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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That laugh...

It's the same laugh he heard in all those tournaments. It's the same laugh that made him want to become better, that lit the fire under his ass and made him want to do something with himself.

He always thought being on the opposite side of it would be intimidating...

But it wasn't.

It was thrilling.

Exhilarating.

And...

Seto Kaiba used his given name.

"Then let me prove myself to you!" Yuugi slapped his hand against his knee, moved forward, eyes flashing and smile bright.

"Again, let's go!"

Another game. Yes!

Kaiba snatches the dice up, and that grin on his face is downright manic as he shakes the dice. The clatter is like music to his ears, and the challenge is sweeter than the taste of Yuugi's blood on his tongue. He's sure that if he had a heartbeat, it would be racing right now!

"I'll never turn down a challenge, even if it means you earn a reputation! Just don't blame it on me!" he says, his voice as bombastic as during any of his press conferences, carrying like a drill sergeant's voice.

The cup is on the table again, with a sound clack. Kaiba takes the first turn this time, allowing Yuugi to finish rolling his own set.

"Two sixes," he says breathily. Come on. Come on! Hurry! Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Yes! Yes!

Gods, this was so much fun! The rush, the giddy feeling in his stomach! Playing games with someone was usually sip of cocoa on a freezing day, or a comfortable hug.

With Kaiba...

There was something both energizing and indulgent about it. Greasy burgers at midnight in a bustling dive, or maybe a favorite song played while he danced in his kitchen.

Familiar, but exciting and real and he just wanted more of it. He didn't want to stop.

It was easy to get swept up in Kaiba's energy, to roll his dice quickly.

He only needed to glance under the cup for a second before he shot back with a playful grin:

"Three fours!"

"Heh...!! Three sixes!" Kaiba responds back, with the same energy, and this time he leans in, because he wants more, more of this man who met him in a challenge, not the mouse that had entered his office with the nerves rolling off of him.

He swallows, hard, because even though he'd fed on Yuugi already, there's a part of him that craves to do it again, to pin him to the bed and bite, to feel the rush of sweet nectar on his tongue--

--no. No, he wouldn't cross his wires here, not even when he craved something more than what he's being given. The game is what he wants! Yuugi's thrumming heart is a distraction meant to keep him out of sorts, but he's here to raise his streak count! Third time's the charm, right?

Yuugi's fingers traced the edge of his cup, even when he wasn't looking under it.

His heart was pounding.

His hands trembled.

And yet--he enjoyed this. This wasn't from fear, but pure adrenalin, of joy and excitement ~~and desire~~ that coursed through him like the sweetest poison.

More.

"Four sixes!" Yuugi leaned forward just a bit more, and his eyes--if he'd seen himself, he wouldn't have recognized the wild joy, the excitement from just having a good fun challenge with another person.

No, not just another person.

With someone who challenged him.

As before, Kaiba laughs--a taunt--before slamming his hand on the bed, closing the distance.

"Five!"

It's no longer about winning the game, but pushing against an opponent in a way he'd missed. This one...he might even convince Kaiba to dust off his deck and play a proper game, the game he loves, a game of cards with heart and soul.

But...additionally, Kaiba's riding the high of his last two victories, and believes the dice to be on his side. Maybe they were, maybe they weren't. Who was to say? But his heart was in it!

Yuugi slams his own hand on the bed in turn, and leans in.

Close.

Closer.

Close enough for his breath to fan gently over Kaiba's face, perhaps only two inches apart. There is no insecurity in those eyes, though; gone is the terrified mouse that stepped into his office that first day, but someone almost drunk on the competition, the thrill, the contact, the cocktail of a connection not understood, blood drank from his body and the closeness with a person he'd admired for so, so long.

"Prove it," he murmured, quiet but intense. "C'mon, Kaiba. Show me what you've got."

His eyes did not leave his.

Edited 2024-12-15 05:07 (UTC)

Oh.

This is dangerous. This is so, so dangerous. Kaiba can feel the warmth of Yuugi's proximity, and it steals the breath he doesn't even need away. He can hear the pulse of blood, feel it, and he wants to pierce and taste and--

--and--

His hand knocks over his cup, revealing that he'd only ever had three viable sixes.

"I showed you mine. Show me yours," he growls, his fangs aching in his jaw while his eyes half-lid. He's being led by the nose, and he doesn't even realize it. Not in the least.

Yuugi smiled, but there was something in his eyes that only Kaiba could bring out: a predatory glint, a dangerous glow.

A small hand touched his cup, lifted it...

And revealed his hand.

4 4 2 5 1 4

He said nothing and didn't move away.

Even as Kaiba's eyes were half-lidded, and his fangs ached.

Something stirred in his blood. His wrist ached around where he was bitten, his body felt heavy, it was like there was so much blood, too much too much too much--

"How's this?" He asked, airy and light.

"You win."

Kaiba doesn't sound happy, but he's not disappointed either.

"That's how you bluff, Yuugi Mutou. It's good...that you learned something..."

He tilts his head, eyes rolling the rest of the way shut as he follows the beat of Yuugi's heart to his neck. As before, his fangs tease at the skin, but don't break through yet.

Being led to the water doesn't necessarily mean Kaiba wants to drink. He's shaking though, with the effort of stopping himself.

"How can you do this...to me? To me?"

Yuugi shivered and tilted his neck without thinking.

"I...sh...should say the same thing...to you." He whispered. "I've never been drawn to anyone in the way I have with you."

It was a visceral feeling. A want, a need.

His wrist ached.

His blood roared in his ears and his cheeks grew warm and flushed.

"I wanted...to kill you," Kaiba whispers against his neck, and he's trying so, so hard not to push this further, but that doesn't stop his tongue from running along Yuugi's neck, feeling the pulse from his carotid artery.

"Nnnh. I don't want you to die. Because then, we can never..."

He trails off, and his jaw tightens, fangs encroaching for that drink--

There's a loud BANG!! as Yuugi's bedroom door is slammed open and it makes Kaiba pull back, spin on the intruder with fangs bared, before realizing--it's...it's his brother?

"Mokuba?!"

And Isono, by the way, who has a GUN?! A goddamn gun, which he fires, aiming directly for Kaiba's neck, but instead of the loud crack of a real bullet, it's pneumatic in nature, sending a small, hardly visible barb whizzing through the air to prick Kaiba on the neck.

At which point...he collapses on the bed, eyes wide open.

Mokuba, of course, rushes to Yuugi's side, a panicked look in his eyes as he checks the man over frantically for injuries. It's not that he doesn't care about his brother, of course! It's because he does that he'd called Isono to help him, so he could stop Seto from killing a man!

Seto, of course, wasn't really going to do much of anything, because he'd been shot by a paralytic. It'd wear off soon, it was only to stop him for a few minutes. Hell, it had been his idea, once he'd revealed his nature to both his brother and his right hand man.

Still, while Mokuba's checking over Yuugi, Isono fervently apologizes to his boss, because he just shot his boss!

"Yuugi, are you okay? I got your text, but I couldn't leave you here alone with Seto, not after what happened in the office! Are you guys crazy?"

That...

Okay. So...

One moment, Yuugi was moaning in Seto's arms as his tongue caressed his neck (Gods, that was going to be one for the spank bank), and the next the man was...

Uh.

Shot. And now on the bed. Semi-conscious.

With Isono apologizing like he'd just killed a man while Mokuba was checking him over for injuries. All while the game was still on the bed and dice were scattered across his blankets.

"Oh, ah. Don't worry about me, Mokuba! He was really hungry, so I had him drink some of my blood. From, uh, the wrist. Not the neck. And then we played some Liar's Dice together. If anything, after drinking from me, he looked a lot better! I feel a lot better too, actually."

And he did look better. Better than he had in days.

His skin had more color and while he was thin...he seemed livelier.

Mokuba looks at Yuugi owlishly after he tried to explain away Seto's behavior. His expression read as only one word, which he vocalized with such disbelief and smarm that he definitely earns his place as a Kaiba.

"Really...so you 'had him drink some of your blood' after he broke through his bedroom window, and your apartment window? That was totally voluntary, and not at all under any kind of duress?"

Listen, Yuugi. He likes you. You're a good guy, perhaps too good for the likes of your situation! But that was such egregious bullshit that even though Yuugi does look better, Mokuba absolutely can't believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"And while we're at it--you mean to tell me that you guys were just talking reeeally close to each other just now?"

Oh no, oh no, the arms are crossing! Yuugi now you fucked up.

Yuugi scratched his cheek.

"It's complicated. Kaiba...didn't look right. He looked sick, and...not himself. I offered him my wrist to drink from, and then he...became himself. He got better."

Yeah, he noticed the arms crossing; he noticed the way Mokuba was firmly not believing him. But something didn't seem right about all of this. Something seemed wrong, and he didn't want Kaiba being--

"Something seemed off about him when he came in. Even when he'd lost his control before, he never...you know. He always held himself back. But after he drank from me, he emphasized just how much he didn't want to hurt me."

Was he saying too much? Possibly. But pride be damned--

"We were very close, and yeah, it might have looked bad, but..."

He paused.

"I trust him. I know he wouldn't do anything to hurt me. Because if he truly wanted to do that...I'd be dead right now."

Mokuba still doesn't look entirely convinced...but he shoots a glance to his brother, looking concerned. He had looked awful, and at a point, he'd forced Mokuba to stay away from him. That never boded well.

Something had happened while he was entertaining Pegasus, and Mokuba couldn't quite figure out what. Had Seto really just gotten sick from the night out?

"...Everyone in this room...you guys are all I have," Mokuba said firmly. He places a hand on Seto's arm, and Seto lets out a soft groan. He'd made a similar one when Yuugi had revealed too much information in pursuit of tugging his brother's heartstrings.

"You aren't taking care of yourselves...things could've turned out bad, don't you get it?"

Yuugi glanced down, eyes soft.

In a way, it was humbling that Mokuba considered him a part of the inner circle consisting of him, Isono, and Kaiba. They were friends, and he hadn't considered just how isolated the younger Kaiba actually was in comparison to the rest of the world--

But...

"I know. You had every right to worry. But...your brother is strong. Even when he was at his absolute lowest, he refused to give up on his principles."

A pause.

"I wish I knew what happened that made him like that, though. Did something happen before...?"

Pretty darn isolated, to have more adult friends than kid friends, huh? But Mokuba's not complaining about his lot, he understands the pressures his brother's under, and wants to alleviate them as much as possible.

That being said...when Yuugi asks what could have happened, Mokuba shifts his weight from one leg to the other, arms still crossed as he rolls his eyes.

"He had to entertain last night, and I thiiink...well, uh. You know, he's a vampire, and they don't really need to eat, so whenever he has a night meeting and someone wants to do dinner..."

"...Th'n I hhhave to play al'ng," Kaiba mutters, his words slurred. The paralytic is starting to wear off, but he still sounds ridiculous. "Stupid..."

He's not calling anyone in the room stupid in particular. Mokuba actually gets it, and he lets out an annoyed sigh.

"Yeah so remember that meeting I said he had, with the guy we don't like? He's American, and he likes to do over-the-top stuff while he's visiting. Like fancy omakase and drinks, apparently" Mokuba said with a frown on his face. "Bro, I don't know why you entertain that guy! He's annoying!"

"Bus'ness," Seto responds grouchily. Industrial Illusions was another gaming giant, the one that created and distributed Duel Monsters. Of course Kaiba has to collaborate, his Solid Vision is meant to work in tandem with the game!

"So eating human food makes him...thin? He looked so pale, like he was starving and hadn't eaten properly for days. Is it something like Celiac Disease, where eating gluten will make the body starve itself?"

Well, that definitely crossed eating burgers off the list.

...

Come to think of it, could vampires eat food if there was blood in it? Like blood soup, or some kind of congealed blood or blood products? Or did it have to be fresh blood like out of a blood pack or a human?

Was it possible to make a man a blood gazpacho with blood sausage?

Asking for a Yuugi Mutou who hopes his friend can eat better than literal copper liquid.

"Reminds me of when I would duel in American tournaments. Mr. Pegasus always liked doing weird things and I still don't understand what the appeal was meant to be."

"No, it usually doesn't, actually. But..."

Mokuba flicks a look over to Seto, as if seeking permission to explain. Sure, he could leave it to Seto himself, but he's still kind of working on flexing his fingers, and he sounds bad. Mokuba could do it, if he got the nod...

"Mmh," is his brother's response, with a purposeful look that Mokuba reads as just that.

"...without circulation, stuff tends to bog down a lot in the body. Half a meal's more than enough, a full meal can get him sick. And Pegasus wanted a whole 15 course sushi set apparently, it's real dumb. Then there's the drinks, and again, without actual circulation, it hits harder.

I think Bro just got sick from it, he was being pretty loud last night."

"Mokubaaaaa..."

"You were! I could hear you yakking for like ten whole minutes!"

Ah yes. Dignified terminology for a dignified businessman. Truly Mokuba was still a kid, with kid vocabulary.

So without proper circulation, vampires can't really eat human food without getting sick. Half a meal? Perfectly fine. But a whole one?

Much less a 15 course omakase? That would murder the body no matter what kind of monster you were.

"Honestly, I'd probably get sick from a 15 course set and I'm not even a vampire..." Yuugi mumbled.

But then again, he preferred things simple and greasy. Burgers and fries, bar food and fried chicken. Typical young guy foods.

"But thank you. That gives me some ideas."

Please don't ask what kind of ideas. You might get a ramble about blending blood with real foods. And doing nice things for vampires because Kaiba was his friend now, no takesy-backsies.

Mokuba sticks his tongue out, one eye closed.

"Yeah 15 pieces is way too many! I like sushi but that's too much! I should've gone with him, then it would have been better. I feel like--"

"Hmmmn," Kaiba grumbles, pushing himself up unsteadily. His arm trembles under the weight, but he manages. It's getting better...sort of. "Like what, Mokuba? Like I'm doin' my job?"

There's still a little bit of slurring, but overall, Kaiba's speech pattern is improving.

"If I don't do what's needed, then...we'll lose our contract. Distribution's too...too important."

Mokuba nods, but he doesn't look so sure about it.

"Yeah, but...you always let him convince you to keep going, even when you can't."

"I do that with everyone. Remember Ishida?"

"Uhh, yeah I remember Ishida. That was your first time since the change and he drank you under the table!"

Stop! Telling disparaging stories! To the new guy!!! Kaiba is begging, but with his eyes, for Mokuba to please stop. Furthermore:

"What ideas? Don't even try," Kaiba says with a frown. "'M doing just fine."

Hmmm...

From what they were saying, Kaiba was too permissive of Pegasus. And it did seem that way: KaibaCorp had Solid Vision, one of the greatest gaming innovations.

Shouldn't Pegasus Crawford be begging Seto Kaiba for a chance to use his tech, rather than demanding accommodations on his dime?

For a moment, Yuugi did not look convinced.

Something seemed off with that.

"Oh, uh... you know."

Best not think about it for now. He laughed, scratching his head.

"A lot of food is made using blood! And since we're friends now, I want to find ways to can still eat food and taste things without too much issue."

"Friend...?"

Kaiba pulls a scowl, averting his gaze.

"Don't waste your time, Mutou. That sort of thing isn't necessary. Do you really think I would want more to eat after what happened last night?"

Isono cleared his throat and looked away. It wasn't as if he was doing much anyway, not after he shot Kaiba, but that was mostly to not draw attention to himself. Now, he was kind of giving judgmental, and Seto can tell.

Mokuba on the other hand...the look on his face was openly judgmental. Brother please...

Yuugi met that scowl with a disarming but shy little smile.

"I don't think it's a waste of time to help a friend. And you can't say we're not."

It took a special kind of man to roll with the punches when it came to Kaiba's prickliness, but when you played games together, you learned about a person.

And he liked what he saw so far.

"We met on the playing field and faced each other head-on. You always said that the strongest connections were formed on the dueling field, after all."

That was during a speech where he also said that his opponents weren't his friends because none were at his level, but Yuugi wasn't going to go into the weeds with that.

Besides. There was a connection.

They were friends now; he just knew it.

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