Virgin Dragon (EDDE, FavoredFox)

[FavoredFox]

On the helicopter ride home from Egypt, Yugi sat near the front surrounded by his doting friends. Joey, Tristen, Tea, they touched his back gently and threw their arms over his shoulders in dramatized hugs to help the King of Games through the loss of Atem. They all grieved the Pharaoh, and would grow closer together over their shared pain; but not Ryou. He sat far in the back, suffering his own sorrows without the support of friends. No one else would miss Bakura, in fact they celebrated his destruction.

Ryou was no fool. He knew what sort of horrible demon Bakura was, but it didn't matter. Bakura was still the other half of his soul, and he couldn't help but feel the pain of that separation and the loneliness that came with it. The weight of this sudden burden may have brought him to tears, if he weren't currently distracted by the fact that Mokuba (the boy he'd kidnapped only 24 hours ago... Was it hours or days? He couldn't remember.) had plopped himself across from Ryou. That alone had Ryou fidgeting in discomfort, but when Kaiba took a seat beside him, he jumped into a ramrod straight posture as prickly chills dotted across his skin.

He placed both hands on his knees, fingers gripping his jeans in tense preparation for a verbal (or physical) beating for what Bakura had done.

 

[EDDE]

Sharp, sky blue eyes watched closely as the passengers boarded his helicopter. Seto Kaiba's temper was set to a sizzle and pointed in the direction of his younger brother. For the most part, he was utterly defenseless against Mokuba's giant pleading eyes and over dramatized pout when he wanted something of his big brother. Without a second thought the bleeding heart young boy had offered that ridiculous group of losers a part in the salvation that was meant to be the Kaibas' alone. Despite the fact that Yugi had robbed him of his final chance to challenge his arch rival, he had given in to Mokuba's silent pleas with the greatest reluctance he could muster. They were all but stranded in the desert in the middle of nowhere, and while it hadn't been difficult to call on Roland and have him send out a rescue chopper to get them, the wait had been horribly grueling. The mixture of moping over loss, congratulatory sentiments, and cavity inducing friend speeches meant to cheer each other up was not only disgusting and annoying, but taxing under the heat of the sun and the weight of his own loss on his shoulders.

Hardened eyes narrowed on the teen surrounded by close friends as the lot of them sat down together, sharp grip tightening on the handle of the briefcase that had been offered to him and rejected without a thought not too long ago. He didn't care for the pharaoh like the others did, obviously, but him being gone for good meant Kaiba no longer had the opportunity to challenge the man and win back his title and dignity.

Yugi may have won the duel against his other half and taken the title of 'King of Games' for himself, but Seto didn't rightfully care. On and on they went about how the pharaoh was gone and never coming back, but Seto didn't rightfully care about that either. In fact, he cared so little, he decided to stop paying attention to those morons for as long as he could.

Having followed mindlessly as he loathed at the dusgusting children at the front end of the large carrier, he took in his surroundings to note that Mokuba and one other member of that herd of losers had stuck behind and situated themselves in the back just behind him. After eyeing them over for a moment longer than needed, the one he didnt know just a little more, he made his way up toward the cockpit. Skirting through Yugi's gang down the middle of the carrier was more amusing than he wanted to admit. The seats of the craft at either side sat in a single row and faced into the middle, toward eachother. Shutting down their conversation by cutting through it like a slick knife was satisfying.

They fell silent, and Seto paid literally zero attention to the old man who made his way out of Kaiba's current destination and excused himself humbly and quietly as he squeezed. His tiny way by. It only took a moment after he acsended the three steps into the pit to instruct on their flight path. They would be making their way to the nearest airport, no stops. The occupants of the carrier would then be herded off like the cattle they were and left to fend for themselves from there. Mokuba may be a bleeding heart, but even the child didn't expect anything of the like from his big brother.

The only tough part about the task was the will it took him not to turn back around just to intimidate those fools into silence once he had passed them in the other direction and they broke into hysterical giggles and chuckles for whatever reason. It almost would have been worth it to ruin their fun. But it really just wasn't after having dealt with them in that heat. Instead he continued his way back, looking over the two boys seated in the back who looked remarkably similar while still having absolutely nothing in common in their features.

The briefcase was diligently dropped to his side and slid under a chair with his foot into a secure rack that clicked into place the moment it fully passed its barrier. The tall teen followed suit in the seat just above it with all his normal flourish despite the tone the peons had already taken on his nerves, leg crossed over leg, and arms tucked tightly into each other.

Steel blue eyes landed on Mokuba, whose own were completely occupied by watching the white haired boy across him with a furrow in his brow and a silent pout on his lips. It was a look Seto was familiar with. For some ungodly reason, Mokuba felt bad for the poor fool seated beside him.

He didn't care... But... Seeing as Mokuba did but was too polite to ask, and Seto had no such weakness anywhere in his bones...

The callous look that had been pointed at his brother just a moment before rolled its way down onto his earlier classmate as he leaned back into his chair slightly. "Hey. You."

For a moment he let the air between them fill up with that of the propellers starting, dampened by a sound proofing in the walls only good money could buy. He was waiting for a response, but didn't have the reservation of patience needed left to allow the much shorter teen to look up and respond properly even if he had wanted to. "Why arent you sitting with your friends?"

 

[FavoredFox]

Ryou nearly leaped out of his chair at the curt address. Instead he gripped tightly to his jeans and pitched his lips shut to keep back any terrified noises or sudden babble of of apologies. He stared hard at his feet with wide brown eyes through the tense silence, and only chanced an upward look when a strange question was directed at him. The question itself wasn't strange, it was the fact that it came from one Seto Kaiba that was so startling. Startling enough to have Ryou answering without pause. "I'm not really their friend," he said, just loud enough to be heard over the muffled sounds of the helicopter blades.

He turned his gaze over to the group of teens laughing and joking between words and moments of comfort, and the grip on his pants released to leave his hands cupping his knees. His lips pulled into an uncomfortable smile. "I wouldn't be much comfort," he admitted. Ryou shifted a little in his seat to sit a bit straighter, and turned his head to see the taller teen's face without the veil of his bangs. "Besides," the smile faded away into a tired frown. "I don't feel up to faking any more smiles at the moment."

 

[EDDE]

Thin lips curled into a frown while his eyebrows clicked into close position over his nose. "How stupid." Seto's tight grip in crossed arms relaxed just so. "You shouldn't have waisted the energy trying to fake it in the first place. I'll never understand a single one of you morons."

The slight having been placed, the tensity in his face relaxed a little. "Just so you know, I couldn't possibly care less about you or anyone else, let alone whatever teenage angst you've got bottle up inside that puny body of yours. But Mokuba seems to have some kind of issue with you."

A smile formed over the little boy's features, tired, but genuine as he nodded lightly. He didn't say anything himself for purpley tactical reasons though. After all, his big brother didn't talk to people very often. Instead he simply turned big purple eyes on to the large man he looked up to so much.

An annoyed sound managed to husk in the back of Seto's throat. But he didn't feel like dealing with the look that came when that smile would fade; the look that had gotten him into this whole mess in thh first place. So he turned his attention back down on the albino male sitting just past chest height at his side. "Well go on," he added a little shortly. "You might as well share with teh class. As far sa I can tell, you should be celebrating just as much, if not more than the fools up front, right? Don't you have your own thing you should be happy about or... whatever?"

He couldn't do it. Mokuba's silent plea or not, at the end, he simply gave up. Seto wasn't a pep-talker. Besides, he had just noticed that the old man he'd passed earlier kept turning his attention and a sharp frown toward the back at them in the weirdest way. What the Hell was his problem?

 

[FavoredFox]

The frown on Ryou's lips ticked upward into a hint of a smile. "It's habit, I suppose," he replied with a self-deprecating chuckle. It was painfully genuine.

Kaiba continued with a defensive explanation for the sudden interest in him, but Ryou couldn't take offense. In fact, it made him a little happy. A sudden jolt of embarrassment had him looking back down at his hands. Had he really been so obvious? Or had he always been easy to read and no one cared to notice?

Why did Mokuba notice?

Large brown eyes tilted up to look ahead of him at the young boy to offer him an unforced smile. He had just opened his mouth to assure Mokuba that he was fine, just a little tired; but Kaiba cut him off. Ryou lifted his head back up to turn wide eyes back up to the CEO. "Well... I." He sputtered a little, his mind taking a few seconds to buzz and compute the situation. His initial reaction was to smile wide and laugh awkwardly while scratching the back of his head, but he stopped before trying to utter assurances that there was nothing wrong at all. Instead he answered, "You're probably right."

Ryou's hand fell back to his lap and relaxed his face with a small sigh. "It's my ring," he continued, touching his chest where the artifact had once been. It felt cold. "The spirit inside of it has done horrible things to both me and my friends; so, I should be over the moon. He can no longer attack Yugi and the others, and the pain will come to and end, but..." He looked down at his hand still resting on his chest. "Bakura was still a part of me. The other half of my soul."

Shame had him looking away from the powerful man beside him. There was a short, uncomfortable pause before he quietly admitted. "I miss him." Even now, it felt wrong not to have the dark spirit's voice whispering cruelties in his ear. How utterly pathetic he must seem. To be so cowed by an incorporeal demon in a necklace. So he smiled. He smiled wide and let out a single, airy, "Ha!" before pulling his head up. His eyes were closed and curved in painful, yet convincingly fake delight. "I guess that makes me even dumber than Joey; and here I thought that was impossible."

On the other end of the helicopter, Joey sneezed.

 

[EDDE]

"Again, stupid." Seto shook his head and waved away the thought that nearly made him want to laugh. "No one is that pathetic." He didn't notice Joey sneeze harder for the second time as he continued, crossed arms loosing themselves fully now and landing at his sides as he leaned back against his seat.

Sky blue eyes closed loosely and a short shake of his head was offered toward the nerd in the seat beside him. "You know, if the silly little game you guys have been playing has you this tied up, it's probably a good thing you all finally decided to end it. It got old for me ages ago. At least now maybe I can get some peace on that front." He sighed shortly. "But don't think you'll be getting any sympathy from me. This is something you should be talking to your not friends about, not bugging me with. You were all playing your dorkwad make-believe game together."

Seto gained his own frown, his gruff voice taking on a deeper irritation. "Besides. It's not like you're the only one who lost something here today. I've got my own problems to deal with after everything that happened." He paused as a thought crosed his mind, and threw a cruel smirk down on the teen beside him as he tilted his head against the seat back to look down. "Speaking of which, you seem to be pretty central in those problems here today. You realize you're going to be paying me back for that."

It wasn't a question.

 

[FavoredFox]

At least he wasn't as bad as Joey. It wasn't much to be proud of, but it was something at least. He couldn't help but give something of a laugh that, for once, wasn't at his own expense; in fact, when it continued it was at Kaiba's. There was absolutely no way Kaiba didn't believe what he'd seen with his own eyes, but he continued to deny it to save face. "They don't want to listen to me," he managed to answer before the CEO continued. Then his expression dropped into one of worry.

Ryou leaned away from Kaiba and raised up both hands and waved them slightly in a sign of surrender. An uncomfortable laugh came from his awkward smile, and a bead of sweat ran down his cheek. "I- I'm very very sorry," he stuttered, "For all of the trouble that I've caused."

He looked back and forth between the Kaiba brothers twice before he finally settling on the younger. Ryou placed both hands back on his knees and bowed his head as far as he respectably could in his position. "I've done something terrible to you," he started, clenching his eyes shut, his face hidden by a curtain of dirty white. "No amount of apologies could make up for it," He looked back up at the elder brother, "and I have nothing to offer you but myself. I may not know much, but I am a hard worker and diligent employee. If you allow me, I will work for you as penance."

 

[EDDE]

Mokuba was looking more and more tired. The small boy had been through a lot. He sat up straighter when he was bowed to however. "Your name's Ryou, right?" He took the chance to butt in, hoping it wouldn't inturrupt the flow of their conversation in the long run. A bright, cheery smile crossed his face even as he flopped back against his own seat. "My brother might not take it so easy, but I'll forgive you as long as you promise not to do it again."

Seto gave a moment to allow the mousey little dork the time to come to an agreement with his brother. Never much for having patience however, he spoke a few short beats of a panicked heart later. "I'm glad we're on the same page, Ryou." That's what Mokuba had said his name was. Although he was pretty sure his friends called him something else.

"I'm neither hopeful or expectant towards what you're capable of. However, I expect you to work hard whether you're being paid or not. If by some small miracle there's more to youthan there seems, we can talk about that later. As of now, you'll be coming with Mokuba and myself when we disembark. I expect you to start immediately."

 

[FavoredFox]

Ryou perked in confusion. "How do you..." He didn't have the chance to finish his question, as he was instantly pulled back to the discussion of his payment. Heat ran through his body and settled lightly on his cheeks. When was the last time anyone aside from Bakura had used his first name? Even the teachers had stopped using it for roll call. His heart thudded against his rib cage when his name was used once more. This time by Kaiba.

Ryou quickly shook his head to force away his erratic thoughts and focus on the task at hand. He didn't want to make even more of a fool out of himself. "Of course," he assured, though the thought of working for no pay made his stomach twist and his wallet cry. He paid them no mind, he would simply have to find a way to complete school and work two jobs until his debt had been repaid. He bowed his head once more, though more shallowly this time. "Thank you."

When he sat back up, he was smiling again. This time it reached his eyes and made them shine. "I'm glad. Silently watching my friends play games the whole ride home would have been..." he glanced at the group that hadn't noticed a thing that had gone on between him and the brothers. "Just as lonely as it usually is with them." His happy expression didn't falter. "I will do my best. So please don't hesitate to work me as hard as you'd like," he lifted a fist and a determind fire burned in his eyes. "I won't disappoint you."

 

[EDDE]

Seto lifted a brow a tthe percieved innuendo that had just been squeaked at him. Did the mouse have balls big enough to just up and do that? He had just been talking about being lonely after all, but Kaiba highly doubted it. He was too squirrely for that. But then, "They do say there's only one cure for loneliness." A chuckle filled his lungs and he barely let it out as he mentioned as much in passing.

Speaking of those friends of his, the CEO was now curious on how quickly he could get them out of his hair. He turned his attention away for a moment and looked down at the pin hanging from his collar. Pressing it, he said "Hey. How long until we reach Cairo International? I thought I told you to hurry it up."

"Yes Sir, Mister Kaiba, Sir. ETA is about..." He was cut off and a short, muffled argument that was impossible to understand took place as the pilot's mic was covered. It was released after a quick moment however, and Seto got his answer. "We will reach Cairo International Airport within thirty minutes, Mister Kaiba, Sir."

Mokuba, who had seen the change in their conversation, had taken to waving at Ryou from across the way and making silly faces at him playfully. He didn't want to fully inturrupt, but he didn't want their new friend to lose interest and decide to go join his other friends either. Even with what he'd just said, Mokuba was pretty sure it was still a possibility.

 

[FavoredFox]

Ryou furrowed his brows and cocked his head in confusion. "A cure for... loneliness?" But Kaiba had turned his attention away, leaving Ryou to wait. He didn't mind. It gave him a moment to think. What could cure such a thing? It certainly wasn't friends or company. That didn't seem like something Kaiba would mention. What secret did Kaiba have? It must be a good one to help someone remain so isolated without consequence.

Movement in the corner of his eye caught Ryou's attention, and once he turned his head his wondering thoughts skidded to a halt. "Ha!" he barked, then quickly covered his mouth with his hand to keep back any more. Mokuba was making strange faces; pulling his lips, lifting his nose, crossing his eyes and what ever else he could do to contort his face. Ryou couldn't help but laugh, the noise poorly muffled by his palm.

Tea gave him a strange look. She may have been about to say something, but Yugi started to talk and she forgot all about Ryou giggling with the Kaiba brothers.

Ryou gave up on trying to muffle his mouth, and instead hooked his pointer fingers around the corners of his lips to pull them out. He stuck out his tongue with a childish 'Nyehh,' that was stuttered with giggles. A sense of joy made him bubble up, and he couldn't help but think...

Maybe Mokuba was the cure.

 

[EDDE]

The laughter took Seto's attention pretty quickly. Not that he had anything else to focus on once he'd gotten his answer. Mokuba was pulling faces and doing his damndest to get some attention, as he often did. Only he wasn't pulling faces at his big brother or trying to make some sort of adorable plea. Their attention was on each other fully, and his own shifted to the white haired player rather than his brother.

It was odd to see Mokuba pining for attention like that from someone else. And Seto knew instantly what that meant. He might not be the first person you would want to come tofor social advice, but he knew Mokuba like no one else. And when Mokuba started giggling like an absolute fool, an eyebrow arched over sharp eyes and the landed heavily on his niehgbor.

"Alright, Ryou." He started in that same tone he seemed to have for everyone. "I'd had something else in mind, but I just thought of the perfect job for you when we get home." He smirked, a dark look crossing over his face that said much, much more about his next sentence than it should have. "You're going to babysit Mokuba for me."

Mokuba nearly flew out of his seat as he cheered "Yaaaaay! How fun!" And on he went, babbling about the wonderful thime they would have, and all of the nonsense any child his age would when faced with a babysitter they liked.

Kaiba knew better. That particular job was sometimes the absolute hardest one there was. After all, the boy was related to Seto Kaiba. And he could be just as, if not more cantankerous.

 

[FavoredFox]

Ryou was still pulling his lips and sticking out his tongue when he jerked back to look at his new boss, but quickly scramble to right himself; wiping his lips, trying straighten out wrinkles that had been there from the beginning. He sucked in a sharp breath and leaned back at the dark look he was given. He swallowed audibly, eyes wide in terror at what possible tortures could be running through Kaiba's head.

The answer left him deflating out of his fight or flight reflex (or in this case, freeze,) and Ryou let out a relieved sigh. That didn't sound so bad. In fact, he was excited for it! Especially considering how happy Mokuba looked to be able to enjoy his company. He quickly joined in on the babbling of exciting options, and did so with pure joy. Even after the boy's rambling became repetitive and slow. It didn't take long for Ryou to figure out that Mokuba would be quite the handful. He was so full of energy even after the ordeal he'd been through. Ryou looked forward to the challenge.

Their conversation gradually died down as Mokuba seemed to run out of steam. Ryou continued to respond to him until the boy's eyelids grew heavy, and he laid down on the seat. The kid was so excited, he continued to mutter plans of their future plans until he fell asleep.

Ryou hummed quietly and rested back.

There was a short silence between the three of them that was broken only by the loud cheers of Yugi and the others playing games. He wasn't invited. He never was, but this time, he didn't want to be invited. He liked this. He felt as if he were a part of the party, and not just some lonely wallflower. Which reminded him.

Ryou lightly pinched at Kaiba's sleeve to give it the smallest of tugs. "Kaiba?" He started. His blatant excitement had softened into curiosity. It rounded his eyes and pinched his lips. "What's the cure?" His head tilted to the side just a tad. "For loneliness, I mean. I'd like to use it."

 

[EDDE]

Seto sat back and watched. It was a position he preferred to be in when it came to this sort of thing. Mokuba was extremely happy. That was all that mattered. But eventually the young one's babbles actually started turning into proper babbles, strung along with light slurs and heavy yawns. It wasn't too long before he calmed down just enough to fall asleep. Aside from the sneaky peek of an open eye that Seto pretended not to notice, that is.

Instead his attention was turned down to a small tug against his sleeve. "Hm?" It was annoying, but the thought of it didn't hae enough time to form before he was asked the question it was pressing for.

Once again his eyebrow shot itself up just slightly. He'd entirely forgotten the earlier conversation with everything else that had been on his mind. And he'd barely noticed what he'd said himself during it.

Slowly, a smirk crawled across his lips. Focused eyes narrowed pointedly on Ryou, and he leaned over onto a supporting arm just enough to be staring almost directly down on him to give him the perfectly blunt, perfectly obvious answer. "Sex, of course."

 

[FavoredFox]

Kaiba leaned in, and Ryou released a short string of "U-um, uh, o-oh!" as the CEO loomed over him. The dark look that was focused down on him sent a different type of shiver down his spine this time. It was still scary, but it was also something else. Something he'd never felt. He swallowed thickly to try and pop his ears of the sudden rushing noise in them. When he got his answer, Ryou froze. His eyes were wide, and his lower lip quivered just a bit. He was silent and still for several seconds before his mind could focus enough to understand the words sent his way.

Heat rushed to his face, and nothing could stop the blush from showing on his white skin. Every visible inch of his face and neck had turned bright enough to emit a glow. He was sure Kaiba could feel the heat radiating from him. In an instant, he was mobile again, waving his hands frantically in the small space between the two of them. "Se- guh, huh, w-what?!" Ryou tried to shout, but it came as a pitiful little squeak. "I wouldn't, I-I mean I couldn't I, I mean I-" He couldn't look at those deep blue eyes anymore. They were making him tingle strangely. Ryou thrust his face into his hands and shook his head in an amusing panic. "I don't have someone to do that with!" His voice continued to squeak, but wavered between audible and in. "A-and even if I did I wouldn't know what to do, I haven't done anything like that, I haven't even ki-!" Ryou cut off his final ramble by biting on the meat of his palm

 

[EDDE]

'Haven't. Haven't.' Mokuba pout lightly, peeking an eye open just to make sure but he already knew. He wasn't needed anymore. A whine under his breath that resembled some form of 'yuck' was breathed out and he rolled over in his seat to face the other way. He didn't need to see it to know it was about to happen. Seto was interested now, anyway. So at least his job was done. And he definitely didn't want anything else to do with where their little chat was going to go now.

Kaiba sat and watched, moved by the absolutely adorable reaction he received in response to his answer. He hadn't known for sure, but something had told him that might be the response he would get. In that moment he had decided to answer in the way he had for a very specific reason. One that didn't leave him regretting his decision in the least.

"Oh?" The expression on his dimly lit face would have turned predatory if it hadn't already made it there to begin with. "You haven't?"

He lifted his hand, wrapping it around a surprisingly daintly white wrist to tug one of those sheilding hands away from his face in order to be more direct. After all, Seto Kaiba wasn't one to mince words. "In that case..." His free hand lifted a single finger under the tip of the other teen's chin to push it up to get his eyes to lock back on. "That was an invitation, Ryou."

 

[FavoredFox]

Ryou only fought the pull on his wrist superficially and reflexively, and it only took a moment for Kaiba to tug the hand away from Ryou's burning face. He sucked in a breath through an open mouth, obviously ready to continue his rant, but his eyes met Kaiba's and he was left only able to quietly whimper. The piercing gaze felt heavier than before, making it all the more frightening and all the more inviting.

His open mouth was pushed closed by the finger under his chin, and Ryou obediently tilted his head. It lost him the safety of his bangs, and his irises shook when their gaze became unobscured. His breath came out in hot billows through slightly parted lips. He tried to form words, but even if he knew what to say he couldn't get much of a sound out. It took a lot of silent mouthing of confusing words before he finally managed. "I still don't," he twisted his arm slightly, feeling the strength of Kaiba's hold on his wrist. "I'm still a-" why did the warmth and friction of Kaiba's palm on his skin feel so... Good? "You would... have to teach me," he finally puffed, unconsciously leaning forward into the small touch on his chin.

 

[EDDE]

Kaiba waited patiently for the flustered boy to finish. After all, it told him so much about him.

"Lucky you," he countered almost warmly. "You've stumbled across one of the few things I enjoy doing with others." He leaned down just a bit more. There was nothing stopping him from taking those lips for the first time, after all. It even sounded like fun.

His focus shifted off Ryou for a fraction of a second, distracted by movement towar the front of the helicopter. Then his smirk relaxed and he pulled back to sit upright in his seat once again. Still looking down on him, the captured wrist was released and the large hand holding it landed atop his head instead. He realized what it was that he thought seemed so familiar between Ryou and his brother.

Ryou's hair was softer.

Scrubbing his fingers across his scalp lightly, his attention turned on the old man making his way back toward them now; an old man who mistook a seductive stance for an intimidating one from the boy who had done him wrong before. "Later," he added. "Looks like you do have a friend after all."

 

[FavoredFox]

The nearly inaudible sound that left Ryou's lips could only be described as a tiny moan. Kaiba was getting closer. So close that he could feel the other man's breath cooling the burning skin on his cheeks. His heart thudded harder, pounding in his ears and blocking him from the rest of the world. He leaned in too, just a slight jerky movement forward, but Kaiba pulled away and let go of his wrist. He reached out quickly to grasp the man's white sleeve in a unconscious need to pull him back. The only thing keeping him from doing so was the heavy palm on his head. It felt nice.

Later... He didn't want later. He'd been hit by a strange fog that left him needy, one that only cleared at the sound of Solomon's voice. It was gravelly and cheery, and was usually something he'd be excited to hear. After all, out of everyone, Solomon really was the only one who would call him a friend.

The man lovingly referred to as 'Grandpa' greeted him with a bright smile. "Ryou!" he said, squeezing by Kaiba to put a hand on Ryou's shoulder. He seemed to ignore the fact that Kaiba was running his fingers through Ryou's hair. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything before. I wanted to say congratulations!"

Ryou smiled awkwardly, his flush not going away in the least. "O-oh. Thank you Mr. Moto," he forced out.

The old man continued, squeezing Ryou's shoulder. "And also," his wrinkled face grew empatheticly sad. "I'm sorry."

Ryou shook his head, still flustered and wildly uncomfortable. "I'll be alright; but thank you for your concern. Really," he assured with a plastered smile.

Solomon grunted and looked at the CEO, then back to Ryou. "Just know, if you ever need anything," he sent another suspicious look at Kaiba. "Anything at all. Just ask." He placed his other hand on Ryou's other shoulder and gave him a wide smile. "You're always welcome at the game shop."

Ryou began to fidget with his fingers in his lap. "Thank you very much. But I mean it, truly, I'm alright," he assured, unable to shoo the man away. Not when he was trying to be so kind.

 

[EDDE]

Whether out of obstinance or something else, Seto's hand never left the other teen's head, perched atop it as if it belonged. He watched the interaction between the two, figuring he was probably right when he'd assumed they were friends in at least some way. The goons up front were watching too, looking a bit too heavily on guard. He would have wondered why for a few moments longer if he honestly cared enough.

Looking down at the midget geezer, he decided to speak up when Ryou sucked at it so hard. "Alright old man," he grunted out shortly. "You've had your disgusting moment so go on up and join the rest of the losers up front." He pushed down slightly on Ryou's head, but not hard enough to strain him.

"We happen to be having a conversation, and I don't like being inturrupted. Besides. If a single one of those morons decides they're going to come back here after you, I will land this chopper in an instant and kick you all back out into the desert like you belong."

 

[FavoredFox]

Ryou's head tilted down slightly as pressure was applied, and he couldn't help the happy little noise that built in the back of his throat. Kaiba touching him felt good, even if it was just a hand on his head. Solomon, however, didn't seem so delighted by it. He didn't pull his hands back, not until Ryou smiled up at him again. "Please give Yugi my condolences," he said kindly.

The old man sighed and pulled his arms back to his sides. "You should join us up front. I'm sure it would mean more coming from you."

It was sweet. Grandpa was trying to give him an escape. A way out of the predator's jaws. He didn't want to get out. "I'm fine here," he answered. "I'm... Having a nice conversation with Kaiba," he had to keep his voice from squeaking again. Solomon opened his mouth to argue, but Ryou cut him off. "Please, go back to Yugi. I'm happy sitting here."

Solomon was taken aback, but dumbly nodded his head. "If you change your mind-"

Ryou cut him off. "Yes, thank you."

After giving Ryou and Kaiba confused look, the small man shuffled his way back to his grandson; and Ryou released a sigh of relief. He could hear the others talking to Solomon, asking question in hushed whispers. He couldn’t tell who was saying what, but he made out one sentence that made him ache.

'He's probably too ashamed to show himself after what he did.'

Ryou reached up to pinch the elbow of Kaiba's sleeve once more. "Has it..." He turned his gaze to the side, avoiding eye contact. "Been 30 minutes yet?"

 

[EDDE]

As the man turned away Kaiba gave another semi-rough scrub against white fluff, watching them as well. A dark glare was shot toward thr group when he heard their chatter. They really didn't have room to talk crap about anyone. "Geez, what a freak." The girl spat under her breath as the lot of them noticed the look they were being shot and turned their attention inward to laugh and be merry little morons all over again.

Honestly, he'd grown a bit of patience in the last few minutes while interacting with the mouse beside him. If it hadn't nipped at the elbow of his jacket and distracted him, he might have even had enough to do something about the nerd herd.

Instead he looked down at Ryou, watching the sweet avoidance and adorable flush that still sat on silky white skin. This was going to be fun. "Oh?" The question was pointed and a familiar expression slithered across his face as he leaned over and got far too close to rhe ear that was facing him. It was a hushed tone he used to ask his own question, knowing exactly what it was going to do to the poor virginesque boy. "You want to do it now?"

He reached over with his free hand, running it up his thigh and pushing up his shirt just enough to give him a peek at white skin beneath it. "We could do it right here, you know."

 

[FavoredFox]

The voices of his friends faded into white noise as Kaiba drew close to him again. His breathing faltered and his body visibly quivered as hot breath caressed the shell of his ear. He was so close. Kaiba's lips could touch his ear if he moved even an inch, but he couldn't. That hushed question pulled a hard gasp from Ryou, who clutched the man's jacket sleeve harder, jerking it down in his panicked jolt. "Wh-wait, here?" He panted.

Ryou's eyes widened and his head jerked down when a heated palm rubbed over his thigh. His blood pulsed and there was a very clear jump in his pants. The simple touch sent tiny sparks across his skin that congregated and settled in his groin. The hem of his striped shirt was lifted, and Ryou could feel Kaiba's fingertips on his skin. "Ah!" He pressed his hand to his mouth and squeezed his legs together in a failed attempt to hide the start of his erection.

When he finally looked up at Kaiba, Ryou's eyes were filled with a mixture of fear, panic, and a deep seeded want. His voice was shaky as he spoke from behind spread fingers. "Mokuba's right there," he whined. "And my friends... they, they could hear. What if they see?" And why wasn't he putting up a fight?! Why were his hips trying to shift up into Kaiba's hand? Why did he want to be touched more? The answer to all of those questions was blatantly obvious.

It felt good, and he didn't want to let that go.

 

[EDDE]

A harsh tug on his jacket sleeve forced a lazy hand from atop the white mound. He used the change to his advantage though, revelling in the panic he'd created in the smaller male. Long, lithe fingers first rested on Ryou's shoulder in offer of support as he felt over the teen's stomach and chest with his free hand. The reactions he was getting were deliciously innocent and adorable. How could he bring himself to stop now?

Questions were asked of him, and his hand drifted from shoulder up a sheer white neck, cupping a cheek for a moment as predatory azure eyes took in every reaction they possibly could. "Mokuba is asleep," he mentioned toward the first.

His fingers drew back until just the index was drawing itself along the line of his jaw toward Ryou's chin. There may be one thing stopping him from taking those lips after all. But he planned to have that dealt with soon. As he lifted that rounded chin up to get a good look in those large acorn eyes that were so reluctant to stare back, his thumb brushed several pets over the hands hiding away his current prize. "So what if they hear?"

His attention faltered and slid down to direct fully on Ryou's mouth as he inched himself just the slightest bit forward. "If we wanted to, we could force them to watch. There isn't anywhere they can go to get away." Nothing wrong with testing the waters, after all.

It was going to be far too fun finding out what made this little mouse squeak.

 

[FavoredFox]

Kaiba's arm slithered around him, and Ryou hunched his shoulders in. It made him smaller and easier to hold; it felt as if Kaiba were surrounding him in his warmth. It was comforting, grounding, and he needed it. The exploring hand under his shirt began to slide up his skin, petting and touching in ways that made him quiver and squirm. His paper white skin puckered into goosebumps with each brush of those long fingers. Kaiba brushed against small, still tender scars that formed a dotted half circle on his chest. What once brought him pain, now brought a ticklish pleasure that hardened his nipples and made his erection twitch. Ryou's mouth opened beneath his muffling fingers and a high pitched "Y-Yah!" pinched through his throat.

The hand on his shoulder moved, and Ryou tilted his head to give Kaiba room to pet at his slender neck. No doubt, the CEO could feel his racing pulse and a heavy swallow. He pinched his eyes shut as his cheek was cupped, then popped open wide as his head was turned and Kaiba went about abating his fears.

Ryou hazard a glance at the slumbering boy just a few feet away when he was mentioned. Mokuba certainly seemed to be asleep, though he kept shifting and rubbing his legs together. Perhaps a bad dream, or it was simply an uncomfortable place to sleep. Either way, Ryou whimpered through pinched lips. If he were too loud, then Mokuba was sure to wake, and the thought of that was embarrassing. So why did he have this sense of... Thrill?

Ryou found he had little control of his body, as all it took to wave his hands away from his mouth was a simple brush of a thumb over the back of them. He slowly lowered his arms, his eyes darting off to the side to avoid that hungry gaze. He couldn't bear it. They were molten sapphires that bore straight through him, giving him shocks of fear and want... And yet, his eyes always wondered back to them. As terrifying as they were, he just couldn't look away for long. Not when Kaiba was leaning in so close. Not when the abating of his worries became a ramping.

His heart thudded in his ears, and Ryou's now free hands moved. His left grasped the hand under his shirt, though not to keep it still. His right was shoved between his thighs to hide his now very prominent tent, but it backfired. Friction was pushed against his groin by his wrist, and Ryou couldn't stop the pretty moan that left his shivering lips. "W-Wha?" He gasped through harshly sucked in air. "I don't wa-" Kaiba drew closer still and his words stumbled. "K-Kaiba, please," he puffed, finally looking up with unwavering eyes. "Don't..." He began to lean forward as well, unconsciously so. "Let them... see." Ryou tilted his head just slightly as their lips drew closer. His first kiss. His very first... their lips barely brushed before loudly sung torment from the peanut gallery broke him from his little bubble.

"KAIBA AND BAKURA SITTIN' IN A TREE!" Tristan and Joey were the loudest, but Tea had joined in as well. "K.I.S.S.I.N.G."

Ryou jumped in panic, quickly turning his head away before any real pressure could be applied. His left hand left Kaiba's and shot back up to his mouth to cover his lips with his palm. His eyes were wide in humiliation and panic. His first kiss... He'd nearly given away his first kiss on a helicopter with all of his friends there to see. So why had he started dripping? Why was there a growing wet spot just to the side of his zipper?

His group of friends didn't stop there, however. They continued the taunting song, "FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES MARRIAGE-" Yugi tried to get them to stop, offering awkwardly laughed out 'I'm sure that's not what's going on at all!' All while Solomon fumed, his face red and his teeth gritted.

The old man stood, clearly ready to stomp on over. "What sort of horrible things are you doing to that poor boy?" He demanded, a fire filling his eyes at the perceived danger.