Hello again, it is I, Seren147 and it is that time again. Yes! Time for a chapter update! So without much further adieu, here is chapter 14!
Oh, and I don't own YGO or any of its characters. Only this story. Thank you.
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14. The End of an "Amusing" Day
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"Hey Téa, what do you think about some cotton candy? I see a vendor over there." Yugi pointed off into the distance as he turned to talk to his friend. "I don't know about you, but I've been wanting some all day."
Téa smiled as she looked down at Yugi. "Ok, sure! That sounds great."
As they both started to make their way to the cotton candy vendor, Yugi suddenly stopped in his tracks and started laughing.
"What is it?" Téa asked him, concerned.
"Well…it's just that…just that…"
Téa rolled her eyes impatiently. "Just what, Yugi?"
As Yugi's laughter died down, he managed to get his words out. "Well, we're missing someone! I think Tristan is still back in the bathroom."
As they both turned to look back at where the public restrooms were located, giggles erupted anew as they saw Tristan looking around frantically for them. He finally spotted them and trotted over.
"Hey guys, thought I lost you for a moment there!" he said, as he came to a stop beside them. "Sorry if I took too long. All I can say is to never eat carnival burritos."
As Téa and Yugi laughed and Tristan looked embarrassed, they once again resumed their walk towards the vendor.
"Up for some cotton candy, Tristan?" Yugi asked, looking over to his brown haired friend.
"I'm not too sure about that one, Yugi." Tristan replied, rubbing his stomach. "Maybe I'll just sit this one out." He smiled at them. "You guys go on ahead; I'll wait here for you."
"Are you sure, Tristan?" Téa asked, opening up her purse. "It's my treat."
"Nah," Tristan regretfully declined, "But thanks anyway."
As Yugi and Téa made their way to the vendor, Tristan walked over to a nearby bench to sit and wait for them. The wind was starting to blow, and Tristan pulled his coat around himself tighter. Glancing at his watch, he saw that it was near 7 PM. 'If we leave now, we can still make it to the movies…' he thought, as he looked around aimlessly and people-watched. Yugi and Téa were still talking to the vendor man.
"I wish they'd hurry up…" Tristan muttered to himself, tapping his fingers on the back of the bench. "It's getting cold out here…" He yawned as his gaze wandered over to the ferris wheel…where he couldn't believe his eyes.
"That's not…that's not…" Sitting up perfectly straight and narrowing his eyes, Tristan attempted to get a better look at just who it was exactly that was seated in one of the carts. "I don't believe it…"
Bouncing up out of his seat, he quickly made his way over to where Yugi and Téa had just received their treat.
"Hey guys you won't believe what I just saw!" He exclaimed loudly, startling Yugi and making him drop his sweet.
"Quiet down, Tristan, everyone is looking!" Téa scolded, as she attempted to help Yugi pick up his ruined cotton candy. "Ugh, this is a mess."
"Sorry," Tristan replied impatiently, "but you're not gonna believe this!"
"Believe what, Tristan?" Yugi asked, as he walked over to a nearby garbage can and deposited the sticky mess. "Téa, do you think you can hand me some of those napkins over there?"
"Sure thing, Yugi, hold on."
Tristan tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for the two to finish up. "Well," he explained, "I just saw Seto Kaiba on the ferris wheel—"
"Well that's sure odd." Téa interrupted.
Tristan gave her a look and then went on. "Anyway, as I was saying, I just saw Seto Kaiba on the ferris wheel…and he was with Serenity!"
"Serenity?" Yugi repeated, staring at Tristan.
"Yeah. Serenity." Tristan confirmed, feeling himself start to get angry. "I mean what in the world would he want with a sweet girl like her—"
"Well he did kind of save her." Téa pointed out, trying to look over Tristan's shoulder at the ferris wheel. It had already come to a stop.
"Yeah, 'save' her, whatever, that's all past. What I wanna know is what is he doing with her right now! And since when does he come to theme parks?"
"Tristan, calm down!" Téa shouted, desperate to shut Tristan up. "We all know that you have some big crush on her or whatever but did you ever stop to think that there may be more to this then what you think!"
Standing to the side of his two angry friends, Yugi bit his lip thoughtfully. "Like what, Téa?" he asked quietly, hoping to calm his friends down.
"Well, like, ummm…like…" Téa started to frown. "Well, I don't know, maybe she's trying to thank him for his kindness or something."
They all smiled at the statement she had made and she finally rolled her eyes. "Ok, ok, so maybe not that." she agreed.
"Oh look, there they are!" Tristan suddenly whispered, pulling on Yugi and Téa as they quickly hid themselves behind a nearby structure. "Don't let them see us."
"Why so secretive?" Téa asked, and was quickly silenced by Tristan.
They turned their attention to the couple making their way to the exit of the theme park.
"They look…so happy..." Téa murmured, gazing at the faces of Serenity and Kaiba as they walked by. Serenity's laugh was the only sound that they could hear clearly; the rest of their conversation remained a mystery.
"Wow guys," said Yugi, "look at Kaiba."
His usual arrogant smirk was gone and in its place was something that just didn't seem right on Kaiba for some reason. It wasn't exactly a smile but…it was close.
"Yeah…" answered Téa, "I've never seen him look that way before."
As Serenity and Kaiba finally disappeared around the corner and out of sight, Yugi, Téa and Tristan came out from their hiding spot.
"Woah," Téa said, astonished, "Did we just see what I think we just saw?"
"Yeah," answered Yugi, "I think we did."
They looked at each other with wide eyes and then turned to the silent Tristan.
"Uhhh…Tristan?" Yugi asked him, a little worried by his friend's countenance, "Are you ok?"
Tristan remained silent, with his jaw set, staring at the ground. He gave no answer.
"Maybe it's not what it seems…" Yugi tried to get Tristan to talk, but he just looked so…so angry. His silence scared Yugi.
"Well whatever we do, we can't tell Joey about this." Téa quipped. "Whatever…that…was," she motioned towards the exit where they had last seen Serenity and Kaiba. "He can't ever know about this."
"Yeah, I agree." said Yugi, nodding. "At least for now. He'd just get too angry and do something rash, I mean, we don't even know the circumstances. Just because they were here together doesn't mean that it was a…date…you know?"
"What else would it be?" Tristan asked softly. His anger seemed to fade as he spoke those words, and now he just looked depressed. "What else would they be doing here?"
"Come on, Tristan!" Téa snapped at him, "It's Kaiba for crying out loud. He'd never date!"
"You…think so?" asked Tristan, looking up from the ground to her face.
"I know so!" She replied, "And besides that, he hates Joey. Do you think he'd ever go out with his sister?"
"Well…no…" Tristan agreed, and then smiled a little. "I guess you're right about that one. He does hate Joey."
Yugi and Téa nodded as Tristan started perking up again. "Yeah!" he exclaimed. "Serenity was probably just doing that out of the goodness of her heart!"
As Tristan was pumped up again and began walking off without them, Yugi and Téa looked at each other. They knew that Téa's explanation to Tristan didn't quite cover the whole story.
"I wonder what's really going on?" Yugi whispered to Téa. "I mean, what were they doing here? Joey was saying that Serenity had been spending a lot of time around Kaiba but…he hasn't mentioned anything for a few days now. I didn't even know that she still visited with him."
Téa shrugged and then looked at Yugi. "I don't know any more then you do. I just didn't want Tristan to get all upset and everything…" Yugi nodded as Téa went on, "I mean, if Tristan got that upset over barely seeing them together, imagine what would happen if they really were on a date! Or worse, if Joey found out! You know how protective he is over Serenity, and how much he hates Kaiba."
"Hey guys, you comin' or what?" Téa and Yugi looked up from their whispered conversation and saw Tristan motioning to them. "I thought you were right behind me!"
"Ok, we'll be right there!" Téa yelled to him, and then looked back at Yugi. "I'll talk to Serenity about this, but, no matter what, I don't think you should tell Joey. Not until we know more…and then maybe not even then."
Yugi nodded his agreement, and then looked down. "Joey is one of my best friends, and I don't like keeping secrets from him…but I also have to look out for him. Right now, I do think that it would be better keeping it from him, but…if anything is happening between Kaiba and Serenity, Joey does deserve to know." He smiled and then looked up. "I just don't want to be the one that has to tell him."
"Yeah, I understand that one Yugi!" Téa agreed, laughing. "I'll let you know what happens after I talk to Serenity."
"Ok" Yugi nodded and then pointed over to where Tristan was still waiting for them. "Oops, I think we're looking a little suspicious over here. We better go catch up with Tristan."
"Yeah, I think you're right." Téa agreed, as they started walking over to Tristan.
"So just what were you guys talking about, anyway?" Tristan questioned, eyes narrowed. "Stuff about me?"
"Oh yeah, Tristan," Téa told him, walking past him and laughing, "We always talk about you when you're twenty feet away from us." She smiled, and then winked at Yugi. "Actually, Yugi and I were talking about a date of our own later."
"Is that so?" Tristan asked Yugi, his voice heavy with insinuation. He flipped a thumbs up to Yugi. "You 'da man, Yuge."
Blushing from the actions of both of his friends, Yugi asked himself why he bothered to hang out with either of them.
"Cool it Tristan, it's just a study date." Téa told him, winking again at Yugi. "We're just working on a little project."
Yugi straightened up as he finally realized what Téa was talking about. The "Operation find out what's going on with Serenity and Kaiba" project. "Oh yeah," he said, "So when did you want me to come over for that anyway?"
"Oh, a few days or so." Téa answered nonchalantly. "I'll call you."
"Ok." said Yugi.
Tristan stood back, giving his friends weird looks. He couldn't help but feel he was missing something. "Hey," he said, "Am I missing something here?"
"Yeah, you're gonna miss ice-cream if you don't hurry up already." Téa told him, as she walked with Yugi towards a different vendor this time. As Tristan hurried to catch up with them, Yugi sighed and said, "Well, I sure hope I don't spill my ice-cream like I spilled my cotton candy."
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"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Serenity looked up at Kaiba and laughed. "You did great on the ferris wheel by the way."
"I wouldn't call it fun…" Kaiba muttered, staring down at the ground as they walked down the street that lay outside the theme park.
"Oh…well…it still beat staying at the hospital, right?"
"…Yeah…I guess…" he replied. "Although anything is better then being stuck there, where I can't even do a thing on my own." He looked down at her. "Even being stuck here with you."
Serenity narrowed her eyes at Kaiba's words. 'Is that a compliment…or an insult?' she thought. She looked up at Kaiba and then back down to the ground. 'He seems…I don't know. I can't really tell what kind of mood he's in…besides a bad one that is. But that's perpetual.'
"So, ummm…sorry about holding your hand so tight…" Serenity slowly said, blushing at her words. 'Maybe that's why he's mad…' she thought. "I'm just a little scared of heights, and well, you saw how far that ride went up."
"You're the one who wanted to ride it." Kaiba replied. "If you were so scared then you shouldn't have acted like you wanted to do it so bad."
"Well, Joey is usually with me, so its ok. And I don't get that scared. I'm not some big baby you know."
"Well you sure act like one…" Kaiba muttered under his breath.
Serenity didn't hear what he had said but refrained from asking him to repeat it. She wasn't sure she even wanted to hear whatever it had been.
The sun was setting fast and the wind was picking up as they continued walking with no particular destination in mind. No one said anything and they just walked along together in silence. There was hardly any traffic on the street that they were on and soon Serenity saw the outline of the Domino Pier in the distance. 'I guess that place is as good as any…'
Serenity snuck a look at Kaiba from the corner of her eye. He was gazing upwards at the darkening sky and seemed to be lost in thought. 'I wonder what he's thinking…' He looked almost peaceful at the moment, the first time that she had really seen that look on his face the whole afternoon.
"Kaiba?" Serenity asked, breaking the silence that had formed between them.
"Yeah?" He said, changing his gaze from the sky to her face. She felt herself starting to blush under his intent stare.
"Ummm…nothing." Serenity broke her gaze away from Kaiba's eyes and tried not to look nervous. She was going to suggest that they walk along the pier…but when he had looked at her like that…
Instead of saying anything, Serenity just gradually led the way towards the Pier. There were a few other couples walking about, enjoying the sunset and the close comfort of one another…but overall it was pretty deserted. Kaiba continued to walk silently beside her.
As they continued walking and left the other lovers behind, Serenity finally stopped and broke the silence once again when she saw a bench off in the distance. It faced the beach and the sand, and a glorious view of the reddening sun. Its beauty almost brought tears to her eyes.
"Seto…how about there?" She motioned towards the bench and then resumed her walk towards it without waiting for his response.
He stared after her for a few moments and then followed her. Seating himself next to her when they had reached the bench, he waited for her to say something. When she didn't, he shifted his gaze from the view to her sitting beside him.
She was staring out at what was left of the blazing sun before it diminished over the waves, a slight smile on her face. She looked so calm, so beautiful, and so…serene. In that moment she truly lived up to her name…and he felt it spreading to him, throughout him. All the words that he had said earlier, all the thoughts of not needing her, of not wanting her…they all disappeared in this moment.
As Serenity sat there, she had yet to notice Kaiba looking at her. Enjoying the view but feeling chilled, she brought her hands up and crossed her arms in order to conserve her warmth. In her scurried attempt to help Joey with dinner earlier that afternoon she had gone off and left her coat…and now she regretted it.
Startled by movements beside her, she quickly looked over and noticed that Kaiba was taking off his trenchcoat.
"Here." he said gruffly, "It's not much, but it will keep you a little warmer at least." He turned and began to drape it over her shoulders.
"Thank you…Seto." She smiled at him as he looked up from his task. His hands still on her shoulders, she slowly brought her left hand up to cover one of his own. "Thank you very much…for your kindness."
As much as the words should have nauseated him, he didn't move. He only continued staring at her, feeling something inside of him, something warm, unlike anything he had ever felt before. "Serenity…" He didn't want that feeling to disappear. Not yet. Bringing his other hand to her chin, the one that wasn't covered by her own, he gently tilted her face up and softly put his lips to her own…and kissed her.
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Ok, so there is the end of chapter 14! *looks over content she has written* Oh! I like it I like it! Hopefully all of you out there do too. Leave me a review please! (I love 'em) More reviews mean faster chapter updates! Yey! So…anyway…wonder what's gonna happen in the next chapter? Ohhh how will Kaiba react to his own actions? How will Serenity react? Most importantly, will Joey find out, and if he does, how will he react? Well, guess we'll just have to wait and see! (I haven't written it yet…) So anyway, a few side notes, this story still has many chapters ahead in it, regardless of how it looks now, and I've got many ideas for the future. I think (or at least I hope) this story improves with every chapter because ever since chapter 12, I've loved these chapters! Hopefully everyone agrees and I'm not just being delusional lol. So ummm…for this chapter's giveaway I'm giving out cotton candy and ice-cream for all, courtesy of Yugi. Feel free to share yours with him since he dropped his cotton candy and…regretfully…he also dropped his ice-cream as well while he inserted his head into a "Dark Magician" cut-out for a photo souvenir. Other then that, please just leave a review with questions, comments, ideas, anything to help encourage me or make the story better. Thank you for all your time and patience! You guys are wonderful. Until next time…
~Seren147