Ten to Twenty Stems

Hot Summer Morning

Part 1

It was a hot summer morning when Kaiba stepped out of his car outside of a small, bland hole in the wall of a store.

Kaiba Seto prided himself in knowing his surroundings before he had hardly taken two steps into an area. There was a sense of control and power when one knew of what was, and what was happening, around them. So it was, with this state of being in mind, that the young CEO found himself miffed and borderline insulted at the sight of an unmistakable, unruly, mop of blond hair - the owner of which currently being too busy hauling a large potted plant out of the Mutou Family Flower Shop to notice the brunet. It was not an especially creative name for the shop by any means, by the CEO's standards, but, considering his own corporation's naming - he supposed he could only scoff inwardly at the creativity (or lack thereof).

So, as one would normally do when faced with company he would much rather avoid - Kaiba promptly ignored the working delinquent and moved with measured strides into the store.

The shop itself was reasonably sized and held a faintly sweet, damp smell that settled comfortably on to one's skin and did wonders for the usual ache in the young CEO's left temple. There were collections of potted plants of varying sizes along the large front windows and a few plants hanging on tiered metal racks from the ceiling. Along the walls and on slotted shelves were various breeds of flowering plants that had been cut neatly at the stems and some arranged in various pre-made bouquets; these bouquets held small, neatly written labels that merely said things such as Good Fortune, Congratulations, and Romance in neat handwriting- though Kaiba was certain he had, at one point or another, seen a particular bouquet that had read Hatred.

Though he was unlikely to say it aloud, the blue eyed young man found himself drawn to the store more often than he would have liked to admit. Though the CEO came to the shop only a handful of times each year, he had- rather unwillingly- grown somewhat comfortable (or as comfortable as one could expect of the unsociable Kaiba Seto) around the the usual three people that worked the place; all of which included one Mutou Yugi, one Mutou Yugi's grandfather (the owner), and one, somewhat odd boy, Bakura Ryou. They were all acquaintances at best- but Kaiba blamed a lot of the budding social relationships on the still tender reasonings he would even come to a place like this himself; perhaps these reasons left an opening just big enough to allow someone else to at least peek in and say hello.

The brunet had been absently reading a few of the bouquet labels when he caught the faint chime of the bell by the front entrance ringing in greeting.

"I never thought I'd see you in'a place like this," came the somewhat perplexed voice of one Jounouchi Katsuya in the doorway (no doubt wondering when Kaiba had come inside). The young man was wiping his palms on his faded jeans before he had settled for letting his hands rest in the front pocket of the rather plain, green work apron he wore. "Would have thought you'd have someone else doing stuff like this for you," he added, honey colored eyes narrowing ever so slightly in suspicion and what Kaiba could only guess to be disdain.

"I never thought I'd see an untrained mutt working in a flower shop," replied the CEO with only a touch of amusement, blue eyes not even bothering to glance up from the flower labels (not that he was actually reading them since Jounouchi had walked in). "But the world is just full of surprises, isn't it?"

Even if the spitfire was right- he usually did have others do this kind of work for him- that didn't mean that Kaiba had to admit to it aloud.

Jounouchi's expression twisted in irritation as he seemed to get into an internal debate over either raising his voice or storming up to the brunet with violent intentions- both of which the blue eyed young man expected and was more than willing to counter… but instead, he found his eyes sliding towards Jounouchi in mild surprise as the blond merely grumbled at him and walked with long strides to stand behind the counter.

The honey eyed young man noisily fiddled with a drawer, moved to pull out a magazine, and start leafing through it. Though Jounouchi was still visibly seething, he seemed determined to end the confrontation as quickly as it had started.

So the mutt had a work face after all- even if it had some obvious flaws. Kaiba was unsure if he was subtly impressed or somewhat insulted at being ignored - so he settled for the label of disgruntled at best.

"Walkin' into stores and insultin' the employees-" the mifed high schooler grumbled into his palm- of which his chin was currently resting in- seemingly to himself as he quite nearly ripped a page out of the magazine as he turned it."-calls me a mutt." Another loud page turn followed and continued until the blonde seemed to have simmered down enough to actually read what was on a page.

Kaiba was sure that the only reason he even heard him was due to having been paying half-hearted attention to the young man to begin with.

"Looking at magazines with a customer present?" the blue eyed young man observed aloud with a usual frown, clearly unimpressed with the display. He was unable to help himself. Jounouchi or not- this was still a place of business after all… quiet as it usually was. "That invites bad business."

"I don't see any customers, teeme," the honey eyed young man replied without missing so much as a beat as he turned another page- this one less savagely than the last. The only thing that didn't die down was the irritated glare he sent each picture and article. "And it's too late- bad business is already here; it's in the shape of an arrogant rich boy."

Kaiba merely scoffed, "How professional," before letting the conversation drop. It was only fun when the mutt was actually involved at this point in the bickering.

Maybe if the brunet put in a complaint he could get the blond fired.

Amusing as it was, the thought was quickly discarded. It was too much work over something so small… and Kaiba was pretty sure that Yugi was unlikely to fire the mutt on account of some long, drawn out friendship and loyalty spiel (that the CEO had probably overheard, and promptly ignored, countless times before) …and on the account that it would have been just a petty request to begin with.

Moving at a casual speed, the brunet browsed the flowers with only a fraction of interest.

He was mostly just wasting time, waiting for either Yugi or Bakura to return to the counter from wherever they had both seemed to have disappeared to. The latter of the two was required moreso - mostly due to the fact the white haired boy seemed to put together most of the arrangements in the store.

Perhaps Kaiba frequented the shop due to neither boy seeming too keen on asking the tall young man any questions about his being in the store. At most, Yugi would send him a questioning expression from time to time, but it was quickly washed away thanks to a pointed glare from the brunet. Bakura had attempted to ask a few times, but that usually ended in Yugi making haste to distract the odd young man - usually asking about how he might arrange a bouquet Kaiba was relatively sure the smaller boy had not been working on a few minutes earlier.

It was during his meandering that Kaiba glanced over at Jounouchi once more. The blond had moved from his spot behind the counter (having seemingly recovered, for the most part, from his seething episode- or reached the end of his magazine) and was moving about with a small watering can. The young CEO watched the young man with a passive expression, not completely aware he was even staring for a moment or so as the honey eyed male watered potted plants with the thumb of his free hand tucked lazily in one of his back jean pockets. As soon as the blue eyed young man caught himself, however- he, as inconspicuously as possible, turned his head back towards a brightly colored bouquet of pinks and reds.

Unfortunately, much to his chagrin, the brunet found himself soon glancing out of the corner of his eye at the mutt once more.

It was almost... surreal watching the other work - or rather it was surreal to see that the impulsive, obnoxious, and overall irritating Jounouchi Katsuya could actually do something like water flowers without uttering a single sound of complaint at the task or leave destruction in his wake- even more so with one Kaiba Seto being within a couple meters of him and neither one slinging insults at the other. If anything, Kaiba mused, the blond looked lost in thought at the seemingly mindless task; a strange kind of calm he could not recall having caught on the other young man's self beforehand.

Then, as was to be expected, Jounouchi successfully broke the moment like shattering glass on the floor - instantaneously and abruptly as he opened his mouth - though the brunet doubted the other had even noticed it to begin with.

"Look - if ya have somethin' to say, just spit it out already!" Jounouchi finally blurted out, his shoulders raised as he craned his neck back to look at the brunet. The discomfort that he seemed to be feeling was evident in his features from his furrowed brow to the lopsided frown on his lips. "Being in a quiet store with you is even worse than bein' in the same classroom."

"Do I need to say something to be here?" Kaiba replied in an annoyed, albeit curious, tone and straightening up as he finally turned towards the discomforted worker completely.

Jounouchi practically barked at him a, "you do when you're starin' at me!" The young man moved to another plant (taking a chance to send Kaiba an irritated frown over his shoulder), honey colored eyes squinting at the green fern as he added, "you've been drillin' holes into the back of my head for ten minutes!"

So he had noticed the staring (though the brunet was almost certain it had hardly been two minutes, let alone ten). There might have been hope for the mutt yet.

"I'm just surprised that you can actually hold a job like this," Kaiba replied instead, blue eyes looking the blond up and down once with an unimpressed expression before gliding towards the potted plant and then back up to the mutt's face. "I always imagined you'd be lifting crates for a living."

"But the world's just full of surprises, isn't it?" Jounouchi mimicked half heartedly, the poor plant he was watering getting another narrowed look. The CEO only found himself partially surprised by the lack of actual venom in the words as the honey eyed young man finally turned his head to face Kaiba. "And it's really none of your business why I'm here," the he stated, raising his chin ever so slightly - as if in challenge.

Not wanting to give the mutt the satisfaction of getting the last word, the young CEO moved to raise his own chin as if accepting the challenge - his expression as confident as ever as blue met gold.

"Tadaima, sorry I took so long, Jounouchi-kun I - oh-?"

Kaiba and Jounouchi both turned their heads at the sound of Yugi's voice and effectively cut off the short lived staring contest; the pair seeming to have missed the ring of the bell at the entrance as they stared at the spiky haired young man in the shop doorway - Yugi staring right back at two in a mild confusion as if debating stepping back outside again.

"Yugi! You're a lifesaver!" Jounouchi suddenly exclaimed cheerfully, Kaiba's blue eyes only then noticing the paper bag in Yugi's hand. From the logo of a mustache wearing burger on the front, the brunet could only guess it was fast food; the idea of eating something that tasteless made the CEO's stomach churn uncomfortably. "I was whittling away to nothing!" the blond continued as Yugi gave him the bag with a happy, albeit still puzzled, grin.

"If only we were so lucky," Kaiba scoffed, recovering almost immediately from the seemingly one-eighty spin Jounouchi's temperament had taken and seemed to be taking a lot today.

"Up yours, prick," came a growl from the mutt.

Another scoff came as a reply. "How mature, makeinu."

"Now you listen here-!"

"With how loud you are, it's almost impossible not to."

Whatever self control Jounouchi had owned earlier was quickly slipping as the young man was already moving to take off his apron; the display was rather humorous as the blond already had his hands full with the Burger World take out bag and small watering can he had been using just moments ago. It was obvious he was having a difficult time undoing the knot at the back of his work wear, but it seemed pure spite pushed him to keep trying. The young CEO was almost impressed by how the blond managed to not spill any water onto the floor.

Perhaps there was hope for him after all.

"That's it- we're taking this outside-!" Jounouchi started loudly, having seemingly given up on untying his apron altogether and just went for shoving the watering can under his arm so he could raise a fist.

Or not - but again, Kaiba found himself mildly surprised by the lack of water spilled on the floor. Maybe the watering can was just empty; it was the only logical explanation, really.

"Jounouchi-kun, your burger is going to get cold," Yugi finally interrupted with a sigh as he stepped in between the two - the motion practiced to perfection over the past few years. The spiky haired young man then moved to usher Jounouchi gently toward the counter, presumably through the door behind it that Kaiba assumed was the entrance of a room for the staff.

Leave it to the meeker of the young men to end the game early. The blue eyed young man was unsure if he was relieved or disappointed - deciding to not dwell on the thought for longer than necessary.

"Kaiba-kun, did you need something?" Yugi finally asked when he had managed to move his blond friend to the break room, tying his apron behind his back as he looked up at the tall brunet expectantly. The young CEO had a hard time discerning if the small worker was merely putting on a business face or if this was a common occurrence with the blonde spitfire (Kaiba would have bet money on the latter).

If the magenta eyed boy was expecting an apology, he was not getting one. Kaiba instead said, unable to keep a sharp edge out of his tone, "I'm only ever here for one thing."

Yugi stared up that the blue eyed brunet for a moment longer (seemingly unaffected by the clippy tone) with a thoughtful frown, only for the young man to let out a sigh of defeat when the young CEO merely stared back at him as his only answer. "Ryou-kun showed me how to make the bouquet you got last time - did you want that one again?" the young man asked as he easily snipped a long strip of decorative wax paper off of a roll attached to the wall and laid it down on the counter.

"That should be fine," Kaiba replied with a sigh of his own, making an effort to be polite now that he did not need to speak to the honey eyed blonde in the other room. "Try to include pinks."

Yugi gave a lopsided smile (at what, Kaiba could only guess) as he moved to collect the necessary blooms. "You're welcome, Kaiba-kun," the spiky haired young man grinned knowingly as he moved towards the carnations.

Whatever Yugi thought he knew evaded the young CEO - all the smaller boy got as a reply was a scoff as the blue eyed brunet's shoulders relaxed ever so slightly from their usually rigid posture.

Around the store Yugi went, collecting pink and white carnations, yellow daffodils, pink hued hydrangeas, and white chrysanthemums - moving back to the counter and carefully beginning to arrange the bouquet in obviously practiced motions. By the time he was finished, the smaller flowers were positioned around the bigger ones all wrapped up in a blanket of the decorative wax paper Yugi had prepared earlier. The finishing touch was a pale blue bow wrapped around the center to keep everything neatly together. With how quickly the bow was placed around the bouquet, Kaiba was starting to assume that they were already pre-tied and only needed tightening (he would glance away for only an instant and it would be done).

Moving to pay for the bouquet with his card, the brunet reached for the flowers, only to have Yugi pull them away ever so slightly. "Try not to pick fights with Jounouchi-kun," the smaller young man said easily, magenta eyes looking up at the CEO as he innocently held the bouquet hostage. "At the very least, not in the shop."

"I don't pick fights," Kaiba retorted, letting his arms drop to his sides. He could not resist from adding, "least of all with the stray mutt in the back room."

"Kaiba-kun," Yugi stated with a frown. Kaiba could only guess that the young man was trying to look stern, but it did not seem to work with his overall disposition - without looking somewhat silly, anyway.

The blue eyed brunet gave a sound somewhere between a groan and a sigh. "Look, if he can be professional with me, then I'll return the favor. Nothing more, nothing less," the young CEO finally replied in a deadpan. The only way to leave this godforsaken shop with his purchase seemed to be only if he agreed to these absurd demands.

Happy with his answer, Yugi finally handed over the flowers.

Finally able to leave - the young Kaiba Corp. CEO moved to exit the shop (with a nod to Yugi), flowers in hand, and subtly dreading his next visit.

Author's notes:

"Ten to Twenty Stems"- about the number of stems needed for a bouquet, ten being a small bouquet and twenty being a medium to large bouquet (depending on the plants used).

Makeinu- loser/"lower than a dog's belly"
Temme- rudest way to say "you"/bastard/asshole
Tadaima- "I'm back," though usually used when entering the home. Considering Yugi lives on top of the store, it works about the same.

With college starting up again, I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, so bear with me, please.