"This life is like a swimming pool. You dive into the water, but you can't see how deep it is."

~Dennis Rodman in a Facebook post

Swimming Lessons

He knew it was a risky idea, but having spent half the night working and reworking what he should do, Alistair could think of nothing better. And when he'd imagined it, it had gone well enough. He just had to hope that Kaiba understood.

It had been quite awhile since he'd invited himself to Kaiba's 7am breakfast, and he wasn't even sure Kaiba would come, but it had seemed like the best opportunity to track him down. And plus, Alistair was afraid that if he didn't get it over with as soon as possible he wouldn't do it at all.

"Don't you two get to arguing," Trudy had warned him when he'd sat down before placing the Domino Times on the table next to Kaiba's pot of coffee and the silverware.

"It's too early to argue," he'd pointed out with a yawn.

"Why on earth are you even up?"

"I need to talk to Kaiba about logging some more flight hours before the graduation thing in November," he explained, his lie punctuated by another yawn.

"Ah. Well, mind how you bring it up. Seto's not at his best in the morning," she advised him, already halfway back to the door.

Alistair would have pointed out that Kaiba wasn't at his best most of the time, but his memories of the night before stopped him.

To his slight apprehension, Kaiba entered the dining room shortly thereafter. If he was surprised to see Alistair sitting there waiting for him, he didn't show it. He looked as tired as Alistair felt, his eyes slightly bloodshot, and Alistair wondered if he'd slept at all, or if he'd restlessly lain awake long into the night as he had.

They both knew it would take Trudy some time to come back with the actual food, so they were left to face each other across the empty table, though Seto took a moment to pour himself a cup of coffee. He would have reached for the newspaper as well, but he was warily curious despite himself to know what Alistair planned to say. Would he dare reference what he'd seen when Seto had explicitly told him not to?

"Good morning," Alistair ventured tentatively.

Seto nodded curtly in response.

When Kaiba continued to sip his coffee in stony silence, Alistair had no choice but to broach the subject without preamble.

"I know you're really busy," he began, resisting the urge to fiddle with his silverware. "But I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me with something."

Kaiba looked at him with calculating interest.

"You're a really good swimmer and before I leave, I was kind of hoping that maybe you could teach me." As he spoke he felt his face growing hot.

"You can't swim?" Kaiba asked finally with more skepticism than surprise, which only made Alistair blush harder.

"I'm from the desert," he reminded Kaiba defensively.

"Maybe, but wasn't Dartz's headquarters on an underwater island?"

"That doesn't mean I'd know how to swim," Alistair pointed out snippily. In his imaginary version of this conversation, Kaiba had made a snarky comment and then agreed; he hadn't interrogated him about it. "It's not like being a strong swimmer would have helped me survive if there had been a flood or something; we were like, seventy meters underwater!"

"Why the sudden interest then?" Seto asked, careful to sound as bored as possible. He had an inkling, but after the way that Alistair had seen him the night before, he thought it was only fair to take advantage of Alistair's mild embarrassment, though he was feeling too cautiously hopeful to push him too far.

"I just, I realized the other day that I don't know how, and since you have a pool I thought I'd ask." This time Alistair did give in and began flipping his fork back and forth in his hands. "So…"

Seto regarded his guest coolly. It was an interesting tactic, he'd give him that. And unexpected. He hadn't thought Alistair capable of the level of discretion this required. It raised his respect for him a degree. "I'm not a lifeguard," he said flatly. "So if you drown, it's your own problem."

Their conversation was briefly interrupted when Trudy came in to set omelettes in front of each of them, the smell of melted cheese and chives too tantalizing for either of them to ignore, and Alistair just managed to thank her before taking a large bite.

"Yes, thank you," Seto heard himself echo.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all," she replied modestly even as she beamed at the rare words of appreciation.

As she walked away, Seto's gaze flitted to Alistair, who he was pleased to see was smiling softly down at his plate.

Alistair's smile was almost enough to allow Seto to overcome his exhaustion as he got into his car. Mounting evidence suggested that Alistair at the very least genuinely didn't hate him anymore, but only time would tell what it was he felt instead. He'd been surprisingly easy to talk to as well. When he'd seen him sitting at the table, Seto had had half a mind to skip breakfast and drive straight to work, too ashamed to face Alistair again, but in retrospect, he was glad he hadn't.

Not wishing to spoil his unexpectedly good mood, but unable to ignore it any longer, Seto reluctantly unlocked his phone to see what had become of Tanaka's brain child.

It was an excruciatingly embarrassing picture, and he could scarcely stand to look at it. He was also disappointed to see that Tanaka's prediction had been correct. He'd even had the audacity to gloatingly forward Seto an article from the trashier digital copy of the Domino Times: 'Seto Kaiba's Shirtless Selfie Breaks the Internet.' He rolled his eyes. What a stupid expression, though not as idiotic as the idea that it was newsworthy. What a joke. Still, he hated the fact that in essence, he was the punchline. Yet still he might have managed to salvage the day had it not been for a four word email from Pegasus: 'My,my, Kaiba Boy.' The very thought of Pegasus seeing that picture was too much.

Seto brought his fist down hard on the horn. The blaring shock of it against the quiet of the morning was as satisfying as he could have hoped for. After holding down the button for close to five seconds, he sat up straight in his seat, closed his eyes, and breathed out angrily. Only then was he able to calmly pull out of the garage and drive to work.

Though it initially startled her enough to spill some of her tea onto the table in front of her, Trudy quickly realized what the sound was, and sighing, she shook her head slightly. She hoped that eventually Seto would grow out of handling his anger that way.

By the time he arrived at his office, Seto was finally ready to handle Tanaka, who had wasted no time scheduling an appointment, and instead had taken it upon himself to wait outside his boss's door.

"He insisted on seeing you," Valerie explained at the same time that the PR manager swiftly got up from the couch in the front office of the executive suite.

"Good morning, sir," Tanaka began, all obsequious smiles and humble bows. It made Seto want to knock him over the head with the decorative vase on Valerie's desk.

"What makes you think I want to see you?" Seto asked disdainfully. "Our business together is finished." He made to move past him, but Tanaka chose to stand in his way. Seto narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"But sir, if you recall, our agreement stated- ."

"I'm aware of what I signed," Seto interrupted. "And as I recall, there was nothing in our contract that stipulated you could come up here and bother me without an appointment." As he stared down his employee, whose clenched jaw revealed his ill-concealed anger, Seto could see how right Alistair had been. Tanaka wasn't worth the bandaged cut hidden beneath his bracer. He'd make sure not to forget again.

His commute had resulted in a fledgling idea that would remind anyone who had come to doubt him why he was the one in charge and that he was smart enough to take advantage of Tanaka's cheap idea, but was by no means reliant on it.

"But since you're already here," he continued just as Tanaka looked to be on the verge of leaving. "I may as well ask you in person."

Looking mollified, Tanaka took a step back and pushed his fashionably thick glasses slightly higher on his nose. "Of course."

"I have a meeting later today with Roland and Kobayashi to discuss the logistics of hosting a Duel Monsters tournament in lieu of an opening ceremony for KaibaLand. As the manager of PR, you are, of course, also welcome to attend. Valarie can give you the details, but until then I'm very busy, and any other concerns will have to wait." With relish, Seto stepped around him and into the sanctuary of his own office, closing the door with satisfaction in Tanaka's face.

Riding out the emotional momentum, Seto eased into his desk chair and called his brother.

Mokuba had just been contemplating whether or not to get out of bed when his phone started buzzing loudly against his bedside table. Reluctantly, he folded back his comforter, sat up, yawned, and finally picked up the phone. He wondered what Seto could want of him so early in the morning.

"What's up?" he asked, his voice still raspy with sleep.

"There's a meeting today I'd like you to be at," came his brother's reply and Mokuba wished he'd ignored the call. Of course. Business. It was always about business with Seto.

"I can't, I have a math test today," he said with only a trace of guilt. It was true that he had a math test scheduled for that day, but he'd never thought he'd prefer calculus to spending time with Seto.

"That can be rescheduled," Seto pointed out.

"Look, I just don't feel like going to some boring meeting about stocks or investments or whatever," Mokuba admitted. "I can barely understand it anyway."

"That just means your teacher isn't doing their job, because you should be able to understand basic things like that, but that's beside the point because this meeting is about something you might be interested in."

The unexpected undertone of excitement in Seto's voice, like he was on the verge of revealing a surprise, caught Mokuba off-guard. "What?" he asked curiously, his annoyance forgotten.

Seto heard the shift in Mokuba's tone and couldn't help but smile broadly. "How would you feel about throwing another tournament?"

By the end of the day, Seto was feeling far more in control than he'd felt in months. This was typical of the day after one of his drawing room visits, but today in particular, he could feel his old enthusiasm for his job returning. And not a moment too soon; with stock prices on the rise but still too low for CFO Hinata Kobayashi's taste, Seto had been feeling the pressure to start making easy money, and a tournament was by far the best way to do so. And even though he hated to admit it, Tanaka hadn't been wrong about social media buzz helping boost sales, in this case, the sale of tournament tickets.

But perhaps most importantly, he'd won Mokuba back over. And without any help from Yugi, he thought smugly.

It really had been like old times, he reflected after everyone had gone, leaving him to lean back in his chair alone. Mokuba at his side as he'd laid out his proposal, his brother's enthusiastic confidence enough to tip opinion in his favor. It had been an open and shut deal, all things considered. Battle City had been the most lucrative tournament ever thrown, which, considering that it was also the most expensive tournament ever thrown, was an accomplishment his CFO couldn't ignore.

He'd prepared himself for the one concession he'd known he would have to make so that when Kobayashi advised him to reach out to Industrial Illusions to ask them to co-sponsor, he had agreed without complaint. If working with Pegasus one more time was what it took to finally be able to get out from under him once and for all, Seto was in favor of getting it over with.

With Kobayashi's approval, Seto had tasked Roland with compiling a list of the Duel Monsters national champions so that individual contracts could be drawn up and invitations sent out.

"Sir," Tanaka had interjected the moment Kobayashi and Roland were gone. "As always, your tournament conception is quite a good one, but I do have just one question, if I may."

Seto exchanged a brief look with Mokuba. "Yes, what is it? And make it quick."

"Well, seeing as you're calling this the Grand Championship Tournament, shouldn't the grand champion be competing?"

Mokuba raised his eyebrows slightly at Tanaka's gall. Bringing up Seto's number two world ranking put anyone on thin ice. To his surprise, Seto had responded calmly that he had every intention of inviting Yugi to the tournament, though not as a competitor.

"Everyone will be competing for a chance to duel against the 'King of Games,' he explained. "That's the prize."

"Doesn't that jeopardize your ranking?" Tanaka had pressed and Mokuba had to wonder if the PR manager was goading Seto on purpose.

"Of course not," Mokuba had interjected with confident derision. "No one can defeat Yugi but Seto."

"Perhaps," Tanaka went on, looking slightly nervous which had put Seto far more on edge than any of the man's pomosity ever had. Tanaka only got really nervous when he had to deliver news neither of them would like. "But, sir, I must advise you not to compete in this tournament. It's too important to the future success of this company. If you were to lose," and here the word 'again' hung heavily in the air, "it could be disastrous."

"Oh please," Mokuba had quipped. "Seto wouldn't lose. Battle City doesn't count. Not with all that other crazy stuff that was going on!"

"Be that as it may," Tanaka continued regretfully, looking at his boss across the desk with rare gravity. "I would be remiss if I didn't offer my opinion on the matter."

"Disastrous in what way?" Seto had asked.

"I told you before that our brand rests on your image. One loss develops a rivalry, which is good. A back and forth between two equally talented duelists gives people something to talk about. But two consecutive losses starts to look like a pattern. If you compete again and lose, I'd have to advise you to step aside and make Yugi Mutou the new face of Kaiba Corporation."

To Mokuba's shock and dismay, Seto had given a curt nod of agreement.

"You're not actually considering not competing, are you?" Mokuba demanded as soon as Tanaka had gone.

"It's not what I'd prefer," Seto acknowledged, not able to meet his brother's eyes and instead straightening a stack of papers on his desk. "But it's necessary."

"But why?" Mokuba asked, sounding almost betrayed. Despite his own feelings of regret, Seto couldn't help but suppress a smile.

"Because Tanaka's right. It's more important that this tournament succeed than that I get to duel Yugi again."

Mokuba shook his head. "Maybe, but when you won, wouldn't that make us look even more successful?"

The shadow of a smile disappeared. "That's the thing, Mokuba. I don't think I can defeat Yugi." As hard as it was to admit, it was harder to see his brother's disappointment.

"You're the best there is," Mokuba balked. "Don't give up!"

Seto grimaced. "I'm not 'giving up,' I'm just being realistic."

Mokuba actually got off the couch and shook his brother by the shoulders. "What are you talking about? That last time you and Yugi dueled you nearly had him beat! If that Anubis guy hadn't shown up, you would have won!"

"That's my point," Seto explained, gently, removing Mokuba's hands from his shoulders. "Something always happens to interfere with my victory. What's the point of wasting my time developing a strategy I won't even get to play out? I'd rather put my energy into the success of KaibaLand. Isn't that the point of all this?"

When Mokuba fell silent, Seto knew he was thinking back to that day, all those years ago, when they'd first dreamed of opening a theme park. A dream that at the time had seemed impossible to ever achieve.

"Anyway," Seto went on with a much lighter tone. "I have something important I need you to do."

He'd explained that Yugi and his friends were still in California, having seemingly chosen to spend their summer vacationing with Professor Hawkins and his insufferable daughter.

"I want you to go pick them up so that you can personally invite Yugi be our special guest and to duel the winner of Grand Championship. Obviously he'd be well-compensated, but if we don't also invite the mutt, I doubt he'll agree to come. So at the risk of cheapening our line-up, go ahead and issue Wheeler an invite too."

"Sure thing, but this tournament isn't going to happen for months, why do all that now?"

Seto smirked. "Illusion of choice. Tell them we'll fly them back to Domino if Yugi agrees. Because something tells me Wheeler couldn't afford a flight back even if they let him ride with the baggage."

He swiveled his chair to face the window and looked out on the city below. He supposed that being essentially barred from his own tournament due to his own incompetence should have upset him more. He was, after all, supposed to be a duelist before anything else, ready to jump into battle to defend his honor against any opponent. But what he'd told Mokuba was a truth he'd been forced to face long ago. Yugi was the only person he had any interest in dueling anymore, but beating him seemed increasingly impossible. Seto doubted very much that it was fate standing in his way as the Ishtar woman had told him at Battle City. But there was something. Some quality that always allowed Yugi to rise from what should have been the ashes of defeat so that in the end it was he who ended up on his knees in disgrace.

It was a ridiculous notion that one of Dartz's random henchmen had been a more talented duelist than he was, let alone more talented than Yugi, so Yugi's loss at his hand must have been the result of some outside factor he was unaware of. No, Yugi was the King of Games, even if Seto resented the title. As loathsome as he found that, Seto had come to accept it, though he wasn't ready to retire just yet. He'd sit this tournament out, but after that, after KaibaLand was up and running and he had room to breathe, then perhaps he'd try one more time to topple the king.

In the meantime, he had an event to plan, and a theme park to open. With so much to do there was no time for musing about his Duel Monsters title, or anything else. Later perhaps…

Alistair was feeling discouraged by dinnertime after a day of unsuccessful online job hunting. Finding businesses that were hiring had been relatively easy. He didn't even mind that most of them were service jobs at fast food restaurants- he was hardly too proud to making a living flipping burgers. But every single application required that he input his social security number, which of course, he didn't have. It was this roadblock that had led him to the realization that the closest thing he had to an ID of any kind was his library card. Any official documents he'd had, had been lost or destroyed years ago. The more the box he couldn't fill in plagued his job hunt, the more panic he'd felt. How could he hope to move on with his life if he didn't even officially exist?

His initial thought had been to ask Kaiba if he could, through his probable connections and influence, get a social security card made for him. But he hated how helpless that would be, no better than a child running to his parents so they could solve his problems for him. So he'd cast around for a different way. A simple search had revealed how straightforward the process of replacing lost or stolen documents was, but not only was it a cycle of needing one document to replace another, he wasn't from Domino so it didn't apply to him anyway. He'd briefly considered trying to forge something himself, but although he was confident he would be able to design passable documents, he didn't have the ability to create anything that would hold up against even mild scrutiny.

Next, he'd looked into the possibility of having his birth certificate or perhaps even a passport issued by the consulate in Domino, but he quickly realized that wouldn't lead anywhere but possible extradition by his own government- whoever that happened to be at the moment. And a foreign passport wouldn't help him get a job in Domino without jumping through further hoops anyway.

A final burst of research led him to the possibility of seeking asylum. It would be a lengthy process, but legally, it was what he assumed he was supposed to do. He wouldn't be able to work while his application was processed and would likely be constricted to government housing while he waited, but the situation across the border certainly checked all the boxes as far as he could tell. And if his application was rejected and he was deported, well, then perhaps his fate didn't lie in Domino after all.

He turned off his phone and set it alongside his pile of notes on the coffee table before leaning back on the couch. This prompted Sewell to abandon the bed and istead settle squarely on his chest.

"Hey," he greeted her with an affectionate scratch behind her ears. He wondered suddenly what would happen to her after he left the Kaiba estate. It was doubtful that he'd be allowed to take her with him if he were forced into government housing. And Kaiba had made it clear that he disliked her, so without Alistair there, Kaiba would likely toss her back out onto the street. Maybe Trudy could be convinced to offer the cat sanctuary.

Alistair continued to stroke Sewell's head and back as he considered the prospect of asking Trudy to adopt his beloved pet. He felt confident that should would, or would at least help him find another home for her.

Even though as of yet, none of what he was considering was a reality and for the foreseeable future he wasn't going anywhere, he felt a twinge of sadness and, could it be? The stirrings of homesickness. How ironic it was, feeling more at home living with Seto Kaiba than he'd ever felt living on Dartz's island. Of course, Kaiba had said himself that his hospitality extended only until he'd gotten his pilot's license. Then he'd be on his own. But that was a month and a half off yet.

Sewell continued to purr loudly as Alistair scratched her absently under her chin, wondering if Kaiba really meant to take him up on his request for swimming lessons.

Seto was feeling comfortably drowsy by the time he made it home that night. It would be doing himself a discourtesy to call it a particularly productive day, as though his work ethic was anything but stellar. But it had been productive in a way that made him feel all his hard work had actually resulted in something to be proud of. His own fervor must have rubbed off on his staff, because by the end of the day, the initial groundwork for Grand Championship was already well underway.

He had been fully prepared to lazily swim a lap or two and then go straight to bed when he remembered. He was tired, and it was just a ruse anyway, so he would be fully justified if he decided to break his tacit agreement with Alistair, but especially with such a successful day behind him, he was more intrigued than ever to see how Alistair planned to handle the charade.

Stifling a yawn, he made his way upstairs, past his own room, and knocked once on Alistair's door before entering.

Alistair had been hunched over the coffee table reading his notes, Sewell perched haphazardly on his shoulders with her tail in his face when Kaiba stepped into the room. Sewell immediately twitched her tail mistrustfully and leapt from Alistair's back onto the floor, her back claws digging painfully into his shoulder blade.

"I don't understand why you even bother knocking," Alistair mused in mild annoyance, wincing at the scratch Sewell had inflicted. "If you're just going to walk in anyway."

"It's my house, why should I ask?" Kaiba replied with a shrug.

"Um, because you don't know what I could be doing," Alistair explained only to instantly feel a blush creep up his cheeks at his own insinuation.

Kaiba either didn't catch it or chose not to comment, instead reminding Alistair of their loose appointment.

"Meet me at the pool in ten minutes," he said shortly before turning on his heel and abruptly leaving the room again, either passive-aggressively or absentmindedly leaving the door open.

By night, Alistair was tempted to describe the pool as spooky. Only the underwater lamps and the moonlight shining in through the skylight illuminated the room, casting eerie shifting shadows on the surface of the water and across the tiles. His footsteps echoed hollowly off the walls even as he tread carefully. Suddenly, lights flickered on along the walls and he was forced to squint as Kaiba emerged from the French doors on the far side of the pool. Alistair wasn't sure what he'd expected, but he was nonetheless surprised by the black wet-suit Kaiba had donned in favor of the swim trunks Alistair had seen him in before.

"Were you considering learning how to swim in the dark?" Kaiba asked once he'd joined Alistair at the water's edge.

"Of course not."

They both looked at each other expectantly.

"Are you going to get in?" Kaiba asked, sounding impatient.

"Obviously," Alistair muttered, going to pull his shirt over his head.

The unconcerned, casual manner with which Alistair was able to take his clothes off in front of him was a notion Kaiba found totally exotic, and he stared in open fascination as the muscles in Alistair's flat stomach stretched when he put his arms over his head. Couldn't help but notice the way his biceps flexed as he yanked his pants down. Was he doing it on purpose? Seto wondered, his eyes now unconsciously scanning the curve of Alistair's back. He shook himself and quickly looked down at the lip of the pool.

With his clothes now lyng in a messy heap at his feet, Alistair glanced at the steps leading into the electric blue water. It seemed so easy. Just climb down the stairs and then...swim. Simple. But the thought of actually being submersed in it, of a ceiling of water high above his head, not being able to breathe…

To his horror, Alistair realized he really was afraid. He looked back at Kaiba whose impatience had evolved into exasperation.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, ok, ok!"

With trepidation, Alistair put one foot on the top stair so that he could feel the coolness rising up off of the water just below. Gritting his teeth, he took two steps into the pool, the cold shock of the water around his ankles causing goosebumps to rise on his skin all the way up his arms.

"Why's it so cold?" he asked irritably, delaying the inevitable moment when he'd actually have to submerge himself in it.

"Just get in," he heard Kaiba say gruffly.

Alistair forced himself to walk down the rest of the stairs, the water now coming up to the middle of his thighs. It was heavy for a substance that couldn't hold his weight; he could feel it pushing against him. And it was so incredibly cold. He started to shiver, unconsciously hugging himself in a futile attempt to trap his own body heat.

Seto was completely nonplussed by Alistair's behavior. Intellectually, he could understand why a person who couldn't swim might be scared of being in water over their head, but to be scared seemingly of the water itself was absurd.

"Alistair," he snapped. "Just get in."

"I'm trying!" Alistair snapped back, shooting Kaiba a look over his shoulder. "It's just harder than I thought it'd be, ok? Give me a second. And don't you dare push me!"

"I wasn't planning on it, relax." Alistair was relieved to hear that a degree of annoyance had dropped out of Kaiba's voice. "But you won't warm up until you start moving around you know."

Alistair cautiously ventured further into the pool, the waterline rising too quickly for his liking. As it reached the middle of his chest, he could feel real panic twisting his insides. The drop-off was mere inches from where he stood. He tried to retreat, almost falling over backwards when what should have been an easy motion was met with resistance. He caught his balance, adrenaline surging through him. He wanted to tell Kaiba that he'd changed his mind, but his throat was too thick with fear to choke out the words. It was impossible to move ahead, but he was reluctant to go back, afraid he'd fall. And then the water would have him and he'd drown. Had that been Kaiba's plan? He looked back at Kaiba again. He was still standing at the edge of the pool, his arms folded across his chest, his face an impassive mask. No one knew that Kaiba had come with him. It would just look like he'd gone swimming alone in the middle of the night. That his death had been an unfortunate accident.

Get out of the water, get out of the water, get out of the water!

In his panic, and already unsteady in the alien environment, he misstepped. One foot landed on the pool's tiled bottom, the other slipped backwards over the edge of the drop-off. He tried to regain his balance, his arms windmilling helplessly in and out of the water, but as though an invisible hand had grabbed hold of his ankle from below, he found himself dragged down. And then it was everywhere, pulsing against his ears, forcing its way into his mouth. He thrashed against it, clawing his hands back above the surface.

It only lasted a few seconds before he managed to blunder his way back above the drop-off, but in those seconds, he'd really thought he was going to die. Then his head broke the surface. He choked as he struggled to take in big, gulping breaths, water streaming down the sides of his mouth, and his chest aching against the pounding of his heart. Only then did he realize Kaiba was no longer standing at the poolside.

Until he saw Alistair flailing around in the water, Seto hadn't been sure if he really couldn't swim or not. But when his head fell below the surface and he'd started thrashing around like a person who legitimately believed they were drowning, it had become clear he'd been honest.

The idea that anyone could drown centimeters from the shallow end of a pool was almost comically pathetic, but nonetheless, Seto jumped in after him, prepared to yank him back to the surface. As it turned out, he needn't have bothered as the moment he hit the water, Alistair found his footing.

"You told me you didn't know how to swim, not that you didn't know how to walk in water," Seto commented as he approached a spluttering Alistair, still struggling to catch his breath.

Alistair managed to shoot him a reproachful glare. "Shut up," he said, each word punctuated by a cough. "This was a stupid idea," he added once his breathing had returned to normal. He was shivering again, droplets of cold water from his hair splashing onto his shoulders. He doubted very much that he looked half as attractive as Kaiba had in the same state. And even looking at him now, his dark hair slicked off his face and dewdrops of water clinging to his eyelashes, made Alistair's embarrassment somehow worse.

"No, what was stupid was never having learned to swim in the first place," Kaiba corrected him with condescension. "And not learning now would be even stupider. So pull yourself together so we can get on with this."

What kind of a student Kaiba was, Alistair had no idea, but he was a terrible teacher. He had no patience, and got more frustrated than Alistair did when the latter didn't immediately pick up what he was trying to explain. And then, after almost an hour, when Alistair had finally felt he was starting to improve, Kaiba had scorned the achievement.

"You realize what you're doing is called 'doggy-paddling,' right? Is that what you want to look like: a dog playing fetch in the pool?" he jeered with a mocking laugh.

The final vestiges of his self-restraint broke and Alistair shoved a small wave of water in Kaiba's direction and smiled in grim satisfaction as it hit Kaiba squarely in the face.

Kaiba stared at him in surprise, coughing lightly as water streamed down his face. Alistair snickered with genuine humor when he saw that Kaiba looked more startled than affronted.

In that moment, when he knew he should feel insulted, Seto thought instead of how he had never seen Alistair smile before, not in this open, relaxed way, with real warmth in his silvery eyes. He'd never thought he'd ever be able to make anyone other than his brother smile like that, yet this made twice in one day. He became aware that they were looking at each other, the smile slowly fading from Alistair's face. It was going to happen if he didn't stop it, and there would be no question of what it meant if he didn't.

"I have to get to bed," Seto heard himself say, his words causing a momentary furrow of disappointment across Alistair's brow. "And you should get out too or you probably really will drown."

With lingering difficulty, Alistair made his way to the side and hauled himself out, relieved when the weight of the water didn't pull his underwear down. He glanced at Kaiba who was already walking towards the changing room, where Alistair knew he wasn't allowed to follow.

"Same time tomorrow?" he asked, hoping he sounded more joking than eager.

"If I feel like it," Seto responded over his shoulder.

Then the two parted ways for the night.