NOTE: Okay peoples, this chapter takes place that first Saturday after she begins her job (that'd be a week since the first chapter). So, she's spent a good…4 days or so working for Kaiba. Anywho, that's the setting of the story. Okay? Oh, and from now on, each chapter will have the month in which it takes place in italics at the beginning of the story. Each story should take place about a month later or so…maybe not that long…we'll see.

Disclaimer: Here's an analogy for you: LuvinAnime owns Yu-Gi-Oh: LuvinAnime is as rich as Bill Gates. There, have I expressed that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh?

Chapter 6: That First Saturday and a Cooking Frenzy

June

Tea opened her eyes suddenly and felt herself hit the floor, all tangled up in the covers. What was that? Why had she just woken up and fallen on the floor? Tea swore she had just heard someone scream…or yell. Yeah, yell was most likely the answer.

Tea threw off the covers and stood up. She had a pretty good idea what had happened. After all, it was Saturday. She walked to her dresser and opened the bottom drawer. She took out something, and then walked out of her room.

Tea stood on the wall next to Seto's room and waited. She was sure the two were in there. She saw a hand and part of a white shirt (with a purple stripe on the cuff) start leaving the room, with it's owner right behind.

Noa and Mokuba turned from Seto's room and almost ran into Tea, had she not pressed the button down on her air horn. A loud blast erupted from the horn atop the canister (you know, those ones used at races to start them off). The two screamed and fell backwards, and a third yell could be heard from within the room.

Tea laughed, "How do you two like to really be waken up?" Noa and Mokuba were breathing heavily and clutching their hearts. It was true; they had been scared to death. Seto ran out of the room and tripped over his brothers. He stumbled, but quickly regained his balance.

"Gardner! What the devil are you doing? Giving us a heart attack this early!" Seto glared at her.

"Sorry, I just wanted to have them feel what's it's like to be scared to death when you least expect it," Te explained. But she was just staring at Seto, more than concentrating on her words. For the whole four days she had worked for him, she had never seen him right after waking up. Today, he looked quite disheveled, probably from whacking Noa in the chest…yet again. But, even though he was a little messed up and his hair wasn't combed back, he still looked very…handsome (or would very, VERY HOT describe it better?)

Seto looked away, "Tch…good point," he muttered. Then, he turned his head again, "Gardner, what are you looking at?"

Tea shook her head, "Nothing…nothing. I just was thinking about something…that's all." She sweat-dropped.

"Sure," Seto dragged out, smirking. Suddenly, Tea tossed the air horn to him. He fumbled with it for a second, not expecting it.

"Here, you might want to use this on them next Saturday…give them a good scare before they try any pranks," Tea turned and walked back to her room. Seto looked down at it. Suddenly, he smiled evilly down at Mokuba and Noa. They turned and looked at each other, with frightened looks on their faces.


Noa and Mokuba sat on the opposite side of the limo from Seto. They were going to their weekly breakfast outing. While he sat at the back, typing away on his laptop, those two sat nearest to the driver and whispered excitedly.

"Did you see the way she looked at him? I think she likes him," Mokuba whispered to Noa.

"Yeah…it's kinda obvious, no matter how she denies it. Remember at the park, when she started saying something about him?" Noa replied.

"Yep. She's making this too easy…but that's a good thing!" Mokuba retorted.

"Well, we'll just have to get working on Seto then," Noa commented, "But first, we have to somehow truly find out if she does have a liking for him. Tons of girls just stare at Seto." They hadn't noticed the absence of the sound of typing.

"True…very true. You know how that feels," Mokuba smiled back.

Noa put his head in his hand, "Do I ever." He remembered that girl that he had "run in to" in the park. "Has that started with you yet?"

"A little bit, but not too much," Mokuba said, thinking aloud.

"You're young still," Noa laid his head back.

"What are you two talking about?" Seto suddenly looked up from his now closed laptop.

"Nothing!" both exclaimed a little too inconspicuously.

"Sure…" Seto replied, set aside his laptop and "walked" over to them (it's a little hard to walk in a limo, especially with his height). He sat down in the middle of the two.

"So tell me…what are you two up to now? Another wake-up call for next week? A prank maybe?" Seto said, hinting the looks on their faces when he said that last sentence.

"Uh…what would make you think we were talking about that kind of stuff? You anticipate too much. We talk about other things too, you know," Mokuba replied.

"Yes, I know…but right now, you were talking about me. I swore I heard my name whispered over here," Seto replied, smirking, "Come on, you can tell me anything. I just want to talk with my little brothers, because I never get to. And now that Tea's here, you seem to spend a lot of time around her."

"Tea…yeah…well, she has more time, unlike you, that is. I mean, you're running a company, and she's just the cook! So, she has a lot of free time, doesn't she, Mokuba?" Noa inquired.

"Yes!" Mokuba happily and a little to readily agreed. Suddenly, the limo stopped. The intercom switched on.

"Mr. Kaiba, we're here."

"Alright. Out, you two. We'll talk inside," Seto smirked. The two hightailed out of the limo and ran into the restaurant. They weren't exactly looking forward to this breakfast anymore.


It was 10:30. Tea ran to the kitchen. It would be the first time she had to make a more elaborate meal than before. So, she was a tad worried that they wouldn't like her cooking.

She had a reason to be worried. This week, she hadn't done any real cooking. For breakfast, so far, they just had some cereal, since the three had to go to school/work quickly. She only made small lunches (PB&J sandwiches and a couple other things) for Mokuba and Noa. Seto ate at Kaiba Corp. Lately, Seto had been working late and hadn't been back for dinner, so she made simple things for the other two, mainly: noodles, macaroni and cheese, chicken salad and the likes. Very simple things straight from the box or can.

But today, she'd have to make other things, since Seto would actually be here for a regular meal. Also, she had heard from Mokuba and Noa that they had some elaborate sounding meals. Hey, even the maids complained of all the dishes they had to clean. It was said that these three had quite an appetite. Tea believed it too. Thus, she began. Tea felt that an hour and a half would be enough time to get things ready.

First, she started with potato salad, her own special recipe, that is. (I don't know how to make it, so I won't describe it.) Next, she prepared a salad, containing lettuce, slices of carrots, slices of olives, slices of cucumbers and tid-bits of green peppers. Then came the main course: pizza! Her own recipe of pizza, might I add? Actually, it was quite a delicious pizza, in her eyes. It was fifteen to twelve by the time she had finished. Everything was keeping warm in microwaves and ovens…just sitting.

The three still weren't home. No, they weren't still at the restaurant; they had taken their weekly trip around town…like to the arcade, the game store and all that. Mokuba and Noa adored that part of Saturday. Seto just did it to make his brothers happy.

About ten to twelve, she heard the door open. She had just walked into the front hall.

"Tea!" Mokuba cried as he jogged in with a few bags of new things.

Noa walked in as well, looking just the same way, "Wow! Something sure smells good!" Tea smiled.

"You guys get real cooking for a change, today," she said.

"Real cooking?" Seto walked in and closed the door, "What exactly do you mean?"

"Oh, well…for dinner, you haven't exactly been here this past week, so I didn't bother to make anything special…just some simple things, like mac and cheese, or whatnot," Tea confessed. Mokuba and Noa saw that this was the time to leave and put their new things away.

"Macaroni and cheese?" Seto inquired, raising his eyebrow.

"Well, yeah…what…you look like you don't know what I'm talking about…" Tea stopped, "Have you never had that before?" Seto didn't answer. "You've never had macaroni and cheese before?"

"I never said that," Seto looked away, keeping a straight face.

"Aw, it doesn't matter, I hate the stuff anyway," Tea confessed.

Seto's head spun around, "Then why are you feeding it to them?"

"Well, most kids like mac and cheese, and they suggested it! Truly, it makes me feel sick…but anyway, isn't it time for lunch?" Tea asked, checking her watch.

Seto looked down at his watch, "So it is," and then, he thought to himself as Tea ran off, you just got lucky Gardner. Next time…you won't escape when you get yourself into trouble.


The three sat down at the table that had been set for them by the maids. Tea brought out the dishes. Mokuba and Noa looked at them longingly. Seto still kept a straight face. Tea turned to go back into the kitchen and clean up.

"Gardner, where are you going?" Seto suddenly asked.

She turned back around, "To clean up. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Yeah, Tea," Mokuba stated, "Sit down," he gestured to the other chair set up.

"Huh?"

"You didn't think you weren't going to eat this too, did you?" Noa inquired. Tea felt a tad awkward walking over to the empty chair. It felt weird: her, the cook, sitting with the masters of the house, eating. It didn't feel right.

Suddenly, the three Kaibas began digging in…well, Seto dug in more politely than the other two…but he did dig in! Tea took some of her cooking and ate it slowly. She still didn't feel right, sitting there.

"Relax, Gardner," Seto said. She looked up. "Because it's going to be like this the rest of the time you work here." Tea's eyes widened a tad, but she continued to eat…slowly, that is.

"Wow, this stuff is great!" Mokuba complimented.

"I agree!" Noa added.

"It'll do," Seto replied simply. Tea felt a twang of guilt. Great, now she was going to be booted.

"Tea, that means he likes it," Mokuba spoke up. Tea looked up at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Seto glaring at Mokuba. Well, that was proof enough for her. That glare meant that Seto had wanted to keep his enjoyment secret. Thank God for Mokuba, she thought.


(One month later- July)

Tea lay with her back propped up on her bed. She was resting after having prepared and eaten lunch (it's a Saturday). She was thinking…really, really thinking.

She had been working for Kaiba for a little over a month. And with this, those feelings she had denied a month ago were growing. Why though? Why were they growing? She saw nothing in him…except that he was absolutely gorgeous. Wait…had she just thought that? No way…she was not stooping down to the level of all those lovesick girls in the world.

Besides, he had treated her and her fiends like dirt in high school. So, what was wrong with her? Why was she beginning to feel this way? She swore that she had had hidden feelings for Yugi…not this creep. Though…he did give her a job and a place to stay. That had been extremely considerate…wait…or did he just want a cook back because he was lazy? Argh! There were always set backs to her good thoughts!

Suddenly, Kaiba appeared at her door. She sat up, immediately.

"Yes?" she inquired.

"I almost forgot, I'm having some business associates of mine over for dinner tonight," Seto explained. Tea's heart skipped a beat. And he was only telling her now? Oh the nerve of that guy…this dinner could take forever to prepare!

Tea was almost afraid to ask, "How many will be there?"

"Ten…including myself," Seto smirked. "You, Noa and Mokuba will be eating earlier. You can have one of those "simple" dinners, like macaroni and cheese or something." Then, he turned and left. Suddenly, he came back, "Another thing…" he threw an envelope to her, "I suppose you'll be wanting your paycheck?" Then, he left for good. Tea was about to go put the pay in her wallet when she noticed something about the envelope.

Of course, as usual, it said Gardner (which she utterly despised being called), but there was something else. There was a scratch out near the beginning of "Gardner." You may think that she was thinking too much about it, but truly, it did mean something. You know how sometimes you can vaguely tell what has been scratched out? Well, that's just what she was trying to do. She swore she saw a "T" and an "E." She gave a little thought to it, more like a couple questions. For example, "Was he writing my first name for once? Why?"

Eventually, she disregarded it, opened the envelope, took out her pay and put it in her wallet. Then, she set off to make that large dinner.

Seto sat in his office, typing away. He hoped she didn't think much about that scratch out on the envelope. Knowing her, she wouldn't. It was true though; he had started writing out her first name. Generally, this wouldn't matter much, but he usually like to call people by their last names. There were two reasons for this. One: generally, he was called by his last name, and felt that others deserved the same. Two: he liked to annoy those certain people who didn't like hearing their last names instead of their first names.

But, he couldn't explain why he had begun with her first name. Then, he came up with a reason. He had been thirsty and was thinking that tea would be a good drink. After all, her name was spelled the same as tea. Yes…that was it.

You know perfectly well that that is not the reason; a voice rang in Seto's head. (Here we go again….)

What? Who are you? What do you mean? Of course that's the reason!

Nooooo…you're looking at her in a new perspective.

No I'm not! She's the same nerd I had class with in high school.

Then why did you hire her and let her stay here?

She needed a worthwhile job and a better place to live in than that dump she was at.

You do know that you're getting soft…for her.

No I'm not! Why are you even bothering me? Get out!

It's okay, don't be upset. Everybody goes through these feelings in life, at least once.

NO! I DON'T HAVE THE TINIEST FEELINGS AT ALL FOR HER!

I see you need a demonstration of your true desires….

What are you doing?

I'm not doing anything. This is your own true free will.

What?

Seto stood up and shut off his computer. He walked to the door, opened it and walked out. He headed down the stairs and to the kitchen. He stopped just by the doorway and peeped in. Tea was frantically running around, getting food ready.

You're going to help her.

What? I pay her to do all this work!

Yes, but you feel guilty for letting her know only ten minutes ago that this dinner was happening, after it had been planned for weeks.

Well, yes, but only a tad of guilt…I think…are you in this with my "conscience" or something?

No. Remember, this is your own true free will. You really want to do this. It's just that your current vision is blocking your true thoughts and feelings.

Oh, shut up already!

You'll see my side of the argument one day.

Seto took off his trench coat, laid it on one of the chairs, and walked in. Tea heard someone enter the room, but was too busy to see who it was.

"Yes?" she asked, reaching for a jar of spice that she was just a little too short to reach. A hand suddenly reached over her and brought down the spice for her.

Tea turned around, "Thank you…." Her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"K-Kaiba? What are you doing here?" The jar of spices she was holding shook slightly. Kaiba noticed this.

"You looked like you needed some help, that's all," he smirked.

"Well, no thanks to you. Had you told me this earlier, I might have actually been less stressed out!" she retorted.

"Yes…well, is there anything you need done?" Kaiba couldn't believe he was actually saying this. Then again, it felt sort of good…natural even.

"Well, you can start by slicing the ham, if you would," she pointed to the large ham sitting on the counter. Kaiba walked over without another word and began working. Actually, it felt sort of nice to be helping Tea. Wait…had he just used her first name? Stupid second thought…or whatever it was. He was going to regret this some day.

Tea was opening the olives for the salad. But she wasn't paying attention to the can. She was looking at Seto. It was the first time she had seen him without a coat on. He did look pretty handsome without it….

Seto felt a funny sensation. Like he was being watched…again. He stopped chopping and turned his head around.

Tea saw his head turning. She quickly looked down at the can of olives, which had finish opening. She took the can off the opener and went to the sink to drain the juice.

Seto had for sure seen her turn her head this time. She had been looking at him. How amusing. He smirked and turned back to slicing the ham. What fun this would be….


Kaiba sat with his associates at the dining room table. Their dinner was spread out before them. Each person began picking out his choice of food. And, by the time they had gotten around to eating, they were all greatly happy. The food was delicious!

"This food is spectacular!" one of Kaiba's business partners, Ralph, exclaimed.

"Ah, it's fine," Seto said, unenthusiastically.

"That's just because you're used to it," another man, Richard declared.

"I'd like to met the chef who prepared this dinner," yet another associate, Erik, inquired.

"Fine," Seto said, not wanting to go and fetch Tea. But, to his relief, he saw her passing by, quickly, in the kitchen, just across the hall.

"Gardner!" he called. Tea stopped and peeped through the entrance.

"Yes?" Seto gestured for her to come in. Tea walked inside the room. "Well, here she is."

"Is this your cook?" Ralph inquired, looking her over.

"Yes…is something wrong?" Seto looked at him dangerously.

"No! I was just thinking that your chef would be some old woman or Italian looking gentleman, that's all! To my surprise, I find this lovely looking lady preparing the food!" he laughed, then lowered his voice a few degrees, for Seto to only hear, "Why, she's young enough to be your wife!"

Seto heated up quickly. The nerve of him…. Kaiba looked at him for a second, then looked away, turning his gaze on Tea. Now noticing that he didn't want to look at her either, he returned his gaze to the plate before him.

"Thank you, young lady," Erik replied.

"Oh, you're quite welcome. But honestly, I did have some help," Tea replied, smiling.

"Ah, all people do, er…may I have your name?"

"Tea…Tea Gardner," she stressed, glaring at Seto for a split second.

"Ah! Wonderful. You may leave now," Erik dismissed her. Tea walked away and turned into the kitchen, immediately running for the front hall.

As she ran up the stairs to her room, her mind ran over what she had accidentally heard one of the men say, 'She's young enough to be your wife!' Her face heated up immensely. She didn't know why she felt so…embarrassed about that comment. Maybe she was feeling for him…. No! She wasn't going to stoop into those feelings.

Not yet, at least.


Hehe! We have controversy of feelings starting! Oh, an in case you didn't get it, Seto really did want to help her. It wasn't that "second thought's" doing. Okay? Okay…yeah…cause that leads to MORE feelings! Yippee! Review please!