Try

Chapter Four

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Pt.2

Being squeezed together in a tight corner was never more uncomfortable than it was now; the disagreeable individual sitting across from her conveniently reminding her of that, his trademark scowl set firmly in place, arms folded over his chest, looking like he'd rather pour lemon juice in his eye or deal with a nasty hangnail than to bask one evening in her company.

Or perhaps it was the less than accommodating space his towering 6-foot frame was forced to fit into; occasionally his legs would knock into hers, and whenever this would happen, he'd make a grunt of disapproval and look away, while she would feel her heart speed up in overwhelmed excitement.

His touch was…electric.

"You can take off your coat, you know."

This was her attempt to keep things casual…or as casual as humanly possible between both parties.

She had already eased out of her own jacket, revealing a shoulder-baring, white chiffon top that hugged her every curve.

"We're not going to stay long; no point in getting comfortable…"

He readjusted his position on the faux-leather upholstered chair, once again brushing his legs against hers—it was such a rarity to see someone like Seto Kaiba backed into a wall. Powerless. Completely so.

Much like she was when he kissed her for the very first time.

An unbidden array of images quickly came to mind, all of them arranged in a confusing order, like they were fragmented—the beautiful smile, not smirk, that spread across his face when she regained enough sense to slap him; the moment he loosened his hold of her wrists, letting her arms droop helplessly about his shoulders; the bruising pressure of his lips pressing against hers—she knew that there had to some kind of meaning behind all this mystery.

She certainly had her work cut out for her…six months had done nothing to break apart the enigma he had pieced together.

The stubborn line carved into the ridge of his lips morphed slightly into a disdainful one as he regarded the sudden change in her demeanour.

"What's that silly smile for? Do you find something about me particularly amusing?"

He sounded indignant.

"N-no, not at all, Kaiba." She averted her gaze to the frosted café window, trying to shake off the awkward feeling of being pinned under his watchful, scrutinizing glare for who knows how long. "I…I just want to know the truth."

There was a careful pause as he assimilated each of her words, along with the abashed expression in which she said them. She continued her perusal of the window, as if there were something fascinating about a frost woven sheet of glass.

"How about we just forget about this letter fiasco-- it doesn't matter who wrote who, as long as we settle what needs to be settled, right? You probably have important things pending, and I have my friends waiting for me—,"

"Let me guess," the familiar cold snarl of his voice introducing itself once more, "Yugi's waiting up for you or something?"

"It's not like that, Kaiba." Their eyes met at the same time, each hesitant to concede defeat. "I don't know where you get the nerve to say something like that! Yugi's my best friend and I put my plans on hold just to—,"

"I just want to end this night quickly as possible without someone having to throw around Yugi's goddamn name everywhere. He's not deserving of that kind of attention."

At that precise moment, their waiter returned with a steaming cup of black coffee and upon noticing the heavy tension that was spread thickly in the air, he happily went to wait on the next customer.

"You were the one who brought him up in the first place." She hissed, angry that he couldn't let go of such a petty rivalry. "And for your information, winning a crummy championship title isn't the be all and end all of existence. Even yours."

He took a long draught of his coffee, seemingly unaffected by her words.

With a gentleness that startled her, he set his cup down on the table.

"My whole life has been about winning, and the stakes have always been high…someone like you wouldn't understand that. Don't even bother trying to."

Téa didn't know whether to be deeply annoyed or infuriated at the smugness in his tone, she knew that making a scene and slinging insults of her own would be the easiest course to take to get nowhere, and if she didn't take initiative now, they'd soon arrive at their destination.

As much as he would disagree with her over it, she had a life to get back to.

And hopefully gingerbread cookies would constitute that in the near future.

"Fine, I won't. You're right, I wouldn't understand."

The lights suddenly dimmed to a softer glow, mimicking an atmosphere that was decidedly romantic; she could feel her stomach doing cartwheels at the thought that this night could be…

"What the hell is going on?" he muttered darkly, rising out of his chair to get a better look at what was happening.

"Ladies and Gentleman, this evening you are witnesses to a very special treat. Domino's own Aiko Okumura, one of jazz's finest musicians, will dazzle us right here, at Lucky Seven Café with a sparkling rendition of 'Tea for Two'…"

The amiable voice cut off, which the pretty brunette assumed to be a technical difficulty when suddenly the air was suffused with the smoky vocals and shaky sound of piano keys falling in beautiful succession.

Seto sank back half-heartedly in his chair.

"This is great, open mike night."

Again with the knees…

She moved her chair back a little. "God forbid you let yourself, or anyone else enjoy themselves…"

"It means nothing."

"Pardon?"

"Must I elucidate this for you, Gardner? This isn't a date. We aren't here together. The very idea that there could be anything between us is nothing short of laughable. So, don't go entertaining serious delusions that some stupid kiss means something; it's all in the past, and it should remain buried."

"Yugi was right about one thing, Kaiba. You're a…a… coward!"

The sound of her chair scraping against the floor was akin to the sound of nails sliding down a blackboard—even the music died—where everyone present in the room turned to look in the direction of where they sat.

"Don't talk to me, or think of writing to me ever again!"

Grabbing her coat off her chair and jostling a few others along the way, she stalked in the direction of the door, indifferent to the stares that trailed after her.

….

Tears streaming, chest burning, it was as if internally she was going through some kind of atrophy; and she didn't understand why. The possibility of rejection was ever looming in his austere presence, she knew that, but it was different now that it was over.

It wasn't like he had spoken the vilest words a human being could utter to another, but it came in a close second.

Had she ignored his stupid letter in the first place, she could've saved herself from this disaster…

n.b. I've returned, and I believe with a renewed spark of creativity...I hope.

I think I've kept you waiting inthe darklong enough, and I hope that reading the last half of this chapter was worth that wait. It was for me. nn

More Yugi, more Téa, and more Seto and maybe some Mokuba-goodnessawait in the next chapter, and you won't believe what will happen next...

So keep your eyes open for Chapter 5; there's no turning back after that.

And one more thing: Aiko Okumura is a real singer, pretty good one at that...so, if you're curious about the song, take a listen to it. It's nice and mellow. And I own nothing of it... lol ;

Gingerbread cookies for all of you who've reviewed:

LuvinAnimanga,KeikoGurl, Starian Princess, Rica, Desert's Dream, IluvsBakura, Waffles, Ryoko Blue and Hedwig-the-MilleniumOwl

Thanks so much for your support!

Millefiore

Review!