Author's Note: I am again humbled by the kindness of reviewers. Thank you so much everyone! This is the finale of this story and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It does get suggestive, but nowhere near graphic.

I own very few things, and YuGiOh is not one of them. :(

Seto Kaiba nearly plowed into the object of his current distraction as soon as he stalked out of the galley. His hands came up instinctively to catch her as she stumbled back from him. He met Tea's wide eyes with his own, taking in her surprised reaction to his violence in the galley with her friends. Oh great. Here comes the friendship speech, even though they were being dill holes. Seto tensed as he waited for her to lay into him and tell him off.

She didn't.

Seto watched as her cerulean eyes filled with tears; her full bottom lip quivered. What? Why is she crying? Where's the yelling? He felt extremely uncomfortable with this situation. So he decided to do what he did best when uncomfortable.

He tightened his hands on her upper arms where he'd caught her before and gave the girl a sharp little shake. He leaned down, invading her space, nearly touching her nose with his and staring intensely into her eyes.

"Snap out of it, Gardener."

Her lip stopped trembling as her mouth fell open.

"He's gone. Get over it."

Seto knew she needed to hear it, knew she needed for someone to make her see. He should have done it gently, comfortingly. But then, that sort of thing wasn't really Seto Kaiba's forte. He'd gotten a reaction from provoking her last night, managed to get a response born of anger. And her anger was fine by him. Hell, he welcomed it.

Tea pushed at his chest with her palms but didn't manage to budge him. She narrowed her eyes and started to let him have it.

"Kaiba, you..."

"Hey, Kaiba! Get your hands off her!"

Seto turned to see Yugi standing in the doorway, fury etched on his young face. What's up his ass? Sure, Seto had just manhandled his buddies, but there was no way Yugi could believe that Seto would hurt a girl, especially not this one. He might be a bully at times, but only to those who asked for it and only to those who could fight back. Hell, Yugi's own friends used to pick on the smaller kid mercilessly. Seto had never done that. So what's his problem?

Then it dawned on him. Seto had never really paid much attention to the interactions between the nerd herd, but everyone knew that Yugi had quite a crush on Tea, though he'd never seen them act as anything other than friends. And from the way Yugi's light purple eyes glared at up them now, it was obvious that Seto's hands on Tea and their proximity was an offense. Seto smirked. If Yugi thought this was bad, perhaps he needed to witness a bit of what he'd missed last night. Rather than moving away, Seto straightened and actually stepped closer to the girl, so close that his white coat tails enfolded her and his hold on her became almost an embrace. It was a possessive gesture; one Tea did not seem to quite welcome, but to his surprise, neither did she back away. That's interesting.

"Kaiba..."

The growled warning in Yugi's voice made him seem nearly as threatening as his former alter ego. Not that it means much to me. But it was impressive coming from the small boy. Impressive, but still annoying. Regardless of the situation, however, Seto respected Yugi enough to treat him better than his moron friends, which is the only thing that kept Seto from picking the runt up and chucking him back into the galley. Just as he was opening his mouth to tell Yugi to shove off, Tea surprised him again.

"Yugi, I'm fine. Go back in there and take care of Joey and Tristan."

"B-but...Kaiba..."

"Is having a conversation with me. Go."

Yugi's mouth opened and shut like a fish. It was apparent that he didn't want to leave her with Kaiba, but her tone and the firm expression on her face must have convinced him to obey. He shot daggers at Seto with his eyes and went back into the room. Seto ignored him. He was too busy trying to figure out why she had elected to stay with him rather than going back with her friends. He looked down at her and found her staring at her hands, which still rested on his chest. The heat from her palms singed his skin, even through the shirt he wore. He was certain that she could feel his heart pounding beneath them. The air seemed suddenly thick, charged with awareness.

What is she thinking? Does she want to kiss me again, even half as much as I want to kiss her? Is she still tasting me? Heaven knew, Seto could still taste her. Needing to see her, to have that connection with her again, he slid his hand up her arm and over her shoulder, pausing momentarily to caress her delicate collarbone, and tipped her chin up. He watched the play of emotion on her face; shock, annoyance, confusion, and a still lingering grief overshadowed by raw sensuality. Tea's eyes met his and the heat of her gaze burned him all the way to his soul. Damn, does she have to look like that? Seto felt like he could fall into those eyes and never find his way back. Her breathing became heavier, and he knew then that his face must reflect the same desire as hers. It was a temptation neither of them could bear to resist.

Seto watched as Tea parted her soft, pink lips and drew the tip of her tongue nervously across them. It was all the invitation he needed. Pulling her against him, Seto dipped his head and brought their lips together. She let out another of those exquisite sighs in his mouth, sending a delicious shiver down his back. Her hands slid up his chest, measuring the breadth of his shoulders, then locked around his neck. As he deepened the kiss, the world seemed to drop away. He didn't know why she was here with him, why she was kissing him, and he didn't care. He didn't care that she had no reason to be with him, didn't care that she was probably still grieving for someone else, didn't care that her friends hated him and could catch them making out in the hallway at any moment. All he could think of was the tiny dancer pressing against him, captivating his thoughts and lighting his soul on fire. Her spirit, her fire, her undying loyalty and devotion. She was under his skin in a way that was almost frightening. Given his obsessive personality, Seto knew he'd be forever changed by her touch, that he'd never be able to give her up. He may not have been searching for her, but when Seto Kaiba saw something he wanted, he took it. With that thought foremost in his mind, he lifted her into his arms without breaking their kiss and walked down the hall to his room, where he could spend the rest of the night proving that Seto Kaiba was a force of nature unto himself.

Many hours later, Seto lay in the darkness of his bedroom on the edge of blissful sleep. Tea slept peacefully, beautifully, against his side. Her head was pillowed on the muscles of his chest, her small hand back over his heart, her slim legs entangled with his. They hadn't made love; he knew she probably wasn't ready for that. Instead, he'd kissed and caressed every inch of her lovely body over her clothing, silently worshipping her, imprinting the scents and tastes of her on his body and in his bed. Seto sighed deeply. He felt...content. Carefree. Happy. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring; what the future held for him, for them. All he knew was that he would remember this feeling always...for the rest of his life.

Thanks all for reading. Hopefully, the story has come full circle for y'all, as it has for me. Much love and thank you all again for the incredible support and encouragement. I'll be posting a new story soon hopefully. Make sure to look for it! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!