a/n: from 8/2022, i picked "dancer au" for day 2 of writer's month! this idea rly got away from me in the process of thinking about it but it was taking forever to write so i had to cut stuff out for time. maybe i'll add more to it in the future? we'll see.

Minor dance performances aren't Seto's thing. He only has tickets to this show because one of the performers did a slight of hand trick and snuck two of them into his hands at a fundraiser Seto was obligated to attend.

"We look forward to your appearance, Mister Kaiba," the man had said with a smirk that drove something into Seto's chest. "I'm Atem, by the way."

And so, since Mokuba expressed interest, Seto is crowded in a mix of people wearing formal or casual attire. This can't be the end goal for this dance troupe. It's embarrassing to be seen and even recognized here.

Seto is quick to usher himself and Mokuba away as soon as the troupe take their bows, thank donors, and finally leave the stage. On their way out, Mokuba rushes to the bathroom with little warning. Seto, caught off guard by Mokuba's sudden disappearance, bumps into someone in a hoodie with the hood pulled fully over his head and an umbrella clenched tight in his hands.

Well, this was his fault, he should at least apologize a little. "Excuse me."

The person stops and looks up at Seto, violet eyes meeting his own. He recognizes him instantly.

"You're that—"

Atem glances around him, at all the people lingering about. Then he smiles up at Seto. "Mister Kaiba, I'm happy to see you here. I wasn't certain if you would show."

Seto crosses his arms. "My little brother insisted."

"How nice of you to bring him."

Seto can't admit that it's difficult to say "no" to Mokuba. "And what has you sneaking around?"

Atem glances from side-to-side. "I would tell you, but I'm in a hurry. Perhaps next time."

Before Seto can deny that there will be a next time, ever, Atem bustles away at the same time Mokuba reappears next to Seto.

"What was that about?" Mokuba asks. "He looked like that one guy."

Seto scoffs. "He was."

After dodging a few brown-nosers who recognized him, Seto manages to get himself and Mokuba through the pouring rain and into their waiting limo. However, the smooth, undisturbed ride home he expects is quickly ruined.

"Uh—hey! Seto! Seto look! One of the people in the show is out there!" Mokuba exclaims, tugging on Seto's sleeve. Seto huffs, doesn't budge.

"So what?"

"It's the guy with the crazy hair! We should give him a ride."

Seto looks out of Mokuba's window and, sure enough, Atem is walking alone in the rain with a wildly fluttering umbrella. After Atem's performance tonight, admittedly passionate and exhilarating to watch, Seto might grudgingly respect him somewhat more than most people, but that doesn't mean anything. He shrugs.

"He's made his choice. He could have called a taxi."

Mokuba rolls his eyes and slams his finger on the intercom. "Stop the car! Next to that guy!"

"Yes, Master Mokuba."

Seto presses himself back into his seat as the limo slows to a stop and pulls over near Atem. Mokuba rolls down the window immediately.

"Hey!" Mokuba calls out into the rain. "You're that dancer guy! Do you need a ride?"

Seto watches Atem glances up at his broken umbrella. Clearly it would be smart to accept Mokuba's offer, his umbrella looks like it's about to fall apart in the downpour. However, Atem shakes his head and smiles at the teen calling out to him.

"It's alright, I can't accept your offer," he says. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

Seto rolls his eyes. He doesn't know if Atem's aware he's also in the limo; he must be confused about Mokuba, who is a stranger to him. Understandable. Honestly frustrating—who would turn down relief from this weather?—but understandable.

Mokuba groans. He looks back at Seto. "Seto…maybe he'll get in if you ask."

With a scoff, Seto glances out his window. "Nonsense."

"C'mon! He's walking away."

Seto watches Atem reach up to hold a part of his umbrella down as it tries to fold up after a gust of wind rushes past him. Pathetic. He's made his choice, his mistake, it's not Seto's problem anymore.

Unfortunately the combination of Mokuba's pleading face and something tugging at his chest fights hard to change his mind. It wins.

Seto grabs his umbrella from where it rests inside its holder, steps out of the limo to Mokuba's shocked shout, and he storms over to where Atem has barely made a dent in his journey, nothing Seto's long legs can't catch up to quickly.

"Fool! Did my little brother not make you a generous offer?" he calls out. Atem turns, clearly surprised, and looks up at him as he halts to a stop. "Your umbrella is trash, throw it away right now."

Atem shakes off the shock. "Throw it away?"

Seto gestures to a nearby trashcan. "Right there. Toss that garbage where it belongs."

"Then I wouldn't have one. It's raining, you know."

"There's room under mine. Are you so dense that you wouldn't take the opportunity for a way home that doesn't involve you pathetically clinging to a piece of fabric on broken wires?" Seto bites back. Why is he particularly frustrated with this situation? Normally he would let someone make and live with their own stupid choices.

It has to be Mokuba. Rejecting Mokuba is an insult.

Atem stares up at him, brow furrowed, then he sighs and jams the umbrella into the trashcan. When he shuffles in under Seto's umbrella, Seto frowns at how the tips of Atem's wet hair brush his chin. Atem walks forward and Seto makes a move to get in front of him while still holding his umbrella over them both.

Seto opens the car door and roughly motions Atem to get inside. He follows him in, shakes and closes his umbrella on the outside, and then forcibly tosses it back into the container along with Mokuba's. After he shuts the door he crosses his legs and arms.

Before he can say anything, Mokuba leans forward toward Atem sitting across from Seto. "Hey, what's your address? Do you want dinner? We can get you dinner!"

Atem chuckles and smiles at Mokuba. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm already taking up your time with driving me home," he says.

Seto, thankful to not have to be around this man longer than he can take it, puts his finger on the intercom button but Mokuba continues on.

"Are you sure? We're not doing anything, we—"

"Mokuba." Seto interrupts. "If he says 'no' he means 'no'."

Mokuba groans. "Yeah, but…"

Seto beckons Atem. "Tell the driver where you live. Just speak into the intercom."

Atem leaves his seat enough to get close to where Seto gestures. Seto presses the button.

"Our guest needs to get home. He'll tell you his address."

"Of course, Master Seto. I'm ready."

Atem glances up at Seto, likely hearing "Master Seto" was odd to him. But he rattles off where he lives, some apartment no doubt. Atem lingers longer than he needs to, glancing at Seto. He clears his throat and adds a quick "thank you" before Seto releases the button. Atem returns to his seat.

The limo pulls away from the curb and Mokuba enters his chatty mode. "So how long have you been dancing? You were really, what's the word again? Graceful! And all those turns and jumps? It was so cool!"

Seto stares out the window at the rain and other miserable people forced to walk in it. He hates to admit it, but knowing Atem could be one of them creates a light simmer in his blood. He should know better.

It's difficult to ignore how Atem chuckles at Mokuba's questions and how his deep voice can never let go of Seto when he speaks. He intended on tuning Atem and Mokuba's conversation out but it's all he can hear, even with the rain pounding against the window. Mokuba is eager and excited; Atem is kind and patient. Seto isn't one to care for kindness and patience but it's towards his little brother, who some people find overbearing at times.

Seto glances at Atem, is inclined to for…he doesn't know what reason. He catches Atem also looking at him, briefly, then turn away as if he's been caught red-handed in an act. Interesting, but Seto shouldn't linger on it. It was a coincidence, nothing to dwell on. Nothing at all.

"Wow," Mokuba suddenly switches tones, "we've been driving a while…were you really going to walk that whole way?"

Seto realizes Mokuba's right; they have been going quite a distance. He fixes a glare on Atem as if he has any stake in this.

"So you make foolish choices in your regular life, do you?" he snips.

Atem sighs, twines his fingers. "I take a train and a bus, so yes and no."

Seto scoffs. "A taxi would have been appropriate in this weather. Why didn't you call one?"

"Hm…it's a little embarrassing."

Mokuba softly whispers an pitying "oh" but Seto rolls his eyes.

"What could be so embarrassing that you'd do that? I doubt it's anything worth it," he says.

Atem scratches his cheek, his smile is small and a little lopsided. "I…well, I don't do well in crowds. The company decided to do a meet-and-greet without letting us know. Anzu doesn't mind, however it's…not my favorite thing."

Seto can only partially empathize; he doesn't mind crowds but the thought of interacting personally with others is annoying, to say the least. He locks his eyes on Atem. "So you ran away with your tail between your legs instead of tackling the problem head-on."

"I suppose you could say that."

Mokuba lightly shoves Seto's arm. "Seto! Don't be so rude!"

Seto rights himself. "I'm—"

The limo slows to a stop. "We've arrived, Master Seto."

To his own surprise, Seto reaches out for this umbrella again. "Say goodbye to Mokuba and I'll take you to your door."

Atem bids Mokuba farewell and Mokuba glances between him and Seto. "Will we see you again?"

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Atem smiles. "Hopefully the weather will be better."

Mokuba grins. Seto grunts. "Don't make promises like that."

Atem chuckles. God, that sound does something strange to Seto. "It's just a feeling I have. Intuition."

"Bullshit. Get out of the car."

Before Seto leaves the car after Atem, Mokuba tugs him back. "Wait for him to get inside. It's polite!" he whispers. Seto, who had no plan on doing so, now is obligated to at the request of his little brother. Great.

Seto, true to his word, walks Atem up to the door of his building. It's definitely a multi-family building, close enough to what he expected. It's fairly small, likely only holds two tenants sans roommates. Seto closes his umbrella while they stand at Atem's door under the awning.

Atem pulls out a jumble of junk from his pocket. The accurate description is a collection of keychains with a few small keys buried within. He hesitates. "I'm surprised you're waiting."

"Mokuba asked me to."

That damn smile is back. "He's a good kid. I'm glad he enjoyed our performance."

"…I was surprised. It's not his typical taste." Seto admits.

"And you?"

Seto squints down at him. "Me?"

Atem smirks. Oh. Oh Seto likes that more. It's infuriatingly coy. "Did you like it?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Yes, that's why I asked."

Seto rolls his eyes. "Cocky. It was tolerable."

Atem's laugh is deep, amused, not taking Seto seriously. "I think I heard a compliment in there."

"If you reach far enough, sure."

Atem then beckons Seto forward. Seto stubbornly refuses to move. Atem shakes his head. "I want to thank you."

Seto crosses his arms. "And what could you give me to properly thank me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Throwing his words back at him, is he? Fine. Seto leans down, but not too much. Atem still has to rise onto his toes to kiss his cheek.

Wait. Kiss his cheek? What the—

Seto shoots up. "That's how you thank people?"

Atem smirks. "You should moisturize."

With a scoff, Seto unleashes his umbrella and makes his way down the steps. "Keep your kissing to yourself next time."

"Do you plan for a 'next time'?" Atem asks, loud enough for Seto to hear over the rain he's now under.

Seto stops short. He turns to Atem. "Don't you twist my words, Atem."

"Every Saturday, same time, Mister Kaiba."

Seto sharply turns back, speeds to the limo, and gets in with all the frustration of a conflicted man. Mokuba waves at Atem from the window and then faces Seto with a grin. Right. He probably saw all of that. Fantastic.

"Seto."

"I don't want to hear a word."

"Aww…fine."

They travel quite a ways—Atem's place was more out of the way than he could have known. What a troublesome errand.

Mokuba remains silent for the rest of the ride home. That is, until the gates of their mansion entrance open. "I can't wait to go back next week."

Seto snaps his attention to Mokuba, who's grin is unbearably mischievous.

"Who said we'll be going back?"

"I did."

"Then you can go by yourself."

"I don't think you mean that at all."

Seto huffs. This whole thing is a thorn in his side.