"I can't feel my foot."

Jumbo-sized snowflakes assaulted them as they trudged through the thick snow-covered ground. Kaiba wasn't wearing a second shoe and was making the journey partially barefoot.

"Oh quit your bitching. It's not like I'm wearing the proper footwear either," Tea argued as she trekked through almost a foot of snow in sandals and soggy socks.

"Just hurry up and find Barneys," Kaiba demanded, "before we have to amputate my foot."

"If you can survive two rattlesnake bites, then you can survive this." Tea could hear him grumbling from behind her, but she didn't look back. She kept trekking through the snow in hopes of finding the infamous Barneys New York department store. It was a classic place to shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and Tea had always dreamed of going there. She convinced Kaiba that they needed new attire if they were going to search for a way out of this virtual world, and he reluctantly agreed to go Barneys. Besides, the store was right up the road. The journey just seemed to take forever due to the heavy snow.

Tea stopped suddenly at an intersection and looked up. She blinked frantically to try and see as the snowflakes obscured her vision. Before her stood a fifteen-story building. The building's entrance and windows were lined with red awnings and snow-covered overhangs. The sight was classic and Tea felt like she was enjoying Christmas in New York.

This is absolutely gorgeo-

"Ow!" She almost toppled forward. Spinning around she glared at Kaiba, who had just walked right into her.

"What the hell, Gardner? Warn me before you suddenly stop in the middle of the road!"

She huffed, placing her hands on her hips. "It's not my fault you're not watching where you're going!"

He brushed away the snowflakes that had built up on his face, "Actually, yes, it is. You're the one that made it snow, and I can't see where I'm going because these snowflakes are too damn big!"

"Again, Kaiba, quit your bitching," she turned and pointed to the lofty building she had been admiring, "because we're here."

His eyes followed her pointed finger to the building, "Finally."

"Kaiba, we were only outside for maybe five minutes."

"Yeah, five minutes too long." He pushed past her and began crossing the intersection, making his way over to Barneys. He had picked up his pace and Tea had to jog to keep up to him. The snow made the task difficult, but she was able to catch up to him as he pulled open the entrance door. The foot of snow prevented the door from opening all the way, and Kaiba held it open so she could slip right in. Kaiba slid right in after her, shifting sideways to get through. The door shut by itself and the lights flashed on automatically throughout the building.

"Wow…" Tea's eyes widened as she gawked over the place. Mirrors lined the walls. The floors were clean, white and pristine. The smell of genuine leather filled her nostrils. Everything looked so amazing and expensive. She would never be able to afford anything in here if this were the real world.

She walked over to the purse counter and checked the price tag on a beautiful, black leather handbag, gasping when she read the sticker.

"Too pricy for a street rat like you, eh Gardner?"

Oh, that bastard!

"Clearly I'm not worthless, considering you risked your life to save me."

"Still doesn't mean you aren't a street rat."

She gave him a death glare, "I have no problem staying here, Kaiba. Keep up those comments and you'll be stuck in here with me forever."

"Humph," This time he was the one who crossed his arms in defiance, "I'm going to find the men's section. I'll meet you down here when you're done. Don't waste too much of my time. Grab what you need and go."

She wanted to say 'whatever' and let him leave, but something unnerved her about being alone in this humungous building. "Kaiba, I think it's best if we stick together."

He had already started walking toward the escalators, but stopped and turned around. "And why's that?"

"This place is unfamiliar to me. I don't want to get lost."

"You won't get lost, Gardner," He groaned, "grow up."

He had begun walking away again when she said, "What if my mind decides to change the environment and we lose each other? You'll have to come find me again. I know you don't want to be trapped here…."

He let out a hefty groan, "Fine. Follow me then."

She scurried over to Kaiba. He flipped a side switch on one of the escalator rails and the escalators started up. They boarded the moving staircase, travelling toward the second story.

"Too lazy to walk?"

He didn't look back at her, "I don't see you hiking up these stairs, Gardner."

"I would if I had to, but my socks are all wet. I'd like to avoid slipping and falling."

He still didn't look back at her, but presented her with a snarky comment instead, "You see, I would if I had to too, but my fucking foot is frozen, and I'd like to avoid slipping and falling."

She totally forgot about his foot! If her foot were frozen she'd want to take the escalator too. She instantly felt like a dumbass….

"Kaiba, I'm sorry. I forgot about your foot. I didn't mean to be rude…." She tried to cover her ass, but she knew simply by staring into the back of Kaiba's head, that he was offended.

"Whatever, Gardner. Just be quiet."

This time she stayed quiet. Kaiba's grumpiness and disrespectful comments had gotten to her, and she barked back. She needed to realize that all he wanted was to get out, and deep down that's all she wanted too. If they were going to find the exit they would need to work together.

They came up on the men's section and it was just as flawless as Tea had expected it to be. The style of clothing was so Seto Kaiba, and Tea mentally rolled her eyes. He had probably been to this store in the real world, getting a suit tailored or something.

"I'll be right back," Kaiba said dryly as he carried various styles of shirts and pants into a nearby dressing room. He slammed the door behind him, and Tea guessed it was to prove a point. He was definitely upset but not just by her comment, rather by this entire situation. If it hadn't been for her over-emotional reaction to Yugi's proposal, they wouldn't be here right now.

Tea rested on a chair just outside of Kaiba's dressing room. She stretched her legs and pulled off her sandals and socks, examining her soggy feet. They were a bit paler than she remembered, but there was nothing more serious going on such as hypothermia.

Tea let go of a long sigh she had been holding in since Kaiba had slammed the door. In the back of her throat was an apology just waiting to escape. She felt too guilty to hold it in any longer, "Kaiba, I'm sorry about my comment from before. I didn't mea-"

The dressing room door swung open and Tea thought she was going to get clocked in the face by it. Kaiba stood in the doorway wearing a complete change of clothes and they just stared at each other.

"So?"

She didn't say anything. She didn't really know what to say.

"Gardner I'm asking for your opinion."

Oh…. Did this mean he was no longer upset?

"Uh…" Her eyes scanned up and down, and for the first time she truly examined his body. He was skinny, but Tea could tell he was toned underneath the dark blue button-up he had picked out. Tea recognized the Fendi label on the sliver belt that was snaked nicely around his hips, holding up the light gray trousers he was wearing. It felt like forever for Tea's gaze to reach his bare feet, since his long legs seemed to go on for miles. He looked like a model and she instantly blushed at the thought. How could she be thinking of Kaiba this way? She never had before….

"Quit gawking and tell me what you think." His voice snapped her back into reality.

Shit, was I really staring for that long?

"Uh, y-you look great, Kaiba," she stammered, "Everything matches perfectly."

"Good. Now I just need a good pair of shoes." He walked out of the dressing room and toward the shoes that were showcased on the opposite wall.

"Wait, you're actually going to go out there in trousers?" She asked, "Don't you want to be comfortable?"

He didn't stop walking. "These are comfortable. Besides, jeans take longer to dry if they get wet."

Good point.

She watched him pick out a black pair of monk strap shoes, adorned with two silver buckles across the top.

"Hmm, Valentino…." He murmured, carrying the shoes with him as he went to search for a pair of socks. Finding a black pair, he slipped on the socks, then the shoes, walking up and down the shoe section to break-in the shoes.

"Don't just sit there, Gardner," he demanded, glancing her way, "look for a matching jacket."

"You want me to look for a jacket for you?"

"Isn't that what I just said?" He grouched.

Placing her hands on her knees, she sighed as she pulled herself from the comfy chair, "Fine…." She walked over to the coats and jackets section and began browsing. "You know you can be quite demanding sometimes, Kaiba. I can see why you're a CEO."

He made his way over to her after deciding on the Valentino shoes. "It's my way of keeping slackers like you in line."

She stopped browsing. "Slacker?" Placing her hands on her hips she scowled up at him, "I am not a slacker, by any means!"

He inched closer to her, "Really? Then why haven't you found a jacket for me yet?"

"Because you gave me about five seconds to look!" She was growing agitated, "And on top of that I don't even know your size."

He got even closer to her this time. It unnerved her a little, but she kept her composure. There was no way in hell she'd falter in front of Kaiba.

"Small."

"Thanks." She turned back to what she had been doing before he interrupted, "Ya know, Kaiba, maybe you could look too? This jacket is for you after all."

"I trust your tastes, Gardner. Besides, my wardrobe needs a bit of a woman's touch." His words came off his lips like frisky fire. Tea felt as though his words alone were some form of seduction. Was he really flirting with her, or was she looking into this too much? She touched her burning cheek and realized she was blushing. Why did he suddenly make her feel this way? Was he enticing her on purpose?

She shuffled through the racks quickly, trying to focus on finding a jacket without getting distracted by Kaiba, who was now leaning over her right shoulder, carefully watching every move she made. She found a black jacket in a size small and raised it up to him, not even caring about the color, cut or designer. All she wanted was to get Kaiba's gaze off of her.

"Here, try this on."

He simply smirked, taking the jacket and inspecting it in his hands. He rubbed the material; feeling the soft, corduroy surface lace between his fingers. Flipping the jacket over, he brushed the back of his hand on the inside of the jacket, touching the smooth silk lining.

"Black corduroy? Hmmm…." He assessed the tag for a designer label, "Balenciaga?" Throwing the jacket over his shoulders, he buttoned it up and smoothed it out over his body, briefly taking a moment to examine how it looked. "I'm surprised, Gardner. You have good taste."

She exhaled a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"Come on," He waved his hand and began walking, "let's go find something suitable for you."


She could never wear this! Not in a million years! Why did she let Kaiba pick out her clothes? He was just trying to make a fool out of her. Typical. She should've known….

"Get out here already, Gardner!" He demanded.

"No!" She cried from the other side of the dressing room door.

"Oh, come on, I have brilliant taste," he claimed, but the tone in his voice made her wonder if he was serious or not.

"Kaiba I can't go out wearing this!" Her voice was edging toward a level of slight panic and she prayed Kaiba couldn't sense it. To her dismay, he did.

"Just let me see, there's no one else here but us. I promise it looks better than you think." He tried encouraging her. The Seto Kaiba, attempting to comfort! Only in the virtual world, she supposed.

"No, Kaiba!"

"Come on…." He groaned.

"I'm serious, Kaiba! This is ridiculous!"

"You're being ridiculous! Just let me see." Before Tea could interject, Kaiba had whipped open the dressing room door, revealing an extremely shocked Tea.

"Ah! What're you doing?" She crossed her arms over her chest to cover up the revealing cut of the romper she was wearing.

"Getting to see what I picked out," he smirked. It was as if he relished in the fact that he got to dress her in some skanky romper and barge in on her in a dressing room without warning.

She held her chest tighter, "Like I said, I can't wear this." She felt Kaiba's eyes on her, scanning the entirety of her body. Even though she was fully dressed, she never felt more naked. His eyes tore her apart.

The dark blue romper, that ironically matched the color of his shirt, was short around her backside and tremendously low-cut, accentuating too much of her large chest. The fabric clung to the smallest portion of her waist and was embellished with a thin, gray belt. The long-sleeves and high collar were the only modest parts of the entire romper.

She watched Kaiba's gaze shift toward the lower half of her body, studying the charcoal-gray tights she was wearing along with the black booties he had picked out. It was as if he were reviewing a work of art, his art.

He reached for Tea's hands and gently pulled them away from her chest, placing them next to her sides. A small smirk grazed his lips as he took a peek at her well-endowed chest. She blushed and embarrassingly looked away.

"Look at how nicely a street rat cleans up."

A flash of anger burst within her and she wound her hand back, ready to slap him, but he swiftly caught her wrist mid-swing, "Relax, Gardner. I'm only kidding."

Tea yanked her arm away from him. "Well it's not funny to me."

"Well maybe you should learn to lighten up."

"Oh, coming from you."

He just smirked. Tea found his smirk to be more light-hearted than before. It wasn't his typical egotistical smirk he usually went around wearing, but rather a more playful grin, like the one she had seen in the coffee shop. This definitely wasn't typical behavior for Kaiba. Tea wondered if his actions occurred because she was wearing skimpy clothing or if it was because she had opened up to him about her accident.

"For the third time, I can't go out wearing this. It's too immodest for me."

"Oh please, the school uniforms you used to wear were much scantier. Besides, you actually look very sleek."

Sleek? Was that Kaiba-code for sexy?

"It was like this romper was made for you," He smiled with his eyes.

Oh God, did he just compliment her again!?

"Now let's go find you a jacke-" He froze.

She opened her mouth to speak but he slapped his hand over it faster than words could form.

Thankfully, his lankiness assisted in keeping one hand clasped tightly over Tea's mouth while the other stretched over to the dressing room doorknob, slowly pulling the door shut. It barely made a sound, just a faint click.

Without warning, Kaiba hoisted Tea onto the dressing room chair. She made a slight noise but Kaiba's hand almost completely drowned out the sound. Kaiba climbed up onto the chair with her. They stood, body squished against body.

With a lengthy finger, Kaiba used his other hand to signal a "shhhhh," and took his other hand away from her face. She stayed quiet, waiting for him to explain. Her heart immediately began to race when she understood why Kaiba had stopped everything he had been doing.

Footsteps echoed throughout the store. Multiple footsteps. Which meant multiple people….

…..all trapped in her mind.


A/N: Happy Labor Day! In honor of all your hard work, I present to you a new chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. Please drop a review and let me know how I'm doing. Thanks so much for all of your support. It's truly been a blessing.