**The following prologue will be rated R for mild sexuality (just implications--not
graphic lemon! There won't be any of that in this fic, sorry!), oh, and for
a few splashes of colourful language. Personally, I think it's more befitting
a PG-13 rating, but I figured some readers might be a bit more sensitive,
so, oh well. **
A/N: This is Amber (sn Yggdrasil's 3rd Root) speaking, and before I get started
with the fic I want to blab for a minute. (I'll try to keep it brief, I promise!)
Firstly, although I'm posting the story, this is actually a two-person effort--all
credit for the prologue goes to the other author of this story, SW, who was
nice enough to compose this segment for me, and who has contributed tremendously
to the story in general. If you like or even semi-like this piece, then you
really must go read her fic, Lost to Love--my favorite Pegasus-themed
story of all time--trust me, it's so brilliant. (36 chapters so far, and
if you like good writing, then you'll enjoy each one!! ~REVIEW!!!~)
..Okay, now that I've said that, a few quick notes: This fic will probably
be pretty long--not sure how many chapters total yet, we'll see, but pretty
long. The actual first chapter (my half of the writing ^_^) will be posted
tomorrow--unlike the prologue it's not first person, but it is mostly Pegasus'
POV. Hopefully I can give the story weekly or even every-other-day updates,
but I'm not promising anything.
Guess that about covers it. Hope you enjoy our story--it gets lighter,
I promise, though there will still be some dark instances. This is really
supposed to be a somewhat serious story with humor...well, a lot of humor,
especially with the upcoming baby stuff =) Shhhh... And also, Pegasus has
his millenium eye in this fic...not sure how! He just does because it works
better than way. Nyah.
~Amber
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Prologue: (by SW)
~Seto's POV~
My name is Seto Kaiba. I am nothing like the man you expect. In fact, these days, I am nothing like the man I expect either. It's all because of my life mate and legal husband, one Lord Maximilian Jonathan Pegasus Crawford. I think the unnecessarily long and dubious title gives you some idea of the predicament I find myself in. Let me start over from the very beginning.
I am Seto Kaiba, genius, successful and respected business man, world champion duelist, and all around control freak. I do admit it. I need to be in control. The only person I ever trust is myself. I need power and I need control. I have to protect myself and my little brother Mokuba. I have to make sure no one can hurt us again.
We lost our parents to a car accident when we were children and ever since I have had to be the strong one. The one who takes care of everything. I'll be damned if I give in to anything that could jeopardize my company or the integrity I need to maintain it. I work seven days a week. When I am not at work or attending the annoying pretense of highschool I spend my time with Mokuba.
That was my life.
On a trip to Italy I met someone. His name was Andre and he made me realize it would be very hard for me to keep my "preferences" a secret for much longer. I lived like a monk before I found him, or he found me. Actually I tripped on him at the beach as I was trying to follow my doctors orders and de stress. I found the concept of a vacation without my laptop completely dismal and I welcomed the distraction Andre offered.
He was a very, very good distraction too. Six foot something with shoulder length platinum blond hair, emerald eyes, and the wackiest sense of humor I had ever participated in. We spent an entire afternoon stealing ice cubes from our neighbors cooler. Every time they filled it up on their balcony Andre and I hopped the railing and emptied it. They were convinced the weather was just that hot. And we found some very creative uses for those ice cubes as well.
The thing that ruined whatever relationship we might have had made me realize I also have serious psychological issues. In the middle of making love to the first man I had ever been with, the first person I thought I had ever wanted in that way, I screamed out the wrong name.
Not just any name. The name of my worst most mortal enemy. The evil man who had dared to kidnap my little brother and humiliate me publically as a duelist. He stole my reputation and if you will believe it, he stole my very soul as well. I had to be rescued by my long time rival Yugi Motou and I will never live that down. The name I cried out from the very depths of my passion soaked heart was, if you haven't already guessed, Pegasus.
Andre left me tearfully. My vacation was almost over anyways. I went back to my home and my business and my little brother in Domino city and I tried in vain to pretend nothing had ever happened. It was rather futile. I kept thinking about Pegasus. I kept asking myself why. What did the man do to me? More importantly, what did he mean to me?
I had known Pegasus for four years. He was six years my senior and took me under his wing when I started running Kaiba corp on my own. I hated him for his smug advice. I hated that he was born rich and never had to work for anything. He never seemed to work at all, always trying to get me to play duel monsters or come off to some restaurant or club with him. I could never accept that he worked as hard as I did. I was always jealous of his power and success.
Pegasus had something I knew I never would. He had charm and connections. He knew how to work people over to get what he wanted from them. And to make it worse he was so gorgeous all he had to do was smile and a contract would fall into his lap. Women threw themselves at his feet and men respected him for his wealth and sophistication. Pegasus was my unbeatable competition and he was also trying very hard to be my friend.
I told myself my honesty and staunch integrity was better. That it was better to be openly feared . I didn't want to rely on others for anything. I wanted to be above them, not shaking their hands and pretending to be their friend. Business was a cold precise thing for me, it was about computers and technology. For Pegasus it always seemed to be about people. He tried to teach me that, that people were a true resource to be respected and relied on but I would never believe him.
When I became an expert at his duel monsters game Pegasus made me his protege. Together we made appearances at Duel Monster competitions. He was the creator and I was the champion. The publicity shoots were horrendous for me but Pegasus always seemed to be able to joke and have a good time. He loved to be the center of attention, as long as nothing got too personal.
I was getting a sizable contract from his Industrial Illusions company to supply all the holographic dueling arenas for these little tournaments. I had designed the programming myself and was immensely proud of the fact. Pegasus was also interested in the technology for a personal project of his, but what that was he would not say.
It was about this time that I began receiving gifts. Very expensive and specific gifts. Things I myself would have picked out and that I actually needed. It started to get scary when I received a silver and blue travel coffee mug monogrammed with my initials after losing my favorite red one only the day before. I had not told anyone the red one was missing or that I would have preferred that it were blue and silver to match my favorite duel monster card .
When I came back to a hotel room full of pink roses I completely lost it. I assumed some rabid fan girl was stalking me and I had every last blossom destroyed without ever searching for a note.
I still remember the cool collected look on Pegasus's face when I got into the limo that day. He asked me if I had received any sort of courtesy gift for attending the tournament. I glared at him coldly and snapped an irrate "Hell no!"
I think that was the first time I ever saw his single amber brown eye narrow at me. He immediately turned his face away. I was in no mood for his stupid jokes and he was suddenly, perhaps for the first time ever, not in the mood for telling any. I remember that silence now. It's painful when I look back on it. The image of him quietly sitting there in his rose pink suit with his long pale silver hair covering the left side of his face, the right side lost in shadows to me. After the incident with Andre I realized what it was about Pegasus that made me want him that way. Pegasus was my exact opposite. While I am cold and controlled on the outside my insides are a turmoil of emotions and second guessing. Pegasus is the reverse. He can laugh and cry in the same sentence. He can act the fool or play the wise man. His emotional range and expression are the tools he uses to manipulate others while on the inside he is entirely stoic and unrelenting in his goals.
Pegasus to me was power. He was control. I craved him the same way I craved My Blue Eyed White Dragon cards. The rarity, the strength, the beauty. He was everything I wanted to be, everything I wanted to have. And deep down I think I realized he wanted me too.
The Duelist Kingdom Tournament fiasco was an event doomed to fail for both of us. Pegasus kid napped Mokuba when I refused to enter his contest. The whole elaborate set up seemed like it was just so he could show off to me. He humiliated me and ground me into the dirt with his dueling skills. Then he surprised and scared the living day lights out of me by taking my soul.
Pegasus had magic. Real undeniable right out of a fairy tale magic. There was a good reason Pegasus only had one eye, the left one was replaced by a golden relic of unimaginable power. He could read minds and steal souls and god knows what else. It made me secretly salivate over him all the more.
Apparently the motive behind the contest was Pegasus trying to capture other magic items to revive his long dead wife Cecilia. He wanted to use my holographic technology to create a virtual body for her and the magic would somehow restore her soul. Yugi Motou put a stop to the crazy plan by winning the final duel against Pegasus. Somehow I always wondered if my rejection of Pegasus had made him throw together the insanity of Duelist Kingdom out of some strange concept of revenge.
Pegasus had never once hit on me. He had never come out and said the way he felt. I was too caught up in myself to notice or to care and certainly would have rejected him immediately. Somehow he knew it. He also possessed some warped concept of the proper way things should be done. He may have been born in Las Vegas, the son of a casino owner, but his mother was one hundred percent pure British aristocracy. His blue blood would not allow him any sort of undignified behavior when it came to affairs of the heart.
There is one thing I can say about Pegasus and that is he always treated me with the utmost respect. Even when he was kicking my sorry ass in a duel he acted the perfect gentleman. Oh there was some evil laughter and intense banter between us, but he never really gloated the way I would have. I still remember some of the cruel things I said to him and they do make me cringe.
There were a few other brushes with Pegasus that kept me guessing about his true intentions. He seemed to grow more evil with each meeting always trying to ruin my company in some diabolical way, only to back off at the last second. The last time he did it he taunted me with,
"Ha ha! Made you sell your stock options!"
It was odd, even an evil Pegasus still retained the same zany sense of humor and lively energy he had tried to win me with when we first met. Eventually he disappeared if not from my mind then from the social circles he usually traveled. It was very unnerving for me not to hear anything about the man for months at a time no matter how much I paid for intelligence to be gathered on him. It was as if he wanted to vanish.
I tried to go back to my old way of life. I tried and failed miserably. Finally after six months without hearing a single word on his activities I couldn't take it anymore. I tried to contact him. The answer I got was startling. A servant answered. The dull bored sounding voice on the other end of the phone told me to try calling back later because, and I quote,
"I'm very sorry the Master can't take your call right now. He's trying to throw himself off the tower again."
The servant hung up. I had no idea what to make of that.
I wondered if it was some sort of joke but I didn't dare call back. The thought of losing the one thing I truly craved in this life was almost too much for me to bear. I refused to give in and call again. I gave him up cold turkey. I decided to never obsess about the man ever again. He was obviously not as strong as I had assumed. Anyone who would try to kill themselves was certainly not worth my admiration.
With those thoughts to guide me I began going out to night clubs and bars after little Mokuba was asleep. I looked for someone to take my mind off of Pegasus. I was a hunter and my prey often took the form of young men with long pale hair.
No names, no real memories, just sex and booze and a lot of sweet control. In the night I was the one with the money and the power and the blessed control that meant everything to me. I trusted no one but myself and I lived for the meager pleasure I could take from my lovers.
One cold night shortly after new years I staggered into one of the worst dives I have ever set foot in. The bar was so sleazy and dark I know the only lights in it must have been neon beer signs. That was just fine with me. I was not looking for a good time that night, I was looking to get as drunk as I possibly could. In fact I was already near my legal limit before I even arrived.
I sat at the bar just long enough to get completely wasted. I remember distinctly turning to the grungy brick wall of a man who passed for a bar tender and I blurted out,
"So, you get many billionairs in here?"
It was the stupidest thing anyone in my position could possibly say. Luckily the guy didn't try to rob me, he just assumed I was joking.
"Yeah, sure we do. You see that guy over there? He gave me fifty bucks American not to kick him out before he gets through those four bottles of whiskey. What the fuck do I care if the crazy bastard wants to die of alcohol poisoning? Long as he promised to take a cab I got no responsibility past that!"
I turned my head and through my vodka induced haze I saw something I liked very much. The young man who was sitting at the far table in the darkest filthiest corner had the most lovely glimmering silver hair I think I had ever seen. It was pulled back in a thick pony tail and a pair of shimmering strands had come loose to frame his pale ivory face on either side. He had a dark green baseball cap on. Also a pair of smokey amber tinted sunglasses and a rough coffee colored leather jacket. He was perfect and I got to my feet.
"Hey, you goin over there buddy? Maybe you two should share a cab, huh?" The bar tender prodded me seeing how much I was wobbling. I slapped a fifty on the counter and shot him my iciest glare to shut him up.
He didn't look up when I leaned on his table. He had his forehead propped up against his hand as he slouched. The other hand was poised artfully around the rim of a half full glass. There were indeed at least three bottles of Crown Royal empty in front of him. Just seeing those hands, long fingered, elegant, and as pale as a ghost from my dreams, they made me harden right there.
"Hey baby, wanna see my White Dragon?" I exclaimed mindlessly.
A crooked smile danced across his lily soft lips and he raised his finely chiseled jaw a bit.
"Sure thing Blue Eyes. But you gotta take a look at my Funny Bunny."
The next thing I knew I was waking up in a hotel room next to him. The first words out of my mouth were obviously,
"Holy shit!!"
I was too afraid to look over. I knew it was him. The second we were through the door we had stripped our clothes, and oh God, there are no words to describe the divine sight that is a naked Pegasus. The gold of that millennium eye he wears was flashing at me all night. I lay there and I struggled to wrap my hang over handicapped mind around what had happened. I was so dizzy and exhausted I could barely fathom it. What had we done?
A hell of a lot of sex, that's what! My hazy mind screamed at me. A hell of a lot of the end of the world is tomorrow, no holding back, multiple orgasm, raging lion, no redemption, sex! Between me and Pegasus. The one and only Pegasus! Just thinking his name made me start to tremble. What the fuck was I going to do now?
I panicked! The adrenaline of fear was the only thing that allowed me to move. I jumped out of bed, grabbed my clothes and hastily began getting dressed. There was no need for a shower, he had licked me clean. My mind was throwing me more shameful details every second and I couldn't take any more. I was already on over load. How many times had he made me climax? Two, three...five!? I had to get out of there!
It was instinct. It was the terror of confrontation. It was horribly mortifying that I had finally gotten the one thing I always wanted, only not in the way I wanted. At that moment I thought I would die. I expected to be struck by a lightning bolt for my sins any second. It was wrong! I was wrong! I had ruined everything! I had taken advantage of him completely!
I allowed myself a quick glance over my shoulder at the pure white figure snuggled under the cold blue satin sheets. Blue like my eyes. He looked so still, I wondered if I had hurt him. If I should call someone to check on him, if I should check on him? I was immensely tired but I wasn't sore at all, which meant he must have been. I couldn't bring myself to go near him. I fumbled for the rest of my clothes instead.
Suddenly the majestic pearly creature in the bed stirred and I was frozen by that seductively golden gaze. I was caught balancing ridiculously with one leg stuck in my trousers and one leg out. He raised himself up onto his elbows with a small little pout on his sleep slow features. Every smooth muscular movement he made set my nerves on fire. I could distinctly hear a ringing in my ears as he spoke. It was the same playful self assured voice I had always told myself I hated. This time I couldn't get enough of it.
"Mmmmm, Kaiba-boy? Why don't you come back to bed? I've booked this room for a week you know."
I naturally went into over load mode again and toppled onto the floor.
I don't remember what he said next to me. He made a toga of the bed sheet and sat down beside me on the floor with the curious expression of a child. He was asking me if I was alright and if he was too rough last night and a hundred other questions about how I was feeling and if I needed anything. I managed to get my pants on and sit up. He confessed that I was only the second person he had made love to in this life time and that he was thinking of trying his luck in the next one before I had come along. I realized he was serious which made me hang my head with sudden shame.
His concern overwhelmed me. He couldn't stand to have me look away. Finally he did the most shocking thing I could expect. He apologized to me!
Pegasus held my hand and begged me for forgiveness! He was so worried by my silence that he even apologized for the way he took advantage of me last night. As if he had taken advantage of me! I was the wolf out hunting for him! I was the one who found him drunk and vulnerable and despairing!
He started to laugh as if he knew my thoughts. I'm sure now that he did. The sound of his laughter was a familiar miracle to me. He told me plainly that he had been waiting at that bar for me. That he had been tracking me with his magic. The Master of Illusions had done it again. He had set the whole thing up and was hardly drunk at all. I learned later that it takes a hell of a lot of liquor to get Pegasus drunk. He could probably go through a case of whisky and not even loose his balance. Benefit of a British heritage combined with magic I suppose.
I think at that moment I wanted to smack him for being an evil manipulative bastard. Instead I leaned over and hugged him. He had such need in his golden brown eye. He must have been truly desperate to go against his morals and set me up like that. I'm exceptionally grateful that he did. I was no less a cad than he and we reveled in our heartfelt lust.
I hugged my beautiful silver god to me and to this very day I have never let go. He's mine. All his power and all his glory and every annoying insane little quirk about him belongs to me. Because I Seto Kaiba trust someone other than myself. I trust Pegasus with my love, with my respect and with my very soul. And he never fails to make me laugh.
This is the rest of our crazy story...