Season One: Did anybody see where I left my star chips?
"I'll be taking a couple days off for personal leave next week," Duke said suddenly as he and Seto put the finishing touches on what they'd been working on. For Seto, that meant proofing just a few more lines of code, just a few more, and then he'd be done. Or not. He liked his work, and tended to have a hard time stopping. Besides, a little overtime never killed anybody, right? Meanwhile, Duke was putting away the extra pieces lying on his worktable and hanging up his tools. They were working on what had been named "Duel Disks" by someone higher up in the corporate bureaucracy from the department of product development. They were just prototypes, but they were functional so far.
"If all goes well," Duke continued, "I'll be putting in my two weeks' notice when I get back."
"Really?" Seto asked, looking up at his partner in surprise. He'd thought that their partnership was going well, really well. He couldn't think of there being someone more agreeable or better suited to work with, which made him feel a bit disappointed. He looked back at the computer screen, trying to sort through the strange tangle of feelings in the pit of his stomach.
It's okay to just say that you'll miss him because he's your friend, Seth advised, speaking directly into Seto's mind and disrupting his train of thought.
"Yeah. It has nothing to do with you," Duke assured, not wanting Seto to think that he was the cause for Duke's departure. "I just don't want to keep working at a place this corrupt, where people's rights to their own inventions are extorted from them and there's almost nobody you can trust. It's stifling, and I can't really stomach it anymore. I didn't want to quit before I knew I had something else to go to, but now it looks like that'll be taken care of."
"Hm, that's too bad."
Come on, Seto, you can do better than that, Seth goaded. Tell him you'll miss him.
I will do no such thing.
Why not? Seth asked, wondering if Seto himself could even articulate the answer.
"I can't imagine that you like having your software stolen from you either," Duke pointed out, fidgeting with his dice earring as he prolonged the process of leaving.
"Not at all, but there's no other place for me but here, despite the corruption," Seto answered, eyes glued to the computer monitor.
"KaibaCorp isn't the only gaming corporation in need of innovative programmers, you know."
"Yes, but it's the only one with a branch in Domino City. I'd work for ShroederCorp if I could, since I doubt they could be as bad as all this, but I can't afford to move away for my work, not yet at least. I can put up with it for a little while longer, especially since Kaiba's out of commission and people are still scrambling to figure out what they're going to do while he's gone. For now, they're being a little lax with us, and I figure it would be in my best interest to take advantage of that in order to work on my own projects."
"It's after quitting time, you know," Duke said as he lingered by his worktable, completely ready to leave—except that he was still talking to Seto.
"I know, and they haven't been monitoring our overtime very carefully the past couple weeks." Not since he'd defeated Noah Kaiba in Death T-5. That was all he needed to say for Duke to understand: he was working overtime voluntarily and without permission, trying to rack up as much extra pay as he could get away with before they noticed what he was doing. There wasn't any definitive limit on the amount of weekly overtime you could work that was eligible for pay and a half, so Seto was just getting as much as he could, which included getting to work early and short-changing his lunch breaks. He was doing honest work for the company, so he wasn't being deceptive or wasteful in the use of his time. Given his current financial situation and the fact that they were unlikely to fire him over something so trivial as unapproved overtime, he thought it a wise decision.
Suddenly, Seto felt his desk chair being whirled around, his fingers forcibly removed from the keyboard. There was Duke, his hands on the back of Seto's chair as he leaned over Seto with an amused smile.
"It's five-thirty on a Friday, Seto. I'm not going to be here Monday and Tuesday, and I might not be around for much longer once I do get back. Taking all of that into account, and the fact that you and I never got a chance to properly celebrate the success of the Duel Arena, why don't you and I go out tonight and have a little fun. It'll be nice. I promise you'll enjoy it." Duke's tone was casual, as easygoing as ever.
See? He's going to miss you too, Seth teased.
"We're too young for clubs." It was the first thing that popped into Seto's head, and since he had prepared nothing else to say, it was also the first thing that popped out of his mouth. He probably could have said something more tactful if Seth weren't distracting him. It surprised a laugh out of Duke.
"I was just referring to dinner, but I know some places we could go afterward that can legally let us in—since that matters to you," Duke added with a wink, releasing Seto's chair and allowing him to save his work and log off the PC.
"I hope you know a good place, because I haven't been out to eat for the longest time," Seto said, pulling on his favorite dark purple trenchcoat as he followed Duke out of their workroom, flicking the lights off and closing the door behind him. Then he quickly texted Ryou that he'd be a couple hours late picking up Mokuba. He was glad to have gotten a new cellphone; his old one had been a line dedicated for scheduling clients, and he couldn't risk anyone he was associated with knowing that number. It would have been a recipe for disaster. So, he'd finally ditched the piece of junk for something a little more decent. This way, if anything ever happened to Mokuba, he could be reached at a moment's notice.
Duke smiled and said, "I know a few places."
It turned out that what he meant by "a few places" was that he knew every place worthy of your patronage in downtown Domino. Seto enjoyed the evening, even though it seemed to pass in a blur of neon lights, loud music, and strange faces. He would say that yes, he had fun, even if he felt oddly confused and conflicted throughout the whole thing. Seth kept saying that it was a date, and Seto kept denying it, feeling too embarrassed to admit that the spirit was probably right.
Duke was equally confused throughout the evening. He liked Seto, he really did, but he struggled to interpret his mixed signals. One moment he'd be laughing and enjoying himself, and the next he'd be withdrawing into himself, getting stiff and unresponsive. Was Seto trying to play hard to get? He doubted it. Seto was too transparent for such a shallow ploy. His next thought was that Seto himself was unsure of what he wanted, and he figured that was the most probable scenario. Good thing he figured it out before he had Seto on his doorstep.
"This was fun," Seto said, looking almost… relieved, or surprised, or both.
"Yes, it was," Duke agreed, grabbing hold of the front of Seto's shirt and pulling him into a kiss before Seto could get all wishy-washy on him. At least this way he has a chance to see if it's what he really wants, Duke thought.
Seto was surprised, and Duke's tugging almost knocked him off-balance, but he recovered his wits in time to put up a hand and rest it on the wall behind Duke's head in order to support them both. He may have been surprised by the kiss, but not so surprised that he didn't return it. He was enjoying it, after all, and that was only the right thing to do.
When Duke finally pulled away a little, they were both faintly panting for air. Seto's mind was still clouded as Duke carefully released him, allowing the brunette to stand up straight and drop his arm from the wall.
"Do you want to come in for a little while?" Duke asked, his voice low and dusky in a way that somehow made it even harder for Seto to think. His emerald eyes seemed to glow in contrast to the street-lit twilight and the washed out colors of anything the shadows touched.
"I-I have to get Mokuba home." It was his first line of defense, however weak he made it sound at the moment. Certainly, he used to leave Mokuba at the Bakura's house until much later times than this in the past.
"It doesn't have to take long," Duke murmured, coming in close so that his lips were only an inch away, allowing Seto to make up his mind before he tried to initiate anything more.
"I… I can't," Seto finally managed to say, gently removing Duke's hands from his shoulders—he couldn't even remember how they'd gotten there—and held them between their chests, forcing a bit of distance between them. "I'm sorry, I'm just not ready for this."
"If you're not ready, then don't apologize," Duke said without a trace of bitterness. In fact, he flashed Seto one of his dazzling smiles and pulled a pen from his pocket, taking Seto's hand and carefully writing his cell number on the inside of his wrist. "When you're ready and I'm back in town, give me a call."
Seto looked down at the phone number and nodded, feeling grateful more than anything else.
"Thank you," he managed, looking up at Duke again as he began to realize just how vulnerable he was at the moment. He hated the vulnerability, but he'd rather enjoyed that which had required it. That posed quite a predicament.
"Don't mention it." Duke pulled his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the door, then leaned towards his partner and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Seto."
"Goodnight, Duke." Seto managed to find his voice before the other disappeared behind the door. Feeling stunned, aroused, confused, and a little overwhelmed, Seto started walking towards Ryou's house. This was going to be a longer walk than usual, and he was already late, but he felt like it had been worth it.
"I told you it was a date."
Seto rolled his eyes as Seth appeared at his side.
"Why didn't you say yes?" Seth asked, as if he really needed Seto to explain it to him.
"Because that's not something I can do on a moment's notice when I have no clear idea what my relationship is with him, or even if he sees that as having the same significance that I do." Seto checked his watch and sighed. "I needed time to gather my thoughts and get my bearings, so to speak."
"You should have said yes," Seth insisted.
"Well, the offer's still open," Seto said, looking down at Duke's number on his wrist. "I can still say yes if I want to. Although, to be fair, I probably won't," he added, looking troubled.
"Why not? He likes you, you like him. I don't see a problem."
"You know, the way you pretend that you can't read my mind gets annoying sometimes," Seto complained with a roll of his eyes.
"Humor me," Seth replied with a smirk. In truth, he did that sometimes because he thought it was important for Seto to express himself in words, aloud, so that he could understand himself better.
"I'm not ready, just like I told him. I don't want sex right now."
"Your body does, though."
Seto glared at Seth with all the fire and irritation he could muster.
"I'm not wrong." Seth crossed his arms and gave Seto a serious, meaningful glance. "That's why it was hard for you to say no. That's why you wanted to say yes."
"I fail to see how any of this is your business," Seto countered, trying to block the progress of the conversation as a whole.
"It pertains to your happiness; therefore, I am a concerned, involved party whether you like it or not." His excuse sounded almost too perfect.
"Well, I don't like it, and I don't want to talk about it anymore." Maybe a blunt approach would be most effective. "So can we please just drop it?"
Seth nodded grudgingly, and they walked on in silence for a little while.
"You know, it's not natural for a body to go from so much sexual activity to such rigid sexual abstinence as yours has." Seth spoke so calmly, as if this were some kind of normal conversation, as if this were an okay topic for him to just bring up whenever he liked. Seto stopped walking and turned to face Seth, his face starting to turn red.
"Seth, I know you say that we're pieces of the same soul, but you need to respect some boundaries. Next time you wish to talk about this subject, please try to approach it with more… delicacy than you did this time. We're done talking about this for now." Seto turned away and started to walk again, but after a moment, Seth started speaking again.
"I think it's not just a matter concerning your personal life, but I'm afraid it might affect your health as well."
"Did you not hear what I just said?" Seto asked, exasperated.
"And, since it might be a matter of health, and I depend on your body too, then it's of great concern to me that you do what you ought to be doing in order to stay healthy."
"I would swear that I'm talking to a wall," Seto griped as he rolled his eyes.
"I'm just saying that you could have benefited from one night with him."
"Seth, what part of, 'I'm not ready,' don't you understand?" Seto sighed heavily. "Honestly, I swear, you're more pig-headed than Joey sometimes."
"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Seth exclaimed, feeling insulted.
"Yes you are, when you want to be," Seto said sourly. "Now think about that inside your soul room and leave me in peace before I figure out how to banish you on my own so that you can't pull another stunt like this."
Seth pursed his lips, clearly displeased, but obediently disappeared.
You deserve to be displeased if you're going to act like THAT, Seto thought at him.
I can still hear you, you know, Seth answered, his voice distinctly grumpy.
That's the point. I know you think of yourself as my father, but there are some lines that shouldn't be crossed without mutual agreement. That was one of them. Being pushy like that doesn't make me want to open up to you, so it does us more harm than good when you do that. Just give me some space to breathe and think and pretend that my thoughts are private so that I can figure myself out, okay?
Seth's acquiescence was more of a sensation than it was a verbal response, and Seto was glad that he didn't protest.
Author Notes: This chapter is dedicated to all my mastershippers out there! ;)
It's funny how your characters can kinda take control from you for a little while and just run with your story like, "Screw you, we don't need an author. We can write this ourselves!" That's… kinda what happened with Seto and Duke and Seth in this chapter.
It was originally going to be this short little thing where Duke asked Seto out on a date, and Seto awkwardly says no, and Duke is super nice about it and they had a cute moment and that was gonna be it. But then Duke came off way too casually charming, and Seto was too blind to say no, then Seth decided to take the role of sex-ed teacher. I don't even know. O_O You'd think I would know, because I wrote it, but… *shrug*
Anyways, please review, because more reviews = more chapters! Curious question: Do you think Seto should have said yes? Why or why not?