The Secret
By: Freewater
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I think I own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Characters. This story was written just for the plain fun of it.
Rating: R
Pairings: Seto/Joey
Notes: I'm going to be using their English names because I feel like it.
Warnings: This is a YAOI story (sort of)
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Chapter Seven
Joey looked up at the multistory building in awe. Only the first two floors seemed to be part of the actual restaurant that Kaiba was taking her to, and she couldn't help but wonder what the other floors were for. There were only about five or so, but still.
She asked Kaiba, and he responded with: "They're for the owners and managers who do all the paperwork for the place." He said, leading her inside, also explaining that the reason the Duel Monsters Convention was being held so close to the classier part of town was to lure out the rich card collectors. Convincing them with expensive stores and five star hotels that the convention actually had something to offer for the rare card hunter.
There were people eating on the tables outside beneath the shade of a canopy , and on the second floor were more people eating or drinking wine on the balcony. Each an every man and woman there looking like they were wearing five million dollar socks just to go with their ten million dollar shoes.
If Joey had been impressed by the outside of the place, it was nothing by how awed she was when Kaiba led her inside.
The room was sparkling as three crystal chandeliers hung overhead. Every table had those nice white table clothes on them with colourful flower or candle centre pieces, just like she'd seen on TV. The room was spacious enough for a stage to be set up at the head of everything while men and women in black suits and gowns played their violins, cellos and harps. An elevator could be see off to the side of the stage, allowing guests to get to the second floor.
Joey didn't have much time to admire the soft music floating around the air as Kaiba led her towards the receptionist. A skinny man with a hooked nose who wrote something down in his books, not looking too pleased before he looked up and smiled brightly at the sight of Kaiba, whom Joey already guessed was a regular customer here.
"Ah, Mister Kaiba! Welcome back!"
Kaiba didn't bother with the pleasantries. "I have a reserved table for two." He said briskly.
The receptionist took a glance at Joey and wrinkled his nose before looking back down in his big book of names and flipping through the pages. "Ah, yes, here it is. You're right on time as always sir." The man said, and Joey knew why Kaiba so obviously didn't like him.
He was a snooty man who worked in a snooty place and only smiled for big tips, the fact that he looked his nose down at Joey as though he thought she was better off in the local Burger Barn made her want to hit him.
Was it really that easy to see that she didn't come from money?
The receptionist called over a waiter in a white tuxedo jacket and had him lead them to their tables. Wordlessly handing them their menus before telling them the specials and offering to come back in a few minutes once they had a chance to choose what they wanted.
Joey only glanced at her menu before lowering it and leaning over the table to where Kaiba sat, keeping her voice down in case someone should hear her bad grammar and kick her out.
"What was with that guy?" She asked.
Kaiba sipped at his complimentary water. "The receptionist?" He asked, and Joey nodded. Kaiba seemed to smirk, and Joey could only guess it to be at a memory of some sort.
"A few years back, right when I just inherited the company," He started, and Joey leaned closer, her arms on the table now. "Mokuba and I had just found this place. We weren't used to going out and blowing money in expensive restaurants and stores for absolutely no reason whatsoever, so we decided 'why not?' and went in. This place turned out to have the best food we could ever find anywhere. Not even the chefs at Kaiba mansion could compare. So we came here often and became regulars."
Joey rested her head in her hand as she listened. Wondering what it would be like to just throw away five hundred dollars on a whim like what Kaiba must do every day, but she quickly shoved the thought out of her mind. "Then what happened?"
Kaiba took another sip of his water. "That receptionist had just started working here or something, and didn't know who I was and refused to allow Mokuba and I to come in since were so young. I was only fourteen at the time and Mokuba had just turned nine."
Joey took a drink of her own water, entranced by the story.
"Eventually he walked away to do other things, and another waiter came up to us and gave us a table. We thought there had just been some kind of mistake with the other receptionist and let it go. The waiter seemed genuinely nice, and Mokuba liked him because he gave him extra ice cream without charging, but he doesn't work here anymore. Anyway, what happened was, that guy, I never bother to remember his name, saw my brother and I already eating and approached us." Kaiba couldn't suppress his chuckle, and Joey knew it could only mean that he put the receptionist in his place.
"He made a giant scene about how 'children were not allowed' and 'where were our parents?' and how we 'snuck past him to play on the sympathies of the workers to get free food' or something like that."
"It went on like that for five minutes straight before someone higher up then he is ran up and whispered into his ear who I was and what multibillion dollar company I owned." Kaiba chuckled again. "The man went white as a sheet and stared at us with his mouth wide open. Of course, to rub some salt into it I threatened to never come back, and Mokuba did his little crying on command thing just to make it worse for him. As a gesture of good will, we received free service for a year and he was almost fired before I stepped in and allowed him to keep his job like the merciful person I am."
Joey sputtered out laughing, holding both her hands over her mouth just to keep it in.
"He's been kissing my ass ever since." Kaiba finished evilly, looking thoughtful. "He still hasn't learned though."
Joey immediately stopped laughing and looked up at him. "What do you mean?" She asked.
"Don't think I didn't see the way he was looking at you." Kaiba said, and Joey felt flushed, surprised he noticed that.
"I'm used to being looked down on, don't worry about it."
Kaiba snorted. "You're dressing up and am my guest, if anything you should be looking down at him."
Joey couldn't find anything to say to that, so they both resorted to looking at their menus.
The waiter finally came back with a pen and a pad of paper in his hands, and he asked them what they would like.
Kaiba put his menu down. "I'll have the steak, medium rare and baked potatoes."
The waiter nodded. "Very good sir," He said, looking down at Joey now. "And, for the lady?" He asked.
Joey heard him speaking in the back of her head, but she was also still looking through her menu. So engrossed in trying to pick something out and wondering how anyone in the world could spend so much money on just a little bit of food that the word lady didn't process in her brain. She wasn't used to it.
"Excuse me? Miss?" The waiter prodded. Joey still didn't know he was talking to her.
"Miss?"
Finally, Kaiba kicked her in the leg. Not too hard, they were in a nice place after all, but just enough to get her attention.
"Ow! Kaiba! What are you–" It was then that she noticed the waiter. "Oh! Sorry!" She said. Embarrassed. "I didn't hear you."
The waiter didn't seem to mind. "Perfectly alright. Have you decided what you would like."
Joey looked back down at her menu. "Uh..."
The waiter smiled at her patiently, figuring that she was new to money and helping her with her menu, turning it to the salad section. "These are our choices for the day," He said, pointing out all the expensive garden green salads and what was in them.
Joey sweat dropped while looking at the pictures on her menu. The salads were all fresh looking and just as expensive as the normal meals. Each dish promising her to be low in fat and perfect for diets.
"Uh... what are you having Kaiba?" She looked up at him.
If the waiter was surprised by hearing Kaiba's date call him by his surname then he didn't show it.
"Steak and potatoes." Kaiba replied.
"Really?" Joey asked, leaning over her chair and pulling Kaiba's menu down to look at the picture. "Hey, that looks pretty good. I'll have what he's having." She said, grinning up at the waiter, already hungry and awaiting her five star steak.
The waiter looked her over. Seemingly confused about something. "Are you sure miss?" He asked.
"Uh, yeah? Why? Joey asked, noticing Kaiba sticking his face in his hand to silently laugh at her.
"Nothing miss, nothing." The waiter said, quickly jotting down the order. "Anything to drink?" He asked.
"Do you have any Coke?" Joey asked.
"That sounds good too," Kaiba said.
The waiter looked startled. "I'll have to check," He said, taking their menus and quickly disappearing before they could ask for anything else.
When he was gone, Joey glared at Kaiba. "Okay, what was that all about?" She asked. "Why was he pointing out the salads to me? I was in the meats department."
Kaiba gave her a sultry smile. "Women tend to not eat when their on dates." He said.
Joey blinked at him. "What? Then what am I supposed to do? We're in a restaurant." She said.
"True, but," Kaiba looked around for an example, finding one quickly. "See that woman to your left?" He asked, refraining from pointing.
Joey took a glance to her left, seeing a long haired brunette who appeared to be in her mid twenties, with a man about the same age sitting across from her at the same table, not looking for too long before facing him again. "Yeah?"
"She's eating a salad, and she's barely touching it." Kaiba said, and Joey looked again, shocked to find that he was right!
"I don't understand." Joey admitted.
"Women who come to places like this are always on diets, and even if they weren't, most refuse to eat in public areas out of the fear of looking rude or sloppy."
"Just for eating?" Joey asked, and Kaiba nodded his head.
Joey's whole body seemed to deflate. "Did I just embarrass you?" She asked.
Kaiba chuckled. "Far from it, the look on the waiter's face was priceless. He's obviously never seen a woman actually eat here before. Besides," He continued. "Neither have I, and it's nice to go out with someone aside from Mokuba who will actually eat with me." He said, and Joey smiled, instantly feeling better.
Joey's stomach rumbled. Not loud enough to hear, but enough for her to put her hand on her stomach.
"Food's gonna be a while, eh?" She asked.
Kaiba shrugged. "About twenty minutes or so."
"Ah," Joey looked around again, her head twisting from this way to that, trying to take in all the nice looking things and fancy people.
Kaiba noticed out of the corner of his eye, a fat woman wearing a mink around her neck, looking at the blonde girl with disdain behind thin, gold rimmed glasses.
Kaiba knew why. Joey was rudely keeping her arms on the table, and was twisting her head this way and that to try and see everything. Not keeping still like a lady in public should. Joey had on no necklaces, earings, or rings, looking like the picture of someone who didn't belong.
Kaiba then turned his head so that the woman could have a full view of his face while Joey was occupied with a waiter setting fire to a plate. She saw him, and smiled with pity for him, wondering what foul twist of fate brought him into the company of a stray.
Kaiba sneered at her, baring his teeth, and the woman gasped in shock, waving her hand at herself to act as a fan before turning away with a huff.
"Kaiba, can I ask you a question?"
Kaiba quickly turned back to face Joey, glad to see that she hadn't noticed the show. "What is it?" He asked.
Joey seemed to squirm in her seat. "Why are you taking me out like this?" She asked.
Kaiba raised a brow at her. "Why am I taking you out?" He repeated.
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful or anything, because I'm not!" Said Joey quickly. "It's just... we always fight, y'know? So I don't really get this sudden change."
"You do remember that I'm blackmailing you, right?" He asked.
Joey half glared at him. "How could I forget? But that's not the point. You're blackmailing me, but you're spending all this money on me. What for?" She asked.
Kaiba contemplated the question. Wondering if he should answer or not before making his decision. "You intrigue me," He said, leaning slightly against the table.
Joey blinked at him, confused. "I... what?" She asked.
Kaiba took another drink of his water. "I said you intrigue me."
"But... why?" Joey asked, stunned.
Kaiba bore his blue eyes into her brown ones, a seductive smirk on his face. The kind he made after winning a duel monster fight. "There aren't many people in the world who can pull a fast one on me, and ever since I've known you, you've been doing just that."
Joey scratched the back of her head. "It wasn't on purpose." She mumbled.
Kaiba waved her off. "Yes, yes, I know, but still. I always thought you were a boy. You could never actually beat me in a fight, but if you're really a woman then you obviously have a lot of strength. Both physical and mental in order to do the things you've done, and I've never seen that before."
Joey glowed under the compliments, leaning closer with a grin on her face. "Aw! Kaiba! I think you love me!" She teased.
Kaiba smirked back at her. "Nice try mutt." He didn't rise to the bait.
Joey bristled, and was about to say something that shouldn't be said in the kind of place they were in back at him before she was interrupted.
"Well, well, well, Kaiba, who's the lovely lady?"
Joey froze at the voice coming from behind her, and the look of sheer annoyance mixed in with the snarl on Kaiba's face told her that she wasn't mistaken .
Turning around, Joet saw the familiar black ponytail, red bandana, dice earings and spike tattoo beneath the eye. The only thing that looked different about him was that, for the sake of the restaurant, he was wearing a tuxedo.
Duke Devlin.
"What to you want, Devlin?" Kaiba growled.
Duke didn't even bother looking at him, his gaze was still on Joey, who squirmed under it.
"Hello, my dear," He said, taking up her hand to kiss it, and Joey's entire body tensed, looking towards Kaiba as if expecting him to tell her what to do.
"I'd appreciate it if you stopped harassing my date and went away, Devlin." Kaiba sneered, but Duke only ignored him, which was really starting to get on Kaiba's nerves.
"How would you like to dance with me, my dear?" He asked, sounding much more sweeter then Joey had ever heard him before. "A pretty little thing like you should be out on the floor, and I can guarantee you that Kaiba won't take you there any time tonight." He said.
Joey blushed at the compliment, having never been called a 'pretty little thing' before.
"Of course if there's something your date has to say against it then we wouldn't have to." Duke said, looking towards Kaiba now, who was still fuming, and Joey had to wonder if Duke did things like this with Kaiba's dates often.
"Do what you want," The CEO grumbled, crossing his arms.
"But–"
"Perfect! Come with me my dear, when I am done with you, you won't want to return." He said, dragging her to her feet and leading her to the dance floor before she could utter a word.
"What is your name?" Duke asked, putting his hand on her hip and taking her hand into his.
Joey put her hand on his shoulder, thinking it best that it go there. "Um, Josephine."
To Be Continued...
Thank You's:
blue-eyes honeypup: I was jealous too for a while, thus! Adding Kisara
nicole-purple: I think stories like that are rare, good luck trying to find them that's all I can say lol shadowstalker666
Rena Lupin
Lady Hawkie
I never really knew that much about Joey's actual gang life, so that probably won't happen... unless I write a sequal
Rosepedal
wiccangirl2000
Love is for Fools
KuroHonoo: thank you! I'm glad I'm doing this right
Baka Kitsune Sam
Sharem
aloneforevemore
Yami's Wife
SapphireandHoneyStorm
Rockinmuffin
chibikuro rose-sama: That is a good idea, and I had thought of it, but not during the date, maybe at school
Dark Magician Of Chaos
Shounen Squared
Solitudity
clarity
. Sorry about the Exodia thing, I don't really pay much attention to the game, and as for the Kisara/Joey thing, that's been a fic idea I've had for a while but will probably never get around to doing. My thoughts on the two of them are that yes, they are very different, but I am a believer in reincarnation, and I've never believed that you had to look or act the same as the person you once were in a previous life. And Kisara was kind of weak, even with the Bue Eyes on her side, so my idea is that she would want to be reincarnated as someone a little tougher in the next life so she wouldn't get rocks chucked at her anymore.
Caecuslupa
Belletiger
