A/N: This small attempt at a fluffy one-shot is dedicated to the friend who requested that it be written for her birthday. Yes, I know it's not Valentine's Day in the real world, but who really cares? To my dear friend, Thine Dreamer Doth Take Flight, happy early birthday! I hope this bit of fluff makes you happy after my hiatus from Yu-Gi-Oh fandom stories…Enjoy it, ma'am!

OOOOOOOOO

Alyssa moved paperwork around on her desk, sorting them into categories from most important to least. Her computer reminded her that there were more emails filling her inbox with each passing second by letting out a steady rhythm of beeps. It was all she could do to prevent herself from grabbing the computer and throwing it out of the window so that it would fall from the very top of the Kaiba Corp building to its doom on the cold concrete below.

Kaiba wouldn't want to have to pay for that window's replacement, Alyssa reminded herself, raking a hand through her hair. That money would have to come from my paycheck and I'd have to supervise it all, taking me away from my job. She sighed heavily. Kaiba wouldn't want to lose his secretary for even fifteen minutes.

Alyssa Pegasus giggled softly and color flooded her face as she thought about her past with Kaiba. They'd been friends since they met in school – her usual bubbly attitude clashing so horribly with his serious no-nonsense attitude that he couldn't help but accept her friendship. And the fact that she was the niece of the famous creator of the modern Duel Monsters had been a bonus because her uncle would do anything to help her. It had only been a couple of years since Kaiba had officially decided to date her and let her close to his heart of stone. She knew their relationship had been based around Kaiba's desire to have power, but she felt that they had moved past that.

And yet, he made me his secretary. Oh well…

The brunette stood up and collected the most important papers that needed Kaiba's attention. Her green gaze slid onto her computer for a moment before she moved around her desk and headed towards Kaiba's office. She didn't bother knocking, choosing to move through the sliding doors and into the spacious office.

He's looking as good as ever, Alyssa thought, smiling as she stepped towards the desk.

"Mr. Kaiba," Alyssa said once he placed his phone back on its cradle. "Here's the usual morning paperwork. And there's something else…"

Kaiba took the paperwork from her and flipped through it. "Have you gotten the reports from the finance department about the newest Kaiba Land addition in Mexico?"

"Not yet, Mr. Kaiba," Alyssa said, shifting her weight from one foot to the next. "Do you -?"

"What about the offers from the Mikage Corporation? Have you heard back from them about whether or not they will sell?"

"It's in that stack of papers in your hands. Kaiba, today is -"

Kaiba slapped the papers down on his desk and reached for another one, holding it out to her. "These need to be gone through and sent out through the corporation and its partners before noon. And these," he lifted another pad of paper, "are numbers that need to be called to set up meetings with our potential partners abroad. These need to be called in and confirmed within the next hour."

"Kaiba!" Alyssa exclaimed, making no move to take anymore paperwork from him. "Do you have any idea what day it is today?"

Seto Kaiba looked at her and said, "It's Thursday."

"It's not just Thursday!" Alyssa protested. "It's Valentine's Day! The second one we've been together for. Does that mean anything to you?" She reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope with a chocolate heart attached to it. "Look! I got you something for the day."

Kaiba's piercing blue eyes looked at the envelope being presented to him and then back at Alyssa. The secretary's face flushed under the intensity of the man's stare and thoughts of what she would do if he didn't accept her small gift circled in her mind. Fortunately, he reached out and took the envelope.

"The usual round of signatures will be completed. Your signature is as good as mine on the less important documents," Kaiba said, setting the envelope directly in front of him and reverting back to business in a heartbeat. "I assume you can do your job without help, after all of these years."

Feeling like she had been stabbed in the stomach with a hot iron, Alyssa bowed her head. "Of course. Will – will there be anything else you need me to do before noon, Mr. Kaiba?"

"Yes." The CEO stood up and put his briefcase on the desk in front of him. "Head off all of the phone calls and emails. I will be out of the office on business until tomorrow afternoon. Schedule meetings accordingly and make sure no one ruins the company while I'm out. Do you understand, Alyssa?"

Alyssa nodded and picked up the papers that he had tried to give her before. "Yes, sir. May I ask what business you will be working on? Is it something that I can help with?"

Kaiba shook his head and moved around his desk. "It's none of your concern, Alyssa. Just take care of my company and I will see you later." He gestured at the door. "Now get out of my office."

The brunette turned and hurried out of the office without another word. The paperwork was clutched tightly to her chest as if letting one piece of paper slide would be the end of her life. She heard Kaiba's footsteps following her and then the sound of him locking the door to his office. Alyssa didn't allow herself a single glance in his direction as she sat back down at her desk, telling herself to not look at him or she would end up crying. She didn't even let herself talk to him again.

I guess I should have expected this, Alyssa told herself, sorting through the papers once more. After all of the years of him not participating in Valentine's Day at school and the two years of not celebrating any holiday together, I should have been prepared for this. If he wasn't going against the law, he would have kept everyone working in this damn corporation every day of the year…

She sighed and propped her chin up on her hand, staring at the computer monitor without really seeing it. She could remember all of the Valentine's Day presents that she had made for him. Yes, she could have bought the gifts or had someone make them for her, but that was not what she did. Alyssa felt it was more loving to make something for someone with her own hands.

Every holiday, she made the effort to make something little for her loved ones. She had given Kaiba a handmade Blue-Eyes White Dragon emblazoned wallet, a small statue of his favorite dragon Duel Monster out of clay. She had managed to get a photograph taken of her with him and his little brother and placed it in a silver picture frame which was sitting on the corner of his desk at his home office. There were all of the cookies and sweets that she cooked for him, but nothing seemed to wow him like she wanted. It was always business, business, business with that man and nothing was going to change that.

Alyssa had to give Kaiba credit in a few cases. He had tried to give her something akin to caring presents since they'd been together as a couple. The man had bought her a couple necklaces with large rocks on them and he had purchased expensive meals at five star restaurants. Then there was the private jet that he promised to get her, but she had turned him down on that offer. She lost count of how many times that she told him that she didn't want expensive jewelry or chef prepared meals that she could hardly pronounce. All she wanted was for him to spend some quality time with her. And, being an almost perfect example of a rich man, he took that into meaning that she wasn't looking for any presents and dropped off giving her any for a year. The most time she spent with him outside of work was a few dates sprinkled around the last year.

The computer beeped again, breaking the girl out of her thoughts and reminding her that she was on duty as secretary. With a glance in the direction of a photograph of her and Kaiba on the corner of her desk, Alyssa went back to doing her job. Because someone had to make sure that the company kept its profits in the green.

OOOOOOOOO

Alyssa's feet hurt when she made it to the Kaiba mansion and stepped out of her car, her high-heeled shoes held loosely in her hands. A ten hour workday running around a freakishly huge skyscraper was Hell on her feet, no matter how many times she had to do it. Even with the elevators, there were too many stairs and too many places to be in the Kaiba Corp tower when you had to run papers to different departments several times.

"I need chocolate and comfort food," Alyssa muttered, heading up the steps to the front of the Kaiba mansion. "But something really easy and quick to make…Thank God, it's just me and Seto tonight…on a non-romantic Valentine's Day. Again."

She sighed heavily and fit her key in the lock. The mansion's front hall was dimly lit and empty when she stepped inside. Alyssa was surprised to see that none of the hired help was around, but made no comment. It was probably too late to run into the hired help, who Kaiba wanted to remain unseen while keeping the house tidy.

Alyssa walked through the mansion and towards Kaiba's home office, thinking that he would be in there as normal. She knocked her knuckle against the thick wood door and turned the knob, opening the door. The office was dark and empty.

"Kaiba?" she called, stepping out of the office. "Kaiba, where are you?"

The young niece of Pegasus moved through the house once more, peering into rooms cautiously. No matter where she looked, she couldn't find the young CEO anywhere in the mansion. A quick peek out of her bedroom window told her that the car that he had driven that day was parked right beside his seventeen other cars. Shaking her head and tossing her shoes onto floor by her bed, Alyssa headed back out of her room.

"Don't panic. Don't panic. There's got to be a reasonable explanation about why he's not home where he should be," Alyssa told herself, heading for the kitchen. "Nothing is wrong. He would have called me if something bad had happened. Do. Not. Panic!"

The smell of something burning flooded her senses as she neared the kitchen, causing her to halt where she stood. Someone was banging pots and cursing behind the closed door.

Intruder! Alyssa thought automatically, tensing up. Someone is robbing us…and they stopped in the kitchen to feed before going back. Oh God! Kaiba, where the hell are you? I should get a guard! I should go get a guard to take care of this!

The young woman was about to turn around and run for guards when she had a sudden thought. "What kind of woman am I to not face down an enemy on my own?" she wondered aloud. "I'm a grown woman and a Pegasus daughter. I am dating the Seto Kaiba and have knocked down several big businessmen without batting an eye. Why should this be any different?"

Because none of those people you stood against had a gun in their hand…Alyssa's face paled and she headed to the nearest closet, running on her tiptoes to make as little noise as possible. I gotta get me a weapon to combat his.

Finding a small plastic baseball bat in the closet, Alyssa headed back towards the kitchen. She listened as the person inside the kitchen cursed loudly again as something dropped to the ground with a metallic clang. It sounded like there was just one person in there, so she knew her odds at surviving was a little better.

Alyssa gripped the doorknob and took a deep breath. In there on three…One…Two…

"Three!" she hissed, throwing the door open. "Take that you -! Kaiba?"

A pot fell to the floor as Kaiba's blue eyes flashed onto hers. The kitchen was a wreck. Pots and pans were thrown everywhere, some covered in strange colored gunk and others steaming with the strongest burnt smell she'd ever encountered. Different colored slime and goo was sprayed all over the walls, floor, and ceiling. The ovens were open and belching out thick black smoke with burned contents glowing in their bellies. Things that had once been food and food ingredients were scattered everywhere, leaving no spot clean in the entire kitchen. And then there was Kaiba.

Kaiba looked like he had been in a long food fight. His hair was sticking up in places and crusted with food that Alyssa couldn't readily identify. There were smears of something and flour on his cheeks and his clothes were spotted with various food stains. Alyssa saw his eyes were wide and that they were full of a confused gleam. The cool, business Kaiba was gone in that moment, replaced by a messy boy in a kitchen that was clearly not his domain.

"Seto?" Alyssa asked, lowering the bat. "What are you doing in here?" She stepped carefully into the kitchen, trying not to step on anything gross barefoot. "What happened in here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Kaiba asked, rubbing his hands on an already dirty dishtowel. "The appliances don't work like they should."

"The appliances do work like they should," Alyssa told him. "I used them last night to make our dinner. Seto, look at this mess. What happened?"

The smallest hint of color flushed Kaiba's face and he turned his gaze away from her, staring at a tray of what looked like burnt cookies. "I was trying to cook."

"You tried to cook?" Alyssa's eyes roamed the destroyed kitchen. "Why would you want to do something like that? Cooking dinner is my job, Seto."

"It shouldn't be. You don't get paid for it. It looks like you should get paid for it now…cooking with these things is harder than it looks." Kaiba kicked aside a pot. "A lot harder than running a company."

"I don't want to be paid to cook for you, Seto," Alyssa said, sliding a hand over one of his. "I like to cook dinner for you and Mokuba. It's my way of telling you that I care about you. This -" she gestured around them "- this is something that you shouldn't have to worry about."

Kaiba glanced at her. "I wanted to give you a gift that you would actually take and enjoy. Since jewelry and high-class gifts are unwanted, I thought I'd at least make you your favorite dessert and a small meal. And I couldn't even do that."

Alyssa's eyes widened in surprise when he turned his gaze away. "Seto…"

The man reached across the kitchen counter and lifted a paper towel. Sitting on a small china plate was a small cookie that was cooked perfectly. Kaiba lifted the plate and held it out to her, not meeting her gaze.

"This is the only one that turned out right," he said softly. "All the other ones burned, but I managed to save this one. Take it."

Alyssa took the plate and looked down at the cookie. She picked it up and sniffed it. It smelled good and not toxic. She could see Kaiba watching her out of the corner of his eye and smiled at him. Breaking the cookie in half, she offered him part of it.

"Here," she said, holding it out to him. "You should enjoy it too."

Kaiba reached out and took the piece of cookie from her. Surprisingly the cookie was actually delicious and Alyssa made it known to her boyfriend with a thumb's up. Kaiba gave a curt nod, chewing slowly.

"Well, I guess we should clean up," Alyssa commented with a glance around the messy kitchen. "And I could teach you how to cook some meals, so this doesn't happen again."

Kaiba bristled a little at that. "That sounds like work that should be done by hired help and not by a CEO of a multi-billion dollar company."

Alyssa stepped back as if struck and Kaiba smiled, brushing his knuckles gently against her cheek.

"And I shall do it if it makes you happy," he said humbly. "Happy Valentine's Day, Alyssa."

OOOOOOOOO

A/N: Considering how little time I spent on this, I am rather proud of what this has turn into. But the real person whose opinion matters is of course, Thine Dreamer. I hope you like it, m'dear. And for all you other readers, please read and review responsibly and wish the old girl a very happy early birthday! -Scarlet