Final Chapter
Disclaimer: *wearily* I am but a mere fanfiction author, not the almighty owner of Yu-Gi-Oh!
"I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
Thats why I need you to hear:
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
I found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
and the reason is you."
~The Reason, Hoobastank
Chapter 33
When Seto's alarm woke him up the next morning at nine it was all he could to do to summon the strength to turn it off. Who would have thought that having sex all night could be so exhausting? His gaze wandered to the one who had managed to wear him out, who even the earsplitting alarm hadn't woken. Alistair sighed in his sleep and rolled over, causing the silky sheets to slip, exposing the naked curve of his back and hip. It was all Seto could do not to pull it all the way off. Instead, he forced himself to get out of bed and start getting ready for the day.
"Alistair," he said softly, after he'd showered and gotten dressed, gently shaking the sleeping redhead, "it's time to get up."
"I don't want to," came the muffled reply.
"If you don't get up now you'll have to stay here all day. Wouldn't you rather get in the exploring you wanted to do last night?" At the mention of 'last night' Alistair had to smile.
"It's not like it'll matter now if anyone sees me coming out of your room; I'm sure everyone in the whole building heard us."
"Heard you, you mean. Seriously, get up; I have to leave in thirty minutes."
"Chill out, I'm moving." Alistair yawned and stretched languidly, noting how sore he was but not regretting what had gone down the night before in the slightest.
While Alistair was getting dressed twenty minutes later, Seto called Roland to confirm that when their driver pulled the car around someone would have a coffee ready for him.
"Is the hotel to your liking?" Roland asked after responding to the question about coffee in the affirmative. "It's supposed to be the best in the city." Seto watched as Alistair struggled into a pair of dark jeans and smiled.
"I'd say it's living up to its reputation."
"What are you smirking at?" Alistair asked once Seto was off the phone.
"Nothing." Seto forced his face to go blank. "Anyway, I just realized that we can't exactly leave together; that would defeat the whole purpose, so why don't you stay here for another hour or so after I leave, make sure that no one's in the hallway and then make your way downstairs. If anybody asks, which I doubt they will, but if they do, just say that you had to get something for me and call me if they want confirmation for some reason."
"Oh, right. I'm just your employee, I forgot."
"I'm detecting some resentment."
"Really? I can't imagine why."
"You're more than that and you know it. Look, I can't talk about this now; I have to go. I'm scheduled to be done by three, and seeing as how things around here actually tend to run on time, that should be fairly accurate. If you want, you can meet up with me around a quarter to four after I've gone back to the hotel to change; just take a taxi and have them drop you off by the bridge downtown and we can meet up at the bank and then get something to eat."
"Yeah, alright. Have fun at your little promo event."
"Believe me: I won't. I'll see you later." He started to leave then doubled back to kiss Alistair goodbye, sensing that it would be insensitive not to after last night.
Once Seto was gone Alistair tried to think of something he could do to occupy the hour he now had to wait before leaving. He wished he'd brought something more than just Black Beauty with him to read. He loved the book, but he'd read it so many times it would hardly hold his attention.
He lay on the sofa in the suite's living room and turned the TV on before he remembered he wouldn't be able to understand anything being said, but given that there was nothing else to do he ended up watching for the remainder of the hour, perking up every time he heard a word he recognized.
Finally the digital clock on the television screen read half eleven and he turned it off, threw on his trench coat which he'd shoved into his backpack, pocketed the money and cab instructions that Seto had left on the coffee table after taking the key card, and left, the door clicking shut behind him.
It was chilly outside, but not so much so that Alistair couldn't enjoy being outdoors, plus there was so much to see that he quickly forgot the cold.
The hotel they were staying at was clearly located in the ritzy part of the city because all the establishments and people he passed reeked of wealth. Still, perhaps because it was all so new it didn't repulse him as such things usually did. He stared in wonder at the beautiful architecture, so different from the ultra-modern and sleek look of Domino, and at the seeming sophistication of the shops as well, all of which seemed to have a certain level of dignity that earned them his respect.
Most of the businesses in the area seemed to sell clothes and jewelry, but as he walked, these made way to quirky antique and book stores with racks of postcards out front. He chose one at random and entered figuring that even though he couldn't read any of them, just being out of the cold and surrounded by books would be nice.
Unlike in the bookshops back in Domino, the books here were all perfectly arranged with nary a one out of place. The shopkeeper, a middle-aged woman, looked up as he entered, but didn't speak, she didn't even ask him if he needed help finding anything. Far from finding her behavior rude, he was grateful not to have anyone lurking over his shoulder while he browsed.
After walking around the bookstore, he decided to search for a place to eat; he hadn't seen anywhere on his walk thus far that looked like it sold food.
He walked a little further until he came to a dead end and then walked back the way he came, intending to walk in the other direction. He found the bridge and the bank that Seto had mentioned, but nowhere to eat. He decided to bite the bullet and ask. He saw a group of four people who looked to be around his age and decided to ask them since one of the girls was eating ice cream.
"Entschuldigung," he said, approaching them. "Ich…uh…" he suddenly realized he didn't know how to phrase his question. One of the boys, presumably the boyfriend of the girl eating ice cream, took pity on him.
"Do you speak English?" he asked with an accent that reminded Alistair of Valon's.
"Yes," Alistair replied embarrassedly. "I was just wondering: is there anywhere nearby I could get some food? I've never been here before."
"We were actually going to get Döner. You can come with us if you want; it's not far." Alistair had no idea what 'Döner' was, but he was afraid of getting himself turned around if he ventured off on his own; the layout of Hamburg was much more complex than almost anywhere else he'd ever been.
"Only if it's not an imposition…"
"No, it's fine. Hang on." He turned to his friends and said something in German that caused one of the other girls to shake her head and reply something the only word of which Alistair understood was 'English'.
"Really, I don't want to bother you…"
"Oh, it's fine. She was just saying that her English is terrible, which it's not," he added to the girl who giggled and swatted his shoulder. "Right. I'm Connor; this is my girlfriend Anna," she smiled at him, "my best mate Florian," a tall young man with light brown hair said: "nice to meet you," with a thick German accent, "and the girl who claims she can't speak English is Nene, like the singer."
"I'm Alistair," he introduced himself.
As they walked, Connor explained that he was studying physics at the local university.
"It's cheaper than if I were to study back in Australia, besides, this way I get to live with my lovely girlfriend. So what are you doing here? Are you an exchange student?"
"I'm actually just here until tomorrow afternoon. My…a friend of mine is here on business."
"Oh, ok. Is this your first time in Germany?"
"Yeah. I like what I've seen so far though."
"Where all have you been?"
"Just here."
They arrived soon thereafter at the Döner restaurant. Döner as it turned out was a popular food from Turkey that comprised of a thick tortilla filled with meat shavings and vegetables as well as a goopy white sauce that Alistair couldn't identify. It was delicious.
Over the course of the meal which they ate on the patio outside the small building, Connor encouraged Alistair to go to one of the local bars.
"You've never had beer until you've had German beer," he said. "Even if you don't usually like beer, just try it; it's worth it. Matter of fact, if you've got nothing to do later Florian and I were going to hit a couple of pubs and watch the game, you're welcome to join us. Bring your friend; it'll be fun and a great way to get to experience Germany while you're here."
"Oh…I…uh…"
"No pressure mate, it was just a thought."
"I mean, if that's ok…" Alistair glanced at Florian.
"You have to see a football game while you are here," Florian said, his face lighting up for the first time during the whole conversation. "Do you like football?"
"Soccer," Connor corrected him. "In America it's called soccer."
"Oh, I'm not American," Alistair cut in, "I'm from Domino."
"You don't say? Alright then, carry on."
"I'm not sure I remember the rules," he admitted. "I played it a lot as a kid, but I haven't played or thought about it in years."
"Then you must come," Florian insisted.
"Ok, I'll come."
Seto was not having nearly as much fun as Alistair. Normally he enjoyed being in the spotlight, relished it even, but this entire promo affair was tedious and involved more than just him making a speech and then calling it a day. He had to first be taken around (as though he didn't know what it looked like already) and endure the company of the manager (who he couldn't stand), meet with the press (the only part he cared about), take pictures, and then endure the very tedious signing of autographs for the people who'd been invited to visit the park for the special event.
The teenage girls were the worst. They giggled the entire time, got embarrassed for giggling, and then giggled some more because they were embarrassed. It was enough to drive him up the wall. But of course he had to be pleasant, and that was the worst part of all.
By the time three O'clock rolled around he wanted nothing more than to slink back to the hotel and take a nap. But he'd promised Alistair he'd meet up with him for lunch. He considered cancelling, but then realized how hungry he was; no one had once thought to offer him something to eat which meant that all he'd had all day was a coffee on the way to the park that morning.
Alistair was leaning against the wall of the bank when Seto got there forty minutes later wearing dark sunglasses and a nondescript black jacket over black jeans and sneakers. It was the most dressed-down he'd ever seen the CEO.
Before Alistair could even ask him how the event had gone Seto said:
"It was horrible. Someone should outlaw teenage girls or giggling or both. Now let's go; I'm starving."
"My day was great, thanks for asking."
"What did you do? And do you mind walking and talking?"
"Hey, do you like Döner?"
"Do I like what?"
"The food. It's Turkish. I tried it this morning; it's really good. There's a place not too far from here."
"Sure, whatever."
As they walked Alistair described what he'd been up to all day, ending with the invitation from Florian and Connor to meet up later that night for beer.
"They said you could come too if you—."
"You told them you were here with me?"
"Of course not. I just said that I was tagging along on a friend's business trip. I didn't even say what business so relax. Anyway, I'm not really asking; I know that you don't want to." They arrived at the Döner shop. "But I'm meeting up with them here at eight."
"Terrific." Seto made to go up to the counter to order but Alistair stopped him.
"I can do it." He approached the man who recognized him from before. "Zwei Döner für mein Freund und ich," he said, pointing at Seto. Seto stiffened.
"What's the matter?" Alistair asked, noting the sudden change in Seto's demeanor.
"What you just said could be taken to mean 'boyfriend.'"
"Oh."
"Idiot…"
"How was I supposed to know that?" Alistair demanded loudly, flaring up at once.
"Never mind. I've had a long day." Seto began massaging his temples while they waited for their food to be made.
"Yeah, well don't take it out on me. I wasn't drooling all over you and giggling."
"Shut up."
They ended up eating their Döner as they walked around the city. Seto, who had been to Hamburg many times before, showed Alistair around the posh downtown and then took him to a more underground part on the fringes.
"I always have to come to the arcade here to beat my high scores," he said, leading his companion into a building with a flashing neon sign.
Alistair watched on as Seto proceeded to dominate on every game of skill the arcade had to offer.
"Try this one," he suggested, handing off the plastic pistol that was attached to a retro shooting game. "The controls are a little shoddy, but it handles pretty well for an antique." Alistair shrugged and focused his attention on the screen. He was still there when Seto came looking for him fifteen minutes later.
"Don't bother trying to beat my score; no one else has managed it," he announced smugly.
"What?" Alistair asked, the momentary break in concentration causing his avatar to get killed. To his surprise the game asked him to enter his initials, and indicated that he'd beaten the high score. Seto's eyes went wide as Alistair typed ALI into the spaces indicated on the screen. The display board then popped up, KAI showing up just below ALI.
"That's impossible!" Seto breathed, shoving Alistair out of the way and staring at the pixilated letters.
"I guess not."
"How did you do that?"
"What do you mean? All I did was shoot all the enemies that popped up, same as you. I guess my reflexes and my aim are just better than yours." He matched Seto's previously superior tone.
"No one beats me and gets away with it." If Alistair had been in a particularly petulant mood he would have said "except Yugi", but in this case he decided not to kick Seto while he was down.
Seto spent the next hour relentlessly playing the shooter game until he eventually topped Alistair's score.
"See," he said triumphantly, "I told you!"
"Congratulations, you win," Alistair said with fake enthusiasm.
"Don't be upset just because I'm better than you; I'm better than everyone."
"You know what, you're right; I'll try and lighten up. It is after all, just a game."
After leaving the arcade Seto wanted to return to the hotel. Alistair checked his watch. Since he still had two hours until he was supposed to meet up with Connor and Florian he decided to go with him.
"Maybe you should be forced to endure giggling teenage girls more often," Alistair commented an hour and fifteen minutes later as the two got out of the shower.
"And why is that?"
Alistair indicated the state of the suite. They'd managed to tip the couch on its side, its cushions had been flung helter-skelter and in the bedroom the sheets and pillows were strewn across the floor.
"Usually I work it off in the gym," Seto explained, towel-drying his hair.
"What do you suppose housekeeping will think happened here? It looks like you got robbed."
"They won't think anything because we're going to clean this place up." Seto hung the towel he'd been using for his hair back on the rack and proceeded to righten the sofa. "Are you going to stand there watching, or help me?"
"I can't, I have to get dressed; I'm supposed to be at the Döner place in forty minutes."
"Oh right. That. What are you doing exactly?"
"Going going to a bar to watch football."
"Getting drunk with two people you don't know in a city you've never been to. That sounds like a brilliant plan. Why don't you ditch them and stay here?"
"And watch you fiddle with your laptop all night? No thanks." Seto sighed.
"You realize that I have to go with you, right?"
"Why?" Alistair was taken aback.
"Because I don't feel like scouring the city looking for you tomorrow, that's why. Someone has to make sure you don't get plastered and therefore can't fly, and it's not going to be you, and certainly not these two dweebs you're going to meet, so who does that leave?"
"I'm not a child!"
"You'll end up acting like one if I don't tag along to prevent it."
"If you want to go, just say so, you don't have to make up lame excuses."
"Do you honestly think for one second I'd willingly go 'hang out' with some losers you met on the street, drink beer, and watch football? I'm the CEO of one of the top gaming companies in the entire world; I have far better ways to occupy my time!"
"Then stay here and do them! Or come with me, I don't care. But if you do come with me don't be such a control freak! I'm more than capable of monitoring my own alcohol intake thank you very much."
"Hmph. We'll see."
Twenty minutes later, after attempting to set the room back to rights, Alistair, dressed in a fresh shirt and his trench coat, and Seto, again wearing his all-black ensemble, left the hotel and arrived just as Connor and Florian did.
"Hey," Alistair greeted them.
"Glad you could make it," Connor replied.
"And this is my friend." He left it to Seto to introduce himself since he wasn't exactly sure what Seto wanted to be called in a situation like this. Seto had been about to give an alias when Connor suddenly recognized him.
"No, no way. You're Seto Kaiba."
"Uh…"
"I'm a big fan of yours. I'm looking forward to the tournament next week."
"What tournament?" Florian asked Connor in German.
"You know, the KC Grand Championship; don't tell me you're not into Duel Monsters." Florian shrugged. "But you know who Seto Kaiba is, don't you? He's one of the top ranked duelists in the world. He held the world title for ages!"
While Connor scolded Florian, Seto glared at Alistair who put his palms up as though to say: "how could I have known he was a Duel Monsters fan?"
"So do you think you'll be able to take your title back this time?" Connor asked eagerly. "I'd love to see you take Yugi; I never liked him as much. Your strategies were always so much cooler."
"I'm not dueling this time," Seto replied, regretting having come at all. Connor's face fell.
"Why not?"
"I don't have time. Hosting a tournament while simultaneously opening a chain of theme parks isn't exactly a picnic."
"Still, that's too bad; I was looking forward to your duels; you've always been my favorite duelist along with Joey Wheeler, though obviously you're a lot better." At the mention of Wheeler's name Seto couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes.
"Wheeler's a third-rate deadbeat who relies on luck." Connor shrugged.
"I just like him because he's relatable. It's like, if he can be a top-ranked duelist, so could I. Plus, he's always funny."
"If you find stupidity amusing."
"The game," Florian reminded Connor.
"Oh yeah. Right, so let's go!"
The party arrived at a packed pub a few minutes later and had to squeeze their way to the bar. Connor ordered for himself and Alistair and started to ask Seto what he wanted when Seto leaned past him to order for himself, followed by Florian.
"You speak German?" Florian asked him, surprised.
"I don't make a habit of visiting countries where I don't speak the language," he explained, the remark somehow managing to come out with a snotty undertone.
Once the game started, Connor explained the basics of the tournament to Alistair while Seto watched, becoming surlier and surlier as the match wore on. When he had opened his heart to him, Seto had subconsciously come to think of Alistair as his and his alone and was therefore resentful of the idea of the redhead paying attention to anyone else.
The team that Florian and Connor had been rooting for won and the two decided to go out clubbing to celebrate, encouraging Alistair and Seto to join them. Alistair would have had he not sensed the desire to leave that was practically radiating off of Seto.
"We should actually probably get back to our hotel," Alistair said. "But thanks a lot for inviting us here; I think I actually understand the rules now." He nudged Seto.
"Yeah, it was a real blast."
"No problem. Oh, uh…before you guys go…"Connor hesitated, not quite able to look Seto in the eye. "This is going to sound really lame, but could I possibly get a picture with you? My friends would all flip if I could prove that we actually hung out." Seto smirked and geared himself for a scathing line about how pathetic the request was, but he never got the chance to deliver it.
"Here, I'll take it," Alistair offered, holding out a hand for Connor's cell phone.
"Sweet." Connor handed him the phone and stood next to Seto, trying to match the champion duelist's standoffish expression. "This is so cool man, thanks! And I'll be watching the tournament next week!"
"Finally, we can leave," Seto said moodily once Connor and Florian had gone.
"You really didn't have to come you know. I'm not even sure why you did."
"I explained that to you once already." Seto tossed enough money to pay for his and Alistair's drinks on the counter before making his way through the crowd of people in the pub and out the door. Alistair crinkled his eyebrows in confusion before following after him. Usually he was able to at least form an educated guess as to what was bothering the CEO (partially a result of having stalked him for so long), but this time he came up blank.
"What's up?" he asked briskly once he'd caught up to Seto outside. "And before you say 'nothing' before returning to brooding, know that I'll get it out of you eventually."
"That's pretty big talk. I'm not 'brooding'; I just want to go to sleep so I can finally put this day behind me. In case you forgot: I haven't just been playing around all day. This wasn't a vacation for me. And don't bother telling me you don't believe me. Sometimes there is no hidden meaning, ok? And if you think that there is I suggest you go enlist in the destiny fanclub; I hear that Yugi is still president, or was it Ishizu Ishtar?" Alistair frowned but chose to let the matter drop; Seto putting up his 'Kaiba' façade was usually a clear sign that a nerve had been touched.
"Would you look at that?" Alistair said a few minutes later as they passed by the bridge. "It looks like we get our romantic moonlit walk by the water after all."
"I fail to see the romance of this situation. There are people all over the place, it's cold, and it isn't the moon letting off all that light; it's the streetlamps."
"It's too bad you see it that way."
"Hmm…"
"Look: I didn't know that Connor was a fan of yours; he never said anything about liking Duel Monsters."
"Did I say anything about it?" Alistair sighed in exasperation.
"You don't have to. Why else would you have spent the entire game staring down your nose at him?" Seto smirked.
"That's how I look at almost everyone. The only exceptions are the ones that have earned my respect."
"I better be one of them." Seto shrugged and again Alistair sensed that the brunette wanted the matter dropped. "Once we get back I'm thinking about looking for a job at the library downtown. I spend so much time at the library at your place that it seemed like it might be a good fit, at least for a while. When I've saved enough money and decided what I want to do for a career I might even go to college."
"College is for losers who can't make it based purely on their own talent," Seto sneered. "The only people who should go to college are those that want to be doctors of some kind."
"I don't suppose that line of reasoning has anything to do with the fact that you never went, does it?"
"Of course it does. Why go to school if I'm already in charge of one of the-."
"Most successful gaming companies in the entire world," Alistair finished for him. "I know. But not everyone is a genius who was adopted by Gozaburo Kaiba." He instantly regretted having made the second half of his statement.
Outwardly, the only sign that what Alistair had said had bothered him was a slight frown, but the remark had really stung.
"I'm glad to know that you think my success is because of him."
"I didn't say that."
"You might as well have. Whatever, it doesn't matter. That's what most people think."
"What do you think?" Alistair countered. Seto stopped walking so abruptly that Alistair almost ran into him.
"I think that I'm the only one that deserves the credit for my success. Did having the Kaiba name help, of course it did. But let's review why I had it in the first place: I was smart enough to realize I could use Gozaburo to get me and Mokuba out of that orphanage, so I did. He was nothing but a tool to carve out a life for myself. I was the one who sat up all night studying, I was the one who invented the holographic technology and the Duel Disks. It was me that convinced the board members to join me and oust Gozaburo, me that changed Kaiba Corp into a gaming company and formed a partnership with Pegasus. The success of my company is because of me, so don't you dare give him any of the credit! Kaiba Corp is mine!" Seto was talking so loudly by the end of his speech that the people around them had started to stare as they passed by. Alistair could plainly see that he'd hurt Seto's feelings.
"You're right. I'm sorry."
"Whatever. I don't expect you to understand."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Alistair asked hotly.
"You don't even understand what I do, how could you possibly grasp how important my job is to me or why? Besides, you've made it pretty clear what you think of corporate executives." He was referring to what Alistair had yelled at him during their match back when he still worked for Dartz about people like Kaiba being the reason the world was rotten.
"Yeah, well, I shouldn't have made a generalization."
"Please, you don't like the way I do business either."
"No, that's true. But you could change it if you wanted to."
"See that's the thing: I don't want to. I may not be as ruthless as my step-father, but I'm no Mother Theresa either. I make sure that everything I do is on the up and up, for the most part, but other than that I have no problem doing whatever I have to in order for Kaiba Corp to stay on top and that includes, as you so kindly pointed out to my brother, buying parts from companies that lock their workers into factories. That's just who I am Alistair, and if you can't handle it I suggest you find someone else to devote your time to because that is never going to change and that's a promise."
"There you go again trying to scare me off. When are you going to learn that that won't work with me? I'm not going to pretend that I don't think some of the decisions you've made are repulsive and I'm going to keep telling you I think so because unlike you, I still have faith in your humanity. I know that when it comes down to it you always do the right thing, and that's more than some people can say."
"Me, do the 'right thing', not likely. I do what's best for me." The return of his bravado was due to the warmth inside of him that Alistair's words had caused. The redhead sounded so sure, and Seto didn't know him to say things that he didn't mean. He supposed it wouldn't kill him to do something every once in a while to keep Alistair's faith up, and if that resulted in Kaiba Corp cleaning up some of its shadier practices, so be it.
By the time they arrived back at the hotel there was no one at the front desk so there was no awkward but (in Seto's opinion) necessary display of indifference. As a result, both men were relaxed upon entering the suite which lent itself well to the next part of the evening.
As with all the aspects of their relationship developmentally, it was only now that they'd been rough and for the most part impersonal when having sex that Seto was comfortable being intimate in the complete sense of the word.
As Alistair was taking off his jacket, Seto came up behind him and slowly, gently, began kissing along the side of his neck, his hands up the front of Alistair's flimsy muscle shirt. Alistair sighed and tilted his head to the side as Seto continued to massage the sensitive skin at the nape of his neck with his mouth. Soon thereafter, Seto started to pull Alistair's shirt up and over his head.
Alistair turned to face Seto, his silver eyes, normally so brimming with emotion, were calm. Likewise, Seto's normally searing blue eyes were unguarded.
Seto reached out and ran the tips of his fingers along Alistair's jaw, finally letting his hand come to rest just under his chin before leaning down to kiss him ever so lightly, their lips little more than brushing together. Almost as gradually as they'd fallen for each other the kiss deepened.
As they kissed, Seto wound his free hand into Alistair's thick red hair, whereas Alistair chose to run his hands up the taut muscle of Seto's back. In doing so he could feel several lumpy scars that the many creams Seto had used over the years hadn't been able to fix. Scars that had been caused by being hit repeatedly with a riding crop. Alistair had no way of knowing that, but he had no doubt who was responsible for them. He was sure that Seto thought of the scars as reminders of past failures, but to Alistair they paid testimony to all that Seto had lived through and triumphed over.
As he lay down on the bed a few minutes later with Seto on top of him, Alistair marveled once again at how remarkable it was that he should be here in Hamburg, Germany, at a hotel, in bed with Seto Kaiba.
Unlike most people, it wasn't that it was Seto Kaiba the celebrity, or even Seto Kaiba his enemy, more so that it was Seto Kaiba the man who had saved him in just about every way that a person can be saved.
"Last one," Seto said, snapping Alistair out of his reverie. He was holding up a packaged condom, a half grin gracing his features.
"Guess we better make it count, huh?"
Surrounded by the intoxicating, heady smell of cologne that followed the CEO everywhere he went, Alistair wanted to lose himself in Seto who ironically had found himself in Alistair. They truly were like yin and yang; so different and yet so similar, each the antidote needed to mend the other's brokenness.
They had clashed many times, and neither had any doubt that they would continue to test each other, but in the end, moments like this, when it was apparent just how far they each had come, so far that they had finally found someone to whom they could bare their souls, they knew that what they got out of being together was worth fighting for.
Alistair had, after years of aimless wandering, finally found a place to call home and people who cared for him. Seto had, thanks to Alistair's less than gentle prodding, realized that it wasn't too late to be a person he could be proud of so long as he was willing to take a chance and trust someone.
One week later:
"Don't forget: thirty-five feet or else there won't be time for the flames to turn on before I've already gotten enough momentum going to break my legs." Alistair rolled his eyes as he buckled himself into the Blue Eyes White Dragon jet's pilot seat.
"Well we can't have that."
"I'm serious," Seto insisted testily, strapping the jetpack across his chest.
"Thirty-five feet and not an inch less," Alistair promised, eyeing the jetpack warily. "Are you sure you want to trust that thing after what happened the last time?"
"I fixed it; it's fine."
"You keep saying that, but what about what happened earlier? There's obviously someone who's got it in for you." He was referring to the hacker who had managed to take control of the Kaiba Land duel dome and lock several people, including Yugi Mouto inside. Seto snorted.
"It's kind of pathetic how naïve you can be. Do you honestly think that's unusual? There's always someone who's got it in for me, usually multiple people. Not too long ago you were one of them, so you should know that.
Anyway, I tested this right before leaving to come here and it was fine." Alistair continued to look skeptical. "There's no way I'm going to let some jealous loser get the best of me; you should be confident that I'll be fine for that reason alone. Now let's go; we're already running behind schedule." Still, he took a moment to lean down and kiss Alistair enthusiastically, the adrenaline rush of finally kicking off the tournament starting to kick in despite the unfortunate events of that morning. Seto's confidence was catching, and Alistair found himself getting pumped up as well despite his concerns.
"Good luck."
The jet lifted off the ground several minutes later and sped off towards the packed stadium where the roar of the crowd was loud enough to be heard over the engine.
As specified, he hovered the jet thirty-five feet above the main stage where Mokuba was standing looking up at the aircraft, and opened the cockpit door. Right before he jumped, Seto locked eyes with Alistair and smiled. Then he was gone.
Alistair, along with everyone else, watched in trepidation as Seto plummeted towards the ground, but unlike at the dress rehearsal the flames stayed on and he landed smoothly. In the briefest of instants before taking the microphone from his brother, Seto looked up in time to see Alistair flying off over the crowd, but unlike the last time he had flown away, the departure did not fill him with a sense of foreboding. This time he knew Alistair wasn't really leaving; he'd be there to congratulate him after he gave his speech.
He scanned the row of the tournament's competitors as he began making his opening remarks. One of them was trying to make a fool of him, but as he'd said to Alistair: that was typical, and he was prepared to tackle the new challenge, especially now that the fire inside him that he'd had been afraid was dying had been re-ignited. As long as Alistair was there by his side to keep that fire alive Seto was certain there wasn't anything he couldn't handle.
Author's Note: A big thank you to everyone who stuck with my little story until the end; your comments meant a lot.
To sum up: to me warshipping is about three things: Seto helping Alistair get back on his feet after having his life destroyed by Dartz and being an anchor for him while he wrestles with his guilt, Alistair reminding Seto of what it means to be human, about the value of life and companionship, and lastly, about how love can often be found in unlikely places.
Thank you for reading and I hope you join me for the sequel in which I want to further explore this highly underrated pairing.
~Nachtara