Disclaimer – I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of its characters.

Plot-OC Anshu © 16/7/2011.

This is derived from 'A Pragmatic Proposal.'

Seeking Commitment.

"Gods didn't grant you the gift of seeing yourself as others do."

Did they? - The implication in Téa's statement remained silent but not unspoken.

"No they didn't. Perhaps in their wisdom, Gods must've realised that the negativity might provoke suicidal tendencies in me." Seto Kaiba replied with a smirk, and supreme assurance.

He was mocking her and the gods, alike.

Cautiously, from the corner of her eye, Téa glanced at him. He was standing next to her, proud and tall, dressed in black slacks, black shirt, and a white trench coat. Azures seemed far away, deep in thought. Following his line of sight, she saw him observing the sunset. He looked calm in that rational manner of his that only he could pull off. Despite the calmness, she could feel the barely restrained energy emanating from him in hypnotic waves.

Seto's hands rested on the Domino Pier railings. He stood so daringly close that his metallic arm guard touched her pink and blue bangles. Subconsciously, Téa inhaled the essence of the spicy cologne rubbed on his skin. The smell jarred her senses, as if waking her from a deep trance and pulling her back to reality.

The reality in which his proposal still remained unanswered.

"And so here you stand... stewing in your own self-esteem?"

A faint laugh escaped him. "Self-praise is the utmost form of vulgarity, Gardner. But I don't sell myself short. It's a formidable task to accept who you are... and live with it."

She was thinking, a mile a minute.

She was also pretending to watch the Sun disappear behind an imaginary line... just like him. Although, she knew his definition of a sunset would differ vastly from hers. For he always preferred cold hard scientific facts. Given the right nudge and instigation, he would no doubt, and with an extreme satisfaction, first taunt her depths of ignorance. And then with an equally superior disposition explain her that it was the earth's motion that caused the illusion of a setting sun.

Téa thought it was ironic for someone who never believed in magic to witness one every day. And deny it.

"Why me?"

"Why not you?" He asked. And then a sudden thought struck him as he turned and saw alarm darkened her eyes. "Ah! I see. My reputation precedes me. Look, if you're worried about the changes then let me assure you that I'll be your husband, not your boss. I won't hire and fire you for being lousy and incompetent... and emotionally immature." – he added as an afterthought.

Seto knew she was stalling. He understood her reasons. He knew it was difficult for her to accept a man she didn't like. It was further daunting to marry him without love.

Yet, it was the best he could do to assure. "I won't look for financial gain or loss. I won't be prejudiced and partial."

"How about judging and begrudging?"

"You can't have it all, Gardner."

"You said, you'd give me time to think."

"You've had half an hour."

Was he serious? "I'm making a lifelong commitment, Kaiba. I need more time."

"I told you I've no time to spare for your pointless pursuits of friendship."

"But this isn't about friendship. This is about our Marriage." She was stunned by the sheer audacity of his proposal. And now with the urgency, her emotions were in total chaos.

He read her panic. "Commitment in the face of conflict produces character." In an attempt to calm her, he issued the challenge. "And the girl I once knew had loads..."

True to his words, an unbridled fire of passion lit in her eyes. Téa regarded him in a new light.

With his rich brown hair and piercing blue eyes, she'd always considered Kaiba dangerously attractive while not quite understanding why. But now, in this close proximity, she saw him with the eyes of a woman. Thus recognizing what she'd been too young to understand before.

Seto Kaiba was raw sensuality, untamed power as much as he was bones, and muscles, and sinew. He was someone who wore control as his second skin. Somewhere deep within her heart, Téa knew she never stood a chance against his willpower, single-mindedness, and total concentration to achieve a goal. And this time, she was his goal.

"Commit, Gardner." Commit to me.

"I do."