Chapter 6 – Being Civil Isn't Easy

Disclaimer – Okay, just read the first five. I'm not writing them anymore.

Thanks for all of the great reviews for the first five chapters of my insane little adventure into the world of Yu-Gi-Oh.

What's going to happen now? As you recall, the gang has just arrived and Joey is not impressed to find Kaiba already there. And why is Mokuba grinning like the cat that just got the cream? Does he have a surprise in store for our new, dare I say it, "couple"? Will Yugi/Yami realize that something isn't quite right between Kaiba and Téa? Hehehehe... this and more will be answered in this chapter.

Just a quick note – if a sentence is in italics, and single quotes, it's Yami and Yugi talking to each other. Should be pretty clear.

- Round 2 -

"Mmm eating, dat's the part I been waitin' all day to do," Joey commented, his accent making Seto wince. He was the first one to step through the door and consequently, the first one to see Seto sitting on the couch. "Kaiba?! What the hell are you doin' here?"

Seto regarded him coolly from his perch on the couch before replying icily, "Watch your language, mutt." Téa could almost see the hackles on the back of Joey's neck rise in challenge. A quick glance at Seto and she could see that the mask of indifference was back up. She bit her lip in frustration. Why did Joey have to start this all up again? This was not a good way to start off a Christmas party. Tristan, Yugi and Mokuba were still outside on the front porch and were wondering what the hold up was. The tree they were carrying was big, heavy and wrapped up in rope so it was easier to manoeuvre. Well, not Mokuba. He was really too small to help carry the tree but he was grinning from ear to ear and he patted his pocket to make sure his little surprise was still there.

"C'mon, you two, can't you play nice for tonight at least? Remember, Christmas spirit, cheer and good will to all mankind," Téa persuaded, hoping that Joey would listen to reason for a change and try to control himself where Seto was concerned. No such luck, judging by the white-knuckled fist that didn't have a death grip on the rope around the tree.

"That mutt is not a man. He's just a little puppy dog that wants to play with the wolves," Seto taunted. Joey's face was getting redder and redder and a distinct growl erupted from deep in his throat, sounding for all the world like a dog ready to attack.

"Joey! Kaiba! That's enough. If either of you can't at least be civil for tonight, I'll have to ask you to leave. You know I mean it, too." Téa didn't want to use threats to make people do what she wanted but Seto wasn't going to voluntarily back down and neither was Joey. Seto shot her a look that said if she forced Joey to behave, he would too.

"Joey, what's going on? What's all the shouting about?" Yugi asked, shifting his grip on the rope that was wrapped around the tree.

"Yeah, c'mon man. This thing's big and heavy. Let's get it in there," Tristan added, sounding a little annoyed at being left out in the cold.

"A' right, let's get de tree inside. Den Kaiba can make like one 'n' leave," Joey said, his eyes still flashing angrily.

"Kaiba? What's he doing here?" Tristan asked. Obviously he hadn't heard exactly what the shouting was all about. Well, he had been too busy thinking about the way the girl at the tree stand had smiled at him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Wheeler. I am an invited guest." Seto's smirk grew wider as he saw comprehension finally dawn in Wheeler's eyes. Maybe there was some form of intelligence there after all.

"Téa, you didn't... didja?" Joey asked pleadingly. That's all he needed, trying to defend himself against that arrogant jerk for the rest of the night. Good way to spoil an appetite, too.

"Well, Joey, I did. I invited Kaiba and Mokuba to join us for the evening." Téa had instinctively switched back to calling him Kaiba, Seto noticed, and he heaved an inward sigh of relief. Then again, with only Joey's reactions to judge by, it might have been too much for them to handle if she'd called him 'Seto' just then. That might've opened up something neither of them were ready to deal with yet.

"If ya did invite him, den I guess I can be nice t' him for de evenin', as long as he's nice t' me!" With a humph, Joey started moving again, much to the relief of Tristan and Yugi. Mokuba trailed in behind the three older boys, still smiling, with his hand pressed against one of his coat pockets. 'This is going to be perfect,' Mokuba thought to himself. The smile faded quickly when he saw his big brother sitting on the couch. Seto could smell a plot hatching a mile away. He busied himself with closing the front door and taking off his hat, scarf, boots, mittens and coat that Seto had made him wear before he'd gotten dropped off at Yugi's.

Téa shot Seto a look that spoke volumes, namely if he didn't behave, he was going to get kicked out. Period, end of story, no room for negotiation no matter what they'd done together outside and in the kitchen. Téa's Rules were law in this house. Seto rolled his eyes and gave her an almost imperceptible nod. Spending the night being civil to Wheeler, and the "gang", wasn't going to be easy but if it made her happy... one small box in red and green paper had caused all of this to happen to him. She'd better make this worth his while, like she'd promised.

"Are you okay, Mokuba?" Seto asked, his eyes softening when he looked at his younger sibling as he wandered into the living room. That was his only weakness, or maybe his strength. Without his little brother, life would be intolerable.

"I'm fine, Seto. Just fine. I had a really good time getting the tree with Tristan, Yugi and Joey," Mokuba replied in what he hoped was a normal tone of voice. No sense letting Seto know that he'd just eaten chocolate, which he'd been told not to do since it would spoil his appetite for dinner. Seto's eyes narrowed but he didn't comment as he watched Mokuba move to stand by the window and peer outside, watching the white stuff drift down again. Something wasn't quite right but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"So, where do you want this, Téa?" Yugi asked, feeling his heart rate triple and his cheeks redden. At least the cold hid the darkening of his cheeks. In his mind, Yami chuckled knowingly. What one felt, the other one did it seemed. And they'd proven that to be true time and again, especially after the time Yugi had given himself a paper cut on one of his Duel Monster cards. Yami had mumbled about it for days afterwards. 'Quiet, Yami, or I'll force you to switch places and we'll see how you deal with it!' Yugi threatened, his normally sweet voice hard with determination. Yami grew very quiet in the face of that threat. Both of them had a crush, a huge, enormous, mind-consuming crush, on the blue-eyed girl but Yami, once he'd realized how he felt about her too, was more tongue-tied in her presence now than Yugi ever was. Yami continued to watch through Yugi's eyes, having never experienced a real Christmas before.

"In the far corner of the living room, Yugi, by the front window. The tree stand is already set up. Just have to put it in and we can start decorating," Téa replied, heading further into the living room so they had enough space to bring the tree in from the front hallway. The three boys dutifully trudged into the living room behind her, after taking off their shoes of course, and carefully stood the tree upright before placing it into the heavy metal tree stand.

Seto sat on the couch still, arms crossed over his chest, not offering to help them at all. Why should he? He was an invited guest and he had already helped set up the dinner they were going to eat shortly. Putting up the tree was their responsibility. Wheeler got down on his hands and knees and started doing up the screws that would hold the trunk in place.

"Hold it still, Tristan, Yug. It's kinda hard to do dese up wit' de tree swayin' back 'n' forth like dat," Joey complained.

"Well, hurry up, Joey. The tree's not that easy to keep still when it keeps pricking my fingers," Tristan complained right back. Yugi just sighed and kept quiet, his eyes on Téa as she watched them fiddle with the tree. Something around her neck glittered and he wondered what it was and who had given it to her. A flash of jealousy came and went.

'Never kick a dog when he's down,' Seto thought to himself, watching Wheeler work under the tree. It took all of his considerable will power to resist the urge to give Wheeler said kick in the pants as Seto stood up and walked over to Téa. Standing beside her, breathing in that tantalizing smell of her shampoo, watching the pendant he'd given her twinkle around her neck, he found it much harder to resist touching her than kicking Wheeler had been. "I'm getting a cup of coffee. Do you want one?" His gravely, whiskey voice didn't betray a hint of anything he was feeling.

"Thanks, Kaiba, that sounds great. Remember how I like it?" she replied, giving him a dazzling smile. He couldn't hide what he was thinking about from her. The arch of his eyebrow was an open book. And the twitch of his fingers made her laugh softly.

"Sweet and creamy, right?" That soft, provocative tone of voice and the seductive curve of his lips was enough to make her want to throw her arms around his neck and kiss the hell out of him. But with a room full of boys that really weren't on as friendly terms with him as she was... that might be a bad idea. Neither of them noticed Mokuba smirking at them from beside the tree, his hand cradling the surprise he'd quietly transferred from his coat to his jeans. This was going to be great!

"Mmm," was all she could say in response. He laughed quietly, the sound coming from deep within his chest, and started to head into the kitchen to get their coffees.

"A coffee sounds great, Kaiba. Could ya put two sugars and some cream in mine," Joey asked as innocently as he could manage. The grin on his lips, when he peered out at them from under the tree, made his tone of voice completely unbelievable. If Téa was going to make them both behave, then Joey was going to enjoy pushing Kaiba to the limits of civility.

"I'll have to remember to put it in doggie dish for you, Wheeler," Seto commented, his voice dripping sarcasm, before he could stop himself. Niagara Falls and a stick. Impossible, remember? Silence fell across the living room at Kaiba's comment. Tristan just looked stunned and Yugi was too busy talking to Yami about Téa's necklace to have noticed what was said. Even Mokuba looked askance at his older brother.

"Ah-ah-ah, Kaiba. Dat wasn't a very nice thing t' say t' me, was it?" His voice was muffled as he was still under the tree but the glee he said that with was totally obvious.

"Now that you have to get three coffees, do you want some help?" Téa asked, her voice completely neutral but her eyes full of fire. He was in for it now. He knew exactly what it was like to be at the receiving end of her sharp-edged tongue. That was one of the things he'd liked about her in the first place. But now, with the new way things stood between them, it was going to be a whole different ball game. "I have to check on a few things in the kitchen anyways."

"Of course. It's your house." He turned back and headed through the archway into the kitchen, his back stiff with indignation. Téa followed a second later, getting ready to blast him for that comment he made to Joey. One simple thing she'd asked of him and he couldn't do it for five minutes. Okay, not a very simple thing considering the past those two shared. She was actually impressed, sort of, that they weren't at each other's throats yet. But Joey wasn't helping any either. She couldn't blame Seto for rising to the bait but he had to control himself or she would chuck him and Joey out on their ears.

In the kitchen...

"Seto, was what I asked of you so hard to do? Can't you be nice to him for a couple of hours?" Raising her voice wasn't going to help the situation so she had tried a different tactic. Disappointment wound through her statement and he actually felt a twinge of guilt at her words.

Grabbing three cups from the end of the counter, Seto placed them near the coffeemaker and picked up the carafe, pouring the steaming brew almost to the brim of each cup. Téa had moved to the stove to check on the cider that was still heating gently before checking on the lasagna and turning off the oven. How could he explain to her that there was something about Wheeler that he didn't like, couldn't stand, actually? Would she understand something like that? Téa was such a friendly girl that she got along with everybody – even him – and she'd probably never come across someone that just rubbed her the wrong way from the get-go. Like Wheeler did to him.

"I'm sorry, but Wheeler isn't helping the situation either. If you can control him, I'll control myself." The spoon clinked repeatedly against the side of the cup as he stirred sugar into Wheeler's cup before adding a spoonful to Téa's. He took a deep breath and held it for a second before releasing it slowly. Tonight was going to be a long night.

"All right, Seto, I'll do what I can. Just remember, if you don't hold up your end of the deal, you may be a long time collecting on our other 'binding, legal agreement'," she replied dryly. The implications of her words made him sit up and take notice. She wouldn't... would she? Looking over at her, seeing the determination in her eyes, he knew she would. "Would you like a quick refresher on what I was promising you before?"

He didn't even get a chance to respond before her hands had grabbed a hold of his shirt and her lips connected to his. The taste of the hot chocolate she'd drank a little while before still lingered on her mouth as his tongue flicked over her lips, greedily sucking on her lower lip. The kiss didn't last nearly long enough and their lips separated with an audible 'pop', but it held the promise of delights to come. All he had to do was remain civil to the mutt. Breathe deep. Exhale.

"Sorry it was so short but it was just a taste of what I promised you," she purred, smoothing down the material of his shirt where she'd grabbed it before backing away from him slowly. That hungry gleam in his eyes was too alluring and she was having a hard time controlling herself. What was the rest of the night going to be like?

"Mmm short but worth it," Seto replied, feeling his heart finally start to slow down. She poured the apple cider into a punch bowl and set it near the glasses at the end of the counter as Seto finished getting the three coffees ready. He was proud of himself, too, he hadn't done anything at all to Wheeler's to make it undrinkable, though he was still sorely tempted to spit in it. If it was the last thing he did, he was going to show himself to be a better man than that mutt could ever hope to be.

"Yours is on the counter," he said, grasping two mugs by the handles and starting to head back to the living room. She grabbed hers quickly and joined him just at the archway into the living room.

That was when the shouting started and chaos erupted.

Don't you just love cliff-hangers?

Hope you enjoyed this round. Just think, there's a lot more to come. They haven't even started the decorating yet! This is mostly a set up for what's going to happen in later chapters (in November) and the sequel that will be coming out sometime in December.

See you in Chapter 7 – When the Going Gets Tough...

Thanks for reading and reviewing. Bandgeek77 – see you at work where I can fill you in on the dish!

Aphrael21 ;)