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Blue Eyes White Lover (Fox)

"Yah know, I like you Kiddo." Her response was cheery. "So try to be careful from now on or I'll have to put you on the naughty list." A note pad popped up on the display image on the dash just over the radio that had been either blank or showed their GPS coordinates until now. The document's title was 'Naughty List'. Seto's name, sometimes variously listed with snarkily attached quips like 'Salty Seto' was listed several times. Mokuba's name showed once on the viewable portion of the list as well.

Mokuba was watching Ryou placidly with that smile on his face. It lessened some as he recognized some kind of shift in the older male, but he couldn't quite place what the shift was. So he did his best to brush past it for him, hopeing it was just his worry over his belongings even though it seemed like it might be a little more than that; if only from the heavy attention he'd placed on Ryou throughout the day.

"Oh we can choose anything we want," he cheered happily. "Even if we don't have a physical copy, a certain someone can get it for us." He smiled toward the display.

The smile turned into a catty grin as Seto was pulled in on the topic. Although he didn't have to say anything. The startled blinking and confused look on the young president's face as he muttered a 'Huh?' in looking over was enough to satisfy the teen. He wasn't thrown off often. And the simple thing that had done it was better than anything he could say himself, really.

"We can watch whatever you want," Seto added shortly, still sounding like he was a little confused as he caught up to the situation. From anyone else it would sound like a statement. From the CEO who tended to guard his tone so well it almost came out as some kind of question.

"Ooh! And we can warm up lunch and have lots of snacks too!" The sudden happy thought had Mokuba yelping this loudly with a little gasp. It startled Seto just enough for the car to make the slightest of swirved twitches as sharp blue eyes hit him in the rear view.

"Don't yell in the car Mokuba," he mentioned in a far more familiar annoyed tone.
 
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It was a pathetic thought. He was so starved for attention and affection that gaining the computer's approval made him positively giddy. It showed in a happy sound made in the back of his throat. "I will do my best to remain on that list," he assured, stifling a little chuckle as he looked over the scrolling list. This computer was possibly the only one who could get away with calling Seto Kaiba 'Seto: PMS style.' He doubted even Mokuba could so much as utter such a thing without dire consequences, and Ryou sure wasn't going try it. Losing his job would be the least of his worries.

Doe eyes set on the rear view mirror just in time to see a brand new expression on the CEO's face. He just barely caught the quiet 'huh?' And he couldn't understand the want to see more of it. He didn't understand it, but he knew it made him happy, so he didn't bother trying to. Instead, Ryou closed his eyes and muffled his giggle into a wobbling hum that was followed by an ever polite, "I'm glad. Thank you." Joining his boss for a movie at his home was weird enough, but joining Seto and Mokuba Kaiba for a movie in their home was simply surreal. If he'd been left alone to deal with that thought he could have been lost in it for hours, but the younger brother popped him out of his own mind.

"Oh! Yes!" Delight filled his voice as he was reminded of the treats awaiting them. "I ordered an extra order of cream puffs before leaving the restaurant." He was beginning to visibly calm; relaxing back into the seat, his shoulders gradually losing tension, and his expression relaxing into one of contentment.

Yes, it was strange to spend a night at his employer's no doubt 'humble' abode, but it didn't seem to be for them. Mokuba was excited and Seto was slightly less grumpy than usual. They wanted his company, and he wanted theirs. Friends having a sleep over...

The sound of Bakura's cruel, boisterous laughter at such an absurd notion retreated into the back of his mind. Locked away, as he'd often been, in the dripping cell within his heart.

No, friends having a sleep over wasn't strange at all.
 
"Good," she cheered. "Just remember who the real boss around here is and you'll be fine."

That particular comment snapped Seto out of his confused state. And started another light hearted argument that lasted about half way home before Mokuba interrupted with music once again. And the rest of the ride consisted of soft music and Mokuba babbling on about all the things they could do for their sleep over while trying to get the older man to help him decide which ones they should do with the time they actually had.

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The heavy metal gates creaked loud enough to be heard through the noise cancelling padding that surrounded them as the mechanical whirring of gears pressed it open toward them. Sharp sharp metal tips of cross sections below that matched the the ones at the top scraped along the ground in their well designed path of divots. No one could climb under this gate due to its design. Its height, and the risky, sharp pointed edges at the top would make anyone trying to go over an absolute moron. That wasn't to say it didn't happen or anything, but it didn't really matter. The intense security that surrounded the lustrous mansion both inside and out made it nearly impossible to reach the owners of the abode... At least, not without the owners wanting it to happen.

Thiefs didn't tend to fair well either.

The elder Kaiba rolled down his window as he pulled up to a small metal box with two buttons and a speaker as four burly men stepped out to walk around the vehicle. While they surrounded them, none of them looked into the car. Their eyes were entirely on the surroundings around them instead. This particular measure was now taken for a certain nefarious character's attempt to accost them upon entering a while back.

Two men held an absolutely intimidating large dog of different breeds each. They were large, and focused between sniffing and looking around themselves. One of the others had a hand pressed against his hip against a concealed weapon with a small radio in the other. It was pressed up to his lips as he spoke quietly, what he was saying being muffled but heard over the speaker seated next to the young CEO. The last simply stood behind the vehicle solidly once he'd found his place, hands folded in front of him and looking perfectly statuesque as Seto reached out and hit the larger button once the other man was finished speaking.

"Be ready to put the car away," he warned them cooly. "I'm driving straight out to the west wing tonight."

"Of course Sir. Please let us know if you are in need of anything else this evening." This was much easier to understand, the radio man's frequency clearly being set to mainly be able to hear what was coming rather than the box hearing from him.

Without another word Kaiba began to pull forward, ready to take one of the many sprawling private roads that led to areas of his property without so much as sacrificing even the slightest bit of natural beauty the surrounding foliage and fields it had to offer.

"OH MY GOSH LOOK OUT!" The AI's voice rang out so loudly as he moved to roll the window back up that Seto jumped sharply and pressed down on the gas pedal instinctually in the same moment Mokuba yelped out an absolutely horrified noise of his own.

Luckily for them Kaiba had quick reflexes. While he wasn't able to pull his foot away anywhere near as quickly, he was able to shift his other foot to slam itself down on the brake a moment later. The consequence of the entire reaction being the short squeal of tires and sudden lurch of the vehicle toward the man with the radio that was only partially in front of them, but stopping just as abruptly. Enough to thrust Mokuba forward between the two front seats even as he gave off another yelp. Just as luckily for him, Seto's arm reached out and blocked him from going any further forward. It would have restrained Ryou too if he weren't lucky enough for his seat belt having locked up due to the slamming of said brakes.

"OOPS." The woman's voice was still loud, though not so panicked. Although a moment later the volume on the dash was being tinkered with by the AI, her burst of amused laughter waxing and waning as she found the proper sound level.

"You absolute moron!" The growl came from Seto as he glared down at the dash before turning his eyes back to the road and continuing their way to their destination. One could practically see the Hellfire of annoyance rising around the CEO the more the woman giggled through her attempts to explain what she'd just done.

Her words were stifled by this, but were all there regardless. "Ya usually turn me down for music.... I was--I was... compensating!" There were several more snickers before, for whatever reason a computer might feel the need to do so, she took a deep breath and sighed it out calmly.

"You could have killed someone." Despite the look of murder he'd only had a few moments before that, Mokuba breaking into stifled sniggers had calmed him down considerably... Not to mention the guard's reaction, who had been forced to turn away abruptly as his hand drew up to his mouth again. The shaking of those broad shoulders showed he'd heard exactly what had happened through the open window and was doing his absolute best to hide his own laughter.

"Oh well Excuse me for trying to set the mood. So ungrateful." She himmed and hawed for a few moments to pull a bit of sympathy she knew she'd never get in a million years from her creator. "Here I was tryin ta get you lot ready for your movie night and what do I get for my efforts?"

"It wasn't exactly the best placed effort though," Mokuba countered lightly. His own large eyes had travelled over to Ryou. Because Seto's had as well, obviously assessing the condition of the car's occupants despite the fact that nothing major had even happened.

"And you!" Suddenly those eyes were snapped on him. "Why, exactly, do you think I keep warning you to put that damned belt on?"

Granted, the AI had done something somewhat idiotic. But at the same time it wasn't as if it had been truly overtly dangerous. She could be a bitch for sure (in her own words were you to ask her, even), but she'd never put them in any real danger purposefully. They'd been at a practical stop when she did it after all. And the actual level of her voice had been a miscalculation.

"We're here," Seto added in a tone that was calming all over again as they finally came around the insanely large building to what looked like a door that was just as extravigant as any front door would be. He parked the car and loosened a white knuckled grip from the steering wheel. "Everyone still alive?" The addition sounded a little more playful, but only in order to calm his own nerves as not to ruin the night even further.

If he truly blew up like he was quite close to, their attempts with Ryou earlier would have been for nothing. There had been quite a few travesties aboided today, both major and minor. He wouldn't have cared quite as much about a person he barely even knew usually, given the particular nature of her crime but it was still Mokuba's day; he'd be damned if he had put in all this effort through the entirety of it just to screwed it all up right at the end of it.
 
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Even in the dark of night and several blocks away he could see the Kaiba's mansion, towering over everything else around them and creating a distinct change to the horizon line. Ryou's eyes widened further the closer they got, and he couldn't stop himself from leaning forward to gawk at the impressive architecture with childish awe. At least he stopped himself from making stupid 'Ooo' and 'ahhh' noises when they finally reached the gate. As impressed as he was with the building, it was clear he was even more so by the metal entrance. Or at least, he was far more interested in it. He wished they'd come here sooner so he could see it in the daylight, but the illumination coming from the lights hidden on the grass was enough for the albino to see the intricate designs. The majority of it seemed simple: just a bunch of vertical bars, but on the center of each door was a fine work of art. The roaring head of a Blue Eyes White Dragon was created by bent metal bars and sheets on each one. His boss most certainly had a dragon fetish. It was one of the few insults Joey spewed out about Kaiba that he actually agreed with.

Ryou's attention was pulled away by the group of burly men surrounding the car. He shrunk down into the seat, just a little, while looking out the tinted windows at the man right outside it. They were a safety measure, and he knew that, but it was more than just a little intimidating... In fact he felt safer without them.

Already a bit on edge, the young man squeaked and jerked up so quick his head bounced off of the head rest. Small hands grasped his seat belt, rough nails digging into the thick material. With a terrified, high pitched "Yeeek!" Ryou pulled up his knees as the car lurched forward. Seto's palm just barely touched his chest before the seat belt snapped taunt. A blunt pain accosted his shoulder as the safety device dug into it before he was jolted back into his seat. It would have been fine. Pain he knew well, it was common place and he could wave it off easily but...

The squealing of tires and the scent of burning rubber had wide brown eyes clenching tightly shut. He could hear the crush of metal, a woman's scream, a desperate plea.

Ryou!

The voice inside was not the spirit who still haunted his psyche. It was a child. A little girl.

Amane!

He quivered, slightly curled and still grasping at the strap across his chest as if his very life depended on it.

The squelching and cracking of flesh and bone was followed by laughter. Laughter! And not the malicious cackling he knew by heart. Ryou snapped his eyes open and sucked in a quick, but quiet breath and let it out slowly. As the car continued on, the man gradually relaxed his grip and lowered his feet back down to the floor. He stared at the dashboard with a look that was far more than just displeased, but he remained silent until the car came to a stop. He didn't even glance at the no doubt extravagant entrance. It was Seto's tease that finally snapped his restraint.

"Everyone still alive?"

Such a casual question. A playful quip. Except not everyone was still alive...

"You shouldn't do such things!" Ryou's voice, usually dancing between carefree and nervous, was filled with a fearful anger. "They're dangerous. Someone could have gotten hurt! What if Mokuba had been thrown into the back of the seat instead of between them?" The teen could have broken his nose... Or his neck. The bruise already forming under his own clothes was of no consequence to him, even if he could feel the dull pain running down across his torso in a dark stripe.

There was a moment's pause before Ryou tensed and clasped his hand over his mouth. Narrowed brown eyes snapped open and he looked nervously over at Seto, because he was sure he'd over stepped some sort of boundary; and suddenly, he was back to the jittery mouse he was known to be.
 
Despite the sharp grip Kaiba had on the steering wheel as he drove them slowly down a short gravel path that led around to another paved one that had led them to this door, the arm that had stopped bis brother's face from planting itself against the dash board in their two inch lurch didn't lower. Though after he got an initial look at the cowering mouse beside him he hadn't turned those azure eyes back on him. He'd been too busy giving the nastiest of glares down at his display whenever he didn't have his eyes on the road.

Mokuba leaned down and rested crossed arms on the one that had save him, amethyst eyes locked heavily on Bakura. A frown was placed lightly, though firmly on his lips as he watched him slowly recover from the sudden shock they'd all received. Honestly, the teenager wanted to ask him so many questions. He'd wanted to all day in fact. But he'd kept himself away from prying too much, as he wouldn't like that sort of attention turned on him for every little odd twitch of behaviour he might show off himself. Right at that moment though, worry began to seep into those prying eyes and sink usually curved up lips downward.

He did perk up when his big brother offered that tease. It was something that was actually meant to help lighten the situation in a way that was unlike Seto, and yet somehow just like him in the same way. Mokuba appreciated the little quips his brother offered when they weren't as mean as could be. Especially when they were meant to actually make someone feel better. Especially given how absolutely awkward he could be when it came to any kind of social norm. Despite how strung up and tight lipped Seto could be, there was definitely some kind of person hidden under that far too serious nature of his. A person he really, really liked.

The teen was about to pipe up with a cheery sounding 'i am' sung in response. Instead, all at once all eyes were on Ryou, large from the sudden shock of his tone. While Mokuba wasn't sure what to think, the young president nearly broke into a smirk. Although that came after he tugged his hand back from the surprise of the sudden outburst, and not before he realized that despite the fact that his computer could be absolutely unbearable with her winning, quick comebacks, she didn't respond even in the slightest to Ryou's accusations. And when another few moments passed without another word out of her, he couldn't stop the smirk from forming as his attention shifted down to where he was now placing the car in park, flipping back the ignition, and extracting the keys.

He sat there for a moment, looking down at the display as silence continued to fill the car right to the brim and over. His action in shutting down the vehicle had prompted Mokuba to move to his door to get out. Although the lack of movement afterward had stopped the young passenger and had him looking toward the front seat curiously again.

The backbone he'd seen on display so prominently earlier that day was back, even if it was for the briefest of moments and only pointed at a computer interface. It was still pretty damned impressive; moreso when the display on the dash board cut out several long seconds after he'd removed the keys. Hell, even looking back over at Ryou and noticing the ridiculous shift from assertive to meek wasn't enough to remove the sly grin that had fit itself on his lips.

Not only had Ryou made her astonishingly speechless (something that he didn't honestly think was even possible until this point), he'd actually made her self conscious enough to outright shut herself down in order to remove herself from the situation.

"Let's go," he mentioned lightly. The almost fully pleasant tone in his voice had Mokuba's head tilting at an odd angle before he reached forward and flicked the lock on Ryou's door so they'd be able to get out of the car.

"The snacks aren't going to make themselves." Mokuba couldn't help but snort lightly at the comment considering the abilities of their top of the line kitchen. "And if it gets too late we won't be finishing that movie tonight. We do have somewhere to be first thing in the morning."

With that the eldest male flipped his own lock up manually and removed himself from the car. It wasn't as if the buttons wouldn't work on the automatic switch without the female companion device active. There was just no point in doing so when there were only two doors and one was already unlocked. Besides. Not all of his cars were fully automatic. Some habits didn't need to die really.

A moment later he was walking around the car and opening the trunk for the food and briefcases that it had captive.
 
Ryou relaxed again as the car was shut off and Kaiba's trademark smirk landed on him. Though perhaps it was slightly different from what he knew, because the younger man began to smile again. Seto wasn't angry with him over the outburst. In fact he'd dare say his boss was happy with him. A strange sensation bubbled up within him. Something he only ever felt in brief bursts before he was reminded by the spirit that a useless whelp had no right to feel pride in anything other than serving him with complete obedience... But there was no dark voice cooing to him in the back of his mind this time.

"Right," he agreed with a much cheerier tone. The lock was flipped up and Ryou slid himself out of the perfectly comfy passenger seat. Despite his much calmer state (which had been a quick and drastic change from his white knuckled fear of a moment ago,) the albino looked sheepishly at the body guards before scurrying away to the trunk. It felt safer with Seto.

He busied himself with taking his own briefcase as well as a few bags of their left overs, trying to pretend, for the moment, that Seto hadn't not-so-subtly brought up his broken home. He didn't want to think of the destruction inside, nor what had become of the fleeting memories kept by trinkets and photos. Photo. Singular. His body ached terribly at the thought of finding them all amidst destruction... But Seto said we. It created a conflicting want. Letting his newly (and tentatively) dubbed friend into his meager home to watch him fall apart wasn't exactly something he wanted.

Then again, who else but me has ever cared what you wanted?

Ryou turned that happy smile up on the man beside him. "I tend to work best when sleep deprived," he answered with a self-deprecating humor that masked just how true it was. Bakura never let him sleep. Not without consequence. "But I will try not to keep Mokuba up passed his bedtime," he added with a more genuine tease. Maybe... Maybe having someone there would be nice. Even if he was met with ridicule, at least he wouldn't be alone. At least he wouldn't be alone with him... He'd never had that before.
 
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Seto collected his briefcase as well as one of the six doggy bags they had brought home as leftovers. "Hm," the amused sounding noise came with a nod of acknowledgement. "I can appreciate that sentiment." After all, the elder Kaiba didn't sleep nearly as often as he should. Although to be fair he didn't show any amount of exhaustion when in the company of others. He did function just as well, if not batter that way.

When a smirk was landed on the younger teen at the mention if his "bedtime" as he was collecting the last four bags, he puffed up into an indignant pout. "I don't have a bedtime," he assured Ryou defensively. "I don't have to sleep if I don't want to either!"

"Ha!" Seto turned and led the toward the door. It wasn't true of course. The teen was definitely a growing kid and needed his sleep. He could barely function on less than 8 hours. The good thing about it was that he didnt actually need a bed time. Mokuba's internal clock did that for him.

"Shut up Seto!" The complaint was just as defensive, but Mokuba bubbled down just as quickly as he matched his pace with Ryou.

"Hey Ryou?" Shy periwinkle eyes shifted down onto the bags they carried as his shoulders lifted just a little in his attempt not to turn away as he asked. "Can I come tomorrow too?"

Seto was ahead of them, making no show whatsoever of his eavesdropping as the door was opened upon their landing at the top step of the extravagant porch. "I mean... I bet you could use someone who could be there for you. God knows Seto won't be that guy. And if... if nothing else, I can help you clean up. If it wasn't a mess before the cops got there I doubt they left it in any better shape." With that, he was out of excuses to come for the moment. Granted, his first was the main reason he wanted to go.

As the door opened, Seto greeted the man behind it before his face ever peeked it's way into the frame. "Hello Roland."

"Good evening gentlemen," Roland stated curtly before that familiar stiffness in his form softened and a warmer look crossed his face. "How was your day?" Curious eyes landed on Ryou, though he said nothing toward it.

Seto looked back himself before setting down the things in his hands and set to remove his coat and shoes. Neither had been much of a practice for them before Roland had started hanging around the house so muc.

"Interesting," Seto summarized in one word. The curious, interested tone in the back of Rolands throat had him continuing. Although not to explain the day. Mostly to complain.

"When are you coming back to work for Kaiba Corp Roland? I'm practically hanging with these morons I had to hire to replace you."

Roland chuckled cheerily. "Retirement is often a permanent endeavor," he retorted while offering a light wave toward the two smaller men and gesturing toward Seto's shoes and jacket in request of them following his lead. "Besides. I'm quite happy, and busy, handling the Kaiba family security."

Mokuba chuckle while Kaiba made that weird growling noise that meant he was annoyed as he walked ahead of them toward the kitchen. "Well, I like seeing you around here Roland," Mokuba offered cheerily before turning his attention back at Ryou.

"We take off our shoes and coats now cause everybody else has to do it when they come in. Roland can be a little weird with his security measures, but nothing bad has happened since he took over the house so I think that's why Seto doesn't mind as much as he wants to." He chuckled as Kaiba growled out something in that huffy tone of his from in the kitchen and a mechanical whirring was heard in response.
 
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He couldn't help it. He tried and failed to hold back a delighted giggle at the banter of the two brothers. Even if Seto had hardly said a word, it was a moment of happiness for them, and he couldn't help but find it... Endearing? He didn't have a better word for it, so it would do. Warm, chocolate eyes had just caught sight of the Blue Eyes decorating the tall wooden doors when he was distracted from his inevitable, internal 'ooh'ing and 'aww'ing by a strangely timid voice. "Yes?" He asked, goading his newest friend into continuing.

Ryou paused once at the top of the stairs with the tiniest frown on his lips. He kept his first response to himself, because he knew full well his boss was listening in. After all, Seto Kaiba knew everything. Though he felt he had no right to, he disagreed with Mokuba's words on Seto. After all, the man had left less than zero room for argument about joining him tomorrow. It wouldn't be how "normal" people would 'be there for someone.' It would be his own strange version of it that Ryou was glad for.

"Oh! Oh no, Mokuba," he started, beginning to raise his hands into a defensive wave, but stopping when he remembered they were both full at the moment. "Please, your company is more than enough. I couldn't ask you to clean for me." Besides, with some of the things hidden away in his home, it would be incredibly embarrassing.

Chocolate eyes curved in a small, but perfectly delighted smile. "I would be grateful if you joined us." He paused for a moment and returned his gaze to the now open doors. "So long as you do not laugh. It isn't much, even by normal standards, and, in comparison, my home is quite meager." That was an understatement. It was nearly barren, and small, and more than a little musty. "Thank you," he added quietly. "Truly."

Once more his attention was split, this time from a voice he thought he recognized. It had been years though, so he couldn't be completely sure, but he had vague memories of this man on the blimp in Battle City. He stayed quiet through the exchange, but took note of Seto removing his boots and was quick to follow suit. First, he placed the bag and suitcase down on the floor so he could shoulder off his uniform blazer and hang it up beside the extravagant coat of Seto's. Then, he toed off his black shoes. They were perfectly fine shoes; no holes, they were comfortable, they fit, and they were perfectly presentable... But they looked positively ratty next to the perfectly polished boots. He tried not to think on it, and instead slid his feet into the offered 'guest' slippers. At least he could hide the hole in his right sock.

With his sugary sweet, cavity inducing smile, offered a short, polite bow before looking up at Roland. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm Ryou Bakura, Seto's latest attempt at an assistant. Please, call me Ryou." That honey pot expression dampened slightly as the guard looked him over. He had to resist the urge to squirm.

Eventually, Roland gave a quick glance first at Mokuba, than back towards the kitchen, and finally down on the meek little boy fidgeting in front of him. "Well... You're different from the others." The man's voice was a bit more gruff and stern when it was turned on the stranger entering the Kaiba home.

"I will take that as a compliment."

"Good. It was."

Roland was patient enough to allow Ryou to speak with the youngest Kaiba before he continued.

The smallest of the men, and teen, turned a curious look on said teen. "Security? I thought it was just good manners."

"It's both. Now hold out your arms and have your feet shoulder length apart." He left no room for argument, and he could see why Seto missed having him around. In just a few sentences and looks, he seemed to be much more capable than the current security force.

"Oh um... Yes, of course," he agreed with a slight bit of nervous hesitation. His arms were lifted slowly and he shifted his feet apart as asked. His right shoulder hurt, but he ignored it. Large hands began patting at his shoulders, causing the tiniest of winces, then down each arm, back up then began patting at his torso. It was quick and professional, but he couldn't help but feel the invasion to his personal space. Especially when Roland began on his legs. He resisted the urge to back away.

When finished, the guard stood back up and offered Ryou a small, polite bow in return. "I apologize for that Mr. Baku-"

"Ryou, please."

"Right. Mr. Ryou."

"And you have no need to apologize. Thank you..." He peeked over to the kitchen to be sure Seto wasn't there, then, he leaned in with his hand cupped over his mouth to finish. "For keeping my friends safe." And with that, he moved to join Mokuba in following the elder Kaiba, leaving behind a wide eyed, quickly blinking Roland. He corrected himself quickly and added an honest 'good luck' to the retreating albino. This kid was strange, but then, so was the Kaiba family.
 
The teen's heart dropped for a moment as the word 'no' left Ryou's mouth. Being denied the chance to be there for him would have really sucked. But it picked back up a moment later when he let him finish speaking. "We'll see. I can help clean if you end up needing it." His head tilted and a curious look lit up his face. "Why would I laugh? That wouldn't be very nice when something like that happened to your home." The explained reasoning might have flown right over his head. After all, unlike Seto, Mokuba did go out and have fun. He had normal friends, or at least people he considered friends, and it wasn't like all he ever saw was what was provided for him. Although it wouldn't be hard to assume that would be all he was used to considering.

Mokuba watched the interaction casually, not finding any oddity in it aside from the awkwarness of the interaction itself. Then again, this was never really not awkward so that wasn't a big deal. Ryou was just really different about things. At least from what he was more used to. But Mokuba found no complaints in that either. As they went about the routine he took his own shoes and jacket off and slipped into the house slippers that were now always provided. There were a couple pairs left of various sizes but there weren't many out all that often either. He was pretty sure he remembered finding a nearby closet that had a ridiculous amount of them that came in various shape size and design, but it wasn't like they ever really had a bunch of people over to the house. Like a lot of things their home held, they were likely purely a 'just in case' measure.

Several of the rooms were boarded by security and various workers who weren't all that often seen around the house, but they didn't share a wing with Seto and Mokuba. In fact, as far as he knew only Roland slept in the area they did. And he was pretty sure that was only because the guy was because he took the need to protect them so very seriously. Still, he was several rooms away from them. Yet Mokuba always forgot when he got to chance to make some kind of racket to see if the guy really could hear if something was going on when everyone was in bed. Heck, Mokuba only slept in as close a room as he needed to be able to hear Seto if there came a time.

He wondered if Ryou would want to sleep with them or not. Would it be weird since he was used to living alone? Mokuba decided, with a very cheery smile, that he would offer Ryou a room between his and Seto's. That way he'd be surrounded by friends. Hopefully it would make him feel safe after what happened earlier.

His attention turned to Roland as he picked up those bags again and Ryou moved on. "You recognize him, Roland?" The curious tone in his voice had old eyes turning his way. Roland often boasted, in an agrivatingly and somehow professional way, that he never forgets a face. Without answering, Roland simply tapped at his nose and turned to go off and do whatever it was Roland did when he wasn't around.

Mokuba pouted lightly. Of course he wasn't gonna give away how much he remembered him or not. One of these days he'd get the old man though, he knew it.

He smiled again, and copied everyone else in moving on with things. "I like him," he added, and turned his own voice to a whisper as he passed the man who was collecting their coats and shoes to put them away in the entry way cubby. "I think Seto does too."

The mild chuckle he got in return completely placated his earlier mood shift as he hurried into the kitchen with a giddy bounce. "Here I am!" The announcement was needless of course, as if the whole world had missed him for the entire 30 seconds he was alone with the security guard.

Plopping the bags down with the other that had been placed on the counter carelessly, Mokuba tilted his head to look at Seto as he noticed him sipping tea and after reaching over and testing a single kernel of popcorn that sat freshly popped in a bowl. At least he remembered popcorn was a movie thing this time. The teen tried not to giggle to himself.

He popped open the sleek fridge door that matched the interior of the kitchen far too well to notice it immediately and made to begin stuffing their left overs onto the shelves. He paused as he picked the first one up though. "Oh. Is there anything in here we should pull out for the movie?"

Brushing the bowl aside instead, he added. "I think I'm in the mood for a root beer float too." The same mechanical noises from before could be heard, muffled beneath the large counter top. After a few good waiting moments, the area the bowl had been sitting on previously slid to the side in opening itself and a small level surface brought the requested treat upward from the depths of the counter.

"Thank you for your request," a cold, automated woman's voice that one would be familiar with hearing on a normal computer replied as the tray the treat sat on settled itself on over the closing hole in the same way the bowl obviously had. "How may I help you?"

It had to look like a bit of a chill rolled through Mokuba's spine as the automated voice set itself to receive another order. "What the HECK was that?!" The confused look he settled on Seto only made the man smirk into his tea as he took another sip from it without responding.

Ryou had really done a number on his computer's conscience; however the Hell that was even possible. She'd gone entirely, and purposefully, silent for what was most likely the first time ever since he'd begun integrating her into these systems.
 
So far the albino had kept his awe in check, at least enough to keep him from looking the fool, but when he stepped into the kitchen his eyes lit up in a brilliant dazzle. Ryou greatly enjoyed cooking. He didn't have much choice in the matter when his father left him in Japan to fend for himself, supporting him financially, and only financially. Ordering out daily was impossible, and microwave meals quickly became bland. Cooking was one of the few things that he could let himself get lost in. One of the few things Bakura let him get lost in.

Wide doe eyes scanned over the kitchen, taking in every appliance with more and more joy. The only things of any monetary value were in his own kitchen, but it all still paled in comparison. Ryou placed his bag and briefcase on the counter along with the others and stepped further into the kitchen. He would have noted how strange it was Seto was able to make a cup of tea so quickly if he weren't so enamored with all of the shiny appliances he would stand on his head for a chance to play with. "Your kitchen is bloody dench," he commented delightedly, his accent seeming thicker when he fell into an old idiom.

"Hm?" Ryou blinked and jumped, just a bit, out of his daze. His pale skin made the tiny flush on his cheeks far too noticeable for his liking. "Oh, yes," he answered with a nod. There was a moment of digging around through plastic before he pulled out the proper box. He did so love his cream puffs. It was a guilty pleasure he rarely indulged in, mostly because if he let himself he'd go broke and get sick from how many he'd get.

Light eyebrows pinched together at the sound of the computer's voice. Of course Seto Kaiba would have some sort of smart kitchen. Strange how Mokuba responded though. However, he couldn't help but feel it was a tad... Cheap, and not in the financial sense. What was the point of having such a wonderful kitchen if it wasn't going to be used for actual cooking? "H-hey. Wait a moment." Ryou turned his attention to the elder Kaiba with an accusing, yet playful pout. "I thought you said the snacks wouldn't make themselves."
 
Mokuba giggled quietly at Ryou's antics once he had gotten over the shock of the change in tune of their house, removing his treat and testing it before going back to his task of putting away their food. "I guess tell her what kind of snacks you want for the movie. She's being weird but it still tastes good." If Ryou had voiced his concern about the cooking, Mokuba would have told him both things worked perfectly well.

Seto lowered the dish he had been sipping at, a smirk landing on Ryou. "They didn't. The kitchen made them." The slight spread of that smug stretch of his lips might have even looked a little catty if only for the tone that accompanied as he finished. "Or if you like: I lied."

Mokuba couldn't help but chuckle again. There was just no stopping the cheery mood he'd fallen into. Seto Kaiba may 'not have fun', but he sure seemed to be today. And the relaxed mood in the atmosphere was really nice. It really didn't seem to happen outside of just Mokuba and Seto being alone together. Really, this only made him like Ryou that much more. He made a great friend.
 
As that smug smirk grew on Seto's face, a puffy pout came to Ryou's. The day had been a strange mixture of professional and casual; filled with teasing bickering between himself and the Kaiba brothers. More so the younger than the older, but it still left him at ease around them. So the response that came was just as lighthearted as he felt. There was a moments pause where thin lips pursed together in mock offense, then, ".... Wanker."

Clanker! Ryou jumped to full attention, like a meerkat popping up out of it's burrow. "Oh! Ah, yes I'll..." He was happy to turn his attention away from his boss, from Seto bloody Kaiba, whom he'd just insulted. He was so screwed. He was fired for sure and he'd probably be chased off of the property by dogs!

I said nothing. Nothing at all! His internal monologue came with with it's own nervous laughter. "A ah... Strawberry smoothy, please? With uh... whipped cream if it's not too much trouble." Yup, just pretend nothing happened. Nope, not a thing.
 
Seto would have chuckled in amusement initially at the shot that was taken at him so casually by the mouse purely for the fact that he was certainly pressing buttons to see if any were fired back. But he was interrupted by the reaction that immediately followed it. His eyes widened slightly as the albino man suddenly shot to attention, an eyebrow raising as he forcibly pushed himself forward.

Then there was the somewhat meek request pointed toward the computer. The quick shift right back from rowdy to docile was almost enough to make him chuckle all on its own. The mixture of the entire scene however, had a smooth, genuine laugh finding its way from his chest instead.

Amusement aside, the feel of the room was comfortable. The entire day had been, in fact. And while he might never choose to say as much out loud, the action packed day they'd all spent together had actually been pretty relaxing all in all.

He recognized the fault in his otherwise sturdy behaviour even before Mokuba turned a cheery, but far too understanding, smile on him. It was Kaiba's turn to shift to attention. A snub in the form of making a full body ninety degree turn as his posture stiffened back to its norm was what followed. And he hid the annoyed look he had for himself behind the finishing sip of his tea.

"Get your snacks and let's get on with this stupid movie," he ordered curtly before stomping his way from the room in that normal moody fashion of his.

Mokuba watched, doing everything he could to hide his amusement. If he didn't know better, he might think Seto was embarrassed.

Heck. Who was he kidding?

The teen leaned close to Ryou as his snack finished rising to the counter top, lifting a hand to indicate the secretive nature of what he had to say. "Hey. I think you mighta out Seto into a good mood. You better watch out. He'll getnyou back for it later." The giddy chuckle that followed came as he moved back to his original spot and slid the treat toward the man, unable to help but look around the kitchen awkwardly as the deadpan voice rang out the same thing as before.

"Lets see," he added lightly. "What kinda snacks do you like at the movies? We have the popcorn and drinks already..." his look grew thoughtful; possibly a little too serious for the simple question he was asking. Then again, he didnt want to have to miss or pause a part of the movie in need of coming back for something they forgot.
 
The deep, warm chuckle that had managed to sneak its way through Seto's defenses soaked deep into Ryou's mind and soothed his panic in an instant. He'd heard and seen many different things from his boss in their short day spent together. The man was known for being snide and rude, with more than just a hint of narcissism, and he could certainly see why because, well, it was true, but there was also more. He could see it in the slight differences in his smirk; a slightly higher angle of his lips was amused, a deeper curl in the near nonexistent dimple meant he was pleased, and the usual smirk seen by the public eye wasn't cruel or angry, it was irritated. Seto Kaiba had a wide array of emotions, but the difference between the expressions for them was so subtle no one noticed. Or perhaps no one cared enough to look. He could certainly understand that... But at least he had Mokuba to see what everyone else ignored, and maybe, if Seto allowed it, he could have Ryou as well.

A bright, stupid grin pulled at his lips, and he couldn't stop it on his own no matter how hard he tried. So he quickly grabbed his smoothy and casually sucked at the straw to keep his expression in check when he turned back to see the man finishing off his drink. He couldn't quite understand why, but that short moment of genuine enjoyment from Seto gave Ryou a sense of joy he hadn't felt in a very long time. Chocolate brown eyes peeked over his mountain of whipped cream to watch him stomp away in a huff. He smiled brightly around the straw.

"Hm?" Ryou leaned closer as Mokuba cupped a hand around his mouth to tell him a secret; and again that bubbly feeling of pure and utter delight left him tingling. He was happy he could have such an effect on Seto. "I'm glad," he admitted, unable to hide his bright smile a moment longer, and now that they were alone, he didn't feel the need to. "As his assistant, part of my job is to put him, and keep him in a good mood, and I already promised to do my best." His eyes closed and a happy hum was released. "So, there isn't anything Seto would do that could deter me," he finished with a nod, eyes opening once more to set determined look up at the teen.

He was pulled from the moment by the monotone voice of the computer, and that strong confidence he'd briefly held dissipated, leaving him as his usual care free persona. "I think that will be enough. Eating too much before bed will give you night terrors," he warned, taking his box of cream puffs from the counter and starting off in the direction Seto had gone. Though, he waited for Mokuba to show him the way.

"You know, I have to wonder. It's no surprise you have an... Interface, did you call it? In your kitchen, though I would have thought it would be the same one from the car."
 
Seto either didn't see or utterly ignored the look on Ryou's face as he stamped out of the room in that grumbly way of his. Mokuba liked that grumbly way. It said a lot more than it ever should to him, and so far, no one else. He kept his own happy hum to himself, though mostly because he was too focused on that sugary sweet smile that almost felt like it might even give him cavities. Still, he chuckled warmly and offered a light nod to the sentiment. It sounded nice.

"Yeah," he agreed lightly in a curious tone, peeking up and around at the kitchen as if he'd catch sight of the source of the lost computer interface. Grabbing the popcorn, he nodded his head to the side as he passed the smaller man to indicate their direction. He could probably go without the snacks after all. Nightmares were bad enough. He didn't want to suffer anything worse. "Seto threatens to shut her down all the time," he mentioned. "I guess maybe she made him made enough to really do it this time."

The curious bubble fell away and Mokuba kept their stride casual to allow Ryou to keep his barrings as they went, but a thought occured to him when they closed in on the door that would lead them to the theatre that was at the end of the long hall they'd just turned down.. "By the way," he offered with a catty grin of his own as he peeked at the older male at his side. "I wouldn't let Seto hear you say he can't do something. You'd really be in for it then." That's not to say he wouldn't enjoy seeing the reaction it gave. He was a tiny bit curious as to whether it would be his normal response, or something different as so many things had been today.

Although he doubted it would be different. Despite the nice atmosphere they'd shared in so far (excluding the not so nice parts of course), Seto was still Seto.
 
He wondered if Seto was displeased with the computer for his sake... No, Ryou knew he wasn't worth that much. Perhaps it was just his reference to the possibility of Mokuba being hurt that changed his mind. After all, the CEO seemed amused by her antics before his outburst. He was pulled from his musings by the playful grin sent his way, and he couldn't help but laugh at the warning. "I would never suggest such a thing," he assured, his posture calm and fearless. Something strange for the usually skittish man. And something even stranger for the words that left his lips.

"I am sure Seto could hang me by my toes in the basement, break all of my bones, skin me alive and feed my body to the guard dogs," the giggle and eye curving smile was far too sweet. "He could do it easily too, I'd bet. Even if someone did care enough to look for me, but such a thing would be a messy endeavor, and blood stains are impossible to get out of clothing, so I don't think he would."

They came to a stop at another set of large doors, and Ryou turned his eyes down onto he box of sweets. The strong curve of his lips relaxed, and the near giddy sparkle in his eyes dampened, if only slightly. "And it really would take something like that," he added, voice soft and quiet. "Seto put his faith in me. He believes in me... No one has ever done that before..." He glanced up awkwardly at the younger Kaiba. "I won't disappoint him, no matter what. I won't give him a reason to regret it."

Again his curse of paper white skin allowed his cheeks to glow, and Ryou was quick to balance his drink on the box in his left hand to open the door and scurry inside. Working as a barista had given him the skills to balance things, but did nothing for his clumsiness. In his haste he tripped over his own two feet, and suddenly the ground was way too close to his face! The startled "Yeep!" was muffled by carpet. As was the following "Oh bollocks."

However, despite the oh so graceful face plant, the box and smoothy were held up by his left hand without a drop spilled. Maybe he should just stay down there. If he was lucky the floor would swallow him up. "Ow..."
 
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Azure eyes rounded and stared as Bakura went into a horrifying description of the way his big brother could choose to torture him if he'd wanted to. The surprise over the sweetly spoken but cringe inducing words was one thing, but the problem that kept those eyes rounded was that.... Honestly, it was way too easy to be able to imagine Seto having no trouble, and even enjoying, doing such a thing.

It was also far too easy to agree with the reason he probably wouldn't. Despite how scary those thoughts were, Ryou's little laugh was infectious, and Mokuba couldn't help but giggle along side him.

When his expression dampened the teen's followed suit as well. For a moment he thought he was worried, or sad or something. But only for a moment. The words that followed had his heart swelling in his chest. Ryou really seemed to be an amazing guy. He was warm and sweet, he took just about everything insanely well, and he seemed like--at least from what Mokuba had seen and heard so far-- he was pretty darn loyal too. If there the raven haired teen were forced to pick one single thing to be Seto's number one attribute that he really liked to see in people, loyalty would be it. It was a really big deal to his big brother; one they shared and he completely understood; unlike some of his less than perfect guesses at the man's learned behaviours over the years.

A big, cheery smile dawned over the young man's lips. Something that was bound to be just as painfully upbeat as the look that bloomed across his face never made it's way from his lips. All he could make was "That's--" before the albino man turned and took a sudden face first leap toward the floor. "Oh!" The exclamation came as Mokuba jolted forward slightly in want of catching the man's fall. But he was forced to stop as he realized his own hands were full and there was no way he'd be able to get to him in time even if they hadn't been.

"Ha!" Even if it weren't for the familiar voice, it was all too obvious who this noise belonged to.

The theatre was as opulent as any other room or portion of the mansion. At the back of the gigantic room a warm brick wall held a small cavernous hole that nestled the projector within it. A sleek white carpet adorned with a blue eyes in the center floored the entire area. There were a few small groupings of coupled seats that dotted the area, but at the absolute center right over where the blue eyes lie, three rows of five extremely comfortable looking reclinable theatre seats each sat facing the front of the room. The side walls were covered in blue and white curtains tailored with black trim and golden designs (three guesses as to what they depicted if one were to spread one open and have a look). Every line and seam in this place was tailor made to draw one's attention to one single thing; the gigantic IMAX sized screen that covered the far front wall from floor to ceiling and nestled straight up to the wall on either side. Framing the screen from beneath was the biggest most luxurious pile of mixed, solid colored, large comfy pillows that matched the room's color scheme perfectly. The pile stretched from just next to the wall beneath the screen, to about half way up to that middle row of seats.

Seto sat in the chair next of center in the middle row of those seats, smirking down on Ryou as he leaned loosely over its back. "Don't break your face all over my white carpet. You have no idea how difficult it is for me to get those blood stains out."

Mokuba broke into giggles as he quickly shoved his treats into Seto's hands, ignoring the annoyed groaned protest and plucking Ryou's from his hands in order to help him up. "Hey. I know that probably kinda sucked and all, but it looked pretty dang cool from where I was standing. How'd you do that?" He tilted the milkshake slightly just to make sure gravity worked properly in sloshing it to the side as it should have. "Can you teach me to look bad ass when I trip over myself too?"
 
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"Codswallop!" The accusation was still muffled by carpet, but he knew his pleasant company could hear him just fine. Still, he lifted his face out of the plush flooring and rested his chin on it instead so the rest could be heard clearly. "You would have someone else do it. You wouldn't have a thing to worry about." His words were said with a huff of mock offense and an unseen, giddy smile on his lips.

Brown eyes glanced up as his treats were taken, and gladly took the offered help to stand. Ryou lifted a hand to his nose to lightly touch it. No blood, no break, it would just be sore for a while. In fact, he doubted it would even bruise. The carpet had cushioned his fall well enough. "It wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world," he agreed. He would have moved on to assure him that it was nothing to worry over, but when the teen finished he couldn't help but feeling a little warm and bubbly. No one. Absolutely no one had ever called him cool, let alone 'bad ass!' It took a whole lot of effort to keep back his delighted little squeal.

"A lot of practice, and a boss who cares more about glassware then the well being of his employees." His happy glow was dampened just a bit, and he couldn't help but lightly scowl at the memory of the man. He never once gave a damn over why he'd tripped. Granted it was often his own clumsiness that caused it, but there were a fair amount of times he was tripped by bratty kids or jack ass teens... On a few occasions it stemmed from unwanted pinches or gropes to his ass. He was told to "Just let 'em. It ain't like you're some chick." Pig...

Ryou shook his head to snap out of his thoughts. "I could try, but I'm not sure I'd make a very good teacher." After the admission, he took the chance to finally look around. Doe eyes rounded, but he managed to keep his expression calm enough not to look like a complete idiot. Though, with that tumble he was sure that ship had sailed a long time ago.

The decor was elaborate and (though he'd never even consider saying it outloud) predictable. Everything bit of decoration he'd seen so far was inspired by Blue Eyes in some way. That didn't make it any less breath taking. His sights locked on the giant screen that put those at the theater to shame, but his attention lingered on the many places to sit. He knew where he wanted to settle in. In the seat right next to Seto. It was disgusting how clingy he'd become in such a short amount of time.

Do you miss me so much Landlord? How cute.

But he couldn't just take such a liberty, right? He hoped he'd be directed somewhere, so he didn't have yet another chance to make a fool of himself.

He shifted awkwardly on his feet, then held out his hands to the younger sibling to take back his snacks. "Thank you for your help Mokuba. I do appreciate it."
 
The amused noise the overbearing president let off at the accusation definitely stated he was most likely right in his assumption. Of course Seto wouldn't have bothered cleaning it up himself. After all, that had been why he'd told the white haired fluff ball that he'd be the one doing it. Granted he did, in fact, know from personal experience just how difficult it was to get blood stains out of many materials really. Though he chose not to mention how that was.

The snarky smirk was pulled from the young CEOs lips as he grew slightly distracted by the interaction between his brother and new assistant. He grew quiet, a thoughtful look encompassing his features for the quickest of moments. Thinking on the day they had spent together, and how thoroughly entertained his little brother had throughout it, he couldn't help but agree with certain sentiments that had been expressed recently. Ryou Bakura was certainly very different from the people Seto tended to be surrounded with on a normal basis.

His focus landed back on the other two. He might have made a comment on the 'bad ass' one himself, but he didn't want to pull them away from their conversation. They were vastly better suited for such a thing. Instead he turned back around in his seat and allowed them to continue, looking down and flipping up the outer end of his arm rest to fiddle with the controls hidden safely beneath the covering plastic. It caused the lights to begin their dim, and a quiet mechanical beep to ding from the speakers in a way that would signify to those who were familiar with it that the computer was ready for their input.

Mokuba chuckled warmly as Ryou took his help up. But he kept quiet for the entirety of the not too long moment Ryou needed in order to take in the entire theatre, allowing him his awe. Mokuba easily understood the fact that the room was just as awe inspiring as it was beautiful.

When the smaller man turned his attention back on his snacks and the conversation however, the tall teen was quick to pick it back up right along with him. "No problem," he mentioned cheerily. "And I bet you're a better teacher than you think you are." Mokuba couldn't help but admire him at this point. So he couldn't help but push for another compliment. He found Ryou nearly as awe inspiring as Ryou found their decadent home despite having only a day to truly get to know each other so far.

With a quick step to the side the teen was almost fully behind the albino man. Both hands were placed firmly on his back and he was ushered toward the seats. This just so happened to be on the exact path Bakura had been hoping for; toward Seto. "You knoooow, w--"

The raven haired teen's sing-songy tease of a tune was cut off by a grumpy tune that was only loud enough to cover his own up. "I'm staring the movie now..." Seto sounded as perfectly grumpy as ever, not turning to even offer them another look as he gave his warning that pretty much meant 'sit down and shut up', but from the relaxed position he remained seated in Mokuba could tell he was nowhere near as annoyed as he sounded.

"Please make a selection," came the monotone computer's voice in response to the elder Kaiba's words.

Mokuba could only giggle as his own response, understanding that Seto was just eager to get the movie started so they could be done with it sooner rather than later. His big brother probably already understood how easily Mokuba and Ryou could be pulled off into another direction in their conversation that could possibly turn into an entire tangent. After all, he'd been watching them do such a thing practically all day long at this point now. And besides that, it really was getting late. There had been no hint of exaggeration in Seto's taunting laugh at the teen when he'd tried to assure the chocolate eyed man that he didn't need a bed time earlier. The teen had trouble functioning at all without the proper amount of sleep.
 
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"I will certainly do my best to meet your standards," he assured gratefully. Ryou released a soft 'oof' as he was ushered along with a bit of a push, but easily went along with the guidance to take a seat next to the much taller man. He couldn't help but release a quiet chuckle from under a muffling hand as Seto grumped over Mokuba's chatter. Their brotherly interactions were enjoyable enough to witness, and even more so when he was involved.

His smoothly in the cup holder, and his cream puff box popped open in his lap, Ryou wiggled himself down into the far too comfortable theater seat. He sunk into it, and it would be difficult to will himself out of it later. When the computer asked for the selection, he decided to speak up. "M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense. Uncut edition, please." The screen went black for a moment. Likely the computer finding the selection, and in that moment Mokuba took his place in the theater. Ryou had expected him to sit down beside him, but instead the teen took a flying leap into the giant heap of pillows. He snickered. "Comfortable, Mokuba?"

The screen lit up again, and Ryou had to rest his head back to see the whole thing at once. There were so many movies he would love to see like this, but he was more than happy with this one... Perhaps... He could return some time. Kaiba Corp.'s logo appeared before the usual lion's roar from it's logo.... Instead, the Blue Eye roared through the speakers, and Ryou couldn't stop himself. Everything was Blue Eyes! He turned his head to look at Seto with a raised eyebrow. "..... Really?"
 
By the time the screen went black Seto had reclined his seat just enough to be in a comfortably seated position to watch where he didn't have to crane his neck in any way. Whether or not he was, he definitely looked even more relaxed in that position. Though ice blue eyes flicked over to the albino man as he was called out for the tainted logo.

He sat up a bit, staring down at the much shorter male. "Normally you'd be right to assume I'm behind everything." He thumbed at the darker haired teen who was rolling around in the pillows like a puppy that couldn't find it's favorite spot to sleep. "As it turns out, a lot of the decor and home-body 'touches' came from that one."

He leaned back in his chair once again tonturn his attention on the screen. But his lips thinned just a little to show a twitch of annoyance. "That little gem is his doing."

As the screen came to life and Mokuba finally settled half sunken into the pillow pile on his back, a devious little chuckle could be heard from the plush mound under the new noise that surrounded them.
 
"You say that as if you don't enjoy it," he teased oh so quietly. Enough so that it very well could have been drowned out by the start of the movie. He was tentative about how much he could playfully banter with his boss. It would be so easy to cross a line when he had no idea where they were to begin with. He bit into a cream puff and turned his attention to the screen to watch one of his favorite movies in a whole new way. Not just the big screen, but the biggest screen.

By the time the little girl ghost puked in the main character's tent, he could hear the quiet sounds of snoring coming from the mound of pillows. A glance over found Mokuba half hanging out of his cocoon in probably the most comfortable looking uncomfortable position possible. Ryou couldn't stop himself from humming and smiling at the sight. Vice President of a multi billion dollar company, and still just such a kid. He returned to the movie.

At some point someone quietly came in to take their trash for them. Ryou would have argued if he hadn't been too engrossed in the movie to even notice until he found everything gone.

As the credits rolled the dimmed lights slowly got brighter to reveal the absolutely giddy expression on Ryou's face. He hissed a quiet, excited, "So cool!" He turned his attention on the teen, hoping he'd woken up in time to see the twist ending. No luck. He was fast asleep, and Ryou was moving before he could even think about it. Quietly, he pulled a blanket off of the back of the couch and draped it over the slumbering form. "It should be okay to let him sleep here, right?" He asked, voice just above a whisper.
 
There was a chance Seto made a reply. But if he had it was said lightly enough under the noise of the movie that only an annoyed grunt of it could be heard over the sounds.

Usually Seto only tolerated watching movies with his little brother as a way to spend more time with him. This movie however, grabbed the man's full attention. That and the couple inappropriately placed "ha"s he gave off were the only signs of his enjoyment. He was, in fact, so engrossed in the movie that he took a few seconds to himself to mentally run through the end reveal that explained how obvious the twist could have been through the entire movie through a montage. Unlike mokuba, Seto hadn't been warned of the twist. So he actually hadn't been expecting it. He'd noticed the oddity of the red objects within it, but hadn't been able to piece it together in the long run.

Then again, if the movie wasn't so good at allowing oneself to simply tune their mind out and enjoy it, he probably wouldn't have had that issue. So, another grunt was given toward his assistants expression toward his own liking of it. He had no reason to hide his agreement after all.

Seto stood himself and took a step toward the sleeping teen. Though he paused in hesitation and his attention turned on the dough eyed potential onlooker for a moment. When it came to an audience, he didnt appreciate having one for a show of his softer side toward his kin. Ryou took up his slack without so much as a prod however. And the young CEO found himself appreciating the action more than he'd ever like to admit.

Previous assistants had only ever tolerated his brother's existance. And barely, at that. This made Seto recognize all over again how very different this person was. In a wat, it was unsettling.

But that helped him out in the need to move on from the subject. "Its fine," he mentioned as cooly as ever.

Considering it was well into the AM by now, he took that chance to move on. "Its late," he added, somehow able to make his offer sound like the biggest chore hed taken on all day without so much as a change in cadence of his speech. "I suppose I'll show you to your room."

Without another word he turned and left the room, obviously expecting the midget to follow him.

After a lengthy walk through a few corridors and entryways, they rounded on the wing Seto and Mokuba had their rooms in. Stopping at his own door with his hand on the extravagant latch was was, surprising, not in the shape of a blue eyes, he motioned down the hall with his other without even sparing the mouse another look. "Pick one."
 
"Oh, yes, thank you," Ryou agreed with a pleasant smile and nod of his head before jogging after his boss to keep up. Seto had long legs and a powerful stride, and he'd found himself having to at least speed walk to keep up with the Kaiba brother's all day long. He didn't mind.

As they went, the younger man tried to keep track of where they went. Getting lost would be a terrible embarrassment that he didn't want to suffer through. He kept up and turned his attention on Seto, watching him until the man disappeared behind his own door. Now alone in the hall, he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. It would likely be more polite to take a room farther down the hall, but he didn't want to. He wanted to be close to the man that had shown him more kindness in one day than his friends had given him through two years of schooling. He felt safer the closer he was to his boss... And he hadn't been directed to any room in particular...

Ryou turned to the side and took the handle of the door to the bedroom right beside Seto's. He slipped inside slowly and quickly fumbled for the light switch on the wall. The shadowy blackness disappeared into hiding as the florescent lighting hunted it down. His eyes widened for the hundredth time that day as he took in the sight. It was like something out of a magazine, or in a display room; Plush carpet, intricate curtains, pristinely polished wood furniture, two cushioned arm chairs, a sofa sitting before a tall coffee table, and the bed! It was a massive, four poster masterpiece with red curtains and matching blanket.

With a little squeak he just couldn't contain anymore, Ryou ran to the bed and leaped onto the mattress in a bouncy belly flop. "Wow... It's so comfortable. I could fall asleep just like this," he admitted to empty air as his eyes closed. He was tempted to do just that, but he pushed himself back onto his feet. He was covered in a thin coating of sweat, and a shower was too good of an idea to pass up. Especially since he was sure the bathrooms would be just as splashed out as the rest of the Kaiba home.

He was grateful for the adjoining bathroom, he wouldn't have to bother Seto with useless questions.

Of course he was right, and the tiled room he walked into was just as grand as the bedroom. It was huge and perfectly cleaned. The mirror took up a good portion of the wall behind the sink, and the 'bathtub' was much more like a 'hot tub!' Taking a quick look at the controls he found himself longing to feel heated jets on his aching body. There was a brief moment of hesitation. Showering was one thing, but it felt rude to take a bath without permission. Still, he'd never have this chance again.

Ryou first closed off the curtain and turned on the hot water of the shower. He'd clean himself before relaxing.

Thin, white fingers deftly popped open each button on his shirt before it was allowed to slide off of his shoulders. He frowned at himself in the mirror and lightly touched his shoulder. A purple bruise had formed across his torso, caused by the seat belt. Worse, the dark color brought out the vibrant white scars decorating his chest. Like stars among the dusk sky. Turning away, the man finished undressing, washed himself in the shower, then filled up the tub for a good 15 minutes of pure bliss. He would have stayed in longer, but it was quite late. So, reluctantly, he shut off the jets and drained the tub.

Steam rolled out as Ryou opened the door and stepped back onto the soft carpet, his damp toes curling in it. A towel was wrapped loosely around his waist, while another was roughly scrubbing his soaked hair. It was grey with the burden of water, and yet everything that escaped the towel was already spiking up into it's usual style. His white skin had become flushed, and more spots of puncture scars became blatantly obvious. A horse shoe shaped line of unconnected dots.
 
Seto closed the door behind him briskly and scanned his bedroom as he made a mental tally of the more recent tasks he'd set up for himself.

Upon his own massive bed sat a gunmetal grey silk blanket with blue and silver trimming at the head and foot. His pillows were white silk, each trimmed with a solid color that matched the blanket. White chiffon curtains clung loosely to the black painted solid oak posts. The canopy was adorned in the same blue that matched the bedding. Though while the color scheme certainly could bring the creature to mind, his bed held no displays of the blue eyes.

However, there was a large, beautiful and intricate artistic rendering that sat perfectly framed by its two surroundin posts over the headboard in a way that gave no room whatsoever for the wall behind it to peek past. Across from the foot of the bed was another framed artistic rendering of the blue eyes. Though it looked to be drawn by a young child. The sloppy signature of his little brother attested to the time it had been drawn as well. No other art adorned the clean white upper portion walls unless you counted the silver and blue divider that ran across them all in the center, or the black base below it.

The color schemes of the furniture within the room matched the bedding to a tee. There was a large soft leather couch, chairs, night stands and dresser, and of course a large desk that held his modest (in comparison) computer setup and gaming command center. Granted, he didn't it for gaming as often these days, but that was mostly due to the bigger and better toys he had to play with elsewhere. Still, one of the walls of his room was painted a pure, sterile white for the hanging projector to spread it's wall-wide gaming fun or television programs on.

If Ryou were to stay over more often, as Seto assumed he would if not for his job than for his friendship with Mokuba, the young president would need to know how he wanted his bedroom decorated and what pleasantries he'd want for use in it.

With a short sigh the young CEO made his way over to the computer and booted her up. GLADIOS wasn't in a talkative mood after the way Ryou had dug into her, but he had ways of getting her attention. Besides, he needed to check on how well, or horribly, the evacuation drill he'd order earlier was going. He was sure to pull out a small note pad to hand to the kid for instructions on how he wanted his room the next time he saw him.

As he worked on several things pertaining to that day, including looking in in detail on the progress his new assistants game was making, he heard the bat water running in the next room over. Because of it, a shower sounded far too enticing not to take for himself. So he paused his work and took a nice long, cleansing shower for himself. It ran at the same time as Ryou's and lasted a bit longer than the filling of the tub. There were no worries on the water turning cold in the process. That simply didn't happen. Hell every occupant of the mansion could probably shower at once and be fine. Each en suite bathroom held it's own water heater. There was no avoiding the need with the size of those tubs.

It was when he was changing into his plain white pajamas that he remembered there was no clothing set up in the other bedroom. Before getting back to work he pulled out a matching white pair of button down top and elastic waisted pants for the smaller man and tossed the notebook on top of them as not to forget it when he took them to him. The tiny albino man might drown in them a bit, but it would be enough for tonight if nothing else.

A near growl pierced the silence of his room as he pulled up the security feed in the offices. Aside from the norm this late in the night, there was no activity going on within the building. It took less than thirty seconds for him to grow annoyed enough with what he was seeing to turn the screen off and search out his cuff links.

Needing something to do aside from yell at the moronic security team to let off some of the steam that had accumulated due to their ineptitude, Seto left his room and headed for Ryou's as he pressed down on the communication device and all but growled into it. "Listen up you deadheaded dipsticks!" He didn't need to see the screens to know precisely how sharp his voice brought these men to attention. They at least knew how to do that right.

"I gave you an order this morning to hold a drill and evacuate the building tonight. I recall that you're already aware that when I give an order to run an exercise I expect you to do it over again until you've got it perfect. Get to work. And don't forget..." The cruel smirk that crossed his face for the threat he'd made earlier that day was most likely palpable. He had no doubt it formed a shiver from every one of their cores. "You have a test in the morning."

He could have been much more cruel. He could have ranted about their idiocy for much longer. He could have, but he didn't. Mainly because he had reached Ryou's door within a few strides and was more interested in telling him what was what to his face.

A quick rap to the door was offered as a common curtesy before the tall man opened the door firmly and stepped himself inside the room. Kaiba understood the concept of privacy perfectly. It was just that he was very used to doing such a thing with Mokuba, and the habit had carried over. As he stepped in, he informed the smaller male of his intent. "There are no clothes for you in here."

That was as far as he got before he noticed two things. The first was that through his raging over his sadly lacking security team he had left both the pajamas and notebook sitting on the foot of his bed. The second was... harder to explain.

Seto paused entirely as sky blue eyes that were wider than usual due to the slight shock and discomfort of having walked in on the man in nothing but a towel caused. He wasn't sure why the shock was even there. He should have realized before hand that might be the case if not more, everything considered. Although that shock didn't stop those wide eyes from travelling over Ryou's form unintentionally as he stood there for a moment dumbfounded.

He was able to snap out of it quickly, mere seconds even as a sudden lurch in his chest brought him back to the present. It came when he recognized the vast scarring that adorned the small man's body. Seto couldn't help but think that this kid was legitimately going to somehow give him a heart attack. Because the palpitation was strong enough that it traveled its fluttering pulse both up past the arteries in his neck and straight down past his belly. Seeing those scars had intrigued him for the strength they represented. And they'd instantly excited him into wanting to know more about them.

Perhaps maybe a little too excited.

A disgruntled noise and uncomfortable shifting away of sharp steel eyes was his initial response to the internal turmoil he suddenly seemed to be facing. But having been brought back to the present he simply shook his head slightly to pull himself back together and began unbuttoning the shirt he already had on.

"I'm never going to hear the end of it when she finds out she hurt you," he mentioned, the shortness in his tone speaking more toward anger than annoyance as he scowled slightly when bringing up the bruise from the seat belt in order to change the subject for himself.

"Here," he added as he dropped the shirt from his shoulders and tossed it over to the other half naked man in the room. "Put that on and come with me to get your pants. We can talk about what you want your room to look like in mine."

Those cool eyes shifted back for a moment as he tossed the shirt his way, but shifted away again quickly as he turned on his heel and stalked from the room more quickly than he needed to. The short walk and change of scenery should be enough to quell the rapid pace of his heart. Or at least, he thought it should have.
 
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