Chapter 13 The not-a-date

Disclaimer: Writing these things always makes me sad because they remind me that I don't own Yugi-Oh or the Olive Garden, which is my sole aim in life.

Seto

The Olive Garden certainly lived up to it's reputation. When Seto and Mokuba arrived, they were seated at a round booth that curved around a half circle table. For drinks, Seto ordered unsweet tea, and Mokuba ordered a Doctor Pepper.

"Hey...Seto..." Mokuba said, looking down at his hands folded in his lap. This was going to be hard. "There's something I should probably tell you..."

Seto turned to him. "What did you do this time?"

"Well...do you remember Serenity from the hospital?"

"How could I forget?" Seto asked, rolling his eyes. "Why?"

"Well...I kind of..." he paused and smiled sheepishly. "invited her to have dinner with us tonight."

"You...did...what?" Seto asked, astounded. "You did this without my permission?"

"Yes..." Mokuba said in a small voice.

"Why?" Was all Seto could say.

"Serenity's my friend. I knew that you wouldn't want to come if you knew she was coming."

"Why would you think that?" Seto asked, genuinely clueless.

"Because I didn't think you like her very much, considering the way you treated her in the hospital." Mokuba looked up at him. Seto looked shocked.

"I treated her just like I treat everyone else."

"Exactly." Mokuba said. Seto opened his mouth to say something, but then a girl walked through the door. If it weren't for her soft brown eyes and reddish-brown hair, Seto wouldn't have recognized her.

She was wearing a long, blue-silver halter dress and, unlike their last meeting, makeup. Glitter eye shadow and light lipstick. Mokuba elbowed him in the arm and told him that it's rude to stare. But then, who wouldn't? She asked the hostess a question and was directed to their table. Mokuba scooted over.

Serenity

Let's not lie: Kaiba looked good. Better than good, he was just plain hot! He looked much better than he had in the hospital. The bruises were gone, and his the color had returned to his face. There were still dark rings under his eyes, but other than that he looked fine. Very fine...

"Hi Serenity!" Mokuba said, smiling at her. "I'm glad you made it. Here, you can sit by me...across from Seto."

"Okay, thank you." She sat down and looked around. "This is a really nice place."

"Yeah, it is." Mokuba agreed. "Do you like it, Seto?"

"Mmhmm..." He said distractedly. At that moment, their drinks arrived.

"Oh, we have one more. What can I get you to drink?" the waitress asked as she handed Mokuba his Doctor Pepper.

"Sweet tea, please." she said. The waitress left to get her drink. Serenity looked at the menu, but everything was in Italian.

"Um...do you...know hat this stuff is?" She asked. Kaiba shook his head.

"No..." he said, looking through it.

"Well, I find that the best things have really funny names...like baklava!." (Mmm...baklava! Delicious, but kind of sticky)

"Mokuba, baklava's Grecian." Kaiba said.

"It was just an example. I'd order something with a really weird name."

"I don't know...I don't' want to order something that I might be allergic to. I do like spaghetti..."

"Order that. I think I'll have the calamari." Seto said, examining his menu.

"What's that?" Mokuba and Serenity both said in unison.

"Oh, you know...it's that...uh...Italian dish." He said, obviously not having a clue what it is. (Although I hope you do!)

Mokuba smiled at his brother. "I think I'll have that too! If Seto likes it, it's gotta be good. He has an excellent sense of taste...except for caviar. I don't like the fishy eggs..." he made a disgusted face. Serenity chuckled.. The waitress appeared with her tea.

"Have you all decided what you would like to order?" She asked, pulling a pencil from behind her ear.

"Yes," Seto cleared his throat. "I'll have the calamari."

"And I'll have whatever he has." Mokuba said when the waitress turned to him.

"Okay, two calamari. And you?" She looked at Serenity.

"Just spaghetti." She said.

"Okay, I'll be back later with your bread sticks."

"Hey, Kaiba?" Serenity asked, feeling heat rise to her cheeks.

"Hm?"

"This...uh...this isn't a...you know...right.?

"A date? O-of course not." he stammered.

"Okay, that...that's what I thought. I was just making sure..."

"Oh, I understand." He glanced at Mokuba, who shrugged innocently. "Hey..." Seto decided to change the subject. "Didn't you get cold in that dress?"

"No, not really. Only when I was outside, but I'm fine right now."

"Why would you wear something like that in the middle of winter?" Seto asked, but Mokuba nudged him in the arm again. "N-not that it looks bad...I mean, you...uh...wear it well...er..." everything that came out of his mouth sounded wrong. Usually he wouldn't care what he said, and usually it wouldn't matter. But around Serenity, things were different. He couldn't think like he normally could, and things came out all wrong.

"Um..." Serenity felt her face turn hot again. "Th-thank you...Kaiba..." She took a sip of her tea. Mokuba smiled when the waitress returned with the bread sticks.

"These look good!" He said taking one. Serenity picked another up.

"They are." She said. Seto took one and tried it.

"I can't wait to try the main dish." Mokuba said. Serenity nodded.

"Yeah, if this is this good, imagine what the rest is going to be like!" She said, and took another bite. Seto smiled briefly, and then caught himself. Smiling?

They talked about nothing in particular for a while: the weather, (snow had begun falling again) the restaurant, the food, nothing much until their meal arrived. The waitress sat a rather large plate of spaghetti in front of Serenity. The meatballs were about the size of golf balls. (Mmm....) Then she gave Seto and Mokuba their calamari. It was cut into little ringlets, like onion rings. Seto put a piece in his mouth, chewed thoughtfully, then swallowed.

"This is pretty good. What is it, some kind of vegetable?" he asked, then put another piece in his mouth.

"No," said the waitress, grinning. "It's some sort of octopus."

Seto blanched and swallowed. "Oc-octopus?"

"Squid to be exact." She said. "Didn't you know that?"

"O-of course I did." he looked down at his meal.

"Don't worry, Seto. It's not as bad as fish eggs!" Mokuba said, putting a piece in his mouth. "Actually, it's pretty good. Want to try a piece, Serenity?"

"I'll pass… I've got enough to eat as it is." She said, looking at the mountain of spaghetti on her plate.

"Okay..."Seto said, picking up another piece. "I'm...going to eat this again. Only now I know what it is..." he put it in his mouth. It was good, he had to admit. And Mokuba was certainly enjoying it.

Serenity tried her spaghetti. Delicious! The monstrous meatballs were good too, but half way through it she realized she wasn't going to be able to finish it. She was almost full, and there was still much to be left eaten.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" Mokuba said, suddenly. Seto stood up to let him out, and then sat back down. Five minuets later, the lights dimmed, and Mokuba returned to his seat.

"Wow, isn't this nice?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is." Serenity sighed. The soft lights overhead made Seto look even better. He was probably the most handsome man she had ever seen.

His blue eyes met hers, and it was then she realized she was staring at him. She looked away quickly. He must think she was awfully rude, or like those other silly adolescent girls who only liked him for his looks. Liked him...where did that come from? Did she like him? No, it wasn't possible. Joey would kill her. But when she looked at him...she felt different than when she looked at Tristan.

Seto was troubled with his emotions too. Serenity wasn't like other girls. She didn't giggle all the time when she was around him like all those other girls, nor did she throw herself at him and try to flirt with him. She was...different.

"Do you have a ride?" Seto asked when they were standing outside after dinner. Serenity nodded.

"I was going to call a cab..." She said, shrugging.

"Do you want to ride in my limo? I...got a new driver." he looked at the ground and shuffled his feet.

"Sure! I'd love to!" She said as she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth.

"Oh! You must be freezing!" Seto removed his trench, hesitated for a second, and put it around Serenity's shoulders.

"Thank you, Seto." she said, smiling. She could smell his expensive cologne on the coat.

"You're welcome...You...called me Seto."

"Yeah." Serenity smiled. "I did."

Seto smiled to himself. "Now, where's Mokuba? He should've been back from the bathroom by now. He already went once while we were eating."

Little did he know that from a distance, Mokuba was watching them, smiling from ear to ear. He ran out to meet them.

"Serenity's riding with us?!" he asked, smiling innocently as they told him. He got in the front seat. "You two can sit in the back."

"Maybe...we could have another...not-a-date, sometime." Seto said when they arrived at her house. She smiled at him.

"I'd like that, Seto." She said. Just before she got out of the car, she turned to him and handed his trench coat back. "You should smile more, it makes you look good." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I had a good time. Thank you." And she got out of the car, leaving behind a very stunned Seto.

So, what did you think? I know it was kind of long, but at least I made it through it. I realize it was kind of poorly written, but I wrote it late at night, and I was kind of rushed to finish it. Don't worry, though, I'll take my time on the next one.