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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"Nnngh. Yuugi, you..."

Oh god. Oh fuck, sitting up is such a terrible idea. Kaiba's pretty sure if he moves too much he's going to vomit blood, and that really will ruin his furniture.

But as much of a dick as he is, he's not leaving Yuugi on the floor like that. So despite his body's protests, he shuffles to his feet and continues to make extremely poor decisions, including stooping down to pick Yuugi up off the floor as gently as possible and deposit him back on the couch in a position less likely to end with him back on the floor. Kaiba then takes a seat again.

...Before flopping back over. No. Sitting is too much.

"On that, we can wholeheartedly agree," he mutters to Yuugi's curse of his own body. "Next time...just bleed it out somewhere else."

"...What the fuck happened in here?!"

Mokuba heard the sound of someone hitting the ground. Of course he's standing there, looking absolutely aghast at the site of his brother with a mouth stained with blood, and Yuugi looking a step from passing out. Actually they both did.

Seto manages to glare at his brother.

"Language."

"My body..." Yuugi mumbled, trying in vain to sit up, "Started to leak blood. Your brother... helped me."

"Leak blood?!" Okay, so Mokuba had every reason to look alarmed at that. "What, like a hemhorrage?!"

"My body made too much blood," he grumbled. "I don't know why, but...nnnnhhh..."

He flopped back over, groaning.

"Don't say it like that, you idiot," Kaiba grouses, not even caring that he's insulting Yuugi. He has every right to insult Yuugi right now! Woe to any man who tries to correct him on that, up to and including his brother!

"I bit him and he gushed like a goddamned oil derrick, what was I meant to do?"

Mokuba does a very adult thing, and pinches the bridge of his nose...before dragging his hand partway down his face. They're both idiots. Absolute idiots. This was supposed to be a super cool sleepover!

Spitefully, Mokuba parrots his brother's words:

"Language."

"I'll say it however I want," he grumbled.

He was too tired to hold his emotions back. Too tired to censor himself. He just wanted the room to stop spinning.

"And I'm not an idiot."

"You are now."

Listen. Kaiba's saying it to be a bitch, because he feels awful, and he doesn't care if it's warranted, unwarranted, or aggravating.

"I'm not doing that again. Ever. Nnngh..."

He almost...almost considers kicking Yuugi out of spite, but he'd put him on the couch in the first place, and he had no intention of ruining his work. Besides, Mokuba was there. Right fucking there.

"Yuugi, don't worry. I know you're both idiots. Bro's just being a child because he doesn't look great either. You both look awful."

It's true and Mokuba's not apologizing.

"...What do you guys need? I'll get to it."

Seto gives Mokuba a withering look, his face flushed bright scarlet. He looked like the blood had gone to his head, even though the majority of it was elsewhere, in his slightly distended stomach.

"And neither of you tell me you aren't idiots, I'm not arguing. You," he pointed to Seto, "look like an overfed tick, and you," this time he points to Yuugi, "look like you belong in the hospital again.

I'm dealing with you both here, so make it easy, won't you? Please."

Yuugi withered just a little under Mokuba's gaze; it was hard to stay frustrated when he was right, after all.

"... water." He said, softer than before. "And, ah... maybe a change of clothes. I think I ruined my shirt trying to keep my blood off the furniture."

That blood...

What triggered it? Why the hell was he gushing? He only started getting these weird headaches after...

...

No. No, that couldn't be it, could it?

"I don't need anything," Seto mutters, refusing to look at his brother, or Yuugi. Mokuba thinks its pretty childish, all things considered, but he decides that what Seto needs is a damp cloth, to wipe his face.

That's all he can really think of for his stubborn brother...for now.

"Got it," he says, nodding at Yuugi. "Gimme a sec."

He turns on his heel and jogs out of the room, which--you know, whatever. Seto wants to tell him to calm his ass down on their floors, but it doesn't matter. Nothing like that matters.

What does matter is the way he feels, and the way Yuugi looks. He exhales softly, because drawing enough breath to sigh seems impossible.

"...Good to know that what I did was unhelpful," he commented wryly. "You still look terrible, Mutou."

He's sure Yuugi's about ready to quit both KaibaCorp, and Seto himself, if not his brother. He wouldn't blame the man for that, even if he'd blame him for the discomfort at current.

"I'm...grateful, really."

Yuugi flopped on his side, just enough to face Kaiba, even though he felt like shit.

"You saved me from bursting like a blood boil. Why wouldn't I be? And who knew what would have happened if I just...stayed in that coffee shop, unconscious..."

He even smiled; how the hell can a man smile when he feels this awful?

After all that--grateful, he says? Ugh...Kaiba wants to cross his arms, to scowl, but that's too much effort. Again, he's not interested in losing his lunch. Instead, he presses a hand to his aching gut as if pressure might alleviate the issue and simply rolls his eyes.

"Pegasus might have taken you home, somehow. He has a way of--nngh!--of finding my valuable employees and making them his. Some excuse would have come about, and then..."

Kaiba frowns.

He's not sure...if that's right. The coffee shop, hadn't something happened besides Yuugi collapsing? Kaiba can't recall, but then, he'd been pretty out of it himself.

That's why Pegasus had taken point. He'd driven them both to the hospital...no, all three of them. Mokuba was there.

(mokuba wasn't in the bathroom though, weren't they the only ones?)

Kaiba does try to think hard about it, but every time he thinks he might get somewhere, there's an airy release of attention in his brain, like someone's hit a switch.

It's frustrating, and...actually, although he doesn't realize it, the reactions are all showing on his face. Scowl...then a strange vacant expression, before he scowls again, thinking hard...and the expression falls again, his eyes half-lidding.

"I'm not thanking you for this meal," he finally settles on, sounding tired.

Pegasus would have taken him home, somehow. Perhaps made him...his...?

Something twisted Yuugi's gut at the thought. No, that wasn't right. Yuugi wouldn't have been Pegasus's, he wouldn't have tried to take him, he would have...

Would have what?

He pursed his lips, furrowed his brow.

"I..." Yuugi mumbled. "Are you sure? That Pegasus would have taken me?"

Something didn't seem right about that.

A bathroom.

Yuugi held from behind.

Eyes, reaching into eternity, staring into his soul--

Seto Kaiba is mine.

"I...I don't think he would have. I don't think he's particularly interested in me."

Two men leaning against one another as they headed towards the bathroom. Gentle fingers touching hair, bodies just a bit too close...

Something inside Yuugi's stomach surged, and he'd run towards the--

"I went into the bathroom because I was worried he was doing something to you."

Kaiba might have responded to Yuugi with examples of Pegasus poaching his best workers and doing it with a smile on his face, but...Yuugi's face has him second-guessing such a response.

Yuugi...what the hell was he saying here? That Pegasus would rather focus on him than any of his employees?

"Ridiculous. All he wants out of me is unfettered access to Solid Vision and related systems. He's wanted that for years, and I'll never understand why he won't make do with his leasing contract. I lease the right to use Duel Monsters cards and influence expansions, and he benefits on the backend from the hardware and what my systems can do to enhance his game.

He doesn't want me."

Right?

He likes to make Kaiba uncomfortable

(A sharp pain in his lower back, as he's shoved into something)

and to play mind games

(hands on his thighs)

but he'd never want Kaiba for anything but his company.

"What are you talking about? Why would you believe he was doing anything to me? I was...dizzy, that's all. My body doesn't metabolize coffee well anymore. Or any normal foods and drinks, so I..."

Kaiba trails off, frowning. He's dizzy now...because of Yuugi's blood. So much blood...

(his fangs are in yuugi mutou and the blood flows like a tap of honey under such pressure. instinct guides him, he wastes no bit of what's flowing)

Why is he thinking about that? This...isn't the same thing that had just happened.

Yuugi bit his lip, turning away.

"He was...touchy, though. Like...really touchy. You've never let anyone touch you like that before. I was worried."

Was that all he was...? Just worried? Not...

Anything else...?

(Yes.)

No! Obviously not!

"I know you can take care of yourself, but...I didn't feel right leaving you alone with him when you were that dizzy and not feeling well."

What happened after that? When he was in the bathroom...?

Seto Kaiba is mine.

"And then I ended up sick instead."

How, though? How did he end up sick? Why was he sitting on the floor and staring into Pegasus's eye?

Had he done that?

Was that a dream? Why was he thinking about that?

You're beautiful. You're mine...

Wait.

Yuugi suddenly made a face like he swallowed a lemon as the words washed over him, whispered into his mind.

His cheeks?

Redder than his blood.

What the hell was that?!

"You hardly know me to assume that," Kaiba says coldly, even more than he means to. But this conversation has his hackles up, he doesn't like it at all.

He doesn't like that Yuugi's flushed bright again, possibly overproducing blood?! Kaiba can't help him this time...he can't handle anymore.

"Mutou, you have to calm down. If it happens again, what happened just a bit ago, then you'll hurt yourself, do you understand?"

He doesn't know any better, he just doesn't want Yuugi exploding blood from every orifice. And...there's a sharp pain in his head, an aching that he's honestly familiar with. Lights dance in the corner of his vision, and so he closes both eyes.

Headache.

No...maybe worse?

"You weren't sick, I...I was the one who was sick. And then, you got dizzy at the table when we left the bathroom. I was going to...mmmnh."

The pain grows worse, almost unbearable.

"I don't want to think about it. I can't."

Can't he? But...why?

Despite the coldness, the words tumbled from Yuugi's lips:

"I know you well enough to know that you hate being touched by anyone."

That didn't sound right. None of this sounded right! It was wrong, everything was wrong, the entire situation was...

Nnngh, he felt off. Everything felt...

"...Right?"

He touched his forehead, leaned back on the couch. His head spun, his stomach swooped.

"Nnnh, I don't know. Something feels off...but I don't know what. You're right, I probably...need to just calm down. Overthinking isn't going to do anything for either of us."

What was going on with him, though? Why was he suddenly overproducing blood and acting like a human sieve? Why did he have the urge to bow down at Kaiba's feet and listen to everything he said? Why did his eyes make him want to tilt his head in submission and why did they haunt his dreams at night?

Why did his body wither away when they were separated for a long period of time?

"All I know is...ever since you bit me...my body feels different."

"Just...shut up for a while."

Extraordinarily, despite the words being rude...the tone of them is almost pleading.

The more they talk, the more Kaiba's head aches, the more he sees spots in his vision, eyes closed or not. The subject feels forbidden somehow, which doesn't make sense, but the more he thought, the more it hurt. What else could he even make of it?

Thankfully it's at that time that Mokuba finally shows back up, with a handful of clothing for Yuugi, and a damp cloth for his brother.

"You guys...are you doing okay?" he asks with no small amount of worry in his tone as he passes Yuugi a set of clothes that is...way too big for him. Sorry, but Mokuba's too small to accommodate Yuugi with an outfit from his wardrobe. He had to swipe one from Seto's.

"I'm fine," Seto responds shortly. Again, rude words, but lacking venom.

That tone...

It gave Yuugi pause.

There was none of the venom he would expect from those words, and while he knew that Kaiba was the kind of man who filtered himself through bluntness and a complete disregard of politeness and niceties, this felt different.

So much of this was weird.

"Yeah," he said with a weak smile. "We're just a bit worn out. Thank you for everything, Mokuba. You're a lifesaver."

Possibly literally, but it's not like Yuugi knew just how true that was.

"It's not a problem, you're my friend!"

Despite any stress that he might be under, Mokuba smiles at that as he gives Yuugi the clothes. Yuugi is a friend, and he wants to keep being friends with him!

"And you're my brother, Seto. So you have to let me help you."

And that's the only warning Seto gets before his gremlin of a brother uses the damp cloth to wipe his face in one quick swipe, and he's none too gentle about it. But hey, the blood is gone, isn't it?

"Ghh! Mokuba!"

"Nope! You have to let me help you! It's the rules!"

Yuugi couldn't help it: he laughed.

He laughed bright, loud, and bell-like, despite his discomfort.

Despite everything that happened tonight.

There was something endearing about a big bad vampire CEO getting wiped down by his little brother and getting indignant about it.

"Come on, Kaiba: you wouldn't want to go against the rules, would you?"

"You don't even know what the rules are--mmfh!"

Mokuba dabs at Seto's mouth again, this time mostly for the reaction.

"Missed a spot," he hums. "So which one of you is gonna get up?"

"...What?"

"Well, Yuugi can't just change here on the couch with you, can he? One of you has to leave!"

Yuugi immediately tried to get up:

"I can do it--"

Wait, when did he end up on his side?

On the floor?

"No, wait--" Mokuba calls out, but it's too late. There he goes...

"Mutou, I just put you back up here..."

Kaiba is not amused. He makes that very much known as he once again gets to his feet and with very little care, he snatches Yuugi up like a troublesome puppy and deposits him back on the couch. Seriously. Seriously?!

"I'll leave," he says flatly, even though he doesn't really want to move all that much. "Get dressed and get this over with."

"Bro, you're not going to bed, are you?" Mokuba asks, sounding incredibly disappointed. He still wanted to hang out...Seto wasn't really leaving, was he?

"I don't know why it matters to you, but no, I'm not going to bed. I'm a vampire."

...Who's still kind of wired on coffee, but hey, Yuugi's blood is helping counteract that.

BYE HE'S LEAVING.

"...So uh. Youuuuu...don't need help getting dressed, right Yuugi?" Mokuba asks awkwardly. HE IS 13 OR 14 AND NOT THE DAD OF THE FAMILY!

He not only grabbed him like a troublesome puppy, but he grabbed him by his collar.

You know.

Where the scruff of a dog's neck would be.

Yuugi waved off Mokuba's concern with a light, easy laugh.

"No, no! I got this."

You thought you got this earlier...

But, oh, he's actually mobile enough to...

...

To...

"Uh. Can you um. Turn around? While I change?"

YIKES. NO. NONONONONO. Mokuba not only spins to face away from Yuugi, but he also covers his eyes, as if somehow some guy's state of undress is going to reflect off of the walls and end up in his face.

"I'm not looking! Just don't fall off the couch, I'm not picking you up if you're naked!"

They're friends. They aren't THAT much of friends, buddy.

Okay, now Yuugi's face was red.

"I wouldn't want you to!" He squeaked. "I don't want anyone touching me when I'm naked unless they're my doctor or the person I like!"

Aha. Choice of words, Yuugi.

Still, he shuffled about as he got changed. It was...extremely loose on him, but the satin pajamas felt really good against his skin.

"Weird, Yuugi!" Mokuba calls out, but he's staying put. Until he's signaled, he won't turn. Nor will Seto, as it so happens.

The Kaiba brothers are, altogether, very awkward at things like this. Even Mokuba, who was more socially adept, felt uncomfortable being in a room with someone changing. Maybe that's normal?!

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