CHAPTER 27: THE I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BLEED CLICHÉ:

THE I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BLEED CLICHÉ: No matter the genre, there's always a moment when the hero, who's too sick or wounded to stand, has to fight, because the world – or their spouse's dinner party – will go up in flames if they don't. Just about every Star Trek character has taken their turn saving the galaxy while fighting off an alien induced illness. And then there's the Dick Van Dyke show's Rob Petrie, who pretends he's not sick to avoid ruining his wife's party, only to collapse in the middle of playing Charades.

MORAL: In stories, world domination is usually on the line. But anyone who's had to go into work or school because they've used up their sick days, need the money, or have a big test can still relate.

But what happens when, as with Rob Petrie, the emergency simply doesn't exist?

Kaiba usually sprang into the day with the suddenness of a starting pistol firing, but on Thursday morning, he drifted awake, clutching the remnants of his dream. He'd been in his favorite computer lab. Everything was coming together with an effortlessness that proved it was a dream. Kaiba sat up and cleared his throat, swallowing down the annoying tickle at the back of it. He reached for his phone and recorded his fading impressions. He didn't expect anything to come of it, but when it came to his designs, he'd take inspiration however it came.

The sound of his voice woke Atem. He smiled sleepily, listening to Kaiba recording coding ideas.

Atem sat up. Kaiba turned to face him. He swallowed again and coughed.

"Are you looking forward to tonight?" Atem asked, hugging his knees.

Kaiba scanned Atem's face, watching as Atem's smile faded the longer it took Kaiba to answer. Kaiba had spent the week researching romances for relationship pointers. They hadn't helped, except to confirm there was no way he could screw up worse than the couples in those stories. It was his move.

"Yes!" he shouted defiantly. "I'm looking forward to being alone with nothing but my own imagination. I'd rather spend time in my computer lab than with you. Well, for the next few days, anyway," he clarified. Atem stared at him, open-mouthed, "Say something!" Kaiba demanded.

"Have a good time," Atem said.

"What?" Kaiba yelled. He scowled, remembering his own see-sawing emotions, during Atem's absence. And here Atem was, smiling at him like it didn't matter whether Kaiba came home or not.

"I want you to be happy."

Kaiba got up, took a couple of steps forward, then stopped. Atem said it so easily. Kaiba had also wanted Atem to be happy throughout the weekend he'd spent at Bakura's. But, as expected, that weekend had been a struggle: with doubt, with fear, with guilt for not trusting Atem, for not believing hard enough or at all. It didn't matter that every wound had been self-inflicted. Every minute had brought another paper cut, each too small for significance, each drawing its tithe of blood, until he'd escaped the days into a nightmare infested sleep.

"I want you to be happy."

Kaiba didn't know how to react to words said so lightly; they lacked the copper-bright taste of blood.

Atem erased the distance between them, drew Kaiba's head downwards and kissed him. "I want you to be happy," he repeated.

Kaiba yanked Atem into his arms, as much a bear hug as an embrace. He kissed Atem with the fever that was starting to sing in his blood, sore throat and morning aches forgotten, responding desperately to Atem's gesture, to the tone of his voice, the softness of his touch, as though they had unlocked a deeper meaning to the words, "I want you to be happy," a simpler, alternative truth.

Atem smiled and pushed Kaiba towards the bathroom. "How about we get dirty before getting clean?"

Kaiba and Mokuba left for work and school after breakfast. Atem went back upstairs to put the finishing touches on his last drawing for Isis, then headed out to the museum. He texted Kaiba during the day, sending a stream of pictures: Isis supervising her installation crew, lunch in the museum cafe, and copies of his drawings, even though Kaiba would be seeing them later. Kaiba replied with selfies of himself at work and Blue Eyes White Dragon emojis. Atem made sure his texts were upbeat and cheery. It was strange thinking they'd be apart tonight.

He headed home in time for dinner. Yugi had asked if he wanted to meet up, but he couldn't leave Mokuba alone, as if with Seto's absence, his little brother had lost all importance.

"Do you think your brother remembered to eat?" Atem asked Mokuba as they plowed into their steaks.

Mokuba snickered. "They leave it on a tray outside the door. Everyone's afraid to disturb the genius at work."

"Even Isono?"

"He's the only one brave enough to knock and wait for an answer."

Just then, Atem's phone pinged. Kaiba had sent a picture of himself sitting at his computer, funneling a beef and rice dish into his mouth. As if he'd heard their conversation, he added: "Yes, I'm eating."

"Maybe we should talk about him going to sleep next," Mokuba suggested. "Just imagine if we could zap ideas into his brain."

"I don't know about that. Wouldn't that mean he could zap ideas into ours?" Atem teased.

Mokuba glared at him. "My brother has good ideas!"

Atem sighed. There were some lines he was never going to be able to cross.

Kaiba spent Thursday tying up loose ends, like a responsible corporate CEO should. He grinned as he cleared the last task from his calendar. He reminded his secretary not to bother him on Friday and headed out to the museum.

Isis met him at the door with all the polished politeness of a senior executive greeting an established and generous donor. Kaiba grinned.

He stalked through the exhibit, focused on how his holograms would work within the space, stopping occasionally to cough.

"You could pretend to look at the priceless artifacts," Isis chided.

"Priceless? I seem to recall paying a lot of money for the excavation."

Isis raised her chin. "I would have managed."

"I can just see you sneaking in with a pickaxe, a lantern and a bullwhip."

Isis raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'd stoop to grave robbing?"

Kaiba leaned back against a display case and chuckled. "Not really. You fed me a straight line and I couldn't resist."

"It was a good comeback," Isis admitted.

"And you like being called a badass, even an unscrupulous one."

Isis laughed. "That, too."

They finished the walkthrough in quiet harmony.

"What do you think?" Isis asked.

"I think everyone will take it for a myth."

Isis shrugged, an elegant, almost unseen movement. "I'm not responsible for the world's understanding. Maybe the world could use a few good myths."

Kaiba's grin was balanced on a knife's edge. "Local boy makes good, chooses games over war."

"Which local boy are you speaking of?"

"Whichever you want. It's all a myth, anyway, right?"

"And yet, every word is true," Isis pointed out.

"That's the essence of a good myth. Like a good advertising campaign, the trick is telling the truth while leaving everything of importance out."

Isis laid Atem's sketches on top of a display case. Kaiba went through them slowly. He'd seen them before, but this was the first time he was doing it with the layout he'd just walked through in mind.

"They'll make a charming children's book as well," Isis said.

"You can send the contract to my office to look over when you draw it up," Kaiba said, without turning his attention from Atem's drawings.

Isis' eyes flashed. "Do you think I would cheat the pharaoh? Or are you just succumbing to another irresistible temptation to be a jerk?"

"Ex-pharaoh," Kaiba corrected. "A year ago, I would have said, yes, if it served your purposes. Now…" he shrugged. "No. I don't think that."

Isis let out a slow breath. "Then, that's progress for both of us."

"Point taken." Kaiba coughed, swallowed and winced.

"Are you okay?" Isis asked quickly, suddenly noticing his over-bright eyes.

"A sore throat. Nothing an all-nighter in the computer lab won't cure."

Isis shook her head. "And some things are destined to remain the same."

Atem and Mokuba retreated to the game room after dinner. Atem tried not to notice how present Kaiba was in his absence. At least it gave them a chance to finalize plans for Kaiba's birthday in private. It had been Atem's idea, but Mokuba was handling the logistics with the flair and efficiency expected of a Kaiba Corporation vice president.

Atem went to bed, trying to recapture the delicious feeling of solitude from his weekend at Bakura's. Instead, he was adrift, marooned on a giant bed, with Kaiba's philodendron framed dragons looking down on him. He twisted on the bed, trying to find a comfortable spot. He grabbed Kaiba's pillow, soothed by the faint scent that clung to it and dozed off, only to repeat the process each time he woke up throughout the night.

He escaped from bed in the morning. At least he hadn't had a nightmare. That put him one up on Kaiba.

Mokuba's eyes gleamed as he took in Atem's woebegone face. Mokuba snapped a picture of Atem pushing his food around his plate. When Atem had disappeared for a weekend, his brother had been a basket case behind a see-through veneer of indifference. Mokuba grinned. He had the proof that Atem was just as bad.

Atem barely noticed Mokuba playing with his phone. He answered Mokuba's questions at random, glad one of them was taking Kaiba's absence in stride. He sat up and tried to pay attention. Mokuba was grumbling about having to go to school when all the interesting stuff was happening, as usual, at Kaiba Corporation.

"I wouldn't mind stopping by Kaiba Corporation, either," Atem mumbled.

"Why don't you? It's not like you have some dumb school you have to go to."

"He's been looking forward to this all week. I'm not barging in. It's bad enough I keep texting, but at least he can ignore those if he's busy." Atem crossed his arms. "You should have seen him in limbo, hunched over his duel disk, totally absorbed in beating all the odds, taking on a goddess if that's what it took to get home, his fingers flying over the duel disk's guts, his words coming even faster, ranting about nexus points and many worlds theory and something about a cat in a box. I think I fell in love with him in that moment." Atem paused and shrugged. "I just want him to be happy."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "I bet telling him you miss him would make him happy."

Atem stared at Mokuba as though he'd suddenly started speaking ancient Egyptian instead of Japanese. He pulled out his phone and typed: "I missed you last night but I'm glad you're having fun. Imagining you in your computer lab makes me smile."

He laughed at Kaiba's one-word answer: "Why?"

"Because you're beautiful when you're thinking."

Atem laughed again as he got a Blue Eyes White Dragon launching a neutron blast in reply.

Mokuba headed off to school, still complaining that corporate vice presidents shouldn't be expected to study moral education. Atem threw on an oxblood leather jacket, slung his messenger bag over his shoulder and went to the museum out of habit. He handed in his sketches and looked around. The rooms were almost complete. Kaiba Corporation technicians were in place, installing holographic emitters. He left in the afternoon to meet the gang in the park.

Although he'd seen Yugi and texted Jounouchi and cleared the air, it was the first time meeting the gang since the fight.

Jounouchi walked up to him as soon as he entered the park, saying, "I'm sorry. Sometimes I shoot off my mouth without thinking."

"Sometimes?" Honda asked, raising an eyebrow.

The wrestling match that followed was welcome in its predictability. Atem sighed in relief.

"At least those two are being idiots in a park. I hate it when we get kicked out of Burger World," Anzu said.

"Don't give them any ideas or they'll try to get thrown out of the park, next!" Yugi begged.

"I mean it," Jounouchi said to Atem when he and Honda finally pulled apart.

"Don't be. Yugi and I would still be talking in circles without you," Atem answered.

Jounouchi stuck out his tongue at Anzu. "See! I helped!"

Anzu folded her arms across her chest to keep from smacking Jounouchi. She exhaled loudly. "Boys!"

"I don't know what you expected," Honda said. "Jounouchi was going to Jounouchi."

"So, I should expect him to stick his foot in his mouth every time he opens it?" Anzu asked.

"Basically, yeah. And Yugi and Atem are going to dance around every tough topic 'til the cows come home, rather than risk hurting each other."

"And I'm going to give everyone good advice that no one ever listens to?"

"Yup," Honda said smugly. "It's our own brand of destiny. And it'll all work out in the end because we're friends forever."

"At last, something we can all agree on," Yugi said.

Jounouchi and Honda flopped on the ground. Anzu, Yugi and Atem sat on a bench. Atem pulled his sketchpad out of his bag.

"I didn't know you liked to draw!" Yugi's face turned into a question mark. "Did you know you liked to draw?"

Atem shook his head. "Not until I got my memories back."

Yugi's eyes widened. He whispered, "And I never drew, not even a doodle, in the whole time you were with me, so you never got to see if you liked it. I'm sorry."

"Stop! Don't apologize for being the condition of my existence! You gave me a window onto the world. It's not your fault it wasn't a door! We have to stop blaming ourselves for all we didn't see or know or do."

Yugi smiled. "I'd like that."

"Now that that's settled, show us your drawings!" Anzu urged.

They left the park, met up with Bakura, Malik and Rishid at Burger World, then headed over to the arcade. Atem continued to send pictures of his day: Honda chasing Jounouchi who was holding Honda's book bag above his head, Jounouchi trying to inhale a burger in one bite, Anzu winning at Dance Dance Revolution as Yugi cheered her on. Kaiba replied with a mix of technobabble and philosophy. "What are memories? Are they bound by our bodies, or can they clear even that last barrier? Can any of us truly share an experience? What is connection? Is it an illusion, a dream we cheat ourselves chasing? Or is it quantifiable? Is it a matter of particles and electricity?"

Atem smiled. He replied: "You're cute when you think."

He headed home for dinner. Mokuba was bouncing in his seat. "I'm going to Kaiba Corporation tomorrow afternoon! Nisama said he needs his vice president to review the basic designs for his holograms! He said I could stay up with him all night!"

"Have fun! Maybe I'll go to Yugi's."

"Cool! We can both have no-sleep sleepovers!" Mokuba exclaimed.

Atem shook his head. Apparently, Mokuba was fine with Kaiba not sleeping as long as he could join the party.

On Saturday, Atem headed out to spend the day with Yugi and the gang. He sent pictures during the day as usual, but Kaiba's responses dwindled to random emojis, and then stopped altogether. He frowned. There was no reason to be hurt or worried but he was both. He paused, wondering if texting Mokuba was cheating on his promise to give Kaiba the space he wanted, then typed, "Let me know when you get to KC. How are things going?"

Mokuba's reply came with reassuring swiftness: "Already here! My brother says to have fun at Yugi's."

Atem smiled, put his phone away and rejoined his friends.

The gang broke up for the night. He went home with Yugi, but he had a hard time concentrating on the movie Yugi had put on. Yugi caught him checking his phone when he thought no one was looking.

"What's wrong?"

"I've been sending Seto pictures but he hasn't answered," Atem said. It sounded silly when said aloud.

"Why don't you call him?"

"Seto said he wanted time for himself. I know what that's like. When I wanted space, Seto gave me an apartment, one he doesn't have the keys to." He shook his head. "I haven't even gone there yet. Besides…"

"Wait! Back up! Kaiba gave you an apartment that you've never seen? It's just like out there somewhere?"

"Yes. It's near the museum. But that's not the point! Letting go is hard for Seto, but he backed me up the whole way. Besides," Atem admitted, "I texted Mokuba and Seto told me to have fun."

"There you go! You said they're doing test runs or something. You know how Kaiba is when he's got an idea stuck in his head. He probably turned off his phone and chucked it in a drawer."

Atem nodded. He wasn't totally reassured, even by Yugi, but he refused to fail a test Kaiba had sailed through.

Atem looked at his phone as soon as he woke up. Still no response. He'd convinced himself yesterday that Kaiba had simply been too wrapped up in his work, but that cheerful thought had dissolved with the morning. He called Kaiba and then Mokuba. Neither answered.

He shook Yugi to wake him up. "He still hasn't responded. I called him and Mokuba but they went straight to voicemail. Something's wrong. I know it. I need to go home."

Yugi blinked and sat up. He stretched, then looked at Atem, the comfortable, comforting words dying on his tongue. "Should I wake Jichan up so he can drive you?"

Atem shook his head. "It's okay." He opened a rarely used app on his phone and arranged for a Kaiba Corporation driver. "I have a ride."

"Text me when you get home and let me know what's going on," Yugi said, hoping they'd have a laugh afterwards at how Atem had gotten worried over nothing.

Atem texted Kaiba and Mokuba from the limo that he was on his way home. He got a thumbs up gesture in return. Atem raced up the steps as soon as he got out of the car. Mokuba was waiting in the hallway.

"How did you hear?" Mokuba asked.

"Hear what?" Atem said, his voice rising. "I didn't hear anything! That's why I'm here. I was worried. Something felt wrong."

"He's sick. He's got strep throat." Mokuba sighed at Atem's look of total incomprehension. "It's caused by a bacteria. It's just a sore throat and a fever, but he was running a high one when I found him yesterday. He was pretty out of it. Everyone was gone for the weekend and security really was afraid to go check on him. It's okay now. The doctors gave him an antibiotic shot and the fever's way down. We're just waiting for the antibiotics to finish the job and keeping fluids in him. That and hoping a virus doesn't decide it's time to pile on."

"You found him yesterday? Why did you make it sound like everything was okay? You had to know I'd come running!"

Mokuba bit his lip. "He made me promise."

Atem sighed. "Of course he did. How did it happen? He was fine on Thursday."

Mokuba shrugged. "Overwork, probably. Or stress. Or a stray bacteria and the overwork and stress didn't help. I thought things were getting better," he said, a note of accusation in his voice.

"They are. This can't be the first time he's worked himself into exhaustion."

"Of course it isn't. Sometimes I swear he forgets he's a human being!"

"It does feel like even bacteria would have the sense to stay out of his way," Atem admitted.

Mokuba's lips twitched up in a brief smile. "He thinks the same thing. Someone should tell him he's wrong."

"Sounds like a challenge to me," Atem said with a grin, rushing past him.

Mokuba groaned. "Do you have to sound like him too?" he mumbled to himself as Atem raced up the stairs.

Kaiba was lying on the bed, tossing restlessly in his sleep, looking for a comfortable spot. His ice blue pajamas accentuated the paleness of his skin. His hair was plastered across his forehead in lank stripes. He looked nothing like he had when he'd been in a coma, but it was still too close a resemblance.

Atem sat on the bed. Kaiba opened his eyes, narrow slits of blue beneath heavy lids. "Why are you here?"

"Don't you want me?"

Kaiba opened his mouth and then snapped it shut, before he shouted, "NO!" He hated having Atem see him so drained he could barely keep his eyes open. But he also liked the way Atem was looking at him, the way he was smoothing the hair off his forehead.

"Seto, why didn't you tell me?"

He didn't have an answer, especially with Atem saying his given name so gently. All he wanted was to hear it again.

He'd acted on instinct, as unthinking as a wounded animal creeping into its lair in a futile attempt to conceal its own helplessness, a pathetic search for the illusion of safety. There was no sanctuary, there never had been, not in a mansion once crammed with Gozaburo's spies and surveillance equipment. He shuddered. Those days were gone. He owned the mansion now, ghosts and all. He was the one in control.

He closed his eyes, refusing to look at Atem. He felt Atem's hand cover his.

"It's okay, Seto. You don't have to talk. Just rest."

There it was. His given name again. The same soft tone.

Ever since they'd returned, his life had been a series of crossroads, littered with as many nexus points as if they'd never left limbo. Each decision could spin off into another life he didn't want. He could hit replay yet again, reliving old recordings, he could fast forward, trying once more to jump over them as if they were glitches in an older technology.

Or he could invite Atem to the watch party.

"Before…when I had an assignment… I had to finish on time. No exceptions. Sickness, injury, they were irrelevant, weaknesses to be overcome." He could see Gozaburo behind his closed eyes, standing behind him, riding crop at the ready, waiting for him to falter, waiting to pounce, the fever-sweat running down his eyes, until he could barely see, until the numbers blurred together… He snapped his eyes open. "This was different. I was where I wanted to be, doing what I wanted, and nothing was going to stop me. I was flying." Kaiba shrugged. "That was probably the fever."

"You expected a virus to respect your schedule?"

"Bacteria," Kaiba corrected automatically.

"You're an idiot," Atem said, ruining the effect of his words with a doting smile.

"It wasn't anything like it had been with my adoptive father, until it was and all I could remember was that I had to keep going. I finished, though," he said proudly. "Or at least I got enough done to send to my R team and they can take it from there. The doctor said I could go to work after a couple of days' rest for the final checks."

"Then, I'm staying home with you."

"No. You were planning to go to the museum. I know you were."

"Plans change."

Kaiba tossed on the bed but didn't answer.

"I need you to know," Atem said. "It will always be safe to call me. I'll always come."

"I do know," Kaiba said. "That's the problem."

Atem frowned. "If you need time or space, if you need me to take a step back, please tell me."

"That's the last thing I want!"

"I don't understand."

"You came home, even though I didn't ask, even though I told Mokuba not to say anything. Do you know what that means? No one's ever done that before. I know I could have called you. But…" He squeezed Atem's hand, then turned away, facing another crossroads. "I was afraid," he whispered.

"Thank you," Atem said.

Kaiba turned back to him. Atem held his gaze in silence, letting Kaiba take his time.

"For what?"

"For sharing a piece of yourself you usually keep hidden. Tell me the rest, Seto."

"I don't even know anymore what I'm afraid of… that if I asked you to come home, you'd ignore me, that you'd come out of pity, that you'd come but resent it, that weakness doesn't deserve a reward." He pushed away the damp strands of hair that had fallen back across his forehead. "And I wasn't going to break my promise."

"You promised to let me make my own choices. So, respect it when my choice is you!"

"I said you could go your own way," Kaiba said with the stubbornness of a sick child.

"Our way runs together."

"Yeah. I forgot." Kaiba managed a shrug.

Atem reached over, took Kaiba's pointed chin in his hand, and turned Kaiba to face him again. "Every time you do, I'll be here to remind you."

Kaiba smiled. "So, we're going forward together, step by stumbling step?"

"If that's what it takes."

Kaiba shut his eyes and sank a little deeper into the pillows. "Sounds like a plan."

"No."

The one word caught Kaiba's attention. His eyes flew open. Atem was smiling his penalty game grin, the one that Kaiba always responded to, the one that made his blood sing in his veins and always had, even when they'd been enemies.

"No," Atem growled. "It's a challenge. We're going forward together if we have to stagger blindfolded into and out of every ditch and swamp along the way. You promised that as well and I'm damned if I'm letting my rival off the hook."

.

Thanks to Bnomiko for betaing this chapter!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I really want to be a fly on the wall when Mokuba shows up at the computer lab to find Kaiba, half-delirious from his fever, and still insisting that Mokuba hide his being sick from Atem, while probably still insisting he was fine. It's a good thing Mokuba has Isono (who doesn't get paid enough) on speed dial.

I looked up the middle school curriculum in Japan and saw that Moral Education was listed. I could just see Mokuba rolling his eyes at the thought of moral education being relevant to his life.

I got the title from the movie "Predator," where it's a line uttered by actor, WWE wrestler and former Minnesota governor, Jesse (The Body) Ventura.

I'm really curious whether Atem's Schrödinger's cat reference (Kaiba talking about a cat in a box) stood out for anyone?

I'm sorry for the long delay between posting. There's only a couple of chapters left and I hope to get them finished more quickly.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Stay safe everyone!

SOCIAL MEDIA NOTE: I am on Tumblr, Dreamwidth and Pillowfort as Nenya85. Come check me out there!

To paraphrase Louise Rosenblatt, "A story's just ink on the page until a reader comes along to give it life." This is my way of saying that I'd really like to hear what you think. Please comment.