There wasn't time to think really, just time to react— time to let their feelings go.

In the hustle of shifting bodies and tangled feet, the wind was practically knocked out of Tea's lungs as her back abruptly collided with her apartment door. The lock on the inside furiously rattled from the hit, and for a split second, Tea was worried they'd wake up the neighbors. It was nearly midnight after all. The thought vanished as Kaiba pressed his entire body up against her, eagerly kissing her once again. She felt him grind her into the door, and she quickly reached behind her for the handle.

Dammit. Locked.

She pushed Kaiba away and the motion set him off. "What's the matter?"

She smiled. Even in the dim light of the hallway, she noticed her dark lipstick had rubbed off onto his freshly shaven face. She held up her apartment key, "Just gotta unlock."

"Well hurry up."

"Patience is a virtue."

"And I've waited long enough," he reached for her face, taking her lips the moment the door cracked open. He pushed her inside, still kissing her mouth, and slammed the door shut behind them.

Tea thought about how they got here… 'What about us?' Her question posed no second thought. Kaiba had swooped her up in the middle of the ballroom floor, bridal style, and carried her to his limo that was warmed up and waiting just outside the St. Regis Hotel. At first, Tea wasn't sure what his intentions were. She'd been so embarrassed that he'd swept her off her feet in front of all those party guests that she tried to hide her face in his lapel.

After they'd both entered the limo, the partition was immediately rolled up and Kaiba had snatched her face with one flick of his wrist. The moment their lips touched was the moment Tea knew there was no going back for either of them. They had to have each other tonight. It was now or never.

Kaiba barely broke apart their kissing to ask, "Bedroom? Where—?"

Tea smirked and grabbed his tie, cutting off the rest of his sentence to pull him toward her bedroom. It didn't take long for Tea to lead the way to the bedroom in the small apartment Kaiba had provided for her. It was moments like this where she was thankful the place was practical and not ostentatious the way Kaiba usually was with material things.

Twisting their bodies around, she pushed him onto the bed and crawled on top, kissing him vigorously. She wasn't going to hold back— not anymore.

Kaiba was attentive of her quick advances and took charge. Knowing exactly where the zipper was on her romper, it didn't take him long to shed it from her skin. He went for her neck next, kissing her tenderly in her sensitive spots. As he began placing a trail of kissing down her body, he paused slightly as he noticed one thing— her skin smelled of the faintest mix of vanilla and lavender. Finally, he reminded himself, this was real.

After Kaiba shrugged off his suit jacket, Tea wasted no time in taking off his tie and undoing the buttons on his shirt. As the last button came undone and Tea was about to pull his shirt away, Kaiba reached for her wrists, gripping them with unparalleled strength.

Tea's eyes widened in shock, startled by his actions. "What's the matter?"

"The shirt stays on." His eyes were a cold blue in the pale light, and they didn't falter in severity. Kaiba clearly meant what he said, but Tea wasn't having any of it. If they were going to do this, they'd do it right.

"Why?"

"Why do you always have to ask questions?" He groaned.

"And why can't you just answer mine?"

He practically growled, "I can't."

To Tea, his protective walls were ridiculous. They'd been through too much to get this far. Tea was sick of his runaround. "And why not?"

He glared at her, but she didn't back down and glared right back. If this was the man she sacrificed so much for, then it was time he sacrificed something as miniscule as self-consciousness.

"We aren't discussing this."

"I need to know, Kaiba."

"No, you don't."

"If I'm going to sleep with you then I have a right to, don't you think?" Her tone was snarky and rude. She'd just about had enough.

His voice held a low roar, "No, I don't think you have a right!"

This was getting nowhere real fast. Tea sighed, "Look, I don't know what you're trying to hide, and I'm sorry. I just wish that, after everything we've been through, you'd open up to me a bit more."

He refused to look her in the eye and adjusted his gaze out the window. Their silence was filled with the noise of constant sirens, car horns, and other automobile whistles.

"All I'm saying is I have you right here in my arms, for real this time, and all I want is to enjoy this moment in its fullest." She sighed heavy when he didn't reply right away, "Take that as you will, I guess…"

Kaiba pushed her off of him and to her feet. Her romper was gathered around her ankles and she reached down to pick it up.

"Stop," he commanded, and she froze.

Kaiba got to his feet and peeled off his shirt. In the dim lighting Tea saw his skin and almost gasped when she realized why he'd been so insecure. Almost every square inch of his back was covered in faint slashes. They were not red or swollen, but the evidence of the pain that had been inflicted was still lingering.

"My adoptive father enjoyed punishing me. He tried to shape me into the perfect heir to Kaiba Corp… just look at how great that turned out."

"Kaiba…. I had no idea…" Tea just stared, wide-eyed and ashamed she'd pushed him to reveal such sensitive information to her.

"I know that," his eyes felt like daggers, "if you had known you wouldn't have pushed the subject."

She let her eyes drop to the floor, "I'm so sorry."

"What's done is done." He bent over to grab his shirt, but Tea reached for his hand, stopping him in the process.

"Don't…." Her voice was soft and uncertain at first, she didn't even look him in the eye. She didn't want to cause Kaiba anymore pain, and she felt guilty for making him feel so insecure. However, the last thing she wanted him to do was leave her. "Don't go."

"I wasn't going to," he replied in a harsh tone. He found the sleeves of his shirt and began pulling his arm through the fabric when Tea grabbed for it, tugging the clothing away from him.

"Don't." Her voice was stern, and this time she decided to look him in the eye. "You don't have to put that back on."

"And why shouldn't I?" He mocked her, not only with his declaration, but with his rigid glare.

"Because your scars make you who you are, and I love that."

Kaiba's first reaction was to ridicule her— laugh maybe— but there was just something about the sincerity of her words that made him reevaluate his actions. The look of deep caring and concern, the same look she gave him many times in the virtual world, was here in front of his physical eyes, caring for him and all the skeletons in his closet, with honestly and…

Love…?

For the second time that night, Kaiba swept her off her feet. He hoisted her up into his arms and she instinctively straddled him. Making sure she was steady, he kissed her— not with lustful desire, but with caring and passion.

They didn't know how much time had passed from the moment their lips met. The slow and sweet kiss made it feel as if time had completely stopped. Maybe it had? Even so, neither would care, so long as they were together.

Toppling onto Tea's bed, their kissing grew heavier as they both desperately wanted to finish what they had started.

Tea was back on top, undoing Kaiba's belt. She was lavishing in this moment, taking in the rare view of Kaiba shirtless. She knew this was special, and it was for her eyes only.

He wasted no time in undressing her. To them, it was all so familiar, but because every sensation was finally real, everything seemed more emotional and intense this time around.

They had lost all reserve. Everything they could possibly offer each other was out in the open. The deep-seated vulnerability that naturally arose in exposing situations like this made goosebumps prick all over their skin, despite the heat of the moment. A rush of excitement and nerves consumed their hearts and minds. Naturally, they'd waited so long for a moment like this, and now it was real.

"Are you nervous?" Kaiba's eyes mirrored hers.

In a quiet, soft voice, she replied, "No."

He studied her face once more, making sure there was nothing else to question. Tea simply smiled, and with a feather-light touch, grazed her fingertips across his bare back, feeling the bumps and grooves of his past— the portion of his story he'd finally let her see.

Without hesitation, Kaiba kissed her, passionately taking her lips before he made the permanent bond between them. Tea broke their kiss to let out a gasp as she shuttered underneath his penetration, but before long, she found her rhythm, loosening up to him.

They moved in one synchronized motion almost as if they consisted of only one body. It was incredible, and neither had felt anything like this before. Not even the virtual world's nearly perfect simulations could compare to the real thing.

Kaiba dove into her, earning a deep moan from both of them with each needy thrust of his hips. The longer they went on like this, the more their breathing labored. Tea's eyes were beginning to roll back and flutter, and Kaiba was struggling to maintain his composure.

Tea was attempting to make a conscious effort not to dig her nails into his back. She didn't want to aggravate him nor inflict any pain, so she bit her bottom lip, almost to the point where she could practically taste the rich iron of her blood. Clawing at the sheets, she balled them into tight fists, screaming out Kaiba's name as he pounded into her more ruthlessly.

"Seto… Seto!" She was panting hysterically, "I'm… on the verge!"

He spoke without interrupting his tempo, "I know, I can feel it." Clenching his teeth, he was barely able to hold on, suddenly gasping for air as the feeling passed. In no time, it picked back up again, almost sending him over the edge.

There was something about the stare of sincerity in Kaiba's eyes that made Tea feel special. This wasn't a look or a feeling he would just hand out to anyone. No, this was a moment meant for them— and only for them— and to Tea, that meant everything. It was everything she had cried over, and everything she had previously shared with him. This was their relationship, and there was no other way they would have been able to express their feelings if it wasn't through love.

Suddenly, like lightning, a shockwave hit her core, and Tea screamed so loud that she was sure her neighbors were awake by now. Mighty surges of pleasure stemmed from her lower abdomen all the way down to her toes as she convulsed around Kaiba. She couldn't help herself, at this point she had expended all of the effort that she had and gave into the blissful feeling of weightlessness.

The sight of a blushing, hot Tea, and her voluptuous breasts bouncing underneath him, was making him feel unbelievably weak. Kaiba was grateful when she cried out, her walls clamping down around him and pulling him deeper into her with every powerful shudder of her body. Losing his ability to hold out any longer, Kaiba gave into the gratifying sensation of letting go within her. His last drawn-out moan echoed throughout the bedroom, and he hung his head before Tea quickly reached up to grab him and pull him close.

She kissed his sweat-slicked forehead, "I'm not letting you go."

After a few breaths, Kaiba responded in an airy whisper, "Me either…"

They clung to each other until consciousness faded into slumber.


A/N: Thank you to those who gave me some nice well wishes on my trip to New York City! I had a wonderful time and can't wait to go back! I also want to thank you for your patience as I did not reply to your comments, but I read and appreciated all of them.

I felt so sinful writing this. I was listening to movie scores when suddenly, in the heat of writing a hot moment, The Passion of The Christ score comes on and I couldn't pause it right away due to everything being so intense. Is that a sign from God? He's watching me write smut and is ashamed? Yeah… probably…

ANYWAY, thanks for reading and I truly hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know what you liked/disliked/etc. Also, are my chapters suddenly getting shorter or is it just me? No, seriously they're getting shorter and I'm so sorry! Thanks for baring with me on this Comatose journey that sometimes makes me go comatose (AKA me being MIA for moths in between updates). Until next time!