*more delays... i feel bad. :( anyway, i have more ideas filling up my overactive brain on how to wrap up this story, plus to begin two more that i have on the way. i'm big on the oc's. obviously, so get ready for two new characters involved with yusei fudo and seto (the priest this time!)... if you're interested, hit me up when they get started. i don't know much about how the hell you're supposed to write about a duel, so i just left that open to your imaginations. and blades is one of my fave movies, so i had to throw that in there. lol. but enough rambling, back to celeste!

Chapter 38 - - The Calm Before The Storm. Literally.

Surprisingly, the morning dragged horribly - - even though Mokuba had gone out and left me perfectly alone with his older brother. I was reclining on the couch, almost asleep, when a drop of icy water unexpectedly plopped onto the direct center of my forehead. My eyes flew open.

"Hey!" I cried in protest, sitting up fast. I wiped the water from my face and glared at Seto, who leaned on his elbows on the back of the couch, smirking at me.

"Ah, so you are awake," he teased, smirking.

"What the hell was that for?" I demanded. "Chinese water torture?"

He just laughed softly to himself and walked off, leaving me to steam and conjure up ways to get revenge. I had a damn good plan that involved chains - - and possibly some cold whipped cream (XD abridged series reference) - - but, thankfully, before I did anything drastic and unecessary, Mokuba came back, carrying a large box with holes in it.

"Package," he gasped. "For Celeste." With a labored grunt he set it down on the floor and handed me a small card as I came over to take a look.

"It's from my dad," I noted with surprise. As I scanned the message, Seto approached and read it with me over my shoulder.

'Celeste,' it read. 'I'm sorry, honey, but we simply couldn't take it - - or him - - anymore. Accept my apologies if Mr. Kaiba doesn't approve. Your mother was ready to kill him. Miss you. Love, Dad.'

I frowned. "Hm. Interesting."

"Wonder what it is?" Mokuba mused, and kicked the box sharply.

A loud yowl resonated throughout the condo, the echo bouncing off the walls seconds afterward. Mokuba leaped a few inches in the air and ran to cower behind his brother in terror, his wide gaze fixed on the box.

"Whatever's in there, it's freaking possessed!" he exclaimed, more than half of his pale face hidden by Seto's shirt.

I cautiously approached the box, knelt beside it, and tapped it. It responded with a low growl.

"Curiouser and curiouser," I murmured, smiling. I quickly stood, grabbed a pair of scissors, and used one side of the blade to slice through the tape.

"Careful, Celeste," Mokuba warned. I could almost hear Seto's eyes rolling.

When I pried open the flaps and gazed into the shadowy interior, I found myself staring into a pair of large amber eyes.

"Louie!"

"Louie?" Mokuba repeated quizically.

I put my hands under the cat's stomach and lifted him up, cradling him against my chest. He hissed softly, then seemed to recognize me and licked my chin with his rough tongue.

"Ohh, my poor baby, you had to get flown all the way from Japan?" I crooned, bouncing him. "Aww, don't worry, Mommy will take care of you."

I turned, with Louie still in my arms; he sent out a rhythmic purr, and his expression was nothing short of contentment. Mokuba gaped at me, and Seto grimaced in distaste.

"No," Seto told me simply.

"Please?" I begged. "Look at this little face... How can you say no?" I raised Louie up so his furry visage was closer to mine.

Seto shook his head and scowled. "I can say no."

"Puh-leeeeeeaaase?" My eyes widened pleadingly, and I let my lower lip tremble, just slightly.

Tense silence reigned over the room for a few seconds. Mokuba looked nervously from Seto to me to Louie and back again, awaiting the outcome.

At last, Seto lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "Keep it away from my jacket, and it can stay," he said with a sigh.

"Yes!" I set Louie on the floor and embraced my pet's savior. "Thank you!"

He rolled his eyes again, then smiled as I kissed him.

Mokuba tried his best to ignore the 'gross, romantic crap' and flipped on the TV. The weatherman had just begun talking.

"...and with this front moving in over the Orlando area, we can expect a heavy thunderstorm setting in tonight, then rain into the next day. It oughta be clear by morning, and mostly sunny throughout the rest of the week." He smiled, folded his arms, and in an overly-chipper voice laughed, "Back to you, Dave."

A shiver rippled along my spine. Thunderstorms. Great. That was just fabulous.

Mokuba glanced back at me. I'm sure I looked like I'd seen my own death.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Seto eyed me inquisitively.

I gulped and giggled nervously. "Uh, ah, yeah, Louie doesn't like storms all that much. He won't be happy." I plastered a wide, cheesy grin on my face.

"O...kay...," Mokuba said, and turned back to the news.

Seto pursed his lips and squinted at me. I knew for sure he thought my explanation was some serious bullshit.

"Louie doesn't like storms?" he asked slowly.

"Nope, gets scared to death, the poor thing." I tugged lightly on my earlobe and glanced down. "That might be a problem, huh?"

"Yeah. I guess it would." Still unconvinced, he gave me a last, skeptical frown before going into his room and closing the door. Almost immediately I heard the clacking of fingers on a keyboard.

While Seto reverted back to his hermit ways, Mokuba and I settled on the floor and decided to kill time in the best ways we could think of: card games, board games, and, once we became bored enough, a round of Duel Monsters. It was about six when Mokuba brought his deck out.

With a devilish grin, Mokuba revealed his secret weapon - - or, rather, all three of them. He'd swiped his brother's Blue-Eyes White Dragons from his deck.

Using a briefcase full of extra cards, I'd been building my own deck to use, easily including the loaned Swordsman of Landstar from Joey, until I sighted the three beasts in his hand.

"No," I said, accusingly, "no, no, no. You can't, you'll kill me."

"Only if I draw them," he pointed out. "And I'll have to get Polymerization to summon Blue-Eyes Ultimate." His eyebrows waggled over the fan of cards he held. "But yes, you're at a big disadvantage. Haha."

I sighed heavily and patted my cards into a neat stack. "Okay. I'm ready. What next?"

He stared at me. "You don't know how to play?"

"No, I know how to play. Joey taught me everything. I just don't know if you'd rather play on the floor or with Duel Disks."

The words 'duel disk' must have been like catnip for Seto, because his door opened and he emerged from his seclusion as soon as the phrase rolled off my tongue.

He sat down above us on the couch and quirked one eyebrow. "You're dueling her?" he asked Mokuba, eyeing me disdainfully.

Mokuba nodded enthusiastically. "Yep. She says Joey taught her to play."

A harsh cruelty glinted in Seto's eyes. "The mutt taught you? You're doomed."

My shoulders tensed. "I thought by now you'd be above the childish name-calling, rich-boy."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just let me see your odds in this duel." He extended his hand for my cards.

I grudgingly placed the stack in his palm and waited for his verdict, shifting my weight from thigh to thigh, my hands pressing into the floor.

He looked over each and every card, analyzing the text and noting the combinations of monster, trap, and spell cards. Towards the end of the deck, he smirked and plucked one card from the rest, turning it around with a flick of his fingers. "And where did you get this?"

Naturally, it was the Swordsman of Landstar.

I glowered at him, saying nothing.

"The dog, right?"

I lowered my gaze to the rug. "Yeah."

He chuckled. "Maybe it's him that you should be going after, and not me."

I felt my blood boil. "I'm not in any way - -"

"Guys, guys, break it up," Mokuba said, raising his hands. "No need to fight. Let's just get on with the duel."

"Fine," I muttered, yanking my deck from Seto's grasp. Then I smirked at Mokuba. "Let's duel!"

XXX

Of course I lost. That goes without saying. But at least I put up a good fight before I was ultimately defeated. I drained Mokuba to a mere two hundred life points when he eliminated the remainder of mine. My Hyozanryu was obliterated by none other than the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Even Seto had to smile at that.

I slapped hands with Mokuba and we exchanged a 'great dueling' wish, and then I stood up and streched. I found the clock on the microwave and saw that it was now eight-thirty.

"Wow. We spent two and a half hours playing a card game." I smirked. "Interesting. Very interesting."

"Hey, Celeste, wanna watch a movie?" Mokuba grinned and waved a DVD box in the air. "C'mon, please?"

I smiled. "Okay, fine. What movie is it?"

"It's Blades of Glory. Y'know, with Will Ferrell?"

"Oh great. Him." I slapped my forehead but came over and sat beside Seto on the couch. He hadn't left that spot since the duel began.

While Mokuba popped the disc into the player, I leaned back into the back of the sofa and briefly closed my eyes. When I opened them, Seto had leaned much closer to me, and his partial smile seemed apologetic.

"I'm sorry for being an ass," he said, his voice low so Mokuba couldn't hear. "I'll stop criticizing the mutt - - Wheeler, sorry - - and I'll make it up to you later."

My heart kicked into overdrive at the prospect. "Really?" I murmured.

"Really." He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his lap, resting his chin on my shoulder. I tilted my head back, feathering a gentle kiss over his cheek.

Mokuba ignored us and sat on the opposite end of the couch, as far away as the piece of furniture would allow. He clicked 'play' on the remote, and the opening previews began.

As Seto's hand rubbed sensual circles on my leg, a distant rumble of thunder sent a quick shiver through me.

It was going to be a long night.