mokuba asks..."
"If you like vampires you'd like this one. Would you like me to tell you about it?"
He's got to be kidding. "All right, I guess."
Long sunkissed limbs tangled with his as a delicate hand swept through his hair. They were both sluggish and breathless after a long bout of lovemaking, their naked bodies hot and fevered even in the shade beneath the palm trees which shielded them from the blazing desert sun. Smiling, Yami pushed himself up on his arms and looked down at tall, lithe figure beneath him. Eyes as blue as the Nile and as clear as the sky gazed back, framed by fine hair the color of exotic, earthy spices. His lips were moving slowly, the deep voice but a harsh whisper now. But Yami frowned as a sudden gust of wind drowned out his lover's words.
"What? I cannot hear you," he said loudly as the winds slowly died backdown.
The brunette smiled and began to speak again, but once again, his words were muffled as the wind picked up again.
"I'm sorry... please, you must speak up!"
The brunette shook his head, then gently pressed a finger to Yami's lips while curling his other hand into spikes of hair. Then his lips parted and he pulled Yami down for a deep kiss, a kiss so amazing that it stole their breaths away…
Yami awoke with a start and found himself sitting on an unfamiliar sofa in a room he didn't recognize. He frowned as the already faint whispers of his dream faded away, leaving him more than a little disoriented. But even more confusing was the fact that right beside him, Seto Kaiba was asleep and sprawled over the sofa cushions, his head lolled back and his breathing deep and even.
This is Kaiba's house… did we fall asleep? His mind was still a bit sluggish and his memories jumbled. From what he could remember, they had been on a date… movies and dinner, with Yugi, Mokuba and Noa in tow. Then Kaiba had invited him back to the mansion. They had started talking about movies and then special effects, then switched to music videos and music tastes in general, shortly followed by video and computer games, cars and motorcycles, and then a strange discussion had begun about the dichotomy of terms like "jumbo shrimp" and "glow-in-the-dark sunglasses." The last thing I remember was scolding Kaiba for calling Yugi a shrimp again…
Yami shook his head and eased off the sofa, looking around for a clock. It's almost 4:00 AM! Yugi must be worried about me. But at the same time he really wasn't sure if he wanted to leave, either. He turned back to look at Kaiba sleeping on the sofa and suddenly images from his dream sharpened and forced themselves into the forefront of his mind.
Long limbs and a delicate hand in his hair… Eyes as blue as the Nile...
The ex-spirit staggered as the memory hit him. He had only a few vague recollections of his ancient past as a Pharaoh, bits and pieces really, but never before had he recalled anything like this. Was this part of my past from 3,000 years ago? And Kaiba's Egyptian incarnation... my priest, was also my lover? Is this... fate at work? Oh Hathor… I loved him, he realized, and suddenly his heart lurched. And I know Kaiba's not the same… but still, I…
Yami wasn't sure what Kaiba would have thought if he had woken first and found out that the two of them had fallen asleep on the sofa. Yami wasn't even sure of his own feelings now. Part if him wanted to stay, wanted to rouse Kaiba from his sleep just to talk… and the other part of him couldn't run away fast enough.
With a sigh, the crimson-eyed teen made a decision to leave. He really needed time to reevaluate his perspective on Kaiba. What exactly did he want from him; what was it he was expecting? He knew that his far more analytical rival would probably need to do some thinking of his own as well. However, Yami also needed to make sure to leave an opening for Kaiba to exploit, and that at least was something he had already figured out.
Quietly, Yami crept out of the room and began looking for a pen and a pad of paper. It wouldn't do for him to leave without saying anything, even if his explanation was a half truth at best. He found a notepad in the kitchen and scribbled a quick note, then headed back to the parlor and left the note on the coffee table. Then he snuck out the front door, but not before stopping in the foyer to grab Kaiba's brown blazer.
Kaiba frowned in his sleep as he felt someone staring at him and awoke to find Mokuba and Noa both peering at him as if he were on display at a zoo.
"Hiiii!" said Mokuba as soon as his brother's eyes opened.
Noa rolled his eyes. Mokuba was downright scary in the morning. "By the way, Yami left you a note," he commented, holding out a sheet of paper.
"Yami? Huh?" Wait a minute... why am I on the sofa? I didn't fall asleep here, did I? Kaiba pushed his bangs out of his eyes and stretched his stiff back a little before taking the note. Squinting for a moment at Yami's chicken scratch, he finally managed to make out the following:
Kaiba,
I'm sorry I had to leave without telling you good night. You were already asleep and I didn't want to wake you, but I needed to get home before Yugi and Jii-chan started worrying about me. Anyways, I had a great time yesterday and I hope you did as well. Maybe we could try it again sometime (but without chaperones).
By the way, I'm taking your suit jacket with me. It's cold out. If you want it back, just come and get it.
- Yami
He silently folded the note in half and then looked up at his brothers. Mokuba was still grinning at him, and Noa looked like he was trying to hide behind Mokuba's mop of hair. "By the way, you can both stop looking at me like that. You're both grounded."
Yugi was busy shoveling a piece of toast into his mouth when a bleary-eyed Yami stumbled down the stairs, Kaiba's jacket draped over his shoulders. The violet-eyed teen practically spit out an entire mouthful of half-chewed bread at the sight of his other half. "Wha rr yew doin hom? Wherth Kaibr?" he managed to mumble.
Yami blinked one eye at him. "Uh… what?"
I said, "What are you doing home? Where's Kaiba?"
Why wouldn't I be home? And I imagine Kaiba's probably at KaibaCorp by now.
Yugi just stared at him. You were supposed to spend the night!
I was? Since when?
You were supposed to get him to invite you into his bedroom and make sweet, passionate love all night long. Yugi threw as much exasperation into the thought as possible.
I… I was what! Aibou! I couldn't… you can't expect… you've been watching too much television and it's rotting your mind!
Yugi continued on as if Yami hadn't interrupted. Well, I suppose I should have gotten you a pack of condoms and some lube. I just figured Kaiba would have some, cause I didn't figure he'd be a virgin. But you think maybe he is? Cause he didn't throw you down and…
Yugi! Yami's face was beet red by now. By Bastet's sacred cats, of course there was no throwing down or… anything like that! We didn't even kiss. We just talked, a lot, and it was nice. I guess I fell asleep on the sofa and so did Kaiba, and after I woke up I snuck out and got one of his security guards to drive me home. And that was it.
You didn't kiss? And you snuck out without telling him? Oh Yami, where did I go wrong? Now he'll never call you for a second date, Yugi's mental voice wailed.
Yami privately wondered why Yugi was so adamant that he get "thrown down" by Kaiba when he was too shy to even ask Anzu out on a casual date. Aibou, I'm beginning to think you're trying to get rid of me, he said dryly, and his other half just winked. I thought you'd worry about me if I didn't come home. And I did leave him a note; besides… well, there's something else.
The violet-eyed teen detected the note of worry in Yami's mental voice. Something else? Did something bad happen?
No, nothing bad… it's just… I had a dream about ancient Egypt. You know that Kaiba is the reincarnation of one of my priests, even if he denies it, but… tonight, I dreamt that my priest was my lover as well as my rival. And although I can't remember any significant details, I do remember that I loved him.
You think it was real? A recollection of your past and not just a dream?
I don't dream about Egypt. I never have. This was the only time it's ever happened. And every part of my heart and soul tells me that it was real.
Ohhh Yamiii… what are you going to do?
Honestly, I need to think about it. If I chose to pursue something with Kaiba, I want to do it for the right reasons and not just because he's the reincarnation of someone I once loved. And I need him to figure out what he wants as well. I refuse to push him into anything that he's not ready for.
Oh... so now what? Yugi sounded sad.
A smirk broke across the ex-spirit's face. Don't get discouraged, Aibou. I didn't say I wasn't willing to encourage him. Maybe he'll call. But don't be surprised if he just shows up. After all, I did take his jacket.
That's right! I'm so proud of you, Yami! Now let's go get you some condoms for next time!
Yu… YUGI!
TBC
Author's Notes:
- I purposely kept
Yami's dream vague. In this AU, has not / will not recover most of
his memories, so he doesn't know Seto's past name nor his own.
-
I love it when Yugi's got a dirty little mind.
- Wah, I'm so
cruel. I know people just want to see these two smack their bodies
together and get it on. But come on, it's a first date (at least
wait 'til the second one before getting it on). Anyways, the
story's only just begun and it's now Seto's move. Will he call?
Will he just show up? Is he just after his jacket! LOL
Thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading!
