I've never done a story like this. So please point out anything I need to work on.

Disclaimer: I don't and doubt I ever will own Yugioh. If I ever do, I'll be sure to let you know.

'Thoughts'

"Dialogue"

Chapter 1

Do I Have to Choose?

Tea Gardener fastened her small briefcase and headed for her secretary. The young woman, almost young enough to be mistaken for a high school student, was vigorously writing down some information onto a pad of yellow post-it notes. A phone rested on her shoulder, and she seemed engaged in conversation. Upon seeing her boss, she said a quick good-bye and hung up the phone. Hesitantly, she faced Tea, hoping her employer had missed the conversation between her and the caller.

"Susan, I sincerely hope that was a client and not your boyfriend. You know how easily I could find a new secretary," Tea said showing a mischievous smile. She knew Susan was a skilled employee, and the girl was still trying to balance her social life along with her working one. Even if Tea was one of the best wedding coordinators in the entire country, she trusted Susan and knew in due time, the girl would be a phenomenal employee. 'If only that time would come soon.' Tea silently wished that the girl would catch on fast because more and more people refused to have a wedding that wasn't planned by her, and she needed all the help she could get.

Susan failed to understand the fact that Tea was only joking and launched into an explanation. "I'm sorry, Ms. Gardener. It's my first year anniversary with my boyfriend. He called to inform me of our dinner reservations. I know I should have waited until lunch but-" Susan was cut off as Tea held up her hand.

"Just don't let it happen again. Anyways I came over here to ask what today's itinerary was," Tea waited for a response while pulling out her handheld organizer. Susan pulled out a small book, filled with the names of clients, the type of wedding they were having, and where they wished to meet with Tea.

"Well, you have a meeting in one hour with Mr. Kato and his future wife Ms. Kimura. They want to discuss a possible Italian Rivera Wedding with an ocean setting. After that, you're free until after lunch," she replied, snapping the book closed. Tea entered this into her handheld and carefully put it back into her leather purse.

"Fine. Until then, can you calculate the costs for the Ramsden wedding. I tried the figures last night, but they didn't seem right. I think I forgot something. Here's what I've done so far." Tea opened her briefcase and pulled out a piece of paper filled with numbers. She handed it so Susan. "I need the final numbers when I get back. They want to know as soon as possible whether they need to borrow any money from the bank." She turned to leave.

"Wait where are you going? The meeting is going to be here," Susan asked. Tea rolled her eyes and turned back around to face her secretary. 'Isn't it her job to know where I'm going?'

"I have to go look at some wedding cake styles," she replied simply before walking out of the room. Susan shrugged her shoulders and watched from the window behind her as Tea exited the building. She quickly redialed her boyfriend's number and was soon too busy in conversation to remember what Tea had asked her to complete before her return.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Tea glanced at the clock located behind the counter of the cake shop. She had that meeting in twenty minutes, and it took ten minutes to drive back to her office. There were still a few things that needed to be looked over before the meeting. 'Time to go.'

"Thanks so much. I have a few cakes in mind for the wedding. I'll be back tomorrow to talk more. See you later, Aiko." Tea told the owner of the shop. Aiko waved goodbye, and Tea hurried out the door.

Susan glanced up from her computer as Tea rushed into the room. She waited as Tea caught her breath.

"Please tell me you did the final calculations," Tea said. Susan blinked a few times before it dawned on her what Tea was talking about. Her features changed from one of happiness to one of horror. Tea sighed taking that as a no. Maybe she should find a new secretary. "Just finish it while I'm in the meeting. Are they here yet?"

Susan just shook her head still embarrassed about forgetting to complete one simple task. Tea normally would try to comfort her, but she was beginning to have doubts about the girl. If she couldn't remember to do something as simple as looking over some numbers, could she really be trusted to handle a wedding? Tea ignored the feeling that she should just find a new secretary as she began to look over the possibility of an Italian Rivera Wedding. The couple seemed to be well off, but this wedding would cost a fortune. She looked up when someone opened the door.

"Hello, Mr. Kato and Ms. Kimura. I've been expecting you. Sit down." Tea smiled at the couple as they sat down in the two empty chairs. "I understand that you wish to have an Italian Rivera Wedding with an ocean setting. After looking over your finances for the wedding, I don't think that would be the best option. This type of wedding is especially expensive because it's out of country, which I'm sure you already knew, and with the marriage laws, I highly advise you to reconsider this choice. Even though it's a dream to have that type of wedding, the last time I planned a wedding of similar sorts was for a couple that were millionaires."

Tea watched as Ms. Kimura's face fell. It was evident the woman had her sights set on that type of wedding. The couple exchanged looks and began to converse in whispers. Tea looked down at the papers on her desk. She hated telling couples they couldn't have their dream wedding because they couldn't afford it. But it was better that they save their money now, so they won't be in debt as a couple. That never helped a marriage.

"What would you suggest we do for our wedding then," Ms. Kimura finally asked. Tea was secretly glad they weren't going to argue. A couple she had helped a few years ago had insisted on having a more expensive wedding that they could afford. They ended up owing the bank so much they almost had to declare bankruptcy. She still regretted letting them have such an expensive wedding.

"I was thinking of a formal wedding at The Rose Castle's Grand Ballroom(1). It holds up to 1,000 people. There is a main foyer where we could hold the wedding, and the ballroom could be for the reception. That way no one has to drive from the wedding to the reception. It always gets so unorganized when people do that. There is enough room for plenty of decorations, and it will be a lot cheaper than the Italian wedding." Tea pulled out pictures of the ballroom. She showed them pictures of the last wedding held there. There were chandeliers that cast a soft glow on the guests. Flowers were placed in the centers of tables and candles were placed accordingly around the room. The couple gasped at its beauty.

"Yes, that might work. It's gorgeous," Ms. Kimura whispered still shocked at how enchanting everything looked. Tea smiled. Well, at least that was settled. Now they still needed to decide on the cake, flowers, food, guests, decorations, and a million other things. This could take awhile.

"So we are going to have it here?" Tea asked. She put the pictures in a manila folder.

"Yes. I think this is a great place to have the wedding. It may not be Italy, but it sure comes close," Mr. Kato answered. His fiancé nodded in agreement.

"Good. Now on to the flowers. I still would like to talk to a few people about that as well as the other details, so could we meet again to discuss those sometime in a few days?" Tea looked up at the couple who nodded in agreement. She pick up her organizer from her desk and programmed the information.

"I'm glad we found a place for the wedding. That will make things much easier. I'll have Susan call you with a date and where to meet to discuss the decorations. See you soon." Tea shut the door behind them. Sighing, she decided to see if Susan had the numbers yet. Then she could go to lunch.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Tea picked at her strawberry cheesecake. It had been a long day so far, and it was only half way over. Maybe she should take tomorrow off. When was the last time she had had a break? She even worked Saturdays and Sundays. As a wedding planner, you always had to be available. That had taken a toll on her social life. She used to always hang out with her friends. Over the years, though, they seemed to have drifted apart and only saw each other on rare occasions. She missed them so much, but they all had such busy lives.

She looked down at her half-eaten cheesecake. Maybe she should just ask for a box, go back to work, and decide if she could reschedule her meetings tomorrow. She was about to wave her server over, when she stopped. A woman by the door looked very familiar. She squinted to try to see the person more clearly. That couldn't possibly be who she thought it was. As far as she knew the girl still lived in Domino. What would she be doing here? 'Maybe I should just walk over and see.'

Tea started to search through her purse for money for a tip. She had already paid the bill, but she always felt she had to leave a tip. She jumped when someone laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Tea? It is you. Oh, I haven't seen you in years. How are you doing?" Tea turned around to face the person who had spoken. Serenity Wheeler.

"Serenity, I thought it was you. I'm doing fine. My business has really taken off. What brought you here?" Tea hugged her.

"Well, that's actually a long story. Do you have anywhere you have to be?" Serenity sat down in a chair next to Tea.

"I'm on my lunch break right now. If I don't get back on time, my secretary will know I had something important to take care of," Tea replied. Serenity nodded and took that as her cue to start her story.

"After you left, everybody seemed to go their separate ways. Tristan went to a college a few hours away. Yugi took some time away from the shop and went to Egypt. Joey and I moved into an apartment together, but he ended up going to the same college as Tristan. Duke's company has really taken off and he's been broadcasting it all over the globe. It's now is located in five different countries and he's currently in France. I haven't seen Mai in a long time, but Joey did say she's visited him a few times. Ryou went to a college in Japan for awhile, but then he transferred. I haven't really heard from anyone except Joey and Tristan, but they are really busy. I haven't seen them in a few months," Serenity paused taking a breath. Tea let this all sink in. She had been wondering what everyone was up to.

"So what about you? What have you been doing?" Tea asked. Serenity smiled.

"After everyone left, I finished high school. I took up a few jobs to pay the bills. For awhile, I felt alone. I tried calling you a few times, but your secretary always said you were busy-"

"She never told me you called," Tea cut in angrily. Knowing Susan, she had been to busy taking care of her personal life to tell Tea one of her friends had called. 'I wonder if anybody else has called and received the same response. What if something had happened to one of them, and I didn't know because Susan forgot to tell me? I think I should start looking for a new secretary. I thought she would pull through for me but apparently not-'

"Well that explains why you never called me back." Serenity mused interrupting her thoughts. Serenity had often wondered if Tea even cared about her anymore, but now she knew the truth. She realized she was never really alone; it had just seemed that way.

"So what happened?" Tea finally asked. Serenity took a deep breath, not sure how Tea would react when she found out the secret even Joey didn't know.

"Umm…I met someone. I didn't think it would work out at first, but we ended up going out. He's asked me to marry him." Serenity lowered her eyes from Tea's questioning gaze. She wanted to tell someone, but she wished she had thought through how to deliver such mind-blowing news.

"Who is it? Tristan?" Tea guessed. He had never hid his feelings towards Serenity, but the girl had never seemed to return them. Did she have a change of heart? Perhaps she now saw him as more than just her brother's best friend. Serenity shook her head in response. 'She seems nervous. Is it someone I wouldn't approve of?'

"Serenity, you can tell me. I promise I won't judge. If you really love him, then you two should be together. Even if it's someone like…Kaiba." Tea threw in a random name of someone she didn't like. Seto Kaiba…the seemingly heartless CEO of KaibaCorp who had cause more than enough problems for her and her friends.

Serenity paled as Tea said this. Tea frowned. 'Was it something I said?'

"Actually, it's kind of funny that you mention his name," Serenity tried to laugh, but the look of shock on Tea's face stopped her.

"Are you telling me that the guy who proposed to you was…Kaiba?" Tea could hardly comprehend it. There had to be something she was missing. There was no way a sweet girl like Serenity could fall for someone like Kaiba. His brother, maybe, but not him.

Serenity looked away. She tried to think of someway to make Tea understand, but came up empty-handed.

"Are you mad?" she ended up asking. That was confirmation enough for Tea to know it was true. She was bewildered to say the least. 'How could this happen? There is no way. Kaiba is always so busy. He has his company and brother to take care of. And why would he pick her of all people?' Tea was surprised by her last thought but pushed it aside. She needed to know something first.

"Did you say yes?" Tea silently prayed that she didn't, but she knew Serenity wouldn't have brought it up otherwise. Serenity nodded. Tea drew in a sharp breath. She went away for a few years and all this had happened while she was gone. She wondered if there was anything else she didn't know about.

"Tea, you promised you wouldn't judge," Serenity whispered. Was she kidding? If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't have judged. But this was Kaiba. He had insulted them every chance he got, caused Yugi to lose his star chips in Duelist Kingdom, made it known to the world he hated Joey-

"Does Joey know?" Tea suddenly asked. Serenity hadn't been expecting that question.

"No, I'm afraid to tell him. He's never liked Seto, and I doubt he will approve of us getting married," Serenity replied. Tea's frowned when she referred to Kaiba by his first name. So it really was true. They really were going to get married.

"Oh," came Tea's reply. She wasn't exactly sure what to say. As much as she wanted to congratulate Serenity, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Serenity seemed to be waiting for her to same something, but Tea just sat there with a dazed look on her face.

"Tea, I know that you never really got along with Seto, but please give him a chance. He's changed." Tea started to roll her eyes but stopped before Serenity saw her. 'How do I tell her that I wouldn't believe he's changed in a million years?' Tea sighed. A simple lie couldn't hurt.

"Your right, Serenity. Everyone deserves a second chance, even…Kaiba," she forced the name out of her mouth. Serenity smiled, and Tea was surprised she hadn't seen right through her. "That still doesn't explain why you're here, though."

"Oh, right. Seto has some business meetings in America and said he wanted me to come with him. I thought it would be a good chance to talk about the wedding." Serenity lit up just talking about it. "Anyways, I have a favor to ask of you."

Tea was afraid to ask what is was, but that would be rude. She nodded for Serenity to continue.

"Seto and I have been looking for someone to plan our wedding. He's so busy, and I don't think I could do it by myself. We looked for one in Japan, but I didn't really like any of their styles. Then I ran into you here. And I was wondering if you could plan our wedding?" Serenity asked sweetly. Tea sat there, too stunned to answer.

'I can either plan it and work for Kaiba or be a bad friend and refuse to plan it. Working for Kaiba is bad enough, not to mention, Joey may never forgive me for this. Either way I lose.'

(1) I don't own it.

How was it? I know there wasn't much action in this chapter, but I promise things will start to heat up. Especially when Tea sees Seto after all of these years. Please review.