Seth swam tiredly through the Kingdom of Muran's Hemisphere, seeing guards salute him respectfully and avoid eye contact.
His eyes were heavy with unshed tears as he made a beeline for the palace gates, not caring that the guards there bowed to him too. Yes, word must have gotten around about Seto's "death."
He'd ventured to the most northern and southern colonies, encountering Atem's frantic messengers joining him in the search for his lost twin brother. A nap in a healing pod at this depth was becoming increasingly more welcome the more he thought about it.
Floating down the hall towards the infirmary, he was accosted by Mahad, who hovered angrily in front of his face, sputtering, "So, you finally decide to show your face, after what, one moon cycle of mating?!"
"You think that's what I'm doing? Mating?" Seth fumed, losing his patience quickly, but Mahad seemed to have an agenda, and talked over him frantically.
"I thought you'd be different from your rotten brother, but you're both after our king! I should've known!" Mahad raged, gripping his spear tightly in an effort to restrain himself from stabbing Seth in the neck. "You deceived me to get close to Atem!"
"Wh-What!" Seth reeled, wondering where these baseless accusations were coming from. "How dare you speak about him like that?! 'My rotten brother'?! I'm in mourning, so be respectful!"
"Yes, we all know how you like to 'mourn…respectfully'," Mahad said coldly, folding his arms across his chest while their argument was drawing attention from the other palace maidens and…Adina, who was accompanied by Mana, and Solomon.
They floated awkwardly at the end of the hall, watching them argue.
"Excuse me?!" Seth cried, scanning the hall for a weapon. "Warrior Mahad, do you want to fight?!"
"Perhaps," Mahad growled, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Mana, fetch this man a spear. I'd like to kill him before he bears an egg."
Seth's mouth dropped open, his mind spinning with grief and rage as he wondered…why the hostile reception? It didn't make sense!
Nothing made sense unless….
Wait.
What did Mahad just say?!
"You said…I was mating for the past moon cycle?" Seth asked shakily, feeling as if he was floating out of his body with shock. "Pray tell, with whom?"
"Atem! Who else!" Mahad barked, his face reddening with rage as he wondered if this was Seth's way of getting him admit defeat. "Stop fighting me with your words and pick up a weapon!"
"Yes, I might need that," Seth said viciously, snatching the spear that was brought to him by a trembling Mana, and he swam down the hall towards the men's wing, his blood boiling.
He had a feeling…and if his feeling was correct….
"Come back here, you coward!" Mahad shouted, powering after Seth while Mana, Adina, and Solomon followed them anxiously, calling after him and begging them not to fight.
Seth reached Atem's bejeweled door and clanged the spear against it loudly, not caring if he was damaging the art, because…if his hunch was correct…that would mean….
It would mean….
The door swung open and Kaiba glared at the person who dared to interrupt them again, and his blood ran cold when he saw Seth glaring furiously at him.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Seth roared, diving at Seto with the spear pointed at him,. Kaiba dodged him nimbly with a shout, and growled before he lunged at his twin with his claws outstretched.
Mahad floated to a stop outside Atem's door, marveling at the scene with his heart thudding in his ears.
Kaiba managed to wrench the spear from Seth's weakened grip with an expert twist of his wrist, applying the techniques Joey and Tristan had taught him when they sparred with him, and he caught his twin in a choke-hold, pressing the bar of steel across his throat while his tail thrashed wildly beneath him.
Murky water and stray scales were floating out of Atem's door, and the king decided to stay out of it. He sat on the bed, watching with numb horror as the twins fought passionately.
"Fuck…you!" Kaiba hissed when claws came for his neck, and he angled his head away just in time. Seth's hand went raking down his shoulder, possibly ripping a tendon because his grip on the spear loosened, and he was kicked in the stomach.
Blood clouded the water instantly, and Kaiba healed himself with ease, lunging at Seth one last time through the darkness and dodging the spearpoint that came for his face. He grabbed it and yanked hard, sending Seth tumbling towards him, and he locked his elbow around Seth's neck again, tightening with precision.
There was no winning. They were evenly matched, with Seth being only slightly weaker because he was tired, but he fought with cleverness, which more than made up for Seto's brash, confident swipes with his claws.
"Stop it! Men, stop it!" Mana shrieked, gripping her hair in distress while Adina and Solomon watched with open mouths. "Mahad, do something!"
"I…don't…" Mahad lowered his spear hesitantly, not wanting to be poisoned with more scratches.
Kaiba's grip slipped and Seth flipped him upside down in the water, catching him completely off guard, and an elbow locked around his throat, suffocating him slowly while his brother hissed at him tearfully, "I thought you died! I can't believe you! You're the most selfish, inconsiderate—"
Claws dug painfully into his forearm and Seth released Kaiba reluctantly. Both men broke away from each other and floated apprehensively in the cloudy water, healing and panting heavily.
"And I can't believe no one here thought to send me a message!" Seth rounded on Mahad behind him who backed away slowly. "I searched the entire ocean for you, brother! How dare you make me worry like that?! I should kill you now to save myself the grief next time!"
"They told me you were busy…running the damn resort!" Kaiba hissed, nursing the gashes on his arm which were closing at an impressive rate. "You never tell me what you're doing anyway."
"You…you—!" Seth raked his gaze up and down Kaiba's claw-torn body, and his face reddened. "…This whole time…. you were just…mating! I can't…believe you! How are you like this?! Where did you find a Chrysalis?!"
There was a heavy, awkward silence, and Atem bunched the sheets around his fins, wishing he could disappear. His wrongdoings always came to light at the worst times.
Please Seth, please don't say anything bad…lest the unsecured Chrysalis became…secured.
Outside, Mahad was saying the same prayer frantically inside his head. If Seto Kaiba said anything about their conversation at the cliffside…. he was doomed.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Kaiba scoffed, faintly hearing Mahad's thoughts. "Maybe apologize and I'll think about telling you."
"How dare—" Seth choked, tears of relief and rage welling in his eyes, and he threw himself forward to hug his twin. "I'll kill you one of these days…I swear…"
"Looking forward to it," Kaiba said quietly, embracing Seth back quickly, and his brother pulled away to gaze into his face and touch his hair, pulling it through his hands with wonder.
"How? Did the pod do this? We should do something with it so people can tell us apart," Seth cried excitedly. "I hate being blamed for your bad behavior."
"And I hate that you look like me," Kaiba answered simply, snatching the lock of his hair out of Seth's hand. "I'll cut it."
Simultaneous gasps of shock and horror echoed around him, and he caught Mahad's pale, panic-stricken face.
R-Really? Damn. Atem was right. These people valued their hair too much…!
Adina swam forward quickly and wrapped her arms around Kaiba's neck, hanging onto him tightly, "No, daddy! Don't cut your hair! We'll do something to it! You'll be less handsome if you cut it!"
"Or, I'll feel more like myself if I cut it, because fuck your societal laws," Kaiba growled, and he received a terrified glare from Mana.
"You're a bad father if you do!" Mana admonished, not caring if she was overstepping. "Set a good example! That's what we've all been trying to do!"
There was an awkward silence, and Atem's tanned hand crept out of his room to grab the doorknob, and Solmon turned red in the face.
"Atem! You better give me a great-grandson!" The old merman shouted, his voice booming through the hall drawing more attention from the royal staff, as people began peeking around pillars to see what all the commotion was about.
"I'm going home before I have to help raise another one of your bratty children," Seth said snottily, turning his head with a swish and floating away. "At the rate you're mating, you'll fill an entire infirmary with eggs. Good luck to you, you selfish ingrate."
"Yeah, fuck off," Kaiba called after Seth's disappearing form, and he received an exasperated look from Mahad before the warrior excused himself quickly too.
"Daddy?" Adina smiled sweetly at him tugging at his ear with her tiny fist. "Are you done playing with Papa?"
"Maybe," Kaiba answered vaguely, carrying her into the room and catching one last worried glance from Mana before he closed it with a bang. "You really don't want me to cut my hair?"
"Nope!" Adina shook her beautiful head so fast, her ponytail whipped her cheeks adorably. "I can fix it for you, right Papa?"
She glanced at Atem, who was sitting weakly on the bed with the sheets still nested around his fins, and he nodded anxiously. Of course….
Kaiba set her down gently on the edge of the bed, instantly embarrassed by the amount of loose scales floating in the water around them.
She wrinkled her nose perceptively, "Peeyu, it stinks in here."
"We'll keep the door open," Atem said nervously, dashing to prop it open with the spear.
"Daddy, what color kelp you want?" Adina asked instantly, her cheeks glowing hopefully. "Blue? It matches your eyes. My eyes!"
"Yeah, okay…" Kaiba replied carefully, and he watched her dive into another one of Atem's closets to emerge with a strange strip of dark blue kelp.
Maybe this wasn't…such a good idea….
"Relax, I learned it from a fashun book," Adina said warmly, and Kaiba's stomach twisted with dread. Oh god.
"Show me what you learned," Atem said encouragingly, curling himself comfortably beside Kaiba and holding his hand lovingly, sending a warm tingle down his spine.
"You…do this…" Adina darted around his head, lifting sections of hair, and Kaiba winced, hating it all. "And you pull it back, really easy like this…"
Grimacing, Kaiba watched as Atem beamed at him, his eyes sparkling with joy, and his heart soared. He leaned forward to kiss him, and their lips met tenderly.
"Ew, ew, stopppp!" Adina whined, securing the kelp in Kaiba's hair with a firm tug. "Yuck! Papa, stop kissing like that! EW!"
"I kiss you all the time," Atem protested, leaning away from Seto, and Adina made a face.
"But you never kiss my mouth. That's yucky," she protested. "Look Daddy. Do you like it?"
"Sure, kid. I love it," Kaiba lied, only glad that she pulled it out of his face.
"You didn't even look," she said grouchily, and a large hand mirror was handed to her after Atem rummaged around in the drawer beside the bed.
Holding it up shakily to his face, Kaiba bit back a laugh when he realized she had merely done a low ponytail, and…had tied it back with a cute bow. Ugh. Okay. Nice. C-Cute.
Reminiscent of when Atem had tied bows over all his things….
"You don't…sound like you meant it," Adina said, wrinkling her nose again. "You think it's 'ugh' or cute?"
"It is…very cute, ask anyone," Kaiba said hastily, reminding himself to stop thinking so loudly.
"We'll go ask them now!" Adina cried, grabbing his hand and pulling him out the door while Atem followed.
"Now?" Kaiba asked anxiously, and he heard Atem snicker behind him.
He was led through a series of magnificent hallways before she stopped at another large, kelp curtain and pulled it back for him to swim through. Aw…how considerate.
Kaiba froze when he saw Shada sitting at the table with a plate in front of him, eating and behaving normally beside Mahad, who was talking quietly to him under his breath.
"Everyone! Look at my Daddy's hair which I did," Adina said loudly, and Mana, who was at the head of the table, looked up and saw the seaweed bow in Kaiba's hair. Biting the inside of her cheek, she covered her mouth to avoid any accidental laughing noises.
Mahad and Shada gazed listlessly at Kaiba, and Shada's eyes widened ever so slightly with fear.
"Looking good, Ambassador," Kaiba said icily, now wondering if his two billion deal ever went through with Pegasus. Shit. He needed to check on that.
"S-Same to you, Prince Seth," Shada muttered, glaring at his plate, and he felt Mahad pinch him in the arm and shake his head frantically. What. What?!
"That….is…Seto," Mahad said through gritted teeth, sparing a smile for the princess before his face went back to its usual stoic expression.
Unfazed, Kaiba let Adina choose a seat for him and begin to rattle off all the food they had to offer. It was…so cute…listening to her be all knowledgeable.
"Ah, they join us at last," Solomon drifted into the room and gave Atem a steely glare.
Reddening quickly, Atem lowered his head respectfully and said nothing.
"I must request," the old man said, aiming his gaze at Seto. "That you refrain from bearing the next heir. I have no qualms against your pureness or your blood, but I would like to live to see my own grandson bring a child into the world."
"Old man, please," Shada muttered, and Kaiba felt a rush of gratitude towards him.
This old man was his in-law. FUCK. This was Atem's grandfather. Oh fuck.
King Solomon the VII or something. Shit. Oh fuck.
He was looking history right in the face.
Atem frowned. He'd heard this rant before, and it had been used to fool Mana.
"So he knows of me," Solomon said, falling for Kaiba's act immediately. "Done some reading on shore, have you? Scholar, or Undercover? I can't ever tell."
"Can't say," Kaiba said dryly, finally finding his voice. "I've lost all my memory."
There was a tense silence before Adina turned to him tearfully, "Wh-Wha-at? Daddy doesn't remember me?"
"No, Daddy doesn't remember himself," Kaiba answered coldly, receiving horrified looks from Shadi and Mahad across the table.
There was another heavy silence, and Atem glanced down at his folded hands, his heart heavy with concern.
Mana had warned him about this.
Long-time servicemen often experienced extreme amnesia due to trauma.
He was beginning to hate that word: trauma.
A plate of food was rushed to Kaiba by way of a tiny octopus, and he stared at it intently, trying to hide his amazement. How the fuck did they train these things work for them?
"They just listen to us," Adina said quietly, hearing her Daddy's thoughts, and it broke her heart. "You really don't know anything? B-But you're super smart! You know everything!"
"No one can know everything," Kaiba told her gently, patting her head and making sure she stayed put in her seat. "Not even me. But you can sure try to know everything, though. I'll be really proud if you manage to do that."
Mahad watched this exchange with trepidation. The Kaiba that spoke to his daughter was warm, and humble, but the Kaiba that spoke to everyone else was…a nightmare.
"Speaking of nightmares," Kaiba aimed his gaze at Mahad, reading his mind eerily. "What happened to the settlement for…him?"
He nodded at Shada, who quickly looked away to avoid eye-contact.
"We're paying it," Mahad grit his teeth, not wanting to discuss work at the table. "Ask me about it later."
"How?" Kaiba prompted, unable to put down his work, even when living in another world.
"I don't…want to discuss it here," Mahad said stiffly, and Kaiba gave the warrior a steely look before Solomon clapped his hands loudly to break them up.
"Men," he said deeply. "Work at work. This is a mealtime. Let's enjoy our food."
"Daddy still has to work?" Adina screeched, and Kaiba blinked, understanding that his desire to discuss the surface…was work. It was labelled as 'surface matters'…right? Seth had grazed over this briefly and he was sorely regretting not ever having listened properly.
Fuck.
Now that he had a fish's tail, he needed to learn everything as quickly as possible.
"Eat your food and don't scream," Atem said quietly, inching the plate closer to the Princess, and she pushed it away stubbornly, hugging Kaiba's arm to her chest and gazing into his face with large eyes.
"Daddy…don't leave again, you just came baaack," she wailed, and Atem wrestled her back into her seat, pointing sternly at her food.
"Are you going back?" Mahad asked quietly, and Shada slowly rose from his seat, trying to make a quiet escape, but Mahad snapped at him. "Sit down. You owe this man a great thanks."
"Thank you, Seto Kaiba," Shada ducked his head down respectfully in a bow and continued to make his hasty exit.
"Why? Why is he thanking Daddy?" Adina asked loudly, and no one answered her.
"Work stuff, my darling," Solomon said lightly, but he shot a glare at Mahad and Seto. "Men, stand down."
"I'm full," Kaiba said icily, pushing his plate aside and rising from his chair. He realized he had a lot of unfinished business on shore, and…he had a colony to run with Seth. His life hadn't stopped. In fact, it may have just gotten busier.
"Me too!" Adina announced, and Atem grabbed her by the arm, setting her firmly back onto her seat, pointing at the plate silently with one index finger.
"No," she pouted, glaring at Atem challengingly. "I'm gonna follow Daddy to work."
Atem glared right back at her before she faltered and bent her head down to eat in dignified silence.
Mahad eyed Atem as he swam out of the dining hall to follow Kaiba, hoping the king would talk some sense into Seto. Their home life for their daughter was already unstable. And he'd done that man a great favor by giving him back his fins…was he going to throw it all away? Why? To live the rest of his time out on land? Impossible!
"And this is why you don't Mate or bear eggs with Ambassadors, Undercover Warriors, or…warriors of any rank," Solomon instructed Adina gently. "Imagine if your mate had to constantly leave for shore. How would you feel?"
"Bad," Adina said flatly. "And sad."
"Yes, bad and sad indeed," Solomon echoed gravely, sighing.
Mahad felt a strange pang in his chest as he realized…this was why Mana always held him at an arm's length. Were all maidens taught this rhetoric at such a young age?!
What a horrible realization
Kaiba swam through the maze of pillars, marveling at the architecture while his mind was in turmoil.
He caught another glimpse of his own reflection in a pillar decorated with shards of mirror glass, and his heart clenched.
He was a fish now.
Officially.
Very officially.
Perhaps royally would be the correct term.
Life was about to get complicated.
But he had… "died" on land.
Oh, fuck. He had died.
Mokuba and Noah must've been devastated!
Oh fuck oh fuck….
Kaiba floated to a stop and found himself in the middle of a garden of sorts. Beautiful bright coral was arranged in a circular pattern, following a curving path to the center, where a magnificent glass sculpture of a seahorse sat regally, decorated with shell necklaces and streams of colorful kelp.
Floating higher and higher, Kaiba appreciated the way the garden resembled a nautilus shell from above. Very clever.
Suddenly, a strong arm looped around his neck and dragged him down heavily. Joey's irritating voice rang in his ears, and Kaiba's blood boiled.
"AYyyyy Sethyyyy," Joey grinned, and he pushed Seth into Tristan's chest where his buddy looped his arm around Seth's pale shoulders and knocked his forehead against his.
"'Sup. Heard you smashing fins with Atem while Rich Boy is MIA," Tristan snickered, and Kaiba's stomach clenched, wondering how news traveled this fast.
And of course these imbeciles treated Seth like this.
"Hands…off," Kaiba said coldly, and Tristan let him go immediately, holding his hands up defensively.
"Hey, missed ya, that's all," the brown-haired warrior said with a worried frown. "So, where's your bro? He's not really, like, dead or anything right? I don't believe anything Joey has to say about his funeral. He can't die man, he was awesome."
"Oh really," Kaiba breathed, his heart sinking when he realized…Mokuba had probably arranged a funeral for him. Oh fuck. He needed to see Mokuba right now to tell his little brother that he was alive.
"Okay listen," Joey said breathlessly. "There were chairs and everything! Moki dyed some flowers black? He even almost killed Atem, forreal, no lie. He shouted at him like, "you ruined his life, you fuck!" and Atem almost cried. I got a raise tho, so, skewers on me?"
"What? Wait, what?!" Kaiba reeled, pressing a hand to his forehead as a headache came rushing unexpectedly. "Mokuba thinks Atem ruined my life? I mean…maybe that's all he saw…."
"Your life? You mean, Seto Kaiba's…. life…?" Tristan's frown deepened, before he raised his eyebrows and let out an ecstatic shout. "RICH BOY?!"
He dove at Kaiba and tackled him into a crushing bear hug.
"Oh my GOD you're ALIVE!" He crowed, and Joey just gaped in horror, his spear hanging loosely in his hand.
"Hey, you better swim to Seth and tell him, man, he seemed hella broken up about it," Tristan said seriously. "Dude, I think it's pretty awesome you can fuck Atem for a month though, tell me where that stamina comes from! Can you teach me? There's this girl I like—"
"Which way to my shore?" Kaiba asked, interrupting Tristan's rant.
"…. And she always complains that I…what? Which shore?" Tristan scratched his head. "OH! You mean, to your human home…? Ahhh kay, map time. Hands out."
Kaiba pressed his hand into Tristan's much warmer one and shut his eyes, carefully sealing the map away in his memory. He appreciated that these goons were always good for something….
"Hey…" Joey growled, hearing Kaiba's thoughts. "A 'thank you' would be nice, yeesh."
Kaiba rolled his eyes and started to give Joey a wave but stopped himself halfway and decided to backtrack by tossing his hair over his shoulder haughtily.
This ponytail was good for something after all.
"Arrogant prick on the land and sea," Joey grumbled, glaring after Kaiba's silhouette.
He turned to verify this with Tristan and received a slight shock when Atem came zipping out of the palace and zoomed after Kaiba, panting breathlessly.
"Whoa, the king," Tristan cried, waving happily at his spiky-haired friend.
Atem threw a glance over his shoulder and waved back at his friends before he powered forward to chase after Kaiba, his heart thudding with nervousness when he wondered if Kaiba really wanted to go back to shore.
"Kaiba…wait!" Atem cried, finally catching up to his partner, and he reached out to grab his hand.
Kaiba slowed down and gave Atem a meaningful look. Panic was clearly etched in his handsome features, and his eyes were unusually wide, looking as if he was trying to…hold back tears.
"I need to see Mokuba," Kaiba said hoarsely, his heart pounding heavily at the thought of Mokuba believing he was dead.
"Don't worry, I know the way to your shore," Atem said reassuringly, and Kaiba gave his hand a warm squeeze.
"Tristan gave me a map," Kaiba squeezed Atem's hand warmly in return, and Atem swam ahead, leading him upwards through the water.
"I know a faster way," Atem offered, and he let go of Kaiba's hand to dive ahead without waiting, knowing that Kaiba would follow him no matter what.
Noah sat glumly on the beach, burying his action figure furiously with big scoops of his hand while his dad sat beside him, staring out over the water the same way Seto used to.
Sitting back on his heels, Noah heard a telltale splash, and he jumped to his feet, bending down to tug on Mokuba's sleeve. "Delivery!"
"You get it," Mokuba said dully, resting his head in his arms. "It's not Seto."
Frowning, Noah stood in place, continuing to tug at his dad's sleeve. "But I can't swim that well yet."
"You've had lessons, are you learning nothing?" Mokuba snapped, and he reminded himself to be more gentle. His therapist said he was moving through the 'anger' stage of grief, so he had to watch his moods around his child.
He would never accept Seto had died until he had proof.
Seto wasn't dead. He knew that.
"SETH!" Noah cried happily, letting go of Mokuba's sleeve and racing into the water excitedly. "Uncle Seth, you got news?"
Kaiba and Atem rolled onto the beach after riding a powerful wave, and Kaiba shook the seaweed out of his hair, impressed that Adina's bow had remained intact. And what the fucking fuck? Why was everyone calling him 'Seth' on sight? It was this damn hair.
"Haha, nice bow," Noah grinned, pointing and making a face. "You look like a girl."
"Thanks," Kaiba accepted the insult as a compliment and flashed Noah his fangs in a smile. "What's up, kid?"
"Ah….ah!" Noah gasped, grabbing and twisting the hem of his shirt and dancing on his toes in the cold water. "Seto! Seto, ohmigosh, is that you? And, and hi, Adina's papa! Where is she?"
"At home," Atem said warmly, and a spray of water caught him across the face as Noah dashed across the wet sand to throw his arms around Seto's neck in a crushing hug.
Mokuba lifted his head heavily, staring at the pale, muscular arms wrapped around Noah's body, unsure if his ears were playing tricks on him.
Either Seth was playing a cruel joke, or Seto had magically grown his hair out like that in the span of a month.
"Hey!" Kaiba called, waving to his brother who was sitting dumbstruck in the sand. "I heard you threw me a death party. Who showed up?"
Death party? Atem thought nervously, and he watched as Mokuba struggled to his feet and stumbled towards them, looking worse for wear.
Mokuba stood before Seto, taking in his blue-green tail, which was nothing new, because he'd seen it a bunch of times before…on someone else, and the waist-long hair that was slowly drying in the sun, and he caught a mean glint in his older brother's eye that set his insides on fire.
Shaking uncontrollably as tears rolled down his cheeks, Mokuba raised his hand shakily and slapped Seto across the face as hard as he could.
Shocked, Kaiba felt his neck twist to the side, and his ears burned with a mixture of fury and embarrassment, his cheek stinging.
Okay, fine.
Yeah, he deserved that.
Noah stepped back and clumsily sat down beside Atem in the sand, hugging his knees protectively as he watched his father raise his hand warningly again.
"Mokuba! I'm sorry! Alright? I'm sorry," Kaiba breathed, holding his hands above his head defensively as Mokuba threatened to slap him again. "I didn't know!"
"Didn't know w-what?" Mokuba eyed his brother threateningly, barely able to speak through his sobs. "You f-faked your death and left me in the dark! As usual! And do you want to explain your freaky fish clone?!"
"Who, Seth?" Kaiba cried, wincing when Mokuba advanced on him, but his brother lowered his arm and collapsed in the sand beside him, hugging him tightly, his voice muffled into his shoulder as he sobbed quietly.
"I didn't know he existed either," Kaiba said simply, patting Mokuba on the back gently while his brother shook in his arms.
They stayed that way for a long time before Mokuba pulled away and gazed tearfully into Seto's youthful face, his chest tightening with emotion.
"You haven't aged…" Mokuba whispered, and he drew Seto into another tight hug. "Thank god. You really are something, Seto. Just stop making me worry. That's all I'm asking."
"Yeah, Seto," Noah chimed in, and he received a pretty smile from the spiky-haired merman. "Oh! Did Uncle Seth tell you about the spear problem?"
Kaiba brushed the tears away from his face quickly, seeing Mokuba catch the diamond in his palm and gaze moodily down at it.
"What spear problem?" Atem asked, giving the boy's knee a warm pat. "He needs weapons?"
"Or something," Noah shrugged, having lost interest already after delivering his message successfully. "Make more spears for him, Seto."
"I'm going to have to ask you to do it," Kaiba said guiltily, gazing into Mokuba's wet, gray eyes. To his relief, Mokuba nodded and agreed without an argument.
"I'm already on it," he said proudly, sitting down in the sand beside his brother. "Come get them in a couple days and we could…roast marshmallows?"
"Yes! Yes! Yay!" Noah cheered, clapping his hands. "Can Adina come?"
"I don't know…" Atem said nervously, throwing Kaiba a worried glance. What would they be roasting? Marsh…? Mallows? Was it a bloody ritual?
"We'll come," Kaiba said firmly, giving Mokuba a warm smile, and his brother nodded too.
"With legs. We'll come with legs," Atem said, with conviction, and Kaiba gave him a shocked look.
What. Was. Atem. Suggesting?! The impossible, clearly!
"Oh, right, we were…playing so much, I didn't get to tell you my secret," Atem placed a slender finger to his lips and winked handsomely at Kaiba. "I found it. And Joey made us a 'kit' with a phone that reaches Mokuba. It's all set."
"I'll keep that number forever," Mokuba said vehemently, and Kaiba's head spun with incredulity.
What? What?!
"Where is it?" Kaiba asked aggressively, feeling his cheeks burn with longing. "What does it look like? How far?"
"You'll know more when we come up here to roast…whatever creature it is," Atem answered vaguely, and Noah rolled over laughing.
All the adults stared at him, and Noah gasped for breath, pointing at Atem and saying, "he thinks marshmallows are alive!"
Kaiba felt a smile tugging at his lips and he saw Atem give the kid an offended look.
Cute. Fucking cute.
author's note:
Last chapters incoming! This fic is ending! Gjaslkjdljalkjfakjshwd
Am I getting better at endings/reunions? im seriously scared of them but I think I did pretty ok for this one…