Atem awoke feeling groggy and miserable.
He hated the morning.
Ever since Kaiba and Salem brought him back from the spirit world he hadn't been able to sleep well and he was constantly hungry.
It had been a full month since he returned to the realm of the living and he had never felt more deceased.
He sat up in his plush bed and looked around the room. His clothes for the day were already set out on the bench at the end of the bed. He carefully crawled out of bed, his muscles ached and his joints were tense.
As he got dressed, he heard Kaiba's familiar low voice coming from the kitchen upstairs. He became excited and ignored his tired limbs as he ran out of the basement and up the open living room of Salem's large estate.
"Good morning, Kai-" Atem came to a full stop when he came upon Salem sitting at the kitchen bar on the phone.
Oh.
Atem was still wary of who Salem was and why she decided to help bring him back. He especially didn't like her due to her current relationship with Kaiba.
He approached the bar slowly, trying to make out the conversation she was having in English with Kaiba. He hated that he could remember all of his Japanese but couldn't understand a word of Arabic or English.
"Let me come by tonight. Please. Atem is responding well to treatment and I'll only be over for a couple of hours."
"Fine, Tanin. I'll be home all day today anyway. Not that you care about that part at all…" She responded.
"I do care, habipty. I've been wanting to talk to you. Privately." Kaiba said, his low voice turning into a raspy purr.
"Oh? Concerning what exactly?" Salem asked, her tone playful.
Atem was incredibly confused. A couple of weeks ago Salem was barely speaking to Kaiba and now it seemed like they were flirting!
He waited with his arms crossed as Salem finished the conversation and hung up. He glared at her as she took a sip of her coffee and smiled at him.
"Sabah alkhyr, Atem. How did you sleep?" She asked standing up and walking over to the stove to start breakfast.
"Shitty." Atem growled, adjusting his cotton tunic.
"I don't like sleeping in that cold underground room. Those machines beep all night and it drives me crazy." He continued, taking a seat at the bar.
Salem kept her back to him, ignoring his complaints.
"What would you like for breakfast?" She asked, getting out a small frying pan and a spatula.
Atem scoffed,
"Did you not hear me? I said I-"
"I heard you, brat." Salem spat, finally turning to look at Atem.
"You aren't fully recovered and that's the only place that's secure and where I can properly monitor your vitals. You're still heavily medicated and you aren't ready to-"
"Kaiba could find a way to make things easier for me." Atem interrupted.
Salem narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms, slowly walking up the the other side of the bar. She looked into Atem's crimson eyes and smirked,
"Then why hasn't he, hmm? Why did he need my help? Why did you, of your own volition, contact me through my dreams and ask for my help? Why aren't you sleeping at the Kaiba mansion?"
Atem went pale.
She was right.
The only reason he was able to stand here and make demands was because of Salem. If her and Kaiba had never met…
No.
He wasn't going to give her that.
"I'm sure Kaiba has his reasons…" Atem murmured, not wanting to give Salem the satisfaction of winning the argument.
"Mmm..And those are that he's told no one about you and he's still interested in me as a partner." She said, going into the fridge and pulling out a carton of eggs.
"Ha. Right. How's your shoulder by the way? Does it sting when you think about how he did that to protect me." He said, admiring his manicured fingernails.
Salem sighed and put the ingredients on the counter.
"If he didn't administer that shot you wouldn't have been able to crossover. You're body would have been spaghettified." She said, now wishing she hadn't antagonized Atem so early in the morning.
Atem furrowed his brow,
"Spaghettified? I don't know this word. What does that mean?" He asked, legitimately confused.
Salem sighed and leaned her hip against the granite countertop,
"Remember last week when I made you and Seto that dish with the tomato sauce and noodles?" She asked, tucking a loose curl behind her ear.
Atem nodded. He had enjoyed that dinner. The food was fine but it was nice being able to share a meal with Kaiba.
"Well, those noodles are called spaghetti. That's what would have happened to your body if I didn't think to create that solution. You're body would have been pulled and stretched into a long thin piece. Like a spaghetti noodle." She explained, cracking four eggs into bowl.
Atem put his hand on his stomach and groaned,
"That's so vile, why would you tell me that."
Salem shrugged as she began beating the eggs,
"You asked."
Atem glared at Salem as she continued making breakfast. He studied her carefully as she got out flour, sugar, and oil. She took out another bowl and began measuring out the ingredients.
"What happened to your maid?" Atem blurted out without thinking.
Salem raised an eyebrow,
"Surely you don't hate my cooking that much." She said, grabbing a pink hand mixer out of a drawer.
"No, no. You are, as much as I don't like you, an amazing cook. But there was an older woman here, a few weeks ago. Was she your maid?" Atem asked.
Salem's eyes became dark and difficult to read,
"That was my grandmother. She's-Well she's like you. She's more assimilated into society now so she doesn't need to stick around but from time to time she'll come help me if I'm feeling overwhelmed."
Atem processed Salem's words. Her grandmother was like him? Meaning Salem successfully brought someone else into the realm of the living before him?
"How long do you think it'll be before I can leave this place and be with Kaiba?" Atem asked seriously.
Salem looked into Atem's eyes and shook her head.
"This is difficult for all of us, Atem. Seto and I are still technically a couple. Yes, he hurt me but we haven't had the conversation to end things-"
"You want to stay with him even after he dislocated your shoulder?" Atem interrupted.
"You want to be with him knowing he could do the same thing to you?" Salem retorted.
Atem pursed his lips and crossed his arms, looking away from Salem's gaze.
"I'm just saying, Atem. Things may take a while to...level out. You're friends don't even know that you're back. Seto didn't tell Mokuba what was going on...Even with all of this, I want you to understand that I care for Seto just as much as you do, and all I want is for him to be happy. We have the same goal, mish kida?" She said, taking Atem's hand in hers and leaning on the counter.
Atem frowned at Salem,
"What if that happiness means you aren't in his life anymore? He will choose me over you. The fact that I'm here means that you're being phased out. He just needs you to feed and clothe me while he figures out how to tell Yugi and our friends. You aren't his partner. You're my caretaker." He growled, yanking his hands out Salem's grasp.
He stomped out onto the patio and slammed the door shut, taking a seat in the plush chairs on the deck and leaving Salem alone in the kitchen.
She continued making breakfast, trying her best to hold back her tears.
Kaiba pulled into the long driveway of Salem's estate that evening. As put the car in park, he half expected Anansi to be there to lead him to the house.
He sighed as he thought back to that night. The night he learned of Salem's true origins. He was sure that his alternate from Salem's original reality and Anansi would have tried to make a move by now but it's been quiet.
He guessed Anansi saw a lot of the process when Salem brought her grandmother back and that was what was keeping his black haired doppelganger away.
For now.
He was on autopilot as he walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. He fully expected Atem to come running and answer the door as had become the norm, but instead a very exhausted and drained Salem greeted him.
"Good evening, Tanin." She said, barely looking at him. She lead him inside the house and into the living room.
Kaiba watched as she robotically went into the kitchen and brought back two glasses full of whiskey to the sitting area. He graciously accepted the drink and took a sip.
"Fuck, that's good." He said, setting the glass on the coffee table in front of him.
Salem remained silent as she sat across from Kaiba, her expression remained stoic as she sipped from her glass.
Kaiba studied her face carefully and chuckled,
"He's still a hand full?"
He knew that Atem's king-like behavior was getting on Salem's last nerve, but it was more endearing than anything.
She shrugged and took another sip,
"He's fine. He's actually taking a nap right now." She said setting her glass down in front of her.
"He's still fatigued?"
Salem nodded,
"He's able to do more without getting tired as easily but at this point he still needs copious amounts of rest."
Kaiba leaned back against the couch and sighed.
"What did you have him learn today?" He said rubbing the exhaustion out of his eyes.
"These last few days have been challenging. He's very good at the internet. A little too good. I was worried he might try to contact Yugi and his friends so I immediately had to take the privilege away as soon as I gave it to him. He didn't like that so, he cussed me out." She explained, her tone flat and lacking her usual melody.
Kaiba chuckled and grabbed his drink. He knew Atem didn't like Salem but it was harmless bickering at most. The pharaoh would never intentionally harm Salem.
"You mean like you thought you wouldn't? You dislocated her shoulder then shoved the responsibility of Atem's assimilation on her."
He cleared his throat and shook the thoughts from his head.
"That's all well and good but what about today specifically? You seem more drained than normal." He asked again.
Salem sighed and took her hair out of its high ponytail, her wild curly hair falling down to the middle of her back.
Kaiba's face became hot as she tossed her grown out hair over her shoulder. He didn't realize how long it must have been since she was able to have any time for herself.
"Today I had him watch a few films and documentaries. I wanted to start Arabic language lessons but he was more interested in learning English."
"So did you start English instead?" Kaiba asked taking a bigger sip of his drink.
Salem shook her head.
"No, it's important that he learns Arabic. He's Egyptian, he'll need it if he ever wants to return home and-"
"This is his home." Kaiba interrupted.
"Well not here, but Domino." He finished.
"He needs to know his culture and where he comes from. It would be strange if an Egyptian immigrant didn't know his native tongue-"
"His papers will say he was born here. When you hack into the government system, you'll-"
"When I hack into the system? You can do that all on your own, Tanin." Salem said rubbing her temples.
"Atem's trail has to stay away from Kaiba Corp. If I hack the government, and Mokuba finds out, he'll go to Yugi." Kaiba explained, glaring at Salem.
"And if I hack the government and anyone finds out, it's an act of terrorism." She retorted, glaring back at the brunette.
Kaiba let out a loud condescending laugh.
"Why are you suddenly so worried? You broke into Area 51 to steal an off brand tesseract, so I'm sure you can create legal documents for a living organism without any issues." He said swirling the whiskey in his glass.
Salem breathed in deeply through her nose and put her face in her hands.
"I'm so tired, Tanin." She said, not looking up from her hands.
Kaiba rolled his eyes and sighed,
"You're being dramatic. If it's really so much trouble, I'll see what I can do but you told me you could handle this." He said, frustrated.
"I never said that. You begged me to let him stay after you dislocated my shoulder." She spat.
"And you could have said no." Kaiba argued.
"I did say no! But then…"
"Then what?" Kaiba growled.
"But then you told me you needed me…"
Kaiba stilled.
"You told me a lot of things. Like how you weren't using me. And how Atem wouldn't replace me…" She trailed off as she stood up, taking her whiskey into the kitchen.
Kaiba watched as she downed the last of her drink and placed the glass in the sink. He knew early on that he was lying to her, but their relationship didn't start out that way.
He did care for her, but only for as long as she was useful. Right?
Or was there more to it than that?
"I need to know, Tanin. What's to happen to what we have once I've done all of these things for you? I need the truth." She said keeping her gaze on the empty cup in the sink.
Kaiba sighed and walked over to Salem. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her small frame.
"I need you to know that what we had was real. All of it." He whispered.
He felt Salem's hands on his arms,
"Had?" She asked, her voice wavering.
Kaiba kissed the top of her head,
"Yes."
He released her and turned her around so he could look into her honey colored eyes.
"May I make a request then?" She asked, trying to mask her heartbreak.
"Anything." Kaiba purred, pulling her hips toward his.
Atem was jolted awake when one of the computers beeped loudly, the sound echoing throughout the basement.
He sat up slowly and looked at the clock on wall.
It had gotten so late!
He rushed out of bed, ignoring his screaming muscles and ran upstairs. Confused when there was no one to be found, he looked around the kitchen. He saw an empty glass in the sink and a matching one on the coffee table, still full of liquid.
Suddenly, he heard voices coming from upstairs. He warily approached the steps. He had never been to that part of the house before but he knew that's where Salem slept.
He slowly walked up the stairs and down the hall, following the voices. As he got closer to what he assumed was Salem's bedroom door, he realized the voices were moans of pleasure.
The door was slightly ajar revealing a small sliver a light out into the hallway. Atem knelt down and quietly pushed the door open so it was slightly wider.
He held back a gasp as he laid eyes on Kaiba's beautiful alabaster backside. The tall male's hips were thrusting at a steady rhythm and Salem's caramel legs were wrapped tightly around Kaiba's waist.
Her moans were muffled by Kaiba's lips, which were locked onto hers. His grunts were timed with his thrusts as he picked up speed.
Atem covered his mouth with his hand. He was shocked and angry. He thought that Salem must have exhausted him on purpose so she would have this time with Kaiba.
Atem held his breath as he watched Kaiba flip them over so Salem was riding him. She gasped and moaned as Kaiba bounced her up and down relentlessly, his groans becoming louder with each thrust.
He sat up, wrapping his arms around Salem's waist tightly as he continued to thrust his hips upward. Salem's back arched as Kaiba caught her nipple in his mouth, sucking and biting it gently.
"I'm close, Tanin…" She moaned, feeling her impending orgasm.
"Me too, Goddess…" Kaiba moaned and pushed her onto her back, hooking her legs on his hip bones.
He held her legs underneath her knees and began to slam into her mercilessly, relishing her moans and whimpers.
Atem's anger was becoming difficult to control as he stood up from his kneeling position.
He was stopping this. Now.
Just as he pushed the door open, Salem and Kaiba orgasmed simultaneously. Kaiba kept thrusting, riding out the residual shocks of his orgasm. Salem's vision went white as she yelled Kaiba's name.
Atem cleared his throat and crossed his arms,
"Are you two quite finished?" He growled, taking a mental picture of Kaiba's chiseled body, glistening from sweat.
"Atem! Shit." Kaiba froze. He didn't know what to do. He looked down at Salem, who was still in complete bliss. He looked in her eyes and saw that she was completely calm. Her body was tangled in the bed sheets, her legs still securely wrapped around Kaiba's waist.
"You two have five minutes to get downstairs and explain yourselves." Atem said, turning on his heel and storming out of the room.
Kaiba ran his fingers through his chestnut hair, slicking his sweat soaked bangs back. He pulled out of Salem who was gazing at him through half lidded eyes.
"Thank you, Tanin…" She said, untangling herself and slowly getting out of bed.
Kaiba sighed, his body completely relaxed and his mind clear. He shouldn't have agreed to break up sex.
He watched Salem stretch and yawn. He saw small bruises forming on her skin where he had grabbed and groped her, those bruises marking her as his.
Shit.
He thought it would be easy to forget how much this woman had changed his life. She had done so much for him with little pay off for herself.
He realized everything he told her he would never do, he had done to her.
He lied, used, and even physically hurt her.
He was the one who pushed for the relationship, which had now put him ahead in the polls for his campaign.
Even the U.S. branch of his company was doing better in the stock market, solely because he was dating an American woman.
Now he'd made her take care of another human, even though that said human hates her guts.
Kaiba rubbed at his eyelids and sighed. He was happy that he could be with Atem and that Atem had finally returned his feelings…
That's what he's always wanted right?
He looked over in Salem's direction and saw her in the bathroom, getting out salts and oils for a bath.
He stood up and walked up to the door frame.
"We won't have time for a bath, He's waiting downstairs." Kaiba said, staring at the way the ends Salem's long curly mane swayed just above her tailbone.
"I'm bathing alone. Atem isn't interested in what I have to say. Good luck." She said sharply, slamming the bathroom door in Kaiba's face.
Kaiba sighed and opened the door anyway, boldly walking into the bathroom.
"What the fu-" Salem started to speak but was silenced by one last passionate kiss from Kaiba.
He held her for as long as he could before finally breaking away.
"Please don't shut me out. I still want you to be a part of my life." Kaiba said gently. He didn't know what he was getting himself into all those months ago but he knew his life without Salem at this point would be the same as living without Atem.
He gazed at Salem's face, waiting for a response.
Her eyes darted side to side and the downward as she processed his words.
"I-I...Fine. You should head downstairs, his majesty is probably getting impatient." She said, her expression emotionless as she ran the water in large tub.
"I understand." Kaiba answered, suddenly feeling very exposed.
"I'll head downstairs, then." Kaiba said awkwardly as Salem added floral smelling salts to the water.
"Bye." She said flatly, pouring droplets of oil in the water as well.
Kaiba pried his eyes away from Salem and walked out of the bathroom. He didn't bother cleaning himself up and got dressed, briskly making his way downstairs to the living room.
Atem sat with his arms crossed, staring at nothing in particular. He heard footsteps approaching and looked up the see Kaiba.
"Where's Satan?" Atem said sarcastically.
"Don't call her that, she's putting a lot on the line for you." Kaiba scolded, sitting down next to the agitated king.
Atem scoffed,
"You mean for you. I thought you wanted me." He said with a sigh.
"I do." Kaiba said putting a gentle hand on Atem's thigh.
"Then why were you making love to her!" Atem yelled standing up from the couch and facing Kaiba.
"It's not that simple, Atem. She's a part of my life now and yes, I slept with her. But it was for the last time. I've ended our romantic relationship." Kaiba explained trying to calm Atem down.
Atem narrowed his eyes,
"Why would anyone have sex knowing they're going to break up?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips.
Kaiba set his lips in a tight line. He had no idea how to explain the concept of break up sex to Atem.
Wait.
"Well, remember when I came to see you in the spirit world?" Kaiba started.
"Of course." Atem said, his deep voice suddenly gentle as he remembered their time together.
"You and I made love. Multiple times. And you knew you weren't going to come back with me, right? Including after you told me you didn't love me, we had sex." Kaiba explained.
"That was different. If I had told you the truth, you would have stayed in the spirit world and left your life behind. That last time we laid together was to say...goodbye… Oh." Atem reasoned, slowing his words as he was staring to understand.
"See? Her and I are over romantically. But, being with her has changed me. I don't want to lose her and I need you to realize that I'm not same person I was when I was nineteen." Kaiba explained.
He didn't know what role Salem would fill in his life going forward, but he did know that whatever that role may be he wanted her to be a part of it.
Atem sighed and sat back down next to Kaiba. He couldn't ask Kaiba to keep Salem out of his life. Especially when she was the only reason why he was alive again.
"You're right. I apologize. I just want to be with you and I want to see Aibou and his friends again." Atem said, knowing that he still needed legal documents and a legitimate identity before stepping foot outside.
And who knows how long that could take.
Kaiba cupped Atem's cheek and looked into his large crimson eyes,
"Just be patient. We'll be together soon." He said leaning in slowly.
Atem gently pushed Kaiba away and smiled apologetically,
"I can't. Not right now anyway. After seeing you with her like that." He said clenching his fists in his lap.
Kaiba sighed and looked down at the carpet. He guessed that was fair, he probably still smelled like her.
"You owe her an apology, you know. I know you're protective of your friends but she's been here for me. And she's going to continue to help us." Kaiba said, standing up.
He knew it was probably time to leave. He had royally screwed up this visit with Atem and would have to wait until the pharaoh cooled down.
Atem rolled his eyes,
"Fine. I'll apologize but don't expect us to be best buddies right away. She knew how I felt about you and slept with you anyway. Friends don't do that to each other." He said, crossing his arms with a huff.
Kaiba processed Atem's words and wondering how he'd feel knowing about his past drunken mistake of sleeping with Joey, or even his blatant disregard of Yugi's warning not to pursue Salem as a partner.
Maybe it was best to keep that to himself.
Oh. Right.
Kaiba took an envelope out of his blue blazer and handed it to Atem.
"What's this?" Atem asked, taking the open envelope from Kaiba and pulling out a card.
He read it carefully.
Save the Date!
Te'a Gardener and Yugi Mutou's Wedding
On the 31st of December, 2016
On the back of the card was a picture and Yugi and Te'a, looking perfect and compatible. Yugi's mature features mixed with the loving smile on his face made Atem's heart break.
"Aibou's getting married…" He thought, his heart feeling light and heavy at the same time.
He had missed so much.
Te'a looked absolutely stunning, her short brown hair styled to perfection and her blue eyes even brighter than their happy neutral.
Atem's eyes grew hot and started to water. The card shook in his hands.
"I want to go. I want to be there…" He said, trying to control his breathing.
Kaiba ran his fingers through his hair, tousling his bangs back to their original position on his forehead.
"I've been invited and I'm permitted to bring someone with me. Salem and I have already decided that you should be the one to go." Kaiba said carefully.
He knew Atem was the obvious choice but now there was a deadline for the ex king to assimilate into society.
Kaiba couldn't help but feel guilty for putting this kind of pressure on Atem and Salem but, if Atem wanted to attend the wedding, the incessant bickering and bratty behavior was going to have to stop.
Atem wiped the tears from his cheeks and nodded.
"What do I need to do? To make sure I can go? This is just a few months away and there's still so much I have to learn." He said, clearly overwhelmed.
Kaiba sat down next to Atem and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"I know this is difficult but I promise it'll be worth it when you see your friends again. Salem is here to help you and so am I."
Atem sighed and held the card to his chest,
"May I keep this?" He asked, missing his friends more now that he knew there was a tangible day he would see them again.
Kaiba nodded,
"Of course. I have to go now but I'll check in with you and Salem in another week." He said standing and starting to walk toward the front door.
Atem hurried behind Kaiba as the tall brunette stopped at the entrance of the estate.
"December 31st." Kaiba said, opening the door and walking outside.
Atem nodded at Kaiba, newly determined.
Kaiba gave a small wave before making his way to his car.
Atem watched Kaiba pull out of the long driveway and speed off into the night. He closed and locked the door, leaning against the large barrier, still holding the card in his hand.
"December 31st…"
Atem's back and struggling SO hard!
Sorry Kaiba was waaaaayyyy more tender in this chapter but it was needed and he has the capacity for compassion for those he cares about.
Also sorry for being three days late on posting….
Next week I'll be posting the next chapter of L'appel Du Vide instead of the next chapter of Highlight of My Life.