Work Text:
Roland glanced at the digital clock on the dashboard of the car. 01:34 AM.
He sighed wearily. It was far too late to be working.
Yet, here he was, parked in front of KaibaCorp’s headquarters, waiting for his employer.
Finally, the glass doors of the main entrance slid open. A tall figure stepped out into the night and walked briskly towards the sleek black limousine.
Roland quickly got out of the car to open the back door. “Good evening, Mr Kaiba.”
The young CEO gave him a slight nod of acknowledgment and wordlessly climbed into the backseat.
Roland closed the door behind him and returned to the driver’s seat.
“Take me home.” Roland frowned at the unusual weariness in Seto’s voice.
He looked in the rear mirror and almost flinched. The boy looked awful.
Seto Kaiba’s complexion could be described as ‘pale’ at the best of days, but now, illuminated by the soft glow of the limousine’s interior lighting, he looked more like a spectre than a living human being. There were dark shadows under his eyes and his usually piercing gaze seemed oddly dull and out of focus.
It was obvious that the famous CEO of KaibaCorp was absolutely and miserably exhausted. Roland gripped the steering wheel tighter and forced his attention back to the road as he pulled out of the KaibaCorp parking lot.
It hurt to see his boss like this. Roland had always been very protective of the boy. That in itself was no surprise; as head of security, he was responsible for Seto’s safety. But there was also something else. Something that went beyond the simple fulfilment of duty.
Roland often wondered what had caused him to develop such a deep attachment to Seto. Maybe all those years of watching him being abused by Gozaburo Kaiba had triggered some sort of paternal instinct in him.
He’d decided to stand by it, even though he was aware that his devotion to the young CEO had already raised many an eyebrow. To be honest, Roland couldn’t blame them: Seto Kaiba had a reputation for being ruthless, cold and calculating. And it was true – at least to some extent. Being the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the world at only seventeen, Seto couldn’t afford to show weakness if he wanted to survive in the merciless world of business.
But Roland knew there was more to Seto’s character. He was demanding, sure, and often not a very pleasant person to deal with, but he wasn’t malicious like a lot of people falsely assumed – not like his adoptive father had been. Unlike Gozaburo, Seto always treated his employees fairly, honoured loyalty and wouldn’t tolerate unethical practices for the sake of profit.
He was an eccentric kid, with his Duel Monsters obsession and his rivalry with Yugi Muto – which he did tend to take a bit too seriously at times – but in the end, they could all be thankful that Seto preferred card games over weapons of mass destruction. Most people forgot it had been him, who’d turned KaibaCorp into a successful gaming company that brought joy to people instead of suffering.
The car came to a stop at a traffic light and Roland used the opportunity to check on the boy, who’d been unusually quiet. Not that there was a lot of conversation during their drives, but there usually was the sound of Seto’s typing as he continued to work in the car.
What he saw, however, caught him completely off guard:
Seto had fallen asleep, slumped against the car window. It took Roland a moment to process the image. He’d been Seto’s bodyguard for six years and his right-hand-man for two and he’d never ever seen him sleep.
The boy was always alert, constantly analysing his surroundings, his sharp blue eyes taking in every detail. For him to succumb to sleep in the presence of another person meant he’d been pushed far beyond his limits.
Roland winced. Now, relaxed in sleep and usually immaculate hair tousled, Seto looked a lot like the rich kids he used to work for when he first started out as a bodyguard. But they’d usually been exhausted from partying too much on their friend’s yacht, not from managing a multi-billion company.
‘Poor kid. Genius or not, they’ve been demanding quite a lot from him lately.’
The rest of the way, Roland paid extra attention to avoid sudden movements, so as not to disturb the boy’s sleep. When he reached the Kaiba mansion, he stopped the car with a jolt.
Seto sat up straight and looked around, confused.
“We have arrived, Sir.” Roland said smoothly, as if he hadn’t noticed his boss falling asleep.
“I’ve noticed myself, thank you very much.”, came the sarcastic reply.
Roland couldn’t suppress a slight grin, but didn’t say anything. He wouldn’t compromise the boy’s dignity. Instead, he got out of the car to open the back door. It took Seto a worryingly long time to climb out of the backseat and he had to steady himself against the roof of the car, before slowly making his way towards the imposing building, closely followed by an increasingly concerned Roland.
Inside the dimly lit entrance hall, Seto shrugged off his coat and threw it on a nearby chair. One of the maids would take care of it in the morning. He swayed a little when he took off his shoes and closed his eyes for a moment as if to fight off vertigo.
Roland discreetly stayed behind the boy, who’d begun to walk towards the mahogany staircase, ready to step in when needed. Suddenly, Seto stopped and turned around, a look of irritation on his face. “You’re dismissed for tonight, Roland. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Roland hesitated. Seto was right – there was no reason for him to stay any longer. It was late, the night shift had taken over hours ago, ensuring the security of the Kaiba mansion. He tried to come up with an excuse that would let him stay long enough to make sure the boy got safely to his bedroom.
Seto, however, didn’t seem to care for an answer since he’d started moving again. His steps grew more and more unsteady until he all but stumbled against the elegant banister of the staircase. He grabbed it for support, leaning heavily against it.
Roland could see how hard the boy was fighting to keep his composure – one hand pressed against his stomach in what looked like an attempt to quench a sudden wave of nausea, the other desperately clinging to the polished wood – but as he listened to Seto’s increasingly shaking breathing, he knew the boy was fighting a losing battle.
Roland bridged the distance between them with a few quick steps.
“Mr Kaiba, is something wrong with you?”, he asked as if it weren’t obvious.
Seto blinked sluggishly.
“ ‘m alrigh’.”, he muttered before sliding to the floor.
Roland caught him just in time to prevent him from hitting his head on one of the stairs.
“Mr Kaiba, can you hear me?”, he yelled.
When he got no response, he checked Seto’s wrist for a pulse and was relieved to find it strong and steady.
He looked down at the unconscious boy in his arms. “You work too much, Mr Kaiba.”
He picked Seto up, only to find him much lighter than what would be healthy for a teenager his size.
Roland sighed. Even though KaibaCorp’s CEO was a genius at almost everything, taking care of himself didn’t seem to be his strongest suit.
‘What now?’ Roland looked around the sumptuous entrance hall. He had to get Seto someplace quiet, so he could rest without being disturbed. But where?
He could, of course, take him to his bedroom upstairs, but the prospect of having to navigate the stairs wasn’t too appealing. Light or not – Seto was tall enough to make him challenging to carry.
Roland couldn’t risk losing his balance on the steps and hurting the boy in the process.
Then there was the living room with its big teal sofa, but being there wouldn’t offer Seto any privacy from the staff in the morning. Roland’s gaze fell on a door right next to the staircase. He knew it led to a small library that was rarely used and had, if he remembered correctly, a plush sofa inside.
As he slowly pushed the door to the library open, he was suddenly very aware that he was currently holding one of the richest and most influential people in the world in his arms. It was an odd feeling to know the safety of KaibaCorp’s CEO had never been quite so literally in his hands.
Roland carefully laid Seto on the sofa and pushed his thick hair back to check his temperature. His skin was definitely warmer than normal, but not hot enough to indicate a fever. He wasn’t sick then; his body just hadn’t been able to fight off the fatigue any longer.
Only then did Roland realise what he was doing and quickly retracted his hand. He’d acted reflexively to assess Seto’s condition, but he now realised how intimate his action had been. Everyone knew the only person Seto Kaiba allowed to touch him was his younger brother Mokuba. The boy had to be well and truly out to not even twitch at Roland’s touch.
Seto shifted in his sleep, causing the locket around his neck to slide to the side. For a moment, Roland thought about taking it off in order to prevent the boy from accidentally strangling himself, but quickly dismissed the idea. It felt wrong to separate Seto from it.
Roland liked that locket. To him, it was a constant reminder that everyone who thought of Seto Kaiba as selfish and heartless was wrong. Over the years, he’d caught many a glimpse of the parts of Seto’s personality he usually hid behind his aloof façade: The rare but genuine smiles only Mokuba could get out of him, the quiet desperation when his little brother was in peril.
No, Seto Kaiba wasn’t heartless. And the locket proved it. He wore it so naturally; it was jarring for it to not be there on the few occasions Seto wore a business suit. Except, it was there, as Roland knew very well, safely tucked against the boy’s chest.
Roland quietly observed the sleeping teenager in front of him. It was odd to see his boss like this. He looked so… young. No, not young, he, for once, looked his age. Right now, Seto Kaiba was just an exhausted seventeen-year-old boy looking uncharacteristically fragile without his coat.
Seto suddenly tensed, his brow furrowing. For a second, it looked like he was going to wake up, but then he just curled up on his side, his right hand clasping the locket like a lifeline. Roland watched him with concern. ‘Of course, after all he’s been through, the kid’s bound to have nightmares.’
He took the woollen blanket that had been draped over the back of the sofa and covered the boy with it. Then he tentatively touched Seto’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Mr Kaiba. You’re home now. No one is going to harm you; I will make sure of that.”
At his words, Seto seemed to relax a little.
“Roland?”, a soft voice called from behind him.
Roland flinched and turned towards the door.
There, wearing sweatpants and a T-Shirt, stood Mokuba Kaiba, looking very sleepy and confused.
“Mokuba, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”, Roland asked quietly.
The boy shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep. I was on my way to get a snack from the kitchen when I heard someone downstairs. Thought Seto might’ve come home.”
“Well, he did.” Roland nodded towards the boy on the couch.
At the sight of his brother, Mokuba’s eyes grew wide with concern. In an instant, he was at their side.
“What happened to Seto? Is he sick?”, he whispered anxiously.
Roland shook his head. “Thankfully not. But it appears as if Mr Kaiba has been neglecting to sleep and it has now caught up with him.”
Mokuba bit his lip. “So, he’s just tired? That means he’s going to be okay, right?”
Roland smiled. “All your brother needs is some rest.”
But despite his reassuring words, the boy continued to look quite unhappy.
“There really is no need to worry.”, he tried again.
Mokuba sighed. “I’m not worried. Well, I am, but I’m mostly angry.”
“Angry? I don’t think Mr Kaiba meant to – ”
“I’m not angry at him, Roland.”, Mokuba said darkly, “I’m angry for him.”
At Roland’s confused look, he elaborated: “Sometimes I have the feeling that people think my brother is a robot, not a human.” There was an uncharacteristic bitterness in his voice. “I know there’s been a lot lately, but even Seto can’t be expected to deal with everything all the time. Just because he’s super smart doesn’t mean he can keep going forever. He, too, needs to take a break once in a while.”
Roland nodded silently. Mokuba was right, of course. He was a clever kid, very mature for his age and as protective of his brother as the older boy was of him – albeit in a less noticeable way. Now, however, it was obvious that despite his mellow temper, Mokuba would fight with the same relentlessness as his brother when the latter’s safety was concerned.
“Roland, cancel all of Seto’s appointments for the rest of the week.”, the boy said with an authority that rivalled his brother’s, “If there’s a meeting that can’t be rescheduled, I’ll take Seto’s place. I know that at the moment it’s mostly dealing with shareholders and investors and I’m familiar enough with Seto’s work to answer their questions.”
Roland raised an eyebrow. “As you wish. But I’m afraid Mr Kaiba won’t be too pleased by this.”
“No, he won’t.”, Mokuba said grimly, “But this time he won’t have a choice. I’m not risking him getting sick from working too much.”
He looked at Roland with a frown. “Speaking of working too much… You should go home, Roland. My brother has kept you up long enough. I can handle it from now on. We’ll see you tomorrow.”
Roland gave a grateful nod and stood up. “I wish you a good night. Before I leave, I will tell the night shift to make sure Mr Kaiba won’t be disturbed by the staff in the morning.”
He turned around to leave.
“Oh, and Roland.”
Roland turned back.
Mokuba looked up at him. “Thank you for always looking out for Seto.”
Thank you for reading!
YUGI LOST A CARD GAAAAAAME ???