Chapter 10. Three More Words
Fortunately (as far as Honda was concerned), the remainder of PE passed without any further awkward conversation about Atem, dating, or Kaiba's character flaws, if any.
Honda showered afterward with mixed feelings. He was a little worried that it wasn't going to work out, but overall, he was glad he challenged Kaiba. He sort of hoped that Kaiba wouldn't take him up on his offer to work it out after school, though. What if Kaiba challenged him to something he had no clue how to do, like krav maga or something?
When the bell rang for lunch Honda sprinted for the cafeteria. He really wanted to get there before Atem did. That way he might have a chance to head off most of the gossip. Atem really didn't need any more aggravation after the weekend. Damn Jounouchi, anyway.
When he got there, Atem was waiting for him. "Aren't you afraid that this is going to add to the gossip?" Honda asked as they joined the food queue.
"I don't see how it can get any worse," Atem groused.
"Well …"
"What?" Atem demanded in a grouchy tone.
"I sort of had a discussion with Kaiba in PE."
"You what?! Tell me everything!"
Honda spelled it out as quickly as he could.
"So you told him we were together?!"
"Not in so many words. He asked are we, and I said 'so what if we are,' or something like that."
"Oh, for …" Atem sighed heavily. "Well, maybe this won't make things any worse, but I'm not sure they make things any better."
"I don't care. That smug bastard! He deserves a serving of his own medicine!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, he ran off and dated other people!"
"It's not like we had an understanding, you know."
"But he knew that you liked him, and it seems like he likes you, too, so … I don't know! It just doesn't seem right, somehow."
"This is ridiculous. How can we be jealous of each other when we've never even been on a date?"
At this point they had their lunch and carried it to their usual table, where, by some miracle, Jounouchi was already waiting for them. "And you!" Atem greeted, "I don't even know why I'm speaking to you. Do you even know how difficult you've made my life? And Honda's?"
"What are you talking about? You're the ones—"
Honda grabbed him by his jacket collar. "Spreading rumors all over school? You didn't even stick around to get the story Saturday!"
"I saw what was going on!"
"Oh?" said Atem derisively. "You saw that Honda was trying to console me? So that's why—instead of helping out—you ran away to tell everyone (and I mean everyone!) about it? News flash. We are not dating!"
Jounouchi stared at Atem as though he had suddenly appeared there out of thin air. "C-console? What are you talking about? You two were—c'mon! You were hugging! I mean hugging hugging! Like boyfriend-girlfriend hugging!"
"Oh, really!" said Honda. "And how can you tell?"
"Atem had his head on your chest, for god's sake!"
"Because—" Suddenly realizing that they were all shouting and that everyone in the cafeteria was staring in their direction, Honda lowered his voice substantially. "Because Atem was crying. He was upset."
Jounouchi's eyes were wide. "What the hell? Why would he be that upset? You never get shook up like that!" He stared at Atem, stunned.
"That's for Atem to say if he wants," Honda said, then he leaned back and started shoveling rice and vegetables into his mouth. "I'm starving."
"Well?" Jounouchi pressed.
Atem looked back at him calmly. "Well, what?"
"So, maybe you're not together. But what would set you bawling?"
"I'm not telling you."
"Aw, c'mon! Aren't we still friends?"
"Yeah, but you just don't understand certain things," Atem said. And you hate certain people, Honda thought.
"What if I apologize and tell everyone I was wrong about, uh, things?"
Atem rolled his eyes. "The more you say, the more stupid it's gong to get. I'll just let Honda beat you up."
Honda rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "Now you're talkin'," he said.
It was with no little trepidation and some curiosity that Atem walked into history class that day. He had no idea how Seto might possibly react to what Honda had done. So he just walked in and sat down, just throwing a glance toward Seto.
Seto was staring at him with such intensity that he might describe it as a glare. Pretending he didn't notice, he opened his book to the current lesson and hoped that their teacher would be on time for once.
"What you staring at?" Jounouchi asked irascibly.
"Not you," Seto replied without moving. His voice was calm enough, but there was enough menace there to keep Jounouchi from saying anything more. Seto didn't stop staring until class began.
It was totally disconcerting, but Atem didn't feel like talking to Seto—at least not at school. So he kept his head down and ignored the stares. Which was actually pretty difficult because Seto stared at him before calculus as well. His demanding gaze was difficult to ignore, but somehow Atem managed. Only, by the end of class, he felt exhausted and couldn't have told anyone what they'd covered in class.
After school, Honda collected Atem at his locker. "Let's go to the arcade and blow off some steam," he suggested. "You've earned it."
"OK," Atem said. He felt kind of drained, but maybe letting his friends drag him along would help take his mind off of things.
When they got out the door, Jounouchi joined them. "You got him to come?" he said. "Good! I'll treat."
"You're kidding!" Atem said. "You never do that!"
"Well, I need to make up for screwing stuff up. But, um, I'll have to owe you."
Atem rolled his eyes. "Figures. Fine. Heard from Anzu?"
"She was still leaning on Ribbon last I saw," said Jounouchi. "Sorry."
Atem shrugged. "It's just as well. She was starting to feel like a duel disk the way she's been clinging to my arm lately."
Just then, a black limousine pulled up beside them and the rear window smoothly and silently slid down, revealing Kaiba Seto's handsome but severe face. "Atem," he said. "I'll give you a ride home."
"Sorry," Jounouchi called back, "we're going to the arcade."
"Very well then," said Seto, "we can talk later."
"Wait!" called Atem. "On second thought, I'd rather go home. I am rather tired."
Honda grabbed at his sleeve. "You don't have to," he said with a grimace. "Haven't you been through enough? Just come and relax for once already."
"It's OK. This gives me a chance to set things straight," Atem replied, pulling away. The limo door opened, and Atem got in.
"Hey," said Jounouchi, "isn't the arcade on the way to Atem's house? Hey, Kaiba, can we get a ride?"
The door of the limo closed, and with a terse, "No," the window slid closed.
"What's the deal?" demanded Jounouchi. "We're going the same way!"
"I'll give you five good reasons," said Honda, showing Jounouchi his open hand. "One, two, three …" with each count, he curled a finger into his palm forming a fist, "… four, five!"
"Honda, I have to hand it to you, those are pretty convincing reasons," Jounouchi said, shoving his hands into his pockets, putting his head down, and shuffling off down the road.
The limo pulled away.
Atem lost no time. Immediately, he started to say, "I'm not sure what you're thinking, but—"
"I don't care who you're with," Seto stated flatly, not waiting to hear Atem out, "and I don't care what you've promised. I know you like me, and I'm going to do what it takes to get you back."
"Get me back?" Atem protested. "But—"
Atem was going to point out that they had never gotten together in the first place, but Seto was pushing on. "Whatever that Honda is to you, I know he can't compare to me. I'm easily a thousand times better than him. All you have to do is give me a chance to prove it to you. In any case, I'm not giving up. No matter how long it takes, I'm going to convince you eventually, so you might as well say yes now."
Atem smiled. "You're such a romantic, Seto, how could I possibly refuse?"
"I haven't a romantic bone in my body."
"My point exactly. Still," Atem said, "you're right. I like you. You're my first and only choice."
"Only? But that doesn't make sense."
"Well, I think it would be a bad idea to start out with misunderstandings … especially considering how we started out. So you should know that Honda and I aren't dating."
"But then why would Honda—?" Seto began, confused.
"Jounouchi had saw something and misinterpreted it. And when you asked Honda about it, he just let you keep on thinking that way. I'm sorry about all that."
Dark blue eyes stared at him intently for a long moment. "So you aren't even dating him?"
"No, he's in love with Jounouchi's sister Shizuka." When Seto didn't immediately respond, Atem said, "And you, I thought you had moved on? Didn't you have a date Friday?"
"Oh, that. It didn't work out." Seto leaned back and looked out the window. "I decided that it just wasn't going to work with anyone else."
"Really. And why is that?" Atem tried hard to catch Seto's eye.
Seto continued to stare steadfastly out the window. "After much reflection, it became clear that I love you. So, obviously, no one else will do."
Excitement boiled up inside Atem. He leaned forward, eyes blazing. He didn't want to bring it up, but he had to. "I thought you couldn't get over the dare," he challenged.
"There is that," Seto said, "but I figure that if you agree to date me, you're going to suffer more than enough to pay for that."
Atem couldn't prevent a shiver from running down his spine at the offhand way Seto had said that. "Er, what do you mean?"
"I mean that, between Mokuba, KaibaCorp, school, and everything else, there are enough demands on my time already that you'll barely see me."
Atem swallowed hard. He hadn't really thought about that.
"Still want to date me?"
Atem looked Seto over. Now, with him so kissably close, there was only one answer. "Yes," he said, his voice horse.
"Good." Seto pressed a button and told Isono to change course for the Kaiba mansion.
"Um, Seto?"
"Yes?"
"Does this mean that it would be permissible for me to kiss you now?"
"Since we are now dating, you may now kiss me—" When Atem nearly leapt forward, Seto raised a hand, freezing him. "You may kiss me when we are in suitably private locations. Ordinarily, I wouldn't consider the limo private enough—"
"What?! No one can see us in here!" Atem protested, waving around at the darkly-tinted windows.
"Ordinarily," Seto repeated, annoyed, "this isn't private enough, but today, I'll make an exception. I'd take it, if I were you."
Atem didn't wait, lest the invitation be rescinded, but moved forward to join Seto on the other seat, wrapping his arms around his neck.
Kissing him was every bit as good as he remembered.
Atem stood plugging away at a game console at KaibaLand, frustrated despite the fact his score was soaring upward. He really should be enjoying this more, especially since he was on the brink of hitting a new record, but the thing was, Seto should have turned up three hours ago. He didn't have to check the time to know that it had to be after ten. But it wasn't as though Seto hadn't warned him. If there was a problem at KaibaCorp, he'd have to work it out.
He might as well just enjoy the game, but it had been days and days! As though to punctuate that thought, an errant alien slipped through his defenses and ate his shooter. He groaned.
"Hey, Atem, look at your score!"
"Jounouchi? I didn't know you were standing there."
"I didn't want to distract you when you were in the zone. But, not too shabby, a new record."
"Yeah, thanks, Jou."
"I thought your, uh," he paused to roll his eyes as his tone became dismissive, "boyfriend was stopping by tonight."
"He'll be around. Work's making him late."
"I think he's just rude."
"He is rude," Atem admitted, "but he'd be here already if it weren't for work."
"I don't think he cares about anyone's convenience but his own."
Atem sighed. "That has nothing to do with it, but I don't have to explain anything to you. If you can't be supportive, shut up about it." Atem wasn't about to defend his pride to Jounouchi. As if Atem weren't important enough to Seto for him to be there unless something very important weren't holding him up! Annoying.
Jounouchi couldn't help looking aggravated, but he said, "I'm all for you two if you're happy, Atem."
"Good."
"Oh, uh, you should know that Anzu's here."
"Oh, god, really? I thought she had dance class."
"Nah, not today. I think they're between sessions or something. But—"
As if on cue, Anzu ran up. "Did you have dinner yet? If you're not seeing Seto tonight, I'll treat you! Tell me all about how everything's going!"
"Honestly, Anzu, you don't have to try so har—"
"It's no trouble, Atem, we're still friends!" With that, she grabbed Atem by the arm and began dragging him toward a bank of large game platforms.
"I'm not sure I'm up for dancing," Atem protested. Ever since he and Seto had gotten together, Anzu had gone into friendship overdrive … and he had thought she was already there. How little he had known. But it was worse for Seto.
Speaking of which …
Atem suddenly found his arm released as Anzu launched herself across the room towards her new best friend, calling, "Seto!"
Proud as he was, even Seto couldn't help but flinch slightly. Atem hastened his step.
Through gritted teeth, Seto hissed, "That's Kaiba to you." He deftly sidestepped her incipient hug as he made his way to Atem. "Can't you do something with her?" he asked.
"I have tried," said Atem. "Anzu, would you mind if we got going? We're already late, so …"
"Oh. Oh! Of course." She headed off in Jounouchi's direction. "Hey, Jounouchi!"
"I really need to see if I can find her a boyfriend," commented Atem.
"If you can find anything that will get her out of my path, it would be convenient for me," said Seto. "No matter how I ignore her, she keeps turning up."
"She's just trying to be a good friend, Seto."
"I don't want to be her friend." As they walked to Seto's limo, though, he became thoughtful. "Hn. Why don't I give Mai a call?"
"Mai? You mean the gamer who set you up on those blind dates?"
"Why not? She has lots of connections. Anzu needs a hobby. Even if things don't work out, she'll be out of our hair for a while."
"All right."
Seto looked thoughtful. "While we're out it, why don't we have her set something up for your other friend?"
"Honda?"
"Honda? Do you think so? No. I was thinking of Jounouchi. He's the one who hates me. He thinks I turned you gay."
Atem smiled. "Right, and he thinks that I only took that dare because I wanted to show Otogi up. Shows what he knows. Hm. I wonder," he mused. "You think he and Mai might make a good couple?"
"How would I know? Mai is a few years older than he is, anyway."
When they were seated together in the limo, Seto asked, "So, where would you like to eat?"
"Can we just go to your place? I've been waiting for hours for you. We can forage for something in your kitchen."
"I was thinking we wouldn't go there tonight."
Atem frowned. "What? We haven't had a chance to really see each other for days, and you're just going to drop me at home?"
"Not at all. I was thinking I'd like to have you to myself tonight. If we go home, more than likely we'll have to spend some time with my brother."
"He is a priority," Atem pointed out.
"Whom I just saw at KaibaCorp. Besides, we'll be meeting him tomorrow morning back at KaibaLand. I've set aside a chunk of Saturday for the three of us."
"You're kidding! Still, I don't understand why I can't just wait for you at KaibaCorp. Wouldn't that be more efficient?"
He was met with an eye roll. "Hardly. How late do you want to start, anyway?"
"So … are you saying I'm a distraction?"
Seto ignored that and said, "You didn't say what you wanted to do."
"Well, if you don't want to go to your house, and if you're not dropping me at home, then I'm guessing you have something else in mind. I want to get to that as soon as possible," he said. To emphasize his point, he leaned against Seto, slipping an arm around his slender waist. Was that a subtle tremor that Atem felt running through Seto's torso? Atem licked his lips in anticipation.
"Good. We can order room service," Seto said, tapping on the glass to signal Isono to go.
"Seto," Atem said, a thought hitting him, "what if I dared you to kiss me?"
Seto stared at him intently, his blue eyes gleaming in the dark interior of the limousine. "Dare? Is this some sort of game?"
"No, wait, it's that you're so particular about kissing in public, and most of the time you act as though this is a public space. I just wanted to get you to kiss me is all."
"Well, then, why don't you just ask me? I may say that life is a game, but this, between us …" he shook his head and, taking Atem's face in his hand, gently caressed his cheek with his thumb. "I'm not risking that on a roll of the dice." Then, pulling Atem into a tight embrace, he pushed him back into the soft leather and kissed him passionately. Atem reached around Seto's neck, tangling his fingers in his soft hair.
Much later, Seto pulled back a little, leaving Atem breathless. "Satisfied?"
"Not yet," Atem admitted. In fact, his desire for Seto had become more urgent. "If you want, you can get even by challenging me to a dare," he offered. He was almost hopeful, but was sure that Seto wouldn't bite.
Seto shrugged. "I don't want to dare you to love me. Isn't it enough that I dare to love?"
Atem had to admit to himself that it was a bit of a miracle. Before Seto could think any more about it, he said, "But I do love you, Seto," and pulled him back down for another lingering kiss.
~ Fin ~
Author's notes ...
Well, guys, done at last! I hope it was worth your faithful patience! Although I had ideas as to how to extend this story, I probably would have left it at one chapter if I hadn't received so many requests to carry it further. I really hope that it worked for you. I will admit, though, that this is one of the hardest stories I've attempted. These characters really didn't seem to want to get things going on their own! Pesky things ...
Anyway, I'm going to do my darnedest to get my other current story going again. I have a whole bunch of Prideshipping ideas, but if you're interested in more from me, you'll probably have to keep an eye on my profile or start checking AO3 unless this site fixes something so that I can post a new story sometime soon. I will try to update my profile when I post new chapters/stories. Sorry for any inconvenience that causes; but it's been very inconvenient for me to find that I can't post anything new here. (Maybe they're trying to tell me something?) Anyhoo ... I'm not sure which my next story will be, it will depend on which one I get near finishing first.
Once again, thanks for all of your reviews, favorites, and follows! It's all been very encouraging! (And I'll admit, the comments seems to get less use than reviews over at AO3 ... it's all a bit disappointing. It's nice to know what folks are thinking.) Until next time, happy reading,
~ DD
