And now for a Pegasus chapter. With a little bit more of Mokuba thrown in for good measure. Standard disclaimers apply.
Enjoy.
Pegasus buttoned the long, khaki coat and waited for his chauffeur to pull around. Neither of them said anything as they repeated the process that had occurred twice before. Pegasus shivered slightly, not wanting to go into the creepy shop again. However, he wanted all of his confusion and conflicting emotions to be settled once and for all. Something must have gone wrong or he messed something up… she had to have a way to fix it. Had to.
And this time, for good.
When he entered, the shop was as shabby as he remembered. The woman was in the same position as before, still working away behind the counter. He crossed the dusty floor and stood in front of her, waiting for her to notice him. She looked up with tired, unsurprised eyes.
"Yes? Did you want something more?" She asked flatly.
He looked down at the floor, suddenly feeling very foolish. This was probably his fault to begin with.
"Things… things aren't turning out right."
She paused and got in a few more stitches or purls or whatever they were.
"And?"
He looked up at her, pleading.
"Can you fix it?"
She pursed her lips together then put her work down on her lap. Clasping her hands, she leaned against the creaky desk and looked at him squarely.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"He's not… well… the first night… the first night he called it 'rape.' Rape! I though…" He frowned. "I thought he was supposed to be in love with me…"
Love. Such a nebulous notion.
"Even with a potion, such things can take time. Is he compliant?"
"Yes…" He replied haltingly. "I mean, he is but that's… I mean… It's not what I thought it would be like…"
"That's hardly my fault. You asked for it to work that way."
"I know I did, but I just wanted him to care about me… I thought it would make him open up and be affectionate…"
"And it hasn't?"
"But it feels insincere! And strange… abnormal."
"Insincere? Can you be sure of what he means? Can he be sure? Who among us can know our true intentions? I know how my potion works; and let me tell you that actions speak much louder than words."
He persisted.
"But it doesn't feel right! It's like… Like I should be where he is and he shouldn't be what he's become and neither of us can be happy…"
She sighed.
"This is your problem. You asked for an uke – well you can't remain an uke yourself and expect to be satisfied with it. As for calling it rape, the boy was a virgin was he not?" He nodded. "Well, then," she said with a faint smile kept mostly to herself, "He was probably just nervous."
Pegasus nodded with a fervent mixture of relief and enthusiasm.
"Precisely what I thought!"
Fool.
"So if you start acting like the partner he needs you to be, things will fall into place. Trust me. Simply assert yourself over him and you will see that 'insincerity' as you call it melt away. The 'abnormality' will subside, assuming you hold up your end of the bargain.
And if you don't – well, I can't be responsible for what happens. An uke needs a seme. The compliant needs someone to control him. You requested a relationship in which you would be the manipulator and he would be the manipulated. And I always deliver for my clients. Now you must simple rise to the occasion and fulfill your end of the arrangement."
He swallowed and nodded.
"So… just be dominant. OK, I can do this… just like Duelist Kingdom… if I can just be like I was on Duelist Kingdom, fierce, in control… yes… that will do…"
She picked up the yarn and went back to her work. He walked towards the door, trying to nerve himself to do what was expected of him once he returned. At the doorway, he touched the knob then hesitated and turned around.
"Are you sure this will work?"
She nodded.
"Of course I am sure. The potion has already begun to make him compliant from what you've told me. He will depend on you – need you – and be unable to leave you. And in the end he will give you exactly what you desire.
Services rendered for the price paid, you know."
He nodded and gave her a thin smile.
"Thank you for instructing me."
He walked out for the third time.
Inside the silent room, she clicked away at her work.
Mokuba slide into the back seat where a blond was waiting for him, legs crossed. In the front seat were two others, a boy and a girl, smiling in a good-natured way. They peeled off down the street from the mansion as the blond slid in closer to Mokuba. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek.
"Hey baby."
"What took you so long, Moke?"
"My brother…"
She frowned slightly. "He doesn't know about us does he? I mean… nothing against your big brother but he doesn't seem like exactly the type who would approve."
Mokuba shrugged.
"He just doesn't like romantic relationships. Honestly, I can't see him every having one himself."
The boy driving chuckled.
"A twenty-something virgin? That's kinda pathetic"
The girl next to him punched his arm.
"At least he's not a whore like you!"
"Whore? I believe you mean 'fine pimp-master stud.' Face it folks – the ladies love me!"
Mokuba rolled his eyes.
"Yeah right. You sound like Ryuuji."
"Who?"
He sighed.
"Never mind. Anyway, Seto simply has other, more important things on his mind. I don't think he'd exactly disapprove… I mean, I am his brother, and besides, I had to start sometime… but it's probably best that he doesn't know we're sleeping together just yet."
The blond nodded.
"So if it wasn't about us, what'd he want?"
Mokuba looked out the window and gave another shrug.
"Not sure. I was kinda hurried. But I think the school called him – probably said something about my dropping grades. He gets like this on occasion. Somebody calls him about me and he feels like he's not doing his job so he tries to do the 'buddy' thing. Not that I don't love him but… jeez… he's like my father. That's kinda creepy, hanging out with him. I mean, I used to when I was younger, but my friends aren't his, you know?"
She nodded sympathetically.
"And anyway, I know he doesn't really want to. He's busy with his company, and that's OK with me – what he does is important. I'm OK with you guys and he can work like he wants to and we're both happy with that.
It's better for us both like this. I mean, he tries hard, but it's not really 'him' to do the hang-out pal thing."
"So you told him he doesn't have to?"
"Eh, something like that."
"All right you two, enough about the Ice King of Domino," he smirked when Mokuba smacked the back of his head. "Where to? The arcade, the movies, grab some food…"
Pegasus felt his stomach twitch and flutter as Seto sat down in his office. The boy looked at him expectantly and Pegasus tried to keep up a strong front. He had to do this. For both of them. Kaiba had changed for him… now he needed to change for Kaiba.
It was only fair.
He nodded resolutely, ignoring his apprehension.
"Yes. I am quite confident that the third choice would be the best," he replied, handing him the folder. "They seem to be the most stable."
Well, at least that was partially true. He'd done the best he could, working covertly so that nobody in Kaiba's company or his would know of the advisement. He wasn't exactly sure that he'd made the best choice – the companies were fairly close in status – but how badly could it turn out?
Seto took the folder gratefully and smiled.
"Thank you so much!" He stood from his chair and embraced Pegasus, burying his face in the nape of the man's neck.
Pegasus began to sweat beneath the collar of the turtleneck he'd worn.
"I missed you, you know…"
Pegasus chucked. "But it's only been a few hours…"
He realized, as Seto looked up at him, that even the boy's miniscule difference in height now seemed exaggerated. The younger man gazed at him with eyes that seemed more likely to belong to his brother – wide, soft 'puppy dog' eyes."
"Don't laugh…" His eyes slid downward and he embraced the man again. "It feels like it's so much longer…"
Pegasus returned the embrace and his thoughts drifted back to the shop. An uke needed a seme. Rise to the occasion. Duelist Kingdom. He had to do this. Yes.
He had to.
He returned the embrace crushingly, causing the other to exhale in surprise. The, he grabbed the boy's chin and turned it upwards. He kissed him violently and nipped the boy's tongue and lips, licking off the spot of blood that emerged on his mouth.
"I hope that will hold you until the evening," he said with a smirk.
Seto flushed as he stepped away and it was obvious that he was hard. He nodded, eyes shining brightly, shining all the way through to their very depths with excitement and passion.
"I think it might… I'll come over as soon as I can!"
Pegasus waited until he'd gone then collapsed into a chair. His tongue still tasted the tang of Seto's blood and he felt like he wanted to retch. It seemed to have worked, but perhaps it was too early to say. In either case, he couldn't give up the charade just yet…
He felt cold inside as he realized that now, with Seto as he was, he could never give it up. The words of the woman suddenly came through into his mind, as though he'd only truly heard them for the first time.
The potion was irreversible.
Oh, there was insincerity in the relationship, sure enough. But it wasn't on Seto's part.
It was his.
He shook his head. This was foolish. Duelist Kingdom, he repeated to himself and tried to hold on to that thought. He'd been that was before and he could be like that again, even without the Eye. It was within him to be so; he just had to bring that side of him out.
If he didn't… well, he would.
Again, the refrain echoed – he had to.
He repeated it to himself throughout the day. He repeated it to himself during the drive home. He repeated it to himself while waiting in a chair. He repeated it to himself while walking to the front foyer after hearing the doorbell ring.
He repeated it until it was all he heard.
Thus, when Seto came, he wasted no time like he had the other nights. He didn't lead him gently to the room, speaking soft words and kissing him as he went. He didn't woo or entice the boy with sweet whisperings. He didn't caress his hand or nuzzle his cheek or rub him affectionately.
Instead, he dragged the boy inside and slammed the door shutting. Pushing and dragging, he took the bewildered man to his room and threw him on the bed. Pegasus undressed him so swiftly, so violently that the suit Seto was wearing ripped. Oh well. He could well afford another – they both could. Then he pounced on the boy's naked form, concentrating on pleasure and force and strength, fueled by the memory of what the Eye had felt like.
Seto screamed and bled, but he paid no mind. Beneath him, the other bucked and whimpered as Pegasus dug his manicured nails into his partner's chest and back, making streaks of light red running across his skin. He went until he was satisfied and Seto was nothing but a limp pile of flesh panting beside him. Then the younger man turned over and cuddled up to Pegasus, exhausted. He clung to the silver-haired man and Pegasus lazily draped his arm around him.
The cerulean pools that gazed up at him… adored. All the way through.
'She was right…'
He didn't rise to look at the moon, nor did he cry that night.
The next morning, after Seto had left and the mess was cleaned up, Pegasus came out of the shower in a robe, drying his hair as he stepped in front of his mirror. Suddenly, he noticed something lying on the wine-colored carpet. He picked it up.
Seto's locket.
The ragged cord told him that he must have ripped it off and thrown it aside when he'd taken Seto the previous evening. Since it was dark and the carpet was as well, Seto mustn't have noticed it and missed it on the way out.
'Strange…' He mused, 'That he wouldn't have noticed it was missing…'
He clicked it open and the floor dropped out from beneath him. Stunned, he staggered backwards and fell back onto his bed, looking up at the canopy. He clutched the opened locket to his chest, feeling disoriented and breathing heavily. All of his fears came rushing back to him at the simple sight of his own face, looking at him with a stare that he imagined to be accusing.
"I… I've killed him…" He whispered in a timid voice and his body shuddered with the pain of realization. "I killed him…"
And that's it until next chapter in which we will see more of Kaiba's POV. :) Hope you enjoyed. Oh, and one note on Mokuba's nickname that I used – Moke, it rhymes with Coke. Not 'Mokie.' Also, his friends aren't any characters in particular – I'm not giving credence to any particular Mokuba ship. They're just random kids, basically.
And remember – please leave constructive criticism.
Update: I changed according to Toonnshipper's pointing out of that mistake. > Oops. And I also added a little bit to last line.