"Hey Tea, you need a ride, or are you all set?"

Tristan had taken up the role of carpool since Joey left. 'Which reminds me... I have to ask him about that.' Grabbing the keys up off the kitchen table he walked over to the brunette and waved a hand in front of her dazed face.

"Hello? Earth to Tea... Anybody in there?"

"Oh, what?" She snapped out of her daydream blinking. "Did you say something?"

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Just wondering if you needed a ride home. But man, you've sure been spacey ever since you came back from- hey, where did you go last night anyhow?" Nobody ever told him anything.

Tea looked away and mumbled something under her breath that he couldn't comprehend.

"Mm... What?"

Hey gaze came back to him annoyed. "Out. Okay? I just went out."

He shrugged, "Okay, fine. It's fine with me. But back to where we started... Do you need a ride?"

"I could take Mokuba home."

Another shrug. "Yeah, but I'm offering. So I'm guessing you're staying longer then...?"

"No, it's fine." She snatched the keys out of his hand and smiled sweetly. "Really, no trouble."

Tristan's expression twisted in confusion as he stared at her. "Um... are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" The same sweet smile accompanied her face.

"Stop that. It's creepy when you smile like that. I just thought it was weird that in all of about twelve hours you've gone from happy, to spastically sad, to angry-" He'd heard her and Joey screaming at each other last night, it was hard not to... "Then to just plain spacey, and now you're being this creepy happy like you know some dirty little secret." He then raised an eyebrow and stared at her quizzically, but with humor tinted behind it. "You weren't out getting laid last night... were you?"

"No!" Tea's face burned a bright red, her mind had skipped over to Seto, of course, and it had been slightly related to what Tristan said, and the image from that she found to be embarrassing to be even thinking about.

Tristan noticed her flush and this made him smile; it was always fun to playfully torture his friends. "Oh, sorry. My mistake. Of course, what was I thinking? It IS Tea we're talking about here after all..."

"Heeeey, what's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. Just that who in their right mind would want to screw you?"

Tea put her hands on her hips and scowled. "I should be insulted! But... you know... I do know somebody, in their right mind, who WOULD want to sleep with me..." Her voice trailed off to a taunting low and that innocent smile reappeared on her lips.

"What? Is this Tea I'm talking to? Our innocent little girl who would do no wrong?" His hand went over his mouth in a mock gasp. "Tea! I'm appalled!"

"You think I'm kidding, don't you?"

He dropped his sarcasm and smiled, "What do you think?"

"I'm not though..."

"Sure you aren't." The sarcasm popped right back in.

"I'm not! Besides, it's not like anyone would even get in a miles distance of having you be their f-"

"Tea!" Yugi had been hearing them from the other room for a little while, and had decided to come in just at that exact moment. His eyes were spread wide and staring at the beautiful brunette. Everything in the house had gotten scrambled beyond all belief, and now his innocent friend, Tea, had been having fights with his other friend, Joey, enough to drive both of them out of the house for a while, and one for the entire night... And now she was swearing at Tristan? 'Why is she acting like this?' He was running his violet orbs over her face, trying to figure her out, trying to figure out what angle, or what planet at least, she was coming from.

"What?" Defensively she crossed her arms and frowned at him. "I'm just saying that no one would want to f-"

"Tea!" Yugi covered his ears and shut his eyes. "Be quiet! What's gotten into you?"

Tristan, seeing the potentiality of this no longer just being a playful back and forth argument that everyone would laugh at later, but instead a real fight, took a step in to calm the chaos. "Hey guys, come on. Just forget it. Why don't we do something else?"

"It's HER fault!" Yugi pointed accusingly at Tea. "She's- She's- Tristan!" His face gave enough explanation, the kind that says 'Come on man, you know where I'm coming from. This is TEA we're talking about here. You can't possibly be siding with HER. She's being just plain nasty!'

The brunette looked between either one of his friends. If he sided with Tea, Yugi's upset, if he sided with Yugi, then Tea's upset. "Um..." His head jam filled and his worries overcrowding him, Tristan did the only thing he could think of, and the one thing he could always do right... panic. "GottaGo! Talk to you guys later! Bye!"

He bolted for the door and ran straight out of the house, leaving Tea there staring at Yugi, and Yugi there staring at Tea.

Both of them were confused at what just happened, and Tea, still being upset with Yugi for getting hyped up over a little thing of just swearing, followed Tristan's example and went out the door.

And that would mean that Yugi was left in the house, with Mokuba and Christa both still there, and him left without the car keys, and no driver's license upon himself either. So what had started out with the simple question to Tea "do you need a ride?" had blown out into the full- scale argument, and the original purpose of having Mokuba and Christa taken home was forgotten entirely.

Yugi turned around and went back into the living room, where Mokuba and Christa were loyally sitting glued to the television, oblivious to it all. Sitting down on the couch next to them he set his eyes to the screen as well. 'If Joey wants to leave because of Tea, let him, he'll be back eventually. If Tristan wants to leave because of Tea, let him. If I want Tea to leave because she's being rude, let her... Mokuba and Christa will just have to go home later.'

*********************

Kaiba was sitting at his desk typing away at his computer as the language that only he understood rambled through the passages of his brain. There was so much to think about, so much to do, so much to avoid... Was last night real? Or was he just imagining it... Was Tea really there? Or was he just dreaming... Had he really forgotten Mokuba, dumped Tea, think he'd tried to murder everyone, go insane, come back, try to commit suicide, become a cutter, and become the sixteen-year-old CEO of a big multi- national company that depended on his every program and thought to survive, and if he made a single mistake his life would be left in ruin? Did his parents really die? Was Mokuba really born? Was he really just a five-year- old boy sitting home at his house playing video games while he sat on the living room floor and his mother was making chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen?

It was all so confusing, and he was loosing his grip between reality and dreams.

As his fingers flew over keys, he couldn't even begin to answer even the simplest question that was running through his head. Three words, and he couldn't find an answer. Who am I? He thought it sounded like some sad soap opera, but he didn't know. Was he Seto Kaiba, cooperate executive of Kaiba Corp? Or was he Seto, the little boy who just wanted to play his game?

Program after program, business meeting after business meeting, annoying client, fixing problems, making sure salaries didn't overrun the company... His brain was multitasking all of this when it was halted by the doorbell.

He gave a frustrated sigh and jammed his fingers down onto the keyboard. Then, getting up from his desk he left his office and ran down the stairs. 'Mokuba, it's probably Mokuba...'

When he opened up the door he found it to be NOT Mokuba in the least and an uncomfortable swarm came over him.

"Oh... um... hey Tea. What are you doing here?"

She smiled at him. "You told me I could come back. Remember?"

"Oh, right." It came out cold and flat as he turned away from her with the open door. "Come on in."

Tea walked in the door and followed him into the living room where she sat down on couch and looked up at him still smiling. "So... How've you been?"

"Fine."

She cocked her head. "Just fine?"

"Fine." His icy orbs didn't even bother fazing her as he held his hands behind his back and stared blankly at her face, but not really at her, much like he did at work... Looking through people.

"You're acting kind of weird, is everything alright?"

"Tea." He paused. What to say? What to say? He found this awkward beyond all human reason, and when he didn't feel like opening up... It was very hard for him to break that barrier. Here he knew he could, but his subconscious kept driving it into his skull. 'It's Tea, it's Tea. Forget about it. She's Tea. You dumped her, you don't get second chances with these things. She doesn't want you. She wants somebody else, somebody much closer to her...' "Why did you bother coming back?"

Harsh, very harsh, the second it split his lips he knew that's what it was and he wanted to slap himself for it. 'Why did you bother coming back? Excellent way to try and patch things up you moron...' He saw her face twist and he looked away and mumbled. "Look, I didn't mean for it to come out li-"

"Jerk!"

Palm met cheek and his head shot right back up to stare at her. Putting a hand against the red skin he made sure she hadn't opened up the scabs from the night before and then bore holes through her with his eyes.

"Gardner, I don't know what's gotten into, but that's the third time you've slapped me in two days. Now I can't tell you why, but you've changed. The Tea I knew five months ago wouldn't have dared to touch someone in such an abrasive way. And if you ever, I mean EVER, try to do that again... I swear, that it will be your last chance to do so." 'I've had my share of beatings, but none can compare to that of someone who's supposed to be caring for you.'

Tea noticed the fire the was lifted behind his irises and she back up a little. "Seto-"

"And don't call me Seto. Gardner, right now you've sent yourself away from me all the way to America for what I care. Maybe I loved Tea, but not this Tea. If you really were in my basement last night, and not just some figment of my imagination... Then I can't explain why you came, or what you were looking for. But right now, I was trying to apologize. And you slapped me. I've had cuts over my entire body, and I don't care to have anymore, thank you very much. Now either you could please leave-" His body had started quivering in a rage of torment for himself. "Or, or you can try to explain. But Gardner, you've lost yourself. You've crushed your own wings. I don't care if you don't, or ever did, love me. I'm not going to get anywhere near you until you find yourself again. I will not set myself up for abuse Gardner!"

"Seto-"

"It's Kaiba! That's all I am to you Gardner." His hand reached into his pocket and he pulled out one of those soft velvet boxes and jammed into her own palm and he whispered. "And that's all I'll ever be. Nothing more, nothing less. It's just Kaiba. You know him, and you might not hate him anymore... But that's still all I am to you. Just Kaiba."

He turned away from her and walked straight up the stairs and slammed the door to his office. Falling down on the couch he buried his face in his hands and meshed his fingers in his hair. "Where have you gone my little princess? What have you done to yourself?"

*********************

Downstairs, Tea opened up the little velvety case that had been shoved upon her. As soon as she did her eyes went wide and her gaze darted from the stairs and back a couple of times.

"Oh Seto..."

Closing it again a little tear dribbled down her cheek. A ring, he'd bought a ring. She sat down hard on the couch, lost for words and she stared at the black shrine in her palm and pain coursed through her body. 'I'm sorry...'

((Sorry that took so long. But here it is! Hope you people enjoyed it ^_^ More ideas should be coming out sooner. Hehehe! I'm so happy! ::hugs herself:: Ok, sorry.. But anyway. Next one should come out in two weeks or so I'm betting, it seems to be working that way.. Review please!))