GOSH DARNIT SETO AND NOAH NEED TO HAVE SOME MORE POSITIVE INTERACTION
LORD KNOWS IT WONT HAPPEN IN THE ARCS (as far as Ive written it)
~*~*~*~
The elevator dinged as it hit the top floor, and as soon as it split, Noah followed Mokuba down the hall.
“I still don’t see why you wanted me here,” He arched a brow, “Dad n’ ‘Tem are WAY more passionate about Duel Monsters. I mean, I love it, but…”
“Trust me,” Mokuba smiled, “I wanted you for this. And besides, you know Yugi, Atem, and Seto will all be super biased.”
“Can’t argue with that one…”
But, when they went into the office, both straightened upon stepping over the threshold.
He seemed to be leaving, but Seto shut the lid to his briefcase before turning to look over at them. He donned a black suit instead of white, but the bright blue tie was still in place, bangs falling over his eyes enough to make his expression unreadable.
Noah immediately tensed, glancing off and away while Mokuba relaxed.
“Hey, Seto. I thought you left already?”
“Came back for a few things,” Seto answered tersely, before leaning back against his desk and crossing his arms, “This, being one.”
“I told you I could handle it…” Mokuba halfway grumbled before frowning, “Look I know you’re gonna pick Blue-Eyes.”
“Not for that,” Seto looked past Mokuba to Noah. “For him.”
Noah tensed even more, rigid and dropping a small, nearly-inaudible “Shit.”
“I brought him, Seto,” Mokuba tried to explain, frown still in place, “After all, getting another opinion won’t hurt.”
Seto still had his eyes clearly on Noan, who avoided looking at him by any means necessary.
“Give us a minute.” Seto looked to Mokuba expectantly.
Noah started edging back towards the door while Mokuba frowned, “Are you sure that’s—”
“Just a minute. I’ll need to catch my flight soon.”
Mokuba shrugged, “A-All right, I guess.”
Noah cringed, swerving back around when he had been just over the threshold.
Mokuba stopped next to him, patting his shoulder with a smile of apology, “Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite. I’ll be back in just a bit to get your input.”
Noah frowned after him, but then took a couple steps back inside. He stayed right by the door, but kept his arms crossed in front of him as he kept his gaze on the wall nearby and not Seto.
Seto still stared at him, examining him.
A full minute quickly passed, until Noah finally sighed tersely.
“Look, if you’re gonna go on about what happened a few years ago, just get it over with already.”
His shoulders grew rigid with his discomfort.
“You’re doing that quite enough for both of us.”
Noah’s shoulders dropped, and he finally looked back over to see Seto had walked over to him. Only the three stairs between levels of the office separated them.
“Tell me,” Seto replied, eyeing him, “If I asked you about Yugi three years ago, what would you have said?”
The question caught Noah off-guard, and he flushed with embarrassment as he still recalled the feeling, his chest tight and blood pounding.
“I-I…” His voice was softer than he meant it to be, “I-I would’ve said I don’t know him…Or…o-or strode out…or just…remain silent…”
He looked off, “I-I wouldn’t’ve told you… ‘he’s not who you think he is’…”
A frown came over his face, looking further away, “Why would you care? Y-Your whole rivalry was with Atem.”
“Your father is a respectable duelist,” Seto countered firmly, “And kind, to the point of naïvty. Or at least he was.”
Seto folded his hands behind him, “When he walked in here three years ago—you, the Pharaoh, and two childish girls in tow—he looked…different, I suppose you would say. Beaten. Worn. There was a shadow to his eyes.”
Noah’s eyes narrowed into a small glare. “You wouldn’t understand, Kaiba.”
“He was in those damned shadows.”
Noah’s eyes were wide, startled before he looked back over.
Seto stared back, until he climbed the last three steps, towards Noah. “While I might’ve fully believed it all to be some mind trick, Mutou—I guarantee, I know I saw Mokuba almost get hurt more times than I’m pleased to remember. All in the span of a few years.”
His eyes narrowed, “Something I noticed in you, when you were shouting like a child in here three years ago. That was only once you knew what had happened. But, you said yourself: before Yugi came back, you didn’t believe in anything.”
Noah’s shoulders hunched again with slight shame while he looked off, “Get to your point, Kaiba.”
“The point is this: stop dwelling on the past.”
Noah straightened, before frowning, “I-I’m not—”
“If you weren’t,” Seto interrupted, “I’d be speaking with a young man, not a child.”
“I’m not a child!” Noah argued, straightening.
“Act like it.”
Noah huffed and looked off, “What right do you have to tell me that?—Trapping Dad and Mom and everyone in some death trap cuz you losf a game–?”
“When you lose the only thing you hold as ‘important,’ everything is personal,” Seto straightened, “And that was before I realized how important Mokuba was. Just as you eventually realized how important your family and friends were to you.”
Noah softened at that, before sighing softly, and he frowned at Seto, “And ‘dwelling in the past’?”
“Even though you know fully well what happened to Yugi,” Seto explained, “And the two of you have been growing closer, you still feel guilty about everything.”
At that, Noah was silent, shoulders once again rigid while his glare finally fell away.
“You may not realize it, but Yugi’s guilt is hundreds of pounds heavier than yours.” Seto’s frown didn’t change, “And it probably only makes him feel worse to see you still ‘affected’ by it.”
He started back over to his briefcase, at his desk, “Yugi is exactly who I think he is: stubborn, too-caring and devoted to friends and family.”
Noah’s gaze moved to the floor, smiling softly, before looking back up with a frown. “…Why?”
Seto picked up his briefcase, “You’ll need to be more specific.”
“Wh-Why are you telling me this? Taking the time to talk to me? I-I wasn’t exactly… ‘respectful’ last I was here…”
“For that reason,” Seto came back up the steps, standing next to Noah and frowning down at him, “If you keep dwelling on the past, Mutou, you’ll make a lot of the same mistakes I did. Learning from mistakes are crucial; dwelling on them will only prevent you from moving forward.”
Noah finally smiled weakly, giving a small nod of agreement.
As Seto opened the door, Noah straightened, “Hey—”
Seto paused without turning to him.
“I-I’m sorry about all the stuff I said before,” Noah smiled, “Thank you.”
Seto glanced back, before giving a quiet scoff and heading out.
As he did, Mokuba finally came back in, sighing with relief. “Well, it doesn’t look like you two clawed each other’s eyes out…”
He smiled and held up his clipboard, “Now, how about that design input?—We still need a central Duel Monster to be chosen for putting out the stuffed animal set.”
Noah looked over the three designs carefully: Exodia, Kuriboh, Dark Magician, and Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
He handed the clipboard back with a smile, “Actually, I think Blue-Eyes is your best bet.”
Mokuba was startled, before he frowned, “Did Seto talk you into this…?”
Noah looked back down the hall, just as Seto got in the elevator and left.
