Chapter Text
Bakura ran and got the door as he heard the bell, having been pacing in his main room trying to find last minute things to tidy for the last twenty minutes. He'd invited Kaiba over to his place, which he'd avoided since they first started hanging out together. His tiny apartment was nice and all, but he worried that it would pale in comparison to the luxury that Kaiba lived in. He didn't have the gourmet snacks from Germany and France, or the beautiful furniture imported from Malaysia and Italy. His humble abode was just that… painfully humble.
As he opened the door, he smiled at Kaiba, keeping a small laugh to himself. He'd told Kaiba to come in casual clothes that he wouldn't mind ruining. Kaiba still wore a fine dress shirt and bowtie with khakis, and Bakura had to admit that outside of class and sleepwear, this was the most casual he'd ever seen Kaiba.
"Sorry for the mess," Bakura meekly apologized as he welcomed Kaiba in, despite having cleaned every surface a minimum of three times preparing for today.
Kaiba slid his shoes off as he entered, taking the time to set them neatly to the side of the genkan. He looked around the main room, impressed by the large displays of miniatures. Slipping on the guest slippers set out for him, he walked up to the first display case. "Did you make all of these?" he asked, amazed by the variety.
"No, at first I started out just collecting the sets," he pointed out the few plastic figures that really were only a handful compared to the sheer quantity of the rest. "But I touched up all of their colors myself. Aside from those few, yeah. I've been making minis for a while now." He smiled sheepishly, a little worried he might come off as too big of a nerd. He reminded himself he was talking to the man who had a custom built Blue Eyes jet though, and felt a little less ridiculous.
"Um, would you like to see my game room?" Bakura offered.
Kaiba nodded, that was why they were here, after all. He thought the display out there was impressive, but the Monster World tabletop was massive and beautifully detailed. He wondered how long it had taken to set up, but he avoided asking about it. Figurines were a comfortable topic now, but Kaiba wasn't quite sure where they were on the game as a whole. He spotted a small table by a window with several cardboard boxes under it. On top of the table was some newspaper spread out and the two figurines they'd be working on today.
Bakura opened the sole window in the room before pulling out a chair for Kaiba. "I sealed yesterday, so they should be dry by now. We have to dust them before we paint." They both took a seat and Bakura pulled the boxes of paints up into reach. One box had a pack of tack cloth, and Bakura opened a new set. Wiping down his figure, he watched Kaiba do the same. Kaiba had ended up trying to make a dragon, having gotten frustrated with faces and hair. Then he found out just how difficult wings were. His model was a ferocious landwyrm now.
Teaching someone to paint was a lot less intensive than how to carve. A lot of it just came with time, and it wasn't like he had some formal schooling on the proper technique.
"You don't want to put too much paint in one spot, it'll break off more easily as the finish wears away, and it'll look blotchy or uneven," he offered as he began to pull his favorite colors out. The little tubes of acrylic all had dots of paint on top to reveal the true color of the dried paint; packaging lied. "I think we'll focus of flat colors today, shading and blending is pretty intense for a beginning project."
Kaiba nodded, perusing the vast assortment of colors before him. This was no Blue Eyes, so he stayed away from the colors Bakura was eagerly hoarding for the elf. Settling on a rich violet and pale grey, he watched curiously as Bakura began, thinly applying the paint in little tap strokes, and going over just the bare minimum to completely cover the color of the wood.
"Since they were sealed first, they won't soak up all the paint. That really smooths over the process," Bakura idly commented as he spread white paint on the outer robe. He worked quickly, making it look as simple as a color by number. He did slow down for the edges by small details and the like, however, and Kaiba watched how he angled the brush and attacked corners so as not to bleed over to another segment of the figure.
He smiled a little lopsided as he amended," That being said, we'll have to touch up colors as they dry. The paint contracts, so thin patches pop up here and there."
"Makes sense," Kaiba said with a nod. That was a pretty principle fact of drying liquids, though he'd never had to put the knowledge into active practice. "Is this good?" He showed off the portion to the back he'd painted as slowly as possible. It bothered him how the lines of the boundaries between scales and spinal ridges waved a bit, but he hoped he could even it out when he colored in the horns and ridges.
"It's great!" Bakura enthused," The coat looks really even, so it should dry smoothly." His words seemed to glow like his expression, and Kaiba uncomfortably muttered thanks. He seemed to expect praise, but when he genuinely got it, he tended to clam up sometimes.
A hesitation in Bakura's happiness stuttered through his smile, and he laughed lightly. "Forgot to fill up the water," he excused, grabbing a special cup that resembled a toothbrush holder that was graduated so it could suspend the brushes in the water.
Kaiba continued to paint, focusing on cleaning up the edges of his blocks of color. When Bakura returned, he briefly showed his progress before continuing. They worked in silence, Kaiba focusing much too hard to maintain a conversation, and Bakura content to paint quietly like he usually did. It was a calming activity, and he didn't want to force contrived banter on it.
Kaiba quickly got the knack of twirling the base as he painted so he didn't have to halt every time he reached the edge of his brush's reach, and he was actually pretty content with how the mini was turning out, under the guise of being practice for future projects of course. He was just too critical of the micro mistakes. The uneven edges of color, the small bubbles where he didn't quite get it as smooth as the rest of it… Bakura assured him that could all be fixed when he did eventually comment vaguely on his disappointment, and ran through the steps like they were as common knowledge as how to tie shoes.
He managed to pass off the information as being so easy without coming across as arrogant, and Kaiba wondered how he could do that. He was so skillful, clearly passionate about it, and yet he gave detailed instructions like easygoing suggestions. It boggled Kaiba's mind.
Despite putting a lot detail into a much more detailed figure, Bakura still finished only a few minutes after Kaiba. His elven mini looked majestic with its shaded folds of clothing and blended coloration to make the bracers and tucked away vest of armor look like metal. It looked like a masterpiece next to the bland wyrm it stood proudly next to. Kaiba tried to dismiss the train of thought, but already his fingers were itching to try and revise his piece. The fact that too much paint would be problematic and the dull acknowledgement that his simpler design would always look more plain was all that kept him from smearing on more paint.
"Well, they have to dry before we can do anything more," Bakura sighed, sitting back in his chair.
Kaiba mused," Sealing, painting, and sealing again, all the while waiting for drying times and touching up the blemishes those bring; this is quite the intensive progress." He caught a look from worry from Bakura and added," I can see why you like it. It's not some throwaway project, it really takes commitment."
"I'm glad you don't think it's boring or something," Bakura said with a sheepish smile. He didn't expect Kaiba to get hardcore into miniature making like he was, but it was nice to be able to share something he cared about and have the other show actual interest. He would have felt bad or silly at the very least if Kaiba came away thinking it was a waste of time.
"Far too much of a challenge to be anything but interesting," Kaiba answered honestly. Thus why he played violin and had tried his hand at rock climbing.
They enjoyed a game of Eldritch Horror, the game Kaiba had brought from America, in the kitchen. It was the only room to have a big enough table that wasn't taken up with model sets. Bakura tried to be a good host, offering snacks and drinks readily, though he worried how they compared to magnificent treats Kaiba always had prepared for him at the mansion. Kaiba only ever made pleasant comments about the food, though he didn't partake much or comment much as a general rule. Bakura lived to eat, having the most insatiable sweet-tooth, but Kaiba seemed to be more of the "eat to live" category. Bakura had never witnessed him turn away or pick out any food, despite eating with Yuugi and everyone at places that were definitely not Kaiba's go to locales several times now.
Bakura excitedly laid the last card to needed to win the game and beamed at Kaiba. They really did make a good team, having prevented the eldritch abomination from reaching their world despite a grievous early setback with the condition cards and multiple worrisome mythos cards. Kaiba smirked satisfactorily at the board, pleased that they'd managed yet another victory.
"We're getting too good with this set. We should pick up an expansion," Kaiba commented.
Bakura eagerly agreed, loving the work they did with the story building in the game and how it portrayed the grimdark gods of terror.
Some more painting ensued, touching up the predicted streaky patches, before they had done all they could for the day.
"Come back tomorrow after school to varnish them?" Bakura asked looking at the minis proudly. He was honestly more proud of Kaiba's figure than his own, despite the elven Kaiba easily being his hardest piece yet. Kaiba's first mini was just so good, and he was so happy to know he'd helped Kaiba get this far with it!
"Of course. I can't leave a project half done."
"I'll have to pick up some masks," Bakura thought aloud. "The smell can be a bit much." He never considered it for himself if he was only doing a few figurines. He was used to it, but he figured Kaiba probably wasn't, and he couldn't imagine it would be a very fun end to a project he put so much work into to get faint or even feel a little ill.
"I look forward to it," Kaiba told Bakura, knowing he would appreciate the assurance that he really was interested, like how Kaiba lived off of Bakura's assurance his presence really was wanted by the group he was trying to accept as his friends.
They both stood, making way for the door. Kaiba brought Bakura into hug, resting his chin on his head and closing his eyes. He was getting used to frequent hugs, and beginning to find he even anticipated them eagerly. Bakura breathed in the fancy cologne Kaiba wore before important meetings and whispered," Not that you need it, but good luck with I2 today." Bakura's ear was pressed to Kaiba's chest, and the steady beat of his heart thumped calmingly.
"Thank you. Hopefully I can do a little to mend our partnership. Pegasus has been working with Von Schroeder, and it will look bad for business if he beats us out with the founder of Duel Monsters." He thought over what he said, and wryly ammended," Best known translator in any case." The general public didn't know the origins of the card game, but he'd seen up close and personal enough to never forget.
Bakura didn't really remember Von Schroeder, though he felt he should. He obviously meant something to Kaiba and his corporation, but Bakura couldn't recall them ever competing. Bakura gloomily thought it was probably something that took place just before the Ultimate Dark Game. He hugged Kaiba tighter pressing his face into Kaiba's chest as a chill went through him.
Kaiba rubbed Bakura's back gently, humming a small question and accepting when Bakura didn't answer. They stayed together for a few moments more before Kaiba sighed and said," I can't stay any longer." He couldn't risk being late to any meeting, not unless someone was dying.
"Okay," Bakura acknowledged glumly. He pulled away, plastering a smile on his face. "See you tomorrow."
Kaiba planted a brief kiss on the crown of Bakura's head and returned the smile, though more subdued. "Of course. See you, Bakura."
Bakura waved goodbye as Kaiba backed into the genkan, slipping naturally from slipper to shoe with practiced ease. As the his guest left, Bakura sighed regretfully and rubbed at his chest where his scars seemed to itch.
~~
~~
Kaiba's blood ran cold when he got a notification just as his private helicopter was approaching Pegasus' castle. This meeting could wait, and he knew Pegasus would understand. Coordinating to be picked up by jet, he set course for Egypt.