.x.

{ Just slapped out 3 year-old replies

And idk if i had. More. I owed but like

“O-oh…”

That certainly wasn’t anywhere near what Jun had expected when he’d walked in here.

He fell silent for a few seconds, letting the offer sink in. The he realised that Kaiba was awaiting a response, and he didn’t strike Jun as the overly patient type. He blurted out “It would be an honour to duel alongside you!”

“Ah, I mean-” he added, eyes occasionally flicking towards the dragon against his better judgement, as if asking for approval from the beast as well. “I got my hands full with league matches, but if I find the time- I mean no, I can make the time. If you’re sure.”

As much as he tried, Blue-Eyes’ curious stare was impossible to ignore. Jun fidgeted nervously. It wasn’t the same kind of curiosity that he knew from his own assortment of spirits, the weak and abandoned ones that he’d rescued, or even his stronger spirits that he’d known since he was a child.

This was the kind of protective interest that made him feel as though the monster would physically manifest in the room and tear him apart if he made one wrong move or said a wrong word. Maybe this was the way Light and Darkness Dragon looked at other people, too.

          Seto certainly was not the patient type, that he was not. But his impatient ticks were far harder to notice in a professional setting -- Well. Most the time anyway. He tried not to show those little ticks when talking business or duels. But alas, if Jun listened close enough he could hear very quiet ‘tack tack tacks’ as Seto gave light little taps to one key on his keyboard.

         Tack, tack, tack, tack --    Ah. When had he took to resting his chin in his free hand?  Nevertheless, once Jun spoke up, he’d sit straight once more.

           “I can tell you the days I would need you to free up, if you truly do wish to be my partner in dueling.”

     Curiously, though, his gaze would drift over to the side as if trying to see what, exactly, Jun was looking at. Of course there’s NOTHING there (Thankfully).

     The CEO’s gaze would then turn back to his computer, fingers working quickly and the click-clacks of his keyboard much louder now. And soon enough, there was the sound of paper being printed off.

        Seto then twirled in his chair just enough to face the printer (and ironically enough, the Spirit Jun had been eyeballing) so that he may retrieve the papers.

For as perceptive as Fubuki was when it came to people, he cared surprisingly little about the hostility directed towards him. Not for lack of noticing, it was undeniably there, but the idol’s grin remained unchanged, and neither did his hand move from where it was, planted firmly on the back of what was quite possibly the single most powerful man in the world.

Mere weeks ago, the challenge would’ve been met with a smile far less genuine than the one he was wearing now, an awkward chuckle, discomfort. Fubuki would have searched for an excuse in a panic he wouldn’t have outwardly shown, and changed the subject as quickly as possible to something not as painful. But there was no need for that now. He was, maybe for the first time in years truly, happy, and too much so to let the concept of personal space get in the way of expressing such.

He hummed. “Exactly!” Though that did bring up a few questions as well. “I’m quite surprised though, you seem quite interested in this deck specifically. I didn’t take you for a fan of Winged Beast types. You always struck me as more of a dragon person, like Jun.”

           . . .     He stall has a hand on his back, doesn’t he? He sure does. And he does not like it.

   As such, Seto takes a few steps forward, heels click-clacking loudly right before stopping, turning to face Fubuki with arms crossed firmly over his chest. Seto Kaiba’s stoic gaze remained upon the other. Does he dare try to pat his back again or touch him in any other way? We’ll see.

        “I am a dragon person.”    He replies deadpan as ever. “Nothing can or ever will CHANGE that. Ever.”

   Doe he even HINT at a reason for being so into this Wing-Beast deck? No. No he doesn’t.

Yugi knows that the prince beside him is neglecting his food, but there is little the crown prince can do to force him to eat. He can feel his mother’s eyes on him, but he doesn’t make eye contact. The dowager can look as displeased as she wants, but she cannot force him to harass the other prince into speaking when it is clear that heither want to do so. 

His grandfather, however, is another matter.

The old duke sits at the opposite end of the table, his purple eyes boring into Yugi with all the force of his years of judgment. Father to the dowager queen, the man had been acting as steward in the handful of weeks since his father’s death. Yugi tries to avoid his gaze, but it is impossible to do so. Finally, with Solomon staring him down and giving him little choice in the matter, Yugi turns to the man boiling across from him and begins to speak in a quiet, reluctant tone. 

“Is the food to your taste, Prince Seto?” he asks, trying something relatively harmless in the hopes that it will not rile the man’s temper.

        The moment Yugi looks at him is the moment his gaze shifts away from the other prince. The question, at first, seems to go completely ignored as he continues to poke at his food.

     Is it to his tastes? How is he supposed to know if he hasn’t even TAKEN a bite? That’s a dumb question, can’t Yugi see he hasn’t even taken the smallest of bites yet? He can’t answer that!

         More poking. Fork clinking against the plate as he stabs through the food on his plate before seemingly giving a sigh. A small helping is scooped up and diligently pushed into his mouth. He’s hungry, after all, so might as well eat. Though to answer Yugi he simply gives a half-shrug.

                     It’s not.         None of the food he has eaten here has been to his liking. At all.    But he won’t tell them. He refuses to talk, still. The rumors that he’s mute still stands firm.

  But now he looks to Solomon for a moment before looking back to Yugi. A quiet exhale through his nose before his attention goes back onto his food, eating ever so elegantly and politely.

      Ah –

Fubuki, maybe a bit too friendly and with no regard for personal space, pat Kaiba the back, unfazed by the man’s lack of social skills and unintimidated by his status. “Haha, thank you, you too! I really like the feel of this deck so far, and I definitely want to keep improving with it.”

Even if he’d won the first couple of duels he played with the deck, he knew he still had a lot to learn. His instincts were as sharp as ever, it seemed, but there was a certain understanding of their cards a duellist could only gain through experience, which Fubuki didn’t have. Yet. But that only filled him with a motivation, and hope, he hadn’t felt in years.

        That pat to his back earned the other a very stern look. It was his usual stoic-face but it held a more... Angry? Air to it? Or more of a ‘touch me again and see what happens’ kind of air. Nonetheless he soon gave a roll of his eyes as his gaze shifted back ahead of him.

      “Perhaps, who knows, I’ll challenge you to a duel someday.”   Just to feel the nostalgia of it all. Yes, even Seto Kaiba had some sense of nostalgia. So the challenge would be greedy on his behalf, really. But did he care? Absolutely not.

Late response to this

           Hmm. He’ll appreciate the little kisses, yes.

   “Not right now, but whenever you may be ready. There is no rush. No pressure.”

@yugioh-ng

         …

There’s a small smile on his face. He reaches out to give Yuuci a small ruffle to her hair.

     He just –He just. STARES, trying to figure out if this is real or not.