Coffee Cups

Hello again, everyone and welcome to another story in Seto and Kisara's journey. As usual, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its related characters. I'm just playing in the sandbox. Thank you.

Author's note: This chapter takes place not too long after the events of Whisper.

Kisara frowned slightly at the rather unsightly collection of coffee cups in Seto's spacious office. Four were clearly corporate property and unused (why did she have to find a spider?!), one had not been properly cleaned and one was also fracturing.

"Are you just randomly looking through there or is there a purpose to the clanking of coffee cups?" Seto asked from his desk. The irritation in his voice made the already cold office a bit colder.

"Oh, sorry, Seto, I was looking to find something for my hot chocolate. Man, it's like Seattle in October out there right now!" Domino's usually tranquil weather had given way to the rain presently lashing across the windows, thanks to the high winds.

Seto glanced out the window. It would seem that he had barely noticed. "Okay, so… you're looking for a coffee cup because you want hot chocolate?"

"Yeah, I need to warm up a little. It's cold in here."

Seto considered that for a moment and got up from the desk. Almost hesitantly, he moved to her and took her hands, rubbing them gently. "Your hands are cold. Is this normal?"

"Yeah. I'm a little sensitive to changes in temp like this. I'll be okay." She smiled at the warmth of his hands against her cold one. When he had rubbed her hands sufficiently and let go, she found she could breathe again. "Thanks, Seto."

He reached past her and picked out a clean and rather pretty china mug from the collection and handed it to her. "Will this do?" When she nodded, he pulled another mug that she hadn't noticed from the cupboard. "I think I'll join you."

"Seto, where did you get that?" she asked, the flash of extremely pale blue catching her eye. In his hand was an oddly misshapen mug, the lip of which tilted down to connect with the rather thick handle. And then she noticed the… teeth? "Is that a Blue Eyes mug?"

Seto nodded, his face softening. "Yeah. Mokuba made it for me when I first started here as CEO. He wanted me to have a Blue Eyes mug. Doesn't look like it, does it?" At her unsure expression, he continued, "He did make this when he was six and it was his first real attempt at pottery."

At this, her now guarded expression relaxed. "I can tell where he was going and for a six-year-old's first attempt, it's not bad. The other thing is that he made this to make his brother smile, didn't he?"

Seto nodded, the softened expression morphing into a gentle smile. "Yeah. I couldn't smile at him a lot of the time, but stuff like that made me feel like the world was still worth staying in."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You know, it's funny. A few years ago I wouldn't have even thought to acknowledge this. But things have changed." Together they made up their hot chocolate as he continued. "If you'd told me a year that I'd be friends with my greatest rival, I'd have told you to check into the psych ward. If you'd even told me I'd have friends and an actual special someone, I'd probably have sent you to Del Amo Hospital for immediate evaluation."

"You realize state law only allows a person to be involuntarily committed if she's a danger to herself or others, right?" she smirked, now sipping her mug of hot chocolate. Seto's eyes widened as his head flew up, and then he laughed. "Seriously, though, would you have tried?"

"No, not really. But I definitely would've questioned your sanity. But… I'm actually glad to have all those people around me."

"I'm glad to have them… and you too." And so they sat down on a couch overlooking the stormy city and sipped their drinks.

One of my friends described this chapter as Seinfeldian. I hope that's not too off-putting to you, dear readers. I hope you enjoyed this first glimpse into Seto and Kisara's relationship. So please read and review! Thank you and see you next time!