How do you imagine Seto shuts off from work and all that stress once he gets into a relationship with RC? Are there any little things RC does to help him calm down and relax once he gets majorly stressed out?
It depends on how stressed we’re talking, here. I feel like anyone who ended up being close to Kaiba would be used to him being a grump and taking small things out on them (we see it in the series a bit with Isono and Mokuba), but because they’re small and they understand him, then it’s all right and they just let him work it out on his own.
But if he was Big Stressed, then someone might have to step in, because I could absolutely see him either 1) overworking himself as a form of escape or 2) breaking things. Possibly both.
The first hurdle would be getting him to admit that he’s stressed. Kaiba is such a control freak and he was raised to be that way, so the very idea that something he considers a basic daily task (ie going to work) would have such an effect on him is preposterous to him, which would in turn make him more angry.
So getting him to open up without spiraling (he would absolutely be prone to spiraling) would be a delicate art.
You know what he would hate? If his partner addressed it directly.
“Hey honey, it looks like you’ve had a rough day.”
XXXBZZZZTXXX DANGER DANGER
This approach would almost definitely have the lowest level of success.
It’s also incredibly likely that other acts of love specifically for the purpose of cheering him up wouldn’t be received super well at first either – he’s a clever dude, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his PTSD has made him paranoid as fuck about being condescended to.
(I know we’ve seen him responding positively to the BEWD card that Mokuba drew him, but that’s different in a number of ways and also that was pre- all of the wicked levels of trauma this boy has gone through)
At the early stages of a relationship, his partner would almost have to con him into opening up to them. They’d have to be real sneaky about it, some real PI shit, and drop little hints in the conversation.
“Man I heard that Competitor Inc had a real good day today, it’s amazing to see them doing so well after X event.”
This would achieve a couple of things: 1) it lets Kaiba know that his partner is paying attention and is invested and 2) it would let Kaiba know that his partner genuinely is sharp enough to figure it out on their own without being asked.
(Additionally, I feel like Kaiba compartmentalizes like a boss, but only in one direction. Work is work and personal life is also work because when have we seen him have a personal life that didn’t include work? NOTE: This does not mean I think he is a workaholic. But that’s a different subject.)
So with that in mind, I think Kaiba would have a hard time turning Work off once he gets home – so his partner would need to goad him into it, and be very pointed that He’s At Home Now.
I think at some point, once they are very comfortable together and have gotten over the huge hurdle of communication, they would come to the agreement that Kaiba needs some time to decompress by himself after work. They probably come up with a system where, on his way home, he’d text his partner with his level for the day (Code Black, Code Red, Code Blue, or somesuch), and they’d respond appropriately.
If it’s a bad day, they’d alert everyone to his demeanor and take care of nightly domestic responsibilities (dinner, directing the flow of staff for cleaning, prepping for the next day, whathaveyou) until he’s ready to come out.
If they’ve been together for a very long time, it’s possible that his partner might be able to be included in this decompression time – whether sitting quietly with him while he tinkers on something he brought home, or letting him vent at them.
