Seto Kaiba (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
firstrateduelist) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
kittensinboxes2024-11-22 12:34 am
firstrateduelist) wrote in kittensinboxes2024-11-22 12:34 am
I Ended Up Losing And It's All His Fault
Kaiba had gone to the afterlife. He'd finally achieved his dream, and in doing so, faced his eternal rival in combat.
It was never meant to be permanent, of course, but he hadn't neglected to consider the possibility that he might struggle to come back intact. Before launching across dimensions, Kaiba had set his affairs in order, although only Isono was privy to what that meant.
If he was gone for more than a month, his shares would be converted into Mokuba's name, thereby protecting the interests of Kaiba Corporation. At this point, Mokuba would be appointed interim Chief Executive Officer of KaibaCorp.
If he was gone for two, then Mokuba would formally inherit the business in its entirety, with Isono overseeing most functions from day to day with stricter clauses added to his work contract that would disallow him the chance or ability to destabilize Mokuba from his position, which would still be interim CEO for all public records.
From that point on, the changes were only reversible on paper if Seto returned within a year from the launch date. If not, Mokuba really would inherit the business as the true CEO. He'd meant it when he said he was leaving it all in his brother's hands. What else could you say when you intended to launch yourself at speed from your own space station, with no full guarantee that you wouldn't impact, rather than travel across dimensions?
It wasn't a smart idea from the start to do that, and although Kaiba had achieved his goal metaphysically, the reality was that he had, in fact, launched himself from a space station down to earth. The impact was real, and while the safety features of the pod offset a great deal of the damage, he didn't escape unscathed.
The wreckage was found half a day later, bored sixty feet into the ground. Kaiba had been pulled from it and immediately hospitalized for his injuries which ranged from mild bruising to broken bones, specifically his legs and one arm. His resting heart rate had settled at 130, which was...less than ideal, and needed to be treated.
For the next 3 months, he remained in the hospital in a private room paid for by Mokuba, away from prying eyes and off the general record so that he could heal from his injuries and reawaken healthy but still remain incognito. The former worked out, but waking up...well, Kaiba simply wouldn't. His brain activity was elevated, and his heart rate often spiked, but Mokuba, at least, knew what that meant. He'd pulled his brother from their Neural Network inches before a severe cardiac episode before.
If his vitals were behaving that way, then he got what he wanted--he got that final contact with Atem that he'd been denied due to fulfilling his own dream of spreading Kaiba Land all across the world.
What happened was anyone's guess.
But after three and a half months, Seto Kaiba finally opened his eyes, and the light made his head ache. His heart rate was finally at a level that didn't indicate atrial fibrillation, and although he was pale, thin, and exhausted, he'd finally made it back where he belonged.
He was back home--no. He was...back in a hospital. Why a hospital? Why wasn't he home? Surely, he couldn't have been gone for more than a week or so, right? The dimensional connection had been flimsy at best, and he'd had to spend his time with Atem as quickly as possible.
So why were his limbs heavy? They felt wrong. So much felt wrong, and his eyes wouldn't open all the way, but he can make out a blurry image if he just...forces them to move. Someone...?
"Mo...ku...ba?"
Ugh. No, even his voice sounds awful. The muscles of his throat feel stiff, his voice is hoarse from disuse, and he'd barely managed to say his brother's name, to see if it really was him, or...maybe someone else.
It was never meant to be permanent, of course, but he hadn't neglected to consider the possibility that he might struggle to come back intact. Before launching across dimensions, Kaiba had set his affairs in order, although only Isono was privy to what that meant.
If he was gone for more than a month, his shares would be converted into Mokuba's name, thereby protecting the interests of Kaiba Corporation. At this point, Mokuba would be appointed interim Chief Executive Officer of KaibaCorp.
If he was gone for two, then Mokuba would formally inherit the business in its entirety, with Isono overseeing most functions from day to day with stricter clauses added to his work contract that would disallow him the chance or ability to destabilize Mokuba from his position, which would still be interim CEO for all public records.
From that point on, the changes were only reversible on paper if Seto returned within a year from the launch date. If not, Mokuba really would inherit the business as the true CEO. He'd meant it when he said he was leaving it all in his brother's hands. What else could you say when you intended to launch yourself at speed from your own space station, with no full guarantee that you wouldn't impact, rather than travel across dimensions?
It wasn't a smart idea from the start to do that, and although Kaiba had achieved his goal metaphysically, the reality was that he had, in fact, launched himself from a space station down to earth. The impact was real, and while the safety features of the pod offset a great deal of the damage, he didn't escape unscathed.
The wreckage was found half a day later, bored sixty feet into the ground. Kaiba had been pulled from it and immediately hospitalized for his injuries which ranged from mild bruising to broken bones, specifically his legs and one arm. His resting heart rate had settled at 130, which was...less than ideal, and needed to be treated.
For the next 3 months, he remained in the hospital in a private room paid for by Mokuba, away from prying eyes and off the general record so that he could heal from his injuries and reawaken healthy but still remain incognito. The former worked out, but waking up...well, Kaiba simply wouldn't. His brain activity was elevated, and his heart rate often spiked, but Mokuba, at least, knew what that meant. He'd pulled his brother from their Neural Network inches before a severe cardiac episode before.
If his vitals were behaving that way, then he got what he wanted--he got that final contact with Atem that he'd been denied due to fulfilling his own dream of spreading Kaiba Land all across the world.
What happened was anyone's guess.
But after three and a half months, Seto Kaiba finally opened his eyes, and the light made his head ache. His heart rate was finally at a level that didn't indicate atrial fibrillation, and although he was pale, thin, and exhausted, he'd finally made it back where he belonged.
He was back home--no. He was...back in a hospital. Why a hospital? Why wasn't he home? Surely, he couldn't have been gone for more than a week or so, right? The dimensional connection had been flimsy at best, and he'd had to spend his time with Atem as quickly as possible.
So why were his limbs heavy? They felt wrong. So much felt wrong, and his eyes wouldn't open all the way, but he can make out a blurry image if he just...forces them to move. Someone...?
"Mo...ku...ba?"
Ugh. No, even his voice sounds awful. The muscles of his throat feel stiff, his voice is hoarse from disuse, and he'd barely managed to say his brother's name, to see if it really was him, or...maybe someone else.
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Seto no.
"And I know you can keep a secret. You kept your hurt from your friends. From me."
Seto pls.
"If I'd have been there...y'wouldn't have been hurt."
Oh my god.
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Was it normal to feel this happy to hear Seto Kaiba talk like this? To hear that he...
Cared?
That he wanted to... what? Protect him? Keep him from being hurt?
Gods, Yuugi couldn't stop smiling.
"Are you saying you... would have protected me?"
Another kiss, nice and soft, on Seto's lips.
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"Haven't I...protected you enough for you to know...?"
He's protected Yuugi. He's protected Yuugi's friends. The last time they'd been in battle side-by-side, he had given his existence up so Yuugi could win against Aigami. Had he not...then it would have been a permanent sacrifice.
"...Didn't that matter to you?"
He hadn't meant to say what he did...but it spilled out anyway.
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Because Seto always has protected him, hasn't he? Always, always, always.
"Against Aigami, I... was so scared that I'd lose you for good. I was scared of losing everyone, but you... you hit me harder than anyone else. I didn't know why back then."
He did now. He was so stupid, how could he have missed it? How could he have missed all of this?
"I do now, though. And...I never did quite thank you properly for that, did I?"
He kissed him, deeper, slower than the others. It was clumsy, but a lover's kiss if ever there was one.
As He pulled away, he whispered:
"Consider that a fraction of my gratitude, Seto Kaiba."
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Kaiba opens his eyes sluggishly, wanting to focus enough to press for that answer. Why did Yuugi even think that about him? Hadn't it been more important to save the world? It was always more important to save the world, objectively.
Subjectively...Kaiba resented both him and Atem for their burdens.
But he won't be able to say anything about that. Not before Yuugi's lips press to his, and then...Kaiba's sinking into a sea of warmth again, his eyes half-lidding as he lets out a soft hum of approval. It's the best response he's got for a good long while, because when Yuugi pulls away, the only evidence of a reaction is the dusting of color across Kaiba's cheeks.
It's almost...innocent.
Then, too long afterwards, he finally speaks.
"...More of that."
It's not a demand so much as a request, but even if Yuugi tries to give him what he wants...Seto will struggle to reciprocate, before actually falling the fuck to sleep.
Sorry Yuugi. He is not used to being on morphine. This man is gone.
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He leaned in, words feeling hard and heavy on his tongue. Barbed knots sat on the edge of each, and yet--
Honesty. Honesty.
He needed to be honest, gripping words and yanking them out of his chest by the root to come tumbling in the air, out in the open.
"...love you."
Did Seto even hear him?
Or were those words doomed to sit in dead air...?
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It was simply poor luck on Yuugi's part, of course. Nothing he did wrong.
--
Kaiba has an unfortunate trend towards nightmares when he sleeps. It doesn't always show on his face, and he's long since stopped being startled for the most part. But sometimes, it's as subtle as the sweat on his brow, the way he clings to the sheets.
Even his dreams were work, or reminders of important things baked into what should be restful.
He hasn't ever dreamed of something so pleasant he doesn't want to wake up. So...it's definitely interesting when he breathes out a gentle sigh, followed by an unintentional, but overly-fond murmur, a string of words that's unintelligible.
A couple of hours after he'd fallen asleep, Kaiba comes around. It's faster this time, at least. He hasn't opened his eyes yet...but he does speak groggily.
"I want to eat something. I want to drink something."
Good morning? Sure, whatever. Kaiba woke up and decided he wanted to do normal things already.
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He sat at Kaiba's bedside, softer than usual with sleep, hazy eyes watching him as though he was trying to translate what he was saying.
Mokuba was gone -- he'd been the one to wake Yuugi up, letting him know that he had to get to the office -- leaving just these two in the room for now.
He... wanted to eat.
He wanted to drink.
Right out of a coma.
Yuugi let out a little noise, rubbing his eyes.
"I'll... call the doctor," he mumbled with a yawn.
We'll do this again. I promise.
...before absent-mindedly kissing Kaiba on the forehead. As you do.
He didn't even think about it: he was already fumbling with the call button.
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He's uncertain if he liked that. But he's equally uncertain as to whether he cared all that much about it, which evens out his temperament, and keeps him blessedly silent for at least long enough that Yuugi can hit the call button.
Kaiba slowly sits up again. It's getting easier every time.
"Why are you still here?" he asks quietly, choosing not to comment on the kiss for the moment. Besides, it's a valid question. Doesn't Yuugi have things to do...?
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He yawned, sitting on his usual chair with a sheepish look.
"I, ah. Can work anywhere on my laptop. The hospital is quieter than the office."
Especially with the rumor mill flitting about. With Yuugi's sudden hiring, it was inevitable.
"I am mostly doing prototyping and engine study for Spherium right now, so I don't need on-site facilities to do my work just yet."
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He reaches behind him awkwardly, repositioning one of his pillows on his own, because he is not asking for help! Nope!
"I would like to see the prototype sometime. When you feel it's ready."
Kaiba's not sure why, but he feels terribly awkward around Yuugi like this. It's not as if he's ever shunted off the idea of being embarrassed about something he'd done, and moved on from it! Why would this be different?
(because you can still taste him)
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Because of course he did. This was a man who didn't know his own worth.
Effortlessly, he stood, adjusting the pillow as he spoke.
"And I'd love to show you. The digital version isn't going to be ready for a while, but if you ever want me to set up the board, let me know."
He needed to quit looking at Kaiba's lips. He needed to stop thinking about how soft they were, how perfect it was to kiss him.
Now.
Immediately.
"If I can be honest...I was always hoping we'd get to play it together."
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The words feel like acid on his tongue. He's admitting that he isn't at his best, after all. Which is, consequently, why he doesn't thank Yuugi for adjusting his pillow the rest of the way. That and...one other reason, which he's trying to keep off his mind.
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...
Did Kaiba truly think he disappointed Yuugi, or did he simply feel disappointed with himself...?
"Kaiba, you didn't disappoint me. I'm just looking forward to when we can really play all the more now."
Because what was he supposed to do: expect him to be at his best right out of a coma? The man was lucky to be talking, much less able to move as well as he did!
Yuugi shifted his legs slightly, stretching them in front of him in his seat.
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Admittedly...he wasn't at his best. Talking and moving, he'd done that during the fight to regain his company and his brother from Pegasus, out of sheer power of will. This was no different.
And because it was no different...there were deficits elsewhere.
His inability to walk. His inability to regulate his emotional outbursts, apparently. He might be awake, but Kaiba was inadvertently behaving like a cornered beast at all times, including now.
"You say that, but without the challenge inherent, I'd only be wasting your time," he says sharply. "It's a waste right now."
He licks his lips suddenly, a reflex. They sting from disuse, from breathing open-mouthed during months of unconsciousness, and he wonders, unbidden, if that had been unpleasant for Yuugi?
They...they had kissed, hadn't they? That wasn't a dream.
His gaze follows the movement of Yuugi's legs covetously, but he tries not to let it show, not anymore than he wanted to reveal why he'd licked his lips in the first place.
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Those lips. They'd kissed; that wasn't a dream. They kissed, and...Gods. Yuugi wanted to kiss him again so badly.
Again.
And again.
And again--
He licked his own lips, mirroring Kaiba's motions as he watched him, intense and yearning--
Shit.
He uh. Was staring, wasn't he? At his mouth. Probably should uh...Not do that. Who knew if he still wanted to kiss him after last night? Best not push his luck.
Yuugi coughed, forcing himself to avert his gaze.
Kaiba'd been... looking at his legs, hadn't he? He barely was able to tell.
"Ah... sorry. I. My legs are okay. Just a little stiff."
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The words are out, sarcasm dripping from them, before Kaiba can stop himself. The brain to mouth filter was never really any good, but even he flinches back at it, feeling, if not guilty, then at least cognizant of the fact that perhaps those words were too strong for the situation.
"I mean," he amends, "That's...not what I meant. What I mean to say is..."
He sees Yuugi lick his lips as well, and there's a strange bloom of warmth in his chest, a thought that he's glad remains behind his filter after all.
"I apologize."
And? He means it.
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That...
Heat bloomed in his stomach, replacing the lead stone in it only moments before as stricken, guilty eyes gazed at Kaiba at hearing those words.
Yuugi swallowed.
Smiled.
"... thank you."
Not 'you don't need to apologize' or 'it's okay', but 'I acknowledge your apology and accept it.'
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Kaiba reaches a hand up, running it through his hair...all the way to where it falls past his shoulders.
"...How many months?" he says quietly, frowning at the curl at the edges of his hair. It's probably a silly distraction, something that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme, but there's still so much he doesn't know, and it's easier to fixate on that than on what he and Yuugi had gotten up to hours ago. "I've missed many things, I can see."
He'll have to tread cautiously here. He has to keep his mind out of the maelstrom of emotion that learning about his situation could drag him into. He won't shy from the truth howeve.r
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But Yuugi's eyes...
They were drawn to those long fingers, playing with the strands of his hair.
That soft hair he touched when they... you know. Did that thing. That he was thinking about.
"I..." he swallowed. "I never knew your hair curled on the ends like that.
"I like it. It looks nice."
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Hence, why Yuugi never knew that his hair curled on the ends. Kaiba didn't want it to. It looked silly when it did, and he had an image to uphold. Even Mokuba, by now, tended towards gelling his hair down.
"I'm surprised it isn't longer."
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"I'm not surprised you don't like it," Yuugi said, "It's wilder than your usual look. It probably wouldn't look too great in a boardroom."
It was so tempting to touch it again...just once, between his fingers.
"But hey, look on the bright side: at least it all grew out and looks flattering. Could be worse: You could have ended up with a mullet."
...
The mental image of Seto Kaiba with a Snake Pliskin mullet was not going to leave him for the rest of his life.
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He's just going to stare at Yuugi until he thinks about what he just said critically and considers apologizing.
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Maaaaaaybe.
"Ahaha...not... that you ever would! Because you're way too dignified for something like that!"
Now would be the time to apologize. A quiet Kaiba is far more threatening than a loud, bombastic one--
"Er, I...I'm sorry, I probably... shouldn't have said that? Your regular hair is fine! Looks really good, even! And it's really soft!"
...Yuugi.
"Nice to touch, you know? Felt really silky."
That was because Mokuba and Yuugi insisted on Kaiba being cleaned regularly, including hair care, even when in a coma.
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Kaiba frowns, his hand dropping from his hair as he looks at Yuugi with a strange look on his face.
"You seem as if you spent a lot of time touching me while I was in a coma. My hair is soft? The hugging? And I'm certain you've held my hand before this point. Why are you so comfortable? What is this, Yuugi?"
How much more is he going to find out about Yuugi's involvement? How much stranger is it going to get, now that they'd been physical in a way Kaiba was struggling with already?
"Do you expect something?"
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a safe for work thread? in this economy!?!?!
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