The Mythology Set

Down Below II

"Ah, Seto! Just the demon I wanted to see! I've been looking for you!"

Seto blinked, frowning, and shifted his weight awkwardly as he tilted his head; he knew he needed to talk to his uncle, but he'd had no idea the man had been actively seeking him. "Um… Why?"

The man tossed his long black hair over his shoulder and smiled, standing up from his desk. "I just found your notice of courtship on my desk! How is that going?"

"…I left it on your desk months ago," the brunet began, brows furrowing together. "I was just coming to turn in my—"

"Well?" Matsuhi scowled at him impatiently.

Seto grunted quietly in affront at being cut off. "Well what?"

"When am I going to meet this girl?"

The brunet let out a disgruntled snarl. "You didn't read that whole notice at all, did you? Like the details that the human I'm courting is male and isn't quick to allow anyone close to him!"

"…Well, when do I get to meet him then? Your parents are deceased, so you defer to me for permission to officially mate. I want to meet this boy, since I figured you'd die single and I'd have to leave the throne to Mokuba."

Seto frowned and glanced down at the paper in his hands, notifying his uncle that he was going to end his courtship unsuccessfully. After a few moments, though, he moved his hands behind his back, balling the paper up. "When are you free?"

Matsuhi smiled brightly and clasped his hands together. "I was hoping you'd ask! I'm free for dinner tonight!"

"Tonight-!" the brunet sputtered, stunned. "How the fuck am I supposed to get him to come over to dinner tonight!"

His uncle rolled his eyes. "Well he's your boyfriend, Seto; just use a little of your powers to convince him."

"That's entirely unethical and—" Seto sighed in defeat. "…I'll see what I can do."

The king smiled enthusiastically and bounced where he stood. "Fantastic! I'll bring a hostess gift, too! Does he like roses?"

The brunet snarled again. "Hostess-? Don't you dare bring him roses!"

"Wine, then?"

"He doesn't drink and I wouldn't let you give it to him anyway!"

"…A box of chocolates?"

"STOP TRYING TO BRING ROMANTIC GIFTS TO THE PERSON I'M COURTING!"

.-.-.-.-.-.

"Wheeler."

Joey jumped in surprise and turned sharply. "Ee-! …Kaiba? Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Seto glanced around them slowly. "…You're usually in the cafeteria by now."

"Had t' stay and take a test I missed while I was 'kidnapped.' Why? Do ya need somethin'?" He frowned in concern when he saw a flash of guilt on the brunet's face. "Is somethin' wrong?"

"I…" The demon glanced around again cautiously, then jerked his head toward the bathroom door. "May I speak with you privately?"

"Um… I guess so." Joey followed him into the bathroom and tilted his head as he watched him check for other people before locking the door. "Is it bad? Do I… do I hafta go back down-?"

The brunet let out a small sigh. "I… I need to ask you for a favor."

"Yeah, anything," the blond agreed immediately. "You saved my life."

"…I need you to pretend we're dating," Seto stated haltingly. "I… My uncle's under the impression… He thinks I plan on formally mating with you."

Joey blinked. "…Formally mate with me?"

The brunet rolled his eyes and tried to think of a way to explain it without offending him. "It's… It's like the demon version of marriage. I submitted a notification to him last year explaining that I was going to try and court you, but—"

"You wanna marry me?" the human squeaked, taking a step back.

"No! Well, yes, sort of—That's not the point!" Seto exclaimed, growing frustrated. "The point is that my uncle thinks we're dating and when the King of Hell decides he wants to do something, it's pretty hard to talk him out of it! So I just need you to pretend to be my lover for tonight so he can meet you, and then I'll just try to go from there!"

The blond let out a confused squeak. "You wanna marry me! When did that happen? You've always hated me, and then ya said ya wanted sex with me, and now ya wanna marry me!"

"It's not just—Okay, yes, you're attractive, and devoted, and pretty damn feisty considering all you've been through, and I decided you might not be a bad person to mate with! I expressed a desire to explore that conclusion! Okay? It's not like I was going to make you mine whether you wanted it or not!" the demon snarled, brows furrowing together angrily. "I'm sorry I never tried to confide this in you but I sort of knew this is how you'd react so would you please just pretend to be my lover and have dinner with my family tonight so my uncle doesn't set me up with the nearest high-ranking demoness for fear that I'll die all alone?"

Joey took another step back, almost afraid to say no at that point. However, he'd already agreed to help, and this would give him a chance to ask some questions. "Um… O-okay. I guess I don't mind." He couldn't help a little smile when the brunet visibly relaxed. "It's not like we hafta make a huge commitment, right? It's just for appearance's sake."

"Right. Well, come on; the limo's waiting outside for us," Seto replied, shoving his hands in his pockets once he'd unlocked the door.

At that, the blond frowned. "But—Kaiba—I have lunch, and my friends will worry, and it's the middle of the school day—"

"We'll pick up lunch on the way to the mansion, text your friends that you're okay and just couldn't handle all the stares and whispers today, and when have you ever cared about school?"

The human huffed and crossed his arms, even as he ambled out after him. "Think you're so fuckin' smart, doncha, Kaiba?"

"Yes, I do. Starting with that, my uncle will expect you to call me Seto, or some sort of pet name."

"I call ya 'bastard' all the time. Is that a pet name?" Joey asked, hurrying to catch up with the brunet's long strides.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Somehow, I don't think that my uncle would appreciate or understand why my lover would call me 'bastard.'"

The blond huffed again and grumbled, "'Cause ya act like one."

"Actually, considering demon standards, I'm pretty damn nice. Human standards are pretty black and white," the demon explained, then reached back to slide his arm around the blond's shoulders and yank him closer. "Come here."

"Nn!" Joey blushed as he was pulled up against the brunet's side and looked up at him in confusion. "K-Kaiba-?"

"He's going to expect that we've had sex already, or at least done some serious necking, because demons are physical creatures. If my scent isn't all over you, he'll suspect something," he explained, even as he savored the feeling of the smaller boy tucked against his side.

The blond blushed a little more as he snuggled closer to him. "Oh."

He thought about the dreams he'd been haunted by recently ever since Seto had rescued him; dreams of dominance and sex, of flirtation and playful touches. He'd admit that the dreams weren't that bad; he liked the dreams of cuddling with the brunet and being protected by him, and he'd also admit that the erotic dreams were slightly appealing.

At first, he'd figured it was a demon trick, but after accusing Seto of making him have these dreams, he'd only received a blank stare that made him think that maybe it wasn't a demon trick. That was only confirmed when the brunet flatly stated that dreams were manifested from human imaginations and while certain demons and angels could influence them (succubae or cupids, respectively, was his example), regular demons and angels would not touch the human psyche that way because honestly, human imaginations were terrifying and cupids and succubae had extensive training to handle it.

So these dreams were his own. He just… didn't understand why he was having them now. Perhaps he was guilty for turning Seto down, or was curious as to what being with him might have been like. He knew that Seto was still interested now, though, and he could consider this 'favor' as a test experience, to figure out whether or not being Seto's actual boyfriend would be too bad. Besides, the brunet had been nothing but civil to him since he'd saved him, so he knew he couldn't be too terrible.

Well, he'd just have to wait and see. After all, if the brunet's uncle was too crazy, he'd probably be hesitant to try a real relationship.

That brought up something else that could be very important.

Gasping, he looked up at the brunet in apprehension. "Your uncle is the King of Hell? Kaiba! What am I s'posed t' wear!"

.-.-.-.-.-.

"Now, these are the most likely questions he'll ask, and a few of the less likely ones. Memorize the answers as I try to find something that might be suitable for you to wear…" Seto leaned in to nuzzle the blond's throat and pressed a kiss to his jaw before getting up and walking toward his closet.

Joey blushed and trailed his fingers over the spot he'd been kissed. Seto had been doing that a lot, touching him and kissing him—had even made him sit on his lap in the limo! He knew that it was so he could get Seto's 'scent' on him, but he suspected there was more to it than that. Hearing the brunet grunt, he turned and looked at him in surprise, only to blush even more when he saw nothing but the demon's leather-clad ass.

…He had a really, really nice ass.

Gasping in embarrassment at his own thoughts, he quickly looked down at the paper he'd been given. They were basic questions, really, like Seto's favorite colors and what he liked to do in his spare time. He couldn't help a little giggle when he saw the question 'what does Seto like most about you' and read the hastily scribbled answer of 'Every damn thing about him but especially his eyes.'

When he got to the bottom, however, his blush quickly returned. "K-K—Seto? Why would your uncle ask me what your most sensitive spot to be touched is?"

"Since demons only have one—ow!—Since male demons only have one spot that can make them orgasm besides their dicks or prostates, he'll check that we're actually intimate; it's basically to check that we're actually together and touch each other, since it's usually against the rules to just tell others what that spot is because it's so private."

Joey blinked at him in confusion. "…But you're just tellin' me…"

Seto stood up straight to turn and scowl at him, horns and tail sliding out in his agitation. "Screw the rules; I have money. And when money doesn't work, I can just damn the shit out of people."

"Snck!" The blond snorted and lifted a hand to cover his mouth. "I don't think ya can just damn yer uncle, K—Seto!"

"I'll damn him if I want. Damn, damn, damn. He deserves damning, the nosy son of a…" the demon grumbled, turning back to his closet.

Joey smiled and tugged at his hair unconsciously. "You and your family have really weird ways of interactin', don't ya?"

"Yes. 'Demon' and 'dysfunctional' both start with the letter 'D.' Ow! What the hell is this even doing in here!"

The blond jumped a little as the demon tossed something out of his closet, eyeing the trident nervously. "What's that for?"

"It's for Mokuba. It was Dad's, and even though it's supposed to go to the oldest child, I prefer to torture people with my hands, not magic. But he's not old enough to have it, yet. FUCKING HELL, REALLY!" Seto snarled and flailed wildly, dislodging different articles of clothing from the closet to fall on the floor. "My uncle will be here in four hours and my clothes are attacking me!"

Joey slid off the bed and walked over to touch his back. "Seto, calm down. Hee-!" He coughed to cover up another giggle as the brunet stood up straight, a shirt dangling from one of his horns. Ignoring the red glint in his blue eyes signaling danger, the human reached up and gently pulled the shirt off his horn, remembering how sensitive it was. "Here, listen; I like the color green and I don't like anything too fancy. Don't get yourself so worked up, okay?"

"I'll get worked up if I damn well want to-!" Seto stiffened as he felt the blond's fingers drift gently over his left horn, then wrapped his arms around the blond and went limp, dragging him to the ground as he pushed his horn closer to his hand. "Nhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…"

The human blushed a little and smiled, rubbing it gently, then slid his hand down to cup the brunet's cheek. "Seto? I like that you can flip out and worry about things, but I think I prefer ya bein' calm and thinkin' things out."

"Hmm." The brunet blinked at him slowly, eyes still glazed with pleasure, before he pulled him closer and nuzzled his shoulder. "You want to know the real reason I wanted to court you at first?"

Joey shrugged a little, watching the brunet's tail twitch. "Oh, sure."

"You're the first person I've actually seen that made my heart speed up. I'm sure that's just because we were arguing at the time, but… I noticed you were really pretty, and you argued with me despite the fact that you could sense I was dangerous. I liked that about you." Seto abruptly sat up and looked into his closet. "So that's how it goes. You said you liked green?"

"Uh… yeah." The human stood once the brunet released him and bit his bottom lip. For some reason, hearing the demon explain how he found him attractive made him happy.

.-.-.-.-.-.

"So you must be Jody!"

Joey's smile faded a little as the man shook his hand. "It's Joey."

"Right! Of course!" Matsuhi laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. "I was just testing you!"

"…With my own name?"

Before his uncle could embarrass his brother further, Mokuba leapt on him. "Uncle Matsuhi!"

"Mokuba!"

"…He got my name wrong!" Joey hissed while he was distracted.

Seto let out a rumble of annoyance. "Sorry. I think he's being difficult on purpose." He paused thoughtfully, then grabbed the blond's hips and held him close to his body. "If you don't want to deal with him, I'm perfectly willing to throw him out."

"Somehow, I don't think he'd appreciate that," the blond mumbled, rolling his eyes, then turned to face the new demon. He blushed as a bouquet of roses was held out to him. "Eh?"

"A hostess gift," Matsuhi stated by way of explanation. "It would be rude of me to not bring one, as I'm making you go out of your way."

"Oh." The human accepted the bouquet, blinking at it for a moment, then let out a snarl and began beating him with it. "Don't! You! Call! Me! A! Hostess! Again!"

"Blargh!"

"You're not my boyfriend, either, so don't give me roses! Don't think that just because I'm human that I'll take everything lying down!"

Seto blinked as the younger boy huffed, then stormed into the dining room. "Um… So, that was the human I've been courting."

Matsuhi put a hand over his heart and looked up at him in disbelief. "Are you sure he's completely human? Because he sure as hell doesn't act like one!"

"Erm… he's never actually been one to think about the consequences." The brunet frowned and tried to figure out how to explain. "…I think… it doesn't matter who you are. If you insult him, he's still going to hit you, whether you're the King of Hell or not."

"…He hit me with his hostess gift!" the older demon exclaimed, looking extremely put out.

Seto glared at him. "Well, first of all, I told you not to bring romantic gifts to the human I'm courting. Secondly, you called him a fucking hostess and you got his name wrong—with a girl's name, no less! What the hell else was he supposed to do, spontaneously change gender to fit your psychotic whims?"

Matsuhi sniffed indignantly as he placed his hands on his hips. "I expected him to politely correct me!"

Before the brunet could get angry and snarl, Mokuba cut in, deadpanning, "There is nothing polite about Joey."

Joey stuck his head out of the dining room when he realized the demon family hadn't followed him, scowling. "Well, are we eatin' or not? Your chefs went t' all the trouble of makin' this huge meal and we can't insult 'em by not eatin' it!"

"I'm sure you could eat the whole feast yourself," Seto replied dryly, but turned and began into the dining room anyway.

The blond growled in annoyance and reached up to poke his horn in a decidedly less-than-gentle manner. As the older boy let out a startled, pained roar and clutched his horn, giving him the most confused and dirtiest look possible, the human growled, "You're lucky you're cute." Then, he turned and stalked back into the dining room.

"…You rotten little bitch!" Seto snarled, then charged in after him.

Matsuhi and Mokuba flinched as they heard the sound of dishes breaking among angry screeches and snarls. Finally, though, the demon king turned toward his nephew, grimacing. "I hate to say this, but… I think I'm scared of the human your brother is courting."

"I think Seto is scared of the human he's courting, sometimes," Mokuba replied, crossing his arms. "Well, Seto always did have weird taste, and he's always said he wants a mate that will stand up to him."

Abruptly, the sound of breaking dishes and screams stopped. The two demons paused, then cautiously moved toward the door to peek inside.

Mokuba blushed as he saw Seto kissing the human savagely, tail lashing back and forth in what could only be pleasure as he pinned the blond onto the messy table with his wrists above his head. Joey… didn't really look like he minded, if his legs tightly wrapped around the brunet's waist were any indication—especially when he could see him kissing back just as fiercely.

All of the food that had been carefully prepared for them was either scattered across the floor or table or decorating the two people mindlessly kissing each other.

"…You should take me out to dinner," Mokuba stated after a moment. "And we can reschedule when you can meet Joey."

"…I think I'm free a few years from now. Yes. Definitely at least eighteen months, if not a couple of years," Matsuhi muttered, shuddering a little as he remembered his floral beat down. "Do you want Chinese or Italian?"

.-.-.-.-.-.

"Mn-! Mn! Mm!" Joey moaned helplessly as the brunet began humping against him, hips shaking as they were slammed into the table again and again. Gripping his hands into fists when he realized the demon was still holding his wrists down against the table, he let out a whine as he felt the older boy's erection grinding against his own through their pants. "Mngh!"

Seto growled dominantly as he broke the kiss to instead begin biting and sucking on his throat. "Mine."

"I'm not—ha! K-Kaiba!" The blond squirmed and arched his back with a throaty groan. "Kaibaaaa!"

He gasped as he felt the brunet's teeth close down a little harder and froze, eyes widening in horror when the sharp teeth punctured his skin. He whimpered quietly, afraid to move as the demon on top of him suckled and licked the wound he'd made, then slowly—hesitantly—arched his neck into his mouth.

Seto snarled his approval at his submission and released one of his wrists to cup the blond's erection and give it a little squeeze, still rubbing up against him. Smirking at the confused, frightened, and desperate mewl he heard, he released the human's neck with a slurp and growled. "Come for me, puppy."

Joey didn't know what he'd said—he assumed the brunet had reverted back to some archaic, demonic-sounding language—but he did know that he suddenly couldn't control what his body was doing. Back arching as he felt his climax growing close, he let out a strangled shriek as his body shuddered in both pleasure and pain as he came. "Seto!"

The demon shuddered in pleasure at the frantic call of his name and let out a roar as he came as well, slumping on top of the blond and nuzzling his throat, smearing a little of the blood still trickling out across his cheeks. "Mmmm…"

"Ah… Ah…!" The blond squirmed, shivering anxiously as the older boy settled against him more firmly. "Kaiba…" He flinched as the demon's eyes shot up to his face, more red than the blue he was used to. "…Seto… I…" He gasped quietly as the brunet suddenly reared off of him, eyes widening when the brunet turned and slammed his fist into the table. "Kaiba-!"

"Damn it! I never asked you to kiss me!" Seto snarled, turning to glare at him. "You said you weren't interested in sex or a relationship, you agreed to this just to keep my uncle from tormenting me with girls, so why did you kiss me?"

Joey shrank back unconsciously. After a moment of thought, with a small, unsure voice, he replied, "I was just angry, and… I didn't know what else t' do." He flinched when the brunet growled in annoyance. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you—"

"This is why I didn't know how to court you. This is why I was glad that you'd fight back if I ever did," the demon growled, pointing at the blond's wounded neck. "I'm a demon, Joey. I could hurt you without even meaning to; I like to hurt people and I like having them at my mercy. When you kissed me, my demon side took that as permission to do whatever I wanted; it was only my human side that kept me from tearing your pants off and fucking you into the table.

"I'm dangerous. I could have hurt you. Why are you kissing me when you previously had no interest in being anything more than an acquaintance to me?"

Joey flinched again. "I-I… I was just wonderin'… I've been thinkin'… And…"

Seto snarled again, throwing his hands up in frustration. "What? You've been thinking what? That you want to die? That you want me to accidentally hurt you because you're starting things that my demon side will want to finish whether you get cold feet or not. Because let me assure you, Joey, that I will finish whatever you start, whether you beg for me to stop and no matter how much I'll want to."

"Is that why ya didn't try harder t' court me? 'Cause you're worried I'll chicken out halfway through somethin' and ya won't be able t' stop?" The blond frowned and lifted a hand to his neck. "…I'll admit that you're scary, but… I don't think you'd ever hurt me like that. I have faith in ya."

The brunet huffed. "How can you have faith in me when I don't even have faith in myself?"

"…Because you're afraid you'll hurt me." The human hesitated before scooting over the table to lay his head on the brunet's shoulder. "And that means ya care."

"…" Seto frowned, then turned and pulled the blond into his arms. "So you want to try dating me? For real now?"

"Yeah. I've been thinkin' about it or a while now—ever since ya saved me down Below." Joey smiled a little as he felt the brunet gently nuzzling his shoulder. "We'll just hafta move a little slower. I liked what we just did, but I don't think I'm ready for that big of a commitment until I'm sure what sort of family I might be… 'mating' into." Gasping quietly, he sat up straight. "Oh! Your uncle! And Mokuba!"

The brunet snorted and rolled his eyes. "They're gone. I sensed them leaving. They're probably getting something to eat since…" He glanced around at the ruined meal. "…Hmm. Well, they've probably gone out for Italian."

The human blushed looked down at his lap. "Ah… I'm sorry… I don't know what it was that made me lose my temper…"

"Probably demonic influence; you'd never notice since I stifle my aura and Mokuba's too young to completely hold his back, and my uncle obviously has an iron grip on his own aura, but when we're all together, the amount of demonic aura you're exposed to increases exponentially. You'll notice you don't feel agitated right now." Seto cupped his cheek and smiled a little. "Maybe a little easier to annoy, but not as angry as you got earlier."

"…Oh…" Joey blushed a little more. "I-I didn't mean t' hit your uncle with roses. 'nd I hope that doesn't mess with my karma or anything…"

"I'll vouch for you. Personally, I think it'll add to your good karma." The brunet tilted his head and hummed quietly, brushing his thumb over the younger boy's bottom lip. "…You were really sexy when you were yelling at me, though."

"…I-I'm glad you think—so!" The blond bleated in surprise as he was pulled up against the demon's body. "Kaiba!"

Seto paused, looking unsure of himself for a moment, before quietly asking, "So you're allowing me to court you, then? It doesn't necessarily have to end in formally mating—marriage—but I'd really like to get to know you better."

Joey tilted his head a little, surprised at the sudden hesitance, then smiled shyly. "Yeah. I wouldn't mind, as long as ya don't rush me into anything. And we hafta start small. No more of these surprise dinners with the family, okay?"

"…Okay." The brunet smiled again. "Okay. Friday at six, then?"

"Sounds good t' me." The blond shifted his body uncomfortably. "…Um… I think… we both need t' shower."

Seto blinked and leaned back to look down at his pants. "…Hmm. You're probably right. Do you want to change back into your uniform, or would you like to steal that red sweater I saw you eyeing when we were putting my closet back to rights?"

Joey blushed again. "I-I don't know what the hell you're talkin' about-!"

"I never wear it, if that's what you're worried about," the brunet added.

"…I want your sweater," the younger boy admitted miserably, squeezing his eyes shut in embarrassment when he heard the brunet chuckle. "Shut up! It looked comfy!"

"It should; it's cashmere."

"I don't know what that is but wipe that smug smile off your face, bastard!"