Fic: A New Pet [YGO: Noa/Mokuba, Seto/???]
Apr. 6th, 2009 12:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxysquidalsoThis fic is a collaboration with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pandir. Part one is hers, and part two is mine. She wrote part one for me in a fic request meme, and when I asked her if she wanted to request something in return, she requested a continuation of the same story.
Sadly, it took me a while to finish writing it, because I am tragically slow.
Title: A New Pet
Series: Yu-Gi-Oh
Word Count: 4,230
Pairing: Noa/Mokuba, Seto/??? (You must read it to find out who Seto is with, ha ha.)
Rating: K for kissing!
Genre(s): Comedy, romance
Notes: Sincepandir used the name Isono in her part, I used all the Japanese names for the characters, just to be consistent. Also, this is set post-series.
A New Pet.
I.
"Nii-sama!"
The door was opened before Seto could react. Sometimes he cursed himself for giving in to Mokuba's plea never to lock his door, even if he was busy, but he already spent most of his time in front of his laptop and not nearly enough with his little brother.
"I have no time, Mokuba," he declared, buttoning his shirt and looking for the blue tie that would match his white suit.
"Oh." Mokuba sounded a bit disappointed. "I thought you didn't have meetings on weekends anymore."
"I don't", Seto answered shortly, looking at the mirror. Then he sighed, turning to his brother. "What is it, Mokuba?"
Mokuba's blue eyes had a pleading look. "You said I could buy anything if I wanted it, right?" he asked.
Seto was a bit suspicious. "Yes, of course, as long as it's not--" He was interrupted by a mewing sound.
Mokuba looked a bit guilty as a small black kitten entered the room, still meowing and apparently searching for attention. "Look, I saw it and we got along pretty well..."
"I don't have the time to take care of an animal," Seto said, eyeing the cat with mistrust.
"I will!" Mokuba exclaimed immediately. "And when I'm away, Isono will. I asked him already."
Seto was still not convinced that he should allow something that was out of his control to live in his house. The cat, however, seemed quite unimpressed by his hostility and rubbed itself against his legs. Seto glared at the animal, which just looked up to him with its astonishingly blue eyes.
Quickly, Mokuba interfered and took the kitten in his arms, though he couldn't suppress a giggle. "She seems to like you," he said happily.
The older Kaiba ran his hand over his face, trying to maintain his temper. "She--" He paused and corrected himself. "It is not allowed to enter my room. You will take care of it." He looked at his brother, who was beaming at this announcement. Seto couldn't help but smile. "Why did you want a kitten, anyway?" he asked, suddenly much more relaxed. He watched Mokuba laughing as the kitten licked his chin.
"Oh, it was Noa's idea!" the younger Kaiba explained, not noticing that his older brother twitched at the mention of their stepbrother.
"Noa," Seto repeated coolly. "Let me guess, he told you to buy it so it would annoy the hell out of me."
Mokuba just smiled. "Nii-sama, don’t be like that. Noa respects you, he really does."
Seto snorted. "Why on earth did he want you to buy a kitten, then?"
His brother was avoiding his gaze now. "Well, it is a bit stupid…" Seto raised an eyebrow as Mokuba looked at the cat that was tugging at the sleeve of his pullover. "He thought I might like her because she has such strange eyes," he said, grinning at his own explanation, as if it was a joke that Seto just didn't get.
"What about its eyes?" the CEO asked impatiently. "They are--"
"Noa said she looks like you.” Mokuba was beaming at him. "You know, we could call her Seto."
Now it was official. Noa had planned to annoy him with that. Seto wanted to yell at Mokuba for daring to call a female kitten by his name, but the younger one already saw his expression and looked down at the floor. "… I knew you'd think it was stupid. I'll give her back, okay?" Seto felt a sudden rush of guilt, which he surely didn't feel very often. Only Mokuba could make him feel this miserable.
"No, it's yours," he said immediately. "You can do whatever you want with it. I don't care."
Mokuba let the kitten jump to the floor and hugged his brother tightly around his waist. "Thank you, Nii-sama!"
Seto sighed, as he knelt down to pull his little brother into a hug. Perhaps it was better this way. Now Mokuba had something to occupy him and it would surely make him happy for a while. And if this was the case, Seto would be able to ignore the fact that he was compared to this little fuzzy ball of fleas. "But it stays out of here," he concluded aloud.
Mokuba smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You're the best, Nii-sama", he said, before he was already away, picking the kitten up and turning to his brother, grinning. "But if you're going out, you really shouldn't wear a tie!" he said, before he ran out of the room.
Seto was a bit taken aback by this sudden advice, but then he realized that Mokuba had to have noticed his cologne. Or maybe the movie tickets lying on the bed. Either way, he was probably right about the tie. It wasn’t fitting for the occasion, was it?
As he went downstairs, he heard Mokuba's laughter coming from the living room.
Despite the fact that he was now quite late for his appointment, he stepped into the room, only to see Mokuba lying on the couch, his head on Noa's lap, while the cat lay curled up on his belly.
"Oh, hi, Seto." Noa noticed him almost instantly. "Going on your date?"
Seto was not really surprised. Noa knew almost everything that Mokuba knew. The youngest Kaiba hated it to keep something secret from either of his brothers. "Yes, and I'm quite late, so I just wanted a short statement." He looked at Mokuba, who sat up a bit to have a better look at his big brother. The CEO was now dressed in black trousers and a white shirt.
Mokuba smiled and nodded. "Approved."
"Yes, you look just dashing," Noa added with a grin.
"Shut up, Noa," Seto snapped and quickly turned away.
He was already half through the door when Mokuba cried after him, "Wait, when are you coming back, Nii-sama?"
"I don't know," was the short answer, then the CEO was gone. They heard the front door close.
"Who is he meeting, I wonder?" Noa asked, still looking at the door.
Mokuba let his head sink back into Noa's lap. "Can't you guess?"
His stepbrother returned his smile. "Oh, I suppose it's not that hard to guess…" His smirk grew a bit wider. "I also guess we won't be seeing Seto very often from now on. At least not in the evening. That's what happens when people start dating."
Mokuba sighed, petting the little cat which was still purring on his belly. "Hm..."
"It has such a nice black fur, doesn't it?" Noa suddenly remarked, letting his finger slip casually through Mokuba's hair. The younger one looked a bit surprised as Noa smiled at him. "Never mind, I was talking nonsense," he said quickly, but then, he seemed to change his mind. "You know what? If Seto is going out and leaving us behind, we might as well have our own date, don't you think?"
Mokuba's face seemed to brighten up a bit. "And what do we do?"
"Oh, nothing in particular", Noa said with a grin. "We could order some pizza and watch a movie… You know, just you, Seto and me." He gave the younger one a small kiss on the lips.
Mokuba laughed. "Okay." He put the cat on Noa's lap. "Take care of Seto, I'll get the phone!"
"You know what…?" Noa murmured, as he slowly petted the cat, waiting for his young stepbrother to return. "I would have called you 'Mokuba'. But then he might have been not that eager to buy you. The kitten just purred and rubbed its head against his chest. "And of course, it would have been less fun," Noa concluded with a smirk. "Don't you think, Seto?" The cat meowed in agreement as he started caressing her again.
II.
"I changed my mind," Noa said sharply, looking from the kitten on his chest to his stepbrother, "and we're going out."
"But the pizza just got here," replied Mokuba, disappointed. Seto always made them eat pizza made by the chefs in the kitchen, but it was a lot more fun to get it delivered from somewhere else. The pizza was a lot more interesting that way, and not so--so fancy.
"I changed my mind," Noa repeated. He picked up the cat and put it down on the couch next to him as he sat up. It stayed there, watching Mokuba intently.
"All right. I'll have one piece first, though. I'm hungry."
Mokuba put the pizza box down on the coffee table. Isono had gotten the door and paid for the pizza, but Mokuba had insisted on doing the rest himself, shaking his head when Isono offered to send the maid to the kitchen for some plates. He didn't need plates to be regular and eat pizza. He could make a mess if he wanted.
"Mokuba," said Noa.
Mokuba knew that tone, but he ignored it. Noa could be so weird sometimes. "I thought we were going to watch a movie and have a date." He opened the pizza box and picked out a slice. He leaned over the box so he wouldn't make too much of a mess. The pizza was slightly greasy, and it was dripping.
Noa was looking at him in that thoughtful way, like he was planning something. He didn't seem to realize that Mokuba could figure out when he was planning something, but Mokuba always knew. "That's why I changed my mind. For a real date, we have to go out. We can still see a movie, but it'll be a real movie, in a movie theater."
The pizza was a little too hot, but Mokuba knew that if he put it down Noa would try to get him to leave right away, so he nibbled on the edge. "Seto won't like it."
"Seto isn't here."
"Little Seto's here." Mokuba nodded at the kitten. She meowed, as if she already knew her name, or maybe wanted to express her disapproval at the thought of them leaving the house, like the real Seto would have. "Aw, she's so cute, isn't she?"
Noa sniffed and pulled his WhiteDragon from his pocket. The pale, slim wireless device was one of Kaiba Corp's most successful sellers this year. Mokuba had heard so much about the new Ultimate model that Seto was working on that he was already almost tired of the thing, even though it hadn't yet been released to the public. Of course, Noa had one of the Ultimate prototypes, and he started to fiddle with it as Mokuba ate his pizza.
"What are you doing?" Mokuba asked, as Noa's face took on a look of concentration that made him realize his stepbrother wasn't simply playing.
"Looking for Seto."
"His GPS signal's encrypted," said Mokuba, frowning.
"I know." Noa's tone told Mokuba what he thought about Seto's encryption.
Mokuba sighed. He couldn't stop Noa from doing whatever he was doing, but he didn't have to like it. Meanwhile, Little Seto had jumped up onto the coffee table and was sniffing at the pizza. "Kitties can't eat that," said Mokuba, fondly giving the kitten's head a pat. He had eaten his piece of pizza down to the crust, and now he eyed the remaining bready part uncertainly. Usually Seto ate his crusts for him. "Do you want the crust, Noa?"
"No, I don't want to eat your crust, Mokuba."
Mokuba put it down inside the box, then closed the box so Little Seto wouldn't get into it. The kitten mewed again, and Mokuba picked her up and kissed the top of her head. He turned to Noa just in time to see the other boy smile.
"Seto's not going to like that," said Mokuba.
Noa rose to his feet. "Come on. You've finished your pizza."
"Seto wouldn't want us leaving the house by ourselves."
Noa rolled his eyes, reaching up to run an impatient hand through his green hair. "Then we'll take Isono with us."
"But if we're all gone, who's going to look after Seto?"
Noa made an impatient noise. "I don't know! You figure it out! I'm going to get ready to go, and you'd better be ready, too.
Seto mewed, and Mokuba sighed again. "I thought boys were supposed to be nice to you when you're on a date with them." He hoped Seto's date was going better. He put Little Seto down and went to find Isono.
The man was in one of the rooms off the foyer, busy opening boxes. "Hi, Isono!"
"Hello, Master Mokuba. I had these delivered by courier. Look!" He held up a thin strip of blue leather. "A collar for Miss Seto." He surveyed the stacks of boxes, putting his hands on his hips with a long, satisfied exhalation. "I believe we now have everything necessary for the care and feeding of a young cat."
Mokuba considered this fact. "Do you have a cat carrier?"
"Of course, Master Mokuba! That was one of the first things I ordered."
"Great! Thanks, Isono! You're the best."
"Am I?" Isono smiled happily. "That's very kind of you, Master Mokuba."
"I just have one tiny favor to ask you."
"Oh? And what is that?"
Ten minutes later, Mokuba left the house with Noa, Isono, and the cat carrier, within which was the kitten. Her mewing had a slightly confused note. Mokuba knew how she felt.
Isono had taken some convincing, and he was still dubious as they climbed into the waiting car together. "I don't think you're old enough to date, Master Mokuba."
"He's not a baby," Noa snapped, grabbing hold of Mokuba's hand defiantly.
Isono, who was holding the cat carrier and set it down in his lap as he took his seat, gave a worried look but said only, "I am happy to chaperone you, Master Noa."
Noa didn't bother to reply. He had taken out his WhiteDragon Ultimate again and, with his free hand, began to touch the keys, probably checking Seto's position again. Mokuba looked down at Noa's hand, folded tightly around his, and wondered if Seto was right. Did Noa only do these things to annoy Seto? That didn't seem fair. Seto had worked so hard to bring him back, after Mokuba had begged him for months to try.
Noa's hand felt warm and soft. It would be nice if Noa really wanted to hold his hand and go on a date with him. No one had ever liked him like that before. But probably he only wanted to make Seto mad, and Mokuba didn't want that--he wanted Seto to be happy.
"What's wrong with you?" Noa asked suddenly.
Mokuba turned to find Noa's eyes on him: clear, pale blue. "Nothing. I'm fine."
"We'll be there soon."
Mokuba looked out the window. It was early evening, and the sky was turning red. The windows of Domino City gleamed in the light of the setting sun. Noa was still holding his hand. Part of him wished the other boy would let go, but he wasn't going to let go first.
"You can pull over here." Noa barked orders at the driver as if he was the president of Kaiba Corp, which he would have been, if things had gone differently. "I don't want to park any closer to the restaurant, or Seto might see." The driver--who never seemed to have any trouble finding a spot, perhaps due to some device that Seto had had installed in his cars--had just parked, and Noa was already climbing out of the car. "Hurry up, you two. You're so slow."
"What are we going to do?" asked Mokuba, but Noa didn't answer. He had let go of Mokuba's hand and was already walking briskly down the sidewalk towards what Mokuba assumed was the restaurant. The awning that stretched out above the door proclaimed that its name was Le Dueliste. That made sense. Seto liked French food.
Mokuba had thought he'd guessed who Seto was here with, but suddenly he wasn't so sure. What if it was someone else, who he didn't know? That would be weird, and he didn't want to ruin Seto's date. Quickening his pace, he caught up to the other boy in time to catch hold of his sleeve just before he reached the restaurant's front window. "Noa, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Don't be silly. I just want to see what's going on. Aren't you curious?"
He hesitated. He was curious, but at the same time, he knew Seto was going to be annoyed. Probably he would yell. "A little," he admitted.
Isono joined them, the cat carrier cradled in his arms. "I'm fairly certain cats aren't allowed in this establishment."
"Kaiba cats go wherever they want," was Noa's immediate reply. He leaned forward to peek in the window. "Look. I can see Seto."
Mokuba came to stand beside him. Seto was hard to miss. He was seated at one of the tables, and they had a good view of the back of his head. However, due to the angle and the table placement, it was impossible to see who he was there with. "I wonder who it is. Care to make a bet?" asked Noa.
"No, I can't bet on that, Noa."
"Then let's go in."
Why did he always go along with these schemes of Noa's? The other boy was much too persuasive for anyone's good.
The maître d' seemed surprised to see them, raising his eyebrows as the three of them came through the doors, Isono hovering anxiously behind Noa and Mokuba. "Good evening. Do you have a reservation?"
"Kaiba, party of four," said Noa, meeting and holding the man's gaze with his own. Sometimes he almost sounded like Seto, not that Mokuba would have told him that.
"Ah, but Mr. Kaiba already--"
"We're the other Kaibas."
"I see." The man took a moment to consider whether it would be worse to insult the Kaiba family or someone else who had a legitimate reservation. It was a very short moment. "Right away. I'll ready a table for you." The man bowed and hastily retreated to make his preparations.
Noa was looking very pleased with himself, and he was distracted enough by his self-satisfaction that Mokuba was able to slip away from him. Isono didn't give him away, and a minute was all he needed. He strode forward, boldly entering the restaurant proper.
Seto noticed him with a start as he approached the table. "Mokuba? What are you doing here?"
"I'm really sorry about this, Seto. It was Noa's idea."
"Noa?" Seto flushed with anger.
"You see, he said we should have our own date, and--"
Seto interrupted him, his face even redder now. "A date?"
"Aw, hey, it's okay." Another voice spoke. "The more the merrier, right?" Mokuba had almost forgotten the fact that Seto was also on a date. The restaurant had set up a number of partitions to make the diners feel as if their table was private, and Mokuba had to take another step forward to see around the partition next to Seto's table.
"Hi, Jounouchi!"
"Hiya, kid." He smiled and waved. It was a little strange to see Jounouchi dressed up: he was actually wearing a shirt with a collar that buttoned up the front instead of his usual T-shirt. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. I hope you're taking good care of my brother."
Seto's flush now seemed to be equal parts embarrassment and fury. "Where is Noa?"
Noa had already noticed Mokuba's absence and was approaching the table with Isono in tow. Seto rose to his feet. "You brought the animal?" Isono turned pale and clutched the carrier as if it were a life preserver. The other diners had fallen silent. They were staring. Mokuba was used to being stared at in public, though. Not only was he a Kaiba, but public disturbances seemed to follow the three of them--or four of them, counting Isono--wherever they went.
"Oh, so you're dating him," said Noa, who had caught a glimpse of Jounouchi. "I thought it would be either him or--"
"Noa, be silent," Seto snapped quickly. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Mokuba and I wanted to go out on a date, and I heard this was a good restaurant."
Seto opened his mouth, but he was apparently too angry to actually speak, because the only sound that emerged from his throat was brief and wordless.
"Don't worry about it," said Jounouchi, grinning and leaning back in his seat as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. "We can just have a double date."
"Don't make light of the situation!" Seto's anger shifted focus as he glared at his own dinner partner. "Mokuba is too young to date anyone, let alone--"
"No I'm not, Nii-sama," said Mokuba calmly. He didn't raise his voice to be heard, but Seto instantly stopped speaking and turned towards him. "I'm not a little kid anymore, and if I want to go on a date, I will. Isono is chaperoning us, so there isn't anything wrong with it. I like Noa, even if he is rude and thoughtless. So there." Mokuba glanced at Noa. The other boy's eyes were wide.
Seto took a deep breath. "I'm currently unsure whether Isono is the most responsible chaperone, especially as he, for some reason, brought a kitten to a five star restaurant."
"I didn't think Miss Seto should be left alone so soon after her arrival, Master Seto," Isono explained.
"A kitten?" asked Jounouchi. He could move very quickly when he wanted to, and in an instant he was standing in front of the cat carrier, looking in through the wire door. Before anyone could stop him, he had opened the door and was holding the kitten in his arms. "She's so cute!"
"Wait," said Seto, reaching towards him.
But it was too late: the cat jumped out of Jounouchi's arms and darted under the table. "Oops," Jounouchi said. "Sorry about that. I'll get her back."
"I don't need this." Seto sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead.
Looking up at his big brother, Mokuba felt a pang of guilt. This was partly his fault. "No, I'll get her."
The cat was huddled under the table. Probably scared, poor thing. "It's okay, Seto." He reached out towards her. She sniffed at his hand cautiously, then came towards him, rubbing against his arm. It made him smile. She already trusted him.
The overhanging tablecloth was disturbed as someone else crawled underneath it. Mokuba turned to see Noa smiling at him. "I see you caught the cat," he whispered.
"Yes, she's--"
He broke off as Noa leaned in close and kissed him softly on the mouth.
"We'd better get her back to her carrier," Mokuba said, blushing.
"I think that's a good idea. We don't want Seto to get any madder. He might explode."
Seto cleared his throat nearby. "I can hear you."
Fortunately, thought Mokuba, he hadn't heard the kiss. That would definitely have made him madder.
Several minutes later, all their difficulties had been dealt with. Seto had paid off the management and Le Dueliste's other patrons, and they had the restaurant to themselves. Seto had decreed that they could eat dinner with him, but when he and Jounouchi left to go to the movie theater afterwards, they would be leaving alone. Noa and Mokuba's table was as far from Seto and Jounouchi's as could be managed without building an extension onto the restaurant, and there hadn't been time to do that. Isono and the kitten were seated close by, and Isono smiled whenever he caught Mokuba's gaze. Mokuba sighed happily to himself. His date was finally going well.
"I think Seto should have gone for the other one," said Noa under his breath, glancing across the room.
"I like Jounouchi. I think he's nice. Although he is kind of silly."
As if he knew they were talking about him, Jounouchi looked over and waved, stopping only when Seto reached across the table and batted his hand, which lead to what seemed to be a brief quarrel between them, although they were far enough away that Mokuba couldn't hear them unless they raised their voices.
"See, isn't this a better date?" Noa asked as the waiter brought them their appetizer.
"It's a lot better now," Mokuba agreed. Now that he could relax, he was starting to have a good time. He didn't get to eat out a lot. Seto tended to prefer having his meals at home, if he wasn't at work. This was kind of like a family outing, even though Seto and Jounouchi were sitting so far away. Even the cat was getting some nice fish to eat--Isono was feeding it to her piece by piece through the wire of her carrier door.
"Good. I know you're not happy when you're missing Seto, and I wanted you to be as happy as possible on our first date."
Mokuba stared at him. "Is that why you did all this?"
"Yes, of course." Noa sniffed. "I'm not completely selfish, you know."
Mokuba smiled. "Yes, Noa. I know." He reached across the table and took Noa's hand. It was a few minutes before Seto noticed and texted Isono, and Isono, fulfilling his role as chaperone, cleared his throat.
Noa took his hand away, but whispered so only the two of them could hear, "Later I'll give you another kiss."
Mokuba laughed. "Okay." If Seto was glowering at them suspiciously, he didn't notice, or he chose not to.
pandir. Part one is hers, and part two is mine. She wrote part one for me in a fic request meme, and when I asked her if she wanted to request something in return, she requested a continuation of the same story. Sadly, it took me a while to finish writing it, because I am tragically slow.
Title: A New Pet
Series: Yu-Gi-Oh
Word Count: 4,230
Pairing: Noa/Mokuba, Seto/??? (You must read it to find out who Seto is with, ha ha.)
Rating: K for kissing!
Genre(s): Comedy, romance
Notes: Since
pandir used the name Isono in her part, I used all the Japanese names for the characters, just to be consistent. Also, this is set post-series.A New Pet.
I.
"Nii-sama!"
The door was opened before Seto could react. Sometimes he cursed himself for giving in to Mokuba's plea never to lock his door, even if he was busy, but he already spent most of his time in front of his laptop and not nearly enough with his little brother.
"I have no time, Mokuba," he declared, buttoning his shirt and looking for the blue tie that would match his white suit.
"Oh." Mokuba sounded a bit disappointed. "I thought you didn't have meetings on weekends anymore."
"I don't", Seto answered shortly, looking at the mirror. Then he sighed, turning to his brother. "What is it, Mokuba?"
Mokuba's blue eyes had a pleading look. "You said I could buy anything if I wanted it, right?" he asked.
Seto was a bit suspicious. "Yes, of course, as long as it's not--" He was interrupted by a mewing sound.
Mokuba looked a bit guilty as a small black kitten entered the room, still meowing and apparently searching for attention. "Look, I saw it and we got along pretty well..."
"I don't have the time to take care of an animal," Seto said, eyeing the cat with mistrust.
"I will!" Mokuba exclaimed immediately. "And when I'm away, Isono will. I asked him already."
Seto was still not convinced that he should allow something that was out of his control to live in his house. The cat, however, seemed quite unimpressed by his hostility and rubbed itself against his legs. Seto glared at the animal, which just looked up to him with its astonishingly blue eyes.
Quickly, Mokuba interfered and took the kitten in his arms, though he couldn't suppress a giggle. "She seems to like you," he said happily.
The older Kaiba ran his hand over his face, trying to maintain his temper. "She--" He paused and corrected himself. "It is not allowed to enter my room. You will take care of it." He looked at his brother, who was beaming at this announcement. Seto couldn't help but smile. "Why did you want a kitten, anyway?" he asked, suddenly much more relaxed. He watched Mokuba laughing as the kitten licked his chin.
"Oh, it was Noa's idea!" the younger Kaiba explained, not noticing that his older brother twitched at the mention of their stepbrother.
"Noa," Seto repeated coolly. "Let me guess, he told you to buy it so it would annoy the hell out of me."
Mokuba just smiled. "Nii-sama, don’t be like that. Noa respects you, he really does."
Seto snorted. "Why on earth did he want you to buy a kitten, then?"
His brother was avoiding his gaze now. "Well, it is a bit stupid…" Seto raised an eyebrow as Mokuba looked at the cat that was tugging at the sleeve of his pullover. "He thought I might like her because she has such strange eyes," he said, grinning at his own explanation, as if it was a joke that Seto just didn't get.
"What about its eyes?" the CEO asked impatiently. "They are--"
"Noa said she looks like you.” Mokuba was beaming at him. "You know, we could call her Seto."
Now it was official. Noa had planned to annoy him with that. Seto wanted to yell at Mokuba for daring to call a female kitten by his name, but the younger one already saw his expression and looked down at the floor. "… I knew you'd think it was stupid. I'll give her back, okay?" Seto felt a sudden rush of guilt, which he surely didn't feel very often. Only Mokuba could make him feel this miserable.
"No, it's yours," he said immediately. "You can do whatever you want with it. I don't care."
Mokuba let the kitten jump to the floor and hugged his brother tightly around his waist. "Thank you, Nii-sama!"
Seto sighed, as he knelt down to pull his little brother into a hug. Perhaps it was better this way. Now Mokuba had something to occupy him and it would surely make him happy for a while. And if this was the case, Seto would be able to ignore the fact that he was compared to this little fuzzy ball of fleas. "But it stays out of here," he concluded aloud.
Mokuba smiled and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "You're the best, Nii-sama", he said, before he was already away, picking the kitten up and turning to his brother, grinning. "But if you're going out, you really shouldn't wear a tie!" he said, before he ran out of the room.
Seto was a bit taken aback by this sudden advice, but then he realized that Mokuba had to have noticed his cologne. Or maybe the movie tickets lying on the bed. Either way, he was probably right about the tie. It wasn’t fitting for the occasion, was it?
As he went downstairs, he heard Mokuba's laughter coming from the living room.
Despite the fact that he was now quite late for his appointment, he stepped into the room, only to see Mokuba lying on the couch, his head on Noa's lap, while the cat lay curled up on his belly.
"Oh, hi, Seto." Noa noticed him almost instantly. "Going on your date?"
Seto was not really surprised. Noa knew almost everything that Mokuba knew. The youngest Kaiba hated it to keep something secret from either of his brothers. "Yes, and I'm quite late, so I just wanted a short statement." He looked at Mokuba, who sat up a bit to have a better look at his big brother. The CEO was now dressed in black trousers and a white shirt.
Mokuba smiled and nodded. "Approved."
"Yes, you look just dashing," Noa added with a grin.
"Shut up, Noa," Seto snapped and quickly turned away.
He was already half through the door when Mokuba cried after him, "Wait, when are you coming back, Nii-sama?"
"I don't know," was the short answer, then the CEO was gone. They heard the front door close.
"Who is he meeting, I wonder?" Noa asked, still looking at the door.
Mokuba let his head sink back into Noa's lap. "Can't you guess?"
His stepbrother returned his smile. "Oh, I suppose it's not that hard to guess…" His smirk grew a bit wider. "I also guess we won't be seeing Seto very often from now on. At least not in the evening. That's what happens when people start dating."
Mokuba sighed, petting the little cat which was still purring on his belly. "Hm..."
"It has such a nice black fur, doesn't it?" Noa suddenly remarked, letting his finger slip casually through Mokuba's hair. The younger one looked a bit surprised as Noa smiled at him. "Never mind, I was talking nonsense," he said quickly, but then, he seemed to change his mind. "You know what? If Seto is going out and leaving us behind, we might as well have our own date, don't you think?"
Mokuba's face seemed to brighten up a bit. "And what do we do?"
"Oh, nothing in particular", Noa said with a grin. "We could order some pizza and watch a movie… You know, just you, Seto and me." He gave the younger one a small kiss on the lips.
Mokuba laughed. "Okay." He put the cat on Noa's lap. "Take care of Seto, I'll get the phone!"
"You know what…?" Noa murmured, as he slowly petted the cat, waiting for his young stepbrother to return. "I would have called you 'Mokuba'. But then he might have been not that eager to buy you. The kitten just purred and rubbed its head against his chest. "And of course, it would have been less fun," Noa concluded with a smirk. "Don't you think, Seto?" The cat meowed in agreement as he started caressing her again.
II.
"I changed my mind," Noa said sharply, looking from the kitten on his chest to his stepbrother, "and we're going out."
"But the pizza just got here," replied Mokuba, disappointed. Seto always made them eat pizza made by the chefs in the kitchen, but it was a lot more fun to get it delivered from somewhere else. The pizza was a lot more interesting that way, and not so--so fancy.
"I changed my mind," Noa repeated. He picked up the cat and put it down on the couch next to him as he sat up. It stayed there, watching Mokuba intently.
"All right. I'll have one piece first, though. I'm hungry."
Mokuba put the pizza box down on the coffee table. Isono had gotten the door and paid for the pizza, but Mokuba had insisted on doing the rest himself, shaking his head when Isono offered to send the maid to the kitchen for some plates. He didn't need plates to be regular and eat pizza. He could make a mess if he wanted.
"Mokuba," said Noa.
Mokuba knew that tone, but he ignored it. Noa could be so weird sometimes. "I thought we were going to watch a movie and have a date." He opened the pizza box and picked out a slice. He leaned over the box so he wouldn't make too much of a mess. The pizza was slightly greasy, and it was dripping.
Noa was looking at him in that thoughtful way, like he was planning something. He didn't seem to realize that Mokuba could figure out when he was planning something, but Mokuba always knew. "That's why I changed my mind. For a real date, we have to go out. We can still see a movie, but it'll be a real movie, in a movie theater."
The pizza was a little too hot, but Mokuba knew that if he put it down Noa would try to get him to leave right away, so he nibbled on the edge. "Seto won't like it."
"Seto isn't here."
"Little Seto's here." Mokuba nodded at the kitten. She meowed, as if she already knew her name, or maybe wanted to express her disapproval at the thought of them leaving the house, like the real Seto would have. "Aw, she's so cute, isn't she?"
Noa sniffed and pulled his WhiteDragon from his pocket. The pale, slim wireless device was one of Kaiba Corp's most successful sellers this year. Mokuba had heard so much about the new Ultimate model that Seto was working on that he was already almost tired of the thing, even though it hadn't yet been released to the public. Of course, Noa had one of the Ultimate prototypes, and he started to fiddle with it as Mokuba ate his pizza.
"What are you doing?" Mokuba asked, as Noa's face took on a look of concentration that made him realize his stepbrother wasn't simply playing.
"Looking for Seto."
"His GPS signal's encrypted," said Mokuba, frowning.
"I know." Noa's tone told Mokuba what he thought about Seto's encryption.
Mokuba sighed. He couldn't stop Noa from doing whatever he was doing, but he didn't have to like it. Meanwhile, Little Seto had jumped up onto the coffee table and was sniffing at the pizza. "Kitties can't eat that," said Mokuba, fondly giving the kitten's head a pat. He had eaten his piece of pizza down to the crust, and now he eyed the remaining bready part uncertainly. Usually Seto ate his crusts for him. "Do you want the crust, Noa?"
"No, I don't want to eat your crust, Mokuba."
Mokuba put it down inside the box, then closed the box so Little Seto wouldn't get into it. The kitten mewed again, and Mokuba picked her up and kissed the top of her head. He turned to Noa just in time to see the other boy smile.
"Seto's not going to like that," said Mokuba.
Noa rose to his feet. "Come on. You've finished your pizza."
"Seto wouldn't want us leaving the house by ourselves."
Noa rolled his eyes, reaching up to run an impatient hand through his green hair. "Then we'll take Isono with us."
"But if we're all gone, who's going to look after Seto?"
Noa made an impatient noise. "I don't know! You figure it out! I'm going to get ready to go, and you'd better be ready, too.
Seto mewed, and Mokuba sighed again. "I thought boys were supposed to be nice to you when you're on a date with them." He hoped Seto's date was going better. He put Little Seto down and went to find Isono.
The man was in one of the rooms off the foyer, busy opening boxes. "Hi, Isono!"
"Hello, Master Mokuba. I had these delivered by courier. Look!" He held up a thin strip of blue leather. "A collar for Miss Seto." He surveyed the stacks of boxes, putting his hands on his hips with a long, satisfied exhalation. "I believe we now have everything necessary for the care and feeding of a young cat."
Mokuba considered this fact. "Do you have a cat carrier?"
"Of course, Master Mokuba! That was one of the first things I ordered."
"Great! Thanks, Isono! You're the best."
"Am I?" Isono smiled happily. "That's very kind of you, Master Mokuba."
"I just have one tiny favor to ask you."
"Oh? And what is that?"
Ten minutes later, Mokuba left the house with Noa, Isono, and the cat carrier, within which was the kitten. Her mewing had a slightly confused note. Mokuba knew how she felt.
Isono had taken some convincing, and he was still dubious as they climbed into the waiting car together. "I don't think you're old enough to date, Master Mokuba."
"He's not a baby," Noa snapped, grabbing hold of Mokuba's hand defiantly.
Isono, who was holding the cat carrier and set it down in his lap as he took his seat, gave a worried look but said only, "I am happy to chaperone you, Master Noa."
Noa didn't bother to reply. He had taken out his WhiteDragon Ultimate again and, with his free hand, began to touch the keys, probably checking Seto's position again. Mokuba looked down at Noa's hand, folded tightly around his, and wondered if Seto was right. Did Noa only do these things to annoy Seto? That didn't seem fair. Seto had worked so hard to bring him back, after Mokuba had begged him for months to try.
Noa's hand felt warm and soft. It would be nice if Noa really wanted to hold his hand and go on a date with him. No one had ever liked him like that before. But probably he only wanted to make Seto mad, and Mokuba didn't want that--he wanted Seto to be happy.
"What's wrong with you?" Noa asked suddenly.
Mokuba turned to find Noa's eyes on him: clear, pale blue. "Nothing. I'm fine."
"We'll be there soon."
Mokuba looked out the window. It was early evening, and the sky was turning red. The windows of Domino City gleamed in the light of the setting sun. Noa was still holding his hand. Part of him wished the other boy would let go, but he wasn't going to let go first.
"You can pull over here." Noa barked orders at the driver as if he was the president of Kaiba Corp, which he would have been, if things had gone differently. "I don't want to park any closer to the restaurant, or Seto might see." The driver--who never seemed to have any trouble finding a spot, perhaps due to some device that Seto had had installed in his cars--had just parked, and Noa was already climbing out of the car. "Hurry up, you two. You're so slow."
"What are we going to do?" asked Mokuba, but Noa didn't answer. He had let go of Mokuba's hand and was already walking briskly down the sidewalk towards what Mokuba assumed was the restaurant. The awning that stretched out above the door proclaimed that its name was Le Dueliste. That made sense. Seto liked French food.
Mokuba had thought he'd guessed who Seto was here with, but suddenly he wasn't so sure. What if it was someone else, who he didn't know? That would be weird, and he didn't want to ruin Seto's date. Quickening his pace, he caught up to the other boy in time to catch hold of his sleeve just before he reached the restaurant's front window. "Noa, I don't think this is a good idea."
"Don't be silly. I just want to see what's going on. Aren't you curious?"
He hesitated. He was curious, but at the same time, he knew Seto was going to be annoyed. Probably he would yell. "A little," he admitted.
Isono joined them, the cat carrier cradled in his arms. "I'm fairly certain cats aren't allowed in this establishment."
"Kaiba cats go wherever they want," was Noa's immediate reply. He leaned forward to peek in the window. "Look. I can see Seto."
Mokuba came to stand beside him. Seto was hard to miss. He was seated at one of the tables, and they had a good view of the back of his head. However, due to the angle and the table placement, it was impossible to see who he was there with. "I wonder who it is. Care to make a bet?" asked Noa.
"No, I can't bet on that, Noa."
"Then let's go in."
Why did he always go along with these schemes of Noa's? The other boy was much too persuasive for anyone's good.
The maître d' seemed surprised to see them, raising his eyebrows as the three of them came through the doors, Isono hovering anxiously behind Noa and Mokuba. "Good evening. Do you have a reservation?"
"Kaiba, party of four," said Noa, meeting and holding the man's gaze with his own. Sometimes he almost sounded like Seto, not that Mokuba would have told him that.
"Ah, but Mr. Kaiba already--"
"We're the other Kaibas."
"I see." The man took a moment to consider whether it would be worse to insult the Kaiba family or someone else who had a legitimate reservation. It was a very short moment. "Right away. I'll ready a table for you." The man bowed and hastily retreated to make his preparations.
Noa was looking very pleased with himself, and he was distracted enough by his self-satisfaction that Mokuba was able to slip away from him. Isono didn't give him away, and a minute was all he needed. He strode forward, boldly entering the restaurant proper.
Seto noticed him with a start as he approached the table. "Mokuba? What are you doing here?"
"I'm really sorry about this, Seto. It was Noa's idea."
"Noa?" Seto flushed with anger.
"You see, he said we should have our own date, and--"
Seto interrupted him, his face even redder now. "A date?"
"Aw, hey, it's okay." Another voice spoke. "The more the merrier, right?" Mokuba had almost forgotten the fact that Seto was also on a date. The restaurant had set up a number of partitions to make the diners feel as if their table was private, and Mokuba had to take another step forward to see around the partition next to Seto's table.
"Hi, Jounouchi!"
"Hiya, kid." He smiled and waved. It was a little strange to see Jounouchi dressed up: he was actually wearing a shirt with a collar that buttoned up the front instead of his usual T-shirt. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay. I hope you're taking good care of my brother."
Seto's flush now seemed to be equal parts embarrassment and fury. "Where is Noa?"
Noa had already noticed Mokuba's absence and was approaching the table with Isono in tow. Seto rose to his feet. "You brought the animal?" Isono turned pale and clutched the carrier as if it were a life preserver. The other diners had fallen silent. They were staring. Mokuba was used to being stared at in public, though. Not only was he a Kaiba, but public disturbances seemed to follow the three of them--or four of them, counting Isono--wherever they went.
"Oh, so you're dating him," said Noa, who had caught a glimpse of Jounouchi. "I thought it would be either him or--"
"Noa, be silent," Seto snapped quickly. "What is the meaning of this?"
"Mokuba and I wanted to go out on a date, and I heard this was a good restaurant."
Seto opened his mouth, but he was apparently too angry to actually speak, because the only sound that emerged from his throat was brief and wordless.
"Don't worry about it," said Jounouchi, grinning and leaning back in his seat as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. "We can just have a double date."
"Don't make light of the situation!" Seto's anger shifted focus as he glared at his own dinner partner. "Mokuba is too young to date anyone, let alone--"
"No I'm not, Nii-sama," said Mokuba calmly. He didn't raise his voice to be heard, but Seto instantly stopped speaking and turned towards him. "I'm not a little kid anymore, and if I want to go on a date, I will. Isono is chaperoning us, so there isn't anything wrong with it. I like Noa, even if he is rude and thoughtless. So there." Mokuba glanced at Noa. The other boy's eyes were wide.
Seto took a deep breath. "I'm currently unsure whether Isono is the most responsible chaperone, especially as he, for some reason, brought a kitten to a five star restaurant."
"I didn't think Miss Seto should be left alone so soon after her arrival, Master Seto," Isono explained.
"A kitten?" asked Jounouchi. He could move very quickly when he wanted to, and in an instant he was standing in front of the cat carrier, looking in through the wire door. Before anyone could stop him, he had opened the door and was holding the kitten in his arms. "She's so cute!"
"Wait," said Seto, reaching towards him.
But it was too late: the cat jumped out of Jounouchi's arms and darted under the table. "Oops," Jounouchi said. "Sorry about that. I'll get her back."
"I don't need this." Seto sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead.
Looking up at his big brother, Mokuba felt a pang of guilt. This was partly his fault. "No, I'll get her."
The cat was huddled under the table. Probably scared, poor thing. "It's okay, Seto." He reached out towards her. She sniffed at his hand cautiously, then came towards him, rubbing against his arm. It made him smile. She already trusted him.
The overhanging tablecloth was disturbed as someone else crawled underneath it. Mokuba turned to see Noa smiling at him. "I see you caught the cat," he whispered.
"Yes, she's--"
He broke off as Noa leaned in close and kissed him softly on the mouth.
"We'd better get her back to her carrier," Mokuba said, blushing.
"I think that's a good idea. We don't want Seto to get any madder. He might explode."
Seto cleared his throat nearby. "I can hear you."
Fortunately, thought Mokuba, he hadn't heard the kiss. That would definitely have made him madder.
Several minutes later, all their difficulties had been dealt with. Seto had paid off the management and Le Dueliste's other patrons, and they had the restaurant to themselves. Seto had decreed that they could eat dinner with him, but when he and Jounouchi left to go to the movie theater afterwards, they would be leaving alone. Noa and Mokuba's table was as far from Seto and Jounouchi's as could be managed without building an extension onto the restaurant, and there hadn't been time to do that. Isono and the kitten were seated close by, and Isono smiled whenever he caught Mokuba's gaze. Mokuba sighed happily to himself. His date was finally going well.
"I think Seto should have gone for the other one," said Noa under his breath, glancing across the room.
"I like Jounouchi. I think he's nice. Although he is kind of silly."
As if he knew they were talking about him, Jounouchi looked over and waved, stopping only when Seto reached across the table and batted his hand, which lead to what seemed to be a brief quarrel between them, although they were far enough away that Mokuba couldn't hear them unless they raised their voices.
"See, isn't this a better date?" Noa asked as the waiter brought them their appetizer.
"It's a lot better now," Mokuba agreed. Now that he could relax, he was starting to have a good time. He didn't get to eat out a lot. Seto tended to prefer having his meals at home, if he wasn't at work. This was kind of like a family outing, even though Seto and Jounouchi were sitting so far away. Even the cat was getting some nice fish to eat--Isono was feeding it to her piece by piece through the wire of her carrier door.
"Good. I know you're not happy when you're missing Seto, and I wanted you to be as happy as possible on our first date."
Mokuba stared at him. "Is that why you did all this?"
"Yes, of course." Noa sniffed. "I'm not completely selfish, you know."
Mokuba smiled. "Yes, Noa. I know." He reached across the table and took Noa's hand. It was a few minutes before Seto noticed and texted Isono, and Isono, fulfilling his role as chaperone, cleared his throat.
Noa took his hand away, but whispered so only the two of them could hear, "Later I'll give you another kiss."
Mokuba laughed. "Okay." If Seto was glowering at them suspiciously, he didn't notice, or he chose not to.
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no subject
Date: 2009-04-06 12:19 pm (UTC)BEAUTIFUL BLUE EYES <3 but i myself am rather a fan of LE DUELISTE <3
and HAND HOLDING <3
*holds your hand*
mew!
no subject
Date: 2009-04-07 03:45 am (UTC)*holds your hand too*
I so want WhiteDragon Ultimate now.
Date: 2009-04-06 07:49 pm (UTC)Haha, I'm ridiculously embarassed that you added my part, too. How can my silly attempts to write in English stand in direct comparison to your part! Noooo.
(I normally use Isono, because it seems to be more popular than Roland. Which is a sad thing.)
I read it (because I couldn't wait) and it was such an enjoyable read. <3
But I have no time, so I'll just babble along. I apologize in advance!
Noa, Mokuba and Seto make such a great trio! It's sweet brotherly (or not so brotherky) love and annoyance. What could be more enjoyable?
I love Noa's arrogant and slightly rude ways. <3 He can be such a spoiled brat! But also a very clever one. Nice turn in the end!
Mokuba and Noa's little romance made me go "aww"~... Little kisses! <33
I enjoy your ideas about the oh-so-ordinary life of the Kaiba family. Yes, it is surely not always easy to be a Kaiba! But the true heroes are the ones who put up with them, namely Isono. ;) Or Joey. He just goes with the fun. At least he is someone who can deal with Seto's jerky nerdiness by not taking it too serious!
(I bet this date is to compensate for one that was organized by Joey and consisted of hamburgers and playing video games in the store. ;3)
I love Noa's blatant hinting on the mysterious other one. Whooo might it beee?
You and your secrets.
Well, Joey probably knows it, but just keeps it silent. ;)
And, as always, Seto's embarrassment and anger doesn't fail to cheer me up!
I'm glad you took your time to write that about these silly subjects.
Re: I so want WhiteDragon Ultimate now.
Date: 2009-04-07 04:12 am (UTC)Anyway, I'm really glad you enjoyed it! I was hoping it would provide you with some entertainment. It was a lot of fun to write. I love thinking of the daily adventures of the Kaibas, just going about their usual routine--usual for them, anyway!
I have to agree with you that Isono is the real hero here, having to patiently put up with all this madness. But the same is true for Joey and anyone else who has to deal with them.
Aww, and of course I included your part! I really liked it--it's completely adorable!
I like the English and Japanese names equally, but I decided to make them all Japanese, although I never call Joey "Jounouchi", so that did feel a bit odd!
And you're right, I'm sure there had to be (or will be) a Joey-planned date of great ridiculousness and Seto being completely out of place.
Why is it that angry and embarrassed Seto is so much fun? I don't know, but he always is.
Re: I so want WhiteDragon Ultimate now.
Date: 2009-04-07 09:07 pm (UTC)You made a wise choice with your pairings here. ;)
Oh no, I am equally tempted by this ridiculous other date. <3
And you are obliged to write self-indulging silliness whenever you feel like it! It's a human right. People may or may not have died for the right to be silly whenever they want to!
(If you have the time, that is.)
I'd, of course, love to read it.
I am so used to calling him "Joey", too. Or to the name "Tea". They were introduced this way to me!
I normally don't even bother to use the Japanese names, only if it helps to avoid confusion - though it probably creates even more. I love my awful dub and my YGO which has been robbed of any sense! ;)
no subject
Date: 2009-08-31 02:29 am (UTC)I luv that fic *__*
Noha x Moki is sooooo cute!!
I want to read much more fic about them!!