A/n: hello my dearies. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone kindly leaving comments and adding the fic to their favorites and reading. I have received positive comments from all of you and it makes me so glad you are enjoying the story so far. I hope I continue to please. Enjoy the chapter and thank you once again, everyone.
Bows of Promise
Chapter Eight
Returning back to work had been easier than he thought it would be.
Jonouchi had placed his name onto surgery lists only for the first few days. He didn't get any clinic hours and was kept clear away from twelve hour shifts. It was a blessing, in some way. He didn't have to fully deal with patients just yet except to overlook a history taken previously or go over lab results or radiology findings. Plus, of course, working his scalpel on them. It was also a curse, in some other way.
It meant that the time he spent around Seto was limited to the operating room.
It wasn't that he disliked noise in an OR. There was usually a false misconception about an operating theater. That it had to be absolutely silent and the only sounds made being that of monitors, the surgeon requesting tools and the suction at work. It wasn't like that at all. An OR was one of the noisiest places to be. Every person focused in their own way; Yami remembered that one of his senior neurosurgeons liked listening to trance music while he worked. Another –an orthopedic surgeon—liked discussing dessert recipes while fixing bones with plates and screws.
Yami was fine with a lot of those quirks. He could focus on several things at the same time without trouble. He adapted well to his surroundings.
But right now, it was very difficult not to clutch the sharp scissors with his fist and try to gouge Seto's blue eyes out with it, instead of the elegant grip he had on it between his thumb, index and middle fingers. It would be savage and look even less graceful. But Seto would deserve it; Yami would be doing everyone a favor. The brunet didn't shut up ever since the surgery started.
Two hours ago.
"Kaiba, do you ever shut up?" he finally groaned, unable to keep up his previous strategy of ignoring the mindless, useless, inane chatter that grated unbearably on nerves he usually prided himself to be made of steel. Yet, they were tested so very thoroughly in ways Yami couldn't imagine by this intolerable person in front of him.
"Oh…he speaks, ladies and gentlemen," Seto happily remarked, waving the electrocautery cable around in some silly victory dance.
The assisting nurse—who had broken down an hour and a half before Yami did and was urging Seto to shut up ever since—scowled heavily and launched into a tirade of how childish he was being, that he shouldn't treat the tools in such a manner and that now she will have to switch the cable because what he did didn't conform to complete aseptic conditions that the surgery must be performed under.
It was a refreshing break, in a dark, twisted way. It wasn't that he loved a nagging nurse, goodness no. But really…Seto had been going on nonstop ever since they finished scrubbing up, it was a relief to get a break from his chatter.
"You deserved that," Yami calmly commented, holding out the artery stump so Seto could cauterize it with the newly-changed cable's metallic tip. He waited until the loud beep of the machine died down, signaling that the artery had been completely closed, then removed the clamp, muttering, "alright, let's close it."
"You wound me, Yami," Seto commented in a mellow, sad little voice. Yami glanced up at him from across the table for a second, then turned his attention back to the surgical thread's needle offered to him by the nurse so he could load it onto the forceps. "You make it sound like you can't wait to get away from my pleasant company."
Before Yami could reply, Rafael grunted from the head of the table, "We all can't wait to get away from your pleasant company, Kaiba." Yami chuckled lightly. He could feel the glare Seto sent towards their usually-silent and patient anesthesiologist, who added as an afterthought in a slightly-pleading tone, "Please wrap up as quickly as you can, Dr. Motou. Save us all."
"Technically, this is Yami's fault," Seto cut in, a mock thoughtful expression on his face. Yami threw another glance up at him, this time laced with confusion as to how exactly he was the reason he didn't shut up for the past two hours. "It is, Motou. Don't deny it. If you'd answered me, then we'd have had a very good conversation."
"Sure, sure, it's entirely my fault, of course you're right," Yami agreed in a bored tone of voice.
That had been a mistake, as Seto obviously adored being told that he is right. He wouldn't shut up about all the times he had been right ever since he was born. Yami found his hands working faster than ever, placing his stitches with franticness because frankly he just had to get out of hearing range of Seto's voice.
Obviously, everyone in the room had utter faith in his abilities to save them from being in the room, as quickly as possible.
It made him smile softly to himself just a little bit. He had come back after the fiasco with Pegasus expecting condescending stares and awkward questions. Seto had been right. It seemed that it hadn't been a strange occurrence, the way he froze during the surgery. Apparently it had happened before and that when he left the theater when that happened, it was the correct thing to do because he prevented further damage from taking place.
It made him release a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.
He was placing the last subcut suture –which he now used to close almost all incisions except the ones that required other kinds just to spite Seto—when the nurse sighed out in relief.
"We're done, Rafael, wake him up," Yami said with a pleased smile, taking off his gloves and tearing the gown off him.
"Thanks, Yami; you're a saint," Rafael cried in relief.
He smiled up at him while placing the gown in the red basket. "I hope he doesn't end up with any dog-ears with how quickly I was stitching him up…" he added as an afterthought, worried that the skin's edges wouldn't align and the end result would be a skin tag that was very unattractive. It was something that happened only once with him in his first surgery ever. It was the only thing he did wrong back then and the perfectionist in him hated it so much that he made sure never ever to make that mistake again. He hoped his haste to close up this patient didn't result in something like that.
Obviously, Rafael, who was injecting the anesthesia's reverse into the patient's IV line, noticed his thoughtful expression and apparent distress and he smiled, his sharp features softening dramatically and his blue eyes casting a kind look down at him. "Hey… you've done great, alright…? I haven't seen any surgeon do your neat stitches before. With such speed too…"
Yami laughed, raising a hand to run a finger beneath the edge of the cap covering his hair in a nervous habit. "Thanks… Honda is giving me a run for my money, though. He's as good, if not better than I am and I have more years of experience than he has."
"He got this much better with you teaching him," Rafael praised and Yami flushed under his gaze. "You make an excellent mentor, Yami."
"Stop flirting with my boyfriend," Seto's angry snap from behind them helped him bring his color under control.
He rolled his eyes and shook his head, about to make the now-customary retort that he really wasn't Seto's boyfriend when Rafael beat him to a reply.
"Get out of the room, Kaiba," the blond told him without even turning from the anesthesia monitor as he stood turning down the dials of inhalation drugs and adjusting oxygen levels.
"It's not your room," Seto childishly replied. Yami took a long suffering breath when the brunet, after he had removed his own protective gear and was about to leave the room with him, he turned around and stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, raising an eyebrow at the blond, broad-framed anesthesiologist. "I am staying right here."
Rafael turned and raised an eyebrow. "Really, Kaiba…I cannot stand listening to your voice for a second more. Please leave the room."
"I don't feel like leaving. I want to stay here a while longer and have a chat," Seto said with an annoying little smile plastered on his features.
"Seriously, Seto, stop being such a child and let's go, I'm hungry!" Yami half-whined, tugging on the sleeve of Seto's scrubs' top.
"No, let's stay, Yami…maybe you and Rafael want to have a little chit-chat about different suture-techniques. Heaven knows why; you're only an anesthesiologist," Seto cruelly ranted in a monotonous, calm tone of voice, spitting the last word out as if it was an insult. "You know, recent laws requires anesthesiologists to scratch the surgeon's itch during surgeries… I am quite sure you want this applied as soon as possible, don't you, Rafael?"
Yami stared incredulously at him, mouth open in shock. "Don't be an asshole!" he admonished in a seething tone, already feeling his eyes flashing dangerously in anger.
It made matters just worse when Rafael retorted with a smug expression on his face, an eyebrow raised towards Seto in a challenging look, "I am pretty sure you just regret not becoming an anesthesiologist, Kaiba… me scratching an itch during a surgery is probably closer than you will ever get to him."
"Both of you, that is enough!" he snapped, his voice rising higher than it was considered acceptable.
The room fell silent and the nurses stood watching silently from where they had been going on about their jobs while trying to look subtle when they were actually just watching the proceedings with avid interest that Yami was acutely aware of.
"Just what do you think you're doing, both of you? This is so inappropriate and I don't exactly appreciate being spoken of in such a manner," he tried to keep his voice low but couldn't do anything about how pissed off he looked and the murderous glare that he knew was directed at Seto and Rafael both. "Whatever alpha-male battle reeking of testosterone both of you think will happen over me better stop right now, or I really am filing for a sexual harassment complaint and I will see it through, because frankly this has gotten out of hand."
Both of them looked thoroughly admonished and Yami, through his anger, felt it was a little unfair to snap at Rafael like this when he probably didn't mean anything by what he said except trying to get back at the infuriating little shit with blue eyes who seemed to take immaturity to entirely unheard of levels.
And that was why, as he slammed his hand down on the button that opened the room's doors, he turned his glare towards Seto, adding in a low hiss, "And that complaint will be against you, Kaiba. For being an insufferable ass who just doesn't know when to stop!"
He stormed out of the room, not waiting for a reply, because knowing Seto, he probably had the nerve to come up with one. He wasn't interested in hearing it and he headed for the elevators.
He could feel the redness of his features fading, but knew that the annoyed expression on his face and the flash in his eyes remained. He was very angry. Not only because of what just happened but also because of his reaction to it. A niggling part of was wondering why he got annoyed like that when it was Rafael, not Seto, who was making those comments about him. Why was it okay for Seto to annoy him for months now but when Rafael joined in, he flipped out the way he did?
He didn't know. And dwelling on it made him angrier and defeated any attempts to get his temper under control. He stood in front of the elevators, waiting for the doors to open. He glanced at his watch quickly, noting that it wasn't even one in the afternoon which meant he had the rest of the day to himself to do what he pleased with it.
The doors hadn't opened yet when he heard quick footsteps behind him and Seto's familiar voice calling him. "Wait, Yami…"
He rolled his eyes and pointedly ignored him, pressing the call button several times, knowing that it was a dumb thing to do, but doing it to show the brunet that he was impatient to get out of his presence as soon as possible.
For very good reason, too.
"You do know that pressing it several times won't call it faster don't you?" Seto asked, amusement clear in his remorseless blue orbs. Yami glared up at him, then turned to stare at the closed doors once more. "Silent treatment?"
"Go away, Kaiba." He was trying very hard not to say anything more than that because with how annoying Seto was being, he didn't trust his temper.
"Alright, alright… look, I'm sorry."
Yami's eyebrows shot up in amazement and he turned to stare up at Seto who looked a bit sheepish and very, very awkward; apparently, he wasn't used to apologies. Something Yami could relate to and understand. But then again, he didn't make a habit of being an irritating little brat the way his taller colleague did. It was a good thing, too, because Yami didn't think he could look that gorgeous while being awkward as Seto looked at the moment.
"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," he was adding in an embarrassed little mumble.
One of Yami's eyebrows descended a little, the other rising a bit more, his eyes narrowing with an 'oh really' look as he interrupted with a snap, "Yes you did, you ass!" he tried ignoring the endearing way Seto was almost just stuttering, as if he was trying to rush out words he had prepared in his head before he forgot them. This was the time to be angry. This wasn't the time to dwell on how much he would very much like to ravish the lips from which those words tumbled out.
Seto frowned, looking indignant. "I did not!" he insisted and Yami snorted, shaking his head and turning to look at the elevator doors once again, especially as the numbers started changing. "That wasn't to make you uncomfortable," Seto repeated and Yami was about to tell him to go away once again when the brunet added, cutting him off, "This, is to make you uncomfortable."
And before Yami could ask him what he meant, he had grabbed him by the upper arm, turning him towards him and pulling him closer while placing one hand at the back of his head to tilt it upward slightly then swooping down to place their lips together. Yami felt his eyebrows rising in surprise; he was too shocked by the suddenness of the action, he couldn't draw back quickly enough or try to resist the lips that were as soft as he remembered them to be. And Seto's hold on him, firm and assertive; the hold of a man who knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to show it in the least…it felt too good to do anything other than stand there and succumb.
That, and before he could do anything, the elevator doors opened at that exact moment, and Jonouchi's amused whistle came from beside them.
"Whoa! Get a room, both of you," he exclaimed.
Yami took the chance to snap himself out of his daze and pull away, too flustered, too embarrassed and his face too red to physically respond to the blatant violation from Seto like he would have done to anyone else. Or that was the excuse he used in his mind to justify not punching Seto in the face like he did once to someone who made a similar move a few years ago. Seto was a special case and his lips really, really felt pleasant against his own, his subconscious admitted. The forefront of his mind, however, proudly ignored that and decided that he was simply too surprised to respond.
"Don't be rude, Katsuya!" Seto was replying. "I plan on courting this man properly. Which is why we shall have dinner tonight!"
Jonouchi's eyes widened. Yami was still trying to get his color back under control as the blond exclaimed happily, turning hazel eyes to him, "Oh my… Yami, did you finally agree to have dinner with him? Is he finally gonna shut up about how he wants to take you out on a date?"
"Huh?" he dumbly responded.
"Yes… we just finished today's list and we agreed to have dinner," Seto responded with a wide smile, exchanging excited looks with Jonouchi, then both of them turned simultaneously to stare down at him.
Yami blinked. Silence hung like a heavy, thick blanket over them for few milliseconds in which his mind raced over the most appropriate way to respond to this.
Seto was adamant, it was obvious. And either he really wanted to go out with him on a dinner date, which was why he kept blabbing about it to whoever was willing to listen, or Jonouchi was in on a joke and was just saying that to appease whatever twisted game Yami thought Seto was playing on him. Once again, he reminded himself that he didn't exactly like conspiracy theories and did not think someone would go to such measures to woo him. He also knew Jonouchi is simply not that type of horrible person to take part in practical jokes or help someone be deliberately mean to someone else.
And besides…
"Erm… yes…" he numbly found himself saying.
Besides… he actually wanted to go out with Seto.
He blinked once more, cleared his throat and pulled an expressionless mask on for now, staring up at Jonouchi and ignoring the very subtle shift in Seto's body language –it was obvious he took him by surprise by agreeing—and addressed the blond, "Yes. We're having dinner tonight. I would appreciate it if discretion is kept on your part, please."
Jonouchi nodded slightly, opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when Seto interrupted him.
"Stop talking like a dictionary, Baby."
He rolled his eyes and stepped inside the elevator, already regretting his decision.
Yugi noticed he was dressing up.
The little shit was too observant for his own good. He was packing up the remainder of his things to move them into the dorms closer to the university campus when Yami came home. He had brought what he found to be a very interesting type of cheesecake; it was fluffy and wobbly; something that intrigued him beyond reason. He bought one and told Yami they were going to share it over a cup of coffee. Yami distractedly agreed. He should have known Yugi would suspect something. His younger brother now stood in the doorway, watching him like a hawk as he tried to pick out what to wear, especially as Seto's recommendation was to dress comfortably as they weren't going anywhere that required formal dress, when he asked. It was a bit of a surprise, too. He thought the brunet would try to take them to some ridiculously fancy place, being filthy rich and all that.
"You're going out with Seto on a date!"
Of course, Yugi was going to work out the reason why he was having a hard time deciding between the safe all-black look he usually went for, or if he was going to put on a pair of jeans and a knit pullover with a shirt underneath.
He ignored him for the moment and decided to focus on deciding what to wear. After all, maybe Seto's 'comfortable' was Yami's casuals? He didn't want to ruin this by being underdressed or overdressed.
"Do not wear black!"
"Thank you," Yami said, putting back his black outfit inside his closet and quickly before he changed his mind. It was for the best, since a shirt and a pullover passed for smart casuals and would be appropriate for any setting. He placed the clothes on the bed and pulled at the hair-band holding his hair in the neat ponytail he usually wore to work.
"You're welcome. When is Seto picking you up?" Yugi asked gleefully, seating himself on the chair beside the mirror.
"At seven," Yami replied, glancing quickly at the alarm beside the bed to see the numbers 06:15 glowing on it. He saw no point in trying to deny anything; Yugi was just too perceptive. "And don't start!" he warned with a grumpy mumble. Despite that last comment, Yugi was smiling so widely and brightly, Yami almost rolled his eyes. "What?!" he asked.
Yugi giggled. He actually giggled. "Nothing," he said. "It's just been a while."
"It has been a while for a reason, in case you don't remember," he replied. He stifled a sigh and tried not to twitch with the anxiety surging through him.
"Oh I remember. I remember very well how long it's been," Yugi told him, a pointed look in his amethyst eyes. "I actually counted. It's been exactly five years since your last serious relationship."
"More like my last serious disaster," Yami grumbled at him, combing his hair with his fingers to remove the wave-like dent that his hair-band left in it.
"Don't do this!" Yugi's angry snap made him pause. He looked at his brother from the mirror, a questioning expression on his features, especially as he saw the annoyed look in Yugi's eyes. He was about to ask what 'this' was, when Yugi, now that he was sure he got his attention, explained, "Don't start scaring yourself out of a relationship that hasn't even started, Yami. You do that every single time and I will not keep my mouth shut about it this time."
"I am not scaring myself, Yugi," he calmly replied. He shook his head and turned to face his brother, adding, "There is no need to do that. I already am scared."
He put in a little laugh in there to make it sound like a joke. It was a poor joke and he knew it, even before Yugi's eyes turned cold and he raised an eyebrow at him.
"This isn't funny."
"I know, I know…" Yami sighed, taking off the sweatshirt he was wearing and reaching for the shirt laid out on the bed. "I'm just nervous," he while putting it on. "As you said, it's been a while."
"Reminding yourself of that fiasco isn't going to put your mind to ease, you know," Yugi told him. Yami shrugged lamely, buttoning the shirt. "You can't help it, I can see that. Just try not to keep telling yourself things like 'last time's disaster' and 'it's been a while for a good reason'. Just focus on the fact that Seto doesn't exactly look like the asshole Bakura was."
He couldn't help the inward cringe at the mere mention of the name. He made sure to keep his features neutral as he did the last button on the shirt, hoping Yugi wouldn't notice anything and refrained from making a remark that Bakura didn't look like an asshole at the start, either.
"You can't spend your life alone because you think everyone's going to be like him, Yami," Yugi insisted, apparently knowing him too well. He ignored him, putting on the pair of jeans, zipping them up and buttoning them closed. Yugi was waiting for a reply which he wasn't going to get and he seemed to realize that so he added, "You deserve to have someone who will treat you better." Yami rolled his eyes at that, still silent but really not wanting to hear this lecture any more. Yugi seethed at him. "You can roll your pretty red eyes all you want at me, but it's not going to change the fact that you know I am right. You'd give me the same advice."
"Let it go, Yugi," Yami told him in a monotonous, bored voice, putting the pullover on over the shirt.
"I will…if you promise to give this a proper chance," Yugi insisted.
Yami stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the collar of the shirt and its hem so it poked out stylishly from underneath the v-necked pullover, while saying in calmness that betrayed nothing of the turmoil and myriad of unpleasant memories Yugi's words stirred up within him, "I don't do things half-assed, Yugi…"
Silence hung over the room for a few moments, in which he stared at his strange hair, trying to decide what to do with it, then settled on leaving it to curl in messy, wispy waves around his head. He used his fingers to move some of the blond bangs mostly to one side of his head, parting his waves to the left side of his face and letting the blond blend in with the darker strands which faded into a deep red color. He remembered spiking his hair when he had been a teenager and Yugi imitating his style. He smiled fondly to himself at the memory.
"Please don't tell me you are remembering the time when we looked like starfishes."
He chuckled. "You know me too well."
"Yes, I do," Yugi said, getting up from his place and drawing near him. Yami was reaching for the bottle of his perfume when his brother placed a hand on his, stopping him. He shifted his questioning eyes so they met Yugi's, reading the determined concern in them. "Please. Promise me you will give this a chance. I know you don't do things half-assed, but not where this is concerned." He opened his mouth to protest, but Yugi shook his head, "Please just don't argue; you know I am right. Don't let him control you for the rest of your life, Yami."
"I'm not…" he feebly tried to object.
"You are if you're going to think everyone is going to turn out to be an asshole like him." Yugi pointed out.
Yami looked away and Yugi let his hand go and he reached for the bottle of perfume again, holding it to his neck, craning it away slightly while pressing on the dispenser and letting the mist settle on his skin and then repeating for the other side of it.
"Promise me," Yugi was adamant.
Yami closed the bottle and placed it back on the vanity. He smiled and turned to his brother. "I promise, Yugi. I want to go out on this date. I already am giving this a chance. Stop worrying so much."
Yugi's eyes lit up with a smile and the hope blossoming on his features almost made him laugh. The younger man narrowed his eyes mockingly and argued, "I worry as much as I want, thank you very much."
Yami grinned, shaking his head and deciding not to ruin Yugi's petty satisfaction at what was –to him—a victory at the end of this conversation and started putting on his shoes.
Subconsciously, he knew it was because he really did not feel like worrying his younger brother more than he already was, by showing just how much he really was scared. What he meant to pass as a joke wasn't in any way funny, as Yugi had pointed out to him. Needlessly, too. He knew it too well. He felt it, with the frankly nauseating, bottomless pit settling in his stomach from the anxiety of what he was attempting.
It was too late to back out now, he knew. He just hoped he wasn't making yet another bad decision and that Seto was worth the trust he was putting in him. He glanced at the clock once more, seeing that it was almost 7. It wasn't possible to call Seto and come up with an excuse to get out of their plans. The brunet must be almost there to pick him up, probably. That and he wasn't exactly the type to chicken out of a decision he made. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
And at that moment, the doorbell rang. He strode out of his room, heading towards the front door to open it.
Despite his previous nervousness and the somewhat gloomy conversation he just had with Yugi, he found a wide smile spreading on his features when he set his eyes on Seto's tall form standing before him, clad in dark blue jeans, a white shirt and a dark brown leather jacket. There was a blue infinity scarf wrapped around his neck, hiding its gorgeous length from view and Yami was only just willing to forgive it that shocking crime because of how it accentuated the beautiful shade of Seto's eyes.
"Hey…" he breathed. "Good evening," he added.
Seto grinned. "Hello… you ready?"
Yami nodded. "But come in for a moment, I need to grab something."
He stepped aside, letting Seto inside and closing the door once again. He led him inside into the living room and told him to make himself comfortable and that he won't take long. He hurried back to his room, meeting Yugi who was on his way out of it. A niggling part of his brain wondered if it was a good idea to leave his brother alone with Seto at such a time and the answer provided made him hastily fold Seto's scarf and look around the room, wondering if it was appropriate to give it back to him hand-to-hand like that. Deciding that that would be just rude, he rushed around his room, searching for a proper bag to place the scarf into. A few minutes later, he finally remembered the paper bags that he had placed in one of his closet's drawers after a shopping outing, took out one and placed the scarf in it. He took a deep breath, calming himself down and once again stepped out of his bedroom and returning to the living room.
Sure enough, he could hear Yugi and Seto talking in low tones and he couldn't make out what his brother was saying, but heard the brunet telling him not to worry about something. He cleared his throat, announcing his presence to the pair. He looked suspiciously at both of them, waiting for a hint as to what they were talking about but both kept silent.
"Seto wouldn't try the cheesecake," Yugi explained.
Yami oh-ed.
He turned to the brunet.
"It's Japanese cheesecake," he explained.
Yami and Yugi both stared questioningly up at him.
"I've lived in Japan my entire life," he explained again.
They continued staring up at him, confused.
"Aren't we going out for dinner?" Seto asked Yami.
"Yes, yes…" Yami agreed.
A weird silence descended on them for a while…
"Shall we?" Seto asked him, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
Yami nodded, eager for the chance to chase away the weirdness.
"Have fun, then, both of you," Yugi said, ushering them to the front door.
"We will, thank you," Seto replied. Yami was busy shooting wary looks at them both meanwhile.
He decided to let it go when the door closed and he still didn't get a hint on what they had been talking about without risking a lot more awkwardness. They walked towards Seto's car which was parked near the sidewalk in front of the little grassy area in front of Yami's house.
"You look very nice," Yami said, deciding to be a courteous date and offering a compliment.
He was glad to see Seto's cheeks reddening very slightly. "Thank you. You look great as well," he replied, politely just as they reached the car.
Yami was glad when Seto headed to the driver's seat, not trying to open the door for him or something annoying like that. He waited for the click indicating that the car was unlocked and got into the passenger's seat, closing the door and buckling his seatbelt. He waited until Seto closed the door beside him as well and then handed him the bag. "Thank you," he said politely.
Seto opened the bag after giving him a questioning look. Realization dawned on him and he grinned, taking out the scarf and reaching over to him. Yami blinked as Seto wrapped the scarf around his neck after looping it, then pulling the ends through the ring it made, tightening it in a Parisian-knot tie.
"You'll catch a cold," he explained and Yami was hit with a not-entirely unwelcome sense of déjà-vu. He sat stunned into silence at the action –for the second time; it was a little pathetic to be honest. Meanwhile, Seto sat back in his seat, pulling on his seatbelt and starting up the engine. "Would you like to go somewhere in particular?"
Yami blinked several times and forced himself out of his stupor. "Err…" he unintelligently started, his voice hoarse a little. He could feel his ears reddening slightly and he mentally reprimanded himself, clearing his throat and forcing himself to smile, "Not exactly, no. Really, Seto, with how much you've mentally gone out on a date with me, I'd think by now you would have it planned out!"
Seto laughed. Yami tried hard not to dreamily stare at him, with how pleasant the sound and the sight of it was. "Alright, alright… just thought I'd ask."
"No, I'm fine with anything," Yami reassured.
Seto hummed in agreement, pulling out of the parking and starting to drive to his destination. Yami subtly took a deep breath, calming himself down and preparing himself for what was to come. It was a little wretched, how much he was dreading the next few hours and he wondered why he agreed to go out on this date to begin with. If things were awful, then things would be awkward after that. If it went well…
He bit his lip and tried to calm his racing heart.
Somehow, sadly enough, he was more anxious about enjoying his time than not doing so.
"Let's go have something to eat first, I know you've been hungry since we left work. And I am guessing since you're always on a diet, you didn't eat any of the cheesecake you and your brother are so awed with," Seto was saying.
Yami forced himself to stop working himself up into an anxiety attack and he laughed. His stomach had tied itself into knots in anticipation of the night but now since this…date was happening anyway, there was no point in staying hungry and he felt his unease fading with Seto's attempt at humor.
He smiled and focused on the conversation from then on. He had enough self-discipline to keep his mind off these thoughts. No point in backing out. Might as well try and enjoy his time, regardless of the outcome of that.
tbc…