She was tired, stressed, and ready to go home. But thanks to lazy ass employers who didn't want to do the work themselves, she was stuck in her office filing paperwork and typing endlessly on the computer. It was another late night; and a frustrating one. She rubbed her fingers through her hair and then just laid down on the desk. She really felt like giving up. It wasn't fair that she had to be the one to do everything herself. Take care of her children, come to work, deal with people who were trash, and just, everything! Sighing, she picked her head back up and took a sip of the cold coffee in her mug. She was the only there tonight; no one to talk to or keep her company. As if anyone would anyway.

'Ding.'

The elevator door suddenly sounded off as someone stepped out. She looked out her office window in curiosity. She though everyone had gone home by now. Even the custodians didn't stay this late. Dressed in a white suit with gold designs at the bottom of the sleeves and pants legs, a tall man walked briskly down the hallway outside. There was a young child with him as well, with long black hair and eyes. Tea studied the two as they continued to walk. Then the young boy stopped and said something.

"Seto, I have to go use the bathroom."
"Alright, Mokuba." the man nodded. "But be quick."
The boy nodded and quickly ran to the bathroom.

Tea stood from her desk and walked outside to greet the stranger, happy to see any human being this late at night. "H-Hello, sir. May I help you?" From the way man looked, she figured he might work here, but she had never seen him before.
The man cast his blue eyes on her, scanning her form and taking in her appearance. He then raised an eyebrow. "Did you ask if I needed help just now?"
"Y-yes, sir." she could tell by the tone in his voice that he was very stern and just a little intimidating.
The man smirked. "You don't know your own boss?"
Her emerald eyes widened. This man was the boss and CEO of the company she worked for? Now she felt silly, but still, she never got a chance to meet this mystery man. "Oh! I'm so sorry, sir!" she bowed before looking at him with a smile. "I guess this means I'm fired now, huh?"
"No. You look like you need this job."
Tea frowned. He didn't have to say it that way!
"But I must ask, what are you doing here so late?"
"Working." she sighed. "I have do what everyone else didn't do."
"Oh really?" the man wrinkled his eyebrows. "Looks like I have more people to fire."
"Yeah." she laughed. "Well, sorry for bothering you, Mr. Seto. I'll get back to work now." she bowed.
"Wait," the man said, "What is your name?"
"Tea Gardner."
"Miss Tea, why don't you take the rest of the night off."
"B-but-"
"Come on." he gestured to the elevator. "I'll give you a ride home."
"O-ok..." she said lost in the way the man looked at her. When he held out his arm, she smiled and hooked her hand in his arm and they started walking to the elevator together. The boy known as Mokuba also joined them, smiling warmly at Tea. This was the first time a man she met had ever done or said something so kind to her.

.:_._._._:.

Music beating in the background, spotlights shining and rotating endlessly, the heat emanating from people's bodies, and the flare of purple and red irises that settled on each other. They were still dancing, still lost in the moment, still admiring each other. Yami didn't want to tear away from the teenager in front of him that he held strongly in his hands. Yugi only smiled at the man in front of him before resting his head on his chest and listening to his heart beat. He began to wonder faintly if his heart felt the same. The moment was suddenly disturbed as a familiar blond approached the two.

"Damn, Yugi! I didn't know you could dance like that!" Marik said giving him a rough pat on the back which would have caused the teen to fall over had it not been for Yami still holding him close to his chest.

Yugi giggled and stepped out of Yami's hold, much to his dismay. "Yeah, guess I got a bit carried away."
"Carried away?" Mai spoke suddenly appearing onto the dance floor with Joey following behind her. Her facial expression looked both confused and serious with what just previously took place. "I think you guys got a bit more than just 'carried away.'" She turned a violet eye at Yami. When Yami returned the look with a hard glare of crimson all she could do then was smile. "So, I take it this was the reason you didn't want us around?"
A light shade of pink dusted across Yami's face. "K-Kinda.." he admitted. Yugi suddenly shot him a look. So did that mean... Yami really did like him?
"Whoa bro, I didn't know ya rolled dat way." Joey said scratching his head. "Then again, ya never did have such good luck with women!" Everyone laughed.

Yami had to look at all the people and friends around him. The fact that they were so accepting and not the least bit, er, whats the word? Disgusted, maybe? Well, the fact remained that they still liked him for who he was. In his defense, being infatuated with or crushing on another male was all new to Yami, but in the end, can you really choose who you love? Wait, love? Could that really be it, then? Has he finally found a new love? If that was true, then why did his heart still have an aching feeling? He pushed the feeling aside when Mai suddenly started to speak again.

"So, Yami, you lied to me, hun."
"Huh?"
She smirked. "I thought you couldn't dance."
"Yeah, you had two left feet." Duke added.
"Well," Yami looked at Yugi, smiled and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, "Guess I just needed to find the right one."


The day after was not a tedious one; Yami was off work as Martha prepared to close the flower shop for the upcoming cold season. He offered to help, but she insisted he take the day off. He didn't speak of the night before's affairs thinking it would be better to wait first. But hell, with the way he was feeling, he wanted to tell the whole world how he met the most enticing, amazing, and considerate person in his life. Yes, he liked Yugi, even going so far as to say he loved him. But every time that sensual four letter word left his lips or appeared in his mind, his chest became tight and his heart seemed to relent with pain. But why? Surely it wasn't Yugi who made him feel this way? No, Yugi was everything that made him feel better. Then what was holding him back? What was keeping him from saying that infamous sentence 'I love you'?

Yami sighed as he lied in his bed. Yugi said he would call him later and he eagerly awaited to hear his voice. That soft, yet mature voice that if rubbed the wrong way could become firm and stoic. But Yami didn't mind it one-bit. What could that voice sound like if they were in bed together? His face turned red. Did he really just think that? Yami was starting to feel like a teenager himself again.

'Bzzzzt.'
Without hesitation, he answered the vibrating cell phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, Yami. How are you? Sorry for calling late. Marik and Ryou wouldn't stop bothering me about last night."
"No, its perfectly ok. Mai practically kept me up all night on the phone. "
"So, are you off work again today?"
"Yep. Nothing but spare time on my hands."
"Oh ok. That means I get more time to talk to you!" He giggled.
"Yeah."

The weird feeling in Yami's stomach returned. Those damn butterflies. It looked like they wouldn't leave him alone every time he associated with Yugi. Maybe now was the right time. Yes, of course. This was the perfect time to ask him. It was clear of how he felt, but the problem was, did he have the guts to do it? He bit his lip. 'Just ask him!' He swallowed. 'No, wait! What if he doesn't feel the same?' Second thoughts. 'But he does like me. He said so.' Damn, why was this so hard? 'Whats holding me back?'

"Yami? You still there?"
He rubbed his forehead. "Yeah, I'm still here."

'Ding-dong'

Yami sat up when he heard the sound of the doorbell. He sighed in relief; a distraction. "Yugi, hold on. Someone's at the door."
"Ok."

Thinking it was probably Joey, Yami leisurely walked to the front of his apartment while holding the phone in his hand. Once he approached the door, he slowly opened it.

"Hi, Yami..." a low feminine voice greeted.
Yami's eyes widened. At first he thought he was seeing things, but the sun couldn't shine any brighter on the person in front of him; Tea Gardner.

She smiled warmly at him and tilted her head to the side, her smooth, brown hair following the angle. "Long time, no see..." She said softly.
Yami was at a loss for words. How many times did he encounter this woman on accident only to have her show right up on his doorstep? Well, this was a first. Yugi's voice on the phone triggered him out of his haze. Quickly, he brought the phone back up to his ear. "Yugi, could you call back later?"
"Sure! I'm about to head out anyway."
"Ok. Bye."

Tea moved a strand of hair out of her face. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your phone conversation."
"N-no, its ok." He assured. He wasn't sure what Tea was doing here or why she was visiting him, but an uneasy feeling bubbled in his gut. He didn't know whether to slam the door or just continue to stand there and look hopelessly lost. He hoped she would just go away. Why come back now of all times when things were just starting to look up for him?

"So, um, how have you been?" Tea asked trying to break the heavy silence.
"I-I've been alright. Just a little tired and overworked I guess."
"Oh." she simply replied before going on to say, "Well, are you busy today? I was wondering if maybe you just wanted to catch up on some things. Its been a long time since I've seen you. You know, since that day..." It really hurt Tea to remember the time Yami walked off on her when she revealed herself to him. What did she do to make him upset? She needed to know; Yami was her best friend and they never did anything to make each other uncomfortable like this.

"Uh, well..." Yami trailed as he desperately tried to think of an excuse. Then something suddenly struck his nerves. 'No, stop running away! She's here. Now tell her how you feel!' He curled his fingers. 'But you like Yugi! Not her! Just close the door and walk away.' He groaned. 'No! Stop running!'He stomped his foot down. Enough was enough. He was so sick and tired of battling the war of emotions and doubts in his mind. Its time to confront them, once and for all. He looked at Tea and grinned. "Actually, you know what, I'm completely free today. So if you want to go for a walk or something, it would be perfectly fine."

She smiled. "Ok! Thats great."
Yami nodded and grabbed his jacket on the coat rack before proceeding to lock and close the door. 'Thats it.' he thought. 'Its time to settle this.'


Walking down the street almost carefree, Yugi couldn't stop smiling to himself as he thought about last night. The kiss Yami gave him was so... he shuddered. Man, if a kiss could do that to him then he yearned to see what else Yami could make him feel. Pushing the romantic experience aside, he continued walking en-route to Martha's Flower Shop. He knew Yami was off work, but still knew that Martha often tended to the shop when he wasn't there, oblivious of course, to the fact that the shop was closing. He walked in and the little bell tied at the top jingled signaling his presence.

"Good day!" He chimed.
"Oh, hello, Yugi." Martha greeted. "My, you're in a good mood today."
"Yeah. Lets just say something really wonderful happened to me."
"Ah, I see." she grinned. "Oh, but you know the shop is closed, right?"
Yugi's sparky attitude dyed a little at that. "Really? So there aren't any flowers?"
"Actually," she said wiping dirt off on her gardening apron, "Yami ordered a special shipment for you."
"What?"

Martha walked around to the front desk and leaned down to grab something. When she stood back up, she was holding a bouquet of purple colored flowers tied together with a white ribbon. Yugi's mouth dropped.

"Th-those are for me?"
"Yep! All yours, kiddo!" She handed him the flowers.
"African violets!" He gasped. He suddenly remembered how he told Yami about how his grandfather would bring him one of these after his trips from Egypt. But that was so long ago when they first met. Was he really so sweet as to remember such a small detail like that?
"I take it you like them?"
"Oh, yes! Thank you so much!"
"Don't thank me, thank Yami!" She smiled.

Yugi felt his mind go aflutter. Wow, first a kiss and now flowers. A little bit of a girly gift, but he didn't mind one bit. In fact, he made a mental note in his head to hug Yami until he could no longer breathe the next time he saw him, which hopefully, would be very soon.

"So, what did you want to come in the shop for today anyway? Just flowers?"
Yugi snapped out of his daydream. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I was going to visit my grandpa today and thought it would be good to get some flowers for his grave. The ones I left before are probably old and withered by now."
"Ah, I see."

Yugi looked at the bouquet of African violets. Even though they were for him, surely Yami wouldn't mind if he spared a few for his grandpa. With that in mind, he waved goodbye to Martha and walked down the street. He sighed thinking about Yami and wondering what else the man had in store for him.


A cool breeze blew in the air and a flock of birds flew overhead sensing the sudden change of weather. It was late autumn, but still a moderate temperature outside; perfect for relaxing or doing whatever else. As they walked around the small park, Tea talked to Yami about how she and Seto have been since they got married. For the first time in her life, she felt truly happy with the man she was with. After so many wrong decisions, the right one came around. So, it was true then; she had moved on. Yami looked at the ground. What the hell was taking him so long to do the same?

"Heba and Anzu ask about you almost everyday." she said with a smile. "They really miss you."
"Oh yeah?" Yami envisioned the smiling faces of his adopted, so to speak, niece and nephew. He missed hearing their sweet and innocent voices call out his name when he came to visit or babysit them. But why bother now? They have Seto; what do they still need him for?
"Um, so..." Tea's voice became low and shaky.
Yami looked at her. "What is it? Is something wrong?"
She shook her head. "No, just forget it."
Yami couldn't allow that to get by. He knew something was wrong with her and he probably would just feel even more stricken later on if he didn't insist on her speaking up. "No, its ok. Tell me."
"Well, its about that day..." she trailed off. "Actually, the days before that. Like..." she cleared her throat and stopped walking then stared Yami in the face. "What happened to you, Yami? You're acting so different now and, it bothers me. Its bothers me alot." She continued to stare at him; emerald eyes connecting with ruby.
Yami seemed to hesitate a response. "Nothing's happened to me, Tea."
"I know you're lying!" she snapped. "Please, just tell me! Tell me if I've done anything wrong to make you suddenly start avoiding me! Like, that day when you ran off. I tried calling you, but your phone went straight to voicemail." Her eyes became glossy with tears she refused to let fall. She was both angry and sad. She needed answers. What happened to her best friend?

Yami just continued to look into her eyes. He didn't know what to say, or how to answer her questions. Well, actually, that was a lie; he knew one way: "Because... I loved you."

Tea's breath hitched when she heard the solemn words come out of Yami's mouth. He.. loved her? But, when? Since when, and how long? She suddenly felt guilt wash over her body, and chords pull at her heart. She didn't know how to respond. 'Why do you feel guilty?' She closed her eyes in thought. 'You loved him, too, didn't you?'

"Thats why." Yami sighed. "Thats why I've been avoiding you. I've been in love with you since the first time I layed eyes on you. Thats why I would spend every waking moment of my life just being with you. I couldn't sleep at night without you invading my dreams. And even when I was awake, your smiling face would pop up in my mind. And, I hated those boyfriends you would bring home with you!" Yami's hand balled into a fist and he started to shake with rage. "Those disgusting low-lifes! I just wanted to grab you by the arm and hold you close to me so that you would never have to reach for another man again!"

Tea looked at Yami in shock. He had such strong feelings for her and she was too stupid to see it! Too blind to notice the man right in front of her! Too caught up in her own bad decisions to even realize that being friends with Yami was her greatest decision of all. He was everything she needed; everything she could rely on, but she was too scared to admit that she harbored strong feelings of her own for him. Well, maybe now was the time to talk.

"Yami," she said, "I really appreciate everything you have done for me in my life. Since the very day I met you, I knew there was something special about you and it drove me crazy to be around you. I liked having you as a friend; you were always there for me. The only reason I started dating and probably got the wrong boyfriends is because I was trying to..." she bit her lip. "Trying to find someone like you."

This time it was Yami who was taken by surprise. Was she... was she confessing to him as well? Did she have love for him that he didn't notice? Everything between them suddenly started to make sense now. Their feelings of unrequited love for each other just turned into pain and suffering. They were hurting each other and didn't even know it.

A tear trickled down Tea's cheek and she started to sniff, overwhelmed by the entire situation. It was making her so emotional that she wanted to forget everything and just break down crying. "But I..I had no idea that you- That you felt that way about me." She tried to hold back the wet droplets in her eyes, but they kept falling. She felt frustrated and angry at herself for being so null at Yami's feelings. "I-I'm sorry." she whispered. Suddenly, she felt warmth wrap around her body. When she opened her eyes, her chin was on top of Yami's shoulder and cheek nestled against his neck. His arms hugged around her back and she felt something wet trail down her nape. Was Yami crying, too? Now she felt truly horrible, making her best friend cry. Why did things always have to happen this way? Why did things always have to end in tears to get resolved?

"Its alright, Tea. I don't blame you." Yami said hugging her tighter. "You're a strong, intelligent woman who knows exactly how to run her life. You have two beautiful children, and a husband. Be happy for them; don't be sad for me."
She sniffed. "But, Yami, you've been hurting for so long. I can't just forget that! I caused you to suffer like this! Its all my fault!"
Yami started rubbing his hand up and down her back. He knew Tea was upset, but it was time to move on now. She was married, and Yami needed to get this aching feeling out of his chest. "Tea, would you do something for me?"
She nodded her head. "Yes, anything!" She was tired of always receiving things; this time it was her turn to give back. She loved Yami, and anything he asked her for, no matter what, she would do.
"I want you to say that you love me."
Her eyes popped open. "Wh-what?"
"Say you love me. Say it loud and clear so that it will ease our suffering and put our hearts at rest so that we can finally come to realize how foolish we've been."

Tea thought about Yami's request. 'Ease our suffering?'True that since she had gotten married, her mind and emotions wouldn't leave her be because she always thought about Yami. Yes, she loved Seto and couldn't be any more happier, but there was a hole in her heart that needed to be filled. Needed to be tied and sewn up so that she could put her feelings of guilt and regret aside. Yes, it was time for resolve.

"I... I love you."
Yami was silent for a moment before whispering against her ear, "Say it again."
"I love you."
"Again! Louder to where my heart can hear you!"
"I-I love you!" She said as loud as she could; her voice echoing lightly in the background of the park. She sniffed and more tears rolled from her eyes.
Yami lifted his head up and smiled. "Thank you, Tea. I needed to hear that."

And it was done. The pain in their chests finally dissipated now having finally confronted and confessed their true feelings. It was over. It was finally over. Yami couldn't help but to chuckle and he felt Tea smiling against his neck. Soon, she began to giggle, too. They felt complete and whole again. They could move on. But wait. Yami still felt something missing in his heart. What was it?

'Plop.'

The sudden sound caused him to suddenly turn around, with Tea also looking in confusion. There was a bushel of flowers on the ground and Yami looked up. What he saw before him made the world seem like it had stopped turning.

"Yugi."