YUGIOH

Hopeless Collisions

Chapter 6.

Kaiba was in his bedroom, trying not to be overwhelmed by his brother's death. It felt like Gozaburo was haunting this house, laughing at him the entire time there...taunting him over his loss. He had attempted to lay down, but thoughts of Mokuba and his stepfather accusing him of being weak would not leave him alone. So, he got back up and headed to his office, instead. He sat down at the table to try and do some work....but his table had too many pictures and memorabilia of his brother.

With too much angst wracking at his brain, he swiped the entire table clean, tossing everything on the floor...including his laptop that was now broke, then sat back down at the empty table. Leaning his head in his hands, he continued to shake from the pain. He couldn't cry because of his past with Gozaburo, teaching him to never cry even when he needed to. He wanted so badly to drown his sorrows in alcohol....atleast then, he could pass out cold in bed and not have to be tormented by his own thoughts of failure.

He barely noticed the door creak open, and someone slowly move behind him. The long-haired figure slipped his delicate and slender arms around him in an embrace. Kaiba only then consciously realized that Pegasus was near him once again, this time putting his hands on him But he didn't fight it because he really didn't want to be alone.

His long silky hair draped on Kaiba's right shoulder, as his head came down, saying quietly in his ear, "Remember....we're not mourning his death. Give hope in knowing we'll be seeing him again very soon. You'll be reunited with your brother....his cheerful cries will be echoing in these halls again, laughing with you...."

Pegasus held him, trying to ease his shaking. Kaiba brought one of his hands over, grabbing one of the hands holding him, at first thought to push Pegasus away from him. But instead, the hand stayed there and gripped Pegasus's arm tight, accepting its support.

Pegasus heard a sniff from Kaiba, and realized he had finally gotten the CEO to cry a little, which was not an easy thing to do. Pegasus was actually pleased with this, knowing he needed to cry to relieve all the anguish this poor kid had bottled up inside him. Well, atleast Pegasus saw him as a kid, compared to his own age....probably an 8 - 10 year difference.

He said nothing to Kaiba, simply holding him silently for a long while, as he struggled with the pain. Finally, Pegasus whispered to him, "Come on....let's get you into bed. You need your rest....lets go."

Pegasus helped coax him up, getting him back to his room and got him to lay down in the bed. Then pulling a seat up and sitting down beside him, he took out of all things....a comic book. Pegasus then pulled out a flashlight from his pocket, saying, "I brought this from home....I think you'll like hearing it. It's one of my favorites, really."

Kaiba did not reply to him, and tried to drift off as Pegasus began to read his comic to him, like some sort of bedtime story. It was a couple minutes later when Pegasus finished, and looked down at him, asking, "Did you like it?"

"I'm not into cartoons, much." Kaiba turned away, adding, "I guess that's your thing."

"If I leave, you're not going to go to sleep....are you?" Pegasus said, more as a statement than a question.

There was a long pause before Kaiba answered, "No."

"....Then I guess I have no choice but to stay here."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Kaiba woke up at 9 in the morning. It wasn't the shock of getting up so late that surprised him....it was the shock of sleeping at all that caught him off-guard. It was the first time he'd fallen asleep naturally since Mokuba's death. He had pretty much been an insomniac since that day, only knocking himself out from enough liquor for him to pass out, and he was presently trying to figure out how he managed to fall asleep without any. It was the movement beside him that got him to turn and notice he hadn't been sleeping alone. This gave the term, 'sleeping with the enemy' a whole new meaning.

Kaiba leaped to a sitting position, and boomed, "What the hell are you doing in my bed?!!"

Pegasus was laying there, back towards him, as he grumbled, "Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, didn't they? I was having a nice dream you know, before you so rudely interrupted it."

"Why. are. you. in. my. bed??" Kaiba said with very cold and controlled words, like he was about to kill him.

Pegasus rolled over, to face the sitting and scowling Kaiba. "Did you forget what I asked you last night? I said, 'if I left your room, you wouldn't go to sleep....would you?'. And what was your answer?"

Kaiba sighed, "No."

"That's right. So, I could have sat there and stared at you all night, or crawl in so I could get some sleep, as well. So, why so gloomy? You got some sleep for a change, didn't you? Besides....this was kind of fun!" Pegasus said, leaning up on his elbows. "Do you know how long it's been since I've had a sleep-over? Goodness, I was just a kid then. It really brings back memories...."

"Fine, you sit and reminisce....I'm getting up." Kaiba said, pulling himself out of bed. "And don't ever get in my bed again."

Pegasus also started to get up, saying, "I don't see what the problem is. It's not like I was trying to make a pass at you, you know. In case you forgot, I'm a married man."

Kaiba smirked, saying, "You mean 'dead widowed'. And the way you act, the thought that you were once married to a woman is shocking...."

"The way I act? What is that supposed to mean?" Pegasus asked, sounding almost offended. "Just because I enjoy toons, doesn't make me any less of a man than you are, I'll have you know. And to be perfectly honest, you yourself should probably get out, and meet more women. I don't think I've seen you with one woman the entire time I've known you. If anything, you're the one I'm surprised hasn't been accused of having 'strange' interests."

Kaiba had pulled his pajama top off, getting ready to put on a shirt, as he replied, "Actually, it has come up a couple times. They tried to claim I was gay. But they finally figured out that wasn't the case....I just couldn't stand anyone."

"Yes, you make a great 'hate - hate' relationship with those you see." Pegasus mused, as he approached Kaiba from behind. His finger then touched Kaiba's back, and drew his finger down it. "My, what terrible scars. Now, how did that come about?"

Kaiba smacked his hand away, pulling his shirt down. "Keep your business out of mine. What time is it?"

"It's passed nine. Why don't you get ready? I'll do the same, and get some breakfast for us." Pegasus said, heading out the door.

Note on Kaiba: Though the scar-part is only mentioned once in this entire story, this falls under the interpretation of what I felt Kaiba had gone through from his step-father. Though they never actually showed Kaiba get any physical harm done to him from Gozaburo, from the things shown on his past with his step father, it leads me to believe it was pretty bad (plus, they're not going to show anything 'that' nasty in a cartoon). But for Kaiba to get as crazy as they showed him in season 0, there had to be some serious abuse involved. But again, this is my interpretation...I'm not saying anyone else's idea on the subject is wrong.

Note on Pegasus and Kaiba: Because of Kaiba's current state, I actually felt this presently gave him and Pegasus something in common....both of them had lost someone very close to them. The series showed vague moments of Pegasus in a state of depression from his wife's loss. So, in the story, I try and point out that Pegasus may have gone through what Kaiba is presently going through now, either after Cecelia's death, or even after when Yami defeated him....which he might have finally believed he would truly never get her back, with the loss of the Millenium Eye.

Special Note on Pegasus: Please keep in mind that this character is 'not' someone I'm used to writing in my stories...it is officially my first time. Because of which, he might come out rougher than I had hoped....I'm trying my best with him. Personally, I didn't see any problems with how I have written him, so far. But, since there are some very Pegasus-sensitive people out there, I feel I should warn you now. There might be times in this story where he might start to sound strangely ooc. If he does, there is a future reason for that, which I cannot say why without giving something away. You will just have to be patient.