Chapter 11: And Then the Morning Comes
The first thing Kaiba noticed when he woke up was that his world was suddenly in vivid colors. After so many days in a muddy palette, it was a shock to his system to see such brightness again. The next thing he noticed was that he was wrapped around Yami and holding him tightly, which was entirely too comfortable to be okay. Bolting upright in shock, Kaiba stared down at Yami, who was now smaller than him, which was exactly as it should be. His actions woke up Yami, who opened his eyes slowly and then widely when he saw Kaiba back to normal.
Unable to figure out anything appropriate to say, Yami settled for, a casual "Hi."
"Hi?" Kaiba repeated in disbelief, his voice sounding dark and rumbly due to disuse.
Yami was very grateful that Kaiba was oblivious to what his voice sounding like that did to him. It made him shift uncomfortably in the bed, hoping that his body wouldn't betray him. "Good morning?" Yami uncertainly tried again.
Glancing over at the clock, Kaiba was shocked to see it was 1.17PM. "Afternoon," he reflexively corrected, unable to help himself.
Grinning at that, Yami said, "You seem to be in an awfully bad mood for someone who woke up in their proper body."
Too much was happening for Kaiba to process, so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "You're naked," as his cheeks flushing in embarrassment.
"So are you," Yami pointed out with a laugh, causing Kaiba to make a noise of discomfort as he looked down to confirm that Yami was entirely too right. However, there was nothing to cover himself with since he was lying on top of the covers. "What's your point? Besides, you saw me get into bed last night, so I don't know why my nudity is such a surprise to you. Or yours, for that matter. You know your clothes are in a bag over there, so why expect to wake up fully clothed?"
"Why are you so comfortable with this?" Kaiba demanded, finding Yami's calmness disturbing.
"Maybe because this isn't the first time I've thought about being naked in a bed with you?" Yami teased, unable to help himself.
It made Kaiba bluster as he sat up full, looking down at Yami in shock. "What?"
"Oh, relax," Yami told him, trying to play of his comment.
"I'm naked in bed with my number one rival and you want me to relax?" Kaiba demanded.
"Yes," Yami replied simply, trying to get Kaiba to calm down and see reason. When that failed to gain a reaction from Kaiba, Yami reached up and stroked his brunette hair, which while not as soft as his fur was still a dream to touch so unguardedly.
Slapping the hand away, Kaiba demanded, "What are you doing? I'm not a cat anymore, damn it!"
"And yet you're still just as cute, imagine that," Yami teased, once again causing Kaiba to flush in his indignation.
"I am not cute," Kaiba snapped, finding the label insulting.
"Sure you are," Yami disagreed, "at least to me."
"What?" Kaiba demanded, his head spinning from too many revelations at once.
"Or is that too damaging to your male pride or something?" Yami questioned, figuring that was closer to the truth.
"What's your problem?" Kaiba demanded, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.
Grinning at that, Yami sat up and Kaiba couldn't help but notice the way the sheets slid dangerously low on Yami's slender hips. "Who says I have a problem?" Yami asked.
"You're in bed—naked—with your rival, and you don't think you have a problem?" Kaiba indignantly demanded.
"You're really hung up on this naked thing, aren't you?" Yami realized with a laugh. "How is this any different than when I was showering you?"
"That was different!" Kaiba protested. "I was a cat!"
"Kitten," Yami impishly corrected with a grin that made Kaiba scowl. "So it's fine for me to be naked around you when you're a kitten, but not when you're a human? What sense does that make?"
"Aren't you embarrassed?" Kaiba asked, although Yami's non-reaction was answer enough on its own.
"About what?" Yami asked, even though he knew the answer to the question. Of course he was slightly embarrassed, especially since he was worried that his body might betray him from being so close to Kaiba's. At least when he got aroused while they were dueling, the high platforms covered up his problem. In bed all he had to rely on were the sheets and those offered little protection.
"You're impossible," Kaiba determined as he irritably ran his fingers through his hair. "Absolutely impossible."
"Would you have me any other way?" Yami asked, a note of seriousness coming through in his tone.
It was enough to make Kaiba pause momentarily, because he really didn't know how to answer the question.
"Besides, if you're so bothered, why don't you just go put your clothes on? You know where they are," Yami challenged with a knowing look in his crimson eyes.
Because then you win, Kaiba realized, refusing to grant Yami such a victory.
"Thought so," Yami said with a grin as he shifted positions slightly. It once again drew Kaiba's eyes downward as the sheets shifted and he swallowed hard at the sight it presented him. Of course he had noticed his rival's size when he was trapped in his kitten form, but it hadn't seemed to matter as much then as it did in the present moment.
Arching an eyebrow at Kaiba's reaction, Yami couldn't help but wonder what it meant. "Kaiba?"
"What?" Kaiba icily demanded, feeling embarrassed that he had been caught staring.
"Just wondering what managed to capture your attention," Yami replied, trying and failing to suppress another grin.
"Nothing," Kaiba denied as he looked away, hating himself for having that reaction.
"I didn't say you had to stop looking," Yami told him as he stretched and Kaiba's eyes couldn't help but appreciate the lithe lines of Yami's lean body.
"You're being awfully…forward," Kaiba commented after finally settling on the right word.
"Aren't I always?" Yami asked as he finished stretching.
It was a fair point and one that as Kaiba reflected upon, he realized that it was truer than he'd like to admit.
It was another humiliating loss and Kaiba clenched his fists in rage as Yami approached him with an arrogant swagger of a victor. "I will defeat you," Kaiba swore, needing it to be true.
"You're welcome to take me any time you'd like," Yami retorted with a playful wink that made something inside of Kaiba stir.
"Take you on," Kaiba corrected, easily misinterpreting a sexual meaning behind Yami's original phraseology.
"Sure," Yami casually said with a lazy grain that did little to diminish the sexy effect, "that's what I meant."
This time in school, another test where their grades were tied for the highest. It infuriated Kaiba to have to share the position with Yami and it must have shown on his face. "You can't always be on top," Yami murmured as he started to walk by Kaiba.
"As if I'll ever be beneath you," Kaiba sneered, the very idea of it ridiculous to him.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Yami said with a confident smile that confused Kaiba.
On his way out of school, a voice called out to stop him, "Kaiba!"
Pausing only out of irritation, Kaiba turned to face Yami as he asked, "What?"
Coming closer, a little too close, Yami neared and questioned, "What are you doing later?"
"Since when do you care?" Kaiba sneered, finding the question ridiculous.
"Maybe I'm very interested," Yami hinted, narrowing the space between them until they were almost chest to chest.
"In what?" Kaiba wanted to know, finding it strange.
"I wonder?" Yami murmured as he looked up at Kaiba through lidded eyes that blazed with something that Kaiba couldn't identify.
"Don't waste my time," Kaiba snarled, not amused by Yami's latest game.
"Who said I wanted to waste your time?" Yami asked with a laugh. "Maybe I'll make it worth your while."
"Make what worth my while?" Kaiba demanded, losing track of the conversation.
Smiling mysteriously, it made something inside Kaiba flutter nervously in response. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Yami asked in a lofty voice.
"I asked, didn't I?" Kaiba snapped.
"But somehow I don't think you'd like the answer," Yami teased, further incensing Kaiba.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaiba wanted to know.
"Would you like to find out?" Yami invited him, licking his lips in anticipation.
Some small part of Kaiba was tempted to agree, to find out what Yami was implying, but that warning bell went off in his mind and he took a step back from that edge, took a step away from Yami, as he said, "I'm not interested."
"I don't believe you," Yami told him with a knowing look.
"Excuse me?" Kaiba asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Such a pity," Yami said with a sigh, confusing Kaiba.
"Pity?" Kaiba repeated, finding it an odd word choice.
With a cryptic smile, Yami took a step back and Kaiba found it suddenly easier to breathe. "Indeed," Yami murmured with a look that promised something Kaiba couldn't quite decipher.
"What do you mean?" Kaiba demanded to know.
"You'll figure it out some day," Yami promised.
"Just tell me!" Kaiba exclaimed, tired of the game with rules he couldn't quite figure out for some reason.
"I thought you weren't interested," Yami countered, smirking as if he had just played a successful trap card.
"I'm not interested in playing your game," Kaiba replied. "That's different."
Laughing, Yami said, "And here I thought you liked playing games."
"Not like this," Kaiba clarified. "What are you interested in?"
"If I said, 'You,' what would you do?" Yami wanted to know.
"What?" Kaiba asked in confusion, missing the leap in logic.
Laughing as he turned away, Yami predicted, "Like I said, you'll figure it out some day."
"Whatever, I don't have time for this shit," Kaiba growled before he turned to walk away, wondering why he had wasted so much time with such a pointless conversation.
It was enough to make Kaiba ask in the present, "Why?"
"Why, what?" Yami wanted to know, having no idea what Kaiba had thought about in his moments of silence.
"Why are you so forward?"
Leaning back and bracing himself on his hands, Kaiba's eyes once again betrayed him by straying toward where the sheets perilously bunched at his hips before returning to meet Yami's gaze. "It's just the kind of person that I am," Yami replied, figuring it was a simple enough answer.
"And yet why do I feel like you're hiding something?" Kaiba wanted to know, furrowing his eyebrows as he started to remember further incidents between them over the years.
"Maybe I am," Yami teased, although his heart was pounding at the possibility of his crush being discovered and what that might mean for him. On the other hand, it was exhilarating to know that his time of hiding his interest might be coming to an end and quickly at that.
"Why can't you just answer clearly for once?" Kaiba complained.
"I'm not the one over complicating it," Yami retorted, knowing that it was mostly Kaiba who complicated things.
The question of was Yami interested in him was on the tip of his tongue, but Kaiba couldn't bring himself to ask it so point blank, mostly because he wasn't sure if he'd like the answer. Instead he chose to ask the less incriminating question, "Why did you take such good care of me?"
"Because like it or not, I consider you to be a good friend," Yami replied easily, even though he knew the answer would displease Kaiba.
"Is that why you have a picture of me on your desk?" Kaiba demanded, relieved he could finally vocalize a question that had been bothering him since he was trapped in a kitten form.
"Noticed that, did you?" Yami asked with a wry grin. "Is it a problem?"
Furrowing his eyebrows, Kaiba realized that Yami had just dodged his original question. "What is a problem is you're not answering my real question," Kaiba told him, not sure why he was being so persistent on the issue.
"Yes, I have that picture there because I consider us friends," Yami clearly answered, but Kaiba still wasn't satisfied.
"And that's the only reason?"
"What other reason is there?" Yami challenged, causing Kaiba to open his mouth before closing it again.
"Because you like me," Kaiba answered, even though it embarrassed him to put it out there so boldly. He wasn't one to talk about feelings, especially of that variety.
Yami easily answered, "Of course I like you," startling Kaiba until he realized Yami was misunderstanding him—although whether that was deliberate or not was up for debate.
"Not like that," Kaiba insisted.
"Then like how?" Yami challenged, enjoying watching Kaiba squirm uncomfortably at the direction the conversation had taken.
Narrowing his eyes at Yami, Kaiba told him, "You know exactly what I mean."
"Maybe I just want to hear you say it," Yami said, causing Kaiba to scowl.
"Romantically," Kaiba finally spat the word out as if it were the foulest word imaginable.
"You say that like it's such a bad thing," Yami commented, rather than answering.
Furrowing his eyebrow at the non-answer, Kaiba growled in annoyance and was caught off guard when it made Yami laugh. "Like I said, you growled just as much as a kitten as you do when you're human," Yami explained, still amused by the fact. When Kaiba said nothing, Yami continued, "I wonder if that means I can get you to purr as a human…?"
Kaiba's eyes went wide at the comment, which was almost enough to distract him from his point. But he would not give up so easily! And yet, he still found himself asking, "And how would you propose to do that?"
"Are you inviting me to try?" Yami murmured, once again looking up at Kaiba with eyes that were filled with a complicated mix of emotions that stirred something inside of the brunette.
"Of course not!" Kaiba snapped, annoyed when all it did was make Yami laugh in response.
"Such a pity," Yami murmured as he impishly ran his fingers under Kaiba's chin and stroked it as if he were still a kitten. "I would have enjoyed trying."
Eyes going wide once more at the blatant comment and look of want in Yami's eyes, Kaiba demanded to know, "What are you implying?"
"I'm not implying anything," Yami innocently denied.
"Bullshit," Kaiba said as he refused to accept the answer.
Shrugging at that, Yami told him, "Believe what you want. You always do anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kaiba questioned, not liking how Yami was constantly throwing him off of his guard.
"Exactly what I said," Yami told him. "Not everything is a hidden clue."
"That means some of what you say is a hidden clue," Kaiba triumphantly pointed out, enjoying being contradictory.
Although they were getting closer to the real issue than Yami liked, he trusted in Kaiba's natural denseness to protect him from discovery. "But a clue to what?" Yami asked, assuming that Kaiba wouldn't figure it out so easily.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Kaiba stated, feeling closer to an answer and yet further away from it all the same.
"And?" Yami prompted.
"And you never answered my question," Kaiba said, annoyed by that fact.
Grinning at that, Yami pointed out, "You'll have to be more specific than that. You've asked a lot of questions."
Taking a deep breath, Kaiba forced himself to ask, "Do you like me romantically?"
"Ooh, and he comes right out and asks," Yami teased, shocked at the gumption it took to do so.
"Answer," Kaiba coldly commanded, hoping his cheeks weren't as heated as they felt over asking such a thing so clearly.
"If I said, 'Yes,' what would you do?" Yami challenged, once again looking up at Kaiba with an expression he couldn't quite interpret. When Kaiba failed to respond immediately, it led Yami to continue to the natural counterpoint. "And if I said, 'No,' what would you do then?"
"I don't know," Kaiba truthfully answered both questions and annoyed by his own reaction. "So which is it?"
"Which do you think?" Yami playfully asked, trying to buy as much time as possible before he had to confess the truth—because he refused to lie to his rival.
"Like I know what goes on in that head of yours?" Kaiba scoffed, finding Yami's mind a confusing mess.
"Surely you must have some idea," Yami pointed out, wondering if maybe Kaiba was denser than he had previously thought.
"If I say, 'Yes,' you're going to think I'm egotistical," Kaiba started to state, causing Yami to laugh.
"I know you're egotistical, regardless of your answer," Yami pointed out with a laugh.
"You know what I mean," Kaiba snarled, less than amused by Yami's refusal to give him a straight answer.
"Why can't we just leave it at I like you?" Yami questioned, figuring that was easier.
"Because that's…unsatisfying," Kaiba finally answered, although the word was distasteful to him.
"Does it change anything if I feel one way or the other about you?" Yami wisely asked.
"Of course it does!" Kaiba insisted, knowing that it would change everything if he discovered that his number one rival liked him romantically.
"How?" Yami wanted to know, still feeling on the edge of something dangerous and wondering if he could step back from the brink without injury to either of them.
Furrowing his eyebrows at the way Yami was dancing around his questions, Kaiba told him, "It just does."
"Positively or negatively?" Yami continued questioning.
"What difference does that make to you?" Kaiba asked in exasperation.
"Because I don't want to lose our friendship," Yami argued.
Rolling his eyes at that, Kaiba insisted, "There never was a friendship, never will be a friendship."
"I don't believe you," Yami countered. "Besides, we got along wonderfully when you were a kitten."
"Only because I didn't have any choice in the matter!" Kaiba growled, not liking the implication. "And why were you always petting me, bastard?"
"Because you were a cute kitten," Yami answered reasonably. "What else was I supposed to do?"
"Keep your hands to yourself!" Kaiba snapped, still bristling over the fact and grateful he didn't have fur anymore to give away his reaction.
"And if I said I didn't want to?" Yami asked as he daringly let one of his hands transverse along Kaiba's bare chest.
Shivering at the contact before knocking away the offending hand, Kaiba demanded, "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What I want," Yami replied, figuring that was clue enough for Kaiba.
"What you want?" Kaiba repeated in indignation. "What about what I want?"
"What do you want?" Yami prompted, eager to move on before he revealed more than he was ready to. Still, he just couldn't help himself when it came to the flirtation that he always toed the line dangerously close to throughout their shared history.
"I want you to stop being so weird about everything," Kaiba immediately answered.
"And wanting to do this," Yami said as he lightly trailed his fingers along Kaiba's upper thigh, "is weird to you?"
"Yes," Kaiba primly replied, even though he shivered again at the contact and felt something foreign inside of him start to ache.
"Why?" Yami wanted to know as he moved his hand away from the all too tempting flesh.
"It's not natural," Kaiba answered, wishing Yami would just accept the answer and move on to other things.
Arching an eyebrow at the reasoning, Yami asked, "What's unnatural about it?"
"We're two guys," Kaiba protested, although somehow he got the impression that facts such as that mattered little to Yami.
"And if I was a girl?" Yami asked, watching Kaiba's response carefully.
"It would still be weird," Kaiba finally decided, although it took him a moment to do so.
Failing to see what Kaiba was objecting to so avidly, Yami wanted to know, "What's weird about it?"
"People don't like me," Kaiba told him, finding it ridiculous that such a thing needed outlined. He was well known for his reputation of being unlikable and proud that it kept away people who would otherwise express an inappropriate interest in him.
"Then I must not be people," Yami countered with a grin that did funny things to Kaiba's heart.
"So you're saying you like me," Kaiba stated, tired of trying to get Yami to state it clearly.
"I already told you that I did," Yami pointed out with another grin.
"You didn't tell me how," Kaiba argued, still frustrated by that fact.
"What if I showed you?" Yami offered, finding it too tempting an invitation to resist.
Feeling as if he were walking into a trap, Kaiba still found himself asking, "And how would you propose to do that?"
Rather than answering with words, Yami leaned closer to Kaiba and kissed him gently on the lips, pleased when he didn't immediately pull away. It encouraged Yami to bring his hand up and entangle it in that tempting brunette hair as he took the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He was surprised to find Kaiba so responsive and was even more so when he tried to dominate the kiss. It caused him to moan into it softly as he started to lower himself back onto the bed, taking Kaiba down with him.
When they parted for breath, Kaiba braced himself on the bed with a hand as he looked down critically at Yami and tried to catch his breath. "So that's a, 'Yes,' then," Kaiba finally decided.
"Indeed," Yami confirmed with a shy smile that made Kaiba want to do things he didn't understand. "And apparently you aren't as opposed as I thought."
"I don't know what I am," Kaiba replied, still finding his own reaction confusing.
"Then allow me to clarify," Yami murmured as he leaned up for another kiss that was devastatingly perfect as they moved against each other. It made him regret the sheet between them that was preventing him from feeling Kaiba's body closely against his. Instead he let his free hand wander along the broad expanse of Kaiba's back, loving the feel of him under his fingertips.
Kaiba could feel the first stirrings of desire and it startled him into stopping, pulling back to look down at Yami in confusion. "Don't over think it," Yami encouraged as his fingers continued lazily tracing over Kaiba's skin and sending chills through the teen.
"Why are you still petting me?" Kaiba growled in annoyance, although it was more at his body's reaction to it than the actual act itself.
"Because I've always wanted to touch you like this and never thought I'd be allowed to," Yami truthfully replied. "Does it bother you?"
Kaiba would never admit that such a trivial thing bothered him, so he said nothing on the subject instead. "What are we doing?" Kaiba quietly asked as he pulled up some to put some distance between them.
"Taking the next natural step of progression in our relationship," Yami replied, hoping it was the right answer.
"We don't have a relationship," Kaiba contradicted him, annoyed that Yami was trying to make them seem more than they were.
"Not like that," Yami agreed, before impishly adding, "yet. But we could."
"Why would you want that?" Kaiba wanted to know, still failing to understand Yami's motivations.
Once again stroking that soft brunette hair he had always dreamed about touching, Yami answered, "Because I want you."
"But why?" Kaiba questioned, still not wrapping his head around the concept.
"Because you're you," Yami told him. "What other reason do I need?"
"One that makes sense?" Kaiba sarcastically suggested. "And stop petting me!"
"Okay, okay," Yami agreed as he withdrew his hand and let it drift down to rest on Kaiba's shoulder. "I'm sorry that it bothers you so much."
"It's not that it bothers me exactly," Kaiba protested, "it's just…weird."
"I'm starting to think you think everything is weird," Yami said with a laugh.
"When it comes to you, things generally are weird," Kaiba defended himself, knowing that his life had become much stranger since Yami entered it.
"Is that a problem?" Yami asked, hoping that the answer wasn't negative.
Shrugging and still very much aware of the hand resting on his shoulder, Kaiba muttered, "Of course it's a problem."
"And what are you going to do about it?" Yami asked, doing his best to keep the challenge out of his voice.
The problem was, Kaiba didn't know what he intended to do. Part of him wanted to walk out of the room and pretend that the last few days had never happened, but the more honorable part of him knew that he owed Yami for taking such good care of him while he was otherwise incapacitated by his kitten form. But that had nothing to do with being naked and pressed close to him, kissing him, and acting out on the strange impulses he was currently resisting. Why should he want to kiss his rival again? And why would he want to taste him, to see if it was any different than when he was a kitten? It was strange, downright horrifying, and a whole litany of other things that mortified Kaiba into stillness.
"Kaiba?" Yami prompted when he had been silent a little too long for comfort.
"What do you want from me?" Kaiba finally forced himself to ask, hoping that he'd get a straight answer for once.
"Your happiness," Yami easily answered, although it caused Kaiba to make a scoffing noise. "I'm serious!"
"And you think you're the key to my happiness?" Kaiba skeptically asked, doubting that point very much.
Smiling up at Kaiba, Yami told him, "I'd like to be."
"Why?" Kaiba pressed, still failing to understand Yami's emotions toward him.
Bringing his hand over to cup Kaiba's cheek, Yami couldn't resist stroking it gently as he answered, "Because for whatever the reason, my heart chose you."
"That's the most ridiculous thing you've said yet," Kaiba complained, although he accidentally leaned into the caress without realizing it.
"That doesn't make it any less true," Yami pointed out as he let his hand fall to the bed. "The real question is what are you going to do about it? I've laid all my cards out on the table. It's up to you whether or not you accept it."
It was a valid point; all the power was in Kaiba's hands now. It made him shift into a sitting position as he looked down at Yami carefully, easily seeing that hint of nervousness in those crimson eyes when he sat back away from him. "I don't know," Kaiba finally told him softly. "Too much has happened and—"
"I don't mind waiting," Yami interjected. "I know you have a lot to process."
"That's an understatement," Kaiba muttered, irritably running his fingers through his hair.
"So take the time you need. I'm not trying to rush you into a decision," Yami encouraged him, hoping that it would be to his advantage. "I do have a question, though."
"What?"
"Why did you return to human form?" Yami asked, finding it curious that he had woken up to Kaiba in his normal body without warning.
Shrugging, Kaiba claimed, "I really don't know."
"Seriously?"" Yami questioned in disbelief. "You must have some clue."
Doing his best to try and remember what had happened, Kaiba felt his cheeks flush as he remembered his thoughts about Yami before drifting off to sleep. Rather than confessing the total truth, Kaiba offered, "I think it's because I finally accepted something."
"And that something would be…?" Yami wanted to know.
Even though he was under no obligation to answer, Kaiba still felt that he owed Yami at least that much. "That I see you as more than just a rival," Kaiba mumbled, hoping his cheeks weren't as flushed as they felt over the admission.
Smiling broadly at the confession, Yami asked in a hopefully voice, "Really?"
"It doesn't mean I like you like that," Kaiba warned, needing Yami to understand that.
"It doesn't necessarily preclude it, either," Yami realized with another grin.
When Kaiba said nothing further, Yami sat up to face him properly. It made Kaiba say, "I'm not making a decision right now."
"And that's fine," Yami reassured him, "so long as you make one eventually. Just because I'm good at waiting, doesn't mean I like it."
It was an odd comment, but Kaiba said nothing about it. Instead he got off the bed and stood up, heading over to where his bag of clothes were and started to put them on, feeling more like himself with each article of clothing he wore.
Yami blatantly watched and it made Kaiba feel self-conscious, but he didn't let it slow his actions. What did cause him to stumble was when Yami got out of bed and walked confidently over to his closet; Kaiba's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to his lithe form. It was true that Yami wasn't displeasing to the eye, but it was weird for Kaiba to think of him in such a manner. He was more subtle in his observation of Yami getting dressed, but no less curious than the former pharaoh had been about him.
When Yami finished dressing, he approached Kaiba who subtly looked away to avoid being caught watching. It wasn't subtle enough because Yami commented with a grin, "I don't mind you looking. In fact, I encourage it."
"As if I would do such a thing," Kaiba said with a disdainful sniff, hating that he had been caught.
"Oh, of course not," Yami facetiously said, "never the Kaiba Seto."
"Precisely," Kaiba agreed, although they both knew it to be untrue. Pocketing his cell phone and wallet, Kaiba double checked the bag to make sure none of his other personal belongings were in it.
Coming to stand right in front of him, Yami felt like there was more that needed to be said, but he wasn't sure if Kaiba would be willing to listen or not. Now that he had on his normal attire, it felt like a barrier had been built between them that was impossible to overcome. Still, Yami didn't let it discourage him from bracing one hand on Kaiba's chest as he went up on tiptoe to steal what could be one final kiss. Against his wishes, Kaiba's hands sought out the sides of Yami's face as he deepened the kiss, drowning in the experience of being with his rival. Yami accidentally moaned into the kiss, the feeling too exquisite to be contained.
When they parted, they both were slightly breathless and Kaiba self-consciously moved his hands away from Yami's face to drop limply at his sides. Yami took a step back and said, "I guess I'll see you later," because he knew that there was nothing he could do to keep Kaiba with him another minute longer now that he was human.
"Bye," Kaiba mumbled, eager to leave and yet feeling like he should stay.
With that, Kaiba turned to leave and Yami had to hold back a smile when Kaiba added over his shoulder, "And….thanks."
"You're welcome," Yami warmly told him before following him down the stairs to lead him out of the house.
When Kaiba entered the living room, he was startled to find his brother on the couch. "Nii-sama!" Mokuba happily exclaimed as he ran over to his brother and threw his arms around him in a tight hug.
"Mokuba," Kaiba said with great fondness in his voice as he returned the hug in a way he normally wouldn't have done with witnesses present. But it felt like it had been ages since he had seen his younger brother and he had missed him. Inhaling deeply, Kaiba noticed the faintest trace of his brother's scent that he had noticed when he was a kitten and he basked in the feeling of closeness that was so different than what he had just experienced upstairs in Yami's room.
"What are you doing here?" Mokuba asked in confusion as he pulled away just enough to look up at his brother.
"I thought you might be here, so I wanted to surprise you," Kaiba lied, feeling terrible about it but knowing he had to cover his appearance somehow.
"So you waited upstairs for an hour?" Mokuba questioned, finding it strange.
"We were talking about our rematch and lost track of time," Yami smoothly answered for Kaiba, earning him an appreciative look over Mokuba's head. "It's my fault, Mokuba."
"It's cool," Mokuba reassured them both before looking back up at his brother. "So when are you going to duel Yami again? Can I watch?"
"Of course you can," Kaiba told him, although he didn't have an answer as to when they could duel. He knew he'd be horribly behind in work after missing so many days and it would probably be weeks before he had enough free time to even think about dueling.
The answer pleased Mokuba and he exclaimed, "Awesome!"
"It will be," Yami promised, knowing that their battles always were.
Smiling broadly at Yami, Mokuba was pleased to see that he was getting along so well with his older brother. Not many people had the patience to try and get close to Kaiba and Mokuba was grateful that Yami was willing to try, even though they were rivals.
"Do we have to go home right now?" Mokuba asked with a hint of disappointment in his tone. "Yuugi and I were getting ready for a rematch of our own."
It was only then that Kaiba noticed the fighting game paused on the TV and he didn't have the heart to deny his brother anything. "Of course not," Kaiba told him, grateful that Jounouchi wasn't there to make it a hard decision. "You can stay as long as you like."
"You're the best, nii-sama!" Mokuba told his older brother with another tight hug before he bounded back over to the couch to sit next to Yuugi.
That left a love seat for Kaiba to share with Yami and he tried not to over think it as they both sat down to watch the rest of the fight. They were close enough to be touching and Yami subtly rested his leg against Kaiba's once the two friends had resumed playing their game together. Kaiba was overly aware of the point of connection between himself and Yami, but he did nothing to move away from it. He was surprised as his own reaction of draping his arm around the back of the couch to let his hand rest of Yami's shoulder, adding another point between them; somehow it just felt right.
Kaiba caught himself subtly looking over at Yami several times throughout the battle, his head still spinning from trying to figure everything out that had happened upstairs between them. It had felt good—a little too good—to kiss Yami and he felt that ache again for something more, although he wasn't sure what to do about it. But he felt a hollowness inside, a space that only Yami seemed to fill, and Kaiba didn't know what to do about it. It wasn't like he could just be with Yami, right?
Kaiba tried looking at the problem from another angle. He thought about if Yami was a girl, would he be having the same problem. His overactive imagination could easily picture a feminized version of Yami, with curves in all the right places, pert breasts, and an easy smile that made something inside of Kaiba flutter. He pictured himself kissing her, letting his hands run along the curves of her breasts before trailing under her skirt to cup her firm ass as they ground against each other in search of more feeling. But still, the image morphed and Yami returned to normal, naked once more, and writhing against him in need and want. It didn't diminish his enjoyment any, which was a startling revelation. He had never devoted much time to his sexuality and he was starting to wonder if maybe that was a mistake. Maybe if he was more in tune with himself and his desires, now wouldn't be such a mystery.
He thought that maybe if he tried picturing himself with someone else, the result would be different. Kaiba tried picturing other women, but they did nothing to stir him, nor did picturing other men. They all lacked that passion that Yami managed to inspire in him, that little tremor inside of him whenever he drew near to Kaiba. What was it about his rival that intrigued him so? And did that intrigue really translate into something more? Kaiba wasn't so sure.
Such confusing thoughts were enough to make Kaiba withdraw his arm and cross them both over his chest as he continued pondering out the mystery that was Yami in his life. It made Yami glance over at Kaiba, already missing the small contact, but knowing better than to draw any attention to it. At that precise moment, Kaiba also looked over at Yami and caught his gaze, which only served to confuse him further as he felt a heat flush through his system and flood him with desire—although to do what precisely was a mystery to him.
The moment was broken when Yami's gaze returned to the television, but Kaiba was still left with an uncomfortable feeling under his skin. Clearly there was still a lot to reflect on and Kaiba wondered if he'd ever come to an acceptable conclusion on the matter.
It felt like all too soon and an eternity at the same time when Mokuba announced, "We should probably be heading back. I'm sure nii-sama is tired from jetlag and wants to get home."
"Only if you're ready," Kaiba told him, not wanting to interrupt his brother's fun.
"Since I just won, I think it's as good a place to leave on as any," Mokuba joked, causing everyone to laugh.
"Fair enough," Kaiba decided as he stood up while Mokuba started to gather his things while Yuugi put away the controllers to the system. Yami remained motionless on the couch, but Kaiba refused to let his eyes look toward him like they wanted.
"We'll see you later," Mokuba promised with a wave as he started to head for the exit with Kaiba right behind him.
The sentiment was echoed by Yuugi and Yami both as the two Kaiba brothers headed out to where Isono was waiting with a car for them. It made Kaiba grateful because he really didn't feel like driving in such a distracted state and he was grateful for his brother's foresight to call Isono.
"What's wrong?" Mokuba asked, picking up on the shift in his older brother's mood.
"Nothing, just thinking about work," Kaiba lied, figuring it was believable enough and feeling guilty all the same for it since he hated lying to his little brother.
"Is the new project in America not going well?" Mokuba inquired.
Waving it away as they got into the car, Kaiba told him, "Don't worry about it. So how have you been?"
As Mokuba started answering the question with a great level of detail, Kaiba did his best to pay rapt attention to him instead of letting his mind drift to Yami. It was harder than he would have thought, but he did an admiral job of pretending for the time that Yami didn't matter to him in that moment.
A/N: To say that this version of Kaiba is dense is an epic understatement, to put it mildly. Expect that fact to come into play in later chapters…
NEXT CHAPTER:
But could he really tell him the truth?
The next chapter will be posted on Sunday, August 31st, but until then, I look forward to hearing your reactions on Kaiba finally returning to normal!
