Title: Of the Cold
Fandom: YGO
Author: Rebelliouswhitequeen
Pairing: Seto / Yuugi
Rating/Warning: PG13 for a lot of things, considering the type of people these guys really are. /loves them all anyway/
Disclaimer: I do not own or make money off YGO.
Summary: It isn’t like Yuugi to be this cold. Seto is intrigued.
A/n: Let’s see if I can still pull this off.

***

Things have changed.

Many of the people Seto had known in the past had grown up and left Domino City. They were scattered all over Japan now. Even his younger brother, Mokuba, had gone off to America. It was probably their way of moving on from the past. They probably thought that by leaving their roots, their very origins and starting a new life somewhere else, they could forget it all.

They were wrong.

He had tried that a long time ago by taking a silly vacation in America and that was when things had just gone straight to hell. Even when he destroyed the reminders of his past, he could not escape it all.

But perhaps, he wasn’t alone in this predicament. There was only one other person who had decided to remain in Domino City, and like the rest of his friends, he had changed.

Here he comes now, Seto thought, looking up as the door of his office finally slid open. Every time Seto saw him, Yuugi Mutou was starting to look more and more like the other half of himself, as though he was trying to live the life that Atemu couldn’t in the present. The only real difference was that he was wearing a small, black suit. It was ridiculous. It was then he realized that maybe, things haven’t changed at all.

Seto said nothing to him as Yuugi took a seat.

Because Yuugi had not given up his grandpa’s store, he had managed to expand it over the years and now, not only did he have his own company, but he was also one of Seto’s associates. It seemed truly unbelievable, but even Seto could believe it. He had stopped underestimating Yuugi a long time ago.

“Kaiba-kun,” Yuugi said softly. “How are you?”

This is where things get interesting.

In all the times they met like this, Yuugi had always been polite. He never truly mentioned their past, directly or indirectly. He never even mentioned the kind of activities that he did now, not that he had a lot of time for them with his own business. He would always look at Seto in the eyes and ask him how he was and once Seto responded with a simple “fine“ or some other sarcastic, backhanded remark, they would always get down to business.

Yuugi was doing it now, gazing at Seto with those bright violet eyes. His hands were folded in his lap. So polite, so irritating, like the other businessman around here, but he could do it so much better than any of them. He could be tactful when it suited him. He was truly the master of all the games.

And despite all of this, despite the fact that they had a good business relationship, Seto couldn’t help, but feel that something was amiss. It wasn’t like Yuugi to act like this. It wasn’t like him to be so cold.

And Seto figured, it must be another one of his silly games, just as Seto had his own games to twist and manipulate those around him, but unlike the other damned, gullible pawns and players under his hands, he would not lose to him.

He could almost feel it now, that familiar fire burning in his veins. He thought about his response and finally came up with a perfect comeback to end all the games. He gazed at Yuugi and simply smirked at him.

“Yuugi,” he said, addressing his associate by his first name. “How are you?”

Yuugi actually blinked; that was the only indication that Seto had caught him off guard. Seto couldn’t help but feel oddly smug. Even through all these years, Seto could still push at his buttons and get inside his skin.

“I’m fine,” Yuugi replied softly, but he was frowning now. “Why do you ask?”

“Why not?” Seto countered, crossing his arms now.

“You tell me,” Yuugi replied as his eyes widened. Seto could almost laugh at the comical look at his rival’s usually calm face.

“I’ve had enough of this bullshit,” Seto said in an icy tone of voice that would have made all the businessmen stiffen by now. Yuugi didn’t seem at all intimidated by it though; he just looked… surprised. “What are you up to, Yuugi? Why are you acting like this?”

“What are you talking about, Kaiba-kun?” Yuugi asked and he sounded so honest, so sincere, but Seto couldn’t believe him on this-- no, not when Atemu used to be him. “We’ve been getting along so well, and now, you’re acting like we’re rivals again.”

“We’ve always been rivals, Yuugi,” Seto said with a cold chuckle. “I don’t like the fact that you’re trying to get on my good side.”

To his surprise, Yuugi actually laughed. “Ahh, so I was right. You really do have a soft side, after all.”

“What do you mean by that?” Seto asked with a frown, sneering at him. “Is that really the only reason why you’re acting like this?”

“Acting?” Yuugi inquired, blinking again. “Don’t compare me to my other self and his mind games. Even though we’re parts of a soul, we still have our own lives.”

This was the first time Yuugi had ever addressed the past and even now, Seto could remember it all vividly-- the duels, the rivalry --all of their games.

“So you’re telling me, that all this time, you’re acting--”

“I’m not acting; I’m being professional.”

Silence.

This time, it was Seto‘s turn to laugh. Did he underestimate Yuugi again? And he looked at Yuugi more closely, and saw that Yuugi was smiling at him. It was the sweetest smile Seto had ever seen on his face. Being cold, being professional, being like him just didn’t suit Yuugi at all.

He leaned forward and reached out, touching Yuugi’s cheek-- only to get his full attention. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Yuugi actually leaned into the touch. “Why not?”

“I don’t like it,” Seto answered. “And if you don’t like that, then you can just get out of my face.”

“Okay,” Yuugi said with a small laugh. He seemed more relaxed now as he leaned back against the chair, pulling away from Seto‘s touch. “Until now, I never thought that you really liked me, Seto-kun.”

“Don’t get any weird ideas,” Seto scoffed at him. “We’re only business associates, Yuugi. I don’t participate in those kinds of affairs.”

“What? I wasn’t even thinking about that,” Yuugi exclaimed, shaking his head. “What are you thinking? Do you have something to tell me?”

“No, you’re the one who came into my office,” Seto argued back. God, how could this conversation go so wrong? “So what do you have to tell me?”

“Well, there’s actually a meeting in the Domino restaurant tomorrow,” Yuugi answered. “I don’t know why they picked that place, but chances are, if you’re coming, then they’re not coming.”

“That makes no sense,” Seto said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. “If I come, then they won’t come? Then that means it’s only us who will be there.”

And that was when he realized that Yuugi was asking him out on a date.

“You bastard,” Seto muttered, shaking his head. “Why can’t you be more upfront about this?”

Yuugi didn’t answer his question; he merely laughed. “Well?”

Seto thought about his response; he hated to lose to Yuugi, he really did. They were playing a new game that he was intending to win. “Fine.”

“Great--”

“But,” Seto interrupted, “you’re not wearing that suit. What happened to that old outfit of yours?”

“You really have an odd way of showing your appreciation, Seto-kun,” Yuugi replied as he evaded another one of Seto’s questions again.

“Likewise,” Seto said with a smirk. He stood up from his seat and moved over to Yuugi. He watched as Yuugi got up and had to remind himself that Yuugi wasn’t like his other self at all; he was even taller than Atemu now and there was still some of his old, cheerful and innocent self living inside of him. “I’m picking you up at eight.”

And just to get the game started, he grabbed a hold of Yuugi and pulled him into a brief, breathtaking kiss. When they pulled away, he saw how flushed Yuugi was, his cheeks red, his violet eyes burning with desire.

“I’ll see you then,” Yuugi said with that same sweet smile and then he turned around and left the office in much happier spirits. Seto was just chuckling and shaking his head. How the hell did he get into this mess?

Fin.

***

A/N: ZOMG, Seto/Yuugi! My first, first pairing in the entire freakin’ fandom of all fandoms.

And like these guys, I’m going back to my roots, just to figure out how I was able to write epics in the past.

God, I forgot how fun it was to write these guys.