It was Friday; that one, singular, day of the week that all of his employees worked towards. Seto didn't much care for Friday's. Friday meant his office was required to close for the two following days. So whatever he couldn't force to be done during the week had to either wait until Monday or he had to continue working on it from his home office alone. The latter was less likely to happen as Mokuba had sway over a large portion of his weekends. But whatever work he could get done would get done, even if it meant staying up well past midnight.
But it wasn't the weekend quite yet. It was, as previously stated, Friday.
Seto sat in his office, looking between his itinerary and the estimates he'd just received for the construction. The amount to build the school was no issue, a drop in the bucket for how much he raked in on a daily bases, but the blueprints were his. If they weren't followed to the inch, he would find somebody else. A contractor from the construction company he'd chosen was to come in this afternoon to look over them again and suggest changes. If he was going to put somebody else in charge of building the academy, he was going to make sure it was the best.
A name popped out at him as he glanced over at his schedule again, a name he hadn't seen there for over a week.
That's right, he thought turning his eyes away again. Jounouchi came back yesterday.
Since the blond had started working for him, he'd been making a habit of coming to Seto's office during his lunch hours. As annoying as Seto had found it the first few weeks, he was hesitant to admit that he'd gotten used to it. He was even more hesitant to admit that the two of them had started a very hit and miss friendship. Some afternoons were better than others. If Seto was having an exceeding bad day, he found himself taking out his frustrations on Jou; much like he used to. If the CEO's day was going well, he'd sit back and entertain the idea of listening to Jou waffle on about whatever was on his mind that day. Sometimes it was about work, others about his weekend, but most of the time about his sister.
There were times when Seto would sit there listening and wonder at how much he and the blond actually had in common. How had he not noticed? Their troubled pasts, their issues with their families, not to mention their ideals towards their siblings, though not matching up exactly, seemed to hold many startling similarities. Jou's sister seemed to be a favorite topic as of late, if only to complain behind Honda's back.
Judging from the schedule, Seto's secretary had barely been able to squeeze Jou in between a departmental meeting and his meeting with the contractor. Fifteen minutes wouldn't even cover the amount of stuff Jou would want to chatter on about after his trip, but Seto wasn't about to sacrifice an important meeting for someone he barely considered an acquaintance.
Well, perhaps acquaintance, but definitely not friend.
He reached over and picked up his phone to quickly dial his secretary.
She answered quickly. "What can I do for you, Mr. Kaiba?"
Seto wished he remembered her name. She was pretty, but not anything compared to Kisara. He didn't find her annoying, so he asked more politely then he would have anyone else. "Can you make sure there is fresh coffee and a soda in my office for Mr. Jounouchi before he arrives for our meeting?"
"Yes sir, Mr. Kaiba."
With her affirmative, he hung up without saying thank you. She should know he appreciated her work. He surely paid her enough for the point to be gotten across.
When Seto arrived back to his office from the departmental meeting a few minutes early, refreshments were already neatly placed on his desk. A steaming mug of coffee for him and an unsightly can of cola for Jou. He sat down behind his desk to organize the notes given to him from the meeting.
Right on time, just as Seto's clock turned to 12:15, his office door opened without so much as a knock or any other kind of announcement of arrival; as was Jou's way. Seto couldn't get used to the site of the blond in office garb. The dress shirt and pressed pants ensemble didn't fit with Jou's tough guy personality. But from what Seto heard through Yugi and general office chatter, Jou was doing much better since he started working for him; managing to pay off his father's debts, with plenty left over for himself. So he supposed he could look over the overall strangeness of it as long as it was doing some good.
Jounouchi let the door click closed before giving his usual greeting. "Sup, money bags!"
Seto merely grunted. "I see you're manners haven't improved over your vacation." He didn't bother looking up from his computer either. His fingers drumming out a steady beat on the keys.
"And you're just as irate as ever," Jou tossed back with practiced ease. The blond walked to Seto's desk and snatched up the soda that sat there. He opened it and took a large gulp.
"I trust you and the other dweebs had a wonderful time."
Jou cut his eyes at him, but let the comment slide. He was aware that, as much as Seto loath to admit it, he was almost as much a part of Yugi's group of friends as Jou was, "Oh yeah, great time! It's just so easy to tan while everybody's all weepy."
The rhythm of Seto's fingers faltered slightly. "I see."
"Why weren't you there anyway?" Jou fixed the brunette with an accusing glare. "You gave me off, but didn't come yourself? In fact, you didn't come last year either."
"I have a company to run."
"Didn't stop you from coming with us to see him off."
"That was a different circumstance."
"How is that different? He was your rival for a long time. You'll see him cross over but you won't go back to pay your respects?"
"I'm over it."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Drop it, Jounouchi!" Seto raised his voice, even though he wasn't truly angry.
He would never admit it, but Jou was right. It was unfair to the Pharaoh's memory that he didn't travel with the group for their yearly pilgrimage back to Egypt. It was also untrue that Seto was over Atem's crossing; another point for Jou. He'd lost the best intellectual and competitive rival he'd ever had and while Yugi had technically inherited his title, it still wasn't the same. Yugi was good, Seto didn't deny that, but there had been a unique ferocity with the way the Pharaoh had dueled that no one else could copy. Dueling wasn't the same without that presence on the other side of the field.
Seto's outburst had the desired effect. Jou dropped the subject, looking flustered and irate. He leaned against Seto's desk, quietly drinking his soda. Seto could almost see the gears turning in his head as the blond searched for a new topic of conversation. In the meantime he was thankful for the reprieve.
"So... how's Mokuba?" Yes, siblings had always been a safe topic.
"Getting worse," Seto answered with a grimace.
Jou looked over his shoulder at him curiously.
Seto sighed. "I can't seem to redirect his behavior. It's getting out of hand."
There was a second where Jou's face remained confused, until he blinked and a smirk spread across his face. "You found more of those magazines, didn't you?"
"Obviously."
Jou suppressed a laugh. "Come on Kaiba, give the kid a break. We were all teenagers once... not that long ago. We all did it!"
There was a lapse in the conversation where Seto didn't deem the other man's statement with a response.
It didn't take long for Jou to catch on. "Wait, you didn't?"
Seto stopped his typing to glare up at the blond. "We're not having this conversation."
"Come on! You had to at least have snuck one dirty magazine!"
"After everything you and your little friends learned about me during that entire Noah incident, did it look like I had time for trivial things like that? My mind has always been preoccupied with more important things."
"More important than basic bodily functions?" Jou raised a brow. "Wow, no wonder you're so frigid."
"Do you want to be thrown out?" Seto growled.
"Touchy, touchy," Jou waved a dismissive hand as he turned back around to enjoy his drink. "Does explain a lot though..."
Seto's glare never wavered, even when he moved his eyes back to his work and began to type again. He was not going to talk about his nonexistent sex life with this idiot.
"I have an idea. Come out with me and the guys tonight!"
Seto's fingers slipped on the keys, causing his first mistype in years. He looked up at the other man with exasperation and unmasked outrage. "Say that again."
Jounouchi sighed and looked back at him, looking as if he was the one who was the most annoyed out of the two of them. "You heard me. Seriously man, when was the last time you stepped away from your work to do something fun."
"Last weekend," Seto answered bluntly.
"Mokuba doesn't count. And, by the way, neither does Battle City or Grand Prix. That was basically work."
Seto furrowed his brows. It was true, he couldn't remember the last time he did something that didn't involve work or duel monsters. But even duel monsters had become a job. He barely had time to play for sport anymore. Instead of deeming Jou's question with a response, he turned back to his computer and fixed the mistake that Jou's question had caused.
"That long, huh?"
Seto paused, feeling a frustrated growl rise in his throat. "Would you drop it?" It was more of a demand than a question.
"No." Jou stated. "At least not until you swear to come out with us tonight."
Seto looked down at the clock on his computer. Jou's fifteen minutes were just about up. By the look on the blond's face, he knew it too, but wasn't eager to leave until he'd gotten what he wanted. Seto's frustration reached a new peak. He couldn't allow the mutt to cause him to be late for his meeting with the contractor.
He remembered Mokuba's words, repeated to him just a couple days ago. How do you expect to find her if you're cooped up in your office? Seto felt the tenseness in his muscles relax. Mokuba was right too.
With a resigned sigh Seto said, "Fine, where?"
Jou grinned. "This place called the Dragon's Den. It's been open for a few months. Since everyone's back in town for the first time in forever and this place has been all over the radio, we decided to go there before Anzu went back to America."
"Where is it?" He hadn't heard anything about the place. Then again, he'd been basically living the life a workaholic prone hermit for the past two years.
"A renovated warehouse on the docks; I've been told you can't miss it."
Great, Seto found himself thinking, a shady club in the warehouse district. What could possibly go wrong?
But Seto's mouth said, "What time?"
"Nine o'clock."
At least it wasn't too late in the evening. He could go long enough to prove to them that he had the capability to go out and have fun, as Jou put it. Then he could leave at a reasonable time with the excuse that it had been a long day at the office and he wanted the rest. None of them had a business to run except Yugi, and Yugi would back up his reasoning on that basis.
"Fine, I'll be there."
"Great!" Jou cheered before draining the rest of his soda. He threw it into the trash can that was placed conveniently next to Seto's desk before leaving. "See ya there, jerk face!"
After Seto's door had clicked shut again and he was once again alone, Seto rubbed his temples. If any of his other employees had deemed themselves stupid enough to call him names to his face, he would have promptly fired them. Not Jou. Honestly, he couldn't afford to fire Jou. Production had gone up since the idiot had started working for him and the moral in the coding department had greatly improved.
"I'm being blackmailed, that's what this is." Seto muttered to himself. "If I don't go on this idiotic venture, he'll quit. That's all it is."
If he kept repeating that, he'd eventually believe it. At least that's what Seto kept telling himself.
"Mr. Kaiba?" His secretary's voice said over the speaker on his desk.
"Yes?" Seto tried to sound calm and polite. He wasn't sure he succeeded.
"The contractor is here."
Seto took a moment to straighten himself; adjusting his tie, tugging his jacket straight, looking at his reflection in his computer screen to make sure his hair was right. He prided himself on always looking put together, which was saying something when comparing him to others in his age group. It had always been an easy way to garner respect from those he met that were much older than him, look better than they do. Seto's fierce business sense did the rest.
xoxo
Seto stood in front of his closet mirror that evening. The large double doors were wide open, giving a clear view into the extensive space with its own light fixture hanging from the high ceiling. The bedroom itself was conservative in its design. The walls were a soft eggshell white, accenting the light blue of the carpet. There were only a couple dressers, built from the same dark wood as the rest of the furniture. His four poster bed, generous in size, jutted out from the opposite wall, draped in deep blue cotton sheets; high thread count of course. To any normal person, the room would seem almost too empty. To Seto, it was perfect. Mokuba lay on the large bed, his homework strewn across the sheets as he watched his older brother pick an outfit for that evening. The boy was not short on comments.
"Don't wear trench coats." Mokuba threw at him as he pondered over his algebra.
Seto, who had just been reaching for his trusty white coat, stopped and turned around, "Why not?"
"Cause that's so old hat!" The teenager exclaimed, looking up. "You're actually doing something different for the first time in two years. Plus, you're gonna be turning twenty in a couple months bro, I don't think you gotta compensate anymore."
One of Seto's brows shot up. "And what exactly was I compensating for?"
"I don't know. If you want my opinion, you need a new image." Mokuba avoided his brother's skeptical look by glancing back down at his homework. "What about those jeans I got you for Christmas?"
Seto turned back to the rows of clothes. Among his neatly pressed and hung pairs of slacks in varying shades of black, white, and blue was a single pair of jeans. They weren't fancy, just plain black, but the denim stuck out like a sore thumb among the cotton. He hadn't worn them since his polite trying on of them eight months back. The tags still hung limply from one of the belt loops.
"I don't…"
"I know you don't." Mokuba cut him off, giving him an all too familiar glare. "But you're actually doing something different. Why not wear something different?"
Seto sighed. He couldn't seem to win today, and that was a problem. But he took the jeans off their hanger anyway and, after ditching the slacks he had been wearing, put them on. They fit snugly around his waist and hips, the legs cutting down in a straight line to accent their length. Simple was a good word for them. There was no flair, no acid wash, no god forbidden decals; just plain black jeans that fit him like a glove. And, he had to admit, they looked good.
To go along with it he chose a different shirt. The black turtleneck he usually wore with his white coat didn't look right. He put on instead a dark blue button down that was usually saved for his three piece suits. He usually saved that particular shirt for when he was dealing with female clients, as he knew the color went well with his eyes and was accustomed to using his looks to seal certain deals if he had to. He buttoned the shirt up and tucked it into the waist band of the jeans. He chose one of his pairs of black boots to finish off the look.
Once dressed he exited the closet and stood in the doorway, arms crossed, ready to be subjected to his little brother's scrutiny.
The teen looked up and smiled. "That's better. But you still look too professional somehow…"
Seto fixed him with a questioning look, but was interrupted before he could form a remark.
"I got it!" Mokuba jumped up and off the bed and hurried over to his brother.
The boy reached up and unbuttoned the first few buttons of the shirt, revealing Seto's collarbone. With that done, he ran over to Seto's night stand to retrieve his card locket and throw it over the man's head.
"There!" Mokuba exclaimed. "Perfect!"
Seto sighed and rolled his eyes. "Good to know." He tucked the string of the locket under his collar.
"You could wear sunglasses too. That'd make you look really cool!"
Seto had to pause to give his brother an exasperated look. "Who the hell wears sunglasses at night?"
"I don't know." Mokuba shrugged. "But I think it'd still look cool."
Seto rolled his eyes again, shaking his head with a slight smile on his face. He'd never get tired of his brother's seemingly endless vat of innocence. At least, he hoped it was endless.
"You're going to pick up a girl, right?"
The question sounded innocent enough, but Seto knew better, "Mokuba."
"Alright, alright, I'll drop it for now." Mokuba threw up his hands. "Just… at least try and have fun, 'kay?"
Seto sighed with that smile again and pat his brother on the head. "I'll try."
He tried to believe that he would, but he doubted it.
