hadriel_logs | Closed

Entry tags:

atem,
seto kaiba

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Who: Kaiba and Atem
What: It's Kaiba's birthday
Where: The Speakeasy
When: Backdated to October 25
Warnings: None. Will update if they get into another fight.

Kaiba sits at the bar in the speakeasy contemplating his drink. Technically he shouldn’t be allowed to have it. Not that there were drinking laws here. Not that he’d paid any attention to them in Domino anyway. Who was going to tell him he couldn’t? How would it look for him to carry around a soda when everyone else had wine at a business party. He might as well just shout “I’m too young to be in charge” in the middle of the room.

He hadn’t voluntarily celebrated a birthday in close to 15 years. Besides what did a birthday mean here anyway? The prevalent theory is that everyone forgot they were here and returned to their original point in time. Ignoring all of the bullshit in that theory, would that mean any aging would be undone? Is there enough of a difference between 18 and 19 that he would notice anyway if it wasn’t?

The only thing happy about his 19th birthday was that no one here knew it was.

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"Isn't it Kaiba-kun's birthday?"
"It is, isn't it, October 25th."
"It's a shame he doesn't come to school anymore— I wonder what happened."
"Who cares?! Surely he's throwing a huge party at his mansion and will not invite anyone like the jerk he is!"

Funny, how Atem did remember some things upon seeing something so simple as the date in his phone. So it is Kaiba's birthday. While Atem has never really celebrated them, it wasn't until living for a few years in the modern world that he found out how people would be cherished on the day they were born —they would be given presents and their friends would throw a party specially for them, and cake was something important apparently. He remembers Yugi's parties, Jonouchi's, Honda's, Anzu's... Yugi was kind enough to even share with him his own birthday for his friends to celebrate him too, as kind as he always was. Back in the day, the day he had been born had been a day of celebration itself, but when he assumed the throne, that one became the date he was born as a God on Earth, anything mundane before that would be overlooked. In fact... He's not quite sure how his real birthday would be translated to these modern times, maybe he can ask someone.

Such are the thoughts Atem's got in his head as he heads to the Speakeasy, see if he can do some work around since there are a lot of new people. Rey surely had her hands full.

As he gets closer to the counter to get ready to serve or clean or even go to the Game Room and see if anyone needed a hand, he spots the familiar haircut from afar, hard not to when Kaiba is so freaking tall and almost always wears the same thing. Unlike other people, Atem goes around the corner and puts on simple apron and fills Kaiba's glass with an amiable semblance.

"Your hair has gotten longer, Kaiba." Time passes, only Atem is the same. He hadn't really noticed before, until now, it was easier especially when the last time he saw him was so long ago. It makes him look a little more alike Seth, not that Atem is about to tell him that, it'd probably bother the hell out of him.

Edited 2018-10-28 18:56 (UTC)

Kaiba only looks up when Atem starts talking. He'd been deep enough in his own thoughts to not immediately notice Atem enter the room. He scoffs, and resists the urge to touch the ends of his hair. He hadn't noticed himself, but a sudden six months of growth instead of gradual would be more obvious.

"Back at work already?"

That boded well for his recovery from losing his memory.

"Better keep moving, right?"

He cannot register why Kaiba would ask, he wouldn't go as far to think he's worried about him, truth to be told. He feels fine so why stop doing what he has been doing for months?

"You know, I could help you with that." The hair, he means.

Kaiba shrugged in response. Saying anything might suggest that he cared if Atem was doing well. Tending bar didn't have anything to do with his ability at games, so it shouldn't matter to him.

It's much easier to be sarcastic over his drink.

"Are you a barber now too?"

"I'm a man of many talents, Kaiba." He says that with a wink, not even himself can buy that one, however, and he blurts into a chuckle instead, "No, I'm not, but I'm not that bad with that, despite of what you might think." He ads as he runs a hair through his mane, "I don't cut my own hair, don't worry but I can trim yours a little bit when it starts getting into your eyes. I did the same for Rey, helped her even hers after she did a bit of a mess when cutting it herself."

He can just picture the CEO trying to use his laptop and brushing aside the tips of his bangs with a rather annoyed semblance.

"It kinda suits you, tho..." So much for moving on when all he sees is Seth sitting in front of him.

Kaiba stares at Atem for a moment not sure how to take the flattery, and instead focuses on his offer. He looks up at Atem's hair with obvious judgement. Even if Atem doesn't cut it that way himself, it still says a lot about what he thinks is stylish. And while it suits him, it wouldn't suit anyone else.

"Absolutely not," he says without malice. "Stick with dueling"

He takes a sip of his drink and amends his statement.

"And bartending."

High praise indeed.

"You forgot chess." He teases a little more, content with the strange recognition Kaiba decides to give him. He's not even offended that Kaiba will not consider him allowing to cut his hair, as he said, the length suits him.

"What are you doing here, by the way?"

And drinking, on top of everything. Atem is not so jaded, surely Kaiba knows what day it is despite of not having said anything, it is not him who might bring it up so soon before Kaiba does.

Kaiba grumbles and glares at the taunt. He's two drinks in and mellow enough to not tell him off.

"Having a drink. You'd think pouring it for me would have tipped you off."

Kaiba has no intention of sharing what day it is, and has no idea anyone at Domino High School even knew it. He wasn't there for very long, and didn't exactly interact unless forced to.

"I meant, why?"

Since it's more than clear that Atem is choosing his friend over actually bartending, he gets a clean glass and serves some beer for himself.

"Got bored of the lab?"

Edited 2018-10-28 21:40 (UTC)

He shrugs, neither confirming or denying the observation. He hates today enough, he doesn't want to be reminded of his other failures too.

"Why does anyone? It's here, and I already beat all of your high scores again."

That answer is not something he was expecting from his rival, something is off. Is it because of the date, he wonders. He had decided to let go of those memories he cannot get back, but it's at moments like these that he wishes he could get them back in some way, maybe get a little more insight about whatever is going on in Kaiba's head. He'll have to play with the cards he's got at the moment, such is life.

"You did?" He fakes a resigned sigh. "I guess I need to beat you again. Maybe after I finish my beer." And he downs half of his glass.

"I've always wondered, Kaiba, did you have the arcades at your home, or did you go out there to play?" He can guess the answer but it's something he'd like to know anyway.

"When?" he asks before he can stop himself. The drink is loosening his tongue, and causes him to chuckle at his own thoughts. Did Gozaburo ever have an arcade in his mansion? The idea was hilarious. He had one now, but barely had time to use it with all of his other responsibilities. Besides it hadn't been a real challenge, nothing had, since Atem left.

"You should know the answer to that. Didn't Yugi ever visit an arcade and see my name in the leaderboards of every console? Mokuba mentioned seeing him at one once. He must have told you."

Kaiba chuckling like that isn't always a good sign, what sort of can of worms did he open this time? While Atem remembers how much of a terrible parent Gozaburo was to the brothers, he clearly didn't stop to think his question.

"That's exactly why I ask. It was impressive your name was in most of the games, you were quite an inspiration to other players. But never saw you there."

Kaiba's chuckles turned darker, along with a narrowing of his eyes as he thought about it. He only stopped to finish his drink and place the glass back down for Atem to refill.

"Oh yes an inspiration," he scoffs. He still didn't trust compliments at face value, even if he couldn't figure out Atem's game with them. Especially since his 'inspiration' and standing was destroyed by the man now complimenting it. He didn't feel like going into how Yugi and his friends had almost cost him his company by ruining his winning streak. They'd also stopped Pegasus, so he considered that even.

"My schedule was different than any of you losers, of course you wouldn't have seen me."

Atem fills that glass, even though he's wishing he could somehow stop Kaiba from drinking it, he's not sure how many he's had before he got there, but maybe he should start watching over him.

"You say it as if it was a bad thing, but you truly are an inspiration to many children out there. If anything Yugi always had a hard time when he managed to beat your score, they could never believe it."

While Atem remembers what happened with the Big Five when Kaiba lost the duel against him, he of course chooses not to delve on that.

"It's a shame, it would have been fun that you could stay around after school, we used to play Duel Monsters before going home."

Sober, he would just scoff and ignored everything. Tipsy (not yet drunk) he had to put in his two cents.

"If by school you mean Domino High. I only ever went there for appearances. They don't actually teach anything as all of your friends prove."

He had tried to stop attacking Yugi after their fist-fight. Did it count if it was a blanket statement about all of them? Did it matter anymore if Atem didn't even remember the conversation? Whatever, it was still milder than some of the things he could have said.

"Besides, not everyone has time to waste on meaningless duels outside of tournaments."

Atem actually shrugs a little playfully at that.

"I'm not gonna say it was the most... educational experience I've ever had, but it was fun at times." Save for the moments in which Yugi actually felt the pressure of the exams, he wasn't the best at them, always at the bottom of the lists, playing silly games with the results. He often wonders now if he got better at school after he no longer was with him, bothering him, he was certainly getting better in the later years. Atem seems to get a little bit of a distant stare as he thinks of that, but it does not last, it could as well be taken as him just remembering those times.

"I seriously cannot fathom how is it that you never played for fun before, Kaiba." He doesn't say it with mockery, or with a challenging tone, and he's very careful not to make it sound condescending, it's not what he wants. The fact is that Atem is a little amazed at the fact that dueling had become a literal lifeline in Kaiba's life, his company depended on it, his position in it, what else...? "I wish you could enjoy it a little more sometimes." He's sure Kaiba will scoff at him for that, but it's a sentiment he wishes he could pass to him, for Kaiba to simply enjoy something so simple as a game, no pressure, not a live or die situation, just do something because he loves doing so.

He did scoff, but not for the reasons Atem probably thought. Did he think he didn't enjoy duels just because he was upset when he didn't win.

"I enjoy duels with a purpose," he answered. "Do you think I run tournaments because I think I have to? I enjoy duels when they're done correctly. Only fighting those who are worthy, not needing to bother with any of the riff-raff that show up to regionals or lower."

Thinking about those real duels brings a crazy glint to his eye (or maybe that's just them going glassy from his fourth drink). "Dueling anyone that far below yourself, like you'd find outside of a school, is just destroying the weak and that no longer interests me."

Kaiba's got a point there, one he's glad to find about.

"I get what you're saying, but there is also something special about dueling your friends, see them grow as true duelists." Like Jounouchi, he'd say, but Atem is actually mindful not to do that on Kaiba's birthday, he's not oblivious to the enmity he holds against his friend.

"What's your purpose for dueling me, Kaiba?" Does that mean he actually enjoys dueling with him regardless of the outcome? And while Atem knows without a doubt that Kaiba considers him a worthy opponent, he'd be surprised and honored if that was the case.

Kaiba scoffs at the explanation for dueling friends. He's not running a school for duelists, he just wants to beat the best. Although...no that's a stupid idea.

"You're the only one to beat me with no tricks," he says solemnly. True, Pegasus had beaten him too, but even if the bastard wasn't dead he wouldn't be in a hurry to duel him again after everything he'd done. There was more under the statement, but it would take a lot more than a few drinks to get it out.

"C'mon, is that all?" He teases as he serves another glass of beer for himself — a special blend that he asked Rey for, something that tastes a bit more of home, his home — he's far behind Kaiba, but might as well not go that far for both's sake.

"I'll tell you why I like dueling you:" He drinks and clears his throat. "You might be arrogant, borderline obsessed with the idea of winning to be able to enjoy yourself, but you're incredible, Kaiba; you have never failed to make me feel absolutely terrified whenever I see you get the right hand." He says with a bit of a chuckle, to admit it is not quite easy, but it's the truth, "Dueling you... makes my heart beat faster, there is never a dull moment with you and can never take you for granted." Atem smiles at him, and then adds, "Even if you're a pain in the ass."

Kaiba is frozen in place, forced to listen to the entire speech. Smaller declarations are easy to deflect or ignore. Unspoken comradery can remain unspoken. But this? There's no other way to face it than head-on or to retreat, and Kaiba let it get too far before thinking of retreat as an option.

Most wouldn't think of praise as an attack, but Kaiba doesn't know how else to take it. There's always an ulterior motive. Always a hidden game. The other show always drops. This is everything Kaiba had hoped to hear when he finally beat him, and more. But what could the ulterior motive be, when there's only the two of them here? What is Atem hoping to get out of this?

His face is as unreadable as usual, but for entirely different reasons. While usually his emotions can't be read because of a blank mask, now there are too many behind his eyes to pick out one to focus on.

The ending insult, relaxes him slightly, but it's not enough to take back what was said. He's silent for a long moment, trying to find the explanation for this sudden praise that fits what he knows about people. It doesn't matter if he could have said those same things about dueling Atem. Is that what he was after?He just wanted the praise back? That didn't sound right even in his head.

He finally managed to break eye contact and tries to deflect.

"You're drunk."

Atem waits patiently for an answer taking little sips from his drink but not stopping taking his eyes from the CEO, he even expects the possibility of not getting one, knowing him, but there is no reason for the Pharaoh not to tell him how he feels about him. He might forget again, they might never see each other again, this is second chance of sorts and he will take it, he's going to say and do what his hearts tells him to. Kaiba is his rival, but he also is his friend, no matter if it's a one sided friendship.

But of course he'd say something like that—Atem merely laughs, a short but honest chuckle, he can see Kaiba not believing him and cannot force him otherwise.

"Maybe so." He's not. "It doesn't change how I feel."

Edited 2018-11-05 18:02 (UTC)

Kaiba chuckled at that statement as well. It sounded like he was trying to chuckle evily but still shaken.

"Are you sure?" he asked tauntingly. "Last time you were drunk you threw wine in my face."

He finishes his drink non-chalantly, taking comfort in the further deflection.

There's is a startled reaction and another chuckle. "You surely deserved it."

Kaiba finishes his drink and Atem refills it.

"Did I apologize?"

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