Téa collapsed onto the bed groaning, her muscles aching. They started training at the beginning of the week and eliminations had immediately began, Kris sending three girls home on the first day. The reasons varied for not learning the routines or not being able to keep up with the other dancers or just a lack of fit. Kris was ruthless and they had dropped from 50 to 40 within the week.

Their schedule was insane and much more rigorous than even her dance company. Kris practically ran them ragged and anything less than perfection was unacceptable. She could see how Mai and her got along.

The written test was in the next few days, with the interview portion following the next week. After the interviews were done, they would drop again to the top 30.

Groaning she rolled over, knowing she needed to get up and study stupid Duel Monsters. Considering how many years she had spent watching duels, she already knew a decent amount, but she had stopped watching once she moved to New York. New cards came out along with new techniques. Plus, there were new competitors nearing the top, although no one had been able to rise above Kaiba or Yugi.

But first, shower then food. She was trying to decide what the heck to order when a knock came on the door. After checking the peep hole for a serial killer since she wasn't expecting anyone, she opened the door.

"Tristan. It's been a while."

"Yea, that would be my fault." Tristan gave her a hesitant smile. "I brought your favorite. Large burrito with extra red sauce."

Téa hesitated, but then let him in, the food pushing her over the edge on her decision. "Thanks, I was actually just about to order something. So," An awkward pause. "What brings you by?"

Tristan heaved out a sigh as he plopped on her coach. The movement was achingly familiar. "I came by to talk to you. And apologize."

Téa dug around for her burrito. Mad or not she wanted the food.

"Bit slow on the apology."

"Yea, I know. It hasn't been the same without you around. Joey and I way overreacted and were totally out of line. We should've respected your feelings and never gotten ourselves involved."

"Glad you pulled your head out of your ass." Her tone sharp but then she let out a resigned sigh. "I don't want to be angry or keep fighting. So, thank you, I really do appreciate it."

Tristan nodded. "Look, Yugi is going to get over this. And Joey will stop being an idiot at some point. Although, hanging around Kaiba has put him on a whole new tirade."

Téa shrugged. "That's too bad. I can't exactly avoid the guy. I'm friends with his brother and I might even be working for him so Joey's going to have to deal with it."

Tristan's face crumpled. "Work for him? Doing what?"

Right. She had actively not mentioned the dance auditions when she saw them at the tournament.

"Well, he'd technically be my boss's boss's boss's boss's, lots of other boss's boss. Mai pitched an idea for a dance team for tournaments. Kaiba went with it. So, I'm in the process of auditioning. I'm surprised you haven't seen the ads," Téa explained.

"I did, but I never thought you would audition. Huh, well it's definitely not the worst idea he's ever had."

"It was Mai's idea. He just approved of it," she corrected.

"But what about the dance company?" Tristan asked. "I thought that's what you wanted?"

Téa shrugged. "I've been with that company since I graduated. First in New York, then here. I wanted a change. And And the job pays really well. I could use the extra money. Plus, there's a lot more opportunity for movement with KC. I can't dance forever, but at least when my years are done, I may still have a job there with connections."

She had actually taken Kaiba's comment at the tournament seriously. She did need to think about what she was going to do after she passed her dancing years, although she still had plenty left. She could potentially study under Mai regarding the events and working their PR department. Human Resources also wasn't a bad idea.

"So, no more company?" Tristan inquired.

Téa shook her head. "We finished that last show before my audition. When they asked to re-sign my contract, I told them I wanted a delay. They weren't happy about it, but they said they would wait until the end of the month. My audition won't be over until after the end of the month so I'm really banking and committed to this job."

Tristan studied her, "Sounds like you really want this."

"I do. I know everyone's history with Kaiba is spotty, but this is the best career move for me. I had my doubts, but now that I've started, I know I made the right choice. This is the right move for my career and for me."

"So, your relationship with Kaiba is just…professional?" Tristan asked, studying her carefully.

Téa flushed. "Yes, just professional."

"What about those articles?"

"Look," Téa sighed. "He was just helping me out, that night we were pictured getting in the car. I had a little bit too much to drink and he took me to sleep it off." There was no need to tell Tristan where she slept it off. "End of story. Nothing happened. The other time was Mokuba's birthday dinner. It was not a date."

Tristan nodded skeptically. "Well, I'm happy for you about this dance team thing. You seem really confident and if this is what you want, then I've got your back." Tristan gave her a genuine smile, the first one from her core friends in months.

Téa blinked and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Thank you, Tristan. You don't know how much that means to me."

"I only wish that I had been more supportive of you before." Tristan paused. "I will say that this news won't go over well with Yugi and especially Joey cause of his whole history with Mai. Can I tell Yugi and Joey about your plans? They'll probably find out eventually and it might be better for them to hear it from me. That way I can tell them what you just told me. It might cool their tempers a bit."

Téa took a second to respond. The interviews they were supposed to do next week were supposed to be put online and aired. They were going to find out sooner rather than later. It might be better coming from Tristan then suddenly seeing her online interviewing for Kaiba's company.

"I see your point about Joey. Tell you what, I have to do a written test this week and then an interview portion next week. I'd rather they hear it from you then just seeing me pop up in their newsfeed. So, yea I'd appreciate it if you could tell them first. Just...don't let them go storming into Kaiba's office again. Please."

Tristan smiled guiltily. "I heard Joey paid Kaiba a visit after those articles. Yea, I'll try to keep him contained."

"Thanks."

Tristan nodded, "What's the test on?"

Téa groaned. "Duel Monsters and the competitors."

Tristan busted out laughing. "Gosh, Téa it's not even fair! You've been around this since high school and watched all the best duelists for years."

"Hey! There's still a lot to learn! And I didn't exactly keep up with it in New York."

"Still, it's mostly basics, right? Not like they expect you to be a master."

"Probably, but I still need to study."

Tristan wiggled his eyebrows. "I'm sure Kaiba would help you study."

Téa hit him in the face with a couch pillow.

"Ok, so everyone knows what Polymerization does. But wasn't there some other card that does that? Or is it just another way to directly hand-to-field summon?"

Téa banged her head down on her coffee table. How did duelists memorize all this stuff? There were so many strategies and cards, and she wasn't even sure which ones she would be tested on! There were cards even Yugi and Atem didn't know about. Maybe Tristan was right, and she should focus on basics.

She had texted Rebecca a while ago asking her questions, but she hadn't responded. She thought about texting Grandpa, but she didn't want him telling Yugi she contacted him. That would definitely lead to questions about why she was asking about Duel Monsters. She tried Mokuba next, even though he doesn't duel, and he just said he had no idea. If the VP of Kaiba Corp. didn't have to know these answers, why did she?

The cool wood felt good against her forehead. She could already feel a headache coming on. Her phone's ringtone broke her silence. Unknown number?

"Hello?"

"Gardner."

"Kaiba! Uh, hi. How'd you get my number?"

"You're applying to work at my company."

"Oh…right. Can I do something for you?"

"Mokuba said you had Duel Monsters questions."

"Oh, I mean yea, I'm studying for this exam, but uh since it's your exam I don't think you can help me."

"But Mokuba could?" Ok, good point. "I have no idea what's on the test. It's a bit below my paygrade."

"Alright, I have a couple, but I don't want to waste your time."

"Then you better ask quickly."

"Right…so for Harpey's Feather Duster, do that include field spell magic cards or just magic cards?"

"Really, Gardner? It includes the field spell."

"And Supply Squad? That's just for every one monster right? Like if two monsters are destroyed then you don't get to draw two cards, right?"

"Gardner, didn't you watch a million duels with the geek squad? Including mine?"

"I mean, yea, but there's so much. And they didn't tell us anything about what would actually be on the test. Just to know cards and competitors' strategies and signature cards. I mean, am I supposed to know that you often play a low-level monster with your Crush trap card? How detailed should I get?"

"I think you're overthinking this Gardner. I told them to make sure you could answer Duel Monsters questions, not play the game."

"Wouldn't you need to be able to play the game to answer questions?"

A beat of silence. "Alright, I'll be there in 30 minutes."

"Oh, Kaiba, I mean you're busy and…" He hung up.

Shit. Téa took a quick glance around her apartment and quickly realized that there was a stack of dishes in the sink, food wrappers everywhere, and Duel Monster books and cards scattered around the living room. And she was wearing a large baggy shirt with no pants.

She sprang to her feet, quickly loading the dishwasher, and throwing out all the garbage. She tried to organize the cards and books into some semblance of an order. She had just finished brushing her teeth and throwing on clean shorts and a t-shirt when Kaiba's loud knock came on her door.

She hurried towards the door and then took a deep breath before she opened it, so she didn't seem like she had been rushing.

Téa opened the door with a casual "Hi Kaiba."

Kaiba's steely exterior didn't crack. "I brought food."

"Oh," she quickly stepped aside, and he strode into her apartment. "That was really sweet of you."

Kaiba scoffed. "No one has ever said that to me before."

"Probably because they just haven't gotten to know you." she teased. "Let me get some dishes." She took the bag from Kaiba while he wandered into her living room. He started flipping through the notes she had been making on the cards.

She tried to determine what he was thinking, but his face was expressionless. She also couldn't help but take in his more casual attire. Or what was casual for him she supposed. He lost the suit jacket and tie and just wore a button down with a pair of slacks. He left a few buttons open exposing the column of his pale throat. She quickly averted her eyes back to the food once she realized she was once again checking out her friend's rival.

"Making charts helps me." Téa started to fill the silence. "I was plotting out some of the top competitor's signature strategies and cards. Yours, Yugi's and Joey's were easier since I've seen them so often but there's been a lot of new blood since I last watched a tournament. Some names I recognized like Leon or the monkey guy, but I've still been out of it for a while. Would you like some wine? It's nothing fancy but-"

"Wine's good," Kaiba cut her off. Kaiba continued to flip through for a minute. "This is decent. You have most of mine, Yugi's and Wheeler's signature moves and cards down. Wheeler should really update his deck. He hasn't added anything new for a couple years. But you are missing a couple of the newer duelists. You'll need to start watching the Dueling Channel to catch up on the current roster."

"Maybe you could give me a quick summary?"

"After we eat. I'm starved."

Kaiba turned out to be a good teacher. She actually felt like she was also preparing for the interview the way he asked her questions or her opinions on certain strategies or cards. She learned much better with someone to bounce ideas off and Kaiba didn't seem to mind, surprisingly.

They were sitting on her sofa, only a couple inches apart, the wine glasses already been filled a couple times. Kaiba was showing her how he had defeated Zigfried von Schroeder at the Kaiba Corp. Grand Championship all those years ago. But she was having a hard time focusing on anything but the smell of his cologne and the tendons of his neck.

"But I don't understand." she tried. "How did you know that you were going to use four magic cards? You knew you were going to draw five cards, but there was no way you knew four of them were going to be magic cards."

"I know my deck. I knew what was left. Most non-duelists don't realize how many cards you tend to go through in a game. When you play as often as I do, you're able to remember what's left. Plus, I drew Card of Demise first. Using three more magic cards considering the position I was in wasn't that big of a stretch. I needed to be able to bring the monsters that had been removed from the game back."

"Huh. So…you guessed," Téa said slowly.

Kaiba's head whipped up to glare at her. "I did not guess ."

"I'm pretty sure that's what you just said."

"No, I didn't. I said I knew my deck."

"Right, and then you guessed."

"You're annoying."

"Because I'm right."

"No, you're not right."

"It's okay, your secret is safe with me."

"There's no secret. Because I didn't guess."

"Kaiba, you absolutely-" Her laughter abruptly stopped. Téa couldn't breathe. She had leaned in during her laughter, bringing her closer to him. So close she could feel his breath on her face. His eyes were trained on her face until they drifted down, focusing on her mouth. Her eyes pulled down to his lips, that were so often pulled into a frown, but looked so deliciously kissable at this moment.

The shrill sound of a cell phone caused them both to jerk back. Kaiba grabbed his phone and stood away from her while she pushed her hair away from her face.

"What is it?" His business tone was back. Kaiba listened intently to whatever was going on. Whoever was on the line was speaking quickly. Trying to distract herself from what just almost took place, she started shuffling her notes and reviewing what Kaiba had just been trying to teach her.

"We'll deal with it in the morning."

She heard silence on the other side of the line. Stunned silence.

"Just leave the report on my desk. I'll look at it tomorrow." He hung up and let out a sigh.

"Everything ok?"

"Nothing critical. But I should get going. Mokuba makes fun but he usually starts pacing the floor when I'm out late."

"Right…of course. I really…I really appreciate all your help. I feel a lot better about this test."

"Just call me if you have any questions. I called you on my personal line earlier." The gravity of that hit her like a wrecking ball.

"Seems I'm thanking you a lot these days," she managed to respond.

"Comes with the territory of being me."

"Of course, it does."

"Goodnight, Gardner." Then, he opened the apartment door, and disappeared.