Necropolis demon
Disclaimer: Is it just me…or do I own YuGiOh? Hm…guess it's just me…
Necro: I'm tired and dizzy and suffering from food poisoning, (again!) I think. Darn…I just can't handle some food.
OMG, That fish's name was Marlin not Merlin! Gah! So embarrassing… (Imagines a certain purple-clad wizard with a fish for a head)
The GameChapter 21 Living Together
It seems almost unnatural that the past week or so had been full of so much vibrant life, how everything seemed to actually be normal and at the same time wacky and out of control. Living with Ryou had both frightened and delighted Seto Kaiba although he would never admit that. Now, things seemed routine but at the same time spontaneous, with Ryou bringing up the fun parts of life.
Somehow, Kaiba found himself loving life again; living through every day wasn't just an obligation anymore but a blessing. And it was Ryou who always brightened up his day.
It had been a bit awkward for Ryou during the first few days of living with the Kaiba brothers. His first few nights were spent doing work first before proceeding to his assignments…but that was fixed later on by rescheduling and doing his homework with Kaiba; Kaiba had been such a great help to him, helping with some stuff that he thought he would never have figured out on his own.
At night in the mansion Ryou would always dress in his proper sleeping pajamas but soon he progressed to dressing down a bit by wearing his normal at-home clothes. The fact that Kaiba almost always wore some t-shirt with the KC logo on it as his at-home clothes intrigued Ryou especially the fact that Kaiba always wore a bathrobe with it that flared like a trench coat.
Mornings had been swell with Ryou offering to cook breakfast mainly because Kaiba insisted that he do something about Mokuba's 'sugary cereal problem' and because Mokuba had asked Ryou to get Kaiba to lay off the caffeine intake. Ryou of course obliged and always prepared a healthy breakfast of the widest variety, fitting for the Kaiba brothers.
And although milk was Kaiba's least favorite drink, Ryou now knew, Ryou managed to get Kaiba to drink the stuff once in a while instead of coffee…who ever knew that the CEO of KaibaCorp would drink virtually anything that had chocolate in it?
"Oh c'mon, just drink your milk for the day." enticed Ryou. Today was no different, Ryou was offering Kaiba some milk which Kaiba wanted to decline because he wanted to have some coffee again, saying that he needed his coffee to get through the 'extra work' he had to do for that day. His apprentice of course knew that there was no 'extra work' that needed to be done, he had checked.
"Please?" Said Ryou; Kaiba still wanted to go back to his coffee because he was so used to it already. That's what addiction does to you…
"It's not going to keep me awake throughout the day…I'm not taking that stuff." Strangely enough, Kaiba has been showing a more normal side to himself; the stresses in his life were finally subsiding.
"Because it's not chocolate?" replied Ryou, receiving an annoyed look from Kaiba, "You can be such a kid sometimes." Ryou muttered.
"Mokuba was right, you are a 'mother goose' Ryou"
"So what if I am? You, on the other hand, are a coffee addict"
"I am not an addict, I just miss the taste of coffee."
"You have a problem Seto Kaiba."
"I most certainly do not."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that Seto" smiled Ryou; apparently, Ryou has started growing more comfortable with Kaiba, sometimes even calling him by his first name.
"Please drink. It'll um…make you taller?"
"I'm tall enough as it is, do you want me to hit my head on the ceiling?"
And so on and so forth…things became more playful for Kaiba with Ryou around, which of course was a good thing.
"Fine, I'll take that crack-infused drink you affectionately call 'milk', but you're going to take care of my work load tomorrow." the CEO finally surrendered, taking the mug full of fresh milk and gulping it down quickly in one chug.
"Seriously, it's not that different with or without chocolate" reasoned Ryou, taking the now empty mug and placing it by the sink.
"Ryou, though I am paying you to do all sorts of stuff for me as an assistant, you have to learn that there are boundaries and some things that I handle on my own, one would be my caffeine intake." Said Kaiba, stern and unrelenting.
"Very well, I'm sure you can handle yourself." Replied Ryou, smiling brightly as usual while packing his and his boss's lunches; although Kaiba strongly insisted that Ryou shouldn't make any lunches for him, Ryou thought it best to pack some anyway since Kaiba's always so busy and sometimes misses out on dinner.
Ryou turned to see his boss, and then out of the blue he suddenly started giggling but quickly muffled his chuckles with his hand. Kaiba noticed this and asked, "Why are you laughing? I can SO handle myself Ryou." He spoke, a bit insulted that his assistant thought that he was incapable of taking care of himself or something.
"Right, I know you can handle yourself," a burst of chuckles, "Though you might want to wipe off that milk mustache you have." Ryou was now laughing hysterically, pointing at the white mustache on Kaiba's upper lip that had formed because of the milk.
Kaiba of course faltered, blushing in embarrassment and quickly wiping the mustache off before Mokuba gets the chance to see it and tease him about it. "Very funny, now come on, we're going to be late."
So…for the past weeks, the two have most definitely gotten closer to each other, not just as an employer and his employee or two people under one roof but also as friends…and frighteningly for Kaiba, possible lovers.
His discovery about Ryou's availability to him had been the hardest part of everything. Living with Ryou the way they were now was like living with your lover in your very own apartment. Having the white blond so close was always so tempting…now that he knew about Ryou's orientation the temptation increased tenfold. The looks that Ryou gave him, the giggles, the sheer friendly atmosphere of it all…
There had been awkward moments between the two of them too, whenever they were alone in some non-professional related setting, it always seemed like they were in one of those romantic scenes wherein the guy confesses his undying love all of a sudden; Kaiba of course, feeling like he was the guy. But somehow, the CEO would look for some interruption…he knew what he felt for Ryou; he was scared of it and didn't want to let it out.
But no matter what he tried to do, he ended up feeling these things for Ryou…his silence was his only advantage.
Of course, Ryou could tell that something was bothering Kaiba…but he never pushed too far. The teen had his suspicions about Kaiba's dilemma, living with the guy had helped Ryou understand Kaiba even more…plus the stories that Mokuba kept telling about Kaiba fantasizing about Ryou…well, that meant that Ryou had a pretty good hunch about what Kaiba's problem was.
He felt the same but could never muster the courage to tell Kaiba…what if he was wrong? That would ruin things wouldn't it? So, Ryou opted to wait…if it was true Kaiba would tell him…
As their routine, the KC duo arrived at school together, entered their classroom together and pretty much got through their classes together, fending off hordes of gossipy classmates of course. Since Ryou was now living with Kaiba, Yugi's group had also decided to be a little chattier with Kaiba seeing as Kaiba was now an important part of Ryou's life, the duo was virtually inseparable.
And although Kaiba disapproved of it, Yugi and the gang always had the privilege of visiting the mansion whenever Ryou wasn't busy with work. So…that Friday after school, the gang dropped by to visit and to do something about a certain someone's infatuation with his boss.
The group of friends was in Ryou's room where they could talk privately, the door had been locked and everyone was now sitting in a small circle on Ryou's bed. Ryou was of course oblivious about the sudden serious air his friends were emanating with so he asked.
"Um, so…what did you guys want to talk to me about?" came his polite inquiry.
The friends looked at each other then to Ryou, Yugi spoke, "Ryou…how long has it been since you moved in with Kaiba?"
"Let's see…um, a week or so I guess."
"And you've gotten closer to him right?" asked Tea.
"Well, yeah, I mean…we've been spending a lot of time together in both work and school. Mokuba hangs out with us too…but not that much though, I don't know why."
"Oh Ryou, don't tell us ya' haven't made a move on him yet!" came Joey.
"W-what?" asked Ryou, eyes wide and cheeks red.
"Ryou, you like Kaiba don't you?" asked Tea, at this Ryou nodded slowly, "Then you should tell him about how you feel. Tell him that you like him a lot and all that, get close to him! Follow your heart Ryou."
"B-but I can't…I'm…he's not going to…"
"You'll never know if you don't try man." Tristan spoke up.
"Yeah, and even though I hate him I think ya' should tell'im Ryou!" enticed Joey.
"I love him…I know that now, after all we've been through…but I can't tell him." Ryou spoke sadly; he really liked Kaiba…a lot. The time they spent together had been so joyous and wonderful…it all seemed to feel so right to be with Kaiba. But no…Ryou was too scared to make a move.
While the gang was in Ryou's room, scolding some sense and encouraging Ryou to go for it, Mokuba was alone with his brother in the living room downstairs, sitting together and watching T.V. since there was no work to be done for the day. They scanned through all channels and found absolutely nothing interesting to watch so they just turned the set off and sat on the sofa quietly; the mere presence of your family was all right anyway.
Amidst the silent air that surrounded the siblings, Mokuba shifted, a plot to entertain himself forming in his head. Innocently he spoke to Kaiba who had his eyes closed as if sleeping, "Big brother? May I ask you something?" he inquired, watching his brother shift and open his eyes.
"What do you want to know Mokuba?" replied the older teen, setting his gaze on his younger brother.
Mokuba smiled, "Does Ryou know that you love him?" he said as if it was the most casual thing in the world. Kaiba frowned a bit then silenced while looking behind him to make sure no one was around before replying.
"I don't 'love' him Mokuba, you misunderstand our relationship."
The raven-haired boy sneered, "Oh please, stop pretending big brother, I've seen the look in your eyes whenever he's close. Your gaze softens even though you don't notice it, and you're so much more normal whenever he's around."
"You are young Mokuba, you don't understand these things." Replied the elder bluntly.
"But tell me the truth, you like him don't you? No wait…scratch that, you love him…I know, I can tell brother, I've known you my whole life…the old Seto's coming back thanks to Ryou." Mokuba spoke tenderly, warmth in his voice and emotion in his innocent young eyes.
Kaiba just stared at his brother…for a young boy Mokuba knew a lot, he could read Kaiba like an open book when it came to these kinds of things. The CEO did not answer…the two remained silent, Mokuba had always been so sure, Kaiba couldn't deny that…Mokuba knew about his older brother's feelings.
"I'm absolutely ok with it you know" came Mokuba's cheerful declamation, "I want you to get together with him…he's nice and sweet and absolutely perfect for you."
There came no response from Kaiba…
Quietly the young boy spoke, "You shouldn't let him slip from your grasp…you shouldn't let this happiness go." Mokuba said, sounding so mature for his age; Kaiba was mildly surprised at this, "You can trust him you know…I do." With that an eerie silence followed.
As the two sat there without making a single sound, Kaiba contemplated…he now knew that Mokuba wasn't against him liking another guy…he now knew that Ryou was certainly making changes in his life…and for the better…he could trust Ryou…but why did he still feel the need to deny it all? Perhaps…it was insecurities?
Getting bored with watching his older brother's inward debate, Mokuba spoke up, "I'm bored…I wanna watch a DVD!" happily as if the serious conversation had never taken place, Mokuba got up from where he sat and proceeded to rummage through a collection of their favorite DVDs. "I can't decide. You pick the movie and I'll go call Ryou and the others so we can all watch together!" without waiting for a reply, the young boy bounced up the flight of stairs and headed to Ryou's bedroom.
Kaiba sat there immobile for a second or two before proceeding to look over the titles of their DVDs, they were all great movies, he'd know, he picked most of them. As he moved from title to title he couldn't help but be a little bit disoriented with the things Mokuba had told him. Oh well…enough of that for now…just pick a movie already.
He ended up with 'Finding Nemo' in his hands, it was Ryou's favorite movie and he himself liked it too, the CG animation was great and the story was interesting enough.
He put the disc in and called out one of the maids to prepare some pillows, popcorn and drinks for the movie…might as well be comfortable and might as well prepare a lot of food; the mutt would probably eat up most of the popcorn.
What was taking Mokuba so long though…?
Upstairs, Mokuba entered Ryou's room saying that they were going to watch a movie. Ryou headed down first to help with the snacks while the rest of the gang stayed behind for a quick while, long enough for Mokuba to tell them about his plan.
"Ryou likes my brother doesn't he?" at this the group shifted; they hadn't expected this from Mokuba…heck they hadn't even thrown Mokuba into the equation!
"Err…why?"
A grin made its way onto Mokuba's expression, "You know, I'd love to see them together…Seto likes Ryou too."
"What? Kaiba likes Ryou as well?" Tea asked, surprised at this newly shed light.
"Yup, you know how he is, he won't admit it but I know he likes Ryou too. It's quite apparent if you think about everything actually."
"Kaiba LIKES Ryou too? As in, like like? Ya' must be pullin' our leg Mokuba." Joey exclaimed incredulously.
"No, Mokuba's right, haven't you guys noticed all the attention not to mention patience Kaiba has for Ryou, well, this explains all that!" Yugi justified.
"Okay, I'm still recovering from the shock guys but now that we know those two like each other the same way, what do we do?" Tristan asked.
"Ah, that's where MY plot comes in." Grinned Mokuba, looking mischievous, "Big brother's picking out a movie for us to watch downstairs right now, phase one's done. Are you guys willing to help me with phase two?"
The group nodded excitedly and listened to the young Kaiba's plans, all the while giggling at their roles as matchmakers. If those two shy lovebirds didn't make a move on each other soon, Yugi and the others would surely wither out and die in anticipation.
"You guys got that?" Mokuba concluded.
"You're a sly kid Mokuba," said Tristan.
"Well, it runs in the family." A knock from the door was heard and Ryou's voice came up saying that Kaiba was growing impatient.
Smiling deviously, the group proceeded to head downstairs to the living room, Mokuba making a quick detour to the kitchens to tell the maids to take their sweet time with preparing the snacks.
Necro: I want to watch a movie…like right now! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW OK? Your reviews keep me alive and breathing…ok maybe that was way over the top.
OH…and guys….the end is near……………oh so very near….