NOTE: This chapter is mainly just for getting closer together; between the new couple…a bit of "fluff" I think it's called…. I dunno. Enjoy! It gets more interesting next chapter. I'm just trying to prolong the ending of the story for you, people! Because it's coming! WAH! Four or five more chapters, and then…THAT'S IT! NOOO! (Well, actually, ((I'm adding this comment after I have finished writing it)) it may yet be longer…you'll see at the end.) But, enjoy it while you can. Read!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! (I don't own the song, "When You Kiss Me" by Shnia Twain that was originally in this chapter.)

Chapter 16: Swimming in Love

February

It was a brisk Saturday morning (about 7:00), in the month of February. Tea walked through the swinging doors to the kitchen, and was met with a swift kiss as she entered. Tea pulled back after a few seconds to look at her boyfriend.

"Seto, it's a Saturday, isn't it? Shouldn't you still be in bed?" Tea teased.

Seto chuckled slightly, "Not today," he replied, and pulled out from behind him a bouquet of red roses, "Happy Valentines Day, Tea," he smiled, and blushed slightly while handing them to her.

Tea looked surprised for a minute before remembering that it was indeed the fourteenth. She took the roses and, with eyes sparkling, she smelled them, "Oh, Seto, their beautiful! You didn't have to do that for me," she looked at him with those beautiful blue eyes of hers.

Seto inched closer to her, "Yes I did." He took hold of her waist gently and pulled her close, pressing his lips against hers. Tea put the roses aside on the table, and wrapped her arms onto his shoulders. Thus began one of their usual morning rituals. Though, for some odd reason, this morning seemed more unique, and special. Not that it was much different from every other day.


Mokuba rubbed his eyes, and walked in the swinging door to the kitchen. He stopped when he saw the two. He sighed, and went over to the refrigerator to grab some cereal. Seto had specifically told him that this Saturday; they weren't going out for breakfast. It would have to wait for tomorrow.

Truth be told, Mokuba really did love having his brother's attention on a girl, especially Tea, however, with all this kissing and everything, even though he was a strong fifteen, it was beginning to get a little old…and somewhat stomach sickening. He wasn't exactly mentally ready to see so much interaction between a male and a female yet. Though he was near that age, his mind was still a bit young and naïve.

Noa seemed to have no problem with it though; Mokuba sided, pouring the cereal and milk into a bowl. Then again, his mentality was that of one Seto's age. The kid was pretty much ready for that contact.

The couple pulled away from each other. Seto smiled kindly, "What would you like to do this fine day?"

Tea's eyes questioned him, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm going to take you anywhere you like," Seto placed his forehead against hers. There was the reason, Mokuba heard. That's why they weren't having their Saturday breakfast. Seto was spending the day with Tea. Mokuba shook his head, and continued on with his meal. He hoped Noa wouldn't go through something like this.

"Aw, aren't you sweet," Tea tapped Seto's nose. Mokuba looked away. Too much…. He really had to stop watching those sappy romance movies. It was even worse for Noa to watch them…since he had such emotional strings attached to him. There was a surefire guaranteed fresh flow of tears from Noa each time one of those movies ended. Mokuba exhaled slowly. That kid could really surprise him….

"As long as it's with you, I don't really care what we do," Tea replied.

Seto smiled, "Fine then. Now, you just seat yourself at the table, and I'll treat you to breakfast for once."

Tea slightly pushed away from him, "Seto! Just because I'm your girlfriend, doesn't mean you can make me shirk off my duties. I am your employee you know."

"I am well aware of that," Seto replied, his eyes pleading. Then, there came a cunningness to them, "However, one; I am your boss, as implied, and I can make you do what I want; and secondly, the Saturday rules still apply, even though my brothers and me aren't going out."

"You…guys aren't going out?" Tea inquired.

"Nope," Seto took hold of her again, "the whole day is just me and you." He kissed her again.

In their pause for a breath of air, Tea added, "Good…just the way I want it…."

Mokuba dumped his dishes into the sink and exited the room. He swung open the doors, and took the about-to-enter-the-kitchen Noa's collar, dragging him away.

"Mokie! What are you doing?" Noa inquired, squirming around.

"Those two are having a mushy scene again. I suggest, for your emotional sake, that you don't go in there until they come out."

"I'm not going to have an emotional break-down!" Noa protested, "But I will die of starvation!"

"Tell it to the judge," Mokuba sighed, and dragged him to the game room, where he retrieved a couple duel disks. Noa sighed, and put his on, his deck already inserted. The game began. And, with the help of a couple magic cards, Mokuba's first card was: Judgeman.


Seto stood back and opened his wardrobe. There sat a line of…can you guess? Trench-coats. Yep. He had a whole wardrobe for them! He had kept his other clothes in another dresser nearby. He fingered through the coats and found the one he was looking for: a stylish green-tinted one. He took it out, and immediately noticed something.

He sighed, "Oh, that's just great! One of those brats is going to die soon," Seto looked around at the many stains on his favorite coat. By brats, he was of course meaning Mokuba and Noa.

"Something wrong, Seto?" Tea peeked in through the doorway.

"Yes…in a way," Seto replied, tossing the coat onto his bed. "Favorite coat's been messed with," he muttered, fingering through other ones.

Tea came over; and put her arms on his shoulders, "Relax. Take a deep breath. It's not that bad. I'm sure the stains will come off. Now, I think…" she pulled out a turquoise looking coat out, "this one looks good."

"This?" Seto took it out. His eyes widened. He hadn't seen this thing in ages. When was the last time he had worn it?

"Matches your eyes," Tea replied, kissing him on the cheek, and stepping out of his room. Seto smiled, and sighed. How ever did he get so lucky? He was going to have to make sure they stayed this way.


Seto took Tea's hand and helped her out of the limousine. Their first stop was the movie theater. Tea hadn't sat down in one of these for a long time.

"So," Seto said, walking up with her, near the ticket stand, "What would be to your amusement?"

"Hmm…" Tea's furrowed her brows. She looked along the titles. She had seen some of them previewed on television, and a good portion she had never heard of. Her eyes caught onto one that had caught her interest the one time she had seen its commercial.

"How does…" she giggled slightly, looking at Seto, whom had an eyebrow raised in confusion, "Egyptian Deities sound?" She erupted into a fit of laughter, when Seto rolled his eyes, smiling.

"You just love to torture me, don't you?" Seto replied. He still hadn't gotten over all that "Egyptian crap" from Battle City those many years ago.

"Torture you? Since when?"

"Since that June, so many months ago," Seto replied, kissing her lips quickly.

"Oh come on," Tea poked him; "I wasn't that big a pain."

"Wanna bet? You've been haunting me ever since," he kissed her forehead, "but fine. We'll see this movie of yours. Maybe I can actually get a nice nap in." He smirked when Tea gave him "that look."

"You never learn, do you?" Tea inquired as they reached the stand.

"That all depends," Seto pushed the money in, and asked for the tickets.

"Depends on what?" Tea inquired.

"Depends on what I'm learning," he replied. Like learning to love you, for instance, he said, mentally.

"I see," she said, walking into the theater. Seto grabbed the tickets, and followed her, then seeing that she was in line for food. He rolled his eyes. She had spent way too many years hanging out with Wheeler.

He came up beside her, "Is this really necessary?"

"Popcorn is a necessity for movies," Tea defended her "morals," "I may not have been in one of these for three years, but I still know the routine: food, and then movie."

"Fine," Seto sighed, smiling, "I'll go sit over there," he gestured to a bench.

He was about to go, when Tea grabbed his sleeve, "I wouldn't."

"Why not?"

Tea jerked her head behind them. Seto turned slightly to get a look. He was getting looks of disgust back from the many girls in the theater.

"The minute you leave me, is the minute you get swarmed," Tea replied.

"Yeah…" Seto returned, and then stood there, waiting.


The movie ended two hours later. Seto had to admit; it hadn't been all that bad. Really, all it was was a simple love story about a Pharaoh disguising himself in the commons area, and falling in love with a peasant girl. The gods were angered, and were bent on destroying the relationship. Ra himself was head of the revolt. However, when it came down to it, the king wouldn't relinquish the girl, and this time, the gods were bent on destroying him. However, through wit and cunning, the king managed to outdo the gods, and by eternal promise, was agreed to be able to sty in love with the girl.

However, the movie suggested a sequel when the gods were bent on stopping a marriage, for that hadn't come in the movie. They may have agreed to love, but not to commitment.


"I told you, you wouldn't fall asleep," Tea declared when they were back in the limo.

"Well, I was bobbing a couple times," Seto replied.

"Only because you kept dropping the popcorn and were trying to catch it before it hit the floor," tea laughed.

"That is not true," Seto turned his reddening face away.

"Sure," Tea replied.

"You hungry?" Seto said, checking his watch, "It's almost noon."

"Actually, that breakfast of yours made me quite full. I'm fine," Tea replied. Seto gave her a doubtful look.

"It wasn't that big," he replied.

Tea looked over at him, "Fine…a hamburger will do."

So, they stopped at a hamburger stand in the park, and walked through it, admiring the scenery.

"De ja vu," Tea looked around.

"Really?" Seto replied.

"Yeah…remember that night in Tokyo? We took a walk through their park."

"Ah, that's right," Seto replied, biting into his hamburger, a little hesitantly. It had been the right beginning to when they were really bent on telling each other their feelings. And then, he remembered the night that they actually had. A small shadow of guilt passed over his face. Tea had let go of her dreams, which had been just within reach…just to be with him…just to make him happy….

The two pulled apart from their kissing session.

Tea smiled at him, "So, I guess this means that leaving is out of the question?"

Seto looked away from her. He didn't want to act selfish, but the truth was, he desperately wanted her to stay here, and not go back to Tokyo, or anywhere around the world for that matter.

Tea saw him worried, "Is something wrong?"

"I…it's just…you can…go…if that's really what you want. I know you've dreamt of this moment your whole life…I'll understand…" Seto replied, still not looking at her.

Tea put a hand up to his cheek, and made him look into her eyes, "You're pretty bad at being selfless. I guess years of selfishness aren't easy to get rid of," Tea smiled. It didn't make Seto feel any better. "Don't give me that look. Besides, even if I did go, now knowing that you really do love me…" she looked at him solemnly for a confirmation. His eyes gave her all the answers she needed, "Then, I wouldn't be completely happy out there, on the road, with the dancing company. There'd still be something missing…." Seto gave her a look that said "Go on." "That would be-" she leaned in closer to him, "You." And that's when she gave him another kiss. He gratefully took it in, and gave some back to her.

She gave her dream up for me…I'm not going to let her get away…no one will get in our way; no one, and nothing, Seto thought. If he lost her, his treasure in life would be gone. His light would burn out and he would be engulfed by darkness once more. He would not lose her. Not now, not ever.

"Seto?" Tea's voice broke his thoughts.

"Yes?" he looked down at her.

"What are you thinking about?" she inquired.

Seto looked down at the empty burger wrapper, crumpled it up, and tossed it into the nearest trashcan; it landed directly in it, "I was thinking of a certain night…."

"Which night?"

"The night I first said…" he stopped. Tea stopped too, slightly confused. He took her gently, "the night I first said I love you." He bent down, and kissed her. Warmth flooded through Tea as his lips met hers. This was what she really loved about Seto: he stuck to something he started. She knew he would never stop loving her, or let go of her. She was his, and he was hers.

That was that.


Tea turned over in bed, and looked at the digital clock next to her on her nightstand. 11:49. She sighed. She had been trying to get to sleep for a good solid two hours. Yet sleep wouldn't come.

She sat up in the darkness, and laid her head against the backboard. How could she calm herself to get to sleep? How could she make herself tired? Tea really hated staying up all night, and getting to sleep late. It made her even more worried than she was, or needed to be.

Right now, she wasn't worried about anything, but occasionally, there would be those nights in her life where she couldn't get to sleep, and it drove her nuts, which eventually then brought on the worries.

She sighed. What to do, what to do? She didn't want to read. For some reason, she didn't like reading this late if she knew she should be asleep. Also, if she started reading something, it wouldn't make her tired. It would make her continue reading until the early light of dawn. No, she had to sleep. Sleep was good….

What else? Watch some television? No, nothing good was on this late. It was winter, and she was sure Americans didn't play baseball in the winter, so finding that certain American channel that she and Seto had watched once was out of the question. Right now, the sport would be…football. She hated football. It was a pointless game that lasted for HOURS.

Maybe something warm would calm her down…but what could be really warm in the winter, besides hot chocolate and blankets? Suddenly, her face lit up. It was perfect. How she loved her boyfriend's home blueprint ideas….

Tea stepped out of her room, quietly closing the door. She had a towel wrapped around her shoulders, being that the mansion was considerably colder at night than in the day. She was also wearing her purple tankini.

She was on her way to the Kaibas' indoor, heated pool. That should relax her, if not get her tired. Chlorine really did something to your eyes; that was for sure.

She crept down the stair quietly, making sure not to wake the three boys she lived with.

She had only seen the room of the pool once: never been inside. Sure, she had occasionally been in the outside pool, but not the inside one. She flipped on the flashlight, and looked down the hallways. Which one was it again? Oh yes, that one. The one that led near the outdoor pool.

She followed the corridor, for a good two minutes. Finally, she found that the walls became glass. She looked inside, and lo and behold, there was the pool. It was quite dark in there, but a couple of the pool lights were on. She wondered why. Oh well, it didn't matter. Maybe they had been left on, or were for lighting up the room at night.

Tea entered through the glass door, and set her towel on one of the relaxing chairs there. She looked up and gasped.

The whole room was built in with a wall of glass! She could look straight through the ceiling, and there were the stars, and a full moon. She smiled. This would be awesome, to swim under the stars at night.

There were also simple ferns and such hanging from the ceiling, and draping across the whole lot of it. A few potted plants littered the corners of the room. She saw that the glass wall in which the door was centered in rose up, giving the second floor or at least, the room on the second floor next to the pool, a clear aerial view.

She found a line of light switches, and using the flashlight, read each one:

Overhead lights; Pool lights; Outdoor lights. The only switch flicked up was the Pool Lights switch. She switched on the outdoor lights, so that the light could pass through the glass, enabling her to see more of the room, and yet not give any other light to any part of the house.

Tea then walked over and bent over the rim of the pool, and stuck her hand in the water. The warmth flowed up through her fingertips. She sighed. Oh yes, this would DEFINETLY relax her.

Of course, the best way to get into a pool was all at once. It was a good thing the room was pretty isolated from the sleeping chambers on the other side of the house. She walked slowly over to the diving board, and walked to its edge.

She hadn't been in a pool in a while. After all, it was winter. She took a deep breath, and spread out her arms. Then, she fell forward, pulling her arms in front of her, just in time to meet the surface of the water, and glide under it.

She popped up through the water's façade, and shook the water dripping from her eyes, while smiling. My, did this feel relaxing. At this rate, she wouldn't need to be here long before she had to go to bed.

She lightly swam around in circles, on her back, for a few minutes, just continuing to take a break. This was certainly the life. She then stood up, and walked over to the edge of the pool. She put her arms on the surface of the tile, and rested her head upon her arms. Just a minute to do some further relaxing. That's really all she wanted. She wasn't here to have much fun, or exercise: she was here to calm herself.

Would she become calm, though?

"Enjoying this, are we?" a deep, sexy voice suddenly whispered against her ear, while some warm hands gently grabbed her sides.

Tea jumped at the sound, whipping around, and clutching her heart, scared to death by the sudden sound.

Seto only laughed.

"Seto! Why do you always do that to me?" Tea replied, referring to the last time he had freaked her out in a pool…or spa, rather.

"It was only a question," Seto replied, leaning on her other side, against the edge of the pool.

"How long have you been here?" Tea inquired.

"Longer than you have. I have to say, it surprised me when I saw you come through those doors. I thought you weren't one to stay up this late doing other things besides sleeping," Seto explained.

"That's the problem: I couldn't sleep. I came here to calm myself. But, I don't think you're really helping," Tea replied. Seto gave her an amused look. "So, what's your reason, then?"

"You'd be surprised how many people can't sleep on a particular day," he replied.

"Really now," Tea answered, sighing, and closing her eyes, "Because this sort of thing isn't like you, either."

"I'm well aware of that," he replied.


Mokuba's eyes were closing fast. The dang television had nothing on at midnight. All he could find (much to his regret were "naughty" shows revealing women and…well, you get the picture.

He was even flipping through the cartoon channels, but they were all the Adult Cartoons and whatnot, like Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. Guns, naughty people, and more. It was SOOO stupid.

He was just about to forget the television, and retire to his bedroom, again, when he heard a minor splash coming from outside the full-wall window that looked down into the indoor pool area. Mokuba turned off the television, and walked over to the "wall." He saw Tea's head pop up out of the water.

Wow, water running down her face, and dampening her hair, really made her look so hot…. Mokuba reddened and shook his head. He couldn't be thinking thoughts like that on his brother's girlfriend…. That was just wrong. Anyway, it wasn't like he was really after her. He had his sights on a certain "mutt's" sister….

But that was beside the point. The point was that Tea was in the pool at midnight. Since when did she ever do that?

Mokuba watched as she swam around in circles, and then, walked over to the edge of the pool, lying her head down.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw another shadow emerge from the shadows from the edge of the pool. Funny, that person really resembled Noa….

No way. Why would Noa be down there? Why would he be advancing like that on Tea?

Mokuba was a tad worried now. Seto wouldn't be down there, would he? From above, it was pretty much impossible to tell the two apart. So, he had an alternate plan.

He grabbed one of the walkie-talkies from a chest of gadgets, and turned it on. He knew one of these was in Noa's room, for the brothers' convenience. He pressed the button that rang the little "alarm" on the communicator.


A shrill beeping sound flooded through Noa's room. A sound eve worse than his alarm clock; a sound, which Noa REALLY despised.

The green-haired kid popped up in bed, "SETO I DIDN'T SCREW UP YOUR TRENCH-COAT! IT WAS MOKIE! BLAME HIM!" Well…we got at least one guilty conscience confession out of him….

Noa realized where the beeping had come from, and flopped out of bed. He fell to the floor, and started digging under his bed.

Where had he put that thing? He pulled out old schoolwork (So there's where that Anatomy Report ended up…and I had to rewrite that in ten minutes that day, before I handed it in….), a few magazines (not naughty ones, mind you. Our little Noa is a good kid!), some old games, (Lord, how much stuff was cramped up under there?) a duel disk copy, some Duel Monsters Cards, and…voila! Here was the walkie-talkie! He pressed the "send" button.

"Mokie?"

"Oh, so that's Seto there, okay. You can go back to sleep now," Mokuba replied.

"What's all this about? Why'd you wake me up?" Noa demanded.

"No reason. I was just wondering if it was you or Seto in the pool. I got my answer."

"He's in the pool? Now? At this time of night?"

"With Tea."

"Oooohhhh…. Where are you?"

"Playroom."

"Be right there," Noa tossed the walkie-talkie, God knows where into one of the piles of junk his room contained, and rushed off towards the playroom.


Noa barricaded into the bonus room, immediately stumbling over a pile of electronic toys and devices. Mokuba winced, as he heard Noa crash down. Ouch…that had to hurt.

"Ow…" Noa sat up, rubbing his arms and legs, where he had been stung. He started cursing random objects, "I curse you, and you and you…and you too, and to-"

"Noa," Mokuba looked around, giving him a shut-up-and-get-over-here look. Noa obeyed, and limped over. "Oh come off it, it's not that bad," Mokuba replied to the limping.

"You try always being the one hurt; with bloody noses and all that crap," Noa immediately ran a finger under his nose to see if he actually had succumbed to another blood fest. He put his finger up to eye level to look at it, "I don't see anything, "he commented.

"Duh, you numbskull, it's pitch black in here. All we can see are the two down there," he gestured to the poolroom adjacent from them.

"Doesn't matter," Noa tilted his head back, "I felt something cold and runny coursing down from my nose just now," Noa replied, clamping his nose shut.

"Sure that's not your brain?" Mokuba muttered, and turned to look back out the window.


Seto pulled Tea in closer to him, "Somehow, I don't remember getting a goodnight kiss."

"Really, now? You want one?" Tea answered, a smirk playing at the end of her lips. Seto gave a slightly confused look. "Then try and catch it," and with that, she slid out from under his arms, and disappeared, under the water.

Seto stood there, for a second, arms clutching thin air. He then whipped around, looking for her. She had put him up to a challenge. He wasn't about to decline.

Seto slid slyly under the water. Beneath the surface, he opened his eyes, and looked around for any type of shadow. He spotted one swim away in the far corner. Thus, he followed.


Tea was backed into a corner of the pool, with Seto looming over her, "Caught you."

"That you did. Congratulations, you win," she smirked, and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a kiss. Seto took her by the waist, passionately getting into the kiss.

His hands moved up her back, as he began fingering with her tankini straps. Tea pulled back slightly from his kiss, leaning her forehead against his.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, we're not there just yet," Tea smiled.

"Seto smiled back, "Who says I wasn't just playing? Maybe I was just trying to psych you out."

"Who says you weren't?" Tea replied.

"You overestimate me," Seto returned.

"Maybe I should," Tea replied.

"Yes, maybe you should," Seto smirked, picking her up.

"Ah! Seto, what are you-" Tea started. He walked up the stairs to the pool, and over to the diving board. "Seto! No-!" He dropped her back in, with a loud splash. Seto Kaiba laughed. He was laughing so hard, that he fell to the bottom of the diving board. Big Mistake.

Tea popped up, "Very funny, Seto Kaiba!" She wasn't angry, but she wasn't laughing either. So, it was time for payback, "Of course, who said you weren't coming in with me?" Seto stopped, just as Tea reached up over the diving board, and dragged him in, by pulling on his arm. Had he not been off guard, he probably could have sustained from falling in.

However, he was off guard, therefore, he did plop into he pool…with a mighty splash. It was Tea's turn to laugh.

Seto popped back up, shaking water out of his eyes, "Alright, alright, we're even."

"I still don't trust you," Tea replied. She knew he didn't give up that easily. Seto had no reply. All he did was walk closer and closer to her, with a playful smirk upon his face.

"W-What are you doing?" Tea inquired, once again, being backed into the wall of the pool.

"I'm just going to take your breath away," he replied, suddenly swooping down, and planting his lips on hers. Man, this guy sure does care for her a lot. What is that, like, the thousandth kiss today, alone?

Tea couldn't argue with what he had said. It sure was a powerful kiss. It took all she had to stop from passing out. Of course, she didn't give up easily. However, recently, she had been becoming tired, and just like before, back in that bed in Tokyo, she passed out into sleep in his arms.

Seto smiled softly, and picked her up. He walked out of the pool, and sat down with her on one of the pool chair recliners. He lay back, and rested her head on his shoulder. He stroked her chocolate brown hair, while leaning his head against hers. They made such a perfect couple. He really must have been the luckiest guy in the world to get her.

For once, he was even luckier than Yugi Muto. He was positive the boy had had something for Tea three years ago. Who knows if he still had anything, if he had had any feelings at all? But this time, Seto had beaten him to her. And he wasn't ever going to give her up.


Mokuba watched the two settle into the chair with interest, "seems they'll be there all night. Maybe…" he looked at the water in the pool, "Maybe we can…wake them up tomorrow morning…."

Noa smirked, then leaned his head forward and sighed, "Seto is sooo lucky."

Mokuba turned to his brother, detecting something strange, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, he always has girls tailing him, and finally, he gets this awesome girlfriend, and…it's just…well, I dunno, I guess it'd just be awesome to be like him; you know, acting like that on a girl. Tea seems to love it. She seems to really love him," Noa ended.

Mokuba raised an eyebrow, "And is this…bothering you, in any way, or something?"

"What?" Noa turned back to his brother.

Mokuba smirked, "I am detecting much jealousy to the right of me."

"What? I am not jealous of Seto!" Noa crossed his arms, and turned his head. He was so glad it was dark. Therefore, Mokuba couldn't see the red crawling up his cheeks.

"So, it's not Ishizu anymore, is it?" Mokuba pressed further.

"No! I mean, no as in…argh, it's not like that! He just…oh, forget it! I'm going back to bed!" and with that finally word, Noa stomped away, this time, avoiding the pile of toys.

Mokuba watched him leave. This could be a problem….


Aye? You like it? Please say yes! So, anyway, you know, this whole "Noa getting jealous" thing just popped up. Lucky for you…the story actually might become longer than intended…. We'll see. It would still be a SetoxTea, no doubt, because I still have AWESOME PLANS for the end, but what if we had some stuff in there with Noa and his new found liking…? It could make the story longer; remember that! Don't get mad at me if you don't like the idea, because that's just too bad! Anywho, PLEASE REVIEW!