Warning: Language and lime ahead.
This thing is writing itself.
Pulled up at a stoplight,
did drugs on the dashboard,
look at the mess we made tonight.
Kick off your stilettos, kick off your stilettos,
And fuck me in the back seat,
Fuck me in the backseat.
-The Medic Droid
Zero liked the way the sun rose over Domino. He liked the way the city woke, the way kids ran to school, chasing one another until they were all laughing and breathless. He liked the casual crawl of traffic, and the men and women in suits, rubbing their eyes with one hand and carting coffee with the other. There was a special energy in the town, something that the little village below Cross Academy had lacked.
Every morning, Zero would push open the window and rest his arms on the sill, watching Domino awaken across the grounds. He'd get a half hour or so of peace and quiet, and then the downstairs would explode in a flurry of activity.
"Niisan, have you seen my bag?!"
"It's on the table."
"Have you seen my textbook?"
"It's under the table. And you left your laptop in my office, and your paper between the couch cushions. Your uniform's in the laundry room, your good sneakers are on my bedroom floor, and your bike is on the lawn."
Zero smiled as he made his way across the top floor. Kaiba's bedroom was just a few doors down from his, and the hunter figured he'd make the younger Kaiba's morning a little easier and grab his shoes for him.
It didn't occur to him that he was in Kaiba's bedroom until he already had a hand around the white sneaker nearest the door. Zero paused and straightened slowly, his ears reddening as he stole a look around the room. It was fastidiously neat, which he expected. The bed was still unmade, but there was no clutter on the floor, and the desk in the corner was well organized. The only disorder to be seen was the sweater thrown casually at the foot of the bed.
Don't do it, Zero's mind urged him, but his feet propelled him forward. He bent down and lifted the sweater, almost cradling it for a moment before bringing it to his face and inhaling deeply. The dark blue knit must have been itchy at one point, but it had been worn and used so well that it was now soft as down. Zero imagined Kaiba stepping into the dark room, stifling a yawn, pulling the sweater over his head. It would have tugged at his shirt beneath, revealing his abdomen and hips before he climbed into bed, kicking off his pants as he went…
Zero's ears were on fire. He dropped the sweater, retrieved Mokuba's other shoe, and beat a hasty retreat.
The teen was simultaneously finishing homework and stuffing his mouth full of toast when Zero came into the kitchen. Mokuba mumbled what Zero suspected was a greeting, gulping down a glass of orange juice as he struggled into his blue blazer.
"Office right after school," Kaiba reminded him from the sink. Zero's heart jumped when their eyes met briefly, and looked away pointedly when Kaiba grinned at him. He looked better rested than Zero had seen him in a while—he wasn't as pale, and the circles under his eyes weren't nearly so dark. His hair was tousled and messy from sleep, and he hadn't yet bothered to change into clothes. His long legs were covered by blue plaid pajama bottoms, and a tight black t-shirt clung to his torso.
Nice. Zero had spent months trying to convince Kaname to get comfortable in casual clothing. There was something incredibly hot about seeing a powerful man dressed like a normal human being. Kaiba certainly pulled it off; doing dishes in his pajamas, he actually looked his age.
"West office or east?" Mokuba was asking, pulling on his shoes after gratefully taking them from Zero. "And who are we meeting again?"
"East. And it's some idiot from I-Squared. You don't need a suit, just come in your uniform."
"What are we gonna tell him?"
"To get the hell off our property."
Mokuba laughed, catching his keys as his brother tossed them. "That's what we do best. Later, bro—see ya, Zero."
"Drive carefully, kid."
"You, too," Mokuba called over his shoulder as he stepped out the door. It closed behind him, and suddenly Zero and Kaiba were alone in the kitchen together.
Again.
"Hungry?" Kaiba inquired casually, turning back to the sink.
"Gourmet toast this morning? Real taste of the upper class?"
"You're hilarious. I am capable of making breakfast food, as it happens, and Mokuba considers it palatable."
"Kids his age will eat anything you put in front of them."
Kaiba snorted. "True." He paused, drying his hands, eyeing the shifty hunter hovering awkwardly by the table. "Or," he ventured, trying his hardest to sound nonchalant, "we could go out to eat."
Zero looked at him, lifting an eyebrow. "Like a date?"
That grin, that stupid smarmy, sexy grin. "Interested, are you?"
"Fuck you."
Kaiba shrugged. "If you want."
"You're buying."
"Fine by me."
"I'm gonna go change," Zero said tartly, turning to go up the stairs. He heard a creak, and turned his head to see Kaiba just behind him. "Dude, don't follow me."
"My room is upstairs," Kaiba reminded him, tapping a finger against his temple. "You're the smart one in the family, are you?"
Zero's cheeks flamed, and he took the rest of the stairs three at a time and darted into his room before Kaiba could get too close. He changed at hyper speed, then dropped and hammered out push-ups to cool his nerves until his arms felt like jelly. Jumping back up, he opened up the door in time to see Kaiba heading down the stairs—pulling on the sweater Zero had been unashamedly smelling earlier. The hunter felt his stomach drop.
Today was going to suck.
Zero wasn't sure what he was expecting. He'd never heard of a ritzy, up-scale restaurant serving breakfast, but he couldn't see Seto Kaiba hitting up an IHOP, either. So he sat quietly in the passenger seat of the red sportscar as it weaved through the eight a.m. traffic and tried not to feel too uncomfortable.
"Why aren't you wearing a suit?" he asked, when the silence got too oppressive for him to handle.
Kaiba glanced sideways at him, lifting one graceful eyebrow. "Why would I wear a suit out to breakfast?"
"Isn't that what rich, snobby guys do?"
A pause, and then Kaiba suddenly laughed. "I don't know, is it?"
That's what Kaname always did. But then, Kaname had been expected to be flawless, with every breath, at every moment. He couldn't show his face in public in a knit sweater and old jeans. He was a king, a pureblood of the highest lineage. He had only taken down his walls in front of Zero. Even Yuki hadn't known the Kaname who had lain in Zero's arms at night.
If Seto noticed Zero's sudden lapse in energy, he didn't mention it. He knew all too well what it was like to slip into nostalgia, to suddenly be overtaken by painful memories. When Zero's eyes unfocused and his head turned toward the window, Seto let him be.
The place they pulled up to wasn't on Zero's list of likely breakfast hotspots for a man like Seto Kaiba. It was very out of the way, tucked behind a shopping center and a hardware store and almost out of sight from the main road. There were only two other cars in the lot when they pulled up.
"Want me to open your door for you?" Kaiba asked, his tone light and teasing, his eyes all but sparkling with mischief. Zero shivered internally, but kept his face pressed into a scowl as he opened his own door.
The walls of the place were painted a bright, merry blue, with a traditional Japanese roof and pillars holding up the overhang. Though a neon 'Open' sign flashed in the window, a scroll was plastered beneath it with Hibiki's Café written in kanji. It was a weird mesh of the modern and the old, and something about it set Zero at ease.
A bell tinkled cheerfully when Kaiba pushed the door open, holding it for Zero and ignoring the glare he got in return. A short, rounded woman was leaning at an old wooden podium, eyes narrowed behind her glasses as she looked at a clipboard. She looked up at the sound of the bell, and all at once her severe face brightened into a wide smile.
"Seto-kun! Welcome back, child, it's been weeks since we saw you last! Where's Mokuba today?"
"School, believe it or not," Kaiba replied, bending down and letting the old woman kiss him on the cheek—Zero swallowed a laugh so fast it almost hurt. "It's just my friend and me today."
"Why don't you come with that blonde boy anymore?" the old woman asked as she bustled back to the podium, retrieving two fraying menus and ushering them toward a table. There was another couple in the back, holding hands while they ate their pancakes, looking at one another with sweet eyes—whether from love or from the syrup, Zero couldn't tell. "He was so cute."
"He's just been busy lately," Kaiba replied mildly, offering her a smile when she looked at him suspiciously.
"I'm sure," she huffed, pulling a notepad out from her apron and shaking her head. "Say what you want, child, I know you. You're a heartbreaker."
"I do what I can." He handed her back both menus. "Whatever the special is, Kyoko-san, for both of us. And coffee. Lots of it."
Zero swallowed his irritation at being ordered for—the old woman looked ecstatic as she hurried back to the kitchen.
"So," the hunter said leisurely, and Kaiba grimaced. "Seto-kun, huh?"
"Call me that and I will kill you," Kaiba replied, glaring at him.
"Only nice to old ladies, hm?"
"Shut it. She and her husband Toru were friends of my father. They knew me when I was little, before my stepfather took me away from Domino."
"Oh." Great, now he felt like a bit of a jerk. The old woman was family to the Kaiba boys.
"She and Toru even wanted to adopt us, after my father died," Kaiba went on thoughtfully, picking up his chopsticks and twirling them between his fingers. "The courts ruled in favor of my aunt and uncle, unfortunately. Fat lot of good that did us."
"An older couple wanting to adopt two kids? That's pretty impressive."
"They did have a son," Kaiba said, his voice quieting. "He died of aggressive leukemia when he was still a relatively young man. They left Hiroshima and came to Domino afterward, and met my father—" Kaiba paused, and shook his head. "Anyway. Old friends. Excuse me for a second, will you?"
Zero frowned. "Where are you going?"
"To take a piss, if you must know," Kaiba replied flatly, flashing him a grin. "Want to come? The door locks."
"Fuck you."
"If you want."
"Shut the hell up."
Kaiba left, laughing, leaving Zero to brood silently until Kyoko brought a pot of coffee to the table. She poured him a steaming mug and then proceeded to top it with whipped cream. She was shaking out cinnamon on it when she spoke suddenly.
"You're his new boyfriend, then?"
Zero jerked as if shocked. "Er, no. I'm just crashing with him."
"That so," she chuckled, her dark eyes twinkling. "Well, regardless, you be good to him. The husband and I love that boy like he was ours. He may as well be. He should have been, if it weren't for that witch that calls herself his aunt."
"I'm sorry," Zero replied, immensely uncomfortable. "I won't cause him any trouble." Like putting him in the hospital. At least, not twice.
Kyoko patted him on the shoulder with a soft hand. "Just be a good friend to him, if nothing else. He hasn't been the same since he and that other young man stopped seeing one another. But he's smiling with you, so you must be good for him."
Zero seriously doubted that, but he offered her a weak smile, and she returned to the kitchen. Kaiba returned a minute later, pouring himself a cup of coffee with an audible sigh of relief.
"That good, huh?" Zero snorted, lifting an eyebrow as Kaiba all but drained his first cup.
"You need blood to survive," Kaiba replied smartly, "I need caffeine. We all have our vices."
"Don't talk about that in public," Zero hissed, looking anxiously toward the dewy-eyed couple in the corner. "You never know who's listening…"
"You told me you killed the last rabid—thing," Kaiba said, lifting an eyebrow over the rim of his coffee mug.
"I did. But the Society has ears everywhere. If they knew I'd exposed you to our world…"
"They'd, what, kill you?" Kaiba snorted.
"No. They'd take me into custody. They'd probably kill you, though."
"…Are you shitting me?"
"People who know are a liability. If anyone finds out about—them—the world will fall into hysteria. It'd be war."
"Chirst, Kiryu, thanks," Kaiba growled, mock-toasting the hunter. Zero didn't have time to throw back a caustic remark when Kyoko returned, carrying two trays laden with more food than Zero had had in months.
"I said the special, not the whole menu," Kaiba said, laughing as she sat down the trays in front of them. Zero's mouth watered. When was the last time he had a Belgian waffle?
"You're too skinny, child, you always have been," she chided. "That goes for your friend, too. Eat up, the both of you. When I was a girl, we weren't allowed to leave the table until we cleared our plates, you know."
"When was that? The Meiji era?"
She smacked him on the back of the head with her notepad and left with one last parting reminder to eat up. Kaiba grinned, starting on a shortstack while powering up his phone. When he looked up from his email, it was to see Zero all but buried behind a tower of Belgian waffles. He was meticulously covering them with strawberries from a bowl and adding layer after layer of whipped cream and syrup.
"That's positively majestic," Kaiba commented, smirking at the scowl he got in reply.
"Shut up. My mom used to make these for me and my brother all the time. We competed to see who could get the tallest stack."
Seto looked at him—well, looked at the fringes of silver hair he saw peeking around the edges of the leaning tower of delicious. "You didn't tell me you had a brother."
"You didn't ask."
"Is he a vampire, too?"
"He's gone."
"Gone as in…?"
"He's dead," Zero said shortly, peering around the stack to glare at the other man. "Okay? Now quit asking me questions. Eat your food."
Zero felt full and warm and unusually pleasant when they left. Kyoko kissed Kaiba on the cheek again, and surprised Zero with a full body hug while an old man—presumably Toru—shouted farewells from the kitchen. The hunter sank into the passenger seat of the sportscar, fully intent on napping on the way back to the mansion.
"Chilly," Kaiba commented casually as he started the car, checking his watch. "Still early, too. It'll be a cold one."
"Mm," Zero answered noncommittally, leaning his head against the window and closing his eyes. The rumble of tires on poorly paved road was already lulling him to sleep. He couldn't remember the last time he'd dozed off with a full belly…
"Full already, Zero?" Kaname commented, just the hints of a smile playing around his lips as Zero sat back in his chair. Zero glared, but found it difficult to stay irritated with his lover. Kaname looked particularly splendid, the dark of his suit soaking up the light cast by the candle on the table between them. His eyes were pools of black fire, making Zero shift in his seat. He could see the glint of Kaname's fangs when the pureblood smiled at him, and it made him shiver. He knew exactly where he wanted those fangs…
"I need to use the restroom," he said, his voice sounding like it didn't belong in his body. He got up from his seat, making wide strides to the back of the restaurant. No sooner had he opened the door than a hand caught it, and Kaname pushed him bodily into a stall, already pulling apart his dress shirt, heedless of the buttons that scattered on the floor.
Zero's back hit the wall, and he tipped his head back, gasping as Kaname's tongue laved the side of his neck. Fangs brushed the tender flesh and then sank in deeply. Red blood stained the collar of Zero's shirt, but he was gone to the pleasure, tangling his hands in Kaname's hair and whimpering as the pureblood drank. Kaname's hand cupped him between the legs, rubbing him, arousing him, and Zero released a breathy sigh before Kaname's bloody lips claimed his in a hard, needy kiss…
He awoke with a start, his face plastered against the window, sweat beading at the back of his neck. It was dark; it took him a moment to realize that the car was in a parking garage. It was running, the heat up, but Kaiba wasn't in the driver's seat. Zero looked at the ignition—keys still present. It would be so easy to shift sideways, shift it into gear, and run for it, get out of this town and make a break for the sea. He could board a ship and head for Europe, or America, somewhere he could slip away, get under the Society's radar…
The car door opened, and Kaiba settled himself back in the drivers' seat, running a hand through his hair as he shuffled through a pile of papers in his lap.
"I'm switching banks," he muttered irritably to himself, shaking his head. "I can't put up with this crap anymore… Got a broker you'd recommend, Kir—"
He broke off with a yelp as his seat was abruptly leant backwards, leaving him lying on his back in bewilderment as Zero leaned over him.
"Kiryu—what the—" He made to sit up, only to be pushed back by a strong hand on his chest. "Hey—"
Zero wasn't listening to his protests—he wasn't even hearing them. He grabbed hold of the hem of that dark blue sweater, pushing it slowly up his captive's abdomen. He felt the recoil of the flesh and muscle he revealed as he slid it upwards, upwards, until he forced it over Kaiba's head.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Shut up," Zero growled roughly, leaning down and pressing his mouth to the soft skin at the juncture between Kaiba's shoulder and neck. His captive stiffened but fell silent. Zero felt the muscles tightening, felt the pulse increase, heard the rush of hot blood. His tongue explored the warm skin, seeking the eager pounding of the artery buried within. Kaiba squirmed, gritting his teeth when Zero forced a knee between his legs.
"Whoa, whoa—cut it—"
Zero opened his mouth and bit down, ignoring the shout he earned. The taste of blood filled his mouth, filled his head and made his vision go white. He drank eagerly, relishing the heady scent and taste, the sensations of another's blood entering his own body. He coped with the memories that came rushing to him, memories that weren't his own—a baby with black hair, giggling and waving his arms up at him—a girl with long white hair, running his hands through it, noting the pink tinge of her cheeks as he pulled her in to kiss her—the blonde he'd seen in the hospital, straddling his hips, rocking against him, cradling his face, a ragged whisper of "Seto" in his ear—
The hunter-turned-vampire broke away with the force of iron will, gasping, bringing a shaking hand to his mouth. There was blood smeared on the seat, on the blue sweater, on his mouth, on the pale skin of Kaiba's neck and shoulder. He was panting, but he was conscious—and lucid, based on the way he was glaring at Zero.
"Sorry," Zero gasped breathlessly, shaking his head, half in denial at what he'd done. Again. "I'm sorry, I didn't—I was dreaming, and—"
"Look," Kaiba growled, clasping a hand to the side of his neck and sitting up with some difficulty, "if you have to do that to survive, I don't mind, but Christ, Kiryu, a little warning would be nice."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, you're—wait. You don't mind?"
"No, I don't," Kaiba snapped, looking down at his hand and frowning at the red. "Ah, shit."
"Here." Zero caught his wrist and drew him closer, shaking his head when Kaiba resisted. "I'm not going to bite you again, I swear."
"Then what are you—"
Zero moved in, opening his mouth again and gently licking at the wound he'd made. Kaiba stiffened, but didn't pull away. Relaxing, Zero shifted closer, tilting his head to get a better angle. The proximity to the other man made his head swim—but it wasn't his hunger for blood this time. The blood in his body wasn't rushing to his head, but rather more southward…
The movement of his tongue slowed, and then stopped entirely, but Zero didn't move away. He meant to explain that purebloods had healing abilities, that after drinking from Kaname for so long he'd been able to do the same, to a lesser extent, but instead Zero sat there in silence, his lips just brushing Kaiba's neck. Neither spoke. Zero waffled in that moment, wanting to see where this was about to lead, wanting something to happen, but scared to death that his advance might be spurned—
And then, a touch, right where he wanted it most. A warm hand settled over his need, caressing the bulge beginning to show through his trousers. Zero drew back, startled, and looked into Kaiba's eyes. But the other man didn't let him question—a hand wound into Zero's hair and pulled him in, and their lips meshed.
The vampire was so surprised that for a moment he made no move to kiss back. He felt warm lips playing at his, teasing, inviting, and teeth briefly caught his lower lip before Kaiba drew back, frowning a little.
"No," Zero blurted suddenly, seizing a handful of brown hair. "No—don't—"
A chuckle, low and enticing, and then Zero was pulled in again, this time over the middle console and into the other man's lap. That sinful hand was between his legs again, rubbing him, and Zero almost lost the plot entirely when Kaiba's mouth opened under his. The other hand was undoing the buttons of his borrowed shirt, sliding across his chest, teasing him gently.
Zero moaned, a sound low and raw in the back of his throat, and ducked his head, allowing a fang to graze the skin where he'd first bitten his new lover. He lapped eagerly at the trickle of blood that followed, only to have his chin grasped and his face turned back into a hungry kiss, but not before the blood and the memory had flooded Zero's mouth and mind.
The white-haired girl looked shyly at him, took his hand in hers and pressed it to her stomach. He questioned her, but she shushed him, holding him there, and when realization dawned on him, she smiled shakily at him, her eyes full of tears.
"Mine," he said weakly, his voice hardly above a whisper.
She nodded.
"Yours."
Zero broke the kiss with a shuddering gasp, his heart like a jackhammer in his chest. He and Kaiba both sat in silence, panting, smeared with blood and sweat, their shirts haphazardly clinging to their trembling bodies. Zero's mouth had more or less stopped the bleeding from his first bite, and Kaiba's face was flushed.
"Oh, shit," he muttered, dropping his head back against the seat and running a hand through his hair. "Dammit, Kiryu, what are we doing?"
"No idea," Zero replied weakly. He was still hard and aching against Kaiba's hand, his need pushing at the cloth of his jeans, but he chose not to bring it up. Glancing downward, he noted with some relief that he wasn't the only one suffering.
"Is that what usually happens?" Kaiba asked, smiling a little. One hand—not the one touching him intimately—lifted, and fingers strayed through Zero's hair. "When you bite someone."
"It always happened with Kaname," Zero admitted. "It's…intimate."
"Kaname." Kaiba looked at him, eyes searching his. "So he was your lover."
Shit. He'd purposefully neglected to bring Kaname up before now. "Yeah. He was." Just the thought of the nights he'd spent in Kaname's bed made him ache, and he shifted uncomfortably against Kaiba's hand.
"Damn," Kaiba muttered, lifting the seat up. It pushed he and Zero closer together, so close their foreheads nearly bumped. They paused, awkward in their new position.
"So," Zero ventured, "uh, now what?"
"Now what…hm." Kaiba quirked a grin, that hard grin that Zero both hated and loved. "Well. Whatever happens next, be it good or bad, it's probably best not done in a parking garage."
Limey limes are limey.
Spur of the moment lime, to be sure, and maybe occurring a little faster than it needs to, but screw it. This is my baby and it can be as raunchy and unnecessary as it wants to be.
And that was definitely Seth's memory, not Seto's.