Fresh snow had blanketed the hectic city. Every tree, bench, and building was covered in a light, frosty layer of ice. A chilly north wind had blown through, pushing the stuffy city scent out, leaving behind beautiful snow for Tea to leave long trails of footprints in as she made her way through the paths of Central Park.

Almost six months had passed since Tea had left for New York City. The time had flown by. In fact, most of her time was consumed by her intense dance lessons. She trained six days a week for ten hours a day. There was simply no time for anything else. But on days like today she could rest and relax.

Gazing up at the tall buildings through the thick, snow-covered tree branches, Tea almost thought she was back in the virtual world. If she closed her eyes and thought really hard she swore she heard his voice ringing in her ears…

'Gardner, I'll send you to New York City if it will motivate you to go home.'

But why did he send her here if it meant she would be away from him? She sighed, accepting the fact that Seto Kaiba was beyond her reasoning. He was a fragment of her past now, nothing but a distant, virtual memory.

She began walking faster, thankful that her mobility had been restored. It was just another reminder of him, how he could take away such an essential part of her being and put it back together as if he'd never stolen it from her at all. Granted, the physical therapy sessions she had to endure were painful and exhausting, but with his resources, she was able to prevail.

Stopping on the side walk just outside of Central Park, she looked up to see a familiar building, decorated in gorgeous sequences of Christmas lights, garland, and ribbon. It was as if the building itself was a present. Instrumental holiday music was playing from the building, echoing out onto the snow-covered streets, encouraging window shoppers to step inside.

Tea crossed Madison Avenue, kicking snow up her backside as she tried to beat oncoming traffic. She walked up to the entrance, and the doorman held the door open for her, letting out the warm air from inside.

"You shouldn't jaywalk, Miss."

She smiled innocently, "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself." It was true, she couldn't resist the urge to run. Being able to finally use her legs was something she'd never take advantage of ever again.

He bowed his head and smiled, "Welcome to Barneys."

She nodded, smiling back at him as she stepped through the doors. She shed her jacket and took a moment to look around. To her surprise, the interior looked exactly like how she remembered it from the virtual world. It was impressive how Kaiba's technology was skilled enough to create an exact replica in her mind of a place she'd never even been to before.

But that technology was gone, and so was he…

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the depressive thoughts of him.

A store clerk approached Tea, "Is there anything I can help you with, Miss?"

Thankful for the clerk's distraction, she replied, "I need an outfit for an after party I'm attending tomorrow night."

The clerk gleefully smiled, "Well that doesn't leave us too much time, does it? Nonetheless, I'll help you find exactly what you're looking for." The clerk lead Tea through familiar isles and floors until they reached the women's section of party attire. The clerk held up a low-cut, dark blue romper. "Would you be willing to try on a romper? It's very elegant, what do you think?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Tea replied, "I'll take it."

The ballroom was filled with celebrities, socialites, old money families, and… Tea. She felt like such a nobody in a room full of somebodies. Truth be told, she was a nobody, but she wasn't alone. Tea and the rest of her dance troupe were in attendance. The company had put on their final performance of the year earlier that evening and this after-party was for them, even if it didn't feel like it. To Tea, this felt much more like a giant social soirée than a celebration.

A pair of hands lightly grasped her shoulders from behind, sending her attention spiraling back to earth.

"Tea, dear, what did I tell you before this little gig?"

Flipping her brown locks over her shoulder to face her dance instructor, Tea simply stared at him, doe-eyed.

He giggled flamboyantly, "Oh, how easily you forget my teachings! Don't you recall me telling the troupe to mingle with our party guests?"

Tea lightly shook her head.

"Well, so far I haven't seen you do much mingling!"

Tea lent him a soft smile, "I'm sorry, I guess I'm just a bit overwhelmed by it all."

"Oh, nonsense!" He moved in closer to her, chatting quietly into her ear, "See that charming young man over there?" Indiscreetly, her instructor pointed to a young blonde man standing on the other side of the ballroom floor, "I hear he's a member of the Astor family," he placed a slim finger over his lips, "or maybe it was the Rockefeller's?" He waved his hand, "Whatever the case, you must dance with him, it will help your career."

"But I don't know him! I don't even know if he wants to dance!" Tea argued.

"No need to worry, darling. I've already talked to him and arranged the dance for you, now go!" He gave her a bit of a shove in the young man's direction. Tea felt a swell of awkwardness spread throughout her body like a wildly approaching tidal wave. She gulped, swallowing her nerves and dignity. She wasn't ostentatious. Despite her usually calm and pleasant demeanor, she hated starting up conversations with strangers, especially those she was expected to dance with.

The young man locked eyes with Tea's approaching figure as he met her halfway on the ballroom floor. He bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, "Hello beautiful."

Tea almost rolled her eyes but blinked for a second longer just to hold herself back. "I'm Tea." Her voice fell flat. She was already lacking the patience to deal with a candid American man.

"And I'm…" he reached for her hand but it was quickly whisked from her side.

No way… It couldn't be? Tea's mind wasn't working properly and she sincerely thought she was hallucinating.

"Seto Kaiba!" The young man affirmed, astonishment controlling his vocal chords.

With deliberately slow movements, Kaiba raised her hand to his mouth, lightly grazing his peachy lips across the back of her delicate hand. "She already knows who I am," his eyes suddenly turned to stone, glaring at the young man, "but she doesn't care to know about you."

The sound of a pin dropping would have deafened Tea due to the sheer silence of the ballroom in that moment. No one had spoken the second Seto Kaiba's name had been dropped. No one dared to get in his way, not even the young man who had uttered his full name. Promptly, his feet began shifting backwards, scurrying away from Tea and Kaiba.

Crickets could be heard only for a few more seconds before people began awkwardly mingling once again.

"Nice outfit."

Tea's mouth was left wide open. Was Kaiba really standing here before her? Was this him in the flesh, or was this an illusion— a twisted mirage leftover from her virtual nightmares?

"Did you pick that out all by yourself?"

Her eyes scanned his figure. She couldn't believe he was here. How? Wasn't he in….?

"Yes… No… Kind of?" She caught the slight confusion in his beautiful blue eyes— eyes that coordinated characteristically with the undershirt of his suit. His tie and pocket square were a rich, ruby red, adding to the elegance of his presence. It had been so long since Tea had seen him look this good.

Without warning, one of his hands grasped her lower back, while the other interlaced into hers as he gracefully swept her away toward the dance floor. They swayed slowly to the rhythm of the soft ballroom music.

"If my memory serves me right, I believe I was the one who picked out that outfit for you."

Tea was silent.

"I'll take your silence as confirmation. So, how was Barneys?" His voice was calm and suave. It was a trait he had always had that Tea completely forgot about. It was romantic, sure, but it was more refreshing than anything. She was simply stunned by his presence that words were just an afterthought.

He stopped dancing, staring her straight in the eye, "You haven't said a word, what's wrong?"

She shook her head, buying some time for her to collect her thoughts. "You're here…. Why… Why are you here? I… I thought you were in—?"

He smoothly placed a slim finger upon her lips, "Shhhh, we don't need to discuss matters like that in an establishment as fine as this."

Opposing his calm and collected tactics, Tea ripped his finger away, "No, Kaiba! We need to talk about this. Right here, right now."

He saw the need for knowledge in her eyes and knew there wasn't a way to avoid her. Swiftly, he began dancing with her once again, trying to avoid the judging eyes from on-lookers. "Tell you what," he bargained, "if you don't raise your voice and continue to dance with me, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"Fine," Tea huffed under her breath as she started swaying with Kaiba, "what are you doing here?"

Lightly chuckling, he replied, "That's simple. It's the after-party. I went to your show." He bent his head down and whispered into her ear, making her neck hairs prick, "You looked ravishing."

A warm blush covered her cheeks. Tea tried to ignore his adoring attempts with more questions. "So, you came here for me?"

"What other reason would I have to fly out to New York City on Christmas Eve?"

"I don't know, you seem to have a way of shipping people off to foreign countries without much warning. Maybe you're here to visit someone else?"

"Don't be snotty. I was helping you fulfil your dreams."

"By sending me away from you?" Her voice cracked a bit. She didn't care if he noticed. It was how she felt that truly mattered.

"I wasn't going to let you waste away in that dreadful wheelchair of yours. I had to do something. If that meant shipping you off, as you so elegantly put it, then yes, I was sending you away from me."

The look on Tea's face didn't convince him. She was clearly hurt, so he continued to explain. His voice dropped to a low whisper, "Look, I could've been locked up for years. I couldn't drag you down with me. I knew if I told you I wanted to send you away to get help for your legs that you would've denied it and said you wanted to stay. That's why I never told you."

She looked away, clearly ashamed by his confirmations of her as well as overwhelmed by her emotions. "I…. I just don't understand. How… did you get out?"

"Your testimony."

She snapped, "I didn't testify!"

"Remember where you are," he growled, trying to keep her composure for the both of them. "Do you recall when you were questioned by Chief Lemm?"

She nodded, still swaying with him to the music while trying to line up her train of thought with his.

"There was a camera in the interrogation room that filmed your entire conversation. It was used as a substitute testimony in court. I had informed Chief Lemm and the judge that you would be out of the country and unable to give a proper testimony."

Tea was stunned. "So, everyone knew except for me?"

He nodded in reply.

"I… Wow, now I just feel so stupid."

Kaiba rolled his eyes, "Don't. You not knowing was part of the plan."

"I see… And how did it all turn out? Clearly, you're not a felon."

He laughed, it was uplifting to see him be so genuine, "No, I'm not a felon." Suddenly, his voice lacked the uplifting energy he had just emitted, "Kaiba Corp. owes the federal government fifteen million in property damages for the virtual technology they were investing in, and…" he let out a heavy sigh, "I've been relieved of my duties."

Tea scanned him with desperate concern, "What does that mean?"

In one fellow swoop, he dipped her in conjunction to the music, it was his way of keeping up appearances and whispering in her ear, "I'm no longer the CEO of Kaiba Corp."

"What!?"

"You clearly don't pay attention to the news," cynicism dripped from every word.

She wickedly shook her head, "No, I don't have time, at least not after the dance regiment you signed me up for."

"You're welcome," he said dryly.

She frowned, "Tell me the real reason why you're here."

"I've already told you."

"Me? That's not the reason…."

"Quit brushing off my sentiments!" He had put his foot down. Enough was enough.

Tea was slightly taken aback by his aggressiveness and then considered it for what it was. "You really came all this way just for me?"

They stopped dancing. Tea couldn't remember when, but somehow Kaiba's hand weaved around her waist and pulled her into his body. She felt slightly embarrassed since it was a much larger display of affection in public than she would have liked to show, however, this was Kaiba, and his body language meant that whatever he was feeling for her was truly meant.

"I came here for us."

Their faces were inches apart and Tea could smell the sweet blend of vanilla musk on his skin. She gazed up at him, wondering how Seto Kaiba could manage to make the world around her disappear.

Speaking in a hushed tone, she asked her last question, "What about us?"

A/N: OH MY GOSH, YOU GUYS! BIG NEWS! I'M GOING TO NEW YORK CITY! No joke, my flight leaves in less than twelve hours, hence the reason this chapter is so short. I needed to post before I left. I'm just so super excited to be spending Christmas in NYC the same time that the characters in this story are! So, I apologize if this chapter felt rushed, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Please let me know what you think because, as always, your comments are appreciated.

Also, feel free to follow me on Instagram if you'd like to see pictures from my trip in New York City! Follow me at shaybaybaymarie. You can also DM me your username so I can follow you back! Thanks everyone!