This is an AU and kind of a Prideshipping version of „Killing Me Softly" xD I didn't really know what to do for this and had various ideas but this finally came out on top. I hope it turned out all right since I was in a bit of a hurry today. Also the description of Atem's voice comes from the fact that I grew up with a hard crush on Yami's German voice actor lol.

Song

He wasn't particularly fond of music.

He listened to it on the radio because his brother turned it on for breakfast or during shopping when it blared through the stores but he wasn't one of those people who had their earphones on all the time or had shelves of CD's in their homes. It confused him when people said music helped them concentrate because all it ever did was distract him. No matter what music he listened to he always found something in it that annoyed him – lyrics that let his thoughts wander or even run wild and melodies that drew pictures in his mind and brought him to other places. He didn't like to lose the touch to reality like this and thus avoided music as much as he could.

But still he ended up here again. In this awkward bar with its weird people and even weirder live band.

He couldn't even remember why he went in here in the first place. The food wasn't good, the tables were dirty and the live band always played the same song at the end of their program. They were a cover band so much he had learned, not even a pretty good one but there was just something about them that got to him.

Well not all of them only their lead singer.

He was a young man with spiky tri-colored hair, strange eyes and a slim built. Nothing too special except maybe the hair but for some unexplainable reason he was still captivated by him.

There was just something about his voice that made him listen, something dark and mysterious and alluring, something that transported to another world and the way he ruled the stage like it was his very own kingdom and the audience his subjects, the way he stood up there so regal and grand and proud drew him in to the point where he wasn't able to look anywhere else. Whenever their eyes met it was like they were the only two persons in the room, like they looked into the depths of each other's soul and it was that particular tension and intimacy that had him sit there in the back almost every week staring at the stage and awaiting those violet eyes to lock their gaze with his. Every now and then the singer would smile and the man wondered if he was already imagining things or if those were really directed at him.

It was weird. He couldn't explain any of this and had wanted to stand up and leave more often than he could count but every time an invisible force stopped him from doing so. He was only able to go after the end of the gig when he couldn't see the singer anymore, when the spell he had on him was broken.

That was exactly what he was waiting for right now as the last applause died down and the first people left or went back to their drinks or conversations.

But it didn't happen today.

Today he remained on stage, eyes still fixed on him while his band mates packed their stuff together. The man tried his best to get out of the state he'd been put in but he couldn't escape those piercing eyes. He was barely able to blink but when he had the singer had jumped down from the stage, boldly making his way over to him.

"Thank you." He said and the man immediately noticed the slightly hoarse tone of his voice that enthralled him even more for a reason he didn't want to ponder on too much.

"What for?" He brought out, glad that talking helped him to come out of his trance and he wrinkled his eyebrows.

"You must really like our music when you come here so often." He said nonchalantly and took the seat next to the man, a small smile playing around his lips. "Which would be really surprising since I don't like it myself." He chuckled and to his horror the man was fascinated by him even more.

The man just shrugged and nipped at his drink. "Did you write the song?"

"I did." He nodded and flashed the man one of his smiles again. "I would ask you if you like it but since you come here so often, I assume you do."

Again the man just shrugged. "It's not that good of a song."

At that the singer's jaw dropped and the man was relieved to notice that the spell he had on him slowly began to fade when the other leaned back in his chair, a small pout on his lips. "And yet you're still here."

"And yet I'm still here." He had realized what it was that made him come here so often (or who to be precise) the moment the singer spoke and sat down next to him and by now he was trying to figure out if this was good or bad.

"Will you at least tell me your name?"

"Kaiba."

There was the smile again. "I'm Yami. Nice to meet you."

Now that Kaiba knew his name some of the puzzling aloofness that surrounded Yami was taken away and he relaxed some more when he felt his wit coming back at last. "May I ask what you want from me?"

Yami smiled somewhat nervously at him. "I wanted to get to know the man that comes so regularly to this bar and drinks his Whiskey and listens to my song and then just leaves without saying hello once."

"You're keeping an eye on every guest here?"

"Only on those who interest me."

Kaiba had to chuckle and was glad it came out dark and not nervous. "And I do?"

"Since you always stare at me when I perform it was kind of inevitable, so to say." He grinned but Kaiba kept his face straight. "I wondered why someone like you would come to this place so often."

"What do you mean someone like me?"

"Well you seem like the stern, dramatic big shot business man. Like someone who'd build a space station to get a lover back."

Kaiba snorted. "I wouldn't do that."

"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Yami's voice had an honest tone to it and Kaiba looked at him again, curious on what he might find.

They stared at each other for a while and Kaiba noticed that it was really different when they were so close. The tension was so thick by now he could feel it seek into his bones. He couldn't say if he preferred the distance though.

All of sudden though Yami stood up and pulled something out of the back pocket of his leather pants. "I made this before I knew that you don't like our music very much but I still want to give it to you." He handed Kaiba a CD that was labeled with Playlist in a neat handwriting and Kaiba looked at him confused. "It's some of the songs we play here and some new ones we've written ourselves. You can give them a try if you like."

He opened and closed his mouths a few times but no sound would come out as he continued to stare between Yami and the CD in his hand.

"I know you… won't come for a while because you probably feel like I crossed a boundary or hurt your pride or something, but…" He gave Kaiba a very small smile that almost seemed insecure and those captivating eyes were back on his face again. "But I really hope… you will come once more when you listened to the CD." His smile turned warm and Kaiba looked confused at him, not really knowing what to say and trying to figure out if there was a hidden meaning behind Yami's words.

"Goodbye, Kaiba." Yami said after a while and Kaiba just watched as Yami walked back to the stage and disappeared behind the black curtain.

He stared at the spot for a moment as if expecting Yami to reappear again but when he didn't Kaiba got up, threw some money on the table and left the bar, Yami's CD safely tugged in the pocket of his jacket.

It took him a few days to get to the last song – not because the list was so long it; was rather short actually but because he still didn't like music very much – and when it had finished, he heard Yami's voice speaking in an amused tone: "Just ask me out already, you coward."

For a long moment Kaiba stared baffled and a little shocked at his CD player as if it had just stuck his tongue out at him and hit him over the head to finally get some sense in him.

And then he laughed.

He'd have to go to the bar this evening.