Title: Stranger things have happened

Author: Sakura Takanouchi

Summary: "It's not acting- I really do hate you," she spat. "We have to follow the script," Seto reminded her. "Eventually, your character falls in love with me." He smirked at her shocked expression. "I wonder, will you be acting then?" Setoxwho?

A/N: Thanks to Kako and Storm 38 for correctly identifying the movie as The Road to El Dorado! Don't own it, and I know, I'm lame for liking that movie…Hope everyone likes this chapter. Sorry it's so boring, but I've never been in a wedding, so a lot of the information is me making things up. Also, Joey finally makes an appearance in this piece! Enjoy Chapter 7!

Disclaimer: Y'all know I don't own nothin' but my plot! Also don't own any movies I'm making fun of here. Next!

Chapter Seven: Wedding bells make for good weapons

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"Oh no! 12:45…" Without as much of a word of warning to anyone in the room, she took off, hair and purse swinging behind her. Instinctively, Mokuba took off after her.

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Such was the scene of anyone unfortunate enough to be in the way of an almost-running late Serenity Wheeler. She was moving as fast as her sandaled feet could take her, and heaven help anyone who happened to be in her path. People ducked and ran aside, only to do so yet again when their boss appeared, chasing after the woman.

Mokuba's chest heaved as he finally caught up to her at the elevators. She was tapping the button repeatedly while her foot kept time. He raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Going somewhere?"

"Yes!" She cried impatiently. "I need to be somewhere at 1:00, and it is vital that I be there in time!" The doors opened with a slight chiming noise and she dashed in, Mokuba following quickly, lest he become trapped in the doors that were rapidly closing.

"Where are you going?" He asked, using the ride down to catch his breath. The ironically breathtaking view on the atrium was lost on the two; the lady's eyes were on nothing but the door and the man's were focused on the lady. "Maybe I can drive you…"

"Its only two blocks away," She said with a smile, politely refusing his offer. "I am more than capable of walking, and I quite enjoy it."

"I see," Mokuba said, although his expression betrayed that he thought she was much fonder of running. The elevator slowed until it arrived at the desired floor and Serenity was gone, having dashed out with the promise of calling him or coming back the next day. Mokuba walked as far as the 

receptionist's desk, resting a hand on the cool granite surface. Reiko smiled up at him; he was smirking, watching Serenity run down the steps and away from the building.

"She seems to be a very… nice young woman," Reiko observed, studying her boss' expression. "…Serenity Wheeler, was it? She was the one hired for the job, right?" Mokuba nodded; his eyes still on the revolving door, which Serenity had wrestled with only moments before.

"Mr. Kaiba?"

Mokuba's eyes reverted back to the receptionist, inwardly cursing himself for not paying attention. "Hmm?"

"I have mail for you." She laughed at Mokuba's look of dread and handed him a single brown paper package, light enough to carry in one hand. "See?" She called as he left in the direction of the elevators. "Things are looking up…"

Serenity arrived in front of the small art supply store in record time, her breath coming out in harried gulps and sheen of perspiration on her face from the effort. She berated herself for even thinking about sweating in that outfit, and leaned against the wall. She felt herself exhale in relief when she heard the honk of Mai's car, alerting her to its arrival. "I wonder how long I can keep up this charade…" She mumbled upon seeing her friend, waving excitedly.

"Serenity! Come on, we can't be late for our appointment!" Serenity hopped into the seat beside Mai and the car roared to life, tires screeching as she pulled away from the curb. Her golden curls blowing behind her from the wind rushing through the convertible, she turned slightly to survey her friend. "Why are you all dressed up today? Everyone's going to think you're the bride." She laughed a little at her own joke, the car coming to rest at the command of a red light.

Serenity merely blushed and changed the subject, asking her friend about exactly where they were going.

"We have an appointment in fifteen minutes at the boutique; they've closed the store for us just so that we can choose dresses and shoes. I'm counting on you, too Serenity—I know you've got good taste."

They pulled into the closest parking spot, right next to the dark green Camry that Serenity recognized as Tea's. The shop was quaint even though situated only a few blocks out of downtown. Plate glass windows allowed them to see in to the yards of fabric that awaited them. The pair of bells on the handle of the door announced their arrival. Before either had said a word, a graying elder woman with the best posture Serenity had ever seen welcomed them.

"Good afternoon to you all. Your friend Tea has been waiting only a moment; we have been enjoying refreshments and getting to know each other very well. Would you like anything, a glass of water or an iced tea perhaps?"

On the lapel of her elegant cream-colored business suit read a nametag with the name 'Kyoko' in beautiful scrolled script. Mai accepted her offer while Serenity politely refused the beverage.

"Mrs. Kyoko, this store is very beautiful."

"My dear, just call me Kyoko. From the appointment booking I remember that you two are Miss Mai and Miss Serenity, am I right?"

"Not for much longer," Mai said with a roguish wink at her soon-to-be sister-in-law. Serenity was too enthralled with the different colors and styles of dresses to even notice the comment. They arrived at a small sitting area apart from the clothing. Pastels abounded in the deceptively roomy space. Tea looked up and smiled at them from her position on a peachy-toned striped damask divan. A tea set in gleaming pewter rested on a warm wooden coffee table. Kyoko gestured for both Mai and Serenity to join her. Mai moved to the space next to Tea on the miniature couch, and Serenity took a rose-colored chair, careful to sit with good posture on the piece of furniture that was most likely an antique. Kyoko had disappeared into an adjoining room and slowly wheeled out a rack of dresses, some white and some in color. The rack moved swiftly over the parquet floor.

"Now I've received your sizes from the appointment booking, so once we start trying on dresses, we'll see if these are correct. Have you decided on a color for the bridesmaids dresses yet?" The question was directed at Mai. She shook her head slowly, staring at the dresses with interest.

Eyeing the outfit that the blond had worn, a beam of inspiration graced Kyoko's features. She pulled a delicate dress off of the rack and motioned for Mai to take it. She held up the classic white dress with lavender beading with a smile. "I'll try it on," She said, moving to the adjacent room that Kyoko showed her. As Mai was changing, Kyoko began to show the two girls other color options.

"I think you should definitely wear something light…perhaps a green, purple, or maybe golden in tone." Tea was all for having pink bridesmaid dresses, but as soon as Mai heard that, she yelled her dissent from the other room.

Serenity couldn't hide her gasp when Mai came out of the room. She almost knocked over her teacup as she agreed with both Tea and Kyoko that Mai did indeed look stunning in that dress. It was a classic wedding dress but with the purple kick that everyone knew Mai loved. Tea clasped her hands together happily. "I love it!"

Mai admired her reflection in the mirror with a critical eye. "It's too modest."

"Are you kidding?" Serenity's eyes bulged. How could she say that, especially in front of Kyoko? "Mai, you're getting married… your parents are going to be there!"

"And they're the ones paying for these dresses, so we can choose whatever we want. They know me; I think they stopped being surprised long ago." Serenity was confused. She knew Mai's family had money; but would that be a sole reason to rebel? Unconsciously her thoughts drifted to the brothers Kaiba. They had much more money than sense, she reasoned, but they didn't rebel. It was almost the opposite with them-they seemed afraid to. She wondered why…

"Serenity? I asked you if you what you think about the dress?" Everyone was looking at her expectantly. She blushed at the attention and diverted her attention back to the dress. It really was lovely.

"I like it," She replied shyly. "The style and colors suit you."

"That's why you're a bridesmaid," Mai replied, satisfied. She turned to Kyoko. "Let's try on more with this same palette, but maybe designed a bit…more modern. And you two pick a dress! I can't bear having you waiting for me this whole time." They all went into the dressing rooms as Kyoko gathered more dresses in a queue for Mai to look at. Serenity picked up a peach-colored plain dress while Tea was drawn to a slightly darker apricot-toned halter dress. They tried on the dresses, and more after that.

As the afternoon dragged on, Kyoko's steps became less lively and those of the patrons were even less so. "How many more?"Mai's tresses were limp from exhaustion and even Tea was getting bored with trying on the beautiful dresses.

"I believe you have gone through our entire collection," Kyoko observed satirically, noting the numerous racks of dresses now filling the room.

"Great!" Tea flopped down on the miniature couch enthusiastically; looking at some Polaroids Kyoko had taken of the dresses they were particularly fond of. "Let's make a decision!"

They gradually narrowed their choices down to three, and re-tried on those. Serenity and Tea had an easier job than Mai, finally settling on the plain yet flattering style of Serenity's first choice combined with the darker fruit color of Tea's choice- something which complemented both of them. Mai was re-trying on a cream-colored dress that was rather elegant.

"Miss Mai, we are fully capable of having alterations performed if you are unhappy with any of the styles here," Kyoko informed her. The trio brightened considerably at this information. Mai rushed back to the room to try on the first dress. She was always one for first impressions, and this dress stuck with her.

"Let's see what we can do with this one," She said confidently. Serenity hid a smile. The dress would be perfect for her with just a little updating. Mai was already discussing with Kyoko how they could change the sleeves (by change she meant remove them) and maybe do something with the hem of the dress (raise it, and add some more color). Kyoko was busily making measurements and writing down notes. They would all have to come back for extra fittings and once they had all decided on shoes, the dresses would be hemmed.

They left the shop, extremely exhausted yet happy. "Mission accomplished!" Tea pumped a fist in the air dramatically. All Mai and Serenity could do was exchange tired smiles. They all got in their respective cars and drove away from the small store. Serenity gazed lazily out of the car window as the car wove through several streets, but bolted upright suddenly, as if something were wrong.

"Mai, why aren't we going back to my apartment?" Serenity groaned, already knowing the answer.

"Your brother hasn't even seen your face in what, a week? And I know he'd never admit it, but he needs you, Serenity—I can tell this whole wedding thing is finally seeping through to him." Mai laughed and Serenity smiled. Mai was a great tonic for her brother.

In no time at all they had pulled their car into the small driveway that led to the small row house that Mai and Joey shared. Serenity smiled upon seeing her brother appear from behind the screen door. He waved them in. She did miss him.

The front door of the Kaiba mansion swung closed with a sharp sound as the man himself strode in. He had been hard at work the whole day, trying to get a patent through on the new technology that his duel disks would need to keep KaibaCorp just one step ahead of the competition. Step? More like a quantum leap. But Seto wanted nothing more than a satisfying meal, a shower, and then a bed to sleep on until this whole process repeated itself day after day. He wondered if he would ever get tired of being so tired…

"Mokuba?" His first instinct was to check if his brother was home. He usually wasn't, but it was something Seto never stopped doing when he came home. To his surprise, the sound of footsteps led to the front hall.

"Seto, I thought you'd never come home!" Mokuba sounded exasperated, and proceeded to drag his brother by the sleeve to an adjourning room. Seto hid his surprise and amusement as his socked feet skidded on the hardwood floors. What had gotten into Mokuba?

They found themselves in their den of sorts, simply an informal room Mokuba used to watch TV. Seto noticed that the media cabinets were opened, and DVDs lay scattered about the massive entertainment system which dominated one wall entirely. Commanding his brother to sit on the ash-colored sofa, Mokuba smiled triumphantly at his brother's wary eye.

"You are going to be acting in a movie, Seto. A movie. Do you have any idea of what the typical actor does to prepare for a role? Have you given any thought to what you should do before we even start filming?"

Thoughts of a leisurely evening flew out the window as Mokuba picked up the remote. As much as Seto hated to admit it, even to himself, he was a far cry from an expert in this field. He should trust Mokuba's advice- whatever this was, it couldn't be that bad. "So what would you have me do?" Seto's voice was caustically sarcastic, but in reality he was curious. They had rarely shared anything concerning their work before Seto was let in to this other world, and maybe whatever was going to happen was a regular occurrence.

Mokuba took a deep breath. "Well, let's face it, Seto, you're not exactly a romantic person. You have no idea how to make any romantic situation seem natural, and so I think I have a good solution for you." He paused and almost instinctively ducked the scathing glare being sent his way.

"You don't need to make it sound that bad," Seto replied, sounding insulted.

"Come on, Seto, you're practically married to your job- and became so with hardly any romancing at all." He allowed a thin line to sneak across his features as he watched his elder brother regard him with false scorn. "This is so much worse than I feared. We need Kate, and we need Leo. And we need them now." Mokuba proceeded to turn on the TV, where Mokuba forced Seto to sit through most of the movie, refusing to let him leave and almost laughing out loud as his disgruntled expression grew. Seto Kaiba was in for a rough night.

Serenity was in for no picnic either. Where had Joey developed the idea that he could cook? When she had lived with him for awhile during college, she had always been the one who made the meals. Culinary art, he called it. That was invariably followed by a comment to how she was messing up, by being so involved with her art. But she could say the same thing about his nearly obsessive dueling habit. One thing she could say about her brother, though, was that he was tenacious.

Dinner tasted better than it looked, but the conversation nearly drove Serenity away from the house. It started with the age-old question. "So, what are you up to this summer, Serenity?"

As soon as the words had left Joey's mouth, Serenity couldn't meet his eyes. She couldn't interrupt all of their wedding plans by telling him about her recently acquired 'movie deal'. She hoped that Mai wouldn't bring it up, because she hated not telling Joey the truth. She had no idea how he would react to his former nemesis coming back into his life in this way. Even though if what she had heard held true, only Joey considered Kaiba as his 'enemy'. The feeling would most definitely not be mutual.

"Oh you know, just the usual. Picking up an extra shift at the store, and trying as ever to make that masterpiece." She smiled brightly at him, hoping he would drop the matter.

"Serenity, you know how we feel about the painting thing, right? Isn't it time that you got a different job, one where you could rise up in the ranks a little? You deserve to be at the top…even if painting does make you happy…"

Serenity kept her smile, not wanting to let them see how badly their words pierced her. "You just wait until you see the beautiful piece that I'm painting as a wedding present," she said, thankful that Mai jumped on the topic change, telling her husband-to-be all about their afternoon picking out the perfect dresses. Serenity had tuned out about as much as she knew Joey was.

It was late, and the media room looked trashed. Drinks and plates cluttered the tables and loose DVDs lay without cases as a sort of odd garnish to the scene. Mokuba was passed out onto the couch, his breathing steady and even. Seto rubbed his eyes, not quite wanting to get up.

They had watched Titantic, Pirates of the Caribbean, and part of Becoming Jane before Mokuba had started to fall asleep. At one point in the evening (before the pizza, testament enough to the fact that Seto had missed out on his dinner) Seto had rifled through the numerous DVDs, surprised that they had so many and he had never noticed it. He picked up the case in particular that Mokuba had reacted so exceptionally to. There wasn't anything special about it—the typical lovesick guy was on the cover, staring in a lovesick way at some girl who was probably just as lovesick. What was it that made one succumb to the disease? It seemed so contagious, that the only way around it was to keep your distance. He slowly read the words on the cover. "Pride and prejudice…"

"What about this one?" Seto asked, holding up the pastel-colored box and waving it through the air.

"No! We're not going to watch that one!" Mokuba swiped it from him and placed it face down on the table.

"Why not?" Seto asked, bemused as to why Mokuba was so inclined towards that particular movie. "This movie can't be worse than the others. What's so special about it that you got it out and yet we can't watch it?"

He could just see the pained expression on Mokuba's face. His eyes flickered to the ceiling in annoyance, driving Seto even further to understand what was going on. "It's called Pride and Prejudice…I didn't think you wanted to watch your life story, Seto."

"So funny." The retort was delivered with a small frown. Seto dropped the matter, confident that he could discover the reason eventually.

"Pride and Prejudice…" Seto slowly let the words sink in. They had a familiar ring to them, for other reasons than Mokuba had hinted. It took a moment for his mind to wrap around it.

It was a book, a novel he had been forced to read for a Brit Lit class he had taken in college; he had found it incredibly devoid of originality and plot. None of the relationships there were logical, reasonable, or had any foundation. If that man- Darcy- had any sense at all he would have just remained at his manor and away from all of those trying to bring him down. With a scowl, he set the offending DVD case in one of the many drawers in the media cabinet. He took a moment to stretch his sore muscles and trudged upstairs to get some sleep. His head was killing him.

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A/N: I apologize profusely for the long wait…I'm so busy every day with classes so this chapter is a tad scrawny. But the next one is going to be great, I can tell. I dropped some major hints in this chapter about what's coming up, so see if you can guess where I'm headed here! Thanks to Storm 38, Blueshadows2010, Kako, Sakurelle, UnlessAbsolutelyNecessary, Tie4, Yami no Game, and one anonymous reviewer for giving me much needed and appreciated commentary, advice, and praise. Also, if you liked this, please check out my newest short story, Polaroids! I really want it to get more exposure. As always, please leave a review on your way out. You'll be glad you did…and I'll be glad you did too.

Until Next Time,

Sakura Takanouchi