Chapter Sixteen
The pattern Seto and Kisa started with, before their flight to Germany, before their relationship without an official title began, settled back into its familiar rhythm. Save for one major difference.
Every morning began with coffee and a kiss.
Every evening ended with lingering goodbyes.
Mostly, they talked. During lunch breaks, after close of business, even for long hours over the phone. There was so much he felt he had to catch up, to try and remember, and Kisa was more than willing to supply the stories to fill in the gaps. She recounted notable events from their childhood. Soccer games, bonfires, county fairs, and the like. Seto listened, but the stories brought about nothing more than grainy still images of moments he felt he should be able to remember, but couldn't. Still, he listened, determined to not have a repeat of that week of madness, when their interactions were hounded by paparazzi and tabloids looking to stir up a scandal. Though it wasn't easy.
"You still want me, don't you?"
She asked that question one rainy October morning. The fifteenth, to be exact. Ten days before they were scheduled to fly out for an extended weekend.
He'd answered without pause for thought. "Of course I do. How could I not?" He motioned to her, indicating what she'd worn to work that day.
That same shirt that had signaled his doom. Sheer fabric over a black tank top. The memories of that night were near overwhelming. He could almost smell the sweat sticking to her skin that fateful night. The yearning, the desire, the desperation.
His passion for her had tempered after finding out the truth, but it wasn't gone. More often than not their interactions dissolved into teasing touches, gentle strokes of fingers against skin. He knew she was testing him, trying to see how far she could take it, how much he could resist before he pressed her against the door or the wall so he could ravish her mouth.
"Prove it," she'd say
Then Seto was out of his chair before he had the mind to think of the consequences. Her taste. Her smell. They were heady, addictive. He hadn't truly felt her for weeks. He wanted to. Gods, did he want to, but something held him back. He couldn't bring himself to cross that line again now that he knew the truth, not fully. With fingers and tongues and gentle caresses, their climaxes were found, but it didn't feel as satisfying.
"You need to stop doing this." Seto would say afterward as he straightened his shirt, his tie, and threaded buttons back through holes.
She smirked as she repinned her hair. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"While we're away from the office is fine, but now that we're back we-"
"'Need to maintain some level of professionalism'. Got it."
Seto kept his gaze steady, his face hard and impassive.
Kisa threw up her arms. "Oh, would you stop? We're never away from the office anymore. I wouldn't have to do this if you'd just go out with me on the weekends. Rin and Miku aren't around. We could go out to dinner, go back to my place. You know, not sneak around like we're in the middle of fuckin' study hall."
"I've told you, I-"
"'-have a business to run'. Right." She tucked her shirt back into the waistband of her skirt. "You do realize emails can wait a few days, right? No one's gonna put you out of business over the weekend."
"That's not the point."
"Then what is? Seems to me the only one keeping you busy on the weekends is you. I can see your emails too, boss. Far as I can tell, you're the only one doing it. Shit, not even Mr. Hoffmann works as much as you."
She was right again, like always.
Seto's desk phone rang. He walked away to check the caller ID. It was no one important, but it would be the perfect excuse to exit the conversation.
"I have to take this," he said.
Kisa's heel clicked against the floor as she turned away. The door slammed behind her.
She'd been mad the last time too. Her persistence was awe-inspiring, but he couldn't be expected to change his schedule to fit her needs.
She didn't join him for lunch that day.
Or the next.
Or the next.
A week before their flight Seto was taking lunch at his desk, without Kisa's presence, again. How long was she going to act this way? The longer he went without kissing her, touching her, the more he was on edge. His concentration slipped more often. He was distracted by every noise he heard through the door and every time she came in to hand over something or ask if she could transfer a call, he felt that need simmering deep within him. She was waiting for him to crack, he was sure of it.
Kisa's high melodic laughter sounded through the door and Seto's eyes broke from his computer for what felt like the hundredth time that day alone.
It was probably someone from R&D, dropping in to pass off an updated plan or a sketch to be sent to Hoffmann Enterprises. The project was set to break ground next spring, but that didn't mean Seto was letting his team relax. There would be fully functional displays ready for installation the day before the work on the exhibit was to finish, at least if Seto had anything to say about it. There was one man from, R&D, older than Seto, who seemed to have made it his mission to be the only one to bring up reports. Seto caught him leaning on her desk one day, speaking in low tones he probably thought was enticing.
Seto narrowed his eyes at the door. Kisa squealed, then laughed. He pushed up from his chair, stomped across the room, and threw open the door.
It was not the man from R&D, but Mrs. Shiratori. She stood by Kisa's desk, an infant car seat by her leg. Kisa was holding a baby in her lap, hands under its arms, fingers cradling its head. She looked as if she had been bouncing him on her knees, but froze in the middle of the action at Seto's sudden entrance.
There was something warm and natural about the scene.
"Mr. Kaiba, good morning," Mrs. Shiratori said. "I'm sorry I didn't call ahead. I was just heading home from Ryuu's appointment and thought I'd stop by." She pulled from her other side a small gift bag overflowing with colorful tissue paper. "I've had Mokuba's birthday present in my car for weeks."
Seto flicked his eyes to Kisa, who looked back down at the baby and continued the gentle bouncing.
Mrs. Shiratori gave him a knowing smile, then turned to Kisa. "Do you mind holding him for a few minutes? I have to talk to Mr. Kaiba privately."
"Don't take too long," Kisa said. "I might just steal him."
The baby fussed and she moved him to rest in the crook of her arm. She used the swivel of her chair to sway him back and forth while making a gentle shushing noise that seemed to calm him.
Seto motioned Mrs. Shiratori into his office and closed the door. He couldn't tell if the shushing he could still hear was Kisa's, or the voice he'd heard in his recalled memory.
"What can I do for you, Mrs. Shiratori?" Seto crossed to his desk and moved to sit down.
"She's quite a catch."
He froze. "Excuse me?"
She jerked her head toward the door. "Our 'Miss Miyoshi'. She calls you by your first name."
Seto sat down. "Good to see you're as perceptive as always."
"You don't even let me do that, and I've known you for longer. She must be something special."
Seto folded his hands on his desk. "I'm afraid it's more complicated than that."
"Oh?" Mrs. Shiratori settled into the opposite chair. "It's gotten that serious?"
"She knows me from before."
"Before?" Realization dawned across her face. "You mean…?" She twisted in her chair, looked at the door, then back at him. "Small world."
"It would seem, but you had something you wanted to talk with me about?"
"Not really." Mrs. Shiratori settled back in her chair. "I just wanted to try and talk to you about her, but… wow."
Seto rubbed at his temple. "This is not a social hour, Mrs. Shiratori."
"Okay, there was one thing. I'm breastfeeding Ryuu and need somewhere private to pump every couple hours or so once I come back to work."
"I'll have an empty office on the next floor set up for you."
She stared at him with intense curiosity.
"Is that all?" Seto asked.
"How serious is it?"
"Mrs. Shiratori-"
She raised her hands. "I'm just curious. Besides the one time, I've never seen you get so involved with anyone. You create work to keep yourself busy so you have an excuse to turn down invitations from staff. Don't think I haven't noticed."
"You're not the only one."
"She noticed too?" Mrs. Shiratori shook her head. "Look, I stuck my neck out to keep you safe whenever Gozaburo brought you here. After that bitch and her father tried to ruin you, I was the one who walked you out the back door to keep those vultures out of your face." She crossed her legs and fixed him with a protective gaze. "I need to know if I have to chase Miss Miyoshi out of here with a pitchfork."
Seto stared, wondering how his secretary had become his most vicious bodyguard without his noticing. Then a snort of laughter escaped him before he could stop it. "You own a pitchfork?"
"No, but I think I could find one if you needed me to."
Seto chuckled, shaking his head. "That won't be necessary. Kisa is-"
Alluring. Addictive. She breathed life into his lungs and shivers down his spine. Every part of her ignited something in him that he never knew he had. A passion. A desire. A need so deep, so ferocious that it overwhelmed every other thought. No other woman had brought about such intensity in him, such uncontrollable passion that not even his adoptive father's behavioral training could quench it.
Seto realized too late that he was leaning against one armrest to run a finger absently across his lips. Mrs. Shiratori was still smiling at him, patient and kind.
Seto let his hand drop. "I don't know what she is."
"What do you want her to be?"
"I don't understand."
She heaved a sigh that lifted her shoulders. "It's something you need to figure out. What does she want from you? What do you want from her? I don't think I need to tell you what happens if they don't line up. Relationships are about compromise. Meeting in the middle. If neither of you are willing to do that, then you're doomed. I don't want that for you. If she makes you happy, and I mean really happy, then I don't want you to let that go or lose her because you've dug your heels in."
"You sound like Dr. Angevin."
Mrs. Shiratori jerked with surprise. "You went and saw her again?"
"It was past time."
"Well, that's two smart women trying to give you advice." Mrs. Shiratori set Mokuba's present on his desk and got to her feet. "Just think about it, okay? From what I've seen, you two might have a good thing going."
Seto didn't think he'd be able to think about much else during that last week before Kisa took him home. At least to what she said was his 'home'.