Closed

[allthecards]

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.

Comments

[allthecards]

"I don't need help," he replies automatically. It's missing its normal bite and just sounds petulant. Though now that he's thinking about it "home" requires a boat trip between islands. That was bad enough when sober (not that he was drunk now of course).

"I hate these damn islands," he said aloud, forgetting that any context had only been in his head.

[puzzlingly]

"Don't worry, I will not hold your hand through it." Doesn't mean he's going to leave him alone.

"Heh, that makes two of us." And Atem resumes his own drinking, "Can't wait to leave this place."

[allthecards]

"Hn," it sounds like an agreement. The drinks made him more talkative, but he still had a social limit and it had been reached. It's a comfortable silence as he finishes his latest drink. He's not ignoring Atem, just puzzling through how he will be getting back to the apartment without drowning.

Or worse, embarrassing himself in front of Atem by actually being too drunk to operate a rowboat.

He waits until Atem turns his back for whatever reason to try to slip out. He manages to stand just fine, and smirks that he knew he could handle his drink. However, when he takes a step the ground was not where it was supposed to be and he stumbles hard into a stool causing it to fall to the ground with a large clatter. Fortunately for his dignity he caught himself on the bar and didn't go down with it.

[puzzlingly]

Atem doesn't press the issue further but enjoys his drink as well, but being behind the counter calls for him to get away for a moment or two, and it is when he's getting a few things ready that Kaiba uses the opportunity to get away from under his radar. By the moment Atem turns back he catches the stool falling.

There isn't exactly a judging stare or even a worried one as he looks at Kaiba slowly putting himself back to his feet. Instead, Atem takes off the apron and hangs it in its usual place, dries his hands with a rag and walks around the counter. He picks up the stool—when he leans to do so he can also feel the floor moving but not nearly as bad—then, approaches to Kaiba.

Without further ado he grabs Kaiba's hand and puts it over his own shoulder.

"Hold on tight."

[allthecards]

Kaiba snaps his head to the side to stare at Atem and immediately regrets it. The last drink had been a mistake, but hell if he was going to let Atem know that he was right. He rubs his eyes with his free hand to stop his vision from swimming. It's awkward being supported by the much shorter man. It's a good thing he was already leaning to the side, or it might not have worked. It was completely undignified to be supported by his rival, but much more dignified than falling down in front of him.

"You're short," he says like that's the cause of all of his current problems.

[puzzlingly]

"Darn! You noticed!" He jokes—how can't he not? But he notices that Kaiba might need a bit more support than that. Placing a hand over Kaiba's so he doesn't let go, he puts the other around his waist. Better be safe than sorry.

"You ready?"

[allthecards]

Kaiba doesn't acknowledge the extra support. Doing so and not immediately throwing it off would be admitting that he needed it. It's much easier to pretend he didn't notice.

"'f course," he said, straightening as much as he could. He's able to walk well, just more slowly and with shorter steps. If anyone actually saw them, he could say it was so that Atem was able to keep up. It still doesn't solve the most pressing problem of how to leave this island.

"What houses are on this island?" he asks suddenly. "I don't fell like dealing with a boat again."

[puzzlingly]

"I didn't think it would be a good idea to put you in a a boat right now..." That would get super extra messy very fast. But Kaiba's suggestion comes up as a brilliant one! It solves everything.

"I'm pretty sure there must be a few empty ones around here you can stay till the morning." There always were, waiting for new residents and whatnot. Heading towards the center of the island instead of the shores, they finally find the housing area, and just as Atem thought, there seemed to be one or two that didn't seem occupied by anyone.

He guides Kaiba towards one of them, making sure that there isn't actually living there. Once inside, Atem drops his precious cargo unceremoniously on a coach, but when he sees how bad Kaiba truly looks, he opts to stay longer. He shouldn't have let him drink that much.

"Wait here, I'll get you some water."

[allthecards]

Kaiba grumbles a bit as they walk. The normal 'I can do this myself' and 'I don't need your help.' He was glad he always limited himself back home, if this was embarrassing how much worse would it have been if it was in front of investors. That thought leads to what Gozaburo's reaction would have been. He starts chuckling at the thought. The idea that he would be so pissed off but couldn't do anything about it because he was dead, kept him amused through being dropped on the couch.

At some point during the walk he had passed into the tired drunk where everything was funny. He didn't even complain when Atem started mother-hening him again. "Whatever Isono."

That play on 'whatever mom' led to more tired giggles chuckles from the lump on the couch.

[puzzlingly]

Not only Kaiba is chuckling but he's trying to be funny? Yes, Atem likes this Kaiba, it's a bit of shame he needed to get so intoxicated to let down his walls. He wants to see more of that without being shoved off, though. It's a little bit endearing...

Atem then is back with a glass of water, it's good these homes come equipped with some basic stuff.

"Your water, Kaiba-sama." He follows through the joke a little bit, why not? And he looms over him as he offers the glass.

[allthecards]

When Atem returns with the water, Kaiba's eyes are closed with one hand in his hair. He scoffs at the joke and smiles too tired now to try to hide it. He does open his eyes to accept the glass, but it's clear they won't be staying open for long.

"There's no ice," he mock complains. "You're fired."

[puzzlingly]

Atem finds himself staring at him for a moment, half diverted, half endeared.

"Oh no, Kaiba-sama, whatever shall I do." He touches his shoulder slightly. "Drink it, I'll let you sleep then."

[allthecards]

"You'd better." He doesn't take orders, he only drinks the water because he wants to. He has to trust that Atem knows that without him saying it because he's too tired to argue.

He drops the empty glass onto the floor when he's done. It can wait until morning. Everything can.

[puzzlingly]

Atem is not going to leave that glass on the floor, of course, he picks it up and leaves it on the little table, then gets to watch as Kaiba falls sleep on the couch. His hand twitches and he doubts but he follows through the motion anyway, leaning over and bringing a single finger to fix a strand of hair on that's messing with Kaiba's whole perfect image.

"Hey, Kaiba... I'm glad you were born." Just saying. If the gets to hear it or not, well, it doesn't make it any less true.

For a while Atem watches over Kaiba from the arm chair across the couch, making sure that he doesn't decide to vomit and die like some drunkard, but eventually his own drinking catches up with him, making him sleepy. It's getting late anyway and he's small enough to sleep on it without it being too much uncomfortable.

---

"—yeah, then he fell asleep. Never seen him drink so much. " The voice—Atem's voice—comes from the kitchen, a slight smell of something that's probably food coming from it as well.

"I don't know, actually." And he clearly seems to be talking to someone else, even if the other's voice cannot be heard.

[allthecards]

The first thing Kaiba was aware of was the foul taste in his mouth. The close second was the throb behind his eyes. It wasn't the first time he'd woken up with a headache, but it was the first time it could be blamed on drinking instead of overwork. He pressed his hands across his face and groaned at his own stupidity. At least he hadn't been black-out drunk or waking up in the empty house would have been confusing.

At least he hoped it was empty. The smell of food and the sound of conversation indicated that it wasn't. He took a moment to make himself presentable and find out just who he had imposed on. He stopped just outside the kitchen listening to the tail-end of the conversation. That was Atem, who was he talking to? Was that bastard spreading gossip over the phone. If there was a network communication about this, he'd kill him.

"Who are you talking to?" he demanded when he entered the room. His glare turned to confusion when he didn't see Atem's phone anywhere near him.

[puzzlingly]

Atem hadn't listened to Kaiba enter the room and when he turns to look at him, there is actual panic in his eyes when the other makes the dreaded question. Two of the three answers he can give him are lies, but the truth hurts a bit too much to blurt it out.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He turns back to the stove, it's clear he had gotten out to early in the day to get something for him."

"How's your head? There's coffee at the table and some aspirins." The Speakeasy wasn't that far, it was a quick visit to get what he needed and back while Kaiba woke up.

[allthecards]

Kaiba wasn't going to be deterred that easily. What he'd overhead had been about his less than dignified behavior the night before. It therefore involved him and he had a right to know who else knew.

"Don't try to change the subject." He stands directly next to Atem and the stove, ignoring the coffee and aspirin. He still didn't see the phone, but it doesn't mean he didn't have some other way to talk to someone. "Who were you talking to and how?"

[puzzlingly]

As tranquil as he can, Atem turns off the stove and places the food on a plate that was right beside it. Only then he looks up at Kaiba.

"You wouldn't understand."

[allthecards]

Between this, the embarrassment, and the headache, Kaiba was about done with this morning. He pushes Atem back and puts himself between him and the food he was focusing on.

"Try me."

If Atem wants to eat, he needs to start talking.

[puzzlingly]

The food is in fact for Kaiba, so Atem is fine with leaving it there. He does seem to hesitate at the offer, looking into those challenging eyes. There is but a split second in which Atem bites his lower lip and just wants to leave Kaiba standing there. He didn't have to be part of it.

But they are friends, right? Who else in Hadriel would know about the things they went through back home? No matter how much he had tried to ignore the supernatural part of it all.

The silence between them feels a little more than crushing —for Atem, at least— until he finally opens his mouth to utter but a simple and yet incredibly heavy word.

"Yugi."

[allthecards]

"What?"

Kaiba stares at him in confusion, not sure if he heard correctly. There's no other worse it could have been. He raises an eyebrow suspiciously.

"He's not here. You would have told me."

Right?

[puzzlingly]

Atem looks away, the confusion is expected but he's not sure yet how to gauge that reaction in its entirely. How much can he tell Kaiba?

"He's not."

That much is already telling, he supposes.

[allthecards]

Kaiba stares at him calculating. He's not sure what he's looking for, anything in the way Atem is holding himself or expression that would give him a clue into what he's trying to say.

He hated the mystical for the same way he hated everything out of his control. Science was better. It made sense. It had concrete laws that he could learn and use in any way he wanted. He could deny almost all of the magic that had surrounded Atem in Domino, but the one thing he had always been certain of was that Atem and Yugi were not the same person. He had realized that from their first duel. There was no way to mistake Yugi for the pharaoh. And there was no way to mistake that the pharaoh had left, or died, or whatever and left only Yugi behind.

"Are you telling me that all this time there was a logical explanation? That it really was just had multiple personality disorder?"

He says it incredulously. He doesn't actually believe it and expects it to be refuted.

[puzzlingly]

"Told you you wouldn't understand." Not that he's making any effort to explain it, he's been badly cornered at this, the only option he can see is just to let it go. Besides, in his head, no one really would get it no matter if he actually tried to explain it and he didn't want to.

"I'm going home, eat something, Kaiba." And he attempts to pass by him.

[allthecards]

Kaiba recognized this pattern. It was right out of his own playbook. Hell if he was going to let Atem get away with it, anymore than Atem let him.

He grabbed Atem's arm to prevent him from leaving. "I'm not hungry," he stares at Atem daring him to try to leave. The challenge is clear: are you strong enough to stay?