A/N: So, I'd like to thank my lovely readers for their reviews! I really enjoyed reading what you guys thought of the story so far. I'm very happy that you guys are enjoying the story so far. That being said, this story is going to be more manga-esque in terms of the events that occur and the progression of the story. In other words, it'll be written as more manga based than realistic. So, be prepared for randomness and sometimes insane scenarios. So, I look forward to feedback, which can be as lengthy or terse as you want it to be, simply telling me if you guys, my lovely readers, are enjoying the story so far or, if not, what you don't like about it. I just ask that you don't be rude and nasty in your review because that's not nice.
Flames will be ignored so ask yourself if it's really worth the time and effort to write a flame that you know I won't read or respond to. If your answer is yes...I honestly don't know what to say except good luck to you.
Other than that, enjoy the fanfic!
Disclaimer: 3 chapters have already passed and I still don't own YuGiOh.
"Of course you can have the week off!" Dr. Cohen exclaimed as he looked at Téa, who shot him an uncertain look.
"Are you sure, Dr. Cohen? Because, I feel really bad about leaving, especially so abruptly. It's highly unprofessional. If you want, I can always canc-" Téa began saying but her superior immediately shook his head, quickly cutting her off.
"Téa, you have never taken a vacation since you started working here. In fact, I think the only day that you took off was several months ago when you were sick. And, if I recall correctly, the only reason you did was because I forced you to," Dr. Cohen said, shaking his head slightly.
He continued, "I think that you should take a week off. Go and have some fun before you dive headfirst into this project because this is a major project. I don't want you to be stressed out and, as a result, burn out halfway through it."
Sighing, Téa nodded, knowing that she'd been beaten. Then again, she wasn't so sure if delaying a three month project with Seto Kaiba was necessarily a bad thing.
"Very well, Dr. Cohen," she smiled at her boss as she stood. "I'll go. I'm sure a week away will give me fresh new ideas that I can use in the proj-"
"Oh no! Absolutely no work during your vacation, Téa! I want you to relax. Do you understand me?" Dr. Cohen asked and Téa immediately frowned at his words.
A week without work? Just what was she supposed to do?
Sighing in resignation, she gave him a small nod and replied, "fine. I won't do any work," which earned a smile from the man.
"Good. Now, I want you to take the rest of the day off to get yourself all packed and ready to go," he said, his tone making it obvious that he didn't want any arguments about it.
Sighing, Téa gave him a nod before she said goodbye and left his office.
"What am I supposed to do in Vegas? I don't gamble and I haven't really partied since college," she mumbled to herself as she waited for the elevator.
Just as the elevator door opened and she stepped in, she felt herself collide with someone just as the person stepped out.
"I'm so sor-" she began apologizing when the person cut her off, snapping, "watch where you're going."
Recognizing the voice, Téa looked up and found herself staring at none other than Seto Kaiba.
"Of course it would be you," Kaiba scowled as he looked down and saw her. Straightening, he continued, "don't you know that you're supposed to wait until the people inside leave before you enter the elevator, Gardner? It's common sense."
Narrowing her eyes, Téa bit back, "I didn't know that you considered yourself to be a person."
At her words, he gave her a sarcastic little laugh, which she promptly ignored as she got into the lift.
"Have your fun now, Gardner, because I'm going to be sure to make your life hell during this project," he promised her as his expression returned to the usual cold one he enjoyed wearing.
"Too bad you'll have to wait until next week," was all she said to him before the door closed, leaving a surprised Kaiba staring at the elevator door.
"What the hell does she mean?" he mumbled to himself as he headed towards Dr. Cohen's office.
"Ah, Mr. Kaiba. Just the person I wanted to see," Dr. Cohen said to him as he entered the room.
"Is there a problem?" Kaiba asked and the man quickly shook his head, saying, "no. Of course not!" before gesturing for Kaiba to take a seat.
"It seems," Dr. Cohen continued, giving him a slight smile, "that the starting of the project will be delayed by a week."
At the surprised look on Kaiba's face, the man quickly shook his head and added, "but don't worry. I assure you that it will be completed as scheduled."
His face a composed mask, Kaiba coldly asked, "why exactly has it been delayed?"
"Because Miss Gardner has taken a leave of absence for a week," Dr. Cohen replied before quickly adding, "she and I both felt it best for her to do so in order to return with a fresh perspective in regards to the project."
"I assure you though," he continued upon seeing an angry look forming on Kaiba's face, "that Miss Gardner and I will both strive to ensure that this project is more successful that you ever expected. I promise you, Mr. Kaiba, that you will be very surprised at the end of the three months."
"Finally!" Mai exclaimed as she dropped her bags. "We're here!"
She opened the curtains before turning towards Téa with a smile on her face.
"Isn't the Strip beautiful?" she asked, turning her attention back to the window as bright lights flashed, illuminating the suite even more.
Scowling slight, Téa lugged her suitcase into the room, not answering Mai, who proceeded to follow the brunette into the room.
"Are you going to be upset for the entire trip?" Mai asked, earning a glare from Téa, who still didn't answer.
Letting out an exasperated groan, Mai folded her arms and asked, "how was I supposed to know that your favorite archeologist would hold a seminar this Thursday?"
Scowling even wider, Téa bit out, "stop reminding me, Mai."
"Then stop scowling and bringing down the mood of the entire trip!" Mai hissed at her. "Besides, the purpose of this trip was to distract you from work. So stop thinking about work and quit being upset! I'm sure he'll give at least one more seminar at the college before he dies."
Narrowing her eyes at the blonde, Téa mumbled, "it's not just the seminar. Don't forget about that jackass on the plane."
"Okay, maybe that was my fault. But I had your best interest at heart, I promise," Mai frowned. "But how was I supposed to know that he would turn out to be a complete asshole?"
"Because he looked like one, Mai! I'm pretty sure that he was in his late 20s but he was dressed like a frat boy on his way to the gym. For god's sake, he had on a wrist sweatband and a backwards cap," Téa yelled, earning a scoff from Mai, who replied, "excuse me, Téa, but I don't judge people based on how they look." (Note: I'm definitely not trying to stereotype all guys who dress like this as assholes, but the ones I've met have ALL been assholes/fuccboi).
"Are you kidding me?" Téa asked in an incredulous tone, her eyes wide. "Mai, that's all you do! In fact, you're probably one of the most superficial people I know! Lord knows you've rejected and dumped some really nice guys simply because you didn't like their haircut or cheeks or arm hair or name or, my personal favorite, 'how he walks.'"
Scoffing, Mai quickly said, "I resent that and, to be fair, Kenji did have a stupid haircut. It made his head look like a cone! And Fernando did have chubby cheeks! He looked like a goddamn chipmunk every time he smiled. As for Marc, his arm hair was something else. I honestly felt like I was dating Bigfoot. Phlynn's name was just stupid. There's no other word for it. No one, and I mean no one, spells Flynn that way. His name honestly reminded me of phlegm, which is just gross. And Ian just walked like an idiot. Half the time I didn't want to leave the house just so that I didn't have to go out in public with him."
"And I'm superficial," Téa scoffed at Mai, who shot her a dirty look and said, "at least I tried to set you up with the hot guy on the plane."
"Because the last time you set me up, it worked out so well," Téa shot back, earning a glare from Mai, who replied, "that was not my fault at all! Besides, I'm sure this guy was 100% better than Seto Kaiba."
"I don't know," Téa mumbled, earning a wide eyed look from Mai, who asked, "was he really that bad?"
Nodding, Téa said, "Mai, he wouldn't shut up about working out. I'm all for being healthy but literally every single word that left his mouth was about taking care of your body and about different exercises for toning different parts of your body. I learned how to tone my ass, my arms, my legs. Mai, I even learned how to tone my knees."
"I didn't know that was a thing," Mai said with wide eyes, earning a sigh from Téa, who replied, "neither did I. Then, he started going on about what I should eat to the point where he told me exactly how many times I should chew my food in order to maximize digestion. How many times to chew my food, Mai. Chew my food. And if that wasn't bad enough, he started off when I took out my chocolate and started eating it. He literally ranted for about 10 minutes about how bad chocolate is and how he gave up all carbs to get the body and the abs that he had."
"Wow," Mai exclaimed, "I had no idea it was that horrible."
"That's not even the worst part. No, the worst part was when he told me to feel how hard his abs were and, after I continuously told him that it was fine, pressed my hand against his abs and, looking at me, asked 'doesn't it feel hard?'"
"Oh my," Mai exclaimed and Téa nodded, saying, "I know. Ridiculous. I mean, who the hell does that? I honestly wanted to punch him in the face but we would have been thrown off the flight."
Shaking her head, Mai quickly said, "no, no. That's not what I meant. I meant did they feel good? Were they hard?"
Giving Mai an incredulous look, Téa quickly shook her head and scoffed, "do you know that you are absolutely insane? Honestly Mai! I didn't give a damn how they felt! The point was that I didn't want to touch them in the first place!"
Glowering, Mai remarked, "oh shut up. At least your flight was with a sexy personal trainer or whatever the hell he was. Who gives a damn how annoying he was? I, on the other hand, had to sit next to this woman who kept breathing as if she'd just finished running a goddamn marathon. Then, she started reading and it turned out that she was one of those people who mumbles the words under their breath as they read. And on top of that, she kept licking her finger to turn the pages. Honestly, she might as well have just spit all over the pages of the book. It was so nasty."
Giving Mai a slight grin, Téa said, "maybe we should have set those two up with each other," earning a laugh from Mai, who replied, "I wonder who'd annoy the hell out of who first."
Shrugging, Téa unzipped her suitcase while saying, "who knows? Maybe they'll turn out to be soulmates."
"If either one of them turned out to be my soulmate, I think that I might just shoot myself," Mai shook her head.
"Too bad you already met your soulmate," Téa said, watching as a confused look seized Mai's face.
"Who?" the blonde asked, to which Téa smiled again and replied, "Joey, duh."
The moment she said the name, she watched as a blush spread across Mai's face before the blonde quickly turned away, pretending to cough as she tried to compose herself.
"Oh, stop your pretending. You know that you and Joey were made for each other," Téa said and watched as Mai quickly shook her head, mumbling, "we're just friends," as she unzipped her suitcase and riffled through it.
"Stop lying to yourself, Mai. The relationship that you two have with each other is more than 'just friends.' I've known Joey for years and I can honestly say that he's head over heels in love with you but he's just too clueless to realize it," Téa said.
"Is that why he dates all of those stupid girls?" Mai grumbled, earning a chuckle from Téa who replied, "maybe. Is that why you date all of those stupid boys?"
"Shut up," Mai hissed as she spun around to face her best friend, a smile on her face. "And it's not really dating. It's more me just passing the time."
"Well, I guess Joey is doing the same thing too," Téa smirked at the blonde, who scowled before asking, "well what am I supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for him to realize he likes me?"
"More like loves," Téa chuckled, causing Mai to turn pink once again.
"Stop it," she scolded Téa as she threw a shirt at her. Grabbing her bathrobe, Mai quickly mumbled, "I'm going to take a shower," before she retreated into the bathroom, causing Téa to chuckle.
"I'll be right back!" Mokuba called over his shoulder as he exited the suite and made his way towards the ice machine.
Humming to himself, he began to refill the ice bucket when he heard a voice ask, "Mokuba?"
Stiffening, he turned, dread filling him, and found himself face to face with none other than his brother.
"Uh, hi, Seto," he smiled nervously as he raised his hand in greeting, watching as his brother's eyes widened as he took in his bathrobe and mussed hair before they narrowed as Kaiba clenched his jaw.
"What are you doing here, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked, raising a questioning eyebrow as he folded his arms, waiting for an answer.
"Umm," Mokuba mumbled, rubbing his head like he always did whenever he was nervous, "studying."
As he said it, the door to his room opened and a female voice called, "Mokuba," causing Kaiba to immediately turn towards the voice, his eyes wide as he took in the brunette calling his brother.
"Hurry up," the woman smiled before she turned and retreated back into the room.
"Who is she, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked, looking over at Mokuba, who gave him a sheepish smile.
"Study buddy?" he shrugged, earning a glare from his brother, who asked, "is that what you do instead of going to college? Mokuba, is this what I'm paying for?!"
Rolling his eyes, Mokuba scoffed, "don't get your panties in a knot, Seto," earning a shocked look from his brother, who calmly replied, "I'm not wearing panties, Mokuba. And, even if I was, I doubt they'd be in a knot."
"Jeez, it's an expression, Seto," Mokuba shook his head, mumbling, "everything always has to be so literal with you."
Kaiba, however, heard and immediately scowled before saying, "I'm still waiting for an explanation, Mokuba."
"Fine. I technically am here for college related business," Mokuba replied. "I was here for the hackathon over the weekend."
"But, I decided to just spend the week," he shrugged, adding, "you can't come to Vegas and not explore the nightlife or gamble."
At the look on his brother's face, Mokuba's eyes grew wide and he gasped, "don't tell me that you didn't do any of that." When Kaiba didn't respond, Mokuba let out a groan and shook his head, mumbling, "what is wrong with you? Do you not believe in having any fun?"
"I'm here on business, Mokuba, not to have fun," was his brother's response as he shot him a nasty look.
"Well, that's too bad because I'm going to make sure that you have some fun!" Mokuba promised. "When do you leave?"
"On Sunday and no, Mokuba. I'd rather just finish my business and spend the remainder of my time working on future projects."
"The hell you will," Mokuba scoffed. "I'm getting you first thing in the morning, Seto."
With that, he turned and made his way back to the room, ice forgotten. Turning back to face his brother, he added, "and there's nothing that you can do about it. Now have a good night. I know I will."
With a quick wink, Mokuba disappeared into the room, leaving a shocked Kaiba standing in the hallway.
"So, I'm thinking that we can probably do dinner and a show and follow up with some gambling afterwards. What do you think?" Mai asked, looking over at Téa, who was busy on her laptop.
"What theme can I use?" Téa was mumbling to herself as Mai approached her, causing the blonde to let out an exasperated groan before she grabbed the laptop.
"What are you doing? Mai, give it back!" Téa yelled as she made an attempt to grab the laptop. Mai, however, quickly evaded her and shook her head, replying, "we're supposed to be here on vacation. That means no working!"
"I wasn't working," Téa protested but Mai quickly shook her head, replying, "you weren't looking for any activities to do while we're here so yes, you technically are working," which caused Téa to roll her eyes.
"Now," Mai said as she set the laptop down, "get dressed. We're going to a show at the Mirage."
With that, Mai turned and headed towards the bathroom. A few moments later, the door opened and she poked her head out and said, "and if I see you touching that laptop for any kind of work," before shooting Téa a look as she chose not to finish the threat.
"Fine," Téa grumbled at her best friend, who shot her a smile before she retreated into the bathroom.
Alone for a few moments, Téa made her way to the window and sighed as she looked out at the Strip.
The week was almost over and, though it was beautiful, Téa found that she hadn't been able to keep her mind off of her work no matter how hard she tried. What especially worried her was the fact that she hadn't come up with an amazing theme for the exhibition as yet.
"Ugh! And we start working on it next week," she groaned to herself as she rested her head against the window. "What am I going to do?"
"Not stress about it until next week, that's what!" Mai's voice suddenly answered from behind her. Letting out a groan, she turned to see Mai, dressed in a midnight blue short cocktail dress, smiling at her and holding up a black dress.
"Wear this!" Mai squealed as she shoved the dress at Téa, who immediately recognized it as the dress they had bought the day before.
"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Mai asked, looking over at Téa, who shrugged a bit, eliciting a scowl from the blonde, who asked, "what was wrong with it?"
"Nothing. It's just that I keep thinking about the exhi-" Téa began to say when Mai shook her head and placed her hand over her mouth, preventing her from speaking.
"I told you not to think about work! Just relax and enjoy our last night in Vegas!" Mai yelled at her as she pulled her towards the club entrance.
As Mai spoke to bouncer, Téa looked over at the people waiting on line to get in. From what Mai had told her, it was one of the hottest clubs at the moment and everyone wanted to join the party.
A few seconds later, Mai returned and, with a smile on her face, grabbed Téa, pulling her along as they headed into the club. As they entered, Mai shot the bouncer a quick smile.
The moment they entered, loud music and flashing lights engulfed them.
"Isn't it amazing?!" Mai yelled over the music as she turned towards Téa, who was looking around and trying to push her discomfort away. She hadn't been in a club in so long that everything seemed so foreign to her.
"Let's go to the bar!" Mai yelled as she pulled them towards the bar. As she did, Téa saw several guys turn to look at them, smiles on their faces as they took her and Mai in.
Two actually moved away and followed behind them, no doubt to offer to buy them a drink.
"Mai," Téa paused and looked around before yelling, "I'm not sure this is my scene!"
"Oh my God! Will you just relax and have fun?!" Mai yelled over the music as she grabbed their shots and handed her own to her.
"To a fun night!" Mai yelled as she downed the shot. Sighing slightly, Téa raised her own shot glass and swallowed.
"Now, let's dance!" Mai grabbed Téa and pulled her behind her as they headed to the dance floor.
"I don't want to hear any complaining! Just have fun!" Mai yelled as she began to dance to the music. Sighing, Téa nodded and, throwing caution to the wind, began to dance.
"Come on, Seto!" Mokuba yelled at his brother, who simply shook his head and replied, "no."
"But why?" Mokuba asked, shaking his head as he said, "you're the only person who wouldn't want to go partying in Vegas."
"Why would I want to go to a club with a bunch of drunk people behaving like idiots? Not to mention how cramped and disgusting it is to have people dancing on top of me," he said, disgust evident on his face.
"You're so boring," Mokuba shook his head, watching as a brief look of surprise shot across his brother's face.
"I am not," Kaiba quickly replied before adding, "I just choose not to indulge in stupid activities, which clubbing certainly is."
"Whatever, Mr. Boring," Mokuba shrugged nonchalantly. "I, on the other hand, will be sure to go out and have fun tonight. You can stay here like a grandpa."
"I am not a grandpa, Mokuba," Kaiba replied in an offhanded manner.
With a smirk, Mokuba turned towards his brother and, raising an eyebrow, said, "prove it."
Immediately, he knew that he had backed his brother into a corner as he watched Kaiba struggling not to give into the dare.
"That's what I thought," Mokuba smirked after Kaiba didn't respond.
Turning, he headed to the door before he paused and turned towards his brother, giving him a taunting smile as he said, "chicken."
"Another round!" Téa yelled as she raised her shot glass. Mai let out a yell and downed her shot before turning towards Téa, who was now smiling like an idiot. They had not too long ago left club number 2 for the night, only to make their way to a third club.
"Aren't you having fun?" Mai asked, slurring her words slightly. Nodding, Téa shot her a quick smile before she grabbed her hand and began to pull her to the dance floor.
As she did, she felt herself collide with someone.
"Watch wher-" she began before a surprised voice asked, "Téa?"
Looking up, her eyes grew wide as she found herself face to face with Mokuba.
"Mo-Mokuba?" Téa mumbled, shock clear on her face before a huge smile broke out. "What are you doing here?!"
"I'm out with Seto," the younger Kaiba replied. Téa looked up and noticed Kaiba standing there for the first time. Immediately, her eyes grew wide as she took him in. He was dressed in a white button down shirt, a black blazer, and dark jeans.
"What are you doing here?" Mokuba asked, causing Téa to laugh a bit.
"Having fun!" she yelled before she hiccuped and shot him another smile. Turning towards Kaiba, she yelled, "I didn't know you go clubbing."
With his usual emotionless expression, Kaiba replied, "I don't. Mokuba forced me," earning a scowl from his brother.
However, Téa had already turned away, yelling for Mai, who quickly joined them.
"Mai, look who's here! Old what's-his-face," Téa said, gesturing towards Kaiba. Mai's eyes grew wide as she took him in.
"I didn't know you partied," she yelled at him before shooting Mokuba a smile, which he returned. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide as she saw something interesting on the dance floor and, without a word, she quickly made her way towards the dance floor.
"Well, it was nice seeing you, kiddo," Téa shot him a smile and tried to make her way towards the dance floor. However, as she did, she stumbled and would have fallen to the ground had Kaiba not grabbed her at that exact moment.
"How much did you drink, Gardner?" he asked as he helped her straighten. She gave him a slight shrug, replying, "lost count after shot 8," before dissolving into laughter.
"Now, I'm gonna go dance," she said as she attempted to pull herself away. Hiccuping, she straightened and tried to walk away but stumbled once again. Grabbing onto Kaiba's shirt, she attempted to steady herself and ended up throwing herself over his arm, hiccuping even more.
"Téa, are you okay?" Mokuba asked, concern on his face as she straightened herself. Looking at Kaiba with a blank look, she mumbled, "take me home," before she dissolved into laughter, going limp in his arms.
"Goddamn it," Kaiba mumbled as he looked down at the very drunk girl in his arms. Mokuba shot him a smirk before turning to see Mai heading towards them.
"Téa," Mai shook the brunette, who immediately straightened up, yelling, "another shot!"
"Let's go then," Mai said as she linked her arm with Téa, who pushed herself away from Kaiba. The two began to make their way towards the bar before they paused and turned towards the two Kaiba brothers.
A smile on her face, Téa looked over at Mokuba and yelled, "are you coming too?!"
Mokuba nodded before he turned towards Kaiba and, with a wicked smile on his face, said, "I bet I could out drink you," earning a wide eyed look from his brother.
Recovering from his initial surprise, Kaiba quickly narrowed his eyes at his brother as he replied, "don't challenge me, Mokuba, or you will regret it."
"Then, why don't you put your alcohol where your mouth is?" Mokuba asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't be silly, Mokuba. Why would I drink with them?" Kaiba asked, gesturing towards Mai and Téa, both of whom were almost at the bar.
"What's the matter? Chicken?" Mokuba smirked, knowing fully well that it would irritate his brother.
At his brother's gibe, Kaiba let out a scoff before he replied, "fine, but you asked for it."
With those words, he turned and followed his brother towards the bar.
And that ends this chapter! I know, I know. Seto Kaiba in a bar. It's crazy. But, the fun now begins. As usual, reviews are welcome and appreciated. So be sure to leave a review, as short or as long as you want! Until next time!
-DramaQueen95
