Fates Little Ways by Dragonlady80906

I do not own any of these characters or anything else related to them. This is a fan fiction, if you don't know what that is you're in the wrong place. Thank you for reading this.

Seto Kaiba, the most powerful and talented game player in the world. Beat by a kid wanna-be-gamer. It was the seven-thousandth loss he had suffered at the hands of Yugi Motuo. What was he going to do about it? He hadn't the foggiest idea or the foggiest anything for that matter. He was sitting in his office with one of the worst colds of his life when his maid walked in. She was even more annoying. His company hired Serenity Wheeler after his last eight maids quit due to stress-related illnesses induced by his demanding nature. The only reason he kept her was because they were having trouble finding someone else who would give the job a try. He even offered double wages to his former employees to return so he could get rid of her, but that failed. She was the mutt's sister, of all people. Sure she was cheerful, kind, encouraging, responsible, and the most useful maid he's had yet, but she was still the mutt's sister. She had a sharp tongue and attitude too. She must be dealt with quickly.

"Master Kaiba, are you going to answer me or stare?" She replied sternly.

"What," was all he'd give her.

'I'd be lucky if he'd give me a full sentence' she pondered as she thought of how to ask about his illness. "Have you seen a doctor recently? You seem to have a cold or maybe even the flu." Serenity checked his bathroom 'medicine' cabinet, which yielded only more research notes. 'He can be such a packrat and so unkempt what a feat,' she daunted on as she rummaged through his room looking for something to treat his symptoms.

"I've seen the doctor recently, why?" His was getting a bit suspicious as she started on his dresser to further her search. She finally gave up and asked how long ago his last check up was.

"Let me see, it was before that, and that too, so… I'd say, seven years." He was counting on his fingers and scratching his head in thought. She gawked at him. Seven years? How can anyone live seven years without a doctor check up and still look as good as him she wondered. Then again, she was related to Joey. When his last doctor appointment was is still a mystery, if he had ever had one to begin with. That boy's memory is like a chalkboard, erased every three seconds.

"Fine, I'm going to call your doctor and schedule one as soon as possible. In the mean time, make sure to drink plenty of fluids and eat hot meals, like soup. Keep yourself in bed and if I catch you working I'll take away your laptop and tie you to that bed. Understood?" She turned around to look him in the face. He wore a startled look and then glared at her.

"You wouldn't dare, I'd fire you in the blink of an… an… a…A-CHOO!" He flopped back on the bed and sighed. This was going to be a long day.

"Fire me if you like, but I'm still going to set you up a doctor's appointment, and make sure you're there. I'll do it even if I have to drag you there on foot kicking and screaming the whole way." He gave up. He knew from a previous display with Mokuba at one of his business dinners she would and could do it. She took him by the collar screaming at the top of his lungs for Seto to make her let him go and dragged him out to the car and locked him in for the rest of the dinner. Needless to say Mokuba never disobeyed her again. He groaned in remembrance. It was one of the most embarrassing moments of his life. Serenity quelled the situation though telling every one that he Mokuba was suffering from a lack of sleep and had become cranky. Everyone understood; he was only a child after all. He didn't have the endurance of his older brother yet. Kaiba had admired her for the fist time that night as the rest of it went off without problem. Mokuba was dealt with later that evening.

"Why do I need to see a doctor? I've been fine in the past and I'm going to fine this time. Are you listening? ARE YOU LISTENING?" Serenity had begun searching again, but this time she was arranging things as she went along. She put all of his papers on his work desk and all of his dirty and miss placed clothes in the hamper. She paused in her wonders to turn to him and assist him, among a flurry of complaints, to his bed where she undressed his suit, placing him in his pajamas and tucked him in.

Kaiba was at a loss. 'How do I deal with this girl? I can't replace her or just get rid of her; she is the most useful maid yet. She also takes care of Mokuba so well, he practically sees her as his sister.' Kaiba was pondering the implications of firing her when a thought he didn't expect came to mind: I don't want to get rid of her. 'To do so would mean to rid myself of the last of my heart.' He shook his head. No, he was sick, that last thought was irrational. Arguments began to flood his mind as he slipped into the darkness it was causing him in his weakened state.

Serenity came back to check on him after finding the cold medicine in the clothes hamper. 'Odd place to put anything but clothes, then again he's sick.' She looked up to see an angelic sight; Kaiba had fallen asleep in a mid-sitting position with his hair in his face. He had such a peaceful expression that made her not want to disturb him, but thinking of his temper she knew she should put him straight. She walked over to him, pulled down his covers and grabbed his feet to pull him down. After succeeding she went and re-angled his head. She was surprised by all of this because he was never so deeply asleep before. She watched him for a moment as he lied there amidst his dreams in contentment for the first time she had ever seen. 'Never did I suspect he could be cuter asleep than awake.'

"SERENITY!" A voice screeched down the hall with heart stopping terror. She jumped up and started running toward the direction of the sound and into the room to find Mokuba in the grip of a mad man at knifepoint.

"Serenity, help!" Mokuba looked at her with tears.

"What do you want, sir? I will be happy to inform the Master of any of your demands, please, just do not hurt the boy or you'll be sorry. That is my only warning." Serenity said calmly as her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest. She was thinking of any way out of this situation when there was a soft thump behind her. She turned to find Kaiba leaning on the doorframe. He was still a little weak, but he still held the air of power like a second skin. He looked at Serenity then the intruder.

"May I ask what your business is here?" Kaiba replied placidly.

" I want every penny on you jerk! Any funny stuff and the kid dies!" The man made his demands clear as Kaiba called for his butler. When the wizened old man arrived, Kaiba told him the man's desires and to have someone fetch them immediately without informing the staff of the situation. The old man agreed and pulled out a cell phone, called a maid, and told her the Master's wants. She said replied and within minutes she arrived with all the supplies. Kaiba looked at what she had brought and approved it.

"Here is all you asked for, all of the money in the mansion. Now let the child go." Kaiba handed over a briefcase of silver to the thief and the man released Mokuba; at the same time, jumped out the window.

Kaiba pulled out a cell phone and dialed someone. "Yes, security. Someone just held Mokuba at knifepoint and demanded my money. He's leaving by the eastside; I want my money back and no evidence." Serenity gasped and he gave her a questioning glare.

"No evidence Master? Will that not look suspicious if anyone hears about this? Something like this won't go unnoticed, especially if that guy was important or has friend waiting for him. I suggest you re-think the consequences of that particular decision." She held his eyes with a steady, pleading gaze. He knew that she was actually thinking of the man's well being, but brought up a more plausible point to argue for it. Bodies disappearing on his property would be bad for his reputation. He pulled out the phone, "Cancel that last order security. Just retrieve my money and make sure he doesn't want to come back. I don't need bodies on my hands. That is all."

----

All the security replied thinking that was weird. Mr. Kaiba never let a criminal escape his property before, especially if they threatened his brother. They knew that his maid Serenity must have interfered. She had so much power over him that they were astonished to find themselves holding fire as the suspect was brought down and the money was retrieved with little blood shed. They then called the police and had him escorted off the property. They all agreed never to make that maid mad at them.

---

Kaiba was looking at Serenity as she bundled Mokuba up and started crying on him. He tried to comfort her until she regained her posture and swung around to give Kaiba a glare that was brimming with tears of thankfulness, outrage, and love. It was so passionate he had to smirk at her spirit, until he realized she was looking him in the eye with the same passion.

"What are you staring at? I just saved your lives, why are you mad at me?" He never expected her to be mad, he expected her to be relieved.

"Yes, and I thank you for doing so, but making yourself worse isn't really helping anyone. I would have been able to deal with the situation on my own. I am here for such reasons, am I not?"

"Oh, you think anyone here would allow you into MY savings to fill the man's demands?"

"NO, I was planning to negotiate. A trade, if you will." She was steady and firm with her gaze. Her last sentence made him think about what would be more valuable than Mokuba.

"What is more valuable than him as a bargaining tool in this house? A maid or butler, or even the cook?" He was puzzled.

"Myself. I was relying on the crook's stupidity. I am dressed as a decent woman would be. I was hoping he would think I was you girlfriend or wife so maybe he would have bought it. Trust me he was stupid, he let Mokuba scream for help after all. Then you wouldn't be out of anything of value." He looked at her in amazement. She was going to trade herself to protect Mokuba AND protect HIS assets. She was beginning to pull at his heartstrings. No one ever cared enough for that before. This was beginning to get too much for him.

"In the morning I want you gone. You are too single-minded to be of use to me." He turned and began to walk away expecting to hear her start to whine and complain to stay.

"As you wish Master."

He turned around in frustration to look at a chest fallen angel. He stiffened to see the tears she was apparently trying to hide. He didn't want to deal with a crying woman, but he couldn't stand to give her to someone else's care, which could make things worse. 'What am I going to do?' He thought as quickly as he could. "Fine. You won't be fired. Return to your duties." She looked at him and glared. He was seriously confused now.

"No, I don't need your sympathy. I will leave, it is what you want of me, so don't think of trying to stop me. Good-bye Mr. Kaiba. Have a nice life." She walked away and went straight for her things. After she had gotten all her things together she stocked out the door into a solid muscle chest. She looked up to see a confused and angry Kaiba with a look of pure outrage clear as day.

"I give you a second chance and you turn me down to the point you are practically quitting! You were crying for your job, which I would have ignored from any other, and then walk out on it and slam the door in my face! Woman, you are the most aggravating person I have ever met!" She looked at him confused this time, "Crying for my job? You think I was crying about being fired?" He nodded slowly knowing something was about to go so wrong, "I wasn't crying about being fired you moron! I was crying because Mokuba was almost killed, you wouldn't take care of you self to the point your falling apart and refuse to acknowledge it, and that another man who was only trying to do something to make things better for himself almost got killed as well." She was flaring with a fire that made Kaiba want to throw her down and show her worse things than death. He tried to control himself and think of something to remedy this problem. He was beginning to fade fast.

Serenity was watching Kaiba as he rubbed his head and grew paler. She knew he was getting worse, and then in an instant grabbed him before he hit the ground, out like a light. She went down with the force of his weight and called for help on her walkie-talkie. After he was put into bed she pulled up a chair and sat there waiting for Kaiba to wake up.

---

Pain. That is the only thing he could feel. Then all of a sudden it got wet, and then it was dry. What was going on? He opened his eyes slowly because they were heavy and it was bright. When he succeeded he saw a figure above him crying and at first he thought he had died. The apparition was so beautiful and graceful and he was touched such a creature would cry over his lowly body, but then as his vision focused he realized it was Serenity. She was beautiful, but her crying for him seemed to give her a heavenly appeal. He reached up and touched her shoulder. The girl's head snapped up and came level with his gaze. She burst with emotion when she could actually confirm he was awake.

"Oh, you're awake, you're really awake! Oh, I thought you were going to die!" He sat up feeling much better, but hungrier than he could ever remember. He also wanted to know what she meant.

"What is going on?" he asked that one question and was bombarded with so much tears and sobs he had to grab her before she passed out.

"Oh, you were so sick and when we fought you got worse and then I made a house call because it wouldn't have been good if you got out of bed again, then the doctor said that you had a very serious form of the flu and that you had less than ten percent chance of living through it, it had gotten so bad and that you would need constant care and I've been here for the three days you have been out. I had to make sure you were all right cause I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you died. I kept you fed and watered as much as I could and I wanted to do this because…-because…" She had begun hiccupping through her tears and sobs somewhere between "ten" and "living". He held her close and patted her hair.

"Shhh, it's ok. I'm alive and kicking see? It's ok. Now why did you do this? You began to stutter and you know how much I dislike that." He pushed her gently away to look into her emerald eyes.

"Because…I…I-I- I LOVE YOU!" She burst out in a new wave of tears. Now he was shocked. For the first time in his life he was genuinely surprised. He stared at her for a moment while all the arguments and reasoning began flooding his mind. Serenity tried to break free of his grasp, but only succeeded at making him grip her tighter. He finally knew her feelings and his thoughts shouted with triumph. Now he would never let her go.

"No Serenity, stop fighting. I was trying to sort through this new information cause it went hand in hand with some of my own. I have come to a clear and definite answer. I…love you too. I always have, I just never could tell you. I ignored it at first, but that didn't work so I tried to reason with it. That seemed half hearted to me so it always came back up with anything related to you or my feelings. I never got rid of it. I now know you share those feeling so now I can finally accept them. Do you accept me?" He was pleading with her to give a truthful answer. Now it was her turn to stare. She nodded and smiled the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. They collided in a body of tangled tears, laughter, and love. That night was one they would never forget.

---

Standing at the Alter was a man dressed in traditional white, but instead of a tuxedo he wore a trench coat that defied all laws of gravity. On his left, on the step below, was a young man with long, tangled black hair that wore a smile like that of his brother. All their friends and family were there to see a sight never imagined before, even in their wildest dreams. Seto Kaiba, owner and CEO of Kaiba Corporation, was getting married, but not to any girl, the girl of his dreams, who happened to be Joey's little sister. Everyone was so happy for them that they all decided to show up. The bride's brother was standing at the back of the room muttering and cursing Kaiba with every breath he made. It was only two weeks since Serenity and Kaiba came to him with the news of their engagement. He was so mad and he threw such a fit, that it caused Serenity to cry and Kaiba went berserk on him. He then accepted it and told Serenity he'd be there for her. He knew Kaiba would take care of her and that he loved her that was enough for the blond man.

The ceremony started and all was quiet. Everything went so smoothly because when the priest asked if any one had any objections, Joey stood up and glared at every one daring them to say a thing and he'd give them something to complain about. After all was said and done, the bride and groom happily announced as man and wife, and everyone was at the reception, Joey made his first comment that shocked everyone.

"I would like to toast the new bride and groom: may you and my new brother live happily ever after. Here! Here!" Everyone toasted.

Kaiba looked at his new wife and asked quietly, "Did he just address me as 'brother'?" Serenity giggled and replied, "Yes love. He sees you as his brother now because you make me happy. He is grateful that I found someone like you and in his own way is showing you his respect for that so show him some back. Trust me, it's not easy for him to do that kind of thing, especially when it comes to me." Kaiba smiled. He would show that mutt a little more respect now. He stood up and looked the said person in the eye.

"Thank you as well brother, it means much to me and Serenity that you except me as family. Should you need anything at all let me know."

Serenity took a good look at the two men that made her life paradise all her life. Fate sure had a strange way of doing things, but bless fate's little ways for they were the reason behind her happiness today. She was brought out of her thoughts with yelling. The boys started arguing again because Kaiba had accidentally used "Mutt" on Joey again. Bless Fate's little ways. The End