Seto let out a low growl as he pounded his fist against the hard cold steel of the elevator doors. "Is anyone out there?" He yelled out while trying to pry the doors apart to no avail.
"There's still two hours left of the party. I don't think anyone is going to come by until it starts to wind down..." ___ chimed in, trying to comfort the young president. He sighed heavily.
"Yeah." He folded his arms against his chest, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes unable to hide the irritated expression that took over his face. He was not a fan of being in a confined space for any prolonged amount of time, especially with others. He tapped his finger against the diamond face plat of his Kaiba Corp watch in anxiety. He glanced at ____ from the corner of his eyes while she sighed lightly, setting her clutch purse on the floor of the compartment. He watched her from his peripheral vision for a few minutes while she struggled to make herself comfortable in the other corner of the elevator. Stretching her legs, folding her legs, kneeling, crouching, he felt himself start to chuckle against his will the more she struggled. The champagne was obviously still swimming in his system, such an outward display of amusement was unlike him. At least if the elevator remained stuck for the next two hours it would give him time to sober up. She paused for a moment to give him a questioning glare when she heard him laugh before returning to her previous mission of trying to sit on the floor comfortable in her glamorous dress while not exposing herself to the handsome CEO. He took his jacket off & tossed it on the floor. "Might help." He commented, making a point to look away while doing so as to try to give off the notion of annoyance rather than letting her use his jacket out of care. She gingerly picked the jacket off of the floor but stopped dead in her tracks when the scent of his cologne came in contact with air around her. She held the jacket up to her face & snuggled it, trying to soak up every drop of the musky scent from the article of clothing. It was a habit she had with basically any men's cologne. If it smelled good it was instantly comforting to her beyond anything else. Seto raised an eyebrow when he noticed the embrace she had on his jacket and cleared his throat roughly. ____'s eyes opened wide & she gave him a sheepish chuckle before she set in on her lap which allowed her to cover herself so she was able to sit on the floor comfortably.
"It smells good..." She bit her lip and let out a nervous laugh. 'Wait...' A thought suddenly struck him. He knew her. They've met before. He had thought she looked familiar earlier at the beverage table but now he was absolutely certain of it. It was at a different charity gala years ago when Seto was still under the command of Gozaburo. Gozaburo held the event annually and he forced Seto to attend it each year. He was fourteen years old when he met her at the party. There was a commotion that distracted his step-father long enough for him to sneak away. 'I can't believe I didn't recognize her sooner.' She held his jacket the same way back then as she did just now which is what made the connection in his memory. He managed to sneak out of the mansion and into the garden. He thought no one else was around or else he would have been in extreme trouble if he were caught. He didn't realize that ___ was also wandering around the garden. He took his jacket off & threw his tie on one of the benches in the large gazebo that overlooked a field of flowers that seemed to stretch endlessly into the distance. He wasn't a fan of wearing such fancy clothes all the time but he knew that it would just have to be something he has no choice but to get used to. There were a lot of sacrifices he was making in an attempt to give his younger brother the life that he wished he could have. Their mother died in childbirth & their father passed away in a car accident. Their relatives only wanted them for the inheritance and once that was gone they were just thrown away like they were leftovers. Everyone wanted Mokuba but no one wanted to adopt Seto because of his age. Mokuba didn't want to leave the side of his older brother, however and for that Seto felt a sense of guilt. He didn't want to hold his brother back from anything in life so would accept any sacrifice to be able to make his brother happy and give him everything in the world that was relatively along the lines of a normal life. He stood up & walked toward a small pond that was next to the gazebo. He picked up a handful of small rocks and tried to skip them but ultimately failing due to the intensity of his throws increasing with each arm throw. He let out an angry growl and kicked the dirt beneath him in frustration. 'I wonder what Mokuba is doing.' He thought before he walked back to the gazebo with his shoulders slumped. He knew he couldn't stay away from the party for too long. His heart skipped a beat as he approached the gazebo. There was a figure leaning over the bench but he couldn't make out who the individual was due to the position of the columns blocking the silhouette. He tip toed up to the column & tried to hide himself as best as he could to take a glance at the person in secrecy. It was a girl. Her hair was almost white and her eyes were sparkling ocean blue. Seto had never seen her before. He could feel his face turn pink and his heart beat skip at the first sight of her. He watched her hold his jacket up to her face as she smiled into the fabric. It looked like she was rubbing her face against it.
"What are you doing...?" Seto questioned her in confusion as he stepped out from his hiding place. She jumped up & threw the jacket back on the bench in surprise.
"I'm sorry! It smells good..." She bit her lip and lowered her head, clearly embarrassed. "My name is ____. You are Seto Kaiba. What are you doing out here?" She asked him.
"I could ask you the same." Seto responded curtly while he put his tie & jacket back on. "I can't stay." He mumbled. He glanced over her shoulder to see figures of Kaiba Corp employees through the windows clearly looking for something or someone. "I can't get in trouble." He sighed and started to walk away but only managed to get a few steps before he stopped himself. He turned back around to face her & took his tie off. "Here." He held it out so she could take it. "I don't like them anyway." ___ smiled broadly, accepting the parting gift from the young boy. She held it up to her face & the sweet aroma of his cologne entered her senses. He glanced over his shoulder & smiled to himself when he saw the happiness he had given her with something so minute. The moment of pleasure he had felt was short lived, however. When he turned his head back to face the mansion he walked straight into Gozaburo's butler who immediately grabbed Seto by the ear and dragged him back into the party, leaving ___ in the garden by herself.
"We met a long time ago." Seto finally spoke, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen over the elevator for the last thirty minutes.
"I didn't think you would remember that." She responded, pleased by the sudden conversation. Seto was good at remembering people, places, names, he had to be but that moment was special to him. That was the moment when he learned just how happy someone can be with so little. It was that moment when she accepted his tie that Seto affirmed his promise to his brother; whether it was one million little things or a dozen large ones - he was willing to give him anything & everything to see that smile on his face - the smile of pure bliss. Seto's expression softened at the thought of his brother which ___ noticed. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked him. Seto snapped out of his trance like state & cleared his throat.
"I'm fine." He tried to hide the nervousness in his voice. He couldn't quite place why he was feeling so anxious, though. Sure, he didn't like enclosed spaces, he didn't like being in such close quarters with others but he only just started feeling this way when his memory was activated. 'It had to be her... or maybe it's still just the champagne...' He bit his lip, trying to reason with himself.
"I still have it."
"What?" He turned to look ___ who was now standing in front of him.
"The tie." Seto's head tilted in confusion seemingly on it's own. He couldn't figure out why she would keep such a silly thing, especially for four years. Before he could open his mouth to inquire she continued, "That was an important day for me. It was the day that I decided what I wanted my future to be." She leaned against the wall next to the president & tilted her head up to look at him. He had such a handsome profile, although he was attractive from every angle. Looking at him took her breath away. She had always wished that they could meet again, although not quite in an elevator. Still, she felt lucky and happy enough just to be able to stand next to the young CEO. His eyes shifted down to look at her. His face turned a slight shade of pink as her face was closer to his than he had anticipated. She could smell the champagne on his breath & he could feel her breathe brush against his skin as her breath quickened. He swallowed hard. He couldn't look away from her eyes, the waves of her ocean blue eyes were hypnotizing to him while his Sapphire eyes memorized her like diamonds. He watched her bite gently on her bottom lip. It made him feel a warm sensation start to develop in his chest, spreading throughout his whole body the longer they stood entranced with each other.