Two Truths and a Lie

Warnings : occasional swearing

(more warnings mentioned in previous chapters)

Disclaimer : I do not own Yu-gi-oh! or any of its characters.

Recap of Chapter 11 :

"So… whatcha doin'?" Katsuya approached from the side, peering over Kaiba's shoulder.

He had just finished taking out all of the things that he needed. He didn't look over to the blond as he responded in a fairly blunt manner. "Cooking."

He could picture the eye-roll that accompanied Katsuya's next comment. "Yeah, I knew that, but what are you making?"

"...Spaghetti."

Chapter 12 :

Katsuya glanced up from the set dinner table to look at the face of the satisfied CEO. "Spaghetti. Really?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Kaiba met his gaze lazily while wiping his hands with a kitchen rag.

"Of course not." Katsuya replied quickly, immediately reconsidering his quizzical remark.

"Then why the reaction?"

"Well, I was expectin' you to make something more fancy, I guess." He let out a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously, watching the burnet as he returned the kitchen rag back to its place, hanging under the stove.

"Well, anything can be considered fancy when considering your audience." The lanky businessman commented evenly while returning back to the dinner table.

"Oh, I see." Katsuya mumbled, but scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. Was that just a broad statement or a subtle dis toward him? He assumed that the brunet was implying the former... but let it slide, enjoying the current atmosphere between them. It was also a new situation. He had never seen Kaiba do anything so… human and casual. Katsuya chuckled then froze as a sharp, azure glare was shot in his direction.

"What on earth would cause you to utter such a miserable sound?"

"Hey! Like you're one to talk, rich boy! Where are you goin'? Don't turn your back on me!" The burnet duelist had turned and was walking through the kitchen archway. Katsuya followed - then walked straight into the back of the taller man. Kaiba shot a glare behind him before ignoring him.

"Mokuba! Dinner!" The CEO called up the stairs, arms folded across his chest.

'Oh…' the blond thought to himself, sheepishly rubbing his throbbing nose, while stepping to stand to the side of the businessman.

"Coming!" The high-pitched shout of the dark-haired youth was heard in response. They both listened to the falling footsteps of the teen before he appeared at the top of the staircase. Mokuba cracked a smile and launched himself down the stairs - two at a time. Katsuya grinned once again over the the enthusiasm expressed by the highschooler. The blond noticed that Kaiba was shaking his head and mumbled something like "told him to settle down."

Once Mokuba reached the bottom of the staircase, they all headed into the kitchen and sat at the dinner table. They each dished themselves up and took a few bites. It was seconds before both Katsuya and Mokuba set their utensils down. Mokuba pushed aside his plate.

"You haven't improved at all." The youth frowned in disappointment.

Katsuya glanced between the brothers before saying, "I thought that you said you could cook…"

"I can cook. The quality of the food was never brought up into conversation." Kaiba locked his jaw and his mouth was set in a stubborn line of anger.

'That's twisted thinking - but that's just Kaiba.' Katsuya thought to himself. 'But he's right. It's just funny that the food looks really good and he followed the recipe perfectly… and it still ended up tasting awful.'

The shorter duelist sighed aloud then said, "Alright." He scooted his chair out from under the table. "My turn."

Seto Kaiba watched with reluctant admiration. Katsuya was confident and skillful. He made the same process of food preparation seem so effortless. The CEO was proud of his chopping abilities. He was good with knives. But the blond was on another level. Mokuba sat at the kitchen stool next to the island, across from Katsuya, following each movement from the professional individual with his eyes. Kaiba could see the admiration sparkling from his younger brother's eyes, and feared that his expressed the same.

They ate Katsuya's version of the spaghetti gratefully. The food looked almost exactly the same - but the shorter duelist's was vastly more enjoyable. Kaiba was particularly bitter about that fact.

Mokuba cleared his third plate before leaning back against his chair. "Man, I'm stuffed. Thanks, Jonouchi! It was great." He gave a large smile. "You know what? You should stay here and be our cook!"

"That won't be necessary Mokuba." Kaiba immediately responded, setting down his utensils on his plate. It was his first plate, and he was still only half way through it. Katsuya keep a close eye on his progress with his food.

"Why? We've never had a chef or kitchen staff. You wouldn't allow it. It's a waste! And Katsuya is really good at cooking, obviously."

"Thanks. And I think that's a brilliant idea, Moky." Katsuya smirked as the CEO shot an azure glare to him. "I'll definitely be starting to come over more often."

"Oh, really? Why?" Mokuba asked curiously, leaning onto the table.

'Well, crap.' The blond duelist looked nervously over to the businessman at the head of the table. Kaiba seemed to be uninterested - but Katsuya knew how falsely that demeanor was being conveyed considering the context. "I justed decided that I want to spend more time with you, Mokuba."

"Yay! That's awesome. I'm glad!" The dark-haired youth beamed.

Katsuya sheepishly grinned. And heard a quiet sigh from the direction of the taller duelist. 'Kaiba must be relieved.' He stood and gathered the dirty plates that Mokuba and him finished before going to the sink to started washing the dishes.

Kaiba made Mokuba go finish his homework, sending the teen back up the stairs. He then put away the leftovers in their three door fridge before giving the kitchenware to the blond.

"I didn't think that you'd keep leftovers." Katsuya remarked while scrubbing the silver utensils. He noticed that the CEO had packed even his previously made spaghetti into the fridge as well.

"I don't appreciate wasting food, no matter how it tastes." Kaiba flatly replied.

"Hmm." The blond continued his task and began humming.

Kaiba leaned against the kitchen island.

Katsuya finished within half an hour and dried his hand with the kitchen rag that the burnet had used earlier. He turned and chuckled. The businessman had dozed off, his head drooped to the side.

Katsuya wasn't sure what to do. He shrugged. He went quietly out of the kitchen to the front door then yelled out, "Bye, Mokuba!" Afterwards, he went out into the night to walk home.

The End of Chapter 12

(A/N) I apologize for long wait for this update! I won't be able to post new chapters as often as I used to because of work and college. The chapters may also be much shorter, more like snippet scenes - which will help me update more quickly. Please bare with me and thank you for the support!