A/N: Here's a bit of fluffy goodness before things start getting serious... Hope you all enjoy :)

Chapter 21 Expectations

In her faraway dream state, Lara could hear a faint beep. It was persistent and getting louder. As consciousness slowly returned to her, she realized that her alarm had gone off. She quickly switched it off, turned on her bedside lamp and rolled over to face Kaiba who was rousing from his slumber. It was a treat to see him this way. None of his shields were up, his hair was tousled and he looked so utterly relaxed. His eyelids fluttered open and he bathed Lara in a glorious smile that warmed the cockles of her heart.

"Morning." She smiled as she ran her fingers through his soft brown hair.

"Hmm." Kaiba replied. "What time is it?" He asked.

"Five fifteen. What time do you usually get to the office?" She asked.

"Six thirty most mornings." He replied.

"So, we have an hour to ourselves." She smirked.

Kaiba pulled her close, he brushed a strand away from her face and claimed her lips. His fingers tangled in her hair and his thumb caressed her cheek. Lara responded immediately, melting into his touch. His hands roamed her body under the covers and a good portion of their hour was soon lost to their early morning carnal pleasure.

They quickly brushed their teeth, Lara having given Kaiba a spare toothbrush which he decided he would leave in her bathroom, showered and readied themselves for the day. The symbolism of Kaiba leaving the toothbrush was not lost on Lara and she realized that this was exactly what she wanted. They may not have a name for what their relationship was just yet, but whatever it was, was special and she would protect it with everything she had.

Lara quickly dressed in a navy blue and gold military style dress and tan stiletto ankle boots, while Kaiba pulled on the clothes he had on the day before. It was not a problem to him seeing as he always kept a spare change of clothes at the office. Thanks to their morning antics, there was no time to have breakfast or coffee. Lara collected her things and was ready to go. They rode the elevator down to the parking level, got into their cars and drove to Kaiba Corp. The trip only took them five minutes. There was very little traffic at this time of morning.

They went their separate ways once they got to the KC building. After all, their offices were on different floors. Lara switched on her computer and checked the time. It was still a little before six thirty. She could see why Kaiba liked coming in this early, the building was entirely quiet and would be for at least another twenty minutes. The phone on her desk rang, making her jump a little in surprise.

"Lara, hello." She answered.

"Come up to my office." Kaiba instructed.

"On my way." She placed the receiver back in the cradle and headed upstairs. His secretary was already there. "Morning." Lara greeted her.

"Good morning Miss Schroeder. He's waiting for you."

Lara smiled her thanks at the PA. She pushed open the heavy wooden door and closed it behind her.

"What's up Seto?" She asked. She could see he was pleased that she had used his name. He really liked the way it sounded when she said it.

"Have a seat." He instructed. She sat opposite him and noticed two steaming mugs of coffee.

"You didn't have anything this morning." Kaiba explained. Lara was touched by the gesture.

"Thank you." She wrapped her hands around the hot mug, the heat felt wonderful this early. Kaiba sipped his coffee as he read through his emails. They did not chat much, it was more of a companionable silence.

"I'd like you to come up every morning." Kaiba growled in his usual way. Lara understood that he was making an effort for her.

"I'd like that." She replied.

He quizzed her about her schedule for the rest of the week. They finished their coffee while chatting about her putting plans into motion that would run the course of at least six months to ensure that Kaiba Corp. was not affected by her leaving her post.

"And Lara, don't forget, Natsumi finds out on Monday." Kaiba said sternly. Just then Mokuba entered the office.

"Don't worry Seto, I haven't forgotten." She replied. Mokuba drew up next to her and looked between her and Kaiba.

"Did you just call my brother 'Seto'?" He asked. Kaiba rolled his eyes at his little brother.

"I did." Lara smirked.

"Freaking finally!" Mokuba exclaimed. It made him so incredibly happy to hear Lara use his name. It felt like she was part of the family.

"It's not a big deal Mokuba." Kaiba sighed.

"The hell it isn't." Mokuba retorted excitedly.

"You really need to cut back on the sugar." Kaiba teased.

"You're such a comedian Seto." It was Mokuba's turn to roll his eyes. Lara always enjoyed watching the two interact. They were so different and Kaiba was often so cold and quick to anger that the banter seemed out of place yet entirely comfortable. It was as if the man that was around his younger brother was the real Seto Kaiba.

"Oh! Before I forget." Lara started, "When is HR hiring my replacement?"

"We should have the shortlist tomorrow." Mokuba replied.

"Okay. I'd like to have a say in who finally takes the position. I've worked hard on that division, I want someone that I know can handle anything, take over the reins."

"That's fine. Mokuba and I will get the files tomorrow afternoon to look over. I'll call you in." Kaiba agreed.

"Perfect. See you guys later." Lara waved and headed back down to her own office. Natsumi was already in.

"Morning Natsumi." Lara greeted.

"Good morning Lara." Natsumi replied. Lara insisted on a less formal interaction with her PA even though many people at Kaiba Corp. did not approve of it. Natsumi was able to speak to Lara freely and inform her of anything unofficial that could benefit Lara knowing.

"Would you like a cup of coffee?" Natsumi asked.

"No thank you. I've already had." Lara said as she walked into her office.

"Lara, can I speak to you for moment?" She asked as she followed Lara in.

"Of course. Close the door."

Natsumi did as Lara asked and took a seat in front of her desk.

"There are some rumours going around." Natsumi said.

"About?" Lara enquired.

"You and Mr Kaiba. Some of the employees have noticed that you both interact differently. I know you have a friendship but I thought you should know what's going on." Natsumi informed.

"Thank you Natsumi. Can you tell me exactly what they have been saying?"

"Um..." A blush stole across Natsumi's cheeks. She was trying to think of a way to phrase it delicately. Lara inferred plenty from that. "Well, some of them think that you and Mr Kaiba have a physical relationship..." Natsumi was visibly uncomfortable. 'They have no idea' Lara thought to herself inwardly smirking. "...and that's the reason you got this job." Natsumi finished.

Lara rolled her eyes. "People will talk but I'll sort it out. Don't worry, you won't be implicated, I'll make sure."

Natsumi seemed satisfied with Lara's response. They had a great rapport and Lara was thrilled that she would get to keep her as her PA.

"Thank you Natsumi. I appreciate the heads up."

"Any time." She smiled and exited Lara's office.

Lara was now faced with a dilemma. She could deal with it on her own but Kaiba would not be happy with that or she could tell him but he would definitely be on the war path. There was Mokuba and he could handle things delicately but then again Kaiba would be upset. Whichever way she looked at it, she knew she had to tell him. She decided to wait until the next day, after the selection of the replacement.

Thursday seemed to roll right into Friday and before she knew it, Lara was outside Kaiba's office. She entered the office to find that he was waiting with Mokuba on the couch. They had three files stacked on the coffee table. Lara joined them, taking her seat next to Kaiba.

Over the next two hours, the three of them debated the merits of each of the shortlisted candidates. Lara had a clear favourite but Kaiba wanted to make sure they covered every aspect of the hire.

"I'm sticking to my guns on this." Lara said. "He is second in terms of education but look at these references. Plus I know two of those companies he worked for and in the time he did, things looked good."

"I don't dispute that." Kaiba said.

"But you are hung up on the education thing." Lara stated.

"So we can say this guy is definitely out." Mokuba said regarding the third file to which Lara and Kaiba agreed.

"Let's look at it this way. The only reason we have not immediately chosen him is because his school and universities were not as prestigious, however, we prefer everything else about him. His work record is better." Lara reasoned.

"You have a point." Kaiba allowed.

"So what's your decision bro?" Mokuba asked.

"Lara's choice." Kaiba said evenly. "His track record is better and his background check proved cleaner."

"Great." Lara smiled.

"I'll have these taken down to HR. I'd like us not to waste any more time." Mokuba said. He left the Kaiba's office leaving Lara with a moment to speak to Kaiba about the rumour mill.

"Seto, I need to chat to you about something that needs to be dealt with tactfully." Lara said and immediately Kaiba's eyebrows knit together. "There are some rumours going around the building about us."

"What rumours?" He growled.

"Apparently, people have noticed that you are different with me. They assume we are sleeping together and that's why I got the job." She stated.

"I'll take care of it." He said with an edge.

"Which is what worries me. Remember the part where I said 'tactfully'." She shook her head.

"Kaiba Corp. is not a social club for people to get their daily gossip." He said menacingly.

"I agree but we are dealing with people. People need to talk, be social. Now the rumours are a problem but we can't threaten to fire anyone who talks about us because that would add fuel to the fire."

"So what would you have me do?" He said patronizingly.

"Firstly, that tone won't work on me. Secondly, we can think of a solution together. I mean part of it is true you know. At the same time, it is your company so all I can really do is tell you what's going on."

"It is my company." Kaiba growled. "And you are mine, and I don't appreciate being the subject of whatever drivel is being spread. I especially don't care for what it insinuates about you."

"I appreciate that but-"

"But nothing. I will handle it."

"Okay." Lara smiled. There was no point arguing with him.

Lara went back to her office, continuing the tasks she was busy with before the meeting about her replacement. A ping from her computer alerted her to the memo that was just sent out. She opened it to find that it had been sent to all employees by Kaiba. It basically stated that he would instantly dismiss anyone he found spreading slanderous statements about him as the CEO of the company and the regional head of PR & Marketing. He added that the spreading of false stories was damaging to Kaiba Corp. and would not be tolerated.

Clearly he did not follow Lara's advice. She shook her head the screen. He definitely had no idea what tactfully meant. Well, there was not much Lara could do about it now. She would just have to deal with whatever came later.

Days passed and still she had had no whispers reach her ears. Apparently, people were sufficiently terrified of Kaiba to need only one warning. No one wanted to risk him hearing about anything they had said and somehow, he always found out.

Lara did not spend too much time dwelling on this. She had informed Natsumi that she would be moving to a new position and that she would remain as her PA should she want the job. Natsumi immediately agreed and the two of them moved office.

Lara's new office was on the floor below Kaiba's. She had her modern glass table and black leather chair brought up and removed the ones that were in the office. There was far too much wood in the old furniture for her liking. The office was rather large so Lara arranged for a small glass and chrome meeting table to be brought in. She added a wide black wool couch. It was inevitable that she would pull all nighters, she needed a comfortable place to rest when she did.

Lara looked around at her surroundings realizing exactly where her life had brought her. She was at the pinnacle of her field in the most respected company, she had managed to devise the rescue of Schroeder Corp. without losing it, and she was in a relationship of sorts with the most extraordinary man she had ever met. She really had come further than anyone could have expected.

She looked out the window at the street below, eager to see what came next.