Powdershipping (Seto x Ryo x Shizuka)
(I like having parties at Ryo's house. That seems to be a trend for me.)
"Okay, so now, add the milk and sugar and stir well," Ryo read aloud from the recipe.
Shizuka seemed to be familiar with the recipe without Ryo's help, as she was already nodding and pouring the milk. Ryo measured out the sugar and added it to the mix.
"Oh, and I always add an extra half teaspoon of vanilla," Shizuka said. "I did by accident once, and it made the cake taste better."
Ryo nodded, and added the extra vanilla.
They were in Ryo's kitchen, finishing up the party preparations. Yugi and the others were already in the other room, and the laughter filtered in through the doorless opening of the kitchen.
"Sounds like a party in here," Shizuka said with a small laugh.
"Yeah," Ryo said. He smiled. "It makes the whole house feel brighter."
He glanced across at Shizuka. There was a look of intense concentration on her face as she stirred the cake batter. She had pulled her auburn hair back into a pony tail, but her bangs still fell thickly over her light brown eyes. Suddenly, he realized he was staring, and he looked away quickly. He moved to start washing the dishes instead. However, inevitably, his eyes wandered back to Shizuka. She really was pretty...
He found a blush coming to his cheeks and looked quickly away to the dishes again. Probably, the cycle would have continued, but he heard the soft creak of the floor outside the kitchen.
"Oh, Kaiba-san," Shizuka said brightly. "Mokuba-kun! I didn't think you were coming."
Ryo glanced up, surprised. Sure enough, Seto Kaiba and Mokuba Kaiba were standing in the door of the kitchen. Mokuba smiled brightly, trotting into the kitchen to give Shizuka a hug. Shizuka's smile lit up her whole face, and Ryo had to look away before he blushed again. Seto, unlike his brother, had a tense expression and a stiff posture. Just about anyone could see that he was only here because Mokuba wanted to come.
"Hello, Kaiba-san," Ryo said. "How are you?"
Kaiba grunted noncommittally.
"Everyone's out in the living room," Shizuka said. "Mokuba, I think Rebecca-san has been looking for you."
"Okay," Mokuba said. For a second, it looked like he didn't want to leave the kitchen. But then he trotted into the next room. Seto stayed where he was.
"Don't you want to greet everyone?" Shizuka asked him.
Seto shrugged.
"Don't tell me, you're only here because Mokuba begged, right?" Shizuka said, the hint of a tease in her tone.
Seto glowered at her, but it was half-hearted.
"I was only going to drop him off," he said.
"Oh, don't be a party pooper, Kaiba-san!"
She laughed a little, and it was a nice sound. But her smile wasn't directed towards Ryo this time. This time she was smiling at Seto. Ryo looked down at his dishes.
He was glad his hands were in the water, because no one could see him clenching his fists.
He doesn't even notice, he thought. He doesn't even notice that her smile is somewhat different for him.
He glanced back up at Shizuka, who was currently trying to tug Seto into the next room while he snapped retorts to her attempts to persuade him to come in. Ryo glanced at her smiling face again, and realized, that she might never smile at him like that.
Surprisingly, the thought hurt.
A/N: I make Shizuka such a Mary-Sue. I sincerely apologize, it just seems to happen. But I do think that Ryo would have a crush on her. I really think their personalities complement each other well. Next is Pompshipping (Seto x Miho).
