Kaiba switched the shower on sleepily and stuck his foot into the steaming water.
It was warm.
Satisified with the temperature, Kaiba leaned into the shower with the rest of his body and sighed contentedly.

Suddenly, the water became boiling hot, scalding his skin terribly, and Kaiba let out a pained yell, stumbling back out of the shower as his body was consumed with a horrible burning fire.

Panting and shivering, Kaiba threw himself out of the bathroom and stood dripping wet in the middle of his room, gazing down at himself, the shock numbing him completely.

His skin had become red and angry. Stinging welts and large patches of flesh were already missing from the lower half of his leg—the one he had first stuck in the shower, and that was when the pain really hit.

Someone had lit his body on fire and he was being burnt alive.

Kaiba shut his eyes and let out a strangled yell, dimly aware that this was an unpredictable side-effect of ingesting the scales.

Dragging himself over to his desk, Kaiba clumsily grabbed the last two vials he had, and barely managed to swallow them fully while his vision began fading in and out.

Fuck. Shit.

A welcome, icy cold wave washed over him, instantly numbing the pain, and his mind hummed oddly with relief.

Sagging against the back of his desk, Kaiba gasped for breath and watched as his skin began healing rapidly.
Fuck.
That had been the most painful thirty seconds in his entire life.
He had accidentally boiled himself.
The patches of flesh missing from his leg were akin to third degree burns.

It seemed…hot water was dangerous to the mer-people.

"Master Kaiba?" Isono's concerned voice floated through the closed door, and Kaiba shut his eyes, still trying to compose himself. His body was still cold, and now it was completely numb.

To heal the burns, he had ingested more scales. Wasn't he exacerbating the problem? Was he going to become dependent on these scales?

Isono eased the door open quietly, shocked to see Kaiba sitting on the floor, wet and naked, gripping two empty glass vials in his pale fist.

"Master Kaiba!" The manservant rushed over to help, but Kaiba waved him away angrily, his chest heaving with effort as he tried to stand.

Isono disobeyed boldly and helped the young master to his feet, wrapping an arm around Kaiba's slender torso and pulling him up steadily.

"F-Fuck." Kaiba shivered, his voice trembling uncharacteristically as his teeth chattered from the cold. "I can't…take hot showers anymore."

"What happened? Do I need to call the doctor?" Isono asked nervously, feeling Kaiba twist out of his grasp and march back into the bathroom without acknowledging him.

The door slammed, and Isono found himself standing alone in the master bedroom, thoroughly confused.

Kaiba switched the shower on again tentatively and made sure to keep the water on the coldest setting, his mind churning with dread.

If anyone spilled coffee on him…hell, if he spilled coffee on himself, would it result in a second degree burn from the hot liquid?

And I don't have any more vials of liquid scales if I burn myself again today, Kaiba growled to himself, poking his finger into the cold water. To his surprise, he discovered it was warm.

Frowning at the water setting, Kaiba checked it again. Yes, the dial was set to cold.

Inching the handle a few centimeters to adjust the temperature again, Kaiba waited for the water to grow even colder, and he reached a shaking hand out to touch it, pleased to discover that the colder the water, the warmer he felt.

I am turning into a fish, Kaiba thought irritably to himself, stepping into the shower and sighing nervously.

This water was lukewarm at best.
If he wanted a "hot" shower, the water probably needed to be below freezing.

Time to upgrade the shower.

Sighing to himself, Kaiba tried to relax. It was fine. He would adapt. It was like he was growing fins anytime soon.

Isis approached Atem on his throne and bowed prettily. "My King. How was your visit to Confinement?"

Atem sat up straighter, instantly alert.

"It was…enlightening," he answered seriously. "I think I finally understand."

"That's good," Isis said warmly, swimming up to Atem's side and resting a hand on his reassuringly. "How will you proceed? We're holding Open Court now…what will you say?"

Atem swallowed tensely, seeing the members of his court slowly gather at the edges of the throne room, emerging from the hallways and gazing at him apprehensively.
How was he going to break the news of his pact with Seto Kaiba to his court without sounding too radical?

"My lord," Mahad said deeply bowing and lowering his staff respectfully. "We are all present."

Atem rose from the throne and made polite eye-contact with each mer-person floating around him, his heart pounding with anxiety.

"I do have some news," Atem said, hearing his own voice echo mutely in the crowded room. "It is regarding the human, Seto Kaiba."

"Ah yes, that cretin," Shadi said, raising his staff in anger. "You're still speaking with him?"

"Your anger is understandable," Atem said, feeling the room hum with discontent at the mention of Kaiba's name. "But he is—"

"He was the human who freed our king," Mahad said, rising quickly to Atem's defense, and he glared at Shadi while Solomon interjected, "He is the human in contact with the people who captured Atem in the first place!"

"But he negotiated for his release!" Isis cried, also rising to Atem's defense, and very quickly, people began arguing amongst themselves.

Atem swallowed thinly, realizing that his court wasn't aware that Kaiba was the one who had first captured him.

If his people were reacting with such hostility towards someone who freed him, Atem knew he could never tell anyone that Kaiba was the one who had netted him in the first place.

"Order…please!" Atem called, holding his hand for quiet, and he quickly lowered it after seeing his fingers shake slightly. "He is a kind human at heart, and I've made a pact with him regarding the secrecy of our civilization."

"You…what?!" Solomon roared, and Mana threw him a panicked look.

The aging merman dove towards Atem and hovered inches from his nose, vibrating with anger and fear. "You-You touched…human blood? What did you say? Repeat the pact, word for every word here for us now!"

A heavy silence settled over the throne room as Atem gathered himself and gave Solomon the most confident smile he could muster. "Very well."

He gazed around the room one more time, catching panicked looks from Mahad, Rishid, and Isis before he spoke carefully, "I promised to return his feelings, as well as visit him as often as I can. In return, he promised not to start a war, or mention our species to anyone on land who doesn't already know."

"What does that mean?! What feelings?" Mana cried, pressing her hands to her face, and other people mumbled their agreement.

"I thought it was something dangerous," Atem said anxiously, nodding at Solomon who remained impassive. "A visit to the mer-people in Confinement told me it was nothing to worry about. As long as I keep him happy on shore, there won't be a dispute."

"Keep him happy on shore," Shadi repeated, sounding very cold and skeptical. "Why is that your duty? Humans live happily on shore regardless of what you do."

"Our agreement was for me to surface because he enjoys my company," Atem said, now beginning to regret ever bringing up the pact, and his court grumbled angrily.

"You are surfacing for him?" Isis rounded on him, her eyes narrowed with concern. "May I remind you that your duty is here, below, with us, not above, to him!"

"He'll tire of me soon," Atem assured her, but no one seemed convinced.

"You've tied yourself into an agreement for a shore-relationship!" Solomon declared, pointing his staff at Atem. "You are now the only sitting royal in our history with a blood pact hanging over your head…with a human no less! Not another mer-person. A human!"

And arguing broke out once more. Even some of the palace maidens stuck their heads out of the hallways to peer into the throne room, wondering what the commotion was all about.

"Please…everyone!" Atem floated closer to the center of the throne room, his skin burning from all the worried and hostile glares from his counsel. "If he wanted to harm me, I'd be dead. Instead, what is he asking for? Dead scales from our salons, and my company."

"He's taking care of our garbage too," Mahad said quickly, pointing at a tiny dot of a ship hovering above their hemisphere. "Atem made another agreement with him on land, while in captivity. What human willingly cleans up their own garbage from our waters?"

"A human who wants something in return!" Rishid cried, shaking his pony-tailed head. "He wants to see us! He wants to tell the world about us."

"I just said I swore him to secrecy," Atem fumed, now beginning to lose his patience with his staff. "I have also consulted with everyone who could possibly help me, and they all agree that making the human happy is in our best interest."

There was an eerie and unpleasant silence before Solomon broke it with more cynicism, "So you consulted with a bunch of shore-loving mer-people who committed crimes against humans."

"I did! And they were helpful." Atem raged, thoroughly fed up with fighting for his beliefs in his own court. "Visiting the human on shore will be added to my other shore-related duties. You're all dismissed."

Swimming off in an angry huff, Atem curled his fists at his side and made his way down the main hallway, towards the palace gates.

"My king…wait!" Mahad swam after Atem, carrying a spare staff. "Please, take this. Don't journey to shore unarmed ever again."

Atem nodded stiffly in thanks and accepted the weapon from Mahad before turning to leave again. He could feel heated eyes on his back as he passed the palace gates and begin to ascend.

Everyone was being unreasonable.
Seto Kaiba was a good human.
Kaiba had released him, and Atem was sure that even if Kaiba got nothing in return for it, his release would've still happened because he had showed signs of sickness.

Atem brushed past the guards at the edge of the hemisphere and didn't bother to wave. He was angry and wanted people to know.

Shooting upwards through the water at breakneck speed, Atem briefly enjoyed the way the water brushed quickly through his bangs.

He slowed down after a bit, remembering the mermaid's advice about daily shore travel. He needed to pace himself, stay nourished, and pay attention to the passing of time.

Swimming on steadily, Atem eyed the sunny streams of light coming down from surface with determination.

Seto Kaiba had better be there on that damn rock!

Kaiba stepped into his lab and was immediately greeted by two of his scientists, who looked excited to see him.

"Mr. Kaiba! Good news," the one on his left said, smiling warmly and holding up an electronic pad for him to read. "We've devised another formula…"

Kaiba nodded, only half-listening. He needed more of the liquified scales and was planning on keeping a personal supply.

"Which of you liquidized the first batch?" Kaiba asked, completely ignoring her earlier statement, and he received a frown.

"I did that, with , but he's not here today. Did you want the process in writing?"

"Yes, send me a copy of that, and everything you have here," Kaiba said gruffly, scrolling through the report and handing the pad back to her. "Digital copies to me, personally, for everything."

"Very well," she said plainly, tossing her hair over her shoulder and walking off to her station.

Kaiba walked through each of the stations, inspecting every work surface, pleased to see progress on everyone's desk.

He approached the large freezer at the back of the room and yanked the door open, relieved to see more untouched vials of freshly liquified scales, and he pointed at them, calling over his shoulder, "Are these samples used?"

"No, they're left over from this week's batch," came a reply, and Kaiba nodded stiffly, satisfied.
Nice. These were now all his.

He swept them up and tucked them safely into his briefcase. Snapping the lid shut, he straightened up and glanced around, expecting to receive odd looks, but he was ignored.

"Since we always have extra, I'll be downsizing the batches being sent here," Kaiba announced, waiting for a reaction, but all he got were silent nods. "I take it by this reaction, we have more than enough?"

"Yes, we have even more than that," a lab worker commented casually from their station, holding another clear vial of scales up to the light. "With the current projected amount, we have enough to fill several warehouses with this serum."

"Try making other cosmetics with it too," Kaiba suggested haphazardly, walking excitedly to the elevator doors. "We can move past serums because the liquid is versatile."

"It is…but the liquid separates!" someone called, and Kaiba waved carelessly over his shoulder as he stepped into the elevator. "Figure it out!"

He leaned against the elevator walls and sighed with mild relief.
It was good that the mer-people were over-delivering their scales.

If this kept up, he'd have gallons in his personal stash of liquified scales to ingest for any emergency.

Atem popped his head up over the waves and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh salty air.

He swept his gaze over the shore, feeling a pang of dismay as he realized it was empty.

Swimming closer, he held his breath, wondering where Seto Kaiba was. Didn't he swear to be on the shore no matter what? Wasn't he breaking the pact now?

Irritated, Atem approached the rock and dove under the surface, seeing a sack of mesh scales still hanging off its hook in the small opening.

So, someone still hadn't come to collect this week's garbage? Perhaps Seto Kaiba had already lost interest?!

Well, that was quick, Atem fumed, popping his head up again and raking his gaze up and down the empty shore. There was a human residence on a small hill, and no roads in sight. This really was a private beach.

Atem twisted around behind him to see if there were any boats or yachts tethered to any docks nearby, but there was nothing.

Tossing his staff onto the shore in frustration, Atem dove down to inspect the shallow ground, noticing that even this beach was quite clean. Wasn't it possible for humans to stake claims on land that also touched the ocean? Human greed really knew no bounds.

Atem surfaced again and bobbed gently along with every incoming wave, feeling an odd sense of loneliness. He had expected Kaiba's face to be the first thing he saw when surfacing. It hadn't occured to him that the Kaiba wouldn't show up.

I've worried for nothing, Atem growled, wondering if he ought to leave.

Deciding to make the journey worth it, he let a large wave wash him onto shore, and he flipped over onto his back, gazing up at the purple sky, enjoying the sunset. This was fine too.

A nice private, quiet land for vacation.

Footsteps pattered from afar, and Atem sat up nervously, his heart pounding with fear at the thought of being seen. Had he been seen? Who was that?!

A tiny figure with long black hair was running from the house, waving an arm excitedly at him.

Ah, the child, Atem thought mildly, relaxing with relief.

Mokuba dashed down the sandy wooden ramp, breathless with anticipation. He tapped the side-button on his phone three times, signaling to Seto that the merman was here.

"Mermaid!" Mokuba cried happily, his toes squishing warmly in the sand as he ran towards the figure lying down by the rock. "I missed you! How's your home?"

Atem blinked rapidly and nodded, unsure of how to answer this question as the child approached him with speed. "I—My home is…doing well."

"Whoa," Mokuba skidded to a halt, eyeing the pointed spear stuck into the sand a few feet away from Atem's arm. "I-Is that yours?"

Atem followed Mokuba's chubby finger towards the staff stuck in the sand behind his head, just out of reach, and he nodded, "I threw it a bit too far. Could you bring it to me?"

"Yep!" Mokuba cried, excited at the thought of getting to touch a trident.

"It's not a trident," Atem said, mildly amused. He watched the child yank the staff out of the sand with ease and hold it up to the sky, looking awestruck.

"This is so cool!" Mokuba stabbed the spear playfully at the rock, shouting, "Hyaa!"

"Please…give it back, it's not a toy," Atem said with all the seriousness he could muster. "Where is your brother?"

"Seto is at work," Mokuba said, sitting down in the sand after handing Atem the weapon. "He said to tell me when you're here. I told him, so…he should be coming now."

"I see," Atem nodded quietly. "And do you live there?" He pointed at the house on the cliff.

"Nope, that's our vacation home," Mokuba answered, waving a hand over his shoulder at the large property. "We have those everywhere."

The two sat in silence for a while before Atem remembered the requests from the mermaids.

"Hey, Mokuba," Atem gave the child a small smile. "Do you perhaps have access to …ties?"

"What?" Mokuba ruffled his hair in confusion, watching the merman make a gesture around his neck, and he understood instantly. "Oh! Neckties?! Yeah! Wait…why?"

"Could I have a few?" Atem asked hopefully, flipping over onto his stomach and fanning his tail excitedly over a shallow oncoming wave. "Blue, and green? Or any other ones with pretty patterns?"

"Wait here! I'll get them from Seto's stash." Mokuba laughed excitedly and leapt to his feet, showering Atem's arm in sand. "He's got tons! And he never wears the ones with patterns. I'll be right back!"

Atem watched the child run off down the beach, and he leaned into a warm wave washing over his waist. This child was so cute.

Kaiba was just pulling into the property's sprawling driveway when he saw Mokuba racing up the ramp back into the house.

Shutting off the engine, Kaiba got out of the car and dashed down to the beach, seeing a familiar figure lounging in the sand beside the drop-off rock.

Atem!

Atem pricked his ears, hearing Kaiba's voice call his name with such force in his thoughts, it made his hair stand on end.

He twisted around to see a tall figure slipping and sliding down the sandy edge of the cliff, and he let out a laugh.

So, Kaiba was still interested. He looked excited, so much that he neglected to use the pre-made trail and leapt straight down from one rocky edge to another.

"Be careful!" Atem cried, his stomach churning at the memory of human blood. Kaiba really was reckless. Was it because he was in love, 'at the point of no return' like the mermaids had said?

Kaiba kicked off his shoes and sprinted towards the water's edge, tackling Atem gleefully into an oncoming wave, relishing in the warmth of the water while Atem threw his arms around his shoulders in a hearty response.

Now this was one benefit of the scales. The water was warm.

"Wh-What?!" Atem gasped, craning his neck away from Kaiba's attacking flurry of kisses down his face as he heard this. "Explain yourself!"

"I thought you weren't going to show your face for 'the next three moons'," Kaiba said mockingly, leaning forward to kiss the merman, but a hand pressed against his forehead, pushing him away strongly.

"Tell me what that meant!" Atem cried, his arm weakening as Kaiba's gaze seared intently through him, causing his heart to flutter wonderfully. "The benefit of scales…?"

"Oh, you're still listening to my thoughts?" Kaiba growled irritably. "Your scales make it easier for me to stay in cold water."

"How?!" Atem cried out again but found that he could no longer fight back with strength. A hot breath danced across his cheek, and their lips met in a fiery, passionate kiss.

Kaiba sighed happily, enjoying the way Atem's tail felt between his legs. It was solid…warm, and thick, when it used to be cold and slimy.

Atem frowned into the kiss, hearing these thoughts and unable to speak, because a silky tongue had entered his mouth and was tantalizingly licking the roof of his mouth, sending shivers down his spine.
Where did humans learn how to do this?
Why did no other mer-person kiss this way?

Kaiba pulled away breathlessly, raking his gaze hungrily down Atem's muscular chest, appreciating the change of jewelry. The chest plate was solid gold, no longer laden with multi-colored gems, and Atem wasn't wearing his usual crown.

"Seto!"

Kaiba jerked his head up to see Mokuba running back at them, and he rolled off of Atem, hearing the merman hiss and grab at him playfully with a clawed hand.

"Come back here…" Atem smiled, pausing when he saw the child approaching with an armful of colorful items. "Ah, my ties!"

"My ties!" Kaiba cried, shaking head with disbelief as he watched Mokuba drop the bundle of ties messily at his feet.

"They're mine now," Atem said cattily, gathering them up in the sand and wondering how he could bring them back home without losing one. There were so many!

"What? What do you need them for?" Kaiba asked, amused and slightly flattered that Atem was collecting items that belonged to him. "You like them?"

"I do," Atem said genially, grabbing his weapon and beginning to tie them onto it with ease. "And the mermaids love them too. They collect these."

"Oh…weird." Mokuba grinned, and knelt in the sand beside Atem's staff, picking up a few ties and also beginning to tie them onto it. "This is gonna look like streamers flying off your trident!"

"A trident has three prongs, Mokuba. This is a spear." Atem corrected him gently while Kaiba gaped at the weapon stuck in the sand, realizing he had been too preoccupied with kissing Atem to have noticed a sharp pole of steel right beside them.

"Oh, and I require a stick of lip." Atem said happily, aiming this question at a wide-eyed older Kaiba. "And the request was…no more reds. Does that mean anything to you?"

"A stick of…what?" Kaiba blinked, not understanding at all.

"The mermaids said you would know!" Atem sighed, exasperated. "They said they wanted a stick of lip, and no more reds because they already have too many."

There was an awkward silence.

Suddenly, Mokuba slapped a hand to his forehead and belted out a laugh, rolling around in the sand cackling. "I get it! You're hilarious!"

Kaiba eyed his younger brother strangely. "What? Stop laughing and spit it out, kid."

Atem threw Kaiba a concerned look, wondering why he spoke so rudely to his blood relation.

"He wants…lipstick!" Mokuba gasped for air and he doubled over onto his side again, shrieking with laughter.

Kaiba pressed his palms into his eyes and his shoulders also began to shake with laughter.

"What? What is it?" Atem frowned, wondering why both humans were now laughing…seemingly at him. "You know what it is? Can you get it?"

"Yes, I'll get it for you," Kaiba said warmly, reaching out to give Atem's toned arm a gentle squeeze while his body trembled with mirth. "No red. We understand."

Mokuba was still gasping for air between laughs in the sand beside Kaiba's elbow, and Kaiba stood quickly, picking his brother up around the waist and swinging him onto his shoulder.

"Ow! Ow lemme go!" Mokuba cried, hanging over Kaiba's shoulder and still half-laughing while attempting to climb his way down. "I wanna hang out with you guys!"

"No. Back in the house," Kaiba said sternly. "We're going do something, and you can't be here to see it."

"You mean kiss?" Mokuba suggested evilly, doubling over with laughter again. "I've seen you guys do that a million times already."

Atem watched this exchange with interest, and he turned his gaze back to his tie-adorned staff. It did look quite pretty…in an odd way. The mermaids in Confinement would be so happy with such a huge selection.

Footsteps approached him in the sand again, and Atem smiled up at Kaiba's tall form standing above him.

"I thought about you," Atem said warmly, his heart fluttering at the way the dimming sunlight highlighted Kaiba's sharp cheekbones.

Kaiba smiled happily in return and sat himself down in the water beside the merman, enjoying the warm waves lapping at his ankles. It seemed the merman had a change of heart after their explosive departure a few days ago.

"Would you do anything for me?" Atem asked in a rush, placing his hand over Kaiba's and holding on tightly, his heart tight with emotion.

"Yes." Kaiba replied softly. After a moment of silence, and he raised his gaze to meet Atem's dark, angular eyes. Beautiful. Striking. There would never be another creature on earth as beautiful as this merman beside him.

"I will do anything for you. I can do anything," Kaiba declared strongly.

"Anything?" Atem pressed, pointing at the glow of the white half-moon above their heads. "If I asked for a chunk of the moon, you'd bring it to me?"

"Yeah, how big?" Kaiba asked heatedly, already calculating how legal it would be to take a chunk out of the moon with a strategically placed missile. "Do you want a rock? A tiny rock? Or do you want to see a noticeable chunk missing every time you look up?"

Atem stared, unable to believe his ears.

"You can't…! Don't shoot anything up there and destroy the moon, please," the merman said hurriedly, his cheeks burning. "I like the moon whole."

Kaiba threw his head back and let out a bark of laughter. "Well, every time you look up and see that chunk missing, you'd know it was me. You'd think of me."

"You're…insane," Atem managed, feeling as if a hand had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart painfully. "I'm not asking for that. Don't do that."

"Fine, then I won't." Kaiba shrugged happily and nuzzled his nose against the merman's neck, inhaling deeply. The wonderful tang of something familiar mixed in with the dull scent of salt aroused him instantly.

Atem let his eyelids flutter shut as Kaiba's breath on his beck warmed him pleasantly, and he dipped his head down to place a gentle kiss on Kaiba's lips, enjoying the sweet lingering moment they shared before he pulled away first.

"I need to know how long I've been on shore," Atem said nervously, eyeing the darkening sky above them. "They said…I could surface every day if I calculated my weight and the length of my journey. I just needed to keep track of time, and not dry out."

"I know how much you weigh," Kaiba said instantly, placing his hand on where he thought Atem's thigh would be, and he ran his hand down the warm scaly surface. "As for the distance, I can give you a device to wear on your wrist that will measure—"

"I can't bring any human items back that will attract attention." Atem replied nervously, placing his hand atop Kaiba's once more and squeezing tightly in return. "The ties on my staff look like a gift. But I can't keep anything that will incriminate me."

Kaiba hissed in annoyance and withdrew his hand. How irritating and old-fashioned of them. Then he just needed to make the device look like a gift.

"I can just count the minutes, leave markers at every depth, don't worry, I've got it," Atem said reassuringly, leaning his head down on Kaiba's shoulder and watching the sky fully darken. "I'll try to come up, every day, until I can't anymore."

Kaiba nodded mutely, touched that Atem had reconsidered the daily visiting.

"Then I will be here exactly at sunset," Kaiba said, wrapping his arms around Atem's slender, tanned upper body and bringing him into a tight embrace. "Every day, without fail, for the rest of my fucking life."

Atem felt his stomach drop terribly and he patted Kaiba on the arm awkwardly. "T-There's no need to do that. You'll grow tired of me eventually, and…have children."

Kaiba jerked back, and looked Atem full in the face, thoroughly offended by that statement. "You think I want that? Who do think I am?"

I'm Seto fucking Kaiba, dammit, Kaiba growled angrily to himself, and to his extreme amusement, Atem echoed his thoughts aloud.

"You are…Seto Fucking Kaiba Dammit," Atem said mildly with a wry smile and he leaned forward playfully to plant a soft kiss on Kaiba's cheek. "Don't you dare run off and have a child…other than Mokuba. You can keep him."

"He's my brother," Kaiba said automatically. "I can't stand kids. I can barely stand Mokuba."

"That's a lie," Atem laughed, rolling over onto his stomach and gazing up at the CEO from the sand. "You love him very much."

Disgruntled, Kaiba quickly straddled Atem in one smooth motion and sat triumphantly on top of him, his eyes gleaming with lust.

"Less talking, more fucking."

"I've got to go," Atem whispered balefully, curling his clawed fingers over the fabric of Kaiba's pants, hating that they had wasted all their time talking instead of touching. "The sky is dark. They said I had to spend short amounts of time on shore if I wanted to come up every day. I'll be back tomorrow."

"You fucking swear?" Kaiba growled, tightening his thighs around Atem's warm tail beneath him in the sand. "Tomorrow. Come earlier so we can fuck when it's still light. I want to see your face when you cum."

Atem smiled weakly, and his heart did an odd flutter at the human's sudden vulgarity. "Yes, all of those things. Tomorrow, bring a stick of lip and we'll—"

"Lipstick," Kaiba cracked a smile and pulled Atem into another tight embrace, enjoying the wetness of his skin soaking in through his shirt before he pulled away reluctantly and got to his feet.

Atem freed his staff from the sand and used it to push himself off the shore and into deeper water, raising the tie-covered weapon in a formal salute and seeing Kaiba reciprocate with a solid middle finger and a boyish grin.

Laughing, Atem dove down beneath the waves, feeling extremely lighthearted and satisfied.

Kaiba watched the red glint of Atem's tail disappear underneath the foamy waves, and he let out a forlorn sigh. What had changed? Whatever it was, he wasn't complaining. Getting to see Atem every day was more than he could hope for, so he wasn't going to push his luck.

Picking up his shoes from the sand, Kaiba trudged back to the property, shivering from the wind, but his heart was warm.

Author's note:

Kaiba's scale experiment = bad times in the shower.

Atem's royal court hates humans but Atem is king so he can do whatever he wants kinda technically?

Yay for daily visits and bonding time with Mokuba on shore.

No smut this chap cuz our boys needed to have an actual talk lol but they got very close tho!

-edited by setokaibaes-

Pleasus leave a comment! ilu for reading!

xoxoxoxo
Ugli