A/N: I don't own Yu-gi-oh. I only own my imagination and the situations my sick mind has come up with. Can't put a price tag on insanity or I'd be rich…

Chapter 5

You call this Flirting?

Now she had gone and done it. What the hell was she thinking when she agreed to spend time with the Kaiba brothers? Then again, if she hadn't Mokuba would have burst into hysterics and then she would have felt even worse. Funny that glancing at him now showed no signs of the insecure basket case he had been in her classroom.

She had been played.

Kaiba shifted next to her, which immediately caused her to whip her head around to look at him. Damn, the man could make her as nervous as a mouse around a prowling cat. He smirked at her reaction; she rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"You're really going to like this place, it's my favorite restaurant. They have the best Italian food." Mokuba smiled at her then glanced at his brother. Mokuba could see Seto looking at Serenity from the corner of his eye. He was interested and that proved it. Seto didn't usually waste his time even thinking of girls, but here he was looking at her like he did the night of the party. Mokuba liked it.

"I've never been there before," Serenity admitted shyly. Mokuba's presence was calming while Kaiba's was keeping her on edge. She looked at her hands, which she had folded in her lap. Any where but at him, she reminded herself.

"You'll love it." He nodded his head, "I just know it. What is your favorite Italian food?" He had to keep her talking before she decided to bolt. His big brother hadn't said two words since they got in the car. He just sat there scowling at Serenity, but was actually watching her. She wouldn't know it because she didn't understand Seto's nature.

"I like a lot of different food, but I do love lasagna." She smiled at Mokuba then looked at Kaiba. He was looking at her now, blatantly, with a smirk on his face. She turned away from him and looked out the window. They were finally there.

Kaiba opened his door and stepped out, he never waited for the chauffer. He stood to the side allowing Mokuba to exit, followed by Serenity. When she stood he realized their height difference and smiled slyly, he liked that he was so much taller. She felt a hand on her lower back guiding her towards the door. She had to fight the urge to pull away when she realized it was Kaiba's hand. How dare he touch her? Still, it wasn't awful.

They entered the restaurant and followed the host to a table. Naturally they were led to one of the best tables in the place. It was a table for four that had a perfect view of the park. Serenity sat down in a chair close to the window on one side while Mokuba waited for Seto to slide in and sit across from her. Instead, Kaiba stood there with his arms folded across his chest waiting for Mokuba to get in first. Mokuba knew he couldn't make a fuss…yet. So, he sat across from her. He wished she had chosen the outer seat because Seto never sat on the inside.

This was going to be harder than he originally thought, being a matchmaker would require more thought when it came to his big brother.

"I have to go to the bathroom Seto," Mokuba announced and stood up. It forced Kaiba to stand and let him out…interrupting the flow of the waiters and causing the people behind the brothers to complain about the chairs banging against theirs. Mokuba ran off to the bathroom while Kaiba sat back down.

The waiter came and asked if they wanted drinks just as Mokuba took off. Kaiba ordered wine for himself, a caffeine free drink for Mokuba and then looked at Serenity, prompting her decision.

"I'll have a glass of water with lemon please." She smiled at the waiter.

The waiter left them, sitting diagonally across from one another. It was awkward as heck. Kaiba was ready to go get Mokuba when he arrived back at the table. Kaiba stood, banging chairs with the woman behind him-again, the waiters waited impatiently as their shuffle caused traffic flow to grind to a halt. Mokuba sat and smiled at Serenity. He had hoped that his brother would have taken his seat so, when he returned,they would have been sitting across from each other. His scheme hadn't worked. Not yet, anyway.

"Oh Seto, I forgot to wash my hands." Mokuba announced. Kaiba rolled his eyes, sliding his chair back, hitting the woman again, and causing everyone to grumble at the table behind them at the interruption. The waiters were getting more impatient as they were interrupted yet again. Mokuba ran off again.

Serenity smiled after him. "Your brother is a great kid." She had to say something to break the uncomfortable silence.

Kaiba had the urge to say something sarcastic like, 'don't think you have to talk to me, in fact I would appreciate it if you followed the rule of golden silence'. However, she had been intriguing him since the night of the party, and being rude would hardly ingratiate him to her.

"He's a handful, but he's everything to me." Kaiba's eyes met hers.

"He helps out in my room sometimes, especially when you run late. The secretary in the office doesn't like children so she usually tries to find those waiting for rides places to 'hang out'." She shrugged, trying to make small talk with him.

"I'm usually on time, if not the limo is. Tonight was special because it had to be me and I had to finish up some business." He replied then shrugged in apathy.

Serenity nodded her head a few times. Then looked away, out the window. Making conversation with him was like pulling teeth.

Their drinks came. She smiled and thanked the waiter, Kaiba grunted.

Kaiba knew he had to at least try to talk to her, or else she'd never laugh and he would lose. He hated losing. It was his biggest pet peeve. What the hell was he supposed to talk about with a girl, especially this girl who had no insight into his world. She wasn't a part of the business world, wasn't a duelist, and was far from the elite crowd. Not that he liked the stuck up snobby crowd, but at least money would be common ground.

"So, any suggestions as to what's good here?" She asked timidly. She had to make the best of this.

"You said you like lasagna. It's good here." He said dryly while he studied her face.

She was shocked that he remembered she said that, he had been listening. She felt herself blush. Why was that simple thing making her blush?

Mokuba approached the table, he sighed in aggravation when he noticed Seto was still sitting diagonally away from Serenity. He walked over and stood next to his brother.

"Did you wash your hands?" Kaiba asked him with sarcasm.

"Yes Seto," Mokuba answered.

"Nothing else to do?" Kaiba asked.

"Nothing Big Brother," Mokuba replied.
Once again the dance occurred…chairs hitting, traffic flow upset, grumbling at the next table. Serenity giggled at the ruckus.

Mokuba sat down and plopped his chin on his hand. This wasn't working.

He had another ingenious idea…

Slowly he pulled his soda forward, as if he were going to take a sip, but spilled it instead. Kaiba jumped up, Mokuba did too, but managed to get enough on himself to warrant another trip to the bathroom.

"Mokuba!" Kaiba growled. What the hell was going on? His brother was acting like an idiot.

"Sorry big brother…I didn't mean to." Soft puppy eyes regarded an angry Seto Kaiba. Instantly Kaiba melted.

"Go wash up in the bathroom." He sighed heavily in frustration. This was ridiculous, he could count the number of minutes he was able to sit at the table on one hand. The waiters came and cleaned up the table, replacing the linens, the plate that now contained soda and the napkins that Serenity and Kaiba had thrown over the minor flood.

"This isn't a typical night out." Kaiba grumbled to Serenity.

"You don't usually have this much fun?" She giggled as he stood and waited for the table to be cleaned up. His eyes caught hers, was that sarcasm? He smirked at her. She had some wit and he liked that, he liked that the first night. Tonight she had been reserved and he thought scared but that comment shed some light on her. She was nervous. Was it because of him?

She returned his stare with her own. He was quite handsome, unnervingly so. She also knew he could kiss, that was dangerous knowledge.

"May I make a suggestion?" She offered softly.

"What would that be?" He asked, not breaking eye contact.

"Why don't you sit there?" She pointed to the seat in front of her. "That way if Mokuba needs to use the bathroom or wash his hands or whatever it won't disrupt everyone." She smiled at him. She was beginning to hate all of the attention on their table.

He grunted in agreement and slid in to sit before her. Her heart skipped a beat. It was almost as if they were on a date, how unsettling. Then again, if he won the game…no, she could not go there, would not go there.

"Have you decided?" He asked her.

"I'm having the lasagna." She smiled, casting her eyes out the window again. Staring at him too long could boarder on impolite.

Mokuba started walking back towards the table. He noticed the change in the seating arrangement and couldn't help but smile. His plan was working. He sat back in his seat.

Kaiba looked down at him. "You're not soaked are you?" He asked, a little annoyed at the mess and the attention.

"Nope, only a little got me and I was able to dry it with the hand dryer." He smiled brightly. Actually he had skirted the spill quite well, mostly because it had been so well orchestrated. He now had the two the way they should be. If only his brother would talk to her.

"So Seto how was work?" Mokuba asked, hoping to start a conversation.

"It was fine Mokuba." Kaiba looked down at the boy's huge grin. He rolled his eyes, he now understood Mokuba was trying to help, but it was a bit annoying.

"How was school?" Kaiba asked.

"It was great. I can't believe I only have one more day until Christmas vacation." Mokuba beamed. "I think I need to go shopping tomorrow for Christmas Seto, can we?" He asked with high hopes.

Kaiba knew he didn't have that heavy of a work load, but still there were always doubts when it came to last second things.

"Fine," Kaiba replied. His eyes briefly touched upon Serenity before he asked Mokuba what he wanted for dinner.

The rest of the time in the restaurant centered around eating, Mokuba cracking jokes, Kaiba scowling at the waiters and Serenity giggling. Dinner with them certainly was interesting. Kaiba announced they were done when Mokuba used his spoon to flip a sugar packet into the air…it landed on the table behind them. Kaiba knew the people had been annoyed with the table dancing they were doing earlier and the sugar packet just exacerbated the situation. Kaiba quickly paid and they exited the restaurant.

When they arrived by the limo Serenity slid in first this time, noting her bags were gone. A brief panic over took her before the chauffer explain it was placed in the trunk for safety purposes. A thief would break in if they could see a potential gain. She smiled as she moved to her side of the car and silently hoped Mokuba would choose to sit beside her. Naturally he took the sideways facing seat again. Kaiba sat next to her and her heart did a flip-flop.

"Did you like it?" Mokuba asked with excitement.

"I did, but now I'm stuffed." She smiled as she laid a hand on her stomach. "Thank you both very much." She let her gaze linger on Seto's profile.

"I hope you saved room for hot chocolate and dessert afterwards!" Mokuba chirped.

"I don't know Mokuba, I think I may be done for the night." She admonished.

"I'm going to make sure the driver knows where we're going…" Mokuba announced as he dove into the front seat of the car. He plopped down beside the driver and fastened his seatbelt.

"He's being a bit obvious," she turned to look at Kaiba.

"You think?" Kaiba asked with a clipped tone.

"He's sweet, but a bit of a…" she was looking for a word.

"Manipulator?" Kaiba helped out.

She looked at him and noticed he was looking at her.

"I guess." She shrugged, not able to turn away from him.

"Jokester fits as well. He also loves pranks and meddling." Kaiba's eyes drifted over her face, studying her.

"It's funny how you're so different." She wanted to slap a hand over her mouth as soon as the words had left it. It made her sound like she thought he was…dull.

He smirked again. She had insulted him openly. He would have been angry if he hadn't noticed the beautiful pink stain that spread across her cheeks and her nose. He had the sudden urge to kiss her, but held back.

"I'm more of a cynic who's sarcastic boarding on insulting. No sense of humor…" He slid a finger under her chin and leaned closer, "no sense of morals." He whispered that remark close to her ear. She pulled away, eyes wide open.

She was shocked at his admission.

"I don't believe that." She whispered.

"Only one way to find out Serenity." He continued to hold her eyes with his.

"How is that?" She asked, suddenly missing Mokuba very much. The tale of Red Riding hood came to mind.

"Laugh for me on Christmas Eve." He was taunting her.

He turned to look at the window, practically ignoring her existence. She folded her arms across her chest, she would rather eat dirt! Laugh for him so he could show her he had no morals…what the hell kind of a remark was that? She scowled at his form, seeing as he was no longer looking her way. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, words dying on her lips while she tried to come up with a retort.

"You are the most…" She started, then almost lost her nerve when she heard the privacy barrier go up, seeming to trap her alone with him. He turned to face her, an unknown expression on his face. She wanted to call it a mocking expression, but it wasn't one exactly. It was almost as if he knew a deep dark secret of hers.

She hated him.

"Insufferable…arrogant…male chauvinistic…jerk…I have ever had the displeasure of meeting." She was seething; he decided it was very becoming on her.

"But you wanted me to join your contest because I'm your favorite…remember?" He did mock her.

"Drop out Kaiba. You have no business trying to compete in this." She replied through clenched teeth.

"One thing you should know about me Serenity, since we will be getting to know each other better, especially after I win, is I never bend nor kneel. I never concede and I don't loose." He smirked.

"You have no interest in me and I assure you I will not even giggle at your gift. If you brought a stadium full of clowns I'd sit there stone faced and unresponsive. Nothing you could do would make me laugh Kaiba." Her pretty blush from embarrassment had turned to a flush of anger across her pretty cheeks. He noted her clenched fists and cold stare.

She was breath taking.

"I accept your challenge," he chuckled. "I intend to test your theory."

"You're impossible. I'm not challenging you I'm telling you to…to…to…" she wanted to say several very unlady-like words.

"Back off?" Kaiba offered.

"Go to hell…" She countered.

"Been there, done that. I think I'd rather hear laughter now." He almost smiled when she moved further away from him and slammed her back against the seat. Her grunt was definitely a sign of annoyance. She was terminating the conversation. It didn't matter because they had arrived.

Mokuba tore out of the car with Kaiba yelling after him to slow down because the ground was icy. All he needed was for Mokuba to slip and instead of spending the evening sleigh riding it would be spent in an emergency room.

He offered Serenity his hand, but she slapped it away. She never wanted him near her again. If she had to sit next to him again she would scream.

They walked, in silence, to the awaiting sleigh. She looked at the woods, which reminded her of a Christmas postcard, and smiled. It was beautiful. Snow was beginning to swirl around them and the air was crisp. She could almost ignore the bile rising in her throat at the thought of the smug CEO that happened to be walking beside her. Why he was next to her she had no idea. Originally he had walked at his normal pace, leaving her and Mokuba in the dust. Why the change, she had no idea.

"I'm riding up front!" Mokuba chimed as they arrived at the sleigh.

Serenity eyed the small seat in the sleigh and realized she would be scrunched up next to Seto Kaiba. Great. Could the fates be any worse on her tonight? Did she dare even ponder that thought? The man who was going to drive the sleigh helped her into the seat. Kaiba followed right behind her. They were almost touching. The final smirk by injustice was the blanket that was placed over their laps. Now they would also share body heat.

This would be one helluva ride…

A/N: This was a hard chapter to write. I have no idea why, it just was. Sorry it took awhile, but it just wouldn't come to me. I hope you all enjoyed it. I needed some humor, next chapter may be a bit more for the romantics out there…we'll see. Please review, let me know this was ok…put my aching mind to ease…lol Thanks!