***¡Feliz cumpleaños, Revengineer! You are seriously one of the coolest people in the fandom, and thanks for putting up with me rambling all the time, lol. This is basically the tale of how it took six chapters for these nerds to toss their clothes on the floor instead of folding them into a neat pile.***

The meeting room always felt haunted at night. Only the hum of air conditioning, the click of Ryou typing on his laptop, and the ticking of a wall clock. Ryou suspected it was on purpose, the loud, outdated wall clock. Every Kaiba Corp employee had a laptop, and tablet, and digital watch synchronized with Kaiba's so that everyone ran on the exact same time down to the second. There was no need for something as antiquated as a wall clock - unless Kaiba wanted to use it as a reminder - time's ticking, time is money, my money. Ryou smiled as he thought about it. He liked the subtle, strategic intimidation of it, how Kaiba always kept his lap dogs nervous and they never knew exactly why because they didn't have the analytical skills to see through such tactics.

Ryou did, however, and to him the ticking was a pleasant background noise, a metronome by which to pace himself. Ryou sighed, rubbing his temples for a moment before grabbing a bottle of water and using the liquid to wash down two excedrin. He brushed stray hairs from his face. He kept the white mess tied back at work, but the front always unravelled long before his shift ended.

The object of Ryou's earlier musings walked into the meeting room. He walked with purpose in a cream colored suit and cerulean shirt that matched his eyes. Kaiba almost missed Ryou as he marched passed, then he stopped and blinked once.

"Why are you here?"

Ryou frowned at the mess of code in front of him. "There's an unprecedented amount of bugs in our current project. I'm making sure we reach deadline regardless."

"You're not salary."

"We have a budget for overtime. I'm using it strategically."

Seto snorted. "If you're going to work like you're on salary, then perhaps you should be on salary. Starting tomorrow, you're head of development for Scylla and Charybdis"

"No," Ryou said.

"You're in no position to tell me no."

"I'm here to keep up with schedule, not brown nose for a promotion at the expense of one of my co-workers getting demoted."

"You're taking initiative, carrying the project on your own shoulders, and working salary hours. That's what leaders do, Bakura. It's imperative to my company that everyone gets placed in a position that will best suit the company."

"Changing leadership in the middle of a problematic project is bad for morale. I won't risk the project like that." Ryou frowned, saving his work for the third time since Seto walked in and setting his laptop aside. "If you want to promote me after this - fine, but fight me on this and jeopardize everything I've been working on and I will be working for Bethesda before the month is out, Kaiba. That is not a threat."

Seto smirked. "You always pretend to be so sweet around Yugi, but you're rather ruthless."

Ryou couldn't help but smile. Yugi was nsfw territory, so Ryou didn't comment, although Seto had brought it up. Instead, he stayed on the topic of business. "We're essentially trying to launch enough quality RPGs to run SquareEnix out of business. I would say I can't afford to be anything less than ruthless."

"SquareEnix was rather specific. Why not Aultus?"

Ryou narrowed his gaze. "You know perfectly well why I said SquareEnix."

A light, almost imperceivable laugh escaped Seto's mouth. "Fine. After the project expect a formal promotion." He straightened a cufflink. "Any other business we should take care before I go?"

Ryou started at Kaiba, calculating odds. In the end, Ryou decided to be bold. "One last thing, actually. I think we should sleep together."

Seto's expression didn't change. There was no other indication that he heard Ryou except for the fact that he sat in the chair in front of Ryou so that they could stare eye-level at each other. "Repeat that."

"I think," Ryou began, "that it would be in both our best interests if we had sex with each other."

"Casual sex?"

"More like business-casual sex."

Seto's blue eyes stayed fixed on Ryou, neither one of them so much as blinked at the other. "Explain your reasoning."

"As it stands, neither one of us have the time or resources to invest in a intimate relationship. Be that as it may, sex has a lot of benefits. It relieves stress, and studies have shown that people who have sex regularly live longer and get sick less; further studies have found that boxers demonstrated improved performance if they had sex before a fight." Ryou leaned closer. "But trying to find a casual partner is difficult, and high risk. Bars and internet dating sites can be dangerous, and even if they weren't - they're still time consuming. On the other hand, we already know each other. We're both discrete so we wouldn't have to worry about rumors - which is more important for you than myself. We're both career focused, so neither one of us will mind when work interferes with plans. You'll never have to remember an anniversary or birthday, and we won't have to worry about emotions complicating things because this will be a convenient business relationship and not some childish romance."

"You've thought this through."

"A passing thought that flits through my mind from time to time; however the opportunity to broach the topic has never appeared before." Ryou shrugged. "I decided to roll the dice."

Ryou stared at the marble table by which they sat, waiting for Seto to scoff and reject him. In the corner of his eye, Ryou noticed Seto stand up. He didn't expect Seto to sit in his lap, but he felt the warmth and weight of Seto's body sink into Ryou's legs. Ryou looked at Seto, and Seto rested his hands against Ryou's cheeks.

Seto leaned forward and kissed Ryou. Ryou didn't have time to analyze the situation or devise an appropriate strategy, so he acted on instinct, leaning into the kiss and deepening it.

Seto pulled away. "Tomorrow night, 6:30. My place, dinner first."

"Dinner's not necessary."

Seto frowned. "I'd prefer there was some prelude. Consider it a business dinner."

Ryou nodded, licking his lips from uncouth habit, telling himself to act more professional though it was hard with searing blue staring seemingly through him. "Very well."

Seto stood. "I really must go, and you should get off my clock."

Ryou pursed his lips. "One more bug, then I'll go."

The mansion was intimidating. Ryou paid his cab driver and walked up to the wrought iron gates. A security guard in his own little brick chateau opened the gate for Ryou and escorted him to a second guard in a golf cart. The second man drove Ryou to the front doors - the driveway long enough to justify the use of a cart.

At the door a butler escorted Ryou to the dining room. Here, he finally saw Seto. He sat at a table, much smaller than Ryou imagined, working on something at his laptop. Ryou smiled. He'd brought his laptop to get some work done as well.

If invited to dinner by anyone else, Ryou would have brought a bottle of wine or a basket of fruit, some sort of polite token of appreciation. With Seto, he knew better. Anything Ryou brought would be cheap compared to what Seto already had, and the any gesture of gratitude for dinner would be tolerated by Seto but not welcomed, so there was no need.

"I imagined your table would be long enough to seat fifty people with antique, silver candlesticks, and maybe you'd be dressed up like Dracula and sitting in a throne."

"There's a formal dining room for large events." Seto didn't look up from his screen.

Ryou sat down and opened his own laptop, pulling up a new mess of code for him to try and clean up. They worked in comfortable silence until the first course arrived, beef consomme. Next, a servant brought tuna and salmon sashimi as an appetizer, followed by salad for the third course. The main dish was lamb with green beans and whipped potatoes. Just as before the meal, they ate in silence, their keyboards clicking out a conversation to each other to compensate for the lack of verbal communication.

Ryou smiled at dessert, three beautiful chocolate sea shells. For this, he turned off his computer.

"You have a sweet tooth?" Seto asked when he noticed Ryou stored his computer in its leather case.

Ryou felt his cheeks warm. He stared at his computer case. "Yes. Dessert's my greatest weakness."

He still didn't look away from his monitor, but Seto slid his own plate towards Ryou.

Ryou's cheeks went from warm to hot. "I really couldn't."

"I know politeness is part of your nature, Bakura, but you should refrain from it in my presence."

Ryou opted for not answering, nibbling on the first of his three shells. He forced himself not to moan, but couldn't help snatching one of Seto's chocolates once his own were gone. A ghost of a smile haunted the corner of Seto's mouth when he saw Ryou succumb to the temptation.

"Please eat one so I don't feel like a pig," Ryou said, internally refusing to take another chocolate unless Seto ate the last one.

Without argument or comment, Seto reached for his plate and plucked a shell from it's porcelain sea. He stuffed the entire thing in his mouth like it was any other chocolate. Ryou, however, savored the last one, taking small bites to stretch out the dessert.

When finished, Ryou studied Seto, watching the way the mocha colored bangs fell across his forehead as his mako-blue eyes glowed with the reflection of the laptop screen. Those eyes lifted up and caught Ryou's gaze.

"Are you ready?"

Ryou shrugged, looking away and toying with the tips of his hair. "Whenever you are. I'm not bored, so don't worry if you need to finish some more work."

Seto closed his laptop and stood up. Ryou swallowed, standing up as well and feeling his heart flutter in his chest, as if remembering that he was shy. Seto offered a hand and Ryou blinked at it for a moment before taking it in his own. Seto's palm was soft, warm, and dry. Ryou brushed the pad of his thumb across Seto's wrist. The delicate caress brought Seto's eyes back to Ryou's, and again Ryou looked away.

Several doors and hallways later, Ryou found himself in Seto Kaiba's bedroom. Candlelight softened the room. Ryou smiled at the oddly romantic gesture, wondering if candlelight was a sort of kink for Seto. It did set the mood.

Ryou trembled a little, out of his element. Although the idea to have sex belonged to him, Ryou felt bashful. He was, by nature, affectionate, and not the sort for one night stands. Seto broke the stillness in the air by grabbing Ryou's shoulders, pulling their chests together. Ryou inhaled a quick gasp at the movement, melting a little against the heat of Seto's body. He reached up shaking fingers and worked the knot out of Seto's tie. He felt Seto's breath against his scalp and suddenly became self-conscious about the scent of his shampoo, wondering if it was pleasant, or annoying, or faded to the point that Seto didn't even notice.

After liberating Seto's tie, Ryou fumbled down the row of buttons on Seto's silk shirt. His nervousness evaporated, replaced with mounting anticipation. When he reached Seto's belt, he loosed the buckle and unbuttoned and zipped down Seto's pants so that he could free the rest of the shirt and finish removing it. Ryou held the silk blouse, belt, and tie in his arms.

"Where do I place these?" He would not toss clothes that cost more that his paycheck on the floor - spontaneity and lust be damned.

Seto gestured with his chin towards the bedroom closet. Ryou found a rack for the belt and tie, and a laundry shoot for the shirt. He turned around and started when he realized Seto had followed him. Seto pulled Ryou's shirt away from his chest, also tossing it down the laundry shoot.

"Wait, I should keep my clothes." Ryou stared at the shoot, wondering where his shirt ended up.

"It'll be taken care of." A touch of a smirk crossed Seto's lips and he added Ryou's pants and boxers to the laundry.

Ryou let the issue go, preoccupied with removing Seto's slacks. He stared a moment. There was something perverse about staring at the world renowned Seto Kaiba in nothing but an undershirt and boxers, perverse . . . and endearing, as if he were human after all, underwear and all.

"What?" Seto asked.

"You're cute." Ryou smiled, tugging the undershirt up, but he couldn't easily reach over Seto's head.

Seto took over when he saw Ryou stand on his toes. He also removed his own boxers. Once they were both bare he took Ryou's shoulders a second time. He walked backwards, dragging Ryou forward towards the bed. He spun their positions around, laying Ryou down on a thick, goose down comforter. Ryou sighed as he sank into the blanket and mattress. Seto lay posed above Ryou, using the palm of his right hand to trail down Ryou's side, studying him.

Ryou reached out a tentative hand and did the same, exploring Seto's lank, slender frame. Gooseflesh puckered across Seto's ribs and stomach. Ryou hoped it meant that Seto was as nervous as Ryou was.

Seto drifted down, down, closer to Ryou's body until his lips caressed Ryou's chest. Ryou arched up, sighing. Seto's precise kisses drew a line from Ryou's chest to his shoulder, and then from his shoulder down his arm. Seto ended by holding Ryou's wrist as he kissed the tips of Ryou's fingers. As Seto kissed Ryou's fingertips, he stared at Ryou with his intense, blue eyes, and it turned Ryou's belly into taro jelly.

Seto gave Ryou's pointer finger a final, quick suck before he released Ryou's hand and leaned over to a nightstand near his bed. He pulled out a large plug, and a small bottle with a blue label. Seto drizzled the clear gel onto his erection.

Ryou chuckled. "That's the same brand I buy. I'm disappointed, Kaiba. I expected something in a crystal vial and coated in crushed diamonds."

Seto didn't verbally respond as he greased up the butt plug in his hand, but a little wisp of smile acknowledged Ryou's lighthearted teasing.

Ryou's own smile brightened. "Is that a grin I see? A real fucking grin? Holy shit, I just made Seto Kaiba almost smile." Ryou relaxed onto his back and sighed. "I don't even need an orgasm anymore. Nothing's going to be as satisfying as that girn."

Ryou arched a little when he felt cold lube-slick plastic press against his entrance. "Oh?" Seto asked. His voice wasn't expressive, but he still had the partial grin that made him boyishly handsome. "Mind if I still have one?"

"Might as well." Ryou winked at him. "We already went through all the trouble of taking off our clothes."

Ryou closed his eyes when the plug moved inside of him. He always thought it strange, how using a toy on himself felt good, but when a lover used a toy on him it felt like every nerve came alive inside him. Ryou's right hand shot out, and he traced lazy lines up and down his shaft. The pleasure mounted and rose within him sooner than Ryou was used to. He tried to remember the last time he'd taken a night off for pleasure, but couldn't. His career had consumed him the last several years. Ryou didn't see it as a bad thing, he loved his work and plunged himself into it wholeheartedly, but he'd forgotten how much he also enjoyed this.

Seto pulled the plug away and Ryou moaned at the loss. Seto leaned over Ryou, staring at him. Ryou blushed. Even in the dim candlelight, Seto's eyes were too intense to bear the sight of them for long.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Ryou answered, his nervousness creeping back into his gut as blue eyes penetrated him.

Seto closed his eyes and kissed Ryou. A little moan escaped Ryou's mouth as he returned the kiss. Ryou's fingers slipped into Seto's hair. The strands were fine and delicate, but the hair itself was thick and heavy like a million silk threads slipping through Ryou's fingers.

Then Seto slipped inside of Ryou; Ryou screamed. Embarrassed, Ryou clamped a hand over his mouth, reducing his noises to muted moans.

Seto grinned again. "You don't have to be quiet. The servants are off duty this late."

Ryou struggled to catch his breath as Seto moved inside him. "Isn't your brother around?"

"He's studying in Oxford."

"Oh," Ryou said, a response to Seto, but right afterward he said it again as a exclamation of pleasure. "Oh!" Ryou wrapped his slender, white legs around Seto's waist and flung his arms around Seto's neck. "It's been too long."

Seto acknowledged Ryou's statement with a grunt, focusing on his mild, consistent rhythm instead of words. Ryou could tell Seto held back, and suspected that it'd been as long for Seto as it had for himself. Neither one of them wanted to rush, to go off like an inexperienced teenager, so they held close and stuck to a slow pace. Each thrust was soothing, like the repetition of ocean waves, and Ryou allowed the pace to lull him into a near hypnotic state of mind.

Seto drew the experience out for a long time, but his breathing began to stutter in his throat, and Ryou knew he ached to finish. Ryou's own need twitched as Seto's stomach continued to rub against it. The weight of Seto's body dragging back and forth was almost enough to bring Ryou to climax without stroking, but not quite, so Ryou slipped his hand between them.

Ryou screamed. This time he didn't censor the noise. His legs squeezed tighter around Seto's body and he screamed again.

Seto made a little hum of approval. He nuzzled against Ryou's neck and started kissing the sweat-slick, white skin on Ryou's throat. It was sweet, too sweet, something about the affectionate gesture made all the swelling pleasure in Ryou's belly peak and he came hard, hard onto both of their bodies. Stars and flashes of yellow danced between Ryou's shut lids as he came, and his heartbeat drummed in his ears.

Seto pressed himself closer to Ryou as soon as Ryou finished. His sweat tickled Ryou's body, but Ryou only moaned as Seto thrust. Seto held onto Ryou's shoulders for support, going faster, but not harder, and when he came, he hid his face in Ryou's hair. Again, the unspoken tenderness of the gesture moved Ryou, and he found himself reaching up with trembling fingers and combing Seto's soft hair again.

"I should probably fetch my laptop and get some work done," Ryou muttered, more to himself than to Seto. He'd meant to take the laptop with him, but forgot it because he'd been too nervous and eager to get to Seto's bed.

Seto made a noise into Ryou's hair, but Ryou couldn't read it. He realized he was drifting off with Seto still pressed on top of him. Ryou felt a little panicked. This wasn't how he imagined sex with Kaiba would be like - dinner, candlelight, subtle, affectionate gestures. Something inside Ryou craved such things, yearned for them with ravenous hunger, and he wished that Seto hadn't stirred the need within him. He was going to get attached without meaning to. He'd already enjoyed the sex too much for his own good; he didn't need to fall asleep in Seto's arms.

But as he lay there, listening to Seto's calm, already asleep breaths, Ryou didn't have the heart to move. He wrapped his thin, milk pale arms around Seto's back, and sank into a deep, satisfied sleep.