Can I Keep You?
By: Starian Princess

Tea invites Mokuba to watch the fireworks with her on New Year's, much to the young Kaiba's delight. But is this a chance for him to set her up with his older brother- who he thinks desperately needs a girlfriend? Or will he keep her all to himself for one special night?

Part 1

The lights glimmered brightly from atop the Ferris wheel as two figures walked at a steady pace towards the exit. One of the two, a raven-haired boy, had latched onto the taller figure and both were giggling at the thought of the wonderful day they had spent together.

"Thank you so much for coming with me to the amusement park today, Tea."

Turning to her younger companion, the brunette flashed a smile and winked. "No problem Mokuba. I did have tons of fun myself, you know."

"Really? Well, then I'm all the more glad that you came with me today!" With utter glee, the young Kaiba began pulling his friend toward a pink truck across the street.

And getting dragged along; the dancer could only laugh in amusement. "Where are we going Mokuba?"

"I'm gonna treat you to an ice cream cone of course!"

Stopping beside the vehicle, Tea peered inside the small window to check whether someone would attend to them or not. Seeing a man facing the other way, she knocked lightly on the outside of the van to get his attention.

She then looked down at the excited youngster beside her, who was no doubt already planning on what flavor to get.

"I was quite surprised that your brother actually let me take you, you know." She confessed, picturing the normally scowling CEO in her thoughts.

"Big brother isn't that mean, Tea. You should know with all the times you've been at our house, he actually isn't that bad around you right?"

She smiled. Truly, one of the only people capable of seeing through the cold duelist's veneer was none other than his own brother. It warmed her heart to know that at least with Mokuba, the teen could be himself. So many times had she tried to understand him, and she did feel that little by little she was being allowed to see who he really was.

She remembered countless times walking along the mansion's trails and gardens with Seto. Although he would usually remain silent as she did most of the talking, there were still the special moments when she'd catch a glimpse of the faintest smile lingering on his lips. These were, by far, one of the heavenliest moments in her life, she had to admit.

"Well, I'd have to agree with you. Kaiba really isn't that bad. He just needs the right person to bring out the best in him, much like you do." Picturing someone perfect with the one people at school normally called, "The Ice Glacier of Domino", Tea couldn't hide the brightest smile from appearing on her face. She didn't catch the look of disappointment cross Mokuba's though.

At first, the young Kaiba looked up in astonishment at the dancer. Her eyes had been twinkling, with all the sincerity in her words. And her gaze was all innocently blunt yet unquestionably loving in a sense. Could she have been possibly hinting that she was interested in his older brother?

His eyebrows creased as a frown followed his look of surprise. Although he'd always dreamt of the day his brother would find that special someone, he'd never really thought that that someone could be Tea. True, he'd always looked up to the girl and even called her "big sister Tea" at times, and that would've been one of the clear signs showing his brother and his "sister" were perfect for each other. But on the other hand, something seemed so awfully wrong to him about the whole arrangement.

Things could be falling into place right in front of him that very second. Perhaps Tea really did like Seto and for all he knew, his brother could feel the same way. All he had to do was watch from the side and let things happen for those two. So why couldn't he wholeheartedly want something so wonderful to happen between the two people who meant the world to him?

The answer suddenly hit him like a ton of bricks.

'It's because… I like her… I like Tea a lot more than I ever realized before.' He blushed a dark crimson shade as he looked up at the brunette just in time to catch her gaze.

"So what'll it be?"

"Huh?" Mokuba had lost track of everything. Had they been discussing something very important?

"What flavor are you getting?"

Sighing in relief that all she was asking for was what flavor he wanted, he smiled and answered, "Chocolate fudge!"

Tea grinned at his choice, inwardly thinking if she should get the same.

"Hmm… I'll get strawberry then." After deciding and giving both orders to the man inside the ice cream truck, she motioned for the raven-haired boy to come and sit with her on a bench beside the vehicle.

"Say, Mokuba?"

"What is it, Tea?" The light question had sort of caught him off guard. He stared questioningly awaiting her reply.

She simply winked playfully and answered in a cheery tone, "Do you wanna watch the fireworks with me tomorrow?"

"I'd… I'd love to!" Barely able to contain himself and the sheer happiness he felt inside, he launched himself at the dancer in a warm hug.

Tea giggled in delight. She was glad that she could make him happy. Mokuba meant the world to her.

"Let's meet at the bridge then at around 6:00 okay?"

"Yep!" He couldn't believe it. He may just have said "yes" to his first date ever. Although they had spent the day together to begin with, an amusement park just didn't have the romantic feel for him. He slightly wondered how come lots of couples liked going to carnivals and amusement parks on dates. They simply screamed the words "NO PRIVACY".

A sigh brought him back to looking at the girl beside him.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh it's nothing… Just that this is my first time celebrating New Year's without the gang. I felt really sad when Joey and Serenity went to visit their mom in Okinawa, Yugi and his grandpa went to Egypt to see his Dad, and even Tristan, Mai and Duke weren't going to be around. I had hoped maybe Ryou would be here, but then he left for England to visit his Dad yesterday. I'm glad they went to see their families but still, I wonder if they ever thought of me when they left. My parents aren't around because they're caught up with work in America. I was really about to cry and all, but then I realized…"

Mokuba looked up to see a stream of tears fall down her cheek.

"Tea…"

"I realized that you and your brother are here and no matter what, you two kept me company and took care of me. For that, Mokuba, I am very grateful and there's no one else I'd rather be with tomorrow than you and your brother."

Her face lighting up with just the thought of being with him made Mokuba want to throw his arms around her again. But what stopped him was that last part of her sentence.

"You want big brother to come?" He tried to hide the distress in his voice by putting on a kind smile place. He doubted that would get by Tea though.

"Well, yeah. Will he be busy at work tomorrow?" His only consolation would be that she didn't even stop to think of another reason as to why he could be displeased about his brother coming. Now, there was an opening for him to still be able to spend the night alone with her. He really didn't like lying to Tea but another part of him really wanted to be with her, and just her.

"Sort of. You know him; he never likes leaving things unfinished." The smile would have helped if it wasn't for the fact that he was twitching all over. But apparently, Tea didn't seem to notice so that was a good thing.

"Oh, that's too bad… Anyways," Getting up, he followed her back to the small window where the man was waiting for them to get their ice cream. "I should be taking you home now or I'll never hear the end of it from Kaiba."

-TBC-