Kaiba opened his eyes and found himself staring a smooth, muscular back, and he sat up slowly, feeling himself ache.
The man shifted sleepily beside him and Kaiba stuck his heel out to kick the man off the bed.
"Wake up, and get out."
The man jerked awake and let out a yelp, tumbling off the bed and onto the floor with the sheets twisted around his legs. He gazed up at the CEO, who was glaring at him on the bed from above.
"I said get out," Kaiba growled, and the man blinked nervously at him, his blonde hair matted messily across his forehead while he stammered, "D-Do you want to have breakfast with me?"
"I already forgot your name," Kaiba answered viciously, pointing at his clothes on the floor. "Out."
The man scrambled for his clothes and Kaiba threw the sheets off himself to stalk into the bathroom, making sure to slam the door loudly.
Isono edged the bedroom door open with his elbow and almost dropped the tray of coffee, startled at the sight of a young man with his underwear around his ankles and his shirt above his head, clearly in a hurry to get dressed.
Reddening with embarrassment, the old man stood respectfully in the hallway until the stranger emerged from Kaiba's room and bowed stiffly, his cheeks red as apples.
Deciding to remain unfazed, Isono entered the bedroom and set Kaiba's coffee down onto the table, slipping his hand into his pocket to call the maid.
Master Kaiba is young and energetic, Isono thought mildly, quietly exiting the room and closing the door.
As long as he was enjoying life, the master could do no wrong in his eyes.
In the shower, Kaiba stood angrily under the steaming water, shivering with self-loathing.
Had it been bad sex? No.
Had it been good sex? Questionable.
Did he think of Atem every time he closed his eyes? Yes.
The merman's violet eyes haunted him, and the way his delicate face was framed with spiky blonde bangs made him seek out the blonde-haired man in the crowded bar, but it wasn't meaningful.
Had that stranger been conventionally attractive? Sure.
But Atem was prettier by far.
Had the man been considerate in bed? Yes.
But Atem was more attentive by far.
Shutting the water off with a heavy hand, Kaiba pressed his forehead against the tiles, hating how his eyes burned with unshed tears.
What he needed was another one-night stand. Maybe with another woman, two women, or hell, a man and a woman.
Atem was replaceable.
He just needed to find someone or something that would fill that void.
Pulling himself together, Kaiba stepped out of the shower and dried off quickly, ignoring his aching headache.
Atem floated easily between Mahad and Shadi, waving kindly at the people who called out to him while they tossed seashells at the ground beneath his fins.
"Many happy returns, King Atem!" a child cried, waving enthusiastically while his mother and father stood beside him, beaming. Several groups of mermaids tossed hand-strung shell bracelets at him, and Atem caught one as it hit his chest, hearing squeals of embarrassment and delight.
"We're getting him out of the crowd," Mahad muttered to Shadi, and his comrade nodded, firmly steering Atem back towards the palace archways.
Atem bit back a longing sigh as he turned his gaze upwards, seeing nothing but the usual darkness surrounding their hemisphere.
Every passing moment in his thoughts had been about the human, Seto Kaiba, and today on his birthday, it was no different.
He had been secretly counting the days passing on shore.
Today would be three moon cycles and exactly two weeks since he had been released.
Maybe he could find some time to sneak away and see if he could catch a glimpse of Seto Kaiba on shore.
They swam through the palace gates, bowed in by two guards, and were welcomed by Mana, shooting towards them at breakneck speed and hugging Atem tightly around the neck.
"You're back!" she cried happily.
Atem showed her the shell bracelet as she pulled away.
"For me?!" She held it up with delight and slipped it onto her arm smoothly, admiring it fondly.
Atem eyed Shadi and Mahad who were silently conversing in a far corner, and he leaned towards Mana, whispering, "What has gotten into those two lately? I've been healed. Why are they still acting so worried?"
Mana fidgeted nervously, wondering if Atem knew about the human's demand for their scales, but before she could ask, Mahad approached them quickly, his long hair flowing magnificently behind his broad shoulders.
"My king, I'll be taking a short break. I'm tired, and I hope you'll understand."
"Of course," Atem replied mildly, also quickly adding, "I'd like to take a quick swim towards shore. I want to see the night sky tonight to celebrate my birthday."
Everyone fell silent around him, and Atem frowned. "What?"
"Perhaps…you could stay here, tonight," Shadi managed, unable to keep the coldness from seeping into his voice. "You've had quite a scare rising to shore. We've all had a scare. You'll make us worry."
"I know how to take care of myself," Atem retaliated angrily, feeling terribly pent up and frustrated. "What are the chances a human will capture me again? Slim! My incident was the only one for the past five centuries!"
"I'll invite my friends over?" Mana offered tentatively, wondering if the company of mermaids would appease Atem instead. "Do you remember Hazel and Rebecca? Rebecca really likes you—"
"I don't give a damn about her," Atem replied coldly, turning to glare at Shadi. "I'm journeying to shore, alone. If you follow me, Shadi, I'll fight you."
Mana stifled a gasp, and Mahad narrowed his eyes at the king, wondering what had gotten into him.
"Very well, Atem," Mahad said heavily, giving Shadi a knowing look before continuing. "It just so happens I'm headed to shore now."
"I said, alone, Mahad," Atem growled, curling his tail threateningly. "Why are you headed to shore? Didn't Rishid swim to shore alone last week? And Shadi, went the week before! So, this shore-journeying excludes me, now, doesn't it? Didn't we agree to do the trash dumps in pairs?"
There was another long silence, and they were joined by Isis and Rishid, who hovered nervously by the hallway entrance, watching them from afar.
"What is it?" Atem fumed, glancing around his court subjects and wondering why everyone was so fearfully silent. "Speak!"
Finally, after a while, Mahad did, sounding deeply apologetic. "Shadi, Rishid, and I have been taking turns delivering a week's worth of dead scales to the human, Seto Kaiba, the one who freed you."
Atem stared at his men, shocked that they had kept this secret from them, but pleased that this meant he had a chance to regularly see Seto Kaiba.
"You should've told me sooner," Atem said gruffly, trying his best to hide his excitement. "I'll take this week's delivery up to him. Which shore?"
"No…you can't!" Isis cried, pressing a hand to her chest and leaning against a stone pillar in obvious distress. "Even though you've recovered, you might get sick again! You can't rise to shore so soon."
"What if the human wants to harm you?" Rishid added, remembering Kaiba's wicked smile. "What's stopping the human from capturing you once you've surfaced?! He'll keep you so he can have fresh scales off your body!"
The court murmured in heated agreement and Atem did his best not to roll his eyes.
"If he wanted to harvest fresh scales off my body, why would he release me?" Atem demanded, sweeping his gaze over each of his subjects. "Think about that! His interest is purely in the scales. We, as merpeople, are safe."
"That is the most ridiculous statement I've ever heard," another merman snorted from behind him, and Atem turned to see Solomon floating angrily towards them.
"Your job as king is to guide us and keep us safe. Your bravery concerning Mana is understandable, but don't needlessly sacrifice yourself for this disgusting chore."
The ancient merman folded his arms across his chest and glared at Atem.
"Stay here tonight, and keep the people in your thoughts. If you left for shore on your birthday, people will worry."
"How about a compromise?" Mahad said quickly, holding his hands up defensively, feeling an argument boiling in the courtroom between Atem and Solomon. "I shall accompany Atem to the surface. Rest easy knowing he is safe with me."
Atem ground his teeth furiously. He was being treated like a child.
"Please, Atem, we're so worried about you." Mana hung onto his arm and gazed pleadingly into his eyes. "Go with Mahad. Maybe in a few moon cycles we'll all feel more comfortable with you surfacing by yourself."
"Fine," Atem growled, jerking his arm out of Mana's grasp and storming off towards the palace gates. "I'll go with Mahad…just this once."
Solomon sighed, and his sigh was echoed by Shadi and Mahad.
"He's been acting strange since his return," Rishid said, stating the obvious.
"He's probably trying to show us that he isn't scared," Isis mused, and she received a tight nod from Solomon.
"A hot-blooded young merman like him will get himself killed acting like this," the aging merman declared. "He will probably attempt to rise to shore without our knowledge to best his own fear. We will keep close eyes on him. Mana, we are counting on you."
Mana nodded nervously and wrung her hands tightly, feeling deep guilt. Atem…was always so brave.
Even now, when he was scared of the surface, he still wanted to do deliveries with Mahad.
The courtroom dispersed slowly and Mahad floated up beside her, pulling her into a tight embrace. "You're a good girl, Mana. We're going to be fine."
Mana nodded silently and stared at the silhouette of Atem hovering by the palace gates. Yes, as long as she kept an eye on Atem, everything would be fine.
Kaiba slung his laptop bag over his shoulder and climbed the tall rock with familiarity, feeling the tips of his shoes slipping on the wet surface.
Finally reaching the top, he made himself comfortable, crossing his legs and propping his bag up on his lap and gazing out across the dark water.
This had become his ritual every week for the past few months now.
After tucking Mokuba into bed, he would drive out to his oceanside property and perch himself on this rock, waiting for a telltale splash beneath him that indicated the scales were being delivered.
He had had his men drill a hole in the rock and add hooks along the inside, making it easy for the mermen to hang the mesh pouches of scales to it.
This way, the scales stayed cold and submerged until he arrived to drag them out of the water.
The mesh sacks were always full to bursting, and in the beginning, Kaiba's lab technicians were extremely happy with the deliveries…until it suddenly became too much.
Now, he had more scales than he knew what to do with, but the production of the serum was well underway, and his cosmetics line was within sight.
They had already pushed out a beta batch, and invited a group of men and women to test it out. Results were overwhelmingly positive.
Kaiba sighed and flipped his laptop open, listening to the soft lapping of the waves against the rock. His work life was going perfectly well, but he still felt horribly empty inside.
After many one-night stands and a several threesomes later, Kaiba had come to terms with the fact that he was indeed in love with the merman.
So every week on this day, he would bring his laptop here to sit on this rock, waiting for the weekly deliveries, desperately scanning the dark water beneath him, hoping to catch a glimpse of red and gold hair.
Atem had to surface sometime.
It was just a matter of time.
The pressure grew lighter around Atem's shoulders and he popped his head up above the water, taking a deep, appreciative inhale of the fresh air, gazing up at the wonderful night sky.
Tiny silver stars dotted across the inky blue canvas above, and Mahad surfaced beside him with two large sacks of scales on each shoulder.
A tiny figure could be seen sitting on a tall rock in the distance. Atem stared intently at it, wondering if it was Seto Kaiba, and his stomach churned with excitement.
"We're here, and we'll stay at this distance while I explain," Mahad said stiffly, shifting the heavy sacks on his shoulders and pointing at the rock. "You may not recognize him, but that is Seto Kaiba, the human who released you. He sits there every night to make sure we are holding up our end of the bargain."
Oh I recognize him, Atem thought gleefully, his cheeks heating up at the thought of a warm, welcoming birthday kiss from the human.
But how would he manage that without Mahad catching him?
"There are hooks in a small cave underneath the rock," Mahad continued. "We hang them there without surfacing and leave as quickly as possible."
"I want to thank him," Atem said stubbornly. Mahad threw him a shocked and worried look.
"He is dangerous, my liege," Mahad said nervously, but to his rising horror, Atem had already dipped beneath the surface and was swimming towards the rock with surprising speed.
Kaiba heard a soft plop in the water, and he shut his laptop quickly, shoving it back in the bag and glanced down into the water beneath him on high alert.
Was that it? Just one splash?
To his pleasant surprise, red spiky tips poked out over the surface of the wavy water, and Kaiba stared, his heart stopping in his chest with excitement.
Atem!
The merman rose out of the water quickly and threw Kaiba a mischievous smile, his fangs gleaming prettily in the soft moonlight. "You look well, human. Wish me well too. Today is my birthday."
Speechless for a moment, Kaiba quickly composed himself and smiled brightly in return. "Happy birthday."
They stared at each other silently for a long moment and Kaiba ached to throw himself in the water to wrap himself around tightly Atem's body and never let go.
He wanted to fuck.
Could they fuck?
How about a good birthday fuck?
It had been several weeks since he'd had a good fuck.
"Not…now," Atem's mouth barely moved when he whispered, and Kaiba frowned, seeing a second patch of bubbles rising quickly to the merman's left, and an unwelcome, familiar face rose out of the water.
"Human…" Mahad nodded stiffly, and grabbed Atem by the arm. "Greetings and goodbye."
Kaiba blinked rapidly, his body burning with heat, and he clenched his jaw so hard, his teeth ached.
Fuck this guy.
"I haven't finished thanking him," Atem said indignantly, yanking his arm out of Mahad's grasp and swimming closer to shallow water, his heart pounding so fast, it began to hurt in his chest. "I have something to discuss with him. Privately. Excuse us, and that's an order."
Mahad set his mouth in a tight line of disapproval and eyed the human suspiciously, reading his aura and his mind, hearing absolutely nothing.
Fine. It should be safe to leave Atem alone with the human who had originally freed him.
"Very well." Mahad said quietly, sinking back into the water with a deep bow. "I will wait at the mid-way point. Don't be long."
"I'll take as long as I want, Mahad," Atem growled, "Leave."
Kaiba gleefully watched Atem dismiss his bodyguard, and he moved to slide off the rock, hearing Atem call out to him again from below. "Don't move from your spot!"
"Why the hell not?" Kaiba asked, his entire body shaking with anticipation. "Or I can just jump down right onto you. Would you prefer that instead?"
"He can still hear us," Atem said shakily, listening intently to the thin splashes Mahad was making from afar. "He can't see us touching. I'll be put to death."
"Well…you should've said that sooner," Kaiba breathed, feeling deeply annoyed, and he waited three heartbeats before asking again. "How about now?"
"No," Atem replied, exasperated and amused at the human's eagerness to mate. "Let's talk for a while until he swims away. Tell me how you've been."
"Horny," Kaiba answered readily, already feeling his boner straining against the zipper on his pants. "I tried replacing you, but I failed."
"You...what?" Atem hissed, his blood running cold and hot at the same time. What did that mean? He edged away from the rock, feeling his stomach sinking terribly with a strange feeling.
"I fucked around," Kaiba said truthfully, wondering why it felt like he was admitting to adultery. "And I didn't find anyone I liked, because I like you."
Atem stared into Kaiba's face, his heart pounding painfully in his chest the longer he gazed into his eyes. That was…a nice thing to hear. But there was something else he needed to say first.
"You've rendered me infertile," Atem glared, folding his arms across his chest tightly. "It has been three moon cycles since my release and my surface illness has subsided, but my fertility did not return. It's your fault."
"Was it something I fed you?" Kaiba asked blandly, rolling his eyes. "You're shooting blanks. Big fucking deal."
Atem narrowed his eyes at Kaiba, not understanding the sudden influx of modern slang, but the uncaring tone was obvious.
"You don't have anything to say for yourself?" Atem demanded, wondering if it was too much to ask for an apology. "A human's touch, your touch, caused this—"
"And so what?" Kaiba interrupted, beginning to grow impatient and restless. "You want to find a wife and have some kids? Then why are you wasting your time here talking to me about it?"
Atem fell silent, realizing that the human was right.
He didn't want that life for himself.
At least, not right now. It was too soon.
"But what if I want a child? Years from now?" Atem argued, feeling as if they were wasting precious minutes of their time together. "Then I'm the only royal who would've failed to produce an heir."
"Boo fucking hoo," Kaiba sneered, rolling his eyes again. "Give me some DNA and I'll make you a little fish baby in a test tube. You can even pick the gender. How about that?"
"You-You can do that?" Atem cried, taken aback, and Kaiba nodded stiffly, replying arrogantly with, "I can do anything."
There was a tense silence and Kaiba broke it quickly.
"Is your annoying bodyguard gone yet? Don't bring him next time."
"I tried to come alone, but—" Atem protested, and he was cut off by Kaiba jumping straight down into the water beside him, catching him off guard.
The cold water was a terrible shock, but Kaiba powered through it and managed to throw himself around Atem, locking his ankles around his waist and relishing in his warmth, giving him a firm bite on his neck and taking deep shuddering breaths, drinking in his unique scent.
He's like a drug, Kaiba thought darkly, feeling hot hands snake through his hair as the merman pulled him into an open-mouthed kiss. The tips of their tongues swirled together in a happy greeting and Kaiba ground his hips forward furiously against Atem's smooth, muscular abdomen. A fuck. Now.
"Wait…wait," Atem gasped, pulling away from the human and feeling his stomach clench violently at the way Kaiba's hands were aggressively groping his backside. "If you keep touching me…I'll remain infertile."
"Shut up about that," Kaiba hissed, dragging his nails down Atem's smooth back and nuzzling his nose into the crook of his ear, shivering delightfully. "You're already here. I'll grow you a child in a lab if you need one that badly. Fuck me."
Atem reached forward and cupped Kaiba's face in his hands, gazing deeply into his face and his heart aching at the sight of his handsome face.
"I couldn't stop thinking about you," Atem whispered, and he was silenced with a fierce kiss.
Kaiba grinned and felt their teeth bump. The water was warming up around him as Atem's lips traveled down his neck, licking and sucking firmly on his Adam's apple.
"Take it off," Atem breathed, feeling the tip of his dick catching painfully on something metal and hard, and he retracted it quickly, glancing down in the water, wondering what it was.
Kaiba hastily unbuckled his belt and inched his pants down along his legs, his feet slipping terribly in the wet sand, and every time a wave washed over him, he would lose his footing.
"This is terrible. Come here," Atem decided, dragging Kaiba away from the shore and back to deeper water. "Here."
Kaiba bit back a gasp when the merman yanked him forward forcefully and pressed him against the rock. A warm silky tongue found its way between his legs while Atem's breath sensually grazed his ear, causing a hot thread of pleasure to trickle down his chest and pool low in his stomach.
Breathless with excitement, Kaiba braced himself against the rock and shut his eyes, wishing Atem would just bite him harder, fuck him harder, and do everything harder, because he had missed this so damn much.
Atem heard Kaiba's thoughts and happily obliged, tugging the underwear down so hard, he felt it rip after catching slightly on his claws, but he paid no mind, grinding his hips forward messily and enjoying the way Kaiba's legs locked around the back of his tail and gave him an encouraging squeeze. Atem pressed his lips tightly against Kaiba's ear and gave the curve a soft bite, letting his length twist and curl happily between the human's legs, each rough rub sending a blinding jolt of heat through his body.
Kaiba felt Atem lean into him roughly, pressing his cheek firmly against the rugged surface of the rock, almost causing his skin to scrape, but he paid it no mind, lost in the incredible sensation of Atem's dick between his legs, giving his balls repeated smooth strokes and slipping wonderfully up and down along his crack, teasing his clenching hole.
Both of Atem's hands were wrapped around his chest, and Kaiba pried one off to guide it down towards his front, enjoying the warm palm that circled the head of his penis while the tip of the heated tentacle slipped naughtily in and out of his hole, causing his legs to weaken terribly, and he sank down against Atem's weight, hearing the merman chuckle playfully in his ear.
"You weren't this shameless before…what changed?"
Atem licked his lips and felt his head spin powerfully as Kaiba's heels thumped insistently against the ends of his tail in a defiant response.
"I…want it…inside," Kaiba hissed, his eyes watering from effort. He had been holding his breath so tightly, his lungs felt like exploding, and Atem's tentacle was still sliding suggestively over his hole, sending deep, burning waves of pleasure through his entire body, so he clamped his legs tighter around the merman's tail and arched his back excitedly, not caring who could hear or see them.
All that mattered was the amazing, curling tentacle, twisting up his insides and driving him mad.
Atem leaned forward to bite down on Kaiba's neck one last time before shoving himself deep into him, rising enthusiastically up against the human's taut body and listening to his excited pants while his arousal moved inside of him, the wonderful softness of Kaiba's hole sending him into a heated frenzy. He bucked his hips forward roughly, exactly as Kaiba had requested, and he heard the human let out an ecstatic cry, the sound raising the hair on his arms and causing his ears to ring.
What a beautiful sound…!
Kaiba's cheek scraped against the rock again as Atem coiled into him aggressively, churning his insides with vigor, leaving his legs weak and useless and his body limp with pleasure. Holy fuck…it didn't even hurt anymore because…he had been masturbating with the dildo.
This time was better than all the previous times he'd had sex!
"You've been doing what?" Atem breathed, wondering if his ears were deceiving him. The human was sticking things back there? Attempting to replace him?
Shaking his head weakly, Kaiba grit his teeth and rode out a low orgasmic wave, shuddering tightly in Atem's grasp before a hand came to stifle his finish mid-way.
The merman gripped the base of his dick with vicious glee, his fangs grazing the shell of his ear while he growled, "You can't replace me. Not with an object, and certainly not with another human. How dare you!"
Kaiba let his breath out in a shuddering hiss and grew hot and cold all over, hating and loving the feeling at the same time. He was all ready to cum, and Atem had stifled him, choking the life out of him and leaving him hanging in a glorious limbo between pleasure and release.
I want to cum, I want to cum, Kaiba chanted frantically in his mind, and he earned a thick tongue in his ear followed by an amused laugh.
"Already? You haven't even experienced me at my fullest," Atem said in a jeering whisper, running his hand through Kaiba's light brown hair and pulling his head back so he could see his face. "When I'm healthy, I can go for days, human. One of your sunlit days."
Oh fuck, I'm going to die, Kaiba thought meekly as he shivered violently with anticipation. The merman gave his dick another firm stroke while the tentacle inside his ass stiffened suddenly, and began ramming into him without pause, stretching him painfully the deeper it went, and Kaiba could've sworn it extended inside of him, thudding against the inner walls of his stomach and reaching a high point inside of him, drawing a reluctant orgasm from his already pleasure-torn body, causing him to shudder violently and cum.
Pleased, Atem continued to enjoy himself fully, knowing that Kaiba could take it.
He coiled his tail upwards, feeling Kaiba's legs tighten further around him and he sighed happily, letting his tentacle curl languidly inside of the human's soft insides, relishing in the warm wetness. Every time he gave himself a lewd swirl, the human would tense against his body and let out another tantalizing gasp.
This was heavenly. How long could the human's hole take this treatment before it was too much?
It was already too much for Kaiba. He was half-conscious, dimly aware that he was still facing a slippery rock with his palms braced against it, but his body was behaving with a mind of its own, twisting, shivering, and trembling with ecstasy as the merman slowed his pace and began lavishing him slowly, licking up his neck and planting a firm kiss on his cheek before picking up the pace again, building another raw orgasm deep inside his stomach.
"You've gone quiet," Atem murmured worriedly, raking his hands across Kaiba's hair and seeing the human's eyes fully closed, his expression blissful. "Too much? Should we stop? Human...? Human, I haven't released yet."
He pulled away and gently extracted himself, his arousal still throbbing painfully from holding back.
Kaiba felt himself being gently turned around, and he unconsciously draped his arms around Atem's shoulders, letting his head fall limply to the side, his chest heaving with every breath.
Atem smirked playfully and slipped his tentacle between Kaiba's legs again, the tip eagerly finding the hole with ease and thrusting inside of it with reckless abandon while he curled himself protectively against Kaiba's body. He noticed a trickle of blood running down Kaiba's cheek from where the rock had scraped him.
Instinctively, Atem licked it off his skin and felt positively electrified.
He trailed his lips down the side of Kaiba's cheek to find his parted mouth, kissing him passionately. His vision went white the moment Kaiba's hole clenched greedily around his arousal, and his body shivered with pleasure, riding out orgasmic surge that assaulted him steadily.
Kaiba tightened his legs around Atem's waist and bucked his hips forward limply, feeling his asshole aching, but he didn't care. Atem could fuck him until he couldn't see or think straight anymore, and he'd appreciate it.
Atem stayed stubbornly inside of Kaiba's hole, curling his tentacle upwards higher and higher, wondering how far it went.
This was the real reason why mating with humans was dangerous.
Everything about them, their expressions, their cries, their insides…it was all glorious and addicting.
"Don't…go," Kaiba breathed, keeping his eyes closed and his arms tightly around Atem's neck, pressing his lips down against his tanned shoulder and giving it a tender kiss.
Atem reluctantly withdrew himself and he felt Kaiba continue to tighten around him with such force, the air was nearly squeezed out of his lungs.
Kaiba slowly regained his vision, but his head was still spinning violently, and the way the waved bobbed was making him nauseous.
He had to hold onto Atem, or he'd slip away…forever, for who knew how long? Another month? Another three months?
He couldn't live like this! It was torture!
"I'll come back," Atem reassured him, but to his surprise, the CEO shook his head vehemently and glared at him with dark blue eyes.
"Every week. Show your face every week," Kaiba demanded breathlessly, his heart still pounding thickly in his chest and he appreciated how the water around them was still warm. "I waited for you…!"
"Yes, human, I thought of you often too," Atem said hastily, giving Kaiba another reassuring pat as his panic began to set in. "Loosen your grip. I need to be on my way."
"No, stay here for a while longer," Kaiba snapped, regaining his strength and clinging heavily onto Atem, feeling the merman's tail curling and uncurling beneath them steadily, keeping them afloat. "Come back next week."
"I don't know if I can!" Atem said nervously, and the human reached out to tug on a strand of his spiky blonde bangs, glaring intently into his face.
"Hey." Kaiba blinked rapidly as the salt water stung his eyes and he wondered if he ought to say it.
Would it change anything between them?
Ah, fuck it.
Maybe he shouldn't say it.
"What is it?" Atem asked curiously, gently dabbing at the cut on Kaiba's pale cheek, and he felt a rush of guilt.
He had been too rough.
That was what the human wanted to say.
"I'm in love with you." Kaiba said hurriedly, and he gazed into Atem's face nervously, watching his expression carefully for a reaction.
Speechless, Atem smiled kindly and wondered if the appropriate response was to kiss the human after receiving such a nice compliment.
After a moment's hesitation, he did.
Leaning forward, Atem gave Kaiba a soft lingering kiss and watched the human close his eyes and sigh…in relief?
And a stream of rapid thoughts invaded his consciousness in a familiar manner.
He didn't say it back.
He didn't say it back! But he kissed me so softly.
It must mean he accepts my feelings.
We're always shouting back and forth at each other anyway.
I made it weird. Oh god, I made it weird.
He's angry at me for sleeping with other people—
Atem jerked his head back and pushed the human away shakily.
Oh…oh no.
Seto Kaiba had not meant that as a compliment.
This was Human Attachment! This was bad.
"What? Are you angry?" Kaiba asked aggressively, his cheeks burning with anger and humiliation. "I won't sleep around anymore. You've got me. You win. Is that what you want to hear?"
Atem laughed and smiled nervously, his chest tightening with the strange pain again, and he took that as a cue to leave.
"I'm starting to feel ill again," Atem lied hurriedly, leading the human by the arm towards shallow water. "I'll see what I can do about meeting you next week, but…my people have been acting overprotective."
"I know, I saw," Kaiba said, reaching out to grab onto Atem's arm tightly and his fingers tightened over a golden armband. "Are you angry with me? That was a bad time to say it."
"No, I'm not angry," Atem said reassuringly, and he gently grazed his knuckles across Kaiba's cheek tenderly. "I'm sorry your face got scratched. Heal soon, human."
"I have a name, you know," Kaiba growled in response, and to his rising disappointment, the merman slipped out of his grasp and hovered in the distance, bobbing on the shallow waves coming in.
"Until next time, human!" Atem called playfully, giving Kaiba an energetic wave before diving off down to the bottom, his body trembling from head to toe with a strange jitteriness.
"Fuck…" Kaiba cried, shivering in the freezing cold water without his pants, his belt, or his underwear.
He waded out of the water and dashed across the beach, aiming to get back into the house as quickly as possible, his heart thudding painfully in his chest at the merman's subtle rejection.
Author's note:
Kaiba is sad he's just a fun plaything for the merman, karma is a real bitch.
Atem got some birthday dickings but his staff seem wary of him going to shore. But the sex is good, and Atem's infertility is no longer a worry because kaiba can just fix it with hashtag science. Idk how the merpeople will feel about a test tube baby tho lol kek
xo
Ugli
-this chapter was edited by setokaibaes/marshmallons-