Can I?
By: Xhibit B
Chapter Eight - Finding Out
.i do not own yu-gi-oh!.
Yami walked into work that Monday with a smile on his face. Thanks to much meddling on the children's parts and Yūgi being exceptionally perceptive, he now had a date scheduled with the beautiful mother of two for that coming Saturday. At some point during the night, Yuki had given him their mother's cellphone number before walking away with the largest grin he'd ever seen on his face. Yūgi had been right when she said that their children had been up to something. He'd waited until Sunday morning to text the tri-colour haired woman to discuss their date.
After forty-five minutes of swapping ideas, they'd both agreed that a nice dinner together would be the best route for their first date instead of trying to think outside the box. Yami had promised he'd find something fun and refreshing for them to do the next time they went out if dinner went well. Yūgi had playfully warned him not to get too ahead of himself. They still had to make it through dinner before they began making any future plans. The younger Sennen brother was inclined to agree with her, not that he didn't still hold out hope that she would allow him to continue to see her after their first date. He grinned at the thought, unaware that his cousin was standing in the doorway of his office.
Seto irked a brow as he glanced at the younger male who was typing away at his computer with a far-off look in his eye. He didn't have any worries of whether or not Yami would mess up. If there was one thing that Yami did well, it was his job (aside from taking care of his daughter), no matter what was going on in his life. The look on his face was concerning for other reasons. He'd only seen that look on his cousin's face one other time and that had led to catastrophe.
The last time he had that look, he'd married the devil himself. That woman had taken him through hell and high water when it came to getting custody of his daughter again; not to mention the divorce had been extremely messy. She had wanted everything, and Yami almost had to give it to her if not for the loophole the lawyers had found in their marriage agreement. There had been a few moments where Seto had been concerned that the judge would rule in his ex-wife's favour when it came to Hikari's caretaker. But Mahad and Ishizu had assured the entire Sennen family that they would make sure that Yami ended up with sole custody of his daughter; and in the end they had. And now, he had the sinking suspicion that, that look was curtesy of one Yūgi Mutou agreeing to go out on a date with him. He'd seen the two of them talking with one another during the exhibit unveiling and figured he'd finally worked up the courage to ask her out. And he was going to find out whether he was right or not one way or another.
"You know, if you keep looking like that, your face will be permanently stuck that way," Seto drawled, gaining his cousin's attention finally. "I've stood here for the last ten minutes, watching you make goo, goo eyes at your computer screen. Anyone else would have been concerned about your mental state, but I know that look. What's going on with you, Yami? The last time you walked around making that dumb ass face had been when you and Nguyen were about to get married. Did you get yourself into something I should be concerned about?"
Yami, embarrassed by his cousin calling him out, shook the look off before glancing up at the elder male. He really needed to learn how to contain his excitement one of these days before he messes around and gets himself caught up. The only ones that actually knew about the date were himself, Yūgi, the twins and Hikari. She'd chattered him to death that morning on their way to her school about where he was going to take Yūgi for their first date; offering ideas for gifts. When she'd become such a romantic at such a young age, he'd never know. But, he did make sure to store away some of her ideas even though he told her to drop the subject after a while.
"Yami, I asked a question," Seto grunted after a while when Yami didn't immediately answer.
"Sorry," Yami sighed, brushing a hand through his hair. Now this was going to be one more person that knew about the date. And he knew that his cousin would blab to Joey, who would probably tell the entirety of Domino City if she was left unchecked. "There's no need for you to be concerned. I'm just excited for Saturday to come along, is all."
"And what's happening on Saturday," Seto asked, making himself comfortable in one of the plush, leather lounge chairs that sat before his cousin's desk. One lithe leg came to rest over the other, a brow irked. "Is it anything that I should be preparing for as well? If it has something to do with Kaiba Corp, I should be aware of this event as well, Yami. You know that."
For some reason, it felt as if his cousin were teasing him. The smirk that painted his lips was the first sign that he was teasing. And then that glint in his eye, he always got it when he knew something but was just messing with someone to see if they would tell him what he already knows. And somehow, it felt like he already knew about the date that he and Yūgi would be partaking in that Saturday. "Somehow, I feel like you already know what's happening on Saturday and you just want me to tell you."
"And why would you say that," Seto asked, irking a brow.
Yep, he definitely knows, Yami concluded. That had been the proverbial nail in the coffin right there. "Because you're asking questions as if you don't already know what's going on. But since you seem insistent on pretending like you don't know, I'll tell you. Yūgi and I have a date on Saturday. That's why I was walking around with that stupid look on my face."
"I figured as much," Seto said as he uncrossed his legs. "I just wanted to confirm whether or not it was true. It's about time you stopped acting like a little girl and asked the woman out."
"Little gir-, Kaiba," Yami said rolling his eyes. "I was not acting like a little girl about it. I was just waiting for the right moment to ask her out. The children interfered and that forced me to ask her. She seemed to be aware of the fact that I wished to take her out somehow. I'm not sure if someone told her or she's really just that perceptive."
"She's actually just that perceptive," Seto answered. "How do you think she held her title as Queen of Games for so long, Yami?"
"Good point," Yami agreed, pressing several keys on his keyboard before he pushed away from his desk. "Anyway, I'm about to head out for lunch. Feel free to join me if you wish."
"I plan to, I want to know more about what you have planned for this date on Saturday night," Seto answered as he stood; quickly following his cousin out of the office.
Yami simply rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the elder male. The man was way too nosy for his own good. But then again, Yami understood his curiosity. He'd been in love with Yūgi since they were teenagers and had only now finally gotten the courage to ask her out after twenty years. But still, that was no reason for his cousin to act like a schoolboy who found out his best friend finally asked out his crush. They were almost forty now, he needed to get a grip.
.cani.
"The exhibit opening this past weekend was a success," Rika gushed as she walked beside her boss towards the elder woman's office. "There has been a line practically out the door of people that had come specifically to see the Pharaoh Atem exhibit since we opened this morning. Having all those prestigious families and other celebrity guests here definitely helped out a lot."
Yūgi nodded her head in agreement. Having members of such high-profile families coming out to support the exhibit's opening had helped tremendously. From the time the doors opened that morning, there had been a nonstop line of people coming in to see the artifacts it had to offer. She'd have to remember to thank Yami and his family for agreeing to come and show their support the next time she saw him, which would be that weekend on their date.
He'd finally texted her Sunday morning to go over the details of the date. She'd thought him to be adorable, trying to think outside the box for things they could do for a date. However, they both had a bit of trouble coming to an agreement on one of his out of the box ideas and finally settled on a small dinner for the first date. When he'd promised to find something not so mainstream to do for their second date, Yūgi had teasingly told him not to get too ahead of himself. But in secret, she too hoped that their first date would go well enough and they would continue to see one another there after.
"Oh Miss Mutou, can I ask, who was that gentleman you were speaking with on Friday," Rika asked curiously. She'd seen her boss tucked away in a corner after her speech speaking with the devilishly handsome man and had wondered all weekend who he was to her. "Is he a personal friend?"
"You could say that," Yūgi answered, the corner of her mouth raised in a slight smile. "Hiyori and his niece are really good friends. He just had a few questions about Pharaoh Atem; his family are direct descendants of Pharaoh Set, who happened to be Pharaoh Atem's cousin."
"Whoa," Rika said, surprised. She hadn't been expecting that. "Real life descendants of the Egyptian Royal family. How cool is that? Maybe we should invite them the next time we have a big exhibit unveiling. They were the main factor in all the foot traffic the museum is getting today; themselves and Seto Kaiba that is. How do you know Mr. Kaiba again?"
"His wife and I are childhood friends," Yūgi answered as she opened the door to her office. She stepped in, allowing Rika inside before closing the door behind her. "I've known Seto and Joey since we were teenagers playing Duel Monsters all hours of the day when we weren't tied down with schoolwork."
"Oh, right," Rika said snapping her fingers. "I always forget that you were the renowned Duel Monsters champion for a really long time before you retired." Her attention turned to the photo of Yūgi, Yuki and Hiyori at the Winter championship a few months back that sat on the edge of the desk. "It looks like your daughter is following in your footsteps. Is she going to be competing in the upcoming Spring tournament at Kaiba Land in a few weeks?"
Yūgi smiled, nodding her head. Hiyori had begged to go and the mother of two promised to take time off work in order to take her there. "She is, I'm going to be taking the week of and the week before the tournament off to go with her. Which reminds me, if anyone requests to have any artifacts authenticated during those weeks, please have them reschedule. I'm under oath to Hiyori that I can't break my vacation to work and miss out on her tournament or the prep for it."
Rika nodded, making mental note of her boss's request. "I'll be sure to let anyone who requests your assistance know that you are not available during those weeks. Oh, by the way, this came in via delivery for you while you were on lunch." She pointed to a package that sat on the edge of the desk. "Doesn't say who it's from, but the mailroom gave it to me to give to you."
"Thank you Rika," Yūgi said as she reached for the package. "Was there anything else that you needed from me?"
"Nope, I'm going to be heading home now though," Rika said as she turned on her heel to leave. "I promised my Mom I'd be home by three to get her to her physical therapy appointment today at four. Have a great rest of your day, Miss Yūgi."
Yūgi smiled, waving to the younger girl as she left. "Goodbye Rika, tell your mother I said hello."
"I will," Rika called over her shoulder as she left the office, closing the door behind her.
Yūgi returned her attention to the package, reaching into her desk for her box opener. She easily split the tape before pulling the box opened. She almost toppled over laughing when she saw what was inside alongside the handwritten note.
"'Dear Yūg, for your date with Yami this weekend. Have fun, but not too much fun, Love, Joey,'" Yūgi read to herself. "'P.S. Don't do anything I wouldn't do.' What on earth does she think is actually going to happen on a dinner date?"
Shaking her head once more, the small woman tucked the note away into the box again with the lingerie set her best friend had sent for her and kicked it under her desk. She'd have to remember to text her childhood friend later and ask her why exactly she had sent her a set of lingerie for a date where all of her clothes would be on for the entirety of it. But for now, she had work to do before she left for the day. There were artifacts she needed to get authenticated before she went on vacation for Hiyori's tournament. The last thing she needed was anyone bothering her during her time off and disappointing her daughter as she had unfortunately done in the past.
i know i said this chapter was going to be the date, but, i've decided to wait on it. this filler chapter is actually kinda necessary because there will be a few things (the lingerie for example) that are mentioned during the date. that will officially come in the next chapter, i promise. this way, the story continues to follow my original guideline i'd made for it when i first started writing the story. anyways, let me know what you're thinking. until next time, ciao!