Have I really not updated since April this year? Sheesh.
Anyways, I would like to give my thanks to these lovely people for following, favouriting and reviewing 'A Side I Never Knew' since my last update. Your support is always greatly appreciated:
Paigetcute
alisterkaiba
kelbell79
SetoRJK-Kaiba
And of course the awesome K5Rakitan - dedicated reviewer, as well as much more efficient author than I ever will be. Make sure to check out her story 'Kaiba's Prostitute' if you haven't already. Seriously. You will be entertained, and much more regularly than myself…!
Now to catch up with where things are at with Skye and Seto this time.
She didn't tell Daisy everything, but Skye gave enough for the Welsh woman to decide that a coffee date with friends was essential. With the suggestions of inviting Lee, Serenity, Mai and Tea, and taking any girls from the orphanage out to the mall with them, everything was set. By the next weekend, all the women were gathered together at the local mall, coffees in hand and cakes at the ready, and the girls had blithely run off to content themselves with some shopping.
"Man, it is so good to get some female company at last! Joey and Tristan have been driving me crazy trying to be around my place all the time." Tea announced, her smile indeed relaying her relief. The rest of the women nodded along with her sympathetically.
"Tell me about it, honey. Joseph has been rather irritating as of late." Mai drawled.
"Remind me why you're going out with him again?"
"I have yet to figure the out myself. He does have his moments of charm though."
"I didn't realise you two were dating." Skye interjected. She was surprised that she hadn't picked this up when she met the gang last time. I really must have been far and away that night, she thought.
Serenity giggled and said, "It's not something they advertise a lot. Joey isn't exactly romantic -"
"Romantic? Ha!" Mai barked out a laugh, although she was still smiling. "Your brother has much sense of romance as he does about duelling - not much for either for that matter."
"He's still winning as far as you both are concerned with duelling." Tea smirked.
"Oh please, those are minor set backs in my game plan. I will get him back."
Daisy saw Skye looking a little lost and gently took the woman's hand under the table to give a reassuring squeeze. Serenity was no less aware after her encounter with Skye when she last came over, and decided to get Skye more involved. "I hear from Yugi that you did pretty good during our mini duelling tourney, Skye. Perhaps you could give Joey a schooling or two."
"Get on with ya girl, you can duel? Thanks for telling us, I could have had my kids busy with you for a couple of weeks now, duellin is all they keep going on about in this city!" Lee shot Skye a playful glare, which Skye returned with a faint smile.
"A little. Yugi is a kind teacher, especially to a novice."
"That he is." Tea smiled gently also at the thought of the King of Games. "He's helped me out more times than I count, that's for sure."
"So are you looking for a duelling career also?" Skye asked curiously, finally getting her confidence. Daisy smiled into her cup.
"Oh no, I'm gonna be a dancer. I finished my schooling with New York Ballet, now I'm just waiting to see if I can get a couple of gigs here in Domino. I might even go for something contemporary, or maybe I could teach a few classes." Tea eye's sparkled, remembering all the fun she had with the girls and guys in the city.
What an amazing experience those three years had been! The dancing, the companionship, the sights of NYC, she wouldn't have asked for anything better. But as things had come to a close, Tea remembered, she had felt the pangs of nostalgia for home. She could complain about Joey and Tristan all she wanted, yet she wouldn't have traded them, nor Yugi, Bakura, Duke, Serenity, Mai and the rest for anything. When she finally returned home, it felt like things had moved on as they should have done and she was glad to have returned, especially to see Yugi…
"I used to do ballet many years ago. You'll have to show me the ropes again some time if you go on to teach it. Being part of New York Ballet is a huge honour." Tea's thoughts were interrupted by Skye's admission. All the women around the table gaped at her.
"You were a ballerina?" Tea finally found her voice.
"It was a long time ago, but yes, I was." Skye smiled fondly at the memories.
"That's amazing! Do you still practice?"
"Only a little. Life, as you can see, has taken me in other directions. It's a good way to relax." Skye then looked at Tea thoughtfully. "If you want some experience, why don't you come by the school some time to give lessons? I'm sure we can persuade Mr Sokolov to give you an after class slot, and I know for a fact a few of my girls would love to dance."
"I'm with you on that lass, I can often hear my girls crashing about with their dancing." Daisy said wryly, although her eyes were affectionate.
Tea looked astounded. "You could do that? You could set me up doing lessons?"
"Sure." Skye smiled.
"I don't know what to say…that's such a kind offer! And that's considering I don't have my own studio!"
"Maybe you could set one up once you've been teachin enough. Ya never know, being able to teach at Seto Kaiba's orphanage is one hella good thing to have on your resume." Lee said.
"Amen to that. If I don't get a least a deputy's position after a year or two hear, Mr Kaiba's name ain't worth jack!" Daisy made cheers with her coffee cup. The rest of the women hooted with laughter and followed suit. Tea turned to Skye once again and smiled.
"I'm really glad Mokuba introduced us, Skye. You're so kind."
Skye flushed at the compliment. "I'm glad too. Especially now to meet another fellow dancer."
"Who's a dancer, Miss?"
The ladies turned to see that Bianca and Ada had returned, curious and nosey as ever. Skye gestured over to Tea. "Miss Gardiner here is a dancer. I believe we may be able to get to come and give us all some lessons."
The girls gasped with excitement.
"Really? We'll be getting dance lessons?"
"If you'd like some."
"But of course we would!" Bianca all but squealed. "Look, I can do an almost perfect twirl!"
The girl did indeed do a semi-decent twirl, but not before nearly tripping herself up, which made the women at the table laugh and smile with appreciation.
"Almost perfect." Skye observed, still smiling. She got up from her seat and guided Bianca to a space away from the table. "In ballet, we call it a pirouette. The best way to perfect a pirouette is in your legs, your arms and where you keep your head."
"How so, Miss?"
"Like this."
And just like that, in the middle of the mall, Skye performed a beautiful pirouette. To an untrained eye, it was a marvel to see. To her, she knew she was a little rusty, with not as quite straightened legs or a posture as she used to have. But thankfully she kept on her feet, and when she finished, she was met with gazes of awe.
"You really are a little ballerina, Miss McLaughlin." Daisy finally spoke, voicing everyone's admiration in that moment.
"That. Was. So cool!" Bianca exclaimed. "Do it again!"
It was on the tip of Skye's tongue to refuse, as she was aware that everyone's eyes were on her, including the general public who had spotted her and were pointing her direction. But she thought back to her conversation with Daisy, about how she had spent most of her childhood often being thrust in the spotlight rather than taking it, about how her nerves often got the better of her, and how she had never gone much beyond her comfort zone until going to University and then taking the job at the orphanage.
Daisy had been a keen listener, sympathetic too. The only bit of advice she had for Skye at the end of the night was simple, yet effective, for it had remained stuck in the mind ever since:
If you don't take the moments when they happen, don't hope you will ever be an inspiration to children.
Most would consider the words harsh, but to Skye, they had been what she needed to hear. She was in a position of responsibility now. And to young girls especially, she needed to be a role model, a leader, a teacher. Being teacher, she was gradually learning, meant that you didn't always have to be right, nor did that mean no risks could be taken.
It was those words, as well as the pleading look on Bianca's face, that meant Skye did not refuse and instead obliged after only a moment, performing another pirouette. Bianca, Ada and the rest of the girls who had since returned cheered Skye. As she finished, she looked to see Tea had stood up to join her, phone in hand. The 'Waltz of the Snowflakes' music from the Nutcracker ballet was playing out loud.
"After you." Tea gestured with a grin.
Raising a playful eyebrow, Skye began dancing, Tea following suit. The girls quickly gathered around the table where the women were sat to watch.
"We should so be recording this - ballet at the mall, it is so magical!" Ada sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes as she watched the two dancers sweeping across the mall in between the space left by the crowds that now began to circle around them.
Lee shot Daisy a wicked grin and dug out her phone.
"Will Skye be ok with us recording her? I know Tea wouldn't mind." Serenity gently asked, concerned that the woman in question might react negatively to having her performance reach a wider audience.
Daisy looked at Serenity with a knowing smile. "I think our Skye has finally found her inner Sugar Plum Fairy. And if we don't record it, someone else in the crowd will. Let's enjoy the show, eh, lass."
It was a fair point, Serenity thought, noticing that the crowds had indeed dug in their pockets to get out their phones. Lee had started recording too. The girls were cheering, some of the crowds joining in also. She drew her attention back to Skye and smiled again, feeling reassured.
Skye for her part was feeling exhilarated. Tea of course was a beautiful dancer and they moved together in almost perfect synchrony. It was marvellous and were it not for the music coming to an end a huge round of applause reverberating across the walls of the mall, she would have kept dancing until her feet could no longer hold her.
When she looked at Tea, she knew she had a big smile on her face, for Tea reciprocated the expression. The two returned to the table with their friends and the girls still applauding them. The most gratifying thing for Skye was seeing her girls looking at her as though they had seen the most spectacular show they had ever seen. If that wasn't the reason she had gone into teaching, then she would be damned, indeed.
Seto returned home from work, aggravated and exhausted as ever. On point as usual, his staff had a cup of coffee waiting for him and he drunk it gratefully. He noticed then that Mokuba was home, watching his phone intently. It had been a few days since they had really talked properly. He guessed that his little brother was still peeved at him about the other day the orphanage. Skye's words came to mind:
He may yet surprise you and me, young and high strung as he is. If he makes a success of things here at the orphanage, you have nothing to worry about.
He rubbed his eyes wearily. It was annoying that Mokuba and Skye had been saying things to him that were right and true, he couldn't feeling as though it was a gripe at his ego each time they hit the mark. But the words were right and true nonetheless, and dare he admit that he missed his little brother not talking to him.
Slowly and cautiously, Seto made his way over to Mokuba, getting close enough to hear music. He frowned. Was that the Nutcracker playing?
"I didn't think you liked ballet." He commented dryly.
Mokuba didn't flinch or miss a beat. "I don't. But I like the fact that it's Tea and Skye doing it."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look. It's the two of them dancing in the mall. Serenity sent me the video. It's kinda becoming the thing of Domino city right now. I'm surprised Skye is dancing though. She's never been one to take the spotlight."
Mokuba was definitely right on that one, Seto thought as he remembered all those years ago when Skye used to be a ballerina. She used to get terrible anxiety performing for just the two Kaiba brothers, let alone a huge crowd of people. But sure enough, there she was on the phone screen in front of him, dancing with the same beauty and grace she had always had. She had a smile on her face and she seemed to glow with each step she took, as though she were filled with stardust.
Seto said nothing more and walked away, his thoughts of talking things over with Mokuba replaced by seeing Skye dancing to 'Waltz of the Snowflakes'. He couldn't suppress a smile. It was time to organise that chess match soon, he felt.
Skye had accepted Seto's offer without much thought at the time when he messaged her a week after her trip to the mall. But with hindsight, she was beginning to worry that Daisy, Lee, Ricardo, other staff and even the children might begin to suspect Seto coming round in such short time, and to see her no less. It was all perfectly innocent so far, but appearances did not have to be sordid always for rumours to spring. Still, she wasn't going to reject this evening of chess now. More importantly than potential rumours was not pissing off the boss.
When Seto arrived having come straight after he finished work, he was grateful to find that most of the children had gone off to the movies and thus there were none of them, nor staff, prowling around to be nosey. He knocked on Skye's door. She opened within moments, revealing her to be dressed in a dark blue satin shirt and black skinny jeans.
"Hello." Skye greeted with a small smile, stepping aside to let Seto in.
"Evening." He replied shortly. He eyed the mess of paperwork on the floor near the coffee table.
"You'll have to excuse the mess. Marking has not been kind this week." Skye explained when she saw where his gaze went. She went to the kitchen and picked up a steaming cup from the counter next to the kettle. "I assumed that if you were coming back from work you would need sustenance."
Seto smirked when the smell of black coffee reached his nostrils. "You'd make a good wife. Did your father not wish to marry you off?"
"He tried. And now look where I am." With a chuckle, Seto took a seat on the sofa. Skye resumed her seat on the floor with her marking. "I will be ten minutes or so. Can you entertain yourself for moment?"
"I'm sure I can manage." Seto drawled, clearly a little disgruntled at being made to wait. He had been looking forward to this night.
Skye looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Think of this as a chance for unadulterated peace and quiet. It's massively sought after in my line of work, I'm sure being a CEO is not too dissimilar."
"Point taken."
Skye smiled softly and continued on. Seto pulled out his phone and began idly playing on it.
It was the strangest ten minutes of his life. Usually he would be fussing about what was happening back at Kaiba Corp, or the progress being made on his new designs. Not tonight. He was - relaxed. And the only thing that had really changed from his usual workaholic lifestyle was Skye, who was a calm presence while he fiddled with his phone. He glanced at her every so often, fascinated sometimes with how she worked. She'd range from biting her lip, the end of her pen, to twirling a curl of hair around her finger, to tying her hair up, then taking it down again.
His phone bleeped suddenly while he was mid-gazing at her. He inwardly cursed. A message from Mokuba appeared:
You planning on coming home tonight?
He looked across to Skye marking her papers again and he rubbed his eyes. Since when did he need checking upon?
Skye suddenly dropped her papers on the floor. "I need a stiff drink. Will you take a glass with me?"
"Depends on what you've got." Seto replied gruffly.
"Wine or scotch at the moment. I don't stock up for visitors." Skye went to a small drawer on the right of her desk.
"Scotch will do."
Seto saw two vintage bottles being retrieved from the drawer, one of which was short and square, the other was round, taller and thinner. Both were stuck with fact looking labels. Once the beverages were poured, Skye brought the glasses to the coffee to table before resuming her seat. Seto took the square glass filled with amber liquid and took a gratified sip, closing his eyes and almost shivering as it slid down his throat.
"I assume it's up to standard for you, the scotch?" Skye asked, taking a long sip of the red wine swilling in her own glass.
"A rare and pleasant scotch that I'm sure wasn't cheap to buy."
"I took the bottle from my father's drinks cabinet before I left."
Seto raised an eyebrow. "A bit vindictive, even for you, stealing a good scotch."
"Au contraire, Mister Kaiba, it was bitterness that drove me to the bottle, for it had more love from my father and grandfather than I, although even I can understand why my father drank it so often." Skye spoke as though she were talking of the weather, even though her words were anything but.
"You and me both. My step-father had more love for virtually everything else than myself and Mokuba."
"To poor parenting." Skye raised her glass in a mock toast, said nothing more and drank another long sip. She then poured some wine into her glass and took another mouthful with ease. She then looked thoughtfully at her glass, before getting up and walking to the kitchen, and promptly chucking the rest of the contents of her glass down the sink.
"That was a bit of a waste." Seto frowned slightly. No good wine should ever be wasted, in his view.
"I fancy something different." Skye replied.
She retrieved the scotch from the drawer again along with another square glass and poured herself a measure. She quickly knocked it back, not quite sure if she liked the taste but savoured the burn in her throat, then poured herself another. Seto watched the display with mild fascination. She was already swaying and his few sips of scotch had barely touched the sides.
"Are you trying to get yourself drunk?" He asked as Skye came and sat back on the floor with slightly less grace than she usually managed.
"An inevitable hazard I'm afraid, as you know, otherwise I would not drink at all. This will be my last glass." Skye's tone was careless. "Perhaps I might find some philosophical genius to solve the questions of life, or maybe even beat you at chess."
"I very much doubt that, but I'll enjoy watching you try." Seto began to smirk, pleased to finally be moving the conversation on to something they could both enjoy.
Without much delay, Skye set aside her glass, cleared her marking away, and found her chess set from under her bed. She carefully wiped away the dust from the box before opening it to reveal the board and chess pieces within, all made from marble.
"Fancy set." Seto remarked.
"It was my grandfather's for my 11th birthday. His taste is quite prominent, as you can see." Skye's tone became slightly acid at the thought of her relative.
Seto made no comment to press Skye, although he couldn't deny being curious as to what had really happened between her, Robert and Theodus. But then it was unlikely they would ever have that sort of heart to heart. That was what both their families had in common: deal with any - if not all - issues behind closed doors.
Skye set out the board with practised ease, her long fingers placing them delicately yet deliberately. Seto could not take his eyes off her. Damn the drink, making him see things that he shouldn't, or wouldn't do otherwise. Except the latter part of his thought wasn't true.
"Black for you, like your coffee." Skye announced with a tease in her tone, swivelling the board so the black pieces were facing Seto. He raised an eyebrow.
"Need a head start?"
"Not at all. I plan on making this match my own."
A challenge Seto could never resist, so he smirked and laid back in his seat, then gestured for her to start.
He was pleased to see that she hadn't lost her touch throughout the match. When they used to play as children, she was a bit of a wild card. She clearly did not always thinking as far ahead as he, yet she could make moves that caught him off guard a little, because she seemed to pick moves that he least expected her to make.
For her part, Skye was enjoying herself thoroughly as well. She had never seen Seto look so at home. Even with duelling, of the little she had watched and awed at, there was a rage and almost spitefulness to his duelling style. Not so with chess. These times seemed to calm him, made him mellow maybe even.
The pair's eyes met a few times, yet no words were spoken. Every so often their gazes were held a little longer than the last. They consciously deducted that the other was likely planning their strategy, but the truth was that this was the most comfortable they had felt for a long while together; they were now being normal adults inside a room, with an odd crackle in the air between them.
"Do you plan on making your move any time soon? Hurry up so I can beat you." Seto finally drawled as he felt the game coming to a close. He could see his victory in one more turn, and he was keen to savour it. But goddammit, Skye was taking her sweet time and drawing things out.
She chuckled and replied, "Tut tut, Mr Kaiba, you of all people should know a chess move should never be rushed."
"Oh, please you are delaying the inevitable."
"Is that so?"
Seto looked up from staring at the board to see a mischievous glint in Skye's eye and he frowned for a moment. There was no way she had found a route to beat him, had she? He had been checking the possibilities all along, more than once, keeping in mind not only his moves, but hers as well. It just simply couldn't be possible.
"Are you deliberately trying to psych me out or something? Because it isn't working." He glared a little at Skye when she bit her lip.
"I would not do you the disservice." Skye responded smoothly, her fingers gliding over each for her chess pieces across the board.
"Then make your move." Seto ground out, trying to look anywhere other than her fingers, lips or eyes.
"Very well." Skye's fingers settled one piece, picked it up and placed it. "Checkmate."
If she had a camera and any guarantee that she wouldn't be sacked, Skye would have taken a picture of Seto's face, which to her in this moment was beyond priceless.
"You…" Seto stared at the board a minute, thought, and then exclaimed, "You couldn't have made that move and won! There was a piece there to counter it, right -"
"Here?" Skye produced Seto's chess piece in question by pulling it from her front breast pocket of her shirt, a sparkle of mirth in her eyes.
Seto all but spluttered, "You stole a piece?" He was stunned. When had she managed to do that? Then he realised she had been deliberately distracting him while making her last move - and damn, it had worked. He wanted to be furious, but he couldn't. The little minx - watching her was borderline seductive, and that was never not a treat.
In an unusual act of confidence, high on her laughter, alcohol and the success of pranking the Seto Kaiba, Skye crawled over to him, took his hand and placed the piece in it. Seto felt warm as her hands closed over his own. Now she was unbearably close, her hibiscus perfume sending his pulse into a frenzy.
"You get a win and I get my amusement. I'd say that's a fair trade." Skye had a bright smile on her face.
Seto snorted. "Hardly."
"Then what can a girl do to make up for a prank?"
He kissed her without further fanfare, taking her by the small of her back and bringing her into his lap. Skye was momentarily immobilised, then she hesitantly raked a hand through Seto's hair and kissed him back. Everything was electric and he squashed down a moan in his throat as those fingers rubbed gently across his scalp. Her lips moved with his in eager rhythm, then they eventually broke away. Skye was breathing heavily and looked dazed. Seto wished he could have taken a picture of her face to enshrine. He had to kiss her again.
Seto pulled her back in, ready to claim her lips again, and Skye was more than willing. Their lips came within a whisper of a distance -
"Miss! Miss! We need your help!" Little voices called from the other side of the door.
All but leaping out Seto's arms, for he had a tight grip of her, Skye smoothed out her clothes and hair and rushed to the door.
"What is it, sweet? No one is hurt, I'm hoping?" Skye forced her voice to stay calm, although her nerves and her heartbeat were otherwise. Thank goodness it was only children she had to speak to; she was sure that if an adult had come to her quarters, they would have been able to tell for sure what she had been up to.
Bianca shook her head, yet cried out, "Ada keeps getting nail polish all over me and it looks hideous!"
"Hey, no fair! Your hands keeping shaking, no wonder it keeps smudging!" Ada snapped back.
Sighing, Skye rubbed her forehead and shushed the two bickering girls. "Do not fret girls, I will come along and do them for you in a moment. Now please stop arguing, you're giving me a headache."
"Sorry miss!" The girls chorused, rushing off to wait for Skye to follow.
Skye shut the door promptly and turned to face Seto, who had risen to his feet and was staring at her with no expression on his face. She bit her lip. "I'm sorry to say our evening has come to an end. Duty calls."
"Let's hope enough of your drinking has cleared up, you wouldn't want to smudge the girls' nail polish." Seto replied bitingly. Oh he was annoyed alright. He wasn't one for sharing, but he knew that Skye's priorities were with the children and that their needs and wants would come first. He would have to leave that situation as is: a fleeting moment that left him surprisingly wanting.
Nodding and saying nothing else, Skye stood aside as Seto made for the door. As he came into close proximity of her, that hibiscus scent snared him again and he stopped and looked down at her. He took her by the waist in an uncharacteristically gentle manner, she again letting him pull her in. For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again like he had before, and she would have been outright lying if she thought that wasn't what she wanted in her slightly alcohol-befuddled state.
But he didn't. Both had enough alcohol and fun for one night, and neither were about to engage any further. He was the boss, she was employee still, after all. That didn't stop him however from kissing her on the cheek, a soft touch that made her close her eyes in a stupor.
"Good night, Skye." Seto murmured, not awaiting her response and leaving her rooms with a prompt click of the door shut.
Skye stood there stunned, before whispering, "Good night, Seto."
So yeah. Sexual tension is pretty hard to ignore, and I hope this doesn't feel like a shoehorn into the story, because it didn't feel like that for me. When I was initially planning this chess scene, I hadn't even considered including a kiss between Seto and Skye. But as I kept writing, the progression towards it felt quite natural, and damn me if I wasn't going to include at least one small moment between them that somewhat solidifies how they feel about each other.
That being said, there's still a lot of grey area between them to explore and no doubt they'll still be hung up on the fact that they are employer/employee and all the politics/implications that come with them dabbling with each other.
It's good to get back to updating for the moment, but don't expect the next chapter to come quickly. You all know what I'm like *wink wink*
So if I don't update again soon, have a Merry Christmas, relaxing winter break etc to you all.
xXxCometxXx