Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh. Isn't that enough for you people?! D:
It all started out innocently enough: flowers on Valentine's Day, a puppy on her birthday, a few stolen kisses here and there in the cool privacy of his office. He had managed to keep the relationship a secret for months now, though co-workers were beginning to suspect why the redhead always left disheveled and bruised.
Not even Kaiba could quiet those whispers.
Nor could he manage to stop the stares that seemed to pierce straight through his shoulders no matter how hard he tried to ignore them. They were inconvenient, unwanted, and he briefly entertained a daydream of crushing their spirits and leaving them weeping.
His companion interrupted his wonderful thoughts.
"Seto…"
"We're in public," he groused softly, glancing around.
Shizuka stared at him out of the corner of her eye and, in a rare show of defiance, ignored him.
"Seto," she continued cheerfully, "don't you think it's absolutely beautiful out?"
"Yes, and you've said as such fifteen times since we got here."
"You're counting?" She didn't sound displeased, only tugged lightly on the leash and grinned down at the rambunctious puppy. Giving a happy little yip, it bounded as far as it could go and tried to go farther, nearly dragging Shizuka onto the ground.
Silently, Kaiba relieved her of the leash. The last thing he needed was to have to chase an overactive puppy around Domino Park in the middle of the afternoon with so many eyes watching him.
Always watching…
That was when he realized she was still nattering on. Why did he tolerate her again?
"…and onii-chan was telling me about this new zombie movie that's coming out. I totally want to see it, but it's probably too scary, and…"
Oh yes, that was right. She was an excellent lay. Emotions notwithstanding – Kaiba tried to give the outward appearance that he had none – she was also rather pleasant company, when she wasn't shooting off at the mouth as if she would die if she couldn't cram as many words into one sentence as humanly possible.
But even that was cute, in a twisted sort of way. Not that he would admit that to anyone; not openly, anyway.
"…it's really getting kind of hot, do you think inu-chan is going to overheat if we don't get him under some shade? There's a really pretty cherry blossom tree over there…"
In a way, his little outings with her were cathartic. When he was with Shizuka, he didn't have to worry about hiding himself away in a tiny little corner of his mind and throwing up his typical defenses. He didn't have to shield his words, he didn't have to constantly think over what he was going to say in the hopes that it wouldn't reflect negatively on his reputation or his company. She had been witness to his best and worst times, and she accepted him as he was. It meant more to him than anything.
But, being Kaiba, he didn't tell her anything of the sort. In fact, his icy exterior was only cracked enough that she was lucky if he held her hand in public. But that, too, she accepted, and he found himself gradually opening up to her day after day, carefully tucking her into a corner of his heart previously occupied only by Mokuba.
Was it love? Probably, but the idea was so foreign to Kaiba that he didn't even stop to consider it. It was what it was.
And there wasn't an engagement ring sitting in his pocket waiting to be put on her little finger.
Indeed, the tree she pointed at like an excited little girl did look nice and shady, and suitably private for what he had in mind. Not that he'd given it all that much thought beyond smirking over the reaction her brother would have. That in and of itself would have been worth doing backflips over.
"Seto?"
It was then that he realized he'd stopped dead. Blinking, he looked down at her, expression blank.
"Is everything all right?" There was concern in those amber eyes, so warm, so full of love. How had she ever clung to him for so long, withstood his cold, almost indifferent treatment for just the length of time to get under his skin and set up permanent residence in places he never expected anyone to be?
"Everything's fine," he murmured, briefly reaching out a hand to brush his long fingers against her cheek. Then, offering her a half smile – she deserved it today; it was beautiful out, and so was she – he said, "Let's go see about that tree."