kittensinboxes | To Be Endlessly Cold Within [Rivalshipping, Vampire AU]

To Be Endlessly Cold Within [Rivalshipping, Vampire AU]

It had taken some time to get used to living a new life as a vampire. For someone who actively decried the supernatural, it wasn't easy to admit that he'd been overcome by some creature of the night in anything outside of a nightmare.

But he had ended up like this nearly half a year ago, waking up hospitalized with what looked like some kind of lesions at the joint of his neck and shoulder. From that point, it was only a matter of time before he shifted to his new reality. Trying to suppress it out of sheer force of will had only worked out so long, and deflecting his thirst onto a natural human cause had nearly ended in him attacking his brother. That was the last straw.

That was when Seto Kaiba gave in and took the first drink.

He had to, of course, curate his inner circle slightly--tell the ones most important to him what exactly his new life would entail. Mokuba...well, while he hadn't fully intuited it, had been concerned about his brother ever since the hospital stay. How could he not be? Seto had gradually lost color, energy, and most concerningly, weight since he'd been discharged. He barely ate and looked discomforted when he did, and drank liquids constantly. Honestly, figuring out Seto's needs had been jarring, but ultimately relieving.

Isono was the only other person who knew. He was the one responsible for acquiring blood for his boss, and he did so admirably. Kaiba never fed from the vein, no matter what. Even when his jaw ached around others, and his fangs itched in his skull, he'd instead bite down on something else. He kept a solid rubber ball in his desk for such occasions, and it didn't feel right, but at least with his bagged alternatives, he was doing alright.

Isono and Mokuba had floated the idea to him of perhaps feeding on small animals, and while the thought of it had made his fangs stretch past his lower lip and made his stomach twist as if he'd been starving for all his life...he declined. He didn't need it. There were other things to attend to.

And so he never really regained his weight despite a regular diet of blood.

But at least the company was running smoothly. Seto fought the urge to take a fully nocturnal sleep schedule, and instead positioned himself between worlds. He'd come into work around midnight, well before the sun rose, and leave once it had set. Work meetings were scheduled past dusk. Probably the most expensive alteration needed was to slowly have his office windows altered with UV blocking, the tinting of which could be controlled automatically with a single remote. He mostly kept the tinting at a lower level, so he could still enjoy the sun's brightness without harming himself.

His acclimations weren't perfect. Sometimes he ended up burning himself. Sometimes, the hunger was triggered by proximity to his employees...but for the most part, Kaiba had fallen into a holding pattern. Not yet fully healthy by vampire standards, but also not withering away.

Today, Kaiba was to be participating briefly in orientation for a very small handful of new hires. Isono would bring them up, to show them who they would be working for and have Kaiba offer a few words as he often did while he judged the merit of the hires individually. He always thought it unnecessary, but what he thought, and what was actually done? Those were two different things.

The first two hires went through their orientation interview without incident. Kaiba wasn't terribly impressed, but they'd do as entry to mid-level workers. Nothing really extraordinary to be brought to the the table.

He taps the logo on his lapel.

"Isono. Bring in the last candidate, and then prepare lunch," he ordered.

"Yes, Master Seto!"

The third candidate...they better be worth something.

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Of course Mokuba had to ask that just as Yuugi was washing the pills down. Really, why would he expect anything less? This entire situation was custom fitted to make him feel out of his element--

He choked, breaking into a coughing fit as he tried not to spit all over the bed.

You know.

As you do.

"N-no!" He gagged, "No way! I don't think I've ever been that scared in my life!"

How else was a man supposed to react when he couldn't control himself?

"If he hadn't stopped himself, I would have just...!"

Let himself die?

Begged to die?

"Let him. I couldm't control myself, no matter how hard I tried to stop myself from doing... that."

"You really looked into it though...you asked him to bite you," Mokuba pressed. "Is that really all a lie?"

He has to be sure. He needs to judge whether Yuugi's going to be a problem to them or not. He won't risk his brother...and although they were better people than they'd started, Seto and Mokuba weren't untainted by their circumstances. They'd take any course necessary to protect each other. Any.

On the other hand, he does feel a little bad that he'd caught Yuugi by surprise like that, and made him choke on the water.

"My brother couldn't control himself either, you know...and it's way more dangerous if he can't."

Yuugi put his head into his hands and groaned with shame.

Gods.

He looked... into it?

And they saw?

"I couldn't stop myself. All I knew was that so long as he was there, my body wouldn't move the way I wanted. It was like something inside me was telling me to do those things. All I kept seeing was Mr. Kaiba's eyes, even when mine were closed."

His eyes.

His face.

His fingers touching his skin and his mouth tasti--

Haha, nope. Nope.

Not today, ~~Kaiba~~ Satan.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to talk about it anymore. Like I said, I saw it," Mokuba says, raising his hands to stop Yuugi from getting too far into the details. He doesn't want to relive that moment for two reasons.

One, he does not want to see his brother that into someone ever again, for CHASTITY REASONS! That is his brother, he doesn't need to see his bro doing that!

Two, it was terrifying not to be able to stop Seto for so long, to feel useless and unheard...

He opens his mouth to try and add anything of import, but before a single word leaves his lips--

"Yes, I thought of that too."

Oh shit.

Mokuba whirls, looking frightened as he follows the source of the voice, an unmistakable voice.

"S-Seto--" he stammers, and there his brother is, standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. It's defensive posture. His entire body is strung taut like a tightrope, but there's something different. Something...odd.

His eyes aren't visible.

His eyes have been covered by a thin strip of cloth, wound several times around his head and tied firmly at the back. He's still struggling with Yuugi's scent, it still claws his insides out, hollowing him and making his body react negatively...but he'll endure it, to see if it really was his eyes that had enthralled Yuugi. Or was it him being there?

There's nothing to worry about this time. He's thought of a contingency, in case they can't be parted.

"Bro, why are you doing this again?" Mokuba snaps. "It's not R&D at the company, you can't keep playing around like this!"

"But neither can I keep falling into the pit, unable to control myself," Seto responds softly, enough that it gives his little brother pause. "I need to understand this."

That voice.

Smooth, soft; it washed over him, caressing his skin and whispering sweet things to his mind. It promised wonderful things, if he only looked into those beautiful eyes. He just needed to look up, look up, look up--

Into cloth.

Even as Yuugi's breath quickened and his cheeks warmed, he didn't tense. His eyes didn't blank. He didn't fall apart like a broken toy onto the floor.

He could breathe.

There was air in his lungs, it was bearable, it was doable. He could breathe, he could breathe he could breathe!

And warmth fluttered in his chest.

(It wasn't because of his voice. It wasn't because of the reasons he thought they were)

"Th...thank you." He murmured. "Thank you, Mr. Kaiba. For...this. For stopping yourself. If you hadn't, I..."

He would have died, and he would have thanked him for the privilege.

"I'll do whatever I can to pay you back for this."

Was it normal to be grateful to a vampire who was standing in the doorway with his eyes covered? No, probably not. It wasn't normal to be in the presence of a vampire in general, they shouldn't even be real.

And yet there they were.

Creatures of the night who terrified children into their beds were not only real, but he knew one personally. He was in their home, and he was trying to stop himself from losing control.

Wait, hold on--

Idly, Yuugi touched his forehead.

"I had a headache when I woke up this morning, like I had a hangover. But...when Mr. Kaiba's in the room, I feel better. I don't feel sick."

Come to think of it, his stomach twisted and he felt a little nauseous when Mr. Kaiba was in his office and he was working that day, wasn't he? Like, after he saw him that initial time and then went back downstairs.

Yeah, because he sipped a ginger ale for at least a third of the afternoon before it went away. He thought it was nerves, but...!

"I felt sick after our first encounter, too, but not like this. I thought it was just nerves."

"If you expect me to linger around you just so that you feel better, then you're very mistaken," Kaiba says coldly, a frown pulling at his features. "Ever since I came into contact with you, I've had to raise my meal allotments. Packaged blood isn't that simple to get, and I have no resources to waste on whatever you're doing to me!"

He steps forward, facing Yuugi, but with his eyes covered, at least Yuugi isn't going to egg him on.

"I don't know how you're doing this, but I'm not spending time at my company within any kind of proximity to you. As soon as you're rested, you need to get out. Are we clear?"

He's fighting himself not to take a few more steps forward, and it's obvious in the way his nostrils flare, his fists clench, and much like in the office, his fangs are lengthening and his throat is working.

This is taking a toll on him, whether he can see Yuugi or not. He's not sure how much longer he can stop himself voluntarily.

"Why would I expect that?!" Yuugi shot back, "I've already burdened you enough! I was just telling you that because you said you wanted to learn about what's going on."

His fists clenched in the sheets, and his eyes stayed pointedly down. He couldn't look, couldn't look up.

He had to look down...

"I don't need you to coddle me, though. I'm a grown man; I can handle myself."

Was there a touch of bitterness in his voice?

An old wound opened, perhaps.

"Hah! A grown man who couldn't resist the allure of a predator. Don't worry, Mutou, I'm aware of how grown a man you are."

He saw everything, and he wasn't happy to remember it. Though for the most part, at least one person in the room knows that Kaiba's projecting.

His brother, caught in the middle of these fighting idiots, knew very well that neither of them were in any position to be dealing out harsh words to each other. But he also hadn't seen Seto behave this way, and found it a little bit frustrating.

"Guys...no matter what, you're going to have to work in the same building. Yuugi's already onboarded," he said, inclining his head towards the smaller man, "and you're the company president, Seto."

"That's very true. I could just fire him if I wanted to," Seto responds coldly, but even he knows he couldn't bear to do that. He'd seen Yuugi's work, and some of it was better than what some of his senior employees were doing. Besides...he doesn't want Yuugi to leave for other, uncontrollable reasons.

"You really shouldn't though, bro. You've seen his work ethic, just on day one. And it's not a good look, to fire someone on day one."

"Tch. The rest of what I said still stands! I can't work like this! I lost a day to it all, and...nngh!"

Seto puts a hand to his mouth and nose, covering them as if that might somehow hep him tolerate that aggravating scent. It's unbearable.

He moves two steps closer, itching to take the blindfold off, but refusing to allow himself to do it.

"I've never needed the blood of a living, breathing human like this before. It's ridiculous..."

"I'm sorry."

The words came out without hesitation, even as Yuugi's stomach churned at the rest of the vampire's words.

He was the only one Mr. Kaiba wanted to eat.

Why?

What was it about him that drew the vampire in like a moth to a bug zapper?

And...

Yuugi couldn't resist the allure of... ah yes, just remind him that he was hard and wanting without any control over his body. Even now, with his body in the bed and his hands balled in the blankets, wanted to fall back. Go pliant.

Tilt his head.

"That...won't be an issue. I will not be any trouble for you."

Hands in the blanket.

Breathe.

"I don't want to lose control of myself that way again. Even... being in the same room like this, I..."

"...I could bite you. Just on the wrist."

He says it without thinking, drawing closer still, until he's at the foot of the bed. This close, Yuugi can probably see him breathing hard, even though he had no need to do so. Not that Yuugi probably knew that.

"Then, maybe..."

Kaiba tries to move onto the bed, attracted like a starving wolf to its meal...then he jerks back. Not by choice. There's a flash as the light in the room reflects against a wire pulled taut around his waist.

So he'd prepared for this moment, in case he couldn't control himself. And that was the only reason why Mokuba had let him so close to Yuugi. He could see the wire as soon as Seto walked past him. But now, he's not playing into Seto's nonsense. Instead, he takes hold of the wire and pulls, hard. It's enough to make his brother take a step back, then turn to glare at him--can you even glare with a blindfold?

It sure feels like that's what's happening.

"Bro, get out of here. Please. You're acting stupid. You both are. But when you act stupid, people can get hurt. Is that what you want? You want to kill a guy in your own house, just because you can't control yourself?"

Mokuba knows what he's doing--Seto jerks back from him, and takes a few steps back from the bed at that.

"I'm fine," he insists sharply, but Mokuba only shakes his head before responding.

"No, you're not. You just asked this guy if you could bite his wrist! For months you've been fighting me on the idea of even eating a rabbit, or a dog, or anything at all live that could help deal with this! Now you want to bite him?"

Kaiba grits his teeth, swallowing so hard it's audible. He turns towards Yuugi...then abandons the idea of any response here, since no matter what he said, his brother was right.

He wasn't acting rationally.

He had to leave...

"...For you own good, and mine, you should leave quickly, Mutou."

This time it doesn't sound nearly as scathing, and Kaiba finally decides to leave.

As Seto Kaiba walked away, a gentle pounding rose in Yuugi's head, intensifying with each step he took away from him.

It was him.

He was the source of his headaches.

Why, though? Why was this--

Yuugi let out a breath he didn't know he was holding before relaxing against the pillow. It was like laying a cushion against an open wound, but...

"...In ten minutes I'll head home."

He needed to get out.

Now.

And maybe sleep off this nightmare in his own bed.

The next week or so...Kaiba keeps to himself. Even his normal employees don't see much of him, and that's for good reason. He's pointedly avoiding Yuugi at all costs, trying to get back to his normal life.

...It doesn't work out exactly how he wants it to, because at the end of the day, his normal meals aren't satisfying, and he's frustrated by the inability to sate the hunger Yuugi had awakened in him. He was already thin as it was, and he can't afford to grow any weaker than he'd gotten after being turned.

He's not entirely sure if there are other vampires in Domino, and presenting as anything but a strong face was a terrible idea, both for business, and on the offhand chance that his sire lived nearby.

It was really a miserable week though, he thinks to himself as he answers emails and drinks warm blood from a mug. At least Isono and Mokuba were accommodating his needs as best they could. he had to remind himself to give Isono a raise at this point...

Yuugi had also kept to himself.

...Well, okay, about as well as a socially focused friendly guy with an active social life should. He was a really friendly guy, all things considered, and it had been fun getting to know him as he coordinated his routes around the building with Mokuba.

Ccordinated avoidance. Not exactly on Mokuba's bucket list, but it was better than seeing the poor guy nearly get eaten. Yuugi was on the same page as Seto, which was helpful. There was no Bella Swan level stalking or weird fixations: Yuugi and Seto were two people trying to function the best they could.

Yuugi was a really nice guy with two cats, a huge collection of games, and an impeccable work ethic.

Mokuba had come in to deliver a paper report from one of the departments, but he seemed...distracted.

Almost concerned as he tapped at his phone.

Seto's gaze flicks up as Mokuba enters, and...to be quite frank, the Kaiba-sense between the brothers does go both ways. So even before Mokuba's close enough to turn in the report...

"What's the matter?"

Unlike when he'd been dealing with Yuugi, a total outsider, he was much less cold with his response. Actual concern does exist within the Seto.

Mokuba bit his lip, continuing to quickly type.

"It's Yuugi," he said, "He's out sick today."

Some more typing.

A grumble.

"And he isn't responding to any of my texts. I'm worried about him."

Oh. Right. Yuugi. Of course he's worrying about Yuugi, they'd ended up getting along after everything, and Seto would be lying if he admitted that didn't bother him. He's not the kind of guy that likes to share his brother, evidently. Or maybe he's still suspicious of Yuugi in general.

It could be both...couldn't it?

(he's jealous)

"If you're so worried, then I can send Isono to check on him," Seto offered blandly. "People are allowed to call out sick. Maybe it isn't so bad."

He's attempting to comfort his brother, and it's very awkward, because he's not as sympathetic as Mokuba. Thanks Gozaburo, you did a great job raising a monster.

Mokuba wasn't going to even dignify that with a response. Seriously, what use were words on his brother...

When he could just hand him his phone and show him:

It was a photo. Yuugi Mutou, visibly thinner with almost all the color drained from his face. His eyes were bright as ever, and his smile was a radiant little thing, but that could not hide the exhausted circles under them; the visible loss of weight; the drooping of his hair.

Wasn't it weird since he looked so healthy just a week before?

Mokuba had chosen the right move, as he so often did. The photo grabbed at Seto's attention, to the point that he brings the phone closer, really stares at the state of his new hire.

The vitality...it had all but gone from him. The only thing that looked the same was that smile, and those ridiculous, optimistic eyes of his. His skin was sallow, cheeks hollowed, eyes even more tired and darkened than Seto's own.

He looked terrible. Even Seto seems alarmed.

"Does he have a pre-existing condition we weren't aware of?"

It's a fair question, but Seto's kind of dancing around the point they'd come to when Yuugi had been convalescing in one of their guest rooms, which was that he'd admitted he felt better around the elder Kaiba.

Sure, it made Seto feel like garbage, and it sharpened the edge of his hunger like a knife, driven into his own abdomen until he nearly lost himself. But...if this was the result, then...then surely Mokuba expected him to invite Yuugi to the office, just for the proximity, didn't he?

He turns to Mokuba, holding out the phone and searching his sibling's face for some kind of thoughts on the matter.

"None. That was the first thing I checked; Yuugi's the kind of guy who will hide everything if he thinks it'll bother someone else."

Mokuba sighed and pinched his nose. This was a mess, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, literally! Yuugi was trusting as all hell, but he always saw the best in people.

He was the first with a kind word, he restocked the office coffee pot without complaint, and worried over everyone. There was no mask to slip: he was just like that.

They were...friends.

Yuugi was his friend.

But these two brought something out in each other that Mokuba wasn't willing to play with. He couldn't.

So he had to try alternate approaches...

"He is not coming to the office like that," he said. "If you lose control, you could kill him even easier than before."

What could he do...?

"But... he said he felt better around you..."

A pause.

"Seto, hypothetically... what would you do if I dropped some of your laundry off at his place and mixed it in with his stuff?"

Seto visibly flinched where he sat, his eyes widening.

"My--"

No way. No way. Just the thought of it made his skin prickle! Mokuba wants to take his clothes, and put it near Yuugi so that--so that somehow, he could try and benefit from it? By what, sniffing it?

He hates it. He despises it. It feels like a violation of his personal boundaries to do something like that, especially if he wasn't being straightforward with it.

"You're asking too much," he said, a note of alarm in his tone. "Mokuba...how can you even suggest it?"

It's not just a selfishness thing, it's a privacy thing! He doesn't want to!

But then...he can see the look on his brother's face as he refuses, and it makes him squirm too. His brother really did want him to help this nobody, because to him, Yuugi was a somebody, actually. He tried hard, he helped out, and he was kind to Mokuba, enough that they were friends.

"Nngh."

Seto's hands balled into fists on his desk. He actually looked as if he wanted to escape reality right then and there, which included actually flushing. That was always a tall order as a vampire, with no self-oxygenating blood to speak of. The only reason the color that sluggishly rises to his cheeks is lighter than a bruise is because he was in the middle of his lunch when Mokuba came in here.

"Don't...be secretive. If you're going to do it, then--then let him know. He'll find out anyway, our sizes are astronomically different"

He's a full head taller than Yuugi. His clothes would drown the man, at best.

"Just do it as soon as possible, before I change my mind, and don't give him any outfits I like!"

Look, he knew it was weird, all right? This whole situation was weird!

But what was he supposed to do? Let his brother suffer? Let his new friend waste away? He had to do something without shoving them in a room or compromising their safety.

A few shirts was a small price to pay.

"Don't worry," he took his phone back and tapped at his screen. "I'll be giving him a white shirt or two. Nothing you like or will miss."

Will it work?

Who knew, honestly?

"He has pets, so...I don't want to leave anything there that you'll miss."

In case one of the cats got ahold of it.

Pets were the least of Seto's worries at this point. Yuugi...he'd managed to worm his way into Seto's well-ordered life and destroyed his stability like a bull in a china shop.

Avoiding him was difficult.

Running into him by accident was difficult.

Trying not to think about what he might taste like? Very, very difficult.

"Do as you will," he says quietly, before taking up his mug and draining it. "And give me what you have there."

Mokuba had come in with some papers. He'll take them now.

"Yep."

Mokuba set down the papers and made an about-face...

Stopped.

And made quick steps towards Seto as little arms wrapped around his waist; only Mokuba Kaiba could hug his brother and live, and right now it was warranted. He knew. He knew how much Seto is putting himself out for this...

"Thanks, Seto. I owe you one."

---

Around an hour later, Seto Kaiba receives a text from Mokuba:

I had to practically manhandle it on him. He was not happy.

And in the photo...

Is Yuugi Mutou. Dressed -- if you could even call it that -- in Seto Kaiba's white shirt with his hands in his lap.

Seto was right, the shirt did engulf him, even falling off his shoulder to reveal a pale shoulder and slender neck. He averted his eyes shyly, a deep blush on his cheeks.

His color, though.

He looked a little better.

Seto's surprised by how quick Mokuba manages to hug him, but...although he doesn't hug back, he seems to get a little less tense. A hand brushes his brother's arm, a vague gesture of affection. He's very bad at them.

"Hm," is the only sound he offers, but there's something that could almost, almost qualify as a smile on his face. If he has nothing else in the world, and the world is a cold, hard place to live...at least he has his brother.

---

And once his brother had left, Seto had gotten back to work, looking over the reports that had been left for him, then getting in contact with the executive who had put it together to discuss notes.

It's some time after he's finished doing that when he receives the text.

And yeah...yeah that's Yuugi Mutou in his clothes. Perhaps if the photo wasn't so provocative, Kaiba might not have realized that he looked better than in the first picture. Mokuba's theories were confirmed.

But also...the photo is provocative, and Seto's not sure if he's having a physical reaction as a vampire, or as an adolescent male, the way his stomach seems filled with warmth and light. He's not terribly attracted to Yuugi, and yet...he passes his thumb across the bared skin, as if he might be able to touch it.

...And then his stomach growls, despite the fact that he'd eaten only a short while earlier.

Yeah...maybe it's just the vampiric thirst after all.

He sighs, sending a message back.

Fine. It works. Next time don't send a picture with his neck out like that.

He'll never know why this keeps happening, will he?

I'll be late home tonight, and I'm taking tomorrow off.

Someone decided on a surprise visit, and he wants to have dinner over discussing his licenses with the Solid Vision system.

There's only one person that Seto could be talking about, and Mokuba would know. It's the one person Kaiba detests spending too much time with.

Pegasus.

Oh, shoot. My bad, bro.

After a few minutes...

Ugh

Ugh

Seriously?!

Can't he make appointments like a normal person?!

--

"Mokuba, are you... okay?"

"Business partner."

"Sounds like you don't like him much."

"I don't. Neither does Seto."

---

I'll make the necessary arrangements, though, don't worry.

Do you want me there with you?

Gods, Mokuba hated Pegasus so much. There was something about him that rubbed him the wrong way; his vibes were absolutely rancid and he especially hated when the guy spent time with his brother.

But, you know.

Business partner. CEO.

Weirdo with awful drip and even worse taste in TV.

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