Stars, In Your Multitudes [It's always Rival, lbr. Space Station Hours!]

[firstrateduelist]

It's been a good half a year since his trip to the afterlife, and all that it entailed. Kaiba's recovered from the loss by now, and business is back how it was.

Which meant, of course, that he dealt with irritations from time to time. Today was truly a shitshow, with a stubborn negotiator who tried to walk all over him on a business deal. Pity's to them that they're from out of town, because they learned very quickly that the young scion of Kaiba Corporation was not to be tread upon.

They both left without a deal, which would certainly put development on some of Kaiba's interests back by several stages, at least...unless he did the work himself. Which was not so easy these days, when he was mired in the politics of actually being the president of the company.

It's annoying.

It's boring!

Worse still, today's encounter had left him suffering under the influence of alcohol! And for what?! For a deal that had been rescinded?! What's the point of drinking if he doesn't even get a benefit out of it?

Aggravated, he taps his bracer perhaps a little too hard, and begins dictating a text.

Have you ever been to space

It is well past 9:30 on a weekday. That is a weird question to be asking of one Yuugi Mutou, isn't it?

Seto Kaiba doesn't give a good goddamn if it is. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO SPACE YUUGI?

Comments

[puzzleshounen]

"I have them," Yuugi said. "I, uh. Always take my latest version with me... and barring that, I back up the latest commits on the KCHub Repository database."

KC servers were safer than any other; the repository was an industry standard. Even companies like Schroeder Corp used them in their games division.

They had to pay a premium, of course. Individual devs like Yuugi had access to the repository for free.

[firstrateduelist]

"Oh."

Oh? Even he realizes how silly that sounds, and so he adds, "Well, then you can show me. If you're using my tools then I have the right."

As always, it's about Seto Kaiba, and not Yuugi Mutou. But hey, at least he's showing interest right? That's a win, in some manner!

[puzzleshounen]

"You want to see it?" Yuugi asked.

This should.

Not excite him. This should not make him excited, he wasn't ready he wasn't ready the game wasn't ready it was still in prototype and he wasn't ready to do the pitch yet he'd wanted to wait until it was far more polished to pitch it to KC AAAAAAAAAA

"I'd love to show you! The only person I've been playing is myself, and the AI is still being worked on, so having a live player for a playtest would be perfect! Especially if that player is you! After all, I designed the game specifically for Kaib--"

He coughed.

Ahem.

Maybe he shouldn't have said that part out loud.

[firstrateduelist]

Good thing Kaiba's not steering the jet at the moment, because something about Yuugi laying praise upon him like that while showing excitement about presenting his idea to Kaiba personally was doing something to him.

The warmth of the alcohol was already something he couldn't ignore, but the pride that seems to catch him alight from the inside out? Even more potent. He can't stop himself from grinning, really.

"Of course you designed it with my systems in mind, who else would you have run to? There's no company that can match what KaibaCorp does!"

He's practically preening.

[puzzleshounen]

The positive response, in turn, bolstered Yuugi's confidence. Because of course it did! Having Seto Kaiba not think he was being cringe or clingy for wanting to make his game for his company was something of a relief!

"Exactly!" Yuugi practically bounced on his feet, "KaibaCorp's infrastructure is the best in the business, and who better to work with me on my game than my favorite person to play with?! I wouldn't even enter tournaments if you weren't in them!"

Aha. What a thing to admit.

The most normal thing to admit.

Yup.

[firstrateduelist]

"...What?"

Okay, that one he couldn't quite let go. Like, go off Yuugi, of course that's legitimate, Seto Kaiba's the only real challenge in your life! But also: to just out and say it like that, it's a little much, isn't it?

"You mustn't play in too many tournaments then. Because I'm busy lately," he says, kind of circling around the awkwardness of the statement while still accepting the compliment.

[puzzleshounen]

Shit. That was weird, wasn't it?

Okay, okay.

Play it cool.

"Yup," he said, "No tournaments lately. No reason to go."

Because he wasn't there.

[firstrateduelist]

"You could be usin' them to stay sharp," Kaiba answers back blandly. In truth, he knows he'd be jealous of his inability to participate. It isn't as if he doesn't wholeheartedly devote himself to his work because he wants to, but even if he wants to do something else, the needs of his business have grown to be more important than the cards themselves.

It's not like he can just take a vacation, that'd be ridiculous. Everything with purpose, nothing frivolous.

Except...you know. This.

"Tch."

He prods at one of his screens in annoyance, and then lets out a sigh, before quietly murmuring:

"I miss the game."

[puzzleshounen]

"I could..." He agreed.

He could go, but he had other things to think about. He had the shop to look after, his grandfather to care for as he went up in years. He had his own game to think about, and the future that he was building for himself.

He didn't have time to play in the way he wanted, but...

He wanted to.

"And I...miss it, too."

I miss you.

"I've been busy, too. My game, the shop, and everything. Don't have as much time on my hands as I used to."

[firstrateduelist]

Kaiba thinks to himself, as he considers Yuugi's words, how he never walked with them during graduation. How it was Yuugi who gave the speech to their class, and not him.

Of course it would have been ridiculous. It didn't matter that he was the smartest one in their class and was tapped to give that speech himself, which he declined. It didn't matter that he was still a teenager. He didn't have time for the regular lifestyle of the high school student. His diploma was mailed to him.

Graduation day? He was elbows deep in negotiating a deal for upgraded circuitry for his Duel Disks.

Mokuba had been upset with him, of course. They had both always pushed each other to try and live a normal existence. Both had failed each other in those respects, but at the very least, Seto managed to keep Mokuba in school far longer than he kept himself.

Ugh. Why is he thinking of this now? It's never mattered! It wasn't important!

"Right..." he finally responds, too late though. Yuugi probably knows something's up. Damn it.

"We can play a game up there. In space. Almost there anyway, we should plan accordingly."

Schedules. Meeting. Planning. Nothing to chance. That's his way.

[puzzleshounen]

It did matter, though.

It mattered to Yuugi, though he never said it. It mattered to Yuugi that Seto wasn't there standing next to them at graduation, because he deserved to stand there, too. He deserved to make that final speech -- probably something about KaibaCorp, he'd joked, even as he tried not to let the disappointment show -- instead of Yuugi.

But he did his due diligence and gave the speech to the best of his ability, hoping that he'd at least see Kaiba once in the crowd, to hear him. To give him his silent approval (or even disdain) or something.

But...

He was clearly thinking about something. Was it work? What was it...?

He knew better than to ask, but he couldn't help but raise his eyebrow for a moment before schooling his face in his usual friendly smile.

"Yeah. Honestly...I can't wait to play with you. It's been too long."

[firstrateduelist]

"At least it'll be a proper challenge," Kaiba agrees, before letting out a hum of approval. He can see the ground station now, and so he reaches to the controls.

"I'm taking over again. The landing might not be as smooth as I'd like."

His head's a bit fuzzy, but he's still more than capable of landing. Just watch. There's a shudder as he cuts the autopilot and tries to even out the flight under his control. That's definitely not frightening at all, he's sure!

[puzzleshounen]

Noooope. Not frightening in the least!

See, this is normal! Look at Yuugi's hands, turning white on the armrests as he leans back in the seat, eyes jammed shut!

That is the face of a man who is definitely fine and not nervous at all.

[firstrateduelist]

Nice.

Isn't Yuugi supposed to have faith in people? Seriously...but Kaiba ignores him, because he's too busy landing a jet, and he doesn't have time to worry about a coward's fears.

Anyone should know by now that Seto Kaiba will not harm his prized jet. Case in point, despite the turbulence, his landing isn't much more terrible than landing a plane in shitty weather. Sure, it's a bit jolting...but also, he could have done worse.

At least they're on the ground again. Right?

"There. Now get out," he says plainly, opening the cockpit to let Yuugi do just that.

They're now located on the ground station island that leads to his space station, which yes. Has a tube leading to space. How is that possible? Because Kaiba.

[puzzleshounen]

Look, don't blame him. He's been on a private jet flown by the most simultaneously icy and bombastic man he's ever met a grand total of a few times in his life, and when the man's drunk you couldn't help but be nervous, all right?!

With a hard swallow, Yuugi started to climb out of the jet.

Deep breath.

Okay.

...

He was just going to go to space! With Seto Kaiba! In that giant elevator!

...

Great, Yuugi nearly fell out of the plane. Wonderful clumsy landing; cats would be envious.

[firstrateduelist]

It might be of some consolation that even though Kaiba lithely exits his own seat with a quick jump, it's not one of his most gossamer landings as one foot slides out slightly, causing him to very nearly take a knee.

"Tch."

He straightens up quickly, then leads the way towards the station door. His pathing is a little bit, uh.

It's not...straight. Seriously, he should not have been driving a jet.

[puzzleshounen]

The fact that he had been able to? And get them here safely?

Strangely impressive.

(Of course it was, he wasn't in the jet anymore--)

Terrifying, but impressive.

Yuugi scurried behind him, making sure to keep a bit of space so he didn't crowd him so far in. Would this be okay, being in confined space with a guy who was this drunk?

Yeah. Should be fine.

Would be fine.

Yup.

[firstrateduelist]

Oh, if he thinks that's bad, just wait until he sees how they get to space in the first place, because here's the kicker--there's only one seat.

One.

Kaiba approaches the door, slaps his hand on the biometric scanner, and then reveals this very truth to Yuugi. Even more audaciously, he takes a seat in the chair at the center of the room and stares at Yuugi expectantly.

"Come on. Let's get this over with," he says flatly. "And try not to vomit in the chamber. You said you wanted to go t'space, right?"

Kaiba...what the fuck?

[puzzleshounen]

....

There was only one chair.

There was only one chair. Was he crazy?! Did he...Did he really expect Yuugi to just...sit on his lap? What if things got awkward? What if Kaiba got really into it and ended up poking him in the butt without him being able to move?

What if Kaiba hated it and threw him off while they were going up the space elevator with literally only one chair?

What if...

"You want me." He said after a moment. "To sit in your lap."

You know. Just making sure he's seeing this correctly.

[firstrateduelist]

Kaiba lets out an annoyed sigh.

"I'm not lettin' you run my very expensive space elevator alone, no matter if the trip is short or long, so I'll tolerate you here--"

And at that, he spreads his legs wider, so as to give Yuugi ample room away from between them as possible, which is, in his opinion, VERY FAIR, because look at All That Space.

"--for as long as it takes to get up there. Is this not satisfactory for you? Sometimes, Yuugi, sacrifice must be made."

[puzzleshounen]

"A-ah, no, that's. That's perfectly reasonable."

It wasn't. But it definitely was from Kaiba's drunk perspective. Besides, there was plenty of space, so if he sat on the edge of his knees, he'd be fine!

Yeah!

Look at him, sitting obediently on the edge of his legs to give Seto more room. So he wouldn't be sitting ass-to-crotch in a way that was drastically inappropriate, given their position?

Yeah.

Definitely.

[firstrateduelist]

Nope. That's not going to work.

Kaiba's left hand snakes forward suddenly, flattening against Yuugi's abdomen and pulling him closer in between his legs. It's not incredibly obscene, and he's a little too tipsy to connect any dots, but they are pressed more closely together. This would be more than a little jarring otherwise.

Besides, he can't risk Yuugi sliding off the chair under the strain of the G-forces generated by this chair.

"Stay put," he orders, "brace yourself, and don't scream."

That's about as much warning as Yuugi will get, before he engages the elevator. Yuugi will probably feel as Kaiba's entire body tenses, moments before the elevator takes off, not unlike a rocket. Even braced, the gravitational force exerted upon them by the launch is enough to make Seto Kaiba himself flinch.

And that's going to go on for a few minutes at best. This is the price to pay to go to space. Well, at the very least, Kaiba's holding Yuugi steady, right?

[puzzleshounen]

Yuugi's mind completely blanked as that arm wrapped around his waist.

He was already feeling weird in his pants from the friggin' plane ride, and now this?! How did the ATCs deal with him when he was flying without dying of horny in the process?!

How did anyone in his vicinity survive without dying of horny?!

His arm

Was around

His waist

It was around his waist he was pulling him in they were butt to crotch this was so inappropriate but holy shit he was ordering him to brace himself he was ordering him holy shit he could order him to do anything if his mouth was close to his ear like that holy shit holy shit holy shit--

And then it pushed Yuugi against his chest like they were in some kind of tight embrace and he couldn't help but squeak against him.

space (derogatory)

[firstrateduelist]

The squeak would have made Kaiba raise his eyebrow if he didn't have several Gs exerted upon him. It's fine, he was more than capable of dealing with it. That's what his physique was for, otherwise traveling to his space station would be far less tolerable.

Even if...the upward motion was kind of messing with his equilibrium a little more than he'd have liked. Being drunk was already doing enough of that, he didn't need any extra stress.

And for a handful of minutes, that's basically what he got.

At least Yuugi wasn't shouting, or complaining about how Kaiba's arm was curled around him like a damn vise as they ascended.

Normally, the sight of the earth leaving his sight was impressive. Today however, Kaiba has decided to close his eyes against the view, in order to prevent his insides from doing party tricks. Maybe...this wasn't a good idea? But no, Kaiba has nothing but good ideas, clearly.

And he'll go on thinking that even after the chair's velocity begins to slow, and then...

...fuck.

As soon as the chair starts to come to a stop, he begins to float upwards, and that's not right. Had the gravity stabilization gone haywire? Oh, he doesn't need this right now, he needs anything but this!

"Brace yourself," he repeats grouchily, not letting Yuugi go and instead using his free arm to brace against the ceiling, then push back down.

[puzzleshounen]

You know what?

He was never going to listen to a drunk Seto Kaiba ever again. He was going to trust his instincts and sober the man up with a 2x4 if necessary.

Yes sirree, a good clonk on the head was a better idea than--

-- being crushed into Seto Kaiba's chest and crotch at several Gs how was this his life.

Until.

They were floating.

Floating???

And then Kaiba held him to his body and he felt like he was going to fly away and--!!