The Bittersweet Fate Of A Duelist

Chapter 8

The morning arrived and passed without anyone at the Kaiba mansion noticing.
The sun, risen behind the horizon despite the constant threat of menacing clouds that wanted to hide it from view, burying the bright star beneath layers and layers of white incorporeal fluff, stretched its long and warm rays on walls and windows of the building, shimmering on the glass and creating beautiful patterns of light and shadows after clashing with the stubborn leaves still attached to trees and plants.
Not even one thin ray, however, was able to reach the quietness and the dim light of the room in which Seto and Yugi slept peacefully, safe and sound in each other's arms, the unsympathetic rays blocked by an impenetrable barrier made of dark, heavy curtains.

Yugi, snuggled in Seto's embrace, looked even more smaller and vulnerable than he was in reality, wrapped in a soft cocoon of blankets and a fluffy pajamas.
His crazy tricolor hair tickled Seto's chin with every breath and movement, but the young CEO did not move from his position. Quite the opposite, in fact.
With a content sigh, he hugged Yugi to himself even more, intertwining their legs under the safe cover of white and blue sheets, and left a shy kiss on his head, fighting with the obstinate points of his hair.
It was Sunday, so neither of them needed to get up that morning.
Not even Seto, who normally was already up, awake and fed only by coffee (and occasionally some cookies when Mokuba insisted) at eight o'clock, ready to sit in his office chair to carry on this or that project, filling and reading paperwork or checking documents.
In fact, the CEO didn't give the slightest sign of actually wanting to wake up and leave that warm shelter and the soft bed.
But above everything, Seto didn't want to break their embrace. He wanted to keep Yugi close to him, where he knew he was safe and sheltered, where the shadows of his splintered mind could not reach him without first having to fight a tough battle, to break through a defense steady and unbending.

Not far from them, resting on the nightstand on Yugi's side of the bed, the Millennium Puzzle and the Millennium Rod flickered with pure golden light, as if Atem and Seth were following the wanderings that the dreams of their respective hosts were undertaking.
Yugi sighed in half-sleep, shifting slightly to find a more comfortable position in Seto's firm hug, and he smiled unconsciously, for a moment forgetting his fears and pain, sinking back into a deep sleep.

Later, at 2 pm, Mokuba insistently started knocking on the door of Seto's room, banging his fist on the slick wood: «Seto! Yugi! Wake up, there's someone who wants to see you both!», he exclaimed, trying to make them hear him.
Fortunately, Seto's bedroom wasn't soundproofed like his home office, and the room's owner woke up with an annoyed groan.
Yugi, who in the meanwhile had shifted in his sleep and was now showing his back to Seto, fidgeted with a faint protest, awakened by Mokuba's shrill voice.
«Damn, I was hoping for a more pleasant awakening», he complained, sleepy, with a hoarse and slurred voice.
To answer him, Seto sat halfway up with a yawn and bent down to touch Yugi's cheek with his lips, kissing him gently: «Better?».
With a shaky smile, Yugi turned his head and stole another kiss from Seto, just a short, affectionate touch of lips. The most he felt himself wanting to do without triggering bad memories. «Now... yes», he the replied.
Seto smiled back, a more genuine smile, and started caressing his face with one hand, but Mokuba's voice resounded again from behind the door and CEO had to give up, get out of bed and open it to silence his brother.
All of that was so quick that Mokuba almost knocked on his chest.

«We're awake, Mokuba. You don't need to make all this noise», Seto hushed him, glancing at the clock on the bedroom's wall before shifting his attention to his younger brother. «You could even wake up all the Blue-Eyes White Dragons in here».
Mokuba was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a shapeless shirt, and Seto raised an eyebrow upon noticing: «You didn't go out?».
Normally, if Mokuba didn't have any extra work to do for the company, he used to go out and eat in this or that fast food restaurant, instead of staying at the manor for lunch time. It was almost a tradition, by then.
The younger Kaiba shook his head: «I didn't want to... you know».
«Leave us alone», Seto said for him.
Mokuba nodded, his face turning various shades of red. He didn't like the idea of leaving Seto and Yugi alone after the crisis that occurred the day before, but he would never admit that out loud himself.
He didn't want Seto to believe his brother didn't think he could handle a similar situation on his own.
Yet, Seto nodded, grateful: «You are kind and thoughtful, Mokuba. And I know you would never want to insult or upset me», Seto reassured him, imagining his thoughts on the matter. «Thank you. I... I wasn't totally sure I could be able to handle all of the... all of this», he admitted, lowering his voice to avoid being heard from Yugi.