The Flood
Flood: (noun)
An overflow of a large amount of water beyond its normal limits.
To overwhelm or inundate.
Autumn disappeared as quickly as it had arrived and the weather became increasingly volatile as winter took its place. It was two months until Christmas and Seto was working late again, diligently finalising the details for the launch of his new duel disc system when a crack of thunder in the distance shattered his concentration.
With a grunt of annoyance, Seto tried to tune out the sound of the rain as it began to pound against the large window which stretched across the back wall behind his desk. As he resumed his typing, another bright flash of lightening illuminated his office and was immediately followed by a deep rumble of thunder. The rain quickly turned into sheets of hail which mingled with the howling winds that tore across the black sky and crashed relentlessly against his window.
His phone lit up with a worried message from Mokuba. Mokuba had always been afraid of storms and Seto knew he should probably head home to be with his brother.
He wasted little time in packing his briefcase and marched out of his office, passing Serenity's desk as he headed towards the elevator, keenly awaiting the sound of her pleasant voice wishing him a good evening as he waited for the elevator to arrive at his floor.
But he didn't hear anything.
He turned around.
She wasn't there.
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. That was odd, she always stayed until he left, usually so she could berate him for working so late.
The elevator door pinged open and he stiffly turned to look at it, feeling strangely irked by her apparent rejection of their nightly 'goodnight' ritual. Feeling an unfamiliar stab of disappointment, he stomped into the lift.
He knew he was being irrational as he smacked the button for the underground parking lot. It was just one night where she apparently had something more important to do than to stay late just to utter three words to him. But it was more than that. At least it was to him.
Was that what had annoyed him? That she could so casually discard their unspoken routine like it was completely meaningless? She had probably never cared at all.
He ignored the lone security guard when the lift opened into the parking lot and stormed straight passed him towards his car. He petulantly threw his briefcase into the spacious boot and wrenched open the driver's door before sinking into the seat.
Growling in frustration he turned on the ignition and the car sprang to life. How could one girl be responsible for completely destroying his life? He revved the engine of the powerful vehicle and slammed the gear into drive, quickly flicking on the headlights as he ventured into the darkness outside the parking lot.
It was a ghastly evening. The rain hammered down, obscuring his view of the road ahead despite the rapid swishing of the vehicles wipers. He pulled up to the first set of traffic lights and waited for the signal to change, watching as the sleet continued to streak down his windscreen. The weather epitomised his black mood.
That was when he saw her. He thought he had imagined her at first, his besotted mind projecting his wild fantasies to reality. He had to look away and turn back again to double check. It was definitely her, waiting at a bus stop in the pouring rain. She wasn't even wearing a coat.
He turned his attention back to the traffic lights with a sneer. He was still annoyed with her. She deserved to be stuck in the rain.
The light changed to green, but he couldn't bring himself to move. He thrummed his fingers loudly against the steering wheel. He knew he should have just driven off and put an end to the torture she had subjected him to. He coldly reminded himself that she did not reciprocate his feelings considering she had so easily abandoned him earlier that evening.
A car behind him beeped and he looked at her again, his steely gaze softening. He could never be truly annoyed with her. Especially in that moment, seeing her shivering at the desolate bus stop alone in the rain, with her clothes clinging to her body and her hair plastered against her face as she stared sadly at the sodden pavement.
The car behind him beeped again and he slammed his foot on the accelerator, except instead of speeding forward as he intended, he swerved the car around and pulled up to the bus-stop. He wound down his window. She was soaked and shivering.
"Get in."
She raised her head but squinted through the rain as if disbelieving he was there. She looked around, like she expected there to be another person who also happened to be stupid enough to sit in the rain that he was talking to.
"I won't repeat myself."
Her eyes blinked in awareness and she picked up her saturated bag from the floor, a surge of wind almost knocking her off her feet as she quickly scuttled over the passenger side of the car and opened the door before sliding into the seat next him. The heady smell of dampened jasmine instantly flooded the car and hit him like a wrecking ball.
His body tensed at her close proximity. His car suddenly felt very small.
"Where do you live?" he asked stiffly, avoiding looking in her direction.
"The R…Riverside Apartments," she sniffed. She bowed her head and fidgeted nervously as the water from her hair dripped onto the leather seats.
He shifted into gear and pulled away from the bus stop, forcing his eyes to remain focused on the road ahead. He tried to appear unphased by her presence, but she was very distracting and his whole body ached to look in her direction. It was unbearable.
"What were you doing in the rain?" He had to know.
"I…I…"
Hearing her gasping words, he couldn't help himself; he had to look at her.
He stole a quick glance and his eyebrows furrowed in concern. Her wet hair was a tangled mess, the water falling in rivulets down her face and she was visibly shaking with her arms cradling her small body in a futile attempt to restore warmth.
He tried to ignore her, but as they traveled further down the road her sniffles became more pronounced.
"Damn you Wheeler," he muttered, shaking his head. He shrugged off his coat and wordlessly thrust it towards her crumpled, shivering form, keeping his gaze firmly on the road.
She squeaked in surprise and he could feel the heat of her questioning eyes on his face. He fought to maintain his stony expression as her pale, shaky hand reached out and gratefully took the coat from him. He felt a weird jolt as she wrapped the coat around her small body, smothering herself in its warmth with a small, contented smile. He wished it was his arms wrapped around her, keeping her warm. Instead he was jealous…of his own coat.
He really needed to get a grip on himself.
"You didn't answer my question. What were you doing in the rain?" What he actually wanted to know was why she had left the office early, or more specifically, why she had left him.
She peeped up at him from her jacket cocoon. "I…well…it's a long story."
"Then start telling it," he snapped.
She squirmed. "Erm...well I had to take to my car to the garage…but the man said they had to fix the exhaust…"
As she started to recount the series of events which led to her sitting in the rain, she became increasingly animated as the colour gradually returned to her cheeks.
"…so then I had to get the bus…but it started raining… the bus never turned up…and then you…you…"
She turned to look at him.
"You helped me."
She smiled and gently placed her cold hand on his arm.
He tightened his grip on the steering wheel, almost crushing it underneath his fingers to stop his body from reacting. Was her sole purpose in life to torment him? He could feel his pulse quicken at the contact and all his blood rushed to that spot on his arm which her hand was resting on. It took all of his resolve not to slam on the breaks and grab her small hand firmly in his and never let it go.
It was only when her hand gently slipped away and she tucked it back under his jacket and turned her attention to the window that he was able to release the tightening in his chest and concentrate on breathing properly again.
He slammed on the music, desperate for a distraction from the addictive creature sat next to him.
She clearly had other ideas.
"I love this song," she said, softly humming along to a tune on the radio. It was his favourite, but he wasn't going to admit that.
Was she torturing him on purpose? If so, she was definitely succeeding.
"It's ok." He mumbled non-committedly.
She reached over and turned the volume up and started bopping her head along, her damp hair swaying in time to the music. He usually hated people touching his things and he especially hated people butchering his favourite music. So why did he find her so damn adorable?
She really would be the ruin of him.
Control. He had to regain control.
He petulantly flicked the music off again. Much better.
"Why did you-"
"Your appalling singing was annoying me."
Insults were good, he concluded. Now she would retaliate and say how much she hated him and he could stop deluding himself into believing she might even fractionally reciprocate his feelings.
"Oh. I'm sorry." She mumbled apologetically, her eyes shifting down to her lap with embarrassment.
Crap, now he felt bad. That was not the reaction he was hoping for and now he wanted to bloody comfort her. He felt like banging his head against the steering wheel in frustration.
Overpowering his straying thoughts into submission, he fixated his attention on the road ahead and forced his facial muscles into his usual glacial expression. They traveled in silence; the only interlude to the awkward tension was the soft hum of the engine and the rain crashing down around them. He was hyper aware of her every movement; from the smallest shift in her seat to her hand brushing a stray hair away from her face. Despite his firm resolve, she was very distracting.
He was almost relieved when he finally pulled up outside the Riverside Apartments. He turned off the engine; the sound of the rain pelting against the windscreen punctuated only by the steady sound of their breathing.
He studied the dark, dilapidated building which was apparently her 'home' but concluded it was more like a battered cardboard box. It definitely was not safe enough for his Serenity.
"Do you live alone?" Although he asked out of concern for her safety, he hoped she didn't detect the second meaning behind his question.
"Yes, it's just me." Her voice was quiet.
Was that partial relief he felt?
She continued. "But don't worry, I have really nice neighbours who look out for me."
Unfortunately she thought everyone was nice, he thought bitterly. He scrutinised the deserted apartment block again; maybe he should conduct a background check on her neighbours once he got home. Just in case.
On second thoughts, maybe he should buy the apartment building too.
Seeing the ominous building, he realised he didn't want her to leave. Although she drove him crazy, he wanted to keep her and never have to let her go. He knew it was selfish but that didn't stop him from desperately wishing it could happen if he had been born someone else. The thought was strangely painful.
He turned towards her, surprised to find her face close to his. Her eyes widened in surprise too but she didn't move.
"Thank you for driving me home, Mr Kaiba." Her voice was quiet, barely a whisper and he could feel her warm breath tickle his cheek.
Her lips, her skin, looked so soft. He wanted to touch her.
"It was nothing, Miss Wheeler."
He was helplessly lost in her wide amber eyes.
"But still…" her voiced quietly trailed off and her bottom lip trembled, like she was trying to form words but couldn't express them.
He had never been intimate with anyone before. He didn't know how. Until he had met her, he had felt no desire to pursue intimate relations with anybody and he thought he never would. But he liked Serenity, and the sudden thought of kissing her was…appealing.
Could he do it? Just lean in? What would she say if he did?
He moved his body forward, his face slowly leaning closer to hers. He heard her suck in a deep breath and his body hummed in anticipation as he felt himself be pulled closer to her. He noticed her eyelids flickered shut and she slowly released the shaky breath she had been holding which tickled his lips. He had never felt his heart beat so quickly. He didn't know what he was doing but he instinctively closed his eyes and tilted his face closer to hers.
A crash of thunder erupted in the distance and a startled Serenity sprang back with a small squeak. She quickly looked away, a heated blush spreading across her cheeks.
Seto stiffened, the blood in his veins turning to ice. He had just been about to do something unbelievably stupid.
"Goodnight, Mr. Kaiba," she quickly mumbled, shyly handing him back his coat without looking at him as she reached for the door handle.
The selfish impulse inside of him wanted to grab her hand and pull her back in but instead he remained frozen with shock and said nothing as she opened the door and stepped out into the harsh rain. She dashed up the path to the apartment building, her hair flailing wildly behind her before she disappeared inside without a backward glance.
Seto remained still, staring at the empty passenger seat she had just vacated. He had never lost control before, his rigidity of thought didn't allow for the unpredictably of emotional interference but for that small, unforgivable moment, he had almost ruined everything by allowing himself to be governed by his weak impulses.
He could only imagine the horror Serenity must be feeling as a result of his actions, she certainly ran away from him fast enough, leaving behind only his jacket.
He picked up his jacket she had discarded on the seat. He could still feel her warmth embedded in the thick material and was surprised at the way his chest lurched at this realisation. He replayed the moment she had lowered her thick lashes and softly parted her lips, and some foolish part of him found the memory strangely thrilling despite the ridiculousness of his actions. It was odd that despite the collapse of his carefully constructed world, he had never felt more intrigued.
He looked at the building she had just disappeared into and with a deep sigh, he spoke to the darkness.
"Goodnight, Serenity."
Dear Readers,
It amazes me how wonderful you are with your fantastic reviews! You are truly wonderful people and I hope I haven't let you down with this chapter. I had a much subtler version of this written that was probably more in keeping with Seto's character but the moment seemed to scream for an almost-kiss type scenario and I couldn't seem to help myself so I would be interested to hear your thoughts and opinions on Seto.
Love and happiness,
Mimzical x
Thank you Sister of the Crimson Dragon, Kingdom's Oathkeeper , Lppurplegirl11, , LadyRitsu , September Samstar and guests for reviewing.
RanulfFlambard4: As a brit, I wish you a happy bank holiday weekend. Yippee!
ViscountessKiera: Serenity's shyness paired with Seto's stubborn refusal to accept his feelings unfortunately means we are in for long wait before either of them do anything (and I am having too much fun writing this so they definitely can't together yet!).
Within A Tragedy: Seto and Serenity are not for everyone but I am pleased you enjoyed! (And spell check is my best friend).
Charismatic Beauty: You changed your name! Your confused me for a moment Thank you again for reviewing.