Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Yu Gi Oh.
Hushpuppy24: For those of you wondering how Seto was able to swallow the Tylenol when he was unconscious, there's a simple explanation to that. If you've noticed, the nurse had given the tablets to Téa, not Kaiba, so he didn't take them right away at the nurse's office. If you think carefully for a moment, you'd also noticed the time change. When Seto fainted, it was at lunch hour, but he wakes up from sleeping, moments after Téa's flashback, which should've been hours later since Mokuba was back from school. Therefore, coming to the conclusion that Kaiba has waken up in between the hours the story had not mentioned, and had taken the pills. I was hoping nobody would notice, but then...somebody did. ^^ *Laughs nervously*
Anyways, last time...
Mokuba and Seto had a little talk about the happenings of that afternoon. Seto thought that Mokuba had been really worried for him and apologized, but Mokuba told him he wasn't worried at all, because he knew his big brother would always be there for him. Explaining how he got home, Mokuba claims that Alex had stopped to visit earlier, and had told him that Téa likes Seto. Kaiba tried to accept the fact that he feels the same way for Téa, but every time he tried, a picture of Gozaburo flashed in his mind, reminding him that love is what makes a person weak, power is everything. Realizing his brother's pain, Mokuba told Seto to go downstairs and eat his soup. Down at the kitchen, Téa scooped up a bowl of boiling hot soup and set it on the counter. She took out a picture from her pockets as she recalled that afternoon's conversation with Alex. Mokuba had brought over a friend while visiting Seto. Alex wasn't shy at all and immediately introduced herself. She quickly jumped to the conclusion that Téa was Seto's girlfriend. Even after Téa denied the fact that she was Seto's girlfriend, Alex continuously accuses Téa of having feelings for Kaiba. Before Alex left, she gave a picture of Seto and Mokuba of when they were young to Téa, just until she realizes her true feelings for Seto. Escaping from her flashback, Téa begins to think about her feelings for Kaiba when her name was called. Noticing Kaiba only several feet away, she quickly pocketed the picture and offered him the soup that was cooling on the table. The bowl burning her hands caused her to drop the bowl, shattering it to pieces and spilling the hot substance. Opening her eyes, she finds herself wrapped in the arms of Kaiba, several feet away from the broken glass and liquid, staring into his crystal blue eyes.
Man that was a long summary! On with the story then...
Chapter 18
******************
'His eyes are so warm...so...unlike his usual cold blue eyes...' Téa thought as her eyes locked with Kaiba's. A slight touch of pink formed on her cheeks as she gazed at the handsome features of the one holding her. 'What am I thinking? This is THE Seto Kaiba! The heartless jerk who ripped up the fourth Blue Eyes White Dragon that had belonged to Yugi's Grandpa. The Seto Kaiba that cheated his way into making Yugi surrender the match at the duelist kingdom.' Her thoughts filled with anger, but they quickly faded away. 'The Seto Kaiba that risked everything to save his brother... The Seto Kaiba...that kept me from harm repeatedly...' Her thoughts hesitated a little. 'Maybe he's really not that bad... Why am I defending him anyways? Could Joey and Alex be right? Could I...' The next thought was difficult to think about. '...Have fallen for Kaiba?' Her heartbeat quickened as the room silenced.
'Why is she looking at me in that way?' Seto thought to himself. 'Her eyes glisten so beautifully in the light...so alluring...' He thought as he held Téa in his arm. 'How I wish I could just tell her how I feel...No! I can't.' His mind disagreed. 'She doesn't want me. I'm no good for her. I'd just make her unhappy. She'd be better off with Yugi...or Tristan...or even that puppy dog, Joey. Ok...so maybe not that puppy dog...but at least he makes her happy... I'd just cause more misery for the both of us. I shouldn't even be here...' With that thought, he gently removed his arm from Téa's waist, when a piercing pain struck him. He winced at the pain as Téa quickly took attention to what was the matter.
"Your arm..." Téa said as she held Seto's right arm, her face filled with worry. "You must've gotten a burn from the soup when you yanked me out of its way..." She gently pushed Seto's sleeves up, as she looked the red marks that formed on his arm. Seto winced more at the pain, his other hand squeezed tightly into a fist until it started to tremble, preventing himself from crying out loud in pain.
"I'm fine." He said sternly, trying to pull away from Téa's grasp, but only hurting himself much more.
"No you're not!" Téa argued back. "Stop trying to be such a tough guy!" Her face seemed filled with anger, but soon turned into a look of concern. "Just let me help..." She stared into his eyes. Seto was speechless. The room was silent once again when a call from upstairs suddenly startled the two of them.
"Is everything ok?" Mokuba called from upstairs. "I heard a loud crash coming from downstairs! Are you two ok?"
Téa was about to answer, but Seto had already begun to yell back the reply. "We're fine! We just dropped something!"
"Ok!" Came the sweet innocent voice from above.
"You are not fine! You're injured while you still have a fever that hasn't completely cleared yet!" Téa exclaimed in anger and frustration, but also in worry and concern. Seto was a little taken back at how much she cared.
"Why'd you have to care so much?" He said in a flat tone.
Téa thought for a while, not knowing what to say. She could risk telling him how she felt, but what would he know about feelings for others? She'd just make a fool of herself...so she went with the next best answer. "I care...because you're my friend..." She said quietly. "...And I don't want to see you get hurt." Kaiba slowly began to accept this fact and returned her kind words with a warm smile. Téa gave him a smile back. "Come on." She took Seto's unharmed hand and began to drag him towards the living room. Kaiba only followed her lead until they came upon a cozy room with light blue carpeting.
Two couches sat opposite from each other with a circular glass table in the middle of the room. His trench coat laid on one of the couches. A medium sized television set sat in the space above the fireplace, and a huge window was placed next to one of the couches with satin-like red drapes hanging down the sides of the window, facing out to the now darkened sky, only lit by the moon, stars and several street lights. Several pictures of Téa and her parents stood on the shelf next to the fireplace and in the centre, a golden-framed picture of Téa and her friends smiling happily on a sunny day at the beach. Téa led Seto over to the couch and had him sit down. Then she started out the room. "Where are you going?" Seto asked as Téa reached the doorway.
"To get the first aid kit." Téa said before leaving the room. Seto sat there waiting patiently with one leg over the other. A couple minutes passed until Téa finally returned with the first aid kit in her hands. She sat down next to Kaiba and slowly searched through the box until she found the item she desired. Taking a damp cloth, she gently dabbed Seto's arm of where it was burnt to prevent the swelling to become even worst. Seto refrained from screaming, only letting out a tiny whimper so that it wouldn't arouse suspicion and worry from his little brother. Unravelling the bandage from its roll, Téa took Kaiba's forearm and wrapped the bandage around the burned areas. The two kept silent. Téa busied herself wrapping the bandage on Kaiba's arm, as Kaiba looked out the huge window, gazing out into the stars. After several minutes of silence, Téa had finished bandaging Seto's arm.
"Thanks." He muttered.
"You're welcome." Téa muttered back. The two fell into another awkward silence. Téa's blush still had not disappeared completely, but is much lighter now. She looked over at Seto. He was still staring out the window. "Kaiba..." She said quietly to get his attention. His head turned to her direction, his shadow creeping on the floor as the light from the moon reflected off his face. Téa looked down at her lap as she spoke. "While you were sleeping, you kept crying out for your mother..." She told him. "What was she like? She must've been very special to you for you to call out for her so much..." She lifted her head and looked at Seto for a response. Noticing his upset expression she quickly added, "If you don't mind telling me... I mean you don't have to... Actually! Just forget I ever asked." She looked away again as she recalled the last time she offered to help with the problems of his past.
"She was...beautiful, kind, generous, gentle... She was a lot like you in a way, even in appearance. The only difference was that I loved her very much...but she left me... She said she wouldn't leave me..." His voice stiffened. "...But that was a lie." Téa could feel the pain go through her heart as she listened to Seto continue.
"You must've loved her a lot." She spoke gently.
"Yea...I did." He replied sadly. "I can still remember the day she died like it was yesterday. It haunts me every moment of my life." Seto explained, burying his head in his hands.
"I'm sure she didn't mean to go..." Téa reasoned as she put her hand on his shoulder and leaned down next to him, brushing his hands away from his face.
Seto turned his head to Téa's direction, his eyes filled with tears that he refused to let out. "I know she didn't..." He said in a low whisper. "It was my fault."
Téa was shocked to hear those words. "How could it have been your fault?"
"If I hadn't asked for that ice cream, my mother wouldn't have crossed the street..." Seto squeezed his eyes shut as the picture flashed in his mind again. "...And have gotten hit by that car..." A single teardrop fell from his eye and onto Téa's other hand.
"You can't blame yourself for that. What's happened has happened... You've just got to live with it." Téa said stiffly, but her voice softened again. "You'll get over it..."
"You don't understand. It's my fault! And I can't forget that..." Seto said, trying to convince Téa.
"Quit feeling pity for yourself!" Téa suddenly exclaimed. She looked at Kaiba, whom's expression has not changed at all. "You don't know how much you're worrying those who care about you..." She felt like there was a knot inside her stomach.
"I shouldn't have said anything...just forget it." He said as he leaned back on the couch. "It's not like my life is very interesting anyways..." He joked as he laughed at himself.
"Your life's not boring. Nobody's life can be boring. I'm glad you told me a bit about yourself." Téa said as her blush returned to a glowing red. "Tell me more." She said as she gave him a perky smile.
Seto hesitated a little, thinking if he should tell her more about him. 'She wants to...know more about me? Nobody ever did...that...' After careful thinking, he started opening up to Téa, just a little.
******************
Several hours went by and it soon reached 1:00am and Kaiba had just finished talking about Mokuba and his life in the orphanage. Looking out the window, he began speaking again. "You know Téa...I appreciate you caring for me and everything...but you really don't need to... I'd think it's best if you don't care for me. I'll just end up hurting you...and..." His words were cut off when he felt something rest upon his shoulder. He turned his head away from the window, realizing that Téa had fallen asleep and her head was leaning up against his shoulder. He gave a small smirk. "...You don't know how much you've got me thinking about you..."
He set her down lightly on the couch as he got up and walked over to the opposite side of the room. He picked up his trench coat and walked back over to Téa, laying the trench coat over her to keep her warm for the rest of the night. "Good night." He said as he got up to leave. Thinking, he kneeled back next to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before dimming the lights and leaving the room. Téa turned to her side on the couch as she continued to sleep soundly. Unknown to the both of them, a pair of eyes had been watching them for quite a while now. Snickering, the person creped back up the stairs and hid in a room, leaving the door slightly opened, so you'd be able to see down the hallway.
******************
Approaching the kitchen, Seto began to clean up the mess that was made earlier that day. While clearing the broken glass and wiping away the spill, he stumbled upon the photo Alex had given Téa. He studied it carefully, remembering where he had taken the picture. It was at the orphanage, taken a few days before Gozaburo had come and changed their lives forever. 'I'd have been happier at the orphanage...' He thought as he pocketed the picture and cleaned up the rest of the mess.
Walking back to his room, Seto dragged himself up the stairs as he thought about the kiss he gave Téa before he left her downstairs. His cheeks turned a light crimson as he entered his room and getting into bed, trying to get some sleep.
******************
The pair of eyes emerged from the darkened room, revealing himself. "I knew you liked her big brother." Mokuba giggled to himself before returning to his room for his rest.
Hushpuppy24: Wow...that was a long chapter...for me at least. ^^ Anyways hope you liked that~! Oh...and for those of you who know first aid, I know that's not how you're supposed to treat a burn. Any of you that ever does get a burn, do not follow the procedure that was in the story~! If you are ever burned, put whichever part is burned in cold water quickly. Also take off any jewellery that might be in the way of the swelling that would occur. Not a pretty sight...^^|| Anyways, R+R please~!
Hushpuppy24: For those of you wondering how Seto was able to swallow the Tylenol when he was unconscious, there's a simple explanation to that. If you've noticed, the nurse had given the tablets to Téa, not Kaiba, so he didn't take them right away at the nurse's office. If you think carefully for a moment, you'd also noticed the time change. When Seto fainted, it was at lunch hour, but he wakes up from sleeping, moments after Téa's flashback, which should've been hours later since Mokuba was back from school. Therefore, coming to the conclusion that Kaiba has waken up in between the hours the story had not mentioned, and had taken the pills. I was hoping nobody would notice, but then...somebody did. ^^ *Laughs nervously*
Anyways, last time...
Mokuba and Seto had a little talk about the happenings of that afternoon. Seto thought that Mokuba had been really worried for him and apologized, but Mokuba told him he wasn't worried at all, because he knew his big brother would always be there for him. Explaining how he got home, Mokuba claims that Alex had stopped to visit earlier, and had told him that Téa likes Seto. Kaiba tried to accept the fact that he feels the same way for Téa, but every time he tried, a picture of Gozaburo flashed in his mind, reminding him that love is what makes a person weak, power is everything. Realizing his brother's pain, Mokuba told Seto to go downstairs and eat his soup. Down at the kitchen, Téa scooped up a bowl of boiling hot soup and set it on the counter. She took out a picture from her pockets as she recalled that afternoon's conversation with Alex. Mokuba had brought over a friend while visiting Seto. Alex wasn't shy at all and immediately introduced herself. She quickly jumped to the conclusion that Téa was Seto's girlfriend. Even after Téa denied the fact that she was Seto's girlfriend, Alex continuously accuses Téa of having feelings for Kaiba. Before Alex left, she gave a picture of Seto and Mokuba of when they were young to Téa, just until she realizes her true feelings for Seto. Escaping from her flashback, Téa begins to think about her feelings for Kaiba when her name was called. Noticing Kaiba only several feet away, she quickly pocketed the picture and offered him the soup that was cooling on the table. The bowl burning her hands caused her to drop the bowl, shattering it to pieces and spilling the hot substance. Opening her eyes, she finds herself wrapped in the arms of Kaiba, several feet away from the broken glass and liquid, staring into his crystal blue eyes.
Man that was a long summary! On with the story then...
Chapter 18
******************
'His eyes are so warm...so...unlike his usual cold blue eyes...' Téa thought as her eyes locked with Kaiba's. A slight touch of pink formed on her cheeks as she gazed at the handsome features of the one holding her. 'What am I thinking? This is THE Seto Kaiba! The heartless jerk who ripped up the fourth Blue Eyes White Dragon that had belonged to Yugi's Grandpa. The Seto Kaiba that cheated his way into making Yugi surrender the match at the duelist kingdom.' Her thoughts filled with anger, but they quickly faded away. 'The Seto Kaiba that risked everything to save his brother... The Seto Kaiba...that kept me from harm repeatedly...' Her thoughts hesitated a little. 'Maybe he's really not that bad... Why am I defending him anyways? Could Joey and Alex be right? Could I...' The next thought was difficult to think about. '...Have fallen for Kaiba?' Her heartbeat quickened as the room silenced.
'Why is she looking at me in that way?' Seto thought to himself. 'Her eyes glisten so beautifully in the light...so alluring...' He thought as he held Téa in his arm. 'How I wish I could just tell her how I feel...No! I can't.' His mind disagreed. 'She doesn't want me. I'm no good for her. I'd just make her unhappy. She'd be better off with Yugi...or Tristan...or even that puppy dog, Joey. Ok...so maybe not that puppy dog...but at least he makes her happy... I'd just cause more misery for the both of us. I shouldn't even be here...' With that thought, he gently removed his arm from Téa's waist, when a piercing pain struck him. He winced at the pain as Téa quickly took attention to what was the matter.
"Your arm..." Téa said as she held Seto's right arm, her face filled with worry. "You must've gotten a burn from the soup when you yanked me out of its way..." She gently pushed Seto's sleeves up, as she looked the red marks that formed on his arm. Seto winced more at the pain, his other hand squeezed tightly into a fist until it started to tremble, preventing himself from crying out loud in pain.
"I'm fine." He said sternly, trying to pull away from Téa's grasp, but only hurting himself much more.
"No you're not!" Téa argued back. "Stop trying to be such a tough guy!" Her face seemed filled with anger, but soon turned into a look of concern. "Just let me help..." She stared into his eyes. Seto was speechless. The room was silent once again when a call from upstairs suddenly startled the two of them.
"Is everything ok?" Mokuba called from upstairs. "I heard a loud crash coming from downstairs! Are you two ok?"
Téa was about to answer, but Seto had already begun to yell back the reply. "We're fine! We just dropped something!"
"Ok!" Came the sweet innocent voice from above.
"You are not fine! You're injured while you still have a fever that hasn't completely cleared yet!" Téa exclaimed in anger and frustration, but also in worry and concern. Seto was a little taken back at how much she cared.
"Why'd you have to care so much?" He said in a flat tone.
Téa thought for a while, not knowing what to say. She could risk telling him how she felt, but what would he know about feelings for others? She'd just make a fool of herself...so she went with the next best answer. "I care...because you're my friend..." She said quietly. "...And I don't want to see you get hurt." Kaiba slowly began to accept this fact and returned her kind words with a warm smile. Téa gave him a smile back. "Come on." She took Seto's unharmed hand and began to drag him towards the living room. Kaiba only followed her lead until they came upon a cozy room with light blue carpeting.
Two couches sat opposite from each other with a circular glass table in the middle of the room. His trench coat laid on one of the couches. A medium sized television set sat in the space above the fireplace, and a huge window was placed next to one of the couches with satin-like red drapes hanging down the sides of the window, facing out to the now darkened sky, only lit by the moon, stars and several street lights. Several pictures of Téa and her parents stood on the shelf next to the fireplace and in the centre, a golden-framed picture of Téa and her friends smiling happily on a sunny day at the beach. Téa led Seto over to the couch and had him sit down. Then she started out the room. "Where are you going?" Seto asked as Téa reached the doorway.
"To get the first aid kit." Téa said before leaving the room. Seto sat there waiting patiently with one leg over the other. A couple minutes passed until Téa finally returned with the first aid kit in her hands. She sat down next to Kaiba and slowly searched through the box until she found the item she desired. Taking a damp cloth, she gently dabbed Seto's arm of where it was burnt to prevent the swelling to become even worst. Seto refrained from screaming, only letting out a tiny whimper so that it wouldn't arouse suspicion and worry from his little brother. Unravelling the bandage from its roll, Téa took Kaiba's forearm and wrapped the bandage around the burned areas. The two kept silent. Téa busied herself wrapping the bandage on Kaiba's arm, as Kaiba looked out the huge window, gazing out into the stars. After several minutes of silence, Téa had finished bandaging Seto's arm.
"Thanks." He muttered.
"You're welcome." Téa muttered back. The two fell into another awkward silence. Téa's blush still had not disappeared completely, but is much lighter now. She looked over at Seto. He was still staring out the window. "Kaiba..." She said quietly to get his attention. His head turned to her direction, his shadow creeping on the floor as the light from the moon reflected off his face. Téa looked down at her lap as she spoke. "While you were sleeping, you kept crying out for your mother..." She told him. "What was she like? She must've been very special to you for you to call out for her so much..." She lifted her head and looked at Seto for a response. Noticing his upset expression she quickly added, "If you don't mind telling me... I mean you don't have to... Actually! Just forget I ever asked." She looked away again as she recalled the last time she offered to help with the problems of his past.
"She was...beautiful, kind, generous, gentle... She was a lot like you in a way, even in appearance. The only difference was that I loved her very much...but she left me... She said she wouldn't leave me..." His voice stiffened. "...But that was a lie." Téa could feel the pain go through her heart as she listened to Seto continue.
"You must've loved her a lot." She spoke gently.
"Yea...I did." He replied sadly. "I can still remember the day she died like it was yesterday. It haunts me every moment of my life." Seto explained, burying his head in his hands.
"I'm sure she didn't mean to go..." Téa reasoned as she put her hand on his shoulder and leaned down next to him, brushing his hands away from his face.
Seto turned his head to Téa's direction, his eyes filled with tears that he refused to let out. "I know she didn't..." He said in a low whisper. "It was my fault."
Téa was shocked to hear those words. "How could it have been your fault?"
"If I hadn't asked for that ice cream, my mother wouldn't have crossed the street..." Seto squeezed his eyes shut as the picture flashed in his mind again. "...And have gotten hit by that car..." A single teardrop fell from his eye and onto Téa's other hand.
"You can't blame yourself for that. What's happened has happened... You've just got to live with it." Téa said stiffly, but her voice softened again. "You'll get over it..."
"You don't understand. It's my fault! And I can't forget that..." Seto said, trying to convince Téa.
"Quit feeling pity for yourself!" Téa suddenly exclaimed. She looked at Kaiba, whom's expression has not changed at all. "You don't know how much you're worrying those who care about you..." She felt like there was a knot inside her stomach.
"I shouldn't have said anything...just forget it." He said as he leaned back on the couch. "It's not like my life is very interesting anyways..." He joked as he laughed at himself.
"Your life's not boring. Nobody's life can be boring. I'm glad you told me a bit about yourself." Téa said as her blush returned to a glowing red. "Tell me more." She said as she gave him a perky smile.
Seto hesitated a little, thinking if he should tell her more about him. 'She wants to...know more about me? Nobody ever did...that...' After careful thinking, he started opening up to Téa, just a little.
******************
Several hours went by and it soon reached 1:00am and Kaiba had just finished talking about Mokuba and his life in the orphanage. Looking out the window, he began speaking again. "You know Téa...I appreciate you caring for me and everything...but you really don't need to... I'd think it's best if you don't care for me. I'll just end up hurting you...and..." His words were cut off when he felt something rest upon his shoulder. He turned his head away from the window, realizing that Téa had fallen asleep and her head was leaning up against his shoulder. He gave a small smirk. "...You don't know how much you've got me thinking about you..."
He set her down lightly on the couch as he got up and walked over to the opposite side of the room. He picked up his trench coat and walked back over to Téa, laying the trench coat over her to keep her warm for the rest of the night. "Good night." He said as he got up to leave. Thinking, he kneeled back next to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before dimming the lights and leaving the room. Téa turned to her side on the couch as she continued to sleep soundly. Unknown to the both of them, a pair of eyes had been watching them for quite a while now. Snickering, the person creped back up the stairs and hid in a room, leaving the door slightly opened, so you'd be able to see down the hallway.
******************
Approaching the kitchen, Seto began to clean up the mess that was made earlier that day. While clearing the broken glass and wiping away the spill, he stumbled upon the photo Alex had given Téa. He studied it carefully, remembering where he had taken the picture. It was at the orphanage, taken a few days before Gozaburo had come and changed their lives forever. 'I'd have been happier at the orphanage...' He thought as he pocketed the picture and cleaned up the rest of the mess.
Walking back to his room, Seto dragged himself up the stairs as he thought about the kiss he gave Téa before he left her downstairs. His cheeks turned a light crimson as he entered his room and getting into bed, trying to get some sleep.
******************
The pair of eyes emerged from the darkened room, revealing himself. "I knew you liked her big brother." Mokuba giggled to himself before returning to his room for his rest.
Hushpuppy24: Wow...that was a long chapter...for me at least. ^^ Anyways hope you liked that~! Oh...and for those of you who know first aid, I know that's not how you're supposed to treat a burn. Any of you that ever does get a burn, do not follow the procedure that was in the story~! If you are ever burned, put whichever part is burned in cold water quickly. Also take off any jewellery that might be in the way of the swelling that would occur. Not a pretty sight...^^|| Anyways, R+R please~!