Disclaimer: I still don't own Yugioh, Angry Birds or any themes or characters mentioned in here! It's still fan-fiction all the way! Enjoy!

Super Thank You for guest27, Dark Gem Alchemist, mayalewis16, Sister of the Crimson Dragon and Patattack! *huggles* Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy this one!

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One Step at a Time

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"Morning, Seto," Clover greets her boss as he exits the elevator.

He just hums, head buried behind his open laptop as he types with one hand. His pace never stops and he's still typing when he finally sits at his desk.

She shrugs and walks up to his desk with a tea mug in hand, "Need anything?" she says as she puts the mug on the coaster by Seto's desk.

"Hmm," he says again and holds up a couple of papers, "Hmm."

"Another invite list?" she says and nods, "How many copies?"

He looks up from his typing and squints his eyes, "What."

"How many copies of the invite list," she repeats, waiting patiently while he seems to only now catch-on to where he was.

"… no copies," he finally says and rubs his eyes for a moment before continuing, "You need to memorize the guest list."

"… seriously?" she groans and waves the paper in her hand like a fan.

"Don't look so surprised," Seto says and quirks an eyebrow, "You went to the opening, this is the final event of the KC Championship. It's fitting."

"So, I'm not just Schroeder Corp-bait this time?"

"'course not. You'll be my date."

In some alternate universe, the young secretary might've just done a spit-take with some water or coffee that she'd be drinking. Only, it's not an alternate universe and she wasn't holding a beverage, so she was stuck just standing there with goldfish-stare. After a minute of watching him type, she finally says, "You want to run that by me again?"

"We'll get you a dress this afternoon," he says and gives her a once-over, "Hair… make-up too."

She frowns and crosses her arms in front of her chest, "I did not sign up to be your date to anything," she snaps and glares at him.

"I know you didn't. And this isn't for work," Seto says and finally swivels his chair around to face her, "You won't be going as my secretary."

She involuntarily bursts into laughter, only to straighten her demeanour out a moment later. "A date?" she repeats and can't help but choke down another giggle-fit, "With you?"

"It's not that foreign a concept, is it?" he says in a deadpan-tone, "A date is a date."

"No!" she suddenly exclaims, frowning, "I can't go with you to the gala."

"Why not?"

"It'd be weird… and … just… no."

He just smirks, "It's a gala, not the Royal Variety Show."

"Fine… but, I want to have dinner afterwards too," she says, using all her strength not to laugh, deciding to just throw out the weirdest requests at him for a laugh, "And then movies. With red liquorice and slushies."

"Done. But don't expect me to enjoy it."

"Deal."

It's an awkward silence that follows. She really did expect him to be joking. She was seriously expecting him to yell out 'Bazinga' for some reason. When it doesn't come, she just laughs awkwardly and collects the papers from him, almost jogging out of the office once they were in hand.

She slaps the paper down on her desk and heads over to the kitchenette. After running the faucet for a moment, she splashes cold water on her face, trying her best to calm down completely. It was a weird situation with even weirder circumstances that somehow just officially made this the most awesome day ever. She finally heads back to her desk and takes a seat, grinning like an idiot.

Other than their talk that morning, it was a relatively calm day with no real emergencies or problems. It was a nice break.

Even when Emily calls up Clover to warn her of Pegasus' associate who was dropping off a personal summons for Kaiba… that bit of news wasn't making a dent in her already awesome day.

"Sorry, Clover, he just literally slipped past security and into the elevator before I could stop him," Emily says over the phone, "It's Nick McKenna, he's Pegasus' associate."

"Like his PA or something?"

"More like, his water boy and delivery man."

"Got it, thanks, Em."

So, when the elevators open and the tall dark and not-so-handsome steps out and heads over to her desk, Clover was already standing to greet him. "Good Morning."

"I'm here for Mr. Kaiba. He's been summoned," Nick says, jabbing the paper towards her like it's a knife.

"Excuse me?" she says with a scoff, "If you think I'm just going to send you through without proper notice or even an appointment-"

"That's the idea," the guy says confidently, fully expecting her to cooperate because the creator of Duel Monsters had sent him.

"Yea… No. That's not going to happen," Clover replies and walks around her desk to block his way into Seto's office, "Come back with a meat-lovers pizza, tape that invitation to the top of the box and leave it on my desk."

"Excuse me?"

"Go to a pizza place. Order me a meat-lovers pizza. When the order is done, tape the damn invitation to the top of the box and leave the pizza box- and the pizza- on my desk," she repeats in a slow but sarcastic tone, "Should I repeat that?"

His reaction was beautiful.

Turning a strange mix of purple and grey, he slams the paper on her desk. He growls and finally yells, "I'm not a delivery boy."

"Are you kidding me? You just delivered another one of Pegasus' party invites, you might as well have brought it with something savoury and delicious," she replies coolly, smiling with a shrug, "Look. It's an incentive… or do you want me to forward it through the proper channels. Aka, the bridge bunnies downstairs? It's our mailing department… it takes about two weeks for any mail to get approved."

It wasn't even close to the truth, but since Pegasus felt it necessary to "kind-of-personally" drop off an unwanted invite for another of his 'fabulous parties', he might as well have done it with flair. She'd been warned about Pegasus' monthly invitations and how to effectively handle them.

"I also have pepper-spray in my desk drawer," she says and waves her hand lazily around in the air, "If that would help speed things up."

Nick throws his arms up in the air before finally just holding his hands up in defeat, "I'll be back in an hour."

"And don't forget the lovely receptionist downstairs, she prefers a pineapple and bacon combo," Clover says as she escorts the guy to the elevator, "Thank you."

The doors close and she finally heads back to her desk. She could hear Seto trying to pass off his laughter as a coughing fit from his office. And, not having to wait too long, the Industrial Illusions Associate finally got back, promised savoury treats in hand.

The young brunette, who had been studying the guest list, looks up as he finally steps out of the elevator. "Ah, did you drop off the pineapple-"

"And pork abomination to the crazy red-head downstairs. Yes."

"Thank you," Clover smiles and gestures for him to wait as she presses the intercom, "Seto?"

"Yes?"

"There is a very sharply dressed young man here, he's got a super intimidating piece of paper over here and his mullet is looks like a Justin Bieber rip-off. I have mace in my drawer if you think he might be a stalker…" she says and throws Nick an encouraging thumbs-up with a devilish grin.

"Send him in."

Clover quickly stands up and heads over to the door, ripping the invite from the pizza box, "Mr. Kaiba will see you now."

She drops the pizza on her desk and walks him into the office, "Do you want anything to drink? Water? Or are you a vegetarian? In which case, may I offer some sacrificial blood of unicorns, maybe?" she says sarcastically.

Another chuckle-to-cough fit suddenly emerges from the general direction that is Seto Kaiba's desk.

"…. I'm fine," Nick McKenna snaps, although he quickly readjusts his tie in a semi-calm manner, "Pegasus sent me here to personally invite you, Mr. Seto Kaiba-"

And Seto Kaiba's got his hand in front of his mouth and seems to be intently focusing on his breathing.

The invite was slid across the desk, "To a gathering of duelling masters this winter -at his castle," Nick says and takes a seat on Seto's desk, "Maximillian Pegasus specifically requested that you be there. Oh, and to bring along whomever you wish."

Clover walks over and with one graceful swoosh, pushes the young associate off the desk, "Oh, my apologies, sir. But, please try not to sit on Mr. Kaiba's desk…." She says in a polite tone, before leaning in just enough for the other to fully pay attention to her –now completely serious voice, "And sit on my boss' desk again or get touchy-feely on any of KaibaCorp's artwork and that mace of mine get its first field-test today."

The audible swallow let everyone in the room know that Clover Maki was sufficiently terrifying at times.

She smiles and meanders back to her desk, leaving the two men to talk.

"I never go to his parties or events. I'm sure you know that already," Seto says and waves the paper around, only to realize a moment later that it was a habit he was picking up from Clover. "And if he wants to deliver his messages personally, I expect him to personally show up."

"Oh, he'll be here. He's arriving this afternoon for your Gala event," Nick says and runs a hand through his hair. If only he hadn't decided to use Pegasus' accent for his next words, "He said: 'Kaiba-boy' won't come if I don't show up."

"It's a damn shame. If he wasn't so dense, he might've been smart," Clover muses as she watches security drag the guy out of Seto's office.

"That's an oxymoron."

"So is he," she says and grins when Seto rolls his eyes. "At what time would you like to leave?"

"How long will it take for you to pick out a dress?"

"I'll wear whatever. And I don't get why I can't just go in this?" she says and gestures to her pin-striped pants suit.

"It's a Gala event and everyone will expect Seto Kaiba's date to wear a dress," he answers non-chalantly.

"I don't think anyone would expect Seto Kaiba to bring a date," she counters and hands him the list, "I got these memorized, by the way."

"Alright, then, the qualifications of Mr. Tristan Taylor?"

"… There isn't anyone on that list with that name," Clover says and quirks her eyebrow, "Why?"

He stares at her for a moment in annoyance, "…How is it possible you memorized all that in under an hour but you didn't get a secretarial degree?"

"Time management issues."

"Not the only issue you have," Seto says and picks up his cellphone, "I can't believe Mokuba convinced me to hire you. You are such a pain."

"Aww," Clover croons and grins as she accompanies him to the elevator, "Admit it, you love me."

"Shut up," although, the blush creeping unto Seto's cheeks didn't go unnoticed by her.

She couldn't help but smile brightly, "Thanks for going with me."

"No problem."

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Thank you so much for reading! I really hope you liked it!

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