Chapter 5 ~ Seto's Day.
The mansion was quiet. It was probably the reason Seto was a morning person. It was a great time to concentrate and add finishing touches to work that he would normally bring home at the end of a working day. Sometimes he found it difficult to concentrate at night, so he liked to get an early start with a clear head. Looking around the empty table, he smiled wryly. Apparently his family didn't share the belief as they were cuddled up in their beds.
His blue eyes roamed the impressive room, taking in the delicate ornaments and artwork. He felt somewhat alone, but had problems with people. The only people he trusted were his family and people like Jou, who hadn't taken no for an answer. He felt like the room was lacking something.
Seto made a note in his journal to buy flowers for the house. Hopefully that would add a sense of life and colour to the room. It was summer after all. He looked at his watch. Almost time to leave already. Where had the time gone; it wasn't like him to let his mind wander. Maybe he spent too much time around Jou and picked up some of his endearing traits. He placed his notes and files carefully inside his leather briefcase with his valuables and set it down by the main door.
He turned and climbed the stairs to the main floor. He headed to his brothers room. The door was like the others on the corridor, but with a personalized name tag. Seto knocked and stepped gracefully inside. Mokuba was playing a car game on the floor of his room. He looked up when he heard his brother.
"Morning Nii-chan ," he chirped and leaned into his brother's hug. He looked down at his watch.
"Morning, Mokuba. Don't play that too long; you'll ruin your eyes." He smiled as Mokuba snorted.
"Says the guy who married a laptop! And I know what you're going to say…'please eat a proper breakfast, blah, blah, blah'. Did any one ever tell you you're such a woman Seto?" He folded his arms after pulling off the highly accurate voice of his brother. Seto went pink for a moment before composing himself. He smiled at his brother.
"Well it seems I've thought you well. Just kidding, see you later Mokie." He ruffled Mokuba's hair and let his brother get back to his insane car game. He couldn't believe he made a living, creating games of that genre.
He closed the door a followed another corridor left. He went to his own master suite and let himself in. A flop of blonde messy hair attached to a young man, was lying still on the large bed. Seto smirked. He made his way to the bed and sat down. The blonde stirred and opened his eyes, revealing beautiful orbs of brown, sparkling with flecks of honey and amber. Seto leaned down and kissed his forehead softly, pausing as he did so. Jou closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of Seto's cologne. He was still sleepy and clung lightly to Seto's strong frame. Seto chuckled softly.
"Katsuya, I can't stay. I want to, but there's a board meeting today." He kissed him softly again and moved down to capture his soft lips, kissing away the pout of disappointment. "I'll see you later; call me if you need anything." Another kiss and Katsuya allowed himself to be tucked up properly again by his brunette lover. Amber eyes watched as his tall frame left the room.
Seto climbed into the limo where his briefcase had been waiting for him. He had been working very hard lately and had had little time for his loved ones. The board had become restless with the increased activity from his German competitors. Seto snorted in annoyance. How could these so called business men doubt his ability? He slaved over that company and had in the end made those men very rich. All he got to show for it was greed and insecurity. He would have to think about setting himself up with a new board. Talk about work. He sighed heavily and ran over his notes once again.
After the meeting had ended and Seto was alone in his office, he sat at his desk, in a somewhat defeated manner. He had fired five of his board members only a short while earlier. He hadn't wanted to do it, despite some people saying he loved firing people. They had grown too big for their boots and tried to go against him and the other board members. He sighed; overall, it had been a bad day. The only good point was that the rest of the board had supported his decision to weed out the greedy men.
A knock woke him out of his thoughts. He automatically hit save on his document and said, "Enter." A familiar mop of blonde hair poked his head inside and smiled at him. Seto smiled back and rubbed his forehead.
"Man, looks like you had a rough day. Anything I can do to help?" Katsuya came in and closed the door. He sat down on one of the seats in front of Seto's desk. Seto sighed.
"Hi, Katsuya. Don't worry, I'm fine." He said in a cool voice. Katsuya didn't buy it.
"I know when yer lyin' to me, you can put on dat face all ya want, but it 'aint gonna work on me, ya got dat?" Katsuya was fired up. It had taken him so long to help Seto to reveal who he really was. He went to Seto and stood before him. He reached out and pulled Seto in for gentle kiss and then simply held him for a minute. Seto smiled.
"Mmm Katsuya, thanks…I needed that. I had to fire Gansley and the other four idiots from the board today." He sighed as Jou snorted.
"Bout time! Damn money grabbers. Look ya need to get outta dis office. It sounds like you've done enough work for today. Besides, I got a surprise for ya." Seto raised his eyebrows. A surprise? Oh no…it was sure to involve…
"Yuugi called me today and said he had something dat he wanted us to see. I think it's a good idea to get you away from dis prison. Whatta ya say, Seto?" Seto shook his head.
"You already know my answer, but you're not going to leave me alone, so I'll just get it over with. When are we supposed to be there?" Jou's eyes lit up.
"Really, you'll go? Fantastic! Yuugi said anytime before six. Wanna go now?" Seto stood up and rubbed his temple again. He shut down his laptop and packed it up. Jou had his coat waiting. They shared a brief kiss as they left for the car.
The Kame Game Shop stood proudly as ever on the small street. The cherry blossoms were beautiful. The limo slowed and pulled up at the curb. Jou hopped out and Seto exited the vehicle, giving the driver instructions. He stepped into the small shop and found he was the only occupant, besides Solomon, who was behind the counter.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Mutou. Could you tell me where Jou went?" Seto asked politely, with a short bow. Solomon bowed in return.
"He's gone upstairs to the guest bedroom. That's where the boys are I imagine." The older man smiled and Seto took it as his invitation to go inside. He made his way slowly past Solomon and was soon at the top of the stairs.
"Jou?" he called.
"In here Seto…" came the quick reply. Seto walked in and saw Jou sitting on a cushion on the floor with Ryou and Yuugi. Atemu was stretched out on the futon with a book and something small and fluffy that Seto couldn't make out. He was wondering why everyone was in here. It seemed like a strange room for a group gathering as they normally gathered in the living room.
"Hey Seto…have you heard about these little guys?" Yuugi spoke up shyly from the floor, pointing to the pet carrier. Seto then realized the fluffy things in the hands of Yuugi, Ryou and Atemu were kittens. He shook his head at Yuugi's question and Yuugi looked at Jou in confusion. Jou noticed.
"Ah…in case you wondering Yuugi; I wanted it to be surprise. It was a nice idea to get him outta da office. Poor guy had a rough day." Yuugi looked back at Seto, who had made himself comfortable in the armchair and Seto could literally see the apology in his big, expressive eyes. Seto gave a small warm smile in return because he didn't want to upset Yuugi.
Atemu silently observed the scene as it unfolded and was pleased by Seto's response. He looked down at his stomach where Cleo was fast asleep. She had curled into a little ball and stretched her paws out. Atemu didn't mind whatsoever. He had every reason to be happy. Yuugi and he had officially been a couple for three days now and Atemu was in a very good mood.
But there was something. He wanted to do things right for Yuugi. He understood that Yuugi had never been intimate with another person before, so he didn't want to push Yuugi at all. He decided that taking it slow would be better for both of them, since they had to get to know each other all over again, just on a different level. Now all he needed was a way to show Yuugi how much he cared for him, but what was a good way to do that?
He looked up from his book again and noticed that he had stayed on the same page since Seto and Jou had arrived. He sighed and put the book down. It was obvious that he wasn't going to get anywhere until he had gotten his problem solved. That got him wondering what Seto had done to show Jou his love. Maybe he could ask them for help.
Yuugi had looked up when Atemu had sighed and put his book down. Was everything okay? Was Atemu having second thoughts about them? He went back to stroking his kitten with the red armband and decided not to think about it. Jou had taken a liking to the kittens and played with the little shy kitten with the green armband. Ryou and Mocha were getting on well too. Ryou had come twice so far to see him.
Seto looked around the room and took in everything. He noted how vibrant the room was. It may have been small in comparison to the rooms at his home, but there was definitely more of a 'lived in' feeling here. He wondered if it had more to do with the people or the kittens. But it gave him an idea. Atemu seemed deep in thought and Yuugi and Ryou were chatting to Jou.
Just then, Jou's stomach rumbled. Seto rolled his eyes. The two lights giggled at Jou's red face and Atemu used this as an opportunity. "Ryou and Yuugi, could you two possibly bring up some snacks from the kitchen?" his deep voice was calm and soft, and it eased whatever bad feelings the Yuugi had. Yuugi jumped to his feet after putting his kitten down and went to Atemu. He softly kissed Atemu's lips and reluctantly broke away. Atemu looked into his eyes, smiling.
"We'll be right back…see ya…" Yuugi stole another tiny kiss from Atemu and followed Ryou out. Atemu smiled somewhat smugly and Seto and Jou were mildly surprised to find out that the two were an item.
"So…when did it start?" asked Jou in friendly teasing manner. Seto leaned back and crossed his arms. He too was intent on hearing the details. Atemu expressed his amusement of their facial expressions.
"Yuugi and I got together three days ago. I couldn't be happier." Atemu answered honestly, but another thoughtful look crossed his face, and didn't go unnoticed by Jou.
"But…" he prompted.
Atemu hesitated, but he continued on. "I need a way to show Yuugi how I care for him. I don't want him thinking that I only want him physically. I want him as a whole, him as a person and everything about him. I just don't know how to say that without overwhelming him." He paused and hoped that the other two would have a solution.
"Atemu, you don't just say stuff like dat. Those things come all by themselves when the right moment comes. Trust me on dat. But if ya wanna give Yuugi a bit of attention, I'd say go out on a date. That's what all couples do at the beginning." Jou sent a warm look Seto's way and Seto couldn't help but smile. Atemu's face eased as he thought about it.
"Where should I take him? I have never taken anyone out on a date so I wouldn't know where to start thinking about it."
Jou noticed the small disappointed look. He felt a little sorry for Atemu, because it was so much easier than he was anticipating.
"Atemu, calm down. A date is where you take him somewhere special and you treat him. Like going to a movie, or dinner or even take him out to do something that he wants to do. It's that easy." He looked at Seto who nodded.
"It's true. I once took Jou to a museum and he got so bored that he just walked out and left me standing in front of a group of rich people thoroughly embarrassed. Jou showed me a real date that day. We went bowling and I never had so much fun. When Mokuba found out he laughed at my stupidity and I can't blame him. I'm sure you'll find something Atemu." Atemu seemed much more at ease and Seto turned his attention back to Jou.
"Seto…can we have one of these?" Seto saw the kitten in his hand and he immediately shook his head. Jou whined and Seto made an annoyed sound.
"Sorry Jou. I don't have the time to worry about looking after a pet. You know how hard I work and how little time I have for myself. It would be unfair to expect me to care for such a young animal if I wasn't around." Seto gave Jou an apologetic look and thankfully Jou dropped the subject. He hadn't wanted to give Atemu a bad impression of him, but he could hardly walk to his office everyday, kitten in tow…now could he?
Jou was disappointed but he could also understand his reasons. It was mean to ask Mokuba either, because he had so much ongoing school activities and work, so the only time he had to himself was early in the morning and late at night, hence the video games. Jou sighed in defeat. It really didn't help that the kitten in his hand was so damn cute!
Yuugi and Ryou returned with a big tray of snacks. Jou smiled and Seto almost wanted to laugh. Atemu took a bag of crisps and kissed Yuugi softly in thanks. Yuugi grinned into the kiss and immediately wanted another one. He nipped lightly at Atemu's lips and Atemu chuckled.
He tickled Yuugi and laughed as Yuugi 'ran for his life'. He looked down at Cleo who was still asleep. Yuugi came over and handed Atemu a bottle of milk. Yuugi settled back on the floor with Ryou and took his kitten again.
Atemu turned his attention to his little queen. She had grown a little stronger and hadn't had any more trouble feed since the night Bakura and Ryou had stayed. He was glad for that. He had grown attached to her and he knew there was no way the he would let anyone take her away from him.
He rubbed along her back and stomach softly to wake her up. She was always so soft to touch. Cleo's big sparkling eyes opened and she gave a happy mewl when she saw him. He stroked her head and she licked his thumb in greeting. He supposed some things would never change. He offered her the bottle and stroked her softly while she fed.
Yuugi had offered to let Jou feed the last kitten, but Jou shook his head. Seto looked slightly out of his element as he sat in his suit in the small guest room. That's when Jou placed the kitten on Seto's lap. Seto gave him a flustered look and then saw the meaningful look in Jou's eyes. Atemu was watching them quietly. Seto took the bottle from Jou and offered it to the shy little kitten.
Seto loved the soft fur under his fingers and the small weight on his lap. The kitten was tiny and adorable. Deep down, he knew he would love to take the little kitten home, but he wanted to have time for it. It was better if he didn't get attached at all. He gave a soft sad smile to himself and he stroked the kitten's back softly as he suckled. Jou smiled and Seto couldn't believe how natural it felt to care for the little guy.
Yuugi smiled. Ryou looked at him and they both looked back at Seto with his beautiful designer suit and a tiny little kitten. It was so different seeing him like this. Yuugi had an idea.
"Seto? Is it okay if I take a photo of you and the kitten together?" his amethyst eyes shun with hope and Atemu smirked. There was no way Seto would resist those eyes. Seto looked at Yuugi and couldn't stop himself. He nodded and Yuugi gave his kitten to Jou and went to get the camera. He raised the camera and snapped a few quick pictures of the two together. Then he took one of Jou and his little one.
Seto smiled to himself. He was glad to have Jou. He had to admit that this really was a much better way to spend the day. He looked back at the kitten on his lap and smiled. Maybe this truly was the beginning of something…
Hey again! I know its a bit of a shock, jumping to Seto and so on, but I thought a little change would be refreshing and besides, I have to introduce the characters somehow. What better way to do it right? Anyway, for this chapter , my favourite part was...hmm, I liked a lot. I love how Seto thinks and acts. I loved Mokuba's character so much, and I threw in him doing a little impression of Mokuba as a joke. And if you're wondering, I had him playing, Need for Speed, most wanted. I love that game! A also loved when Seto fed the kitten and gave a sad smile to himself, he does want to kitten, but has his reasons as well. But I thought I expressed it well. I really enjoyed writing them both and hope you guys liked the chapter as much as I did.
Heidlebergchick