I want to start by saying a great big thanks to all my loyal reviewers, I know I'm not the easiest to deal with! Haha, but really I do appreciate it so much. I don't own YGO.

Ch.7-

The theme of the party would be 'international affairs'. Important business people from around the world would be coming to the grand ballroom rented by KaibaCorp and they all expected nothing less than a five-star dining experience. Ms. Bradford was more than overjoyed when she heard that they had been selected to cater the party, but Serenity had her doubt about whether or not they would be able to provide what Kaiba was needed. Over two-hundred people are were scheduled to attend the event. Over two-hundred! No doubt that she would have to buckle down and work to pull this off. And one question still remained unanswered in Serenity's mind : Why had Kaiba chosen the small café in the first place? There were surely many more competent restaurants in Tokyo alone that Kaiba could have picked.

Ms. Bradford had decided to close her shop temporarily so she could focus on the preparations needed for the Kaiba gala. The event was scheduled fo Saturday night and it was already Monday afternoon. Yet, she was determined to pull it off; she was furiously flipping through cookbook after cookbook when Serenity walked in. "Ms. Bradford?"

"Yes, dear," Ms. Bradford looked up at Serenity's face. Her glasses sat slightly crooked on her face and her gray hair was mused.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you should fo take a walk or something to relax for a bit. I'll help you find something to make for the party."

"Oh, Serenity, you're an angel. What would I do without you?"She patted the girl on her head, even though she had to stand on her tippy-toes to do so. Serenity smiled at the fifty-something woman. "Be safe!" she called out and locked the door behind Ms. Bradford.

Serenity made her way back to the tiny office. She sat down in the old, cracked leather, office chair and picked up one of the cookbooks lying in a pile hovering dangerously by the edge of the desk. For the event, most of the food would need to be cold so it could be made at the café and then transported to the hotel hosting the party. Only a few dishes, such as the main course, could be made or heated onsite at the hotel kitchen. Finally, Serenity came upon a dish that could actually be of some use to her. She was just jotting down the recipe when there came a harsh knock on the door. Ms. Bradford had her key, so it was probably just a hungry customer who was to lazy to read the notice taped on the door. "We're not open!" she called from the back room. The person outside continues to bang on the door persistently. Serenity groaned and pushed back from the desk. She made her way into the front area, "I said we're not op...en."

Seto Kaiba stood outside the glass door, his hand frozen in mid- knock. She stood in the middle of the floor, her mouth wide open, until it occurred to her that he might want to come inside. She scurried to the door, tripping over her feet all the way, and flicked the lock open.

"What are you doing here?" She said hastily.

"Am I not allowed to see what I'm paying for?"

"Oh, right," Serenity somehow had the crazy idea in her head that he was there to see her, "Follow me then." She retreated back to the room she had previously occupied, Kaiba at her heels. He had to slow way down to match her small strides. She pulled out the binder Ms. Bradford and herself had put together over the KaibaCorp event. She handed him the binder and also the recipe she had just written down.

"What's... Taramasalata?" He pronounced slowly.

"It's a Greek dish. Its basically a pink mashed potato centered in a bed of colorful vegetables and crackers. Its pink because you mix it with roe. I prefer using salmon roe. Its best if you sprinkle sea salt on top as a garnish because sea salt goes really well with vegetables. If its done right it will look really elegant and taste just as good."

"You really know your stuff, Wheeler."

"Thanks," she said modestly and tried (and failed) not to blush. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear as she watched Kaiba's thin fingers flip through the pages of the binder. He would pause occasionally to look at something that piqued his interest. She stood rather awkwardly off to the side, dusting off things that were already clean. "Is this completed?"

Serenity was shaken out of her thoughts, "No, we still need to figure out the main course and the desserts."

"Okay then," he snapped the binder shut, "I think I'm done here."

"I'll walk you out."

"Oh and Serenity, there is one more thing," he said, pausing at the door.

"Yes?" Serenity gazed up at him.

Kaiba cupped Serenity chin with the very tips of his fingers. He turned her face slightly to the side and kissed her cheek as light as a butterfly. His skin brushed softly against her face as he whispered in her ear, "I'll see you at the party."

As soon as the door clicked closed Serenity's knees turned to jell-O and she grabbed on to the back of a chair for support. Woah... Serenity felt a bit faint as she crumpled into the chair. Why did Kaiba have such an effect over her? It was just a kiss! A meaningless, little peck on the cheek and yet, it had made Serenity's heart race and a tingle had shot down her spine making her shiver all over. Serenity, being a rational person, decided that it had meant nothing to Kaiba, it was probably the way he closed all his business deals. But Serenity hoped with all her heart that it was anything but business. This is so confusing. Serenity cupped her face in her palm; it felt warm to the touch. She sighed thoughtfully and gazed dreamily at the ceiling.

Kaiba smirked as he returned to his limo. He didn't even need to look back to know that Serenity had gotten worked up over his kiss. Serenity seemed so cute when she was defenseless and flustered. Kaiba had put a lot of thought in to the things he'd done over the past few days. Yes, it was risky to hire the bakery and he probably could have hired a much more capable restaurant, but now he had a sure fire was to see Serenity (and keep her busy and away from Tristan). The kiss however, was completely spur of the moment. He had wanted to see how Serenity felt about him and it seemed like a good way to find out. I didn't exactly hurt that Serenity's skin was so soft and tantalizing. It also held that lingering smell of cherry blossoms that Kaiba had grown to love so much. Besides that however, he wondered vaguely what Serenity thought of him. It wasn't hard to find out. Most of all her emotions were plastered on her face and it was clear that she felt strongly about Kaiba as well. But, she had something else in her and it set her apart from everyone else. He had yet to figure out what it was, but he was looking forward to figuring it out.

And, from what he'd seen, it wasn't a bad choice to pick the small café. True, picking it was merely a ploy to see Serenity, but it might pay off anyway. The notes on each dish were incredibly detailed. He could tell which ones were Serenity's right off the bat. Sitting next to her in class for so long, he had gotten to know her handwriting. Some might consider it messy, but Kaiba loved it. Everything was packed tightly on the line, but if you looked carefully you'd realized how much work went into each character. Every word was so thinly drawn it looked as if it was a strand of silk lying on the page. The words had perfectly straight lines and beautifully drawn curves and loops. Kaiba thought about his own handwriting. Tall, blocky letters spaced perfectly throughout the page. He probably made an imprint on the back of the page when he wrote. How strange the two were when he compared them. They could say the very same thing and tell an entirely different story.

Serenity was now more determined than ever to impress Kaiba at the gala. After recovering from her mental relapse following Kaiba's kiss, she got back to work. Her sleeves were rolled up and she prepared to make a test batch of what she hoped to be the dessert served. She chose something that reminded her of how she felt when Kaiba was there with her.

A simple white teacup would be the perfect accent to the already adorable dessert; a strawberry cupcake. The cup would be the baking mold and the serving dish, so there would be less hassle when it was time to serve it. She carefully spooned two tablespoons of strawberry preserves into the bottom of each cup and poured the vanilla cupcake batter on top. They would need to bake in a roasting pan filled with a layer of water for about forty minutes. While they cooled, Serenity washed off the whole strawberries. She decided to leave a little portion of the stem on for decoration. She felt the sides of one of the cups in her palm, it was no longer hot but a comforting warm. She placed a single strawberry on each cupcake and gently dusted them with powdered sugar. They all looked so perfectly cute and adorable that Serenity had to resist the urge to kiss her fingers and say, "Tres magnifique!"

I guess I can check American food off the list! She smiled triumphantly as she dug around in a drawer for a spoon. She plunged her spoon into one of the cupcakes, making sure to get some of the jam at the bottom. "Mmm..." She had gotten the amount of sugar just right! It made the confection sweet to the taste, but not enough to weigh down the batter, so it remained light and fluffy. As good as it tasted, Serenity couldn't help but noticed that desserts are always better when you have someone to share it with. What she'd give to be sitting across from Kaiba right now, to stare into his deep blue eyes; she could get lost in those eyes! I wonder if Kaiba ever thinks about these sort of things she thought as she placed her spoon in the saucer.

At that moment Kaiba was picking out a tuxedo for the big event. He looped the tie dangling around his neck into a bow. "We do have this white tuxedo, sir."

"That?" Kaiba eyed it in disgust. The salesmen quickly pulled out another, this time in an awful powder blue color. He nodded to Kaiba, seeking approval.

"If I want to look tacky, I'd say so."

"I'm sorry sir, there isn't much else. You rejected all of our top designs!"

"Is it really that hard to find a decent tuxedo? I might as well deal with a monkey."

He seemed a bit flustered, he wanted Kaiba to leave just as badly as Kaiba wanted to stomp on the man's face. He turned to one of the racks towards the back of the room. "There's this one."

Kaiba cocked an eyebrow and the tux draped over the man's arms, "I'll take it."

"Perfect!" The man grinned, he finally could get rid of Kaiba! "Let me go get Pierre to do your measurements." He shuffled off quickly.

A small man with a black handlebar mustache approached Kaiba hesitantly, "I need to, uh," He gestured at Kaiba with his tape measure.

"Fine, do what you need to," he stretched out his arms and the fitter measured the inseam of his jacket. He moved down to measure Kaiba's waist and pant length. He recorded the measurement sourly. It was no secret that many men were jealous of Kaiba's figure, and he was no exception. "We will have your suit ready by tomorrow," he said in an incredibly fake French accent.

The fitting ended and Kaiba grabbed his jacket and pushed open the door with his shoulder. He slipped his arms through the sleeves and stared up at the sky. Fall was already in full swing and the leaves swirled around his heels as he stomped down the sidewalk. Why he was walking? He didn't know either. It wasn't as bad as Kaiba thought however. He couldn't recall the last time he had spent more than ten seconds outside. Was fresh air supposed to taste this good? There were so many things Kaiba had yet to try. But why was he being exposed to so many new things and feeling all the sudden. Perhaps he was starting to become more open minded, or maybe he was finding Serenity in his life.

Did you like my pun at the end? I really tried to focus on lots of descriptions and kind of show more of the characters thoughts and feelings, so I'm sorry that there isn't much dialogue. PLEASE review and let me know what you think, it's the only thing that keeps me going ! I am going to try my very hardest to update again by Sunday, but no promises. After that I have to leave for a period close to two months! I wont be able to update, waaah! Not that I update a lot anyway :P ! But I wont give up on this fic or my wonderful readers. But please review and I'll see what I can do about the future. Thanks for sticking with me!