FicWad

In the VIP area at the top of the stairs, the group were unhappily acting out the dictionary definition of 'awkward'. Yugi had gamely tried to keep conversation going with a story of their visit to the Statue of Liberty the previous day. However, as most of the group had been present on the trip, and Mokuba had already heard the story from Serenity earlier in the evening, Seto was the only one for whom the conversation stood any hope of being entertaining. His stony faced demeanour however hinted at the fact that he wasn't playing the game.

'- And then we went on this tour and we actually saw the original torch that the statue used to carry.' Yugi ploughed on bravely.

'Really?' asked Mokuba politely, cringing slightly as his brother rolled his eyes.

'Téa!' Joey shouted enthusiastically, and with a hint of desperation in his voice, as his friend reached the top of the stairs, 'there you are! Why don't you come and join us? So, what have you been up to?'

Téa smiled widely at the group dragging an unusually subdued Mai up to stand next to her, right in front of Seto.

'I haven't been up to anything, Joey. How about you?' her voice was strained with subdued glee and her eyes seemed to be working overtime, flitting between Mai, Seto and her friends in an exaggerated manner.

'Umm, I've not been up to much,' Joey stuttered, confused by his friend's peculiar behaviour. 'Just, you know, talking to Kaiba here.'

'Oh yes, Kaiba!' Téa grinned at the CEO who seemed fairly taken aback by her sudden intense interest. 'How lovely to see you! Now, tell me... what have you been up to recently?'

Seto narrowed his eyes suspiciously and ventured a quick glance at Mai who herself was looking at Téa in a very peculiar way. When she noticed Seto's gaze on her she quickly composed herself and met his stare with little more than a raised eyebrow and the slightest cold smile pulling at the side of her mouth.

He mirrored her expression, suddenly wary of seeming too pleased to see her in front of the others. He did allow his smile to convey a little more warmth than hers however, although that didn't say much. For a moment or two they stood like that, looking at each other, neither saying a word. Both lost in their own thoughts, it took a moment or two for each of them to realise that all other conversation had ceased, to be replaced with some frantic movements that intruded on their peripheral vision.

Cutting his eyes to the left, Seto saw Téa making some wild hand gestures which were quickly converted into a casual brushing down of her top when she noticed Seto watching her.

Mai, looking the opposite way, saw Joey, on the receiving end of Téa's gesticulations, pointing incredulously at Seto and then at herself. He froze as he realised that she had caught him. Mai raised her eyebrows at him and gave him a long glare which he at least had the decency to looked cowed by.

Despite her icy appearance, Mai felt her heart beating rapidly and became aware that her hands felt clammy. Probably just a result of dancing, she told herself, steadfastly ignoring the other explanation that flitted, unbidden through her mind. She felt the sudden need to get a bit of space, gather her thoughts and regain her usually composed demeanour.

'I'm going to the bar,' she started decisively, tapering off somewhat lamely as her sentence was finished by Seto who had chosen that exact moment to say make the same firm statement.
Seto looked at her with a sudden frown, wondering if she had somehow managed to do that on purpose just to make him look stupid.

Mai also scowled, feeling more and more anxious by the minute, painfully aware that all her 'friends' were now staring openly at the two of them, grinning their heads off. They're just loving this, she thought bitterly, coming to the conclusion that this was all somehow Seto's fault.

She took a quick breath and stared straight at Seto.

'I'm going to the bar,' she said again, slowly and clearly as if daring him to pull the same trick twice. 'I'll get in a round for anyone who hasn't already got a drink.'

She looked pointedly at Seto who suddenly realised he was still holding a nearly full glass of whisky. He looked at the glass in horror feeling an unfamiliar feeling of mortification run through his veins. He contemplated just how stupid he must look right now and gripped the tumbler in a white knuckled grip as he let his frustration wash over him.

He wondered at his own emotions, wondered why he was feeling this flustered. The only time he ever remembered feeling like this was when he was duelling Yugi. In fact there was such a familiar sense that he was somehow being out manoeuvred in a battle of wits that, in his mind, he could almost hear the electronic beep that accompanied the loss of life points during a duel.

He finally looked up from his glass to see that Mai, having quickly taken some drinks orders, was already on her way to the bar. He looked at the people around him who were all, his traitorous brother among them, looking at him expectantly.

Seto grimaced slightly as he made the decision on his next move. Raising his glass to his lips he drank down his second whisky in one gulp, slammed it on the table and stalked off after Mai.

OooooO

Okay, this is fine, Seto thought to himself as he made his way to the bar area, all I need to do is start talking to her like before.

He recalled their easy conversations, the companionable openness that they had both reached when in the lift. Ignoring the fact that they had kissed, it had been the conversations that he had often recalled with a fond smile over the past week. Talking to Mai had been easy, and pleasant, and fun and not at all like any other conversations he generally had week on week.

Okay, so tonight she had been a bit... hostile so far but that was surely because, like him, she didn't want the rest of the geek squad sticking their noses in where they weren't wanted.

As he neared her he became aware of a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. He quickly dismissed it as a result of the second whisky.

Mai had seated herself on a tall bar stool and was leaning over the counter trying to see into the back room where the only barman was chatting to his friend, studiously unaware of the fact that he had a customer waiting.

'Hi.'

Mai jumped slightly at the sound of the voice right next to her. She turned to find herself staring straight into Seto's eyes.

'How are you?' he asked. 'How's your arm?' he consciously made his tone pleasant and polite. After a moment he even added a smile for effect.

'Oh,' Mai felt her mouth beginning to form a smile of its own and stopped herself just in time. She gave him a level look, 'just peachy thanks,' she stated with just a hint of sarcasm. Keep it cool, she told herself, just because I'm pleased to see him, doesn't mean he should know it.

'I half expected to find you filing a law suit,' Seto said conversationally, 'for damages incurred as a result of aggressive actions taken against an employee of Kaiba Corp.'

Mai looked at him blankly and Seto found his smile faltering slightly.

'Or, at the very least against the use of such hard floors in the Kaiba Corp. lifts,' this time Seto gave her his most winning grin.

Mai raised an eyebrow but still said nothing.

'Of course,' Seto went on, when the weight of the silence seemed to have hung in the air for a painfully long time, 'the Kaiba Corp lawyers would have crushed any case you tried to make against us. We have whole teams dedicated to undermining possible allegations. They would have had the case thrown out quicker than you could say 'compensation' and probably would have ruined you in the process,' he laughed and then frowned slightly.

What the Hell am I talking about? He asked himself sternly. I'm babbling. When the Hell did I ever babble? The sound of an electronic counter sounded in his head as he envisaged a few more life points disappearing.

Seto's perplexed mind flashed back to their time in the lift together. This time, instead of the laughing and chatting, he recalled the long painful silences; the frosty atmosphere of barely concealed mutual contempt; the fact that she had called him a jerk numerous times. For some reason he had forgotten that. Until now.

Mai stared at him for a moment and then turned away to look again for the barman. With her face safely hidden she allowed herself a small smile at his expense. She was starting to get the feeling that she could have some fun with this.

'I thought I could give you a hand with the drinks,' Seto started again, determined to get the conversation back on track.

Mai forced her features back into a semblance of indifference before turning back to Seto. 'What,' she asked innocently, 'paying for them?'

'Oh, uh, I was more talking about helping you carry them...,' Seto stuttered, suddenly feeling flustered, 'but yes, I could -,' he began searching his coat for his wallet which, under normal circumstances, he would be able to take out without even thinking about it, but which now, under Mai's stare, seemed to have hidden itself away in an inaccessible inner pocket that required his full concentration to locate.

As Mai watched him fumbling about in his coat she bit her lip to stop from grinning. When he finally resorted to taking off his coat to search each pocket methodically, swearing lightly as he did so, she had to physically cover her mouth with her hand so that she wouldn't laugh aloud. She took a deep breath and removed her hand, turning away slightly so that he wouldn't see any residual laughter in her eyes.

'Don't worry about it,' she said waving a hand dismissively and looking in the opposite direction for the work-shy barman, 'it's my round anyway.'

Seto, who had just managed to successfully wrestle his wallet free from an inside pocket, was left staring at the back of her head. He looked at the wallet and then back at Mai and frowned. Great, he thought to himself, now I can add clumsiness and fumbling stupidity to this evening's newly acquired skills list. The imaginary life point's counter dropped a few more hundred points as he angrily thrust his wallet into the back pocket of his trousers and placed his coat over a nearby stool. He felt thoroughly frustrated and irritable.

Mai, who had just about managed to coax the grin from her face, turned back to Seto. She opened her mouth to say something but the words dried in her mouth as she looked at him.

Even in her surprise earlier in the evening she had been forced to admit to herself, however grudgingly, that he looked pretty good in his coat. Without it though, she was able to fully admire his tall, lean figure, shown off to great effect by his tight dark trousers. He was wearing a black, close fitting shirt that was slightly open at the collar, revealing his long, pale neck and just a tantalising amount of chest.

He was looking away from her slightly, fastidiously arranging his coat over the stool. Despite the fact that his hair was falling over his eyes, she could tell that he was frowning, his thin lips set in a slight grimace.

He straightened up and faced her, his eyes registered surprise and then suspicion as he saw her watching him.

'What?' he asked rather brusquely, clearly anticipating more humiliation.

Mai opened her mouth again, furiously willing her brain into action.

'What happened to your drink?' she finally managed, looking down at his now empty hands.

'I drank it,' he stated, rather coldly.

'Huh,' she looked at him with an expression of admiration; she hadn't ever taken him for much of a drinker. 'Best get you another then.'

Mai had turned away again and so missed the look of distaste that crossed Seto's face at the thought of yet another whisky. Mai was right in her supposition; he wasn't much of a drinker under normal circumstances. This evening, he thought, looking around the dimly lit club and catching sight of Yugi and the others, definitely doesn't come under 'normal circumstances'. He sighed inwardly as he watched the group all quickly look away, artlessly trying to pretend that they hadn't been watching. Maybe one more whisky won't be enough, he thought, dryly.

'I'm not having much luck here,' Mai suddenly said, irritably leaning over the bar and waving to try and catch the barman's eye to no avail. She turned to Seto and gave him the first warm smile she'd given him all evening. 'If you're any good at getting people's attention I could do with some help,' she said. 'I've been trying to call this guy over for the last few minutes but he's ignoring me,' she laughed slightly as if the scenario were preposterous. 'A girl could die of thirst!' she gave Seto another smile and then motioned her hand slightly in a subtle invitation for him to take a seat on the nearest stool.

He raised a cautious eyebrow before taking a seat. He had no idea what this woman was thinking. One moment she was staring at him, the next, ignoring him, then she was being icy cold and now she was inviting him to sit with her.

He wasn't sure how Mai was able to make him feel so completely out of control of the situation, but she was doing a damn good job of it. If it wasn't for the deep seated need to regain some dignity, not to mention a few of those life points that seemed to be steadily sliding away with each passing moment, he was pretty sure he would have given up and gone home a long time before now. Something in the back of his mind quietly hinted that there might another reason for his willingness to persevere with Mai, but he steadfastly ignored the thought.

Mai, aware that her invitation had lightened the mood slightly, was deciding how to handle the next conversation that arose. Too harsh and he was likely to walk, she decided, too soft and... she paused briefly as she watched him snap his fingers and instantly catch the barman's eye. Too soft and... what? They could become friends? They could kiss again? They could start a relationship? Her heart started beating faster at the thought of it and she had to physically shake her head to clear her mind and refocus. Too soft and I could spend another week moping about staring at the phone. Too soft and I could fall for him and let myself become weak. Too soft and I leave myself open to all sorts of emotions that I don't want to be feeling right now, she reminded herself firmly.

The barman finally arrived and politely took her order. She watched him as he moved around behind the bar, fixing the drinks, lost briefly in her own thoughts.

'Mai...' Seto's voice was also thoughtful, 'the others - Joey and Tristan, they seemed to think I had done something to upset you?'

She looked into his eyes. This was it, she thought, the possible acknowledgement of her miserable week. She was interested to hear what he had to say on the matter, keen to hear an apology.

'Really?' she asked innocently. 'What did you say to that?'

'Well, nothing,' he shrugged.

Mai looked at him, once again letting the silence hang heavily on his shoulders.

'You did seem a bit... tetchy though,' he said, smiling.

Tetchy? Mai blinked and felt a surge of anger rising in her chest.

'That'll be -' the smiling barman started only to find a fifty dollar bill slammed down on the counter in front of him.

'Keep the change,' Mai said sweetly even though her voice appeared slightly strained.

'Well, maybe 'tetchy' isn't the right word,' Seto mused; seemingly unaware of the danger he was putting himself in, 'certainly a bit... moody though.'

Moody?! She clenched her fists into a tight ball and worked on keeping her face impassive.

'It was almost like you were trying to avoid me,' Seto laughed innocently.

Mai shifted around on the stool so that she was directly facing Seto. Okay, she thought to herself, the gloves are off. A small part of her was aware that nothing Seto had said so far had, technically been untrue, but who the Hell did he think he was to actually say it?! She narrowed her eyes dangerously. There's no such thing as 'too harsh', she decided.

'Firstly,' she said softly, her eyes boring into Seto's, her tone icy cold, 'I was neither 'touchy' nor 'moody' in any way.'
Seto opened his mouth to speak by was quickly silenced by her glare.

'If, to your eyes, I appeared to be either,' she continued, infusing each word with venomous scorn, 'then I suggest that it is your perception that is skewed. After all, just because I didn't dance a merry jig at your arrival, it doesn't mean I'm 'moody', more that I'm simply under-whelmed by your presence, and I'm sorry if that is such a shock to your huge ego that you have to interpret it as being a character flaw on my part.'

Seto winced under the force of her sarcasm. The electronic counter was whirring away furiously in his head.

'And another thing -,' Mai's voice was growing in strength and Seto saw, from the corner of his eye, the barman backing away quickly, 'I was not avoiding you. I just wanted to dance. I mean, that is allowed isn't it?'

She stared at him for a long moment and he suddenly realised that she was waiting for an answer.

'Yes,' he managed, a furrow appearing on his forehead.

'It's not against some sort of 'Kaiba - rule' that I don't know about?'

Again she gave him the long stare.

'No,' he said after a moment, wondering vaguely why his brain seemed to have given up on any pretence on being able to cope with this situation.

'Well then!' Mai gave him a final glare before turning away haughtily.

Seto stared at the back of her head and frowned in consternation. He couldn't remember the last time he felt like this. Probably not since he had left school - primary school at that. He was beginning to seriously question his own sanity for wanting to spend any time with this woman who seemed to be able to habitually humiliate and frustrate him in equal measures.

I'm Seto Kaiba! He reminded himself. People simply do not talk to me like that! I'm respected and important and... and I don't have to put up with it!

He considered saying all of this to Mai, but he could picture all too well how she would simply laugh in his face. He scowled at the thought but then, thinking how ridiculous such a statement would sound, even to his own ears, he let his shoulders slump slightly and gave a slight sigh. If this had been a duel, he reflected, his life points would now be in the red. I need the conversational equivalent of one of Yugi's deux ex machina cards that he always pulls out of the hat at the last minute, he thought. But with his ears ringing from Mai's words and his brain feeling numb from exhaustion, he couldn't think of anything clever or witty to say.

'Mai,' he started, his tone of voice so flat and defeated sounding that Mai turned slightly to look at him, 'I flew in three hours ago and I've had very little sleep. I've got meetings all day tomorrow that'll probably take me non-stop right through until late evening. It's two in the morning London time, I've spent most of the day on a plane and seventeen hours ago I watched a man throw himself off a building,' he paused and looked around him.

'Now I'm at a night club of all places,' he continued with a bemused frown, 'with Yugi Mutou and his moronic friends. I've downed two large glasses of whisky in fairly quick succession, which, I have to say, doesn't feel too good on an empty stomach. But the worst thing is that I'm aware that I've done something to upset the one person that I came here for,' he paused, looking earnestly at Mai who was regarding him with a puzzled expression on her face. 'And maybe I'm too tired, or too drunk, or just too plain stupid, but I don't know what I've done or how to fix it.'

There was a long pause.

'There it is,' he added standing up. He turned away and picked up his coat, smoothing out the creases in the fabric with one hand.

Mai watched him, trying to organise her dazed thoughts as she did so. She hadn't, for one moment, considered the possibility that she could fall for Seto whether she was nice to him or not. She realised that, if she didn't say the right thing now, he would simply leave and that would be the end of it.

'You saw a man throw himself off a building?' she said eventually, her tone and expression unreadable.

Seto paused midway through putting his coat on and looked at her. 'Yes,' he replied, and shucked the coat onto his shoulders.

'He wasn't trying to avoid you by any chance?'

Seto looked sharply at Mai who was regarding him with a face of pure innocence. Only a sparkle in her eyes and the tiniest twitch pulling at the side of her mouth gave her away.

Seto scowled slightly. 'He was as it happens.'

Mai allowed herself to break into a huge grin. 'I love stories of your life,' she stated happily.

Seto shook his head in bemused wonderment. 'Do you ever let up?!' he asked irritably, even as he felt the tension of the last few minutes being washed away by her sudden good humour.

Mai started laughing.

'It's not funny!' he snapped even as he too began to smile.

Mai's smile faded slightly. 'He didn't die did he?' she asked, suddenly concerned.

'No.'

'Well then,' she stated with a renewed grin. She took hold of three of the drinks from the bar, leaving her own martini and Seto's whisky where they were. 'Look,' she said genially, 'I'm going to take these drinks over and then... I'll come back and you can tell me the whole story, okay?'

Seto held her gaze for a moment, feeling her sudden warmth wash over him. It was a nice feeling.

'Okay,' he said.