Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own Yu-Gi-Oh.

(Please note that this story takes place after Battle City.)

Chapter 4: Holding Back

"Mokuba?" Serenity questioned, finding it rather hard to believe that Seto Kaiba's little brother was the one who wrote the fake love notes.

Kaiba nodded. "I know my brother's handwriting when I see it. I don't understand why I didn't recognize it before... Darn him! That kid's got some nerve."

"What do you think made him do this, Kaiba?"

Kaiba thought back to a few nights ago, recalling what Mokuba had said to him. "After we came home from the ice cream parlor, Mokuba told me that I should get you for a girlfriend because you were really nice and really pretty," he explained.

Serenity giggled. "How sweet of him to say that! I suppose he must think I'm the right one for you. What do you think?"

Kaiba's face began to redden, but he tried desperately to stop the blush from coming. "I don't know," he told her.

"Well, what should we do?"

"What do you mean? I'm going back to Kaiba Corporation."

"But you can't go!" Serenity exclaimed, grabbing onto Kaiba's arm.

"Don't touch me!" Kaiba said harshly, giving her an extremely cold glare.

Serenity obeyed, letting go of Kaiba. She then turned her head away, no longer wanting to look at him. That look had been so icy and cold, it seemed to have pierced her heart. 'Perhaps that's what Joey meant when he told me that Kaiba could be so cold,' she thought sadly.

All was silent for a long while, but then, Serenity felt Kaiba's hand on her shoulder.

"Look at me," he said, his voice soft.

She looked to him, and immediately noticed the sincere look in his eyes. She stared into them, and couldn't help but think of how they shone like sapphires.

"I'm sorry," Kaiba told her tenderly. "I really am. Are you mad, Serenity?"

Serenity shook her head. "No," she replied. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have-"

"It's ok," Kaiba interrupted. "But why didn't you want me to leave?"

"Well, I guess that's because I didn't want to disappoint little Mokuba. I still don't want you to go, Kaiba. I thought that maybe we could on a... Well, um... On a date."

Kaiba gaped at her, too stunned to speak.

She began to blush terribly, then added, "It wouldn't have to be anything special. We could go just as friends. You know, to please Mokuba."

"Oh, I understand," Kaiba said.

"Would you like to?" Serenity asked him hopefully.

"Yeah, I'll go with you, but it will be just as friends, right?"

"That's right."

Kaiba and Serenity had decided to go have dinner at a fancy restaurant and were just now exiting it.

"Thanks, Kaiba!" Serenity said happily. "But you really shouldn't have spent all of that money. I wanted to help pay for the cost. It isn't right that you paid all of it."

"Nonsense, Serenity," Kaiba said. "It was nothing." He then looked up to the sky. It was becoming dark. "It's getting late. We should probably head for home."

Serenity grinned. "No," she said, "let's not. There are plenty of things to do at night."

Kaiba looked at her, a bit confused. "Like what?"

With her grin growing larger, Serenity grabbed Kaiba's arm. "Stargazing!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Instead of snapping at Serenity for grabbing onto him as he had done before, Kaiba smiled. "Ok," he agreed, "we'll go stargazing. The only problem is that there aren't exactly any stars out yet."

"I've got the perfect spot! It's kind of a far walk from here, so by the time we get there, the stars should be out. Come on, I'll show you the way!" Serenity let go of Kaiba's arm, then the two headed on their way.

All of the time they were walking, Kaiba kept glancing down at Serenity's nearby hand. There had been something telling him to hold it, but he wouldn't allow himself to, remembering what he'd said to himself the other night:

'That's right. I DON'T like her. I shouldn't. I can't. I won't.'

Finally, they reached their destination. It was by a dismal lake, and as Serenity had said, the view was perfect. She sat down on the ground and Kaiba sat next to her.

"Thanks for coming with me, Kaiba," Serenity said.

Kaiba smiled. "Call me Seto," he told Serenity.

She smiled back at him. "Ok." Then she laughed a bit. "Wow! I feel like that's a great privilege. I mean, nobody calls you Seto except for Mokuba."

There was a short silence as they both stared into the night sky. Kaiba thought it to be rather pointless, until Serenity said, "It's so beautiful, don't you think, Seto?"

He stared into the sky for the longest time, leaving Serenity to believe that he wasn't going to answer. Finally he replied, "Yeah. It's beautiful. I've just never thought of it that way."

Serenity looked to him in disbelief. "Then what did you think?"

"I just thought that it was the sky, that's all. I'd never really stopped to look at it like this before."

"Have you ever looked at the sky in the early morning, with all its pretty colors?"

Kaiba shook his head.

"Or how about in the afternoon? The sky is such a beautiful blue and it's got all of those fluffy, white clouds..."

Again Kaiba shook his head.

"Well, then have you ever stopped to look up at the trees in the fall? They're all orange and yellow and red. That's pretty too."

"No, Serenity," Kaiba said, beginning to feel a bit ashamed of himself.

"Have you ever noticed all of the pretty flowers in spring? Spring is a wonderful season."

"No."

"Then have you ever looked at the snow covered ground and snow covered houses in the winter?"

"No."

"I just don't believe it, Seto. You've never stopped to look or think about any of it? That's quite sad. The world is beautiful. You've just got to look at it the right way. You've got to get out and live a little."

"Someday, you'll have to show me. I don't think I could see it right without you. After all, I'd never seen it before."

"I will, Seto, I will."

The two teens hadn't noticed that they'd been inching closer and closer to each other with every word. They had originally been quite far apart, but it was now the opposite. They were very close. Too close maybe.

After Serenity said that she'd show him everything, neither of them had spoken a word. The moment was very awkward to both of them, but to Kaiba especially. Serenity was staring at him, or to be better put, staring into his eyes. He didn't know what to think of it, but simply stared back into hers. Kaiba couldn't help but feel that Serenity was more beautiful than any of the world's wonders could ever be.

Then, he was tempted. Kaiba had suddenly gotten the urge to kiss her. He slowly shut his eyes and leaned in for the kiss...

'I shouldn't... I can't... I won't...'

Just before he'd kissed her, his words came back to him. He instantly pulled away, stopping himself. He then stood and turned his back to Serenity.

Serenity's mind had been empty all the while. She hadn't really paid much attention to what was going on. Suddenly, the realization hit her. 'Did Seto just try to kiss me?' she asked herself. She looked up to him and asked, concerned, "Are you ok?"

"I can't," Kaiba muttered quietly. "I just can't. I won't allow myself to stoop that low. She's...and I'm... How could I possibly..."

Serenity got up and walked over to Kaiba. "I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"I wasn't talking to you," Kaiba snapped.

"But I can tell something's wrong. Please tell me what's on your mind."

Kaiba turned around to look at her one more time. "I can't go through with this!" he yelled. His voice then softened as he said, "I'm sorry, Serenity, but I have to go now."

"Goodbye, Seto," Serenity told him sadly, still unable to understand what had gone wrong.