Chapter 15 – Not So Secret Anymore
Yes, I'm back and this is the final chapter (I hope!) for Christmas Chaos. Let's see what fireworks, of all kinds, are in store for our favourite couple…
The dishes had been washed, dried and put away in short order by the dynamic duo of Téa and Seto as the game continued behind their backs at the kitchen table. No one even noticed that the great Seto Kaiba, hotshot executive, had used a dishtowel to dry their dishes. Correction, they noticed but with the game still on going, the idea hadn't quite been 'processed' yet that Kaiba had done actual, physical labour. Amidst much laughter and groaning, it was finally down to Joey and Tristan again playing it out for the 'coveted' position of 'Idiot'. Yugi and Mokuba cheered them both on as the battle of the single cards came down to a final hand.
"I got two cards left and I think I know exactly how to make you stay in your spot for another year," Tristan exclaimed, eyeing the one card left in Joey's hand and making a pretty good guess as to which card it was. Playing out a single ten and seeing Joey's face fall to the floor, Tristan knew he'd picked the right card.
Joey swept the one card off to the side and watched in horror as the final card, a seven of Hearts, sealed his fate. "Aww, man, not AGAIN!" With a tremendous sigh, Joey Wheeler was once more confirmed as the Idiot for the Year.
Everyone laughed then, even poor Joey, as he threw down his final card on the table, a single four. Joey's boisterous laughter finally made it down to a sheepish grin as he began the tedious process of separating the two decks into their original formations. Téa wouldn't be too pleased if she saw him just shove the cards haphazardly into her little junk drawer. She was a stickler for neatness and organization and he still had the bruise to prove it from where she'd hit him on Monday at the mall.
With a glance at his platinum watch, Seto saw that it was just after 9 o'clock. Almost bedtime. Then it would be at least another agonizing hour or two until he deemed it safe enough for him to venture upstairs for a little cuddle time with Téa. He snorted to himself. If the world ever found out that the word 'cuddle' existed in his mind, he'd be ruined. She'd turned him into a softie. If only her little friends weren't around, Seto could take her into his arms and pretend there was still mistletoe above them as he kissed her into an oblivion so deep that her only thoughts would be about him and the only name on her lips, his…
Téa also noticed what time it was and with a satisfyingly cheerful "Woohoo!", she called to everyone else in the room, "Shoot, guys, we're going to miss the rest of the show. Joey, forget the cards. It's time!"
"Oh no, we missed the first couple of minutes!" Yugi exclaimed, almost knocking over Joey in his haste to get out of his chair.
"We'd betta hurry, den!" Joey shouted, grabbing Tristan's collar and physically hauling him out of his chair. A rasping Tristan gasped for air as the four started to head towards the stairs leading to the basement, a confused Mokuba and puzzled Kaiba trailing only slightly behind. What could have the four teenagers in such a tizzy?
"What's going on, Seto?" Mokuba asked, turning his confused eyes on an equally bewildered older brother. By the sounds of excitement, it wasn't anything bad. On the contrary, it really sounded like something he wanted to be a part of, kind of like the snowball fight. But it was something to watch. On TV.
"Your guess is as good as mine, Mokuba," Seto answered quite truthfully. He'd never seen the four of them behave so childishly. Granted, he expected it from the mutt and the retriever but Yugi? And Téa? "Just go with it, kid."
The next hour was spent watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman" amidst boisterous laughter, bouts of off-key sing-alongs and copious amounts of pop. Mokuba thoroughly enjoyed himself as he danced and sang around the sleeping bags laid out on the floor, the sugar taking him to new heights of exuberance, before he came to rest by Seto's legs and tried to keep his eyes open for the last fifteen minutes of the last show. Seto himself had sat in the only armchair, a great hulking beast of a chair dressed in beige suede that was more comfortable than it actually looked, and watched Téa and company jostle for seats on the matching couch. One of them had to sit on the floor and it was down to a wrestling match between Joey and Tristan over who got the last seat. Téa and Yugi had just giggled at their spontaneous sparring match as she turned the TV on and turned up the volume to cover the various and non-descript moans and groans. At least she'd managed to get the end of the couch so he could have the pleasure of watching her covertly and pretending he was still interested in whatever inane Christmas show came on.
All in all, it had been quite an entertaining evening.
From the first moment he'd walked in the door and gotten jealous of Yugi, through the insults and the snowball fights and especially the card games, he realized one very important thing…
Seto Kaiba hadn't thought about work, KaibaCorp., computer code, Duel Monsters or anything else he had considered relevant for the entire time.
All of his thoughts were, and had been, focussed on the gorgeous, azure-eyed brunette as she stood up, remote in hand, and turned the TV off just as the final credits of "Frosty" rolled across the screen. "All right, it's time for bed. We need to be asleep before Santa comes to deliver our presents. Hope everyone's been very good this year." Her smoky stare in his direction almost set the fire alarms off. Yes, he'd been very good this year. He was going to prove that to her, one way or another.
"But Téa…" Joey started and the whine in his voice was clearly audible. "It's only 10 o'clock…"
"Joey, we have the same argument every time we do this. We always watch "Rudolph" and "Frosty" and then it's time to brush our teeth and go to sleep. Besides, you should all be well rested to get ready for your clean-up duties tomorrow. And don't think that the excuse "I'm tired" will get you out of it." The sternness of her voice brooked no argument and Seto was impressed that with only a moan and a groan, Joey got up from the floor and headed off for the bathroom for the requisite cleansing of his teeth.
Mokuba stirred only a little and smacked his lips once or twice as Seto gently picked him up and settled him into the sleeping bag next to his own. How his brother slept with the noise and talking going on around him was still a mystery as he pulled the edge of the sleeping bag over his shoulder and tucked it in. Téa saw the tenderness in his eyes as he brushed a stray tendril of hair from Mokuba's mouth and heard a whispered "Sleep tight" as Seto stood up and caught her watching him. He should have turned a million shades of red, magenta and pink but all he did was give a slight shrug of his shoulders at being caught in such an act of brotherly love. At least he wasn't afraid to show emotion towards his little brother. Now, if only she could get him to act that way all the time and include her friends into it, all would be well. Although, he'd shown promise during the card game when he'd refrained from hurtling anything resembling an insult towards anyone sitting at the table, even when Joey became Idiot for the second time that night.
"Well, I guess this is good night, Téa," Yugi said, lifting his violet eyes to meet hers. "Thanks for a great dinner and an even better dessert." With a conspiratorial wink to his best friend, he softly muttered, "I'll get Tristan to go with me upstairs. Leave you two alone for a minute before Joey comes back."
Seto overheard the last remark and had to bite his lip to stop from laughing. So, Yugi knew everything, just as he'd expected. Not a shock at all but the fact that he wanted them to spend a minute alone together proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Yugi harboured no ill feelings towards him. In fact, he didn't seem to mind the idea of the two of them being together at all. And after everything he'd put the shrimp through… He was going to have to seriously rethink every thought he'd ever had about Yugi and put it in a new perspective. Seto had never seen this naughtier side of Yugi, either. Hadn't even realized that it could exist in so innocent a young man. Guess he was proven wrong on that account, too.
"Thanks, Yugi, you're the best," Téa replied, just as softly, and ruffled the top of Yugi's head in an affectionate gesture of friendship. He was giving them his tacit approval to be together. That alone was worth everything to her. That he respected her enough to let her make her own decisions about whom she could date went above and beyond the call of friendship and bordered on saintliness, considering it was Seto Kaiba, his foremost rival, that she'd chosen to date.
Téa made her way towards Seto as Yugi began the aforementioned interception of Tristan, who was coming over to say his thanks for such a great Christmas Eve. "Thanks for everything, Téa. Your cheesecake is the best," he managed to get out before Yugi physically hauled him out of the room and towards the stairs. Yugi had some strength to accomplish that, although Téa had a sneaking suspicion that Yami had exerted a little of his influence to help his other half in his mission.
"No problem, Tristan." Now, with those two out of the room and Mokuba still snuggled in his sleeping bag, it was time for private thanks from one Seto Kaiba. He looked as eager as she felt to be alone, finally, especially after that performance they'd both gone through during the card game.
His hand reached out and grasped hers, pulling her in closer to his warmth. A tingling wave of electricity raced through them both at the familiar contact as his other hand wound itself in her lemon-scented hair, tilting her face towards his so he could accomplish his own private mission. "You are amazing. Have I told you that yet?" Seto whispered, his warm breath tickling the outer edges of her ear.
"And you're very good at distractions but if you don't shut up and kiss me now…" Whatever else she was going to say was lost as Seto pressed his soft lips to hers, molding them together for the longest space of time possible. It wasn't nearly enough but it would have to do since Wheeler was going to return at any second and it just wouldn't do to be caught in such a compromising position.
Her toes curled up in her socks at the sweet, lingering taste of chocolate cheesecake on Seto's lips. She gripped his hand more tightly in hers as they separated from their kiss. It was obvious from the frustrated expression in his eyes that he wished it could have lasted much longer but they both knew Joey's return was imminent. In fact,
Three… thumping footsteps echoed down the hall.
Two… a grumbling voice muttered something about a cheesecake snack run.
One… Joey walked back into the basement family room to find Kaiba tucked into his sleeping bag already, next to a lightly snoring Mokuba, and no one else in sight. Frowning once, Joey gave Kaiba another glance over his shoulder before he reached for the backpack lying next to his own navy blue sleeping bag. Checking the bottom of the backpack, Joey noticed that his Kaiba surprise was still there, right where he'd put it. Sighing once in relief, he gave another quick glance over at Kaiba and saw that he was still asleep, eyes closed and mouth slightly parted. Should he or shouldn't he? The arrogant jerk had actually kept to the truce and Joey hadn't been expecting that to last more than an hour before they were at each other's proverbial throats again, hurling insults and sarcastic commentary. But somehow, the truce they'd concluded in Téa's front entranceway had held. Whether it was Téa's threats to do something worse to them or that Christmas Spirit once more, he couldn't be sure. But this practical joke was as much a Christmas tradition as playing 'Asshole' and watching "Rudolph" and "Frosty". If he did it to Yugi, it just wouldn't feel right now that the Spirit of a 5,000 year-old Pharaoh inhabited his body. Tristan had been the last victim and Joey wasn't stupid enough to even think of doing this to Téa in her own bed in her own house. That only left Kaiba or Mokuba. Hmmm, which one would be better suited for this purpose?
Mokuba had stolen his pyjama pants and set him and Tristan up during the snowball fight…
Kaiba was… Kaiba. But did Joey really have a death wish?
Pulling the prank on either of them was tantamount to suicide…
But it was tradition…
Poor Joey. Decisions, decisions…
The house lay quiet and still. The others had gone to sleep hours ago, it seemed. Joey snored like a sawmill. Tristan muttered about pink jackets and phone numbers. Yugi didn't make a sound except for the occasional sigh. Mokuba slept like the dead, arms splayed out almost close enough to touch his older brother. Seto eyed the dark basement, looking for any signs of movement at all, before he rolled over and checked his watch, illuminating it with the small button and cupping his hand around it so no light escaped.
Quarter after one. It had taken forever for everyone to fall asleep and Seto had had to endure bouts of whispered conversation between the three boys at the far end of the basement as he pretended to sleep soundlessly. It had been a hushed conversation and he could only catch a word or two but it sounded like they were making plans for the morning. What plans, he couldn't tell, but it was probably something to do with their cleanup duties. "Breakfast" had been the most frequent word he'd managed to hear.
No matter. It was time to see if Téa were still awake and waiting for him. Her whispered "See you later" before she'd dashed upstairs to avoid seeing Joey, and prompting further harassment charges, had clued him in to her supernatural, psychic abilities. There was no hiding anything from her. Smiling in the inky darkness, he began to make his move. Sliding out of his sleeping bag, he made sure to carefully arrange it so it looked like someone was still inside. It wouldn't work once the morning came but he figured they would think he was in the washroom cleaning up and getting ready to face the day. For now, the rumpled mess would do and he was anxious to get upstairs and spend some 'quality' time with his girlfriend.
Yet another word that the world would be shocked to know existed in Seto Kaiba's mind.
Seto's trip up the stairs went flawlessly as he pondered exactly what he wanted to do to Téa when he arrived in her room. First and foremost was a Christmas kiss. What happened after that would be up to her as long as he got to sleep in her bed with his arms wrapped loosely around her waist and the smell of her hair surrounding him. Nothing else really mattered. The last few nights alone had been cold and empty without her next to him. One night with her had spoiled him and he wouldn't be denied the pleasure of her company tonight. Nothing would keep him from her.
Nothing.
Téa opened her eyes at the slight creak of her door and woke fully from the half doze she'd fallen into while waiting for Seto to make his move. Wondering if he could see her brilliant smile, she listened as he stepped inside and closed the door carefully behind him before he made a move towards her bed. They were both taking such a huge risk with Joey, Tristan, Yugi and Mokuba sleeping two floors beneath them. Well, then again, she had told him she'd see him later.
"Merry Christmas, Seto," she whispered as he stopped beside her and regarded her with moonlit, ocean-blue eyes.
"Merry Christmas, Téa," he whispered back, not surprised that she was awake and awaiting his arrival. Pulling back the pink and white comforter, she scooted to the far side of the bed in silent invitation and he couldn't miss the welcoming smile on her lips as he slid inside. Deep sighs of satisfaction from them both broke through the night as they snuggled under her covers together, his arms reaching out to her pull her back to him. "I think this is the best Christmas present I'm going to get."
"What? A warm bed to sleep in?" Téa teased, her hand caressing the silk covering his shoulder and eliciting a pleased purr that made her heart do double time.
"No, definitely not. My Christmas present is going to be waking up next to you." The blush on his cheeks was deep enough that she could see it in the soft moonlight that filtered into her room through the curtains at the window.
"Then remind me to take back the present I bought for you. If I'd known this was all you wanted…" She couldn't finish her sentence as his lips covered hers. The kiss lasted for what seemed like an eternity before he pulled away from her.
"Very funny," he said dryly, snaking his arm around her waist and letting his fingers slide slowly up and down her spine. The answering shiver and soft moan made him chuckle. "Am I distracting enough for you?"
"Do you even have to ask?" She frowned momentarily and he wondered what was going on in that head of hers. Sometimes, she was impossible to read. "What?"
"As much as I like having you here, what's going to happen in the morning? The boys…" Téa left that last bit hanging between them and he kissed the top of her head.
"Do you think I haven't thought of that yet? I've already set my watch to go off at 5 a.m. Do you think I want your friends to find me here, with you, like this? I don't have a death wish and knowing Wheeler…" The worry in her eyes eased and she nodded in understanding. "Besides, they're too busy worrying about tomorrow's 'clean up' duties to even think that something like this is happening between us."
"What do you mean?" she asked, pausing in her gentle exploration of the stubble on his chin.
"Before they went to sleep, they kept talking about 'breakfast'. I figured they meant who was going to do the dishes afterwards." Pulling her in just a little bit closer, he let his own fingers slide underneath the material of her pyjama top and touch her bare skin. A breathy sigh from the girl beside him and Seto smiled tightly as his fingers began their dance across her naked back once more.
"I hope that's what they were talking about," she replied, finding it harder to think with his fingers working magic across her muscles and skin. Time for a little play of her own. Tilting her face towards him once more, she settled her lips on his and felt him respond to her by deepening the kiss. A swipe of her tongue across his bottom lip had his head reeling as he gave in to the feelings racing through his body.
Tonight would be a night to remember.
Joey woke with a snort and sat up in his sleeping bag. Checking the surroundings with a sweep of his golden eyes, he brought his watch close to his face to check the time.
Four fifteen a.m. Another hour until he could put his plan into motion.
Grinning goofily, he settled back into his sleeping bag after making sure that the small alarm on his watch was still set for five fifteen.
Someone was going to be surprised in the morning.
Yeah, all right. I lied again. There will be at least one more chapter. This story just refuses to want to be finished.
Wonder what Joey's planning? And who's going to be surprised?
That's for me to know and you to find out in Chapter 16.
As always, I am
Aphrael21;)