For chocolatah

The Allurement of Greed

Summary: For some reason Seto couldn't shake the feeling that he shouldn't be talking to her. The voice in his head was screaming at him to stay away, but he ignored it, finding it harder to pull himself away from the girl than he would expect.

** So, there was a summary change, I felt this better fitted the tone of Seto's feelings towards Serenity, especially in future chapters, though the quote is really from this one.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. Nothing else recognizable belongs to me. Nothing that I ever may mention in this story.

"Mokuba," Rebecca whined. She'd been lying on his bed for the last hour, trying in vain to drag the boy away from his computer. The teen ignored his friend. "I went through all the trouble to get this for you, and you won't even look at it," the blonde continued, tossing up the bottle of vodka she held and then catching it in her hands. Still, she got no reply. The blonde sighed and flipped over to her stomach. It was the first time she'd been over since she'd accidently crashed his brother's party, and the blonde suspected he was secretly still angry. Though he was more relaxed about it now than he once was, the boy still hated getting in trouble with his brother. Personally, Rebecca didn't see what the big deal was. Seto would get pissed at Mokuba for hanging around the blonde no matter what they did, so shouldn't they make the most of it? But, unfortunately for the blonde, Mokuba refused to see her logic, and so, she was still receiving the cold shoulder, and would be for at least another half-hour. "Let's get hammered. Right. Now." No reply. "We can make Jell-O shots." Nothing. "Hey, Mokuba! Let's get naked!" The boy kept typing, not even pausing to glance back at Rebecca.

It wasn't even her fault, if you thought about it. Mokuba had been the one to send her the message with the false information. And, yes, maybe she could have been a bit more careful, but hey, still not her fault. "Alright, fuck you. I'm going to go put this back." The blonde stalked out of the room, the bottle under her left arm. That kid was so ungrateful to her.

Really, Rebecca didn't know her way around the mansion that well. She knew the essentials of course, from Mokuba's room to the den, from the den to the kitchen, from the kitchen to Seto's room. Okay, so maybe the last one wasn't a complete necessity, but it had come in handy at times.

The blonde strode into the kitchen, readjusting her tank top as she did so. Mokuba, she'd decided long ago, would be a hell of a lot more fun if he didn't have his brother breathing down his neck all the time. The thing was, when the kid cut loose, he was fun. And when you were with a Kaiba, all doors were open.

Rebecca swung open the one of the liquor cabinets, trying to remember where exactly the bottle had been before she took it. She stood back up, stretching her arms over her head as she did so. Kaiba owned so much booze she doubted he'd noticed if one lone bottle was out of-

"What the hell are you doing here?" Rebecca yelped, jumping backwards and successfully slamming her hip into the corner of the wooden table. The blonde winced and gingerly rubbed the wounded spot.

The CEO standing in the doorway didn't give an answer as to why he was home when the brunette usually was nowhere near his mansion from six in the morning until twelve at night. He only glared at Rebecca through narrowed eyes. It was the first time the two had come face to face without at least one other person to serve as a buffer. There were a lot of things Rebecca could say to him now that Mokuba wasn't around to make sure she kept her mouth shut. But before she had the chance, Seto had already started on his little tirade. "Are those Mokuba's?" he demanded. Rebecca blinked. Her eyes traveled to her boxer-clad legs, and then, without being able to help herself, a smirk crossed her lips.

"Nope," she replied, an amused glint in her robin's egg blue eyes. "They're yours, actually." And she wasn't making that up. How could she resist? They were pure silk, and hell, these babies were monogramed. Of course she would take them. The blonde continued what she'd started to do, thrusting the unopened bottle of vodka back into the pantry. "You should really look into locking this," she mused. Seto's lips curled to a snarl. "Well, at least I'm not trying to hide it," Rebecca scowled. She got no reply. "So that's where Mokuba gets it from," she thought with annoyance.

"Put them back," Seto demanded. He hadn't moved from his spot in the doorway of the kitchen. There was, Rebecca noted, one other exit, however. Quickly, she mapped her escape. You could never be too careful.

"I only took one," Rebecca replied honestly. "And we didn't even open it thanks to your brother and his damn diligence."

The CEO visibly hesitated. And then, with a grin stretching across her face, Rebecca realized it wasn't the vodka he'd been worried about. "Wait… you mean these?" she asked, tipping her head to the side with faux-innocence. Seto's eyes narrowed further. "Well, if you really want them," the blonde sighed. She began to tug at the hem of the boxers, pretending to wiggle them down her hips.

"No!" the CEO said quickly. He looked almost alarmed now, and Rebecca would be lying if she said it didn't fuel her further. "I'm just trying to do what you ask, Mr. Kaiba. Do you want your undies back or not?"

Seto's eyes flashed. He opened his mouth, surely to yell at Rebecca as he'd been yearning to since, you know, forever, but before he got the chance, Roland, whom Rebecca was pretty sure was, like, her guardian angel or something, walked smoothly through the kitchen door as if it were pure coincidence that he'd interrupted right as Rebecca was about to get what, in all honesty, she probably deserved. "Mr. Kaiba, I've reviewed the shipping order for the American branch and I've found some very alarming errors." Seto stopped. For a few seconds he was obviously, conflicted, but in the end, the CEO turned and strode out of the room, acting as if the blonde had never intruded his home at all.

Once his boss had left the room, Roland gave Rebecca a pointed stare.

"I know," she sighed, "I know. The never ending tales of Rebecca's fuck-ups."

The man continued to glare. "I'm sorry," Rebecca said somewhat honestly. Roland shook his and turned to walked out the door. "No! Don't go," the blonde said quickly. "Thank you! And I mean it. Out of all the above forties currently in this house, you are by far my favorite."

Roland turned around, one eyebrow raised. "I'm the only "over forty" currently in this house."

"Seto's maturity boosts him to forty-seven."

"Yes, but his sex drive brings him back down to thirty-two," the man retorted, Rebecca couldn't help but burst into laughter. Roland smiled for a minute, but then it quickly faded, and his face became solemn once more.

"I don't mind covering for you every once in a while, Miss Hawkins, but the decreasing distance of these events is starting to distress me. Did I not save you from his wrath but two nights ago?"

"Technically, it was three," Rebecca muttered, her eyes on the ground. Okay, so she did feel a little guilty. The man wasn't paid to sick up for her. But really, this was all Seto's fault. He was the one with the stick stuck a mile up his ass, if he would just loosen up a bit… "Okay, yeah, I know you're right. I thought he would be gone! Since when is he home this time a day?" the blonde whined. "He should stick to his schedule, doesn't he, like, thrive on consistency?"

Roland raised an eyebrow. "No," he replied shortly. "You're getting careless. If you don't learn to sneak around-"

"I can sneak around! I invented sneaking around. I'm a homewrecker. It happens."

Roland paused, his mouth open to say something. He closed his light blue eyes, as if he were in pain. "Well then," the man started, his voice obviously controlled, "apply your relationship-breaking skills to other areas of your life. Such as your… illegal… alcohol consup- dear lord, I'm going to hell," the man muttered, and without another word, walked out of the room.

Rebecca shrugged. Not her problem.


Sure, Duke had his faults, but there were times when Serenity was completely convinced that there was no other person in the world who could possibly be as warm and kind-hearted as her boyfriend. Especially when there was a new Tiffany necklace dangling around her neck. Duke, who may be a little slow picking up on actual human emotions, was good at noticing the little hints she'd leave when there was something that had particularly caught her eye. It was simple really. This time she'd left the Tiffany catalogue open on the coffee table, and then a few days later, had left the page open, her necklace highlighted, for Duke to find on his laptop. And, as she'd hoped (and expected, really) that morning she'd woken up to find the light blue box by her bed. Her only regret was that Duke himself wasn't there to fasten the clasp and watch as her eyes lit up as the diamond bow fell delicately to her neck- but hey. Diamonds were diamonds. Who cared if she had to put them on alone?

The least she could do in return, Serenity had decided, was surprise him at work with lunch. It wasn't as if she didn't already do this at least once a week, but perhaps she could make this time special…

A playful smile across her lips, Serenity grabbed her wallet and practically ran out the door. She wrapped her thin white scarf around her head, and though she knew it probably looked a bit ridiculous, Serenity hardly cared. She had a new Tiffany necklace on. Any fashion critic of hers could suck it. She walked into the nearest shop featuring woodwork in the window and immediately rushed to the counter. "I'm looking for a picnic basket, please, as classic as you have in stock."

Serenity was already forming a list of things she absolutely needed to pick up. Champagne of course, two tall candles, lavender, as Duke secretly loved the smell, oh! And she'd have to pick up a loaf of bread from Nina's Bakery-

"Here you go, ma'am."

Serenity beamed as the man handed her a whicker basket, the inside lined in the traditional red and white checkered cloth. "Thank you, it's perfect," Serenity replied, not in the slightest feeling as though she was exaggerating. This giddy feeling didn't come often for Serenity. She planned to make the most of it.

An hour later, at twelve on the dot, Serenity had gathered all of her things and was headed to Duke's office. His building was hard to miss, it was large and a gleaming, promising silver. Duke said there was no building as modern and gorgeously crafted as Devlin Inc.'s, and Serenity never disagreed, though there was, perhaps, one building in the city that could best it.

Serenity sauntered past the main entrance, knowing she wouldn't be stopped. She boarded the elevator, which, to her surprise, was empty. She rushed as soon as the metallic doors swung open, barely waving to Paula, Duke's secretary, as she sped to her boyfriend's office. She'd brought candles and drinks, who said they had to go outside for a picnic? It was freezing, and Duke's office had a fireplace. They could light the candles, lock the door, shut the blinds and… Serenity's smile grew and she picked up her pace.

She didn't bother to stop and smooth down the hairs flyaway hairs that had escaped her scarf or make sure her lipstick hadn't smeared on the way over, immediately, Serenity walked through the door, a cocky half-grin on her face, only to come to an abrupt stop.

"Serenity?" Duke raised an eyebrow. A group of older men stood around paused, scanned Serenity's slightly disheveled appearance, and then infuriating smirks formed on their sagging, wrinkled faces.

"I- I thought you could take off for lunch…" Serenity stared at the room full of people. Duke never had more than one person at a time in his office at a time! And usually, that person was her.

Serenity felt her face heat as Duke gave her a sympathetic smile and told her it was a nice thought, babe, but he was busy and she should go home and wait for him there. The older employees in the room shook their heads and chuckled to themselves. She knew what they were thinking; the intruding, desperate lover, a problem for every successful man, nothing to worry about Mr. Devlin, she'll calm down eventually, she's just a bit star-struck, is all. Well, they were wrong, very wrong. Serenity was not like the other girls, wannabe trophy wives, clinging to Duke as if he were a god, no, Serenity always had the upper hand! … Didn't she?

The brunette felt her heart beat faster, though this time it definitely wasn't in excitement. Could Duke be the dominant one after all? She and Vivian had secretly giggled together over her boyfriend's jealousy and wiliness to do whatever Serenity had in mind. The word "whipped" may have been casually tossed around, not by Serenity herself of course, but still. Had the joke been on her all along? Surely not! No. Serenity wouldn't let herself be the butt of the joke. She was above that now. Feeling blood pump in her ears, the brunette marched out of the building, chin up. But then, the minute she stepped out the door, her smile had returned, half-genuine-half-malicious, for Serenity had found just the person she knew would take her mind of Duke.


Seto wasn't quite sure what to do with himself, and he hated the feeling. After losing his temper one too many times at the office (not that it was his fault, the new batch of interns were completely insufferable) Roland had "strongly suggested" he take the rest of the day off. And when Seto refused, the man had made a rather bold move and stolen his keys out of his boss's trench coat, successfully locking the young CEO out of his own office. Of course, Seto could have just asked his secretary to unlock the extra set from the safe behind the vending machines, but Roland knew him well. Seto's pride would never let him fall to that. The man was lucky. He was the only Kaiba Corp. employee with tenure.

And then, deciding he could just work from one on his laptops at the house anyways, Seto had driven all the way from the heart of the city back home, only to find Rebecca Hawkins, of all people, in his kitchen. That had pretty much ruled out any peace he may achieve at home, and so, Seto had been reduced to wandering the city with no general direction in mind. Oh, the humiliation.

But now, as he watched Serenity Wheeler walked out of a tall, gaudy building, a small frown on her full lips, he really couldn't deicide where to go. Did he particularly want to talk to the girl? No. But did he feel the slight pull towards her after their brief talk on his balcony… well, perhaps.

Deciding that, no, he could ignore whatever miniscule obligation he may, in some social circles, hold towards her, Seto started to turn to walk the opposite direction, but just as she did, the familiar pair of large brown eyes, lined with grey, were once again watching him- no approaching him. Seto stopped and watched Serenity walk towards him. She had a pure white scarf draped artfully over her head, something Seto was sure only she could pull off. A small bit of her hair framed her pale face, and, for some odd reason, she had a picnic basket under her arm.

"Wheeler," Seto greeted coolly. He turned to walk away, but, to his surprise, Serenity reached out before he could. "Did you need something?" he asked, keeping his face blank.

Serenity only smiled, as usual, looking almost amused. Seto hated that smile. He felt as if she were mocking him, but no. Surely she wouldn't dare. Not him. "I hoped I'd be seeing you again soon, Mr. Kaiba," the girl told him. Just as the night they'd talked, Seto found that his eyes preferred to stay away from hers. Was it because of the mocking glint Seto couldn't quite figure out? Her voice sounded genuine, but it made Seto want to squirm. For some reason he couldn't shake the feeling that he shouldn't be talking to her. A voice in his head was screaming at Seto to stay away, but the boy ignored it, finding it harder to pull himself away from the girl than he would expect.

"You see," Serenity sighed, her eyes flashing towards the building behind her for some reason unknown to the CEO, "I had it in my head that I was having a picnic today, but… Vivian, as it turns out, is rather busy. Do come with me, I can't imagine how depressing it would be sitting in the park by myself. It's too cold to be alone." Her words were simple, trivial even, but they seemed masked by an unsettling air of some emotion Seto hated that he couldn't place.

"I can't," Seto said automatically. He didn't offer an explanation. The girl before him shrugged, if she was upset in the slightest Serenity didn't show it.

"Just an idea," she said lightly. But Serenity didn't walk away, and neither did Seto. The boy felt the need to say something more, but just what he couldn't decide.

"What are you doing around here, anyways," Serenity asked, her tone not accusing, but merely curious. "When I went to see Duke-" the girl paused, and for a brief moment she looked as if she'd said too much, but then she continued, "this morning, I mean, and we got to talking and he said most of you boys don't come home until late, unlike him, Duke's always home at seven, and this does seem like an odd area for a lunch break."

Seto frowned. He didn't like how she'd said that, most you boys, as if Duke and his followers could possibly ever be in the same league as Seto. He thought about correcting her, but before he had the chance, Serenity had perked up slightly, and gently had taken ahold of Seto's arm once more. "I can't believe I haven't told you before now," Serenity said slowly, "but we- Duke and I- were looking to have a get together soon. New Years Eve, actually," she said, her eyes brightening. This news seemed to be as new to her as it was to Seto. "You will come, won't you?" She watched Seto with a bright smile. Too bright, Seto realized. Fake. In fact, this whole little chat had been too cheery and sweet. This was not the hazy, aloof girl he remembered. Once again, Serenity's eyes flashed to the building. It was obvious she wanted to be seen, but why? On a purely social level, for her friends to see Serenity with him as opposed to Duke would most certainly be a step down. Seto turned, almost fully to where the girl's eyes had flashed. And, almost immediately, Seto felt a burning anger flash though him. Duke's building, of course. How did he not notice before? Most likely the two were still fighting from the other night. Seto had been nothing but a toy.

Not that Seto cared what Wheeler thought of him. Please. She was- Seto could get someone so far above Serenity Wheeler- Seto stopped. He didn't like being played. That was the reason for his distress. He was used to manipulating other people for his gain, never before had he been used himself.

Serenity watched him curiously, obviously waiting for an answer. Either the girl was much more conniving than Seto had suspected, or she was much more emotionally attached to Duke than their entire society of people had suspected. Either way, it was certainly sat off an alarm in Seto's head. "I have prior engagements," Seto replied, which was a complete lie. He'd most likely be spending the whole night working, as usual. When Mokuba was younger he used to suffer through the countdown and watching the ball drop in New York, but, as his brother now had an actual social life, Seto never bothered with the whole affair.

"Oh," Serenity replied, for a second what seemed to be actual disappointment passed over her face, but just like that it was gone. "Well, some other time then." It wasn't a question. Hardly anyone turned down an invitation from Serenity Wheeler, and no one denied a second.

It did fascinate Seto how a girl with such a… humble origin had grown to be so confidant. Over confidant, some might even dare to say. It must have been the time spent as Duke Devlin's girlfriend, Seto decided. How else would she become so sure of herself when, deep down, she was nothing, a plain, middleclass girl with no particular skills or talents. Regardless, Serenity was the star of her generation, and she was showing no signs of fading.

"I should go," the girl sighed, her eyes on the top window of the building. Seto nodded. From the corner of his eye he'd seen that the blinds been forcibly shut, and not but a few seconds later, Duke himself had appeared outside his company's revolving door. Her goal had been accomplished, but for some reason, Serenity visibly hesitated. For a second she looked as if she had something to add, but, whatever it may have been, Serenity kept it to herself. "Lovely talking to you," she said, but suddenly the artificial chipper attitude was gone, her usual relaxed gaze was back. She sauntered away from Seto, not once looking back.


"What is this? Some attempt to- why were you- of all people, I don't understand why you constantly are with Seto Kaiba!"

To Duke's surprise, and frustration, his girlfriend simply laughed. "Constantly? Duke, I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about."

Sure, he'd caught Serenity being flirtatious with other boys. Random bellhops and waiters, but really it never upset Duke too terribly much. It was simply her nature. Both he and her brother Joey agreed on this. And really there was no one else to blame but himself. When Serenity was younger, Duke spoiled her with attention. He and Tristan Taylor competed, Duke, at the time, merely for entertainment value, for her affection. As it turns out, this had gotten her comfortable with male attention, and soon Serenity had maybe even started to not crave, but expect it.

And it had been fun watching her slowly transition from an odd pre-teen to a knockout teenager, oh yes, it had, but Duke had never considered that one day, years later, he would be in an actual-true-functioning-adult relationship with the girl. How would he have guessed at the time? Back then she'd been shy and awkward, clinging to her older brother from protection. Eventually, Duke had lost interest. Chasing such a naive, sheltered girl was boring. He was ready to return to real women.

It wasn't until Serenity was about seventeen that they met again. Duke had seen her a few times at one of the clubs he frequented. She'd started frequenting there too, always with a big group of high school girls who seemed to adore her. They most certainly followed her. Anywhere Serenity walked, the circle followed. Maybe that was what sparked Duke's interest in her once again. She was naturally a leader amongst her peers. She was pretty, and from what Duke had seen, Serenity had no problem hitting the hard stuff. He had no idea what change had occurred in the girl from the time he's known her until then, but damn did he like it.

And so, gradually, Duke had zoomed in on his target. He'd started simple, nods and the occasional wave, and then progressed to verbal greetings, all the way up to inviting her to join his table upstairs, where girl like Serenity and her silly friends typically weren't allowed.

Duke had been a bit concerned about his friends, but, surprisingly enough, not only had they instantly accepted Serenity as one of their own, but soon the girls were acting as Serenity's old friends had, following her to the restroom, constantly asking for advice, clamoring to hear a story. And, in all honesty, Duke wasn't too surprised. Serenity was quick and funny, sweet to the ones she liked, wicked to those she didn't. As Duke had predicted, Serenity thrived on the catty environment the girls provided her with. He'd known that, with a bit of tweaking, Serenity could be so much more than some average high school girl, content to win the heart of the varsity quarterback. Serenity had potential, and at first Duke thought he'd been clever, tapping into it for his own advantage, but soon found he may have been quite mistaken indeed.

The first time he asked Serenity out he'd been excited, cocky, even, and then, completely out of the blue, had been shot down. And then he'd been annoyed. Playing hard to get was overused and clichéd beyond belief. He'd expected more from the girl he, in his mind, had produced. But then, for a second time, Duke was turned down. Serenity was serious. She didn't want him.

Was Duke shocked? Well, yes, he was. But he was also angry, confused, and most of all, scared. Surely, Serenity couldn't have surpassed him. He created her, rose her from the ashes that was mediocre living, brought her into a new world- his world! - Only to be turned down, tossed aside like last month's Lucky. Serenity didn't need Duke anymore, and so, she was finished with him.

Now, even years later, the only explanation that would comfort Duke was that back then, at the height of Serenity's truly wild phase, there was no way she was ready for a relationship. Serenity went out every night, woke up in hotel rooms she didn't remember checking into, in clothes she didn't remember buying. There was no way she had the amount of time and commitment necessary to give someone like Duke, so he'd decided to wait. That ,eventually, she'd come to him, just as soon as she calmed down a bit. But even then, she didn't. She dated other boys, boys in Duke's own circle, but passed Duke himself up every time the chance came.

It took months, months upon months to woo Serenity. It had been difficult work, but when she finally had fallen for him, Duke felt the relief and satisfaction of something he'd never before experienced. He was still leery of his girlfriend, however. It wasn't easy being in a relationship with someone like Serenity. True, it had been about two and a half years since Serenity, not twenty-two, and Duke, twenty-four, had gotten together, but still, Duke had learned he could never be too careful with the brunette.

Which was why when the emerald-eyed boy had casually glanced out his window, hoping Serenity would still be in the area, his spine had immediately stiffened as he found her, smiling so broadly at Seto Kaiba. What could he possibly be saying that was so damn entertaining? Sure, by name and position, Kaiba was one of them, but not really! He wasn't part of their elite-within-the-elite little social club! He wasn't invited to Supper Club once a month, or to Lorenzo's on Friday nights! Duke was the social chair. So why, then, would Serenity possibly be hanging around him? Vivian had said Serenity held an odd interest in Kaiba, and if anyone were to tell him the truth it would be Vivian!

"You know what, forget it," Duke muttered. Besides, Vi was after Kaiba. And with Vivian and Duke on the same side, well, there was no way Kaiba could touch Serenity.

"You're not honestly jealous of Seto Kaiba, are you?" Serenity teased, her eyes flickering merrily. Duke frowned slightly. Surely she wouldn't want him to think there was something going to between them… that would have to mean that was amusement in her eyes, so… Duke hung his arm around Serenity. "Of course not," he smirked, as if it were impossible for Kaiba to even glance Serenity's way (which, soon, it would be) "I just don't want him thinking he can come up to you and strike up a conversation whenever it catches his fancy."

"And why couldn't he?" Serenity asked with a frown that Duke decided had to be faked and playful. "Seto's perfectly respectable."

"Well, yes," Duke sighed, his eyes scanning his girlfriend, "but he's not us, Serenity. He may think he's hot shit, and sure, maybe he has some right to, but Kaiba… Well, you know what I mean."

To his surprise and slight annoyance, Serenity didn't smile and shift closer to him or laugh and agree, but instead he only stared at him. Not being able to keep the aggravation out of his voice, Duke continued, "We all have our places, Serenity. Kaiba has his, and it's behind a desk with nothing but his computer and a high-class prostitute to keep his company. We're different. We're the ones who end up in the magazines and are invited the movie premiers. I just don't want you to get sucked into his seriousness. He'll bring you down, Serenity."

"But Seto could be us. If he wanted to," Serenity replied in a tone that almost implied anger. She wiggled herself out of his grasp and glared at him. "You have something against him, admit it."

"I do not," Duke replied with an eye roll. "I just think he's a fop and a bore and I don't understand why you're wasting your time on him."

Serenity shrugged. "I think he's cute."

Duke stopped. He turned to Serenity, one eyebrow raised.

Serenity sighed impatiently. "Cute the way you'd find a puppy in the window of a pet shop, Duke. I don't want him." The girl tilted her head to the side and smirked. "If I did I'd already have him." Duke paused, for a second alarmed, but then, seeing his girlfriend's visible smile, relaxed, and wove his fingers through hers. "I know you would, babe. I know."

Serenity seemed to be in thought for a minute, but to Duke's relief, she squeezed his hand and said, "By the way, I adore my necklace." And after that, Duke and Serenity had no further conflict, the day granting their relationship at least a few hours of peace.


A/N A little insight as to how Duke views Serenity. I thought it may help make Serenity's obvious confidence boost become a little more clear. I hope you guys enjoyed. I'd love to hear what you guys think, please review, they inspire me. Thanks for reading!