Before You Say, "I Do"
By Starian Princess
Tea Gardner is just about to get married and have the happy ending she's been waiting for. But when the news reaches a certain CEO, just what will his reaction be? Has he really always hated her to begin with?
Chapter 1 - The Prediction
"I see a clouded future with mislead decisions and chances ready to be taken. Two fated ones are meant to be entangled within a web of confusion. And it is still very difficult to determine where this path shall lead them." A cloaked figure amongst the inhabitants of Domino City sat quietly, trying to analyze the fortune she had just read from her crystal ball.
The stars twinkled with an unknown answer as the wind picked up and blew through the restaurant across the street, passed tables with a single candle, and a room at the back barely noticeable yet already entwined into the so-called web.
Fidgeting under a piercing violet gaze, Tea Gardner switched from looking at her food to the hands resting on her lap. A deep blush streaked her cheeks and her long brunette hair swayed as a faint breeze flew through the dimly lit room.
"Tea…" She looked up as a husky male voice called from across the table.
"Yes Yami?" Her voice was small, barely over a whisper as her eyes met his.
"You look quite uneasy. Are you alright?" She looked down. What could she possibly say to that? For a week now her friends, especially Mai and Serenity, had been fussing over a wedding; her wedding. A wedding that had yet to be planned, much less scheduled.
It all started with a joke coming from Joey about how long it was taking for Yugi and Yami to propose to her. Later, everyone else had joined in and at the end they all found it a conclusion that there actuallywas a wedding to be preparing for. She had found herself too speechless at the start of the whole discussion that it had been far too late when she wanted to protest them speaking about something that had not even been decided yet.
But after getting home and lying for hours on her bed while staring into space, it was then that her mind began to swirl and she began to ask questions to further push her into the idea. Would they actually propose to her? What if they got into an argument about who loved her more? Would she still have at least one of them by her side if this happened?
The last time she remembered feeling so uncertain and confused about something was the time when she learned of the secret feelings that both Yami and Yugi harbored for her. She had felt terribly uncomfortable around them for weeks. But when Yugi called to meet her and told her that he and his darker half felt the same way and something as serious as that could not simply be measured, she decided that it would be best if she gave them a chance. And as time had passed she had learned to love them both as one person. After all, they already shared one body.
And now, things were happening all over again. It was just yesterday that they had returned from their trip to Egypt and it was that morning when Yugi had phoned her saying he and Yami had something important to tell her.
'Did they hear about the whole wedding fiasco? What if Joey somehow slipped it in?' Her mind was in a tornado as she shifted her gaze back and forth.
"I'm fine, Yami. Please don't worry about me. Now, what was this important matter that you and Yugi had to speak with me about?" She silently congratulated herself for not stuttering even once. But the uneasiness soon returned as she noticed Yami's eyes looking directly at hers. It always made her feel just a bit uncomfortable whenever he looked at her that way. His expression was entirely unreadable, as if he were once again dueling.
'Not that he ever stopped dueling…' She mentally sighed.
"Yugi and I have been thinking for a while now." To this, she looked up again at the former pharaoh. "For the week that we had gone to Egypt, it had made us think a whole lot more about this. More specifically, we've been thinking very much about you."
"Me?" Her eyes widened. They had been thinking about her? But the trip to Egypt was supposed to be about locating clues to Yami's past. She did not like where this conversation was going.
"Tea, I have not regained all my memories yet and it looks like I might have to wait much longer to fully have them back. But as I thought about this I realized that though Yugi and I can wait for my memories, there are things in thislifetime that cannot."
"What does that mean?" She couldn't hold it back any longer. Her trembling voice had definitely given away what she truly felt inside.
She watched as Yami stood up from his chair and walked over to her side of the table. 'This can't be happening. Is he breaking up with me? Are they breaking up with me?'
"That means, Tea, that we both love you with all our hearts," She closed her eyes as his voice grew closer. 'If they're going to leave me here then I'd rather not look.'
"And we've both decided that it's time we stopped being so selfish. We want you to have the happy ending you've always deserved… And if you'll let us, we want to be that happy ending."
Barely registering everything, she opened her eyes and gasped as she found Yami on one knee in front of her. A smile grazed his normally serious face. And it was then that she saw that it was Yugi smiling at her. As the years passed, he had grown taller and if it weren't for the eyes and voice, one wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the two partners.
Slowly, she smiled as tears began to fall from her cerulean eyes.
"Tea, will you marry me?" She didn't have to wonder why they used "me" instead of "us". In that question, she could hear both voices clearly, light and dark. And it was in that moment she felt that they were both there with her.
"Yes. I'll marry you, both of you." And with that she launched out of her chair and into his arms. By then, it was Yami who had gained control once again as Yugi went back inside their soul room to watch as he too could no longer hold back his tears of joy.
The following week seemed to go like a blur. After finally telling their closest friends about the arrangements, they had all agreed that it would be best having the wedding two months from then. There were still many preparations needed and the girls especially did not want to give up planning the décor and location, among other things.
"So, what was it like?" Tea placed her magazine on the coffee table as she looked up at her blonde friend.
"What was what like, Mai?"
"You know, the whole proposing thing?"
The brunette sighed. "There's actually nothing to tell…"
"Hey, don't be such a killjoy! There must be some details. Come on, how'd he even get to handing you that ring?"
To this, the dancer looked down at the ring on her left ring finger. It was a simple yet elegant design with a diamond in between two sapphires. Yami had always mentioned how they brought out the color of her eyes.
"You know, the funny thing is that we almost forgot about the ring." She laughed as she looked up at her friend's questioning gaze.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we were too caught up with him proposing that it was when we were about to leave the restaurant that he suddenly pulled me back to hand me the ring."
-TBC-