V.I.P.
Mai inched forward in the queue, trying not to shiver in the cold night air. She hadn't brought a jacket with her; waiting in line for a nightclub wasn't something she was accustomed to having to do. The right look, a bit of flirtation and a lot of unwarranted confidence tended to work wonders in terms of getting her into any place she wanted to go. This night however, with a group of people that included the young-looking Serenity and Yugi, it was decided that it was best not to do anything that would draw attention to themselves.
Serenity shifted her weight anxiously from foot to foot, becoming more nervous the closer they got to the front of the line. "I'm so glad you could come tonight," she said, inching a little closer to Mai as if for security.
Mai gave her a warm smile. She had to admit, despite the cold, joining the group had been a good decision. Being with the gang again was nice, it was fun, and that was something that had been missing from her life recently. As she watched all their familiar interactions, she could almost pretend that the intervening years had never happened. Almost.
As they inched forward again, a commotion broke out behind them. Mai turned to see a tall, dark-haired man push his way through the line, giving his apologies as he wove his way between the crowd. In one hand, he held aloft a huge hot dog; dripping with mustard and ketchup, in the other was a plain chicken burger which he duly handed to Mai as he came to a stop beside her. She took it with a nod of gratitude.
"Oh man, that looks so good!" Joey gasped looking at Tristan's hot dog and salivating openly. He positioned himself to stand right in front of his tall friend and actually let out a small dog-like whimper.
"Get out of it Joey! You said you ate before you came out!" Tristan growled, pulling the food away from Joey's face.
"Aww, but that was just a snack!"
"A three-course snack!" Téa chastised. "And you finished my dessert!"
Mai smiled to herself, taking a large bite of her burger, and realising at the same time just how hungry she was. It was dry and a bit tasteless, but she allowed herself a tiny sigh of happiness anyway as she felt the warm food hit her empty stomach.
The line shifted forward. She could hear the thudding music now and could see the giant beast of a bouncer who was vetting everyone before waving them through for the routine bag checks.
She felt a movement beside her and turned to see Yugi holding up the pyramid puzzle he wore round his neck. She noticed that he was standing a little taller, exuding an air of authority that had been noticeably absent before.
Mai felt her stomach twist, uncomfortably reminded of the powers of the artefact he carried. The pharaoh, clearly sensing her eyes on him, turned to give her a small nod of greeting and she forced herself to relax. After all, Yugi using the millennium puzzle in order to look old enough to get into a nightclub, was hardly the same as Marik using the millennium rod to banish her soul to the Shadow Realm.
"How many?" The gruff voice of the bouncer interrupted her musing.
"Six," the pharaoh said, his deep and serious voice entirely out of place in this setting.
The bouncer cast his eyes over the group, stopping as he looked at Serenity. "ID?" he asked.
Mai stepped forward, quickly wiping the last crumbs of her hastily eaten burger on the back of her skirt.
"Hon," she purred, blasting him with her most winning smile, "that won't be necessary, will it?"
The man raised an eyebrow, and Mai felt an unfamiliar chink in her confidence. "It will, yes."
"But… she's with me."
There was a long pause as the man locked eyes with her, clearly debating his next move.
"We should be on the guest list." Téa pushed herself forward, breaking the standoff. "Under the name of Kaiba."
Mai's heart jolted. She turned to Téa, her mouth dropping open in surprise.
The bouncer's gaze flicked to the women and then to the screen of his device. He glanced at the group again and gave a small grunt. "You'd better go on in."
Mai leaned forward, straining to read the screen for herself but an eager hand was pulling her away.
"Come on!" Serenity hissed, dragging her in the direction of the entrance where Téa was already disappearing, being swallowed up by the noise and the darkness beyond the double doors.
Tristan, who was still chomping his way through the giant hot dog, found his path blocked.
"You can't take food in."
"Why, you're absolutely right," Joey intervened, nodding emphatically. "Lemme fix that for ya'."
With a deft movement, Joey grabbed the hot dog and shoved the whole thing into his mouth in one go. He grinned a ketchup grin and ducked under the bouncer's arm as an astonished Tristan stood gaping at his now empty hand.
"Hey!" he called angrily after his friend, pushing past the bouncer and running after him.
Finally came the pharaoh who gave a small bow. "Thank you for allowing us passage," he said formally.
"Whatever," the bouncer said dismissively as he turned to address the next person in line.
0oooo0
Mai quickly made her way through the crowds to join Téa, her mind buzzing with the name her friend had uttered. She was desperate to check if she'd heard right. But even as the question formed on her lips, she stopped herself. Tonight wasn't about him. No night would ever be about him. He wasn't interested and nor was she, and that was fine. She blew out a huff of breath and pushed any thoughts of Seto firmly to the back of her mind.
Instead, she stopped and, as her eyes became accustomed to the darkness of the club, she found to her surprise, that she was impressed. Since Yugi and his friends didn't live in New York, she had suspected that they would be ending up in some touristy dive, with sticky floors and overpriced drinks. Looking around though, Mai noticed the funky neon lighting that accentuated a number of smaller, more intimate areas which all surrounded a spacious dance floor. It was busy, but not excessively so, and there was a nice vibe to the place.
"Hey, Téa," Mai shouted above the thumping base. "Where'd you guys hear about this joint?"
"Mokuba suggested it."
In response to her friend's expression, Téa laughed. "Yeah, I know, I still think of him as a cute little kid too."
That hadn't been what Mai was thinking, but she let it go.
"So is he here?" Mai asked the question, convincing herself as she did so, that it was only Mokuba that she was asking after.
"I hope so; he said something about a VIP area, which sounds cool."
Mai nodded. She wasn't sure whether to feel disappointed or relieved that Seto's name hadn't come up.
"Hey, there he is!" Serenity pointed up and they turned to see Mokuba waving frantically from a mezzanine level.
"You coming?" The younger girl called back to them as she pushed through the crowds to a curving set of glass stairs.
Téa grinned. "Tonight is going to be memorable, I can just tell!"
As she watched the group making their way to join Mokuba, Mai felt her own smile widening.
0oooo0
The seating area in the VIP section was sleek and sophisticated. Low-level cushion seats surrounded tables set with small candle-lit lanterns which threw tiny splinters of coloured light across the cosy space. A continuous curving glass banister acted as a barrier, cutting down the noise levels to a comfortable level whilst maintaining the atmosphere and giving them a view of the dance floor below.
Mai held back as the others all greeted Mokuba; Serenity launching into the same excited round up of events that she had given Mai over the phone. Once or twice, she caught Mokuba glancing at her in a slightly strange way as if he wanted to ask her something important although, when it finally came to Mai's turn to greet him, all he asked was how her arm was doing.
"It's fine thanks hon," she said, absent-mindedly stroking the strip of black material that she had wound around her arm to cover the large plaster.
There was an awkward pause as Mai and Mokuba looked at each other.
Serenity was suddenly between them, practically bouncing up and down in excitement.
"Oh, I love this song!" she squealed happily. "Come and dance Mai – please!?"
Serenity tugged on Mai's arm, her excitement so infectious that Mai almost didn't notice the sharp sting until it was too late. She winced, her hand instinctively shooting up to steady the girl's grip. She turned to face her, at the same time picking up on the song that was playing. She grimaced, noting the tinny beat of a recent pop song.
"Ah, hon, I don't think this is my kind of music to be honest. If the music gets a bit … harder," she added as she watched Serenity's expression falter, "I promise I'll join you down there – okay?"
"Are we dancing?" Téa held a hand out to Serenity, a wide smile on her face, her body already moving to the beat.
Serenity held Mai's gaze for a moment. "Later – promise?"
"Promise." She turned back to Mokuba. "The music gets better, right?"
He grinned and nodded before his expression returned to being thoughtful. "Look, Mai, I just wanted to say—"
"Hey, is that Kaiba?!" Tristan pushed between them to get to the banister.
Mokuba and Mai both turned, their eyes following Tristan's gaze down towards the entrance of the club.
Sure enough, there was Seto Kaiba standing still amongst a bustling crowd that seemed to flow around him as if people instinctively knew not to get too close. He was wearing his usual outfit of black with a dark purple overcoat that reached down to his booted feet. His arms were folded across his chest, and as he glanced around him, his expression was that of someone not entirely at ease with his surroundings.
Mai felt her heart lurch, the time stretching out as she continued to stare open-mouthed, her thoughts an unintelligible jumble.
A movement nearby snapped her back to her senses, and she turned to see Yugi, his usual self once more, start to make his way down the stairs. From the mezzanine level, the onlookers all watched as he bounded up to Seto in a friendly greeting.
Seto's eyes narrowed at Yugi's approach just as his scowl deepened. They couldn't hear what Yugi was saying but could see by the enthusiastic gestures and nodding head, that Yugi was talking excitedly. Seto didn't crack a smile, if anything his posture became even more guarded and hostile. At one point he turned his head, flicking a glance at the exit as if searching for an escape.
And then Yugi must have said something which caught Seto's attention. His expression suddenly changed, he raised his head and the scowl all but vanished. He stopped Yugi mid-sentence and, for what appeared to be the first time during the conversation, he asked a question.
In response Yugi pointed up towards where Joey, Tristan, Mokuba and Mai were standing, goggle-eyed, watching the whole exchange with undisguised amazement.
Seto's eyes alighted on each of them in turn, the slightest twitch in his right eye indicating his displeasure at seeing Joey and Tristan, a faint smile appearing when he saw Mokuba and when he saw Mai…
The gaze lingered long enough for Mai's spine to tingle and the others, Yugi included, all found themselves following his gaze, unsure of what they were all supposed to be looking at, other than the rare sight of seeing Mai blush.
And then the look was gone. Seto was back listening to Yugi who was now indicating towards the staircase.
Mai took a sudden breath, forcing her mind back into action. Glancing around her, she saw the looks of confusion on the faces of her two friends, whilst Mokuba was now grinning openly at her. She felt herself growing hot with a mixture of self-consciousness and irritation.
Staring down at the floor, she gritted her teeth, pushing down the fluttering sensation she had felt since she had first seen him, reminding herself of her earlier resolve. She fixed her expression to one of calm self-assurance and looked up just as Seto reached the top of the stairs.
"Excuse me," she said smoothly, "I promised Serenity I would join her on the dance floor."
She gave a polite smile to the group and lithely manoeuvred herself around Seto. As she sauntered down the stairs, she took a deep breath and allowed herself a quick smile as she recalled Seto's look of surprise and confusion. After nearly a week of waiting for his call like some hopeless schoolgirl, she decided that it was time she regained the upper hand.