Lara was fully engrossed in her work. She had long finished the tasks related to the marketing team and had already emailed Yugi. Now, she was absorbed in reports. She had not even noticed Mokuba walk into the patio. Her attention was only called once he pulled out the wrought iron chair, allowing the legs to lightly drag across the floor making enough noise to announce his presence.
"Hey Mokes," she said looking up from her laptop. "How long have you been in here."
"Not long. You know when you're concentrating you furrow your brows really tightly," he laughed. "Stop trying to intimidate the technology."
"Are you here to mock my resting bitch face?" she asked wryly.
"Always," he chuckled. "What are you concentrating so hard on anyway?"
"Marketing reports. I'm looking at channel-specific traffic at the moment. I looked at the marketing plan for the GOTY edition before," she replied sighing.
"Fun. Anything interesting in them?"
"No, and that's the problem. I'm going to have to have a word with them about creative marketing. There's no way that I'll okay those proposals. It's mediocre at best."
"Ouch," Mokuba replied.
"We have to tread carefully. People have to feel like it's worth buying the game again or for the first time. We can't just rely on our name selling our products. The products have to be exceptional to make the company shine. With Seto overseeing so much, that's not an issue but if marketing doesn't hype it up sufficiently, no one is going to know about it or care enough to purchase it. None of these proposals make me care enough," Lara explained. She propped her elbow on the metal armrest and leaned her head against the back of her curled fingers.
"I see your point," Mokuba agreed.
"You're free to have a look. The messenger dropped these off on Friday," she said as she waved her hand in the direction of the folders. Mokuba picked them up, skimming through the pages as he went. She noticed him wrinkle his nose at a point then tossed the manilla folder aside. The next two were met with a similar fate.
"Those aren't good," he agreed.
"I'll have Natsumi arrange a meeting tomorrow to address it," Lara informed Mokuba. She looked at the time on the bright laptop monitor and realized that it was just after midday. "Do we have to leave soon?"
"In a bit. We're going to Joey's bar. No one was in the mood to do much today," Mokuba informed her. He draped his arm over the back of his chair, taking in the snow covered gardens. "I've always loved this part of the house," He said without looking at Lara. His voice had a faraway tone to it. "I used to stay away from it when we were younger in case I ran into Gozaburo. Anyway, that was a long time ago," he said, returning to the present.
"Even tyrants can create beautiful things," Lara added thoughtfully.
"This is true. What's going to happen to the castle now that Zigfried's gone?"
"I have no idea. I guess Leon will inherit it as the last male Von Schroeder. What happens after that is anyone's guess."
"Have you heard from him at all?" Mokuba asked.
"Not since Christmas."
"Do you want to?" he pressed.
"Not really. It's only been a month Mokes. Besides, I have more important things to worry about. Like Kaiba Corp."
"I wanted to talk to you about that," Mokuba said.
"About what?" she asked, knitting her brows together.
Mokuba smiled. "You're doing it again." Lara rolled her eyes in response. "About work," he said. "I honestly think you and Seto need a better work-home balance. There's no need for you both to be over-working yourselves. I get that we'll have busy times but maybe this year when things are going smoothly, you two should come home at a decent hour. Maybe stop working every weekend. This family only just became whole," Mokuba said evenly. Lara listened in silence. She understood where he was coming from and as reluctant as she was to admit it, he did have a point.
"I hear you Mokes."
"Good then shall we head off?" he asked in his chipper manner.
"Sure, let me pack this stuff up."
"Okay. I'll wait for you in the foyer," he announced as he head back into the house. Lara packed away her folders and laptop, quickly depositing them in the study where Kaiba was busy.
"Mokuba and I are heading off now," she informed him. Kaiba looked at her over his screen and she walked around his table leaning against it, directly in front of his laptop.
"Be home by dinner," he said looking up at her.
She cocked her brow. "Are you giving me a curfew, Mr Kaiba?"
"What if I am?" he smirked.
"Then I'd definitely stay out past dinner time," she replied grinning.
"Always such a rebel," he said with amusement. He pulled her down onto his lap. "Be home by dinner," he whispered, nuzzling her neck.
"What are you planning?" she asked suspiciously.
"Why do I have to be planning anything? Can't I just want you all to myself?" he kissed her neck. She relished the touch and knew that he knew what he was doing to her.
"I'll be home in time," she smiled. He kissed her hard, his tongue invading her mouth but unlike earlier, this time it was she who broke the kiss too soon for his liking. "Mokuba's waiting for me," she hopped off his lap and gave him a quick kiss on his head before she left the study to join the younger Kaiba in the foyer.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Yup."
She followed him out to his red Jag that gleamed in the sun. They got in and he drove like the wind to Joey's bar.
Lara and Mokuba climbed the stairs that led to the upstairs area of Joey's bar. The block heel of her black boots clunked loudly against the wooden steps. They were surprised to see that only Joey and Mai were seated at the booth.
"Hi," Lara greeted them warmly. She and Mai were still a little stiff towards one another but they had made progress since the ordeal they all shared.
"Ey Lara. How ya doin'?" Joey asked.
"Pretty good and you two?" she answered back. She slid all the way in, placing her hand bag between herself and the brick wall while Mokuba slid in next to her.
"Can't complain," Joey replied.
"Are the others running late?" Mokuba asked.
"Yeah. Yug messaged just before you got here, but they're on their way," Joey informed them. "Can I get yous anything to drink?"
"A beer; thanks Joey," Lara said.
"Same for me," Mokuba said.
"Coming up," Joey disappeared for a few moments and in the time he was gone, Mokuba made idle chat with Mai. Lara did not have much to say so she chose to listen impassively.
"So Mai, would you consider game testing again?" Mokuba asked.
"I might. Depends on the game and my schedule," she replied in her haughty tone. "Why? Is Kaiba Corp. cooking up something new?"
"When aren't we? I was just wondering since you haven't had a real challenge in a while. Thought you might be getting bored."
"Hun, you don't know the half of it."
"Well in that case, I'll put you on the list," Mokuba smiled charmingly. Mai responded with a wink. Joey was not gone long and approached the table with two beer mugs filled with a gold amber liquid that had a white frothy layer that met the brim, threatening to spill. He placed them on the table in front of Lara and Mokuba then resumed his place beside Mai. It was not long before the loud voices of the rest of their company came from the staircase. Yugi, Tristan, Tea and a petite auburn haired young woman Lara had never met, joined them at their table.
"Hey guys. Sorry we're late," Tea apologized. They took their seats at the large booth with the as yet unknown woman sitting next to Joey, and Tristan next to her. Yugi sat on the opposite seat next to Mokuba with Tea at the end.
"It's fine," Mokuba said pleasantly. "It's good to see you Serenity."
"Thanks Mokuba. It's great to be back in Domino," Serenity replied. Lara noted that she had quite a sweet, high pitched voice.
"Hi, I'm Lara." Lara had to introduce herself seeing as how none of the others thought to.
"Sorry Lara. I forgot you two haven't met. Serenity is Joey's younger sister," Mokuba explained.
"It's nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you."
"All good I hope," Lara smiled.
"Absolutely," Serenity said with a red flush creeping up her neck and Lara knew it was a lie. She could only assume that Serenity would have been filled in on the events from the time Lara had arrived in Domino until recently and some of that information would have undoubtedly come from Mai. Lara never really cared what anyone thought of her. When she met people she always let them form their own opinions of her and that was not bound to change anytime soon.
"You said you just got back to Domino; are you here on holiday?" Lara asked.
"Actually, I just moved here. I used to live in another town with my mother while Joey lived here with our dad. It's going to be awesome being close to my brother again," Serenity said with clear affection in her tone. Lara could not help but smile. It was lovely seeing their close bond and she felt a slight pang of jealousy.
"What's your plan now Serenity?" Mokuba asked.
"I'm going to help Joey around here for now."
"Well, it's going to be awesome having another female to balance things out for once," Tea smirked.
"You always said you needed more female friends," Mokuba joked. Joey beckoned one of his waitresses to come over. She quickly took down everyone's order and head back downstairs to get the drinks.
"So Mokuba, last we heard from you, you were heading out of the country," Tristan said.
"Yeah. It was a last minute decision to go away so I just had enough time to message Yugi," Mokuba replied.
"Where did you go?" Serenity asked.
"Switzerland," he replied.
"Oh wow. It must have been beautiful!" Serenity exclaimed.
"It must have been cold," Tea said.
"Yes to both," Mokuba chuckled.
"That's pretty far to go for just a few days," Tristan said.
"Yeah but Seto wanted to head somewhere away from all the distractions of Domino and Lara thought we'd enjoy it."
"And I was right," She interjected. The waitress returned with a tray full of drinks and placed them down in front of each of them while they chatted. She turned around, leaving the group to continue conversing without any further questions.
"So what did you get upto? Where did you stay?" Tea asked with enthusiasm.
"Yeah, tell us everything," Serenity said.
Mokuba looked at Lara so she answered their questions. "We went to Gstaad. I told the brothers about a lovely resort there. Mostly we spent time on the slopes."
"You took rich boy skiing?" Joey asked. "Wait, can he ski?"
Lara rolled her eyes. "Yes, I took him skiing and yes, he can ski."
"After you showed us how," Mokuba countered.
"Yes, but you both picked it up really quickly. I was really impressed. I thought there would be a lot more falling involved," she teased.
"I'm sure I made up for Seto with my face-plants," Mokuba laughed.
"Maybe just a little," she smirked. She looked across from Mokuba to see Yugi listening but not participating much in the conversation. "You've been awfully quiet, Yugi. What did you get up to while we were away?" Lara asked affably.
"Nothing much. Just hung out with these guys. Oh we had a games night."
"Let me guess, you won everything you played." Lara said, amused.
"Of course he did," Tristan said plainly.
"We ended up dueling for most of the night," Yugi smiled.
"That's cool. Maybe Lara and I can come round for the next one," Mokuba suggested.
"I'd like that. Oh and Lara, thank you for the email. I'll get everything sorted tomorrow. I really appreciate it."
"It's a pleasure Yugi. If you need help with anything else, you have my number."
"What did Lara help ya with Yug?" Joey asked.
"She and Kaiba have been assisting me with growing the game shop. Lara put together a team to help me market the stores better."
"Rich boy is helping?! Well isn't that something," Joey blurted out.
"That's very generous Lara." Mai said in a measured tone. Lara shrugged in response.
"How's your dance production going Tea?" Mai asked.
"Really great. Our run of shows has been extended so I'll be around for a couple of months at least. Maybe more, we'll just see."
"That's great news. Congrats," Lara smiled, craning her neck so she could speak to Tea.
"Thanks."
There was a lull in conversation and everyone lifted the drinks, toasted and took a sip but just as the foamy head of her beer was about to touch her lips, Tristan stopped her.
"We've been waiting to see if you can chug faster than Joey," Tristan challenged.
"That's a bad idea," Mai said.
"Why? Because she might lose?" Tristan taunted.
"I don't lose," Lara smirked.
Joey shook his head. "Ya know, ya sound just like rich boy."
Tristan looked from Joey to Lara. "Do it," he said.
"Fine, but it has to be fair. We start at the same time."
"Okay," Joey agreed.
Joey and Lara picked up their beer mugs. Mokuba watched her keenly and Tristan watched Joey.
Tristan did the countdown. "3… 2… 1… Go!"
Lara brought the mug to her lips and quickly but smoothly gulped huge amounts of beer, draining the glass vessel steadily. She tipped her head back as the amber liquid emptied then smacked the mug down on the table at the same time that Mokuba exclaimed "Done!" They all looked at Joey who still had a third of his beer mug filled.
"Guess Lara wins," Mokuba grinned.
"I told you, I don't lose."
"Don't be so smug. No one likes a bad winner," Joey pouted.
"How many Oktoberfests have you been to?" Mai asked.
"Just once." Lara replied. She noticed everyone at the table looking at her. "What? I got out and did fun things," she defended.
The group of friends chatted for a while longer in the golden lit, warm bar. The skies outside darkened and the snow started to fall lightly once more. It felt like it had been a very long time since they all could spend time together without some threat looming over them.
Mokuba and Lara arrived home well before dinner. Kaiba was still busy in his study when they announced their arrival so the two decided to watch a movie while they waited for Seto to finish his work. It was nice getting to spend the last few hours in the relative calm and quiet of home with Mokuba.
"I see you and Mai are getting along a little better," Mokuba's eyes were fixed to the screen while he shovelled a handful of popcorn into his mouth.
"I guess," Lara plucked a popcorn kernel from the large bowl.
"You two are so stiff with each other but I'm glad there is an improvement."
Lara shrugged. "So tell me about Joey's sister. I had never even heard him mention her."
"They're pretty close. Joey's parents divorced when he was young and his mother took Serenity and moved away. Joey never spoke to his mother after that. His dad is a layabout and a drunk. He doesn't like to talk about it."
"That's sad."
"Yeah. When Pegasus had the Duelist Kingdom tournament, Joey wanted to win so that he could use his prize money for an eye operation she needed or she would have went blind."
"Wow. That's a lot of weight to put on a sixteen year old," Lara commented turning to face Mokuba.
"Seems like most of the teenagers in our lives had huge burdens placed upon them," Mokuba replied.
"That's true."
Their chat was cut short by the maid announcing that dinner was served. Lara and Mokuba made their way to the dining room only to find that Kaiba was already there, waiting for them.
Mokuba and Lara took their usual seats on either side of Kaiba and waited as their meal was served to them. The table was filled with pleasant chatter. Kaiba was more than prepared for his first day of the year but seeing as he still worked some of the time that they were on leave, he did not have much to do to get back into the swing of things. Lara informed him of the proposals that were dropped off but had not mentioned how subpar they were. Kaiba had been in an uncharacteristically good mood over the past few weeks and Lara did not want to spoil that now. She had enough time to talk to him about it the next day.
Mokuba decided to head up to his room soon after dinner muttering things about jet lag and early mornings. Lara bid him good night and then she and Seto were alone at last. He led her up to their bedroom, closing the door behind him. Being with Lara was his favourite part of the day. He did not know when it had happened but he found himself constantly craving her presence. She made him calmer and it was a feeling he had grown accustomed to.
Lara pulled her hair free from her ponytail, tossing the hairband onto the night stand. She turned around to see Kaiba staring at her, clearly lost in thought. She smiled, a disarming smile that he knew would always enchant him. She walked up to him and hooked her finger between the collar of his dress shirt pulling him against her body. Raising herself towards him on tiptoes, he slowly closed the distance between their lips claiming them tenderly. She wrapped her arms around his neck pressing herself tighter against him. Their lips moved against each other ramping up the electricity. Lara moved to push him down onto the bed and he allowed her to do so. She straddled his lap, deepening their kiss, his hands roamed her back while hers untucked his shirt. He broke their kiss for a moment. Her eyes were filled with lustful intent.
"You're insatiable," he smirked.
For him, of course she was.