"I'm not afraid of anything. I just need to know that I can breathe..."
Title: You Should Have
Dedicated to one of the most patient, greatest friend anybody could wish for: Foresight
Author Note: Normally, I would never pair these two (not that I hate the pairing or anything), but I like Seto and Joey ever so much better swoons. But this is for a friend, and she likes this pairing besides. So I'll try my bestest.
And by the way, all names will be dubbed names. I'm horrendous with spelling.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"You've changed."
"You noticed." Serenity Wheeler laughs softly. She tilts her head back and stares into the reddening sky. Long locks of auburn brush against the sand of Domino beach. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Kaiba."
Seto Kaiba chuckles. "Of course, it's been a long time."
Her fingers curl around the neck of (A/N- the suspense!!! XD) a beer bottle. She takes a deep swig and wipes the foam from her mouth with a leather jacket sleeve. She chucks the empty glass bottle out into the sea.
"Sure it has, Kaiba. You've been away for, what, five years?"
"Six."
Serenity looks out into the ocean.
"Yeah." She says.
They sit.
It would have been romantic, the beach, the sunset, a girl and a boy. But the beach was just a beach. The sunset was just another day gone. The girl was just a girl. And the boy had gone and grown up.
Serenity stood brushing the sand off her jeans. Without looking back at the water, without looking back at Kaiba, she walks away.
Kaiba stands as well. A stray breeze swirls his trench coat around him. He follows.
She stops at a motorcycle and, over her shoulder, tosses a helmet to Kaiba. He catches it easily and raises his eyebrows. "This yours?" he asks with a hint of amusement.
She raises her eyes to meet his. "Something funny?" Her tone strongly implied that she didn't see anything humorous at all.
Kaiba motions to the bike. "I didn't think blue was your color."
Her eyes flicker with some long-forgotten emotion. She turns away from him.
"Well, now you know."
Expertly throwing one leg over, she pulls a key from her pocket. "Get on." She says.
"Where would you be taking me?" He doesn't make any move to get on the motorcycle.
"To meet up with the old crowd." She answers simply. The bike roars to life. It purrs at her touch.
"And you think you can drive this thing?"
She turns to face him. Her eyes flash dangerously. "Listen, I've been driving this for years without getting a scratch! If you think-"
Kaiba's face is suddenly an inch from hers. She stops.
Six years ago, his eyes were as cold as the heart of cruelty.
Today, his eyes weren't frozen anymore. The blue was- warm
Someone else melted his heart of ice while he was away. Even little Mokuba didn't have the power to do that.
Someone else- not her.
Because, six years ago, even she could not reach past his defenses.
And now...
She growls. "You don't scare me," she ground into his face.
Kaiba says but three words.
"You. Are. Drunk."
And that was that.
Kaiba holds the helmet out to her, he's resolute.
She's defiant. "You think one bottle's gonna bring me down? You got something else coming, Kaiba. Things around here are diff-"
With a few movements quicker than the human eye can track, Seto plunked the helmet onto her protesting head and snatched the keys from her fisted hand. Somehow, he managed to get both of them on the bike- with him in front, of course. The engine- once again- revs up.
"Hold tight!" yells Kaiba over the noise.
Serenity, still dazed, disoriented, and, yes, a touch drunk, did just that.
They zoomed down the streets of Domino, a flapping silver trench coat blurring into the distance.
Discreetly, Serenity snuggled closer to Kaiba's back. A ghost of a smile fluttered gently on her lips.
"You know what, Kaiba?" she whispered under the cover of the helmet and the dull roar.
"You've changed a lot too."
They screeched to a stop in front of the Turtle Game Shop. The brightly painted walls and roof hadn't dulled a bit over the course of six years. Neither had the old man, Grandfather Mutou, he still looked as fit as ever as he busily swept away at his porch.
There were some things that never changed.
The steadfast facts of life- Kaiba accepted them gratefully. They were too few to hold for granted. And speaking of holding, Kaiba suddenly found himself holding the helmet.
"Mr. Mutou!" Serenity greeted, able to pull off the childlike look once more, even though she was getting off of a motorcycle and even though she was still technically intoxicated.
"Ah! Miss Wheeler! I haven't seen you here for a while now!" Mr. Mutou dropped his broom and walked up to the motorcycle, of which Seto was just dismounting.
Solomon Mutou smiled at Kaiba. "Hello, young sir."
Serenity giggled, "Mr. Mutou, it's Kaiba, Seto Kaiba."
Solomon looked startled for a moment. "You've grown up quite well, Mr. Kaiba." The old man extended a hand.
And Kaiba didn't take it.
There was a tense pause.
Solomon retracted the hand and coughed awkwardly. "Well then, Serenity, I have something for your brother. Would it be too much trouble if-"
"I'll make sure he gets it, Mr. Mutou." Serenity smiled, a touch sadly, "You can count on me."
Solomon nodded, quietly aware of the sadness within her eyes and of its meaning. "Thank you, Serenity. It's inside the house; I'll only be a moment."
He rushed back into the house.
As soon as he was out of sight, Serenity turned to Kaiba, her brown eyes aflame.
"How dare you treat Mr. Mutou like that???" She hissed angrily.
And then she saw his eyes.
A flash of regret. A flash of hurt. Then only bitter, bitter cold.
"How can you just walk right up to him like nothing's wrong?" His voice, though soft, was as sharp as broken glass, and his words sliced through her.
And his eyes were so cold.
Serenity almost shivered, but caught herself. "Nothing is wrong! How can-"
"Nothing is wrong???" Now, he's yelling too, "You reek of alcohol and yet you rush to him like a child!"
"I AM NOT A CHILD!" she bellows, completely forgetting where they are.
"That's the point!" Kaiba shouts.
She glares at him. "Just drop it, Kaiba. You've been away for too long to expect me to listen to whatever you think is wrong with me."
"I've seen enough."
"But you haven't seen the last six years, now, have you?"
There's a silence.
Mr. Mutou dashes out of the doorway several packages and hands them to Serenity. Noticing the tension in the air, he spoke gently to Serenity, "Thank you again."
Serenity placed the packages into a knapsack and headed back to the motorcycle. Without looking back, she called, "Goodbye, Mr. Mutou."
"Drive safely," he replied.
His purple eyes strayed to Kaiba, who was still standing there. He raised his eyebrows, puzzled.
"It's been a pleasure seeing you again, Mr. Mutou." Kaiba said, in a remarkably even tone.
Solomon nodded solemnly. "Yes, I'm glad to see you back."
Kaiba's trench coat whirled around him as he turned to the motorcycle.
Solomon turned and headed back into his shop.
Serenity waited for Kaiba at the motorcycle. "What did you say to him?"
Unbeknownst to him, she had exceptionally good hearing and had heard every word.
Kaiba growled, frustrated. "Nothing."
"Good. I'm glad you did."
They both got on the motorcycle. Seto in front. Serenity in back. Helmet on Serenity. Bookbag on her back.
"How long have you driven motorcycles?" She had been wondering this since they had gotten off. He wasn't that bad of a driver.
Kaiba chuckled at that. "If virtual reality realms don't count, then I have never driven a motorcycle in my life."
Serenity gaped. "And this is safe how???" She had to yell over the engine.
Tightening her grip on his middle from behind him, she didn't get to see his smile.
They sped off.
Author's Notes:
I'm not sure if this chapter is quite done.
To be honest, when I started, I never thought it would go past a one-shot. But there's actually a plot developing, so I'll try and stick with it!
Review and spoil this greedy little pig silly!
Myuh!
Disclaimer: The above story is a Yugioh fanfiction by DeathCry. However, she does not own Yugioh, hence the fan in fiction. And the quote at the top is from a song called "How Does It Feel" by Avril Lavigne.