"I'm dominant by definition,
I'm turned on by your submission
The dark side is how we've been living
Let me show you what you've been missing."
Call Me Master by Blood On The Dancefloor
"Don't you miss our old way of doing things?"
Seto was startled to hear that voice in his office again. It had been so long since Bakura had interrupted him at his office building that it truly caught him off-guard.
Bakura dropped from the ventilation shaft in the ceiling with the grace of a cat, landing in a crouch on the floor before standing up.
"No," was Kaiba's honest answer as Bakura approached his desk. "You really shouldn't be here during normal business hours."
"I just came to tell you that I have something special planned for tonight." Bakura delicately placed one hand on Kaiba's shoulder and the two locked eyes.
"Isn't Ryou supposed to be in class right now?"
"I wouldn't know," came the nonchalant reply. "What I do know is that you and I haven't reconnected in so long that I've almost forgotten how fun it is to tie you up and make you beg for your freedom."
Seto looked away, profoundly uncomfortable with Bakura's presence. Not only was it disruptive, but it didn't fit the pattern of his regular behaviors. He had certainly never given Seto any prior notice in the past.
Turning back to his computer and his work, Kaiba said, "Your services are no longer required, Bakura." They really weren't. Seto was in a happy, healthy, fulfilling relationship now. Whatever void Bakura's antics had filled for him in the past was no longer present. Angered, Bakura grabbed Seto by the front of his shirt, forcing their eyes to meet again.
"You're going to be there and you're going to play along, because if you don't, I will ruin Yadonushi's life and find a way to blame it on you."
Seto held his gaze steadily.
"I'll be there."
"Good."
Bakura released him and stepped onto his desk, climbing up into the ceiling by pushing aside the foam tiles. Kaiba sighed and stood up to fix the ceiling tiles and vent before brushing the dirt off of his desk, trying to remove any evidence that Bakura had been there at all.
The spirit hadn't been lying about the surprise. He was waiting in Kaiba's bedroom when the brunette finally returned home that evening with an assortment of toys spread across the foot of the bed. There were two knives, a pile of rope, something Kaiba guessed to be a vibrator—and something that made his stomach tighten.
"You're late," Bakura observed in a teasing, sing-song tone. "I'll have to punish you extra for that."
"Bakura, what the hell is that doing here?" Seto approached the bed and picked up the polaroid camera.
"I wanted souvenirs, and besides, I thought Yadonushi should get to see what he missed out on."
"Absolutely not." Kaiba held the camera out of Bakura's reach, about to put it on a high shelf when he heard the click of a gun. He took a breath and turned his head. Bakura was pointing one of Seto's own guns at him with that ridiculously smug grin.
"You're going to put the camera back on the bed, Seto."
The brunette moved slowly, but obeyed. His eyes never leaving Bakura.
"You're going to do everything I say tonight. I've never used one of these before, but I know how they're supposed to work. I'm a little too excited about trying it out, so don't give me a reason to if you don't want to get shot."
"I get it. I already put the camera back, Bakura. Now put down the gun."
Surprisingly, Bakura obeyed, uncocking the gun and placing it on top of the bed. Then he slunk forward and fiddled with the brunette's tie. Seto watched the Spirit struggle to untie it, but once he finally did, he grinned and shoved it into his pocket.
"I'm saving that for later," Bakura crooned with a wink, then grabbed Seto's shirt with both hands and ripped it open, the tiny buttons tearing away and flying off in all directions. With a toothy grin, the Spirit said, "I've always wanted to do that to you."
Seto had stood still thus far, letting the Spirit do what he willed to him. So far it was harmless, and he was sure that would end any moment now. The anticipation was making his fingers itch. He knew he couldn't fight him without hurting Ryou, and that was the worst case scenario if you weren't factoring in the knives and the loaded gun on the bed. Kaiba was definitely taking those into consideration.
Delicate fingers skimmed over the brunette's bare chest and abs before latching into his belt and giving it a light tug.
"I hope you stay this obedient for the rest of the night," Bakura purred. "I have some wicked punishments in mind if you don't, though."
"What kind of punishments?"
"The kind with permanent consequences." Bakura unbuckled Kaiba's belt. "And I'm sure you don't want Yadonushi to have to clean up your blood later."
Seto shivered.
"It is so tempting to knock you out," Bakura whispered, lips close to Kaiba's ear as he removed the taller man's belt and held it in his left hand. "Then you could wake up and be shocked by what I've done to you, just like old times. But since I can ensure your obedience tonight, I'm going to let you stay awake."
Kaiba didn't know if that was a good thing.
Bakura placed his hand on Kaiba's shoulders and issued his first command of the night.
"Get on your knees."
Kaiba obeyed promptly, careful not to move too fast. He didn't want to upset the Spirit that was proving to be more unpredictable than ever before. He couldn't give him any reason to think that Kaiba was doing anything besides playing along. If he saw an opportunity to regain control of the situation, he might seize it, but unless that happened, the Spirit needed to be placated.
Bakura circled him, then grabbed his arms, pulling them behind his back and securing them with his own belt. The brunette fought to keep his breathing even. He needed to be calm, no matter what happened.
"We can start with something easy." Bakura moved to stand in front of Kaiba again, in the process of unzipping his pants.
It's just Ryou, Kaiba reminded himself. He took a deep breath to prepare himself for what came next.
Ryou blinked awake, confused and completely disoriented. He'd awakened standing up, so he almost immediately lost his balance. Once he reclaimed it, he looked around. It only took one glance to realize that he was in Seto's room, but nothing about this was right. The bed was a mess, the whole room was. The bookshelves were the only things left untouched.
The sound of a groan put him on alert. There was nobody in the room that he could see, not on the bed either. He cautiously walked around to the other side of the bed, not sure what to expect, and was greeted with a sight that both relieved and horrified him.
"Seto!" Ryou rushed over to his side, crouching down beside his gagged and very tied up lover, laying naked on his side next to the bed. His fingers went straight to the bit of fabric that gagged him—one of Seto's own ties, he realized—and pulled it out of his mouth down over his chin. The first thing the brunette did was release a heavy sigh.
"Oh, Seto…"
"Ryou." His voice was hoarse. "There's a knife on the bed. Cut me out of this."
"Of course." Ryou found the open knife quickly and, relieved that the knife was clean, positioned himself to where he could best reach the ropes and cut them without risk of harm to Seto. They wrapped around his neck, his torso, and especially his arms, which were strapped to his back. The ropes tied his legs into a bent position, wrapping around both the thigh and the shin and binding them as close together as possible. Each leg was bound separate from the other, though, and there was no question as to why. All of the ropes led back to a collection of knots along Kaiba's spine. Ryou was trying to cut as many ropes as quickly as he could, but they didn't seem to lead where you would expect each one to, so it took a lot of cutting before they finally all seemed to disintegrate and fall away in pieces.
"Thank you," Seto forced out as he struggled to get himself off the floor. He was so stiff that his body didn't want to cooperate with even the simplest commands.
"Seto, just sit for a moment," Ryou urged, sheathing the stiletto knife he had been using. "At least let me help you."
He returned the knife to the bed and offered his hands. They were both accepted, and Ryou helped pull Seto upright and onto his feet.
"What hap–"
"Not yet." Seto was still struggling to speak, so he cleared his throat. It didn't help, his mouth was too dry from being gagged for so long. "I need you to do something for me."
"Of course."
"Ryou." Seto finally looked him in the eye. He looked so tired. "I need you to go draw me a bath. I'm going to clean up in here."
"I can clean–"
"No. I don't want you to." After a jagged breath, he added, "Please."
"Okay. I can do that for you." Ryou hesitantly moved away, releasing Seto and retreating to the bathroom where he turned on the faucets for the most colossal bathtub he had ever seen in person. It made sense that someone with such long limbs and a taller frame would need a larger bathtub, but this was certainly overkill. Not that he was complaining. He'd gotten to use this bathtub several times and found it to be rather perfect. The water was kept at a steady temperature, the water jets were adjustable, and he was still allowed to use all of the fun bath products he'd collected.
That was probably a good idea for right now, actually. If Seto didn't want him looking too closely at the aftermath of what had happened, then Ryou was going to give him something nice to return to. He raided the bathroom closet for bubblebath solution, epsom salts, and essential oils. He almost grabbed a couple of candles as well, but that seemed like a bit much for whatever situation they were in right now.
When he had finished, Ryou was quite proud of the aromatic, bubbly bath that was sure to ease Seto's aches. No way he wasn't in pain from being tied up like that for however long he'd lain there. Ryou shuddered to think of it. He had a pretty firm guess of whose fault all of this was, but he wanted to wait and hear Seto's story before he jumped to any conclusions.
The sound of bare feet shuffling across the bathroom tiles made Ryou turn around.
"Seto. How are you feeling?"
"Sore," was the morose answer as he stopped at the bathroom sink to fill a glass with water from the tap. He immediately drained the whole glass and repeated the process once more before setting the glass down with a look of mild relief.
"The bath is ready for you," Ryou said quietly. He wanted to approach him but didn't know if he should.
"Thanks." Without looking up, Seto made his way over to the bathtub and shakily, carefully climbed in. He immediately submerged himself up to his neck and closed his eyes. Ryou moved to sit on the counter space adjacent to the inset tub, picking a spot where he could clearly see Seto's face.
"Please tell me what happened."
"Bakura happened," Seto growled without even opening his eyes. "He threatened me at gunpoint, so I didn't have a choice."
"I'm so sorry…"
"What's the last thing you remember?"
"The last thing… I think I had just been on the phone with you and I was on my way to class."
"That was three days ago, Ryou."
"Shit." It was Ryou's turn to be morose. "It's been so long since I've lost that much time because of him. I really thought it wasn't going to happen again."
"I think it's safe to say that he's capable of anything," was Seto's tired sigh. "He came to the office today to warn me, which never happened before."
"He warned you?"
"I think he just wanted me to worry." It fit with the Spirit's sadistic nature. "When he left, he said this was going to be the last time. I think he's planning something big."
"I see."
Ryou adjusted his legs. He wanted to know more specifically what had happened. It was a sick sort of curiosity, but he also felt responsible for whatever Bakura had done with his body. He knew he shouldn't ask, though. It wasn't right. Even if he felt responsible, Seto wouldn't hold him responsible.
"Seto, I'm sorry. I know it's not my fault, but I'm still sorry."
The brunette lifted one hand out of the water, reaching out in his lover's direction. Ryou caught his hand and clasped it tightly, even giving it a kiss.
"I love you," was all Seto said in reply.
"I love you too."
When Kaiba decided he was done with the bath, Ryou helped him dry off and get dressed. The brunette hadn't asked for help, but he wasn't in the mood to turn Ryou away. Once they were both dressed in pajamas and Ryou was informed that the bedsheets had only been wrecked for show—no wonder Seto was so sore, between being tied up and doing everything on the floor—they were both ready to climb into the luxuriously comfortable bed and go right to sleep. Ryou was stepping up to the bed, about to settle in, when he felt something cool stuck to his foot. A small piece of paper? Ryou lifted his foot and peeled it off, but froze in the process when he heard Seto's voice.
"Stop! Don't look at that!"
Ryou saw in Seto's face an expression he'd never seen him wear before: panic and shame. The brunette tried to take a deep breath, but it did nothing to ease the fear in his features.
"I thought I got them all." He held out his hand. "I'll destroy it with the others."
Ryou, still staring into boyfriend's eyes, crumpled the slip of photo paper in his hand and placed it in Seto's. The sigh of relief was audible. Kaiba turned and retreated to his closet, presumably to hide this picture with the others. He would probably preside over their destruction himself, for the sake of security.
When the brunette returned, Ryou put his arms around him, a gentle hug that he hoped gave his partner comfort.
"I'll be okay," Seto whispered, hugging him back.
"I know you will." Ryou had no doubt.
"The camera was the worst part." Seto still spoke in a whisper, as if afraid of being overheard. "Nothing else he did bothered me as much as that."
That made sense to Ryou. Seto was very private, borderline shy. He also preferred to have absolute control over his public image, which meant control over every video, every photograph, every word attributed to him. Kaiba, though very photogenic, had never been fond of having his own picture taken. Ryou had barely persuaded him to permit selfies when they were in Paris and Ryou was eager to document a trip he couldn't believe was even happening.
For Bakura to use a camera and document Kaiba's degradation, he must have really wanted to torture him.
"In the morning, I can help you go over the room to make sure you got all of the pictures," Ryou offered. The polaroids must have been why Seto didn't want his help cleaning up the room.
"Okay." Seto released Ryou and sat on the edge of the bed. He looked like he could pass out at any second. Ryou checked the clock on the nightstand and was surprised to see that it was almost three in the morning. He didn't feel tired at all, he never would have guessed it was that late.
"Come on, let's go to sleep."
Once settled in bed, they held each other close again, Seto refusing to let go of the one that he loved so dearly, no matter what.