Love eternal (book 5)

Chapter 8: new surroundings

   "Is he dead?" A soft voice whispers.
   "Don't be an idiot! Dad wouldn't bring a dead person home!"
   "Don't you dare call me stupid Christopher!" A high pitched feminine voice squeals in my ears making me wince. I slowly open my eyes and meet the curious eyes of Marie and Christopher Kaiba who are both practically hovering over me. Marie jumps in surprise at my sudden alertness to her proximity and blushes deeply. "I'm so sorry uncle Yami! We didn't mean to wake you." Her bright blue eyes averting their gaze as she brushes a stray strand of long blonde hair away from her pretty face.
   "That's quite alright." I groan as I slowly rise to a sitting position, glancing around the room recognizing it as one of the many expansive lounges in the Kaiba manor. "To be fair, I am intruding on your hospitality."
   "At least we know now that you're not dead." Christopher grumbles as he stalks away from me. His dark brown hair flashing underneath the yellow lighting as he stalks over to the desk. "It would have been a bother to drag a corpse out of our lounge."
   "Christopher!" Marie exclaims in horror as she glances at me embarrassed.
   "Always a pleasure to see you as well Christopher." I say with a yawn as I stretch. "I still can't get over just how much you look like your father. It freaks me out to this day."
   "How did Heba ever spawn from you?" He grumbles as he flips through his papers, his sapphire eyes flashing with annoyance. I raise in eyebrow in curiosity.
   "Funny that you should only mention my daughter in this situation." I watch in fascination as his whole face begins to lose its color. "And your reaction to my mention of her is all the answer I need." I tease as I rise to my feet. He says nothing and throws himself wholeheartedly into his papers. I can't help but smile at his obvious embarrassment. I can only wonder if Heba would forgive me for tormenting her closest "friend". Ever since the pair met they seemed to have just connected, same goes for Marie and Atemu, though it was distinctly more obvious, and entertaining, that Heba had a soft spot for the eldest Kaiba child. And it would seem that the feeling is reciprocated.
   "Don't tease him too hard Yami!" A familiar voice calls from the doorway. "He has his father's short temper."
   "Don't insult yourself too much Joey, you've gotten a grip on it." I tease. Joey playfully glares back at me.
   "I was talking about Seto." He laughs as he lightly punches my shoulder. Marie bounces over to her dad and throws her arms around his neck. Joey returns the gesture by twirling her around while she laughs like a small child.
   "Marie! Act your age you're being such a child." Christopher snaps at his sister, one of his papers in hand. Marie glares at him coldly, really showing off her Kaiba inheritance in that sour expression.
   "Christopher Joseph Kaiba!" Joey snaps. "You will not speak to your sister that way."
   "But she's acting like a five year old." He protests. The next thing I know he is clutching the back of his head in pain as Seth calmly strides into the room with a book in hand. Christopher stares at his father with irritation but also a distinct expression of submission.
   "Do not argue Christopher." He says smoothly. "Especially against your father, since you will always lose that fight. Am I understood?"
   "Yes sir." He grumbles as he turns his attention back to his papers. I chuckle lightly at the interaction between the father and his son. It almost makes me grateful that Atemu and I don't have that kind of relationship, but I suppose for two people with Seth's kind of personality this kind of relationship is to be expected.
   "Good to see that you're finally awake." Seth says smoothly as he comes to stand beside Joey, subtly placing a hand on his waist.
   "Yes." I say slowly. "And if you don't mind me asking, what exactly am I doing here?" I shrug slightly. "Not that it hasn't been a pleasure but I would prefer to wake up in my own home."
   "Believe me, dragging your heavy ass up the front steps wasn't a pleasure for me either." Kaiba says with a faint grimace. "I brought you here to keep an eye on you, just in case you began to shift again in your sleep. Considering the incident with Heba I wasn't certain that you wanted to allow Atem to have free reign in your home." Christopher's head pops up at the mention of Heba's name and his eyes narrow in suspicion as he stares at me.
   "What incident?" He asks with a dangerously calm voice.
   "Nothing that concerns you Christopher." Seth says smoothly.
   "Heba is my friend, her wellbeing is of my concern." He protests. Seth silently raises the book in warning and Christopher instantly falls silent, yet there is still a fire in his eyes. A determined desire for answers and a concern for Heba that I can both respect and admire.
   "She's alright Christopher. Atem merely frightened her but she is unharmed." I answer after a while. Seth glances at me curiously for a moment but remains silent as he watches my interaction with his son. "I can assure you of that personally."
   "It's a relief to hear that she is alright." He says softly, a faint smile dawning his lips as he leans his head back against his chair. Brown locks draping over his closed eyes as he takes a deep breath.
   "You seem to be rather fond of Heba." Christopher's eyes snap open and his posited instantly corrects itself as he attempts to sit up as straight as possible. Marie laughs quietly at his quick change in demeanor, and I have to bite back my chuckle as he stares at me with an almost frightened expression.
   "She's a good friend of mine. I just want to know that she's safe."
   "Then why don't you go and check?" I smile faintly. He looks at me confusedly. 
   "Sir?"
   "Well the best way to know that she is truly safe is to see her with your own eyes, isn't it?" Christopher blinks and smiles in understanding as he rushes to his feet.
   "You are absolutely right." He says with a bright smile. "I will go and see her right at this moment."
   "Good. Oh and Christopher." He pauses in the doorway and glances back at me with a joyous and expectant expression. "She likes irises over roses. Food for thought." He nods in response before rushing out of the door almost as if the devil himself was after him.  I glance over at Marie who is looking everywhere but at me. "Go on Marie, Atemu will be happy to see you as well." She blushes brightly before rushing out of the room. I glance over at Seth who is simply staring at the door where both of his children quickly escaped from. "Remember when you joked about us being in laws? Well that seems to have become quite a distinct possibility."
   "So it would seem." He murmurs quietly as he turns his attention back towards me, Joey leaning his head on Seth's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.
   "Well I should be off now, since it would appear that I now have guests to entertain." I nod my head in recognition as I begin to walk towards the door. Seth quickly grabs my arm and halts my progress. I look at him curiously as his face has become all serious. "What is it?"
   "I think I found a way to fix our situation." He says quietly.
   "Do tell."