A/N: Blah. I bet I made billions of typos in this fic. Worked on this late at night.

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Sweets

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Seto's POV

Friday seemed like forever since I didn't get to spend it with Jou. It was a mix of tiredness and boredom. I have to admit Jou lessens the stress when I'm doing my work. I get to finish my job even if he's around ranting about random stuff and preparing desserts of some sort for my five-minute break. Normally though, I don't really stop working for a break. I only get breaks when he's around and I'm beginning to miss it.

It's a surprise though that he didn't even bother to call me. Usually, he gives me a short call, a text message or a random email. His calls or his emails aren't really the things you could consider 'sweet' but the thought of him wasting his time to just check on me is quite touching. But of course, whenever I reply to his mails or text messages I only say that he's just becoming such a bother, that he's disturbing me and other cold replies. It's like he could read my mind. He knows I'm lying when I say he's a bother. He only messages me more. But today, unfortunately, I didn't get anything. Not even a hello or hi from him. Maybe he's busy with his new job. He's currently working in a cake shop, which explains why he's become good in baking desserts and other sugary stuff.

At the strike of five in the clock, I had to fix my things to come home early for Mokuba. I promised him that I'd go home early since most of the time I come in when he's asleep already or when work calls it, I don't come home anymore. And for that reason, I wanted to surprise him with this new video game he had always wanted. At the same time, I'll pass by the store where Jou is working to check out on him. Luckily, the video game shop was just beside the cake store so it wouldn't be such a hassle.

As I went down, the driver came to my view. "Sir, wh-"

"I'll be walking. Just get drive straight home and leave my car there." He wasn't really expecting that. The guards were shocked too. 'Seto Kaiba, the owner of the Kaiba Corporation, decided to walk miles home. WHOA', they must've thought. They can't say it out loud or I might fire them so the driver only replied with a simple 'ok, sir' and the others continued their work. With that I started walking. I hated public places yet I'm right here going for a walk in the streets. I don't even have an idea why I'm doing this. Maybe it's to prove something, what it is, I don't know yet.

By the moment I reached the store, I've had the attention of like more than fifty girls that passed me by. Their looks freaked me out so I entered the video game store right away. I went to the counter where new game releases were found. Of course, the storeowner recognizes me and leaves the customer he's attending to and provides his service to me instead.

"How can I help you, Sir Kaiba?" He gave me this stupid smile that he always gives the rich customers.

Before I could even speak, I heard a kid cry out. "Mommy, I want this game! Please." The scene goes on as the mother started to explain that the video game was expensive. The storeowner started to look hostile as the kid cried more.

I'm not really into kids; it's just that this kid kind of reminds me of my younger brother, Mokuba. I knelt down and tried to comfort the kid. His mom nearly fainted when she recognized who I was. "So you really want that game, huh?"

"Yeah! Mommy won't buy it though." The little boy said in between sniffles.

"I'll buy it for you then." This is when my platinum card shows up. I gave it to the storeowner. He didn't move at first but when I raised my eyebrow at him he ran to the counter to charge the expenses to the card.

"Really? HORRAY!" A smile lit from the boy's eyes.

"Shouta!" The mother of the kid was embarrassed. She didn't know what to say.

"It's okay." That's the only thing I could tell her and the kid, gave me a hug. I was shocked. Sure, it was just a hug from some kid but well; I never received any hug from some random person I just met.

"Here you go. Here's your card…uhh… Sir." As the storeowner handed the video game to the kid, I was released from the unexpected hug. The mother bowed down endlessly in gratitude.

"Thank you so much, mister!" The kid smiled at me before he left.

"Err… Anything else you want to purchase, Sir?"

"Uh. Yeah. This game called 'Ridge Racer.' Do you have it?"

"Yes, sir. I'll just get a new stock."

As I made a glimpse through the transparent, automated, glass doors of the store, I saw a guy. I thought it was Jou but maybe I'm just hallucinating. When I looked again, there wasn't anyone there. I rubbed my temple gently. Finally, the storeowner comes to give me the video game and my credit card. I regained my poise and walked out of the store. I had to check the cake shop if he's there.

I looked around the store. There wasn't any sign of him. I don't have any choice but to ask the manager if Jou's still checked-in.

"Excuse me, sir. Is Jounouchi Katsuya still around?"

"It was an hour ago that he left, sir."

"Ah." I didn't want to ask more questions because they might think I'm some kind of stalker unless Jou told them about us. So then, I decided to continue my walk. It's already 5:40 pm when I checked my watch. I hurried my way home.

It was exactly 6:20 pm that I arrived. Mokuba didn't seem to be happy about it. He looked –very- disappointed.

"Onii-san! You're late!"

"I'm sorry."

"Let me guess, Jou wanted you to pick him up!"

"No. I didn't meet up with him today."

"Really! That's a miracle. Then why were you late, onii-san?"

Just as expected, he needed an explanation. When I showed him the video game, he snatched it from me and ran shouting 'thanks' before he headed off to play the game. I only sighed to myself as I watched him run away and proceeded to my room. The first thing I did was to check the answering machine if I had any calls. To my dismay, I only got business-related calls. Most of them were from this company wanting to be the business partner of Kaiba Corp. I deleted all the messages in an instant and laid myself down my bed.

He's not avoiding me is he? Does he want me to miss him?

Questions didn't stop coming in until the phone rang. Somehow I felt enthusiastic to answer the phone. It could be Jou. When I saw the label on the caller id it was that guy from the company again. I figured that he'd be opening up the topic about business-partnership again so I didn't answer the phone. I just let it ring a few more times until it finally stopped. I went back to bed hoping to get some sleep.

"Tomorrow, Jou."

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When the sun had already risen, I opened my eyes and turned to close the curtains. I opened an eye gradually and checked my clock. I slept early, which explains why I woke up two hours earlier than the usual. I checked the answering machine again and there was another message. It was about the appointment and meetings today. The message said it could not be cancelled and my presence there is a must. Darn meetings. Now how am I supposed to explain to Jou that we couldn't meet up today?

I grabbed my cellphone and selected the 'New Message' option. I keyed in 'I'm sorry' but after a few seconds, decided to delete it again. I walked back and forth in my room, trying to think of how I could tell him that I can't cancel the appointment today without hurting him whatsoever. To end the dilemma, I sent a 'Can't come today. The appointment can't be cancelled'. No apologies and just a short explanation, that's how Seto Kaiba should do it, right? I thought to myself avoiding the thought of Jou enraged by the message I just sent.

After that, I took a bath and switched into my black suit and blue tie. I headed downstairs and said goodbye to Mokuba before I made my way to the meeting.

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The meeting lasted for more than eight hours. It was unbelievable that I survived the first half of the meeting with just one break, which was for lunch. I didn't get a decent lunch anymore. I was worried that Jou didn't reply to my message. During the second meeting, I was more than eager to go to Jou's house to explain myself. Sadly, I was reminded of the papers I had to work on that were left in my office. Left with no other choice, I drove to my office.

I wasted no time in waiting for the elevator. I used the stairs instead. Each step almost killed me. I was absolutely tired. It's good that my office was just on the third floor. When I reached my office, I pulled out the key to unlock the door then made my way in. The chimes made the tinkling sound again. This was when I realized that Jou was right. It kind of reminded me of him.

I turned to my table and saw this white box. The box was quite familiar. It looked like the ones from the cake shop where Jou worked. I looked for a card to verify whom it's from. The card read: Chocolate Chip Berry Shortcake.

Thinking that the message on the card made no sense at all, I just decided to open it to at least get a clue where or whom it was really from. I then gently slid the top open and peeped at its content. I was expecting shortcake for that's what the card said but what revealed to me was a micro cd. At first, I wasn't that interested to check it out for I'm still uncertain where that cd came from. It might have some sort of virus in it and sabotage my laptop. But then curiosity came over me. Checking the cd is the only way I could find where it's from.

I put the cd in place and to my surprise, after I clicked the drive d icon, the media player opened.

What the hell is this? A video clip? I asked myself, absolutely clueless of what the cd's content was. That was until the player showed an image of Jou. It wasn't just Jou in his ordinary green polo attire, it was Jou wearing a pink apron. It left my mouth half-opened and my eyes yearning to see more from the clip.

"Seto-kun!" His usual greeting came. I turned the volume louder so I can hear what he's saying clearly. "It was rather mean of you to not show up today, huh!"

"But well, I figured that out yesterday so I recorded this clip for you so you won't end up missing me!" He winked so cutely that a smile was drawn into my lips.

The screen blacked-out for a few seconds. My eyes blinked and I tried my best to fix it, thinking that the screen must've had a problem.

I waited for the image to come out again.

Patience is a virtue, they say.

But then if it takes more than a minute I might have to eject the cd and play the whole thing again.

…

I stood up to check the wires connected to the laptop. I even checked if the cd is running.

…

I was about to eject the cd when Jou's voice was heard again from the speakers. I sat back to my position earlier. "NYAH! I told you! You'll miss me even if I was gone for exactly 45 seconds! Haha. Admit it, Seto-kun!"

Yeah, he wins. I was kind of panicking right there when I lost the image of him in my computer. He could be smart at times.

"Anyway, what did the card say, Seto-kun?"

Wow. Is this some sort of interactive cd? He's not getting me with that 1-minute wait to answer that question.

"You're not gonna answer huh?" He smiled teasingly. "You can't read?"

Probably a minute had already passed and it really seemed like he's not going to continue if I didn't answer. Darn, he wanted me to look dumb and I fell for it. Just because I was curious about what he plans to do. He wouldn't wear an apron, a pink one in particular, just for show. I don't think he even likes the color pink. I shyly muttered "Chocolate chip berry shortcake."

"Right!" It freaked me out to think that the cd is just a phony and Jou must've just made a webcam session just to play a trick on me. But on second thought, he wouldn't really care to do that. He doesn't have a computer to begin with so it entails that doesn't have a webcam. A lot of questions popped out my head. I felt puzzled about the timing of the clip. Does he know me too well that he expects my answer in such a perfect timing? If he does, then I must say I'm impressed. We've been together for almost two years and he wouldn't really be able to predict my actions or actually learn to read my mind in such a short time.

In such a short moment of reflection I stopped thinking once he started to smile sweetly and pull out two bowls and a silver whisk. "I'm going to make a cake for you!"

"First, I'll mix in the dry ingredients." He stirred the baking mix and sugar together. Now, I can imagine what he's doing at work. God, he looked so gorgeous. His face was lit by a pretty curve of his lips. The sparkle of his chestnut brown eyes got me glued to the screen. I watched carefully even though I had no interest in baking a cake for myself. It seemed to me that it was like those shows in the morning about cooking/baking, which are highly instructional. Jou did the same thing so I figured maybe it's where he got the idea.

He pouted for a moment and placed his index finger at the tip of his chin as if he was thinking of something. "Oh yeah!" He held the other bowl and slightly beat the eggs. "I almost forgot. Hehe. I had to mix the wet ingredients in the next bowl." Continuing the process, he blends in the milk and a few tablespoons of oil.

I gave out a soft chuckle seeing that he's being absent-minded. I stared at him mix the dry ingredients to the contents of the second bowl.

"Make sure that the batter is moistened before you stir in the choc chips! My favorite!" He stole a few pieces for the bag of chocolate chips and slid them in his mouth one at a time. I quivered seeing how irresistible he was. He made me miss him so much that it makes me tremble just to see him on the computer screen. I was so not like myself anymore.

"Oops! I didn't mean to eat too many of this!" He stuck out his tongue before pouring the batter onto a cake pan and rested it inside the oven.

I had to see him after finishing this video clip. I desperately want to kiss him. My thoughts were more of pure exaggeration. True, that we already saw each other twice this week but that was the usual. We only see each other twice or thrice, no more, no less. Before, I felt satisfied that way. At least I get to see him. But today, I came to this realization that I had to be with him more. It came to my mind that I couldn't wait for the clip to finish.

"Just a little more, Seto-kun." It was like he's begging me to finish the video clip. He turned around and pulled the cake out of the oven. He started garnishing the cake with whipped cream and sliced strawberries. He did this quietly. If he forgot to say the instructions out loud, I wouldn't know. But with his serious expression, I couldn't really tell what he's thinking at that part of the clip.

He presented the cake. It certainly looked scrumptious. That explains why many customers come to that cake shop he works at.

"Seto-kun…" His voice was calm yet what he wants to say was vague to me.

"I miss you a lot." I think I saw him wipe a tear off his eyes. The beeping sound marked the end of the video. It all left me speechless. I had to see if he was indeed crying in the end so I tried to play the video again.

Beep.

To my surprise, there was a dialog box that popped out saying that the video cannot be replayed. I clicked it again and again but still the program won't allow me to play the clip.

"Damn, Jou. I miss you too."

TBC

A/N: SOOO close to the angsty part. You'll all hate me. evil grin

Shouta is a made-up character. Never mind him. XD

Ridge Racer is some psp game.

It's kinda surprising that Jou actually works in a cake shop. I made it all up anyway. Sorry, lame idea. P

Well that's all. I'm thinking if I should really continue writing this crap… hahaha