Notes: This was from a prompt for SetoKisa week on Tumblr! The idea of SetoKisa week was super awesome, that there's a lot of people who all like the same ship :)
I've been following writing prompt blogs, writing little pieces of things when I get inspired to, etc etc. Basically I'm just really glad that I started this project, it's fun to do something creative, which is something I don't get to do in my regular life, unless I make special time for it.
As always, but it bears repeating: please feel free to write a review, send me a message, stop by my dumb Tumblr, anything! From what I understand at least, the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom is a great, very passionate group of people and I am easily intimidated (it took me two months to have a full conversation with everyone in my lab, guys) but I'd love to get to know you better 3
The sky was covered by a thick blanket of heavy, ominous-looking rainclouds. The faint glow of city lights emanated from the distant horizon; otherwise, the sky was completely dark. The highway, dwindled down to two lanes to cover this lightly-trafficked stretch, neatly parted the tall, dry grass, which rustled quietly in the pre-storm wind.
Twin headlights appeared over the top of a hill, heralding the arrival of an unassuming silver sedan. Inside, Kisara drummed her fingers idly against the wheel, sighing softly to herself. The passenger seat beside her was reclined all the way back, where Seto was fast asleep, his chest rising and falling with long, steady breaths.
It had been a long day. Kisara had insisted on coming with Seto to a conference five hours away, because it was the national summit on gaming technology, and Seto was on a panel about immersive virtual-reality games, which was an especially intriguing topic. Unfortunately, Seto had insisted that he didn't have time to stay for the full three-day conference, and was only interested in attending the day that he was on a panel, which happened to be the only day Kisara had an 8am class. After class, she drove straight to pick up Seto and drive them both five hours out, through the quiet expanses of the plains, to the convention center. After all was said and done, the plans for KaibaCorp's new augmented reality eyeglass equipment generated quite a commotion, and Seto was bombarded with questions from excited fans and gaming enthusiasts for hours after the panel before Roland managed to sneak the two of them into the private parking garage. Seto, drained from the stress of the panel and interacting with avid fans, promptly fell asleep the moment he and Kisara put the convention center into the rear-view mirror, and hadn't stirred since.
Grumpily, Kisara looked at the gas meter on her dashboard—she had a little more than a quarter-tank of gas, which meant, on this lonely stretch of the highway, that she should start looking for a gas station. She sighed as she scanned the highway signs, noting the sign that said 'Next amenities: 25mi'. At least they had plenty of gas to make it that far. She leaned back against the seat, resigning herself to another half-hour or so of driving before she would be able to stop.
Next to her, Seto lay peaceful and unmoving, only semicoscious and fully oblivious to Kisara's weary frustration. He was exhausted. Seto hadn't slept all night for preparing for the panel—Kisara had wandered out of his bedroom at 3am, looking for a glass of water, and found him in the den, wearing glasses and a navy blue robe, and poring over a thick packet of paper.
"Can't sleep?" she asked blearily, rubbing sleep from her eyes and crawling onto the couch alongside him.
Seto had looked up from his packet of papers. "It's the god damn panel," he retorted.
Kisara yawned deeply, resting her head on his thighs. "All the people? You're nervous about the people?" she murmured drowsily, closing her eyes again.
Seto sighed, setting the papers down next to him. "This is my first major public appearance since the KC Grand Prix, and we're using it to debut our newest innovations. If this doesn't go well, it won't bode well for my company."
Kisara extended one arm, sleepily searching for Seto's hand to hold. She settled for resting her hand gently on his forearm. "Mokuba believes in you," she reminded him softly.
Seto's voice was shaking. "I know," he said finally. The pair lay like this for a minute, with Kisara half-asleep in Seto's lap, and Seto staring grimly into the middle distance. "I can't let him down tomorrow."
The car turned lazily into the gas station, which was lit by dim, droning yellow lights. The prices were twenty cents higher, she noted bitterly, than they would be even at the most expensive stations in downtown Domino City, but it was the only gas station within a twenty-five mile radius. She gently pulled the car to a halt in front of one of the pumps, leaning into the backseat to scavenge for her purse.
Seto, roused by the sudden deceleration, yawned loudly. "Where are we?" he mumbled, rolling onto his side to face Kisara.
Kisara was digging through her purse, trying to find her wallet. "We're stopped for gas. We're still probably three hours away from home."
Seto grunted tiredly and closed his eyes again.
Kisara rolled her car to the edge of the gas station parking lot, where the glare of the lights was a little bit softer. She reclined her seat backwards, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. It was probably better to rest for a little bit than to die in a fiery car wreck...
"Wha's going on?" Seto slurred quietly.
Kisara stifled a huge yawn. "I'm gonna pass out," she muttered back. "Twenty minutes. I promise."
She could hear Seto's voice rise slightly with indignation. "Mokuba," he said, somehow managing to sound both sleepy and obstinate.
She sighed. "He's at a friend's place. They said it was fine if he stayed the night. We don't have to pick him up..."
"Mokuba," Seto repeated stubbornly.
Kisara groaned, not bothering to mask her frustration. "Okay, fine. But I have to wake up, or we're both going to die before we can pick up Mokuba. Come on, walk with me." Summoning all of her remaining energy, she swung the car door open, inviting in a gust of brisk air. Seto made a displeased noise, but a moment later, his car door swung open as well, and a shivering Seto Kaiba grabbed her hand and thrust it, clasped in his, into his coat pocket.
They stared together out into the sea of dead, colorless grass. The gas station appeared to have sprung up out of nothing from the expanse of the rolling prarie; aside from the bumpy dirt road that connected the highway to the gas station, there wasn't a path in sight.
"Some walk," Seto remarked.
Kisara said nothing, still staring into the endless fields. Something had to happen, she decided, or she would never be able to get back into the car. And yet, the idea of walking around the parking lot sounded all too depressing.
Suddenly, inspiration struck her; she gasped quietly, drawing Seto's attention. The harsh blue light of her phone temporarily illuminated her face, and then the opening notes of a power ballad began to play. She tucked her phone into the kangaroo pocket of her sweatshirt with a self-satisfied grin on her face. "Dance with me," she invited Seto. The dim amber gas-station lights could almost be candlelights, save for the dull fluorescent humming. The sound drifting from Kisara's phone was muffled and low-quality, but it had a gentle beat to it that was still discernible. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes, clasping her arms around Seto's neck. Hesitantly, Seto wrapped his arms around her back, and she felt his chin gently tuck her head against his chest.
They swayed slowly from side to side, roughly to the beat of the music. Kisara could practically already hear Seto's snarky remarks about the moment—this song is just cheesy pandering, this is dumb, this isn't real dancing. But for now, Seto was silent, shifting his weight from one foot to the next with her. She could feel the gentle rise and fall of his breath.
The air was chilly, and the breeze was refreshing, like a splash of cool water. A sense of tranquility washed over Kisara, and she sighed contentedly, peacefully observing her surroundings. Other than the attendant who was probably inside the tiny, dark-blue mini-mart not much bigger than a bathroom stall, the gas station was deserted. The dirt road that leading back to the highway was splashed with the yellow light from the gas station before disappearing into the darkness. On either side of the road, tall, dead grass seemed to sway in time with the beat of the song.
The song was familiar to her, every word, every chord, every subtle harmony. She had used to listen to it in high school, lying alone on her bed, imagining listening to the song with someone who loved her. She never quite pictured it like this—at a gas station, with high-tech CEO Seto Kaiba, after midnight on a near-abandoned stretch of highway—but the moment was unusually perfect. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, losing herself in the soft and unplaceable smell of Seto Kaiba—cottony and musky and familiar. The warmth from Seto's body and the swelling chorus of her cheesy old high school song enveloped her, and she let herself fully disappear into the moment.