Heart of the Blue-Eyes

by Azure Eyes Silver Dragon

When tragedy strikes at KaibaCorp, Téa and the gang rush to the aid of an old acquaintance. Set approximately three to four years after the events of Dark Side of Dimensions.

7. It's Not A Date

In a dark cavern under the cover of the mountains, a head broke the surface of the water, covered by a diving mask and breathing apparatus. Mateo walked out of the water and pulled the mask off his face, exhaling heavily. Thankfully, Seto Kaiba's lackeys hadn't followed him, not that he had left a single trace for them to do so either way. And besides, they were too concerned with protecting their CEO in the aftermath to look for the person who started the commotion in the first place. Mateo pushed his hand into his red hair and rustled it to give it normal volume again before peeling himself out of the rest of the scuba gear and his wetsuit. He overturned a nearby rock, revealing a hidden backpack, and pulled out a pair of dry clothes before shoving the scuba gear into the bag, donning the dry clothes and combing his hair back into place. Finally he threw the backpack over his shoulders and trekked out of the cavern.

Outside, he walked into the brush a good ways before shifting aside the bushes, revealing a motorcycle. He hopped onto it and revved it to life before taking off through the trees. He flew over the hills like ramps, weaving through the foliage until he made his way to a steep incline. The dirt eventually turned into a perfectly paved road, bring him back to the outskirts of Domino City. At long last, Mateo came upon a tall building, a looming structure of titanium and black tinted glass shaped like a spire. He held out a card to a reader, and it scanned as he drove by it, not even bothering to slow down as his motorcycle zoomed through the opening gate. He parked his vehicle in the parking garage and hopped off, entering the building. He entered an elevator that took him to the top floor, and Mateo walked down the dark hall lit by statues of the Inari Fire Duel Monster, the fox-like creatures sitting tall and proud with their tails curled in front of them, bowls of fire acting as the sconces where their tail tips ended. Mateo entered the room at the end of the hall, and no sooner had he done so, the old raspy voice reached his ears.

"You failed."

A gigantic screen came to life on the opposite wall, displaying a replay of a satellite camera's feed, which showed Seto Kaiba's friends escaping out the back of the bus that Mateo had crashed only a few hours earlier. Mateo was confused for a moment as the bus went over the cliff with Kaiba inside. Then he watched in disbelief as the head of a grappling hook came flying over the edge of the cliff, skittering along the pavement before Duke Devlin came out of nowhere and made a dive for it, the others joining the pile before pulling Kaiba to safety again.

"I almost had him, Master Ghedsu!" he said at last. "Give me another chance!"

"There won't be another chance, Mateo." growled the old man, pausing the video right as Kaiba stumbled to his feet on the ground again. Mateo watched as Ghedsu swiveled around in his chair to face him, his face displaying his disapproval. "Now that you've botched this plan, Roland has most likely increased Kaiba's security even more. I wouldn't be surprised if they even extended that security coverage to those other friends of his as well. Those are well-known names among that lot, and you've gone and drawn attention to all of them, you buffoon!"

"Sir, please-..." started Mateo.

"Get out!" barked Ghedsu, and Mateo startled before bowing deeply and exiting the room.

Ghedsu swiveled in his chair again, facing the screen before pressing the play button on the remote again. On the screen, Téa ran to Kaiba and threw her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder. Ghedsu's brow furrowed suspiciously for a brief moment before he saw Kaiba push her away almost immediately, and he brushed away the thought. He released a long sigh from his nose and clicked a button on the remote, and the screen went black once more.

Outside the corridor and a few paces down the hall and around the corner, Mateo ran his hands through his hair aggressively, letting out a loud noise of frustration. He kicked at one of the Inari Fire statues, cursing as his toe pulsed with pain. He limped off down the hallway towards his room, muttering curses under his breath. Before he could pass a dark hallway, he was suddenly grabbed around the neck and pulled sideways. A man's voice reached his ears from the shadows, saying, "Reduced to ripping the brakes out of passenger transport vehicles instead of just sticking the blade into their throats yourself, Mateo? How far you've fallen."

Mateo threw his elbow backwards, but a hand caught it before it could make contact, twisting his arm behind his back. He felt a heavy boot kick his knees out from under him, and Mateo was sent face-first into the ground, held there by a strong man's knee on his back. "It would appear that you've lost your touch, brother." came the voice again. "Ghedsu would be ashamed to see his right-hand man eating the dirt so easily."

"Who are you?!" snarled Mateo, trying to turn his face out of the ground. "How did you get in here? Did someone give you the security codes?"

The man let out a derisive laugh. "Security codes, were they? A six year old could...how should I put this..." Mateo's eyes widened as he heard the sound of a striking match, and his captor added, "...blow right through your security codes."

"Good gods, Terrance!" said Mateo, finally recognizing the voice.

"Ah, so you do remember your favorite demolitionist friend from the corps." said the man, finally moving his knee and allowing Mateo to get to his feet. "You almost wounded me, making me believe you forgot about our military days."

"What are you doing here, Terrance?" asked Mateo, brushing himself off. "I thought you were off in Africa blowing up diamond mines to make yourself rich."

"I was...but it got boring." replied Terrance, extinguishing the long match he held by putting it in his mouth like a cigarette. "That and I may have accidentally caved in a large group of miners on my last go around. As it turns out, the locals frown on controlled demolitions killing their precious dirt-diggers...even if they were too illiterate to read the caution signs."

Mateo shifted uncomfortably. Terrance was as cold-hearted as ever. "So you came here because you heard of the bounty master Ghedsu put on Seto Kaiba's head, did you?" he asked.

"An easy million for one world-renowned business tycoon...what idiot would turn that down?" said Terrance with a grin. "I'll give the creaky old man one thing, he knows how to reel in the talent. You could learn a thing or two from old Ghedsu."

"Like what?" snapped Mateo.

"If you're going to be too cowardly to do the dirty work yourself, at least pay the right amount necessary to hire a man in the middle who can actually get the job done for you." said Terrance, lighting the other end of the match with a Zippo lighter. "Now are you going to stand there wasting my time or are you going to introduce me to your master? I've got work to do."

Mateo scowled, but turned on his heel and led Terrance down the hall without a word.

---

Kaiba awoke the next morning, sitting up in bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes before throwing aside his sheets and making a beeline for the shower. After he was done with his hygiene routine, he dressed in black dress pants and a matching collared shirt, tucking it under his belt line. Finally he laced up his dress shoes before exiting the room. He entered his office, dropping into his chair and picking up the phone. He dialed a four digit extension before putting it on speaker and opening his laptop.

"KC Flight Command, this is Ruri."

"It's me." said Kaiba, checking his email as he talked. "I need a flight cleared for KC2 to the launch pad at twelve o'clock sharp tomorrow afternoon, returning at six in the evening."

"Yes, Mr. Kaiba, I'll have it arranged." came the voice.

Kaiba had no sooner hung up the phone when there was a knock on his office door. "Enter."

He watched as Roland entered the room, carrying a tablet in his hand. "Good afternoon, Mr. Kaiba." he said. "I hope you slept well."

"Well enough. What is it?" said Kaiba, getting straight to the point.

"I came to apologize again for Ivan's behavior towards you last night, sir." said Roland, walking forward and standing before Kaiba's desk. "I did give him a verbal reprimand and revoked his privileges to the satellite tracking system, however I wanted to see if you had any intention of further punishment for his actions, Mr. Kaiba. I agree that he was way out of bounds."

Kaiba was careful to hide his disdain at the memory, saying, "It wouldn't hurt my feelings if he was demoted to sole private eye instead of a personal guard."

"We can certainly replace him with a different guard for your security team, sir." said Roland.

"I meant without replacing." said Kaiba irritably. "Don't you think five special ops military guards is a little excessive, even for me?"

Roland's moustache stretched as his mouth became a thin line, saying, "Unfortunately Ivan was not wrong about the urgency of keeping you safe, Mr. Kaiba. I would rather you not chance it."

Kaiba fought against sighing aloud, saying, "I liked it better when it was just you and Fuguta."

"I understand, Mr. Kaiba, but these are different circumstances, as you're more than aware." said Roland. "So who would you like to replace Ivan with?"

Kaiba thought for a moment, but no one else came to mind that was in the same tier as Ivan. "I don't know...do you have any suggestions?" asked Kaiba.

"Do you want my honest opinion, sir?" asked Roland.

"Yes." said Kaiba impatiently.

"I would simply call this strike one for Ivan, and leave him on as your guard." said Roland. "If he has repeat offenses, we can certainly discuss demotion, but as of now, he's the best you have."

"Fine, but make sure Ivan's crystal clear on that." said Kaiba. "...and remind him that I don't usually hand out second chances so gracefully."

"Understood, sir." said Roland, raising the tablet and swiping his finger over it to wake it. "In that case, let's discuss your schedule for the week. I kept your schedule clear for today in case you needed an extra day to rest from your trip, so your first order of business on Tuesday is-..."

"Keep tomorrow clear, too." said Kaiba, cutting across him.

Roland glanced up at him, saying, "I'm sorry, sir, you wanted two days clear? I scheduled-..."

"Then reschedule. I'm taking a sick day." said Kaiba curtly.

Roland was quiet for a moment before lowering his gaze to tablet again, saying, "Of course, Mr. Kaiba. I can rearrange the schedule for you."

They continued to discuss the schedule until everything was set in stone for the week. Roland had taken a seat on the opposite side of the desk, and he put the tablet down and said, "Well, I think that about wraps it up, Mr. Kaiba. Was there anything else you needed me to do today?"

"Nothing comes to mind." said Kaiba before his desk phone rang. He pressed the intercom button and said, "Yes?"

"This is Ruri again." came the voice. "Your flight for tomorrow is cleared, Mr. Kaiba."

Kaiba saw Roland glance at the phone before he gave a brief thanks and cut the line. "You have a flight scheduled for tomorrow?" asked Roland.

"I don't need anyone to accompany me." said Kaiba quickly, knowing exactly what Roland was going to say next. "I'm just going to the space station."

"I would still advise you have Fuguta follow in a separate aircraft, sir." said Roland. "There is still a chance you could be ambushed from the sky, in case you forgot about Alistair..."

"I think I'll be fine, Roland." said Kaiba, getting annoyed. "Last I checked, there aren't any more deranged cultists seeking misguided revenge."

Roland sighed and massaged his forehead with his thumb and forefinger, but before he could say anything further, there came a soft knock came on the office door. "Enter." called Kaiba.

The door opened, and a woman in her early forties stuck her head around the door, her salt and pepper hair tied up in a braided bun. "Good afternoon, Mr. Kaiba." she sang cheerfully. "I hope I'm not disturbing any important business between you and my dearly beloved."

"Mayura!" said Roland, looking surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, I was in the area and thought I'd drop by." replied Roland's wife and Kaiba's master chef with a smile as she swept into the room. She wore black dress pants and a sharply ironed white dress shirt, the sleeves folded neatly up to her elbows, all covered by a black apron with her name and rank embroidered into it, along with the KC logo. "I didn't recieve an order for Mr. Kaiba's breakfast, so I'd thought that to be a perfect excuse to try and catch a glimpse of my husband, see if I remember what he looks like, that sort of thing." she added with a sly grin.

Roland chuckled and returned the chaste kiss Mayura planted on his lips, saying, "You still see me every day, dear, and on most weekends."

"Hardly. You won't even take a break at home." said Mayura, rubbing Roland's shoulders. "I blame you, Mr. Kaiba." she teased. "The absolute nerve of you for promoting him. Just look at all these grey hairs you're giving him! These used to all be black, you know, every one of them. And don't even get me started on his complexion!"

Kaiba allowed his amused half-smirk to flash. Mayura was one of the few people who could get away with talking to Kaiba in such a manner, even jokingly. He respected Roland's wife almost as much as he did Roland himself. "I appreciate you checking up with me, Mayura, but I wasn't hungry this morning." he said.

"Oh come now, Mr. Kaiba, what exactly do you pay me for if not to make sure you and the other hardworking staff are properly nourished?" asked Mayura, waggling a finger at him. "I ought to demand a raise. If not for me, you menfolk would let yourselves starve."

Kaiba let out a chuckle, and Mayura blinked. "Well now, that's a sight I haven't seen before!" she breathed, her hazel eyes wide.

"What?" asked Roland, looking over at Kaiba.

"Seriously, Roland? You've been watching over this young man for almost a decade. Have you ever seen Mr. Kaiba laugh before?" asked Mayura, giving him an incredulous look.

Roland's eyebrows raised over his shades as he looked back at Kaiba, saying, "Well, now that you mention it, I have not. This is a new occurrence."

"Indeed it is." agreed Mayura, winking broadly at Kaiba as she added, "You should do that more often, Mr. Kaiba. You'll attract a young lady in no time with a handsome smile like that."

Kaiba felt his face grow hot, and Roland quickly said, "Alright, Mayura, don't fluster him. He still writes our checks at the end of the week."

"You two are just no fun at all." said Mayura, grinning mischievously. "Well, Mr. Kaiba, do you suppose I could commandeer my husband from you for a moment?"

Kaiba waved them off, saying, "Have at it. You're excused, Roland."

"Thank you, sir." said Roland, standing. "You know how to reach me if I'm needed."

"I've got today and tomorrow off, so I don't think I'll be needing you." replied Kaiba.

"Oh, well, if that's the case, then I suppose I'll commandeer him for a long moment." grinned Mayura, linking her arm around Roland's. "Enjoy your leisure, Mr. Kaiba."

Roland smiled and patted Mayura's hand on his arm before turning to Kaiba, adding, "I will leave the comm unit with Fuguta should you need anything, Mr. Kaiba. I'll take my leave now."

Kaiba waited until the two of them exited the room before rising from his desk chair and stretching, cracking his spine before walking out of the room. At the very least, he needed to get back into his exercise routine so that he wouldn't be so stiff, so he made his way towards the elevator. An entire floor was dedicated to the gym, as it was both for him and the security team, along with anyone else under KaibaCorp's employ that wished to utilize it.

Kaiba exited the elevator to the gym floor, and no sooner had he done so did he hear a group of maids chattering only a few feet down the hall.

"...and she's being absolutely relentless, I tell you." said one of the maids. "She's been in the lobby for almost half an hour now. Poor Jane had to call the guards, she wouldn't let up!"

"Well, there's no solicitors allowed at KaibaCorp and they right well know it!" said another as she sprayed into a cloth and wiped down a glass display case.

"Oh no, she's not a solicitor at all!" said the first, who was disinfecting doorknobs and keypads. "It's a lady from the Domino City Downtown Children's Center."

"The facility we hosted at the charity ball?!" exclaimed a third, who was polishing all the artifacts inside the display case.

"The very same!" said the first maid. "...and she wasn't looking for more donations, either! She was going on about how there's a child missing, and the poor little thing may well still be right here in KaibaCorp!"

Kaiba halted and stared down the hall at the group of maids.

"You don't say!" said the second maid. "Why, wouldn't that be something? A small child walking around right under our noses."

"Oh dear, Mr. Kaiba would have a right fit if he heard how lax the security was in his-..."

The first maid emitted a timid squeak and elbowed the others, and they turned to follow her wide-eyed gaze. They jumped to attention and curtseyed all at once to Kaiba.

"Oh sir! Forgive us. You gave us a fright!"

"Don't pay us any mind, Mr. Kaiba. We were just moving on to the laundry."

"Yes, yes! Come ladies, the towels must be cleaned and starched!"

"Good day to you, sir!"

The maids backed away, still bowing, and hurried down the hall and out of sight. Kaiba rolled his eyes and shook his head, but then backed into the elevator again. He smacked the button for the lobby and scanned his shirt cuff, and the elevator plummeted to the floor, dinging loudly before opening. No sooner had he exited did he hear the ensuing conversation that the maids had been chatting about.

"Absolutely not!" he heard one of his security team members exclaim. "A full-scale search of KaibaCorp from an outside party? My chief would never permit it, and neither would I bother passing the notion to him!"

Kaiba stopped dead in his tracks, listening in on the conversation taking place in the lobby around the corner.

"But sir..." came a woman's voice. "This was the last place she was definitively known to be..."

"It's been almost three weeks since the charity ball, miss." said the guard. "You mean to tell me you went nearly three weeks without noticing one of your charges was missing?"

"Of course not! We noticed within three days, which is very fast for a facility as large as ours." replied the woman. "We have almost a hundred children to keep track of. We average almost a dozen coming and going in a single day alone..."

"Your daily statistics shouldn't stop you from having a basic role-call system in place for outside events!" said the guard sternly. "If you left the orphanage knowing the number of children in attendance, you should have counted that very same before you left for the evening!"

Kaiba peered around the corner at that moment, and he saw a young woman, possibly only a year or two younger than himself, fuming at the guard. Kaiba recognized Neil, one of the third tier guards, a few levels below his own security team. "We did call role and accounted for all the children, but apparently she slipped away afterwards!" she snapped.

"So you claim." said Neil. "Or perhaps you're just looking for an excuse to bypass security and snoop around KaibaCorp."

"Listen, sir, I'm just doing my job and being accountable for my children. I don't care about a building full of trading cards and gaming gadgets." said the woman. "Now are you going to help me look for Maru or not?"

"There will be no you looking anywhere inside this building or any of the adjacent grounds." said Neil. "If anyone is to be doing any searching, it will be KaibaCorp's own security team, and that's assuming that our resources would even be wasted on an orphan."

Kaiba's hand clenched into a fist at Neil's words and his derisive tone, and he could take it no further. He rounded the corner at that moment, striding forward with the air of authority, and demanded, "What's going on here?"

Neil jumped to attention almost immediately, almost throwing a salute before correcting himself and bowing low to Kaiba, saying, "Mr. Kaiba! Forgive me, sir, I didn't realize you were nearby."

Kaiba ignored the guard and turned his attention to the young woman in front of him, who was looking up at him with a mixed look of surprise and awe. "Who are you and what is your business here?" he asked the woman, getting straight to the point.

The woman snapped out of her trance and grabbed her skirt before bowing awkwardly, saying, "Mr. Kaiba, my name is Ruka, and I work at the Domino City Downtown Children's Center. You hosted us most graciously at your charity fundraising ball the week before last."

Kaiba nodded. "I remember." he said, not unkindly. "And what are you doing back here?"

"Sir, she claims that-..." started Neil.

"I didn't ask you!" Kaiba cut across him, and Neil's mouth snapped shut before he bowed again.

Ruka pressed her lips together, as if trying to smother a grin, before straightening again. "I'm so sorry to bother you, sir." she said, keeping her eyes on Kaiba and pretending Neil wasn't there anymore. "But it appears one of the children in our care has gone missing. There are no records of her being transferred to another facility or being adopted by a family, and we've scoured our own grounds and the surrounding buildings with no success. We put out a missing persons notice two weeks ago when we first noticed she was gone, but the local police department has had no success in locating her..." Ruka's face took on a sorrowful look as she added, "Maru...the missing child, that is...she is a known repeat runaway. She's been trying to get out of the orphanage ever since she arrived a few months ago. She hates it there. She's done everything and anything to escape, Mr. Kaiba, and apparently this time she was successful."

Kaiba listened patiently, understanding more than well, but his face betraying nothing as he said, "...and you believe this child has been here, somewhere in my building, since the charity ball?"

"I wouldn't doubt it for a second, Mr. Kaiba." said Ruka, seeming affirmed of her convictions. "One of the places Maru would run away to all the time was Kaiba Land, even though we visit every Saturday. She knows underprivileged children are let in for free, and she carries her facility badge with her so she'd be admitted without the attendants ever questioning it. She's even tried hiding in the air ducts of the engine rooms that service the rides."

"Impossible." said Neil suddenly. "She'd have to be tiny to fit into the air ducts!"

Ruka glared at Neil, saying, "She is tiny! She's only five years old!"

Kaiba was careful to hide his shock, but Neil expressed it for him. "Five years old?!" he exclaimed. "A five year old child is your resident escape artist?!"

"Mr. Kaiba, Maru is very intelligent for her age." said Ruka, turning her attention back to Kaiba and ignoring the guard again. "She's considered gifted even though she's non-verbal. She soaks up chapter books like catchy nursery rhymes, and she's very ingenuitive. She figured out how to pick locks with hair pins and stop doors with Duel Monsters cards. It's not outside the realm of possibility that she somehow snuck out of line and stayed in KaibaCorp after the ball. Your facility would be a prime place for her to want to reside, Mr. Kaiba."

"It's also a prime target, Mr. Kaiba!" argued Neil, butting in again. "Sir, surely you wouldn't allow an outside organization free reign inside KaibaCorp?"

"No, but I would permit them to leave the details of this child so that my own security team may look for her." said Kaiba, looking Neil dead in the eye as he added, "Unless of course you think I'd be wasting resources on an orphan, as if we've ever been considered a waste to society?"

Neil blinked, saying, "We, sir?"

Ruka put her hands on her hips, saying, "Don't tell me you didn't know Mr. Kaiba was in our very same facility when he was a boy! Even I knew that, and I'm two years Mr. Kaiba's junior!"

Neil turned the color of sour milk, and Kaiba's expression remained cool and reprimanding as he said, "In the future, you'd do well to remember your CEO's origins before you express your opinions about them, Neil. You're dismissed from your job and from KaibaCorp. Be grateful I'm not throwing you out the door myself."

Neil swallowed nervously as he bowed low, saying, "Yes, sir. Forgive me, please."

"Out." said Kaiba firmly, and Neil jumped up and hurried away to collect his belongings.

"Mr. Kaiba, thank you!" said Ruka, bowing to Kaiba.

"You're welcome." said Kaiba. "Now enough with the bowing. I hate it when my staff does it; I don't need it from anyone that's not even under my employ."

Ruka snapped up straight again, her lips pressed together as if she were trying not to smile again, and said, "Of course, Mr. Kaiba. My apologies." She opened the flap of the messenger bag she was carrying and handed Kaiba a piece of paper with a photograph paper-clipped to it, saying, "This is Maru, along with a copy of all her personal details. Normally we don't hand these out to anyone outside law enforcement and medical facilities, but we are desperate, Mr. Kaiba. If your security team can be of any help, we would greatly appreciate all their efforts, sir."

Kaiba took the paper and looked down at the photograph. Maru's face was still round with infantile pudge under a short mop of red curls, but he could see the sad look in her blue eyes, as if she wanted to be anywhere but the facility she was stuck in. Kaiba pinched the lapel of his coat, saying, "Fuguta, come down to the lobby for a moment."

Yes sir! replied Fuguta's voice from his receiver. Apparently he had already been in the elevator when he got the message, because it dinged almost immediately before admitting the second-in-command security chief to the floor. "You called for me, Mr. Kaiba?"

Kaiba handed the paper and photograph to Fuguta, saying, "I want you to make it the top-most priority available to search for this child on all of KaibaCorp's properties, especially the amusement park. She an escaped orphan that may be hiding on the premises."

"Understood, sir. I'll have the tier five team on it right away." said Fuguta, taking the documents from Kaiba. He nodded to Ruka, saying, "Leave it to us, miss. Should she be on the premises, I can assure you we'll find your missing child."

Ruka's face lit up with a smile. "You have the gratitude of the entire Children's Center, Mr. Kaiba! A thousand times, thank you!" she said. She turned to Fuguta, saying, "The telephone number of the facility is on that paper, sir. Please let us know if you find her!"

"Of course, ma'am." said Fuguta, and Ruka bowed to both of them before turning and exiting the lobby. From her desk, the receptionist blew out a sigh of relief. "Do you really believe this child could still be somewhere in the building, Mr. Kaiba?" added Fuguta when Ruka had left.

"If she is, then it's a cause for concern." said Kaiba. "If a child can sneak around my properties undetected, it means there's a massive hole in the security."

"Mr. Kaiba, I can assure you that KaibaCorp is well guarded for your sake." said Fuguta. "...and a small child would be no threat to you, of course."

"You think a five year old child couldn't be easily persuaded to do the dirty work of an outside enemy?" asked Kaiba, giving Fuguta a hard look. "Like say, bringing a mysterious ticking box into the building in exchange for a few bits of candy? The way I see it, an innocent little girl would be a perfect man in the middle."

Fuguta's face paled. "I'll pass this information on to Roland, and we will scour every property for her, Mr. Kaiba! You can be sure that if she's here, we'll find her." he said affirmatively.

"Good. Then get to it." said Kaiba, and Fuguta bowed and hurried off to the security wing. Kaiba couldn't help but let his amused half-smirk flash. He couldn't have asked for a more perfect way to distract the security team so that he could have an undisturbed few days. Perhaps he could easily slip away tomorrow after all.

---

Two days since the camping trip had come and gone quickly, and Téa inspected herself in the mirror, humming pensively as she wondered if her outfit was appropriate for outer space. She had decided that Kaiba probably had built some sort of temperature control system in the space station, but just in case it was a tad chilly, Téa decided on black leggings under her magenta mini-skirt for a pop of color, wearing her calf-length white boots. Her turtleneck sleeveless top was black, and she tied it off with her pink loop necklace. Finally she grabbed her white jacket, smoothing the lapels as she fastened the bottom three buttons. She was going for a business casual look, and Téa gave herself a nod of approval in the mirror. She tucked her phone into her pocket along with her house key before slipping on a beaded pink bracelet that was also a watch, glancing at the time. It was fifteen minutes until noon.

A wave of panic suddenly hit Téa. Was she supposed to meet him at KaibaCorp, or was Kaiba sending someone to pick her up? She had absolutely no idea, and Téa felt stupid for not asking him beforehand. She had just enough time to catch a cab and head to KaibaCorp, so Téa hurried out of her room and down the stairs to her front door. She stepped off the bottom step just as a knock came on her door, and Téa blew out a sigh of relief. She peered out the eyehole, and her stomach suddenly plummeted when she realized that it wasn't Kaiba.

Téa took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to steady her nerves, then opened the door and put on her best smile, saying, "Mai! Serenity! What a surprise! What are you two doing here?"

"Little Miss Serenity here wanted to go shopping at the mall." said Mai, beaming excitedly down at Joey's sister. "And you know how I love a good clearance sale, so I just couldn't refuse!"

"We wanted to see if you wanted to come along." said Serenity excitedly. "The guys are doing other things, so it'll be a girl's day out for us! What do you say?"

"Oh. Well, um...gee, that does sound fun..." said Téa nervously. "...but I'm sorry, I can't."

"Why not?" asked Mai, blinking. "I didn't think you'd pass up a chance to go shopping either!"

"I have...plans." said Téa hesitantly.

"You do?" asked Mai, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of plans?"

"I was gonna hang out with one of the guys." said Téa quickly. It wasn't totally a lie.

"Just one of them?" asked Mai, becoming suspicious.

"Sure! We do it all the time!" said Téa with a smile. She didn't have to lie about that one.

"Uh-oh. My brother and Tristan were gonna check out a new hobby store nearby, and they were going to ask Yugi, Bakura and Duke to tag along." said Serenity, looking worried. "Which one is going with you so I can tell my brother not to invite them?"

"Uuuh..." said Téa, a bead of sweat threatening to trickle down her forehead.

"I imagine it would be Yugi. He and Téa go way back." said Mai.

"Well, actually..." said Téa slowly, and she started unconsciously fidgeting with her bracelet.

Mai gave a pointed look to Téa's hands before raising her eyes to meet Téa's again. "Something you need to tell us, hun?" she asked, the sly glint appearing in her violet eyes.

Téa let slip a short, nervous laugh. "Funny story, but...um...you see, I...uh..." she stammered.

Serenity gasped as realization hit her, her eyes lighting up and an excited smile spreading across her face. "Is it Kaiba?" she asked eagerly. "Are you going on a date with him?"

"It's not a date!" said Téa quickly.

"I knew it!" said Mai, smiling triumphantly as she threw her arm around Téa's neck and pulled her head closer. "So tell us, hun, where's the hot date with the big guy?"

"I told you, it's not a date!" said Téa, slipping out of Mai's arm and flushing to her roots. "And I'm not telling you where we're going!"

"Why not?" asked Serenity, and Téa squirmed as the sad, pleading brown eyes turned on her.

"I mean...I don't think Kaiba wanted anyone to know..." said Téa quickly.

"He expected you to be able to keep a secret? Hah! I guess he forgot how fidgety you are when you try to lie to us!" said Mai with a knowing smile.

"It wouldn't have come up if you guys didn't come over here." muttered Téa.

"Don't worry, Téa! We can pick another day to go shopping!" said Serenity cheerfully. "And we won't tell the others about your date with Kaiba."

"It's not a date!" fumed Téa, her cheeks turning pink again.

"Then why can't we know where you're going? Afraid we'll follow and spy on you and the big guy?" asked Mai, her eyes glinting with mischief again.

"Hah! Good luck following us into outer space!" said Téa before she knew what she was saying. She clapped her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide.

Mai and Serenity's mouths dropped open simultaneously. "You're going to the space station?!" asked Mai, shock painted across her face. "His space station? Talk about a flex!"

"And you agreed to that?!" asked Serenity, her eyes huge.

"I...y-yes." said Téa, rubbing the back of her head nervously.

"Well, he better not try anything while you're up there." said Mai. "If he does, then hit him where the sun don't shine!"

"Mai! Kaiba's more of a gentleman than that!" said Téa, her blue eyes flashing.

"True enough...he did bring you back to the tent after your little rendezvous in the moonlight." said Mai with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Huh? When did that happen?" asked Serenity.

"The last night of the trip." said Mai as Téa clenched her fists and fumed silently at the blonde. "We were going to tell you about it before Kaiba joined us at the campfire. Téa went swimming at midnight and cuddled with the big guy under the starlight. Isn't that right, hun?"

"Aw, Téa, that's so romantic!" said Serenity, folding her hands against her heart and looking dreamy-eyed. "Did he kiss you?"

"Wha-...?! No!" said Téa, flushing to her roots. "I told you guys already, Kaiba's just a friend!"

"If you say so." said Mai disbelievingly, winking broadly down at Serenity, who giggled. Téa was spared from any further embarrassment as a black car with tinted windows pulled up behind Mai's purple convertible, and Téa couldn't help but feel relieved. That must be a chauffeur to take her to KaibaCorp. "Looks like your hot date is here." added Mai with a sly grin at the car.

"Mai!" fumed Téa, shooting her a look.

"Alright Mai, come on. We can grab lunch at a cafe or something." said Serenity, taking Mai's hand and leading her away towards Mai's car. "We'll see you later, Téa! Have fun!"

"Thanks." said Téa, waving as they hopped into Mai's convertible and took off down the street. She breathed a sigh of relief and walked down her porch stairs. She was surprised that no one was getting out to open the door for her as their chauffeur had done at the charity ball when the front passenger door opened seemingly on its own. Téa stopped dead in her tracks and stared as Kaiba looked back at her from the driver's seat.

"I had hoped you wouldn't mind me being early, but it seems I had nothing to worry about." he said with his signature half-smile, and Téa hummed in amusement and entered the car. Kaiba waited until she was situated before pressing a button on the dashboard, and Téa watched in awe as the door closed and locked itself.

"That's fancy." she said, buckling herself in before Kaiba pulled away from the curb and started driving them to their destination. "Didn't want to send one of your chauffeurs?" she asked him.

"I like to keep my personal expeditions that way." said Kaiba simply as he looked the other way to make sure the road was clear before turning onto the next street.

Téa shifted uncomfortably in her seat, saying, "Sorry, the girls just showed up out of the blue..."

"I figured the whole gang usually does." said Kaiba, unmoving.

Téa bit her lip, saying, "I didn't mean to tell them, but they wanted to go shopping and...well, you know how I am when I try to lie. They said they wouldn't tell the guys..."

"I was talking about keeping my personal expeditions from my staff, Téa." said Kaiba gently. "I don't particularly care what the others think."

"Oh." said Téa, and she relaxed as relief washed over her. "Okay."

Kaiba let out a rumble of amusement, and Téa watched the wheel slide smoothly under his hand as he made another turn. She was surprised he wasn't speeding; she knew firsthand from riding with Joey and Tristan that men could be speed-demons on the road, but Kaiba appeared to be the opposite. Or perhaps he just didn't want to scare her from ever riding shotgun with him again. Téa's curiosity got the better of her as they came to a stop before a red light at an intersection.

"Who taught you how to drive?" she asked.

Kaiba blinked and looked over at her.

"I mean, assuming Gozaburo didn't teach you when you were twelve." said Téa quickly, not wanting him to think she was critiquing his driving.

Kaiba smirked and looked back to the road as the light changed to green. "No he didn't." said Kaiba as he continued down the road. "I built virtual driving simulators to teach myself the basics, and Roland was my road test instructor. Same with piloting aircraft."

"Oh gosh, I bet Roland had fun with that one." said Téa. She couldn't imagine teaching someone how to fly a helicopter or a jet, let alone how to drive a car.

"I might have been responsible for a few of his grey hairs." said Kaiba, flashing his half-smirk as he remembered Mayura's comment the other day.

"Only a few?" asked Téa with a smile over at Kaiba.

"Okay, probably most of them." he admitted, receiving a giggle from Téa.

Téa saw the KaibaCorp tower in the distance, but Kaiba turned down a side road, driving to a different side of the building. They approached a different gate, and Kaiba lowered the window and touched the back of his hand against the call box. Téa heard a beep, and the gate rolled open for them, and she figured he must have a chip or something in his shirt cuff. Kaiba continued down the road, and the gate shut immediately behind them. Téa looked around. She had never seen this side of the building before. Kaiba lifted a hand and pressed a button on a console attached to the roof of the car, and a break appeared in the panels of glass, splitting open wide enough to admit the car before sliding shut again. Téa saw a row of black limos and cars, and knew this must be where the chauffeurs parked. Kaiba opened another gate at the end of the garage and drove up a ramp that turned twice before they came to an open carport with two other cars, one dark blue and the other a metallic grey. Kaiba parked next to the blue car and shut off the one they were in, leaving the keys in the ignition as he exited the vehicle.

Téa got out of the passenger seat, looking over at the two other vehicles. "Do all of these belong to you?" she asked.

"The grey one was Mokuba's." said Kaiba simply before walking towards an elevator. Téa bit her lip and glanced at the grey car before following him. The elevator dinged and opened, and they entered it together, Kaiba hitting the R button and scanning his cuff again before the doors slid shut on them. Téa looked at the elevator panel, catching sight of the B3 before the elevator started shooting towards the rooftop. She experienced the familiar popping sensation in her ears as she flexed her jaw to ease some of the discomfort. The elevator dinged again, and Téa stepped out of the elevator with Kaiba, blinking as the wind blew her hair. She had never been on the rooftop of KaibaCorp, and her eyes caught site of the white helicopter sitting on a circled H and realized they were on a landing pad.

Téa paused mid-step, looking off to the side. The city skyline stretched out before her, the cars mere specks on the tiered highways, the subway a blur of grey in the translucent tunnels. In the distance she could see Domino Harbor, and beyond that, the ocean. The high noon sun bathed the horizon in shimmering light, the sky a beautiful cyan blue on the cloudless day.

"Wow." breathed Téa in absolute admiration. "What a view."

"If you think this is amazing..." came Kaiba's voice from somewhere behind her. "...wait until we're at the space station."

Téa turned her attention back to the helicopter, where Kaiba was waiting for her. He opened the door and held his hand out as she approached, helping her up into the passenger seat. Téa's heart started beating wildly as she settled into the cushioned seat, sticking her arms through the thick harness. She had never been co-pilot in any aircraft before. She looked down and saw a large strap between her legs, and she managed to buckle that one before Kaiba entered the helicopter and sealed the door. Téa held the harness strap and stared at the main buckle, trying to figure out the rest, when she felt a looming presence beside her. She looked up and almost grazed Kaiba's nose with hers.

"Allow me." he said softly, and Téa followed his gaze as he took the main buckle from her, inserting the harness clips into two slots on either side of it. He pulled a strap across her waist, then clipped another one across her chest, joining the harness straps together. Finally he placed his fingers on a square fastener in the center and pulled it upwards, and Téa took in a sharp breath as the entire harness tightened about her, holding her snugly to the seat. Kaiba glanced up at her, and Téa felt herself coloring under his intense gaze. He reached a hand up over her head, and Téa fought to control her breathing as he moved slightly closer, his face mere inches from hers. She blinked as he procured a pair of noise-cancelling headphones from somewhere above her head, holding them before her as he said, "Put these on."

Téa lowered her eyes, grateful for the excuse to avert her gaze, and took the headset from him, murmuring a soft thanks. Kaiba moved away and settled into the pilot seat, making quick work of his own harness and putting on his headset. He flicked a row of small levers to his left and gripped the control column beside him, twisting it slowly. Téa heard the engine roaring to life, and the blades overhead started spinning. Kaiba flipped the microphone down on his headset and said, "September, Niner, Zero, Alpha Seven to flight command, Kaiba Craft Two ready to depart. Over."

Téa blinked as she heard Kaiba's voice in her headset, and another voice from somewhere else answered back, replying, "Roger that, Kaiba Craft Two, you are cleared for take-off. Over."

Kaiba looked over at her, saying, "Ready?"

Téa nodded eagerly. "Ready." she said.

Kaiba pulled up on the control column, and Téa felt the helicopter lift into the air. She saw Kaiba's legs moving, depressing the pedals beneath his feet, his left hand gripping another lever with a square pad of buttons. He pushed the control column in his right hand forward, and the helicopter surged forward and took off from the pad.

Téa felt her stomach leave the ground, but the sensation was immediately forgotten as she looked over the city, her eyes wide and admiring. She could see the tops of the ferris wheel and the tallest roller coaster in KaibaLand, and she looked down into the KC Stadium, realizing that this was the view that the fly-over planes had. She watched as they passed the tops of the highest skyscrapers, the cars and people mere specks on the ground.

"This is your pilot speaking." she heard Kaiba's voice in her headset. "Please hold on. This vehicle is now turning."

Téa squealed and giggled as she grabbed her harness just as Kaiba rolled the control column to the left, the helicopter leaning sideways as it veered towards Domino Pier. The helicopter straightened again and started flying over the ocean, leaving the city behind, and Téa watched sea-gulls glide on the winds below. She saw boats of every shape and size leaving the pier, some out for a simple joy-ride or a fishing expedition, trails of white froth in their wakes as they skidded across the water. They flew further out, and Téa caught site of a large movement in the water, perhaps a whale as it broke the shimmering surface of the ocean.

Téa looked over and noticed that Kaiba was watching her, and he turned his attention back to the horizon, a smile on his face. The sight of Téa's sparkling blue eyes as she admired the birds-eye view made Kaiba's heart soar strangely in his chest.

Téa looked up ahead and saw an island appearing on the horizon, the sun dancing off a line of thick glass going straight up into the sky and out of sight. Kaiba pushed down on the control column, and the helicopter started dropping slowly towards the island. Another landing pad came into view, and Kaiba steered the helicopter onto it, landing perfectly in the center. He twisted the control column, and Téa heard the engine winding down and the blades slowing overhead. Kaiba flipped off the controls, removed his headset and unbuckled himself from his harness, leaning over and doing the same with Téa's harness as she removed her own headset and hung it back on the hook over her head. She waited as Kaiba exited the helicopter and walked around to open her door, helping her out of the aircraft.

"That was awesome!" she said as she dropped to the ground again.

Kaiba's amused half-smile appeared as he said, "The fun part hasn't even started yet."

Téa giggled and followed him into the building before them. They walked over a metal bridge, and Téa saw a slew of operators sitting at computers below, paying far too much attention to the screens in front of them to notice the two people above.

"What do they do?" asked Téa, looking at them all. There had to be at least a hundred of them.

"Some are flight control, to keep aircraft away from the space elevator." said Kaiba. "Others monitor weather patterns, gravitational field, and orbital paths around Earth and control the satellites. The rest are security for the base and network operators."

Téa heard the sound of an airlock disengaging, and she looked up to see a pair of doors sliding open, revealing two seats in a circular tube ten feet in circumference. Her head tilted further up as she regarded the clear tube of thick glass that disappeared into the sky.

All of a sudden, Téa felt her heart pounding in her chest, her legs refusing to move her any further forward. Kaiba looked back at her and saw the look of absolute fright on Téa's face, her wide eyes locked skywards. "Téa?" he said.

Her name on his lips jolted Téa out of her trance. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" asked Kaiba, looking concerned.

"Yes." said Téa affirmatively, and she willed her legs to carry her forward. Kaiba led her into the elevator, indicating with his hand towards the second chair. Téa lowered herself slowly into it, looking around. "No seatbelt?" she asked.

"The centrifugal force will keep us in our seats." said Kaiba as he settled into his chair.

Téa took another deep breath, gripping the arms of the chair on either side of her and exhaling slowly between her lips, murmuring, "Right..."

Kaiba looked over at her, pausing for a moment before he laid his hand over hers on the arm of the chair, saying, "Téa, you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"I want to." said Téa quickly.

Kaiba watched her carefully. "I don't want you to be uncomfortable..." he started.

"I won't be." said Téa, meeting his gaze. "Not with you here."

Kaiba's eyes almost widened before he caught himself, and he averted his eyes to a control panel on his armrest. He clicked a few buttons, and the thick glass slid shut, enclosing them in the elevator. Téa heard a hissing noise as oxygen poured into the chamber, and she took another deep breath, sucking in as much as she could.

"Ready?" asked Kaiba.

Téa took another deep breath and closed her eyes. "Yes." she said.

She heard another beep, then a computerized voice say, Engaging ground system terminal magnetic rail link. Téa heard the sound of a high-pitched electric pulse shooting up the tube.

Téa felt her heart pounding. It's just like an amusement park ride. she thought to herself over and over again. Like those tower rides that lift you up and drop you. No big deal. This time it's just going up...and it keeps going up... Téa gulped nervously. ...all the way up...

Lift-off in three...

Téa gripped the armrest with one hand...

...two...

...and squeezed Kaiba's hand with the other.

...one.

Téa's voice box betrayed her, and she was unable to even scream as the elevator rocketed up at dizzying speeds. Kaiba was right, the sheer upwards momentum held Téa into her seat. The base disappeared rapidly beneath them, the ocean and sky melding into a blue and white blur before Téa's vision became a blurry grey tunnel. She shut her eyes as she felt herself becoming light-headed. The back of her eyelids went from a bright red to a pitch-blackness...

"Téa."

Kaiba's voice was distant and faint. Téa felt a warm hand on her forehead, tilting her head upwards. "Hey. Can you hear me?" came Kaiba's voice again, clearer and louder this time.

She felt the reverberation of a weak hum from her throat, and Téa blinked open her eyes slowly. Her head was resting against Kaiba's shoulder, and her vision swam a bit before it adjusted to a bright light in the elevator cubicle. Kaiba's blue eyes came into focus, a concerned look on his face. Téa realized she was slumped over, and Kaiba held her into her seat with one arm while his other hand stroked her head gently, bringing the blood flow back to it.

"What happened?" asked Téa weakly.

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you that you might pass out." said Kaiba, and Téa felt her eyelids closing on her as his thumb massaged her temples gently. "I'm used to the G-forces because I have jet-pilot training. A person who's never been in a high-speed aircraft usually blacks out after thirty seconds in anything past three Gs, and the elevator is five."

"Oh..." murmured Téa, silently enjoying the head massage Kaiba was giving her. "...well, at least it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be."

She heard Kaiba's deep rumble of amusement. "If you need to sit here for a few minutes to recover, we can." he said. "Take all the time you need."

"I think I'm okay." replied Téa, slowly lifting her head off of Kaiba's shoulder.

"Are you sure?" asked Kaiba, watching her carefully and keeping a hand on her arm.

"Yeah. I recover fast, remember?" said Téa, smiling as she recalled the race at the arcade.

Kaiba's amused half-smirk flashed at the memory. "Alright then. Just stand up slowly." he said. He stood up and held his hands out to her, and Téa took hold of them both as she raised herself slowly from her seat. She inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, and Kaiba grabbed her elbows and steadied her as Téa swayed a bit and braced herself against his chest. "Are you alright?" asked Kaiba gently.

"Mm-hm." hummed Téa, keeping her eyes closed as her head swam a bit. "Just getting the feeling back in my legs."

"Pins and needles sensation?" asked Kaiba knowingly.

"Yeah." said Téa, amazed at his accuracy.

"That happens, too." assured Kaiba, keeping a firm but gentle hold on her. "That's why I built a conveyor line to take us the rest of the way."

"Bless you." said Téa, and Kaiba chuckled as he led her forward, holding her securely by the waist and letting her rest a hand on his shoulder. They stepped on to the conveyor line, and Kaiba pressed a button on a column that activated it, rolling them slowly forward. Téa lifted her legs, tapping her toes on the ground to get rid of the pins and needles sensation, while Kaiba remained standing. He was probably used to it by now.

The space station was almost pitch black, lit only by glowing power lines of neon lights. All around were layers of reinforced steel, glass, and those blue power lines. Two giant doors of steel split open up ahead of them, and they stepped off the conveyor line and onto a platform. Kaiba pressed another button to open the door in front of them, and Téa's eyes widened as the room before them was revealed, and she could only let out a single breathy, "Wow!"

The room was glass all around, including the floors, and Téa looked down to see the earth below them, a glowing ball of blue, green, and white. The stars twinkled all around despite the sun blazing in the distance, a ball of eternal white fire. Téa could see masses of rock floating slowly outside, following an orbit. Two or three planets were in clear view, their orange, blue and pale green masses glowing in the pitch blackness of outer space. Téa stepped a few paces from Kaiba, who finally released her, his hand sliding off her waist as she walked forward.

"This..." said Téa breathlessly, her blue eyes shimmering with admiration as she spun in a slow circle, looking out the glass surrounding her on all sides. "This is amazing!"

Kaiba hummed agreement as he gazed up at the stars. Téa turned her admiring blue eyes to him, adding, "...and you built all of this?"

Kaiba blinked, caught off guard at her question. "Well, I mean, I designed it." he said. "If an assemblage of this magnitude was just a one-man job, I wouldn't have much need for a staff."

"True." said Téa. "So how did you design the space elevator? I didn't hear any rockets in there."

"No, of course not. That would be a waste of finite resources." said Kaiba. "It's a combination of a nuclear reactor complex and the same tech used for the monorail subway. It's just a rail system of super-conductive electromagnets with a magnetic clamp array at the base. The ground terminal computer mainframe that manages the rail system can detect where the elevator is relative to the space station and changes the polarity of the electromagnets by pulsing the electrical field, which activates and deactivates individual magnets along the length of the rail. As long as it's properly timed, the elevator moves itself straight up and down via inertia and gravity respectively. And the entire assembly is protected by a re-entry shield with cooling systems so it doesn't over-heat during the-..." His voice trailed off as he caught sight of Téa's blue eyes lingering on him, a soft smile playing at her lips. "...is that...mostly going over your head?" he asked cautiously.

"No, I understand it all." assured Téa, her blue eyes twinkling as she held his gaze.

Kaiba stared back at her until he finally caught on. "Oh right, I forgot." he said, his blue eyes twinkling as realization dawned on him. "I'm a nerd, is that it?"

"Well, yes, that too." said Téa, giggling. She glanced at the ground, her laughter dying away as she played with her hair. "It's just...well..."

Kaiba's brow furrowed a bit. "What?" he asked.

Téa peered up at him through her lashes, a soft smile on her face as she finally said, "Sometimes I forget how intelligent and creative you actually are."

Kaiba blinked, his mouth dropping open a bit before he caught himself, and he felt a strange swelling sensation in his chest. What, your AI's can stroke your ego, but when a real woman does it, you get all flustered? came the sneering voice in his head. Kaiba shook his head, running his hand through his hair to excuse the movement, and quickly diverted his thoughts, saying, "You mentioned wanting to see Saturn."

Téa blinked and watched as Kaiba walked briskly towards a command console on a raised circular platform in the center of the room, and she couldn't help but smile at his nervousness. It really was kind of cute. She bit her lip to keep herself from giggling too loudly and followed him, silently agreeing to herself to have fun with this. Téa watched as Kaiba typed a series of commands into the console and activated a holographic screen on the glass walls of the space station, and she watched it zoom in and out on nearby asteroids as it calibrated. "That's different." she said of the telescope.

Kaiba's amused smile flashed, and he held a hand out to her, saying, "Come over here."

Téa walked forward and took his hand, and he pulled her gently in front of him until she was standing before the command console, and Kaiba stood behind her as he showed her how to work the telescope. She kept looking up at the screen and down at the console to see what each button and lever did, and Kaiba made sure her hands didn't stray from the proper controls.

"Bring it over this way..." he said, moving their hands together on the lever in her left hand, and Téa watched as the screen moved along the glass until she saw a yellow ball in the distance. "...and twist that handle in the middle...to the right."

Téa did so and gasped as the entire floor they were standing on rotated along with the console so it was lined up with the screen again.

"Now roll the zoom wheel forward." said Kaiba, and the screen sharpened in focus as Téa moved what she thought was the right control. "No, this one." said Kaiba, taking Téa's hand off the wrong control and placing it on the correct one, and the screen zoomed in on the yellow ball in the distance, bringing it forward. "There you go. There's Saturn."

Téa's eyes lit up, her mouth dropping open in an awe-induced smile as she watched the rotation of silver and icy asteroids, clustered so close together that she thought it had been a solid mass, as they revolved around the golden planet. "It's beautiful." she said admiringly.

Kaiba's hum of agreement resonated behind her. "Watch this." he said, and he pressed two buttons, the first one making the screen flash and the second one making the console whir to life. Téa watched as a glossy sheet of paper slid out of a slit in the console, and Kaiba pulled it out and handed it to her, saying, "...and now you have a souvenir."

Téa giggled and took the picture of Saturn he had taken with the telescope and printed out. The detail was stunning. "Thank you." she said.

Kaiba made a hum of affirmation, and Téa looked up at him, saying, "...and thank you for bringing me up here. This is..." She looked back to the telescope screen, saying, "I don't even have a proper word. Breath-taking doesn't seem to do it justice."

"Yugen." said Kaiba, and Téa blinked and looked up at him.

"What?" she asked.

"It's Japanese." said Kaiba. "It means 'an awareness of the universe that triggers an emotional response too deep for words.' Quite fitting, considering where we are."

Téa hummed in amusement, saying, "So you ate thesauruses of other languages, too, did you?"

"I was made to learn many languages besides English." explained Kaiba. "It's rather difficult to do international business without knowing what your clients are saying."

"Really?" said Téa, blinking up at him in surprise. "Which ones are you fluent in?"

"Japanese, Mandarin, Farsi, Tamil, Russian..." rattled off Kaiba. "Spanish, French, Italian, Swiss, German, Dutch, and Greek."

"Greek?" giggled Téa. "Say something in Greek."

Kaiba flashed an amused smile, knowing she wouldn't understand him anyway, and said, "Ta matia sou lampoun san ta asteria gyro mas. Apospoun poly tin prosochi*."

"Oh wow!" said Téa, amazed at the fluidity of his words. "What does that mean?"

"It means, 'Why ask me to say something you don't understand? For all you know, I may be insulting you'." teased Kaiba. Téa scoffed and slapped him in the chest, and Kaiba chuckled and rubbed the spot, his blue eyes twinkling.

They continued to play around with telescope, zooming in on the other planets and their moons. Neither of them seemed to notice that they were getting steadily closer and closer to each other.

"Okay, I have to ask you something really important..." said Téa after they had seen Neptune. "...and your answer determines whether or not we can truly get along, because there's only one correct answer!"

"Alright..." said Kaiba cautiously.

"What is your stance on Pluto?" asked Téa, her face displaying her deathly seriousness.

Kaiba's amused half-smirk flashed. "Screw the scientists. Viva la Pluto." he said simply.

"Yes!" cried Téa triumphantly.

Kaiba let out a laugh. The sound made Téa's heart soar, and she giggled as she leaned back against Kaiba. Unlike her playful nudge, she lingered there for a moment longer, her laughter dissolving into a soft, cheerful hum. She glanced down at the control module. Kaiba's hands were laid over hers, as he had been guiding her on how to use the many levers and buttons, and she noticed that they completely engulfed her own. Téa studied those hands of his: the tautness of his skin, his prominent veins, his bulging knuckles, the whites of the lanulas on his broad nails. She even noticed a few hairline scars on his fingers and on the skin where his thumb and forefinger connected, likely remnants of his work with micro-welding tools, and she could feel the calluses on the upper pads of his palm.

Téa lifted her eyes, catching sight of their faint reflection in the glass wall of the space station, and she let out a soft noise of surprise from her throat. Kaiba towered over her, the top of her head barely coming up to his collarbone. His broad shoulders stretched out from behind her head, his arms encompassing hers on both sides. All of a sudden, Téa realized that Kaiba was easily twice the size of her, both in bulk and in height. Even on the various occasions where she had stared him down, she had never felt so small before him. Kaiba's giant frame was both intimidating and comforting to Téa, and her mind swirled with those conflicting thoughts.

"Téa?"

She turned her head sideways a bit before leaning it all the way back, her blue eyes turning upwards and meeting his own. Kaiba was watching her carefully; his gaze was still intense and unwavering, but Téa could see the soft glimmer of concern in his dark blue eyes. She managed to get out a "huh", but her voice pitched a bit on her at the end, and it came out as more of a "hi".

"Hi." replied Kaiba gently, making Téa's heart flutter. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." said Téa, lowering her face as she felt it become warm, but Kaiba could see her healthy glow even as she tried to hide it with her hair.

"Please tell me if you're uncomfortable." he said suddenly.

"Oh no, I'm not. Not at all." insisted Téa. "It's just...I've never really..."

Kaiba watched her carefully, his eyes flitting to their hands. He willed himself to entwine their fingers together. "You've never been this close either?" he asked knowingly.

Téa blinked, a surprised noise escaping her open mouth. She realized this must be new territory for Kaiba, even more so than her. Her expression softened into a warm smile. "Exactly." she said, squeezing his hands in return. Téa peered up at Kaiba and met his gaze, a smile playing at her lips as she murmured, "You know, most guys take a girl out for coffee on the first date."

Kaiba gazed back at her wordlessly, his face unreadable. For a terrifying second Téa thought her teasing statement had gone too far too fast before his amused smile suddenly flashed. "Probably, but have you ever known me to settle for mediocrity?" he said.

Téa hummed in amusement, looking pensive as she gave some extra thought to his words. "Does that mean you don't think I'm mediocre?" she asked.

Kaiba's reply was immediate. "I have never thought you were mediocre, Téa." he said.

Téa blinked and looked up at him. Kaiba met her eyes evenly. "Really?" asked Téa.

"Really." said Kaiba affirmatively. "The mere fact that you're the only one who ever put me in my place when I was being a jerk and gave me the scorn I deserved already puts you several steps above everyone else."

Téa couldn't help but giggle at his remark. "I'm not quite sure how that elevates me above the rest in your eyes, but I'll take it." she said.

Kaiba suddenly took his hands away from Téa's and put them on her shoulders, and Téa let out a surprised breath as he started to spin her slowly around. She turned to face him completely, her blue eyes meeting his. "Téa, you have to understand something..." said Kaiba gently, his hands following the path along her arms and down to her hands. "No one has ever dared talk to me the way you always have. Because of who I am, because everyone is intimidated by me, or because I pay them, I have never received the kind of bold and brash honesty that you've always given me even when I never asked for it. You never looked at me as anything beyond the person standing right in front of you. If it wasn't for you actually having the nerve to tell me when I was being a selfish jerk, I probably would have ended up becoming the same heartless and inhumane monster that my step-father was." He squeezed her hands with a firm but gentle grip, adding, "You cannot fathom how much I appreciate you for that alone."

Téa's eyes widened as her memory came back to her in a jolt. Yugi may have lost one lousy Duel Monsters game, but at least he hasn't lost his heart! Not like you, Seto Kaiba! You've spent so much time with your machines you forgot what being human is about!

"Kaiba, I didn't mean-..." she said, her voice weak, but to her surprise, Kaiba laid his fingers gently over her mouth, silencing her before she could say anything further.

"I know what you're going to say." he said, removing his hand from her lips. "I don't want you to apologize. You didn't say anything wrong back then, and I needed to hear it. It's what helped me become a better man." He watched as Téa smiled sadly for a fleeting moment before her face was somber again and added, "Besides, you made up for it with what you said to Mai."

Téa made a soft noise of surprise as she looked up, her eyes wide, suddenly realizing why Kaiba had asked her at the charity ball if she had meant what she said. Her hand moved to her heart as she gazed solemnly at him and asked, "Has it been bothering you for all these years?"

Kaiba looked up at the stars above them, literally looking off into space. He was silent for a moment before saying, "It didn't really start hurting until recently."

Téa remembered his response to her biting remark all those years ago. Now she heard his words and realized that Mokuba's freedom had ultimately been what Kaiba had been dueling for to win those precious star chips from Yugi, going so far as to threaten to throw himself from the castle. Téa felt a lump in her throat forming as she realized why Kaiba had gone that far: his life was not worth living without his brother. Mokuba had been his everything. Téa heard her own voice from so long ago, that biting remark echoing in her memory.

...and what do you have, Seto Kaiba? She had yelled, not knowing the first thing about the man standing across from her. What do you have at the end of the day? Tell me! TELL ME!

And as if reading his mind, she heard Kaiba's new answer: Nothing. Not anymore.

"Kaiba?" she whispered.

"Mm?" he said, lowering his gaze back to her.

Téa met his eyes so he knew she meant every word. "You still have us." she said. "At the end of the day, you have friends that will stand with you no matter what."

Kaiba gazed at her wordlessly, searching her blue eyes with his own. "You said you can't speak for the others." he reminded her softly.

"But I can speak for myself..." said Téa, squeezing his hands. "...and I told you I'd be there for you if you needed it. I meant it then and I still mean it now."

Kaiba flashed an amused half-smile as he added, "Whether I like it or not?"

"Exactly." said Téa, nodding affirmatively.

His real smile appeared this time, making his blue eyes twinkle again as it reached them, and Kaiba murmured a soft, "Thank you, Téa."

Téa smiled warmly up at him, slipping her hands out of his before wrapping her arms around his middle. This time Kaiba didn't lock up or push her away, nor did he make any move to pull away from her. She felt him exhale, felt the muscles in his back relax under her touch, and felt his arms wrap around her securely, holding her in a firm but gentle embrace. Téa closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. She could hear the air flowing in and out of his lungs as he breathed deeply, along with a strong thumping noise. She hummed contently, whispering, "I knew you really had one."

"Hm?" Kaiba hummed inquisitively.

"A heart." she replied quietly, one hand sliding around from his back and resting on Kaiba's chest as she listened to the strong beat. "You tried hiding it all this time, but I can hear it in there."

Kaiba gazed down at her for a moment, a strange look in his eyes. After a long and deliberate pause, he finally said, "Well, I hope you can keep a secret."

Téa let out a soft giggle. "I'm going to have to." she said, bringing her other hand around from his back and smoothing both her hands down the front of his shirt. "We wouldn't want the others playing twenty questions about how I'm privy to such confidential information, right?"

"Right." said Kaiba, his amused smile flashing.

Téa's giggle dissipated into a soft hum as her gaze lowered to her hands. She paused for a moment, reveling in the feel of Kaiba's secure embrace. He seemed reluctant to release her, and Téa raised her eyes to meet his again. Kaiba was gazing down at her with that gentle shimmer in his dark-blue eyes, and Téa realized that he was gently swaying them side to side. She gave him a warm smile, holding his gaze as she slid one hand up to his shoulder, her other one finding his arm and following the path down to his hand. Kaiba let out an amused rumble as he realized what she was doing, and their slow sideways rocking turned into a waltz. He led her in circles around the still space station, Téa twirling under his arm at intervals, her skirt billowing out on each turn. She twirled back into position with one hand in his and the other on his shoulder, and Kaiba started dipping their clasped hands towards the floor as they swayed. Téa giggled, saying, "Your waltz is turning into a swing, Kaiba."

A soft smile appeared on his face as Kaiba said, "Okay, I confess. I might have learned a little more than just ballroom dancing."

Téa squealed in surprise and giggled as Kaiba suddenly leaned her all the way backwards, and her dancing instincts took over as she held one leg out perfectly straight with her toe pointed, her arm unfolding slowly behind her as she reached outwards. The very tips of her hair swept the floor before Kaiba pulled her upright again, and Téa brought her extended arm around his shoulder as they straightened. She stroked the hair at the nape of his neck, saying, "You are just full of surprises, Seto Kaiba."

Kaiba had to fight against his eyelids as they threatened to close on him at Téa's touch, saying, "I surprise myself sometimes."

Téa let out an amused hum and peered up at him through her lashes. She saw the light in Kaiba's normally dark blue eyes, giving them that soft shimmer. Téa gave him a warm smile as she held his gaze, and Kaiba's eyes seemed to search hers for a moment before he said, "What?"

Téa took her hand out of his hair and brushed his heavy bangs aside with her fingertips, saying, "When you laugh, or even just smile...you have this twinkle in your eyes. It reminds me of Mokuba. I can see the relation now."

Kaiba watched her carefully, but he made no move to stop her hand or take it away from his hair. "I take it you've never heard my brother cackling like an idiot every time he intentionally started trouble; you would've heard it, too." joked Kaiba, and he was rewarded with a giggle from Téa.

"So that's another thing you shared? The maniacal, evil-genius, villainy laugh?" teased Téa.

"That and being a trouble-maker, yes." said Kaiba, his amused half-smirk flashing.

Téa giggled, saying, "I still don't believe that. I just can't see you causing trouble the way your little brother did."

"No?" asked Kaiba, and Téa saw the mischievous twinkle appear in his blue eyes. "Well then, allow me to prove it to you. Come over here." Téa allowed him to take her hands and pull her back over to the command console, standing before it once again. "See this big green button?"

Téa looked to where Kaiba was pointing to a transparent square cover that protected said button, saying, "Yeah?"

"I want you to push it." said Kaiba.

Téa reached out and took hold of the cover with both hands. She realized it was made of heavy glass, and she flipped it over slowly and carefully so she didn't drop and break it. She started to move her hand to press the button when Kaiba suddenly said, "No wait, hang on one second."

She watched as he pushed a different button, and Téa blinked as a panel opened up in the floor, a thick column with a large box on top sliding out of the opening. She watched as the box opened up and expanded into a full sized reclining chair, complete with armrests. Kaiba lowered himself into the chair, and Téa watched as he pulled a clip attached to a wire out of a small compartment in the armrest and clipped it to his belt. He leaned back, crossing his legs and putting his hands behind his head as if he were relaxing on the beach before saying, "Now you can push it."

Téa stared at him suspiciously, asking, "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" said Kaiba, the mischievous twinkle appearing in his dark blue eyes again. "I'm sitting back and watching the hilarity ensue."

Téa turned her face, giving him a scrutinous side-eye. "Kaiba..." she said slowly, trying not to let the smile break across her face. "...what does this button do?"

"You'll see." he replied simply. Kaiba nodded towards the button, saying, "Proceed."

Téa bit her lip and turned her gaze back to the button, and she reached out a hand and went to push down on it. It wouldn't budge, so she put her opposite hand down on top of the other one. She pushed with all her might, and almost immediately after the button depressed, Téa felt her entire body lift into the air, propelled by her pushing against the button on the command console.

"What the-...?!" she cried, her hands going to her hair as she felt it rise on its ends. She gasped as she looked down and realized she was floating in mid-air. Kaiba also rose slowly off of his chair a bit before the clip held him in place. Téa's eyes became huge. "Was that an anti-gravity control?" she asked.

"What gave you that idea?" asked Kaiba sarcastically as he watched her rise further into the air.

"Kaiba!" exclaimed Téa, pressing her legs together and curling them against her as she realized her black leggings were partially translucent. "I'm wearing a skirt!"

"Whose fault is that?" asked Kaiba, his amused half-smirk flashing.

Téa scoffed at him, trying desperately not to giggle. She tried to move her arms as if she were swimming, but that did absolutely nothing to help her. She stayed in place in mid-air, flailing uselessly as she rose steadily higher towards the ceiling of the space station.

"You're supposed to propel yourself off an object." explained Kaiba.

"I don't have any objects near me!" cried Téa, her stomach doing flips as her body started to turn upside-down.

"You will once you hit the ceiling." replied Kaiba simply.

"Well, don't just sit there smirking! Help me get to it!" said Téa.

"What's the magic word?" teased Kaiba, his eyes twinkling.

"Please?" asked Téa.

"Nah, it's so much more amusing just watching you." said Kaiba, staying in place.

"Kaiba, come on!" pleaded Téa, trying and failing to remain serious. "This isn't funny!"

"On the contrary, it's hilarious." said Kaiba.

"Ugh, you are a trouble-maker!" giggled Téa, flattening her skirt to her thighs.

Kaiba let out a rumble of amusement and unclipped the safety strap from his belt, saying, "Okay, I suppose it is indecorous of me to torment a lady." Téa watched as he grabbed the armrests and kicked off from the chair, gliding smoothly up towards her. He held out his arms and scooped her out of the air, flipping over and landing feet-first on the ceiling of the space station. Téa squealed and giggled as he kicked off from the ceiling, shooting towards the side wall of the space station, and he twisted around in mid-air before reaching out and grabbing a bar attached to the wall. Kaiba had her take hold of the bar as well, saying, "Alright Téa, watch closely. This is anti-gravity traversing 101."

Téa watched as Kaiba curled his legs and put his feet against the wall, keeping hold of the bar as he did so. He pushed off the wall, gliding forward a bit and doing a mid-air somersault before grabbing another bar on the opposite wall. He did a handstand with his feet towards the ceiling, pumping his arms back and forth before pushing himself off the wall again. Téa giggled as Kaiba wrapped his arms around his curled legs as if doing a cannonball into a pool, spinning several times before landing feet first on the ceiling again. He looked down at her, looking like a bat as he hung upside down on the ceiling, saying, "Now you try."

Téa pushed off the wall as hard as she could, spinning around like a corkscrew as she did so. She giggled and held out her arms like a helicopter before raising them over her head to grab the bar, and she was suddenly hit with an idea. She straightened herself before pushing off the wall again, and this time she held up her arms, bending one leg and keeping the other one straight down, and she kept her vision on the spot on the opposite wall as she cranked her head around on each turn. Kaiba smiled as Téa appeared to do several pirouettes before grabbing the bar on the opposite wall, saying, "You're a quick learner, Miss Téa."

"I had a good teacher." she replied, and they both exchanged smiles at their shared joke. Téa kicked off the wall again, heading up towards Kaiba, who kicked off the ceiling towards her. She shrieked in surprise as Kaiba grabbed her arm with one hand and her leg with the other, flipping her around before pushing her along, and Téa laughed like a nut as she did a cartwheel towards the ceiling. Téa landed on it on all fours, pushing off the ceiling and straightening as she did so, doing a super-hero pose towards the opposite wall. Kaiba pushed with his arms off the opposite wall, and Téa giggled as he bent backwards Matrix-style away from her outstretched fist as he passed her in mid-air. She grabbed the bar as he landed feet-first on the other wall, and they both pushed off at the same time towards each other again. Kaiba held out his hands, and Téa took hold of them as they came together, and she gasped as their collision caused them both to spin in place in mid-air. Kaiba placed one of her hands on his shoulder before putting his hand on her waist, and Téa looked down in awe as she realized they were dancing in mid-air. Kaiba felt his heart soaring as her smile lit up the space station, her laugh echoing off the walls.

"This is amazing!" she exclaimed, wrapping one of her legs around Kaiba's to hold her in place so she didn't float away from him.

"Yeah?" asked Kaiba, a soft smile crossing his features.

"Yes!" giggled Téa. She looked back up and met his gaze, and she saw the gentle shimmer in Kaiba's dark blue eyes. Téa gave him a warm smile before slipping her hand out of his and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, laying her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for taking me up here." she whispered close to his ear.

She felt her face warm as Kaiba let out a deep rumble of acknowledgement before wrapping his own arms around her waist. "You're welcome." he murmured back.

Téa smiled softly and nuzzled the side of his face. They stayed like that in comfortable silence for a moment before Téa looked down, and she caught sight of the Earth below them through the glass floor. A large shadow was mere inches from their home land, and she said, "Oh wow, you can actually see night falling from here. What time is it?"

Kaiba glanced down at the control console, saying, "Nineteen hundred."

Téa's eyes widened. Where had the time gone?

"We should be heading back." added Kaiba, and Téa thought she heard a hint of regret in his voice as he said those words.

"Yeah..." agreed Téa sadly. She paused for a moment, realizing they were staying in place in mid-air. "Um...Kaiba?"

"Mm?" he replied.

"How are we supposed to get down?" she asked.

Kaiba's amused smile flashed. "Good question." he said.

Téa's eyes widened. "We're not stuck up here, are we?" she asked.

"Maybe." teased Kaiba. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"I mean, no complaints on my end..." said Téa with a smile. "...but I would think at some point Roland might send out the Space Force if you don't return."

Kaiba let out a laugh, and Téa's heart soared at the sound. "The sad thing is, you're probably right." he admitted.

Téa giggled. "So how are we doing this?" she asked.

"I'll push you towards the control console. You'll have to push the button again." said Kaiba.

"Okay." said Téa, and she took hold of Kaiba's hands again before he pushed against them, sending her down towards the control console. Téa grabbed the bar on the control console, waiting until her feet hit the floor before reaching out and shoving her hand against the button. Kaiba dropped out of the air, landing neatly on his feet by her side.

"Nice landing." said Téa, giggling as Kaiba spun his hand in the air before bowing.

"Shall we return to the home planet then?" he asked.

"You know, I never thought I'd hear those words spoken in real life." giggled Téa, following him back towards the elevator. As they approached it, Téa felt her stomach doing flips again, but worse than before. She thought the ascent would be bad, but now they'd be plummeting back to the Earth at the same stomach-churning speed as before. Téa held her stomach as it threatened to jump into her throat, and she had a feeling like she was going to pass out again before she even got in the elevator. She quickly grabbed Kaiba's hand, gasping out a breathy, "Wait."

Kaiba looked back at her, catching sight of her hand on her stomach and her sickly pallor. He took hold of her arm as she appeared to dip slightly, holding her upright. "I'm sorry." whispered Téa, and she took her hand off her stomach and gripped his arm to try and stop her hands from trembling. "I'm not normally afraid of heights, it's just...I can't-..."

"I know." said Kaiba, and his voice was surprisingly gentle. "Take your time. Just breathe."

Téa breathed deeply through her nose and out through her mouth, keeping her eyes closed and willing herself not to get sick in front of Kaiba.

"Do you need to sit down?" he asked.

"Maybe for a minute..." Téa admitted, and Kaiba kept his hands on her arms as he lowered to the ground with her. She carefully shifted from her knees to her bottom, leaning back against the wall. "I'm sorry." she said again. "I know you do this all the time..."

"I was nervous the first time, too." said Kaiba, settling against the wall with her, and he allowed her to link her arm around his to stop herself from swaying. "Maybe even more than you were. No one else had built an elevator into space before me, so I was thinking of all the things that could go wrong. And when I made it up the first time, I still got sick and I fell over because my legs had given out on me. That's why I built the conveyor belt."

Téa hummed in amusement, his words helping to calm her nerves. "You're always so calm and collected...I never thought anything would faze you." she said, rubbing his arm.

"I still feel things, Téa." said Kaiba. "I just try to channel the negative emotions into positive ones. I make my nervousness into excitement, for example. It's what I do every time I have to speak to the press and especially on a stage in front of millions of people."

"Really?" asked Téa, looking up at him in awe. She couldn't imagine Seto Kaiba having stage fright. He had always appeared so confident as to be bordering on cocky.

"Yes." said Kaiba. "It's what I was trained to do, and it took me years to master it. And my step-father was...adamant...about making sure it stayed with me." Téa gave him a solemn look, and Kaiba's eyes lowered to her other hand, which she had laid on his arm, to give him an excuse to avert his gaze from hers. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Téa." he said, up-turning his palm as her hand slid down the length of his arm to meet his.

Téa sighed, saying, "You should teach me how to do that before I go back to New York for my recital. I'm always a nervous wreck when I'm being judged."

Téa saw Kaiba stiffen out of the corner of her eye, and she looked over at him. "What?" she asked, sensing his sudden tension.

Kaiba stared at her silently for a few moments before finally saying, "You're leaving?"

Téa felt a twinge of guilt in her heart as she realized this was the first time she mentioned it to Kaiba. She regarded his blue eyes, and she could've swore they had a solemn look to them. "Um, yeah, I have to go back to school in New York City after summer's over and do my senior recital." she said. When Kaiba stayed silent, she added reassuringly, "Just for a few months. My recital is right before Christmas, and then if I pass it, I'll get my degree and be done with college completely."

"I see." said Kaiba, pretending to be distracted by a nearby floating meteoroid, his face unreadable as usual.

Téa blinked, realizing she was watching Kaiba a little too intently, trying to gauge his emotions. She dearly wished she had that talent of Serenity's right about now. Téa bit her lip and squeezed his hand as she said, "You can come watch it, if you have the time. My recital, that is. I know they allow guests for each dancer, I just don't know how many."

Kaiba met her eyes, and Téa was relieved to see them regarding her with a gentler gaze this time. His gaze lowered to their hands, and Téa watched as Kaiba's thumb caressed her fingers. "If you don't know, then you should probably save those RSVPs for your friends before me." he said at last, and Téa thought she could hear regret in his voice.

Téa brought her other hand forward, tracing her finger playfully down each of Kaiba's, and smiled up at him, asking, "You're not my friend, too?"

"I meant they've been there for you for much longer, so you probably want them at your recital." amended Kaiba quickly.

Téa swayed from side to side for a bit, glancing up at Kaiba through her lashes and saying, "I want you there, too."

Kaiba's eyes widened for a split second before he caught himself. "If there's an open seat for me, then I'll go." he said finally.

"Really?!" asked Téa, her eyes lighting up as she clasped his hand. "You mean it? You'll come watch my recital?"

Kaiba smiled, silently surprised at her excitement and his heart soaring strangely at the look in her eyes. "I wouldn't miss it for the world." he said.

Téa felt her heart fluttering at his words, and Kaiba let out a surprised chuckle as she suddenly threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him tightly. She quickly released him and smiled shyly up at him. "Sorry, I'm just hoping everyone can go and support me. I'm really nervous about the recital." she said softly, and Kaiba watched as Téa's hands raised to twist her hair. Apparently it was a nervous habit of hers.

"Why?" he asked, watching her part her hair into sections.

"If I don't pass, then I have to redo another semester." explained Téa as she started braiding her hair. "And I don't find out what style of dance I have to do until I get back, so I can't even practice until then. It's also at a formal event, so there will be an audience besides our guests and I don't want to mess up in front of all those people and-..."

Téa paused mid-sentence as Kaiba laid his hand over both of hers, halting her braid work as he pulled her hands away from her hair. "You'll do fine, Téa." he said assuredly, and Téa's heart fluttered at his suddenly gentle tone. "More than fine. You surprised even me at the arcade, and you were the most graceful dancer I've ever had at my charity ball."

Téa's eyes widened as she looked up at him, saying, "You mean that?"

"Yes." said Kaiba unhesitantly, meeting her gaze. "And I mean when I say you make it look so effortless. Gozaburo made me take dancing lessons for formal events, too, and it took me years to do what you've mastered in short order. You'll pass your recital with ease."

"You think so?" asked Téa, amazed at Kaiba's earnest confession.

"I know so." said Kaiba definitely, smiling softly.

Téa felt her heart flutter again, and she gave Kaiba a warm smile. "Thank you, Kaiba." she said sincerely. "That means a lot coming from you."

Kaiba let out an amused rumble, saying, "Because I don't hand out praise too often?"

"That, too." said Téa teasingly.

"And to answer your previous statement..." said Kaiba. "...yes, I will teach you tricks of the trade in regards to not being nervous on stage. If you really want me to, that is."

"I would love for you to." said Téa, squeezing his hands. "It would be a lot of help."

"That's what I'm here for." Kaiba replied with his signature half-smile, and Téa giggled. "We should head back to Earth now." he added. "Are you okay to stand?"

"I think so." said Téa, and she kept a hold on Kaiba's hands as he pulled them to their feet again before pressing some buttons to open the elevator. Téa took a deep breath and settled herself into her seat.

"Ready?" asked Kaiba.

Téa reached over and found his hand, saying, "Now I am."

Kaiba's amused half-smile flashed as he pressed the buttons on the arm of his seat, and Téa yelped and reflexively grabbed Kaiba's arm with her free hand as the elevator plummeted without warning this time. It took her a minute to realize the elevator seemed to be crawling in comparison to the ascent, and Téa opened her eyes, which had been screwed shut, and looked around in awe. The stars were all around them in the thick glass elevator, Earth a glowing blue mass beneath them.

"The descent is slower so that the elevator doesn't burn up during re-entry." Kaiba explained.

"Oh thank goodness." breathed Téa, releasing a sigh of relief. She looked around, admiring the twinkling stars and the glow of the nearby planets and even the asteroids as they rolled slowly along their rotational path. "This really is amazing." said Téa. "It's like nothing I've ever seen in my whole life. It's almost poetic."

Kaiba inclined his head, and Téa's eyes widened as he suddenly said, "The stars, like dust, encircle me in living mists of light, and all of space I seem to see in one vast burst of sight."

"That's beautiful!" breathed Téa. "Where's that from?"

"Asimov, Galactic Empire series." replied Kaiba. "He was actually describing light-speed hyper-drive, but it works here, I suppose."

"Why does it not surprise me that you're a sci-fi reader?" said Téa, smiling.

"Where do you think I get all my tech inspiration from?" said Kaiba.

"You really are a nerd." laughed Téa as she nudged him playfully, and Kaiba chuckled. She glanced down at the Earth as it loomed nearer, saying, "This brings a whole new meaning to the phrase on top of the world."

Kaiba gave another soft rumble of amusement, watching the sight with her. A thought came to Téa then, and all of a sudden she remembered who exactly she was with. "But I guess..." she said, rubbing his arm unconsciously. "...you probably feel like that all the time."

There was a pause, and Téa turned her head to look over at Kaiba when he didn't answer. His blue eyes seemed to be somewhere far away. "Kaiba?" she asked cautiously.

He blinked out of his thoughts and glanced over at her, then back down to Earth. "Sorry." he said. "I, uh...I actually have never felt that way, to be honest."

"I don't understand." said Téa. "You have everything anyone could ever ask for."

"I know." said Kaiba. "But I'd gladly throw it all away in a heartbeat if I could."

"Really?!" exclaimed Téa, shocked at his words. "Why?"

"Because I never wanted any of it in the first place." said Kaiba. "All I ever wanted was to give my brother a better life after we were left at the orphanage. I would have done so no matter what way it happened, but having the richest and most powerful man in the world adopt us was merely the simplest and quickest way to go about it."

Téa gazed at him with wide blue eyes, amazed at Kaiba's honest confession. "What do you think you would have done if Gozaburo didn't adopt you and Mokuba?" she asked.

Kaiba shrugged, saying, "We knew we didn't want to be separated. We kept refusing every time someone tried to adopt just one of us without the other. No one ever came for two kids, so we would have probably been stuck in the orphanage until I turned sixteen and could become an emancipated minor. Then I would have gotten a job in the tech field until I could afford to move us out of the orphanage, assuming it didn't take until we were both over eighteen and they just kicked us out anyway."

"How were you supposed to get a job in the tech field without any experience?" asked Téa. "Didn't you learn all your computer skills in KaibaCorp?"

"Actually no. I learned from my dad." said Kaiba. "All of my tech knowledge came from him."

Téa's eyes widened. "Your actual dad?" she asked breathily.

"Yes." said Kaiba. "I knew how to use a computer by the time I was five, and he taught me the advanced disciplines, too. He'd let me watch when he worked on server parts at home. He'd sit me in his lap and show me how to use the tools."

Téa's heart warmed at the thought, and she listened intently as Kaiba continued. "I actually learned more about programming, assembly and even hacking from him than I did while at KaibaCorp." he said. "Dad taught me everything he knew about computers, technology, and games; he's also the one that taught me how to play Duel Monsters and chess and other tabletop games. I probably wouldn't have beaten Gozaburo at chess if my dad had never taught me how to play and wasn't an avid chess player himself. He's the only one I could never beat."

"Is that why you switched KaibaCorp from a military supplier to a gaming tech producer?" Téa asked him.

Kaiba nodded. "Honestly, if anyone other than me and Mokuba was going to be credited with taking KaibaCorp to where it is today, it would have been dad." he said. "Gozaburo did nothing in comparison. Dad knew I was a smart kid from the start and helped nurture it. He was heavily book smart about a lot of random topics and skills himself, so I'm pretty sure the geniuses were on his side of the family."

Téa smiled, saying, "Sounds like you had a lot of respect for your dad."

Kaiba nodded wordlessly. "He was a man I could never hope to attain to." he said.

"You don't give yourself enough credit for how much you've grown, Kaiba." said Téa, squeezing his hand. "I think your dad would be proud to see how far you've come after all that you've been through and the life that you've built for yourself."

Kaiba's real smile reached his eyes. "Thank you, Téa. That means a lot." he said.

Téa hummed softly in response, watching as the exterior of the elevator lightened from the blackness of space to the grey and white of the upper atmosphere. "Do you think you would have still gone to Domino High School if your life had gone the other way?" she asked.

Kaiba shook his head, saying, "Probably not. The orphanage was closer to the inner city schools. That's the other reason I wanted to get us out of there as fast as we could; we would have been stuck in the bad part of town. I didn't want that for Mokuba."

"I don't blame you." said Téa, rubbing his arm. She was quiet for a moment, then said, "I'm glad you were able to go to Domino High School. We probably never would have met otherwise."

Kaiba glanced down at her. "You're glad we met?" he asked, his voice gentle.

"Yeah." said Téa shyly, and she felt her face warming.

Kaiba was quiet for a moment, then let out a rumble of amusement. "Me too." he said. "You probably never would have straightened me out otherwise."

Téa giggled and nudged against him, saying, "You're right. What would you be without me?"

"Probably still an immature, uptight and abrasive, heartless jerk." admitted Kaiba, and Téa giggled at their shared joke.

The elevator finally made its way back down to the launch pad, and though she had been terrified of it the first go around, now Téa regretted leaving it. They returned to the helicopter, where she managed to strap herself in before Kaiba this time. He fired up the helicopter and got the go-ahead from flight control, then reached over for the control column. He paused with his hand hovering over it, and Kaiba looked over at her, then suddenly said, "Put your hand here."

Téa let out a noise of surprise, glancing nervously down at the control column. She didn't even have a cursory knowledge of how to pilot any kind of aircraft.

"Trust me." said Kaiba suddenly, and Téa blinked and looked up at him. Slowly, hesitantly, she reached out a trembling hand and took hold of the control column, and Kaiba laid his hand around hers. He turned his hand, making hers twist the control column, and Téa heard the blades whirring to life just as they had before. His grip on her hand tightened a bit as he pulled upward, and Téa's eyes widened for a moment as she felt the resistance of the control column trying to pull itself back down. It was heavier than she thought it was, and she kept her hold on it with Kaiba's guidance as the helicopter lifted into the air. Kaiba pushed his and Téa's hands forward on the control column, and the aircraft surged forward. He kept a firm hold as he rolled the control column down and to the right, and Téa let out a small gasp as the helicopter dipped a bit before turning them around. Kaiba pulled up on the control column and returned it to the center, straightening the aircraft once more.

"Look at that..." said Kaiba suddenly, his voice coming through Téa's headset. "...you're piloting a helicopter."

Téa let out a happy laugh, her nerves forgotten as Kaiba continued to guide her hand over the control column. He had her fly the helicopter all the way back to Domino City, and even guided her into the landing when they finally returned to the roof-top of KaibaCorp.

"That was the most nerve-wracking yet exhilarating thing I've ever done!" giggled Téa when the engines finally whirred down and Kaiba cut the ignition to the helicopter.

"You did good for your first time piloting an aircraft." said Kaiba as he unbuckled his harness.

"I had a good teacher." replied Téa, and they both exchanged knowing smiles at their shared joke. "So is that how Roland had to teach you when you first learned?"

"Training aircrafts have co-pilot over-ride controls." said Kaiba. "Less hand-holding that way."

Téa giggled before flashing him her coy smile and glance through her lashes, and Kaiba felt his heart skip a beat at the sight before turning to the door, using that as an excuse to avert his eyes as he opened it and hopped out. The sun was beginning to set, painting the horizon in a beautiful orange and golden glow. Téa removed her harness and turned as Kaiba opened the door for her, and she paused to look up at that beautiful sunset. It really was quite a view from the rooftop. Téa took hold of Kaiba's out-stretched hands and started to step down with his assistance when her foot slipped on the step-bar. She gasped and reflexively threw out her arms to catch herself, and they fell around Kaiba's shoulders as he took a step forward to catch her around the middle as well. Téa opened her eyes, which had screwed shut, to find herself face-to-face with Kaiba. She felt the fine-sandpaper sensation against her cheek as they both turned their faces to look at each other. Téa felt herself coloring as she averted her gaze from his, clearing her throat and saying, "I'm usually a lot more graceful than this..."

"I know." Kaiba replied softly before the smile appeared, followed by an amused rumble.

Téa smiled before sliding out of his arms. Kaiba met her eyes again; he seemed reluctant to let her go. Téa blinked and looked up at him, murmuring a soft, "What?"

Kaiba's eyes seemed to linger on hers for a moment. He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, as if shaking himself out of a trance. "It's just the..." he said, gesturing over his shoulder at the sunset. "...your eyes...I didn't mean..." Kaiba sighed, keeping his eyes closed as he said, "I'm usually a lot more articulate than this."

Téa giggled and smoothed her hands down the front of his shirt. "I know." she replied. She nudged against him, adding, "...but I have to admit, it is kind of cute when the high and mighty Seto Kaiba gets all flustered."

Kaiba opened his eyes, trying desperately not to let a smile crack his facade as he said, "Are you insulting me again, good madam?"

Téa giggled at his words, saying, "I have three years of it to catch up on, in case you forgot."

"Oh, I don't know about that. You were always pretty good at putting me in my place even when I was insulting you." said Kaiba, his blue eyes twinkling.

"True..." said Téa, and her blue eyes sparkled with some hidden mischief as she leaned close to Kaiba's face and whispered, "...and I bet it drove you up the wall."

"Might I remind you that you can't make me admit anything." Kaiba whispered back.

"You mean like how you admitted that my blue eyes have a tendency to catch the light and they're very distracting?" asked Téa, leveling her gaze at him as she added, "Kind of like they just did with the sunset?"

Kaiba held her gaze evenly, his face betraying nothing, but his eyes twinkling as he replied, "Touché, madam."

Téa giggled and linked her pinky in his before they headed towards the elevator, which brought them back down to the car-port. They approached the black car again, and Kaiba opened the passenger door for her. Téa smiled, saying, "What, not gonna let me drive the car, too?"

Kaiba's amused smile flashed. "Maybe next time." he joked.

"Oh, there's gonna be a next time?" asked Téa with a smile, and she swore she saw a worried look flash in Kaiba's eyes for a split second before she quickly added, "I'll hold you to that."

He immediately relaxed, letting out an amused rumble as she entered the car, making sure she was settled in her seat before closing the door and walking around to the driver's seat. Téa glanced out the window at the grey car beside them as Kaiba got himself situated. He noticed where her attention was and said, "He only drove it on the streets once, if you're wondering why you never saw him in it. He didn't have his license but for a few months."

Téa smiled weakly, saying, "I can't imagine how Mokuba would have drove."

"Recklessly." said Kaiba affirmatively. "You can't tell, but the back-end had to be repaired because he reversed it into the concrete wall the first time he drove it."

Téa let out a surprised laugh, holding her hand to her mouth to stifle the outburst, and said, "Overly eager to drive, was he?"

"You could say that." said Kaiba. "I tried to have him use the virtual simulators first, but he wanted to jump right into it. I probably should have been more strict about it. Even I didn't touch the real thing until I had the simulators down-pat."

Téa smiled over at him, saying, "Roland and his grey hairs probably appreciated that, too."

Kaiba's handsome smile actually appeared as he laughed, surprising Téa and making her heart flutter, before he shifted the car into gear and pulled out of the car-port.

Téa was quiet for a moment as they drove along, and she started to play with her hair before she finally asked, "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" asked Kaiba, glancing over at her as they approached a stoplight.

"Raise a brother when you were just a kid yourself." said Téa cautiously.

Kaiba's eyes roved back to the road, though the light was still red. "I just did what I had to." he said. "I did the best I could with the hand I was dealt, and that's all I could do. I didn't get any help until Roland came along, and even then Mokuba only listened to me most of the time."

"Most of the time?" asked Téa, blinking.

Kaiba expelled a huff of air from his nose, saying, "He pulled the 'you're not dad' line on me quite a bit growing up."

"I bet that stung." said Téa sadly.

Kaiba shrugged, saying, "He wasn't wrong. Even Gozaburo wasn't as authoritative as my dad."

"Really?" said Téa, her eyes wide.

"I mean, he never took the abusive measures my step-father did." said Kaiba. "He didn't have to. My dad could scare anyone into behaving properly with just a look and a few pointed words."

"Is that who you got your smoldering intensity from?" giggled Téa.

Kaiba chuckled, saying, "I got much more than that from him. Mom used to say I was my father's twin when I was a kid. She probably wouldn't be able to tell us apart now."

Téa hummed in amusement. "What was she like?" she asked. "Your mother, I mean."

"I can't really remember." replied Kaiba. "She died when I was five, so I only have a few memories of her. I remember she would sing randomly...when she was doing housework or tending to the garden. Or to me when I was crying."

"She sounds sweet." said Téa, her blue eyes shining with adoration.

Kaiba's smile appeared at the sight before he turned his attention back to the road, driving forward as the light turned green. "She was." he said simply.

Téa gave him a warm smile, silently amazed that Kaiba was opening up to her even a little bit about his past. She decided not to push anything further, instead gazing out the window at the glowing buildings around them. "I never really noticed how pretty the city is at night." she said. "I was always too busy driving or doing something else with the others to really appreciate it."

Kaiba rumbled agreement, his mind wandering back to Mokuba's words in the dimension of the afterlife. His brother was right...he had always been too busy, never made the time to enjoy the little things in life. Kaiba remembered his promise to Mokuba in death and tried not to linger on the thought that he should have done so in life. Instead he assured himself that he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.

They arrived at Téa's apartment, and Kaiba put the vehicle in park before settling back in his seat. Téa smiled at him, saying, "Thank you for today. I had so much fun!"

Kaiba rumbled an acknowledgement, and Téa recognized the far-off look in his eyes as he appeared to be searching for words. "What is it?" she asked him.

Kaiba pretended to smooth his pants to dry his suddenly damp palms. The first time, he had blurted out the offer without really thinking and had felt obligated to go through with it. This time was different; he actually enjoyed her company tonight, and now he wanted a next time. He took a quiet breath in through his nose and squared his shoulders. "There's a meteor shower happening next week...Wednesday night, to be exact...if you wanted to go up there again."

Téa gave him a warm smile, reaching over and squeezing his hand. "I'd love to." she replied.

Kaiba's eyes lowered to the gesture before looking over at her. She really was distracting. "I'll pick you up then." he said, silently relieved at her response.

Téa hummed and inclined her head, glancing down at their hands before peering up at him through her lashes. Kaiba felt the all-too-familiar sensation of his heart beating faster at her coy glance. Did she even realize what she was doing to him? He felt his mouth becoming wet again as his eyes flitted to Téa's rosy lips, and his mind was flooded with a strange urge as it reminded him of that sweet vanilla scent...

"Kaiba, you're shaking." said Téa suddenly, rubbing his hand. "Are you okay?"

Her words jerked Kaiba out of his trance, and he looked down to see that his hands were, in fact, trembling rather hard. He hadn't even noticed they had become cold. "I'm fine." he assured her, pulling his hand out of hers and rubbing them together. "I just need to eat."

"Do you want to come in for a while? I can whip something up." offered Téa.

"Thanks, but I should be heading back before Roland sends out the search party." said Kaiba quickly before his primitive mind blurted out something less rational.

Téa laughed, saying, "Didn't tell him about your personal expedition, did you?"

"I told him I was taking a sick day." said Kaiba, his half-smirk flashing.

"You're such a liar." giggled Téa, and she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. She paused for a moment with her hand on the door handle, thinking.

Kaiba watched as Téa turned back to him, and their eyes met for a brief moment before hers flitted down and back again, as if looking for permission. He answered her silent cue by leaning down so she could reach, and Téa placed a soft hand on his jaw and kissed his opposite cheek. "Thank you again." she whispered to him, nuzzling his face with her nose before exiting the car. She smiled shyly down at him and said, "Goodnight, and see you next week."

"Goodnight, Téa." Kaiba replied before she shut the door. He waited until she walked through her door, sitting there for a while to make sure she was okay before driving off, exhaling slowly through his mouth as he felt his stomach doing cartwheels. He must really be hungry; he always got light-headed or nauseous if he skipped a meal.

Kaiba pulled into the car-port at last, locking the car before heading to the elevator and sky-rocketing to the top floor. He opened his office door, walking to his desk and picking up the phone to order room service. His kitchen staff were always on-call at all hours of the day in case he worked late, and Kaiba gave them his order before hanging up the phone and dropping down into one of the armchairs that surrounded the glass coffee table. If he really felt like it, he had a few things in the refrigerator in his living quarters that he could cook himself, but his head was starting to spin and he didn't quite trust himself with knives and a cooking fire.

Kaiba started massaging his forehead with his thumb and forefinger as he rose from the couch, walking over to his desk and opening the drawer where he kept his headache meds. He put one in his mouth before getting a water bottle out of the mini-fridge under his desk and gulping it down. He held the water bottle to his head for a minute. First his hands were cold, now his head was hot. What on earth was his body doing? Kaiba sighed and walked back over to the armchair, flopping down into it just as a knock came on his door. "Enter." he said.

The door opened, and in walked Mayura. "Here you are, Mr. Kaiba." she sang cheerfully, laying the covered tray on the coffee table before him. "Do you need anything else?"

Kaiba lifted the domed lid, glancing at the filet mignon, roasted sweet potatoes and asparagus with garlic, before saying, "I'm good. Thanks, Mayura."

"Of course, sir." said Mayura, bowing low. Her hazel eyes caught sight of Kaiba's hand shaking as he held up the lid, and she added, "Oh goodness, look at those tremoring hands of yours, Mr. Kaiba! You must be getting hypoglycemic."

"I'll be fine after I eat." said Kaiba.

"Yes indeed. Enjoy your meal, Mr. Kaiba." said Mayura before exiting the room.

Kaiba did so. He had been too nervous to eat before his outing with Téa, not wanting to make himself sick, and now his stomach ached with gratitude at the sustenance. He finished his meal and leaned back on the sofa, sighing and holding his water bottle to his head again. Even after the food, his headache wasn't subsiding much. He'd probably need a hot shower and a nap. Next time he'd simply have to make himself eat even if his stomach protested.

Another knock came on his door, and Kaiba quickly took the water bottle away from his forehead and ran a hand across it to wipe away the condensation before allowing Mayura to enter the room again. "All done, sir?" asked the chef as she walked forward.

Kaiba made a rumble of affirmation, and Mayura peered closely at him. "My dear Mr. Kaiba, are you alright? You look flushed." she said, holding the back of her hand to his forehead.

Kaiba waved her away, saying, "I'm fine. It's just a headache."

"Would you like me to have one of the maids fetch you a cold compress?" asked Mayura.

"Thank you, but I'll just take a shower and sleep." said Kaiba.

"If you insist, Mr. Kaiba." replied Mayura, still sounding worried. She startled a bit as the door suddenly opened, and she turned to look, saying, "Oh goodness, Roland, you startled me!"

"My apologies, dear." replied the security chief, closing the door behind him. "Good evening, Mr. Kaiba. I was just coming in to remind you of the-..." Roland stopped suddenly, his brow furrowing. "Are you alright, sir?" he asked.

"I was just asking Mr. Kaiba that myself." said Mayura before Kaiba could answer, sounding affirmed of her convictions. "Doesn't he look fevered, Roland? He's never this flushed."

"I said I'm fine." said Kaiba, getting annoyed.

"Hm...well, it is the middle of summertime, Mayura, and today was rather hot. I wouldn't worry too much about it." assured Roland. "He probably just needs to cool off in the shower."

"That's what I said." said Kaiba, giving Roland's wife a pointed look.

Mayura sighed defeatedly, saying, "Very well. I'll stop being the mother hen. Goodnight, Mr. Kaiba...Roland, dear."

Roland exchanged a swift kiss on the cheek with Mayura before she left the room, and he turned his attention back to Kaiba, saying, "As I was saying, I came to remind you of the board meeting the day after tomorrow. I should also warn you that Kugame will most likely bring up the by-laws, in case you wanted to prepare."

Kaiba sighed. Kugame was his asset manager, and the one that Irvine had warned him a week ago would start pestering him. "Maybe I should issue a gag order on him." said Kaiba flatly.

Roland chuckled, saying, "I'm apt to agree with you at this point, sir. You've made it more than abundantly clear that you-..." He paused again as Kaiba winced and held his stomach, which had suddenly roiled painfully. "That didn't appear pleasant." said Roland.

"It wasn't." winced Kaiba, reaching for his water bottle and cursing his bodily functions.

"Hm, well, that can sometimes happen with nerves." said Roland.

"Why would I be nervous?" asked Kaiba before drinking to ease the pain in his abdomen.

"Most people usually are on their first date." said Roland simply.

Kaiba had to stop himself from choking on his water. "I don't know what you're talking about." he said, throwing up his stoic facade.

"Really?" said Roland. "Because you said you were taking a sick day. You never get sick."

"And?" said Kaiba, internally cursing himself for such a lax mistake.

Roland gave him a pointed look. "And you brought Miss Téa here." he said slowly.

Kaiba felt his insides squirming as he realized Roland must have seen her with him in the main elevator, which had a camera in it. "She's just a friend." he said.

"Uh-huh." said Roland, sounding unconvinced.

Kaiba couldn't stop himself from shifting uncomfortably under Roland's scrutinous gaze. "It was just a station tour." he insisted weakly.

"Is that what you kids are calling it these days?" said Roland, and Kaiba could hear the faintest hint of amusement in the security chief's voice.

"It was not a date!" snapped Kaiba. "And even if it was, it's none of your business!"

"Actually since you felt the need to give her tier three security, it is some of my business." said Roland, his tone turning serious. "Good save for adding Tristan and Serenity. It might've fooled Ivan, but I've known you and that lot for years, and you've been stealing glances at Miss Téa for that long. You can't fool me, sir."

"Roland!" warned Kaiba, his face burning.

"You appear to be getting redder, Mr. Kaiba." said Roland, his mouth curving into a smile.

"You appear to be annoying me, Roland." retorted Kaiba, getting irritated. "Are we done here?"

"We are, sir." said Roland, and Kaiba stood up and marched into his living quarters. He heard Roland bid him a good night before shutting the door on him.

Kaiba waited until he heard his security chief leave the office before falling against the door and breathing a slow sigh from his mouth. His face was still burning, and he thanked all the Gods of Egypt that he hadn't initiated anything with Téa while they were in the elevator.

At that moment, his mind drifted back to when they had been sitting outside her apartment in his car, where Kaiba had almost done so. All at once, he remembered the night under the stars, the waterfall grotto, the previous instance outside her apartment the last day of the camping trip. The urge in him to close the gap was growing.

Kaiba shook himself out of his muddled thoughts, cursing Roland and his hyper-vigilance before making his way to the shower, rubbing his hands together as he walked. They were still shaking.

---

*** Note from the author ****

Pronunciation guide for the Greek:

[(with rolling r's) Tah mah-tyeh soo lee-ahm-poon sahn tah-stair-yay yee-roh mahs. Ah-pohs-pohn poh-lee-ay tee pro-soh-hyee]

*What Kaiba actually said: "Your eyes shine like the stars around us. They are very distracting."