There hadn't been too many moments during Albert Silverberg's life where one could have said that he looked funny, but he knew he had just run into one as he stood, the water dripping from his clothes. A brief glance around allowed him to piece together exactly what had happened. It had been too fast for even him to comprehend, no matter that the chance of that happening had never been too high.

Unfortunately, he never had the chance to finish assessing the situation. Someone on his right side was laughing, obviously amused by the scene.

"You know, Silverberg..." Yuber commented with a wide grin on his face. "You look quite silly like that."

Albert sighed. Those first few seconds had been enough for him to get a grip on the situation. Yuber had teleported him in to meet a contact from a nearby village. It was quite apparent that there was a pond in the same area of woods they'd arrived in, for he was now standing in it, drenched. The water was clear and not too cold, but his clothes were mostly soaked.

The situation was quite funny indeed, but Albert kept his cool and looked as calm as ever. He raised his hand to take hold of Yuber's as the demon reached to him to help him out of the pond. As soon as he was on stable ground, he began to remove his coat. He wasn't feeling too comfortable and wished to get the coat off before the clothes beneath got more wet.

"Miserable might be a good word for that as well," the demon continued, still grinning. "I admit that I might have made a slight miscalculation with the teleport, but anyway I..."

Albert stopped to glare at the black-clad swordsman for a second before cutting him off. "Get undressed."

For a moment, Yuber stared at the redhead who was now busy getting his shirt off; the grin on his face then faded to an amused smirk. He stepped closer and slipped his arm around Albert, caressing the strategist's bared skin with his gloved fingers. "Ah, I'd be delighted to. Suddenly feeling like doing it in a place like this is quite rare coming from you..."

"I'm not planning on having sex, Yuber," Albert answered in an icy voice. "I have a meeting with my contact in ten minutes, and I'm not planning on catching a cold. Give me your clothes."

"Aww..." Yuber pretended to look hurt, and was doing a poor job of it. He stood still until the strategist was half-naked, then grinned mischievously. The idea of Albert wearing his coat was just too good to pass up. "...Ah, fine..." He removed his coat and handed it over. "What am I supposed to wear? Your clothes are wet, and I don't think they'd fit me anyway."

The redhead shrugged, studying the black and white coat while waiting for Yuber to get his shirt off. "I don't honestly care, and somehow I have the feeling that you don't either. You're not one to care about decency."

"Quite correct," the demon answered as he tossed his shirt in the redhead's direction. Albert caught it then handed his own shirt and coat to Yuber. The blond swordsman looked at them curiously before watching the strategist get dressed. "...And what am I supposed to do with these?"

"Take care of them. Hang them to dry somewhere. I don't care as long as you still have them when I get back," Albert answered while buttoning the coat. He checked his reflection from the surface of the pond and frowned slightly. He looked ridiculous, but it couldn't be helped. He had to make it to the appointment and he didn't have time to get dry clothes from anywhere else. Yuber's coat didn't look that bad on him as he looked quite good wearing black, but he still didn't like the idea of having to wander around in the demon's coat. Besides, it was a little too big for him.

Yuber smirked as he watched the redhead. "Want the hat, too?"

"No thank you," Albert replied, handing his scarf to the demon as well. It didn't go too well with the coat, and although it was mostly dry, he preferred to leave it with his other clothes. "This might take anywhere between half an hour to a few hours. I'll be back as soon as I can, and I expect you to be here when I return."

He turned and walked in the direction of the village, leaving Yuber standing there half-naked. Albert truly didn't care what Yuber would do while he was gone.

It was a good thing his informant knew him by face and not by what he was usually wearing; Albert was sure that his contact had been amused by his strange outfit but had just ignored it, or at least had had the decency to not comment on it. The meeting took him well over an hour as he had expected, and when he finally left the village and made his way back, he couldn't help but wonder if Yuber was still there.

He stopped by the pond and glanced around. Yuber didn't appear to be around, but something told him that he was wrong. He then noticed his coat hanging from a branch of a nearby tree. His shirt and scarf were there as well, along with the demon's hat. What made him curious was that there was a black, horned helmet placed by the trunk of the tree.

"You do look lovely in black, Albert Silverberg," commented a familiar voice behind him. Albert turned around, knowing quite well who it was. He wasn't, however, really prepared for the sight of Yuber in black armor. The demon was of course without his helmet, and his blond hair fell all over his face. Albert could recognize the familiar mischievous smirk on Yuber's face all too well.

"Thank you for the compliment," the strategist answered, turning towards the tree to collect his clothes. "We're leaving now. We don't have all day."

Yuber took a few quick steps closer and caught the redhead. He grabbed him by the arms, turned him around and pressed him against the tree, then grinned and leaned closer, the gaze of his mismatched eyes locked onto Albert's green ones, meeting the strategist's indifferent gaze. "What's the fun in that?"

Albert pulled his arms free from the demon's grip and stared back for a few seconds. He then just sighed, his usually cold expression softening a notch. "You would know about black of course. You wear it all the time. So, what is it... to see me wearing this? Curiosity? Or perhaps a fetish of some kind?"

"You've always been fast to catch on, Silverberg," the blond answered, still grinning. "Runs in the family it seems... All right. A bit of both? Come on, at least you have to admit that I'm right... You are vain enough."

The strategist's eyes showed a hint of amusement even though he kept it from showing from his face. "I never said I wasn't, though I never said I was either. However, I'm more practical than you are when it comes to vanity. Where did you get that armor anyway? Or do I even want to know?"

Yuber laughed. "You don't need to know."

Albert closed his eyes for a moment, then looked at the demon, smiling a little. "It fascinates you, doesn't it, Yuber? This little game excites you... It makes you think you own me, and you like thinking that you're in control, even though you know you can never truly control me. Black reminds you of the elements of chaos, and my wearing this brings me closer to it... closer to being yours. Or so you would like to think. At the same time you left your helmet off, leaving yourself vulnerable. It makes me think that you want me to own you as well. Might also be that I think too much, and you just aren't wearing it because you know you look beautiful in that armor and like the sight of your blond hair next to my red hair... while we're both wearing black."

"You do think too much, Silverberg," Yuber answered. "Way too much... Makes me wonder, which one of us makes this a game, you or me? But black suits you so well... It's as dark as that unreadable mind of yours."

"As dark as that unreachable mind of yours, Yuber," the strategist commented in response. He then raised his arms, wrapped them about the demon's neck and drew him closer. "However, at times, your intentions are quite clear..."

Albert grabbed the blond by the hair and pulled his head lower, capturing Yuber's lips for a deep, almost violent kiss. The demon answered with ferocity and they battled for control until Albert willingly gave in. He knew one of them had to submit at some point, and he was the one who wished to stick to a certain schedule. He could have continued and tested for who would have won, but there were times when there wasn't much he could have done. Yuber had probably been planning on this since he had left.

The demon broke the kiss for a moment and grinned. His eyes studied the strategist before he proceeded to remove the coat. He wasn't exactly sure whose game it was anymore, but it no longer mattered. He was given the chance to pretend to be the one who had won, and he was willing to take it.

The black coat was soon discarded to the side along with the black armor, but while they engaged deeper into the game, Yuber couldn't help but wonder if Albert Silverberg thought too much after all.

Author's notes:

An idea I got from a friend. Fun.

- Lady Harken (December, 2004)