Chapter Songs: David Cook - Time Of My Life, Shanice & Jon Secada - If I Never Knew You, and Lifehouse - You and Me

Chapter 39: Charity Ball

The moment Joan stepped out of the limo, Seto grabbed her and kissed her hard. The longer they spent apart, the more he burned for her touch, and actually touching her granted such sweet release.

Seto lingered on her lips until Mokuba barged between them. "Hey Seto, quit hogging her!" Mokuba examined the ring on her finger and kissed her left hand before moving up to her lips, his fingers trailing over her exposed neck.

While Mokuba still locked lips with Joan, Seto took her hand to get a closer look at the ring. There in all their glory, four birthstones adorned her ring finger. Seto's opal and the wage monkey's sapphire opposed one another in position but equaled one another in size along with Mokuba's ruby and Marc's peridot. It strangely comforted him to see all four of their names engraved there, proof that he comprised part of Joan's team set in stone, or rather metal.

Joan drew back to look at the brothers, noticing how they matched perfectly in their simple black suits with cerulean shirts and black ties. Joan wondered if this was by coordination or coincidence but decided not to question it. She linked arms with the brothers, and they headed up a red carpet together.

Cameras of every description tracked their every step, and reporters shouted for attention. Seto stopped at one to answer a few questions, and Joan flashed the rocks on her finger, explaining how she'd told the brothers no conflict diamonds and they'd come up with this. She did not, however, mention anything about her original, long-gone diamond ring passed down from Michael's grandmother and stolen by her ex-boyfriend. Though the thought crossed her mind and caused her some discomfort, the steady contact of the brothers kept a buoyant smile on her face through the entire red carpet ordeal.

Once inside, Joan found herself giving the same ring speech to CEO after CEO. Conversations quickly grew routine and tedious, never delving into anything beyond the physical as the game developers politely excused themselves to approach exciting new faces. Waiters with trays of hors d'oeuvres floated through the crowd, and Joan grabbed as many as possible out of sheer boredom.

A cutting remark from Seto towards a young man with magenta hair and honey eyes snapped Joan back to attention. She looked to Mokuba for an explanation.

"Leon von Schroeder, the younger brother of Zigfried von Schroeder," Mokuba said.

Joan's eyes lit up. "Brothers?"

"Don't even think about it," Mokuba warned. "Leon and Zigfried cheated in one of our big Duel Monsters tournaments several years ago."

"Come on," Leon whined, "you know that wasn't my idea at all. Zigfried talked me into it."

Joan took a good look at Leon and turned back to Mokuba. "Don't worry. I prefer guys who take at least some responsibility for their actions. Besides, the pink hair isn't doing it for me."

Seto smirked. "Even my whore has better taste than your family, Schroeder."

Leon blanched.

"Let me guess," Seto said, "your older brother talked you into dyeing your hair to match his. At least when I talk Mokuba into something, it actually looks good on him."

Leon rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, those suits do look pretty good on you two."

Seto's hand snaked around Joan's waist. "I wasn't talking about the suits."

"Yeah, um . . . I'm going to just step over here now. Bye." Leon left.

Mokuba sighed. "Seto, do you think we could actually make friends with people for a change?"

"Why, so we can invite them over for hanky-panky playtime?"

Mokuba looked aghast. "No. I mean like for regular stuff. The stuff we missed as kids."

Seto closed his eyes. He'd hoped that building Kaiba Land together and letting Mokuba run around with Yugi's geek squad would have filled that void, but clearly it hadn't been enough. "Mokuba, nobody's stopping you from making friends."

"I know, but I look up to you, Seto. When you don't like someone, I feel like I'm not allowed to like them either. I know it's stupid, but I feel like if I want to make real friends, ones we don't pay, I can never introduce you to them."

Joan blinked. The brothers had entered a staring match. All their feelings started bubbling to the surface: too real, too intense. Should she even be here right now?

"Excuse me. May I borrow this?" Marc showed up and pulled Joan away before either brother could protest. Marc guided Joan to the dance floor and led her in a slow waltz, easy for her out-of-practice legs to follow. "Have those boys been giving you trouble?"

"Nothing I can't handle," Joan replied.

"Oh really? You looked a little lost there." Marc spun her into a twirl and caught her again.

"It's just . . ." Joan spoke slowly, caught between focusing on the dance and the Kaibas. "Their childhood was so different from mine. They have wounds I'm not sure I'm capable of healing."

"As do I. It's not your job to do that for them, nor for me. Some wounds never heal but become part of who we are."

"That's bullshit, Marc. You and the Kaibas wiped out my agoraphobia. Granted you probably didn't understand what you were doing at the time, but you did it all the same." Joan couldn't tell if her agoraphobia was gone for good, but at the moment, she felt invincible in Marc's arms.

"That's only because you made the choice to let us help you."

"So what about you? Will you ever make the choice to let me help you?"

A tiny smile quirked Marc's lips. "We're not to that stage in our relationship yet."

"Really?" Joan briefly removed her hand from his shoulder and held the ring before his face. "This says otherwise."

"Not sure why Mokuba insisted on including me there, but I'll admit I'm flattered. You're becoming quite important to me."

Joan gave a slight shrug. "We wouldn't have met without you."

"It's still overkill, but fine. Let's see where this goes." Marc finished the dance with a deep dip and sensuous kiss.

"Disgusting!" one bystander declared. Catcalls and wolf whistles ensued, drowning out jeers, but Joan paid them no mind as she enjoyed the way his powerful, graceful muscles rippled under her hands. Mokuba and Seto came over to witness the spectacle.

Marc spoke into Joan's ear so nobody else could hear. "Let's give them a real show." They went into a slightly faster foxtrot, and Joan managed to keep up; the waltz had warmed up her legs well. Marc's dark walnut eyes captivated Joan as she savored the moment. The noise from the crowd died down as the observers became enthralled by the performance.

Marc released Joan, spinning her into Seto's waiting arms. Whispers abounded as the CEO of Kaiba Corp. took control. For the first time in his life, Seto felt grateful for the excessive ballroom dance lessons his adoptive father had forced on him and Mokuba so they could make a good impression at events like these. His flawless precision kept Joan in step as she followed his lead.

Seto handed Joan off to Mokuba, again generating whispers from the crowd but fewer this time. With such a smooth exchange, some of the bystanders missed the moment and only later realized that she had taken on the younger Kaiba brother. Even Joan had difficulty distinguishing between their dance styles. However, Mokuba's movements felt more fluid and natural, as if he had spent more time cultivating his skills outside of lessons. At the end of the song, Mokuba bowed to Joan and kissed her hand. Hoping to see something more scandalous, the disappointed gawkers lost interest.