[open]

[note_atem]

It had been five years since Atem was granted his own body and his own life in your time. It had been four years since something you couldn't quite place happened between you two. After some big event in both your lives- he'd looked at you differently. The problem was you hadn't understood it. Slowly you realized you'd spurned that look from him-

Comments

What a pleasant surprise! It's nice to see you! :D

[note_atem]

Even gallivanting around with the part of society that he had been, it hadn't dulled his senses as much as anyone like to think. He noticed that greeting but wasn't sure what to do about it, or what he could do. So he just accepted it for what it was. It hadn't been like his was the warmest, either. He just gave a nod towards it.

His stance shifted, a hand resting lightly on his left hip. Such an easy thing to fall into. "Alright, for the most part." Here and there, tired from tournaments and who knew what else. But he doubted Lelouch wanted to hear about any of it so it was spared.

"What about you?" Such light conversation. It still pained him but he showed none of it. He had supposedly moved on since then.

<3 <3 How have you been?

[note_atem]

A small smile came to his lips, but he didn't look away. It's not like he was ashamed. He had no reason to be, and no one seemed to think otherwise (perhaps for die-hard critics but you can't please everyone he's learned). But he was careful and deliberate in his actions. There was no reason to get Lelouch upset or worried if anything was unhappy in his life.

The truth was it was all sort of hollow. Filling the void just the way he probably wasn't supposed to. With flings and other dangerous trouble.

He was glad to latch onto something else, even if the topic didn't sound so pleasant. A small nod. "I'd read about it, yes." A soft look came to his eyes. "Any reason?" Perhaps a more personal question; he'd see what the reaction was to that. It was how he liked to measure just how far they were drifting.

[whitewizardboy]

"H-hello." It was a natural response, a greeting to a familiar person. Why wouldn't he respond to a person saying hello to him

[note_atem]

The shyness after all this time was almost a little endearing. There were shy people around, sure, with his status, but this was more genuine. Not because of his status but because this was who Ryou was. It had always been a very nice change of pace. Someone legitimately softer.

Well. Looking at him that way had ended for naught. He tried not to fall into it so closely again.

So with a grin he straightened out his stance, pride and confident as always. He couldn't afford not to be. "I've been okay." Around the block and back and not ashamed, or particularly private about it (at least that could be argued that wasn't his fault with the paparazzi following him everywhere). "What about you?"

[whitewizardboy]

"The same, I guess." Going to school, searching for a job, trying to rebuild his trust in people, even he had to hide the root cause of his trust problems (mainly for the fact that it involves Ancient Egyptian spirits, dark shadow magic, and just a string of events that no normal person should be subjected to.) But nothing wrong with trying to get on with life, right

[note_atem]

"Doing well, is he? I'm glad." For the both of them. But of course he couldn't not be happy for his partner- once and always. Even the lifestyle he was leading and Yuugi being elsewhere, he never felt too far out of touch. And it was good that his oldest friend and closest confident was keeping an eye on Ryou.

Atem really kept an eye on both of them. But that didn't need to be said, or it was left unsaid. Either. Having a good stash of money from the tournament circuit prizes was a good thing. It least enabled him to be close without being close.

He probably didn't really deserve to be close to anyone with the way he was acting. So distance was best. "We should all have a big get together soon." All of them back together. Hm.

I HAVE DUELED COMCAST INTO SUBMISSION.

[shutupandduelme]

This was a stupid idea. Kaiba Seto did not go begging for anyone else's attention. They came to him, and were grateful for the opportunity. But something had made him pause on the walk back from the press conference to the car. Something was making him watch as the other sauntered by, embarrassing himself as he had been for the past few years. Kaiba didn't know what to make of it. He hadn't even figured out what it was that had made his rival (former rival, he had to correct himself) draw away four years ago.

But he dismissed his security team anyway when Atem bothered to speak to him. It was public enough. He didn't need an even bigger crowd drawing the press' attentions.

"I don't have anything to say to gutter trash," Kaiba sneered, putting into his voice every bit of the disgust that had grown every time he saw the other duelist sprawled out on the cover of some magazine like some whore. The desire, something Kaiba Seto was still loath to acknowledge even having, was locked safely away.

YOU ARE BIG WINNAR?

[note_atem]

His hip shifted slightly, hand resting against it as he looked up at the other man. An eyebrow arched delicately, a soft exhale that sounded most certainly like a scoff. Then a roll of those crimson eyes of his.

"Scared to duel me and now scared to talk to me? I guess one would fall right after the other." His own sneer, and protective defense. He still liked Kaiba, still was stupidly on the idea that they had something- it was obvious they didn't. But he wouldn't be talked about like that. Especially not from this man.

I HOPE SO. I KINDA NEED THE INTERNET FOR SCHOOL TONIGHT. >>

[shutupandduelme]

"You were the one who first stepped away from dueling me. Who am I to try to fight your wishes?" the brunet scoffed. "And after all of this magazine business, I expected you to be in nude modeling by now, not continuing to sully the game."

His arms crossed over his chest, his hip rolling forward just slightly. "I see no reason to bother with someone who has lost his pride," he said pointedly.

OH WHO CARES ABOUT SCHOOL YOU MEANT RP

[note_atem]

He was pulled by the direction of that stance, his arms moving to cross over his chest as he turned to meet Kaiba fully. "Your logic is skewed. I'm still called the King of Games and as far as I'm aware you aren't banned from dueling in tournaments." He'd never actively stopped dueling Kaiba. They just hadn't seen each other enough to issue challenges, he supposed.

"What other excuses have you worked for yourself to get out of talking to me? I play the game as well as I did four years ago." Whoops. Why four? No, no. No time to stop and think about it. Move past it, and quick.

"You're the only one who hasn't appeared on the field. I think you should reconsider who has really lost their pride."