Queer As Tachi – Chapter 42
The month leading up to the tournament had flown by, but all of a sudden, the last week slowed to a crawl. Yugi was putting in extra hours in order to give his grandfather enough of a break to relax, since he would be manning the shop alone for at least four days while Yugi was gone. Not that Solomon Muto couldn’t handle it, but he, like Yugi, had gotten very used to the half-days they now swapped with each other in the shop. In his fleeting moments of free time, Yugi thought about checking the Industrial Illusions official website for the tournament, but he never actually got around to it. At least he could say with some confidence that the photoshoots were over – it was less than a week away and no one had called from the local office. Most of his money had gone right into the store and his savings, except for what he splurged on his friends and family for Christmas. So, as the days ticked by, Yugi concentrated on work and remembering to pack, adding extra clothing for Yami and the watch he used to time the ritual properly, setting it ahead to the correct time in Hong Kong. It wasn’t until the day before he was scheduled to leave that he actually packed his deck, wanting to leave himself every opportunity to practice or at least go through it and restructure it. He only thumbed through it once to be sure that every card he regularly used, minus the three Egyptian god cards (back in the safe where they belonged), was in it before tucking it into the pouch that he usually carried on his belt and snapping it shut. “There,” he said, half to himself, half to his inner partner. “Now we can be ready no matter what deck restrictions Pegasus puts on us. We’ll just switch around whatever we need to.”
A translucent vision of Yami materialized beside him, looking with him into the depths of the carry-on bag Yugi was packing. “Do you want to bring my deck as well? Or will we not have time to duel each other for practice?”
Yugi smirked to himself. “Well, I was kind of thinking we might have other things to do that would take up all our time,” he said suggestively. “But I can bring it if you want. Just in case.”
Yami chuckled with him. “Yes, the same thing that often distracts us when we could be dueling. But there are some good cards in that second deck. I wouldn’t personally play it in a tournament, but it’s good for some fun.”
“Yeah. I’ll throw it in, then.” Yugi took the second deck, which Yami occasionally used on those rare occasions when they could tear themselves out of each other’s arms and actually duel each other, from its place on his desk and wrapped a rubber band around it so it would survive the trip in his bag. A few more personal items and a double-check of the clothing allotment, and he zipped it shut, satisfied. “All right. That’s it. Hong Kong, here we come.”
Yami beamed proudly at him. “I’m looking forward to this. I’m glad we agreed not to skip the ritual just because of the tournament.”
“Me too,” Yugi admitted, “but I’m a little concerned about security, and whether it’ll be an issue if I have you around. After all, the letters we got from Pegasus about the trip were pretty clear on there being no room for friends or family members to come along and cheer us on. Not even minors are allowed a guardian unless they clear it with Industrial Illusions.”
“Hmm,” the pharaoh’s spirit mused thoughtfully. “I suppose there isn’t anything we can do about that. If anyone gives us trouble, you are under contract with Pegasus until the hour the tournament begins – you can ask him to intervene.”
“I suppose.” Yugi began to smile. “I’ll miss having Tristan and Duke along like usual, but I’ve still got Joey, and he’s got me. And there’s a whole couple of days before the tournament actually begins, we can settle in and have some fun by ourselves first. It’s perfect.” He flopped to a seat on his bed, facing the vision of the spirit standing there with him. “I’m never going to sleep tonight, you know. I’m too excited.”
Yami raised an eyebrow. “Is that a request to sleep inside the Puzzle with me?”
Yugi blinked wide, violet eyes at him. “Maybe…”
Yami laughed under his breath. “Stop that. You know I can’t resist that look.”
“As long as you know to wake me up before my alarm goes off so I can actually hear it…”
“Yes, yes, I know.” The vision vanished, but Yami’s voice remained in his lover’s mind. “How many times have we done this, Yugi? I know how to best take care of you. You’re welcome inside the Puzzle with me tonight…we’ll rest up for the tournament in our own way…”
Despite the precaution, Yugi still greeted his alarm in the morning with a bleary glare, dragging himself out of bed reluctantly despite the eager tug of his destination. He had already planned to meet Joey and Mai at the airport, since they were all getting there under their own power so as not to have to leave Mai’s car in the lot for a week. That left him just enough time to grab a shower, get dressed, and double-check that he had his luggage, special ticket, and passport before hopping on the bus to cross town and get to the airport on time. Once on the bus with his duel disk strapped to his arm, Yugi was alert enough to get excited, and was grinning from ear to ear when he disembarked and immediately ran into Joey and Mai by the doors of the airport. They hurried inside to at least get out of the cold, enthusing over how nice and warm it would be in Hong Kong when they got off the plane, and paused to look around at the signs and electronic bulletin boards in the hopes of finding which gate they were supposed to go to after passing through security and customs. While they stood there debating, all of them heard someone call, “Joey! Yugi!” and turned to look. Striding towards them from a far door were Tristan, Duke, and Bakura, the former waving to get their attention. “Hey, guys!” he said as they all met. “Couldn’t let you off without some good luck wishes.”
Joey clasped his hand strongly. “Man, I can’t believe it. You guys all wanted to come down and see us off?”
“Well, since they won’t let us come with you this time,” Duke shrugged. “I heard a rumor Tristan was going to meet you here, couldn’t let him get in the last word before you left.” He smirked at Tristan.
“It’s only fair,” Bakura added. “We all wanted to wish you the best.”
“Thanks, all of you,” Yugi said brightly. “I wish we could bring you along! It’s just not a tournament without all of the gang there…”
“Making snide comments from the sidelines, getting into trouble,” Joey grinned. “At least there’s no shadow games to worry about this time.”
“No, thankfully not,” Bakura said with a sheepish sort of smile.
“Got any idea who your toughest opponent might be?” Tristan wondered.
“My money’s on Kaiba,” Mai replied. “We don’t even know who else might be there, but I’m pretty confident in saying, he’s up to the challenge.”
“Well, good luck,” Duke said, sticking out a hand to Yugi and then Joey in turn. “Do us proud.”
“Thanks.” Joey shook his hand vigorously. “You’re gonna watch the finals, right?”
“Depends on if you make it there,” Tristan teased him. They both smacked each other back and forth in retaliation a couple of times.
“If anything major happens, one of us should call you and let you know,” Yugi thought out loud. “Otherwise, yeah. The final round is going to be on TV, so just watch that and find out if we made it.”
“Do your best,” Bakura encouraged. “We’ll be rooting for you from home.” His eyes lingered briefly on Yugi, but then flicked to the other two. “That goes for all of you.”
Yeah, make us proud,” Duke added. “Kick some ass.”
“Bring me back a present,” Tristan added.
“You’re not cute enough,” Joey snorted. “And my girlfriend is coming along, so nyeah.”
“Aww…” Tristan turned to his other friend. “Yugi?”
Yugi laughed. “If I see anything in the airport gift shop that screams ‘Tristan,’ I’ll make sure to get it for you.”
They all laughed at that, and then Mai checked her watch. “Come on, boys,” she said, taking Joey’s arm forcefully. “We’re going to be late if we don’t get a move on it. We still have to go through security.”
“Take care,” Bakura wished them. “Have fun, do your best.” He embraced Yugi quickly, and then clasped hands with Joey and Mai. Tristan also gave out a couple of rather manly hugs, pounding Yugi on the back, and the three of them stood back while the duelists stepped away, waving. Within moments, they had disappeared into the security queue where their friends could not follow this time. Bakura glanced at the other two with a quiet smile. “Thank you for calling me and letting me know when they were leaving,” he said to Duke.
“No problem,” Duke shrugged. “Figured you might want to, since you missed out on your chance to be going with them.”
“Hey,” Tristan said with a gesture toward the departure gates, “wanna go watch the plane take off?”
“Yeah, sure,” Duke answered.
“I should be going,” Bakura said regretfully. “I have a class in an hour. Thanks again.”
Duke and Tristan both waved farewell to him as he turned and left them, after which Duke’s hand came lightly to rest on his companion’s back to guide him away toward a window where they could see the private planes taxi for takeoff.
The private plane stood gleaming on the tarmac in the morning sun, waiting for its intended cargo to be ushered aboard into the opulence that only Industrial Illusions could provide. Towing their luggage behind them, Yugi, Joey, and Mai paused to look up at the plane with unabashed awe. “Second time on a private jet!” Joey crowed. “Say what you will about Pegasus, he knows how to treat his guests.”
“Come on, let’s find this person we’re supposed to check in with so we can get on board,” Yugi said, elbowing Joey in the side.
Fortunately, the person in question was waiting at the foot of the stairs, looking very businesslike in a trim purple suit and red-rimmed glasses. She glanced up at the approach of the three young people and smiled her best public-relations smile. “You must be the invitational duelists,” she said warmly, glancing from them to the clipboard in her hand. “Yugi Muto, Joey Katsuya, Mai Valentine.”
“That’s us,” Yugi affirmed.
“What’s for lunch?” Joey wondered. “Pegasus is providing lunch, isn’t he?”
The woman smiled tightly. “You can leave your bags here, our people will put them on board the plane. Go on up and take a seat. We’re waiting for one more qualifying duelist, and then we’ll take off.”
They did so, taking only their duel disks and Mai’s purse with them onto the plane. Though they had seen fine accommodations like this before, they couldn’t resist grins of glee when they stepped through the door into the cabin and saw the neat, polished first-class interior of the plane. There were two sets of facing seats in the front and two in the back, with a bar and lounge in between. Two young boys sat across from each other in the seats on the left, and looked up nervously when the three newcomers entered. Yugi waved a hello to them, and took a seat with his friends on the opposite side of the aisle. Joey bounced in the cushy seat. “Man, this is what I love. Being treated like the world-class duelist I am.”
“It’s easy to get used to,” Mai agreed. “And you wondered why I liked to stay on the tournament circuit for so long. You can’t pass this kind of thing up.”
“Yeah, but we earned our way here.” Joey gave Yugi a smart grin. “We’ve paid our dues and worked our way to the top. Finally, Pegasus recognizes our talent.” He pouted. “Something Kaiba would never do.”
“Don’t expect that to change, even if you do become the world champion.” Yugi craned his neck to peer out the window, trying to see if he could see the last passenger coming. “Kaiba doesn’t give out invitations so easily. I agree, though, that it’s nice of Pegasus to do that.”
“I wonder who else he’s invited, besides Kaiba and the three of us,” Mai mused. “There are a lot of great duelists out there in the world who shouldn’t need to prove themselves in regional finals.”
“I wonder if any of our friends are going to be there,” Yugi added. “I haven’t seen some of them since the last tournaments.”
“Yeah, I can think of a few I don’t want to see,” Joey grumbled.
Just then, a young blond man carrying a backpack breezed into the cabin, a little breathless from hurrying to catch the plane, and gave both sets of faces turning towards him a sheepish little smile before deciding to plunk down in one of the empty seats beside the first two boys. The representative from Industrial Illusions came in right behind him, straightening her glasses and checking something off on the clipboard. The six duelists watched her expectantly, sure that she was about to make some kind of announcement. She smiled another tight, businesslike smile at them before beginning. “Welcome, duelists, to your first step to the Duel Monsters World Tournament. Now that our final passenger has arrived, the captain has been informed and we should be taking off shortly. Your bags are all on board, so everything is set for our flight to Hong Kong. I will be providing you with more information on the tournament once we’re in the air, and yes, Mr. Katsuya…” She shot Joey a wry look. “…lunch will be served during the flight. Now, if you’d all buckle up, we’ll prepare for takeoff.”
Everyone pulled out their seatbelts, filling the cabin with harsh clicks for a few seconds, and then Joey gave a proud laugh. “Aw yeah. The only way to last out a flight like this is free food, baby.”
As Yugi giggled at him, the latecomer leaned across the aisle and questioned, “Yugi Muto?”
Yugi glanced at him in surprise. “Uh…yes, that’s me.”
A hand was offered. “Eiri Murakami. This is quite an honor.” He smiled brightly as Yugi took his hand and bobbed his head in a sort of bow. “I’ve been a fan of yours, it’s nice to finally meet you and be able to play in the same tournament with you.”
“Well, thanks,” Yugi stammered, not sure what to make of the attention. Eiri looked to be about his and Joey’s age, and more suited for modeling or playing in a rock band than dueling, with blond hair styled in that shaggy way that looked random but certainly wasn’t and clear blue eyes, and several earrings in both ears. Yugi gave him a friendly smile. “I may have seen you at the national finals, I was there to watch. Where did you place?”
Eiri smiled proudly. “National champion.”
“Congratulations,” Joey offered, leaning across Mai to listen to the conversation. He shifted his glance to the younger teens in the other seats. “That would make you guys number two and number three, eh?”
The two still looked rather intimidated, but nodded briskly. Eiri glanced at Mai and Joey. “So does that mean all three of you were invited by Pegasus?”
“Uh huh,” Yugi answered. “We’ve all placed in the finals in every tournament since Duelist Kingdom. I’m kind of glad – there are a lot of talented duelists in Japan, I’d hate to have me, Joey, and Kaiba always being the top three in some order preventing anyone else from making it.”
The plane’s engines started up, then, so Eiri excused himself to stash his backpack under his seat and settle in for takeoff. Conversation dwindled between all of them, and they just watched out the windows as the plane taxied across the runway into position and began its journey.
Inside the terminal, Duke and Tristan stood at the big windows watching the little jet wheel away and pick up speed. “Well, there they go,” the former noted.
“It feels kind of weird,” Tristan mused. “I think this is the first time Yugi and Joey have been off to a tournament and I haven’t been there to cheer them on.”
“At least they can cheer each other on. I bet the other finalists don’t have that.” Duke reached over and slipped an arm around Tristan’s waist, guiding him away from the windows now that the plane had raced off out of sight. “You’re going to come over to my place to watch the finals, right?”
“Sure,” Tristan agreed, likewise letting his hand glide over Duke’s ass and slip into the back pocket of his jeans. “I’m pretty sure one of them will make it that far, if not both.”
“If anyone does, it’ll be Yugi. We all know that.” Duke smirked at his boyfriend, and at the hand in his pocket, as they stepped out the sliding doors onto the sidewalk. “What are you doing with the rest of your afternoon?”
“I don’t know.” Tristan cast a sly look at him. “I have the day off. Got any ideas?”
“A few.” Duke feigned deep thought, frowning off in another direction. “Though most of them involve leaving the store in the hands of my managers. The question is, do I trust them that much?”
Tristan hooked a finger in Duke’s belt loop and dragged him to a stop beside his motorcycle, turning him and leaning in with a sultry look. “You trust them enough. Let’s get out of here.”
Once the plane was in the air and the captain had released the passengers from staying belted in, they all settled down for the long flight. An attendant served them all sodas if they wanted them, and then the publicity agent came back in from her private cabin in the back, where the company’s representatives were sitting until needed. She had a stack of large folders with the I2 logo embossed in gold on the cover of each, and read the name from each one in order to hand it to the proper duelist. Yugi opened his to find a few loose sheets of paper with important-looking headers and schedules, a laminated name badge, and other sundry items welcoming him to the World Tournament. “If you’ll look in your folders,” the agent said, as if none of them were, “you’ll each find the passkey and information on your hotel room, the schedule for the tournament events, and a badge which you’ll need to keep on you at all times once the tournament begins. It identifies you as a competitor, and gives you the right to enter all related events, including the televised finals on the second night should you be eliminated but still wish to watch. There should also be a ticket to the reception to meet your fellow duelists the night before. Don’t lose this, or you won’t be allowed into the reception hall.”
Yugi paged through the leaflets, reading the schedule with interest. “The tournament doesn’t start until the day after tomorrow,” he noted. “You mean we get tonight and all of tomorrow just to hang out?”
The agent nodded at him. “The gala reception with Maximillian Pegasus will be tomorrow night, and the tournament begins the following morning. You’ll see on the schedule, orientation is at 9 am, with the duels to commence at noon sharp. You’ll receive all the information on the tournament structure and rules at orientation, and not a moment before, so that all duelists have an equal chance. Most of them will be arriving from around the world in the next twenty-four hours, so Mr. Pegasus arranged it to allow you time to settle in and prepare your decks before the reception.”
“Cool, we get to be there early,” Joey murmured to Yugi. “We should go out on the town.”
The publicity agent looked towards them. “The invited duelists each have a room of their own on an upper floor of the hotel, with fine views of the harbor. Qualifying duelists will be in smaller rooms on lower floors, but each will still have a room of their own,” she added with a glance across the aisle at the three national duelists.
“Sweet!” Joey hissed.
“Now this is what I call a tournament,” Mai smiled.
“Any additional information should be in your packet, which I’d advise you to read thoroughly before the tournament begins,” the representative went on. “If it’s not in there, you don’t need to know it just yet. I have no information on the other tournament qualifiers, nor on the structure and format of the tournament, so don’t bother asking. You’ll find all of that out tomorrow night at the reception. Now, you’re free to move about the plane, and the bar is open if you’d like another soda. Lunch will be served in about an hour.” She turned and strode briskly back towards the private cabin, leaving the duelists to themselves.
Yugi continued to leaf through the folder, looking for information on who was allowed to accompany duelists during the tournament. In the back of his mind, he began to fret about Yami, because if they decided to leave their hotel room at all while he was embodied, he might get stopped by security if he didn’t have a badge. And what would they say if they saw one duelist check into his room but two occupying it? Meanwhile, Joey closed his folder and laughed in delight. “This is great! This tournament is totally gonna blow away anything Kaiba ever threw.”
“It’s going to blow away Duelist Kingdom, too,” Mai said. “I think that’s Pegasus’ intention. He wants this to be the biggest tournament ever.”
“Yeah, that’s what he wants,” Yugi affirmed, still poking through his folder. “It’s called a World Tournament for a reason.”
“It’s just a bummer that we can’t have friends and family along this time,” Joey said regretfully. “I’m gonna miss having our cheerleaders. And I bet some of the other duelists will be a little freaked out, being so far from home without a familiar face in the crowd.”
“Yeah, I’m…kind of worried about that.” Yugi glanced aside to make sure the other three weren’t listening, and then leaned across to Joey, lowering his voice. “Tonight is the full moon, and we’re not going to pass up the chance. What am I going to do with Yami?”
“Stash him in your room and don’t leave it for a minute,” Mai teased.
“But the reception is tomorrow night. We probably have to go to that, if we want to know who our opponents are.”
Joey flipped his folder open again and looked at the sheet of security information that Yugi had been reading. “Well, it says here that you don’t need this fancy badge until the tournament starts, to get into orientation and get yourself signed in. So that part is okay, they probably won’t be checking those for the reception.”
“But there’s a ticket to the reception,” Mai pointed out, picking hers up and waving it. “Don’t lose yours, dork.”
Yugi looked into the corners of the folder where his ticket had fallen, and gave a small start as he realized there were two tickets clipped together. He pulled them out and stared at them. Pegasus knew. “Well,” he whispered, “maybe there won’t be a problem after all.”
Mai and Joey stared at the tickets for a moment, and then both grinned simultaneously. “See?” Joey prodded. “It all works out.”
In the back of his mind, Yugi heard his lover’s deep voice. “That’s good. I wouldn’t want to miss out on the chance to see who we’ll be dueling against, since we’ll duel as a team.”
Yugi smiled to himself, tucking the tickets safely away with his badge and setting the folder aside. “This is going to be really fun. I can’t wait.”
The flight to Hong Kong was by no means short, but with friends to talk to and food and drink on demand at the bar, it was far from boring. One or two of Pegasus’ ubiquitous henchmen lurked in the back corners of the cabin, to keep an eye on the youngsters, but for the most part the I2 staff also onboard the plane stayed in their private cabin in back. The second and third place Japanese finalists were young and clearly had never been in any tournament this classy before, so they kept to themselves and didn’t say much. Joey, Yugi, and Mai talked amongst themselves most of the way, but after lunch, Eiri came and sat in the empty seat next to Yugi. “I thought it would be nice to get to know the people I’m going to have to duel against,” he explained. “Especially you three. You can’t be a Duel Monsters fan and not have heard of you, any of you.”
“Oh yeah?” Joey said, leaning over Mai with an elbow on the arm rest until she shoved him back into his seat. “And what have you heard about me?”
“Second place in Duelist’s Kingdom, in the final four at Battle City,” Eiri said enthusiastically. “You’re one of the hot up-and-comers, Joey. I’ve heard people say that unless they could beat you, they’d have no hope of even getting a shot at Yugi and Seto Kaiba.”
Joey grinned smugly. Mai rolled her eyes. “You’d better stop right there, Eiri,” she groaned. “It’s not like his head needs to get any bigger.”
“But the real reason anyone’s in this tournament is Yugi.” He looked at the young man beside him, though Yugi’s attention was a million miles away, his eyes cast out the window at the clouds. “No one can call themselves world champion unless they beat him, and that’s going to be tough.”
“Hm?” Yugi turned his head, having heard his name. “Oh, I don’t know about that. It’s just a game, really.”
“Not to Kaiba it isn’t,” Joey reminded him.
“Do you know if Seto Kaiba has been invited to play, also?” Eiri asked them.
“Yeah, he’s invited. He’s coming,” Yugi replied.
Eiri smiled coolly. “So, he can’t resist getting his butt kicked by you one more time.”
Yugi shook his head. “There’s no guarantee that I’ll win, or that Kaiba and I will even face each other. For all we know, there’s someone else out there who wants this tournament win more than either of us.” He gave Eiri a small smile. “But I’ll always welcome the chance to face him again. He pushes me to be my best.”
Eiri smiled back. “You know, Yugi, it was you who got me into Duel Monsters in the first place.”
Yugi’s eyebrows raised. “Oh?”
“Yeah, back when you handed Kaiba his first defeat. I heard all about it from my friends who were big into the game at the time, I thought it was great that someone like you could come out of nowhere and knock off the reigning champ like that. It made me want to try, and here I am.”
“Well, that’s great,” Yugi said politely, not sure how to react. “I’m glad I could inspire you.”
“Just don’t think you’re gonna do the same thing,” Joey warned. “There’s a lot of people at this tournament with the same goal in mind. And every one of them has a reason to be in this tournament. Well,” he added with a stupid grin, “maybe some of those reasons aren’t all that important. Not like some of the past tournaments I’ve been in.”
“Yeah, you’re not exactly saving the world this time,” Mai chided him.
Yugi’s attention had drifted back out the window, as he found watching the clouds sail by and just feeling Yami’s presence within him far more interesting than small talk about dueling. The pharaoh’s spirit had nothing to say for now, but he also appreciated the understated pleasure of sharing Yugi’s thoughts without needing to say a word. Eiri gave Joey a strange look. “Saving the world? What does that have to do with Duel Monsters?”
Joey launched into a long explanation about the Battle City tournament, leaving out some of the not-so-salient details about the Millennium Puzzle and the pharaoh but covering the Rare Hunters and their scheme, and giving Eiri additional background on the legendary Egyptian god cards that every duelist into the scene had heard about. Eiri glanced at Yugi now and then, since much of the tale had to do with him, but he wasn’t listening at all and didn’t seem to care. At least Joey had Mai to correct him on certain parts and not let the importance of his own role in the tournament get exaggerated. They talked for a while about dueling, and about what made the game so interesting to them, but Yugi stayed out of it for the most part, only offering a smile to show he heard something now and again. The plane began to approach Hong Kong, requiring Eiri to go back to his seat and buckle in for the last part of the journey. Yugi was already watching out the window, and gasped in wonder as the bustling cityscape appeared suddenly beneath their wing, jutting out into the unbroken blue ocean that had been coasting by beneath them for the whole flight. From within his mind, Yami was also watching. “It looks like we’ve arrived,” he murmured.
“It’s so cool,” Yugi breathed. “Look at the size of those buildings! It’s like Tokyo, only crammed all on this little piece of land.”
“One of those is our hotel,” Joey said. “We’re gonna be right in the heart of Hong Kong. How cool is that?”
“After we get checked in, I’m taking you boys out on the town,” Mai promised. “I’ve been here a couple times, the casino ship I worked on docked here sometimes. I know the best places to eat and some really good night spots.”
“As long as we’re not out too late,” Yugi said, winking at her. “I need to be in my room by midnight.”
Landing was perfectly uneventful and the duelists were hustled from the airport to a special shuttle to take them to their hotel, accompanied by the Industrial Illusions representatives who had flown in with them. Security was already in place around the hotel as they were dropped off and reunited with their luggage, but they already had information on their rooms, so once the publicity agent verified with the desk that everything was in place, they were escorted to the elevators and allowed to go up and put their things away. Yugi, Joey, and Mai were together on one floor, so they bid farewell to the other duelists and rode up on their own. They discovered that the plane from Japan was the first to arrive, meaning they would get more time than all the other duelists to relax and prepare before the tournament. It was still early enough in the afternoon that they could get in some sightseeing and dinner before filling the night with whatever they desired. Yugi figured on getting a nap before midnight, at least. He and Joey had rooms next to each other, with Mai across the hall from Joey. Pushing open his door, Yugi couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement at the sheer size and beauty of his room; it put the guest rooms at Pegasus’ castle to shame. He set his suitcase aside by the bed and walked around with wide eyes, shocked at the size of the bed, the too-pretty fixtures that he was afraid to touch, and the glorious view of Hong Kong and the harbor from his balcony. He had a table and chairs and a little bar area in addition to the bed and a huge bath, more than he could possibly make use of in the next three days. There was a knock at the door, and then both he and Joey were exclaiming to one another about this or that, verifying that they both had the same gigantic room and squealing over the special amenities. “Just don’t touch the mini-bar,” Joey smirked. “I’m sure they’ll still make you pay for that.”
“I can’t believe this! Pegasus is springing for all of this?” Yugi threw his arms out and did a little spin, as if to prove there was actually room to do so. “He’s going to make it impossible for Kaiba to throw a better tournament!”
“Best accommodations ever, that’s for sure.” Joey threw himself onto Yugi’s bed, bouncing for a second before settling down on his back with hands clasped behind his head. “Mai’s right. A guy could definitely get used to this. If only all tournaments were this well-organized.”
Yugi flopped down on the opposite side of the bed, so that their heads were toward each other as they stared at the ceiling. “Yeah. It’s not bad. But I have something better on my mind.”
“Oh?”
“I get this room all to myself…with Yami.”
“Oh man.” Joey tilted his head to give his friend a positively indecent grin. “I’m not gonna see you at all tomorrow, am I?”
“I’m starting to think Mai was right about locking ourselves in here all day.” Yugi beamed at the ceiling. “I mean…look at this place.”
“It’s like a honeymoon for you guys. No, really,” Joey insisted when Yugi snorted. “If you count making your promises over that ring at Christmas, this is your first chance to get away with him and be alone.”
“Hm. I guess you’re right.” Yugi clasped his hands on his chest, fingering the ring on his left hand. “That’s all I can think about. Me and Yami, in this bed, all night and all day…”
“You’re not even thinking tournament right now, are you?”
“Not really, no.”
“Don’t blame you.” Joey tilted his head for another grin. “Maybe I can get Mai to forget about the tournament for tonight, too.”
“Go ahead,” Yugi laughed. “As long as we have these awesome rooms, and nothing to do tomorrow until the reception, we might as well use it as a vacation.”
They laid there for a few minutes, both thinking about their respective lovers and what a couple could do in such nice quarters with a “do not disturb” sign on the door, and then Joey flung out a hand to smack Yugi’s arm. “Come on, let’s go get Mai and get out on the town. Were you going to change or anything?”
“No, I’m good.” Yugi sat up, ruffling his hair, and then checked to make sure his packet of information was safe on the desk before pocketing his room key. “Let’s go! Mai promised us a good time, she better deliver.”
The three of them managed to slip out of the hotel unnoticed, or at least unmolested, as security clearly did not care about their comings and goings so long as the tournament was not yet active. Mai didn’t even need a map to know where she was and where to go, leading them on a short walking tour of the downtown area and briefly pointing out interesting touristy places before guiding them into more native neighborhoods with narrower streets and far more curious shops. They passed through marketplaces for Americans to come and buy cheap knockoff clothing and into a fascinating district to find the best places to eat, and weren’t disappointed. It was somewhat early for dinner, but the place Mai brought them to was so good that they lingered far longer than usual, and ate their fill before finally wandering out and taking a leisurely walk back to the hotel. Mai dragged them to some tourist shops to look at shoes, but they went along more or less willingly, being as Joey was the boyfriend doing his duty and Yugi was too full and happy to care. The sun was setting when they got back to the hotel at last, worn out enough to want to go back to their rooms and sprawl out, and let Yugi get a good nap in before midnight. Yami had not bothered him much throughout the evening, as he was content just to watch and feed off of Yugi’s happiness, knowing that he would be out of the Puzzle shortly anyway. When the elevator doors slid open to admit them to their floor, they saw someone else in the hallway ahead of them, a very familiar figure in his huge white coat with a silver briefcase sitting on the floor beside him. He glanced aside when he heard the elevator chime and the hubbub of happy voices, and frowned darkly. “Oh, great,” they heard him say. “Just my luck.”
“Hey, it’s Kaiba!” Yugi exclaimed. “I was wondering when you were going to get here. Wow, looks like they gave you the room next door to mine.”
Kaiba glowered at the room key in his hand poised to enter, and then at the threesome who came up to his side. “Oh, that’s just wonderful,” he snorted. “And you’ve brought your fan club.”
“I’ll have you know we’re in the tournament, too,” Joey said snidely. “My room’s on the other side of Yugi’s, Mr. Big-shot.”
Kaiba turned towards him, his hand with the key falling to his side in surprise. “What? You, Katsuya?”
“That’s right.” Joey thrust his chest out importantly. “I’m an invited duelist, just like you. So there.”
Kaiba grimaced angrily. Yugi blinked up at him. “Mokuba didn’t tell you?”
Kaiba eyed him. “No. You’re telling me Mokuba knew about this?”
“He saw all of us at the regional finals, at Duke’s.” Yugi shrugged. “I thought for sure he would have told you about that. Yeah, Joey and Mai are also invited, just like you and me.”
Sighing, Kaiba muttered a curse under his breath and resumed unlocking his door, pushing it open. “You geeks keep out of my way. If I hear you making too much noise I won’t hesitate to report you, or knock your heads in myself.”
“Gee, somebody had a rough flight,” Joey taunted. “Don’t worry, rich-boy, I’m sure the walls are soundproof. Lucky for you.”
“They better be,” Yugi breathed, looking away quickly. He glanced back as Kaiba picked up his briefcase and suitcase and prepared to go inside. “Did you just get in, Kaiba?”
Kaiba held the door with his shoulder as he maneuvered himself inside and paused to answer. “Some of us have a company to run. I left at noon and just got here, yes. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d rather not join your little party.” He slipped aside, letting the door slam shut behind him.
“Friendly as ever,” Mai retorted.
“Looks like he didn’t get to bring anyone with him, either,” Yugi noted. “Strange. I thought for sure Mokuba would have run home and told him about you being invited when he saw us, Joey.”
“Yeah…that’s kinda weird. Oh well.” Joey grinned smugly. “The look on his face just now was priceless. I know he’ll never respect me, on account of him being a total jerk, but times like this I don’t mind that so much.”
Mai grabbed him by the shirt collar. “Come on, Joey. Let’s leave Yugi so he can take his nap. You want him to be ready for Yami, don’t you?”
“Joey,” Yugi interrupted them, “um…if you wouldn’t mind, could you do Yami and I a little favor?”
The other two stopped their wrestling and gazed curiously at him. “Yeah, sure Yug, what is it?”
Yugi fidgeted with his ring again. “If you’re still awake at midnight, could you come knock on my door? Yami would feel a lot better about me performing the ritual if someone was there to watch out for me, and make sure it goes all right.”
Joey looked serious. “Because it’s knocking you out?”
“Kind of, yeah.”
“Of course, Yug, I’ll come check on you right before midnight,” Joey nodded. “Tell Yami he’s got nothing to worry about, I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
“Okay. Thanks, Joey.” Yugi waved at them to send them off, and then let himself into his room. The sunset had left it in complete shadow, though the lights beginning to glow in the tall buildings all around them sparkled in through the balcony doors. Yugi drew the curtains and then pulled the Puzzle from around his neck, deciding just to lay down as he was dressed and not worry about it for now. He set the alarm for 11:30 and flopped onto his stomach on the bed, keeping the Puzzle near to his hand as he closed his eyes and smiled faintly, the long walk and the flight and the big dinner catching up to him and overcoming his excitement over Yami’s visit. Within minutes he was sound asleep, curled up on his side.
Seto Kaiba was having a very bad day. He had wanted to leave for the tournament earlier, so as not to hurry, but some last-minute emergency at the office required his attention and delayed his flight until noon. He had spent much of his flight either on the phone or working at his laptop, trying to put out small fires related to the emergency so that he could concentrate on the tournament for the next three days. Not being allowed to bring any guests didn’t bother him all that much, though part of him would have been glad to have Mokuba along sycophantically tagging at his heels. And now he was given the singular displeasure of finding out that Joey Katsuya had been invited to the tournament, putting him on the same level as Kaiba. It was the last straw that pushed Kaiba to his limit, beyond anger to a cold, dark place where nothing could possibly cheer him up. He took off his coat and then decided he needed a drink, or maybe several, and left the safe confines of his room for the hotel bar downstairs. No one else was in the hall when he exited, as Yugi had gone to his room and the others to Joey’s, leaving the corridor dead silent but for the hum of florescent lights. Within minutes Kaiba was seated at the bar, downing his first drink a little too fast and ordering a second while he listened idly to the security officers talking about the flights coming in from around the world. He had gotten an information packet when he checked in to the hotel, but he hadn’t looked at it yet, so he knew nothing as of yet about the schedule other than which day the tournament itself was slated to begin. He had chosen to fly there a day early for the same reason the other Japanese finalists were given, to allow himself the time to settle in and let his mind shift gears from work and KaibaCorp to dueling and winning. He sat at the bar alone for a while, finding it hard to relax and let go of the things that irked him even in the quiet, low-key atmosphere with several drinks already in him. There were only a few other patrons there, mostly businessmen with their ties undone looking just as haggard as Kaiba felt. Even the bartender left him alone in between orders, seeing his dark glare directed at the surface of the bar and not wanting to get involved. Then, just as Kaiba was thinking he was starting to feel a little less angry, the last voice he wanted to hear intruded on his silent thoughts. “Well, what do we have here? Aren’t you a little young to be drinking the night away, Kaiba-boy?”
Seto gritted his teeth, his empty hand clenching into a fist. “What the hell do you want?” he seethed.
He glanced aside to see Pegasus glide up to the bar, a cool smile on his shadowed face. “I was told you had already checked in. Good. I’d hate for one of my star players to be late to the tournament.” The fruity lilt of his voice was even more irritating so late at night, and from the way he used it, Kaiba was sure he knew it. He slid onto one of the chairs and leaned on the bar as the bartender came over. “Do you have a wine list? Well, your finest red wine, then.” He cast a quick glance at Kaiba. “And another one of whatever he’s having, on me.”
Kaiba glared as the bartender filled another glass and left it in front of him, though he was nearly to the end of his drink and realized that the only way to survive a conversation with Pegasus was to have another. Pegasus sipped and savored his wine before swiveling in his seat to face Kaiba. “That’s right, you’ve come of age,” he murmured. “I forget these things, in America you have to be twenty-one to drink. Lucky for you.” He raised his glass. “Here’s to the tournament, and good luck to you.”
Kaiba closed his eyes and sighed. “Is that all you want? To come here and annoy me?”
Pegasus clucked his tongue. “Touchy. I can see you haven’t changed a bit. No, my dear Kaiba, I’m here just the same as you, having a drink before bed. I arrived not long ago, but I have a lot to do to prepare for the duelists that are coming in.” He gazed huntingly at Kaiba over the edge of his glass as he sipped. “So what do you think of the accommodations, so far?”
Kaiba drained his glass, and then eyed the fresh one waiting for him before sliding it closer. “I think you’re wasting a lot of money.”
“Is it so wrong to want to treat the best duelists in the world to a world-class tournament?” Pegasus swirled his glass, watching the ruby liquid slosh around inside. “Honestly, Kaiba, I think you’re just jealous. Jealous, that you’re such a tight-ass and didn’t even think of creating something so magnificent for your little rag-tag tournaments.” He smiled cuttingly. “Though I must thank you, I suppose. Your improvements to the duel disk system have made throwing this tournament so much easier. Being able to duel anyone, anytime, across the world means we’re no longer limited by mere geography. Why shouldn’t I lavish my guests with luxury, if I saved so much money and headache by using your system to sort out the finalists?” He chuckled to himself. “Take a bow, Kaiba-boy. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Kaiba refused to look at him. “Fuck off.”
The insult only made Pegasus smile even more coolly, as he could see he was getting under Kaiba’s skin without hardly trying. “My, my. Someone’s in a bad mood.”
“Anyone would be, having to sit here and listen to you ramble,” Kaiba growled.
“Then by all means, don’t let me keep you,” Pegasus lilted. “I’m sure you have far more important places to be. Oh, wait, no,” he corrected himself, clearly pleased with himself, “all you have is your bed, and it’s cold and empty. That can’t be any more fun.” His one visible eye narrowed with a sick smile. “Unless you like it that way.”
A sharp glare was thrown his way at last. “That’s none of your business.”
Pegasus set down his glass and leaned on the bar, focusing his sly smile on Kaiba. “I think I understand you, now. No wonder you’re always so cranky. I would be, too, if I never got laid.”
Kaiba continued to glare at him sideways, preferring to keep his elbows on the bar and hands firmly around his glass lest he do something violent with them. “You’re one to talk,” he muttered in a low voice. “How long has it been since your wife died?”
Pegasus’s cutting smile never wavered. “Don’t be so naïve, Kaiba-boy. You know that wouldn’t stop me from enjoying myself now and again.” He gave a condescending sniff as he picked up his wine glass again. “At least I’m getting more than you, which is a comforting thought.”
Kaiba returned his glare to his glass instead, seeing as Pegasus was in too good a mood to be derailed. “If you don’t have anything constructive to say to me, why don’t you just leave me the hell alone? I’m not your drinking buddy. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Of course not,” the elder CEO snorted. “You hate to hear the truth because it always hurts, and you hate that. You’d rather live in denial, it’s a much safer and quieter place. No one can harm you there.”
“Don’t you have anything better to do than try to psychoanalyze me?”
Pegasus took a sip and let the wine linger on his tongue for a moment while he considered the question. “Quite honestly, no,” he answered after a moment. “Getting a rise out of you is great entertainment, you should have realized that by now.”
Kaiba clawed a hand through his hair, resting his forehead on the heel of his hand with a sigh. “Get off my back. I’ve had a bad day, and being forced to listen to your self-indulgent ranting is not making it any better.”
“It can’t have been that bad,” Pegasus mused sarcastically, “you’re here in the bar instead of locked away in your room.” He gazed at the younger man beside him for a moment, studying him. “And here I would have thought, as well as things are going for KaibaCorp, that every day at work would be a joy to you. Your profits are up, your wireless duel disk technology is taking off, you’re a few short months away from opening another KaibaLand amusement park…and your license agreement with me couldn’t be any sweeter.” He gasped in feigned shock. “Could it be? Perhaps you’re discovering that work isn’t enough to make you happy?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kaiba grumbled, sinking further into his slump.
Pegasus rested his arms on the bar, settling his chin on his clasped hands. “Take it from a fellow workaholic. When your job is your life, sooner or later life becomes a burden. You can’t escape it, then, because there’s nothing outside work to escape to. If you don’t look up once in a while and appreciate your life, you’ll find it taken away from you before you even know it. Believe me,” he added solemnly.
A short silence passed between them. “I like my life the way it is,” Kaiba muttered after a bit. “I don’t need you to tell me how to live it.”
“Probably not,” Pegasus flippantly admitted, “but I would much prefer to destroy you my way, rather than watch you do it to yourself.” He cast an aloof glance aside, which was met with another sideways glare, as both realized he was only partly serious. He smirked casually. “Don’t look so grumpy, Kaiba-boy, it’s not my fault you’re such a sour young man. You do that all to yourself, you certainly don’t need my help. Come to think of it, I don’t recall ever seeing you crack the slightest smile. Life must certainly be a burden to you already, or at least boring as hell.”
Kaiba grimaced to himself. “What do you know of it?”
“Only that just about everyone in the world knows you’re bland, boring, no fun at all. Dour, dull Seto Kaiba. You take yourself far too seriously. Lighten up, would you?” Far from his needling lilt, Pegasus had grown sharper in tone, almost exasperated. “You’re so tightly clenched it’s a wonder you don’t implode. When even dueling ceases to bring you any joy, that’s when you know you’re in trouble.” He tilted his head back and finished off the rest of the wine in his glass. “If dueling’s no fun, all you have is your work, and that can’t sustain a man forever. You’ll die, slowly, from the inside out, until all that’s left of you is a cold, hard, empty shell, just like what was left of you after your soul was taken.” They shared another glance at that, a quieter and darker glance. “I don’t wish that on anyone,” Pegasus said in a subdued murmur, “not now that I know for myself what it feels like.”
“You didn’t seem to have any problem with it before,” Kaiba sniped.
“Give a man some credit for changing his mind.” Pegasus closed his eye and shook his head, letting his silver hair drift back and forth across his shoulders. “You don’t want to be that way, Kaiba. Find something to keep you happy, even in the short term. And for god’s sake, man, get yourself laid,” he added with a heavy sigh. “You’re wound up so tight. Maybe if you let yourself loosen up for just that little bit, you wouldn’t be having such bad days.” He waved off the bartender from pouring him a second glass of wine, and turned his chair to face Kaiba again. His smug, abrasive smirk returned, along with the taunting lilt to his voice. “You’re a pretty boy, it shouldn’t be hard for you to catch the eye of some airheaded girl who’ll be with you long enough to get a few choice presents out of you. Sure, maybe all they want is your money, but if they release you from your tension for a night or two, it’s a perfectly fair trade. Goodness knows you’re not going to get anyone to love you,” he added nastily. “Not when you have no emotions and can’t love in return.”
Kaiba had apparently used up his repertoire of glares, because all he could do in reaction was close his eyes and sigh over his half-finished drink. “If that’s all you think of me,” he murmured, “then you really don’t know anything about me.”
“Prove me wrong, then.” Pegasus folded his arms over his chest. “Though I know you consider yourself better off for the emotionless, stone-faced routine. You don’t want anyone to see anything in you that might be mistaken for a weakness. Stick with that idea, Kaiba-boy,” he snidely taunted, “and you’ll be a virgin the rest of your life.”
Kaiba took another gulp of his drink, trying to drown the hot rush of shame that suddenly welled up in his heart. “I don’t see what one has to do with the other,” he growled after a moment.
Pegasus shrugged slightly. “I suppose it doesn’t always. It’s nice when it does.” He began to smile again, that cold, cutting smile that meant he knew he was in complete control of the moment and relished it fully. “But maybe you’re right. Maybe you just need to let go so badly that you’ll hook up with the first person who shows you any sign of interest. At least it’ll get that over with. You can say you’ve done it and get over it, and go back to not caring.” He threw a quick look around the confines of the dimly-lit bar, at the rumpled, ugly patrons similarly drowning their sorrows and bad days in alcohol. “I don’t know,” he purred connivingly. “I can’t see you hiring any help. And no one here looks all that interesting.” He wrinkled up his nose in distaste. “Ugh, definitely no winners here. Looks like you’re out of luck, my boy.”
Kaiba squinted suspiciously up at him. “You’re suggesting I need to do this tonight?”
“What better night?” More of the cool smile. “You’ve had a bad day, you’ve got a big tournament coming up that you need to relax for, so you can be in top shape…” He got up from his chair and stepped closer, leaning down to speak confidentially in the young man’s ear. “No matter what kind of front you put on, Kaiba-boy, I know deep down you’re just the same as any man your age. You’re so desperate for any kind of company, just one little touch that isn’t your own, but you have no idea how to go about getting it. And so you sit here, alone, trying to drink enough to dull your senses.” Pegasus stepped back, tucking his hands into his pockets and smiling darkly down at Kaiba in his controlling way. “For your sake I hope it works, or you’re going to be so caught up in your own misery that you’ll never get your head in the game. Yugi will have no problem beating you when you’re wound up tight as a spring and have nothing to fight for.” He started to turn away, leaving Kaiba to sit there in a wretched haze, but paused to see if there would be any parting comment or insult from him. When there was only silence, Pegasus took one hand out of his pocket and slapped it on the bar next to Kaiba’s elbow. He said nothing to him directly, but leaned toward the bartender who stood expecting him. “Charge it to the penthouse suite. His tab, too.” He gave Kaiba a quick, subtle look of superiority and breezed away, waving an acknowledging hand to his security detail hanging around the door.
Seto glanced down at the object Pegasus had left on the bar next to his arm. It was a key card to a room. His room – the penthouse. It took a few minutes to grasp why he had left it, and a few minutes more to consider whether it was something he wanted to do. That he wasn’t freaking out and recoiling from the card in horror, or running for the hills, gave him cause for concern, but at the moment he was in such a dark despair that the concern rolled right off his back. Pegasus, as usual, had said too much, plying his words in such a way as to manipulate Kaiba’s already unsteady emotions until he found himself inwardly agreeing with everything he said and unable to mount much of a protest. There wasn’t much reason to reject the proposition, so long as he let himself think by Pegasus’s rules and didn’t regain his own wits. He’d drunk too much to let that happen, unfortunately, and he knew it. He wasn’t drunk, he still knew exactly where he was and what he was thinking, but he found himself unable to rationally consider that now was not a good time to be listening to anything Pegasus had to say, even if he was right about most of it. He stayed at the bar long enough to finish his drink, down to the last drops, and then got up, sweeping his hand over the card to pick it up as he turned and left the bar.
The halls of the hotel were empty and silent as a tomb as Kaiba passed through them, trudging to the elevator and punching the button for the penthouse suite, inserting the key card to give permission to take him there. He just stared at the panel of buttons with his head down so as not to catch his reflection in any of the artsy mirrors decorating the elevator as he rode up to the top of the hotel. The doors slid open to reveal an empty foyer, too brightly lit for this time of night and for Kaiba’s mood. Surprisingly, there was no security on guard here. Kaiba stepped out of the elevator, and stood there unmoving for a minute or two as he grappled once more with his decision. Through the haze he was starting to feel stupid, and ashamed, but also lost, bereft, alone. Against his better judgement, he walked to the door of the suite and pushed the card into the key slot, swallowing a brief rush of fear when the light blinked green to admit him. He tugged at the latch and swung the door open to find the entryway dark, wondering for a moment if Pegasus had gone to take care of something else and expected him to make himself comfortable. But he heard movement further inside, and glanced up as Pegasus moved into the opposite doorway, wearing a fuzzy bathrobe that fell to his feet. His lips curled in another knowing, superior smile as he watched Kaiba enter and close the door behind him, leaving them in a dim darkness. Pegasus turned and walked back into the suite, letting his guest follow him at his own pace. Seto placed a hand on the locket resting over his heart as he passed through the darkened suite, taking it off and stowing it safely in his back pocket as if fearing it would glare at him in protest if it saw what he was about to do. No words passed between the two company presidents as they made their way to the bedroom, where wide-open shades let in the dazzling nightscape of Hong Kong. The stunning view gave them just enough light to see each other by, but not enough to focus on details, which suited them both just fine. Kaiba stopped in the center of the room and just stood there for a while, arms at his sides, unable to move while his nerves took the time to stop jangling and just leave him to get this over with. Pegasus had gone to turn back the covers on the bed, but returned to Kaiba after a moment, stopping to face him. They were exactly the same height now, and Kaiba was unnerved to realize that the head of Industrial Illusions was not as old as he used to think. He couldn’t have been older than his early thirties. Even so, he clearly had the upper hand, and characteristically made the opening move. He stepped close enough to place a hand on Seto’s waist. “Come now, Kaiba,” he said in his most velvet purr, “you’re here to relax. Don’t look so sullen.”
He leaned in closer, but Kaiba put a hand firmly on his chest to stop him. “Don’t kiss me,” he murmured, his voice raw.
Pegasus gave a toss of his head. “Suit yourself.” He slid his arm further around Kaiba, guiding him closer to the bed. The younger man followed with no resistance, closing his eyes and trying not to react as he felt hands on his body, across his back and over his shoulders, a subtle caress that preceded the removal of his black turtleneck. Pegasus stood beside him, then, running a hand over his bare chest. “Just like I always pictured you,” he breathed. “You take such good care of yourself.”
Kaiba opened his eyes slowly and stared at the floor. “Can we do this without the small talk?”
Pegasus chuckled to himself, and then stepped away, untying his robe and tossing it over a chair. Seto slumped to a seat on the edge of the bed in order to take off his boots, and looked away as Pegasus returned to his side, still safely covered in silk boxers. There was still time, Kaiba thought to himself, still a chance to get away, but he didn’t move. He let it happen, step by step, let Pegasus push him down on the bed, let him finish undressing him, let him climb on top of him and kiss every inch of his naked body from the chest down. Seto laid there in complete apathy, consenting to it only because he couldn’t deny the things that Pegasus had said. He was desperate, lonely, and bitter, and needed release. If that part was true, maybe the rest was also, and so there he was, sprawled out on the bed in the dark, Hong Kong glittering at him from outside, closing his eyes to forget who it was that was kissing and touching him. The lips on his body were gentle yet demanding, and rather good at what they were doing. Kaiba found himself throwing his head back, staring at the ceiling with his breath coming in short gasps as his body tightened and trembled, the mouth on him bringing him close to climax before relenting and letting him cool down. Kaiba glanced for just a fleeting second to see that it was only the precursor, that he was being prepared for the next stage and there was no backing out. He turned his eyes away again and steeled himself for it, accepting the hands on his body, accepting the probing touch trying to loosen him up, twisting himself into position at the right time so as not to cause himself undue pain. He held onto the bedcovers as his partner pushed into him, wincing uncomfortably. It hurt, more than he expected. Seto just let his head fall to one side and gritted his teeth, feeling his body being bent under the weight of another, feeling himself growing more accustomed to penetration, feeling hands grip him tightly to keep him in position. His body reacted positively, divorced from his blank mind and cold heart, his climax rebuilding and throbbing inside him, one small moan of anticipation escaping from him before he clamped his mouth shut and pressed his head back. And then he was coming, harder and hotter than expected, swallowing his cries and squeezing his eyes shut to trap the tears that wanted to spring up. He could feel his partner’s release, feel the pressure inside him, though the mess was safely contained by the protection they wisely used. Even so, Seto had come, and traces of him were now everywhere. He laid there panting for a while, still gazing upward at the ceiling while he felt Pegasus remove himself, and heard him go into the bathroom for a moment. Kaiba appeared to have been left alone, something he was entirely grateful for as he gradually regained his breath and wits and rolled over onto his side. He didn’t want to stay, he knew that, but he didn’t know how to get himself out of there gracefully. After a bit, Pegasus returned and climbed onto the bed, stretching himself out with a rather pleased sigh. Cringing, Kaiba pushed himself to a seat and swung his feet off the edge of the bed, not caring that he was a mess as he retrieved his pants and pulled them on hastily. He was aware of Pegasus’s eye on him but didn’t stop for a moment, getting up and locating his shirt and then checking his back pocket for the card locket. It was safe.
Pegasus lounged in the bed, resting his chin in his hand as he watched Kaiba dress. “That was good,” he commented coolly, smiling indulgently. “I could feel you loosening up. It’s about time, wouldn’t you say?”
Seto glanced over his shoulder, unable to lift his gaze to meet Pegasus in the eye. “This ends here,” he whispered shakily. “If you tell anyone…”
Pegasus lifted a hand in promise. “Not a word. My private investments are my own business.”
Kaiba jammed his boots back on and turned to go without a word, anxious to get back to his room and get into the shower. Before he could leave the bedroom, though, Pegasus called after him. “I know you enjoyed it. I could see that much for myself. Don’t lie to yourself, Kaiba – you wanted it.”
Kaiba’s shoulders trembled with a shiver, making him want all the more to get away. He had nothing to say, he couldn’t find words, not even to tell Pegasus to go to hell. He swallowed hard against the knot in his throat and blundered his way through the suite to the door, making sure the key card was left inside the room before departing. Once in the brightly-lit outer corridor, he stopped to take a deep breath, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, and then slapped the “down” button with his palm. His mind was still electrified, making it hard to stop and think about any one thing, which was fortunate. The last thing Kaiba needed right then was to relive the experience in his memories and ask himself whether or not Pegasus was right. Whether or not he enjoyed it. It was just sex, there was no reason for him to be so shaken up by it. He plunged into the elevator and leaned on the wall as it carried him back down to his floor. At least it was over. He could take a shower, now, and go to bed, and forget. Tomorrow he had to start thinking about the tournament, and defeating Yugi, and he couldn’t do that without a good night’s sleep. Yes, sleep would be nice.